@database "ar202.guide"
@Node MAIN "Amiga Report Online Magazine #2.02 -- January 14, 1994"

                               @{" Turn the Page " link "menu"}

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                       International Online Magazine

                "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information."

                   Copyright © 1994 Skynet Publications
                            All Rights Reserved

                                      //                                  
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%% January 14, 1994               \\//                    Issue No. 2.02 %%
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@endnode

@node P2-1 "Where to find Amiga Report"
@toc "menu"
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%%                      Where to find Amiga Report                       %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

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

                            » FidoNet Systems «
                              ---------------

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

@{"     OMAHA AMIGANET      " link P2-1-9} ..................................Omaha, Nebraska
@{"          NOVA           " link P2-1-1} .............................Cleveland, Tennessee
@{"     CLOUD'S CORNER      " link P2-1-3} ............................Bremerton, Washington
@{"       BIOSMATICA        " link P2-1-4} .........................................Portugal
@{"    AMIGA JUNCTION 9     " link P2-1-5} ...................................United Kingdom
@{"     BITSTREAM BBS       " link P2-1-6} ..............................Nelson, New Zealand
@{"   REALM OF TWILIGHT     " link P2-1-7} ..................................Ontario, Canada
@{"    METNET TRIANGLE      " link P2-1-8} ......................Kingston Upon Hull, England
@{"   AMIGA-NIGHT-SYSTEM    " link P2-1-10} ................................Helsinki, Finland
@{" RAMSES THE AMIGA FLYING " link P2-1-11} ...........................................France
@{"      GATEWAY BBS        " link P2-1-12} ..............................Biloxi, Mississippi
@{"       TALK CITY         " link P2-1-13} ...............................Waukegan, Illinois
@{"       AMIGA BBS         " link P2-1-14} .........................Estado de Mexico, Mexaco
@{"   THE STYGIAN ABYSS     " link P2-1-15} ................................Chicago, Illinois

                          » Non-FidoNet Systems «
                            -------------------

@{"    IN THE  MEANTIME     " link P2-1-2} ...............................Yakima, Washington
@{"   FREELAND MAINFRAME    " link P2-1-50} ..............................Olympia, Washington
@{"           LAHO          " link P2-1-51} ...............................Seinajoki, Finland
@{"         FALLING         " link P2-1-52} ...........................................Norway
@{"      COMMAND LINE       " link P2-1-53} ..................................Toronto, Canada
@{"       RENDEZVOUS        " link P2-1-54} ......................................New Zealand
@{"  LEGUANS BYTE CHANNEL   " link P2-1-55} ..........................................Germany
@{"   STINGRAY DATABASE     " link P2-1-56} ...........................Muelheim/Ruhr, Germany
@{"  T.B.P.  VIDEO SLATE    " link P2-1-57} .............................Rockaway, New Jersey
@{"     AMIGA CENTRAL       " link P2-1-58} .............................Nashville, Tennessee
@{"   CONTINENTAL DRIFT     " link P2-1-59} ................................Sydney, Australia
@{"    GURU MEDITATION      " link P2-1-60} ............................................Spain

@endnode

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

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

                ____________________________________________
         //    |                                            |        //
%%%%%%%%//%%%%%| Amiga Report International Online Magazine |%%%%%%%//%%%%%
%%   \\//      | Issue No. 2.02            January 14, 1994 |    \\//    %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%| "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information" |%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
               |____________________________________________|             
                                                                          
   · The Editor's Desk     · Computer Product News   · FTP Announcements
   · The Grapevine         · Dealer Directory        · The Listening Post
   · The Humor Department  · Reader Mail             · Distribution BBS's
 
                           » SPECIAL FEATURES «

  Amiga on the Internet......................................Robert Niles
  The Emulation Rambler.....................................Jason Compton
  Lesser-Known Amiga Models.................................Jason Compton
  Amiga 3000 Video Speckle Defect..........................Julie Peterson
  Real Programmers Don't Need Databases - Or Do They?..........Ivo Kroone
  CES Report..................................................Marty Chinn
  CES Report:  32/64-bit Video Games.......................Author Unknown
  CES Report:  Commodore Launches Game Console...........James K. Willcox
  Usenet Review:  ImageFX.................................Per Espen Hagen
  Usenet Review:  AmiCDROM v1.4.............................Dylan McNamee
                                                                          
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%%         @{" DELPHI " link P4-1} · @{" PORTAL " link P4-2} · @{" FIDO " link P2-1} · @{" INTERNET " link P4-5} · @{" BIX " link P4-6}       %%
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@endnode

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

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%% The Editor's Desk                                    By Robert Glover %%
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To all of you who have put in requests to be 'official' Amiga Report
Distribution Sites... if you don't see your systems listed yet, please be
patient.  I've been swamped with requests and just haven't had time to
get them into the magazine.  One thing that would help immensly is if you
would format them the way you see the current sites listed.  Some requests
lack information -- BBS software being used, location of system (city,
state), and so on.

It wouldn't be so bad if I weren't working 55+ hours a week.  It's driving
me nuts because I don't have nearly enough time to spend at my Amiga!  Hope-
fully, my hours will change for the better over the next month or so, and I
can finally put more time into the magazine -- like have longer editorials!
For now, this is it.  I get all of my good ideas at work, and can never
remember any of them by the time I get home.  Ugh.



                     Rob @ AR                           \|/
                                                        @ @
----------------------------------------------------oOO-(_)-OOo------------

@endnode

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

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%%       Delphi Internet Services -- Your Connection to the World!       %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


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


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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

 · Business and world news, stock reports, etc.

 · Grolier's Electronic Encyclopedia!


                  DELPHI - It's getting better all the time!



@endnode

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

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%                        The Amiga Report Staff                         %%
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                                  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:                      1:3407/103
 Internet:                rniles@imtired.itm.com



@endnode

@node P1-2 "Computer Product News"
@toc "menu"

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%%                         Computer Product News                        %%
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     ** New Family PC Magazine to be Launched by Disney and ZIFF **

   This week, the Walt Disney Co and Ziff-Davis Publishing Co. announced
the creation of a joint venture to publish 'Family PC', a new computer
magazine for parents and children.  It's anticipated that Family PC will
be launched in the third quarter of this year. Jake Winebaum will be the
publisher and editor-in-chief.

   J. Scott Briggs, president of the Ziff-Davis Consumer Media Group
said, "Jake Winebaum created the family magazine category with the la-
unch of FamilyFun. We're convinced that he'll create a hot new category
with Family PC. He's shaped much of the thinking that's gone into this
magazine, played a major role in putting this joint venture together,
and has the editorial and marketing expertise to make it a big success."

   Family PC will publish two issues this year and will appear monthly
in 1995.  The magazine's circulation and advertising rates will be an-
nounced at a later date.


               ** Worldwide Computer Sales Up in 1993 **

   According to a survey from Dataquest, a market research firm, sales
of computer systems worldwide grew by $7.1 billion in 1993 to a total of
$120.7 billion. This was due in large part to the increased sales of
personal computers.

   Reports say that personal computer revenues were up 16.2% to $66.3
billion, while workstation revenues grew by 8.6% to $10.1 billion.

   Mainframe revenues dropped 9.5% to $21.2 billion, and midrange com-
puter revenues slipped 3.7% to $21 billion. Supercomputer revenues grew
6% from $2.06 billion to $2.2 billion.


               ** IBM and Apple to Seek VCR Standards **

   Rumor has it that IBM and Apple Computer Inc. have joined an inter-
national group seeking to standardize digital video cassette recorders
for use in high-definition TV sets.  According to reports from Japan's
business daily, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, the two firms decided to take part
in the 3-month-old industry council on expectations that the computer
business would be further involved in home-electronics markets in the
future.

   The council was formed by 10 international electronics manufacturers,
aiming at completing standardization of digital VCRs by December this
year.

   Japanese participants include Sony Corp., Matsushita Electric Indust-
rial Co., Hitachi Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corp. Victor Co., Sanyo
Electric Co., Sharp Corp. and Toshiba Corp. Other council members are
the Netherlands-based Philips Electronics and French concern Thomson
Consumer Electronics.


                  ** Adobe Cuts Type Library Prices **

   Prices on its Type Library for Macintosh and IBM systems are being
lowered by Adobe Systems Inc.  Adobe says it hopes the price reduction
will make its typefaces more available and will help existing customers
expand their type libraries.

   Overall, individual typeface package prices are reduced by 25%. "For
example," Adobe said, "Lithos prior to the price reduction had a sugges-
ted retail price of $185 and is now $145.  Special typeface combination
packages and products, such as Adobe Wild Type, Adobe Type Basics, and
the Adobe Font Folio, will retain their current pricing."

   If you are interested, you can contact Adobe at 800/83-FONTS.


                 ** CD-Rom Sales Reach $97.1 Million **

   According to new figures from the Software Publishers Association,
sales of software on CD-ROM disks reached $97.1 million on 3.86 million
units for the first three quarters of 1993.

   The SPA's survey of 53 leading software makers in the CD-ROM market
indicates sales grew progressively. The third quarter saw $38.3 million
in the total sales on 1.3 million units. Second quarter sales were $28.3
million on 1.2 million units, while in the first quarter sales were
$30.4 million on 1.3 million units.

   The survey also found:

   -:- 59% of the CD-ROMs reached the user from the original equipment
       manufacturer, while the remainder were distributed through other
       channels.
   -:- Because of higher unit prices, revenues were split 69% to 31% in
       favor of non-OEM channels.
   -:- The average price was $42.28 per CD for sales through non-OEM
       channels, compared with $13.09 for OEM-direct purchases.
   -:- Traditional operating systems (DOS, Windows and Macintosh) acco-
       unted for 85% of sales in the first three quarters (90% in the
       third quarter).

