@database "ar411.guide"
@Node MAIN "Amiga Report Online Magazine #4.11 -- August 27, 1996"
===========================================================================
  August 27, 1996             @{" Turn the Page " link MENU}             Issue No. 4.11
===========================================================================
                                      ,a
                                    c4%&;
                                    1%%%b
                                     9%=~
                                     " 
           m;     mmmm;      nmm     mmmmm     .,pmq,.       m;
          j#6       ##6     j###     ###      ,#'~ ~`g,     j#6
          ##&;      ##&;    ####     ###     ,#f     `#     ##&;
         jP##6      ###6   jP###     ###    .##'      "    jP##6
         #'$#&;     #$#&;  #'###     ###    i##            #'$#&;
        jP l##6     #l##6 jP ###     ###    &##           jP l##6
        #'  $#&;    # $#&;#' ###     ###    &##           #'  $#&;
       j#mmmd##6    # l##6P  ###     ###    ?##     mmmw j#mmmd##6
       #'    $#&;   #  $##'  ###     ###     ##;     $#$ #'    $#&;
      jP     l##6   #  l#P   ###     ###     `#l    ,&#'jP     l##6
      #'      ###mm #   $' mm###mm mm###mm    `#q,.,p#' #'      ###mm   (R)
                                                "~^~"
                 &&&&q,                                  ,
                 ,P  `b                                  d'   tm
                 d'  ,P                                d&&&P
                ;P .,d' ,c&&q,  &&&&q,  ,c&&q,  q&,e&q ;P'
                d&&&P  ;P'  `&  d'  `b ;P'  `b  dP~ `P d'
               ;P'`&;  dB&&&&P ;P   ,P d'    P ;P     ;P
               d'  `&; &,   ,  d' .,d' &, .,d' d'     d' ,
              &&&   &&'`&&&P' ;B&&&P'  `&&&P' &&&     `&P'
                              d'
                             ;P
                            &&&

                 "THE Online Source for Amiga Information!"

                      Copyright 1996 FS Publications
                            All Rights Reserved
@endnode
@node MENU "Amiga Report Main Menu"
@toc MAIN

Amiga Report 4.11 is sponsored in part by:

@{" ClickBOOM " link AD1}, authors of the upcoming @{" Capital Punishment " link AD1}, and by

@{" AmiTrix Development " link AD2}, publishers of the upcoming @{" AWeb-II " link AD2}.

===========================================================================
==                               Main Menu                               ==
===========================================================================

    @{"  Editorial and Opinion   " link OPINION}             @{"    Featured Articles    " link FEATURE}

    @{"         Reviews          " link  REVIEW}             @{"  News & Press Releases  " link NEWS}

    @{"      Aminet Charts       " link     FTP}             @{"       Reader Mail       " link MAIL}

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

    @{"    About AMIGA REPORT    " link ABOUT}             @{"    Dealer Directory     " link DEALER}
 Contact Information and Copyrights     Amiga Dealer Addresses and Numbers

    @{"     Where to Get AR      " link WHERE}             @{"     Advertisements      " link COMMERCIAL}
 Mailing List &  Distribution Sites     Online Services, Dealers, Ordering
               ______________________________________________
         //   |                                              |       //
========//====|  Amiga Report International Online Magazine  |======//=====
==   \\//     |  Issue No. 4.11             August 27, 1996  |   \\//    ==
==============|  "THE Online Source for Amiga Information!"  |=============
              |______________________________________________|
@endnode
@node JASON "Editor"
@toc STAFF

===========================================================================
                                  EDITOR
===========================================================================

                               Jason Compton
                               =============
             Internet                                  Address
             --------                                  -------
     jcompton@shell.portal.com                1203 Alexander Ave
     jcompton@xnet.com                        Streamwood, IL 60107-3003
                                              USA

               Fax                                      Phone
               ---                                      -----
           847-741-0689                             708-736-1286
@endnode
@node KATIE "Assistant Editor"
@toc STAFF

===========================================================================
==                           ASSISTANT EDITOR                            ==
===========================================================================

                             Katherine Nelson
                             ================

                                 Internet
                                 --------
                            Kati@cup.portal.com
@endnode
@node KEN "Games Editor"
@toc STAFF

===========================================================================
==                             GAMES EDITOR                              ==
===========================================================================

                               Ken Anderson
                               ============

               Internet                             Address
               --------                             -------
             kend@dhp.com                      44 Scotland Drive
         ka@protec.demon.co.uk                 Dunfermline
                                               Fife KY12 7TD
                                               Scotland
@endnode
@node WILLIAM "Contributing Editor"
@toc STAFF

===========================================================================
                            CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
===========================================================================

                               William Near
                               ============

                                 Internet
                                 --------
                              wnear@epix.net
@endnode
@node ADDISON "Contributing Editor"
@toc STAFF

===========================================================================
                            CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
===========================================================================

                              Addison Laurent
                              ===============

                                 Internet
                                 --------
                       addison@jobe.shell.portal.com
@endnode
@node EDITORIAL "compt.sys.editor.desk"
@toc OPINION

===========================================================================
    compt.sys.editor.desk                          By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}
===========================================================================

Grrr.  Everybody hates waiting.  In fact, I don't think there's much you
can tell me about the subject that I don't already know.

You hate waiting for the deal to be done.  I hate waiting for the deal to
be done.  I hate waiting until I have enough spare time to do Amiga Report.
You hate waiting for Amiga Report.  It's a cruel world we live in.

But, a couple of weeks late, I've finally forced myself to sit down and get
this issue out.

August 19th came and went.  VIScorp needed, and got, a 30 day extension to
the terms of the purchase contract from VIScorp, in order to secure
financing from an organization that needed more documentation.  In the
meantime, Amiga shows have been happening and a new batch is coming up for
the fall and early winter.  It's going to be an interesting close to 1996,
I can tell.

More to tell?  I only wish.

Jason

@endnode
@node COMMERCIAL "Commercial Products"
@toc MENU

===========================================================================
                            Commercial Products
===========================================================================

@{"      Capital Punishment       " link AD1}  The upcoming action game from ClickBOOM

@{"            AWeb-II            " link AD2}  The WWW Browser, coming from AmiTrix

@{"        Editor's Choice        " link EDITORCHOICE}  Jason's picks

@{"   Portal Information Systems  " link PORTAL}  A great place for Amiga users.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode

@node AD1 "Capital Punishment Is Coming..."
@toc MAIN





                THEY say: "Amiga games suck"
                THEY say: "Developers are gone"
                THEY say: "No more good games"
                THEY say: "Amiga is dead"




                ...well, WE say:



                              F*@% THEM !!! 
                              -------------




          We are clickBOOM - the angriest team in cyberspace



          We have developed an amazing combat epic for Amiga 
                        called Capital Punishment



                      It is what players asked for:

                                 playable
                                  fluid
                                   fast
                                realistic...



                         And what they hoped for:

                                 violent
                                  wild
                                engrossing
                           adrenaline-pumping...



               And it's coming soon to blow your Amiga away!



      You'll engage in battle against warriors, ninjas, aliens, and 
   an assortment of other fearsome opponents in some of the goriest 
   fighting scenes ever seen in a video game.



Amiga Computing - "Capital Punishment could take fighting games 
                   into the next millennium"

Amiga Format    - "Capital Punishment has been proclaimed as 
                   the ultimate video game".

Amiga Report    - "Capital Punishment is a very smooth and engrossing game"

CU Amiga        - "Frame rate is higher than any fighting game I've seen"




Visit "clickBOOM" web page for more information; chance to win one of 
5 free Capital Punishment games; and to download playable beta demos:

                 http://www.io.org/~clkboom/amiga/

Internet e-mail: clkboom@io.org






                                             beware...Punishment is coming
@endnode
@node AD2 "AmiTrix Development, Publishers of AWeb-II"
@toc COMMERCIAL

===========================================================================
AmiTrix Development,  5312 - 47 Street, Beaumont, Alberta,  T4X 1H9  Canada
Phone/Fax:1+403-929-8459  Email:sales@amitrix.com  www.networkx.com/amitrix
===========================================================================

                    Direct Mail Order Price List                July - 1996
                    ============================
             (Prices subject to change without notice.)

Product Description                                       CAN $        US $
-------------------                                     -------     -------

AWeb-II (AWeb2.0/HTML-Heaven2.0 WWW Software)           $ 55.00     $ 45.00

SCSI-TV HD controller for CDTV with 2.5" Drive Adapter  $190.00     $149.00
SCSI-TV for CDTV, with-out Adapter                      $180.00     $142.00
SCSI-TV570 HD controller for A570  with 2.5" Adapter    $200.00     $157.00
SCSI-TV570 for A570, with-out Adapter                   $190.00     $149.00

Amiga-Link/Envoy Starter Kit (2-unit),                  $270.00     $210.00
- the peer-to-peer network for external floppy port.
- (also available as expander kit with extra cable)
Amiga-Link/Envoy Expander Kit (1-unit)                  $175.00     $135.00
Amiga-Link Expansion Kit (1-unit)                       $135.00     $105.00
Amiga-Link Accecories:
   2-way Floppy Port Splitter                           $ 39.00     $ 31.00
   RG58 cable - 1m(3.5ft.)                              $ 10.00     $  8.00
   RG58 cable - 5m(16.5ft.)                             $ 13.00     $ 10.50
   RG58 cable - 10m(33ft.)                              $ 17.50     $ 14.00
   - (custom lengths available on request)
   Extra BNC-T connectors                               $  4.50     $  3.50

*Special - One Only*
DblScan 4000 Video Card                                 $265.00     $190.00

The P-Net Box, a ParNet Adapter                         $ 15.00     $ 12.00
AM33C93A-16PC SCSI controller for 3000/2091/HC+8        $ 26.00     $ 20.00
A3000 U202/U203 chip ram control PALs - each            $ 15.00     $ 12.00
External Active SCSI Terminator - C50 male              $ 29.75     $ 23.50
Internal Active SCSI Terminator - IDC50 male            $ 19.00     $ 15.00
External Passive SCSI Terminator - C50 male/female      $ 12.25     $  9.75
External SCSI Drive Box
- (Mini-Tower e/w: C50/Internal bus/C50 pass-thru)      $145.00     $115.00
DIY Cable Kit (Internal) for Mini-T Ext. SCSI Box       $ 30.00     $ 23.50
DB23 solder-type connector
- male, female, or chrome hood - each                   $  1.65     $  1.25

Repair Services:
----------------
- A1200/4000 CIA replacements, General repairs          $  Call     $  Call
- SMD equipment fixed charge                            $ 35.00     $ 28.00
- Labour rate per hour                                  $ 35.00     $ 28.00

Shipping Costs: (most large boxed items)
---------------
First Class Mail: within Canada                         $ 10.00
                   within USA                                       $ 10.00
                  International                         $ 15.00     $ 12.00
Shipping: (for small bubble-packet items)               $  5.00     $  5.00

Orders should include a Bank Draft/Money Order or Postal MO, payable to 
AmiTrix Development in CAN or US dollars.  COD orders inside Canada only.
Shipping costs may vary for quantity orders/alternative method of shipment.
Canadian customers add 7% GST to all orders.
===========================================================================

@endnode
@node MAIL "Reader Mail"
@toc MENU

===========================================================================
                               Reader Mail
===========================================================================

Date: Sat, 24 Aug 1996 00:31:26 -0600 (MDT)
From: James Weckler <James.Weckler@m.cc.utah.edu>
Subject: amigas in the news

Hi.

I have some info you might/might not be interested in:

#1--In the June 24, 1996 issue of "MicroTimes: Northern California's
Computer Magazine", on p.264, there is, in the section devoted to
"Multimedia and Beyond", an article entitled: "Using Amigas On The Tonight
Show: An Interview With Mac McAlpin." The article was written by Douglas J.
Nakakihara.

#2--In the August 19, 1996 issue of "Electronic Engineering Times", on p.1,
there is an article entitled: "Hola, Amiga: rebirth of a platform --
Set-top maker buys rights to PC world's grande dame." The article was
written by Craig Matsumoto.  Interestingly, since the article is continued
on p.146, there is a second title/headline on p.146 which reads: "Amiga
platform gets a shot at revival -- Viscorp plans a future for the computer
that won't die."


Just thought I'd share what I'd read.  BTW, both articles were sent to me
by family members who at first thought I was extremely flaky because I own
2 A500s, but who are slowly learning about and becoming interested in the
Amiga.

paz

jrw
james.weckler@m.cc.utah.edu


p.s.--Thank you for Amiga Report--It and Amazing Computing and the WWW are
my surest sources for information about my favorite computer.  :-)

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

Date: Thu, 15 Aug 1996 09:50:54 -0700 (PDT)
From: Tim Boland <tboland@premier1.net>
Subject: TTR

Dear Jason,

First of all, like many Amiga owners, I appreciate the news and updates I
find in Amiga Report.

I'm writing today because I purchased a floptical drive a few years ago
from Todd Butson of TTR.  As you probably know, he gave up his business a
couple of years ago.  He was located in Madison, WI as I recall.

I have an A 3000 and hope to upgrade from 2.0 to 3.1 soon, but wonder if in
doing so a small program Todd wrote called "ttrsense" will be compatible. 
I have a large number of files on floptical and don't want to lose the
compatibility!

Do you have a recent address and/or phone number for him.  It's likely he
has an upgrade for "ttrsense" if I can just find him?  If you don't know,
would you please post this in Amiga Report in hopes that someone can help.

Thanks.

Tim Boland
tboland@premier1.net

PS.  I'd also like to know about compatibility of WordPerfect 4.1.12
(Wordperfect's last Amiga release) with 3.1 OS, not only to read/write
files but also to print them.  Any help greatly appreciated!

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

Date: Mon, 29 Jul 1996 09:28:53 -0700
From: GreyFox <jude@p3.enzian.com>
Subject: No Amiga Computers at Disney

Dear Jason,

My name is Jude Anthony.  I became an Amiga owner when I bought my A3000,
and later started working for an Amiga store in Orlando, FL.  The store
went under due to the mail-order mentality of most of Orlando's Amiga
users, but that's not why I'm writing to you.

I've known about Disney's use of Amigas for a while, and tried to tell
people about it.  I've seen the ones at MGM's Indiana Jones Stunt
Spectacular, and I know they are in use at other attractions.  I was
working at the store when Universal Studios ordered an A2000 and the
Richmond control system for their Rocky & Bullwinkle show.  I had always
wondered why no one would talk to me about the Amigas at attractions, and I
was soon to find out.

When I rang up the sale, I had to bill the Amiga as a "control device."
Disney and other attractions have exclusive contracts with Big Blue to use
only IBM computers.  I can only hope that the Amiga becomes as impressive
as it used to be before the contracts are ready for review; perhaps VisCorp
could steal the exclusive away!

I just thought you might like to know that Amigas Are Out There.  The
companies that use them just have to Deny Everything. 

Keep up the good work with AR.  

Later,
Jude Anthony
jude@p3.enzian.com

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

From: TEdelma1@vines.etn.com
Date:       23 AUG 96 11:08:09 EDT
Subject:    Amiga Report Letter to the Editor

If anyone asks, the Amiga computer is dead.  I sincerely doubt that VIScorp
will be able to offer a competitively priced, modern desktop Amiga.  
VIScorp should concentrate their efforts on producing their set-top box.  
(You know, the one that 's *not* first to market and probably won't be a
market success.  Wow!  Emerson...  that name sure evokes quality.)

I've been a loyal Amiga user and have held numerous offices in more than
one Amiga users group since I bought my first Amiga, an A1000, shortly
after it was introduced.  I later bought an A2000 shortly after its
introduction.  I didn't buy an A3000 or an A4000 because the "improvements"
did not represent a significant value to me, especially at those prices.  I
have two A2000s now.  They're both aging, and all the add-ons (A2630,
RapidFire SCSI, EMPLANT, Spectrum EGS Video, Cybergraphix, MagicWB,
AmigaDOS 3.1) I've bought over the years to try to keep them up to date
just aren't reliable.  I'm going to buy a new computer in the next 12
months and I can guarantee that it won't be an A4000T.  Like the majority
of [former] Amiga users, I'm looking at Macintosh and "WINTEL" PCs.  The
Macs are most appealing to me, of course.  In the price range of the A4000T
is a brand new computer from Apple, the Macintosh Performa 6400/200.  It
looks like an excellent value.  It's a tower case model with a 200 MHz 603e
PowerPC processor, 40MHz 64-bit bus, and lots of features (28.8 FAX/MODEM,
8X CD-ROM, 16MB RAM, 2.4GB HD, 800x600 16-bit color, SCSI, 16-bit stereo,
surround sound, sub-woofer, and a great bundle of pre-loaded software) .  
If VIScorp were to introduce an Amiga with the same hardware, I might be
willing to pay a $300-500 premium for the Amiga's co-processing and
multi-tasking advantages.  I really don't think the now obsolete AmigaDOS
3.1 and co-processor features increase the intrinsic value of the A4000 to
the level of modern PowerPC and Pentium powered machines.  They don't have
co-processors, but they have nearly enough muscle to be considered similar
performing machines.  My A1000 could multitask in 256K, but memory isn't
expensive anymore.  [When's the last time you priced a 16 or 32MB SIMM?]
The Amiga's co-processing advantage is very quickly being narrowed.

Given what ESCOM and VIScorp have said in the past, I sincerely doubt if
VIScorp, or anyone else for that matter, could sell an Amiga desktop
computer with modern hardware at a competitive price in the near future.  
It is time to close the curtain on the Amiga desktop computer and move on.
@endnode

@node NEWS1 "30 More Days"
@toc NEWS

30 More Days

VIScorp, Chicago, IL - August 20, 1996

On 20th August 1996, the trustee for the bankruptcy of ESCOM AG and AMIGA
Technologies GmbH, Bernhard Hembach, extended the closing date for
VIScorp's purchase of AMIGA for 30 days with the support of ESCOM
creditors.

While the agreement is firm, one of the financial institutions supporting
VIScorp in the transaction required more documentation to authorize their
portion of the funding.  Satisfied that VIScorp would meet these
requirements, the closing date was extended.

The closing will not be extended past this date.

Contact: Jason Compton, Communications Manager
VIScorp
111 N. Canal St.
Suite 933
Chicago, IL  60606

(312) 655-0903 voice
(312) 655-0910 fax
jcompton@xnet.com e-mail
http://www.vistv.com/
@endnode
@node NEWS2 "Jay Miner Tape"
@toc NEWS

Many years ago, 1991, my club flew Jay Miner to one of our annual big shows
we held.  Jay gave a fairly long talk on the Amiga and its history and his
personal work on it.  During this we had a professional video tape camera
setup on the scene taping every word and scene.  Oddly enough the tape was
mostly forgotten till a few months ago.  The creator of this tape, asked if
anyone was interested in getting a copy.  The response has been incredible
here.  I thought that everyone interested in the Amiga and Jay Miner would
love to have a copy.  We decided to offer it everywhere we could.  We are
offering the tape with shipping for only $15!  Mail your orders to:

   MCCC
   P.O. Box 813
   Bedford, Texas 76095

We can't take credit card orders, but if you want to talk to our club
treasurer, his name is John Malmstrom.  His number is (817)282-6158.
Checks or Money Orders should be made out to the Metroplex Commodore
Computer Club. 

Anyone interested in coming to our annual show this year it will be Sept. 
28th at the Arlington Convention Center.  E-Mail me for more details...

-- 
                            Johnny C. Kitchens
                            kitchens@letter.com
@endnode
@node NEWS3 "Enigma Screenshots"
@toc NEWS

                        E  N  I  G  M  A
            screenshots now on Aminet - check'em out!

The most destructive shoot'em up ever - it's one hell of a blast!
Hi-res overscan horizontal scrolling shoot'em up.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Screenshots + info now freely available on Aminet
Check out :
pix/illu/enigma.lha
on Aminet

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Format :   AMIGA AGA only!   (only the Amiga can cope!)
HD installable, uses upto 6MB mem, 4 disks, accelerator cards, etc.
Release Date : Oct'96    Publisher: OTM    Developer: Centillion
-----------------------------------------------------------------

* The most technically advanced and innovative horizontal scrolling
  multi-player shoot'em up on any format!   Big claim ? Play the game!

* Awesome graphics in crisp clean hi-res overscan detail - featuring
  some spectacular 3D-rendered imagery and some of the most fantastic
  hand crafted graphics and animation yet seen in a shoot'em up

* A complete visual treat - upto 300 colours on screen
  - full 50 frames/sec action!

* Innovative multi-layered overscan parallax with varied playfield
  priorities and radical special fx.

* Random gameplay features, play a unique game every time, no two games
  the same - unpredictable and exciting gaming every time!
  Collect weaponry powerup`s and discover hidden secrets!

* The Best ever soundtracks, specially composed music created with
  high-end MIDI equipment and expertly converted for absolutely
  breathtaking results!

* Music AND Sound effect mixing. Specially developed state-of-the-art
  realtime multi-channel sample interpolation & music overlaying
  techniques.  Listen to the kicking soundtracks while you wipe out
  another enemy colony!

* Full Language Localisation supporting English, French, German and
  Italian speaking people.

* Fully hard-disk installable. Advanced automatic ram-caching for high
  speed loading out of memory when additional fast-ram is available.
  Takes full advantage of upto 4 Megabytes of additional fast-memory.
  If your machine has the extra grunt Enigma will use it!

* much much more!

-- 

Steve
----------------------------------------------------------------------
OTM
11 Aldergate, Tamworth, Staffordshire, B79 7DL, UK
Tel. 01827 312 302   Fax. 01827 670 10   Email. OTM@OTMltd.demon.co.uk
@endnode
@node NEWS4 "The Informer"
@toc NEWS

Dear Amiga Dealer/Developer:

Would you like to find a way for your Amiga products to get more expo-
sure? Would you like thousands of devoted Amiga users to know what you 
produce and how your products can be found?  If so, then let me introduce
you to The Informer, a newsletter that caters directly to the Amiga com-
munity. 

As you know, the best way to serve the Amiga platform and ensure its
growth is to provide information directly to the user. Through The Informer
Newsletter we can offer you the opportunity to do just that.

What Is The Informer?
The Informer Newsletter (ISSN 1089-4616) is a concise encapsulated re-
source of Amiga information and contacts which helps readers stay con-
nected with new Amiga developments, products and the latest news. The 
Informer provides readers with Email addresses, BBS listings, Web Page 
URL's, phone and FAX numbers and other means for readers to communi-
cating with dealers, developers and Amiga services. The Informer's staff 
are all committed and passionate Amiga users, and are proud to produce 
the entire newsletter using only Amiga computers. 

Who Reads The Informer?
Currently there are over 3000 printed copies of The Informer distributed
bimonthly. Each issue is distributed to our growing subscriber base, which
includes over 125 users groups, and through many various dealers, includ-
ing: Anti Gravity, Safe Harbor, Zipperware, IAM, Legendary Designs, Won-
der and others. These dealers enclose issues of The Informer with all their
Amiga orders. We provide free copies to anyone (in North America) who 
requests them and actively promote this policy on many Amiga internet 
newsgroups including CompuServe and Genie. Also, we announce this 
offer in  Amiga Report on-line magazine and are included with Turtle Light-
ning Software's disk catalog and print mailings, which reach over 3400 in-
dividual Amiga owners. In addition, each issue of The Informer is submit-
ted to the newsletter review magazine, Factsheet 5, where a review of The 
Informer is printed in their monthly magazine. The Informer will also be 
published to our web page, where viewers can page through selected past 
and present articles. 

Our subscriber base is rapidly growing due, in part, to some of the ex-
citing benefits we offer. Not only do subscribers get free classified ad 
space to sell their used Amiga products, but they are also automatically 
entered in a bimonthly prize drawing. In each issue we will be awarding an
Amiga product to a random subscriber. 

