@database "ar133.guide"
@Node MAIN "Amiga Report Online Magazine #1.33 -- November 12, 1993"

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                       International Online Magazine

                "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information."
                
November 12, 1993                                                  No. 1.33
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/                         Winners Don't Use Drugs                         /
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

                   Copyright © 1993 SkyNet Publications
                            All Rights Reserved


@endnode

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

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

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

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@{"        NOVA BBS         " link P2-1-1} .............................Cleveland, Tennessee
@{"   CLOUD'S CORNER BBS    " link P2-1-3} ............................Bremerton, Washington
@{"     BIOSMATICA BBS      " link P2-1-4} .........................................Portugal
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@{"   REALM OF TWILIGHT     " link P2-1-7} ..................................Ontario, Canada
@{"    METNET TRIANGLE      " link P2-1-8} ......................Kingston Upon Hull, England
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@endnode

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


/// 11/12/93 Amiga Report 1.33   "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information"
    --------------------------
    · The Editor's Desk      · CPU Status Report   · New Products
    · FTP Announcements      · Dealer Directory    · AR Confidential
    · Usenet Reviews         · AR Online           · The Humor Department
    · Emulation Rambler      · Hired Guns          · Fish Virus??

                     » SHI Virus Centers Shut Down! «
                          » Atari ships Jaguar «
                   » Dave Haynie Conference on Portal «

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

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

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




               » Taking the PC Plunge:  A few corrections «
                 ----------------------------------------


Last week when I wrote "Taking the PC Plunge," I made an error.  I had 
forgotten that OS/2 requires a true SCSI adapter, not one on a sound card.
So, the CD ROM setup I included in the total wouldn't have worked.  In
fact, the main reason I included one is so you can install software more
easily.  OS/2 installs automatically in about fifteen minutes from CD.
Anyway, add $50-100 to that price total for the PC system.

A few people responded asking why I didn't include a CD ROM in the Amiga
setup.  I didn't mainly because there isn't a lot of Amiga software on CD.
About all you can use (to my knowledge anyway) are some of the GIF and MOD
discs.  But, you can get a stripper external SCSI drive that doesn't have
Photo CD capability for $160 mail order.  Or, use the same drive I liked for
the PC, for about $400 if you want all the bells and whistles.  On the 3000,
SCSI is already built in.  But on the 1200, you'd have to swap out the
MBX1230XA for a CSA 12-Guage instead, since it has SCSI as well as the
accelerator.  Or use the GVP RAM/SCSI+ if you don't need the 030.  There are
so many combinations to choose from!

Here are a few of the letters:


    #1           6-NOV-1993 03:46:16.78                             NEWMAIL


From:   BOS::16BITTER    
To:     ROB_G
CC:     
Subj:   Letter to the Editor

Hi Rob! 

     I just wanted to point out what i feel are some discrepencies in the
article 'Taking the PC Plunge!' in AR 1.32.  I own and use both an Amiga
and PC extensively so i think i can approach this with a SOMEwhat unbiased
view.  :^)  First off i am assuming the OS/2 comparison is being based on
the latest 2.1 version.  A 386SX is the minumum and, i agree, it's 
definitely far from the recommended system.  On a 486DX2/66 machine though,
OS2/2.1 is definitely not even a bit slow.  8MB is the minumum but as with
everything the more the better.  It will run on 8MB without a performance
hit in most cases unlike Win3.1.  Also OS/2.1 IS huge if the user does a
full install and the casual user doesn't so they can discard the networking
parts of the OS thus bringing the OS down from 30MB+ to appx 15MB in size 
which compares favorably with Win3.1 + DOS 6.0.  You have an OS that will
run OS/2.1, Win3.1 ENHanced mode and DOS.  

     The CDROM is growing for the PC market but it's an edge it has right
now over the Amiga market but it certainly isn't a necessity.. it's just
a really nice bonus to have one.  If it's added to the price of the PC
I feel it should have been added to the price of the Amiga setup as well
just to be fair since like i say both are more than functional without one.
Later in the article you state that 'OS/2 will not run on anything but a 
pure SCSI'.  The only people who REQUIRE SCSI for OS/2 are people who want
to install the OS from CDROM.  Apparently in order to install OS/2 2.1 from
CDROM one needs a SCSI CDROM linked to a SCSI controller from Adaptec, IBM,
Future Domain and two others i think which i can't recall.  Other than this
the average user can cope without SCSI.  

     A Soundblaster does not meet the quality of standard Amiga audio.  It
has problems with minor crackling and hissing occasionally... noticeable 
but not terribly annoying.  Soundblaster Pro in my opinion and many others
who own both setups and listen to mods side by side compares very favorably.
The Sound Blaster does not have 'pre-sampled sounds in ROM' as was stated
in the article.  If THAT was the cased the sound would definitely be 
superior.  Sound Blaster cards use FM synthesis.  A Wavetable card can 
be added to some of the newer sound cards on the market which have a ROM
with 'pre-sampled sounds'.  The sounds of these cards are very rich and
bring them to the level of Roland sound cards.  The Amiga, fortunately,
doesn't use FM synthesis and, unfortunately, cannot be enhanced with a 
wavetable board of some sort.   (Discounting the excellent Sunrize boards
for the Amiga which are more for professional use and not for everyday 
common uses such as Windows, OS/2, games etc. - mainly because they would
be overkill and are exceedingly expensive for the average user).  So to 
meet Amiga audio standards a Sound Blaster Pro fits the bill at appx $110.

     I'm probably nit-picking here but one can get a quality .28 1024x768ni
monitor for appx $299 (I won't mention brands or companies but they're in
plain view on the many pages of Computer Shopper.)  Amiga user's generally
have to spend a little more especially if they have an AGA machine due to 
the need for a multiscan so they can scan at least from 15khz to 31khz.  

     One last disagreement i had was with the use of an A3000 as the 
comparison due to it's '030/25mhz cpu.  The only Motorola processor 
available for the Amiga that approaches the power of a 486DX/33 is an
'040.  Thus either an A4000/040 or an '040 equipped A2000 should have
been used to even it up.   Of course the article's focus seemed to be
on the usability of comparatively equipped systems and that is somewhat
subjective i suppose... So if that's the case then i will end my letter on
that note!  Thanks again for AR! 

                                                       -Tom
                                                       16BiTTER@delphi.com
                                                            

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



*** Area: AMIGA                                   Date:  7 Nov 93 18:50:00
*** From: JOHN COVINGTON (1:151/115.0)
*** To  : ROBERT GLOVER
*** Subj: Re: Amiga? To be or NOT!

RG> Keep your eye on this week's Amiga Report Online Magazine.  We're
RG> running a piece entitled, "Taking the PC Plunge."  It's for those
RG> considering bailing for an IBM compatible.  It details what you'll need
RG> to have a system equal to your Amiga.

Rob, I certainly hope, when you say, "equal to your Amiga", that you
will be so kind as to make the following comparisons in your article:

(1)  Enlighten us about the PC that can run a graphical user interface
the equivalent of Workbench AND multitask with anywhere from 512K up
to 2 megs of total system ram.

(2)  Enlighten us about the PC system that will allow someone to build
a TEN-LINE BBS that operates in real time--using ONE computer.

(3)  Enlighten us about the PC which produces an NTSC-compatible,
interlaced display suitable for film production.

(4)  Elighten us about the PC graphical system which produces OVERSCAN
in its display--something we all know is critical to television
production work.

(5)  Enlighten us about the PC graphical system that will allow us to
do 30FPS full screen, overscanned 256,000-color animations in real
time.

(6)  What about Toaster compatibility, or the lack thereof?

There is much more I could add to this list, as I'm sure you know.  I
hope your article will address these points.  If not, then I'd ask you
to remove the phrase "equal to your Amiga" from the article as it
would be a complete misstatement to say so.  Also, please understand
that many of us use the Amiga for far more than "text readers" and
"picture book drawings."  A lot of us, like me, push the platform to
the limits and beyond...We know what it can do, and what we can do
with it.  And that, I suppose, is why I am not alone in declaring that
there *ain't* no "equal" to the Amiga on the "other side of the
fence"...


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


Now onto other things.  Be sure to read the Dave Haynie conference
transcript.  There are a LOT of goodies in there about future Amigas and
future plans.  It's nice to see that good things are happening at C=, rather
than the doom and gloom portrayed by our two nameless DEEP fellows from that
botchery on GEnie some time ago.  Some people's kids.

We have a big issue this week.  A lot of it is due to the Portal Conference,
being about 50K of it all.  Also, there are a LOT of new FTP announcements,
as Dan Zerkle has been really busy and enlisted the help of a friend to
help edit and post them in c.s.a.announce.  Seems there was quite a backlog.

That's about it for this week.  Have fun!

                                 Rob @ AR



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


/// Delphi:  It's Getting Better All The Time!
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@endnode
***************************************************************************
@node P2-2 "AR Staff"
@toc "menu"

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

  
                                  Editor
                                  ======

                               Robert Glover

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


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

                               Robert Niles

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



                        Contributing Correspondents
                        ===========================
                               Jason Compton
                              David W. Lowrey



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

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



                          ** Atari Sues Sega **

   Alledging that Sega's scrolling of displays in video games has viola-
ted Atari's patents, has caused Atari to file suit against Sega of Amer-
ica Inc. in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.  Atari also claimed in
the suit that Sega may have infringed two other Atari patents.

    Atari has been working on a Jaguar "interactive" video game system
that will be produced by International Business Machines Corp. and be
powered by 64-bit chip with over 16 million colors and produces three-
dimensional shapes. Most current video-game players and games work on
16-bit chips.

    Sega, which has been challenging Nintendo for supremacy in the $5
billion U.S. video-game market, is a subsidiary of Sega Enterprises
Ltd., Japan.  Analysts believe Sega has taken away considerable share
from Nintendo's lead due to its success with its 16- bit "Sonic the
Hedgehog" games.


                     ** Sony to Enter Game Market **

   Sony Corp. is forming a new company, Sony Computer Entertainment
Inc., to enter the video game machine market next month.

   Reports say the new firm, to be set up jointly with Sony Music Enter-
tainment (Japan) Inc., will unveil a next-generation game machine in
Japan at the end of next year.  The same reporst say, "The new machine
will offer three-dimensional computer graphics, using several powerful
microchips used in workstations," the wire service said, adding the
initial year sales target is set at a million units.


                     ** CD-ROM Software Sales Rise **

   Computergram Internationl's recent survey showed that CD-ROM software
sales in North America totaled around $56 million in the first half of
this year. The sales are estimated to represent 2.3 million disks.

   Content-based compact disks represented 40% of sales and games 30%.
"Presumably the balance is applications software and manuals as optical
disk becomes more popular for distribution," says the newsletter.


                 ** New Printers from Hewlett-Packard **

   Hewlett-Packard Co. has introduced the lowest-priced true 600-dots-
per-inch printers that it has ever offered: the $1,229 HP LaserJet 4P
and the $1,729 HP LaserJet 4MP.

   The LaserJet 4P and 4MP printers are designed for business and home-
office users who want a low-cost laser printer that produces high-
quality, professional-looking output on a wide variety of media sizes
and types. The LaserJet 4P and 4MP replace the LaserJet IIIP and IIIP
PostScript printers, and are compatible with other printers in the
LaserJet 4 series.

   HP also introduced its first ink-jet printers with desktop function-
ality, color support and portability: the $379 HP DeskJet 310 for
notebook PCs and the $379 HP DeskWriter 310 for Macintosh PowerBooks.


       ** Research Frontiers to Demostrate Flat-Screen Products **

   Officials with Research Frontiers Inc. say the firm has agreed to
acquire components for its active matrix flat-panel displays and will
demonstrate the products for prospective licensees next year. The firm
says its flat panels, for use in computers, televisions and other
electronic devices, will use its suspended particle displays, which will
compete against liquid crystal displays.


         ** North American Semiconductor Sales to Pass Japan's **

   According to the Semiconductor Industry Association, worldwide semi-
conductor shipments are expected to grow by 29% and reach $77.3 billion
this year. The North American market is expected to rise to 34.5% to
reach $24.8 billion in shipments this year, while the Japanese market,
is expected to rise to 22.3% in 1993 to $23.7 billion, for the first
time since 1985.

   By 1996, shipments in the North American market are expected to be
$32.5 billion, while Japan's market is expected to reach $31 billion.


                ** New Generation of Intel Flash Chips **

   A new generation of "flash memory" products designed for the mobile
market has been unveiled by Intel Corp., which says new products are
based on its fourth generation technology. They include the largest-
capacity flash memories now in production.  Intel said its new chips
include 16-bit and 32-bit components and storage cards with capacities
as high as 40MB.

   An Intel statement said, "Since it can be easily be erased and re-
programmed, uses little battery power and offers much higher performance
than magnetic disk media, flash memory is ideal for the new types of
mobile and handheld products such as mobile companions and cellular
phones."

   Flash memory chips currently have a market of about $200 million an-
nually, but that analysts believe the revenues will grow ten-fold by
1995. Research firm Dataquest has said Intel held 69% of the "flash"
market last year.


                     ** Pocket Modems from PIICEON **

   Piiceon has enhanced its Dispatcher line of proprietary-slot and
PCMCIA data communication products with new pocket modems.  The units
are 2.25 inches wide, 4.25 inches long and less than 1 inch deep. They
include MNP 2-5, V.42bis, comply with CCITT and Bell protocols and stan-
dards, and are Hayes AT compatible. The 14.4/14.4 bps version includes
MNP 10 (cellular error-correction) and and can transmit data at a top
speed of 57,600 bps with a maximum 4-1 throughput. It's priced at $335.
The 2,400/9,600 bps model costs $122.

   The units operate with IBM- compatible PCs and portables, as well as
Macintosh systems and the Apple Newton MessagePad. All of the modems,
with the exception of the Apple models, are bundled with Trio's data/fax
communications software. Piiceon's Apple products are bundled with
FaxSTF and Microphone LC.


         ** AT&T Product Can Send Graphics and Data With Voice **

   A product that enables users to send and receive graphics and/or data
while simultaneously talking on the phone has been announced by AT&T
Paradyne Corp.  Reports say the unit, called the AT&T DataPort 2001
Multimedia Sommunicator, uses a new AT&T Paradyne technology called
VoiceSpan that "increases the capacity of existing telephone lines by
splitting them into two bands, one transmitting high quality audio, the
other transmitting high speed data, including images."


                 ** Motorola Looks For On-Line Niches **

   A new unit of Motorola called INFO Enterprises is searching out, and
finding, small high-value niches in the on-line business.

   Spokesman Marilyn Teplitz discussed the strategy after the company
announced EnGenius, a new database on electronic components aimed at
product engineers. "It's run by a distributed network on Sun work-
stations under Unix," she said. "It's a combination of technologies
Motorola developed, which includes some patented technologies."

   Earlier, the company had rolled out LegaLink, a document conversion
service for the legal community marketed by Arthur Andersen.

   "These are the first of what we hope are many services," she added.
"We look at several issues when determining what vertical markets to
enter into. We want to see a large number of information providers, and
a large number of users with computers. The other key issue is a market
where the data is mission-critical, where you have to have current
information now, where the data is changing. There's lots of services
with archival information," and Motorola isn't interested in that
market.

   For EnGenius, Motorola is offering an introductory price of $20 per
month, plus line charges, through March. After that the charge goes to
$39 per month, but large firms can subscribe a wide area network for $65
per month. There is also volume pricing available, Teplitz said.


                  ** Online Comment Leads to Lawsuit **

   An Oregon biotech company called Epitope Inc. has filed suit because
of derogatory electronic comments made about it last summer on the Pro-
digy information service.  Reports say the suit "stems from actions Aug.
2, when an individual called William Smith filed a message.. The message
warned that the odds of Oregon biotech company Epitope receiving approv-
al for a blockbuster product were lower than the odds of seeing Elvis in
Malibu." Reportedly, the message said, "Be careful out there" and in-
cluded a number of allegations, most of which Epitope denies.

   Epitope's suit alleges "William Smith" actually was A. Karl Kipke, a
broker from Mission Hills, Kan., who, the company says, stood to make
money if Epitope's stock price fell.

   Kipke, not Prodigy, was named in the suit.


         ** First Prison Sentence for Software Counterfeiting **

   The U.S. District Court in San Francisco has imposed the first prison
sentence for software counterfeiting in the U.S.  Benny S. Lee was sen-
tenced to one year of imprisonment plus one year of probation as a
result of his guilty plea to a felony indictment for manufacturing and
selling counterfeit MS-DOS operating system software.

   Benny Lee and co-defendant Norman Chan, both former employees of Ev-
erex Systems Inc., were previously found liable by a jury in a civil
trial for copyright and trademark infringement in June 1991. The defen-
dants failed to honor the $5.3 million monetary judgment awarded to
Microsoft and Everex in the civil suit, and the case was subsequently
referred to the U.S. Attorney's office for criminal prosecution.

   Lee and Chan, in association with the original defendants, are esti-
mated to have manufactured and sold at least 25,000 copies of counter-
feit MS-DOS. Microsoft estimates that displaced sales from the counter-
feit software had a street value of $1.8 million.


                   ** Intel and AMD Trial Postponed **


   A trial expected to start this week between Intel Corp. and Advanced
Micro Devices Inc. was postponed until Nov. 15.   The trial, which will
be centering on Intel's complaint that AMD unfairly copied microcode in
its 287 chip, has been described as "pivotal" by experts but both
parties are expecting a fairly quick decision.


          ** Compaq Cuts Prices and Unveils 46 new PC Models **

   Compaq Computer Corp this week launched 46 new PC models and enhanced
the performance of many existing models. Compaq also unveiled multimedia
CDS models in the Presario 600 Series and the new Presario 800 Series of
"ready- to-run" multimedia PCs with a built-in CD-ROM drive, microphone,
speakers and more than a dozen pre-installed software and CD-ROM pack-
ages.

   Compaq also enhanced the price/performance of its other PCs, announc-
ing price cuts of 10 to 23% on Deskpro/M, ProLinea and Portable 486
families and 17 to 35% on portable options.


               ** Microsoft Introduces "DOS for Dummies" **

   This week Microsoft Corp. introduced a new version of DOS -- for dum-
mies! MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade for Dummies is a new version of the old disk
operating system that is specially packaged for those who aren't too
familiar with its crotchety ways. The dummies upgrade is bundled with a
special edition of the best-selling computer book "DOS for Dummies,"
written by Dan Gookin.

   The upgrade has a retail price of $77.95, but will probably sell for
about $50 in stores. The new DOS version will also be licensed to
computer manufacturers to sell with their machines.


           ** Time Warner Interactive Joins in CD-ROM Craze **

   This week Software Sorcery - known for producing games with detailed
graphics and digitized sound effects, all intertwined with actual video
and photographs - and Time Warner Interactive Group - a leading develo-
per and publisher of interactive multimedia software titles for home
entertainment and "edutainment" markets - announced a publishing agree-
ment.

   It is hoped that the agreement will put Software Sorcery multimedia
games on every CD-ROM platform. The initial three offerings will be
"AEGIS: Guardian of the Fleet," "Fantasy Fiefdom" and "Dead Zone".

   Software Sorery's innovative, high-quality products have taken a
technological edge in the software industry by incorporating multimedia
techniques such as digitized video, voice and sound effects, rendered 3D
sequences, hypertext and breathtaking VGA and SVGA graphics in the
creation of exciting, interactive game play.


                  ** IBM Stops ThinkPad 500 Shipments **

   Due to customer reports of battery problems, IBM says it is stopping
the shipmentments of its ThinkPad 500 subnotebook until it can fix the
problem.  IBM said the problem affects only the ThinkPad 500 model and
not other computers in the ThinkPad line.