   -:- Content-based CDs continued to be the largest selling category,
       accounting for 40% of sales in both the third quarter and the
       first three quarters. Home education software accounted for 21%
       of sales through the first three quarters. Games and other home
       software accounted for 27% of sales.


                     ** Six Face Chip Theft Charges **

   Five men and one woman in San Jose, Calif. have been indicted on cha-
rges of conspiracy and attempted robbery in an alleged scheme to steal
$6 million in computer chips.

   The six, all arrested Dec. 17, are being held on $5 million bail each
with arraignment is set for next week in Santa Clara County Superior
Court.

   The suspects are accused of trying to hijack a truck they thought was
carrying Intel Corp. chips on U.S. Highway 101 in South San Jose. The
alleged heist was really a sting operation by San Jose police and the
FBI.


                     ** SPA Raids 3 Singapore Firms **

   Announcing raids on three operations in Singapore, the Software Pub-
lishers Association says it is taking its first action against software
pirates in Asia.

   Three retail stores were targeted by SPA representatives, who, accom-
panied by Singapore police officials, seized software at the locations,
including business application software, education and home software,
CD-ROM applications and games. Also seized were copyrighted manuals and
other program documentation, according to a Washington statement from
the SPA.

   Says the statement, "Under Singapore law, copyright infringement is
both a civil wrong and criminal offense. Remedies under a civil suit
would include an injunction, damages including exemplary damages, dis-
covery and legal costs. Maximum criminal penalties for persons convicted
of copyright infringement is a $100,000 (Singapore Dollars) fine and/or
five years' imprisonment."


                  ** Lotus Makes Big Software Sale **

   Lotus Development Corp. and accounting giant Coopers & Lybrand anno-
unced this week that Coopers has signed a contract to equip 28,000 of
its PCs worldwide with Lotus' SmartSuite and Lotus Notes products.

   The companies say the initial order will be distributed to 15 Coopers
& Lybrand firms and is likely to eventually increase to 40,000 PCs.


                    ** Intuit Offers New QuickPay **

   Intuit Inc. has announced enhanced versions of its QuickPay software
for DOS and Windows. The firm says QuickPay 3.0 provides more complete,
faster and more flexible payroll-processing capabilities.

   Among QuickPay 3.0 new features are printing capabilities for W-2 and
W-3 information on standard forms and additional payroll reports such as
those showing year-to-date employee earnings, withholdings, hours
worked, sick and vacation hours, company payroll taxes and a liability
report listing all payroll liability account balances.

   Both DOS and Windows platforms are included in a single package
selling for $74.95.


             ** Microsoft Introduces Multimedia Schubert **


   Microsoft Corp has introduced Multimedia Schubert: The Trout Quintet,
a multimedia software program for IBM-PC compatible computers.

   Reports say that the CD-ROM software highlights composer Franz
Schubert and one of his most popular works, "The Trout Quintet." It
features a digital stereo audio track that allows the novice or trained
listener to explore and experience this lively work of music with a
freedom and depth unequaled by albums and printed references.

   "The music exploration series brings significant pieces of music to
life on the home computer and gives both expert musicians and new com-
puter users a chance to experience music on a new level," said Nils von
Veh, product manager, consumer division at Microsoft. "High-quality
interactive products like Multimedia Schubert allow users to signifi-
cantly expand their knowledge of music and important composers with
commentary that lets them actually see the shape of the music as they
listen to it. Full-color reproductions of art works that are expressive
of Schubert's era heighten the experience."

   Other titles in the CD-ROM music exploration series from Microsoft
are Multimedia Beethoven: The Ninth Symphony; Multimedia Mozart: The
Dissonant Quartet; and Multimedia Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring.

   Multimedia Schubert will be available this month and will sell for
$79.95.


                ** Microsoft Unveils New Mac Products **

   Microsoft Corp. announced that it's bringing three of its popular
Windows multimedia titles to the Macintosh.

   The Microsoft Encarta multimedia encyclopedia 1994 Edition, the Mic-
rosoft Cinemania 1994 interactive movie guide and the Microsoft Book-
shelf 1994 CD-ROM reference library are scheduled to become available in
March.

   "We are delighted to respond to requests from our Macintosh customers
for these award- winning titles that demonstrate the extraordinary
range, power and ease of interactive multimedia," says Tom Corddry,
manager of the family reference business unit at Microsoft. "Encarta,
for example, is more complete and extensive than a printed encyclopedia
because it includes more than the full text of a major, printed ency-
clopedia, plus color photos, video, animations and hours of audio not
collected anywhere else. Our editorial staff for Encarta, headed by a
former senior editor from World Book, has been very busy with this
latest release."

   Microsoft Encarta 1994 Edition for the Macintosh has a suggested re-
tail price of $139. Microsoft Cinemania 1994 for the Macintosh has a
suggested retail price of $79.95. Pricing details for Microsoft Book-
shelf for the Macintosh will be released upon the product's availa-
bility.


                  ** Claris Ships MacWrite Pro 1.5 **

   Claris Corp. reports that MacWrite Pro 1.5, a new version of its
Macintosh word processor, is now available. MacWrite Pro 1.5 works with
System 7 Pro, the new Macintosh operating system from Apple Computer
Inc.  System 7 Pro includes support for AppleScript, QuickTime and
PowerTalk, a new feature that allows users to exchange electronic mail
and documents.

   Also new to MacWrite Pro 1.5 is a Table of Contents feature that lets
users create a customizable table of contents for complex documents.

   MacWrite Pro 1.5 is available now for a promotional suggested retail
price of $99. The offer runs through May 31, after which the price will
rise to $249. Claris is also offering "Bonus Bundle" coupons in the box.


              ** New Spreadsheet Aimed at Younger Users **

   Davidson & Associates Inc. has developed a spreadsheet program for
younger Macintosh users.

   The company is now shipping The Cruncher, an easy-to-use, talking,
animated spreadsheet program targeted to users ages 10 and up. Using
step-by-step tutorials, The Cruncher teaches spreadsheet and math
fundamentals. By using real- world examples such as party planning,
family budgeting and baseball statistics tracking, the $59.95 software
illustrates how to use math and spreadsheets in everyday life.

   "Everyone knows what a spreadsheet is, and many adults use them every

day," says Jan Davidson, president and founder of Davidson & Associates.
"But never before has a spreadsheet been designed specifically for
students -- one that helps them understand how a spreadsheet works, how
it can be useful in their lives and how it can be fun to use. The
Cruncher does just that and it teaches math concepts at the same time."


                   ** Apple Unveils Online System **

   A new online service called eWorld has been announced by Apple Com-
puter Inc.  Apple says the service is expected to be available in the
U.S. this spring and worldwide later.

   Reports from Apple's Cupertino, Calif. headquarters say, "The service
will only work on Apple's Macintosh computers initially. However, Apple
will expand it to the much wider base of IBM-compatible PCs running
Microsoft's Windows software later this year and to devices based on its
Newton technology."

   The computer maker says initial services on the system will be sup-
plied by the Boston Computer Society, Dow Jones Business Information
Services, InfoWorld, MacWorld, Regis McKenna Inc. and Reuters America.

   The basic monthly subscription will cost $8.95, including two free
hours of evening or weekend use. Each subsequent hour of weekend or
evening use will be $4.95. There will be an additional network surcharge
of $2.95 an hour during business hours.


         ** WordPerfect Extends Introductory Upgrade Special **


   WordPerfect Corp. has extended to March 15 its $59.95 introductory
upgrade pricing for WordPerfect 3.0 for Macintosh.

   Besides allowing current WordPerfect Mac users to upgrade to 3.0, the
program also enables users of competing word processing package to trade
for WordPerfect 3.0 for $99.

   In a statement from its Orem, Utah, offices, WordPerfect said sales
of WordPerfect for Macintosh have doubled with the release of version
3.0, and channel sales have exceeded company expectations.

   The $495 package runs on any Mac with a hard drive and 2M (System
6.0.7 or higher) or 4M (System 7.x) of RAM.



                          Apple Computer's eWorld
                  To Change The Shape Of Online Services

CUPERTINO, California--January 3, 1994--Apple Computer, Inc. today
added a new dimension to the world of electronic information services
by announcing eWorld , a new family of online services which will
bring the world of electronic information within reach of millions of
people across the globe. eWorld services will keep people in-touch,
informed, and entertained, at home, at school, and at work.

     eWorld for Macintosh  will be the first of a series of eWorld
interactive services, and will be available to Macintosh personal
computer users in the United States in Spring 1994, with releases for
the global market later in 1994.  eWorld for Macintosh will be
distinguished by its collection of meaningful information and
transactional services from popular, well-known publishers and
service providers, initially targeted to meet the needs of
professional users at work and at home, via a simple, intuitive and
engaging interface.

     These publishers and service providers are expected to include such
industry leaders as the Boston Computer Society (BCS), Berkeley
Macintosh User Group (BMUG), Claris Corporation, Dow Jones Business
Information Services, Grolier Electronic Publishing, Inc., Inc.
Magazine, INDIVIDUAL, Inc., InfoWorld, MacWorld, Regis McKenna, Inc.,
Reuters America, Inc., Tribune Media Services, USA TODAY Information
Center, WordPerfect Corporation, and ZiffNet/Mac, among others.

    Following the introduction of eWorld for Macintosh, Apple will also
provide eWorld interactive services for Windows-based PCs, and for
devices based on Newton technology.  The first eWorld messaging
service for Newton , NewtonMail , was announced in November 1993 and
will become commercially available during the first quarter of 1994.

