@database "ar128.guide"
@Node MAIN "Amiga Report Online Magazine #1.28 -- October 8, 1993"

                               @{" Open Magazine " link "menu"}
            
              _      ____       ___   ______       _______          _
             d#      ####b     g#00   `N##0"    _agN#0P0N#         d#
            d##       jN##    j##F     J##    _dN0"      "        d##
          .#]##      _P ##L  jN##F     ###   g#0"               .#]##
         dE_j##      #  0## jF ##F    j##F  j##'    ______     dE_j##
       .0"""N##     d"   ##L0  ##F    0##   0##     "9##F"   .0"""5##
     .dF'   ]##    jF    ##0   ##F    ##F   `##k     d##   .dF'   j##
   .g#_    _j##___g#__   ]N  _j##L_ _d##L_   `#Nh___g#N' .g#_    _j##__
  """""    """""""""""    "  """""" """"""      """"""" """""    """"""

          ######    ######   ######    ######    ######   ########  TM
         ##    ##  ##       ##    ##  ##    ##  ##    ##     ##
         ##    ##  ##       ##    ##  ##    ##  ##    ##     ##
         ## ####   ## ##    ## ####   ##    ##  ## ####      ##
         ##  ##    ##       ##        ##    ##  ##  ##       ##
         ##   ###   ######  ##         ######   ##   ###     ##

                       International Online Magazine

                "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information."
                
October 8, 1993                                                    No. 1.28
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/                         Winners Don't Use Drugs                         /
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

                   Copyright © 1993 SkyNet Publications
                            All Rights Reserved

                        A Member Of STR Publishing

@endnode

@node P2-1 "Where to find Amiga Report"
@toc "menu"
/// WHERE TO FIND AMIGA REPORT                         Distribution Sites!
    --------------------------

  Click on the button of the BBS nearest you for information on that system.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/                             FidoNet Systems                              /
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
  FREQ the filename "AR.LHA" for the most current issue of Amiga Report!

@{"     OMAHA AMIGANET      " link P2-1-9} ..................................Omaha, Nebraska
@{"        NOVA BBS         " link P2-1-1} .............................Cleveland, Tennessee
@{"   CLOUD'S CORNER BBS    " link P2-1-3} ............................Bremerton, Washington
@{"     BIOSMATICA BBS      " link P2-1-4} .........................................Portugal
@{"    AMIGA JUNCTION 9     " link P2-1-5} ...................................United Kingdom
@{"     BITSTREAM BBS       " link P2-1-6} ..............................Nelson, New Zealand
@{"   REALM OF TWILIGHT     " link P2-1-7} ..................................Ontario, Canada
@{"    METNET TRIANGLE      " link P2-1-8} ......................Kingston Upon Hull, England
@{"   AMIGA-NIGHT-SYSTEM    " link P2-1-10}.................................Helsinki, Finland
@{" RAMSES THE AMIGA FLYING " link P2-1-11}............................................France

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/                           Non-FidoNet Systems                            /
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

@{"    IN THE  MEANTIME     " link P2-1-2} ...............................Yakima, Washington
@{"   FREELAND MAINFRAME    " link P2-1-50} ..............................Olympia, Washington
@{"        LAHO BBS         " link P2-1-51} ...............................Seinajoki, Finland
@{"      FALLING  BBS       " link P2-1-52} ...........................................Norway
@{"    COMMAND LINE BBS     " link P2-1-53} ..................................Toronto, Canada
@{"     RENDEZVOUS BBS      " link P2-1-54} ......................................New Zealand
@{"  LEGUANS BYTE CHANNEL   " link P2-1-55} ..........................................Germany
@{"     DEAD FISH BBS       " link P2-1-56} ...........................................??????
@{"   STINGRAY DATABASE     " link P2-1-57} ...........................Muelheim/Ruhr, Germany

@endnode

Non-AmigaGuide Users:  See the end of this document for numbers to each BBS.
___________________________________________________________________________


/// 10/08/93 Amiga Report 1.28   "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information"
    --------------------------
    · The Editor's Desk     · CPU Status Report    · New Products
    · FTP Announcements     · Dealer Directory     · AR Confidential
    · The Humor Department  · AR Online            · A.M.I.G.A.
    · Emulation Ramblings   · Internet Email       · More WOCA Reports

                        » Modem Deal of the Year «
                 » Commodore Shareholder Movement Update «
                  » Retina 24-bit Board In-Depth Review «

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
                 Amiga Report International Online Magazine
                 "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information"
                            » FEATURING WEEKLY «
                  Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information
      Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information
              Hardware · Software · Corporate · R & D · Imports
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/           DELPHI · PORTAL · FIDO · INTERNET · BIX · AMIGANET            /
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

@node P1-1 "From the Editor's Desk"
@toc "menu"

/// From the Editor's Desk                        "Saying it like it is!"
    ----------------------


Remember the friend I mentioned a few weeks ago that was selling out for
a PC system?  Well, he got it, and he's on the verge of selling his A4000.
But he's not completely nuts.

Okay, get up off the floor and stop laughing.  Here's why... he just bought
and installed OS/2 v2.1 on his shiny new Dell Dimension XPS 466V.  To quote
him, "OS/2 is like AmigaDOS with ten years of improvements by a top-notch
design team."  Sounds like a winner, huh?  So, in short, if you find 
yourself needing a PC for whatever reason, and you dread dealing with DOS 
or Windoze, check out OS/2.

Okay, let's get back on topic.  I didn't mean to bore or scare anybody with
PC talk.  I just couldn't think of a better way to open this editorial. <g>

Well, my netmail problem has been fixed and I can now reply to messages.
However, one individual, who shall remain nameless, took the comment that
DLG had a bug personally.  I got a rather nasty note in netmail saying that
it was uncalled for, and that I owed the Amiga community a big apology.  I 
don't think so.  As I recall, I said:

>A note on Netmail.  I have been receiving quite a bit of Netmail through
>FidoNet lately.  I wanted to let people know that the system I call for
>this mail is having trouble with outgoing mail (actually, it's a bug in
>DLG I'm told), so I have been unable to respond.

Is that a slam on DLG?  No.  It's the statement of a fact, right?  That's
what I thought.  I _like_ DLG.  A lot.  So where does casually mentioning
the existence of a bug considered slamming?  Beats me.

But anyway... I heard today that the 3DO is out.  Reports have it that
Babbages is carrying it.  I'm going to have to head over there tomorrow
and check it out.  I sure hope the CD32 makes it out soon, so people can
see that a $400 unit can equal or surpass a $700 machine.  IF the thing is
marketed properly.  IF.  Let's all cross our fingers.  If it fails, I
guess we'll all be buying PC's in a year or so.  <shudder>

A lot of people have said to me, "Hey, you put out a really cool magazine!
Amiga Report is awesome!"  I love hearing that, but without our staff and
contributors, we wouldn't be the great magazine that everybody enjoys.
I want to take a moment to recognize the people that make Amiga Report
possible.  Robert Niles, our Technical Editor and AmigaGuide expert does
a great job in getting each issue ready in short time, and still finds
time to write some really great articles.  Chad Freeman has been doing his
A.M.I.G.A. column for several months, and it's great.  His humor is 
bizarre, and adds a lot of character to the magazine.  Jason Compton and
his articles on emulation have been a nice refresher from the steady diet
of Amiga-only articles.  For the last few weeks, Dan Zerkle has kindly
allowed us to reprint his World of Commodore reports that he has been
posting on Comp.Sys.Amiga.Announce.  And last, but certainly not least,
a big thanks to all the people that write the reviews found on Usenet's
Comp.Sys.Amiga.Reviews newsgroup that not only take their own time to
write fine reviews and make them available on Usenet, but also for
allowing us to print them to allow even more people to benefit from their
work.

In other words, without a great many people, Amiga Report would not be
possible.  I started it with the desire to bring current news and in-
formation to the Amiga community, but a large part of AR's content comes
from the Amiga community.  A great big thanks to our contributors!

                                 Rob @ AR


@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@node P2-2 "AR Staff"
@toc "menu"

/// The Amiga Report Staff                       Dedicated to serving you!
    ----------------------

  
                                  Editor
                                  ======

                               Robert Glover

 Portal:                          Rob-G
 Delphi:                          ROB_G
 FidoNet:                        1:285/11
 AmigaNet:                      40:200/10
 Internet:   General Mail:   ROB_G@Delphi.com     
             Submissions:    Rob-G@cup.portal.com
 


                      Assistant and Technical Editor
                      ==============================

                               Robert Niles

 Portal:                         RNiles
 Delphi:                         RNILES
 FidoNet:                  1:3407/104 (Private)
 Internet:                rniles@imtired.itm.com



                        Contributing Correspondents
                        ===========================
                               Jason Compton
                               Chad Freeman
                               Michael Heinz
                                Harv Laser



@endnode
***************************************************************************
@node P4-1 "Delphi"
@toc "menu"

/// Delphi:  It's Getting Better All The Time!
    ------------------------------------------


 Amiga Report International Online Magazine is available every week in the
 Amiga SIG on DELPHI.  Amiga Report readers are invited to join  DELPHI and
 become a part of the friendly community of Amiga enthusiasts there.


                          SIGNING UP WITH DELPHI
                          ======================
       Using a personal computer and modem, members worldwide access
                  DELPHI services via a local phone call

                              JOIN -- DELPHI
                              --------------
  
                Via modem, dial up DELPHI at 1-800-695-4002
                                  then...
                When connected, press RETURN once or twice
                                  and....
              At Password: type AMIGAREPORT and press RETURN.

  DELPHI's best plan is the 20/20 plan.  It gives you 20 hours each month
  for the low price of only $19.95!  Additional hours are only $1.50 each!
             This covers 1200, 2400 and even 9600 connections!

          For more information, and details on other plans, call
                 DELPHI Member Services at 1-800-695-4005


                             SPECIAL FEATURES
                             ----------------

 · Complete Internet connection -- Telnet, FTP, IRC, Gopher, E-Mail and more!
   (Internet option is $3/month extra)

 · SIGs for all types of computers  -- Amiga, IBM, Macintosh, Atari, etc.

 · Large file databases!
 
 · SIGs for hobbies, video games, graphics, and more!

 · Business and World News, Stock Reports, etc.

 · Grolier's Online Electronic Encyclopedia!

 · Weekly informal conferences (currently Thursdays at 10 pm EST)!


                  DELPHI - It's getting better all the time!


@endnode
***************************************************************************
@node P1-2 "CPU Status Report"
@toc "menu"

/// CPU Status Report                     Late Breaking Industry-Wide News
    -----------------



CD-ROM Drive Doubles As Stand-Alone CD Player

FREMONT, CALIFORNIA -- Many of the new PCs today include CD-ROM drives. 
Increasingly though, users do not want to abandon their investments in 
existing hardware, and as a result, look towards CD-ROM upgrade kits to 
convert their existing PCs to multimedia machines. Hoping to address
those potential users, Media Vision has introduced the Memphis multimedia
upgrade system. 

The Memphis also doubles as a stand-alone audio compact disc player. According
to the company, the upgrade system simplifies the installation process and
"gives consumers an integrated unit for CD-ROM access." Pre-recorded CDs can
also be played while the PC is switched off, or when the Memphis chassis is
separated from the PC. 

A company source told Newsbytes that the Memphis is the result of a number of
studies with users and user groups to find out what they liked and disliked
about existing upgrade kits. The company found that around 40 percent of users
were using the kits for audio CD playing. As a result, Memphis can be used as a
stand-alone CD player without the need for the PC to be switched on. 

Said the source: "The speakers were designed with sound in mind. It sounds like
a hi-fi system. You have a CD-quality sound card, why not have audio-quality
speakers?" 

Another result of user feedback is the stylish packaging. The source told
Newsbytes, "Memphis has a really striking, modern design. It can double as an
audio system as well as playing computer multimedia CDs." For example, in a
family room or a student dorm room. It is also intended to be a "less
intimidating" unit. 

The system consists of a chassis with CD audio controls, two detachable
speakers, an interface card that installs inside the PC, a variety of
pre-recorded CD-ROM titles, and all required cables. Users can either install
and configure the interface card themselves, using the company's QuickStart
software, or they can have it installed by their local dealer. 

In announcing the system, Greg Reznick, Media Vision's vice president of
marketing, said, "In the past, any multimedia upgrade confronted consumers with
a collection of pieces that for many was too complicated, to difficult, and too
daunting to face. Media Vision's Memphis system has changed this. Now it is
easier, quicker, and more convenient to add multimedia capabilities to a PC." 

A single cable connects the system's chassis to the computer's back panel. Each
speaker is connected via a four-foot cable. The company says that, when space
is limited, the speakers can remain attached to the chassis and the entire unit
can be placed under the computer monitor. However, better stereo separation is
possible with the speakers detached and set upright up to eight feet apart. 

For stand-alone CD operation, the power cord of the chassis is plugged into any
AC socket, without the device needing to be plugged into a PC. 

The Memphis features high-fidelity 16-bit 44.1 kH stereo sound; a double-speed
CD-ROM drive, capable of transferring data at 300 Kb-per-second with 350
millisecond access time; a 20-voice FM synthesizer; a software controllable
mixer; game port; and an industry-standard SCSI (Small Computer Systems
Interface) CD-ROM controller interface. Built-in MIDI (musical instrument
digital interface) support allows control of other MIDI music instruments via
the on-board MIDI connectors, or the system can be controlled from an external
music keyboard. 

Memphis comes bundled with two multimedia CD titles: Broderbund Software's
Arthur's Teacher Trouble and Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia. 

The company says that the system is 100 percent compatible with existing
multimedia sound standards, including AdLib, Sound Blaster, and Pro Audio 16.
It also meets the Multimedia PC Council's requirements for MPC Level 2
compliance and supports Windows 3.1, Windows NT, OS/2 2.1, and NextStep. 

Memphis is priced at $999, and is expected to become available in the US in
mid-October. 



                      ------------------------------




IBM Licenses Cellular, Modem Interface

MANHASSET, NEW YORK -- Spectrum Information Technologies Inc., won another 
victory for its patents when IBM said it signed a marketing and licensing 
agreement with the company. 

At issue is the Axcell, an interface between cellular phones and the modems on
personal computers which allows the modem to work on a wireless call much as it
would on a wired call. The Axcell will now be given an IBM ThinkPad Proven tag,
which signifies that it meets the product and service standards of IBM. 

Spectrum already has deals to market ThinkPad peripherals made by Megahertz and
Apex Data, which licensed Spectrum's patents. AT&T also has a license for
Spectrum technology, covering all its units, including NCR and McCaw Cellular.
However, not all players in the market recognize Spectrum's broad patent
claims. The company is engaged in a legal battle with Data Race over technology
like that of the Axcell, and it's in a legal fight with Microcom concerning
error-correction used on wireless lines. 

Motorola has also not yet licensed Spectrum's patents. Spectrum also recently
applied for a patent on a technology which allows cellular operators to
distinguish between a voice and data call, which would let them price the two
calls differently. Spectrum's stock, which was worth $3 per share a few months
ago, has since doubled in price. 



                      ------------------------------



Canadian Firm Says Robots See, Understand Surroundings

ORILLIA, ONTARIO, CANADA -- A small company based in a town north of Toronto 
claims its robotics technology offers something no other industrial robots 
have today: the ability to see and understand the robot's surroundings. 

Vivek Burhanpurkar, founder and president of Cyberworks Inc., told Newsbytes
ultrasonic vision systems in his company's products allow robots to see what is
around them and understand the "basic geometry" without having to be programmed
to deal with specific surroundings. 

That means, for instance, that Cyberworks' CyberVac Industrial Cleaning Robot
can vacuum a room without having to be set up for the specific room first. It
will see where the walls and furniture are, and using built-in expert-system
software, will work out an efficient way of cleaning the space, Burhanpurkar
said. 

Cyberworks has just launched that robot and another designed for security and
inspection, as well as a set of components that the company plans to sell to
others who want to build their own special-purpose robots, he said. 

The security and inspection robot can spot changes or movements in its
environment, Burhanpurkar said, but can also relay video signals to a security
guard at one central location. 

Cyberworks is a 10-employee company that concentrates on research and
development and subcontracts much of its manufacturing work, Burhanpurkar said.
He said the firm plans to sell its technology to other vendors to build into
their own products rather than try to build a wide range of robots itself. 

The company has been developing its technology for about eight years,
Burhanpurkar said. It has sold prototypes of its products, he added, and in the
past year has done about C$1 million worth of business in Japan. Cyberworks is
just beginning to market its products in North America, Burhanpurkar said. The
company recently held a series of demonstrations for potential customers across
the United States. 



                      ------------------------------



Japan Has Two Million Telecom Users

TOKYO, JAPAN -- The number of personal computer-based telecommunication 
network users has reached two million in Japan, according to the New-media 
Development Association in Tokyo. Their numbers have increased rapidly over 
the past two years, and continue to escalate. 

The association's survey shows 1,957,000 users were online this past June, and
this number has apparently topped two million by now. 

The association also took the survey in 1991. At that time, there were
1,150,000 users, indicating the number has nearly doubled over the past two
years. 

Commercial PC networks with over 10,000 members each have a total of about
1,422,000 users, or 72 percent of all network users in Japan. NEC's PC-VAN
holds the top position with 578,000 members. Second is Fujitsu's Nifty-Serve,
which has about 500,000 members. They are followed by JALNET, ASCII Net, Nikkei
Mix and TeleStar. 

PC-VAN and Nifty-Serve continue to expand and have added new databases and
forums, and have linked with other major networks. For example, Fujitsu has a
link with CompuServe. PC-VAN has a link with GEnie and JALNET. 

These networks are currently seeking ways to interconnect through the Message
Handling System standard, which is advocated by the Japanese Ministry of Posts
and Telecommunication. 