   According to an IBM spokesman the company is considering all its op-
tions, including a recall of this model, which was launched in June. He
said IBM should announce its plans by the middle of this month.


    ** Clarion Shipping Beta Version of Windows Database Developer **

   Clarion Software has announced beta release 1.0 of its new Clarion
Database Developer for Windows.  The beta release is now available to
users of Clarion Database Developer 3.0 or Professional Developer 2.1.

   The final release is set to begin shipping in mid-1994.  Registered
users of Clarion can purchase the product during the introductory period
for $495. The final release of the product will be priced at $995. Run-
time license fees or royalties aren't required.


                       ** Tandy Increases Sales **

   Tandy Corp. - the nation's largest retailer of consumer electronics,
including personal comptuers - reported an 18% sales increase in its
U.S. retail operations in October. Total sales were $317.1 million, com-
pared to $268.7 million last year.


                   ** AST Offers New Pentium System **

   A new Premmia LX P/60 personal computer that uses Intel's Pentium 228
processor has been launched by AST Research. Reports say the 64-bit unit
will carry estimated sales prices beginning at $3,325.

   "The Premmia LX P/60 line is available in the Model 3, which has 8
megabytes of random access memory expandable to 128MB, and Model 543W
with 16MB RAM and a 540MB hard drive."


                   ** Rasterops Offers Graphics Unit **

   TrueVista Pro EISA, described as a professional quality frame buffer,
has been unveiled by RasterOps Corp.'s TrueVision Inc.  Officials of the
company said this is the first of a number of products based on its new
DVR architecture.  Reports say the product is a broadcast-quality frame
buffer for use in IBM/compatible PCs.


          ** Lexmark Demonstrates 'Microsoft At Work' Printer **

   Lexmark International Inc. has demonstrated a high-resolution desk-
top laser printer based on the Microsoft At Work printing software. The
software, the same type used in the Microsoft Windows Printing System,
makes the printing function a Windows- based application, delivering
higher performance and improved ease of use.

   Lexmark says it worked closely with Microsoft to develop the demons-
tration printer. Lexmark also announced that it will support the
Microsoft At Work software in selected future printer products.

   Microsoft At Work software is designed to make office machines such
as printers, fax machines, copiers, handheld systems and telephones
easier to use, more cost-effective and better integrated with desktop
computers and one another.

   Lexmark, the former IBM printer and typewriter division, showed the
600 dots-per-inch, 8 page-per-minute laser printer as a technology
demonstration at a Microsoft-sponsored event.


         ** Microsoft Slashes Price Of Multimedia Encyclopedia **

   Microsoft has cut the suggested retail price of its Encarta multi-
media encyclopedia to $99 through December 31, 1993. The product has
been priced at $395.

   Encarta is currently available for Microsoft Windows-based PCs. The
company says it will release an Apple Macintosh version early next year.


              ** STB Intros Dual-Monitor Accelerator Card **

   If you need to display two applications simultaneously and don't want
to do it with Windows, you'll be happy to hear that STB Systems Inc.,
has released a dual monitor graphics accelerator card that can drive two
monitors at the same time.

   STB says the card, designated the MVP-2X, integrates two video chan-
nels versus the usual single channel. The card supports a full suite of
Windows 3.1, OS/2, and DOS applications, including AutoCAD release 12.

   STB says the MVP-2X is based on two Tseng Labs ET4000-W32 video
chips, and allows users to view two different monitors at the same time
via two independent video ports. Windows and OS/2 uses can work in a
virtual screen environment which provides one virtual screen across both
monitors. Windows, OS/2 and DOS users can utilize a port switching mode
that permits two different applications to run at the same time, one on
each monitor. The card is backwards-compatible with all existing STB MPV
video cards based on the Tseng ET4000 video controller chip.

   The cards come with drivers for Windows 3.x, Windows NT and OS/2.
Panacea's DLD386-VGA Deluxe Autodesk drivers are available as an upgrade
option for CAD/CAM (computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing)
users.

   The MVP-2X will begin full production runs this month, and has a
suggested retail price of $1,099.


              ** IBM Ready To Launch OS/2 Without Windows **

   Unhappy at paying royalties to rival Microsoft Corp., IBM is prepar-
ing to launch a version of its OS/2 operating system without built-in
code to run applications written for Microsoft's Windows operating
environment.

   The Windows-less OS/2 would let users run Windows applications provi-
ded they already had Windows installed on their PCs. OS/2 would estab-
lish where the Windows code was stored and would call on it directly
when asked to run a Windows application.

   Sources said an announcement can be expected by mid-November. The
Comdex/Fall trade show, which begins in Las Vegas Nov. 15, would be a
likely venue.


        ** AMD Gets "Windows-Compatible" Logo, Intros New Chips **

   Advanced Micro Devices has introduced two new members of its 486-
based microprocessor line and said it has signed a licensing agreement
with Microsoft Corporation that gives AMD the right to use the "Windows-
compatible" logo on its 386 and 486-based chips.

   The company announced a 40 MHz 486DX-based microprocessor that in-
corporates power management features, and a clock doubled 486DX2-66MHz
chip.


                         ** New Apple Monitor **

   Apple officials announced this week the launching of the new Apple
Color Plus Display, a 14-inch monitor priced at $305.  The 640 x 480
pixel display compliments its line of new, aggressively priced PCs.


                   ** Apple Offers Powerbook Rebates **

   Apple announced this week a $100 and $500 instant rebates on select
Macintosh PowerBook computers and peripherals. Customers who purchase
and take delivery of a PowerBook 165 or 165c will receive an immediate
$100 rebate.  Those who buy a PowerBook Duo 230 4/160 with a duo dock
and express modem will receive an immediate $500 rebate.  These prices
are good only at participating resellers, while the supplies last, and
thru January 31st, 1993.


              ** Apple's Fourth Quarter Profits Drop 97% **

   Apple Computer Inc.'s fourth quarter profits dropped 97% to $2.7
million (or 2 cents a share), compared to $97.6 million earned a year
ago.


           _____________________________________________________




               » New War On Modem Standards Set for Comdex «


BOCA RATON, FLORIDA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 8 (NB) -- Businesses and
individuals seeking faster modems face a new war on standards this month
at Comdex.

Following Hayes' release of a new 28,800 bits per second (bps) modem
based on the interim V.FC standard, Boca Research has announced a
24,000bps product that also conforms to the V.FC standard. Boca
indicated that more companies are expected to join its move to V.Fast,
using a new Rockwell chip set which also transmits faxes at six blank
pages per minute, or 14,400 bps.

While the new modems will be a big advantage to companies which want to
link offices at higher speeds and bulletin board system operators,
their utility is limited. Most packet networks maintain 9,600 bps as
their highest speed, and most fax machines transmit at a top rate of 4
blank pages per minute.

With continuing confusion on standards and speeds going higher than
that, it's unlikely many networks will commit to any upgrades. Most
networks, in fact, have yet to offer 14,400 bps service even though the
V.32bis modulation and V.42bis data compression and error correction
standards are well-established.

Boca said that the starting price of its new V.Fast Class product,
$395, is about the same as 14,400 bit/second modems were selling at
earlier this year. The 14,400 bit/second product now carries a street
price of about $150. Lower prices are made possible by standardized chip
sets based on digital signal processing technology and a host of modem
makers, resulting in fierce competition with high-quality products.

Boca was founded by Tim Farris, who had formerly started another add-in
board company called Quadram in the early 1980s, which was eventually
folded into National Semiconductor. At Quadram, Farris was the technical
expert, and Boca has maintained a reputation for quality even while
expanding its product line.



             » Atari Jaguar Intro'd, Can Atari Meet Demand? «


SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., 1993 NOV 9 (NB) -- The Atari Jaguar,
introduced last Thursday in New York, has impressed Wall Street, but may
not be able to meet demand. The enthusiastically received $250
video-game player is priced hundreds of dollars below the competing 3DO
product and has the  backing of IBM and Time Warner.

About 50,000 Jaguars are expected to ship before Christmas, with 10,000
slated for the European market and the remaining 40,000 divided between
stores in the New York and San Francisco areas. But Newsbytes sources
said already the machines are almost sold out and manufacturing more, in
time for a planned national rollout in January, could be difficult. IBM
is contract manufacturing the Jaguar at its facilities in Charlotte,
North Carolina.

Atari said the Jaguar runs on a 64-bit chip and can display over 16
million colors as well as three-dimensional (3D) objects. A compact disc
read-only memory (CD-ROM) drive can also be added. Several well-known
game developers announced support for the system including: ID Software,
Virgin Interactive Entertainment, Accolade, Interplay, Microprose Ltd.,
Microprose US, Gremlin Graphics Ltd., 21st Century Software, and UBI
Software.

The Jaguar is targeted to bring Atari back into markets now dominated
by Nintendo and Sega. Atari has faced hard times, but Wall Street
appears to be enthused about the company's comeback,  as the stock price
has climbed from dismal levels of below a $1 per share in April to
close Friday at 11 and 3/8. The company is publicly held with the
chairman holding 46 percent and Time Warner holding another 25 percent.


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


@endnode
            __________________________________________________
@node P1-3 "Afterburner A4050/030"
@toc "menu"


                » Afterburner A4050/030 Accelerator card «


Computer Services Eureka
Attn: Frank Hoen
Kapittellaan 124
NL-6229 VR Maastricht
The Netherlands
Phone: +31(0)43-613742
Fax  : +31(0)43-619077

The Afterburner is a 50Mhz 4000/030 accelerator. Giving two times the speed
of the A4000/030 and adding a high speed local bus RAM interface. It has a
60ns 'burstable' Ram interface performance that's intended to be superior to
the A4000/040. The Afterburner clocks its 68030 processor as well as optional
coprocessor at 50Mhz. The 'burstable' memory interface and optional local bus
ram should more than double the performance from the original rams utilizing
60 ns rams. It's 32 bit local bus interface should be three times faster than
the original onboard ram and can be expanded to 525MB using highspeed (60ns)
32 bit SIMM's. A Kickstart image may be mapped in this 32bit RAM The CPU, a
ceramic 68030 has a fully usable MMU and the (optional) co-processor can be
of the PLCC, or the cheaper PGA type. Sockets for both types are present on
the board.

Software included is user-friendly auto-installing configuration software,
a benchmark program as well as testing software. Warranty on this board is
2 years.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

An A4000 Amiga computer. A version for the A3000(T) is also being developed
And should be available shortly.

PRICE

The Afterburner should be on display at the coming WoC in Cologne, Germany.
It's tentatively priced at US$ 599 for the entry model.

OTHER

A high resolution JPEG image of the product will be uploaded to AmiNet. Look
for a file called ABurner.LHA.


 
           » Computers Tap State Department's Security System «
 
Travelers with a personal computer now can reach a new electronic 
bulletin board run by the State Department to get information about 
security or crime problems abroad.
 
Users of the board, known as the Consular Affairs Bulletin Board, or 
CABB, have free access to information from a system established in 
1987 to keep the internal business community informed about security.  
The system maintained by the department's Bureau of Diplomatic 
Security, recently became available to the public.
 
In addition to security information, the CABB contains data about 
emergencies involving American citizens abroad, entry requirements for 
Americans visiting other countries and travel advisories.  There is 
also information about visas for foreigners wishing to visit the 
United States, acquisition and loss of United States citizenship and 
international adoptions.
 
In addition to a computer, access to the bulletin board requires a 
modem and communication software.  After dialing in to (202) 647-9225, 
callers are prompted on the screen to enter their name, city and 
state.  No password is required.
 
Callers are presented with a series of questions about their computers 
to establish the best possible communications.  To reach the 
information, callers follow screen prompts to choose items from the 
menu.
 
The State Department says that both Consular Affairs and Diplomatic 
Security bureaus update the bulletin board every day.
 
Individuals with questions or comments on the Material provided may 
write the Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Public 
Affairs Office, Room 5807, Washington, D.C. 20520.


@endnode

@node P1-4 "IPISA '93"
@toc "menu"


                                   IPISA '93

           Incontro dei Programmatori Italiani per lo Sviluppo Amiga
                                 Third Edition

                           Saturday, November 20 1993

                                 Milano, Italy

  IPISA is an annual meeting autonomously organized by a group of people
interested in computer science, programming and applications of the Amiga
line of computers.

  The meeting is dedicated to the presentation and diffusion of projects,
experiences and non commercial products which have been developed using
Amigas.  As in the previous events, it will be possible to discuss research
programs or job contacts with people otherwise difficult to reach.

  The meeting, which is one day in length is laid out as a series of twenty
minute and forty-five minute talks.  During these talks the Italian
language must be used to communicate.  The proceedings consists of paper
documentation and software on magnetic support.  The paper documentation
will be edited by the editorial board of the electronic magazine AUGS
Newsletter.

                               Conference talks:

                               Vittorio Calzolari
                 The Zorro bus and the AutoConfig(TM) standard

                       Ettore Caurla (Commodore Italiana)
                  The european Amiga Developer Support Program
                       CD32 and Full Motion Video module

                                 Stefano Iacus
            Amiga Census 1993 --- a survey of the world Amiga users

              Fabrizio Lodi, Reinhard Spisser and Sebastiano Vigna
                 Inspector, a new debugging tool for the Amiga

                               Fausto Passariello
                         A library of matrix functions

                                 Sergio Ruocco
                 Towards a Macintosh file system for the Amiga

                               Valentino Spataro
                                 Cornucopia BBS

         Conference proceeding papers (not including the talk papers):

                                 Daniel Barrett
                  10 Amiga programming tips for the real world

                        Micheal Cianflone and Neil Coito
                            The 2 Meg Agnus Project


  Papers accompanying conference talks are written in italian.  Related
programs and documentation on disk will be in italian and, possibly, in
english.  Papers from Daniel Barret and Micheal Cianflone are in english.

  Proceedings will also include other material and software tools, commonly
available to Internet users and licensed by respective authors.

  The Proceedings include printed papers and a four disks set, and will be
distributed at the Conference Reception, or sent by mail upon request.

The subscription cost includes a copy of the Proceedings and either
entrance fee to the Conference hall or expenditure costs of the
Proceedings.

To attend the Conference or receive Proceeding by mail send L.  25.000
(about $15 or DM 25) before November, 13 1993 to

Ruocco Sergio
Via Di Vittorio, 4
I-20019 Settimo Milanese (MI)

  Organizing committee:  Roberto Attias, Vittorio Calzolari, Fabrizio Lodi,
Sergio Ruocco (chair), Carlo Santagostino, Paolo Silvera, Reinhard Spisser,
Carlo Todeschini, Sebastiano Vigna, Marco Zandonadi.

Proceeding Orders and questions

e_mail: ruocco@ghost.dsi.unimi.it
        attias@ghost.dsi.unimi.it

@endnode

@node P1-5 "RexxVar 1.0
@toc "menu"

                              » RexxVar 1.0 «


TITLE

     RexxVar

VERSION

     1.0

COMPANY

     AugmenTek
     3606 S. 180th St. C-22
     SeaTac, WA 98188-4339
     USA

     Contact: Stephen Rondeau
     Phone: 206-246-6077
     email: sbr@halcyon.com

DESCRIPTION

     RexxVar is a simple but powerful way of exchanging data between ARexx
     variables and any program that uses input and output files.  The
     output  from a command or program (including a meaningful error code)
     can be placed in either one ARexx variable or in a stem array, while
     the input to a command or program can be read from either an ARexx
     variable or stem array.

     For example, to sort the values in a stem array called "lines."
     (whose indices ranges from 1 to n, and n is in "lines.0"),  one would
     type:

     Address REXXVAR 'Sort from REXXVAR:lines. to REXXVAR:sorted_lines.'

     The "sorted_lines." stem array would be created with an increasing
     integer index, starting at 1.  The total number of "sorted_lines."
     values is placed in "sorted_lines.0".  One can also sort words in a
     variable in a similar fashion.

     Substrings in a variable as well as stem array values can be
     delimited by any character (or none) on input or output.

     Support is also included for arbitrary (i.e., not necessarily numeric
     or increasing in order) stem index values.  For example:

            indices = 'TED BILL'
            fullname.BILL = 'William'
            fullname.TED = 'Theodore'
            fullname.BOB = 'Robert'
            Address REXXVAR "Type from REXXVAR:fullname./nl/indices"

     will output only the values relating to the desired indices:

            Theodore
            William

     In combination with AmigaDOS commands and programs, this facility can
     provide  a familiar and quick-coding means of importing and exporting
     file data (COPY command), passing data among AREXX programs (COPY
     command with PIPE:), listing of stem variable values (TYPE command),
     creation of stem arrays from variable values and vice versa (COPY
     command), extraction of environment variable values (GETENV command),
     editing of a variable's or stem array's values (your favorite
     editor), and more.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

     *  AmigaDOS/Kickstart(TM) 2.04 or higher

PRICE

     RexxVar Facility and Online Documentation: $25
     All prices are in U.S. currency.

     Shipping/handling is $3.00 in the U.S., $5.00 elsewhere. WA state
     residents add 8.2% sales tax.  Terms are check or money order drawn
     on a U.S. bank and made out to AugmenTek. Sorry, no credit cards.

DISTRIBUTABILITY

     This is a commercial product, and is not re-distributable.
@endnode

@node P1-6 "TrapFax v1.0"
@toc "menu"


                              » TrapFax 1.0 «


TITLE

     TrapFax

VERSION

     1.0

COMPANY

     Village Tronic Marketing GmbH
     Wellweg 95
     D-31157 Sarstedt
     Germany

     Tel: +49 (5066) 7013-0
     Fax: +49 (5066) 7013-49
     BBS: +49 (5066) 7013-40

AUTHORS

     TrapDoor Development:

     Maximilian Hantsch
     Rene Hexel
     Martin Laubach

DESCRIPTION

     TrapFax 1.0 is the first release of a new general-purpose
     fax software for the Amiga. It is designed to work with
     CCITT TR29.2 "Class 2"-compatible fax modems to send out
     and receive faxes. Faxes can be generated from any
     application that prints to Amiga preferences printers.
     Incoming faxes can be viewed in a variety of scales and
     resolutions.

     The package comes with an extensive manual in either German
     or English. TrapFax works on all Amiga models under AmigaOS
     2.0 and higher, starting with 2.1, you can use a German
     localized user interface in addition to the English one.

FEATURES

   * state of the art fax software

   - easy operation and handling through Workbench
   - requires and fully supports AmigaOS 2.04 and higher
   - low memory requirements, works on 512k Amigas
   - easy installation using the Commodore Installer utility
   - compatible to CCITT TR29.2 Class 2 modems (e.g. ZyXEL, Supra,
     Everex, CSR, ...)
   - localization with AmigaOS 2.1 and higher
   - easy configuration via Preferences programs
   - uses the IFF data format for data interchange with other products
   - logfile: detailed transaction protocol
   - ARexx support

   * printer driver

   - generate faxes from out of your favourite programs (ProWrite, ProPage,
     DPaint, PageStream, ...)
   - supports all fax resolutions (204x98 dpi, 204x196 dpi, 200x200 dpi)

   * network aware

   - client/server architecture allows operation across a network
   - locking protocols to ensure 100% reliable operation

   * queue manager

   - sophisticated phone book management
   - delayed transmission
   - automatic retransmission
   - automatic sending and receiving in the background

   * fax viewer

   - display faxes in various scales and resolutions
   - supports all amiga screen modes
   - print faxes to all printers capable of printing graphics
   - aspect adjustment -- automatic sizing to adapt to current screen mode
   - automatic printing of incoming faxes
   - drag and drop fax icons into the viewer

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

     Hard disk, CCITT TR29.2 "Class 2"-compatible fax modem,
     AmigaOS 2.0 or higher.