Real World Metaphor
    Recognizing the appeal of the familiar, eWorld is modeled on a real
world metaphor, presenting people with a bird's eye view of a
colorful and attractively-illustrated online community.  The eWorld
community consists of an electronic neighborhood of buildings, each
representing a specific area of the online service--the Library for
research, the Newsstand for news and sports publications; the
Business and Professional Plaza for business information and
services; the Arts and Leisure Pavilion for after hours entertainment
and hobbies; the Computer Center for computer assistance and
software; the Marketplace for purchasing products and services; the
eMail Center for worldwide electronic mail; and the Community Center
for interactive communications ("chats" and discussion areas) and
online events.

     As people explore eWorld--to read up-to-the-minute news, to plan a
business trip, or to scan reviews of the latest movies--the online
experience is made familiar and comfortable through the use of a
consistent interface design.  This extension of the real world
metaphor is supported by color-coded organizational schemes, a
carefully-designed language of icons representing standard eWorld
functions, and a thoughtful sound design to provide useful cues and
helpful feedback.  For example, each area of eWorld is distinguished
by a different color, and each online publication within eWorld is
represented by a unique icon.  Both these navigational aids prevent
subscribers from getting lost or disoriented, and clearly indicate
when they have moved from one area of the eWorld community to
another.

     This attractive, understandable, and familiar interface empowers
people to filter and select information according to their
professions, their interests and their needs.   eWorld enables people
to find what they want efficiently, and revisit that location
quickly; to purchase goods and services conveniently; and to exchange
information interactively in real time.

Communications
    eWorld provides customers with a powerful, easy-to-use global e-mail
service that offers professional features and reliability.  eWorld
users can also easily communicate with users of the Internet, as well
as many other electronic mail services, through mail gateways that
allow the use of simple address abbreviations instead of complex
network addresses.  eWorld offers a range of real-time interactive
communications capabilities, including lecture and information
sharing forums, or town meetings, that enable up to 250 people to
participate simultaneously.  People can witness lectures, debates,
and discussions of topical issues by experts in a wide variety of
fields.  Smaller groups of eWorld users can chat and collaborate
electronically in both public and private forums.  In the future,
eWorld's communications capabilities are expected to include
incorporation of Apple's Open Collaboration Environment (AOCE)
technologies to provide integration with PowerTalk services.

Global
    eWorld is uniquely designed to be a global online service.
Incorporated into eWorld"s distributed architecture are numerous
capabilities specific to supporting worldwide operation.  These
include support for multiple languages for both content and
applications, a global/local content model that allows publishers of
all sizes to reach a global market and still offer information of
local interest, and network services from multiple vendors providing
local access points around the world.  While initial availability
will be provided in the United States, eWorld services will steadily
expand their reach toward worldwide access and availability.  English
language versions of eWorld for Macintosh will be extended to
countries around the world in 1994, followed by native language
versions for German, Japanese, and French.

Cross-Platform
    eWorld services will be made available on a range of devices,
including Macintosh personal computers, Windows PCs, and Newton
devices, and people will be able to access common features across the
different platforms.  For example, an eWorld customer will be able to
use the same e-mail  address and mailbox from any supported device,
allowing consistent  communications across a variety of situations.  An
eWorld customer who uses a desktop computer for electronic mail in the
office or at home will be able to use a Newton MessagePad, or other
device based on Newton technology, to send and receive e-mail while
traveling.  Services and information will also be consistent across
supported platforms, allowing Macintosh and Windows users to interact in
forums, post messages to bulletin boards, send mail, and perform
transactions without boundaries related to platform.

Publishing Tools
    Publishers will find eWorld an appealing environment, rich with
intriguing business opportunities.  Building on the principles of
empowerment which Apple pioneered with great success in the desktop
publishing industry, Apple Online Services has designed powerful
publishing tools to simplify dramatically the creation and
maintenance of online publications.  Under the name eWorld Press,
these tools allow publishers to design and prototype new online
products and then to update those products cost-effectively by
migrating information from the publisher's existing repositories to
eWorld's global servers and online services infrastructure.

Pricing
    In the United States, the basic monthly subscription fee will be
$8.95 which will include two free hours of evening or weekend usage.
Each subsequent hour of evening or weekend usage will be $4.95.  An
additional network surcharge of $2.95 per hour will apply during
business hours in the United States.  For customers who receive the
software bundled on their hard disk, there is no sign up fee.
Neither is there a surcharge for use of the Internet Mail gateway or
9600 baud access.  Pricing for services outside the United States
will be announced later.

Availability
    eWorld for Macintosh will begin beta testing in January of 1994 with
commercial launch slated for Spring of 1994 in the United States.
Some of the publishers currently working with Apple will be
furnishing eWorld with pilot versions of their services during the
beta testing period.  eWorld for Macintosh will be bundled in most
Macintosh computers by the end of 1994 in the United States.  eWorld
services will be made available outside the United States in stages,
starting with native language versions in French, German and
Japanese.




@endnode

@node P1-3 "Amiga Report Online"
@toc "menu"

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%%                       Amiga Report Online News                       %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%




                              » Portal News «
                                ===========


.../Message Bases/General Q&A, Announcements, and Help!/CBM @ Winter CES Vegas
16026.3.667.1 They're heeeeere....
1/7/94 07:53 28/1307 Harv

Commodore has a room/booth at the Winter Consumer Electronics
Show (CES) now going on in Las Vegas, NV, USA. The show runs four
days (Jan 6-9) and 80,000 people are expected to attend and visit
the 1500 or so booths spread across 2 million sq. ft. of exhibit space.

Commodore's booth is not on the main show floor but it is in the
main convention hall upstairs where many other vendors also
have room-booths. It is not invite-only, it's quite open to any
CES attendees.

I visited it briefly today (and plan to go to their press conference
Fri. morning) and chatted briefly with Jeff Porter and Lew Eggebrecht
who told me that there have so far been appx 100,000 CD32 units
sold and that CBM's Philippines plant is still cranking out
appx 20,000 per week. USA marketing is in the works.

A number of CD32s are on display in teh booth and the optional MPEG
module is there too including a display of its packaging. They were
demoing games and VideoCD stuff. There are also a couple A4000s
(I didn't see the A4000T there, but I might have missed it) and I
also noticed that Ms. Karen Jewell, who has been running the WOCA
shows for some time now, was sporting a CBM employee name tag
as well.

More to follow, including photographs which I will upload to Portal
and Aminet after i get home next week.

Harv




@endnode

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

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%%                      Amiga Report Maillist List                      %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


No Official Amiga Report Distribution Site in your local calling area? Are
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Please do not send general Email to Amiga-Report-Request, only requests
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@endnode

@node P1-4 "CES Report"
@toc "menu"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%% CES Report                                             By Marty Chinn %%
%%                                        (drknight@garg.campbell.ca.us) %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%



Greetings from Las Vegas, and welcome to Day 2 of the 1994 Winter
Consumer Electronics Show (CES). This report is brought to you by C & C
Card Factory/Video Source. As many of you know, I run a small mail order
business with some of the lowest prices for mail ordering. We handle all
systems and both American and Japanese games. First off before I start
getting into the games and information, I would like to inform you that I
am making a video of the CES and will be selling them for 12 dollars plus
3 for shipping. A total of 15. Please make a check or money order out to
Linda Chinn and send it to:

                Video Source
                973 Foxglove Dr.
                Sunnyvale, CA 94086

So far on the video is both versions of NBA Jam, Super Metroid, new SFX
games, Project Reality, VR Racing, and other new games soon to be
released. Now on to what everyone has been waiting for, the CES report.


First off, I want to apologize now for the poor writing and the
unorganized format. I'm doing this quickly because I have to get back.
The first thing that I saw when I walked in was from AT & T and it was
the Edge unit. As some of you know, the Edge allows you to play Sega
Genesis games over the phone, kind of like a modem. The game they had on
demo was VR Racing, but I am not sure if it was working or just an
example. It looks like a small console, kind of like a copier that fits
on top of the Genesis with a cartridge slot on top of the Edge. I didn't
get a chance to find out when it is coming out or how much it will costs,
but look for this information in the next two reports.



Many of you have been waiting for my report of the Atari Jaguar, so I'll
start that now. Upon finally finding the booth, I was all excited as I
saw the large sign that said Atari Jaguar, as shown on the video. I then
noticed a life size alien figure standing next to a huge screen and on
the screen was Alien Vs Predator. I started filming immediately. Well it
is a Doom like game with great texture mapping on the walls. It does have
a floor and ceiling to it as well. The scrolling was very smooth.
Graphically, I could ask for anything better. It moves a bit slower than
Doom, but nothing to complain about. In my opinion, it fell short of what
I was expecting, but then again it wasn't complete. Unfortunately I don't
think it will be out in January. Reasons are, you couldn't get hit, nor
could you control the Predator or the Alien in the game. You only had
access the soldier. It seemed as if the options were not operating
either. I couldn't change weapons or anything. Also it seemed as if there
was nothing you could pick up in the game or shoot other than another
Alien and Predator. What I did not see were the eggs. The radar on my
screen didn't work either. Maybe with all these options added in, it will
live up to what people are expecting, and don't get me wrong, this game
is very well done so far and impressive. What it needs is a final touch
to it to make it top notch and hopefully Atari will do this. Besides this
game, there were three other non released games. Checkered Flag was a big
disappointment in my opinion. Hopefully it wasn't completed. The play
control was poor and if you ran into a wall, the game ended. Basically if
you watch the video, you will see what a hard time I had controlling and
how often I crashed. Graphics were ok. Its not like VR Racing though. I
liked VR Racing on the Genesis better. Another game there was called
Brutal Sports Football. There wasn't much to it and the graphics didn't
look to spectacular. All they showed was a stadium then a character
punching out another one. That's it. The game is from a side scrolling
view. Kind of like Tecmo Super Bowl. The last game I saw was Tempest 2000
which looked to be really fun. It does well for bringing Tempest home. My
gripes are, after Atari claiming to have 15 games in February, all they
had shown were 4 new games, and the 4 that are out. Like someone
speculated, I have to agree with his number of 8 games instead of 15.
Nothing shown at the CES was spectacular for the Jaguar, and defiantly
not 64 bits of power. From the glimpses of 3DO at the CES, the 3DO looked
more powerful when Atari claims its twice as powerful. I am an owner of
the Jaguar, and love it a lot, but even as an Atari Jaguar fan, I am
greatly disappointed. So far everything is only by word and not anything
hard to go on.