                      ------------------------------



Windows Software Turns A PC Into An Answering Machine, Fax

FREMONT, CALIFORNIA -- Bit Software announced Bitfax Professional for Windows,
a product that can turn a personal computer (PC) into a data communications 
terminal, a fax machine, and an answering machine that can also automatically 
deliver messages to a pager. The product is designed to work with the new 
modem cards that include data communications, fax, and voice mail capability. 

Installation of the product is easy, according to Bit Software representatives
who said the product is smart enough to identify the port where the modem is
located and the type of modem down to the baud rate at which it can transfer
data. An animation of a man identified as the "snooper" accompanies the
software's intelligent investigation of the hardware to give the user feedback
on what is happening. 

The fax capability has a "green" feature that reduces the blank scan lines in
faxes to save paper and reduce fax transmission time. 

As an answering machine, Bitfax Professional's Voice Manager feature allows
users to receive, log, record, play, and store personal messages. Users can
create multiple mailboxes, each with a personal greeting, and password
protection of individual mailboxes is also available. In addition, an Auto
Pager feature can have the computer call a pager after receiving a voice
message or fax. Additional features include the ability to retrieve a fax from
a touch-tone phone and a toll-saver mode. 

The fax engine in the new product offers enhancements to the company's former
fax product. Users can now drag and drop faxes onto a "Transmit Fax" icon for
quick sending, onto a "View Fax" icon for viewing, and onto a "Print Fax" icon
for quick printing. 

A new fax management module allows users to create and assign a folder to each
individual or group of faxes. Compression of received faxes and the ability to
automatically delete faxes after a specified time period has also been added.
Optical character recognition (OCR), for turning faxed documents into text is
also included and over 10 languages are supported, the company said. Text and
drawing tools offer the ability to add text, images, lines, circles, boxes, and
graphics onto faxes. 

The data communications portion of the product, Bitcom, stores data in a
dBASE-compatible phonebook which is also directly compatible with Bitfax
Professional. Bitcom offers remote access, automatic redialing, and support for
Xmodem, Ymodem, Zmodem, and Kermit data transfer protocols. Users can also
create buttons for access to popular online services, such as Compuserve. 

Bitfax Professional will work with both flatbed and handheld scanners that
support the Twain specifications. The product will offer voice mail features
with any voice modem that uses the Rockwell or Sierra voice chip set. Company
officials were reluctant to list specific modems that meet those criteria, but
said most modems with voice support use one of those two chipsets. Bit Software
has mentioned a hardware/software bundle, which is the original way the company
started distribution of its data communications products, but no specific
information was forthcoming on which modem would be used or when the bundle
might be available. 

The product will work with any 386-based or higher IBM compatible personal
computer (PC) running Microsoft Windows with at least four megabytes of random
access memory (RAM). Bitfax Professional's retail pricing has been set at $129
and the product will be available in October from Bit Software or through the
company's retail distribution channels. 



                      ------------------------------



Newton Connection Kit For Mac Intro'd

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA -- Macintosh users with Newton Messagepads can now 
update their personal digital assistants (PDAs) from the Macintosh and 
vice versa via the Newton Connection Kit version 1.0. The stand-alone 
version of the kit is now shipping, Apple Computer said. 

The Connection Kit allows Messagepad owners to create, view, edit, synchronize,
and back up the PDA. "Smart Synchronization" is what Apple calls its technology
to update information between the PDA and the Macintosh when the two are
connected. 

The kit has been bundled with the $899 version of the Messagepad that includes
the fax/modem since the beginning of September, but this is the first time its
been available as a separate product. 

The kit can create an automatic backup of the Messagepad's information on the
Macintosh hard disk, and tracks previously synchronized information which may
have been deleted on the Messagepad, automatically storing it in an archive
file. In addition, Apple says the kit can be used to update the system on the
Newton with downloadable system updates from Apple's on-line sources such as
Compuserve, Applelink, or American Online, or to transfer applications to the
Newton from the Macintosh. 

While this is just version 1.0, Apple is already talking about version 2.0,
which is expected later this year. Apple was going to call version 2.0 the
Newton Connection Kit Pro, but changed the title and said all registered
purchasers of the Newton Connection Kit 1.0 will receive a free upgrade to
version 2.0. Also, Macworld Boston attendees who received a complementary
preview version of the kit are also entitled to both the version 1.0 and 2.0
releases, Apple maintains. 

Of course, the Connection Kit will also work with the Expertpad, Sharp's
Messagepad work-a-like that is also available through retail outlets. Sharp
manufacturers the Messagepad for Apple. 

The kit does not require a fax/modem to connect to the Macintosh, but comes
with a cable, software, and a manual, Apple said. A Microsoft Windows version
of the Newton Connection Kit is being jointly developed by Apple and Traveling
Software of Bothell, Washington. Apple says it was demonstrated at the Boston
Macworld show and should be available this fall. Retail pricing is around $149,
though users might find lower prices in consumer outlets, Apple said. 



                      ------------------------------



Interactive CD Player Wars Begin

SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA -- The Interactive compact disc (CD)-player wars have 
begun. 3DO reports Matsushita's subsidiary, Panasonic, is placing its Real 
brand 3DO Interactive Multiplayer in stores beginning this month. Company 
representatives said Panasonic will not talk numbers, but claims it can have 
multiplayers in 2,000 retail stores by Christmas. 

The players connect to a television set, retail for $699.95, and have been
dubbed the new video cassette recorders (VCRs) of the 90's. The Real 3DO
players come with two CDs - one containing the Electronic Arts game "Crash and
Burn," and the other offering information about the system and previews of
software titles that will soon be available. 

Eight titles for the player are expected to be available by the end of October,
and a total of 27 titles from 13 companies are projected to be available in
time for the holiday season. 

Sanctuary Woods says it is shipping the first shrink-wrapped title for the 3DO,
"Shelley Duvall's It's A Bird's Life," retail priced at $54.95. Panasonic says
the titles will range in price from $40 to $60 each. 

Television advertising campaigns and nation wide mall tours in seven major
cities are getting underway to promote the Real players, Panasonic
representatives said. Mall tours offer about 15 3DO units set up with games for
mall shoppers to visit and play as long as they like. In Los Angeles, Panasonic
will offer the only mall tour at two malls on the same weekend,  October 16-17.
One will be at the Del Amo Mall and the other at the Los Ceritos Mall. 

Philips has the jump on Panasonic as its Compact Disc Interactive (CD-I)
players have been in retail stores since last year. The company has started
airing "infomercials" on national television to educate consumers concerning
the units. 

Besides over $150 game and educational titles, the company is offering digital
movies on CD beginning this month in a deal with Paramount. Nine movie titles
will be offered including Top Gun, Black Rain, Fatal Attraction, and Star Trek
VI. Music videos will also be available, Philips representatives said. 

Philips has also dropped the price of its player down to $499, but the catch is
a $250 MPEG Digital Video cartridge (which offers Motion Picture Experts Group
decompression) must be added to the CD-I unit in order to play back the
compressed movies. 

Both the Panasonic Real 3DO and the CD-I player boast playback capability of
audio CDs and Kodak photo CDs. 



                      ------------------------------



Dow Jones Debuts Personal Journal On-Line Service

PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY -- Starting with hand-held devices using Microsoft 
at Work software, Dow Jones is rolling out a new on-line service it calls 
Personal Journal. 

The product is aimed at giving customers an on-line, customized view of Dow
Jones' news products, including its Wall Street Journal daily and Barrons'
weekly newspapers, as well as its newswires. Subscribers can create a "personal
profile" of stocks and news subjects of interest, explained spokesman Maggie
Logan Landis. 

The hand-held device would be plugged-in each morning to download both the
Journal's "What's News" digest of major stories, and other stories chosen as
part of the profile. Entire stories could be read by clicking on a listing.
Updates on stories and stock quotes could also be downloaded throughout the
day. 

What may be most interesting about the product is its projected cost. Landis
said it will be on the order of the cost of a daily newspaper -- the Wall
Street Journal carries a street price of 75 cents. "Absolutely, other products
are what we want to do," she added. "We want to go after other handhelds, but
also other computing platforms." 

Microsoft said it will ship the Personal Journal application software with its
handheld software. Owners of Microsoft At Work-based handheld devices who want
to subscribe will do so through Dow Jones. 

Personal Journal is the first news publication Microsoft is actively supporting
as part of its new operating system. In addition to business coverage, the
service also offers scores from major professional sports and college games
involving the "Top 25" schools. 

The target market includes frequent travelers and mobile salespeople. Access
will be via a toll-free number. Each day's Wall Street Journal becomes
available at 2 am each morning before publication, and the newswire stories are
available once they clear the desk. The product's due for release in early
1994. All news sources are owned by Dow Jones. 

Microsoft is shipping a version of Microsoft At Work fax software with version
3.11 of its Microsoft Windows for Workgroups, allowing PCs with fax hardware to
use the Microsoft Mail client interface. Microsoft At Work was announced in
June with the support of 70 office machine, communication, and computer
companies. Telephones, printers, and copiers, as well as hand- held devices,
are targeted by the product. 

The new Dow Jones product will enter a surprisingly crowded market. In addition
to current news profile services like NewsEdge and Individual Inc., there are
new entrants like Reality Technologies Inc., of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.
That company announced, in conjunction with Money Magazine, a new personalized
news clipping service called Reality's Smart Investor Network by Money
Magazine. In addition to sourcing Money, a Time-Warner publication, the new
service also offers Dow Jones' wires and publications, investment newsletters
and news from the CNBC business news channel. Subscribers choose subjects by
company names, industry names or mutual fund names. All stories are downloaded
to a hard drive, so any story can be read without going online. Network
software costs $49.99, and ships November 1. 

The service is said to be priced at $6.95 per month, but that is misleading
because Reality has other services with their own costs. In addition to the
software, there's a flat fee of $9.95 per month for the basic service, which
updates a user's portfolio based on current prices of stocks, bonds, and funds.
For another $8 per month, investors can get updates on stock and bond research
databases as well as historical pricing charges. 



                      ------------------------------



ADI To Ship Real-time Video Compression Chips

WASHINGTON, DC -- Arlington Heights, Illinois-based Audio DigitalImaging 
(ADI) has announced that the company's Apogee M-1 Series ASIC (application 
specific integrated circuit) will be ready by the end of October. 

The Apogee M-1 is a video compression processor used in video conferencing and
computer-based multimedia workstations. Intended for use in high-end video
production boards, the Apogee chips offer inexpensive broadcast-quality
television processing capabilities for PCs, claims the company. 

The Apogee chip family are three-volt CMOS (complimentary metal oxide
semiconductor) devices. They include MPEG and H.261 (video compression) and
support chips, as well as a soon-to-be-released decode-only chip. 

These chips are intended for board and computer developers rather than
end-users, but their availability should mark the beginning of a new generation
of professional-quality yet inexpensive video enhancement and manipulation
boards. 


                      ------------------------------



Supra Buys PSI Integration, Some Jobs To Go

ALBANY, OREGON -- Modem marketer Supra Corp., says it has completed the 
purchase of PSI Integration (PSII), a Campbell, California-based modem 
manufacturer specializing in Macintosh-based products. 

Supra spokesperson Sally McMillan told Newsbytes both companies had agreed not
to disclose the terms of the purchase. The deal closed on September 30, 1993.
McMillan said PSI's 31 employees have all been laid off and are now being
interviewed for possible employment by Supra, but some will not be rehired. No
decision has been made about possible relocation of the PSII functions. 

McMillan told Newsbytes PSII manufactured modems for Apple Computer's PowerBook
line under the Suprafaxmodem label, with models for data and fax communications
at speeds from 4800 bits-per-second (bps) to 14,400 bps. Purchase of PSII gave
Supra an entry into the European modem market, since PSII had several modems
already certified as meeting European communications standards. 

Supra was formed in 1985 to manufacture peripherals for the Atari market. With
the decline of that market Supra began making modems in 1987 to broaden their
product line. They market their high speed modems to the PC and Macintosh
marketplace under the Supra label. 



                      ------------------------------



First PCMCIA SCSI Card Intro'd From New Media

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA -- New Media claims to have introduced the first Personal 
Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) Small Computer 
System Interface (SCSI) adapter card. 

The Visual Media card allows computers with credit-card sized slots to
communicate with a range of SCSI peripherals, including optical scanners,
networks, cameras, printers, CD-ROM drives, and tape drives. 

Those familiar with SCSI adapters will remember that most adapters of this type
require configuration via jumpers. However, the Visual Media card comes with an
advanced SCSI programming interface (ASPI) as well as Corel SCSI Version 2
software that configures itself. 

New Media President Carl Perkins said: "With the Visual Media card, our ASPI
manager, and Corel SCSI Version 2, you simply plug in your SCSI peripherals and
run the install program. The software does the rest, from hunting out the
peripherals and selecting the needed device drivers to then modifying the
CONFIG.SYS file." 

The needed device drivers ship on the three 3.5-inch installation disks that
come with the Visual Media SCSI Card, which requires the user have both a
3.5-inch drive and a PCMCIA slot on the computer in question. Users also have a
choice of three cables with their SCSI Card - a Centronics cable, a DB25 cable,
and a SCSI II cable. 

The card itself is the thin Type 1 form factor, which means it will fit into
any industry standard PCMCIA slot. It can sense periods of inactivity,
switching into low power mode, and allows users to daisy chain up to seven SCSI
peripheral devices. In addition, the company boasts the card offers hot
insertion, meaning it can be removed and inserted while the computer is on,
also an unusual feature. 

Corel SCSI Version 2 is a superset of Corel's popular software Corel SCSI Pro
and offers automatic loading into Windows or OS/2, universal backup, and
support for virtually any SCSI peripheral. In addition, the SCSI interface
offers data transfer rates 200 percent faster than parallel port adapters,
which are currently the most widely used connection point for adding peripheral
devices to portable computers. 

The Visual Media SCSI Card offers direct memory access (DMA) emulation and can
maintain an average sustained data transfer rate of 500 kilobytes per second.
The card is also compatible with Windows NT, the Multimedia PC (MPC), and SCSI
II standards, the company said. 

The Visual Media SCSI Card is $399 and is distributed via Merisel and Tech Data
as well as by New Media. The company says the SCSI Card comes with a lifetime
warranty. 

Irvine, California-based New Media has also shipped US made integrated circuit
(IC) dynamic random access memory (DRAM) cards, a Type 1 Ethernet card, and a
PCMCIA modem card. Company officials claim a PCMCIA Sound Card for Windows will
be available in the fourth quarter of 1993. 



                      ------------------------------



Newton Wireless Messaging Available This Month

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA -- Apple Computer said the wireless messaging services 
it boasted of when first announcing the Newton are about to become reality. 
Users will be able to receive a message the length of the average postcard 
on their Messagepads from anywhere in the nation and eventually in other 
countries as well, Apple said. 

The Apple Wireless Messaging Service delivered by the Bellsouth's paging
network subsidiary, Mobilecomm, will become available to Newton users this
month. Access to the service is via the Newton Messaging Card, a $229 credit
card-sized receiver that inserts into the Personal Computer Memory Card
International Association (PCMCIA) slot. The Messaging Card can receive
messages whether or not it is inserted into the Newton, meaning it can be
picking up transmissions while in a jacket pocket and inserted into the Newton
at the users convenience to retrieve the messages. 

The distance from which a user can receive messages depends on the type of
service chosen. There are four service options: local; city-by-city; regional,
which allows the choice of a broad geographic area of the US such as the
Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, West, or Pacific regions; and national. 

Services range from a $21.00 a month local service to $83.95 for standard
nationwide coverage. International coverage may also become available in areas
where Mobilecomm currently operates, including Canada, the Virgin Islands, and
Puerto Rico. 

Rental of a Messaging Card bundled with one of the four coverage options is
also a possibility, according to Apple. Users can expect monthly rental fees
for the card and service will range from about $35 for standard local coverage
to about $99.95 for standard nationwide coverage. 

The Messaging Card is to become available in retail outlets mid-month and will
include specifics on how to activate the Apple Wireless Messaging Service. Like
pagers, sources for the messages include an operator, a text messaging keyboard
terminal, or a personal computer with a modem and messaging software. 

The Messaging Card should also work in the Sharp Expertpad, Sharp's Messagepad
work-a-like which is now available in retail stores. Sharp manufacturers the
Newton Messagepad for Apple Computer. 

The Newton appears to be a hit. Over 50,000 Messagepads have been sold since
the introduction of the unit in early August and Apple says it has sold over
1,500 Newton development systems (NTK) to potential developers for the device
worldwide. 

At the September UK launch of the Messagepad, Alcatel, British Telecom,
Deutsche Telekom and GEC Plesse Semiconductors announced support of the Newton
platform. Apple said these companies join Ameritech, ARM, Bell South, Cirrus
Logic, LSI Logic, Matsushita Electronics, Motorola, Sharp, Siemens/Rolm and US
West in the group of companies behind the Newton. 



                      ------------------------------



Galacticomm Intros Internet Link

WASHINGTON, DC -- Galacticomm has written a new "Quick Start Booklet" for its 
popular "The Major BBS" professional-grade bulletin board system software. The 
company has also introduced a new Internet gateway for Major sysops who do not 
have the option of linking through the Novell MHS link. 

While a direct Internet link has previously been a rare thing for a home or
business-based BBS, it is rapidly becoming one of the most desirable additions
to any BBS as evidenced by the recent appearance of Internet links on
commercial systems like Compuserve, and GEnie. 

Galacticomm BBS operators were already able to link with the Internet but only
via ties via Novell networks which were already connected to the Internet. Use
of the new Major Gateway/Internet Add-on Option allows sysops operating a small
BBS to provide full Internet message handling, including access to all Internet
newsgroups via the PageSat satellite news feeds. 

The $250 Internet Gateway Version 1.1 contains all the software necessary to
connect to an Internet UUCP host and provides The Major users seamless access
to Internet mail and newsgroup functions, automatically encoding and decoding
files. The Gateway includes software that splits and recombines files over 50
kilobytes in size. 