PRICE

     Recommended Retail Price in Germany: DM 198,- (German Marks)
     Special Introductary Offer of DM 179,- during the "World of
     Commodore mit Amiga '93" show (see OTHER).

DISTRIBUTABILITY

     Commercial product.
     Copyright (C) 1993 by Maximilian Hantsch, Rene Hexel and Martin Laubach.
     All rights reserved.
     Distributed by Village Tronic Marketing GmbH.

OTHER

     The software will be available starting at the "World of Commodore"
     show in Cologne (Koeln), Germany, from 5.-7. November 1993. There
     is a special introductory price of DM 179,- on the show. The authors
     will be present at the show, and will be showing off the software.
     They may be bugged with questions at the show, and appreciate their
     fans popping in for a visit. :-)
@endnode

@node P5-1 "FLI Player v1.05"
@toc "menu"

                     » FLI Player Available for FTP «

TITLE

    AmiFlick

VERSION

    v1.05

AUTHOR

    Garrick Meeker
    email: gmeeker@soda.berkeley.edu

DESCRIPTION

    FLI files are animation files popular on IBM's.  They are
    typically 320x200 in 256 colors.  FLC's are FLI's in higher
    resolutions (640x480 is the most common.  AmiFlick plays FLI and
    FLC animations on all Amigas.  It fully supports AGA and can also
    write frames as IFF pictures.


SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

    None. (Runs under all OS versions since 1.2.)

HOST NAME

    AmiNet (ftp.wustl.edu is one AmiNet site)

DIRECTORY

    /pub/aminet/gfx/show/

FILE NAMES

    AmiFlick.lha   (Binary and doc)

PRICE

    Free!!!

DISTRIBUTABILITY

    Freely distributable
@endnode

@node P5-2 "Bootman v1.0"
@toc "menu"


                     » BootMan 1.0 available for FTP «


FORM

BOOTMAN v1.0 AVAILABLE FOR FTP

TITLE

     BootMan - Boot Manager

RELEASE

     1.0 public

AUTHOR

     Daniel Bachmann
        (bachmann@bobsbox.rent.com, bachmann@rvcc.raritanval.edu)

     AmigaGuide documentation: Ray Kulberda
        (raytrace@cup.portal.com, kulberda@eden.rutgers.edu)

SHORT

     Allows multiple startup-sequences with selection at boot-up.

DESCRIPTION

     A boot manager program that allows you to select a startup-
     sequence at boot time using the mouse or keyboard. Also
     allows password protection and a timer to load a default
     startup if none is selected. Includes a preference editor
     for easy modification and startup.

     BootMan is useful for users who wish to have different machine
     configurations, such as a shell-only startup, a ray-trace startup,
     a BBS startup, a full blown startup with cache software, and a
     memory conserving startup.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

     BootMan requires an Amiga running KickStart 2.0 or higher.

FEATURES

     - display startup-sequences by file names or text description

     - default startup-sequence with optional user setable timer

     - no messy scripts - GUI driven

     - (most) everything can be controlled by mouse OR keyboard

     - password option

     - preference editor for easy configuration

     - documentation in AmigaGuide format

HOST NAME

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

DIRECTORY

    /pub/aminet/util/misc

FILE NAME

    BootMan10.lha

PRICE

    Free! Registration/updates only require a letter and/or postcard.
    See documentation for details.

DISTRIBUTABILITY

    The archives are freely distributable in original and
    unmodified form. See documentation for details.

    BootMan is (c) Copyright 1993 by Daniel Bachmann.
@endnode

@node P5-3 "MUI v1.4"
@toc "menu"


               » MagicUserInterface V1.4 Available for FTP «


TITLE

     MUI - MagicUserInterface

RELEASE

     1.4

AUTHOR

     Stefan Stuntz  (stuntz@informatik.tu-muenchen.de)

SHORT

     A system to create and maintain GUIs.

DESCRIPTION

     MUI is an object oriented system to create and maintain
     graphical user interfaces. From a programmers point of view,
     using MUI saves a lot of time and makes life much easier.
     Thinking about complicated terms like window resizing or
     font sensitivity is simply not neccesary.

     On the other hand, users of MUI based applications have the
     ability to customize nearly every pixel of a programs
     interface according to their personal taste.

     This distribution is interesting for both, users and
     programmers. Please have a look at the supplied demo
     programs and at the documentation to see what MUI has to
     offer.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

     MUI requires AmigaDOS 2.04 or higher.
     For developers, MUI comes with C, Oberon, Modula, Amiga-E
     and Assembler interfaces.

NEW FEATURES

     *** major changes since version 1.3 ***

     Rearranged preferences program. Instead of many different
     windows, page groups are used and should make things
     a lot easier.

     Implemented palette gadget for public screens.

     Implemented background pattern for screens (V39 and above).

     Improved text rendering speed about 20% (maybe even more if
     you have some data cache).

     Made cycle popups blazingly fast and more configurable.

     Implemented virtual (scrolling) groups.

     New color oriented classes: Colorfield, Coloradjust, Palette.

HOST NAME

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

DIRECTORY

    /pub/aminet/dev/gui

FILE NAME

    mui14usr.lha - libraries, classes, prefs, demos, user docs
    mui14dev.lha - programmer interfaces and docs

FIDO FILE REQUEST

    2:246/46  (+49-8151-78880 ) magic name "MUI"
    1:267/131 (+1-518-883-5326) magic name "MUI"

PRICE

    Registered versions of MUI are available for $15US.
    See documentation for details.

DISTRIBUTABILITY

    The archives are freely distributable in original and
    unmodified form. See documentation for details.

    MUI is (c) Copyright 1993 by Stefan Stuntz.
@endnode

@node P5-4 "PhoneBill v2.1"
@toc "menu"


                    » Phonebill 2.1 Available for FTP «


TITLE

    Phonebill

VERSION

    2.1

AUTHOR

    Raymond Penners

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

DESCRIPTION

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

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

     * Nice gadtools compliant GUI.

     * User-definable callrates, supporting  rate exceptions
       for certain days and dates. Handles fees and time-units
       with up to 4 decimals (e.g.  $1.2344 dollars per 30.5678
       seconds) for extra accuracy.

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

     * Automatical logfile truncating.

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

     * Context-sensitive online help.

NEW FEATURES

    Now it's possible to enter time units with upto 4 decimals,
    for example: $1,2345 per 12,3456 seconds. Adding and editting
    calls from within the binary logfile editor is new too.
    Furthermore some minor bugs have been removed.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

    Workbench 2.04 or higher.

HOST NAME

    ftp.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4)

DIRECTORY

    /pub/aminet/comm/term

FILE NAME

    pbill21.lha (81642 bytes)

PRICE

    Shareware fee of $8 US.

DISTRIBUTABILITY

    The archive and its contents are freely distributable.
    See documentation for details.

    The package is (c) 1993 Raymond Penners
@endnode

@node P5-5 "AudioScope v3.0"
@toc "menu"


                   » AudioScope 3.0 Available for FTP «


TITLE

   AudioScope Spectrum analyzer

VERSION

   Version 3.01

AUTHOR

   Richard Horne (RHorne@cup.portal.com).  Comments or questions welcome.

DESCRIPTION

   AudioScope is a real-time audio spectrum analyzer for the Amiga.
   AudioScope uses a 512 point Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to process
   audio data received through your audio digitizer to produce a high
   resolution display of audio signal amplitude vs frequency.  AudioScope
   can be used to evaluate the frequency content of sounds of all kinds.

NEW FEATURES

   AudioScope 3.01 is an update to version 2.01 on Aminet. Now, in addition
   to the real-time display of signal amplitude vs. frequency, a display
   option providing a continuous scrolling color display of audio signal
   amplitude vs. time vs. frequency is available.

   Also, documentation is now available for either AmigaGuide or MultiView.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

   AudioScope 3.01 requires AmigaDOS 2.0 or higher and an accelerated
   Amiga because of the high computational load.  A 68020 or better
   microprocessor is mandatory.  An audio digitizer is also required.
   Perfect Sound 3, Sound Magic, Sound Master, DSS 8, and many generic
   digitizers are supported.

   The new scrolling color display mode is a severe test of both processing
   power and display capabilities.  A 68040 CPU and AGA is recommended for
   truely amazing performance in this mode.

HOST NAME

   AudioScope 3.01 is available via FTP at all Aminet sites, such as
   ftp.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4).

DIRECTORY/FILE NAME

   AudioScope 3.01 is located at systems/amiga/aminet/util/misc as
   AudioScope30.lha

DISTRIBUTABILITY

   AudioScope 3.01 is free public domain software.

@endnode

@node P5-6 "BackUP v3.91"
@toc "menu"


                 » BackUP V3.91 now available on Aminet «


TITLE

   BackUP - A hard drive backup program for the Amiga

VERSION

   Version 3.91

AUTHOR

   Felix R. Jeske (fjeske@amiganet.xnet.com)

DESCRIPTION

   A hard drive backup program that features a custom Intuition interface,
   multi-floppy drive support, high-density drive support, incremental/
   full backups, on-the-fly compression via either LhLib (supplied) or
   XPK packers, optional verify, two types of backup logs and a restorable
   configuration.

NEW FEATURES

   As an update to V3.88 on FF884, version 3.91 is now available in German
   and includes support for XPK packers.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

   BackUP requires WorkBench 2.x and supports 3.x features such as the
   new disk formats (International and Directory-Caching).  A minimum of
   1 MB of RAM is also necessary.

HOST NAME

   Aminet (wuarchive.wustl.edu and its mirrors)

DIRECTORY

   BackUP is available on Aminet in pub/aminet/disk/bakup

FILE NAMES

   The BackUP archive is name BackUPV391.lha

PRICE

   Shareware fee:  US$20

DISTRIBUTABILITY

   Freely distributable, shareware.

   BackUP V3.91 (c) Copyright 1993 Felix R. Jeske  All Rights Reserved

@endnode 

@node P5-7 "EGSPrint"
@toc "menu"


                   » EGSPrint now available on AmiNet «


TITLE

     EGSPrint - Graphic dumping program for EGS and native Amiga

AUTHOR

     Dietmar Heidrich   s_heidri@ira.uka.de

DESCRIPTION

     This program prints the contents of the frontmost screen, no
     matter what depth it has or if it's a true EGS screen or a
     screen of an EGS workbench emulation.  This even works if
     there's no EGS at all or if the screen has a colour resolution
     of 24 bits (but then, only 12 bits are printed as the printer
        device supports no more than that).

     EGSPrint needs a lot of memory, especially for EGS screens.
     EGSPrint needs EGS version 6 or higher.  Verify that you have
     the file "EGS:egsclasses/PlaneMap12.class".  Printing occurs on
        the standard Workbench printer.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

     Enhanced Graphics System Version 6 or higher. "PlaneMap12.class".

     EGS, the Enhanced Graphics System, is a high-performance 24 bit
     true colour window system for the Commodore Amiga computers.
     It's the first system that brings 24 bit drawin capabilities to
     the Amiga.  A demo version of EGS for the native Amiga chipset
     is available on AmiNet.  EGS is available for a lot of graphics
     boards, among them EGS Spectrum, Piccolo and EGS 110.

HOST NAME

     AmiNet servers, e.g.
        ftp.wustl.edu (USA)
        ftp.uni-paderborn.de (GERMANY)

FILE NAMES

     AmiNet:  /pub/aminet/gfx/show/EGSPrint.LHA

PRICE

     Free.

DISTRIBUTABILITY

     Public domain.

OTHER

     The usage of this program is similar to the system program GraphicDump.
@endnode

@node P5-8 "EGSDVI"
@toc "menu"


                    » EGSDVI now available on AmiNet «


TITLE

     EGSDVI - DVI Previewer for the EGS window system

AUTHOR

     This is a XDVI port.

     Eric Cooper, CMU, did a version for direct output to a QVSS.
     Modified for X by Bob Scheifler, MIT Laboratory for Computer
     Science.  Modified for X11 by Mark Eichin, MIT SIPB.  Additional
     enhancements by many others.  EGS port by Dietmar Heidrich
     (s_heidri@ira.uka.de).

DESCRIPTION

     EGSDVI is a program which runs under the EGS window system.  It is
     used to preview DVI files, such as are produced by TeX.  EGSDVI
     needs EGS version 6 or higher.  TeX is a text-formatting program
     by Donald Knuth for producing high-quality text output of
     articles, scientific papers, books etc.  DVI files contain the
     type-set output of TeX and can be viewed on-screen (for which this
     program has been written) or printed.  Public domain TeX for the
     Commodore Amiga is available on AmiNet and other FTP sources.

     This program has the capability of showing the file shrunken by
     various (integer) factors, and also has a `magnifying glass' which
     allows one to see a small part of the unshrunk image momentarily.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

     Enhanced Graphics System Version 6 or higher.

     EGS, the Enhanced Graphics System, is a high-performance 24 bit
     true colour window system for the Commodore Amiga computers.  It's
     the first system that brings 24 bit drawin capabilities to the
     Amiga.  A demo version of EGS for the native Amiga chipset is
     available on AmiNet.  EGS is available for a lot of graphics
     boards, among them EGS Spectrum, Piccolo and EGS 110.

HOST NAME

     AmiNet servers, e.g.
        ftp.wustl.edu (USA)
        ftp.uni-paderborn.de (GERMANY)

FILE NAMES

     AmiNet:  /pub/aminet/gfx/show/EGSDVI.LHA

PRICE

     Free.

DISTRIBUTABILITY

     Public domain.

@endnode

@node P5-9 "EGSShow"
@toc "menu"


                    » EGSShow now available on AmiNet «


TITLE

     EGSShow - GIF and JPEG viewer for the EGS window system

AUTHOR

     Dietmar Heidrich   s_heidri@ira.uka.de

     This software uses JPEG code from The Independant JPEG Group
     Version 4 and the GIF decoder written by Steven A.  Bennett.

DESCRIPTION

     EGSShow is a viewing program for GIF and JPEG files on the EGS
     window system.  This program is able to read the JPEG format as
     well as the GIF formats GIF87a, GIF89a and all future GIF files
     compatible with both of the above.  The format of the file is
     detected automatically.

     EGSShow needs a lot of memory for bigger pictures ( > 640 x 480)
     and EGS version 6 or higher.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

     Enhanced Graphics System Version 6 or higher.

     EGS, the Enhanced Graphics System, is a high-performance 24 bit
     true colour window system for the Commodore Amiga computers.  It's
     the first system that brings 24 bit drawin capabilities to the
     Amiga.  A demo version of EGS for the native Amiga chipset is
     available on AmiNet.  EGS is available for a lot of graphics
     boards, among them EGS Spectrum, Piccolo and EGS 110.

HOST NAME

     AmiNet servers, e.g.
        ftp.wustl.edu (USA)
        ftp.uni-paderborn.de (GERMANY)

FILE NAMES

     AmiNet:  /pub/aminet/gfx/show/EGSShow.LHA

PRICE

     Free.

DISTRIBUTABILITY

     Public domain.

@endnode 

@node P5-10 "FastCache v1.1"
@toc "menu"


                   » FastCache v1.1 Available for FTP «


TITLE:

        FastCache

VERSION:

        1.1

AUTHOR:

        Philip D'Ath
        fido: Philip D'Ath at 3:774/605 (contact me here if you can)
        internet: pid@sol.cs.waikato.ac.nz (until approximately Dec. 93)

DESCRIPTION:

        FastCache is a fully associative cache for speeding up devices
        like hard drives.  Some of its features include:

        * Fully associate cache (one of the best algorithms)
        * LRU cache replacement policy (one of the best)
        * Can handle multiple drives
        * Can handle removable media
        * All cache settings are determined at run time
        * Optional write retention
        * Does not require large continuous chunks of memory
        * Uses a hashing system to locate date (one of the best)
        * Performs both forward and reverse prefetching
        * Will utilize the blitter to move data, if possible

NEW FEATURES:

        * Much faster.
        * GUI based statistical monitor.
        * Found a bug where if two or more copies of FastCache V1.0 were
          running, and one was quit then the other(s) could crash.
        * Found a bug in the write back monitor process.  This bug causes
          the cache to be flushed far more frequently than it was supposed
          to be (wasting time).
        * Added an ARexx port to control FastCache, and to allow
          statistical information to be obtained about the caches
          performance.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

        KickStart V2 or better is required, and at least 512Kb of
        free RAM, preferably 1Mb.  A device to cache (like a hard drive
        or a floppy drive).

HOST NAME:

        wuarchive.wustl.edu

DIRECTORY:

        /pub/aminet/disk/cache

FILE NAME:

        fcache11.lha

PRICE:

        A fee of $US20, $A20 or $NZ20 (whichever is most convenient)
        is requested after a three month trial period.

DISTRIBUTABILITY:

        FastCache is distributed under the concept of shareware.

@endnode

@node P5-11 "GadOutline library v2.4"
@toc "menu"


               » GadOutline Library v2.4 available for FTP «


TITLE

        GadOutline Library - font-sensitive gadget layout library

VERSION

        2.4

AUTHOR

        Dianne Hackborn

        E-mail: hackbod@xanth.cs.orst.edu

DESCRIPTION

     Gadoutline.library is intended to provide you with a means of
     describing the general layout of your GUI in a font-independant
     manner, and take care of the details of determining the exact
     placement of the individual elements of the display and the
     drudgery of creating and managing all of the gadgets.  In
     addition, it provides a very generalized mechanism for tracking
     the state of all of its gadgets to support automatic resizing and
     closing and opening of a window without loss of context,
     automatic hotkey support, a vector based drawing module that can
     be used for everything from drawing frames around groups of
     gadgets to creating custom images for BOOPSI gadgets to adding
     complex drawings and textual information to a window, the ability
     to transparently use both GadTools and BOOPSI gadgets, and to use
     new GadTools and BOOPSI gadgets without having to write a single
     line of code.

     Note that this library is based around the existing GadTools and
     BOOPSI structures as provided by the operating system, and
     provides no custom gadgets of its own.

WHAT IS A "GADOUTLINE?"

     The library draws its name from the primary data structure used
     to describe the entire gadget layout - a ULONG array 'outline'
     which is composed of individual 'commands.' A command is used to
     define a single element of the display - a gadget, the wrapper
     around a group of gadgets, or an image - and additional 'control'
     commands are used to control how groups are organized, provide
     additional information to the library, and mark the end of the
     array.  This array is an entirely static structure; the library
     only uses it to determine the dynamic data which is needed by the
     layout and after that it is never referenced again.  This brings
     a number of important consequences:

        - An application almost never refers to the elements of the
          outline in terms of pointers.  While ultimately all of the
          commands are referenced as normal pointers to C structures, the
          application almost entirely refers to the commands and their
          associated gadgets in terms of an ID code which is assigned to
          the command.  Every command must have either a unique ID code,
          or the special "none" code of 0, and everything from assigning
          hotkeys to setting a gadget's attributes uses this unique ID
          code to determine which command is being refered to.

        - Almost all of the information needed to create a gadget is
          localized into one place in the outline array, making it much
          easier to see what a gadget actually is.  In addition, the layout
          of the gadgets is primarily determined by their position in the
          array, so it is relatively easy to understand their
          relationship to the rest of the window.  Moving the layout
          around is as easy as using cut and paste in your text editor.

        - Defining connections between objects no longer requires
          absolute pointers to them.  Instead, you simply include the
          command ID along with the rest of the definition of your
          gadget, and the library takes care of resolving the pointer when
          the gadget is actually created.