Here is a list of current 3rd party companies that are working on the
Atari Jaguar. This was posted on a wall. Ocean Software Ltd.(UK),
Rebellion Software Ltd., Tradewest, Virgin Games, Activision, Id
Software, Interplay Productions Inc., Accolade, Anco Software, ASG(All
Systems Go), Beyond Games, Brainstorm, Dimension Technologies, Euro-Soft,
Gremlin Graphics Software Ltd., High Voltage Software, Krisalls Software
Ltd., ICD Inc., Loriciel S.A., Maxis Software, Micropose LTD.(UK),
Micropose Software Inc., Microids, Midnite Software, Millenium
Interactive Ltd., Phalanx Software, Retour 2048, Photosurealism,
Silmarlls, Telegames, Tiertex Ltd. Titus, Trimark Interactive, US Gold,
UBI Soft, Virgin Games(UK), Argonaut Software Ltd. Rebellon Software,
DTMC, Epic Megagames, and V-Reel Productions.



Games in progress are:

Return to Zork by Activision. The next generation of classic Zork
adventures makes its triumphant 64-bit debut! The closest an interactive
computer game has ever come to cinematic quality production, Return to
Zork fully showcases Jaguar's powerful graphic capabilities by combining
a mix of full-motion video live action scenes, and photo realistic
animation. This amazing 64-bit adventure is filled with danger, intrigue
and low cunning. It's loaded with fascinating puzzles, and a
revolutionary interface, an original cast of real Hollywood actors, more
than an hour of spoken dialogue and 200 CD-quality musical themes.



Doom by Id Software. Doom is an ultra-fast virtual reality showcase that
plunges you deep into a brutal 3D world filled with enough graphic
violence to earn this monster its very own warning label. As a renegade
space marine, you must utilize state-of-the-art weaponry and
technological artifacts to fend off legions of gruesome fiends, and use
your wits to solve hundreds of lethal puzzles. Dramatic, high-speed
animation and Jaguar's uncompromising multimedia realism bring this
fantastic and grisly adventure to life.



Tiny Toon Adventures by Atari. Leap inside a real cartoon! Based on the
popular Warner Bros. characters, this zany platform scroller is a true
showcase of Jaguar's rich animation capabilities. Bad boy Montana Max has
a new toy: an Acme TiToonium Converter. But the only place he can get
TiToonium is on a planet Aurica, and the removal of Titoonium is causing
grave ecological damage to the Toon-filled universe. Armed with an Acme
Crazy Net, follow Buster Bunny, Babs Bunny and Plucky Duck as they embark
on a mission to shut down the Acme TiToonium-Gold Converter--and save
planet Aurica.



European Soccer Challenge by Telegames. Goooaaaal! The Atari Lynx sports
favorite comes to the Jaguar. This proven soccer program delivers an
expanded season and playoff format, 170 teams and complete
team/individual stats. In addition, each player possesses his own
personality and performance capabilities. You even have the option to
make trades. For Sport fanatics, European Soccer Challenge is a 64-bit
kick!



Ultimate Brain Games by Telegames. The popular Lynx mind bender comes to
the 64-bit format. Test your moves against the only system qualified to
accommodate all the CPU horsepower required for a real chess challenge.
Work your way to master status on a full-scale battlefield with classic
chess--and checkers, and backgammon. There's a challenge here for every
skill level and member of the family. Extended features--such as specific
game set-up for the computer solution and digitized graphics--make this
product a must for your video game library.



Hosenose and Booger by ASG Technologies, Inc. Here's one for the sick and
twisted. Hosenose has a cold and as fate would have it, he's managed to
sneeze and suck his girlfriend Hotsnot deep into his brain. In a unique
gaming experience that fully showcases Jaguar's monster graphic
capabilities, you'll take a nose-dive into Hosenose's sinuous nasal
passages in search of the lovely yet cerebral Hotsnot. Through every
organ and orifice you'll meet a wild cast of disgusting characters,
including Mickki Mewkus, Logjam Sam, Vicki Virus, and the Evil Dr. Bile.
An off-beat animated adventure only the 64-bit power of Jaguar can
deliver.



Club Drive by Atari. You've never experienced racing like this! Designed
especially for the Jaguar, Club Drive pulls you into a fully rendered 3D
environment. There are no rails here--just 70 square miles of San
Francisco to race through and explore. Go anywhere as you chase down your
opponent in a fast-paced game of tag through the craggy canyons and
frontier towns of the Old West. Crash and score as you test your wheels
in a futuristic skateboard park--for cars! Experience what it's like to
be a toy car and race through your neighbor's house, around coffee tables
and under the television. It's your chance to do things with a car Henry
Ford would've never dreamed of.



Commando by Microids. Take an in-depth, first-person perspective into the
trenches of 64-bit warfare. As the Officer in Charge of a team of crack
commandos, you'll experience all the rigors of gritty jungle combat
through the eyes of a real soldier as you patrol, set ambushes, destroy
key structures, rescue personnel...and ultimately win one for your
Commando team. Jaguar's sophisticated animation and audio processors
bring you front-line combat so real, extended play may cause flashbacks!



Dungeon Depths by Midnite Software, Inc. Long ago in an ancient,
uncivilized world, man built great castles to close himself off from the
grunts of the earth. And beneath these castles he built miles of dungeons
to imprison you and your repressed minions. Get ready for a medieval
multiple-player role-playing arcade adventure as you battle "surface
dwellers" in an effort to rise up from the clutches of the aristocracy.
With rich, vibrant graphics, this 3D textured underworld epic makes full
use of Jaguar's real-time rendering, advanced 3D texturing and high-speed
animation capabilities.



Ultra Vortex by Beyond Games. Ultra Vortex is street fighting to the 64th
power! History has seen the rise and fall of many warriors. All fell to
the power of the Vortex Guardian, who has dominated mankind for thousands
of years. It's 2045--time again for the Testing. You and nine other able
warriors have been choosen from America's top underground gangs to fight
for the right to take on the Guardian. Drawing on the mesmerizing powers
of the Vortex, you must master deadly street fighting and martial arts
skills--including the lethal "Vortex Annihilator"...destroy a field of
formidable champions...and ultimately crush the Guardian!



Battlewheels by Beyond Games. Buckle up for 64 bits of metal-mashing
arcade action. 2021 AD. Humankind has turned to an increasingly dangerous
spectator sports for its entertainment. Welcome to Battlewheels! Drive
solo or team up with as many as eight of your buddies for a futuristic
demoltion derby to the death. Custom equip your suicide vehicle from the
ground up with machine guns, missiles, flame-throwers...and compete for
"kills," cash and glory against a vicious band of road warriors-- through
treacherous deserts and ghost cities of a bygone era. Yeeehaw!



Evidence by Microids. The magic of the movies meets the power of Jaguar.
This 3D interactive feature combines unbridled 64-bit technology with
incredible motion picture effects. As a young reporter wrongly charged
with murder, you must find a way to escape from prison and expose the
party responsible for putting you behind bars. Full-motion video and
digital sound effects are Evidence of a gaming experience only Jaguar can
deliver.



Car Wars by Midnite Software, Inc. Earth, 2094. Advances in technology
eliminated tires, refueling and, in general, made the roads a safer
place--at least within the city limits. Outside the clean cityscapes--in
the Arena, where bloodthirsty drivers clahs in massive road beasts to
battle for what is yours, and what you think should be yours--is where
you do your driving. It's a futuristic off-road carnage bonanza that
takes full adventure of Jaguar's stock graphic processors.



One last final note. I will only be stopping by there again to ask a few
questions, so don't expect too much more about the Jaguar. Still read
however as you will find bits of information in future posts. Oh yeah,
one other thing, there was no Jaguar CD-ROM there on display. I will ask
information on it tomorrow though.