The new gateway supports Novell MHS, but does not require a networked computer
and can operate with either one or two computers (a second one is required if
the sysop wishes to exchange Internet mail without shutting down). 

Access to a UUCP (commercial dial-up Internet link) is not provided by
Galacticomm -- this is just the gateway software required to handle Internet
mail. 

In a minor, but important change to the documentation, Galacticomm has just
unveiled a new Quick Start Booklet which should help those new to The Major get
a system up and running more quickly. Basic setup and installation of The Major
BBS wasn't particularly difficult, but the new booklet provides a useful
shortcut helping new sysops locate the basics which they need to find in the
main documentation. 

Galacticomm has also published a free "Guide to Public Online Services" which
lists 810 Galacticomm Major BBS operators complete with the BBS phone number
and a brief description of the type of information found on the BBS. Despite
the title this is not a "guide" offering information on how to access a BBS,
rather it is a listing of US and Canadian Galacticomm boards. 

The guide is offered through a toll-free number, 800-328-1128. 



                      ------------------------------



Apple To Launch New Operating System Monday

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA -- Applesoft, a division of Apple Computer, has 
announced it will launch a new operating system on Monday at the company's 
new research and development facility in Cupertino, California. 

Apple claims the new operating system will offer capabilities for
collaboration, communication, and customization. Company representatives
confirmed to Newsbytes that the operating system is for Macintosh only and
third party developers already have over 30 products ready for the new system. 

The conference is open to Apple customers as well as the press and the keynote
address will begin at 9 am PDT. Apple's R&D Campus is at 4 Infinite Loop in
Cupertino. Keynote speakers include David Nagel, Apple senior vice president
and general manager of the Applesoft Division; Kirk Loevner, vice president of
the Applesoft Products Group; and Gursharan Sidhu, director of the
Collaboration Products Group. An hour-long seminar on how to use the new
software will also be offered from 10:45 to 11:45 am, the company added. 



                      ------------------------------



World's Smallest Laser-Quality Printer

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA -- Australian distributor IPL Datron is  now shipping what 
it claims is the world's smallest, full-featured laser-quality printer, the 
Oki OL400e. 

While effectively working in the same way as a laser printer, the OL400e  uses
a light emitting diode (LED) array to 'paint' the image onto the drum for
printing instead of a laser. 

The new printer has a 32-bit RISC processor operating at 16MHz. The suggested
retail price is AUS$1699 or around US$1100, though street price is expected to
be below US$1000. 

It has a 100-sheet paper tray, 44 built-in fonts and 300 dots/inch graphics.
The footprint is 320x360mm (around 13x14") and the height is 160mm or 6 1/2
inches. Oki claims that this is 12 percent smaller than the smallest
Hewlett-Packard laser printer. 

It comes with a five-year warranty on the printhead. "Oki's proprietary LED
technology is high quality and offers greater functionality because LED
printers have fewer moving parts than normal lasers," said IPL Datron's Jeremy
DeSilva. "The fact that many of our competitors also now use LEDs exemplifies
the increasing acceptance of this technology as a viable alternative to
lasers." 


                      ------------------------------



50,000 Newton Messagepads Sold In Under 2 Months

CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA -- Apple Computer says Newton Messagepad sales prove 
its success. The company has released figures that 50,000 of the handheld 
pen-based personal digital assistants (PDAs) have been sold in the US and 
Europe since the unit's introduction just under two months ago, which makes 
the Messagepad one of the fastest selling products Apple has ever introduced. 

These numbers are particularly impressive since Apple was unable to supply more
than limited quantities of the Messagepad since its August 2 launch at the
Macworld show in Boston, and there have been four versions of the operating
system for the unit released to correct problems. Reports were that the
thousands of units available at Macworld were gobbled up by hungry Newton
fanciers the first day of the show. The latest version of the Newton operating
system is now at 1.04 and Apple is upgrading users who bought the Messagepad to
later versions free of charge. 

The Messagepad was only available in New York and Boston until the beginning of
September, when Apple released the units nationwide. United Kingdom sales of
the Newton just started September 16. 

Apple resellers told Newsbytes they don't expect to see much profit in sales of
the Messagepad itself, but expect to do well on peripherals for the unit.
Peripheral items include leather cases, extra memory, the fax modem, and the
new Connectivity Connection Kit for the Macintosh. Connectivity, shipped
earlier in September, enables information to be synchronized and updated
automatically between the Macintosh and the Newton Messagepad when the two are
connected. 

In addition, applications are springing up for the Messagepad. Apple claims it
has sold in excess of 1,500 Newton development systems (NTKs) worldwide for
application development for the system. Newton developers can make use of the
"Smart Synchronization" technology employed by the Connectivity kit, allowing
third party Newton applications to have connectivity with the Macintosh desktop
environment as well. Apple added that it intends to introduce the Newton
Connection Kit for Windows in the near future. 

Newsbytes talked with Mike Descher, manager of Tarzana, California-based
retailer Mac Universe, who says the Messagepads are moving well in his store.
Descher said the biggest problem with the unit is people are not used to
computer devices that are really "personal." 

"Our customers buy a Newton, then give it to a friend, but forget to switch it
into guest mode," Descher said. The Newton is designed to "learn" the user's
handwriting, so when a friend takes it without switching it to the guest mode
setting, it begins to learn that person's writing, forgetting the writing of
the unit's owner. 

While Mac Universe has Messagepads in stock, Simi Valley, California-based
Candid Computers said they're sold out again and are waiting for a new shipment
to arrive. "Sales have been great. Peripheral sales are good, too. Almost
everyone who buys a Messagepad buys some peripheral for it. Extra memory is
especially popular," said Jeff Billau training manager at Candid. 

German language Messagepads will be introduced in Germany this fall, Apple
representatives told Newsbytes. French and Japanese versions are also in the
works. The Messagepad is manufactured for Apple by Sharp Electronics, which
also has a work-a-like version called the Expertpad also available in retail
outlets. Sharp officials were unavailable to talk about sales figures of the
Expertpad by press time. 

Competition from Zoomer, another PDA from Casio and Tandy is expected this
month. However, reports are that while Zoomer offers more functions, its
handwriting recognition is slower than the Messagepad. 



                      ------------------------------



IBM Launches PowerPC At Australian Unix Conference

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA -- "From palmtops to teraflops" was the all-embracing theme 
of IBM Australia's formal PowerPC at the Australian Unix Users Group (AUUG) 
conference in Sydney on Tuesday. 

Capitalizing on the waterfront location of the Darling Harbor Exhibition Center
on Sydney Harbor, IBM hired a cruise vessel dubbed the "Power Boat" to stage a
multimedia demonstration of the technology based around the new Power and
Power2 processor chips. 

As with most IT (information technology) matters, POWER turns out to be another
acronym, "Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC (reduced instruction set
computer)." 

New PowerPC systems launched include the Powerstation 25T, Powerstation 25C,
Powerserver 25S, and Powerserver 25O, all based around the new PowerPC 601
processor, also soon to be used in Apple Macintoshes. (A story in the latest
Australian MacNews magazine says Apple will delay its machine until next year
due to problems. Newsbytes was unable to independently confirm this
information.) 

IBM's enhanced Power2 technology adds extra integer and floating point units to
the PowerPC architecture, allowing up to eight operations to be performed in a
single clock cycle. Among the products launched that incorporate the Power2
technology were the Powerserver 990, the Powerstation 590, and the Powerstation
58H. The 990 and 590 models are classified as supercomputers by the US
Department of Commerce, and are thus subject to a special export license. 

On board the Power Boat, IBM staff demonstrated the new PowerPC systems running
pre-release versions of its Macintosh emulation software, Unix, and Wabi, the
software that allows Unix systems to run Windows applications directly. 



                      ------------------------------



Alpha, Pentium, SPARC To Power Supercomputers

NEW DELHI, INDIA -- The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), 
a Government of India entity, plans to install in its next generation of Params, 
a range of parallel processing computers developed by CDAC, a choice of 
processors, including the DEC chip 21064 Alpha AXP, Pentium, and SPARC. 

While Pentium and SPARC figured in CDAC's plan earlier, the center recently
signed a letter of intent with Digital Equipment India Ltd. (DEIL) to acquire
Alphas. 

Over the next two years CDAC plans to design a range of parallel computers
which will be built around a combination of the three chips or a set of any one
of the three processors. Presently Param comes in two different 64-node
versions. Param 8000 is based entirely on transputers while Param 8600 has a
i860 processor for superior number crunching. The current models are targeted
at high-end scientific applications. 

With the next generation Param 9000, CDAC is hoping to penetrate the high-end
of the commercial markets too. "We may build boards with only Alphas for
scientific applications while Pentium and SPARC-based Params would be for the
commercial user," explains Vijay Bhatkar, executive director, CDAC. 

Efforts are also underway at CDAC's software center in Bangalore to make the
Param operating system independent. A Unix-compliant kernel would be the key
feature of the Param 9000 OS environment. Bhatkar hints that CDAC may offer
both Chorus and OSF/1 kernel. 

It will be sometime before Param 9000s would be ready for delivery. But Bhatkar
figures that intermediate systems will be out by mid-1994. 

There has been little progress in its export activities since CDAC shipped out
four machines months ago. However, negotiations are on with some American
universities for the sale of current models of Param, discloses Bhatkar. 


  The preceding stories are © 1993 NewsBytes.  Reprinted with permission.

            __________________________________________________




AudCompDemo Available for FTP



TITLE

        AudComp

VERSION

        V1.0

COMPANY

        Private Developer

AUTHOR

        Dan Charrois
        Box 75
        Legal, Alberta
        T0G 1L0
        Canada

        Internet: charro@ee.ualberta.ca

DESCRIPTION

        Although there are many routines to compress data files and
        executables, until now there hasn't been anything specifically
        designed to compress audio IFF 8SVX files.  Standard compression
        routines for the Amiga typically only get in the neighborhood of
        a 20-30% improvement in file size.

        AudComp was designed to improve on this situation.  Incorporating
        a lossy algorithm, it can often compress audio files up to 10 to 20
        times smaller than the originals.  The user can specify a quality
        level to allow compression of high quality/low compression to
        low quality/high compression or anywhere in between.  Usually even
        the high quality compressions are at least twice as small as
        Fibonacci-Delta encoded files.

        This is a freely distributable demo version of the software.  It
        is only capable of decompressing files previously compressed with
        AudComp.  To allow you to assess the capabilities of the software,
        a few sample files, compressed at varying quality levels, are
        included.

        Two versions of the executable are included - one for stock 68000
        based Amigas, and one for 68020+ CPUs with a numeric co-processor.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

        None

HOST NAME

        Aminet (e.g. ftp.wustl.edu)

DIRECTORY

        /pub/aminet/biz/demo

FILE NAMES

        AudCompDemo10.lha
        AudCompDemo10.readme

PRICE

        Demo version - free
        Registered vesion - $15.00 in Canadian funds

DISTRIBUTABILITY

        The demo version of this software is freely distributable.  The
        registered version is Copyright 1993 by Dan Charrois, and may be
        obtained by sending $15.00 in Canadian funds to the address given
        earlier.



                      ------------------------------




Phonebill v2.0 Available for FTP


TITLE

    Phonebill

VERSION

    2.0

AUTHOR

    Raymond Penners

    Internet: raymondp@stack.urc.tue.nl
    Fido:     2:283/410.15
    AmigaNet: 39:157/101.15
    NLA:      14:105/2.15

DESCRIPTION

    `Phonebill' is, simply said, a logfile analyser. What it
    basically does is scan the logfile(s) generated by a terminal
    program or a mailer, extract all information about calls you
    have made by using your modem, and store this in its own (short)
    format. Features:

    * Requires Kickstart 2.04 or higher.

    * Supports new 3.0 features (new look menus, ...).

    * Nice gadtools compliant GUI.

    * User-definable callrates, supporting  rate exceptions for certain
      days and dates. Handles fees with up to 4 decimals (e.g.  $1,2344
      dollars per 30 seconds) for extra accuracy.

    * Supports logfiles generated by:
        * AmigaUUCP Timelog
        * JrComm
        * MagiCall
        * NComm
        * TrapDoor
        * Term (Term action-log and Term call-log)
        * Terminus

    * Automatical logfile truncating.

    * Generates miscellaneous reports: statistics, total costs, etc.

    * Context-sensitive online help.

HOST NAME

    * aminet

    * filerequest or download from:

        The Amiga Workbench (SysOp Robert Udo)
        +31-(0)5430-24097   (ZyXEL+ 19K2, 24 hours online)

        FidoNet:  2:283/410.0
        AmigaNet: 39:157/101.0
        NLA:      14:105/2.0

FILE NAME

    pbill20.lha (79486 bytes)

PRICE

    Shareware fee of $8 US.



                      ------------------------------




PriMan v1.1 Available for FTP


TITLE

        PriMan, a Task Priority Manager

VERSION

        1.1

AUTHOR

        Barry McConnell
        Internet: bmccnnll@unix1.tcd.ie
        FidoNet:  2:263/150.2

DESCRIPTION

        PriMan is an easy-to-use, configurable, Style Guide-compliant utility
        to monitor the tasks running on your Amiga, and perform some actions
        on them, in a similar manner to TaskX (amongst others).

        Major new features since v1.0 include:

        - Commodities interface.  Now you can leave PriMan running in the
          background and pop it up with a hotkey!

        - Iconify option, for when you forget that hotkey...

        - Now closes windows of tasks you kill.

        - Now accepts arguments from the Shell.

        - Disables interrupts for far less time when building the task list.

FILENAME

        PriMan11.lha

LOCATION

        Available for FTP from any Aminet site, eg. ftp.luth.se.  Also
        FREQ'able from 2:263/150.  If you like, e-mail me and I'll send
        you it uuencoded.

DIRECTORY

        /pub/aminet/os20/util/

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

        Any Amiga running Release 2 or greater.

DISTRIBUTABILITY

        FreeWare.



@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@node P1-7 "Online Weekly"
@toc "menu"

/// ONLINE WEEKLY Amiga Report Online                The lines are buzzing!
    ---------------------------------




From FidoNet's Amiga International Echo
---------------------------------------


Area: AMIGA                                   Date:  3 Oct 93 21:04:00
From: Jon Peterson (1:383/25.0)
To  : All
Subj: FFish 1000th Anniv

Here is the list of donors for the fourth week of the FFish
1000th Anniv thingy.

Jon Peterson
Matthew L. Schultz
Chris Nelson
Asha DeVelder
Marshall Freedland
Jeremy Friesner
Michael Phipps
Darrin & Lisa Zimmerman (Amiga Un-Sig of Southern Michigan)
Eric V. Peterson (muchly appreciate the letter and news)
Eric Zimmer

Total donations as of 9/18/93 are $185.00.  Got a ways to go
folks.  Please talk this up with all concerned (Amiga users) and
pass the word on to your Users Groups.

Request everyone PLEASE!!! pass the word at any Users Group
meetings you attend. This should be  a group effort on behalf of
all the Amiga users throughout the world. Please donate whatever
you can afford - or even better - what you honestly think
FFish's work has been worth to you through the years. Let's make
this thing happen. Thanks.



                      ------------------------------



Area: AMIGA                                   Date: 27 Sep 93 20:42:08
From: Zjon Braziel (1:3805/8.6)
To  : ALL
Subj: FAQ - Abbreviations

I know that this is slightly offtopic (fogive me please);
however, I thought that having a "standard" listing of these
available to all would be nice as there have been more than
one question concerning them here::::

I've delted quite a bit of the original message so that only
the Abrv's remain...

 * Forwarded from area "WF_ECHO" (WF_ECHO) (local to n.3805):
 * Forwarded from "SHAREWARE"
 * Originally by Kent Anderson, 1:382/91
                *** FidoNet International Echo SHAREWRE ***

                   Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) List
                    Version 1.1, Revised April 22, 1993


         AAMOF          As A Matter Of Fact
         ADN            Any Day Now
         AFAIK          As Far As I Know
         ATSL           Along The Same Line
         AS             On Another Subject
         AWGTHTGTTA?    Are We Going To Have To Go Through This Again?
         BBS            Bulletin Board System
         BCNU           Be seeing you ....
         BNF            Big Name Fan
         BTW            By The Way
         CU             See You
         CUL            See You Later
         CYA            Cover Your A**
         CUL8R          See You Later...
         DIIK           Damned If I know
         EMFBI          Excuse me for butting in
         FITB           Fill In The Blank....
         FYI            For Your Information
         FUBAR          Fouled Up Beyond All Repair
         FWIW           For What Its Worth
         FYI            For Your Information
         GD&R           Grinning, Ducking & Running (usually left at the
                        end of a mean or digging message)
         GROK           As in "I GROK" means thorough understanding. From
                        Heinlein)
         GIWIST         Gee I Wish I'd Said That
         HHTYAY         Happy Holidays to You and Yours
         IAAL           I am a lawyer
         IANAL          I Am Not A Lawyer
         IC             I See
         IITYWISWYBMAD  If I Tell You What It Says, Will You Buy Me A
                        drink
         IMCO           In My Considered Opinion
         IMHO           In My Humble or Honest Opinion
         IMNSHO         In My Not So Humble Opinion
         IOW            In Other Words
         ISBAB          I Should have Bought A Book
         ITSFWI         If The Shoe Fits, Wear It
         JSNM           Just Stark Naked Magic
         KHYF           Know How You Feel
         L8R            Later...
         LAB&TYD        Life's A Bitch & Then You Die.
         LOL            Laughing Out Loud
         LTNT           Long Time, No Type
         NTYMI          Now that you mention it
         OIC            Oh, I See...
         OOTQ           Out of the question
         OTOH           On The Other Hand
         OTTOMH         Off the top of my head
         PITA           Pain In The A**
         PMJI           Pardon my jumping in
         POV            Point Of View
         PPTSPAHS       Please Pass The Salt, Pepper And Hot Sauce...used
                        when I've had to eat crow, my hat, and other
                        unsavory dishes
         ROTF           Rolling On The Floor
         ROTFL          Rolling On The Floor Laughing
         ROTFLMAO       Rolling On The Floor Laughing My A** Off
         SNAFU          Situation Normal, All Fouled Up
         SOW            Speaking of which
         RSN            Real Soon Now
         RTFM           Read The Fine/something Manual
         SYSOP          System Operator
         TANJ           There Ain't No Justice
         TANSTAAFL      There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch
         TAANSTASQ      There ain't no such thing as a stupid question
         TFTHAOT        Thanx For The Help Ahead Of Time...used for a
                        favor requested, or an answer or help that there's
                        no doubt will come, but I want to make sure the
                        person knows I appreciate their taking their time
                        to do it.
         TPTB           The Powers That Be
         TOBAL          There Oughta Be A Law

         TOBG           This Oughta Be Good
         TTBOMK         To The Best Of My Knowledge
         TTFN           Ta Ta For Now
         TTUL (TTYL)    Talk To You Later
         YGLT           You're Gonna Love This ...
         YKYARW         You Know You're A Redneck When==
         WYSIWYG        What You See Is What You Get



@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@node P4-5 "Amiga Report Mailing List"
@toc "menu"


/// Amiga Report Mailing List
    -------------------------


Are you tired of waiting for your local BBS or online service to get
Amiga Report each week?  Have you been spending more money that you want
on long distance phone calls to download it from one of our Distribution
Sites?  If so, have we got a deal for you!