        - All of the tags used to define the orginal layout are
          dynamically tracked by the library as the gadgets are changed
          and your program makes changes, so that the layout and all of its
          objects can be restored to their previous state even when closing
          a window and opening it on a new screen.  And because all of
          the library's state tracking is based on the object's tags, new
          kinds of gadgets are automatically tracked by the library.

     With the addition of a "translation" callback hook, automatic
     localization can easily be implemented, or it is even possible to
     design a method of removing all absolute memory references within
     the static outline so that it could, for example, be loaded off
     disk when needed by the application.

NEW FEATURES

        This is a slight update to version 2.0 of my layout library, as
        previously uploaded to Aminet.  See the gadoutline2_4.readme file
        for a list of the changes since that version.

        This update is mainly for bug-fixes.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

        OS 2.04 or greater; tested up to 3.0.
        No other software requirements.

        Only tested with SAS/C; no assembly language header files provided.

        Has not been tested on a 68000 processer.
        [But it *should* work... right? ;)]

HOST NAME

        Uploaded to the Aminet site ftp.etsu.edu (192.43.199.20).

        Should be available on all other sites.

FILE NAME

        /pub/aminet/dev/gui/gadoutline2_4.lha

        Example public screen manager program:

        /pub/aminet/os20/util/psm1_0.lha

PRICE

        Shareware.  A fee of $20 is asked for programmers using the
        library who would like more support than the documentation
        provided with it.

DISTRIBUTABILITY

        Copyright (C) 1993 by Dianne Hackborn.

        Freely distributable as long as the contents of the archive
        are kept intact.
@endnode

@node P5-12 "ImageDex v1.0"
@toc "menu"


                    » ImageDex v1.0 Available for FTP «


TITLE

      ImageDex

VERSION

        1.0

AUTHOR

      Zach Williams (zachws@ids.net)

COMPANY

      Precision Imagery
      PO Box 20676
      Cranston, RI 02920

DESCRIPTION

      Utility program will take a series of image files (any format)
      and create an image index of scaled down "thumb-nail"
      pictures, labelled appropriately. The program acts as a
      graphic front-end to Art Department Professional 2.2 (or
      higher).

      Useful for catalogging images, textures and anim frames,
      allowing them to be stored off the main system.

FEATURES

      - Full graphic interface
      - Harnesses power of ADPro for graphic processing
      - Capable of reading any file format ADPro knows
      - Outputs multiple formats
      - User-selectable number of images per page
      - Unlimited files can be processed

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

      - AmigaDOS 2.0+
      - Art Department Professional 2.2+
      - ARexx

HOST

      Aminet FTP sites (ftp.wustl.edu, ftp.luth.se, etc)

DIRECTORY

      pub/aminet/gfx/misc

FILENAME

      ImagDx10.lha

PRICE

      ShareWare, $10 reg. fee.

DISTRIBUTION

      Freely redistributable as long as archive is intact. All
      rights reserved. Not to be re-sold, except duplication/disk
      costs.
@endnode

@node P5-13 "PicCon v1.02"
@toc "menu"


                    » PicCon v1.02 Available for FTP «


TITLE

        PicCon (which is short for Picture Converter).

VERSION

        Latest version is 1.02.

AUTHOR

        PicCon was written by Morten Eriksen.

        email address:  mortene@idt.unit.no
        Ordinary address:
                Morten Eriksen
                Jonsborgvn. 18
                7563 Malvik
                NORWAY

DESCRIPTION

        PicCon is a "programmer's pictureconverter". That is, it
        is not in the usual 'packed format -> packed format' style,
        but it is a program that convert packed pictures to RAW
        format, ready for inclusion in programs you are writing.
        Parts of pictures might also be cut out and saved.

        Features:
        * uses datatypes.library (with the appropriate datatypes
         installed, you can load JPEGs, GIFs, or any other format)
        * handles AGA pictures
        * palettesaving in many formats (ECS/OCS, AGA, ECS/OCS/AGA
         copperlists, ++)
        * RAW saving in numerous formats (bitplane, interleaved,
         chunky, sprites (including AGA sprites) ++)
        * choice of saving as binary or source (both assembly and C)
        * screenmoderequester
        * correct handling of HAM6, HAM8, EHB and dual playfields
        * some nice timesaving features, like autocrop, flipping ++

        Note: the 1.02 demoversion contains a bug that makes 5
        Enforcer-hits, these are not dangerous. This is fixed
        in the registrated version (which is free for any Mungwall-
        or Enforcer-hits whatsoever).

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

        As the datatypes.library is used for loading the pictures,
        you need version 3.0 (or later) of the operating system.
        The program do work on rekicked machines (AGA chipset is
        not needed).

HOST NAME

        Available via anonymous FTP at:

        nic.funet.fi  in  /pub/amiga/graphics/applications/convert/PicCon-102.*
        ftp.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4) in /pub/aminet/gfx/conv/PicCon-102.*

        ...and any aminet mirror site.

FILE NAMES

        PicCon-1.02.lha    (20034 bytes)
        PicCon-1.02.readme (1156 bytes)

PRICE

        Shareware fee is $15 (or an equal amount in your own currency).

DISTRIBUTABILITY

        The demoversion is freely distributable, the registered version
        is shareware and copyright Morten Eriksen.
@endnode

@node P5-14 "AGA Screen Color Requestor v1.01"
@toc "menu"


             » AGA Screen Color Requester Available for FTP «


TITLE

   Screen Color Requester (SCR).

VERSION

   Version 1.01

AUTHOR

   Richard Horne (RHorne@cup.portal.com).  Comments or questions welcome.

DESCRIPTION

   The standard Amiga 3.0 WB Preferences Palette Requester is very limited
   in that it only operates on the first eight screen colors.  Screen Color
   Requester solves this problem for AGA Amigas by providing palette
   controls that allow you to change, copy, swap, spread, and cycle all
   indivual colors of the workbench or any public screen.  You can also
   load and save modified screen palettes for various applications.  If
   you are a programmer, you can link the included object file with your
   own programs to save yourself the work of programming a color requester
   of your own.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

   SCR 1.01 requires AmigaDOS 3.0 or higher.

HOST NAME

   SCR 1.01 is available via FTP at all Aminet sites, such as
   ftp.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4).

DIRECTORY/FILE NAME

   SCR 1.01 is located at systems/amiga/aminet/os30/util as SCR.lha.

DISTRIBUTABILITY

   SCR 1.01 is free public domain software.

@endnode 

@node P5-15 "VCLI v7.04"
@toc "menu"


                      » VCLI 7.04 Available for FTP «


TITLE

   Voice Command Line Interface (VCLI).

VERSION

   Version 7.04

AUTHOR

   Richard Horne (RHorne@cup.portal.com).  Comments or questions welcome.

DESCRIPTION

   This is an update to Version 7 of Voice Command Line Interface (VCLI)
   VCLI will execute CLI commands, ARexx commands, or ARexx scripts by
   voice command.  VCLI allows you to launch multiple applications or
   control any program with an ARexx capability entirely by spoken voice
   command.  VCLI is multitasking and will run in the background, listening
   for your voice command even while other programs may be running.  VCLI
   also has its own ARexx port so that internal functions and options can
   be controlled by ARexx command.  Documentation is provided for both
   AmigaGuide and Multiview.  This is the fastest and most accurate version
   of VCLI yet, and it fully supports DSS 8, Perfect Sound 3, Sound Magic
   (Sound Master) and many generic audio digitizers.

NEW FEATURES

   This new version fixes a few bugs, plugs a memory leak, improves gadget
   functions by providing keyboard alternatives, and increases the
   sensitivity of the voice.library recognition functions so that you don't
   always have to speak so loudly.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

   VCLI 7.04 requires AmigaDOS 2.0 or higher.  An audio digitizer is also
   required (DSS 8, Perfect Sound 3, Sound Magic or a generic digitizer).

HOST NAME

   VCLI 7.04 is available via FTP at all Aminet sites, such as
   ftp.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4).

DIRECTORY/FILE NAME

   VCLI 7.04 is located at systems/amiga/aminet/util/misc as VCLI704.lha.

DISTRIBUTABILITY

   VCLI 7.04 is free public domain software.




@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@node P1-7 "Amiga Report Online"
@toc "menu"

/// Amiga Report Online News           Around the World in Thirty Seconds!
    ------------------------



                          » Portal/Usenet News «
                            ------------------


.../Files & Messages/Message Bases/Press Releases/Saddam Virus on Fish CD!
19249.3.131.1 from usenet
11/8/93 11:34 125/5858 Harv

[these are two postings to Usenet this date by Fred Fish...]

Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc
Path: portal!sdd.hp.com!swrinde!emory!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!darwin.sura.net
 !sgiblab!majipoor.cygnus.com!fnf
From: fnf@cygnus.com (Fred Fish)
Subject: Re: WARNING (Was: New Fish CD is here.)
Message-ID: <CG4wrz.BDK@cygnus.com>
Keywords: Fish, CDROM
Organization: Cygnus Support, Mountain View, CA
References: <2b6388INNbr@life.ai.mit.edu>
  <2bilh3$336@urmel.informatik.rwth-aachen.de>
Date: Sun, 7 Nov 1993 18:31:10 GMT
Lines: 27
Portal-Origin: Usenet
Portal-Type: text
Portal-Bytes: 1452
Portal-Location: 17311.3.12654.5

In article <2bilh3$336@urmel.informatik.rwth-aachen.de>,
Stefan Becker <stefanb@hathi.informatik.rwth-aachen.de> wrote:

>I talked with Fred on the WoC in Cologne. He'll destroy the first run of
>the CD and produce a new version without the file. Everyone will get the
>new version for free. I'm sure he'll post an official statement on this
>when he gets back to the US.

I managed to find an internet connection here in Cologne so I could
telnet back home to read my mail and news postings about this issue.
Stefan is correct (thanks for posting in case I couldn't), the first
CD does contain a virus and I will have to make a replacement CD-ROM.
This replacement will be available about Nov 20-24 and will be free
to anyone that wishes to return the original for replacement.  I'm
not going to insist that people return their original CD-ROM if they
understand the issues involved and wish to keep it for personal use.
However, if the CD-ROM is to be made publically accessible such as
via ftp, or via a BBS, then it must be replaced with the virus-free
version.  I will send a letter to all subscribers who received the
CD-ROM directly from me, explaining the problem and offering the
replacement CD-ROM.  I will do this immediately upon my return
from Germany, on Nov 12th.

We destroyed about 500 CD-ROM's here at the Cologne WOC show,
where I carved up the optical side with a knife and signed the
front, and gave them away as souvenirs.

-Fred
------


(I've also mailed this to the comp.sys.amiga.announce moderator but
 I wanted to get it posted as soon as possible so please excuse the
 duplication here.  -Fred)

On Nov 2nd, two hours before I had to leave to get on a plane to go to
the WoC show in Cologne Germany, I got a FAX that said there was an
active Saddam Hussein virus on disk 919 in the BBBF submission.  This
was later confirmed when I arrived in Cologne on Nov 4th.

Because the contents of disks 911-930 are on the Oct Fresh Fish
CD-ROM, this problem also affects that CD-ROM.

The details, as I understand them at the moment, are:

(1)     The virus is on disk 919 in the BBBF submission.  The exact
        filename is "BBBF/FileVirLib/VirusToTest/Saddam_Hussein_virus".

(2)     The virus is only dangerous if you are running kickstart
        1.2 or 1.3.  However it is a *very* dangerous virus.

(3)     In order to infect your system you would need to execute
        the file containing the virus.  Under normal use of the
        CD-ROM, there is no danger from the virus.

User's might legitimately ask how such an error could occur, including
an easily detectable virus (using most virus checkers) and one with an
obvious name as well!  The only explanation I can offer at this point
is that we obviously didn't run a virus checker over all files on the
CD-ROM (though we do normally have virus checkers running on the test
systems that will detect viruses when they get run), and that the
person working for me on that batch of floppy disks didn't realize
that this was an actual working virus and not just a test file that
simulated a virus or a castrated virus that would be no danger.  It's
still my responsibility though, so any blame for including it must
fall on me.

As soon as I return home, on about Nov 12th, I will reissue disk 919
with the virus removed, and send copies of the replacement floppy to
all of my direct subscribers.  I will also send a letter to all of my
direct CD-ROM subscribers, notifying them of the problem and offering
a replacement CD-ROM at no charge, should they wish to return the
virus infected one.  I will not insist that all CD-ROM users return
their CD-ROM's, except those that use the CD-ROM in such a way that
the file containing this virus is publically accessible, such as on a
BBS or ftp server.

Once we were certain that the CD-ROM contained an active virus we
halted further distribution of the CD-ROM.  This meant that I had to
destroy approximately 500 CD-ROM's at the WoC show in Cologne, much to
the frustration of local German users who begged to be allowed to
purchase them.  The optical side was carved up with a knife, I signed
the front, and we gave them away as souvenirs of the show.

Ultimately I expect this virus to cost me about $3,000 to $5,000 in
lost productivity time, CD-ROM replacement production costs, and
shipping charges.  So you can be very sure I'll be doing everything in
my power to avoid future virus problems.

I am very disappointed that Safe Hex International apparently offered
no warning that their distribution included an actual working virus
rather than just a file simulating a virus or a castrated, harmless
virus.  Furthermore, to pick such a dangerous virus seems to me to be
very irresponsible.  I'm not contemplating any sort of legal action at
this time since I don't feel that the submission had any malicious
intent, though I'm also not ruling such action out for now, or in the
future should I discover new submissions containing trojan horses or
viruses.

Because of the time I will lose dealing with this problem, the next
Fresh Fish CD-ROM may be delayed a week or so.  My best estimate at
the moment is that the December Fresh Fish CD-ROM (aka the second
monthly CD-ROM) should ship about the second or third week of
December.

-Fred



                               » Fido News «
                                 ---------



*** Area: AMIGA                                   Date:  6 Nov 93 3:23:00 
*** From: Adam Sternberg (1:209/216.0) 
*** To  : All 
*** Subj: Mr. Dvorak

I want to put to rest a little thing I have noticed about the trends of
Mr. John Dvorak.  A friend of mine just told me that he found an
article of his in an old computer magazine where Mr. Dvorak was praising
the Amiga and how lovely it's 16-bit, standard audio was.  he went on
and on about this when he really had no clue to the fact that anyone
with a trained ear could realize that the Amiga, in fact, has 8-bit
audio.  Mr. Dvorak over the years has spewn out nothing but negetivity
towards the Amiga, or anybody that disagrees with his close-minded view
of the computer community in the same fanatical way that Rush Limbaugh
chastises any person with a different opinion than his own.  Mr. Dvorak
is an inconsistant person who supports his opinions with the strength of
a lunar wind.  One minute, he loves the PC, the next he is damning it
in praise of the Mac, while all the while he pokes fun at the Amiga
unprovoked.  For example, the following is taken from an article of his
in the August 1992 issue of PC Magazine entitled, "My Wife Thinks I'm
Nuts."

...My earlier reluctance (from switching to OS/2) stemmed from my
observation that the OS/2 promoters acted like the crackpot Amiga users
who think that all mankind is crazy because the whole world doesn't use
the Amiga.  This is a different crowd from the Mac fanatics, who are
just plain arrogant.  But at least teh Mac fanatics don't whine so damn
much as the Amiga users do...

Now I have pointed out MANY fanatics of this calibur that write on this
echo from time to time (not to mention any names like John Covington)
but this is a very stereotypical statement coming from such a person. 
Needless to say, I don't know many people that consider anything Mr.
Dvorak says to be worth it's weight in mud, but even still, a person
badmouthing another platform, and it's user base in a major computing
magazine is both obnoxious and unprofessional.  It is true that Mr.
Dvorak has made good points as to the current status of the Amiga, yet
his constant negetivity is a reoccurring theme that makes the Amiga
sound like an old 8-bit remnant of yore.  But in fact, even with it's 8
year-old technology base, the Amiga is still a dominant figure in
desktop video...such a figure the PC and the MAC have been trying to
attain for years now.  Contrary to what some say here, or on many other
Amiga based echos, the Amiga is simply not the best at every single
aspect of desktop computing and to deny that is simply ignorant and
naive.  However, what the Amiga does specialize in, it does DAMN well
and that is something to be proud of in this day and age where many
competing companies spend more in a year in advertising than Commodore
is WORTH.  There is nothing shameful in admitting that the Amiga might
not have the best games, or the largest software base, or the cheapest
add-on hardware, rather we should all be proud that there is such a
strong user support to make up for such a lack of company support.   If
it were not for the strong spirit of people such as Fred Fish, the Amiga
would be just another corpse in the graveyard of outdated computers.  
People like Mr. Dvorak are complainers that are never satisfied with
what they have or don't have.  If the next Amiga had a R4400, 16-bit
sound card, RTG, 24-bit graphics, and cost $50, Dvorak would complain
that the Amiga had an ugly shade of beige that clashed with the
wallpaper in his computer room and therefore was a sorry excuse of a
computer.  Well to that and all the Dvoraks of the world, I hereby say
PPBBBBTTTHHH!!!! :P

<<<Soapbox Mode OFF>>>


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



*** Area: AMIGA                                   Date:  4 Nov 93 19:48:00
*** From: Tony Belding (0:10/8.0)
*** To  : All
*** Subj: CD32 3DO EMULATOR

 * This msg is forwarded from VID_GAME
 * Originally From: Frank Eva in FidoNet
 *            To  : All
 *            Date: Sunday 31 October 1993  09:31:15
 
Posted by the Video Sigop of the Safe Harbor Amiga BBS:

Utilities Unlimited, makers of the Emplant emulator board, is working
on -- get this -- a 3DO emulation module for the Amiga CD32. This was
revealed the other day in a post from UU on one of the national
boards. Apparently, the 3DO module either will emulate the special
3DO chipset or will use a licensed set. The 3DO Company is in fact
licensing these chipsets to interested manufacturers. Other news:

* UU expects the module to run around $299. Meaning that a CD32 with
a 3DO module would retail for less than a real 3DO at current
suggested prices.

* The module would make use of the CD32's chunky-to-bitplane graphics
conversion routines in hardware, to keep speed up.

* The module would convert 3DO 24-bit graphics to HAM8 in hardware.

* The module would run at least as fast as a real 3DO. According to
UU, while 3DO uses a RISC processor, it is rated at only 12 Mhz, and
the CD32's 14 mhz 68020 can handle that.

* The 3DO comes with 3 megs of RAM. CD32 comes with 2 megs. The
Emplant 3DO emulator would not come with extra RAM, but should
provide a pass-through port for RAM add-ons.

* No word if this module would function simultaneously with
Commodore's promised MPEG video module.

* The 3DO Emplant will work only with CD32, and most likely not with
any CD32 peripherals that Commodore may offer for the A4000 or A1200.

All in all, this is tremendously good news. If UU pulls this off,
CD32 immediately adds to its potential market. It's not a sure thing,
because 3DO, for all its impressive hardware, is not a sure thing.
But it can't hurt!

By the way, news of this reached a non-Amiga-specific game forum on
GEnie this weekend, and most people there were incredulous.
"Impossible" was the most frequently used comment. However, UU showed
it possible to emulate a color Mac at normal or better speeds on an
Amiga with its first Emplant emulation module, putting the lie to
people who said THAT was impossible. It's vaporware until we see it,
but UU has a track record of success, so let's wait and see.

A Sega unit is in development in Germany for Emplant, as well.

UU says that Emplant will run multiple simultaneous emulations, with
the restriction of one emulation per platform (e.g., you could
emulate one Mac, one PC and one Sega machine all at one time, but no
more than one each).