What is up with the Super Nintendo? There wasn't much that was impressive
or ground breaking. Super Metroid was among one of the first few games I
checked out. The game looks huge from what I played. The play control
isn't great, but its good. Its graphically perfect for a 16 bit
translation, and it feels like the original Metroid. In my opinion, it
felt more like the original than Mega Man X did with the original Mega
Man. How good is it? I didn't get a chance to get too far into it but it
looks like its going to be another hit. Great animation to the main
character. FX Trax was there in custom built cars that you could sit in
with speakers to each side of your head and a huge screen in front of
you. Very nice set up. As for the game, the SFX chip shows its power as
you race as a polygon car on a polygon background. It looks a lot better
than Star Fox did. It had very sensitive play control but great
execution. It also has a two player split screen mode but I did not get a
chance to view it. The game looks greatly improved of what I saw before
and could be a great new title. A must see to believe game. The other SFX
game that is in progress was shown but I only caught a glimpse of it so
I'll get to that tomorrow. Bugs Bunny's Rabbit Rampage had  beautiful
graphics that look even better than all of the other Loony Toon titles
made by Sunsoft. I didn't get a chance to play it so I'll talk more about
this one tomorrow. Superman died over a year ago and DC was making a
forture off it. Now DC has licensed Sunsoft to make a game called, The
Death of Superman. In the first level you are the original Superman and
it is a side scrolling fighting game, kind of like Batman. The graphics
are great, and Superman has cool special abilities and moves. Later in
the game you get to play as the other Supermen. Again, I will post more
on this game when I get a chance to play it. By now you'll notice I
didn't play too much. I played a game here and there but mostly looked
around and taped stuff. Tomorrow I plan on doing more of the playing.
Sunsoft is also releasing Speedy Gonzales. This title looks like a Sonic
type game. Maybe Sunsoft's goal is to surpass Sonic in speed. Ken Griffy
Jr. Baseball looks to be one of the best baseball games to be made. It
has great animation and speedy game play. Magazines say its supposed to
be one of the most realistic baseball games to date. I saw a home run and
the guy did a little dance to taunt the other team as he crossed home
plate. Very funny to watch, and cool. The game uses every stadium and all
the teams but I'm not sure yet if it has real players. Terminator: The
Arcade Game looks absolutly beautiful in graphics. Some of the best
graphics I've seen to date on the SNES. It is more colorful and is much
more eye appealing than the Genesis version. The last game I will brief
you about is Wolfenstein 3D. It has very smooth scaling and rotation but
the game just lags because of the censorship. It just looks odd if you're
used to the PC version. Not a bad translation though. Project Reality was
there. Well kind of. Still on SGI developing systems. If it looked like
anything I saw and what you will see in the video, good bye Jaguar and
3DO.



NBA Jam comparison. They had three versions there from what I noticed,
SNES, Genesis, and Game Gear. I didn't really pay attention to the Game
Gear version, so I'll talk about that tomorrow. Graphics between the two?
Damn close, but the SNES wins by being a bit sharper. I have them on
tape, back to back, and you swear its the same version throughout the
whole time. Sound was very faint, but from what I heard, the Genesis had
very well sampled speech. They could however be fuzzy since I couldn't
hear them well. It had lots of speech, and is supposed to have more
speech than the SNES version. What I did notice is the characters don't
scale like they do in the arcade. Also something about the game just
doesn't feel like the arcade. The slams don't seem to be much of an
impact as they were in the arcade, but then again, I only had limited
hands on play. One game on each version. The FMV is in the half time
screen for each version. I didn't get a chance to see the options but it
did have a save feature in the game, just like the arcade. I did like how
the SNES controller was laid out. It was either Y or X for Pass and
Steal, B or A for Shoot and Block, and R and L(?) for Turbo. Bascially my
thumb can rest on either Y or B and hit either one at will, and my index
finger rests on the R button and can also hit that at will. The Genesis
version uses A to Shoot or Block, B for Turbo, and C for Pass or Steal.
Instead of holding the controller where I use my thumb to hit the
buttons, I had to change the position of my hand so that three fingers
were resting on the pad. Its unusual for me to hold a controller that way
but not unbearable. I hope there is an option screen where you can
configure your buttons. I personally would have liked it if the A and C
button were switched. Each game is 4 players and its just not the Genesis
version like others have stated. The Genesis version plays a bit faster
than the SNES version, but not to were its unbarable to play the SNES
version. To sum it up, both are equal in overall. The SNES has better
graphics, and maybe better sound but it was too loud to compare, while
the Genesis version is faster. The play control is great on both
versions. In the end, its NBA Jam. Oh yeah before I forget, there is no
Shaq in this game.



Finally to Sega. I felt Sega had more to show than Nintendo did at the
show. One thing that I saw that blew me away was the Sega Genesis CDX.
This is a new SMALL system that will be released in March of 94. It will
retail for around 399. Now you guys are wondering what so expensive could
be so great. Well what it is, is a Sega Genesis and a Sega CD built in as
one unit, at a very small size. Say the size of your disc man. Yes that
small. Its 7.8 inches in width, by 5.5 inches in depth, by 1.8 inches in
height. Pull out your rulers and you'll see that is small. It weighs
around 1.3 pounds. Its a Genesis, Sega CD and a portable discman in one.
The discman will run on 2 AA batteries, but to play the Genesis or Sega
CD, you must use a AC adaptor. Included in this package for 399 is the
Genesis CDX unit, 6 button arcade pad, AC adaptor, Sonic CD, Ecco CD, and
Sega Classics Arcade Collection CD. Pretty well worth the price in my
opinion. Sonic 3 looked great, and had an improved 2 player mode where
the sceen is not cramped but adjusted to the size of the split screen. VR
Racing looked great. Although the graphics aren't as good as the arcade,
the speed and control make up for this. It had excellent play control, in
fact perfect play control and moved at a speedy rate. It uses the 6
button controller, and I'm unsure of how it works with a 3 button pad. It
can also be played by two players at once in a split screen mode. Lunar
fans look out. Vay by Working Designs is on its way and it blows away
Lunar from what I've seen. Beautiful cinema scenes with fighting scenes
like 7th Saga. Is it Lunar 2? I don't think so but it looks like Lunar
except updated and better. Great demo shown but wasn't playable. No sight
of Saturn.



Well I'll cut it short here. There is just so much to say and so little
time. I have glanced at everything once, I think, but haven't really had
a chance to film and play everything yet. Let alone ask questions. I will
go over some of the games I briefed today more in depth within the next
two posts. If anyone has any questions on the game, or any questions
you'd like me to find out, please privatly mail them to me as soon as
possible so I get them before I leave Sunday afternoon, also post them in
public so other people can see and so I can reply to it when I return
home. Leaving the question in mail is just like a note to me and then the
one in public will be where I answer. Welp I still have 3DO to check out
and Sony and more of each of the companies. Ta ta for now, and enjoy this
small report of the Winter 94 CES.

@endnode

@node P1-5 "CES Report - 32/64-bit Game Platforms"
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%% CES Show Report:  32/64-bit Video Game Platforms       Author Unknown %%
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No new players entered the ring at this year's Winter CES.  Sega and Sony,
both preparing to enter the fray within the year, chose not to tip their
hand and show machines to the general public yet.  Therefore, 3DO, Commodore,
and Atari were left to slug it out for the time being.

The Booths:

There was a wide range of booth sizes and players at the show, ranging from
3DO's near saturation of two pavilions to Commodore's seek-and-ye-shall-find
conference room on the second floor.

3DO's presence at the show was greatly aided by having two equally huge
'booths' at the show.  The Panasonic display in the south pavilion was
very much like the one used for the Summer CES in Chicago last year.  A large
stage with a video wall behind with dominated the large open area (probably
the largest open area of any booth at the show).  Along the back of the
stage and along the opposite wall of the area were lines of REAL kiosks
similar to what will likely be used in stores.  Each kiosk was running a
released or pre-released game, and the video wall ran a looping promotional
video.  Panasonic reps abounded and most of the major developers who had
titles on display were nearby as well to help users and answer questions.
Every 15 minutes or so there was a Panasonic PR person who got up on stage
and did a live (and loud) demonstration over the PA which usually drew a
crowd.  Rock music and live game-playing (usually Total Eclipse) on the
video wall added to the 'show' atmosphere of the booth.

3DO's other representation was in the 3DO company booth in the north
pavilion.  This was setup quite differently.  The outside of the booth
along the 'hall' was lined with the same kiosks used in the Panasonic
booth.  An even larger selection of titles played on these machines, with
some titles shown here that were not represented at the Panasonic booth.
In the interior of the display area were the usual conference rooms (where
deals are made) and some more specialized displays.  Part 2 of this report
contains in-depth listings of what was shown.  Also in this area was a
working Sanyo 3DO player and a mock-up of the AT&T box (non-functional,
just a physical case design under glass).  There was also a Sanyo player
present in the Sanyo booth but it was not given much prominence there.
Most REAL boxes were scattered throughout the show with different vendors
such as Alias (whose tools are often used to create the 3D source material).

Atari's booth was not located near the Multimedia and Home Stereo area like
3DO and Panasonic, but rather was in closer proximity to Sega and Nintendo
systems.  In the corner of this building, Atari had an area about 1/2 the
size of the 3DO and Panasonic booths highlighting both the Jaguar and the
Lynx.  Nice kiosks were used to display both units and different titles
were shown on each kiosk.  In addition, there was a large-screen TV in
the front of the booth where star titles were demonstrated for the public
and press.  Most of the time it seemed it was running Alien Vs. Predator,
but sometimes I am told Tempest 2000 was being shown.  Atari was displaying
some of the awards they had won at the show above the TV.  Scattered about
the booth were quotes from various sources (magazines, CNN, developers)
about the system.  Women in revealing catsuits handed out buttons. One
complain I had was the kiosks were very crowded into the interior of the
booth which made it uncomfortable to maneuver and play the games on display.

Commodore's 'booth' was actually a conference room on the second floor of
the main hall.  This greatly reduced the foot traffic the display received
(you would not have seen the CBM booth unless you were actively looking for
it).  On display were several CD32 boxes playing various games (all of which,
as far as I can tell, have already been released in Europe).  There was
also an A4000 running the latest version of Video Toaster software.  The area
had a much more businesslike atmosphere than the other displays mentioned
above.  Mostly it seemed Commodore people in suits talking to other Commodore
people in suits.