Services Offered By The Informer.
The informer also offers dealers, developers and distributors other ser-
vices as well. We will meet all requests or submissions on a first come
first served basis. Please contact us by Email or voice for confirmation
prior to any submissions.

Commercial Reviews:  Starting with Issue 4 (in which we review Aweb II), 
each issue of The Informer will feature a review of a commercial software 
product. If you would like to have a review of your product printed in a 
future issue, send us a review copy of your software.

Commercial Announcements: The Informer will print any developer 
announcement about new products or upgrades. 

Shareware Reviews:  Shareware authors who wish to have the registered 
version of their product reviewed may submit them for printed review.

Shareware Announcements:  We will print shareware announcements and 
upgrades as space permits. Submit a brief "Readme" file with product 
information including Author, means of contact, brief description, 
requirements and availability.

Free Ads: Any company that donates an Amiga product (software, 
Hardware, books, etc.) for the bimonthly Informer giveaway, will receive 
1 free block of ad space.

Developer Write-ups: Any Developer who wishes to have their company
spotlighted it the "Developments" section of The Informer, should make 
an Email request for the Developer Questionnaire. By answering the 
questions on the questionnaire, a write-up of your company and products 
will be compiled.

Distribution: In an effort to get The Informer out to as many Amigans 
as possible, we are seeking companies who are willing to include our 
Newsletter with all their Amiga orders. In return for this service, we 
will mention your company in a special section in The Informer.

Amiga Listings: If you would like your Amiga specific user group, BBS 
or Web Page listed in The Informer, send it to us and we'll print it in the
"Contacts" section.
...........................................................................

Advertising:  What The Informer Offers 
One of the greatest problems with the Amiga market today is lack of confi-
dence from consumers. People are not sure if they should spend money 
on an Amiga product. What they need is for developers, dealers and dis-
tributors to reassure them of their commitment to the products they pro-
duce and sell. Recognizing this, the Informer offers a variety of ways for
advertisers to connect with the Amiga community. 

Since the Informer is distributed solely to people who order Amiga
products or those that request a free issue, you can be assured your ad 
will be seen only by devoted users who actively use their Amigas.

In addition, anyone who advertises in the print addition of The Informer
will also receive an advertisement link to their pertinent company or prod-
uct information on our Web Page, increasing exposure even more.

If you are interested in finding out more about advertising in The In-
former, please request our Advertising Information Sheet via one of the 
methods listed bellow. In addition, you may also request a free issue of 
The Informer for your inspection. Please include your mailing address with 
any correspondence. Sorry, requests outside The US or Canada must include
$1 US to cover mailing expenses.
...........................................................................

Fletcher Haug                                fletcher.haug@bbs.mhv.net
The Informer Newsletter                            914-566-4665
PO Box 21                                           100% Amiga
Newburgh, NY 12551-0021                         "We Aim To Inform"
@endnode
@node NEWS5 "Directory Opus 5.5"
@toc NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Directory Opus 5.5 is now available! 

GPSoftware demonstrates its continuing support for the Amiga with the
release of the new version the Amiga world's most popular directory and
file management utility.  After more than 12 months of extra development,
Directory Opus 5.5 is more of a new version than just a simple update and
contains many changes and enhancements over the original product.

After receiving many comments and useful suggestions from Opus users,
almost every facet of the new program has been examined and subjected to
user scrutiny, backed up by extensive field testing from very persistent
Beta testers.  This release extends the original Opus 5 concepts and
provides many significant improvements in both operational power and
usability.  From the feedback we have received so far we are confident that
you will enjoy this new product more than ever! 

Take a look at the following enhancements to see why an upgrade is a must!


  . A new Icon Action Mode gives all the power of name mode Listers but
  with icons. 

  . Button banks and Listers need no longer be activated first in order to
  see right and middle mouse button clicks. 

  . WorkBench Replacement Mode has been enhanced.  Use Opus 5.5 with
  complete confidence to replace the standard Workbench.

  . An integrated OpusFTP capability lets you access remote Internet sites
  directly from standard Opus Listers.

  . Button banks can now be borderless with a sleek minimal dragbar
  instead of a full window border.

  . New Filetype-specific pop-up menus allow special menus for icons and
  files.  Use Filetypes to add custom menus for different types of files
  and icons. 

  . Custom buttons have a pop-up menu giving access to an extended
  selection of commands.

  . New independent HotKeys are now supported.

  . New Scripts system allows functions to be executed upon most system
  events.

  . Custom menus have been improved with multiple user menus with sub
  items.

  . New Automatic Filetype Creator allows you to create and test Filetypes
  with ease.

  . A font viewer is now included.  Just double-click on a font to view
  it.

  . Listers now have field titles, single-click re-sorting by fields, plus
  a new version field which reads the internal version information from
  each file.

  . New colour remapping of button and icon images with support for 'Magic
  Workbench' and similar systems.

  . Cybergraphics RTG now supported.

  . You can now selectively hide unwanted drive icons from the Opus main
  window.

  . Enhanced clipboard support provides full cut, copy and paste in
  gadgets and file Listers. 

  . Listers are no longer blocked while busy - you can now resize,
  iconify, and scroll busy Listers.

  . Icon and Lister snapshots are now stored separately from Workbench.

  . Listers can now display a background picture or pattern.

  . A new internal Opus CLI allows you quickly test commands and Arexx
  scripts.

  . Several new internal commands and many new ARexx commands have been
  added or extended with new features.  You can now even add you own
  internal commands with ARexx.

For more details see our WWW page at http://www.livewire.com.au/gpsoft/

Special Upgrade Offer for Registered Users!

Opus users who have registered direct with GPSoftware should look out for a
special upgrade offer in your letter box over the next couple of weeks.
Those registered with a local distributor should contact the distributors
below for upgrade pricing and details.

Pricing and Distributors

Opus 5.5 Recomended price is A$129.00, US$99, UK 59.99, DM139.00

Upgrade price for existing users is A$65.00 plus A$10.00 package and air
mail postage.

Contact your local distributor or GPSoftware for further details.

GPSoftware Distributors World-Wide

UK                    Germany             USA                 
Wizard Developments   Schatztruhe         Micro R&D           
PO Box 490            Veronikastr 33      721 'O' Street      
Dartford, Kent        45131 Essen         Loup City, NE 68853 
England  DA1 2UH      Germany             USA                 
Ph +44 1322 527800    Ph +49 201 788778   Ph +1 308 745 1243  
Fax +44 1322 527810    Fax +49 201 798447   Fax +1 308 745 1246  

Australia
Small-Biz Software
PO Box 24
Golden Beach, Qld
Australia 4551
Ph +61 (74) 919190
Fax +61 (74) 926860

Dr Greg Perry, GPSoftware, Brisbane. August 1st 1996

GPSoftware
PO Box 570, Ashgrove, Birsbane, Australia 4060
Phone/Fax +61 7 33661402
Email:   zzgperry@mailbox.uq.oz.au
www:     http://www.livewire.com.au/gpsoft
@endnode
@node NEWS6 "Bograts"
@toc NEWS

Bograts Preview
Vulcan Software

Vulcan Software, respected publishers of well-known Amiga titles such as
TimeKeepers and the infamous Valhalla series, have announced another title
in their mid-price "Mini Series" range.

"Bograts - The Puzzling Misadventure" is a side-viewer platform puzzler,
very much in the Vulcan software style of cute graphics and brow-furrowing
action.  In each of the 60 levels, your role as Mummy/Daddy Bograt is to
guide your two baby Bogs through each level without getting them - or
yourself - burnt, eaten, squashed or otherwise mangled.  Although the main
emphasis is on the problem-solving, platform elements such as Sonic-style
springs and shovers appear.

Bograts is shaping up into an very promising and addictive brain-teaser. 
The full game is due to be released on September 1st 1996; look out for the
full review in Amiga Report soon.

---

Vulcan will soon have their own WWW pages. Keep trying 
http://www.vulcan.co.uk ....

Vulcan Software Ltd
Vulcan House
72 Queens Road
Buckland
Portsmouth
Hants PO2 7NA

e-mail: Paul@vul-soft.demon.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1705 670269
Fax: +44 (0)1705 662226
@endnode
@node NEWS7 "DrawStudio"
@toc NEWS

ANNOUNCE: Release of DrawStudio illustration package information
FROM: Graham Dean and Andy Dean
EMAIL: andy@ajdean.demon.co.uk
WWW: http://www.ajdean.demon.co.uk/
DATE: 7 August 1996

Graham and Andy Dean are proud to announce the imminent release of
"DrawStudio" - their new drawing, illustration and presentation program for
the Amiga.  The program contains many professional features which are not
found in any other Amiga programs and are usually associated with high
priced packages on other platforms. 

Working from a clear and standard Amiga interface, DrawStudio contains all
the tools required to create illustrations on the Amiga, whether they be
for technical diagrams or for artistic presentation material.  The ability
to convert objects to bitmaps makes DrawStudio an ideal tool for creating
graphics for World Wide Web pages or for use with other Amiga programs.

For a full list of features, please visit our WWW pages given at the top of
this announcement, however the following are a small list of the features
available:

o Full 24bit colour support.
o ARexx interface.
o Multiple projects, pages and layers.
o Powerful gradient fills.
o Transparency, including gradient transparencies.
o Bitmap and pattern fills.
o An object's pen and fill may be filled independently.
o Skew, perspective, wave, wedge, bulge, and freeform
  object and text warping.
o Powerful object snapping, including snapping to grid and
  other objects.
o Bezier curve editing, including cutting, joining, adding and
  deleting points.

A firm release date is not given as we are currently in discussions with
distributors, however we hope that the Web pages will give a good taster of
the program's abilities.
@endnode
@node NEWS8 "Roland JV-80 Patch Editor V1.0"
@toc NEWS

TITLE

  Roland JV-80 Patch Editor

VERSION

  1.0

AUTHOR

  Jon Rocatis - jon@funcom.com

DESCRIPTION

  This is an advanced patch editor for the Roland JV-80 synthesizer.
  It allows you to edit almost all parameters in the synth. Creating 
  your own sounds have never been easier or as much fun!

  The program is build up using different windows for different
  parts of the synth. There are windows for TVA, TVF, Pitch, Waves,
  LFO etc.. All of these windows can be opened and closed as you please.

FEATURES

  - Multi-window design

  - Graphical editing of envelopes

  - Patch bank editor with drag'n'drop support

  - Support for all waveform expansion modules

  - Is able to load raw SysEx dump JV-80 patches from ex. "SysExpert"

  - Quick optional gadget help. Place the mouse pointer over a gadget and
    you will get an explanation of which effect that gadget has over the
    sound.

  - 100% font sensitive

  - Keyboard and/or mouse operated

  - Online context sensitive AmigaGuide help

  - Easy to install. Uses "Installer"

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

  MUI 3.3 installed

  AmigaOS 2.0 or better

  The Apache main program. Available on Aminet. (mus/midi/apache.lha)

  A Roland JV-80 synthesizer (not *needed* but the program is not 
  very useful without :)

AVAILABILITY

  Available on Aminet

  ftp://ftp.wustl.edu/pub/aminet/mus/midi/rolandjv80.lha

PRICE

  30 USD. 25 USD if you want your keyfile by e-mail only.

DISTRIBUTABILITY

  Shareware
@endnode
@node NEWS9 "PhotoAlbum V0.4"
@toc NEWS

TITLE

   PhotoAlbum

VERSION

   0.4 (Pre-Release)

AUTHOR

   Helmut Hoffmann
   Rubensstrasse 4
   41063 Moenchengladbach
   Germany

   EMail: hhoff@pool.informatik.rwth-aachen.de

DESCRIPTION

   A picture management software for all Amigas (and Draco) feat.
   TrueColor support (thumbnails and picture windows) under
   CyberGraphX or reduced color output on AGA Amigas.

   This program supports many picture formats, allows combinable
   subtitles under thumbnails, can open multiple picture windows
   (incl. scrolling and zooming functions) etc.

   If you have a suitable graphic board with CyberGraphX WB
   emulation installed you can watch the pictures and thumbnails in full
   color quality (HiColor/TrueColor) on your Workbench or a
   private screen. Without CyberGraphX the normal color restrictions
   (2 to 256 colors) will lead to a reduced quality.

   Additional features include conversion to some 24Bit formats
   (incl. JPeg, IFF-ILBM24, Targa), picture deletion etc.

   Internally supported formats for loading:

   1) IFF-ILBM (1 to 24Bit incl. HAM6/HAM8)
   2) PhotoCD (Base format 768x512 or 512x768 (portrait))
   3) JPeg (color and greyscale)
   4) PPM/PGM/PBM (P1&P4 b&w, P5 grey, P6 color)
   5) QRT (also known as dump format by PD raytracers as POV-Ray)
   6) Targa
   7) PCX
   8) BMP
   9) TIF (packbit-compr./uncompr.)
   10) DEEP
   11) YUV
   12) VLAB raw
   13) RGB
   14) HHsYUVSq sequence format
   15) IFF-PBM (DPII)
   16) ACBM
   17) FBM
   18) Sun raster (uncompressed)
   19) MacPaint (b&w compressed 1Bit format; datafork only)
   20) HHsXRL formats
   21) binary-EPS bitmaps (RGB and CMYK)
   22) TBCPlus frames/fields

   The additional DataType support extends this list by many
   formats; DataTypes can e.g. be found on Aminet in util/DType.
   The DataType support is very fast, so that you can also view
   pictures in GIF or other formats quite fast for which Datatypes exist.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

   OS3.0 or higher required
   4MBytes FastRAM at least recommended

   Optional for TrueColor/HighColor viewing:
     cybergraphics.library V40 or higher and a suitable graphic board or Draco.
     The CyberGraphX emulation is compatible with many graphic boards
     (e.g. CyberVision, Piccolo, SD64, Spectrum, Picasso2, Retina-Z3,
           Domino and Draco/Altais)

AVAILABILITY

   Any Aminet site
    ftp://ftp.wustl.edu/pub/aminet/gfx/misc/photoalbum04.lha

PRICE

   Shareware fee:

       Introduction offer (upto 30th June 1996!):

             PhotoAlbum: 30DM or 22US$

       Standard price (from 1st July 1996):

             PhotoAlbum: 40DM or 30US$

       Package offer:

             PhotoAlbum + CyberShow Prof.: 50DM or 35US$

   Together with PhotoAlbum you can order fast universal modules for
   several image processing/painting programs at the special add-on
   price of 10DM or 7US$ each; currently available: FastIFXModules (ImageFX),
   UniversalGIOModule (Photogenics) and UniversalXiPaintModule (XiPaint);
   all thoose modules include fast loading in many file formats and (new)
   TrueColor animation creation for CyberGraphX.

DISTRIBUTABILITY

   Copyright by Helmut Hoffmann 1996

   Limited demo version is freely distributable; registered users
   will receive a keyfile which enables all features.

OTHER

   The freely distributable version has some restrictions (e.g.
   all pictures will only be displayed in greyscales) which
   disappear after you pay the shareware fee and receive a special
   personal keyfile (together with the latest version). Once registered, you
   can use new freely distributable versions as update with your keyfile.
@endnode
@node NEWS10 "EnPrint V2.1"
@toc NEWS

[ Reposted for distribution problems.  -Dan ]

TITLE

   EnPrint

VERSION

   2.1

COMPANY

   Endicor Technologies, Inc.
   P.O. Box 29000 #355
   San Antonio, TX 78229-0999

   (Please note: this address will change within the next two months,
   but will remain valid for the next year. Please watch our Web site
   listed below for our new address, which has yet to be determined)

   (210) 650-4988 Phone
   (210) 650-0054 FAX
   (210) 650-4365 BBS

   info@endicor.com -- Information requests
   sales@endicor.com -- Orders

   WWW: http://www.crl.com/~endicor

AUTHOR

   Ty Sarna (tsarna@endicor.com)

DESCRIPTION

   This is a standard Amiga printer driver with an additional
   printing program for the Stylus Color inkjet printers from Epson,
   including the II, IIs, and Pro. The printer features resolutions
   from 180x180 dpi to 720x720 dpi, with optional MicroWeave printing
   (an Epson feature that uses overlapping passes to reduce banding),
   Optimized Black Mode (on the Stylus II model only), and Small Dot
   mode (for the II, IIs and Pro models). The driver also implements
   horizontal and vertical whitespace stripping, as well as Epson
   compression mode 2 ("TIFF v4.0 packbits mode") to minimize the amount
   of data that must be sent to the printer and improve printing speed.

   EnPrint 2.x is based on a totally new portable 24 bit printing
   engine developed by Endicor instead of the standard Amiga 12 bit
   printing engine. This allows advanced user-accessible controls for
   gamma, intensity range, color correction, a wide selection of
   dithering options, color-to-grey conversion formula, and much more.

   The preferences driver has been updated to use this engine,
   providing all of these capabilities to all applications. Also
   included is a printing program that uses the printing engine
   directly, providing full 24 bit printing capability even to users who
   do not have other software that supports 24 bit printing. The
   printing program also features reduced memory usage, allowing large,
   high-resolution prints even on systems with very little memory.
   Note that printing time depends greatly on the application used,
   processing speed of the computer, and amount of data in a given
   output.

FEATURES

   Built in calibration utility.

   User adjustable Time-Out control.

   Full 24 bit printing support.

   Completely user-controllable gamma and range adjustments for full
   control over brightness and contrast.

   Three modes of color correction: adjustable in terms of RGB, CMY,
   or Y in M/M in C. The latter produces the best results as it most
   closely models the inaccuracies of printing inks. These modes are
   also completely adjustable.

   In greyscale mode, complete user control over the color-to-grey
   conversion process, plus three convenient preset configurations for
   the NTSC, HDTV, and equal-parts formulas.

   In B&W (thresholding) mode, the threshold is fully adjustable
   over an 8-bit intensity range, rather than Preference's 4 bit range.

   Sixty Five dither modes. Sixty Two are matrix dithers (many
   sizes and varieties of ordered, halftone, bricks, diamonds, etc.,
   providing a lot of "special effect" options), plus Random Threshold
   and two Floyd-Steinberg algorithmic dithers.

   Flexible configuration scheme: The system works in terms of
   configurations. A configuration consists of settings for resolution,
   dither, mode (MicroWeave, Optimized Black, Small Dot, etc.), color
   correction, gamma, etc. The Preferences editor allows for seven
   configurations corresponding to the 7 density options. Thus any
   density can be chosen to be any configuration of resolution, mode,
   dither, and corrections that the user wants. Additional
   configurations can be loaded and saved . The printing program also
   keeps a separate configuration. Configurations are edited with a
   friendly GUI configuration editor.

   Preferences driver supports printing HAM-8 and 7/8 bit modes on
   AGA machines in all their glory, plus 12 bit single-CLUT style like
   FinalWriter(TM) and others use.

   Preferences driver is smart about the true paper dimensions. It
   should handle all of the standard paper sizes correctly, plus if
   given enough maneuvering room, it will truly center the image on the
   paper, rather than centering within the printable area like the
   previous version and other standard Workbench drivers.

   Context-sensitive online AmigaGuide help. All documentation can
   also be brought up from within the program itself.

   Printing Program: Allows users to load pictures in IFF format
   (supports HAM-8, EHB, 24 bit, even Dynamic-HAM and Dynamic-HiRes),
   operate on them (rotate/flip, invert, etc.), size and position them,
   and print them. Any picture (even 24 bit) can be printed on any
   Amiga. There is no conversion to HAM or HAM-8 to cause loss of
   quality -- it's 24 bit all the way through when using the printing
   program.

   The printing program also includes a module that can generate
   pictures in 10 different modes, as an alternative to loading IFFs.
   Modes include things like user-selectable solid colors, color
   gradients, two kinds of color bars, and a hue/saturation "wheel".
   These modes are useful for calibrating color correction,
   gamma/lo/high, and for examining the effect of different dithers
   over ranges of intensity/color. An additional mode is a Workbench
   screen capture.

   There is support for output spooling and multiple print copies.

   A hard disk is required with a minimum space free of about 2
   meg. More is required for using the printing program on large
   pictures, and lots when using output buffering or multicopy support
   because it must store the complete printer output generated. This can
   be up to 20 megs a page at 720dpi full color, though the compression
   usually keeps it to about 12-16 megs or so. Only enough storage for
   one page at a time is needed, however. Using this method, a minimum
   amount of RAM required at the expense of the higher disk space
   requirements.

UPDATES

   EnPrint 2.1 is a free update for registered owners of EnPrint v2.0
   or Epson Stylus Color Printer Driver version 1.2, 1.1 or 1.0.  You
   may get an upgrade in one of three ways:

     By email: Email to sales@endicor.com with your name and serial
     number and a request for an upgrade, and we'll email EnPrint
     2.0 back to you. Ask for details.

     From our BBS: We now offer product support on our BBS, The
     Flying Circus, at phone number +1-210-650-4365.  You will be
     asked for your product serial number when you first log on and
     then receive access to the support area after verification
     (usually within 24 hours).  Once you have access to the
     Endicor area you can download updates.

     Send us $4.00: If you wish to have a new 2.1 disk shipped to
     you, send a check for US$4 to our address above with a note
     requesting EnPrint 2.1 and include your serial number and
     address.  The $4 covers the cost of the disk plus shipping. 

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

   Workbench 2.04 or higher. (3.0 and later required for some
   features).

   Hard Disk Drive with Min 2 meg free (20 meg free recommended).

   An Epson Stylus Color series printer.

OTHER

   The driver takes advantage of Stylus Color features not present on
   older ESC-P2 printers, such as compression mode 2 (packbits). 
   Because of this it will not work on previous (800, 300, 1000, etc)
   Stylus printer models. 

LIST PRICE

   US$44.95 List Price

   Sales Tax:

     In San Antonio, Texas: 7.75% ($3.48)

     Elsewhere in Texas: 6.25% ($2.81)

     Outside Texas: Endicor does not collect sales tax for
     out-of-state purchases.

   Outside the US: see our Distributors list below.

   EnPrint is also availible through many national Amiga stores in the
   US, including Safe Harbor, Software Hut, etc.

SHIPPING AND PAYMENT METHODS

   In the US: US Mail, UPS Blue and Red
   Canada: Postal Mail, Global Priority Mail (3-5 Days)
   Outside US: Postal Mail, or see Distributors below.

   For a complete discussion of shipping methods and rates, please
   see our web page or email info@endicor.com.

   Payment: VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, COD.
   There is an additional US$5 charge for COD.

   We can also offer electronic delivery for prepaid orders (check,
   money order, credit card or bank draft) in which case there is no
   shipping charge.  International orders may wish to use electronic
   delivery to save on shipping.  Please email us for details. 

   When ordering by mail or email please include: Name, shipping
   address, postal or email address, phone number, payment information,
   and method of delivery. If you include an Internet or FidoNet email
   address, we can use it to notify you of updates rather than using
   traditional mail.

DISTRIBUTORS

   Dealers in North American may order the product direct from us or
   through MicroPace distributors.

   Individuals and dealers in Europe can order through our European
   distributor:

     Eyetech Group Ltd.
     The Old Bank
     12 West Green
     Stokesley
     North Yorks
     TS9 5BB  UK

     Direct line Phone:   +44 (0) 1642 713 185
     FAX:   +44 (0) 1642 713 634
     email: eyetech@cix.compulink.co.uk

   Individuals and dealers in New Zealand can order through our New
   Zealand distributor:

     Perrytech
     54 Glasgow Street
     Wanganui
     New Zealand

     Phone/FAX:  (06) 343-2699
     email: BRIAN@ptech.wanganui.gen.nz

DISTRIBUTABILITY

   Copyright (c) 1994-96 Endicor Technologies, Inc.  All Rights
   Reserved.  EnPrint(TM) is a trademark of Endicor Technologies, Inc. 

   Epson is a registered trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation.
   Stylus is a trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation.