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



*** Area: AMIGA                                   Date:  6 Nov 93  1:48:00
*** From: Jon Peterson (1:383/25.0)
*** To  : All
*** Subj: FF1000th Aniv Update

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

Jon Peterson
Matthew L. Schultz
Chris Nelson
Asha DeVelder
Marshall Freedland
Jeremy Friesner
Michael Phipps
Darrin & Lisa Zimmerman (Amiga Un-Sig of Southern Michigan)
Eric V. Peterson (Canada)
Eric Zimmer
Fred M. Hamilton
Michael Meredith (England)
David Jennings (Australia)
Gary Delzer
David Gomme (appreciation to FFish)

(This is finally getting international.... Where's Hong Kong??)

Total donations as of 10/30/93 are $300.00.  Got a ways to go folks to 
purchase the A4000T.  Please talk this up with all concerned (Amiga users) 
and pass the word on to your Users Groups. If you haven't joined the effort, 
slip that hand into the pocket and pull out some bucks, put it into any en-
velope and send it in.  Let's show what the Amiga community is all about.
Check over some of the programs you have benefitted/are benefitting from.  
Register them and/or pitch in for FishFund. *Reminder to everyone PLEASE!!! 
pass the word at any Users Group meetings you attend. This should be a 
group effort on behalf of all the Amiga users throughout the world. 
Please donate whatever you can afford - or even better - what you honestly 
think FFish's work has been worth to you through the years. You think
speed kills?  Try apathy!  Let's make this thing happen. Thanks.



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


*** Area: AMIGA                                   Date:  6 Nov 93 21:21:00
*** From: Jack Helser (1:343/10.0)
*** To  : All
*** Subj: GOLD SERVICE?

Anyone know what's going on at the CBM Gold Service Depot in Memphis?

I sent my new A3000 to them via FedEx around 9/8 for a serial port
problem. When I originally called to make arrangements to return it,
the CBM rep. said they'd repair and return it in 1 week. I didn't start
calling them until 3 weeks had elapsed. They've used a number of
excuses: parts shortages, understaffed, lots of machines ahead of mine,
more parts shortages, blah, blah.

One week ago when I called I was told "your machine is next to go on
the bench...".  I learned on Friday 11/5 that it was still on
the bench, running with the lid off, but no one could find the
technician to see what the status was.

The phone rep. supposed that they were waiting for parts again.

It's now been 8 weeks, and I'm out of patience.

Anyone have a similar experience with the Depot? How long did it take
you to get your machine back? And did they fix it right?

I'll be calling and FAXing CBM on Monday. I'm going to ask for a refund
if they can't get it back to me fixed right by 11/12 (9 weeks). Or, they
can always just ship me an A4000 and keep the A3000. :)



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



*** Area: AMIGA                                   Date:  9 Nov 93  9:53:57
*** From: Mike Barsoom (1:285/11.9)
*** To  : Jack Helser
*** Subj: GOLD SERVICE?


In a message of 6 Nov 93 Jack Helser wrote to All:

 JH> Anyone know what's going on at the CBM Gold Service Depot in Memphis?
 JH> I sent my new A3000 to them via FedEx around 9/8 for a serial port

I sent my A3000 earlier this year, and it was back in 3 days, but they 
screwed something else up and I had to send it back again, which took 
another 3 days.  All in all it was gone for 1 week.  But I think another 
company had taken over gold service and now that's why its soe bad.

When they contacted me about an extedned warantee, they wanted approx 
$300 for one year. How stupid do they think amiga users are, a brand new 
A3000 is only twice that.



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



*** Area: AMIGA                                   Date:  6 Nov 93  1:36:37
*** From: Jonathan Gapen (1:121/6.11)
*** To  : All
*** Subj: Doom not spoken here

   Okay all you naysayers of the echo,  I have four words for you:

   SIERRA'S BACK IN TOWN!

Yes,  we will see King's Quest VI on our AGA Amigas!  Of course,  if you
get Amiga World,  you probably have read that by now.  That,  and an AGA 
Wing Commander.  *Maybe* an AGA Day of the Tentacle from LucasArts.

KQ VI won't be another cheap Sierra port,  oh no,  it'll be done by
Revolution Software of England.  Sounds great,  doesn't it?

Amiga World lists 50 AGA games that are under way or out.  They did have 
to stretch a little with some PD and a rumor,  but there's still 50 games 
listed.  The AGA games are really coming now.  Even some of the "big boys" 
are back in the Amiga arena,  so it's not all gloom 'n doom as some people 
are so fond of claiming.

We've got some great,  amazing productivity software coming soon,  great
Amiga games and a fair amount of ports from Clone games.  CD³² is selling
extremely well in Europe,  which could bring even more developers into or 
back to the market.  Commodore plans to advertise,  bringing more 
recognition for the Amiga name.

I suppose you can look at it in two ways.  It's simply that markets change.
You can look at the loss of the old as bad omens or the new potential. I'll
look at the bright side.



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



*** Area: OMAHA                                   Date:  6 Nov 93  7:40:06
*** From: Clete Baker (1:285/15.69)
*** To  : All
*** Subj: Quote without comment


As many of you know, from time to time I pass along a tidbit
regarding trends in entertainment technology from the trade rags I
receive.  Here's an excerpt from Barry Fox's column in the October
issue of Studio Sound, a British recording industry journal, on the
topic of "confusion in consumer electronics".

Perhaps the only industry-ese which might be unfamiliar to general
readers is the reference to various "color-book" documents.  These
books contain the standards for the various flavors of Compact Disc
data.  The Red Book standard delineated the familiar audio CD.  As
CDs were enhanced with various other types of data, new color-coded
'books' were released delineating those standards; Yellow Book for
CD-ROMs, Orange Book for recordable CD media (either WORM or
rewritable), etc.  Here then is the excerpt (quoted without
permission) verbatim:



To subvert John Donne, 'no industry is an island' -- so if the
consumer electronics companies can spark enthusiasm for new audio and
video formats, consumers will buy more music and movie software.  And
if the consumers spend more money, things look up for the studio
business.  On the other hand, if the new formats fail, then people
will be more likely to spend their spare cash on holidays or video
games.

The recent International Audio and Video Fair in Berlin --
traditional launch pad for new electronics in Europe -- left a clear
and depressing impression: the people selling these new formats are
selling boxes.  They do not understand the technology or the key
issues like compatibility.  Worse still, they do not see how their
ignorance is creating confusion which encourages the buying public to
'wait and see'.

Repeatedly at the Berlin IFA, large companies held press conferences
without having anyone on hand to answer technical questions.  Take
interactive multimedia (the great white hope for home entertainment):
if you set aside the shoot-'em-up games platforms sold, or promised
for sale, by Sega, Nintendo, Commodore and Atari, the field narrows
to CD-I, developed by Philips and supposedly backed by Panasonic, and
3DO, developed in California and most definitely backed by Panasonic.
CD-I is already on sale and 3DO is promised for sale this winter.

The two systems are wholly incompatible, although both players will
play audio CDs, DC+G discs (that have simple graphics buried in the
audio subcodes) and Photo CDs.

There is now a digital video compression standard, MPEG-1, for
putting 74 minutes of full-motion video (FMV) on a CD.  This winter,
Philips will start selling a plug-in MPEG adaptor which allows a CD-I
player play back FMV discs.  3DO promises a similar adaptor.

Philips, Panasonic, Sony and JVC recently agreed [upon] a new White
Book standard for Video CD, or Digital Video CD with MPEG FMV, but
without the control codes which a CD-I player uses to provide full
interactivity.  Video CD is a 'linear' format, like a video tape --
you play it and watch it from start to finish.

Video CD follows the CD-ROM XA 'Bridge' standard, like a Photo CD.
This allows a Video CD to play on a personal computer equipped with
CD-ROM drive and an FMV decoder, or a new generation of Video CD
player which is broadly similar to an audio-only CD player but has a
built-in FMV decoder.

Because the CD is a ROM XA disc, it has a Yellow Book data flag in
the bit stream.  This flag will (or should) mute all the outputs of
an audio-only CD player to prevent speaker damage.  This kills the
idea of using an add-on FMV decoder to make Video CDs play back on a
conventional CD player equipped with a digital output.

[CD manufacturer and research leader] Nimbus have suggested that this
problem can be solved very simply, by making the Video CD follow the
Red Book standard -- not have a data flag -- but this would stop the
Video CD playing on a CD-I player or ROM drive, as both are designed
to treat any Red Book disc as a music disc.  These machines would try
to decode the FMV data on an unflagged Video CD as audio data -- and
fail.

Also, the White Book now specifies control codes for VCR-like
functions such as fast search and freeze-frame.  Consequently, the
FMV decoder must feed control signals back to the CD player drive.
There is no input for these control signals on any existing
audio-only CD player.

Words cannot describe the confusion which has swept the audio and
video world over this scenario.  And it all stems from the clumsy
wording of a joint statement put out in late June by Philips, JVC,
Sony and Matsushita (parent of Panasonic).  This statement on the
White Book promised playback of Video CDs on "modified CD players
(with a digital data output) with an add-on Video CD box".

What was meant was that there will be a future generation of audio CD
players, built slightly differently, to play either Red Book audio
CDs or Yellow Book Video CDs when connected by a digital output to a
video decoder.  What people very reasonably understood it to say was
that Video CDs will play on existing Red Book audio-only CD players
that already have a digital output and which may be connected to an
add-on video decoder.

Confusion has piled on top of confusion.  Just as we thought
everything would finally be clarified by statements to be made in
Berlin, the same four companies put out another statement which
repeated the error, this time without even the word "modified":

It read: "Video CD discs can be played on... CD players (with a
digital data output) with an add-on Video CD adaptor".

The bottom line, which the four largest electronics companies in the
world seem incapable of drawing is that there will be at least two
types of FMV CD.  One will be a CD-I/FMV disc which plays back with
full interactivity on CD-I players when equipped with an FMV decoder.
These discs will not play on other players.  The other version will
be a White Book linear digital video CD; this will have very limited
interactivity but will play on CD-I players with FMV adaptors, on
personal computers with CD-ROM drives and FMV adaptors and on a new
generation of Linear Video CD player which will work with both Red
Book audio CDs and White Book Video CDs. 



@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@node P1-8 "Amiga Online Reference Manual"
@toc "menu"


/// The Amiga Online Reference Manual
    ---------------------------------
    by Robert Niles
    (rniles@imtired.itm.com)



What is a linked file? How do I make one?
What's the shell used for? How do I use it?
How does redirection work?
How can I create a network? Does the Amiga have networking capabilities?
What is ARexx for? How do I use it?
What is the ixemul.library for?
Can I run Macintosh programs on my Amiga?
Why should I own an Amiga? What can it do that other platforms cannot?
What movies or TV shows have been done with an Amiga?
Does Wil Weaton really use an Amiga? Who's Wil Weaton?


If you have ever asked any of these questions and possibly alot more, 
then the Amiga Online Reference Manual (AORM) is for you!

The AORM is a project taken up by David Tiberio of Area52. Essentially 
it is one huge FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document in AmigaGuide
format.

AORM explains what the Amiga is, it's capabilities, how to use it, and
what it has been used for. It explains the inside of the Amiga, 
compares the Amiga so that you can get a good idea of what you 
have....or what you are looking for. It tells you what those funny 
files in your S: directory are for, and explains how they can be 
changed and customized. It even has a nice section on Lightwave.

It answers alot of questions that you have always had, and alot you 
have never thought of.

Installation is quite easy. Basically you want a hard drive, although 
it is not required, it will make things alot easier. AORM uses CBM's
installer, making the installation process much easier. Select the 
level of interaction you want, and then it decompresses the files and 
places them where you specified.

Once finished you simply click on the AORM icon and you are on your 
way. Trying to cover every subject that AORM covers would require a 
FAQ of my own...as it covers alot. 

First is the Table of Contents. There we have Frequently asked 
questions, The Amiga Hardware, The Amiga Operating System, Workbench 
Applications, Top 10 Amiga Advantages, Using the Amiga, and Famous 
Amiga Uses and People.

Opening up the first section, Frequently Asked Questions, brings use 
to 18 more choices, dealing with AmigaDOS to Emulators to the 
Workbench. Clicking on AmigaDOS brings us to more options...which 
explain various items such as keyboard shortcuts to scripts. 

The Amiga Online Reference Manual is a must have for beginners, and a
definite 'should have' for advanced users. If you have a question 
about the Amiga, there aren't too many places to get good answers. 
AORM will help fill that need.

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


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


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

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

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

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

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

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

@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@node P1-9 "SHI Retires!"
@toc "menu"


/// SHI Coordinators Retire!
    ------------------------


  *********************************************************************
  *  PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT   PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT   PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT  *
  *                                                                   *
  * Date: 01-Nov-93                                                   *
  * From: Jim Maciorowski, Safe Hex International/Florida             *
  *       Michael Arends, Safe Hex International/Washington           *
  *                                                                   *
  *                                                                   *
  * Today we are formally announcing our "retirement" from the Safe   *
  * Hex International organization.                                   *
  *                                                                   *
  * It has come to our attention that the work involved in running a  *
  * "Regional Virus Center" has become increasingly overwhelming.     *
  * Due to certain Differences of opinion we Have with the MAIN SHI   *
  * center, We are stepping down as coordinators. Perhaps SHI will be *
  * looking for new "Regional Virus Center" coordinators but nothing  *
  * has been said at this time.                                       *
  *                                                                   *
  * We understand that this will come as a shock to some. To others   *
  * it will be no surprise.  To even more (unfortunately) you will    *
  * have absolutely no idea who we are or the work we did.  To give   *
  * a brief summary:                                                  *
  *                                                                   *
  * · We translated the information sent to us from SHI Headquarters  *
  *   in Denmark into a more readable format for those in the USA.    *
  *                                                                   *
  * · We collected new viruses for the purposes of updating the anti- *
  *   viral programs you may use (VirusZ, Virus Checker, etc).        *
  *                                                                   *
  * · We distributed SHI's anti-viral disk, THE NEW SUPERKILLERS      *
  *   (two versions) as well as other disks.  We even offered         *
  *   subscriptions to SUPERKILLERS so that people can have the best  *
  *   updated killers mailed to them every month.                     *
  *                                                                   *
  * · We encouraged people to make donations to the anti-virus        *
  *   programmers who spend literally thousands of hours updating     *
  *   their programs and who ask for little or nothing in return.     *
  *                                                                   *
  * · We helped people with their virus problems.                     *
  *                                                                   *
  * · And we did it all NOT FOR PROFIT.                               *
  *                                                                   *
  * While we have had some disappointments with the general reaction  *
  * of computer users towards our work, we have for the most part     *
  * been happy to serve an organization whose fight against computer  *
  * viruses was unique in the Amiga community.  But now we feel it is *
  * time to move on to other projects.                                *
  *                                                                   *
  * Any user who subscribed to THE NEW SUPERKILLERS from Michael or   *
  * Jim will continue to have their subscriptions honored until they  *
  * expire.  However, no new subscriptions will be accepted.          *
  * We will try to release updates more frequently than they have     *
  * been in the past and will continue to provide all users with the  *
  * same rapid service as before.                                     *
  *                                                                   *
  * Sincerely,                                                        *
  *              Jim Maciorowski and Michael Arends                   *
  *                                                                   *
  *  PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT   PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT   PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT  *
  *********************************************************************



@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@node P1-10 "Usenet Review - Hired Guns"
@toc "menu"


/// Usenet Review:  Hired Guns
    ---------------------------
    By David W. Lowrey
    (dwl10@juts.ccc.amdahl.com)


PRODUCT NAME

        Hired Guns


BRIEF DESCRIPTION

        An "adventure" game for 1-4 players, where each player controls one
or more of the computer characters.



AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

        Name:           DMA Design (distributed by Psygnosis)
        Address:        29 Saint Mary's Court
                        Brookline, MA 02146
                        USA


LIST PRICE

        I paid $44.95 (US) at a "full service" Amiga store.
        I don't know the list price.


SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

        HARDWARE

                At least 1 Meg of memory.

                If you have a 2 meg Agnus chip, the program will use
                extra sound effects.

                It works on my 68020-based Amiga, so I would imagine
                that other processors are supported.

                Supports up to 4 floppy drives.

                A special parallel adapter can be bought, or made, that
                allows 2 additional joysticks to be used.

                The game also allows you to use a modified Sega "Joypad" in
                place of a joystick.

        SOFTWARE

                ?


COPY PROTECTION

        Look up a word in the manual. The disks are copyable, and the game
is hard disk installable.

        The "look up a word...." scheme isn't too bad as the game doesn't
always ask you!  I would rate the copy protection as acceptable.


MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

        Amiga 2500
        68020 processor board with 2 meg Fast RAM
        2091 SCSI controller with 2 meg Fast RAM
         (total of 5 meg memory, of which one meg is Chip RAM)
        AmigaDos 2.1

INSTALLATION

        The program either runs off of floppies, or off of your hard drive.
The hard disk version of the game does not take over the system. You can
pause the game and switch to the Workbench. The game returns to the
Workbench when you exit.  The floppy version takes over the system, and you
have to reboot when you are finished with the game.

        Floppys do not require any installation, other than the judicial
practice of copying the originals and playing from the copies.

        To install the game on a hard drive, drag the Install icon into the
drawer you wish to contain the HiredGuns directory.  Then double-click the
Install icon.  5 languages are supported.

        You have the choice of installing the complete game, including the
extra music, or just a minimal configuration.

        The disk comes on 5 floppies, and takes about 1.5 meg of hard drive
space.


REVIEW

        NOTE: I have had the game for 24 hours now, so this is really a
first impression.  If my opinion changes, or if I have the facts wrong, I
will send in an update.

        Hired Guns is somewhat like an RPG, or "adventure" game, where you
have a party of "adventurers", and you go on a quest of some sort, solving
puzzles and fighting bad guys along the way. You usually have a "window"
that shows what the party sees.

        Hired Guns is like that, plus a whole lot more.  Up to 4 players
control 4 computer characters at the same time.  The players can use up to
two mice, the keyboard, or joysticks to control the computer players. Each
input device can control one or more computer players. The program supports
a parallel port joystick adapter.  Other games, such as Gauntlet, use this
same device.

        When there are only one or two players, they have to use a mouse.
That means that for a two player game, you need two mice.  Three or 4 players
have the option to select the input device.

        Each computer character can also be told to "follow the leader", so
you can move up to 4 characters at once.  This "Auto Leader" mode will cause
the computer characters that have the mode enabled to follow the currently
moving character.

        Each computer character has its own view window, so each can be in a
different place at the same time.  If player 1 is standing in front of
player 2, then player 2 sees player 1 in front of him.

        You have your choice of 12 different computer characters.  You
cannot edit their "stats" nor add your own characters.  However, you CAN
edit the graphics for each character using any Amiga paint program.  Each
character has an ILBM IFF file containing the different views of that
character.  You can edit the pictures, perhaps replacing them with your own
picture, and use that in the game.

        The view windows are in "3D" style, so you get the illusion of
depth. The graphics are relatively detailed, but they do not blow you away.

        The purpose of the game is for the players to eradicate the area of
the various mutants that happen to be there.  You are provided various
weapons, and more are found that allow you to do this.

        You move your computer characters around the a landscape consisting
of grass, trees, multi-level buildings, tunnels, and rocks.  There are also
water channels, sometimes multi-leveled, that you can (or have) to wander
around in.  There are devices available (you hope) that will allow humans to
breathe, and keep robots sealed for a few minutes.