If you have an internet mailing address, you can receive Amiga Report
in UUENCODED form each week as soon as the issue is released.  To be put
on the list, send Email to Amiga-Report-Request@gnu.ai.mit.edu.  Your
account must be able to handle mail of any size to ensure an intact copy.
For example, GEnie has a limit of about 40K per message, and most of our
issues are well over that limit.

Please do not send general Email to Amiga-Report-Request, only requests
for subscription additions or deletions (or if you are not receiving an
intact copy).  All other correspondence should be directed to the editor
at ROB_G@Delphi.COM.

Many thanks to Bob Caron for setting this service up for us!

P.S.:  Please be sure to include your Email address in the text of your
request message, it makes adding it to the list much easier.  Thanks!

** IMPORTANT NOTICE:  PLEASE be certain your host can accept mail over
** 100K!  We have had a lot of bouncebacks recently from systems with a
** 100K size limit for incoming mail.  If we get a bounceback with your
** address in it, it will be removed from the list immediately.

@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



/// Commodore Shareholder Movement UPDATE!
    --------------------------------------


Commodore Shareholder Movement      Net:  MarcR@cup.portal.com
Post Office Box   8296	             Telephone (215) 487-0440
Philadelphia, PA 19101	             Fax       (215) 825-3966


September 30, 1993


Dear Commodore Shareholders and Customers:


We have measured the response to our original efforts and are satisfied that 
the general sentiment among Commodore shareholders is consistent with our 
own.  Further, we have found that our goals are consistent with the 
interests of the dedicated Commodore user-base and the long-range interests 
of the company; that is, to restore Commodore to its accustomed position of 
leadership in the industry.

Near the beginning of our crusade, several other parties were found to be 
working toward similar goals.  As not to duplicate effort, we continued our 
separate activities, but coordinated and focused on the areas of our 
particular strengths.  The group which has come to be known as "The 
Commodore Shareholder Movement"  has taken perhaps the most difficult part 
of the task; that is, getting the message out to all shareholders:  Protect 
your investment; send us your signed proxy ballot.  We share your feelings; 
we have the experience; we have the plan; we need your support.  If you 
know anyone who owns Commodore stock, instruct them as done here.

By giving these instructions, we are achieving three objectives:

1. Dramatically increasing our chance for success because every 
   proxy ballot not returned to us is a vote cast in favor of the 
   current situation.

2. Proving that no matter how well-fortified management feels it has 
   become, it can never render shareholders helpless.

3. Demonstrate that Commodore's dedicated customer-base is their 
   greatest resource and should always be treated and utilized as 
   such.

We appreciate that our actions reflect the deeply felt sentiments of so many.  
But, please do not rely on our efforts.  The conditions being as they are, we 
have merely become the vehicle for focusing your frustration into something 
positive and constructive.  Most importantly, spread the word as it is 
presented here.  If you want to play a greater role, I can scarcely instruct 
you beyond what your own imagination can supply.  Keep it positive, and if 
you need motivation, you might consider referring to "Selling the Dream" by 
Guy Kawasaki or the historical classic, "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu/Thomas 
Cleary.  Respectively, they are guides to promoting a "cause" and under-
standing strategy.  They speak directly to the seemingly monumentous task 
before us, and why I feel so strongly that we can succeed.  

The proxy ballot is usually written so that you may only choose to vote for 
the Board of Directors' candidates or refrain from voting.  Any write-ins 
can be disqualified at the discretion of the Board.  Therefore, we ask that 
you sign your proxy ballot without checking off any of the boxes so that we 
may exercise the vote on your behalf personally at the Shareholder Meeting.  
Send the signed ballot to:  

                           Post Office Box 8296
                          Philadelphia, PA  19101

Keep a photocopy for your records.  Fax communications to 
(215) 825-3966 or call (215) 487-0440.  Thank you.

Sincerely,

Mike Levin and the Commodore Shareholder Movement



                      ------------------------------


 
                    Mission and Obectives for Commodore
               Proposed by the Commdore Shareholder Movement
                                  9/30/93


This plan outlines the goals towards which the new directors will work once
elected to the Board of Commodore International Limited.  For clarity, this 
version follows the abbreviated one-page format.

Mission:  To restore Commodore to its accustomed position of leadership in 
the industry by providing audio-visual technologies consistent with the long 
term interests of the shareholders, dedicated user-base and company.

Objectives:

I.   Provide the best possible products and services.
II.  Recover and maintain a positive worldwide identity and 
     reputation for innovative product and value. 
III. Make plans and partnerships for a successful future.

Strategies:

I.  Provide the best possible products and services.

     A. Focus on product leadership, quality and the ability to 
        produce at the lowest cost.
     B. Target new and existing markets which are related to 
        strengths in the product; that is: consumer 
        electronics, workstations, education and commercial 
        displays.
     C. Facilitate product applications and solutions including 
        out-of-the-box utility.

II.  Recover and maintain a positive worldwide identity and 
     reputation for innovative product and value. 

     A. Consistently attract and develop loyal new customers, 
        dealers and developers to Commodore technology 
        platforms.
     B. Challenge and redefine the traditional notions of 
        technology's privileges and uses.
     C. Take advantage of all opportunities to gain product 
        exposure and improve product image.
     D. Aid Commodore customers, dealers and developers in 
        identifying and exploring their own opportunities.

III. Make plans and partnerships for a successful future.

     A. Incorporate long term vision into the planning and 
        execution of all strategies.
     B. Protect and foster those assets on which the company's 
        success depends; namely the customers, the engineers, 
        the 3rd party developers and the leadership.
     C. Explore and forge beneficial partnerships with an eye 
        towards broad future markets.
     D. Achieve a stock value and market share within two years 
        which surpasses Commodore's 1983 peak.



@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@node P1-8 "WOCA Report"
@toc "menu"


/// World of Commodore Amiga Show Report
    ------------------------------------
    By Dan Zerkle
    (zerkle@cs.ucdavis.edu)



Part 8, Interviews on Show Floor


This is part 8 of my report from the World of Commodore Amiga
show held in Pasadena, California, on September 10th, 11th, and
12th.  This section details interviews I conducted at the booths
on the show floor.  I will continue to post sections until I
finish.


CORRECTIONS

First, a couple notes about my last report.

In my report about Anti-Gravity Products' Humanoid, I failed to
mention what sort of 3D format this package used.  It comes in
either LightWave 3D or Imagine format.

Neil MacMullen of U.S. Cybernetics writes to let me know that I
managed to foul up his e-mail address.  His correct address is
neil@powerstor.cuc.ab.ca.

I apologize for these errors.

FARGO ELECTRONICS

Fargo Electronics is a new entry into the Amiga marketplace.
They had out several of their Primera color printers.  These are
wax thermal transfer devices that produce output at 203 dots per
inch.  The printer is fairly small (5.8" x 13.8" x 10.2"), and
easily fits on a desk top.  It lists for just less than $1000.

I had a close look at some printouts.  They were very sharp with
vibrant color.  I was impressed.  They had the highest quality
color I've seen on a consumer-priced printer.  It sure beats ink
jets.

It gets better.  You can get a "Photo-Realistic" upgrade kit
which lets the printer use something called "dye sublimation."
I'm not familiar with this technique, but it apparently is as
good as anything short of commercial devices.  You pay for it,
though.  The refill kit, which gives you the supplies for 25
prints, costs about $90.  The kit itself (with supplies for 10
prints) costs about $250.

Fargo genuinely seems interested in the Amiga marketplace.  To
prove it, they've released an Amiga printer driver for their
hardware.  It's free.  Just call the number listed below.  The
driver requires version 1.3 (or newer) of the operating system
and at least two megabytes of memory.

Oh, yeah.  Fargo's printer also supports the Macintosh and
Windows 3.1.


UTILITIES UNLIMITED

Utilities Unlimited was showing their Emplant emulator system.
Well, actually, very few people seemed to be paying attention to
the emulator.  It was displaying a Macintosh screen.  We've all
seen that.  What actually seemed to be on display was the
president of the company, Jim Drew.  During the entire show, he
was surrounded by a semi-circle of people three deep.  I never
got close to him.  I did manage to talk with one of the other
employees (Brian Walz) and pick up a little literature, though.

Emplant, of course, is a hardware/software system that lets an
Amiga emulate a different kind of computer.  For now, it can
emulate a color Macintosh as a task.  This means that the Mac
emulator multitasks with the other Amiga programs.  To emulate a
Mac, Emplant needs the Macintosh operating system, including the
ROMs.

Walz explained that updates to the Emplant system are being
released steadily.  The next update (possibly out by now) will
allow stereo sound.  Use of the Amiga's parallel and serial ports
are coming soon.  Emulation of the IBM-PC will come at the end of
the year.  Walz said that by pre-translating the Intel code as a
program is loaded, the Emplant will enable the Amiga's Motorola
CPU to run the code as fast as an Intel chip.

The Emplant system comes in various configurations, ranging in
price from $280 to $400.


MIGRAPH

Migraph was plugging yet another scanner.  This one was the
ColorBurst Color Hand Scanner.  It can handle a wide variety of
color, gray-scale, and monochrome resolutions, from 50 to 400
dots per inch and up to 18 bits per pixel.  It can scan a graphic
up to 4.13 inches wide.

Migraph also sells some software.  Migraph OCR is optical
character recognition software.  It takes an image of text either
from a file or directly from a scanner (Migraph, AlfaData or
Golden Image) and outputs the text.  Migraph Touch-Up is an
image-editing program for modifying scanned images.  It can
import and export several different file formats.

The demonstration wasn't all that exciting.  The Migraph
employee had a collection of colorful pictures (on paper) that
looked like they had been clipped from magazines.  He ran the
sleek, black scanner over a picture, and it appeared on the
screen of a nearby Amiga.  The colors were fine, and the image
didn't show any obvious signs of distortion.  I did notice that
the scanner had a transparent "window" near the scanning area, so
you could see the picture and get a pretty good idea of what part
you were scanning.


EXPERT SERVICES

Expert Services was promoting the Picasso II card of Germany's
Village Tronic.  Picasso II is a Zorro 2 card which can display
one-bit to eight-bit video in resolutions up to 1280x1024, and
24-bit video in resolutions up toe 800x600.

Compared to other high-resolution graphics cards, the Picasso II
takes a different approach to integrating itself with the rest of
the system.  Instead of requiring special drivers for each
different program, it uses normal Intuition calls.  The software
adds screen modes (such as PICASSO:800x600) to the standard
screen mode preferences requester.  Any system-friendly program
that uses this requester will already work with the Picasso II.

The Picasso II comes with some nice features.  It switches back
and forth between its signal and the standard Amiga video signal
automatically.  It has 16-bit color modes in resolutions up to
1024x768.  It stores graphics in normal system RAM, so there is
no CHIP RAM limitation.  It has an on-board blitter for high-
speed screen updates.

I found the Picasso II displaying ASDG's Art Department Pro.  It
looked pretty sharp with all that resolution.  An employee
demonstrated that he could slide screens up and down on the
Picasso display, just like you can with the normal Amiga display.
He scrolled some text on a high-resolution Workbench screen.  It
was noticeably faster than the same thing on a standard Amiga
display.

Quite a lot of the Picasso II literature mentions that it gives
you RTG (Retargetable Graphics).  Please note that this does not
refer to Commodore's RTG.  Rather, it just means that programs
using Commdodore's ScreenMode requester can work with the Picasso
II card.

One thing to note with the Picasso II and all high-performance
graphics cards:  Displaying the output from these devices
properly requires a large, fancy monitor.  Of course, Expert
Services had some wonderful monitors and the pictures looked
great.  Just remember that if you want to do the same, your new
monitor is going to cost much more than your new graphics card.
Expect to pay $1400 and up.


ADDRESSES

Expert Services
7559 Mall Road
Florence, KY  40142
PHONE: 606/371-9690
FAX  : 606/282-5942

Fargo Electronics, Inc.
7901 Flying Cloud Drive
Eden Prairie, MN  55344
PHONE: 800/258-2974
       612/941-9470
FAX  : 612/941-7836

Migraph, Inc.
32700 Pacific Highway South, #14
Federal Way, WA  98003
PHONE: 800/223-3729
     : 206/838-4677

Utilities Unlimited, Inc.
1641 McCulloch Blvd., Suite 25-124
Lake Havasu City, AZ  86403
PHONE: 602/680-9004 (Orders only)
     : 602/689-9006 (Tech calls)
FAX  : 602/453-6407
BBS  : 602/453-9767

Village Tronic
Braunstrasse 14
D-30169 Hanover-Germany
PHONE: +49/(0)511/13841
FAX  : +49/(0)511/1612606



@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



/// Review:  Retina 24-bit Display Board
    ------------------------------------
    By Michael Heinz
    (MHEINZ@SOFTSW.SSW.COM)



Introduction
  
   Until recently, I suffered from a nasty case of graphics envy.  By day, 
   I used a high-end UNIX workstation with a 1280x1024 screen and 256 
   colors.  At night, I went home to my old Amiga 3000/16 and sulked.
  
   I'm happy to say I don't do that anymore.  A few weeks ago I purchased 
   the Retina 24 bit video board and life just hasn't been the same.  Not 
   only can I display screens at the same resolution as that UNIX system, I 
   can do it in more colors and faster, to boot!

Overview of the Retina Video card
  
   · Can generate almost any screen resolution up to 1280x1024 non-
     interlaced or  even higher, if interlaced screens are used.
  
   · Support for scrolling screens of up to 2048x2048.
  
   · Has three basic display modes: 8 bit (256 colors) 16 bit (65536 
     colors) and 24 bit (16.8 million colors, also known as "true color".)
  
   · Can use software to emulate the ECS and AGA chip sets.
  
   · Applications written for the Retina can open Intuition screens with 64K 
     or even 16.8 million colors.  The Workbench can be placed into either 
     mode with a single configuration setting.
  
   · Can be populated with either 2 or 4 megs of RAM.

 Equipment used in this review
  
   · A3000/16 with 2 megs chip, 4 megs fast.
  
   · Mitsubishi Diamond Pro monitor.
  
   · Retina/2 meg board.
  
   · AmigaDOS 2.1.

Installation
  
   Installing the card is straight forward.  It can be installed in any Amiga 
   with a free Zorro slot, at least three megabytes of memory and a hard disk.  
   It took me five minutes to open my 3000, remove a slot cover and insert the 
   card and attach my monitor.  There are no jumpers to set or adjustments to 
   make.
  
   You should note that the Retina card does not require a video slot.  This 
   means that you can use a Retina card with other video tools, such as the 
   Video Toaster or OpalVision.  (Note that I have not tried this, however.)

What kind of Monitor to use
  
   This board really needs a large SVGA multi-sync monitor.  The broader the 
   sync range of the monitor, the more screen modes and resolutions you will 
   be able to use with the Retina.  I used a Mitsubishi Diamond Pro SVGA
   monitor.  This monitor supports scanning frequencies between 30 and 58 
   kilohertz and refresh rates between 50 and 90 hertz.  This is fine for a 
   3000, since the 3000 has VGA output, but owners of other Amiga models may 
   want to consider a Commodore 1960 or similar monitor that supports the
   standard Amiga 15 kilohertz modes.
  
   Retina will also work with a fixed frequency monitor, such as a plain VGA 
   monitor.  Even a Commodore 1084 can be used (if you build a VGA to 1084 
   adapter cable).  The limitations of a fixed frequency monitor will prevent 
   you from accessing the higher resolutions (and non-interlaced signals) the 
   Retina can produce, however.

Using an A/B switch
  
   The Retina hardware does not pass through standard Amiga video signal.  
   This means that programs that absolutely won't run on the Retina (such as 
   bootable games) won't be visible  unless you hook your monitor back up to 
   the standard video connector.  This is a pain.  You could use two 
   monitors (and you might actually prefer this, if you have a lot of desk 
   space) but I recommend you buy a VGA A/B switch.  This switch allows you 
   to toggle your monitor between the Retina card and the standard Amiga
   output.

Installing the Software
  
   The Retina card comes with 2 disks.  The first contains the Retina and 
   RetinaEmu libraries needed to run the card.  It also contains a number 
   of utilities and the RetinaEmu program described below.  The second disk
   contains XI Paint, a 24 bit painting package.  Both disks use Commodore's 
   Installer to set up the packages on your hard disk.  As a bonus, the 
   Retina disk also includes a developers' kit, with autodocs and includes 
   for the Retina libraries.