   AmigaGuide, AmigaGuide.info,  amigaguide.library (c)
   Copyright 1991-93 Commodore-Amiga, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
   Reproduced and distributed under license from Commodore.

   Other brand and product names may be trademarks or registered
   trademarks of their respective companies.

   This is commercial software.
@endnode
@node NEWS11 "Midwest Amiga Exposition"
@toc NEWS

Midwest Amiga Exposition
Columbus Ohio
October 19th and 20th.

Summary:
The Midwest Amiga Exposition is a event designed to entertain, enlighten,
and inform the Amiga community at large.  Formal demonstrations and
speeches will highlight the 2 day event, with VIScorp being one of our
featured guests.  Many well-known Amiga vendors and user groups will be
present, as well as, respected Amiga software and hardware designers.  Door
prizes will be awarded at regular intervals during the 2 day event.

Location:
Westerville South High School.  Located 10 mins.  From outerbelt I-270,
just Northeast of Columbus in Westerville.  Take I-270 to State Route 3.
Go north on State Route 3 through three traffic lights to Schrock Rd.  Turn
right (east) on Schrock Rd.  Turn left (north) at the first traffic light
onto Otterbein Ave.   Follow Otterbein Ave.  1/2 mile through two stop
signs.  Westerville High School is located on the left, 1 block south of
Walnut St.  We have both a commons area and an auditorium.

Dates and Times:
October 19th and 20th (Saturday & Sunday).  Saturday, Oct.  19th, doors
will open at 9:30pm and close at 5:00pm.  Sunday, Oct.  20th, doors will
open at 10:00am and close at 4:00pm.  Vendors will be allowed in on
Saturday at 8:00am to set up equipment and table space. 

Rates:
Vendor and Retailer Tables: $125.00 for the first table.  Additional tables
$75.00 each.  For vendors who do a formal Auditorium demonstration, a
reduced rate of $60.00 for the first table is applied.  These
demonstrations will be on a first come first serve basis and we may run out
of room.  To guarantee a spot or a formal demo, schedule tables as early as
possible.  All tables must be pre-paid.

You must provide an extension cord if you want electricity for your table.
We will provide a few, but cannot accomodate everyone.  One that's about
100ft.  should be all that is required.

User Group Tables:
$35.00 each. 

Table fees include:
1). An electrical drop.
2). Two individual passes to the show for manning the tables.
3). A listing of their name and location at the show in the official 
Midwest Amiga Exposition program.

Vendors and user groups will need to supply their own extension cords,
computer hardware/software, audio/video hardware, and promotional
materials.  Extension cords must be heavy duty, and be standard three prong
grounded.

Tickets:
$6.00 in advance.
$8.00 at time of show.

One ticket per attendee.

Please retain your ticket stub for door prizes throughout the 2 day event
and re-admittance into the show in case you need to leave the premises.  No
persons will be admitted without a ticket.  Tickets are good for both days
of the event.

Tentative Speakers List:
Oct. 19th
1:00pm Keynote Address - VIScorp

2:00pm Nova Design

3:00pm Open

4:00pm Open

Oct. 20th
1:00pm Steve Easily Worthington Voice Services

2:00pm Open

3:00pm Open

4:00pm Round Table Discussion Session

Slots for formal speeches or demos will possibly be expanded depending on
the length of each program.

Local lodging:
Many hotels/motels are located between 5 - 20 mins. of the event.

Lodging 15 -20 minutes from the event with easy freeway access at
Interstate 71 and State Route 161, Exit 117.

Best Western 
(614) 888-8230 (voice) (614) 888-8223 (fax)
Call for rate information.

Comfort Inn North 
(614) 885-4084 or 1-800-228-5150
One person: $55.00 - $60.00 Two person: $65.00 - $70.00

Cross Country Inn North
(614) 848-3819
Call of rate information.

Days Inn North
(614) 885-9696 (voice) (614) 885-0232 (fax)
Call for rate information.

Hampton Inn North
1-800-HAMPTON or (614) 848-9696
Call for rate information.

The Harley Hotel of Columbus
1-800-321-2323 or (614) 888-4300 (voice) (614) 888-3477 (fax)
Call for rate information.

Holiday Inn North
(614) 885-4334 (voice) (614) 885-4955 (fax)
Call for rate information.

Marriott Residence Inn North
(614) 431-1819 (voice) (614) 431-2477 (fax)
Call for rate information.

Motel 6 North # 554
(614) 846-9860
One person: $35.99.  Second adult $6.00.  Prices higher during special
events.

Ramada Limited North
1-800-2-RAMADA or (614) 846-9070 (voice) (614) 436-0875 (fax)
Call for rate information.

Truman Club Hotel
1-800-477-7888 or (614) 888-7440
Call for rate information.

Lodging 5 - 10mins from the event located in and around Westerville.

Cross Country Inn (Westerville)
Interstate 270 at Westerville, exit 29.  909 South State Street (St. Rt. 3)
(614) 890-1244
Call for rate information.

Embassy Suites Columbus
2700 Corporate Exchange drive, just off Cleveland Ave. south and I-270.
(614) 890-8600 (voice) (614) 890-8626 (fax)
Call for rate information.

Signature Inn Columbus
I-270 and Cleveland Ave north. 
6767 Schrock Hill Ct.
1-800-822-5252 or (614) 890-8111
Call for rate information.

Contact Information

For general information and an updated vendor list try
http://www.amicon.org

For advance ticket sales and/or table reservations contact.

Dave Pearce
dpearce@freenet.columbus.ohio.us
(614)728-1358   Weekdays
(614)967-1510   Evenings and Weekends

Ronn Black
ronn@btsoft.cmhnet.org
(614)825-3108 Weekdays
(614)891-3721 Evenings and Weekends

or send snail mail to:
Amicon
PO. Box 18311
Columbus, OH. 43218

If you contact us electronically or leave us your email address, we will
put you on our mailing list for further updates and ticket/table ordering
information.  Those who have already contacted us are already on the list.

We look forward to a great event!

Dave Pearce
dpearce@freenet.columbus.ohio.us
@endnode
@node NEWS12 "CUCUG's Fourth WWW Mirror"
@toc NEWS

The Champaign-Urbana Commodore Users Group
P.O. Box 716
Champaign, IL 61824-0716

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: cucug@cucug.org

CUCUG Announces its Fourth WWW Mirror Site

August 18, 1996 - The Champaign-Urbana Commodore Users Group (CUCUG)
announced today that Inter-Spider, an Internet Service Provider located in
Cracow, Poland, would be hosting its popular World Wide Web site.  A
process known as "mirroring" makes a nearly identical copy of a Web site
available to users closer to their own connection on the Internet.  This
usually results in more reliable connects and faster response.

CUCUG's webmaster, Kevin Hisel stated, "Users in Eastern Europe have been
asking us to set up a mirror there for quite some time.  We are grateful to
Inter-Spider for finally making it possible."

Zbigniew Baniewski, proprietor of Inter-Spider added, "There is a need to
establish an easy-to-connect site with news from Commodore world for many
polish Amiga users." He went on to say that, "there was also a sentimental
reason--my first computer was a Commodore VIC-20!"

According to Hisel, this is CUCUG's fourth mirror.  Other mirrors are
currently located in Australia, Italy and the United Kingdom.  The primary
CUCUG site is maintained at Champaign, Illinois in the United States.

CUCUG maintains the award-winning Amiga Web Directory and Agnes, an
advanced Amiga WWW search utility.  Both have become very popular with
Amiga users throughout the world.

The address for the new CUCUG mirror site in Cracow is:
http://www.ispid.com.pl/mirrors/cucug/

CUCUG's main site can be found at:
http://www.cucug.org/

CUCUG, The Amiga Web Directory, Agnes and the Agnes character are all
service marks of the Champaign-Urbana Commodore Users Group.  Amiga is a
registered trademark of Visual Information Services Corporation (VIScorp).
@endnode
@node NEWS13 "Agnus WWW Search Tool"
@toc NEWS

The Champaign-Urbana Commodore Users Group
P.O. Box 716
Champaign, IL 61824-0716

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: cucug@cucug.org

CUCUG Announces the Ultimate Amiga WWW Search Tool

August 4, 1996 - The Champaign-Urbana Commodore Users Group (CUCUG)
announced today the debut of its new Amiga Internet searching tool dubbed
"Agnes" available in conjunction with its popular "Amiga Web Directory"
World Wide Web site at http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html.  Agnes allows users
to search for over one thousand Amiga-oriented Web sites and more using
flexible keyword matching.

According to CUCUG, one of the many major improvements over other Web
searching utilities is that the description data contained CUCUG's database
of Web sites is written by humans, not just sampled from the first few
lines of the site's text.  This reduces the number of false "hits" and
increases the accuracy of searching according to Kevin Hisel, CUCUG's Amiga
webmaster.  Search results are also much easier to understand and displayed
more quickly than other search tools.

>From one page, Amiga WWW surfers can call on Agnes to:

* Search for more than 1,000 Amiga Web sites using data which is far
  more accurate than "crawler" type search tools. Sites are
  regularly checked and updated meaning less "404 Not Found" errors
  and new sites are added daily.

* Search CUCUG's full-text database of Amiga News including press
  releases, product announcements, news items, show reports and
  other Amiga developments.

* Search the entire, full-text archives of all Amiga Report Magazine
  issues released since January of 1995.

* Search the full-text archives of Amiga Product Reviews posted in
  the comp.sys.amiga.reviews Usenet news group. More than 400
  product reviews are housed in CUCUG's huge archive.

* Search all issues of CUCUG's own Status Register user-group
  newsletter which contains news, computer hints and tips, how-tos
  and information about CUCUG.

* As a last resort, there is an option to query all of the above
  areas in one massive search operation. Users should allow extra
  time for this monster search to complete.

"We've put together the world's most effective Web search mechanism for
Amiga fans.  If it's Amiga and it's on the Web, we're pretty confident that
Agnes can find it," Hisel said, referring to the all-encompassing
capabilities of the new service.

The URL for CUCUG's Agnes search tool is
http://www.cucug.org/agnes.html

CUCUG, The Amiga Web Directory, Agnes and the Agnes character are all
service marks of the Champaign-Urbana Commodore Users Group.  Amiga is a
registered trademark of Visual Information Services Corporation (VIScorp).
@endnode
@node NEWS14 "Banner Ad Reminder"
@toc NEWS

This is just a reminder message about CUCUG's banner ad program special
offer which will soon be expiring.  You can get 90 days worth of banner
placement on the Amiga Web Directory for as little as a $100 MERCHANDISE
donation!

The Champaign Urbana Commodore Users Group (CUCUG) is pleased to announce
that thanks to the many inquiries by Amiga-oriented companies, we will now
offer graphic advertisement banners on our popular Amiga Web Directory
(http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html) in return for product donations.  We feel
that your company would benefit greatly from featuring a banner link on our
popular Web site.

Running a display banner is simple, inexpensive and benefits you, CUCUG
members and the users of the Amiga Web Directory.  Now, you can reach
thousands of qualified, Amiga-oriented prospects with a highly visible link
to your main web page, a special limited-time offer or any other compelling
content you can dream up.  And if you respond by August 31st, you can get
50% more exposure, FREE!

1. Banners can measure a maximum 468 x 60 pixels but not exceed 10K in
   size. You may supply your own graphic or we can create it for you.
   The banner will be hooked up to instantly take the user to a web
   page of your choosing.

2. A maximum of two banners will be accepted for each page. Banners
   will appear before page content.

3. Banners will appear on all five worldwide Amiga Web Directory sites
   including the USA, Australia, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom.

4. Normal running time on a banner is 60 days. Respond by August 31st,
   1996 and we will EXTEND the running time of your banner to 90 DAYS!

CUCUG accepts donations of Amiga-oriented hardware or software for banner
placement on the Amiga Web Directory.  Merchandise will be valued at
current "street" price.  These items will be used as CUCUG member benefits
and fund raisers.  This program benefits vendors and CUCUG.

There are 17 sections of the Amiga Web Directory on which you may choose to
place your banner.  The donation values for each page shown below are based
on the number of visits each of the pages receive.  Each day 4,000-6,000
Amiga enthusiasts visit the Amiga Web Directory and "hit" our servers'
files about 60,000 times(1).  Your company can enjoy premium placement on
our site for just a few copies of a few titles.  This is likely the most
affordable method available to reach Amiga enthusiasts from all over the
world.

Rate Card

   90-Day              Merchandise
   Placement*             Donation
   --------------------------------
   Main AWD Home Page........ $600
   New Links Listing ........ $400
   Amiga News................ $350
   FW/SW Software Support.... $300
   Agnes' Search Page........ $300
   File Collections.......... $300
   Amiga Technologies
   Information............... $250
   Monster Link List......... $200
   Commercial Sites.......... $200
   Magazines................. $200
   Hardware Support.......... $200
   Demo Scene................ $200
   Info Resources............ $100
   Amiga Product Reviews..... $100
   Other Amiga Links......... $100
   Telnet BBSi............... $100
   User Group Listing........ $100

* Normally 60-day placement. Respond by August 31, 1996 to receive
  90-day placement.

Exposure on the Amiga Web Directory is a very economical way to reach
dedicated Amiga users since the cost of the ad is based on the value of a
merchandise donation, not cash.  It also offers all the advantages of an
electronic medium like instant response and quick and easy updates of your
offer.

Book your space now!  First come, first served.  A limited amount of space
is available.  Contact Kevin Hisel (khisel@cucug.org) today and arrange
placement and details of the graphic, message and URL for your banner
today!

(1) Documentation available upon request.

CUCUG reserves the right to modify or withdraw this program at any time, or
to refuse banner placement for any reason.  Space cannot be reserved in
advance of receipt of goods.
@endnode
@node NEWS15 "Amiga Web Network"
@toc NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - August 8, 1996

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new web service, the Amiga Web
Network.  This service is available to any person or business that has an
Amiga related web site.  The AWN is a cooperative advertising program,
allowing you to advertise your web site or products for free.  That's
right, absolutely free!

If you are familiar with the Internet Link Exchange, then you already
should have an idea of how AWN works.  You will be given an account where
we will keep track of the number of times your banner is displayed, the
number of people that click on the banner and visit your site, and the
number of credits you have.  For each credit, you will receive a certain
amount of banner displays on the AWN.  For example, if you have 3 credits,
we will display your banner and link to your site 2 times.  Likewise, if
you had 30 credits, your banner will be displayed 20 times.  Currently,
people have been earning hundreds of credits per day for free.  We even
have one site that earns over 1,000 credits per day.

Since the AWN is free, you are probably wondering how you earn credit.
There are a few different ways.  The first way to do so is to display ad
banners for other people's web sites.  For each display, you will earn 1
credit.  This is the method most people will use.  Second, we do issue a
free number of credits to get you started.  Third, the AWN will issue bonus
credits for each referal (successfull hit) from a unique IP.

For further information, please visit our web page at:
http://www.melizo.com/area52/search2/amicrawler/banners/

David Tiberio
Amiga Web Network
@endnode
@node NEWS16 "CrossDOS 6 Pro Rel. 6.06"
@toc NEWS

19, August 1996

Dear CONSULTRON customer,

It's been awhile since we've had news worth reporting.

CrossDOS 6 Professional is now at release 6.06!

Sorry, CrossDOS still does not support Windows 95 long file names.  We are
working on it.  No announced date for its' release.  Please don't email us
inquiring about its availabilty.  We'll most likely won't reply.  We're
working as fast as we can.

The changes in CrossDOS 6.06 are relatively minor.  Mostly maintenance.
Here's a short list:

-- Added support for MS-DOS formatted drives larger than 4G.

-- Fixed problem with ConfigDisk program accessing omniscsi.device HD
controllers.

-- Added support to Dr_CrossDOS and Install programs to display CIN and
current CrossDOS release in the product disk.

-- Minor maintenance fixes.

You can find the patch files on our BBS or at the AmiNet sites in the
biz/patch directory.  The file is called "CrossDOS606.lha".  The patches
will patch all official CrossDOS 6 product disks (6.00 to 6.05).

We still have technical support available for registered customers.  Should
you have any questions or problems, you can contact us at:

CONSULTRON
8959 Ridge Rd
Plymouth, MI  48170-3213

(313) 459-7271      9:00 AM - 5:00 PM EST

*** Note *** Please have your CIN (Customer Identification Number) ready
before calling.  (Third line of the READ.ME file)


Electronic Bulletin Board
An electronic bulletin board has been provided for your enhanced support. 
The BBS is available during non-business hours and all day on weekends.

(313) 459-7271      6:00 PM - 10:00 AM EST      Weekdays
                all day on weekends

Consultron Tech Support         consultron@consultron.plymouth.mi.us
We bring platforms together     8959 Ridge Rd
                                Plymouth  MI  48170   USA
@endnode
@node NEWS17 "EMC Phase CDs"
@toc NEWS

*** NEWSFLASH FROM E.M.COMPUTERGRAPHIC ***

Following a staggering level of interest from American, Canadian and South
American customers, we are now pleased to announce that the multi award
winning range of "Phase" CDs from E.M.Computergraphic are now available
directly from our newly appointed US distributors...  Computer Safari.

Computer Safari will be handling ALL American based sales and distribution
of the EMC CDs, and also controlling the new EMC/Safari web site at...

   http://www.woodland.net/emc

Computer Safari have set the US retail price for the EMC CDs as follows...

   EMC Phase 1... $39.99 + shipping   (for DTP/DTV)
   EMC Phase 2... $39.99 + shipping   (for DTP/DTV)
   EMC Phase 3... $39.99 + shipping   (for DTP/DTV)
   EMC Phase 4... $59.99 + shipping   (for ScalaMM/DTV)
   EMC Index...   $24.99 + shipping   (time saving/utility)

Computer Safari are also selling "Price Blitz" packs of EMC CDs so contact
them for more information

Computer Safari accept all major credit cards and can arrange cash on
delivery (US only) if required.

You can contact Computer Safari at...

   Suite K,                     Tel:   916 661 3328
   353 West Main Street,        Fax:   916 666 4434
   Woodland.                    Email: safari@woodland.net
   CA 95695

For full EMC CD information you can FTP to your local Aminet site and
download

   docs/hyper/EMCsCD_Guide.lha

for our custom Amigaguide file containing full details of our CDs
including...

1. Complete contents listings for each CD.
2. Full ordering details, prices and contact addresses.
3. Details of the magazine reviews that each CD has received.
4. Details of the customer feedback that each CD has received.
5. Details of our other CDs along with details of our next CD releases.

 --------------------------------------------------------------------
|     E.M.COMPUTERGRAPHIC... bringing you the BEST Amiga CD-Roms     |
| Check out Aminet/biz/demo/EMC_#? for more information & discounts  |
|      8 Edith Road, Clacton, Essex. CO15 1JU United Kingdom         |
|      Tel: ++44 (0)1255 431389     Fax: ++44 (0)1255 428666         |
|      errol@emcomp.demon.co.uk          Mobile: 0585 727751         |
 --------------------------------------------------------------------
@endnode
@node NEWS18 "Wanted Amiga People"
@toc NEWS

Wanted Amiga People

It's our firm belief the Amiga platform marches on, proceeding toward a
"rebirth".  To be successful, support must now remain continuous.  Zorro
based hardware, and software applications in various configurations must be
accessible, and upgradable.  With this simple philosophy in mind, we're
creating this invigorated, new, support company.  OnLine, an Ohio start-up
company is looking worldwide, for enterprising people.

Join us!  Develop software and hardware applications for operation upon the
Amiga platform.  We 're awaiting contractors who can operate on a full/part
time basis out of their homes.  Future full time positions might exist in
the future.  Remember "you have to crawl before you can walk".

We will contact all who follow the following procedure.  Please contact us
at this time ONLY by regular mail.  No, phone calls, or e-mail!  Facilities
to handle these, are not yet established.

Write to:  OnLine  (Attn. Contractor)
           P.O. Box 8142
           Sylvania, Ohio 43560  USA

Include: Your Name, address, phone number, time zone, e-mail/fido addresses.

Background: Type of work (hardware/software), list some examples of your
past work.  List employers.  List your speciality, or what type of project
you would like to work on.  List how much time you feel that you could
devote to support such a project.

========================================================================
Permission is granted to post this message, as long as the material is posted
unchanged, and in full.
@endnode
@node NEWS19 "SCSI Controller Chip Upgrade"
@toc NEWS

MessageID ......: <199608170145.UAA12905@test.icon-stl.net>
Originally from : Bob Krusinski <bobk@paradigmtech.com>
Originally to ..: WMADDOCK <WMADDOCK@icon-stl.net>
Subject ........: A3000 SCSI Controller ChipAugust 16, 1996~

Gateway Amiga Club

RE: WD33C93A-PL 00-08 SCSI controller chip upgrade

  As you may know, there are several problems that can occur when adding
additional SCSI devices to the SCSI bus on the A3000.  Most common are
random SCSI bus lockups, especially with CD-ROMS and tape drives, and
random checksum errors when copying large files between devices.  These
problems can, in most cases, be attributed to the WD33C93A SCSI controller
chip in the A3000.  Most, if not all, A3000's shipped with the WD33C93A-PL
00-04 chip revision.  This chip had known bugs when multiple devices were
present on the SCSI bus.  With a single device, problems rarely occurred. 
As soon as the user started to add devices to the bus, the problems
mentioned above would start to appear.  The WD33C93A-PL 00-08 chip revision
addresses and fixes the above problems.  I would like your user group to
know that I am a source for this upgrade chip.

  Current asking price is $22.50 (US) per chip but I am reducing that price
to $20.00 (US) per chip for user groups.  An additional 5% discount is
available if 11 or more chips are purchased which would bring the price to
$18.00 (US) per chip.  This price DOES include shipping to anyplace on the
planet.  Cash, check (drawn on a U.S.  bank), or money order (converted to
U.S.  funds) are all acceptable forms of payment.

  Although I have referred to the A3000, this chip also works in the A2091
SCSI controller card, GVP SCSI controller card and any other SCSI
controller card that uses the WD33C93A SCSI controller chip.  Also, I have
recently been informed by Western Digital that they are no longer in the
chip production business.  Fortunately, AMD (Advanced Micro Devices)
manufactures a clone chip which performs as well or slightly better than
the Western Digital chip.  While I am currently unable to obtain any more
of the WD chips, I do have the AMD clone chip.

  On a personal note, before I upgraded my chip, I was unable to complete a
tape backup on my A3000 without a SCSI bus lockup.  Since I upgraded, I've
had zero lockups and have added a CD-ROM and another hard drive.

  If you or any other members of your user group are interested in
upgrading this chip, or if you have any additional questions, I can be
contacted at the following places:

E-Mail:  bobk@paradigmtech.com

Mail:  B. Krusinski
       7556 S.  Madison Circle
       Littleton, Colorado 80122

Fax:  303-292-1812

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely, your fellow Amigan
@endnode
@node NEWS20 "PIOS Computer AG"
@toc NEWS

PIOS Computer AG

_________________________________________________________________

PIOS Computer AG, Hildesheim, Germany, 24th August 1996.

New Product announcements from PIOS Computer AG has been eagerly awaited by
both the visitors to our Web-Page (over 46000 since May '96) and the
marketplace throughout Europe and the USA.

Unfortunately this delay has been caused by the inability to secure a
working agreement with Viscorp over the rights to the AMIGA patents and
licenses.

Despite repeated efforts by PIOS managent Viscorp have discontinued
discussion, without giving any reasons or otherwise.  This is despite
initial talks and drawing up an agreements early June of this year.