        There are stairs and elevators that move you up and down.  There are
big blocks that you push and pull around to allow you or another computer
character to get across a chasm or water channel.  There are force fields,
teleport fields, and doors that need to be removed, accessed, or opened.
Many of the puzzles require cooperation between computer characters to
complete.

        And, of course, there are the "Bad Guys."  There are many different
ones, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.  It is up to you to
figure out the best defense and the appropriate weapons that are necessary
to deal with each creature.

        Each character has an inventory of items, called a "store".  Items
can be picked up, dropped, and equipped, using each computer character's
store window.

        If a computer player has the appropriate device, a map of where he
or she has been is automatically kept, and is displayable.

        The game has several modes. There are "Training" missions, "Short
Campaign" games, and the "Full Campaign" game. The training missions start
out easy and get progressively harder.  The "short campaign" games can
usually be completed in one sitting.  When there are more that one "human"
playing the game, they can compete with each other to see which one
completes the level first.  The "Full Campaign" has about 20 different sites
you have to visit, each with different puzzles and varying degrees of
difficulty.  Fortunately, you can save your "Full Campaign" game between
playings on floppy, Hard Drive, or in RAM.


DOCUMENTATION

        The program comes with 4 different manuals.  However, I am not
impressed with the contents.  Much of the information you need is either
spread out between the manuals, or not there at all.

        The manuals are: "Amiga Instructions", which tells you how to
install and operate the game; "Game Manual", which describes the various
games, and some of the objects in the game; and "The Luyten System, a
Background" which describes the bad guys and weapons.  It also describes and
the local planetary system, which is for "color" only and not necessary
to play the game.  Finally, the "Countdown To Graveyard" manual gives a
history to what is happening, and also describes the Good Guys.

        All of the apostrophes (') are missing in the manuals!

        None of the manuals describe any sort of strategy that might be of
help.


LIKES AND DISLIKES

        I really like having 4 independent characters to control.  You have
each character's view in front of you at all times.

        I also like the balance between fighting and problem solving.  The
problems are just as important as the fighting.  They are also logical
problems, such as "how the heck can I get down 4 stories without killing
myself," as opposed to being randomly teleported somewhere for no apparent
reason.

        I like the hard drive installability, and the relatively
non-intrusive copy protection.

        I like the ability to play with 3 other players (which I haven't
tried, yet).


COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

        There was a demo of this program released earlier this year.  The
play is basically the same, but items such as "group mode" work much better.


BUGS

        None found, yet.


CONCLUSIONS

        This is a much waited-for game, and it was well worth the wait!


COPYRIGHT NOTICE

        Copyright 1993 Starbound Enterprises.  All rights reserved.




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

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



                   Portal Communications' Amiga Zone

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

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

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

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

 · Over 1.5 GIGabytes of Amiga-specific files

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 · FREE unlimited Internet Email.  Your Portal account gets you a
   mailbox that's connected to the world.  Send letters of any length to 
   computer users in the entire industrialized world.  No limits. 
   No extra charges. No kidding!
   
 · Portal has the Usenet.  Thousands of "newsgroups" in which
   you can read and post articles about virtually any subject you can
   possibly imagine.  

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

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

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

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

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

Portal Signup or for more information:

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

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

PORTAL'S CURRENT RATES:

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

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

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

Note: 

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

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

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

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

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

That number again:  408-973-9111.

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



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

/// Another Moronic, Inane and Gratuitous Article
    ---------------------------------------------
    By Chad Freeman
    (cjfst4+@pitt.edu)



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@node P1-11 "Portal Confernece with Dave Haynie"
@toc "menu"


/// Portal Online Conference:  Dave Haynie, Commodore Engineer
    ----------------------------------------------------------


This is an edited transcript of a special *live* chat conference, held
on the *Portal System in the Amiga Zone chat area, on the evening
of November 7, 1993.  This transcript is Copyright 1993, The Amiga Zone,
and may be freely distributed provided no further editing of any
kind is performed on it.  User Groups may reprint this transcript
in their newsletters and it may be posted on Bulletin Boards, Usenet,
and FTP sites. 

Our special guest speaker was Mr. Dave "Hazy" Haynie, of Commodore
West Chester.  The conference took the form of a question & answer
session with Dave. 

This conference took almost exactly four hours in real time.  Much
superfluous yakking and hellos and g'byes have been edited out to
make for a cleaner read.  Thanks to Brian J. Cerveny for his 
yeoman's job of editing this capture of the conference.  Thanks to
Bill Seymour for maintaining the question queue during the evening.
And thanks to all who participated.  And special thanks to Dave Haynie
for his vast storehouse of Amiga knowledge and willingness to give
an entire evening to this endeavor.


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


The edited transcript begins here. The host was Harv Laser, head
Moderator/Sysop of The Amiga Zone.

Harv: AND NOW, IT'S MY EXTREME PLEASURE TO INTRODUCE A TEN YEAR VETERAN OF
      COMMODORE ENGINEERING A MAN WHOSE NAME IS ETCHED UPON THE MOTHERBOARDS
      OF YOUR COMPUTER.

      MISTER...
       ____                    _   _                   _      
      |  _ \  __ ___   _____  | | | | __ _ _   _ _ __ (_) ___ 
      | | | |/ _` \ \ / / _ \ | |_| |/ _` | | | | '_ \| |/ _ \
      | |_| | (_| |\ V /  __/ |  _  | (_| | |_| | | | | |  __/
      |____/ \__,_| \_/ \___| |_| |_|\__,_|\__, |_| |_|_|\___|
                                           |___/              

      DAVE - ANY INTRO MATERIAL YOU'D CARE TO START WITH, BEFORE QUESTIONS
      START... BY ALL MEANS, FIRE AWAY

hazy: Cough!

      At home, drawing pictures, of mountaintops...
      Whoops, I thought I was Eddie Vedder for a sec, I'm OK now.

Kerry - Stratford: I have an accelerated 2000 and a Picasso II board on order. 
                   I understand that with the new 3.1 ROMS I will be able to
                   use many AGA programs in 256 colors with Picasso's
                   Retargetable Graphics.  How do I get these ROMS and
                   can you confirm the above.  Also will they allow me to
                   finally upgrade my CDTV so I can run 2.0 programs and 
                   Operating System?

hazy: I don't know the exact status of 3.1.  Last I heard, it was, like 2.04
      before it, planned as an upgrade for all systems. This would be for
      A3000, A500/A2000, and probably the new ones, since it is a different
      ROM.  I don't know if you necessarily want to upgrade a CDTV, since
      there are a number of programs that seem to be 1.3-specific.
      The CD32 has what's essentially a per-title patch library to handle CDTV
      titles, I don't know if they plan this sort of upgrade for CDTV or not.

Kerry - Stratford:  Sorry, I use the CDTV for my kids as a computer and you
                    can't with the CD-32.

hazy: Like I said, I don't know of the CDTV plans.

ScottJ: Dave, has CBM decided which RISC chip to use in future Amigas? If they
        haven't, which one would you prefer to see used, PowerPC, Alpha, MIPS,
        or HP/PA?

hazy: We have looked at all of the RISC chips.  No decision has been publicly
      announced, however. Keep in mind that chances are, the chip we pick will
      need to be servicable at all levels of computing, from our high enough
      down through the games level. However, I don't imagine we would be going
      with a chip _not_ on the list you have given, if that's enough of a clue
      for you (it's all you're gonna get).

ScottJ: I hope its not SPARC, that chip's a dog.  Thanks, Dave.

hazy: The next generation high-end systems will use a CPU independent local
      bus, so the RISC decision isn't particularly critical at this point.

Timeus: Will there be a display enhancer for the A4000 similar to the A2000's?
        When?

hazy: The planned display enhancer for the A4000 has been tabled at present. 
      That means that no one is currently working on it, not that they never
      will.  I believe the design was offered to 3rd parties, though I don't
      know if any of them picked it up or not. I'm not certain it's much
      advantage over some of the existing 3rd party display cards.

soft-logik: Dave, do you have any guess as to who bought a lot of Commodore
            stock last Thursday?

hazy: Rumors abound.  The rumor mill has been quite active lately, with talk of
      some financial improvements and some possible takeovers.  However, I
      don't know what's going on.

soft-logik: Well, good luck to ya.

hazy: In fact, one of best sources for rumors couldn't make our Friday lunch
      this past week, so I'm at least a week behind on the best gossip.

Bjarian: Hazy, thanks for your inputs.  My question is about UNIX.  The Amiga
         was first in V.4 and beat even SUN.  It is the only viable PC platform. 
         What is being done now for Amiga UNIX?

hazy: Currently, nothing is being done on UNIX.  Sorry, I liked it too.  It
      doesn't seem that Commodore management was willing to support it, though.

Bjarian: RUPUGHE!

hazy: That has nothing to do with the troubles of the past year, it was a much
      earlier decision, something nobody in Engineering was happy about.  But
      that does happen sometimes.

mykes: Is there any truth to the rumor that Dave's currently busy designing
       the dream Amiga?

hazy: Basically, yes.  I'm currently working on several things, all of which
      involve the AAA chips to some extent.  But of course, I don't design the
      Amiga chips, I design the system they go into.

      After the A3000 went out, I started thinking about What Next, as you
      might imagine. A bit over two years ago, I formally started writing up a
      new system architecture.  We are NOW starting to implement that
      architecture. If all goes well, that will be the first AAA machine.

DonM: I know you aren't/weren't marketing.  Maybe you have a feel, though
      for how things are going.  Ex: I just got a ToysRUs catalog.
      as they look to me?  They GOTTA start marketing these things
      whatever fiduciary finagling goes on.  ga

Harv: [Note - Commodore has SAID (at WOCA) they will be introducing CD32 to 
      the USA as of Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas in january]

hazy: The US market has grown so small relative to the rest of the world, I
      think they pretty much take any sales as good, as long as they don't cost
      anything.

      I have, as Harv said, heard they plan to introduce CD32 in January here,
      but that they didn't have the quantities available to hit every market
      for Christmas '93. However, this is apparently not a repeat of last
      year, when we simply couldn't make enough systems due to supply
      problems. As far as I know, the factory in the Phillipines has been
      running CD32s at full force on 3 of the 4 production lines.  That's full
      production for a Christmas rush.

Harv: Dave - quick Q from me... tell us about the Philippines plant, if you
      can. what's it making and how many?

hazy: I don't really know numbers.  It's set up for surface mount, which is
      what everything is these days.  They have four production lines.  The
      fourth has been running A4000s and I suppose, anything else they needed,
      over the Christmas rush time (it's hard to get away from the low end at
      all this time of the year).

Aurelius: Hi Dave, Which of your current projects is the most exciting to work 
          on?  the one you can talk about anyways?

hazy: The next generation system project.  Everyone's heard about AAA, of
      course, and I did build a AAA prototype machine, which we have running in
      the labs of course.  However, while that's fun, it's not as cool as when
      I get to build My Own Thing.  That will be the system that "houses" the
      AAA subsystem.

Aurelius: does AAA include PAULA upgrade/replacement?

hazy:  The AAA system has a thing called "Mary", which is kinda-sorta Paula on
       steriods.  And then some.

David-L: Was the A4091 turned over to a third party?  If so, who?...

hazy: Yes, the A4091 has been turned over to a third party.  Management has for
      some time been trying to get out of the peripherals biz, even while
      acknowledging that sometimes, we have to make them. I don't know if the
      third party involved has been officially announced, but having used some
      of their stuff and all over the years, I think they're a good company.

David-L: Do you know where I go for support?

hazy: I don't know how the support end is managed, though I don't suppose
      they're taking over the software anytime soon, so ultimately C=
      Engineering will still be dealing with problems at the technical level.
      I really don't know what happens at the user level.

David-L: What's Doin w/ DiskSalv - I sent my money - should I expect somethin? 

hazy: As for DiskSalv, I spent all last week stuffing envelopes.   Anyone who
      registered at any level should get something in the mail very soon.  If
      you registered for updates and/or the commercial version, you'll get the
      V11.28 update disk too.

colins: Dave, it seems that the PCI bus has been embraced by much of the
        computer industry.What chance is there that CBM might incorporate the
        PCI bus in a future Amiga? Also,will AmigaOS survive the transition to
        a RISC based Amiga?

hazy: There is a very good chance Commodore will endorse the PCI bus sometime
      in the future.  No official announcement has been made yet, of course. 
      However, PCI is very much a solution to a problem I started working on
      over two years ago. It's very close, in fact, to my solution to this
      problem.  And standard, as well.  Draw your own conclusions :-)

fredness: Are there plans for an AGA Amiga with SCSI-II on the motherboard?

hazy: The A4000T (T=floorstanding) is an AGA machine with SCSI-2 on the
      motherboard.  That's the same NC53C710 SCSI-2 you get on the A4091, only
      integrated into the motherboard.  This machine isn't out yet, I don't
      know the status of it, but the samples seem fairly complete.  This is a
      Greg Berlin project at present.  No other AGA/SCSI-2 system has been
      discussed.

CarmenR: Hazy: Do the RISC chips [or DSP if you're gonna use them for that
         matter] handle multi-tasking as elegantly as the Motorola chips do?

hazy: RISC chips are generally as good at multitasking as the Motorola chips. 
      Some have a slightly greater task-switch overhead, but that's really no
      big deal if you're going that much faster to begin with. They vary in
      their abilities at other things.  Some handle interrupts as well, others
      used a more primitive interrupt model.  Same goes with exceptions, MMU
      table walks, etc.

CarmenR: Is IDE here to stay? :) -=> GA

hazy: Industry-wise, IDE isn't going away anytime soon.  Even though it
      presently doesn't go much beyond 4MB/s, there are mental patients out
      there building IDE controllers for VL-Bus and PCI. And the PC industry
      is planning an enhanced IDE that supports four channels, more
      addressing, and greater speeds.  As for Commodore... I believe it'll
      always make sense for the low-end systems.  I don't like it for high end
      systems, and I think we have taken some steps in the next generation
      architecture to bring the cost of SCSI down relative to IDE.  But we'll
      see -- if it's free, and there's a low cost SCSI option, you shouldn't
      complain too loudly.

Harv: Dave - Any comment on Colins' "Will Amiga OS survive transition to a RISC
      based CPU"?

hazy: Oh yeah.  I believe it has to.  The reasoning -- low end systems.  You
      can argue in favor of WindowNT or UNIX for high-end systems.  And in fact,
      I think both of those are good options, especially something like NT, 
      which should essentially be shrink-wrapped for any CPU supported.
      However, no one's going to see any sense in outfitting a $500 RISC low-
      end or CD machine with the $1200 worth of RAM, Hard Disk, etc. necessary
      just to boot one of those.

      Also, there are rather dubious Multimedia characteristics in those OSs. 
      Most of what people call "Multimedia" are a set of realtime problems.
      The industry still hasn't figured out that GUI is a realtime problem.  I
      don't know how long it's going to take them to get the Multimedia thing
      figured out properly.

colins: That was my worry Dave, something like Scala won't look too hot on
        WinNT. Thanks.

Pjotr: Let me describe a scenario:  The new line of computers CBM will
       concentrate on. One main RISC architecture, Windows NT (f ex?),
       Multimedia libraries (incl video) as primary advantage over NT PCs etc,
       Interfaces for Video CD cable, PCI(?), Video conferencing standards etc.

       Q: How will the next Amiga stand out without being propriery?

hazy: On the hardware side, you'll still have Amiga chips.  There are things in
      AAA which will make a very impressive difference in many of the things
      we're doing with computers these days. But hardware is expensive, and
      time consuming to design.  If we have to build every piece of the system
      from scratch,  it's going to take longer and cost more than comparable
      "standard architecture" systems.   Everyone has pretty much figured this
      out, except maybe Sun.  DEC and Apple certainly have.  I think you have
      to concentrate on the things that will make your system stand out.

      On the software side, like I said, I think we'll still have AmigaOS
      around.  Check out the last BYTE for their preceived effect of NT or
      OS/2 on your hardware, relative to Windows.  

      From C='s point of view, supporting NT isn't a big deal if the shrinkwrap
      version is available for your processor, so why not?  Yet I think the
      processors (RISC-based) need to run Amiga binaries to make the system an
      Amiga straight-off.  Of course, keep in mind I'm not the management or
      the software group, but that's the way I see it.

Furr: I would like clarification on the Z3 BUSTER DMA mess; I've
      gotten conflicting stories from different people. I have an
      A3000, and I want to know if there is a new BUSTER available
      for this machine that fixes the Zorro 3 DMA problems. I am
      considering a Z3 board that this is apparently a consideration
      for (the GVP Spectrum/24).

hazy: The Buster chip in the A3000 (Rev G or -07) does not support Zorro III
      DMA.  That feature was simply left out, to get the machine out on time.
      You can get the latest, Rev K or -11, which supports Zorro III DMA and
      also fixes a bug in the Zorro II DMA to Chip RAM on the A3000.
      I suppose in the USA, you would have to order this part through your
      dealer or one of the C= parts specialty places.  I don't know who's in
      charge of replacement parts anymore, it might be SMG.

Furr: Also, when might the first machines based around the AAA
      chipset actually reach market, and will those first AAA machines
      still use 680x0 processors, or the as-yet undecided RISC chip?

hazy: The first AAA machines will ship with 680x0 processors, hopefully the
      68040 and 68060 will both be options, assuming Motorola's silicon
      development keeps paces with ours.  For RISC, you would simply plug in
      a RISC CPU module.

KyleW: Is it true that AAA will not work on AGA machines (my UG refuses to
       upgrade it's antique A500 because of that rumor) and will AAA be
       available for older machines (I have way too much money in my 2500 to
       upgrade any time soon).

hazy: The AAA chip set is a radical departure from anything you have seen
      before.  Everything in it was designed new, from the ground up.  There
      is no way possible to retrofit it into any older system other than
      building a Zorro III card for A3000/A4000 class systems.  That certainly
      could be done, it's up to management to order this or not. It's not
      practical to implement AAA on a 16-bit card (I won't say impossible, but
      it would be a great deal of trouble).

LadyHawke: Hi Dave, nice to see you again, we owe you at least a cement-mixer
           full of macadamia nuts by now ...

hazy: That's a rather curious image.

LadyHawke: My question is more of a dilemma than a question.  I have an A3000. 
           The A4000T at the show looked good, more slots, two hard drive
           controllers, AGA.

Harv: [and two video slots!]

LadyHawke: I am at a loss as to whether to continue to upgrade my A3000, since
           every dollar spent on that is a dollar less to save for a new
           system, and now we have even further developments.   I'm worried
           that there is less support for the 3000 than I expected, and then
           RISC machines on the way.  What would you do if you were a high end
           consumer?  (and computer artist)

hazy: Well, part of the question is, just what do you want for the A3000? 
      Barring a DMA upgrade, Zorro is Zorro.  AGA is a big improvement for
      some, maybe especially if you're into art.

      I still have an A3000 here.  It's got an '040 card, a 3rd party display
      card, ab18MB and about a gig of hard disk space. I'll admit the A4000T
      is a bit tempting, but I don't know (I didn't work on it, so I don't
      necessarily get a freebie or anything).

Harv: [a friend of mine has an 040 3000 with 84 meg of ram.. I hate him :-) ]

hazy: It's always going to come down to new stuff coming along.  The very
      nature of this business is Faster, Bigger, More, ASAP.

      I have a long-term goal to make systems far more modular than they have
      been, and we just might get that in the next generation.  It hasn't been
      technically feasible before.  

LadyHawke: Dave, how long before another system comes along?

hazy: Lew says AAA will hit sometime in '94.  Don't expect it for another
      year, though, to be reasonable about it.   I'll guarantee you someone
      buys an A4000 the day we announce the new machines. These things
      always happen.