Announcements:

There were very few surprises at this year's show in terms of new announcements
or press releases.  Commodore, as predicted, announced the US rollout of their

@endnode

@node P1-6 "CBM launches game console"
@toc "menu"

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%% Commodore Launches Amiga Game Console             by James K. Willcox %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


[Harv's note:  This is transcribed from the 1/9/94 issue of TWICE CES DAILY, 
the free, large format daily CES magazine handed out at the show which just 
ended, in Las Vegas, Nevada USA.  This report sounds like it was based mainly
on the writer's attendance at Commodore's press conference held during CES.  
Approx. 82,000 trade people attended Winter CES, which is up from last year 
but down from the all-time high attendance of 106,000 in 1988.]



Here at CES, Commodore officially launched its Amiga CD32 video game
console, saying it hoped to sell between 300,000 and 500,000 units
during its first year in the market.

The company also said that more than 150 companies are developing
titles for the system, with approximately 100 games being available
when the system begins selling in March, and more than 200 expected
to be ready by next Christmas.

The Amiga CD32 is a 32-bit CD-based game system built around the
Amiga 4000 computer platform, but contains specially optimized Amiga
chips for game and video performance.

The system carries a suggested retail price of $399, and will come
bundled with two to four titles which are still being determined.

In addition to CD-based games, the Amiga CD32 will also play audio
CDs, CD+Gs, and with a separate software upgrade, Photo CDs. When
used with an optional full motion video module, expected to be priced
just under $250, the Amiga CD32 will be able to play Video CDs
and Philips' CD-I Digital Video Titles.

Despite the number of systems heading to or already on the market,
Jeff Stilley, Commodore's president and general manager, believes
Commodore will be able to gain a significant foothold in the
advanced video game market, describing his competitors as "unable
to deliver titles or stumbling along in 16-bit technology."

Stilley says Commodore's distribution plan for Amiga CD32 will target
mall-based software outlets, TV home shopping channels, select consumer
electronics retailers, video rental stores and mass merchants and
toy stores.

Marketing efforts will include direct mail pieces to Amiga users,
promotions at sporting events, malls and other high-traffic events,
and retail training and POS (point of sale) material for dealers,
while advertising efforts will consist of page-dominant news
paper ads, full color national and children's magazine ads, and 30-
to 40- second TV commercials.

Commodore is also establishing a membership card club which will
offer special discounts on software and other related products.

During a question and answer period, Stilley said Commodore was
open to licensing Amiga CD32 technology to other mfrs who might
want to market such systems, and described Commodore's software
licensing program as liberal, with fees based on the amount
of softwar sold.

Asked about Commodore's stance on the issue of game ratings,
Stilley said that it was more an issue for publishers than for
Commodore since it doesn't create content, but added that Europe
recently addressed that issue by establishing a four-tier rating
system administered by a video game standards committee.



@endnode

@node P1-7 "CBM A3000 Video Speckle Defect"
@toc "menu"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%% COMMODORE A3000 Video Speckle Defect                By Julie Peterson %% 
%%                                             (LadyHawk@cup.portal.com) %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


We have discovered a pattern, for at least 4 people and want to
know if there are more.  If so send me email and I'll consolidate
information.  Here are the symptons:

        - Horizontal speckles appearing on the display, worse in
        programs that have a lot of screen refreshes or
        moving objects or text.  Most people initially suspect
        a monitor problem, but it's NOT a monitor problem.

        - Problem is gradually progressive over a period of weeks
        or months, depending on how often you use the computer and
        in my case, may have caused the eventual shutdown of my system.

        - Programs which save what's on the video display are
        a particular problem, as they will save the glitches
        also (e.g. DPaint images will save what you draw *and*
        the intruding glitches).

        - ghosting, double images in flashes, and worse along
        the edges and scrollbars are typical as problem worsens.

        - the actual RUNNING of programs is not affected.  You
        can boot workbench and applications just fine, the
        'workings' are not effected, just the video output and
        in some cases, screen saves with garbage added.

I will have more empirical information soon, but one person
reported swapping all chips without locating problem, some people
have done partial swaps without discovering source, or solving the
problems.  I am looking for patterns and help for all concerned.
If you have these symptoms, please email:

    Full description of symptoms
    Age, model, and serial number of the machine
    Stock machine?  Or add-ons?
    Length of problem
    Steps you have taken to try to solve it
    If you have it, is it progressive in your case?

And ESPECIALLY, if you got it solved, let us know.  One of the
things we need to find out is if this is a factory defect in a
particular production run, and of course, we want to know how to
fix it.  Thanks!  I'll consolidate stories and post.

                               Julie  (LadyHawke@cup.portal.com)

Responses from users:


1. My display began doing strange things in early november.  Primarily just
flashing and occasional bits of garbage (none lasted more than an instant).
About a week later the problem became worse and bits of garbage began showing
up and staying.  These bits became progressively, over the month of november,
worse and worse until heavy garbage and frequent screen flashing showed up.

2. Not sure if this is the same problem as I have it on an A2500.

Yes. Particularly bad in text displays or windows that fill the whole
screen. On the workbench sometimes a pull down menu will leave a garbled
ghost behind. Or an icon will turn to garbage --but still work.

>        - ghosting, double imames in flashes, and worse along
>        the edges and scrollbars are typical

YES!!

>        - the actual RUNNING of programs is not affected.  You
>        can boot workbench and applications just fine, the
>        'workings' are not effected,

Yes.

Also: IT GOES AWAY! It is not happening now for instance. Making a text
window smaller than the screen diminishes it when it is happening.

It has come and gone for a year or so. It's been more frequently recently.
Seems to last 3 or 4 days.

I tried checking that chips were socketed firmly, particularly Agnus. When I
have the chance (and tools) I want try swapping or reseateing Agnus.

3.  roblems: On leaving the computer on for more than 2-3 hours (on a cool 
day) I get weird things happening. (Happens in less than 30mins on a warm 
day) Mostly static on my screen (concetrated on/around scroll bars). Terminus
prints weird characters. When I ran a BBS, the computer would crash on
uploads (not sure if same problem, worth mentioning), while the exact same
BBS software would work fine on friends 3000.

Attempts to fix: Tried removing commodities, things in Startup-Sequence...
Placed the computer on wooden blocks... Screaming at the computer repeatedly..
None worked.

[Julie's Note:  thought this sounds only partly like other descriptions, it's 
worth noting that some people had disk AND video problems with similar 
symptoms, but which were NOT related to the CIA chips 8520s.]

4. The glitches I notice are a horizonal dash, usually 8 pixels wide.
They would 'fly' around the screen, sometimes sticking.  And you
could then capture the display with the glitches.
The glitches could also show up on a screen not currently to front.
Made for an ugly surprise when returning to WB screen.  :(

Problem suddenly showed up mid Oct '93.  Owned since July '91.
At first, I thought it may have been some new software I may have
installed, but symptoms happened under a stock WB.

The flying glitches also showed up during heavy program activity,
that appeared not to be related to screen rendering, like during
a page print from Pagestream.  But this process may have been using
CHIP ram for its purpose.

Sorry, can't tell you if they are in color or not, as I use a 2024
mono monitor.

These glitches occurred under all screen modes.

        - ghosting, double images in flashes, and worse along
        the edges and scrollbars are typical

These symptoms occurred a few weeks later, and that is when I found
that the entire 2nd bank of CHIP ram had gone bad. Bad bits and a bad 
address line (#15).  NEC brand. Replaced the chips, edges cleared up, 
but speckles remain.

Programs worked OK, no unexplained GURUs.

TROUBLESHOOT:

All memory and system checkers that I could find indicated the machine
was in perfect shape.

(note:  If a 3000 has bad CHIP ram, memory checkers will fail to find
it.  The chips must be removed and tested in a chip checker, or
installed in a 2091 and tested with the software that comes with
it.

This is how I found out I had a meg of bad CHIP ram.)

Swapped Agnus, CIAs, Paula, and Denise, to no avail.

Did not swap out Ramsey, Gary, DMAC, CPU or FPU.

I was finally able to make it happen all the time.

The glitches occurred when the available CHIP ram was less than 1 meg
free (system using the 2nd bank of CHIP ram).

This was my solution, to return the machine to 1 meg CHIP ram.  :(
But, no more glitches!

I did not pull the soldered bank of CHIP ram, as the glitches are
gone when using just this bank of ram.  Still could be bad though.

My unconfirmed suspicions is that the problem is in the 'Bridge' ram
system where the CPU can access the CHIP ram.

Machine is about 2.5 years old, running nearly 24 hours a day, using
appropriate surge suppressors on ps and phone line.

A3000 desktop Rev 7.0 mb, factory upgraded to 7.3, rev 6.1 daughter bd

All original chip revs
Gary -02; Ramsey -04; Buster -06; SDMAC -02; Proto WD SCSI chip
SuperKS 2.04, WB 2.1
2 meg CHIP, 4 megs FAST (1x4 SC ZIP)

8. I am writing in response to your report of "speckles" on your A3000.  I 
have experienced the same thing as well....usually flashing green dots that 
only appear on some programs screens.  Doesn't happen to often, but on 
programs that have a gray background this usually happens.  (Not WB 
surprisingly though).  By local Amiga repairman made a guess that it was 
badly installed ROM chips.  You might want to try that....I don't really 
know.

[Julie's Note: This sounds similar, but not quite the same as the
problem reported by others.  The horizontal blip or speckle tends
to show up on most screens and is not color-related.  Whether it
is a few dots or a lot depends more on the number of screen
activity and refreshes than on color combinations, but I included
this message just in case they're related.)

9. I had and fixed an obscure problem with my A3000 this year which may
or may not be similar to that you described in your posting. The problem 
I had was primarily with the display and floppy drives.