In order for PIOS to meets its business goals of providing RISC products
for both the AMIGA community and other computer users, we feel that the
time has now come to provide an new impetus into the marketplace.  We can
no longer accept the Viscorp vision for AMIGA as being based on reality and
will immediately announce a range of products designed to give the AMIGA
and other computer user the power and performance they need for the next
decade.  ( watch this space for Product announcements.....  )

PIOS is committed to providing high performance, affordable products
through the year 2000 and beyond.
@endnode
@node NEWS21 "Amiga Legacy Magazine"
@toc NEWS

Amiga Legacy Magazine

Legacy is the new FREE Amiga magazine for North America!

The impending launch of Amiga Legacy heralds in a new age in Amiga
publishing, with a new way to deliver news and information to today's
savvy Amiga professionals and enthusiasts.  Legacy is a fresh concept
for the Amiga community -- up to date coverage of the fascinating
journey of the Amiga computer, without any cost to the reader.

Legacy will provide you with a new outlet for reaching your valued
customer base.  By becoming a SPONSOR or an ADVERTISER, you'll be more
than just a client of a publication -- you'll be an important part of
a valuable resource.

SPONSOR
-------
As a Sponsor, you will be guaranteed preferential advertising space and
special Sponsor advertising rates.  Sponsors provide Amiga Legacy with
their mailing list of Amiga customers.  These customers will receive
Amiga Legacy for free, and will see that their favorite Amiga companies
have joined in the Legacy effort.  The mailing lists will be treated
with confidentiality.  Legacy Sponsors will be entitled to addresses of
Amiga customers as our mailing list grows, allowing you to build your
list even as you reach customers with information on new products and
exciting opportunities!

ADVERTISER
----------
As an Advertiser, you will play an important role in providing funds
for Legacy's publication.  Your ads will reach the active, purchase-
minded Amiga public of North America.  Special promotional cooperations,
such as mini-edition reprints of Amiga Legacy articles profiling your
products, are also available.

Here is just some of what Amiga Legacy will have to offer its readers --
all made possible by you, our Sponsors and Advertisers:

REVIEWS - Trial by fire of Amiga accessories, software, et al.

GAME SHOP - Breakneck gameplay from all around the world

CLONEWATCH - Draco, the Ed, Phase5 and PIOS: all members of the
Amiga Legacy

THIS OLD AMIGA - Breathe new fire into vintage Amigas

THE ONLINE LEGACY - Buzz through Amiga online, hot Aminet titles, Web
tools, and URLs signed "Love, Amiga"

NEWS - Harnessing the wild colt of Amiga development and releases

AT THE WORKBENCH - Liberate the Amiga's four-color grey Workbench
doldrums

FEATURES - Amiga luminaries speak and coverage of Amiga gala events

TUTORIALS - To edify and educate from the hallowed halls of Legacy U

THE FUN PAGE - YACFD (Yet Another Caffeine Fueled Distraction)
Ahhh... Unwind with Amiga puzzles and games

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

INTERESTED in becoming part of the Legacy?

( ) YES! Send me more information about becoming a SPONSOR for Amiga
Legacy.  The mailing list we would be able to supply is _____ strong.

( ) YES! Send me more information about becoming an ADVERTISER in
Amiga Legacy.

( ) I think I can contribute to Amiga Legacy in another way: ________
_____________________________________________________________________

Please include a business card and/or other contact information, and send
responses to:

Legacy Publishing
1801 W. Greenleaf Ave.
Chicago, IL 60626-2303

bohus@xnet.com
@endnode

@node FEATURE1 "Different Input"
@toc FEATURE

===========================================================================
              Using Different Input Controllers on the Amiga
  Calum Tsang                                               tsangc@io.org
===========================================================================

Are you sick of using your stock Amiga "wedgy" mouse?  Or is your current
mouse dying a slow and painful death with broken rollers and buttons?
Perhaps it's time to look for a new mouse for your system.  But wait, who
makes Amiga mice anymore?

You could go and seek out some high priced Amiga specific mouse, which may
be imported from who knows where, which isn't ergonomic or particularily
high resolution.  You might also consider hacking up an old PC bus mouse
from 1987.  But why not use a serial mouse made for the IBM PC?  Yes, it's
very possible to hook one up.  There are a few tradeoffs, as it'll connect
to the serial port, and not the internal mouse port, and it won't be
particularily compatible with games, but if you're using mostly Workbench
run applications, a PC mouse might be your best option!

PC mice come in a variety of different sizes and shapes.  At the low end,
you can find the horribly light yet ridiculously cheap OEM mice.  Made by
companies like Dexxa (which happens to be a subsidiary of Logitech), these
mice cost less than $10, but are reasonably durable.  At the high end, you
can get the Microsoft Mouse 2.0, an ergonomically contoured J shape.  Or
perhaps a Logitech Mouseman with it's three buttons.  The higher priced
models are usually better designed in form and function.  There are also
trackballs and other oddities, like the absolutely adorable Logitech Kidz
Mouse, which looks like a mouse.  You'll probably want something you're
comfortable with, that fits your hand size.  I know people with small hands
which can't stand large mice, and large handed people who say the already
large Microsoft Mouse is too small!  Many stores offer all the mice out on
shelves to be examined, so take advantage of this and experiment.

When you're buying the mouse, you'll want to know how it interfaces.
Almost all modern PC mice connect to a computer via a serial port.  This is
usually in the form of a DB9 pin connector.  To use your Amiga's serial
port, which is a DB25, you'll need an adapter, but most mice packages will
actually come with one.  Some mice use a special MiniDIN plug, or PS/2
style mouse port.  These are still serial, but just have a different
connector.  You could cut the end off and resolder a DB25, but it's easier
to get a PS/2 mouse adapter for DB25.  Or perhaps a PS/2 to DB9, then the
DB9 to DB25.  :)

Another major concern is the protocol of the interface.  Again, the PC
industry is relatively standard and a PC mouse will most likely be Logitech
Mouseman or Microsoft protocol.  (oddly, some Logitech mice use Microsoft
protocols) The Logitech protocols need an external serial board on the
Amiga.  Why?  The Logitech uses 7N1 encoding, which the Amiga serial port
does not support in hardware, while the system software drives do allow
for.  As a result, the Logitech mice need a board like the excellent GVP
ioExtender or the MultiFace.  This will probably limit most people to using
Microsoft protocol mice.  Don't worry, most of them are anyways.

A quick note about where to buy: I personally like buying hardware from
large retailers like ComputerCity, Future Shop, and Costco.  These places,
while having probably the worst sales people, also have the lowest prices.
As you're an Amiga user, you probably don't care anyways, as they most
likely won't know about Amiga systems.  These stores also have good return
policies, and aren't as stingy in this regard.  This may come in handy if
the mouse doesn't work properly, such as a protocol or interface problem.

Once you've purchased the mouse, plug it in!  Using your adapters, plug
into the DB25 Serial port on your Amiga.  You'll then need to set up a
serial mouse driver.  Two excellent drivers exist on Aminet, LogiMouse
1.053 by Simon Richardson, and SerMouse 2.21 by K.P.  vanBeem.  LogiMouse
is for Logitech mice, and SerMouse is for Microsoft mice.   SerMouse also
supports 5BYTE encoding for MouseSystems mice, which are an older and less
popular variant. 

SerMouse's configuration is done all through the Workbench Information menu
for it's icon.  For a Microsoft compatible mouse, set it for 3BYTES
encoding, and let it use it's default serial port configuration.  
serial.device, unit 0, is the Amiga's internal serial port.  If you have an
IO board, use your corresponding device driver name and the unit number the
mouse resides on.  Doubleclick the icon, and you should be able to move the
pointer around with your new mouse!  If not, don't touch the PC mouse and
use your Amiga mouse to doubleclick the icon again, disabling the driver. 
Then modify the tooltypes to get the settings right.  You'll want to add
the Tooltype DONOTWAIT into SerMouse's icon so it'll run without messages.
Once you're satisfied, drag the SerMouse icon into the WBStartup drawer and
it'll load the device driver everytime you boot. 

LogiMouse is a bit more complicated, but gives you quite a few more
options.  It also has versions optimized for different processors.  First,
place the appropriate LogiMouse program into your C: or similar "bin" like
directory.  LogiMouse is called from the user-startup sequence in your S:
directory.  Use a text editor to put in a line saying:

   c:logimouse -d whatever.device -u 0

whatever.device should be your serial board, as LogiMouse can't work with
the incompatible Amiga internal port.  The -u option LogiMouse what unit to
use. 

This barebones configuration should activate the serial mouse.  You can
test it by rebooting, or just trying out the command on the Shell.  If you
got a Logitech two button, you're done.  But, if you bought a three button
Logitech, like the Mouseman, you'll want to use the middle button for
another function.  LogiMouse shines in allowing you to redefine the center
button as the SHIFT key for instance.  While holding down the middle
button, you can now select multiple icons with left button without reaching
for your keyboard.  When I use my Logitech Mouseman, I use:

   c:logimouse -d gvpser.device -u 0 -mLSHIFT

Of course, you'll want your serial board driver in place of my
gvpser.device, and correpsonding unit number.  LogiMouse also allows for
many other functions for buttons, and even button swapping!  With the left
handed version of the Mouseman, you could even make a completely
symmetrical reverse of a normal mouse. 

Both drivers work very well, and are in general compatible with programs
run from Workbench.  There are many more functions in both, but they
pertain to more arcane configuration details or customization.  The
documentation for each explains them.  You'll notice a bit of jerkiness in
paint software, like a jagged response, but that's due to the limitations
of serial mice, not the driver.  Programs that have custom startup, like
games, will obviously not work.  That's acceptable if you're like me: you
use your Amiga for mostly productivity applications.  Also, if your machine
crashes and you get a Software Error or Alert, the serial mouse won't let
you click it away.  That's not so much a problem with Kickstart 3.1, which
cancels the Alert after a few seconds.  One way is to keep the old Amiga
mouse plugged in, to tap the button for reboots, and perhaps to play a game
or two. 

Both authors have made their drivers freeware, but Simon Richardson asks
for an email if you liked his LogiMouse.  Their drivers certainly make my
life easier!  Thanks guys!

(I use a Microsoft Mouse 2.0 on the Amiga 4000/040 at work, and a Logitech
KidzMouse on my A3000/25 at home, along with a CBM "pregnant" two button
left to the side of the desk)
@endnode
@node FEATURE2 "AB3D II Survey"
@toc FEATURE

===========================================================================
                   AB3D II "The Killing Grounds" Survey
===========================================================================

AB3D II is a cool game - but some things are missing.  It has no
CyberGraphX Support, no ECS Support, no Modem (only nullmodem) Support, no
TCP/IP Support.

If you want to change this, fill in this Survey.  I will send the results
to Team 17 (after i come back from holidays).  This might not change much,
but at least they know then...

I will add together most answers (those without emails and addresses given)
to some fine numbers, so that it is more easier for Team 17 to read.

Email your Survey entries to Survey@Birdland.es.bawue.de

Please spread this Survey as wide as possible !!!

-----

Question 1 :

Did you buy Alien Breed 3D II or plan to buy it in the near future ?

[ ] Yes
[ ] No, because i do not have an AGA system.
[ ] No, because i do not buy games that do not run on GFX Boards.
[ ] No, because _______________________________________________

Question 2 :

a) If you already bought AB3DII :

If a CyberGraphX Version would be released, it

[ ] had to be for free (on Aminet).
[ ] I would pay an upgrade fee of _______ to ________
[ ] I would pay full price for a CyberGraphX version,
    even if i already have bought the AGA version.

[ ] A CyberGraphX Version of AB3D II would be very fine for me.
[ ] A (much later released) update that features the Texturemapping
    features of the S3 Virge chip of the Cybervision 3D Board
    would be fine for me, as i will buy this board.
[ ] The processor of my Amiga is a __________________
    and my GFX Board (if existing) is a ________________.

b) If you gave a "No" in Question 1 :

[ ] I need an ECS Version, as i have a ECS system with
    a _________ processor, that is powerful enough for AB3D II.

[ ] I need a CyberGraphX version.
[ ] A (much later released) update that features the Texturemapping
    features of the S3 Virge chip of the Cybervision 3D Board
    would be fine for me, as i will buy this board.
[ ] The processor of my Amiga is a __________________
    and my GFX Board (if existing) is a ________________.

Question 3 : If the CyberGraphX Version would be for free :

[ ] It has to be tested at Team 17 before being put on Aminet.
[ ] It can be provided "as if", if it runs or not is up to the user.

Question 4 : How could you help Team 17 ?

[ ] I could lend them my Computer with installed GFX Board for
    testing of a CyberGraphX version. My email, snail mail and
    phone number are found at the end of this entry.

[ ] I could lend my GFX Board to Team 17. Address see below.

[ ] I could lend my Computer without installed GFX Board to
    Team 17, if they get a GFX Board from somewhere else.

[ ] As soon as the Cybervision 3D comes out, i can sell them
    my GFX Board quite cheap, as i am then getting a Cybervision 3D
    then, instead of the board i up to now use.

[ ] I could do Beta testing of the GFX Board version. I have bought
    AB3D II. So they only had to mail me the main executable.

[ ] I am a programmer who is quite familiar with CyberGraphX programming.
    I could help them with the coding part.
    My email is ___________________________________________

[ ] I am a programmer quite familiar with c2p algorithms. I could do
    a c2p for ECS machines for Team 17.
    My email is __________________________________________

[ ] I am a programmer quite familiar with TCP/IP coding. I could help
    them there.
    My email is _________________________________________
@endnode
@node FEATURE3 "More Amigas At Disney"
@toc FEATURE

===========================================================================
                           More Amigas At Disney
  Dr. Peter Kittel                              peterk7@combo.ganesha.com
===========================================================================

In AR410, you report about Amigas used at Disney's.  Below you'll find a
report of mine about the same issue, though I saw it only indirectly via
TV, but with some heartwarming comments from Disney people.  When you see
that my posting is already FIVE years old (this is 5 centuries in computer
business :-), this does say a lot about the robustness of those old
A2000's.  In the text you find some more enlightening details for this very
issue.  And in the text, they say it was even already 4 or 5 years old in
the days of the interview!

Please note also that this use of Amigas is listed since years in the
"Amiga uses" Web page (perhaps this is some outdated URL, but there should
be a link from the "Amiga" Web pages):
http://www5.ios.com/~area52/uses.html

Thanks again and keep up the good work,
Peter

Quote: Old posting

>From: peterk@cbmger.UUCP (Peter Kittel GERMANY)
>Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy
>Subject: Amiga at Disney (Was: Re: Memory Protection)
>Date: 16 Jul 91 07:01:59 GMT
>Reply-To: peterk@cbmger.UUCP (Peter Kittel GERMANY)
>Organization: Commodore Bueromaschinen GmbH, West Germany
In article <1991Jul15.123140.11645@Sugar.NeoSoft.com>
peter@Sugar.NeoSoft.com (Peter da Silva) writes:
>In article <5397@orbit.cts.com> chucks@pnet51.orb.mn.org (Erik
Funkenbusch) writes:
>
>> the most common bug by far is a null pointer reference.
>> while this can be fatal in some situations, it may not be in others, and the
>> program running might be crucial.
>
>You don't work in the process control industry, am I right?

You should ask the people at Disney Studios: "We have shows here that
run 40 times a day since 2 years and are controlled by Amiga computers.
NOT ONE SINGLE show was abandoned due to a computer error. 20,000 shows
without a crash justify Disney's choice and this computer concept."

(This is re-translated from a translation into German.)

This was in a computer show in German TV (BR-III, Computer-Treff,
13.7.91, 17.05). They reported about all the computer controlling
at Disney in Florida, at Disney/MGM-Studios, at Epcot and in Disney
World (or is it DisneyLand?). Here some more scenes from that show:

Indiana Jones show
Moderator: "Which costly computer system is used here to control all
   those sound effects?"
Disney speaker: "Normal Amigas. We chose them for their multitasking
   capability. That was 4 or 5 years ago. At that time it was the
   only computer with which you could do this. In the meantime there
   were many computers announced that are able to do the same, but
   they are still much more expensive. We could today place a $10,000
   computer here that can do the same, but it makes no sense, for the
   Amigas are working wonderfully. ... We only have problems with the
   environment, humidity and dust. (Action scene shown with fire and
   smoke, Amiga directly besides this, then they show heavy rain in
   Florida.) Real mud gets onto the computer boards. But the computers
   do stand this, you just have to open them every few months, clean
   them and perhaps change boards, then they work reliably."
Moderator: "This is the most important in the film studios where
   George Lucas was among to define the concept: The same procedure
   has to run without problems, dozens of times a day, year for year."

Disney studios, 3D MuppetVision
Moderator: "Also this show would be unthinkable without computer:
   3D characters (Mickey Mouse) on the movie screen interact with
   live actors (Kermit) on the stage. Light, sound and Special Effects
   are controlled and synchronized by an Amiga. (Follows the above
   mentioned 20,000 show statement.)"

Disney World, fireworks in the evening
Moderator: "You may have a nice fireworks, as it lights the sky
   every evening. And guess who stands behind that colorful magic?"
Disney Speaker: "During this fireworks we control all 3 parts of the
   show with the Amiga:
   1. Sound. The computer takes the input signal, music from a digital
      audio tape. Special software processes it in the computer to
      prepare it for different hardware configurations outside, levels
      are adjusted, and the result is fed to 4 or 5 separated loudspeaker
      towers that are distributed in the park. ... Only with the computer
      we can divide the main signal from tape into the correct sub-signals
      and synchroneously send it to the right places.
   2. We also control the pyrotechnics that is established on the roofs.
      We have 6 locations from where we start fireworks. ... During this
      we absolutely need perfect timing, as the fireworks is very tightly
      choreographed with the music of the show, and we want to provide
      the same result every evening. A precise result can only be
      achieved with the Amiga control computer.
   3. The 3rd system controlled by the computer is the light. It consists
      of six 5 kW spots that are controlled individually in their
      precise intensity."

So far excerpts from this TV show. Please apologize my English, I only
hope I didn't lose an important fact or misunderstood one.
It was amazing. They very often not only talked about "computer". No,
they explicitly said "Amiga computer" again and again.
We must address that TV station to get a good tape from it :-).
It's heartwarming.

>--
>Best regards, Dr. Peter Kittel  // E-Mail to  \\  Only my personal opinions...
>Commodore Frankfurt, Germany  \X/ {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!cbmger!peterk

(end of quote)

Uh, do you see that old email address of mine in '91? SIGH!
@endnode
@node FEATURE4 "Amiga Survey"
@toc FEATURE

===========================================================================
                               Amiga Survey
  Wojciech Czyz                                    wojcz@ue.eti.pg.gda.pl
===========================================================================

Please send this file to as many person as you can.  Please post it on
Internet discussions, WWW pages, Email it to your Amiga friends.  Please
help me!!!! 

I am interested in creating new Amiga family, used mainly in industry and
special applications.  This family will have several boards, equipped with
Motorola MC63xxx microcontroller, memory, modified Amiga OS and connections
for different devices. 

Amiga OS is very good in industrial applications, and I hope that such
usage will help all Amigas to build up their better image.  This will be
first Amiga hardware/cloning experiment, in future we want to produce Amiga
boards for "normal" users. 

Please fill this questionnaire and send on Email address:

    wojcz@ue.eti.pg.gda.pl
    or
    wojcz@mug4.gumbeers.elka.pg.gda.pl

Place X in answers, always use only one answer.  DO NOT write any comments,
you will have space at the and of this questionnaire

--- CUT HERE SENDING THIS FILE TO ME ---

I General questions.

1) Should Amiga OS be ported to other platforms
   ( )Yes.
   ( )No.

2) What kind of porting should be used:
   ( ) Full porting, requiring changes in existing software to run
       properly.
   ( ) Emulation, running nearly all existing software, but being
       ineffective.

3) Should Amiga processor be changed:
   ( ) Yes, in all future models.
   ( ) Yes, in some models.
   ( ) No. Only MC68xxx family should be used.

4) Should Amiga be produced as separate hardware platform in future:
   ( ) Yes.
   ( ) Yes, some models.
   ( ) No. OS and software should be completely ported.

5) Should Amiga use open architecture with slots:
   ( ) Yes.
   ( ) Yes, some models.
   ( ) No.

6) What standard slots should Amiga use:
   ( )PCI
   ( )ZorroIII
   ( )Modified ZorroIII
   ( )EISA
   ( )Other

7) Should Amiga hardware be produced by different vendors:
   ( )Yes.
   ( )No.

8) Should Amiga OS still be placed on ROM:
   ( )Yes.
   ( )No.

II Custom Amiga applications questions.

9) Should Amiga OS be used in industrial field:
   ( )Yes.
   ( )No.

10) Do you see any advantages coming from Amiga OS usage in industry
applications for normal Amiga community (users and developers):
   ( )Yes.
   ( )No.

III Cloning Amiga.

11) Should there be Amiga clone with only CPU, minimal OS and slots on
board, able to fit into standard PC case:
   ( )Yes.
   ( )No.

12) Should there be "Amiga" with only slots and minimal OS on board.  (CPU
boards as add on):
   ( )Yes.
   ( )No.

13) Would you be interested in buying and using of above Amigas
   ( )Yes.
   ( )No.

IV Comment and text question - very valuable!!!

14) What Amiga would you buy:
>>...................

15) What interesting application could would you propose for custom Amiga 
with only CPU, Amiga OS and peripherals for control, sensing and others: 
>>...................

16) What are advantages of Amiga OS:
>>...................

17) What are advantages of Amiga software:
>>...................

18) Who may be interested in using custom (industrial) Amigas:
>>...................

19) Who may be interested in developing custom Amigas:
>>...................

20) Do you know anything about Motorola MC63xxx microcontrollers used in
industrial Amigas:
>>...................

21) Do you have any other comments:
>>...................

Thank you,
Wojciech Czyz (wojcz).
wojcz@ue.eti.pg.gda.pl
wojcz@gumbeers.elka.pg.gda.pl
@endnode

@node FEATURE5 "Montreal and Atlanta Reports"
@toc FEATURE

===========================================================================
  Amiga Convention '96 Montreal and the Atlanta Amiga Portable Unveiling
                            By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}
===========================================================================

It feels like I've been all over the place in the past month, which hasn't
helped me sit down and work on Amiga Report.  But here I am, with a few
hours to spare until my set deadline for the issue, and I'd like to at
least try to do SOME justice to the events I attended.

Amiga Convention '96 in Montreal was held in early August at the downtown
Howard Johnson Hotel.  The weekend got off to a good start in our "all we
have left but it's pretty cheap, all things considered" hotel suite.
Friday night was filled with the usual meeting up with people, catching up
on personal business, and going out to dinner multiple times.  Among
others, I was finally able to meet Commodore legend Jim Butterfield.
Particularly if the Amiga is not your first Commodore computer, you should
either be familiar with Jim's name, or be ashamed of yourself.

Saturday morning, the show kicked off.  Unlike last year's AC and most
conventional trade shows, AC was not held in a huge room but instead in a
series of large meeting rooms.  There was a lot of hanging out in stairways
and hallways as a result--not a bad thing, since much of the point of a
trade show is to socialize.  Exhibitor turnout was substantial, but there
was a notable lack of strong presence by hardware developers.  Left to
represent that aspect of Amiga business on their own was Silent Paw, makers
of the PAWS 1200 portable.  Software manufacturers were reasonably well
represented by the wit and charm of Dale Larson and his IAM crew, Syzygy
and their Digital Universe-churning demo unit, Bob Fischer and his ImageFX
and Aladdin 4D promotion, and Moebius Technology, whose spreadsheet program
is in developmental stages.  Rounding off the software developers was
clickBOOM, creators and publishers of the upcoming Capital Punishment for
the Amiga.  Retailers on the scene included National Amiga, Valleysoft,
Wonder Computers, and The Computer and You.

Not too much in the way of new product was available.  IAM launched their
new MRBackup software, and clickBOOM was showing yet another Capital
Punishment demo, this one 060 compatible.