Jim-Guy: My question is about using my Video Toaster on the A4000 with a 1960
         monitor.. C= was supposed to build an adapter?  Has this been built..
         will I ever be able to use my 1960 on my A4000 so I get full AGA
         support?

hazy: I have seen these around the labs.  Apparently the first batch came in
      from soemme cave in China marginally functional.  They do exist.  I
      think they're probably just in short supply at present.

Jim-Guy: What is the relationship or how is the relationship between CBM and
         NewTek?

hazy: We seem to get along fine with NewTek these days, at least from what I
      can tell.  Personally, I have a blast every time I get together with
      those guys.

Teletran: Dave, What's the general feeling at C= in regards to how well the
          CD^32 has doneso far (acceptance, sales, etc.)?...
          ALso, any thoughts (personal and/or professional) regarding 3-DO?

hazy: For whatever reasons, we're often the last to know about sales.  But the
      word on the street, or by the coffee machine, is that CD32 is doing well.
      I will admit to being a real skeptic during its development.  But I think
      it was done very well on both the software are hardware levels.  And they
      kept the proice pretty reasonable.

      Also, MPEG is as cool as Jeff Porter originally claimed it would be. 
      I think you have to give the coolness edge to 3DO, of course.  CD32 is a
      big upgrade to existing games machines, but 3DO could be out of this
      world.  Then again, what do expect me to say -- I have all the respect in
      the world for Dave and R.J., and every day more of my friends work for
      3DO :( They're aren't a guaranteed success yet, though.  Remember back
      when CDTV came out and everyone hard that zillions of companies would be
      making Phillips CD-I players.  Seems I can still count CD-I players on
      one finger.  3DO will certainly do better than this, since it's going
      into lots of places other than "game machine"

      The price point is a problem now, no other CD machine has been successful
      up there, at least in the volumes they were after.   They'll need
      3DO-specific games.  They will have some, but they'll also have ports of
      PC games.  They may have to count on stuff filtering down from embedded
      arcade machines before they really  differentiate themselves.  The SGI
      technology is very cool, at least on a $10,000+ workstation.

      What you'll get in the home for $250 is another story.  Nintendo may be
      able to play the old game of CPU power vs. cool display hardware to some
      extent.  But if they wind up with an embedded R3000-derivative rather
      than a semi-decent R4x00, they won't be much beyond the 3DO's CPU.  

lbperez: Greetings...just wondering when are we going to see the expansion
         box for the CD 32.

hazy: I haven't heard any release dates on it.  It's real, though, a number of
      the low-end guys asked me about various bits and pieces for it.
      And I suppose you may have noticed, if you have been pricing CD-ROM
      drives, that the CD-32 is about the same price.  I'm certain interface
      solutions will be quick in coming.

wms: Last time I heard you in conference here on Portal, was after some
     bloodletting at C= and ewhac asked "Is the light still shining,
     so to speak?" You replied that you were withholding judgement
     for the moment. How do you feel now? And how is morale in general?

hazy: Well, it's a tough call.  There are good things happening, no doubts. 
      AAA is progressing, management has made committments for new chip
      revisions on an actual schedule, etc. CD32 seems to be doing what A1200
      was supposed to have done last Christmas -- make some money. And I am
      getting to work on the architecture I have been designing for the last
      two years.  On the other hand, there has been lots of attrition in
      Engineering.

      I expected this, having been through exactly this same kind of thing 
      back in '85-'86, but it's never something to build morale.  While it's
      impossible to say, I believe a great deal of this could have been
      prevented with some good management.  As well as morale in general.
      Things may even be turning on these points, too, though perhaps it's too
      early to tell.  We are getting some new hired in HW to replace a few who
      have left.  I imagine SW is too, though they lost more key people than
      we did. 

elc: Motorola driven AGA is slow...will Motorola driven AAA be faster? Say the
     Indy were to drop in price why should my next computer purchase be an
     Amiga?  What is it really ofering that I can't get anywhere else...

Harv: [go price an Indy. if you want 24 bit and a hard drive I hope you have
      $10,000 handy]

hazy: AGA is, in general, slow. Slow, certainly, as compared to what you
      expect in modern 32-bit systems. There's a good reason for this -- it's
      based largely on the ECS architecture.

elc: The Amiga always seems to be just shy of what the Amiga community is
     looking for, will the next generation Amiga wait for "perfection"?

hazy: AAA is completely new.  While I don't expect it to be the fastest system
      known to man for all things, it will be a substantial improvement.
      For instance, a demo in the lab is blitting around 24-bit images
      substantially faster than AA can move an 8-bit image.
      It has lots of good features, compressed-video modes to speed up
      animations, copper-programmed-blitter to help offload the CPU, etc.

      The current system architecture plans call for additional system support
      to speed things like RAM to Chip RAM transfers.  You can have either 8MB
      or 16MB of Chip RAM, depending on system configuration.  A VRAM system
      consumes no chip bus bandwidth for video fetch.  Lots of good stuff in
      there.

      I don't know how you compare it to an Indy, they're different systems. 
      An R4000 is faster than any 68040, and we don't know what the '060 will
      do just yet.

MarcR: Will there be a Laptop Amiga? Will there be more "specialized" Amigas
       like CD32 but for professional and other uses? Will AAA bout out too
       late?

hazy: They have no plans for a laptop Amiga at present.  I want one too, I
      think it may take a 3rd party to actually get one (keep in mind most 3rd
      party video displays run on a VGA of some kind).

      There will definitely be more "specialty" Amigas.  I don't work on them,
      but we do have a group focusing on that kind of thing. I suppose if they
      went high-end, I might even get involved.  One big advantage of the next
      generation high-end architecture is that it's designed to implement
      amodular systems. Most previous architectures did one thing well, and
      got in your way when you tried to do something else with them.

      I don't think AAA is coming out too late, though it's later than I (and
      all of you, of course) would have liked.  There's still not a big move
      to 4MB floppies yet, everyone's still trying to work out just how to do
      multimedia, and I think AAA supports much of this in hardware, the right
      way.

MarcR: Would C= licence the Amiga chips for someone to make a laptop, etc.?

hazy: I know C= is much more interested in licensing, and does have plans for
      chipset deals, at least into the markets they're after.  Jeff Porter might
      know more about this.

JWolf: What are all the details about the AAA chipset? Any other new custom
       chips? Details? Also, when is AmigaDOS 3.1 due out? What new features are
       in AmigaDOS 3.1 (both under the hood and over the hood)?

hazy: Well, I would need hours to discuss all of AAA, and I'd probably have to
      read the manuals.

      I can tell you it consists of four custom chips: Andrea, Mary, Monica,
      and Linda.  They are all full 32-bit chips, and actually, Linda and
      Monica have a 64-bit mode.  The chips support 8 MB of Chip RAM in
      32-bit mode, 16MB of Chip RAM in 64-bit mode.  RAM can be DRAM or VRAM,
      and can actually be mixed in a system on 1MB/2MB boundaries.

      Andrea is the Agnus/Alice replacement.  It supports the old 16-bit
      registers, new 32-bit registers, enhanced Blitter and Copper, Burst mode
      to Chip RAM, and display rates up to 110MHz.

      Mary is the Paula replacement.  It has 8 16-bit audio channels, an
      enhanced flooppy interface that can handle 4MB floppies, 150KB/s CD-ROM,
      and probably even ST-506 hard disks if anyone cared to dust one off and
      interface it.

      Linda is a smart Line Buffer chip.  It takes data from Chip RAM, as
      directed by Andrea, and assembles it into a scan line.  This allows bursts
      from Chip RAM to go long, and allows the chip bus rate to be decoupled
      from the pixel speed.

      CD-ROM support was kind of a freebie.  The Mary chip has a few data
      formats, as low-level data formats, one of which is the CD-ROM format. 
      While we expect 4x CD-ROMs soon, and CD-ROM on SCSI as the 
      standard way in a high-end machine, the CD-ROM format throught the floppy
      interface does illustrate how fast the floppy interface is now.

      Monica is the Denise/Lisa replacement.  This handles a variety of planar
      and chiunky display modes, HAM and some new compressed mode included.  It
      can handle all kinds of resolutions, and with the variable pixel clock,
      they can be just about anything you want, assuming the system can
      provide that clock.

      The chip designers name the chips.

NES-Bill: Serial ports Dave?

hazy: Two buffered serial ports.

DeckApe: 1) Has the A4000T hit the stores yet? If not, when is it expected to?
            What is its list price....

hazy: Far as I know, the A4000T has not shipped.  I don't know any details on
      price.

DeckApe: 2) Will the A4000T be outdated technology within 24 months of it's
            release?

hazy: Will it be outdated?  Well, on some level, anything that ships is
      outdated, since work on its replacement is already underway.
      It certainly won't be useless.  A machine remains what it was when you
      bought it.  However, better stuff will always come along.

Harv: [lots of people still use Amiga 1000s. I bet some people here are using
      them right now]

DeckApe: [Won't bet - *I* am one of the 1000 users!]

hazy: My dad bought a C= PC-10 III system maybe 4-5 years ago.  That's a 12MHz
      8088 or some-such.  At a computer faire today, I saw a stack of 8088
      machines going for $25 each.  He paid around $500, C= discount at the
      time.  You have to decide when it's right to upgrade and when it isn't,
      and I can't tell you what your needs are.

Aaron: With whatever RISC Chip that C= Chooses/chosen (PowerPC I hope)
       will they be doing the same as Apple with  Emulation Q. This 
       Would allow the software to run in 68k Mode but if it is 
       Compliled for the PowerPc it can run in PowerPC Native mode
       Giving it a the full power of the very powerful Power PC chip.

hazy: Again, I'm not the software group, but I anticipate a 680x0 emulator
      would go into any RISC OS we ship.  It's really not that difficult, in
      that only user-mode stuff has to be emulated.
      They can play tricks with the OS, using the emulator or native code as
      they see fit.  And of course, the underlying hardware is the same, so you
      don't have to emulate it.  That's perhaps the worst thing a PC Emulator
      has to do.

Aaron: Second Question: How expensive is it to make the AGA chipset 
       Compared to the Future AA+ and AAA. If the AA+ or the AAA is 
       the same or just a bit more will C= put them in the CD32.
       Would this not bring the CD32 power up past the 3DO's??

hazy: As far as chip prices, AGA is chip.  Real chip.  Like, cheaper than ECS,
      as I understand it, since it yields much better.
      AAA will cost more, though much less than we originally guessed, thanks
      to the downsizing of chips (AAA takes about a million transistors).

      A AAA game machine is certainly possible, though I'm not sure if it's the
      right direction.

      AAA has a lot of features than make more sense in a computer than a game
      machine.  I mean, 3DO certainly didn't waste any silicon making sure you
      could get 1280x1024 noninterlaced.

AmiGadget: Dave, it's obvious CBM is convinced, that there are plenty TOMORROWS
           for Risc Amigas, AAA chipsies 4000-T's, etc. This stuff is two years
           late, now. By the time you get it engineered, there'll be ZERO
           Amiga software developers with any capital to support it. With all
           due respect for you personally and NO respect for C=, I see no
           sense of urgency, yours or CBM's, to DO something NOW. DO you ...
           think there's plenty of time?  Or should we all just set our clocks
           for 2099, when that year's LAST year's technology will then match
           what we can buy on several other platforms now.?

Harv: [for you IRC people... AmiGadget publishes a magazine by the same name]

hazy: Well, I can't make things happen any faster than I'm making them happen. 
      I wish they were moving faster, but we're doing what we can.  I think
      you'll find this new system isn't lacking as a '94 machine.
      I can't get into too much detail, only to say that [a] I have been
      working on this architecture for two years, something that never happened
      at C= before (two weeks was more like it in the...
      old days), and [b] I'm doing things with system throughput no one else is
      doing, or at least talking about, now.  No big surprise, really, though.
      There's little incentive to get too fancy in "standard" architecture. 
      Apple doesn't build clever hardware, and they seem to be wanting out of
      the hardware business anyway.

AmiGadget: ALSO... you keep saying "high end"- what kinda money? $12k, $4k? 

hazy: C= "high-end" is $4k and below, generally.  I think it should start at
      about $1.5K-$2K, less if possible.  
      High end is the stuff that's not game oriented.  "That which does not
      suck" one might say.  I don't think we're going for $10K systems ever,
      there's no market there.

mykes: Has C= considered distributed computing? ...

hazy: We have done some distributed computing.  Nothing real fancy, but
      useful nonetheless. 
      It started out with a renderer and a custom CPU server that allowed one
      machine to request CPU time of anyone participating over the network. 
      This wasn't formalized, but it's a good model, and could be formalized
      over Envoy without too much trouble.  There has also been some work with a
      distributed database model, though I don't know much about that one.

mykes: Which 3rd party gfx board do you own, if any? ...

hazy: I have a thing called oMniBus, designed by a guy named Oliver Bausch
      in Germany and marketed through ArMax.  This is a passive bridge card that
      puts Workbench up on the VGA card of your choice.
      It's cool, it works, it's faster at many things than AGA, does 256 colors
      (true color with a special loader program), 
      and works under 2.x and 3.x.  This never made the US market, unfortunatel
      y, and probably scared off Bridge Card users.  But it does me just fine,
      at up to 1280x1024.

mykes: ISA is faster than ECS...

hazy: Actually, the ISA/Zorro II CPU to RAM interface is 1/2 that of the CPU to
      AGA interface speed.  But the VGA card never blocks CPU access.

mykes: Do you feel that C= will be able to crawl out of the niche market
       and into mainstream? ...

hazy: Well, at least we can pursue the niches.  I would like to see us grow
      and hit the mainstream, at least some mainstream.  But increasingly, the
      mainstream is defined by the the software you run,
      it has NOTHING to do with your hardware platform.  Or, at least, it
      shouldn't, and won't if MicroSoft has their way.  What can you do against
      that, I don't know.
      [a] SGI only sells in niche markets [b] SGI machines run Windows NT, a
      mainstream OS.

mykes: When's the new R.E.M. album coming out? And do you have it on your
       workbench along with your other prerelease stuff? :-)

hazy: Last summer, REM said the new album would be out this fall and they'd
      do a tour.  Now they say the album will be out maybe in the winter and
      they might not tour before 2000.

mykes: most important question of all :-)

Furr: As far as the IDE/SCSI business goes, there are now some MS-DOS
      systems that use IDE for the primary hard drive, and have a chip
      socket and connector on the motherboard for SCSI, if the user
      wants it. I think this would be an excellent route to go, in that
      it gives you an inexpensive HD interface, and no-slot SCSI access
      for those who need it; what do you think?

hazy: Well, the high performance SCSI chip we use now is a 160 pin PQFP
      package, it doesn't exactly drop into a socket (well, anything like a
      production-worthy socket).  I do agree with the spirit of this --
      If you do go IDE, SCSI should be a simple addition, it should not require
      a full expansion card with all the inherent costs of such a card.  My
      personal opinion, of course.

Furr: Now that we're getting one-chip Ethernet interfaces, how long
      do you think it will be before a 10baseT port is standard on the
      Amiga motherboard? Artisoft [maker of the LanTastic networking
      software for the MS-DOS world, for those who don't know] is
      already calling their ALICE chip "The Serial Port of the 90's."

hazy: Actually, most of the UNIX and all the networking magazines seem to be
      pushing 10-Base-T as a kind of serial port-ish solution.  Which is
      appropriate, since you can't really use it directly to network anything.
      However, given that 10-Base-T chips are getting motherboard-cheap, and
      trancrivers over to 10-Base-2 are also cheap (as low as $50), I would 
      definitely support 10-Base-T as the most practical networking solution
      for motherboards.

Furr: Are there any new BridgeCards or other similar emulation items
      coming from Commodore, or will that market be left to 3rd parties?

hazy: There has been nothing beyond the '386SX BridgeCard, at least
      discussed in public.

Furr: What is your personal opinion of the Commodore Stockholder's Movement?

hazy: As a stockholder, of course I'm concerned about the relatively minor
      investment I have in C= stock.  As a C= employee, I'm far more concerned
      about the long term viability of C=.  Since it seems to me that the
      Commodore Stockholder's Movement has only the Amiga and, as a result,
      Commodore's best interests in mind, I couldn't rightly do anything but
      applaud the efforts.

RMills: I work at Warner bros. animation and see plenty of SGI and Macs come
        in for testing and wondered who or if Commodore would do this?...who
        should I get in contact with there?  Getting my A4000 in my office
        was like pulling teeth.

hazy: Technically, that kind of request should go through Marketing.  But I
      don't know who would be in charge of that.

RMills: Can you give me a name?

hazy: I would recommend talking to Jeff Porter at Commodore, in Engineering.

RMills: ok I really think stations set up at Warners could be a great plug for
        Commodore and they seem to miss this as a viable thing for them.

hazy: Jeff does a fair share of Evangelizing in addition to running what's
      basically the "multimedia" branch of engineering.

Harv: [Jeff P did a good job with his speeches at WOCA in pasadena]

hazy: Well, the US does have new Marketing Prez.  If his hands aren't tied too
      much, maybe he's interested in doing something.

Timeus: Dave, How hard would it be for a developer to put external instruction
        cache on an a4000 accelerator card?  

hazy: You could build a cache into the design of a CPU card -- the first C=
      '040 prototype had a 128K cache.  However, it's probably not worthwhile. 
      You can just about always get more performance by going faster than
      caching, at least until you run out of clock speed (eg, you can't get
      '040s beyond 40MHz).  We got between 5% and 15% speedup in most code
      with the 128K cache. As for Apple, I assume they didn't sue Commodore
      because they had insufficient legal grounds for a suit.

Timeus: So you actually looked into it.  Impressive.  And why did't Apple sue
        Commodore over look and feel as it did to Microsoft and HP.  The amiga
        has the better interface and the Mac is a poor copy of Amiga.

hazy: Keep in mind that MicroSoft licensed some stuff from Apple for Windows
      1.0, and since HP's NewWave is built on top of Windows, anything that can
      be said for WInindows can probably be said for NewWave, at least legally.
      There were plenty of elements in the Amiga's GUI that didn't enter the
      Mac's until later.  So it was also possible that C= would have had just as
      much on Apple as they could have dug up on C=.
      Of course, C= probably could have done like NeXT and paid Xerox PARC for
      a GUI license, which should sufficiently stimie Apple's attempts at any
      suit.  

KyleW: the window/icon interface was developed by U of AZ and is PD!

RedWine: Do you forsee any conflict between the interests of RTG and the
         apparent functionality of the AAA chipset?  Or is it safe to
         assume that anything AAA will support will also be available to
         any other cards that come along from other parties?

hazy: No.  In fact, some features of AAA, such as chunky pixel support, require
      at least a degree of RTG to built into the system.  There's a good chance
      that most vanilla chunky display cards won't even need a full RTG driver
      as a result, since that mechanism will be built-in for AAA.

RedWine: With respect to the slow memory system of the 4000, why was the
         decision made to not include a more appropriately fast memory
         capability on the 68040 card itself?

hazy: The card that's in the A4000 was designed to be the lowest cost '040 card
      possible without going to custom logic.  That necessitated some
      compromises, but it did help on cost.  Welcome to the world of the
      desktop system. :-)

RedWine: What's the standing the CD-ROM drives for AGA machies, and is it
         technically feasible to include the advantage of chunky->planar
         hardware from the CD32's Akiko chip?