I started getting short random length horizontal lines, from one pixel
to less than 1/8 inch, appearing on the display.  Moving/resizing
windows might add more "garbage".  Resetting the workbench would clean
up the display until new activity added more "garbage".

I also would have windows in the back flash on the front screen during
screen activity.

[Julie's Note: This is a perfect description of the video problem.]

I was also having problems with my floppy drives -- read and write
errors.

[Julie's Note:  If you are using a hard drive and only read from
floppies, you may not realize you have disk problems too (I didn't
at first).  Floppy disk problems show up most often on writes and
formats.  If you are having the speckle problem, check your floppy
functions also.]

I attempted to have my system repaired at a dealer, but was
unsuccessful.

[Julie's Note: Several other people reported their dealers not
able to locate this problem.  Agnus, Denise and CIA are most often
checked, but often without results.]

So it was left to me to fix my A3000.  I observed that the problems
manifested themselves after the system had warmed-up so it was likely
a heat sensitive component.  I also figured the problem was related to
CHIP memory so I narrowed my troubleshooting to the CHIP memory
subsystem.   The memory test program I tried didn't show any
problems, though I think it did lock once or twice.

I purchased a can of "COMPONENT COOLER" at Radio Shack, opened up my
A3000, and waited for the problems to appear...

The problem turned out to be a heat sensitive PAL chip, U202, in the CHIP
MEMORY sub-system.  The P/N is 390526-02.

The solution required me to purchase blank 16L8D PAL chips and make a
copy of the original.  CBM doesn't sell replacements, except as part
of a motherboard swap.

My system is like new now; except for a dead key on my keyboard.  (It
was the RETURN key until I moved it.)  I have since added a 240 MB
hard drive and an external CDROM drive.

My configuration at the time of the problem:

        A3000/25-50, internal 880k floppy, 2MB CHIP, 8MB FAST
        S/N 0001024, Motherboard "B2" P/N 313313 Rev 9/03
        Date of purchase 10/06/91
        A1011 external 880k floppy
        1084 monitor
        Firecracker display board

I hope my ramblings have added to your knowledge base....

[Yes, thank you very much to ALL who responded.  Hope this
information can help, and if there's more, email me and I'll post
further installments.  Especially send solutions, and you might
want to print this and take it to your repair person if you have
problems you can't fix yourself.]

10. I'm running an older A3000 and my Screen Speckle problem started
just recently.  I started having problems with the display going black
a few minutes after power on.  Eventually I narrowed the problem down
to a flaky fat agnus.

When I first replaced the fat agnus, the vertical lines were wavy,
I tweeked an adjustment to the rear of the fat agnus and the wavy lines
dissappeared.
It was just after replacing and tweeking that the speckling showed up.
I've only seen it once or twice but have not had my machine up more than
a few times since replacing the fat agnus.
btw, the part I installed was an 8372B.  There is some confusion in my mind
about the correct part number.  Some advertisments lead one to believe that
you can use an 8275 chip.

[Julie's Note: I'm not sure if this is the same problem or not,
it sounds like one problem (the screen speckle problem does not
cause the display to blank out) followed perhaps by a different one,
which may or may not be the speckle problem.  As a general note,
there is a little nob on the back of the A3000 and a tiny plastic
'screw driver' that came with your operating system disks, when
you get the A3000.  In the A3000 manual (the little one) it
explains how to adjust this pot to adjust the video.  This may
help some people's problems, but will not remedy the 'screen
speckle' problem we're trying to remedy, but try it.]

11. Well I just read your post about A3000 video problems,  I never
had the 'speckle' problem, but sometimes when I would drag an icon it
would 'smear' or leave ghost images.  First I thought it was a problem with
one of the chips (the Agnus) but I took it into a store and they replaced it
even though the tech could not duplicate my problem when he was fixing it at
the store.  Well he told me it could be a heat problem, and it IS a heat
problem.  If you A3000 gets too hot then it starts messing up the gfx, but
everything else runs fine.  Lucky for me I like to keep my apartment cold, so
I don't have that problem anymore.  I only experienced this problem during the
summer when my room would got very hot.  I do not know of a 'real' solution
besides keeping the area cool, maybe removing some of the plates in the back
to get more air circulation, I dunno ..

[Julie's Note: Different from speckle problem, but thought I'd
include it for those with heat problems.]

Email if you have the problem and if you've solved it, especially!

                                   Julie (LadyHawke@cup.portal.com)


        COMMODORE A3000 Screen Speckle Defect - Chapter 2
        =================================================

First, clarification.  People have emailed me with what is turning out to
be a variety of similar (but not the same) video problems.  This is fine,
I'm posting most of them.  This kind of information is still valuable, even
if we're chasing more than one problem here.  But I wanted to clarify, the
problem I'm describing here specifically (and the fix that seems to be
working) is a short 'blilp' that looks like a dash or hyphen.  It extends
only a few pixels horizontally (usually about 8 or so) and is only 1 or
maybe two pixels high.  It's like someone dropped an alphabet soup bag
with only hyphens onto your screen, settling randomly and sometimes
appearing to 'stick' there (specially in DPaint if you try to draw something)

Second, GREAT NEWS.  We're starting to get news back from people who are
finding the solution.  The posts I got from people who had found the
problem and fixed it themselves (I have yet to get a single letter from
someone who found a dealer able to diagnose this problem) point to a
PAL chip and to Chip RAM.  So check these out.  The PAL chip is part
number 16L8DCN (and it's inexpensive - yay!).  A GAL can be used, as
long as it's programmed for the PAL (16V8GAL).  Both these chips are
10 nanoseconds.  One person found the problem in the second socketed
bank of Chip RAM, the other found it in the first, soldered bank of RAM
(bad news), but check out the PAL chip first, maybe you'll be lucky.
I'm happy to say, one of the folks on IRC got his computer back in order
($2.50) after being 3 months without it.  That made my day.

                             Julie (LadyHawke@cup.portal.com)


    COMMODORE A3000 Screen Speckle Defect - Chip Available
    ======================================================

OK!  If your problem is genuinely the screen hyphen speckle problem, and
not a different problem (or combination of problems), it appears as if
HT Electronics can help.  I just ordered the GAL (Gate Array Logic chip,
I think) from them and they went to some trouble and experimentation to
program it for the PAL parameters.  They are happy to supply the solution
to those who need it, but they want to be sure users understand that this
is only a fix for this specific problem.  If ou have another problem and
order the chip, you can't hold them responsible if this doesn't fix it!
So be fair to them; they're good guys.

HT Electronics  Sunnyvale, CA  1-408-737-0900   16V8GAL programmed to
                                                function like 16L8DCN PAL

I was so thrilled, I didn't even ask what it was going to cost.  I know
the chip is cheap, but they had to find a programming solution and there's
shipping too, so it's going to be a bit more, but better than a non-
functional computer!  Ask for Sales, if you call HT.

                    Julie (LadyHawke@cup.portal.com)
Classic - Concepts (LadyHawke@cup.portal.com) wrote:


:         COMMODORE A3000 Screen Speckle Defect - Chapter 2
:         =================================================

[- stuff deleted -]

: Second, GREAT NEWS.  We're starting to get news back from people who are
: finding the solution.  The posts I got from people who had found the
: problem and fixed it themselves (I have yet to get a single letter from
: someone who found a dealer able to diagnose this problem) point to a
: PAL chip and to Chip RAM.  So check these out.  The PAL chip is part
: number 16L8DCN (and it's inexpensive - yay!).  A GAL can be used, as
: long as it's programmed for the PAL (16V8GAL).  Both these chips are
: 10 nanoseconds.  One person found the problem in the second socketed
: bank of Chip RAM, the other found it in the first, soldered bank of RAM
: (bad news), but check out the PAL chip first, maybe you'll be lucky.
: I'm happy to say, one of the folks on IRC got his computer back in order
: ($2.50) after being 3 months without it.  That made my day.

:                              Julie (LadyHawke@cup.portal.com)

Question?  Is this PAL that fails the same component?  In my case it
was U202.  If so, it could be either a bad batch of PALs used to make
this component or that this device is being operated outside the
recommended operating conditions leading to pre-mature failures.

My U202 was a MMI PAL 16L8DCN 011G2KM.

Inquiring mind wants to know...

Joe Hanson:

Hats off to Julie for this thread and for the solution. We were at our wits e
with this problem; we swapped chips, cooled ram, removed chip ram
all to no avail. HT provided the GAL, and presto! solved the problem.
Julie has saved the State of California (and all U.S. taxpayers) the
cost of a serious repair. The U.C. system thanks you.

Ron


          A3000 Screen Speckle Defect - Installment 4
          ===========================================

I have more news about the screen defect problem and some
confirmation...

    First, in answer to your question, yes the socket location is
U202 (PAL).  It is located in the forward left quadrant of the
A3000 at the forward left point of the large square chip (U205)
as you stand in front of it (not under the drives, thank goodness).

    I confirmed that my U202 chip was bad by opening a friend's
A3000, removing his U202 and installing mine.  The EXACT same
speckle defect (horizontal blips about 1 pixel high and 2 - 8
pixels wide, especially bad near the edges of windows, and the
bits tend to 'stick') appeared on his machine.

    I then took out the defective U202 and installed the original
chip.  Everything was fine.  I then replaced the original chip
with the chip sent/programmed by HT Electronics.  It worked
perfectly.