National Amiga had a lot of last-chance items, including a stack of CDTVs
and A600s.  If you shopped in another room, you would have seen dozens of
A3000s on sale for ridiculously low prices.  About 40 were sold at the
event.

The show featured a keynote by VIScorp VP of Business Development David
Rosen, as well as demonstrations and programs throughout the two-day
session.  Final attendance was estimated at something under 400 people.
Not stellar, which was surprising given the amount there really was to see
and do, but not bad, either.

Of course, the real fun is the night life.  Saturday night consisted of
Vietnamese food and Laser Quest, a game where you don a big plastic vest
and gun and run around a blacklit maze shooting at each other.  Since I was
dressed in a white t-shirt, I was a great target and got shot an awful lot.

Sunday, there was a panel discussion with myself, David Rosen, and Dale
Larson of IAM.  Lots of questions came from the audience, worried about
future Amiga direction and cooperation with other companies.

Sunday night was the really neat one.  The local Virtual World franchise
helped sponsor the event and put on a demonstration.  There were also free
passes for all the event staff and VIPs, so we played a few rounds of
Battletech.  Within our group of 6 players (Myself, Katherine Nelson, Dale
Larson, Robert Hardy, Adam The IAM Intern, and Al Mackey), I managed to win
all three matches. :)

In Atlanta, the tone was considerably different.  VIScorp had committed,
months ago, to sending a rep to Atlanta in August.  When it finally came
time to really send someone, I was asked to attend.  Luckily, QuikPak came
to my rescue and gave me something real to talk about.  They are developing
a new motherboard to be placed in an industry-standard OEM portable
computer case, which will put a portable A4000-class machine on the market.

The new computer will have a color LCD capable of Amiga video modes.  In
addition, the new motherboard will have 040 and 060 design and up to 128
megs of memory directly.  There will be Zorro and video slots, allowing for
a fully portable video editing station based on Amiga technology.
Estimated retail cost is around $3000, and count on it being six months
away.  The unit will be AC power only, and is not the same design Silent
Paw has been working on.

The Atlanta group turnout was decent, and I fielded questions for what
roughly seemed like forever.  Thankfully, it's all on video so I can keep
straight in my head what exactly happened. :)

Coming up for the rest of the year, it looks like there may well be two
Toronto Amiga shows.  Amazing Computers is planning a November show with
Comspec and Randomize, and Wonder Computers is planning a second showing of
their World of Amiga show in December.  Of course, the other big upcoming
shows will be the Cologne Computer '96 and the Video Toaster Expo.  I hope
to see you there!

@endnode

@node REVIEW1 "Review: MIAMI vs. AMITCP"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                         Review: MIAMI vs.  AMITCP
  Robert Davis                                             rdavis@nyx.net
===========================================================================

Here is a comparison of the performance of MIAMI as compared to AMITCP.  In
July, 1996, Holger Kruse released the beta and then demo versions of his
new TCP/IP stack for the Amiga, named MIAMI.

The primary advantages to MIAMI over the older AMITCP are:
1. MIAMI is *much* easier to install, often taking
   fewer than 10 minutes from start to on-line.
2. MIAMI is less expensive to register, costing $35 (US)
   while the commercial version of AMITCP/IP is around
   $95 (US) from retail sources.

The tests I have run show disagreements with the prevailing wisdom as seen
in Usenet newsgroups and on Internet Relay Chat channels.

The buzz seemed to be that MIAMI was simply faster with its Internet
connections than was AmiTCP, and that MIAMI used less memory than AmiTCP.

Neither is true.

Anyone can do these tests, all it takes is a bit of effort and some time. 
I would like to see someone come up with different results, using a test
procedure which I (or anyone) could duplicate.

Still, differences are slight, and the two advantages for MIAMI listed
above are very important.  Having a choice in TCP/IP implementations is
also important.

Here are the results of my comparitive tests of MIAMI and AmiTCP, starting
with an examination of memory used.

Procedure followed: Reboot the Amiga 3000, take note of free memory, start
the TCP/IP stack, start IBrowse, close unnecessary windows.  Note free
memory, subtract from original free memory to determine actual usage.

Software versions used were MIAMI 1.0 demo and AmiTCP/IP 4.0 demo, and
IBrowse R8a demo.

IBrowse is loaded because it uses MUI, and forces similar memory
allocations in both MIAMI (which uses MUI at startup) and AMITCP (which
does not use MUI).

case 1   MIAMI + IBROWSE
    memory used   chip 226976  other 1696896  total 1,923,872

case 2   AMITCP + IBROWSE
    memory used   chip 216128  other 1544048  total 1,760,176

case 3   MIAMI + IBROWSE
    memory used   chip 226976  other 1697088  total 1,924,064

case 4   AMITCP + IBROWSE
    memory used   chip 216128  other 1544048  total 1,760,176

Conclusion, once MUI is forced, AMITCP uses about 163-thousand bytes less
than does MIAMI.

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

The results of three speed comparisons between MIAMI (the new Amiga TCP/IP
system for modem use) and AMITCP/IP

22 July 1996

Speed of FTP file transfer ...  AmiTCP loaded, amiftp started, connected to
ftp.amigalib.com, received file INDEX.Z 941966 bytes.  the reboot loaded
MIAMI, and receive the same file from the same ftp site.  Then repeat.

attempt 1   AmiTCP  1365 bytes/second
attempt 2   MIAMI   2616 bytes/second
attempt 3   AmiTCP  2898 bytes/second
attempt 4   MIAMI   2366 bytes/second
attempt 5   AmiTCP  2943 bytes/second
attempt 6   MIAMI (transfer stopped at 95232 bytes)
attempt 7   MIAMI   2660 bytes/second

Interesting.  The very slowest and the very fastest ftp transfers were
while using AmiTCP.

I suspect that conditions on the Internet have a lot more to do with data
transfer speed than does which TCP stack you are running.

Note that attempt 6, using MIAMI, errored and failed.

====================================================================
02 August 1996

Some results from limited comparisons between MIAMI (demo version 1.0) and
AmiTCP (4.0 demo)

Speed of FTP file transfer ...  reboot the A3000, Load MIAMI, start amiftp,
connect to ftp.amigalib.com, receive file INDEX.Z 953269 bytes.  Reboot the
A3000, load AMITCP, and receive the same file from the same ftp site.  Then
repeat.

attempt 1   MIAMI   2633 bytes/second
attempt 2   AmiTCP  2868 bytes/second
attempt 3   MIAMI   2862 bytes/second
attempt 4   AmiTCP (transfer aborted at 670720 bytes)
attempt 5   AmiTCP  2812 bytes/second
attempt 6   MIAMI   2862 bytes/second
attempt 7   AmiTCP  2597 bytes/second

Interesting.  For the second time, the very slowest and the very fastest
ftp transfers were while using AmiTCP.  But MIAMI is very close ...  I
conclude there is no significant difference in the speed of data transfer
using MIAMI or AmiTCP.

I still suspect that conditions on the Internet have a lot more to do with
data transfer speed than does which TCP stack you are running.

This time attempt 4, using AMITCP/IP, errored and eventually failed.

====================================================================
05 August 1996

Again using MIAMI 1.0 demo and AMITCP 4.0 demo, here are the results of a
third speed test.

Slightly changed conditions for the third speed test involve putting
INDEX.Z (954859 bytes) on the local Internet Service Provider.  That LINUX
system is about one mile from my home.

The same procedure, reboot, load a TCP/IP stack, receive the file, then do
it all again, gave the following results:

attempt 1  MIAMI  3281 bytes/second
attempt 2  AMITCP 3304 bytes/second
attempt 3  MIAMI  3236 bytes/second
attempt 4  AMITCP 3304 bytes/second
attempt 5  MIAMI  3304 bytes/second
attempt 6  AMITCP 3304 bytes/second

Certainly, neither MIAMI nor AMITCP/IP has a significant speed advantage. 
Speed variations here might be attributed to load differences on the remote
computer.

rdavis@nyx.net
IRC Arvid
@endnode
@node REVIEW2 "Review: Alien Breed 3D II - The Killing Grounds"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                  Alien Breed 3D II - The Killing Grounds
                            By: @{" Ken Anderson " link KEN}
===========================================================================

At last - Yes, it's here.  The wordily-named "Alien Breed 3D II - The
Killing Grounds" (hereafter TKG), the most eagerly awaited game for the
Amiga since the last Alien Breed 3D, slipped into the shops on the 24th
July, after what seems like years of waiting.

The first thing to point out is that TKG loves power.  Nay, it demands it.
Playing this game on a stock A1200 is like having sex with 3 condoms on -
better than nothing, but it's slower, more difficult and generally not as
good as the real thing.  The game is shipped with both 2 and 4 megabyte
version - the former runs in 2x2 mode, meaning every block on the main
playing screen is made up of a square, 2 pixels wide.  It gives you enough
detail to see what's going on, but you can't appreciate the true hard work
that has gone into TKG.  Showing this mode to a PC owner will result in
minus several thousand street cred points, so don't do it.

Feed TKG to anything better than an 68030/25-equipped Amiga, and you start
to see things a little more clearly.  Coupled with 4Mb of memory, the extra
power will allow the 1x1 mode, where the screen is made up of individual
pixels.  Robots that were a mass of blocks in chunky old 2x2 mode show up
as lean, mechanical killers in 1x1.  The ankle-biting aliens that
previously looked as if they were being viewed through your bathroom window
now look fearsome, deadly, and to be avoided.

The second thing to point out is that TKG is very, very tough.  It took me
3 days of on-off playing to get past the second level, and that was only by
the skin of my teeth.  Ammo, in the initial levels at least, is scarce,
forcing you to make every shot count.  The aliens attack in ferocious
waves, enducing panic-filled spinning around, desperately trying to
orientate yourself enough to get a clear shot.  The levels are
well-designed, with secret passages, hiding holes and even the odd
ventilation system for you to crawl around in, Bruce Willis style.

Of course, you are not alone in this playground - the Alien Breed of the
title are out for you.  In the first game, they weren't such a clever
bunch.  You could rely on them to follow certain patterns, and take
advantage of such rigid artificial intelligence.  In TKG, no more - those
damn aliens are smart (except for the stupid ones, of course).  Even though
they can't see you, most can hear you - a missed potshot at a dozing robot
will result in the thing chasing after you.  This can also work to your
advantage, of course - no better way to lure the scum out that to loose off
a few rounds outside their hiding place.

The game engine has been improved almost beyond recognition, so you can now
look up and down - especially useful in some levels for peering down over a
ledge to blast an unsuspecting beastie.  Every level is now lightsourced -
blasts from guns will temporarily light up dark caverns, and aliens and
objects are silhouetted by explosions beyond them.

The light effects, and in particular the sound effects, give the game a
very strong atmosphere - play the game with the lights off and the speakers
turned up, and I guarantee you'll jump backwards when that walker appears
around the corner, headlights - and laser cannon - blazing.  The pounding,
almost subliminal, sound effects grow steadily quieter and louder as the
game and the pace vary.

In fact, technical issues aside, it is the atmosphere generated by TKG that
sets it apart from the rest of the croud.  You ARE the lone fighter, stuck
in a room with a family of blood-sucking mutants after you.  Your task
isn't simply to get from the start to the end of the level; it's to blow up
X, find out more about Y whilst crawling around Z.

Once every last bit of playability has been exhausted from the game, you
can resign just about all of the game with the supplied game editors.  The
level design, alien intelligence, objects and most other game elements can
be customised, enabling the player to create their own little world in
which to kill things.  PC fans will know that there is a wealth of
user-created Doom levels on the Internet, and I expect this will become the
case with TKG too.  Sadly, a vital file required for the running of the
level editor was missed in the final distribution of TKG.  Team 17 should
have the file ready for release by the time you read this.

In summary, TKG is the finest Amiga "Doom-clone" ever written, and can hold
it's head up against other platforms too.  It combines atmosphere,
technical genius and sound gameplay design to produce an instant Amiga
classic.  This is the standard on which others will be judged.

---
Team 17, once the darlings of the Amiga games scene, have been publicly
pessimistic about the Amiga's future.  It is only the instinct that has
been bred into them and the sheer skill of TKG's programmer, Andy
Clithereo, that has brought TKG into existence.  Do not let their skill and
trust go unrewarded.  If you like what you have read here, buy the game.
This time, the Amiga's future really IS in your hands.

There are also reported problems running TKG from a hard drive.  Exactly
what causes the problem is unclear at the time of writing, but various
suggestions have been put forward in comp.sys.amiga.games.  Anyone having
trouble with the game would be best advised to keep an eye on c.s.a.g and
Team 17's Web Site (http://www.team17.com).

Pros: Unsurpassed atmosphere, and probably the most technically advanced
game ever written for the Amiga.  Enough challenge and levels to keep you
at it for a long time to come, and when you've finally beaten it, there's
the level editor to keep you going.  Oh, and one more go, please.

Cons: Incredibly tough, which creates frustration.  Needs a pretty porky
Amiga to get the best from it.
@endnode
@node REVIEW3 "Review: Reccoon BBS v0.67 (registered)"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                  Review: Reccoon BBS v0.67 (registered)
  Mathias Axelsson                          mathias.axelsson@coders.ct.se
===========================================================================

PRODUCT NAME

  Reccoon BBS v0.67 (registered)

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

  A integrated BBS system with support for Fidonet echos, as well as
fileechos.  Good MSGID/REPLY linking, and support for long file desc.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

  Name: Henric Andersson (1996-), Niclas Emdelius (1991-95)
  Address: Smedjegatan 10, S-260 60 KVIDINGE, SWEDEN
  Telephone: N/A
  E-mail: edc@klippan.se
  Fidonet: Henric Andersson, 2:200/236 (+46-435-25251) (24h)
  World Wide Web: N/A

LIST PRICE

  700 SEK (~US$ 100) This includes free updates and a keyfile.  You can
send the payment either via PostGiro 5010164316 (Scandinavians only, mark
with "Reccoon / Andersson") or via direct bank transfer to Skandinaviska
Enskilda Banken (SE Banken), Clearingnr 5620, Account 56200005109.

DEMO VERSION

  Demo version is available on Aminet, e.g.  in /pub/aminet/comm/bbs at
ftp.luth.se as Reccoon-Eval.lha or via Fidonet filerequest of "rcn067.lha"
from 2:200/236.

  The demo version can only run with a locale node, but you can get the
feel of the BBS system anyway.  You can still import msgs, upload files
etc.  When you register you'll get a keyfile, and will also be able to
download your personal executables directly online from Henrics BBS.  I've
mailed Henric about getting the updated personal executables via EMail, but
I haven't got any answer yet.  That would make it cheaper for people in
other parts of the world.

SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

 HARDWARE

  x 1 MB RAM required, but more is prefered.

  x Installable on disc, but HD is prefered if you want to run the
    registered version.

  x The program runs on any 680x0 processor, but the faster the better.. :)

 SOFTWARE

  x AmigaOS 2.04+ is requiered.

  x Working just fine on AmigaOS 3.1.

  x If you want to run as a Fidonet node you'll need a Fidonet compatible
    mailer like TrapDoor.  A tosser is included, as well as programs to
    handle fileechos.

COPY PROTECTION

  There is no visible copy protection, but you get your personal keyfile
and will also need to download your personal executables before you get the
fully working version.  I guess you could get the executables Email:ed to
you from the author as well.

  It can be installed on a hard drive (prefered).

  No need for any original disk.

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

  Amiga 3000 25 MHz
  Workbench 3.1 (40.42), Kickstart 3.1 (40.68)
  One internal 1.76 HD diskdrive and one external DD diskdrive
  2 MB Chip RAM
  12 MB Fast RAM
  Fujutsi 1.05 GB, 100 MB Quantum HD
  NEC 2x CDROM
  SupraFAXmodem 28k8 V.FC/V.34

INSTALLATION

  The product has an easy to use Installer script, but in earlier versions
there's been some trouble with the installation failing.  This is not the
case in the current 0.67 version.  It's easy to update from an earlier
version, since the script does all the necessary changes.  There's also
dozens of doors specially wrote for Rcn, and they are easily installed in
the DOORS: directory.  =20

REVIEW

  The BBS packages comes with all the utils you need, like Front, which is
a frontend if you do not have any real mailer.  A tosser is included to
handle msg import/exporting and there's both a STDIO and a GUI config
program as well as user editor.  It's easy to create your own menus, and
the system supports configurable number of menus (you can have e.g.
ANSI/non-ANSI menus with swedish or english text).  All strings in the BBS
program can also be translated if you want to.  If your a new user and
haven't programmed C before, then there might be some problems to get
started with the FPL programming, but since there's a lot of people to ask
in the Fidonet echos, or the author, that won't be that big a problem.
There's also a lot of examples in the fileechos, and a good online manual
for FPL.  You don't need to know FPL to create your own menus, even though
you can write your menus directly in FPL.

  The configuration is quite easily made.  All you have to do is start the
config program.  If you want to install Fidonet stuff, then some Fidonet
basic will be good to have.  Setting up msg areas and file areas isn't hard
at all, just press the Create area button and fill in what you need.

  I only run my BBS as a one line BBS, but there is some people running
multi-line BBS:s, and they say it works perfectly fine.  There's also some
chat doors to enable chat between two lines, as well as between more than
two people.

  The BBS system can handle DOS doors, the old Paragon style doors as well
as the new Rcn doors.  Most doors I've installed works with some of those
configs, which gives us a lot of doors.  There is currently not as many
doors as Xenolink or AmiExpress have, but work is under way.

  New doors and utils will be uploaded to Aminet in comm/bbs, and will
begin with 'rcn' to make it easier to locate the special doors/utils
(according to the author).

  The BBS system does also support XEM libraries, which means you can get
RIP support by just adding the xemrip.library to your system.  There's also
support for ANSI mouse.

DOCUMENTATION

  The documentation is all in AmigaGuide format, and it includes
documentation for the system, as well as docs about special escape codes,
and a separate doc file for FPL (Frexx Programming Language, which is a C
like language), which is used for writing the menus, as well as other stuff
that you want to change in the BBS system.  The upcoming v14 of FPL will
also include a compiler to speed up the execution of FPL programs.

  The documentation is easy to read, and explains all the functions of the
BBS system, new features, updates etc.  There's also autodocs for the
reccoon.library, and some example templates for writing your own doors.
The include files is only C versions, but there is work on E modules and
asm/E door templates.

  The autodocs could be better, as some functions is missing a description.

  You can still code your own doors without too much hassle, and you can
always mail Henric, or ask a question in any of the Fidonet support echos.


  I've always got fast replies from Henric concerning questions on how to
code certain stuff, and there's also a bunch of other Rcn sysops to ask
questions to, or talk with.

LIKES

  The best thing of this BBS system is that it uses FPL for scripts (ARexx
can be used if you want), which makes it very configurable.  There's also
both STDIO and GUI versions of the Config and UserEd programs (even though
the GUI versions has to be updated to include the new stuff).  The msg part
is also good, as it supports MSGID/REPLY linking.  The filebase has also
been improved to allow long filenames as well as long (more than two rows)
descriptions.  There's also going to be support for File_ID.DIZ in the
future.  I'm also running Enforcer to check all new programs that I
install, and I'm glad to say that Rcn hasn't given me any hits with this
version.

DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS

  I would like to see some support for REPLY-ADDR kludges, as well as
To:/From: fields to enable good support for gated Internet EMail/News.

  The tosser is also a little bit slow, and it doesn't come with a GUI
config program, which would be much better, as it makes it easier to config
nodes/echos.  There isn't any good way to delete a msg area or a file area,
so you have to set the access to a high number to exclude it for users.

  I've talked to the author and he said it will be fixed in a later
version.

  One quirk with the system is the special version of FSED that comes with
the system.  This is the full screen editor that is used when writing msgs.
It's a bit old, and has some really annoying features, like when I press
=F6= (a swedish char) and the cursor goes down one line instead of printing
an =F6...  :(

COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

  I've only tested TransAmiga a little before I tested Rcn and registered.
As Rcn is a swedish product, and I live in Sweden, that made me chose Rcn,
as I could get fast support.  In comparision to TA I would say that Rcn is
easier to install and configure.  It has also got better Fidonet support in
the msg base.

BUGS

  There has been some bugs in earlier versions, but they're fixed in this
version.  I've had no problems at all since I installed 0.67.

VENDOR SUPPORT

  You can contact the author via Email at edc@klippan.se or through Fidonet
ar 2:200/236.  For his full address, see the beginning of this review.
There's also a couple of Fidonet msg echos and file echos where the author
and other Rcn sysops can exchange sources, help, suggestions etc.  These
Fidonet echos are exported to the UK as well, so if you want support in the
UK, then please contact Richard Bell at 2:251/31.

  I've written some doors for Rcn and I'm currently working on a new online
editor for Rcn, with support for signatures, headers, ANSI colours and a
lot of other stuff.  This editor is a port from OS/2, where it was
originally written by Bj=F6rn Stenberg (2:201/328 or bjst@sth.frontec.se).
I've added a lot of stuff since the original port, and also removed some
bugs.  The reason I ported it was that there was no support for FSED any
more (there is a special version of FSED for Rcn included in the archive)
so I thought I should fix a better editor.  Beta testing is currently under
way, and a full release will be included in the next release of Rcn.

WARRANTY

  The author doesn't take any responsibility if anything goes wrong.  You
use the program on your own risk.

CONCLUSIONS

  The conclusion will be that this is a great BBS packages, with a few
glitches like no News/Email support and no File_ID.DIZ support (yet!).

  The tosser is a little bit slow, and doesn't have all those fancy things
I wanted, so I run another tosser for the main tossing and only use
ReccProc to import/export msgs to the BBS.  It do contain a msg filter
though, so you can add your own robots, like Areafix/Raid programs.  The
Fidonet msg system is also very good.

  I give it four out of five stars.  The product gives a good first
impression, and the easy installation makes it even more positive in the
first impression.  When you get the feel of the system I'm sure you're
gonna like it even more, at least I did.

  The easy way to create doors and add scripts makes the system very
configurable, and you can add almost anything to your personal setup.  With
both ARexx and FPL supported, you can easily add customized menus, add
extra menus to the GUI, and a lot of other stuff.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

  This review may be freely distributed.

  Copyright 1996 Mathias Axelsson (max@coders.ct.se or 2:204/211)
@endnode
@node REVIEW4 "Review: TEAC High Density FDD"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                       Review: TEAC High Density FDD
  Frank                                               eric@karoass.gun.de
===========================================================================

Two years ago during the computer show here in cologne, the original Chinon
drives were dumped out for a price lower than 100DM ($66 I guess) but I
didn't buy one.  A few weeks later I heard that Chinon kicked these drives
out of their product family.  That's life...

Time goes by and I reached a point where a HD-drive became very important
for me (PC-Task, Shapeshifter).  But there are no drives on the market.

This spring I saw an advertisment of the German firm "Amtrade".  They
offered the drive I was searching for.  One day later I ordered an internal
one for my A2000 (running in a PC-Bigtower).  It took about four weeks for
delivery.

This drive is a TEAC one with a little hardware plugged on the floppy
connector.  The whole magic does a PAL and a little modification on the
floppy-board.  The way of connection is like the normal drives.

After inserting and connecting the drive, I started my test.  This software
works fine with the drive:

- PC-Task
- Shapeshifter
- CrossDos
- CrossMac
- SuperDuper

From my point of view this drive is 99.99% compatible with all system
friendly programms.

The internal A1200-version includes the floppy-fix for the newer
A1200-models.  External drives are availiable too.  I don't know if there
is a version for the A3000 (it seems to be question of the right
eject-button).

Amtrade Computersysteme
Wilhelmstrasse 25
72555 Metzingen
Germany

Tel. 49 7123 960810
FAX  49 7123 960855
@endnode
@node REVIEW5 "Review: Aminet Set 3"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                           Review: Aminet Set 3
                            By: @{"Jason Compton " link JASON}
===========================================================================

Aminet Set 1 was stunning in scope.  Aminet Set 2, a year later, was a
welcome update.  But Aminet Set 3, coming about six months later, is a big
surprise.