Configuring the System:
  
   Configuring the card is also straightforward.  Once the software is 
   installed, move or copy the RetinaEmu program from the RetinaSystems 
   drawer to the WBStartup drawer.  Double clicking on the RetinaEmu icon 
   creates a window listing the various settings for grabbing programs and 
   redirecting them to the Retina screen, including the number of colors 
   desired and whether to emulate the AGA chip set.  Once this program has 
   been configured with your desired settings, rebooting the system will 
   move your Workbench to the Retina's display.  If your monitor is truly 
   unusual, other programs exist which allow you to define your monitor's 
   characteristics and even build custom display modes for it.

Using Standard Applications with the Retina
  
   I tested a number of programs with the Retina card, and I have >never< 
   had a crash that I could blame the Retina for.  All the application 
   software I tried worked flawlessly; programs like Terminus, Page Stream 
   2.2, ProWrite, Notebook and Phasar all ran without a hitch, and usually 
   faster than they did on the native Amiga screen.  Those applications 
   that allow the user to select a screen size can be set for a larger than 
   usual screen; programs that don't can be "forced" onto a larger screen
   by RetinaEmu.

Applications that Access the Hardware Directly
  
   Programs that write to graphics memory directly are a little harder to 
   work with.  For such programs, RetinaEmu offers a "refresh" mode.  
   Setting this mode tells RetinaEmu to write to a standard Amiga screen.  
   This screen is not displayed, but is periodically copied into the Retina 
   display, bringing them into sync.
  
   While re-drawing the screen this way is considerably slower than programs 
   that run directly on the Retina, it is quite usable.  Using this mode I 
   was able to run a number of graphic intensive programs, such as Lyapanovia
   and Mandelmania.  In addition, I easily ran both DPaint III and the DPaint 
   IV/AGA demo.  I was also able to run a number of public domain games.
  
   Refresh mode is not an answer to all problems, however.  A number of 
   programs and games I ran were not displayed correctly on the Retina at all.  
   Some seemed to be programming the copper chip directly, causing the Retina
   display to look strange.  More importantly, programs that use overlapping 
   screens (such as Digi-Paint and Brilliance) do not work.  MacroSystems has 
   indicated that since the Retina uses different video clock frequencies for 
   different screen resolutions, overlapping screens cannot be displayed.
  
   Programs that do not work with the Retina can still be used, however, by 
   opening RetinaEmu and marking them as "Amiga" output.  Once that is done, 
   the programs will run normally on the native Amiga video.  (Now you know 
   why I recommend buying an A/B box.)

AGA Support
  
   RetinaEmu will emulate the AGA modes up to 256 colors.  I tried several 
   programs that claimed to support AGA.  Many (such as Lyapanovia and DPaint 
   IV) worked fine, but many of the PD programs I tried aborted or crashed
   immediately.  I do not think this is the fault of the Retina card, since 
   most AGA programs are written for AmigaDOS 3.0, and my system runs 
   AmigaDOS 2.1.  Programs that claim to work under both 2.1 and 3.0 ran fine 
   in 256 color mode.
  
   It is important to note, however, that AGA emulation is done in software, 
   not hardware.  This means that updates to AGA screens were sometimes quite 
   sluggish on my A3000/16.  MacroSystems claims, however, that on faster
   systems the emulation is actually faster than the real AGA chip set.

Retina Display & RView
  
   Beyond RetinaEmu, the Retina card came with a number of utilities.  The 
   first, Retina Display, is a plain vanilla picture viewer, while RView is 
   a straightforward slide-show program.  Neither offers any kind of 
   transitions between images, but do offer support for a wide variety
   of image formats, including IFF (up to 24 bits), PPM, GIF, JPEG and 
   others.

RACE
  
   Sadly, none of the animation programs I tried worked correctly with the 
   Retina card.  This is understandable, since most animation techniques 
   involve bypassing the operating system.
  
   To work around this limitation, Retina includes the tools MakeRace and 
   PlayRace.  These programs build and play Retina animations in up to 24 
   bits.  While documentation of these tools is sparse, I was able to 
   quickly build a short 640x480 by 256 color animation.  When I played it
   back with PlayRace, it ran at a jaw-dropping 20 frames per second!

XI-Paint
  
   XI Paint is the 24 bit paint program included with the Retina card.  It 
   offers a full range of 24 bit painting tools, and I was able to generate 
   some beautiful composite images with it, buy loading in 24 bit images,
   adjusting various transparency settings and stamping them down.  Great 
   stuff for faking ghost sitings!  XI Paint also offers a real-time 
   interface to MacroSystems' VLab video capture board, allowing images to 
   be pulled straight from the VCR to the paint program.  All in all, XI 
   Paint offers a good introduction to 24 bit painting. It can be quite 
   slow when performing a complex operation, however, and serious artists 
   will probably wish to purchase TV Paint (described below).

Support for 3rd party software
  
   The Retina card comes with patches or modules for a number of third 
   party programs, to allow them to work directly with the Retina.  
   Patches are included for AdPro, Real 3d, Image Master, and Image F/X.
   In addition, the current version of the Emplant emulator supports the 
   Retina, allowing an Amiga user to run 24 bit Macintosh applications 
   such as Adobe Photoshop.
   
   Last, but not least, the professional paint program "TV Paint" comes 
   in a Retina version.  I downloaded the demo of this program from the 
   MacroSystems support BBS, and I've been looking for my socks ever since.
   TV Paint offers all the basic paint tools and adds emulation for 
   different kinds of drawing materials (such as a pencil, or pastels).
   It is also blindingly fast.  TV Paint can do jobs in a blink of an eye
   that would leave you staring at XI Paint's "Please Wait" requester for
   minutes.  All I can say is, if you can afford it, buy it!

Developing for the Retina
  
   Finally, if you're a programmer type you'll be glad to know that the 
   developer's kit is included with the Retina software.  Pragmas, includes 
   and autodocs are provided for the retina library (for straight 24 bit 
   development), the RetinaEmu library (for developing 24 bit applications
   that use intuition screens and gadgets) and the multipic library (for 
   loading and saving foreign image formats).  The retina library does not 
   currently support the new EGS standard for display adapters, but the 
   routines all closely correspond to the normal Amiga calls.  Within a
   week of owning the card I have already developed a number of graphic 
   toys and I'm getting ready to buckle down and write an MPEG package...

Conclusion
  
   The Retina card does a very solid job of moving the Amiga into the 
   1990's.  While the supplied tools are not as flashy as those announced 
   by other manufacturers, Retina does offer higher resolutions than most of 
   its competitors.  (For example, most other boards do not support 24 bit 
   color in 1024x768 mode.)  In addition, Retina has been on the market for 
   almost a year now, while some other 24 bit boards are still vaporware.  
   In that time, the software has been upgraded at least four times, and is 
   now quite stable.  If you want 24 bit color the Retina card is a solid 
   choice.




@endnode
***************************************************************************
@node P4-2 "Portal"
@toc "menu"

/// Portal:  A Great Place For Amiga Users
    --------------------------------------



                   Portal Communications' Amiga Zone

         The AFFORDABLE alternative for online Amiga information
         -------------------------------------------------------

The Portal Online System is the home of acclaimed Amiga Zone, which was
formerly on the People/Link System.  Plink went out of business in May,
1991 and The Amiga Zone's staff moved to Portal the next day. The Zone has
just celebrated its second anniversary on Portal. The Amiga press raves
about The Amiga Zone, when compared to its competition.

If you live in the San Jose, CA area, then you can dial Portal directly. If
you live elsewhere, you can reach Portal through any SprintNet (formerly
Telenet) indial anywhere in the USA or through Tymnet from anywhere in
North America.  If you have an account on another Internet-connected
system, you can connect to Portal using the UNIX Telnet programs, from
anywhere in the industrialized world.  Delphi and BIX users can now Telnet
into Portal for a flat $19.95 a month, with *unlimited* use.

Some of Portal/Amiga Zone's amazing features include:

 · Over 1.5 GIGabytes of Amiga-specific files

 · The *entire* Fred Fish collection of freely distributable software, online.

 · Fast, Batch Zmodem file transfer protocol. Download up to 100 files at
   once, of any size, with one command. 

 · Twenty Amiga vendor areas with participants like AmigaWorld, ASDG,
   Soft-Logik, Black Belt, Apex Publishing, Stylus, Prolific, NES.

 · 35 "regular" Amiga libraries with thousands of files.  Hot new
   stuff arrives daily.

 · No upload/download "ratios" EVER. Download as much as you want, as
   often as you want, and never feel pressued doing it.

 · Live, interactive nightly chats with Amiga folks whose names you
   will recognize.  Special conferences.  Random chance prize contests.
   Famous Amiga folks aren't the exception on Portal, they're the norm.

 · Vast Message bases where you can ask questions about *anything*
   Amiga related and get quick replies from the experts.

 · Amiga Internet mailing lists for Imagine, DCTV, LightWave, HyperAmi,
   Director and Landscapes are fed right into the Zone message bases.
   Read months worth of postings.  They don't scroll off, ever!
   No need to clutter your mailbox with them.

 · FREE unlimited Internet Email.  Your Portal account gets you a
   mailbox that's connected to the world.  Send letters of any length to 
   computer users in the entire industrialized world.  No limits. 
   No extra charges. No kidding!
   
 · Portal has the Usenet.  Thousands of "newsgroups" in which
   you can read and post articles about virtually any subject you can
   possibly imagine.  Usenet feeds into Portal many times each hour.
   There are 14 Amiga-specific Usenet newsgroups with hundreds of
   articles posted every day, including postings by Commodore 
   personnel.  Since Usenet is distributed worldwide, your questions
   and answers can be seen by literally hundreds of thousands of
   people the same day you post them.  

 · Other Portal SIGs (Special Interest Groups) online for Mac, IBM, Sun,
   NeXT, UNIX, Science Fiction, Writers, amateur radio, and a graphics
   SIG with thousands of GIF files to name just a few.  ALL Portal SIGs
   are accessible to ALL Portal customers with NO surcharges ever.

 · The entire UPI/Clarinet/Newsbytes news hierarchy ($4/month extra)
   An entire general interest newspaper and computer news magazine.
 
 · Portal featues an exciting package of Internet features: IRC, FTP,
   TELNET, MUDS, LIBS.  Free to all Portal customers with your account.
   Internet Services is a menu driven version of the same kinds of 
   utilities you can also use from your Portal UNIX shell account.
 
 · All the files you can FTP. All the chatting you can stand on the IRC.  
   And on IRC (Internet Relay Chat) you can talk live, in real time 
   with Amiga users in the U.K., Europe, Australia, the Far East, 
   24 hours a day. 

 · Our exclusive PortalX by Steve Tibbett, the graphical "front end"
   for Portal which will let you automatically click'n'download your
   waiting email, messages, Usenet groups and binary files!  Reply to mail
   and messages offline using your favorite editor and your replies are
   sent automatically the next time you log into Portal.
   (PortalX requires Workbench 2.04 or higher)

 · And Portal does NOT stick it to high speed modem users. Whether
   you log in at 1200 or 2400 or 9600 or 14.4K you pay the same low 
   price.

How does all that sound?  Probably too good to be true. Well, it IS true.

Portal Signup or for more information:

   408-973-9111 (voice) 9a.m.-5p.m. Mon-Fri, Pacific Time
   408-725-0561 (modem 3/12/2400) 24 hours every day
   408-973-8091 (modem 9600/14400) 24 hours every day

   or enter "C PORTAL" from any Sprintnet dial-in in the USA,
   or enter "portal" from any Tymnet "please log in:" prompt, USA & Canada
   or telnet to "portal.com" from anywhere.

PORTAL'S CURRENT RATES:

All prices shown are in U.S. Dollars
                                                Total Total  Total  Total
                                                Cost  Cost   Cost   Cost
                                          Fee   1 hr. 5 hrs. 10 hrs.30 hrs.
                          Startup Monthly Per   Per   per    per    per
                          Fee     Fee     Hour  month month  month  month
                          $       $       $     $     $      $      $

Portal                    19.95   19.95         
 2400/9600/14.4Kbps, *direct 24 hrs        0.00 19.95  19.95  19.95  19.95
 2400/9600bps nonprime Sprint or Tymnet    2.50 22.95  32.45  44.95  94.95
 2400/9600bps prime Sprint +% or Tymnet 5.50-10 29.95  69.95 119.95  varies
 2400/9600bps non prime # PCPursuit        1.00 20.95  24.95  29.95  49.95

* plus cost of phone call if out of Portal's local dialing area
  Direct rates also apply to connections made to Portal using the
  UNIX "telnet" program from an account you may already
  have on an Internet-connected system. 
% 9600 bps Sprintnet and Tymnet available in over 300 cities areas
+ $10 rate prevails at smaller US Cities
# PCPursuit is a service of US Sprint. Portal is a PCPursuit
 "Direct Access Facility" thus connection to Portal with a PCP account
 is simply a matter of entering C PORTAL,PCP-ID,PCP-PASSWORD  at the
 SprintNet login prompt instead of C PORTAL. 

Note: 

   Portal Direct 9600/14400 bps service is availble for both USR HST
   modems, and any V32/V32.bis modems. There are dozens of direct-dial
   high speed lines into Portal.  No busy signals!

   SprintNet 9600bps service is V.32 modem protocol only.
   Tymnet 9600bps services is V.32 modem protocol only.
   Again, Portal does NOT surcharge high speed modem users!

   Portal subscribers who already have an account on an Internet-capable
   system elsewhere, can use that system's "telnet" program
   to connect to Portal for $0.00 an hour. That's right ZERO. From anywhere
   in the world.  If you're in this category, be sure to ask the Portal 
   reps, when you signup, how to login to Portal from your existing
   Internet account.  

Call and join today.  Tell the friendly Portal Customer Service
representative, "The Amiga Zone and Amiga Report sent me!"

[Editor's Note:  Be sure to tell them that you are an Amiga user, so
they can notify the AmigaZone sysops to send their Welcome Letter and
other information!]

That number again:  408-973-9111.

Portal Communications accepts MasterCard, Visa, or you can pre-pay any
amount by personal check or money order.  The Portal Online System is
a trademark of Portal Communications. 



@endnode
***************************************************************************
@node P1-9 "A.M.I.G.A."
@toc "menu"


/// Another Moronic, Inane and Gratuitous Article
    ---------------------------------------------
    by Chad Freeman
    (cjfst4+@pitt.edu or cjfst4@cislabs.pitt.edu -- Internet)



     This week I'd like to take some time out from the usual inanity of this
column and take a more serious bent.  Just kidding!  This week's article is
the usual bunch of content-free assorted silliness that you skip over every
other week.  Really, though, you people just don't realize the amount of
effort it takes to spew out 500 words or so of absolutely MEANINGLESS drivel
every week (last week's article was proof of that)!  And that's not all, it
has to be useless commentary on the AMIGA, a non-mainstream computer soon to
be a major game machine.  In order to give you a better impression of the
blood, sweat and tears your humble author endures every week to bring you this
finely-honed journalistic work, I have decided to inflict you with...

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN A.M.I.G.A. COLUMNIST

     An AMIGA columnist begins each day with the first rays of sun shining
through his window.  Fortunately his window is situated such that the first
rays of sun don't show up til around noon.  He promptly jumps (ok, well,
slowly rolls over a half-hour period) out of bed and, after his morning (well,
afternoon) ritual, settles down with his coffee and newspaper.  After glancing
through the paper for an Amiga-related article and finding none, he flips to
the funny pages to see what comic is attempting to be politically correct this
week.  Your intrepid AMIGA columnist then begins his day, plopping down on the
couch to watch whatever channel his random finger-pressings land him on.
 After about 8 hours of this stimulating activity, he stumbles into the
kitchen for his evening meal.  This usually consists of something quickly and
easily prepared (so as to fit into his tight schedule), such as frozen pizza.
 Well, ok, almost exclusively frozen pizza.  And Pink Swimmingo Kool-Aid.
 Anyway, after dinner begins the creative period of your author's day, during
which he participates in rigorous mind-stimulating exercises in order to
formulate the ideas that show up in this article.  In other words, he plays
Super Nintendo for a few hours.  Now mentally primed for work, the author sits
down at his computer to search for the germ that will become the weat of his
article.  Finding none, he proceeds through the various stages of
article-writing: panic, despair, denial, acceptance, procrastination.  Since
these past ten minutes have been a stressful time, your humble writer retires
early in order to get plenty of rest for his next day's work.

THE END

     'Gee,' you're saying, 'that's pretty inane!'  OF COURSE IT IS!  This is
an moronic, inane and gratuitous article, and you don't get a moronic, inane
and gratuitous article by being witty, intelligent and effluvient, do you?  Of
course not!  Its like thinking you'll get rich buying Commodore stock!  These
things just don't happen.  But hey, count your blessings.  If it weren't for
this moronic, inane and gratuitous article, something even MORE moronic, inane
and gratuitous would be taking its place.  And is it not this fear that keeps
our entire societal structure cohesive?  Therefore, moronic, inane and
gratuitous articles such as this one actually form the glue that holds our
fragile relationships together!  So, next time you're reading something
moronic, inane and/or gratuitous, stand up, put your hand over your heart, and
sing loudly to anyone around 'God Bless America' to pay tribute to the
wonderful entity called the media which was able to bring you a thing as
grand as THIS VERY ARTICLE!  Thank you very much, and send all of your cash,
major credit cards and first-born children to:

The God Bless Moronic, Inane and Gratuitous Articles Fund
-32.5 We're Right You're Wrong Blvd.
Bible Belt, USA 00432

Until next week!



@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



/// Emulation Ramblings
    -------------------
    By Jason Compton
   (Jcompton@meltdown.chi.il.us)



I'm seeing  a recent (well, not THAT recent) trend in emulation, and believe
it or not, this one I'm not happy about.  The Associated Press, in 
collaboration with newspapers across the country, are doing their very best 
to emulate advertisements for IBM and Apple.  This isn't something difficult 
to verify: pick up the business section of a newspaper sometime soon, and 
there's about a 50% chance there will be something on "computers" in there. 
Of course, "computer" means it's made by one of the following companies (in 
order of descending frequency): IBM, Apple, NEC, Compaq, Dell.