Aaron: Is the Chunk->planar Feature included in AAA and AA+?

hazy: Well, I thought about buying a CD-ROM drive for my A3000 today.  The CD
      FileSystem is built in to 3.1 and beyond.  You don't need any special
      magic to get one.  The chunky-to-planar conversion (what we call
      corner-turn memory) is in Akiko, it's not possible to add that as-is to
      any other system.  I expect my version of corner turn memory (which
      predates Hedley's, though <he didn't know about it) will  show up in the
      AAA systems.

RedWine: I'd really LOVE to get a 4000 keyboard hooked to my 1200.  Is
         this a real tough task, or is it something a college senior in
         computer engineering like me could take on? :)

hazy: The A1200 is a tricky one, since the keyboard micro (normally in your
      keyboard0 ) sits on the A12000 motherboard.  You can't easily get at the
      CIA serial port lines that connect between that micro and the CIA.
      Also, like the A500, the A1200 gets its reset via a dedicated line from
      the keuyyboard, it doesn't understand the encoding used on "high-end"
      keyboards.  So if you did hook it in, C-A-A wouldn't work.


LadyHawke: Re: CD^32, Dave.  When I first saw/heard about it $400 for a game
           machine felt a little consumer-pricey on thinking about it some
           more, the other way around, with it as a CD-ROM play with cache,
           memory, fast CPU, that is, a FREE computer atttached, it took on a
           different appeal.  So how feasible is it to make it into a
           whiz-bang CD-ROM for multisession, multiplatform?
           (with a FREE computer attached)

hazy: A few developers have already expressed interest in providing the
      "multiplatform" solution.

LadyHawke: $365 for the most awesome CD-ROM player on the market takes on a
           whole different perspective

DeanF: Julie...not unless there's awesome software for it

LadyHawke: Dean, if it's multiplatform, there *is* software for it

Harv: julie - you talkin about playing ANY CD-ROM format in it? Mac? MPC? CD-I?
      3DO? etc.? is that what you mean?

LadyHawke: Yup, Harv, I mean multiplatform capability/interfaces

hazy: Yeah, I mentioned earlier looking at CD-ROM drives today at the computer
      fair.  $175 for a Teac 150kB/s, $350 or so for a Sony 300kB/s.
      I didn't buy one, but I am still in the market :-)

Harv: $150 for an NEC CDR25 from NES-Bill (see him outside :-)

Aaron: Heck $360 for double speed Multisession CD Rom drive alone isn't that
       bad.. with the CD^32 you get a game machine and computer with it....

CarmenR: Hazy: Fist of all, I'm assuming that when you refer to "Next 
         Generation" and "Hi/Low End" and "A5000", you're talking about the
         same thing.  How much of the A5000 will be 32-bit?  How much 64-bit
         [zorro slots, etc].  Will there be any part of it higher than 64 bit?
         The CPU slot perhaps?

hazy: Basically.  "Next Generation" defines the architecture.  "A5000" would
      define one instance of that architecture.  Most of the system will be
      32-bit, though generally everything will have upward/downward paths to
      full 64-bit implementations.

      AAA register-wise is all 32-bit (except where necessary for backward
      compatibility), though display fetching (the GD and VD buses, to get
      technical) are either 32 or 64-bit, depending on the configuration.

      The system's Fast RAM will certainly be 64-bit (yes, even feeding a 32-
      bit processor), though we have looked into 128-bit versions, and may use
      this if it improves things even more.

      No enhancements are planned to the Zorro III architecture, though
      certainly we'll have a much better implementation.

      Data bus width isn't everything, throughput is what you really care
      about.  There's perhaps an aggregate bandwith of 400-600MB/s in a basic
      next generation machine.

JimB: Will  allowances be made for more than 5 slots???

hazy: We may have more slots, certainly I would expect more in a tower system.

CarmenR: And will the case be more attractive than the A4000 case [pretty
         please]? :)

hazy: I don't know what they'll plan for a case.  It's virtually certain we'll
      be using more standard parts, like we did in the A4000 and even moreso in
      the A4000T case (which most maybe haven't seen yet).

Harv: the 4000T case is very pretty (there's a pic of it in the library here)..
      has a cool smoked plastic door in the front too.

CarmenR: Dave: I've seen the A4000T case.. It's decent..  I love the A3000
         case..  The A4000 case bites it.

hazy: I like the A4000T case too.  And keep in mind that uses more standard
      parts than the A4000.  They'll always do a custom bezel of some kind.
      The A4000 case was a compromise -- it was supposed to be the "universal"
      case, for Amigas and PCs.  Only, the PC guys got in there first, then we
      stopped making them.

Pjotr: Can you tell me the status and plans for the software side of AAA
       development? (OS support, multimedia support etc)

hazy: Some AAA stuff will get "built-in" like with the current chips, some
      may only be available via RTG drivers, and I suspect some will get really
      hot under specialfx.library.  

Pjotr: Workbench is TM CBM? I have seen Workbench used for other software,
       why not sue?

hazy: I believe they have a TM on Workbench, but who knows.  AT&T has a
      "writers workbench" a zillion years ago.  My great grandfather had a
      workbench in his wood shop.  It may he hard to defend.

Pjotr: How's your kid doing? Old enough for a CD32 now? :)

hazy: Sean is in his two's.  He's old enough to demolish a CD32 in short
      order, though I suppose I will be setting up something for him before
      long.  Brat #2 is due in March.  She's the last one.

NES-Bill: Dave, last time you were we were chatting here you mentioned
          some work you were doing on the side with a hack for the
          4000 that would allow for more motherboard memory. Something
          similar to the old 'piggyback memory' hack for the 1000.
          What, if anything, has come of that? Needless to say, I
          think that a lot of people would be interested in the
          potential for 64M on their motherboards. :-)

hazy: Yeah, uh, umm, well, er...  Seriously, though, it's still alive and well
      and fermenting in my mind.  No real trick, though, other than tracking
      down someone who'll lend me some 8MB or 16MB SIMMs to play with.  I have
      been really busy with DiskSalv stuff, that's my only excuse.

Harv: THAT'S IT! DAVE WE CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR SPENDING NEARLY FOUR HOURS
      IN HERE ANSWERING ALL THESE QUESTIONS.

[many lines of "applause" and salutations deleted].

-----

What follows is a listing of the names of everyone in attendance at
this special conference. The format is the output of the "who" command
in Portal's chatting software, which is "log in name (chat handle)".
In total, 84 people attended, although not all of them asked questions.

     Aaron Mustang Smith (Aaron)
     Amiga2 (AHD)
     Amiga2 (Pjotr)
     Amiga2 (RedWine)
     AmiGadget (AmiGadget)
     Andy - Finkel (Andy - Finkel)
     Aurelius (Aurelius)
     Bjarian (Bjarian)
     bobschulien (bobschulien)
     Brian - Dziki (Brian - Dziki)
     Bronx (Robert E Wanser)
     CarmenR (CarmenR)
     Chris-W (Chris-W)
     Cole (Cole)
     colins (colins)
     Daniel J McCoy (DMcCoy)
     David-L (David-L)
     DeanF (DeanF)
     DeckApe (DeckApe)
     devasoft (devasoft)
     DeVoid (DeVoid)
     djjames (djjames)
     DJWalker (DJWalker)
     DocPierce (DocPierce)
     DonC (DonC)
     DonM (DonM)
     Drakon (Drakon)
     DrAllosaurus (DrAllosaurus)
     DrGandalf (DrGandalf)
     DrTed (DrTed)
     elc (elc)
     ferg (ferg)
     FPW (FPW)
     fredness (fredness)
     Furr (Furr)
     grog (grog)
     gsarff (gsarff)
     Harv (Harv)
     HAWK (HAWK)
     hazy (hazy)
     Imaginer (Imaginer)
     JeffH (JeffH)
     JeffW (JeffW)
     Jeric (Jeric)
     Jim - Marias (Jim - Marias)
     Jim-Guy (Jim-Guy)
     JimB (JimB)
     JoeKJr (JoeKJr)
     joeles (joeles)
     John D Short (Jodash)
     JohnG (JohnG)
     JWolf (JWolf)
     Kerry - Stratford (KerryS)
     Kirk (Kirk)
     KyleW (KyleW)
     LadyHawke (LadyHawke)
     lbperez (lbperez)
     MarcR (MarcR)
     Michael - Meshew (Michael - Meshew)
     mykes (mykes)
     NES-Bill (NES-Bill)
     PKB (PKB)
     Prolific (Prolific)
     Rabel1 (Rabel1)
     RCleav (RCleav)
     RMHarrold (RMHarrold)
     RMills (RMills)
     Robert-CCN (Robert-CCN)
     Russ (Russ)
     ScottJ (ScottJ)
     soft-logik (soft-logik)
     SteveBurroughs (SteveBurroughs)
     SteveX (SteveX)
     Syl (Syl)
     ted-c (ted-c)
     Teletran (Teletran)
     thomas (thomas)
     Thomas William Clarke (TomC.)
     Timeus (Timeus)
     Tragedy (Tragedy)
     wms (wms)
     Worley (Worley)
     WTSmith (WTSmith)

== end of transcript ==



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

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


                                *** HOLONET ***


HoloNet is an easy to use Internet Access BBS.

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

Services include:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


@endnode
***************************************************************************
@node P1-12 "The Emulation Rambler"
@toc "menu"


/// The Emulation Rambler
    ---------------------
    By Jason Compton
    (jcompton@tcity.com)



How have they done it?

How have Dan Gookin and his contemporaries created a market for 
themselves?

Let me clarify what I'm rambling about.  Dan Gookin is the author of
the wildly selling books designed to promote pride in computer
illiteracy, namely the "<insert topic here> For Dummies" series.  It is
bad enough to look on the cover of a book as silly in concept as "Mac
For Dummies" and see that millions of these books have been sold to
people who truly believe that Mr. Gookin is the only one in the world
who can explain what pointing and clicking is, or that DIR /P is an
awfully nice way to manage their directory reading.  Now Microsoft has
joined the fray, releasing the "MS-DOS 6.2 Upgrade for Dummies",
complete with Gookin's book.  Wow.  For $77.95, you apparently will get
compression that actually WORKS, along with a big book telling ou how to
insert the disk in your A: drive and typing "install". Incredible,
especially when the normal 6.0-6.2 upgrade will sell for $9.95.

This all happens at the same time we in the Amiga community talk about
how intelligent we are for owning Amigas, and rip on the company that's
producing them.  Apparently, it's supposed to be the other way around.

Shall we revise the slogan to "Only Amiga makes it possible, you dense
headed moron!"?  Or, how about "DirOpus for Dummies", for those who
can't grip a directory manager?  "Workbench 2.1 For Dummies" if you just
haven't ever figured out how to use snapshot?

Enough of that.  The point is, people out in the Mac and IBM world
allow themselves to be insulted by these people, and at the same time
they feel okay about not having a clue what they're doing, since
Gookin'll fix it all.

On to the Amiga:  No progress has been made in obtaining an Emplant for
the magazine, but there is a considerable amount of talk about
BridgeBoard upgrades on CSAEmulations.  There are two interesting notes
to be made.

1. I was told that 286 bridgeboards could be upgraded in speed by
installing a 286/12 or 286/16 chip and a faster clock. According to a
poster on CSAE, the bridgeboards may havehad design flaws making this
less than 100% functional.

2. Cyrix has come out with a snap-on attachment aimed at surface-mount
386sx chips, those you'd find in a 386 bridgeboard, for example. The
$200 attachment apparently gives you the power of a 486sx. Considering
that the difference between the prices of 386 and 486 bridgeboards is
more than $200, this might be something to keep in mind for any IBM
emulation moves.  Apparently, this attachment is in Computer Shopper.
Any more info about how the thing actually WORKS would be appreciated.

Another rumor off of CSAE: Amax IV is in beta version. This takes me by
surprise since I'd never actually seen Amax III released.

That's it for this week, everybody.  May all of your emulators be 100%
compatible.  Bye for now.



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

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



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

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


                  These are some of the exchanges on BIX:

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


                       *** FULL INTERNET ACCESS! ***

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


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


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

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



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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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


                           INTERNATIONAL USERS:

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

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

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


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

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

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


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

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

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

   At the Name? prompt, type bix.amrpt

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


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

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

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


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

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

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



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


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


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


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


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


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


                             DataKompaniet ANS
                             Pb 3187  Munkvoll
                             N-7002  Trondheim
                              Norway - Europe
                          VOICE/FAX:  72 555 149
                      Internet:  torrunes@idt.unit.no


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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



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

@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@node P1-13 "AR Confidential"
@toc "menu"


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


- Hollywood, Calif.

  TV Guide reports that Paramount plans to head up its new TV network,
  which will debut in January of 1995, with a third Star Trek series.
  The new series is to be called Star Trek:  Voyager.

  The Concept:  The two-hour pilot opens with the USS Voyager -- one of a
  new class of small Starfleet vessles, with a crew of 200 -- chasing
  another ship, which is carrying renegade Starfleeters.  The pursuit at
  the Cardassian border takes the ships into a kind of Bermuda Triangle
  called The Badlands, where a strange natural phenomenon transports them
  to an unexplored part of the galaxy.  By the end, the crews are united
  on the Voyager where, lost in space, they try to work out their
  differences as they explore strange new worlds.

                         (Reprinted from TV Guide)

@endnode
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@node P1-14 "Humor Department"
@toc "menu"

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



                 Q:  Why did Bill Clinton cross the road?
                 A:  To tax the chicken.


@endnode

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

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
                  Amiga Report International Online Magazine
November 12, 1993      * YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE *            No. 1.33
        Copyright © 1993 SkyNet Publications ~ All Rights Reserved
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Views, Opinions and Articles presented  herein are not necessarily those of
the editors  and staff of Amiga Report International Online  Magazine or of
STR Publications.  Permission to reprint articles is hereby granted, unless
otherwise noted.  Reprints must, without exception, include the name of the
publication, date, issue number and  the author's name. Amiga Report and/or
portions therein  may not be edited in  any way  without prior written per-
mission. However, translation into a language other than English is accept-
ble, provided the original meaning is not altered. Amiga Report may be dis-
tributed on privately owned not-for-profit bulletin board systems (fees  to
cover cost of operation are acceptable), and major online services  such as
(but not limited to)  Delphi  and Portal.  Distribution  on  public  domain
disks is acceptable provided proceeds  are only  to cover  the cost of  the
disk (e.g. no more than $5 US).  Distribution  on for-profit magazine cover
disks requires  written permission  from the  editor  or  publisher.  Amiga
Report is a not-for-profit publication.  Amiga Report, at the  time of pub-
ication, is believed reasonably accurate. Amiga Report, its  staff and con-
ributors are  not and  cannot be held  responsible for the use or misuse of
information contained herein or  the  results  obtained there  from.  Amiga
Report is not  affiliated  with  Commodore-Amiga, Inc., Commodore  Business
Machines, Ltd., or any other Amiga publication in any way. All items quoted
in whole or in part are  done so under the  Fair Use Provision of the Copy-
right Laws of the United States Penal Code.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 
                                    Only
                  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
                  *       _    _       __  ___    _       *
                  *      /\\  |\\   /| || //  \  /\\      *
                  *     /  \\ | \\ /|| ||(< __  /  \\     *
                  *    /--- \\|  \X || || \\_||/--- \\    *
                  *   /______________________________\\   *
                  *  /                                \\  *
                  *                                       *
                  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
                             Makes it possible!!

@endnode

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

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



/// 11/12/93 Amiga Report 1.33   "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information"
    --------------------------
    · The Editor's Desk      · CPU Status Report   · New Products
    · FTP Announcements      · Dealer Directory    · AR Confidential
    · Usenet Reviews         · AR Online           · The Humor Department
    · Emulation Rambler      · Hired Guns          · Fish Virus??

                     » SHI Virus Centers Shut Down! «
                          » Atari ships Jaguar «
                   » Dave Haynie Conference on Portal «

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


@endnode

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

@{"    From the Editor's Desk     " link P1-1} Saying it like it is!
@{"       CPU Status Report       " link P1-2} Computer Products Update
@{"     AfterBurner A4050/030     " link P1-3} 030 Accelerator card
@{"           IPISA '93           " link P1-4} Annual meeting for Amiga programmers
@{"         RexxVar v1.0          " link P1-5} Exchange data between ARexx and programs
@{"         TrapFax v1.0          " link P1-6} New powerful FAX program for the Amiga
@{"         Online Weekly         " link P1-7} The lines are buzzing!
@{" Amiga Online Reference Manual " link P1-8} Get those questions answered!
@{"          SHI Retires          " link P1-9} The US regional virus centers shut down
@{"         Usenet Review         " link P1-10} Hired Guns
@{"   Portal Online Conference    " link P1-11} Dave Haynie, CBM Engineer
@{"      Emulation Examiner       " link P1-12} AmigaDOS for Dummies
@{"        AR Confidential        " link P1-13} We heard if through the Grapevine!
@{"     The Humor Department      " link P1-14} Jokes, Quotes, and Shameless plugs!
@endnode


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

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

@endnode

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

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

@node P5 "Files Available for FTP"
@toc "menu"


@{"     FLI Player v1.05      " link P5-1} Plays MS-DOS FLI animations
@{"       BootMan v1.0        " link P5-2} Boot manager
@{" Magic User Interface v1.4 " link P5-3} Object Oriented system for GUIs
@{"      PhoneBill v2.1       " link P5-4} Logfile analyzer
@{"      AudioScope v3.0      " link P5-5} Audio spectrum analyzer
@{"       BackUP v3.91        " link P5-6} HardDrive backup program
@{"         EGSPrint          " link P5-7} Graphics dumping program for EGS
@{"          EGSDVI           " link P5-8} DVI Previewer for EGS
@{"         EGSShow           " link P5-9} GIF and JPEG viewer for EGS
@{"      FastCache v1.1       " link P5-10} Cache for speeding up devices
@{"  GadOutline library v2.4  " link P5-11} Font sensitive gagdget layout lib
@{"       ImageDex v1.0       " link P5-12} Creates image index of picture files
@{"       PicCon v1.02        " link P5-13} Programmer's picture converter
@{"       AGA SCR v1.01       " link P5-14} AGA Screen Color Requestor
@{"        VCLI v7.04         " link P5-15} Voice Command Line Interface

@endnode



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


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


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


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

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

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

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


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


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

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


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


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



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

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


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


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


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


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

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

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

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

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


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

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


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

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

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



@endnode
                 ------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-12 "Gateway BBS"
@toc "menu"


                            * THE GATEWAY BBS *
                  Official Amiga Report Distribution Site
                        * Running Excelsior! BBS *
                          Stace Cunningham, Sysop
                            Dan Butler, CoSysop
                              24 hrs - 7 days
                   InterNet: stace@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil
                           FidoNet:  1:3604/60.0
                           (601)374-2697 V.32bis
                            Biloxi, Mississippi


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



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



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

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

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

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

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



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



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



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


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


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


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

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

@endnode
                 -------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-56 "Stingray Database BBS"
@toc "menu"


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


@endnode
                 --------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-57 "T.B.P. Video Slate"
@toc "menu"


                          * T.B.P. VIDEO SLATE *
                  Official Amiga Report Distribution Site
                      An Amiga dedicated BBS for All
                         * Running Skyline 1.3.2 *
                          Mark E Davidson, Sysop
                              24 hrs - 7 days
                        201-586-3623  USR 14.4 HST
                           Rockaway, New Jersey
                                                                          
              Full Skypix  menus + normal and ansi menu sets.             
             Instant Access to all.  Download on the first call.          
                                                                          
       Hardware:  Amiga 500 Tower custom at 14 MHz, 350 Meg maxtor,        
           125 Meg SCSI Maxtor, 125 Meg IDE Maxtor, Double Speed CD rom,  
                                  9 meg RAM                               


@endnode