If you're unfamiliar with Aminet, you're missing out on a global
phenomenon.  Now recognized as the largest archive of freely
redistributable software not just for the Amiga but for ANY platform,
Aminet is THE place to get non-commercial Amiga programs, tools, music,
pictures, you name it.  A few years back, Aminet CDs began to surface,
gaining popularity and acceptance as 3 month, then two month installments
under publisher Schatztruhe.  The Set was a way to compile the entire
Aminet, and later its updates, into small, portable 4-disc sets.

Aminet Set 3 is the wealth of files accumulated since Aminet Set 2, and
also includes new material compiled after the release of the 12th Aminet
CD.  Some of the massive gain in a short time has been accomplished through
integrating other sources of data (in other words, it wasn't all just
spontaneously uploaded by enthusiastic masses), but it is there and it is
new to Aminet all the same.

Seen one, you've seen them all, more or less.  The ever-present AmigaGuide
interface is back, allowing you to uncompress and run software directly off
the CDs, search for titles, configure your own viewing software, and more.
What might make Aminet Set 3 more attractive to you, if you're still
reeling from the data overload of owning the Set 1 or perhaps a
subscription, is the commercial goodies on the Set.

Recent Aminet CDs have been publishing specially licensed commercial
software, and a number of the offerings have been quite attractive.  On the
Set 3, you will find a few games (still not very good), OctaMED 5 (well
worth a look), XiPaint 3.2 (the very capable 24-bit paint package) and
Imagine 4, which to my mind is the biggest goodie since, well, since
Imagine 3 was released on CU Amiga's coverdisk last winter.

What's more, there's a brochure included that offers special upgrade prices
to XiPaint 4 for under US$50, Imagine 5 for US$125, a special Imagine 3D
object CD for US$20, and OctaMED Sound Studio 1 for under US$40.  It's a
lot of savings.

Do you NEED Aminet Set 3?  Well, while there is overlap between Aminets
since the Set 2 and this one, the commercial software is quite a bargain.
All of the completely new files are categorized separately in the
AmigaGuide index, so you can easily get to what you don't already have on
file.  But as to whether or not you NEED the set versus just being content
to access Aminet via FTP or the Web, that's always a personal decision.

To my mind, it's staggering to think that Aminet now sprawls over 24 CDs
and for that reason alone, it's worth considering being a part of that
history.  I think this set categorizes directories a bit better over the 4
discs, making things more reasonable to find.  Give it some serious
thinking, particularly if graphics or music are on your mind.

Published by Stefan Ossowski's Schatztruhe
45131 Essen
Germany
+49 201 788778 voice
stefano@tchest.e.eunet.de e-mail
http://www.schatztruhe.de/
@endnode
@node REVIEW6 "How To Buy A Computer, By John Pospisil"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
        Review: How to Buy a Computer (Australian) by John Pospisil
                            By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}
===========================================================================

Published in May of this year, the book How To Buy a Computer was written
by John Pospisil, Amiga enthusiast.  John and I have been in touch for over
a year now, talking about the Amiga and its role in the Australian
marketplace.  That role can be seen, somewhat, through his book, published
by the Australian Consumers' Association, roughly analagous to the
organization behind the American Consumer Reports magazine.

John's book is for regular people who think they might want to buy a
computer.  The book is cleanly laid out into sections, which take you
through the questions "Do I really need and want a computer?", "What IS a
computer, anyway?", "What can I do with a computer?" and then gets into
Internet discussions and learning how to use a computer.  Finally, it gets
down to "Which computer should I buy?"

John had to fight to get what Amiga references he did into the book.  I
will say this for him: he, along with Storm Front Studios (former
publishers of Australia's last Amiga publication) got a lot of Amiga
screenshots into the book.  The problem is that John rarely gets them
credited to the Amiga, so they're just faceless screenshots of Term and
Imagine et al--enough so that WE realize what they are, but not enough so
that the unsuspecting reader actually gets the message.

When it boils down to the "what to buy" section, the Amiga is left out of
the hard-core comparison between the PC and Mac.  We get two pages,
complete with a mini-history lesson on the Amiga, overview of the OS and
Amiga advantages, and mini-reviews on the A1200 and A4000T.  The verdict on
the 1200 is that it's a good home machine, and the 4000T is blasted for its
price.  Its future prospects are given as nebulous...which I suppose means
John knows about as much as the rest of us. :)

While the book will be of little interest to Amiga users--even if you're
considering switching platforms, John's book is aimed at the first-time
buyer so you'll have the answers to most of his questions already, if not
all of them--it's good to see the Amiga get some mainstream recognition.
If I was the editor, I would of course have put a whole lot more Amiga
information in there.  On the other hand, the number of writers and editors
that wouldn't have seen clear to giving the Amiga as much exposure as this
book does is far greater, so I can't complain.  From a totally objective
standpoint, I think John did a competent job of really explaining the basic
differences between the platforms and allowing people to make their own
decisions--there is no "Windows 95 is the wave of the future, catch it now
or drown" rhetoric that's become so popular over the past year.

How To Buy a Computer is published by Choice Books
57 Carrington Rd.
Marrickville 2204
Australia
ISBN 0 947277 26 9
@endnode
@node REVIEW7 "Review: DblScan 4000 By PLP"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                        Review: DblScan 4000 by PLP
                            By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}
===========================================================================

Back in the old days, people tried all sorts of things to get rid of
high-res flicker, because it looked really nasty on a 1084 monitor.
Turning down the contrast was just annoying, so most who were serious about
the problem would buy devices like Commodore and Microway flickerfixers,
Flicker Free Videos, and would install these in their machines.  They let
you put a VGA monitor on your system so that high-res screens wouldn't have
nasty interlace jitters.

Then, the wonderful minds at Commodore put a flicker-fixer in the A3000.
And it worked, overall, wonderfully.  But when AGA machines came around,
there was little relief in sight.  The only good option was to get a nice
multisync monitor and pretend the interlace wasn't there.

But the problem THEN became that good multisync monitors (those that can
handle the Amiga's 15khz modes) became very hard to find--and those you
COULD find were rather expensive.  So Petsoff Limited Partnership has come
up with a solution.  For about $200, you can put your A4000's built-in
video on a standard VGA 15-pin socket, with all of your 15khz screens
bumped up to a nice steady 31khz display.

Which is exactly what it does, for most people.  The DblScan 4000 is a tiny
card that fits in the video slot (or one of your video slots, if you have a
4000T) and promotes the built-in AGA display modes to 31khz where
applicable.  (DBL modes, which are at 27 khz, are not affected.)  Less than
a dozen chips are on the card, and installation is brutally easy.  No
software drivers, it just works.

That is, unless you have one of the makes of power supply that the DblScan
4000 is unhappy with.  Even after PLP sent a replacement board with a
better capacitor, to try to get around the power supply glitches, our
desktop A4000 was not happy with the DblScan 4000.  The display would lose
all cohesion within 15 minutes, which was a shame.  On most Commodore 4000
desktops, and all those with beefier power supplies, this is not a problem.

My German (Eagle-built) A4000T performs wonderfully with the DblScan
installed.  Occasionally, there are a few seconds of "fuzzy" display soon
after powering on, but the problem quickly clears up.

So, what's the point of owning one?  Even if you're a self-proclaimed power
applications user and have no truck with games, you still need a 15khz
display to view certain key screens, such as the Early Startup Screen and
gurus.  A standard VGA monitor will not give you these.  Some older
software just refuses to promote properly, and requires a 15khz display.

Multisync monitors continue to be pretty pricey for Amiga users.  While the
1764 is a great product, it is not available globally.  The 20" TIMM
supports 15khz modes but is too blurry for some.  This card allows you to
put the finest Iiyama SVGA monitor on your system and use it like a champ.

The only competing product I've seen mention of is sold by Power Computing
of the UK.  While reviews were favorable, the card is roughly 3X the price
of the DblScan.  Compatibility with other Amiga hardware and software is
impeccable--basically, not a whole lot can go wrong.

If you need a video display solution on a standard VGA monitor that keeps
compatibility with 15khz modes for games and other projects, the DblScan is
a great choice.

Retail price: US$180, $15 shipping

PLP
PO Box 1009
FIN-53301 LPR
FINLAND

http://www.lut.fi/~petsalo/plp.html
++358 53 451 5223 fax

@endnode

@node REVIEW9 "Review: Apollo 1240/40 Accelerator"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                Review: Apollo 1240/40 Accelerator, Part 1
                            By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}
===========================================================================

I remember when an 020/14 seemed really, really fast.  Unfortunately, to
most people, it doesn't seem that way anymore.  But the A1200 ships that
way, so you'll have to take matters into your own hands to cram some speed
into that little case.

The Apollo 1240/40 card aims to do just that.  Armed with a Motorola 68040
processor at 40mhz, fully equipped with FPU and MMU, your A1200 will get
quite a speed increase.

Installation is thankfully much easier than with the first 040 accelerator
we reviewed, the Falcon 040/25.  The Apollo is self-contained, with a
smaller 040 package than the Falcon's.  The chip, a small heat sink and a
fan are all mounted on the side of the board that faces up into the
computer, the underside contains all the support logic, SIMM slot, and the
SCSI module header.  (The SCSI module is sold separately and unfortunately
was not provided for review.)

Pop in a SIMM up to 32 megabytes and set the RAM jumper to on.  The board
takes care of the rest.  The only other jumper is the SCSI option jumper,
which you activate when you install the SCSI card.

Open up your A1200's trapdoor case (you may actually find it helpful to
just open the case outright, it makes putting these cards in a lot easier),
slide it in, and you're ready to go.  There is no necessary support
software, the 040 will configure automatically and you're off and running.
Unlike the Falcon, the card is not so huge that you'll never be able to get
it out--it's large enough to fit snugly in the trapdoor, but can be
manipulated in and out easily.

A stronger power supply is recommended by the card manufacturer but I have
noticed no ill effects on the A1200 with hard drive we used for testing.
It is worth noting that the chip, despite its heat sink and fan does get
mighty warm.

The operating manual is all of two A4-sized pieces of paper, which cover
the bare essentials of the accelerator's function.  For troubleshooting,
you're on your own.

We'll wait for benchmarks until AR 4.12, when we will compare the Falcon,
the Apollo 1240/40 and the Phase5 Blizzard 1260.  But here are some
real-world impressions of the 1240/40 card:

Functionally, the card is quite satisfying.  Just as it should, the system
is significantly sped up, even over the performance we got with the Falcon.
However, under CPU-intensive operations I noticed a tendency for the mouse
pointer to freeze up intermittently, in a way I've never seen before under
normal operation of other computer and accelerator configurations.

Speed is indeed faster than stock 040/25 configurations for both 3640 cards
(as found in 4000s and 4000Ts) and the Falcon.

To my mind, the Apollo supplants the Falcon in price and functionality, and
is the only marketed 040 solution that even approaches usability from a
heat and size perspective.  (Now that there's a Falcon alternative, I can't
recommend it in good conscience.  Phase5's upcoming 040 A1200 board is
intended for tower configurations only.)  Stay tuned for benchmarks, and
give the Apollo 1240/40 some serious thought if you're looking to get some
extra juice out of your A1200 without taking the 060 plunge.

Provided for review by DataKompaniet


@endnode


@node REVIEW8 "Review: Mods Anthology"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                          Review: Mods Anthology
                            By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}
===========================================================================

Now that Mods Anthology is out, I don't want anybody to ever ask me again
if I know where they can find any mods.  The fact that this is billed as
"Volume 1" positively frightens me.

Uncompressed on 4 CD-ROMs, Mods Anthology 1 represents over two gigabytes
of MOD songs.  If you figure the average mod is 140k and lasts 4 minutes
(completely arbitrary figures), this means you're buying 61,371 minutes of
music.  That's 2557 days.  That's 7 years.

Now, granted, a whole lot of MODs are just awful.  And a lot of others
sound suspiciously similar.  (Yes, I understand the concept of a remix, but
that's not what I mean.)  But the fact remains that there are so many MODs
here that you've GOTTA find something you like.

Nicolas Franck, himself an Amiga composer and programmer, has been
collecting MODs for years.  And this is the motherlode.  Organized on 4
CD-ROMs by author (alphabetically spread out over CDs) with the fourth CD
dedicated to synth tunes, miscellaneous music, and "exotic formats",
there's a ridiculous number of MODs here.  Included is a version of
DeliTracker, one of the most versatile MOD players out there.  (Personally,
I find the Genie system it uses to be a bit overwhelming at times, but they
do allow the program to be very modular and powerful.)

There is an informative AmigaGuide readme file included and a search
facility.  Unfortunately, the search script does not seem to work
completely on my system: it will locate strings in song titles on all four
CDs, but will not interactively load them.

There are a great number of old favorites and modern classics on here, as
well as just about every MOD author on record.  Franck made every attempt
to contact all of the authors and gain their permission, which basically
just means that U4ia wouldn't allow for his MODs to be on the CD.  No news
here.

Each disc has a "click me first" icon, which brings up DeliTracker and a
few dozen of the best mods on each disc.  It's a good starting point,
although your taste may vary wildly from his.

Call me nutty, but one of my favorite parts of the collection is the
"PlaySID" collection on disc 4, which is a whole lot of C-64 SID tunes,
playable through DeliTracker.  You haven't lived until you've heard JCH's
West End Girls. :)

Despite the problems with the search engine, Mods Anthology 1 is just
that: an anthology, a tome, a massive collection of tunes.  If your
"music/mods" directory is boring you, pick up the Anthology.  Enjoy!

Published by Stefan Ossowski's Schatztruhe
45131 Essen
Germany
+49 201 788778 voice
stefano@tchest.e.eunet.de e-mail
http://www.schatztruhe.de/
@endnode

@node CHARTS1 "Aminet Charts: 05-Aug-96"
@toc FTP

| The most downloaded files from Aminet during the week until 5-Aug-96
| Updated weekly. Most popular file on top.
|
|File              Dir        Size Age Description
|----------------- ---        ---- --- -----------
SmartWB105.lha     util/wb      8K   0+Boosts up Workbench's window refresh
CV64-3D-Shot.lha   pix/illu   316K   0+First Cybervision64/3D Screenshot!
amicdfs232.lha     disk/cdrom 123K   0+AmiCDFS (AmiCDROM) v2.32
mcx256.lha         util/cdity  74K   0+Multi Function Commodity
YAM13_1.lha        comm/mail  307K   0+MUI Internet mailer V1.3.1
mystpr01.lha       game/demo  827K   0+Demo Myst Adventure (File 1/19)
mystpr02.lha       game/demo  826K   0+Demo Myst Adventure (File 2/19)
NewIconsV3.lha     util/wb    539K   0+The Ultimate GUI Enhancement System,
DOPbt1.lha         biz/dopus   29K   0+Various opus4 help scripts: see read
mystpr03.lha       game/demo  815K   0+Demo Myst Adventure (File 3/19)
mystpr04.lha       game/demo  829K   0+Demo Myst Adventure (File 4/19)
mystpr06.lha       game/demo  811K   0+Demo Myst Adventure (File 6/19)
mystpr05.lha       game/demo  791K   0+Demo Myst Adventure (File 5/19)
mystpr08.lha       game/demo  785K   0+Demo Myst Adventure (File 8/19)
mystpr12.lha       game/demo  816K   0+Demo Myst Adventure (File 12/19)
mystpr07.lha       game/demo  853K   0+Demo Myst Adventure (File 7/19)
mystpr18.lha       game/demo  846K   0+Demo Myst Adventure (File 18/19)
mystpr19.lha       game/demo  551K   0+Demo Myst Adventure (File 19/19)
mystpr17.lha       game/demo  856K   0+Demo Myst Adventure (File 17/19)
mystpr09.lha       game/demo  817K   0+Demo Myst Adventure (File 9/19)

| The highest rated programs during the week until 5-Aug-96
| Updated weekly. Best program on top. Please rate all the programs you
| download. To do so, send to aminet-server@wuarchive.wustl.edu :
| RATE <path> <num>
| where <path> is the file you want to judge and <num> is a mark from 0..10
| with 10 being the best. You can rate several programs in one mail, but
| don't rate your own programs. Example: RATE dev/gui/mui23usr.lha 8
|
|File              Dir        Size Age Description
|----------------- ---        ---- --- -----------
Base64Coders.lha   comm/mail   10K   5+Fast base64 (MIME) decoder/encoder.
MagiC64.lha        misc/emu   284K   4+The fastest C64 emulator for Amiga V
Executive.lha      util/misc  527K  36+UNIX-like task scheduler (V1.30)
YAM13_1.lha        comm/mail  307K   0+MUI Internet mailer V1.3.1
MUI-Finger12.lha   comm/tcp     6K   3+Finger utility with MUI interface
swoshd.lha         game/patch  14K   0+HD Installer for SWOS (...95/96, EC'
NH32P1v2.lha       game/role  1.0M   4+Official Amiga Nethack 3.2.1 binarie
aplay211.lha       mus/play   589K   4+APlayer - An allround Amiga music pl
Heil95.lha         pix/misc    18K   9+A new true Win 95 logo. Heil Bill!
MS_cows.lha        pix/misc   545K   0+640x480 pic of the Microsoft staff (
NewIconsV3.lha     util/wb    539K   0+The Ultimate GUI Enhancement System,
ar410.lha          docs/mags   68K   0+Amiga Report 4.10, July 24, 1996
Scions.lha         game/demo  406K   0+Preview of Almagica - Scions of a Fo
Breed96.lha        game/misc  176K   0+Space colonisation/exploration game
AmiFTP-1.607.lha   comm/tcp   271K   4+Easy to use GUI FTP client for OS 2.
Morton.lha         game/demo  430K   6+Cute but tricky platformer
AmFTP153.lha       comm/tcp   196K  21+AmFTP - ftp/Archie/ADT/ADT-Find Clie
Testament1.lha     game/demo  693K   3+Preview of 3D action game. AGA only.
DC60_H1_Upd.lha    biz/patch    7K   1+DosControl Update von v6.0g auf v6.0
KewlCDProbeta.lha  comm/maxs   86K   0+KewlCDPro V1.0b - ULTIMATE CD-Rom fo
XFilesDemo.lha     docs/hyper  68K   1+X-Files database (french only)
titraiproi.lha     gfx/misc     7K   0+Simply program to put subtitles on V
fmsx_1.0.lha       misc/emu   186K   2+MSX emulator, req. 68020/OS2.0
Turn13.lha         text/misc   41K   1+Converts Text in ROT13-format
FastIPrefs4028.lha util/boot   31K   2+FastIPrefs 40.28 & FastWBPattern 40.
UsNThem.lha        game/misc  278K   5+1-2 Player Archon clone.
biorhythms.lha     misc/misc   67K   0+Nice WB biorhythm calculator, V3.4
Visage.lha         gfx/show   168K   4+Picture viewer for OS 3.0+. V39.9
@endnode


@node MAILLIST "Amiga Report Mailing List"
@toc WHERE

===========================================================================
                        Amiga Report Mailing List
===========================================================================

If you have an internet mailing address, you can receive Amiga Report in
@{"UUENCODED" link UUENCODE} form each week as soon as the issue is released.  To be put on
the list, send Email to majordomo@amigalib.com

Your subject header will be ignored.  In the body of the message, enter

subscribe areport

The system will automatically pull your e-mail address from the message
header.

Your account must be able to handle mail of any size to ensure an intact
copy.  For example, many systems have a 100K limit on incoming messages.


** 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.  Thanks!             **
@endnode
@node UUENCODE
@toc MAILLIST

===========================================================================
                          UUDecoding Amiga Report
===========================================================================

If you receive Amiga Report from the direct mailing list, it will arrive in
UUEncoded format.  This format allows programs and archive files to be sent
through mail by converting the binary into combinations of ASCII
characters.  In the message, it will basically look like a lot of trash
surrounded by begin <filename> and end, followed by the size of the file.


To UUDecode Amiga Report, you first need to get a UUDecoding program, such
as UUxT by Asher Feldman.  This program is available on Aminet in

     pub/aminet/arc/

Then you must download the message that it is contained in.  Don't worry
about message headers, the UUDecoding program will ignore them.

There is a GUI interface for UUxT, which should be explained in the docs.
However, the quickest method for UUDecoding the magazine is to type

     uuxt x ar.uu

at the command prompt.  You will then have to decompress the archive with
lha, and you will then have Amiga Report in all of its AmigaGuide glory.

If you have any questions, you can write to @{"Jason Compton" link JASON}

@endnode
@node AMINET "Aminet"
@toc WHERE

                                  Aminet
                                  ======

To get Amiga Report from Aminet, simply FTP to any Aminet site, CD to
docs/mags.  All the back issues are located there as well.

Sites: ftp.netnet.net, ftp.wustl.edu, ftp.luth.se, ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk

@endnode
@node WWW "World Wide Web"
@toc WHERE

                              World Wide Web
                              ==============

AR is also available on the WWW!  Some of the mirror sites include a mail
form, allowing you to mail to Amiga Report from the web site and some also
include a search engine allowing you to search recent issues for specific
topics and keywords (if your browser has forms capability).  Simply tell
your browser to open one of the following URLs (pick a location nearest you
for the best performance):

Australia
     http://ArtWorks.apana.org.au/AmigaReport.html
     http://www.deepwoods.saccii.net.au/ar/menu.html
     http://www.livewire.com.au/amiga/cucug/ar/ar.html (w/search and mail) 
     http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~pec/amiga.html

Germany
     http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/amiga/ar/

Greece
     http://www.acropolis.net/clubs/amiga/amigareport/

Hungary
     http://mm.iit.uni-miskolc.hu/Data/AR

Italy
     http://www.vol.it/mirror/amiga/ar/ar.html

Poland
     http://www.pwr.wroc.pl/AMIGA/AR/

Sweden
     http://www.lysator.liu.se/amiga/ar/

United Kingdom
     http://ppewww.ph.gla.ac.uk/~gowdy/Amiga/AmigaReport/
     http://www.iprom.com/amigaweb/amiga.html/ar/ar.html (w/search and mail) 
     http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/kcci1

USA
     http://www.cucug.org/ar/ar.html (w/search and mail)
     http://www.omnipresence.com/Amiga/News/AR/

Additional Amiga information can also be accessed at this URL:
     http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html

Mosaic for the Amiga can be found on Aminet in directory comm/net, or
(using anonymous ftp) on max.physics.sunysb.edu
@endnode
@node COPYRIGHT "Copyright Information"
@toc ABOUT

===========================================================================
                Amiga Report International Online Magazine
                  August 27, 1996         Issue No. 4.11
                       Copyright 1996 FS 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
FS Publications.  Permission to reprint articles is hereby denied, unless
otherwise noted.  All reprint requests should be directed to the editor. 
Amiga Report and/or portions therein may not be edited in any way without
prior written permission.  However, translation into a language other than
English is acceptible, provided the editor is notified beforehand and the
original meaning is not altered.  Amiga Report may be distributed 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).  CD-ROM compilers should contact the editor. 
Distribution on for-profit magazine cover disks requires written permission
from the editor.  Amiga Report is a not-for-profit publication.  Amiga
Report, at the time of publication, is believed reasonably accurate.  Amiga
Report, its staff and contributors 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 Escom AG or
VIScorp.  All items quoted in whole or in part are done so under the Fair
Use Provision of the Copyright Laws of the United States Penal Code.  Any
Electronic Mail sent to the editors may be reprinted, in whole or in part,
without any previous permission of the author, unless said electronic mail
is specifically requested not to be reprinted.