Is it so wrong or outrageous to want the occasional spot on the latest Amiga,
or even the CD32 in a little blurb about CD-ROM? Hell, I'll settle for it 
being buried in the article!  But, no, the AP doesn't seem to acknowledge 
that the Amiga exists.  Normally, I torture myself and read the business 
section daily, and shake my head in disgust when I see a so-called "computer"
article (talking, for example, about the revolutionary multitasking 
abilities of Windows NT. Ha. Ha. Ha.).  This morning, though, I think I've
finally had enough.

The article "Trend toward computer kiosks changing way consumers shop" gave
me a brief glimmer of hope, based on an article I JUST GOT DONE reading!  In
short, it talks about various uses for computer kiosks (those cute card 
machines and advance ticket sales), then got to who made them.  Who do YOU 
think?  IBM and Apple head the list, with NCR, MicroTouch Systems, and 
Electronic Data Systems following.  Commodore?  Didn't they used to make 
calculators?  Amiga?  No, I'm sorry, this is not a Spanish article.

Allow me to explain why I'm so mad.  August's Computer Graphics World (a
magazine I was previously unaware of, but I now hold in the highest regards) 
ran an article entitled "The Amiga: Is it Time You Took a Second Look?"  It 
is a rather nice (and honest) article about the virtues of the Amiga and its 
graphics capabilities.  While Rick Cook, the author, didn't have a whole lot 
of nice things to say about pre-AGA graphics (although he didn't mind HAM 
too much), he was thoroughly impressed with AGA machines.

To his credit, he kept the article from becoming a Toaster-fest, but as is
bound to happen, a good chunk of attention was devoted to it (not to worry: 
Most people don't even credit the Amiga and the Toaster being related).  Now 
to the point:  One of the big applications that Cook points to is the use of 
the Amiga for video kiosks, and gives some rather upsetting news when 
compared to the above: A Massachusetts cellular phone company designed a 
kiosk shaped like one of their products as an informational center for their 
phones.  The price? $1800.  The main computer behind it?  An Amiga 500. 
Compare this price to prices above.  Granted, it didn't print out greeting 
cards for anyone, but here comes piece 'o info #2: the president of MindsEye 
Group, a kiosk-designer in San Diego, claims that Amiga kiosks are 50% 
cheaper than Mac and 40% cheaper than IBM kiosks.  The kicker to all of 
this? "'Sometimes we have to price it out as if we were doing the project on 
a PC or Macintosh, otherwise the customer will take a look at how much it 
would cost and say to themselves, 'They can't do it for that kind of money.'
They see the price up front and they get scared.'"

Read that one over a couple of times.  Shake your head in disgust.  Repeat
as necessary.  I did.  We're being told by a kiosk designer that the Amiga is
just TOO good at doing what it does for TOO little money? Maybe that's why 
the Amiga, which in many respects sits in the middle of the price spectrum, 
just doesn't sell well:  IBM's are cost-effective, while Macs make you feel 
like you're getting a bunch for your money (Can't live without that smiley 
face...)

So what am I saying?  First and foremost, the AP needs to get a life.  At
the very least, it should realize how many thousands of dollars it gives 
away per week in free plugs for new systems... or are they free? I'll move 
on: at best, it should wake up and realize that more computers exist than 
those made by Apple, IBM, and a handful of clone makers.  Specifically, 
realize that the 1200 and 4000 are out and running as wild as Commodore 
can run them, that the Amiga has been doing what PowerPC hopes to do for
years (run cross-platform...I can't think of a better way to run an IBM, 
Mac, and Amiga operating system than on an Amiga...), and that the CD32 is 
more important than what Nintendo wants to do in 1997 with Silicon Graphics.

Which brings me to my final, most bizarre point: I wonder just how much SGI
pays the Indigo Girls to run around advertising their computer.  Maybe 
Commodore should start up a music group.

Until next time...remember, I respect the Associated Press and Computer
Graphics World, and recognize their copyrights on the above printed material.
But I think it's reasonable usage to reprint it.


@endnode
***************************************************************************
@node P4-3 "Holonet"                                    
@toc "menu"

/// Holonet:  Inexpensive Internet Access
    -------------------------------------


                                *** HOLONET ***


HoloNet is an easy to use Internet Access BBS.

HoloNet is based on custom BBS software which provides an easy to use menu
driven interface.  HoloNet is ideal for those looking for an easy way to
use Internet services.  HoloNet does not currently provide UNIX shell
access.

Services include:

    o  Convenient Access
       A local call in 850+ cities nationwide.

    o  Online Publications
       Include USA Today Decisionline, Newsbytes, Datanet Computer News,
       Eeeekbits, and Boardwatch Magazine.

    o  USENET
       Averages over 30MB of USENET news per day.  The following news
       readers are available: NN, TIN, and RN.

    o  Internet E-Mail
       Members have an Internet E-mail address similar to:
       member@holonet.net

    o  Internet Access
       Access to telnet, talk, finger, IRC, and FTP.
       (note: you must comply with the policies of any networks you use)

    o  Single and Multi-player Games
       Board, card, fantasy, and puzzle games.

    o  Support for Eudora
       Excellent off-line Macintosh e-mail reader.

    o  UUCP E-mail and USENET feeds
       Link LAN E-mail systems and BBSes to the Internet.

How to try HoloNet for FREE:
      Telnet: holonet.net
       Modem: 510-704-1058 (Berkeley, CA) at 1200, 2400, 9600, or
              14400 bps.  There are free demo numbers nationwide, for an
              automated response containg a list of access numbers, send
              e-mail to access@holonet.mailer.net

How to get more information:
      E-mail: info@holonet.net
       Modem: 510-704-1058 at 1200, 2400, 9600, or 14400bps
       Voice: 510-704-0160
         Fax: 510-704-8019

HoloNet is a service mark of Information Access Technologies, Inc.

           Copyright © 1992 Information Access Techologies, Inc.
                           All Rights Reserved.


@endnode
***************************************************************************
  

/// The InterNet via Email
    ----------------------
    by Robert Niles


So far we have talked about how to use FTPmail, and InterNIC's WHOIS program
via InterNet email. This time we will talk about ARCHIE, and how those who
only have InterNet email access may use it. Archie tracks the contents of
over 800 anonymous FTP archive sites. These sites combined contain millions
of files...and new files are added every day. Archie is primarily used to
search through it's database and return the location and file names
depending on what you asked it to search for.

Suppose you needed to find a site that has "SnoopDos". Here's how we would
go about doing it...

First we need to send a message to Archie. There are many archie servers
over the world, but the one we will use is archie@archie.rutgers.edu, one of
the larger Archie sites (in the USA).

On the SUBJECT line we will type the word "path" along with your email 
address, for example: [path rniles@imtired.itm.com]. This tells Archie 
where to send the results of it's search. Archie tries to get this from 
the From: line of the message if no "path" command is given, but I often 
find that it fails if the "path" command is not there.

In the message body, enter "prog" and the string that you want archie to 
search for...following the example above we will have Archie look for the
string "snoopdos". So we enter "prog snoopdos".

On last line that you want to enter "quit". This tells Archie that you are
done and not to try to process anything below it.

Soon you will get a reply via email on the results of your search.

Example, sending mail to archie:

To: archie@archie.rutgers.edu
Subject: path rniles@imtired.itm.com

--Message body----------------------------

prog snoopdos
quit

------------------------------------------

Archie will return a message to you that looks something like this:

--start-----------------------------------

From imtired.itm.com!dorm.rutgers.edu!archie-errors Thu, 7Oct93 09:07:46 PDT
Received: by imtired.itm.com (V1.16/Amiga)
	id AA004f5; Thu, 7 Oct 93 09:06:44 PDT
Received: by dorm.rutgers.edu (5.59/SMI4.0/RU1.5/3.08) 
	id AA00306; Thu, 7 Oct 93 11:53:19 EDT
Message-Id: <9310071553.AA00306@dorm.rutgers.edu>
Reply-To: (Archie Server) archie-errors@dorm.rutgers.edu
Date: Thu, 7 Oct 93 11:53 -0400
From: (Archie Server) archie-errors@dorm.rutgers.edu
To: rniles@imtired.itm.com
Subject: archie [prog snoopdos] part 1 of 1

>> path <rniles@imtired.itm.com>

>> path rniles@imtired.itm.com

>> prog snoopdos
# Search type: sub.

Host ftp.wustl.edu    (128.252.135.4)
Last updated 20:43  2 Oct 1993

    Location: /systems/amiga/aminet/util/moni
      FILE    -rw-rw-r--   37565 bytes  01:00 28 Dec 1992  SnoopDos17.lha
      FILE    -rw-rw-r--    1097 bytes  01:00 28 Dec 1992  SnoopDos17.readme

    Location: /systems/amiga/boing/fish/disks/f7/ff725
      FILE    -rwxr-xr-x   39376 bytes  00:00  7 Oct 1992  SnoopDos.lzh

    Location: /systems/amiga/boing/utilities/disks/misc
      FILE    -rw-rw-r--     690 bytes  01:00  6 Feb 1991  SnoopDos-1.2.Readme
      FILE    -rw-rw-r--   33664 bytes  01:00  6 Feb 1991  SnoopDos-1.2.lzh

Host gatekeeper.dec.com    (16.1.0.2)
Last updated 12:41  2 Oct 1993

    Location: /.6/FF_PROGS/MISCUTIL
      FILE    -r-xr-xr-x   34896 bytes  01:00  3 Mar 1992  SNOOPDOS.LZH


>> quit

--end-------------------------------------


You can also add more than one search string on the "prog" line, for
example:

prog snoopdos term

Will search for any ocurrance of "snoopdos" and "term".

Another useful command is "compress" which would be placed in the message
body. Compress will take the result of the search, compress it with the .Z
extention and uuencode it. This is quit useful for those searches in which
you know there would be a big return on.

Also there is the "help" command. This gives you a full listing of all the
commands, and what they are used for. It also will give you a listing of all
the archie servers that are available.

Well I hope this helps those of you who only have email access. With FTPmail,
Whois, and Archie, alot of new doors are opened up to you and hopefully
this will make the InterNet a bit more enjoyable.

References:

FTPMail............Amiga Report 1.26
InterNIC's WHOIS...Amiga Report 1.27



@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


/// Modem Deal of the Year:  LineLink 144e
    --------------------------------------
    With comments from Harv Laser



I ordered the LineLink 144e modem from Mac Warehouse on Tuesday
this week. They told me it was out of stock and they expected a shipment
in soon. This morning (Thursday) half an hour ago it was delivered to
my front door. Total cost $99 for the modem plus $3 for Airborne
Express overnight shipping.

The modem's box was securely packed in a larger outer carton. 

I was shipped exactly what I ordered and received it in perfect
working condition in a very timely manner. mac Warehouse's phone
order takers were courteous and did not leave me on hold for long
periods of time. 

The modem itself is a white metal box, not very fancy or
pretentious looking, about 6" wide, about 8" deep, about 1.5" tall
with five LEDs on the front panel. The rear has the standard
RJ11 phone and line jacks, a standard RS-232 female port, a small
power switch, and a hole into which one plugs the small AC power
adaptor. 

Included is a 30 page manual, a disk with Mac terminal software,
a Mac serial cable, and the AC power brick. 

I unplugged my old modem, used the same Amiga serial cable I've been
using since 1985 to connect the modem, connected the power brick,
ran Baud Bandit, dialed in and here I am. 

All things considered I would rate this purchase as a excellent
bargain, and rate Mac Warehouse as an excellent company with whom to
do business (I have absolutely no affiliation with them whatsoever
and I've NEVER bought anything from them before).

I don't know how long they intend to keep selling this modem for
$99. At that price it represents an absolutely incredible bargain
and if you've been slogging along with a 1200 or 2400bps modem
waiting for the price of 14.4K modems to come down to a reasonable
level, your wait is now over. 

Call Mac Warehouse and order one of these. They're at 1-800-255-6227.
The modem's order number is BND0249. They take all major credit
cards and again, Airborne overnight express is $3 additional.

Again, I have NO connection with Mac Warehouse at all except I am
now an extremely satisfied customer.

Here's yet more information on the modem bargain of the year. 
Found this text on Usenet in comp.sys.mac.comm where there are 
some major discussions of this modem going on. See the previous
article here.. I bought one of these this week and am ridiculously
satisfied with it so far :)
Much of the info here is Mac-specific however be advised this modem
works just fine on an Amiga as it has a standard RS232 serial port
on it.

Harv

                      ------------------------------



This revision of the FAQ is minor, and ignores some recent posts.  I don't
plan to update it any more... my LineLInk arrived today and works fine
(except it screeches so horribly I've turned the speaker off in my
init string-- "M0").  Anyone want to pick up from here on?

[Thanks to *many* posters... sorry for not including credits.]

Where to get it:

The $99 LineLink 144e fax modem (available from MacWarehouse, tel.
800-255-6227, as part number BND 0249 for $99 plus $3 shipping, external
type, suitable for Macintosh, complete with all cables and power supply)...
There is no FaxFACTS number for the modem.  You probably need to FAX their 
order line 1-908-905-9279 for more information

Availability:

The manufacturer told me they ship modems to MacWarehouse every day.

What you get:

Comes with modem cable, phone cable, powercord, MAcKNOWLEDGE software, and a 
deal on Compu$erve.

It comes with a good cable that does hardware handshake, some communications so
ftware which is o.k. but not as good as several public domain packages you can 
get from various archives, and a manual which is adequate.  

Who makes it:

Technology Concepts at 800-477-3473
The modem is actually made by Prometheus (at least according to the sticker
on the bottom of them).  Also MacFax is the standard software bundled with
Prometheus modems.  This Modem appears to be an exact copy of a standard 
Prometheus modem.  Not just "made" but "manufactured" right here in these 
United States, up Tualatin, Oregon way, by Prometheus Products, Inc.  The 
chipset is a Sierra Semiconductor Corp chipsets.

Specs:

Data Speeds
   300 bps/CCITT v.21 and Bell <? smudged>
   1200 bps/CCITT v.22 and Bell <? smudged>
   3400 bps/CCITT v.22bis
   9600 bps/CCITT v.32
   14,400 bps/CCITT v.32bis

Data Compression
   CCITT v.42bis
   MNP-5 for 3:1

Error Correction
   CCITT v.42 (LAP-M)
   MNP-4

Operation
   Full or half duplex

Dialing
   Rotary or touch-tone compatible

<?smudge> Commands
   Hayes AT commands set

Elsewhere on the fax it says "v.42bis and v.42 also automatically include
MNP levels 1-5 for backward compatibility with the installed base of MNP
modems."

In addition, a not-very-knowledgeable person at TCI told me it uses ROMs
(rather than, say flash memory).

The following is the information obtained via the ATI command from the 
modem:

> ati0: 248
> ati1: 000
> ati2:
> ati3: Copyright (c) 1993 SSC, V1.0  - 08/27/93
> ati4: SERIAL * V32BIS * V42BIS * VOICE
> ati5:
> ati6: DSP Version: V1.20
>        MCP Version: V1.2A - 07/07/93, Copyright (c) 1993 SSC

In MacWorld, Oct'93, there is an article on High-Speed Fax Modems, Prometheus w
as briefly mentioned, but MacWorld didn't have any units available for testing.
One important point mentioned in the article is that "it doesn't really matter
whose chip set is in your fax modem". The important thing to pay attention to 
is the chip set version "because there may be differences in the ROMs".
Basically, they say to make sure that the lastest version of the ROMs are in 
the modem. "The combination of an older chip set and default software settings 
can prevent a fax modem from sending a file over noisy telephone lines".
I called Technology Concepts to try to find out what version of the ROMS are 
in the LineLink.  The best the techie could tell me is that it is a BRAND 
NEW modem and that the ROMs were the newest they have.

Physical details:

Dimensions:

1.75"x7"x8" plus the power transformer which is 2"x2"x1.5"

* The modem has a built-in speaker.
* Instead of Receive Data and Send Data lights, it has only an I/O light so
  you can tell that something is moving but you cannot tell which way.
* Front panel lights are AA, CD, OH, IO and MR.

Very few status indicator lights (e.g., I/O light rather than separate
read and write); the speaker is not so hot; and the case is white
plastic.

It does have one nice feature: a summary of AT commands on the bottom of the
modem, in case you lose the manual.  According to the manual, the modem is 
capable of enabling 550 Hz and 1800 Hz guard tones for CCITT operation.  It 
can also enable UK make/break ratios for pulse dialing.  It does not say 
whether it can properly detect UK or other international dial tones, ringing 
tones, or busy signals.  You can disable detection of dial tone and busy, 
which should enable you to use the modem.  The ring indicator is probably
not required also for proper operation.  However, you may give up some
call progress detection to do so.

Manual:

* The manual is 28 pages.

The manual is too sparse; get the Hayes modem documentation from 
oak.oakland.edu in /pub/msdos/modem/trm20.zip, find a way to unzip it, and 
read that documentation instead.  Since this is a Hayes-compatible modem, 
trm20.zip will be appropriate much of the time. 


[Software information deleted, not relevant to the Amiga - Ed]


Performance:

Using my Classic, I was able to reliably connect using MacSLIP 1.01 at 
38,400 (DTR, CTS and Drop DTR turned on, sample script modified to not look 
for confirmation of the word "bytes"). NewsWatcher and Eudora work reliably 
at 38.4K, but Fetch crashes the Mac reliably during transfers at speeds over 
2400 baud.  I get the CONNECT 19200 message when I log on to the U of MN with 
SLIP and after several hour long sessions I have not had a single disconnect.
I was also able to log on to AOL at 9600.  So far (two days heavy use) the 
LineLink 144e seems quite reliable.  My throughput with FETCH was "only" about 
4X what my 2400 baud modem did, but that may have been due to my slow MacSE 
doing the binhex boogie.  The modem really seems to perform _very_ well when I 
use TurboGopher, it is almost as fast as my SE on the ethernet.