===========================================================================
@endnode
@node GUIDELINE "Amiga Report Writing Guidelines"
@toc ABOUT

===========================================================================
                      Amiga Report Writing Guidelines
===========================================================================

The three most important requirements for submissions to Amiga Report are:

     1.  Please use English.

     2.  Please use paragraphs.  It's hard on the eyes to have solid
     screens of text.  If you don't know where to make a paragraph break,
     guess.

     3.  Please put a blank line in between paragraphs.  It makes
     formatting the magazine much much easier.

     4.  Please send us your article in ASCII format.

Note:  If you want to check ahead of time to make sure we'll print your
article, please write to the @{"Editor" link JASON}.

Please stipulate as well if you wish to retain copyright or hand it over to
the editor.
@endnode
@node EDITORCHOICE "Editor's Choice"
@toc COMMERCIAL

===========================================================================
                              Editor's Choice
===========================================================================

These are selected products, reviewed by myself, that I've liked.  So, I've
landed them and decided to sell them.

All prices are in $US.

John McDonough's The Music Maker, a Contemporary New Age CD composed on the
Amiga, is available through Amiga Report.

The crisp, clean sounds and calm melodies present a welcome alternative to
many pounding alternatives.

Available for US$12.00 plus $3 shipping in the US.  Non-US orders, please
contact before ordering.  Check or money order accepted addressed to
@{" Jason Compton " link JASON}, shipments made by the artist.

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

|                                | Issue    | Approximate  | Amiga Report |
|           Product              | Reviewed | Retail Price | Reader Price |
---------------------------------|----------|--------------|--------------|
|                                |          |              |              |
|GPFax Amiga Fax Software        |   2.30   |   $100.00    |    $60.00    |
|    (Class 1 and 2)             |          |              |              |
|                                |          |              |              |
|Micro R+D CD-ROM Volume 1       |   2.25   |    $69.00    |    $30.00    |
|    (Includes early Transition  |          |              |              |
|    graphics converter and loads|          |              |              |
|    of artwork)                 |          |              |              |
|                                |          |              |              |
|Micro R+D CD-ROM Volume 2       |   2.26   |    $99.95    |    $46.75    |
|    (Includes entire Nature's   |          |              |              |
|    Backdrop series)            |          |              |              |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orders may be placed via check, money order, or postal cheque, made out to
Jason Compton.  Visa/Mastercard accepted via post or E-Mail.  No CODs.

Mail all orders to @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}.  Orders will be processed by
Amiga Report and drop-shipped from Micro R+D.

In the US, add $5/$10/$20 for UPS shipping, ground/blue/red label,
respectively.  Overseas: It is recommended that you consider $20 to be the
minimum cost for shipping.  If you plan to order more than one item, E-mail
for shipping cost.

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

Sidewinder's Future Shock II CD is now available through Amiga Report.
Featuring 15 Amiga-generated tunes totalling 71 minutes, Eric Gieseke's
work is captured on an Amiga-independent media.

Available for US$12.00.  Please add $5 for shipping.

Make check or money order payable to @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}.  Orders will be
drop-shipped from Sidewinder Productions.

For overseas orders, please contact through E-Mail before ordering.
@endnode
@node PORTAL "Portal"
@toc ONLINE

===========================================================================
                  Portal:  A Great Place For Amiga Users
===========================================================================

                The Portal Information Network's Amiga Zone

          The AFFORDABLE alternative for online Amiga information
                  "Not just another UNIX Shell account!"

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

Portal is the home of acclaimed Amiga Zone, a full-service online SIG
(Special Interest Group) for Amiga owners and users.  We promise, and WE
DELIVER ongoing & aggressive Amiga support!  Now, more than ever, with so
many Amiga magazines gone or shrunken, you need a viable,
professionally-maintained resource for information, software, and a link to
the world-wide Amiga community.

You can dial into Portal to access the Amiga Zone in many ways: direct
dial to our San Jose, CA high-speed modems (you pay for the phone call
if it's not local), or though any SprintNet or Compuserve indial anywhere
(with a small hourly fee) or via the World-wide Internet "telnet"
program to portal.com (no hourly fee).

Even Delphi and BIX users can Telnet into Portal for a flat $19.95 a month,
with *unlimited* use.

Portal is NOT just another shell service!  Its Online system is fully
menu-driven with on-screen commands and help, and you can easily customize
it for your favorite terminal program and screen size.

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

 * 2.5 GIGabytes of Amiga-specific file space - we have so much Amiga Stuff
      online, we've lost count!
 * The *entire* Fred Fish collection of freely distributable software,
       online.  ALL 1100 disks!
 * Fast, Batch Zmodem file transfer protocol. Download up to 100 files or
      100 email letters at once, of any size, with one command.
 * Amiga vendor areas with many companies participating.
 * So many incoming lines you'll probably NEVER get a busy signal
 * 40 "regular" Amiga libraries with over 12,000 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 pressured doing it.
 * Live, interactive nightly chats with Amiga folks whose names you will
      recognize.  Special conferences.  Random chance prize contests.  We
      have given away thousands of bucks worth of Amiga prizes - more than
      any other online service.
 * Message bases where you can ask questions about *anything* Amiga
      related and get quick replies from the experts.
 * Amiga Internet mailing lists for Imagine, AMosaic, LightWave, ImageFX,
      Picasso II & others feed right into the Zone message bases.  Read
      months worth of postings.  No need to clutter your mailbox with them.
 * FREE unlimited Internet Email with 5 meg of free storage.
      Your email is private, secure, and never censored or monitored.
 * A FREE UNIX Shell account with another 5 meg of free storage.
      You can run AMosaic and other Browses via your shell and explore the
      vast World Wide Web!  Intermediate to advanced users can use
      any standard UNIX mail and news utilities, compilers, and other
      tools.  Ask for your free UNIX book when you sign up.
 * A home for your own Web page!  Your UNIX Shell on Portal is linked
      to Portal's Web Server. Create your own WWW pages for the whole
      world to access. No extra charges!
 * Portal has the Usenet.  Thousands of "newsgroups" in which you can read
      and post articles about virtually any subject you can possibly
      imagine. Newsgroups are not censored!
 * Other Portal SIGs (Special Interest Groups) online for Mac, IBM, Sun,
      UNIX, Science Fiction, Disney, and dozens more.  ALL Portal SIGs are
      accessible to ALL Portal customers with NO surcharges ever. You
      never worry "Ooops... Am I paying more for this area?" again!
 * Portal was THE FIRST online service to offer a full package of Internet
      features: IRC, FTP, TELNET, MUDS, LIBS wrapped into user-friendly
      menus.  And you get FREE unlimited usage of all of them.
 * 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)
 * 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.

To join Portal or for more information call:

   1-800-433-6444 (voice) 9a.m.-5p.m. Mon-Fri, Pacific Time
   1-408-973-9111 (voice) 9a.m.-5p.m. Mon-Fri, Pacific Time

   1-408-725-0561 (modem 3/12/2400) 24 hours every day
   1-408-725-0560 (modem 96/14400) 24 hours every day

   or enter "C PORTAL" from any Sprintnet dial-in, or "portal" at any
   CI$ network dialin, or telnet to "portal.com" from anywhere,
   and then enter "online" and then "info"

   or send email to "sales@portal.com"

Visit the Amiga Zone Web page at http://www.portal.com/~harv

Call and join today.  Tell the friendly Portal Customer Service
representative, "The Amiga Zone sent me."  Ask for the "Interactive"
account to get the Amiga Zone, the Online System and a UNIX Shell for
only $19.95 a month.

The Portal Information Network accepts MasterCard, Visa, or you can pre-pay
any amount by personal check or money order.  The Portal Online System is a
trademark of The Portal Information Network.  SLIP, UUCP, custom domain
and corporate accounts are also available.
@endnode
@node BBS_ASIA "Distribution BBSes - Asia"
@toc BBS

===========================================================================
                         Distribution BBSes - Asia
===========================================================================

                                 -=JAPAN=-

                           * GIGA SONIC FACTOR *
                     Email: kfr01002@niftyserve.or.jp
                            +81-(0)564-55-4864
@endnode
@node BBS_AUSTRALASIA "Distribution BBSes - Australasia"
@toc BBS

===========================================================================
                     Distribution BBSes - Australasia
===========================================================================

                              -=NEW ZEALAND=-

                             * BITSTREAM BBS *
               FidoNET 3:771/850.0   AmigaNET 41:644/850.0
                             +64-(0)3-548-5321


                               -=VICTORIA=-

                         * NORTH WEST AMIGA BBS *
          EMail: mozza@nwamiga.apana.org.au     Fido: 3:633/265.0
         BBS Phone/Fax: +61 3 9331 2831   USR Courier V.Everything
@endnode
@node BBS_EUROPE "Distribution BBSes - Europe"
@toc BBS

===========================================================================
                        Distribution BBSes - Europe
===========================================================================

                                -=FINLAND=-

                              * HANG UP BBS *
                     Email: helpdesk@hangup.nullnet.fi
                            +358 - 0 - 278 8054

                               * LAHO BBS *
                    +358-64-414 1516   +358-64-414 0400
                    +358-64-414 6800   +358-64-423 1300

                             * KINDERGARTEN *
                      Email: matthias.bartosik@hut.fi
                             +358-0-881 32 36


                                -=FRANCE=-

                              * DYNAMIX BBS *
                        Email: erlsoft@mcom.mcom.fr
                    +33.1.48.89.96.66 Minitel to Modem

                        * RAMSES THE AMIGA FLYING *
     Internet: user.name@ramses.fdn.org     Fidonet: 2/320/104-105-106
                      +33-1-45845623   +33-1-53791200


                                -=GERMANY=-

                           * DOOM OF DARKNESS *
                      Email: marc_doerre@doom.ping.de
                          +49 (0)4223 8355 19200
           AR-Infoservice, contact Kai Szymanski kai@doom.gun.de

                              * IMAGINE BBS *
                    Email: Sysop@imagine.commo.mcnet.de
                              +49-69-4304948
              Login: GAST (Download area:  "Amiga-Report")

                         * LEGUANS BYTE CHANNEL *
                    Usenet: andreas@lbcmbx.in-berlin.de
                       49-30-8110060   49-30-8122442
                 Login as User: "amiga", Passwd: "report"

                              * REDEYE BBS *
                        Internet: sysop@coolsurf.de
         Modem/ISDN: +49-89.54662690   Modem only:+49.89.54662680

                          * STINGRAY  DATABASE *
                 EMail: sysop@sting-db.zer.sub.org.dbp.de
                              +49 208 496807

                            * VISION THING BBS *
                             ++49(0)345 663914
                          System Password: Amiga


                                -=GREECE=-

                            * HELLAS ON LINE *
          EMail: cocos@prometheus.hol.gr    Telnet: hellas.hol.gr
                    ++301/ 620-6001, 620-6604, 620-9500

                              * ODYSSEY BBS *
             email: odyssey@acropolis.net   Amiganet: 39:250/1.0
                  ++301-4123502   23.00-09.00 Local Time
                http://www.acropolis.net/~konem/odygb.html


                                -=IRELAND=-

                               * FWIBBLE!  *
               Fidonet: 2:263/900.0   E-Mail: 9517693@ul.ie
              Phone: +353-902-36124    Midnight to 8am (GMT)
                       Freq "Readme.txt" for details


                                 -=ITALY=-

                        * AMIGA PROFESSIONAL BBS *
                 Amy Professional Club, Italian Amos Club
                              +(39)-49-604488

                               * AMIPRO BBS*
                         AR and AMINET distributor
                               +39-49604488

                               * FRANZ BBS *
                          EMsil: mc3510@mclink.it
                               +39/6/6627667

                                 * IDCMP *
                             Fidonet 2:322/405
                               +39-542-25983

                             * SPEED OF LIFE *
                  FidoNet 2:335/533   AmigaNet 39:102/12
                The AMIGA Alchemists' BBS   +39-931-833773


                              -=NETHERLANDS=-

                       * AMIGA ONLINE BS HEEMSTEDE *
   Fidonet: 2:280/464.0, 2:280/412.0   Internet: michiel@aobh.xs4all.nl
                       +31-23-282002   +31-23-470739

                             * THE HELL BBS *
           Fido-Net : 2:281/418.0   e-mail : root@hell.xs4all.nl
                             +31-(0)70-3468783

                          * TRACE BBS GRONINGEN *
            FidoNET 2:282/529.0   Internet Martin@trace.idn.nl
                             +31-(0)-50-410143

                              * X-TREME BBS *
                      Internet: u055231@vm.uci.kun.nl
                               +31-167064414


                                -=NORWAY=-

                              * FALLING BBS *
                       EMail:  christon@powertech.no
                               +47 69 256117


                                -=POLAND=-

                          * SILVER DREAM!'S BBS *
                            SysOp: Silver Dream
                               +48 91 540431


                               -=PORTUGAL=-

                               * CIUA BBS *
                FidoNet 2:361/9   Internet: denise.ci.ua.pt
                           +351-34-382080/382081


                                -=RUSSIA=-

                             * NEW ORDER BBS *
           E-Mail: norder@norder.spb.su   FidoNet: 2:5030/221.0
                              +7-812-2909561


                                 -=SPAIN=-

                            * GURU MEDITATION *
                              +34-1-383-1317

                            * LA MITAD OSCURA *
             E-Mail: jovergon@offcampus.es   Fido: 2:341/35.19
                               +34-1-3524613

                        * MAZAGON - BBS - SYSTEMS *
       E-mail: jgomez@maze.mazanet.es   FTP: ftp-mail@ftp.mazanet.es
                               +34 59 536267
                              Login: a-report


                                -=SWEDEN=-

                                * CICERON *
                           E-mail: a1009@itv.se
                               +46 612 22011


                              -=SWITZERLAND=-

                          * LINKSYSTEM LINK-CH1 *
                   contact: rleemann@link-ch1.aworld.de
                   +41 61 3215643   ISDN: +41 61 3832007
                 Local newsgroup link-ch1.ml.amiga-report


                                -=UKRAINE=-

                            * AMIGA HOME BBZ *
         E-Mail: Oleg.Khimich@bbs.te.net.ua   FidoNet: 2:467/88.0
                              +380-482-325043


                            -=UNITED KINGDOM=-

                           * AMIGA JUNCTION 9 *
        Internet: sysadmin@junct9.demon.co.uk     FidoNet: 2:440/20
                             +44 (0)372 271000

                             * CREATIONS BBS *
           E-Mail: mat@darkside.demon.co.uk   2:254/524@Fidonet
                             +44-0181-665-9887

                            * DRAUGHTFLOW BBS *
                   Email: Ian_Cooper@draught.demon.co.uk
                            +44 (01707) 328484

                              * METNET CCS *
     Email: metnet@demon.co.uk    FidoNet: 2:2502/129.0  2:2502/130.0
                     +44-1482-442251   +44-1482-444910

                           * OCTAMED USER BBS *
                    EMail: rbfsoft@cix.compulink.co.uk
                            +44 (01703) 703446

                              * SCRATCH BBS *
      EMail: kcci1@solx1.susx.ac.uk     Official Super Skidmarks site
                              +44-1273-389267
@endnode
@node BBS_NAMERICA "Distribution BBSes - North America"
@toc BBS

===========================================================================
                    Distribution BBSes - North America
===========================================================================

                                -=ARIZONA=-

                       * MESSENGER OF THE GODS BBS *
                           mercury@primenet.com
                               602-326-1095


                           -=BRITISH COLUMBIA=-

                             * COMM-LINK BBS *
       EMail: steve_hooper@comm.tfbbs.wimsey.com   Fido: 1:153/210.0
                               604-945-6192


                              -=CALIFORNIA=-

                            * TIERRA-MIGA BBS *
             FidoNet: 1:202/638.0   Internet: torment.cts.com
                               619.292.0754

                          * VIRTUAL PALACE BBS *
                   Sysop Email: tibor@ecst.csuchico.edu
                                916-343-7420

                        * AMIGA AND IBM ONLY BBS *
            EMail: vonmolk@crash.cts.com   AmigaNET: 40:406/7.0
                               (619)428-4887


                                -=FLORIDA=-

                            * LAST! AMIGA BBS *
                              (305) 456-0126


                               -=ILLINOIS=-

                           * EMERALD KEEP BBS *
                 FidoNet: 1:2250/2     AmigaNet: 40:206/1
                               618-394-0065

                            * PHANTOM'S LAIR *
  FidoNet: 1:115/469.0   Phantom Net Coordinator: 11:1115/0.0-11:1115/1.0
                         708-469-9510 708-469-9520

                            * STARSHIP CUCUG *
                       Email: khisel@prairienet.org
                               (217)356-8056

                         * THE STYGIAN ABYSS BBS *
                            FIDONet-1:115/384.0
                  312-384-0616   312-384-6250 (FREQ line)


                               -=LOUISIANA=-

                             * The Catacomb *
                        E-mail: Geoff148@delphi.com
                               504-882-6576


                                 -=MAINE=-

                     * THE KOBAYASHI ALTERNATIVE BBS *
                           FidoNet: 1:326/404.0
                      (207)/784-2130   (207)/946-5665
                     ftp.tka.com for back issues of AR


                                -=MEXICO=-

                               * AMIGA BBS *
                             FidoNet  4:975/7
                               (5) 887-3080

                           * AMIGA SERVER BBS *
                                  5158736

                          * TERCER PLANETA BBS *
                           FX Network 800:525/1
                              [525]-606-2162


                              -=MISSISSIPPI=-

                            * THE GATEWAY BBS *
        InterNet: stace@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil   FidoNet: 1:3604/60.0
                               601-374-2697


                               -=MICHIGAN=-

                            * DC PRODUCTIONS *
                    Email: dcpro!chetw@heifetz.msen.com
                               616-373-0287


                                -=NEVADA=-

                              * PUP-TEK BBS *
                       EMail: darkwolf@accessnv.com
                               702-553-2403

                              -=NEW JERSEY=-

                          * T.B.P.  VIDEO SLATE *
                               201-586-3623

                           * DLTACOM AMIGA BBS *
       Internet: dltacom.camphq.fidonet.org   Fidonet: 1:2606/216.0
                              (201) 398-8559


                               -=NEW YORK=-

                             * THE BELFRY(!) *
                             stiggy@belfry.org
                        718.793.4796   718.793.4905
                          http://www.belfry.org/


                                -=ONTARIO=-

                           * COMMAND LINE BBS *
                               416-533-8321

                              * CYBERSPACE *
                       joehick@ophielia.waterloo.net
                      (519) 579-0072   (519) 579-0173

                          * EDGE OF REALITY BBS *
            EMail: murray.smith@er.gryn.org   Fido: 1:244/320.0
                               (905)578-5048


                                -=QUEBEC=-

                         * CLUB AMIGA DE QUEBEC *
          Internet: snaclaq@megatoon.com   Voice: (418) 666-5969
                      (418) 666-4146   (418) 666-6960
               Nom d'usager: AMREPORT   Mot de passe: AMIGA

                              * GfxBase BBS*
        E-mail: ai257@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu   Fidonet: 1:167/192
                               514-769-0565


                               -=TENNESSEE=-

                            * AMIGA CENTRAL! *
                      Email: root@amicent.raider.net
                               615-383-9679

                               * NOVA BBS *
                            FidoNet 1:362/508.0
                               615-472-9748


                               -=VIRGINIA=-

                       * NETWORK XXIII DATA SYSTEM *
                       EMail: gottfrie@acca.nmsu.edu
                               804-266-1763
                      Login: anon   Password: nopass


                              -=WASHINGTON=-

                          * FREELAND MAINFRAME *
                         Internet - freemf.wa.com
                               (360)412-0228

                              * PIONEERS BBS *
                            FidoNet: 1:343/54.0
                               206-775-7983
      Login: Long Distance   Password: longdistance   Or FREQ: AR.lha
@endnode
@node BBS_SAMERICA "Distribution BBSes - South America"
@toc BBS

===========================================================================
                    Distribution BBSes - South America
===========================================================================

                                -=BRAZIL=-

                            * AMIGA DO PC BBS *
           Fidonet: 4:801/44   Internet: fimoraes@dcc.unicamp.br
      +55-192-33-2260   Weekdays: 19-07 (-3 GMT)   Weekends: 24 hours

@endnode
@node DEAL_ASIA "Dealers - Asia"
@toc DEALER

===========================================================================
                              Dealers - Asia
===========================================================================

                                 -=JAPAN=-
                             Grey Matter Ltd.
                           1-22-3,Minami Magome
                        HillTop House 2F suite 201
                             Ota-ku,Tokyo 143
              Tel:+81 (0)3 5709-5549   Fax:+81 (0)3 5709-1907
    BBS: +81 (0)3 5709-1907   Email: nighty@gmatter.japan-online.or.jp

@endnode
@node DEAL_AUSTRALASIA "Dealers - Australasia"
@toc DEALER

===========================================================================
                           Dealers - Australasia
===========================================================================

                              -=QUEENSLAND=-

                               Image Domain
                               92 Bridge St
                        Fortitude Valley, Brisbane
                        E-mail: imagedomain@msn.com
                 Voice: 617-3216-1240   Fax: 617-3852-2720

                             Synapse Computers
                              190 Riding Road
                         Hawthorne, Brisbane 4171
                        Voice/Fax: +61 7-3899-0980


                            -=NEW SOUTH WALES=-

              Unitech Electronics Pty. Ltd. / Maverick Amiga
                              8B Tummul Place
                          St. Andrews, Sydney 2566
               Voice: +61 2 9820 3555  Fax: +61 2 9603 8685


                              -=NEW ZEALAND=-

                                CompKarori
                         LG/F Karori Shopping Mall
                            Karori, Wellington
                          Tel/Fax: +64 4 476-0212
                       Email: sales@compkarori.co.nz

@endnode
@node DEAL_EUROPE "Dealers - Europe"
@toc DEALER

===========================================================================
                             Dealers - Europe
===========================================================================


                                -=AUSTRIA=-

                   A.R.T.  Computeranimation Ges.m.b.H.
                              Feldstrasse 13
                              3300 Amstetten
                Tel: +43 7472/63566-0 Fax: +43 7472/63566-6

                        Solaris Computec Ges.m.b.H.
                              Mariahilfpark 1
                             A-6020 Innsbruck
               Tel: ++43-512/272724   Fax: ++43-512/272724-2
                       EMail: solaris@computec.co.at


                                -=BELGIUM=-

                              AVM Technology
                            Rue de Rotheux, 279
                              B-4100 Seraing
              Voice: +32 (0)41 38.16.06   Fax: +32 (0)41 38.15.69
                      Email: defraj@mail.interpac.be

                               CLICK!  N.V.
                            Boomsesteenweg 468
                        B-2610 Wilrijk - Antwerpen
           VOICE: +32 (0)3 828.18.15     FAX: +32 (0)3 828.67.36
           INTERNET: vanhoutv@nbre.nfe.be      FIDO: 2:292/603.9


                               -=BULGARIA=-

                           KlubVerband ITA Gmbh
                                1309 Sofia
                          P.F.13, KukushStr.  1-2
                  Tel: +359-2-221471   Fax: +359-2-230062
          Email: KVITA@VIRBUS.BG     Contact: Dr.  ING B.  Pavlov


                                -=DENMARK=-

                               Data Service
                           Att.  Soren Petersen
                              Kaerhaven2a 2th
                              6400 Sonderborg
          Phone/Fax: +45 74 43 17 36   EMail: sorpe-95@sdbg.ih.dk

                              Nemesis Amy BBS
               EMail: boersting@hoa.ping.dk   Fido: 2:238/43
                       USR 33k6 V.E.  +45 75-353726


                                -=FINLAND=-

                          Lincware Computers Ltd
                              Lovkullankuja 3
                               10300 KARJAA
               Voice: +358-50-5573696   Fax: +358-11-231511
                      EMail: linctech@freenet.hut.fi


                                -=FRANCE=-

                            ASCII Informatique
                             10 Rue de Lepante
                                06000 NICE
               Tel: (33) 93 13 08 66   Fax: (33) 93 13 90 95

                            Quartz Infomatique
                          2 bis, avenue de Brogny
                              F-74000 ANNECY
                  Tel./Fax (automatique): +33 50.52.83.31
                          E-Mail: tcp@imaginet.fr


                                -=GERMANY=-

                           AMItech Systems GmbH
                              Ludwigstrasse 4
                             D-95028 Hof/Saale
               VOICE: +49 9281 142812   FAX: +49 9281 142712
                       EMail: bsd@blacky.netz.sub.de

                    dcp, desing+commercial partner GmbH
                               Alfredstr.  1
                              D-22087 Hamburg
                 Tel.: + 49 40 251176 Fax: +49 40 2518567
                 EMail: info@dcp.de WWW: http://www.dcp.de

                          Hartmann & Riedel GdbR
                               Hertzstr.  33
                           D-76287 Rheinstetten
          EMail: rick@p22.aop.schiele-ct.de   Fido: 2:2476/12.22
              Voice: +49 (7242) 2021     Fax: +49 (7242) 5909
             Please call before visiting, or we may be closed.