I ordered 2 and ARA, and so far the performance is outstanding. No connection
problems, came with ARA script, and they zip along at 14.4K... My two $99 
modems talk to each other just fine.  I've been using the LineLink144e for 
about a week.  I manage speeds of 9600 baud or better with FirstClass and 
Telefinder.  I had a problem with a practical perif. 2400 bd modem and AOL 
because of a noisy line, the linelink 144e takes the same line at 9600 baud 
with no problems at all. True this is only 9600 bd but thats as fast as AOL 
will go.

Voicemail potential:

Well, since the modem is actually made by Prometheus, you can get a clue by 
looking at their line.  They have the Prometheus Ultima Home Office modem, 
ext 14.4/14.4SR Fax w/V.42 bix & voice (Straight from page 254, MacWorld, 
Oct'93).  On page 218 in the "Star Ratings", it states that is is voice mail.
I guess you can use your computer as an answering machine.  It should be 
noted that it got a rating of 2/5 "When it can reliably transmit data at 
high speeds and the bugs are fixed, this fax modem with voice mail will be 
worth a second look".  Review dated Oct 92.

Wierdness:

I have a few things hooked up to one outlet (I know, I know, I shouldn't 
really do this) and when someone turns on the other machine, the power surge 
(I believe) from turning it on messes up my 144e modem and I have to power 
cycle it and redial.

Technical specs-- AT&V returns:

ACTIVE PROFILE:
B1 E1 L2 M1 N1 P Q0 V1 W0 X4 Y0 &C0 &D0 &G0 &J0 &K3 &L0 &P0 &Q5 &R0 &S0
&T4 &U0
&X0 \C0 \G0 \Q3 \T000 \V1 \X0 %A000 %D2 %E1
S00:000 S14:AAH S18:000 S21:00H S22:76H S23:17H S25:005 S26:001 S27:49H
S36:007
S37:000 S38:020 S46:138 S48:007 S49:010 S50:200 S63:000 S82:128

STORED PROFILE 0:
B1 E1 L2 M1 N1 P Q0 V1 W0 X4 Y0 &C0 &D0 &G0 &J0 &K3 &L0 &P0 &Q5 &R0 &S0
&T4 &U0
&X0 \C0 \G0 \Q3 \T000 \V1 \X0 %A000 %D2 %E1
S00:000 S14:AAH S18:000 S21:00H S22:76H S23:17H S25:005 S26:001 S27:49H
S36:007
S37:000 S38:020 S46:138 S48:007 S49:010 S50:200 S63:000 S82:128

STORED PROFILE 1:
B1 E1 L2 M1 N1 P Q0 V1 W0 X4 Y0 &C0 &D0 &G0 &J0 &K3 &L0 &P0 &Q5 &R0 &S0
&T4 &U0
&X0 \C0 \G0 \Q3 \T000 \V1 \X0 %A000 %D2 %E1
S00:000 S14:AAH S18:000 S21:00H S22:76H S23:07H S25:005 S26:001 S27:49H
S36:007
S37:000 S38:020 S46:138 S48:007 S49:010 S50:200 S63:000 S82:128

TELEPHONE NUMBERS:
0=                                      1=
2=                                      3=

where

ACTIVE PROFILE:
B1  Bell 103/212A protocol
E1  echo on
L2  medium volume
M1  speaker on until carrier detected
N1  when originating, auto line speed starting at DCE speed specified by
    register S37.  When answering, auto line speed regardless of register
    S37 setting.
P
Q0  Send responses to host
V1  send word responses
W0  do not return negotiation progress messages
X4  Basic call progress, connection speed and BUSY detection plus
    DIALTONE detection.
Y0  Long space disconnect disabled.
&C0 DCD forced on at all times
&D0 Modem ignores status of DTR signal.
&G0 Disable guard tones. Setting for USA operation.
&J0 not functional.  Included for compatibility.
&K3 RTS/CTS interface signals.  Modem uses CTS line to control data from
    modem.  Bidirectional flow control.
&L0 Not supported.  Command included for compatibility.
&P0 Make/Break ratio is 39/61%. Setting for USA and Canada.
&Q5 Instructs the modem to make a data connection using the V.42bis
    standard.  To disable V.42bis operation, send the &Q0, &Q3, or &Q6
    command, or modify the values of registers S36, S46, and S48.
&R0 PC Mode.  DTR and RTS signals function normally.
&S0 DSR signal active at all times.
&T4 Accept a remote modem request for Digital Loopback Test.
&U0 Enable trellis coding (V.32 9600 bits/s only).
&X0 Command not supported; included for compatibility.
&Y0 Use configuration profile 0 after reset or power-up.
\C0 No buffer used while establishing a reliable connection.
\G0 Turn off port flow control.
\Q3 Bidirectional RTS/CTS interface signals.  Modem uses CTS line to
    control data from DTE.  DTE uses RTS line to control data from modem.
\T000   Inactivity timer.  0 disables the inactivity timer.
\V1 Enable MNP responses.
\X0 Modem will act on XON/XOFF received from the local DTE, but will not
    pass XON/XOFF to the remote modem.
%A000
%D2 2K dictionary.
%E1 Enable auto-retrain at 2400 bits/s when signal quality is poor.

No S-registers are documented in the manual.  Here are the values
returned.

S00:000
S02:043
S03:013
S04:010
S05:008
S06:002
S07:040
S08:002
S09:006
S10:014
S11:075
S12:040
S14:AAH
S16:00H
S18:000
S21:00H
S22:76H
S23:2DH
S25:005
S26:001
S27:49H
S36:007
S37:000
S38:020
S46:138
S48:007
S49:010
S50:200
S63:000
S82:128



@endnode
***************************************************************************
@node P4-6 "BIX"
@toc "menu"

/// BIX - Byte Information Exchange             Lots of information!
    -------------------------------


BIX is the premier online service for computing professionals and enthusiasts.
While other online services cater to computer novices, BIX is the place for 
knowledgeable people to go for answers to tough questions.  You're likely 
to find many others in similar situations who can offer advice, give 
technical assistance, or point you in the right direction.

BIX is divided into areas called conferences, each devoted to a 
particular area of interest.  They range from algorithms to windows,
from writers to amiga.  Conferences are categorized into groups,
usually referred to as exchanges, so that you can browse through
whatever groups interest you and see a list of the conferences it 
contains.

These are some of the exchanges on BIX:

amiga.exchange - the place for Amiga developers and enthusiasts
byte - the full text of each issue of BYTE magazine; source code too 
e.and.l - Entertainment and Leisure; music, pets, games, more
ibm.exchange - everything from OS/2 to PC clones
mac.exchange -  Mac news, support, software, advice
professionals - consultants, engineers, financiers gather here
programmers - some of the best brains in the business!
wix - the Information Exchange for Windows; Windows Magazine online
writers.ex - the professional and amateur writer's exchange


************FULL INTERNET ACCESS!************

BIX also features access to the Internet - you can use FTP to transfer
files from sites all over the world, telnet to log on to other online 
services, schools, and research sites, and send Internet mail to millions 
of people at services like DELPHI, CompuServe, America Online, MCI Mail, 
and other sites and services.  Services like "WHOIS" and "Finger" are 
also available, with more features on the way (like USENET newsgroups; 
our newsreader is currently being tested and should be available very 
soon!)  There are no usage fees or special charges for Internet access - 
it's all part of your BIX subscription. 


================================
Rates and Connect Information:
================================

BIX membership costs $13 per month, plus connect time.  There are several 
different ways to connect:

SprintNet*              $3/hour evenings/weekends   $9/hour weekdays
Tymnet:**               $3/hour evenings/weekends   $9/hour weekdays
(SprintNet and Tyment rates shown are for 48 contiguous US states only.)
                                                        
Tymnet Canada:          $4/hr eves/wkends           $9/hour weekdays
Tymnet Hawaii:          $10/hr eves/wkends          $20/hour weekdays   
Telnet(via Internet):   $1/hour, round the clock
Direct dial (Boston):   $2/hour, round the clock (up to 9600 bps)
 
 * SprintNet daytime hours are from 6am to 7pm, M-F, ET.
** Tymnet daytime hours are from 7am to 6pm, M-F, ET.



To find your local SprintNet number, call SprintNet at (800) 877-5045,
ext. 5.  Internationally, call (404) 859-7700.

To find a local Tymnet number, call Tymnet at (800) 937-2862.  
Internationally, call (703) 442-0145.

================

There is no surcharge for 9600 bps access via either telecom carrier.

There is no surcharge for up to 10mb of Internet mail per month (sent
and received).  There will be a charge of $1 per 100,000 bytes 
thereafter.

================

20/20 PLAN OPTION (for USA-48 users only):

Volume users can choose the 20/20 Advantage Plan, which is $20 per month
and includes the first 20 hours of access by any combination of methods 
from the contiguous United States.  Additional use is $1.80 per hour 
(additional use for telnet access is $1 an hour).  The 20/20 Plan's cost is 
in addition to the $13 monthly fee.  

INTERNATIONAL USERS:

If you wish to connect internationally through Tymnet or SprintNet, 
please contact your local PTT.  BIX accepts prepaid international calls,
direct dial, or telnet connections.  In order to make a "collect" (not 
prepaid) call to BIX, your account must be verified before the charges 
are accepted.  When you complete the registration, we'll mail you a BIX
Membership Agreement by regular US Mail.  Whe you receive it, sign it 
and return it to us by mail.  When we receive it here, we'll authorize
your account to make reverse charged calls.

If you want to access BIX right away, contact your local PTT to set up a 
prepaid account.  You'll pay your local carrier for your calls to BIX in
advance, so there's no waiting period or verfication needed. Or, connect 
at BIX via telnet to x25.bix.com.

SprintNet international calls from most locations are $24 an hour.
Tymnet international charges vary, but are generally between $20-$30 an hour.

=========================
Billing Information: 
=========================

You can charge your monthly BIX membership fees to your Visa, 
Mastercard, Discover, or American Express card.

You may have your company invoiced for one or more BIX memberships with 
a BIX Corporate Account.  To do so, send by US Mail or fax a Purchase Order 
including a Purchase Order number, invoice address, contact person, a 
phone number where we can reach the contact person, and the company's 
fax number.  Please direct it to the attention of Connie Lopes, who
handles corporate accounts.  Our fax number is 617-491-6642.  Your 
corporate account will generally be set up within 24 hours.


========================
To Sign Up For BIX:
========================

   Dial by modem 1-800-695-4882 or 617-491-5410 * 
   (use 8 data bits, no parity, full duplex)

   Press a few carriage returns until you see the Login:(enter "bix") 
   prompt, then type  bix

   At the Name? prompt, type bix.amrpt

* Users already on the internet can telnet to x25.bix.com instead.
  At the USERNAME: prompt enter bix, then bix.net at the Name? prompt.
  Once your account is registered, you can connect the same way, except
  at the Name? prompt you'll enter your BIXname and then your password.


Using the above procedure will allow users in the 48 contiguous United 
States to take advantage of our special "5 for $5" offer.  This offer 
lets you use up to 5 hours of evening/weekend time on BIX during the 
current calender month (whatever month you sign up in), for $5.  
Additional time is $1.80 per hour ($1 per hour for telnet).  At the end 
of the calender month, you will be placed into our standard rate plan, 
at $13 monthly plus connect charges.  You may also join the 20/20 Plan 
at this time.

If you have other questions, please contact BIX Member Services 
at (800) 695-4775; send a fax to BIX at (617) 491-6642; or send Internet
mail to info@bix.com.

BIX Member Services hours are 12pm - 11pm, Monday through Friday, ET.  


@endnode
***************************************************************************

@node P3 "Dealer Directory"
@toc "menu"

/// Dealer Directory                               Serving our readers!           
    ----------------



                           Almathera Systems Ltd
                              Challenge House
                              618 Mitcham Rd
                              Croydon, Surrey
                             CR9 3AU  England
                         VOICE: (UK) 081 683 6418
              Internet: (Sales) almathera@cix.compulink.co.uk
                  (Technical) jralph@cix.compulink.co.uk


                           Amigability Computers
                               P.O. Box 572
                          Plantsville, CT  06479
                            VOICE: 203-276-8175
                        Internet:  amiga@phantm.UUCP
                             BIX:  jbasile
              (Send E-mail to subscribe to our mailing list)


                            Apogee Technologies
                          1851 University Parkway
                            Sarasota, FL  34243
                           VOICE:  813-355-6121
                              Portal:  Apogee
                     Internet:  Apogee@cup.portal.com


                            Armadillo Brothers
                            753 East 3300 South
                           Salt Lake City, Utah
                           VOICE:  801-484-2791
                              GEnie:  B.GRAY


                CLICK! Microcomputer Applications B.V.B.A.
                            Boomsesteenweg 468
                        B-2610 Wilrijk - Antwerpen
                             Belgium - Europe
                         VOICE:  03 / 828.18.15
                           FAX:  03 / 828.67.36
                     USENET:  vanhoutv@click.augfl.be
                             FIDO:  2:292/603.9
                         AmigaNet:  39:120/102.9


                       Computers International, Inc.
                             5415 Hixson Pike
                          Chattanooga, TN  37343
                           VOICE:  615-843-0630


                               Digital Arts 
                           122 West 6th Street
                          Bloomington, IN  47404 
                           VOICE: (812)330-0124 
                           FAX:   (812)330-0126 
                               BIX:  msears 
 

                           Finetastic Computers
                           721 Washington Street
                            Norwood, MA  02062
                           VOICE:  617-762-4166
                             BBS:  617-769-3172
                            Fido:  1:101/322
                       Portal:  FinetasticComputers
               Internet:  FinetasticComputers@cup.portal.com


                               HT Electronics
                         275 North Mathilda Avenue
                           Sunnyvale, CA  94086
                           VOICE:  408-737-0900
                           FAX:    408-245-3109
                          Portal:  HT Electronics
                 Internet:  HT Electronics@cup.portal.com


                          Industrial Video, Inc.
                           1601 North Ridge Rd.
                             Lorain, OH  44055
                           VOICE:  800-362-6150
                                   216-233-4000
                  Internet:  af741@cleveland.freenet.edu
                            Contact:  John Gray


                                MicroSearch
                        9000 US 59 South, Suite 330
                              Houston, Texas
                           VOICE:  713-988-2818
                           FAX:    713-995-4994


                          Mr. Hardware Computers
                               P.O. Box 148
                              59 Storey Ave.
                          Central Islip, NY 11722
                           VOICE:  516-234-8110
                             FAX:  516-234-8110
                         A.M.U.G. BBS:  516-234-6046


                     MusicMart:  Media Sound & Vision
                            71 Wellington Road
                          London, Ontario, Canada
                           VOICE:  519-434-4162
                             FAX:  519-663-8074
                             BBS:  519-457-2986
                            FIDO:  1:221/125
                        AmigaNet:  40:550/1
                          MaxNet:  90:204/1
                        iNET: koops@gaul.csd.uwo.ca


                              PSI Animations
                         17924 SW Pilkington Road
                          Lake Oswego, OR  97035
                           VOICE:  503-624-8185
                     Internet:  PSIANIM@agora.rain.com


                           Software Plus Chicago
                          3100 W Peterson Avenue
                             Chicago, Illinois
                           VOICE:  312-338-6100



          (Dealers:  To have your name added, please send Email!)

@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@node P1-15 "AR Confidential"
@toc "menu"


/// AR Confidential                    We heard it through the grapevine!
    ---------------



                    GROWTH DROPS OFF FOR ONLINE SERVICES
                    ====================================

      In the past  six months, more than  328,000 customers have signed  up
 for on-line  computer services,  bringing the number of  homes reached  by
 major  on-line  services  to  3.9  million,  according  to  a  survey   by
 Information &  Interactive Services  Report, a  trade newsletter based  in
 Washington.  But the 9.9  percent growth since March puts the current rate
 considerably below previous annual industry increases, said Gary Arlen, an
 editor of the newsletter. 

      "This suggests that consumer appetite ... may  be sated, and that the
 next market  phase may  include  increased efforts  by providers  to  lure
 customers away from one another," Arlen said. 

      Vienna-based America  Online Inc.  grew most  quickly, adding 130,000
 users for  a total  of 350,000,  a 59  percent jump. CompuServe  Inc., the
 largest on-line service with 1.4 million users,  added 190,000, a jump  of
 16  percent.  Prodigy, which  has  950,000 users,  lost 5  percent  of its
 customers while Rockville-based GEnie remained at 400,000. 


                         FIRED EXECUTIVE SUES APPLE
                         ==========================

      Albert  A.  Eisenstat,  63,  Apple  Computer  Inc.'s  executive  vice
 president and  secretary, was  fired last week. He  promptly responded  by
 suing  Apple and  chief executive  Michael  Spindler,  alleging breach  of
 contract, wrongful termination and age discrimination.  

      Eisenstat's  suit  claims  he  was  forced  out  because  he  opposed
 Spindler's reorganization plans  and the  repricing of  stock options  for
 employees,  according to  the  Associated Press.  Spindler  replaced Apple
 chairman John Sculley as chief executive in June. 

      In announcing  Eisenstat's departure  on Friday, Apple  said the suit
 had  no merit.  "Al  seemed  to feel  he  ought to  be  employed  at Apple
 indefinitely.   Michael felt otherwise  and asked him to leave the company
 immediately," Apple spokeswoman Kate Paisley told Bloomberg Business News.
 Analysts said  the termination  suggests continuing  turmoil at  a company
 that  has been  hit by  massive losses  and the  resignation of  other key
 executives in recent months. 