                             Hirsch & Wolf OHG
                              Mittelstra_e 33
                              D-56564 Neuwied
            Voice: +49 (2631) 8399-0   Fax: +49 (2631) 8399-31

                           Pro Video Elektronik
                                Roßmarkt 38
                           D-63739 Aschaffenburg
                 Tel: (49) 6021 15713 Fax: (49) 6021 15713


                                 -=ITALY=-

                              C.A.T.M.U.  snc
                            Casella Postale 63
                             10023 Chieri (TO)
                          Tel/Fax: +39 11 9415237
       EMail: fer@inrete.it (Ferruccio Zamuner)   Fido: 2:334/21.19

                            Cloanto Italia srl
                           Via G.  B.  Bison 24
                                33100 Udine
                 Tel: +39 432 545902   Fax: +39 432 609051
              E-Mail: info@cloanto.it   CompuServe: 100145.15


                              -=NETHERLANDS=-

                               Chaos Systems
                               Watermolen 18
                           NL-1622 LG Hoorn (NH)
            Voice: +31-(0)229-233922   Fax/Data: +31-(0)229-TBA
     E-mail: marioh@fwi.uva.nl   WWW: http://gene.fwi.uva.nl/~marioh/


                                 -=SPAIN=-

                               Amiga Center
                               Argullós, 127
                              08016 Barcelona
                Tel: (93) 276 38 06     Fax: (93) 276 30 80

                           Amiga Center Alicante
                                Segura, 27
                              03004 Alicante
                            Tel: (96) 514 37 34

                               Audio Vision
                               San Jose, 53
                             Gijon (Asturias)
                           Tel.  (98) 535 24 79

                        Centro Informático Boadilla
                                Convento, 6
                     28660 Boadilla del Monte (Madrid)
                Tel: (91) 632 27 65     Fax: (91) 632 10 99

                                Centro Mail
                            Tel: (91) 380 28 92

                                  C.R.E.
                             San Francisco, 85
                          48003 Bilbao (Vizcaya)
                Tel: (94) 444 98 84     Fax: (94) 444 98 84

                               Donosti Frame
                           Avda.  de Madrid, 15
                      20011 San Sebastián (Guipuzcoa)
                Tel: (943) 42 07 45     Fax: (943) 42 45 88

                            Eurobit Informatica
                    C/.  Gral.  Garcia de la Herran, 4
                           11100 - San Fernando
                                   Cadiz
                           Tel/Fax: (956) 896375

                                 GaliFrame
                           Galerías Príncipe, 22
                             Vigo (Pontevedra)
                Tel: (986) 22 89 94     Fax: (986) 22 89 94

                                 Invision
                             San Isidro, 12-18
                     28850 Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid)
              Tel: (91) 676 20 56/59     Fax: (91) 656 10 04

                                 Invision
                               Salamanca, 53
                              46005 Valencia
              Tel: (96) 395 02 43/44     Fax: (96) 395 02 44

                                  Norsoft
                                Bedoya, 4-6
                               32003 Orense
                Tel: (988) 24 90 46     Fax: (988) 23 42 07

                                 PiXeLSOFT
                              Felipe II, 3bis
                              34004 Palencia
                Tel: (979) 71 27 00     Fax: (979) 71 28 28

                            Tu Amiga Ordinadors
                              C/ Progreso, 6
                       08120 La LLagosta (Barcelona)
                  Tel: +34-3-5603604   Fax: +34-3-5603607

                                  vb soft
                               Provenza, 436
                              08025 Barcelona
                Tel: (93) 456 15 45     Fax: (93) 456 15 45


                                -=NORWAY=-

                             DataKompaniet ANS
                        Trondheim Innovation Centre
                           Prof.  Brochs gt.  6
                             N-7030 Trondheim
                  Tel: +47 7354 0375   Fax: +47 7394 3861
EMail:datakompaniet@interlink.no  WWW:http://www.interlink.no/datakompaniet

                              Sezam Software
                              Ulsmågveien 11a
                              N-5o5o Nesttun
                       Tel/Fax: +47 55100070 (9-20)
           ABBS: +47 55101730 (24t)   Email: oleksy@telepost.no


                                -=SWEDEN=-

                                DataVision
                                 Box 1305
                              753 11 Uppsala
                     Street Address: Sysslomansgatan 9
 Orders: +46 (0)18-123400   Shop: +46 (0)18-124009   Fax: +46 (0)18-100650


                            -=UNITED KINGDOM=-

                           Almathera Systems Ltd
                Southerton House / Boundary Business Court
                             92-94 Church Road
                         Mitcham, Surrey / CR4 3TD
            VOICE: (UK) 081 687 0040     FAX: (UK) 081 687 0490
 Sales: almathera@cix.compulink.co.uk     Tech: jralph@cix.compulink.co.uk

                        Brian Fowler Computers Ltd
                           90 South Street / Exeter
                              Devon / EX1 1EN
               Voice: (01392) 499 755   Fax: (01392) 493 393
                Internet: brian_fowler@cix.compulink.co.uk

                             Visage Computers
                              27 Watnall Road
                           Hucknall / Nottingham
           Tel: +44 (0)115 9642828   Tel/Fax: +44 (0)115 9642898
                        EMail: visage@innotts.co.uk

@endnode
@node DEAL_NAMERICA "Dealers - North America"
@toc DEALER

===========================================================================
                          Dealers - North America
===========================================================================

                                -=CANADA=-

                          Animax Multimedia, Inc.
                             Willow Tree Tower
                       6009 Quinpool Road, Suite 802
                       Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 5J7
                 Ph: (902) 429-1921   Fax: (902) 429-1923
                          EMail: info@animax.com
                          http://www.animax.com/

                           APC Computer Services
                            402-5 Tangreen Crt
                         Willowdale, Ont.  M2M 3Z1
                         Voice/Fax: (416) 733-1434
  EMail: shadow@interlog.com   WWW: www.interlog.com/~shadow/apccomp.html

                           Atlantis Kobetek Inc.
                           1496 Lower Water St.
                           Halifax, NS / B3J 1R9
               Phone: (902)-422-6556     Fax: (902)-423-9339
                     E-mail: atkobetek@ra.isisnet.com

                Atlas Computers & Consulting - Derek Davlut
                       400 Telstar Avenue Suite 701
                           Sudbury, ON / P3E 5V7
                Phone: (705) 522-1923   Fax: (705) 522-1923
                   EMail: s2200147@nickel.laurentian.ca

                            CineReal Pro-Video
                            272 Avondale Avenue
                          Ottawa, Ontario K1Z 7G8
               Phone/Fax: (613) 798-8150 (Call first to fax)
                        EMail: cinereal@proton.com

                      Computer Shop of Calgary, Ltd.
                          3515 - 18th Street S.W.
                         Calgary, Alberta T2T 4T9
                 Ph.  1-403-243-4358   Fx: 1-403-243-2684
        Email: austin@canuck.com   WWW: http://www.canuck.com/cshop

                           Computerology Direct
                             Powell River, BC
                                  V8A-4Z3
               Call 24 hrs.  orders/inquiries: 604/483-3679
          Amiga users ask for HEAD SALES REP for quicker response!

                        Comspec Communications Inc
                              74 Wingold Ave
                         Toronto, Ontario M6B 1P5
 Computer Centre: (416) 785-8348  Sales: (416) 785-3553  Fax: 416-785-3668
      Internet: bryanf@comcorp.comspec.com, bryanf@accesspt.north.net

                             ElectroMike Inc.
                         1375 Boul.  Charest Ouest
                           Quebec, Quebec G1N2E7
         Tel: (418) 681-4138, (800) 463-1501   Fax: (418) 681-5880

                            Forest Diskasaurus
                         35 Albert St., P.O.Box 84
                          Forest, Ontario N0N 1J0
                           Tel/Fax: 519-786-2454
                        EMail: saurus@xcelco.on.ca

                         GfxBase Electronique, Inc
                              1727 Shevchenko
                             Montreal, Quebec
                  Voice: 514-367-2575   Fax: 514-367-5265
                             BBS: 514-769-0565

                         Le Groupe PowerLand
                            630 Champagne
                       Rosemere, Quebec J7A 4K9
             Voice: 514-893-6296   Fax/BBS: 514-965-7295
                    Email: mchabot@nationalnet.com

                              National Amiga
                             Oakville, Ontario
              Fax: 905-845-3295   EMail: gscott@interlog.com
          WWW: http://www.interlog.com/~gscott/NationalAmiga.html

                        Oby's Amigo Computing Shop
                             765 Barrydowne Rd
                         Sudbury, Ontario P3A 3T6
            Voice/Fax: (705)524-5826   Email: obys@vianet.on.ca
                  http://icewall.vianet.on.ca/pages/obys

                            Randomize Computers
                                 R.R.  #2
                         Tottenham, Ont.  L0G 1W0
                   vox: 905-939-8371   fax: 905-939-8745
     email: randomize@interlog.com   www: www.interlog.com/~randomize/

                            Software Supermart
                            11010 - 101 Street
                         Edmonton, Alberta T5H-2T1
                Voice: (403) 425-0691   Fax: (403) 426-1701
                       EMail: ssmart@planet.eon.net

                         SpectrumTech Electronics
                       412-1205 Fennell Avenue East
                           Hamilton, ON L8T 1T1
                Voice: (905) 388-9575   BBS: (905) 388-2542
           E-Mail: ste@spectrum.gryn.org   Contact: Derek Clarke

                   Wonder Computers Ottawa Retail Store
                            1315 Richmond Road
                          Ottawa, Ontario K2B 8J7
                 Voice: (613) 721-1800   Fax: 613-721-6992

                  Wonder Computers Vancouver Sales Office
                            2229 Edinburgh St.
                        New Westminster, BC W3M 2Y2
                           (604) 524-2151 voice

                           young monkey studios
                            797 Mitchell Street
                         Fredericton, NB   E3B 3S8
                Phone: (506) 459-7088   Fax: (506) 459-7099
                        EMail: sales@youngmonkey.ca


                             -=UNITED STATES=-

                               A&D Computer
                               211 South St.
                          Milford, NH 03055-3743
                Voice/Fax: 603-672-4700   BBS: 603-673-2788
                         Internet: amiga@mv.mv.com

                             Alex Electronics
                            597 Circlewood Dr.
                            Paradise, CA 95969
                  Voice: 916-872-0896  BBS: 915-872-3711
     EMail: alex@ecst.csuchico.edu   WWW: http://www.km-cd.com/~alex/

                           Amigability Computers
                               P.O.  Box 572
                           Plantsville, CT 06479
                            VOICE: 203-276-8175
                         Internet: caldi@pcnet.com

                              Amiga-Crossing
                                PO Box 12A
                        Cumberland Center, ME 04021
        VOICE: (800) 498-3959 (Maine only)   VOICE: (207) 829-3959
              FAX: (207) 829-3522   Internet: amiga-x@tka.com

                          Amiga Library Services
                          610 Alma School Rd, #18
                          Chandler, Az 85224-3687
                Voice: (800) 804-0833   Fax: (602) 491-0048
                        E-Mail: orders@amigalib.com

                           Amiga Video Solutions
                           1568 Randolph Avenue
                            St.  Paul, MN 55105
                 Voice: 612-698-1175     Fax: 612-224-3823
           BBS: 612-698-1918     Net: wohno001@maroon.tc.umn.edu

                          Applied Multimedia Inc.
                              89 Northill St.
                            Stamford, CT 06907
                           VOICE: (203) 348-0108

                            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     Internet: B.GRAY@genie.geis.com

                            Computer Advantage
                             7370 Hickman Road
                           Des Moines, IA 50322
                          Voice/Fax: 515-252-6167
                       Internet: Number1@netins.net

                             Computer Concepts
                   18001 Bothell-Everett Hwy, Suite "0"
                             Bothell, WA 98012
                           VOICE: (206) 481-3666

                               Computer Link
                              6573 middlebelt
                           Garden City MI 48135
                 Voice: 313-522-6005     Fax: 313-522-3119
                         clink@m-net.arbornet.org

                            The Computer Source
                          515 Kings Highway East
                            Fairfield, CT 06432
                Voice: (203) 336-3100   Fax: (203) 335-3259

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

                          Computerwise Computers
                              3006 North Main
                              Logan, UT 84322

                        Concord Computer Solutions
                        2745 Concord Blvd.  Suite 5
                             Concord, CA 94519
             Orders: 1-888-80-AMIGA   Info/Tech: 510-680-0143
              BBS/Fax: 510-680-4987   Email: moxley@value.net
                         http://www.ccompsol.com/

                              CyberTech Labs
                               PO Box 56941
                         North Pole, Alaska  99705
 Vox: (907) 451-3285   BBS1 : (907) 488-2547   BBS2 & Fax: (907) 488-2647
            EMail: 71516.600@CompuServe.com   Fido: 1:355/17.0

                              DC Productions
                          218 Stockbridge Avenue
                            Kalamazoo, MI 49001
                       (616)373-1985   (800)9DC-PROD
                    Email: dcpro!chetw@heifetz.msen.com

                               Digital Arts
                             1321 North Walnut
                              P.O.  Box 5206
                        Bloomington, IN 47807-5206
          VOICE: (812)330-0124   FAX: (812)330-0126   BIX: msears

                              Digital Castle
                       4046 Hubbell Ave.  Suite 155
                         Des Moines, IA 50317-4434
                           Voice: (515) 266-5098
                          EMail: Sheep@netins.net

                           Electronic Connection
                               635 Penn Ave
                          West Reading, PA 19611
                  Phone: 610-372-1010   Fax: 610-378-0996

                              HHH Enterprises
                                 PO Box 10
                            Hartwood, VA 22471
                            Contact: Tom Harmon
              Voice: (540) 752-2100   Email: ko4ox@erols.com


                              HT Electronics
           E-Mail: HT Electronics@cup.portal.com     BIX: msears

           422 S. Hillview Dr.          211 Lathrop Way, Ste. A.
           Milipitas, CA 95035          Sacramento, CA 95815
           V: (408) 934-7700            V: (916) 925-0900
           F: (408) 934-7717            F: (916) 925-2829


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

                            Kipp Visual Systems
                          360-C Christopher Ave.
                          Gaithersburg Md, 20878
                               301-670-7906
                           kipp@rasputin.umd.edu

                           Krulewich Enterprises
                                554 Vega Dr
                         Corpus Christi, TX 78418
                           Voice: (512) 937-4624
                      Email: 1040.3444@compuserve.com

                     The Lively Computer - Tom Lively
                             8314 Parkway Dr.
                             La Mesa, CA 91942
                   Voice: 619-589-9455 Fax: 619-589-5230
                        Net: tlively@connectnet.com

                                Magic Page
                            3043 Luther Street
                          Winston-Salem, NC 27127
           Voice/Fax: 910-785-3695   E-mail: Spiff@ix.netcom.com
                          Contact: Patrick Smith

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

                         MicroTech Solutions, Inc.
                         1885 N.  Farnsworth Ave.
                               Suites 6-7-8
                           Aurora, IL 60505-1162
        Voice: 708-851-3033   Fax: 708-851-3825   BBS: 708-851-3929
           Email: info@mt-inc.com   WWW: http://www.mt-inc.com/

                          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

                            Paxtron Corporation
                              28 Grove Street
                          Spring Valley, NY 10977
     Voice: 914-576-6522    Orders: 800-815-3241    Fax: 914-624-3239

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

                          Raymond Commodore Amiga
                            795 Raymond Avenue
                         St. Paul, MN   55114-1521
                 VOICE: 612.642.9890     FAX: 612.642.9891

                           Safe Harbor Computers
                          W226 N900 Eastmound Dr
                            Waukesha, WI 53186
                 Orders: 800-544-6599   Fax: 414-548-8130
                       WWW Catalog: www.sharbor.com

                             Slipped Disk
                           170 E 12 Mile Rd
                   Madison Heights, Michigan 48071
                        Voice: (810) 546-DISK
                  BBS: (810) 399-1292   Fido: 1:120/321.0

                           Software Plus Chicago
                         2945 W Peterson Suite 209
                             Chicago, Illinois
                           VOICE:  312-878-7800

                        System Eyes Computer Store
                          730M Milford Rd Ste 345
                         Merrimack, NH 03054-4642
               Voice: (603) 4244-1188   Fax: (603) 424-3939
                  EMail: j_sauter@systemeye.ultranet.com

                              TJ's Unlimited
                              P.O.  Box #354
                        North Greece, NY 14515-0354
                  VOICE: 716-225-5810   BBS: 716-225-8631
           FIDO: 1:2613/323   INTERNET: neil@rochgte.fidonet.org

                                Zipperware
                             76 South Main St.
                           Seattle, WA  98104
                 VOICE: 206-223-1107     FAX: 206-223-9395
   E-Mail: zipware@nwlink.com   WWW: http://www.speakeasy.org/zipperware

@endnode
@node OPINION "Editorial and Opinion"
@toc MENU

===========================================================================
                           Editorial and Opinion
===========================================================================

@{"    compt.sys.editor.desk    " link EDITORIAL}  Grrrr...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node NEWS "News & Press Releases"
@toc MENU

===========================================================================
                           News & Press Releases
===========================================================================

@{"       30 More Days       " link NEWS1}  Argh!

@{" Midwest Amiga Exposition " link NEWS11}  The big Ohio show

@{"     PIOS Computer AG     " link NEWS20}  Their latest news release

@{"    Directory Opus 5.5    " link NEWS5}  GPSoft's latest version

@{"  Amiga Legacy Magazine   " link NEWS21}  The new trade magazine

@{"       The Informer       " link NEWS4}  The new North American newsletter

@{"  CUCUG's 4th WWW Mirror  " link NEWS12}  CUCUG expands their presence

@{"  Agnus WWW Search Tool   " link NEWS13}  CUCUG's Amiga web searcher

@{"    Banner Ad Reminder    " link NEWS14}  CUCUG's Web ad campaign

@{"    Amiga Web Network     " link NEWS15}  Area52's Web service

@{"      Jay Miner Tape      " link NEWS2}  Capture the legend on VHS

@{"    Enigma Screenshots    " link NEWS3}  OTM's latest

@{"         Bograts          " link NEWS6}  Vulcan's upcoming puzzler

@{"        DrawStudio        " link NEWS7}  The ImageStudio team strikes again

@{"   Roland Patch Editor    " link NEWS8}  Edit Roland synth parameters

@{"     PhotoAlbum V0.4      " link NEWS9}  Organize your images

@{"       EnPrint V2.1       " link NEWS10}  Epson Stylus series print drivers

@{" CrossDOS 6 Pro Rel. 6.06 " link NEWS16}  Consultron's updated tool

@{"      EMC Phase CDs       " link NEWS17}  And their North American distributor

@{"   Wanted Amiga People    " link NEWS18}  OnLine wants Amiga developers

@{"    SCSI Chip Upgrade     " link NEWS19}  Get A3000s working properly

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node FEATURE "Featured Articles"
@toc MENU

===========================================================================
                             Featured Articles
===========================================================================

@{"    Montreal and Beyond    " link FEATURE5}  A look at Montreal and other recent events

@{"      Different Input      " link FEATURE1}  Get serial mice on the Amiga

@{"      AB3D II Survey       " link FEATURE2}  Your feelings on the game

@{"   More Amigas At Disney   " link FEATURE3}  From the archives...

@{"       Amiga Survey        " link FEATURE4}  I hope you like surveys.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node REVIEW "Reviews"
@toc MENU

===========================================================================
                                  Reviews
===========================================================================

@{"      MIAMI vs. AMITCP      " link REVIEW1}  Face-off!

@{"     Alien Breed 3D II      " link REVIEW2}  The latest Team17 monsterfest

@{"        Reccoon BBS         " link REVIEW3}  A look at the system

@{"   TEAC High Density FDD    " link REVIEW4}  A Chinon replacement of sorts

@{"        Aminet Set 3        " link REVIEW5}  More Aminet!

@{"   How To Buy A Computer    " link REVIEW6}  A book, with some Amiga mention

@{"        DblScan 4000        " link REVIEW7}  Put VGA monitors on A4000s

@{"       Mods Anthology       " link REVIEW8}  Four CDs of MODs!

@{"    Apollo 1240/40 Accel    " link REVIEW9}  Speed up your A1200

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node FTP "Aminet Charts"
@toc MENU

===========================================================================
                               Aminet Charts
===========================================================================

                            @{"    05-Aug-96    " link CHARTS1}

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node ABOUT "About AMIGA REPORT"
@toc MENU

===========================================================================
                            About AMIGA REPORT
===========================================================================

@{"        AR Staff         " link STAFF} The Editors and writers

@{"   Writing Guidelines    " link GUIDELINE} What you need to do to write for us

@{"  Copyright Information  " link COPYRIGHT} The legal stuff

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node STAFF "The Staff"
@toc ABOUT

===========================================================================
                                 The Staff
===========================================================================

               Editor:               @{" Jason Compton    " link JASON}

               Assistant Editor:     @{" Katherine Nelson " link KATIE}

               Games Editor:         @{" Ken Anderson     " link KEN}

               Contributing Editor:  @{" William Near     " link WILLIAM}

               Contributing Editor:  @{" Addison Laurent  " link ADDISON}

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node WHERE "Where to Get AR"
@toc MENU

===========================================================================
                              Where to Get AR
===========================================================================

                         @{"   The AR Mailing List   " link MAILLIST}

                         @{"         Aminet          " link AMINET}

                         @{"     World Wide Web      " link WWW}

                         @{"   Distribution Sites    " link BBS}

                         @{"   Commercial Services   " link PORTAL}

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node BBS "Distribution Sites"
@toc WHERE

===========================================================================
                            Distribution BBSes
===========================================================================

                          Arranged by Continent:

                          @{"      Asia       " link BBS_ASIA}

                          @{"   Australasia   " link BBS_AUSTRALASIA}

                          @{"     Europe      " link BBS_EUROPE}

                          @{"  North America  " link BBS_NAMERICA}

                          @{"  South America  " link BBS_SAMERICA}

Sysops: To have your name added, please send @{"Email", link JASON} with the BBS name,
its location (Country, province/state) your name, any internet/fidonet
addresses, and the phone number of your BBS

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node DEALER "Dealer Directory"
@toc MENU

===========================================================================
                             Dealer Directory
===========================================================================

                          Arranged by Continent:

                          @{"      Asia       " link DEAL_ASIA}

                          @{"   Australasia   " link DEAL_AUSTRALASIA}

                          @{"     Europe      " link DEAL_EUROPE}

                          @{"  North America  " link DEAL_NAMERICA}

Dealers: To have your name added, please send @{"Email", link JASON} with the BBS name,
its location (Country, province/state) your name, any internet/fidonet
addresses, and the phone number of your dealership

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