                       VIDEO-CONFERENCING REVISITED 
                       ============================

      The hoopla  about video-conferencing  may just turn out  to be  hype,
 according to a  study by Dataquest Inc.    About 64  percent of the people
 responding to a survey  by the San Jose market research company  said they
 will have  little demand  for additional  videoconferencing equipment next
 year.  "There is  great hope among  many technology companies that  video-
 conferencing will  be the  `killer application' that  will accelerate  the
 trend toward multimedia. The results of our survey certainly don't support
 those hopes," said Dataquest analyst Bruce Ryon.
  
      The  survey found  that while  big Fortune  500 companies  need large
 room-type videoconference  systems, the  majority of  businesses find that
 facsimile,  electronic mail and other low-cost communications technologies
 are adequate.   In  addition, most  businesses said that  the benefits  of
 having  video on desktop  computers are not significant  enough to justify
 the costs of videoconferencing equipment. 
  
                    Copyright 1993 The Washington Post 


@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

@node P1-16 "Humor Department"
@toc "menu"

/// The Humor Department           Jokes, Quotes, Insults, Shameless Plugs
    --------------------



                         Classified Intelligence?

       "KAYPRO Computer, have books & discs, don't know how to use.
                        $300/trade for lrg iguana."


                                               -- The Sacramento Bee

@endnode

@node P2-3 "In Closing"
@toc "menu"

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
                  Amiga Report International Online Magazine
October 8, 1993        * YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE *            No. 1.28
        Copyright © 1993 SkyNet Publications ~ All Rights Reserved
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Views, Opinions and Articles presented  herein are not necessarily those of
the editors  and staff of Amiga Report International Online  Magazine or of
STR Publications.  Permission to reprint articles is hereby granted, unless
otherwise noted.  Reprints must, without exception, include the name of the
publication, date, issue number and  the author's name. Amiga Report and/or
portions therein  may not be edited in  any way  without prior written per-
mission. However, translation into a language other than English is accept-
ble, provided the original meaning is not altered. Amiga Report may be dis-
tributed on privately owned not-for-profit bulletin board systems (fees  to
cover cost of operation are acceptable), and major online services  such as
(but not limited to)  Delphi  and Portal.  Distribution  on  public  domain
disks is acceptable provided proceeds  are only  to cover  the cost of  the
disk (e.g. no more than $5 US).  Distribution  on for-profit magazine cover
disks requires  written permission  from the  editor  or  publisher.  Amiga
Report is a not-for-profit publication.  Amiga Report, at the  time of pub-
ication, is believed reasonably accurate. Amiga Report, its  staff and con-
ributors are  not and  cannot be held  responsible for the use or misuse of
information contained herein or  the  results  obtained there  from.  Amiga
Report is not  affiliated  with  Commodore-Amiga, Inc., Commodore  Business
Machines, Ltd., or any other Amiga publication in any way. All items quoted
in whole or in part are  done so under the  Fair Use Provision of the Copy-
right Laws of the United States Penal Code.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
                                    Only
                  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
                  *       _    _       __  ___    _       *
                  *      /\\  |\\   /| || //  \  /\\      *
                  *     /  \\ | \\ /|| ||(< __  /  \\     *
                  *    /--- \\|  \X || || \\_||/--- \\    *
                  *   /______________________________\\   *
                  *  /                                \\  *
                  *                                       *
                  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
                             Makes it possible!!

@endnode

@node "menu" "Amiga Report Main Menu"
@toc "menu"

@{"    Columns and Features    " link P1} News, Reviews, and More!
@{"     About AMIGA REPORT     " link P2} Staff, Copyright information
@{"      Dealer Directory      " link P3} Amiga Dealer Addresses and Numbers
@{" Commercial Online Services " link P4} Sign-Up Information
@{"     FTP Announcements      " link P5} New Files Available for FTP
@{"   AR Distribution Sites    " link P2-1} Where to get AMIGA REPORT




///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
                 Amiga Report International Online Magazine
                 "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information"
                            » FEATURING WEEKLY «
                  Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information
      Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information
              Hardware · Software · Corporate · R & D · Imports
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/             @{" DELPHI " link P4-1} · @{" PORTAL " link P4-2} · @{" FIDO " link P2-1} · @{" INTERNET " link P4-5} · @{" BIX " link P4-6}          /
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////


@endnode

@node P1 "Columns and Features"
@toc "menu"

@{"   From the Editor's Desk   " link P1-1} Saying it like it is!
@{"     CPU Status Report      " link P1-2} Computer Products Update
@{" CPU Status Report - Amiga  " link P1-3} Amiga news
@{"   Gateway Computer Show    " link P1-4} In St. Louis 
@{"  USRobotics Announcement   " link P1-5} V.32Terbo avail to European owners 
@{"   Product Announcements    " link P1-6} Perfect-link BBS, DiskExpander
@{"       Online Weekly        " link P1-7} The lines are buzzing!
@{"        WOCA Report         " link P1-8} By Dan Zerkle, parts 6 and 7
@{"         A.M.I.G.A.         " link P1-9} Those *#$@! acronyms!
@{"   The InterNet via Email   " link P1-10} Using InterNIC's WHOIS 
@{"      Federal Inquiry       " link P1-11} On privacy programs
@{"       UseNet Review        " link P1-12} Llamatron
@{"   Aminet hits 5000 files   " link P1-13} The history of Aminet 
@{" Wil Wheaton's Toaster Tour " link P1-14} Touring the Toaster 4000 
@{"      AR Confidential       " link P1-15} We heard it through the grapevine!
@{"    The Humor Department    " link P1-16} Jokes, insults, and shameless plugs
@endnode


@node P2 "About Amiga Report"
@toc "menu"

@{" For Starters " link P2-1} Where to get AMIGA REPORT
@{"   AR Staff   " link P2-2} The Editors, and Contributers
@{"  In Closing  " link P2-3} Copyright Information

@endnode

@node P4 "Commercial Online Services"
@toc "menu"

@{"   Delphi   " link P4-1}  It's getting better all the time!
@{"   Portal   " link P4-2}  A great place for Amiga users...
@{"  Holonet   " link P4-3}  Inexpensive Internet Access
@{"  InterNet  " link P4-5}  Subscribe to the AR Mailing List
@{"    BIX     " link P4-6}  For Serious Programmers and Developers
@endnode

@node P5 "FTP Announcements"
@toc "menu"

@{"     Assistant v1.0     " link P5-1} Scheduler utility
@{" Combat Air Patrol Demo " link P5-2} By Psygnosis
@{"     GNU Patch v2.1     " link P5-3} Applies patches to the original
@{"  Home Accountant v1.1  " link P5-4} Home accounting program
@{"    ARexxGuide v1.0     " link P5-5} AG hypertext guide to ARexx
@{"    MUIEmail v37.84     " link P5-6} MUI Email inbteface for AmigaUUCP
 
@endnode



                 -----------------------------------------
@node P2-1-1 "NOVA"
@toc "menu"


                               * NOVA BBS *
                  Official Amiga Report Distribution Site
                          * Running Starnet BBS *
                         Wayne Stonecipher, Sysop
                            FidoNet  1:362/508
                 An Amiga Software Distribution Site (ADS)
                 615-472-9748  USR DS 16.8  24hrs - 7 days
                           Cleveland, Tennessee
@endnode           
                ------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-2 "In The MeanTime"
@toc "menu"


        
                          * IN THE MEANTIME BBS *
                  Official Amiga Report Distribution Site
                            * Running AXShell *
                            Robert Niles, Sysop
                            rniles@imtired.itm.com
                509-966-3828  Supra V.32bis  24hrs - 7 days
                            Yakima, Washington


                          ******* Notice *******

After 13 September 1993, In The MeanTime will no longer be on FidoNet, thus
we will no longer be accepting File REQuests (FREQs). We WILL be still 
accepting calls and will have the latest edition of Amiga Report online.
Downloads to first time callers are still accepted. For the west coast 
call @{"Cloud's Corner" link P2-1-3} to FREQ the latest edition of Amiga Report.

Those who call for the latest edition of Amiga Report, and who do not with
to establish an account, log in as guest with the password of "guest".
At the prompt type "ARMAG" (without the quotes).

@endnode           
	       ------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-3 "Cloud's Corner"
@toc "menu"


                          * CLOUD'S CORNER BBS *
                  Official Amiga Report Distribution Site
               Starnet/MebbsNet Support Site West Coast USA
                          * Running Starnet BBS *
                            Larry Cloud, Sysop
                            FidoNet:  1:350/30
                  Internet:  larryc@hebron.connected.com
                 206-377-4290  USR HST DS  24hrs - 7 days
                           Bremerton, Washington


New users can call and get ANY copy of Amiga Report.  These are considered
"free" downloads, they do not count against any file ratio.  The latest issue
of Amiga Reports can be Freq'ed (FileREQusted) from here as "AR.LHA", as "AR"
or as ARxxx.LHA where xxx is the issue number.
 
For users interested in reading AR, but who do not have access to AmigaGuide,
you can freq ARBUL and get the AR in bulletin form.  This service is provided
for persons who do not have Amigaguide (such as IBM users).  Please note that
any pictures distributed with the "regular" Amiga Reports archive will NOT be
sent with this freq.  This file is not available for dial-in users, but you
can read bulletin #22 with your capture buffer open and get the same file.

@endnode
                 ------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-4 "Biosmatica"
@toc "menu"


         
                            * BIOSMATICA BBS *
            Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- Portugal
                    * Running Excelsior/Trapdoor/UUCP *
                           Celso Martinho, Sysop
                             FidoNet  2:361/9
                  +351-34-382320  V.32bis  24hrs - 7 days
@endnode
                 ------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-5 "Amiga Junction 9"
@toc "menu"


                           * AMIGA JUNCTION 9 *
         Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- United Kingdom
                       * Running DLG Professional *
                          Stephen Anderson, Sysop
                   Internet:  user_name@junct9.royle.org
      Line 1  +44 (0)372 271000  14400  V.32bis/HST   Fido 2:253/510
      Line 2  +44 (0)372 278000  14400  V.32bis only  Fido 2:253/520
      Line 3  +44 (0)372 279000  2400   V.42bis/MNP   Fido 2:253/530
                  Sysop Email:  sysadmin@junct9.royle.org
@endnode
                 ------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-6 "BitStream BBS"
@toc "menu"



                             * BITSTREAM BBS *
               The BBS of the Nelson (NZ) Amiga Users Group
                  Official Amiga Report Distribution Site
                       * Running Xenolink 1.0 Z.3 *
                            Glen Roberts, Sysop
                             FidoNet 3:771/850
               +64 3 5485321  Supra V.32bis  24hrs - 7 days
                            Nelson, New Zealand

@endnode
                 -------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-7 "Realm of Twilight"
@toc "menu"


                         * REALM OF TWILIGHT BBS *
             Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- Canada
                        * Running Excelsior! BBS *
                         Thorsten Schiller, Sysop
                    Usenet: realm.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca
                    UUCP:   ...!uunet.ca!tdkcs!realm
                             FIDO: 1:221/202
                             Fish: 33:33/8
                              24hrs - 7 days
                         519-748-9365  (2400 baud)
                         519-748-9026  (v.32bis)
                              Ontario, Canada


     Hardware: Amiga 3000, 105 Meg Quantum, 213 Meg Maxtor, 5 megs RAM


@endnode
                 -------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-8 "Metnet Triangle"
@toc "menu"


                          METNET TRIANGLE SYSTEM
                  Official Amiga Report Distribution Site
                          UK Support for Mebbsnet
                  * Running Mebbsnet and Starnet 1.02a *
                             Jon Witty, Sysop
                            FIDO:  2:252/129.0
                              24 hrs - 7 days
                     Line  1:   44-482-473871  16.8 DS HST 
                     Lines 2-7: 44-482-442251  2400 (6 lines)
                     Line  8:   44-482-491744  2400 
                     Line  9:   44-482-449028  2400 
                Voice helpline  44-482-491752  (anytime)

                 Fully animated menus + normal menu sets. 
                  500 megs HD - Usual software/messages 
           Most doors online - Many Sigs - AMIGA AND PC SUPPORT 
                Very active userbase and busy conference  
             Precious days and MUD online. AMUL support site. 

@endnode
                 -------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-9 "Omaha Amiganet"
@toc "menu"

                            * OMAHA AMIGANET *
                  Official Amiga Report Distribution Site
                       * Running DLG Professional *
                           Andy Wasserman, Sysop
                              24 hrs - 7 days
                            FidoNet:  1:285/11
                           AmigaNet:  40:200/10
                      Line 1:  402-333-5110  V.32bis
                      Line 2:  402-691-0104  USR DS
                              Omaha, Nebraska

@endnode
                 ------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-10 "Amiga-Night-System"
@toc "menu"


                          * AMIGA-NIGHT-SYSTEM *
             Official Amiga Report Distribution Site - Finland
                       * Running DLG Professional *
                            Janne Saarme, Sysop
                              24 hrs - 7 days
                       InterNet: luumu@fenix.pp.fi 
                           FidoNet:  2:220/550.0
                          +358-0-675840  V.32bis
                             Helsinki, Finland

@endnode
                 ------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-11 "Ramses Amiga Flying"
@toc "menu"


                        * RAMSES THE AMIGA FLYING *
             Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- France
                       * Running DLG Professional *
                            Eric Delord, Sysop
                         Philippe Brand, Co-Sysop
                        Stephane Legrand, Co-Sysop
                    Internet: user.name@ramses.gna.org
                            Fidonet: 2:320/104
                        +33-1-60037015 USR DS 16.8
                        +33-1-60037713 V.32bis
                        +33-1-60037716 1200-2400
  

Ramses The Amiga Flying BBS is an Amiga-dedicated BBS running DLG-Pro
on a Amiga 3000, 16MB RAM, 2GB Disk space, 3 lines.

We keep a dayly Aminet site mirroring, NetBSD-Amiga complete mirror site
from ftp.eunet.ch (main site), Amiga Report, GNU Amiga, Ramses is the
SAN/ADS/Amiganet French coordinator.



@endnode
                 ------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-50 "Freeland Mainframe"
@toc "menu"



                          * FREELAND MAINFRAME *
                   Offical Amiga Report Distribution Site
                       * Running DLG Progessional *
                           John Freeland, SysOp
                 206-438-1670  Supra 2400zi
                 206-438-2273  Telebit WorldBlazer(v.32bis)
                 206-456-6013  Supra v.32bis
                              24hrs - 7 days
                       Internet - freemf.eskimo.com
                            Olympia, Washington
@endnode
                 ------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-51 "LAHO"
@toc "menu"



                               * LAHO BBS *
             Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- Finland
                             * Running MBBS *
                            Lenni Uitti, SysOp
                      Tero Manninen, SysOp (PC-areas)
                     Juha Mdkinen, SysOp (Amiga-areas)
                        +358-64-414 1516, V.32bis/HST
                        +358-64-414 0400, V.32bis/HST
                        +358-64-414 6800, V.32/HST
                        +358-64-423 1300, V.32 MNP
                            Seindjoki, Finland

Our machine is a 386/33 with 20MB of memory, 1GB harddisk and a CD-ROM
drive. The BBS software is a Norwegian origin MBBS running in
a DesqView windows.

We have over 7000 files online (both for the Amiga and PC) + 650MB stuff
on the Aminet CD-ROM disk.

Every user has an access to download filelist (LAHOFIL.ZIP), list of
Finnish 24-hour BBS's (BBSLIST.ZIP or BBSLIST.LHA) and every issue of
the Amiga Report Magazine (AR101.LHA-AR1??.LHA) even on their first call.

The system has been running since 1989 and is sponsored by the local
telephone company, Vaasan Lddnin Puhelin Oy.



@endnode
                 ------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-52 "Falling BBS"
@toc "menu"



                              * FALLING BBS *
             Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- Norway
                             * Running ABBS *
                          Christopher Naas, Sysop
                  +47 69 256117  V.32bis  24hrs - 7 days
                    EMail:    naasc@cnaas.adsp.sub.org
@endnode
                 ------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-53 "Command Line BBS"
@toc "menu"



                           * COMMAND LINE BBS * 
            Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- Canada 
                Canada's Amiga Graphics & Animation Source 
                        * Running AmiExpress BBS * 
                           Nick Poliwko, Sysop 
                    416-533-8321  V.32  24hrs - 7 days 
                             Toronto, Canada 
@endnode  
                 -------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-54 "Rendezvous BBS"
@toc "menu"


                             * RENDEZVOUS BBS *
           Official Amiga Report Distribution Site - New Zealand
                  New Zealand Excelsior! BBS Support Site
                  * Running Excelsior! Professional BBS *
                            David Dustin, Sysop
                  Internet: postmaster@eclipse.acme.gen.nz
                +64 6 3566375  Supra V.32bis  24hrs - 7 days
                       Palmerston North, New Zealand


@endnode
                 -------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-55 "Leguans Byte Channel"
@toc "menu"


                         * LEGUANS BYTE CHANNEL *
            Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- Germany
                         * Running EazyBBS V2.11 *
                           Andreas Geist, Sysop
                    Usenet: andreas@lbcmbx.in-berlin.de
                              24 hrs - 7 days
                    Line 1:  49-30-8110060  USR DS 16.8 
                    Line 2:  49-30-8122442  USR DS 16.8

                 Login as User: "amiga", Passwd: "report" 

@endnode
                 -------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-56 "Dead Fish BBS"
@toc "menu"

                           * THE DEAD FISH BBS *
                  Official Amiga Report Distribution Site
                           * Running Excelsior *
                             Aaron Wald, Sysop
                       (914) 425-6015 V.32bis Supra
                               24 Hrs 7 Days
                        Internet:  dfbbs.linet.org
                           Amiganet 40:714/14.0


@endnode
                 --------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-57 "Stingray Database BBS"
@toc "menu"


                          * STINGRAY  DATABASE *
            Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- Germany
                           * Running FastCall *
                           Bernd Mienert, Sysop
                 EMail: sysop@sting-db.zer.sub.org.dbp.de
                  +49 208 496807 HST-Dual 24hrs - 7 days
                          Muelheim/Ruhr, Germany


@endnode
                 --------------------------------------------