    Then I got brave.  DON'T TRY THIS.  You could fry not only the
chip, but the motherboard as well (I've been doing hobby level
chip swapping long enough to have fairly good instincts about this
and haven't fried anything yet, but I don't recommend this seat of
the pants approach to others.)  One of the people who got an HT
chip reported a gray screen and no fix.  I was really worried
about this, thinking that either he got a bad chip from HT, or I
had guessed the problem incorrectly, so I decided to take the
risk to find out.  I deliberately installed the good chip in
backwards.  You will get a solid lightish gray screen that remains
and displays nothing further.  I removed it, tried it the right
way [meanwhile writing out my will, since this is my friend's
pride and joy], and [unfortunately, for my heirs] it works fine.

    It was worth the risk.  We now know what happens if you get
it in wrong.  Shut off your machine IMMEDIATELY and rotate the
chip.  If your problem is not then solved, you either have a
combination of problems, or your screen speckle is different from
the one I've tried my best to describe here.

     One observation.  How do you know which way to install the
chip?  Normally, the little indentation on one end indicates the
end that matches the number on the circuit board.  The indentation
should be towards the *back* for this chip ...  but, I discovered
in all of this, that's not 100% true.  In my A3000, there was one
of each, but both LABELS faced the same way (turn your face left
to read them.  In Craig's machine, there was one of each (indents
faced two ways before I removed anything), but again, the LABELS
on the chips listing the part number both faced so you could read
them by turning your head to the left.  I can only guess this is
sloppiness, different production runs, or that the label, not the
notch, is the indicator (though it shouldn't be that way).  The
HT chip was correctly oriented.

     Oh, about cost.  By the time you pay for the chip, the
research HT did to figure out the programming, the downloading of
the programming, and the shipping, you're looking at about $28.
Since an hour in a shop trying to guess the problem often runs $35
- $60, this is a pretty substantial savings.

      Finally, get the information out so we can help others!  You
are welcome to reprint these posts in user group newsletters (so
we can help people frustrated with this problem who might not have
access to Usenet), just remember to tell them to get a qualified
person to do it if they have no hardware experience, that it may
void their warranty, AND that it's at their own risk.  :-)

                       Julie Petersen (LadyHawke@cup.portal.com)


@endnode

@node P1-8 "Lesser Known Amigas"
@toc "menu"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%% Lesser-Known Amiga Models                            By Jason Compton %%
%%                                                  (jcompton@tcity.com) %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


In the spirit of my recent listing of Amiga models and their stats, I 
thought I would write up a quick list of those Amigas which never really
made a splash...

The Amiga 6000:  Features a 6510, Z80, 8086, and a 68000 in parallel
with three HP-PA RISC chips that can run up to 10 simultaneous copies
of AmigaDOS 7.2 in 128k of RAM.  Unfortunately, C= set up the
design team in a small remote New Zealand village, which was
completely destroyed in a freak storm.  All of the plans (as well
as the developers) were lost.

The Amiga 1650:  An intermediate machine between a 2000 and a 3000,
featuring the short-lived 68025 chip.  Only sold in Southern California
and some small German border cities.

The CD-RADIO:  Commodore's low-end version of the CDTV.  It didn't
go very far, since it wasn't very visually exciting.

The Amiga Gould:  Originally titled the Amiga Gold, intended to be a
re-issuing of a souped-up 1000.  Irving stepped in, changed the project,
drove out all of the people involved and put in an Adam emulator.

The Amiga 10:  A brain-installable version of the ECS chipset, CPU,
and OS.  It made keeping track of more than one thing much easier.
There were two major drawbacks.  First, remembering things that happened
more than a year or so ago required a memory expansion that jutted
noticably out of the wearer's head.  Second, it was hard to quit a game
of Lemmings, so the wearer would tend to walk around saying "Yippee!"
a lot.  And when that thing guru'd...people would get VERY afraid,
as the wearer's eyes would flash on and off in green.

The Air Commie:  A short-lived partnership between C= and Nike
yielded a shoe which would allow the wearer to jump in more than one
direction.  Only a few prototypes were produced, and when the NBA
declared that the shoe would violate its rules, the project was scrapped.

Finally, the AmiPad:  A proposed project, containing a full 4000 system
with multisync display, Video Toaster, and stereo sound in a case the
size of a TI-85 calculator.  Never developed due to lack of market.


@endnode

@node P1-9 "Programmers Don't Need Databases"
@toc "menu"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%% Real programmers don't need Databases -- Or do they?    By Ivo Kroone %%
%%                                                    (raymond@cs.vu.nl) %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


Real programmers don't eat quiche. No they don't, but do they use easy-to-
use environments like those offered by packages? Would they ever bother to
use TeX or do they just write all escape sequences in a binary format for
their printer? And for that matter would they ever bother to use a database
language or do they write their own field-structure and index structure in
C or assembly? In this article I'd like to show the use of the built in
database language in various Amiga databases.

Programming within Superbase, dBMan or for that matter AMOS or AmigaVision
is often regarded as playing. They're not real programming languages and
are therefore for quiche eaters, newbies and suits. Maybe. Where AMOS and
AmigaVision have been made to achieve the same goals as other All Purpose
Symbolic Instruction Codes, a language within a database can safe a lot of
time and effort. If you ever write or want to write applications handling
lots of data and maintaining large files, a database might be a good
solution. Today's databases are mature and can talk to various other
applications via ARexx.

Classical applications for databases are address books, administration
systems, invoicing programs and other boring business applications. Here are
some applications one would not have expected from a database:

-A BBS system

 All they do is register users, store messages, keep files and keep up with
 who-did-what. Perfect uses for a database. A BBS is the last program to be
 written in assembly or C.

-A hypertext program

 Commodore is right for choosing an ASCII-compatible format for AmigaGuide,
 but big hypertext documents could be stored more efficiently and could
 work quicker when using a relational-database.

-A program to register fuel consumption of a car

 It needs a file with fuel, distances and dates. An easy and perfect
 purpose for a database.

-A fortune cookie generator

 Programs to show cookies are always 90% code to select a cookie and
 maintain some obscure file format. It could be written within Superbase in
 about 5 lines of code.

-An adventure game

 Rooms and attributes can be stored in fields. The user and the path the
 user followed could be another file. An adventure within a database can be
 more complex yet easier to program and because of the possibilities the
 maker can offer: more fun for the player.

The Amiga might not be the premier machine for databases, but those
available are of excellent quality. Of course, if everyone uses a pirated
copy the developers simply cannot keep up with the developments in the
general computer market. Especially in this field of the Amiga buying your
software is essential for the future of the Amiga as a platform not only to
play games with.

There are three kinds of databases available for the Amiga:

1. The easy to use personal database

   These can store addresses and store the contents of your video tapes and
   cassettes. No programming language of macros available. Plain store and
   look-up.

   Examples: MiAmigaFile-II (softwood) and Superbase Personal (Oxxi)

2. Professional multi-purpose databases

   These can store data in various files and link those files. The system
   offers lots of ways to customize so one can have another user browse
   trough the data without knowing it is a database program.

   Examples: Superbase professional (Oxxi) and dBMan (Vera Soft)

3. Look-up databases

   The so-called SQL language is a standard language to look up data. An SQL
   database can link files as well but has more than excellent ways to make
   the most complex queries.

   Example: SQLdb (public domain, can be found on any AmiNet FTP site)

It's the second kind of database which is especially interesting for real
programmers or those who want to be. Using a database like this saves a lot
of work. The developers made an excellent file format, incredibly fast
look up facilities and all the maintenance tools one can wish for. It is
just a waste of time to develop all of this when there is a ready-made
solution available.

Superbase's language is much like a structured version of Commodore 64's
BASIC V2.0, with some database commands added. One can make all kinds of
looks and conditions. Something all of these build-in-languages will never
do is use standard includes and headers or offer ways to access the
internal memory directly. The only ways to reach the outside world are via
ARexx and a Shell-script. A good use of a database would be writing the
store-and-look up engine of the program. A user-interface could be written in
a standard language but especially with Superbase's FormsEditor it isn't
necessary.

All advances and disadvantages of using a database for programming:

- No standard includes or headers can be used. Libraries and devices can't
  be accessed directly. One has to stay within the database's boundaries.

- Most database programs use an interpreted language. Therefore one always
  needs to run the database program simultaneously. dBMan has a compiler.
  Oxxi sells runtime versions so a user of you program doesn't have to buy
  the entire Superbase package.

+ Fast and well-thought-about file formats. Easy to alter file format
  without having to rewrite the main program. Easy to add, modify or delete
  data.

+ Excellent methods for looking up data. Not only for plain look up, but
  also for wildcards and cross-file-lookup. Smart and fast index files, no
  need to design your own file and index system.

+ Excellent methods for arranging data. Databases have build in query
  editors with which one can easily define groups, count totals or averages,
  sort using multiple indexes, set ranges, filter and format output. Report
  generators can be used to define standard forms or screens.

+ MultiUser support. The database handles all problems as to record or file
  locking, user access to certain files and user levels (add/modify/delete).
  Imagine the work handling network support would be when modifying a
  "normal" program.

+ For those who start programming: a language within a database is much
  easier to learn. Learning languages like assembly, C or E assumes knowledge
  of the Amiga system (Intuition), the compiler and that language. With a
  database language one only needs to learn the language.

The developers of databases still have a lot of work to do for the Amiga.
With only a handful of professional databases for the Amiga our platform is
way behind. Those databases available are worth while, both the commercial
packages as well as the ones in the public domain. Using a database when
applicable saves time and could make Amiga programs better. Please take a
look at what's available.



@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.  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 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              2.50 22.95  32.45  44.95  94.95
 2400/9600bps prime Sprint +%           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 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.
   Again, Portal does NOT surcharge high speed modem users!

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

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

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

That number again:  408-973-9111.

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


@endnode


@node P1-10 "The Emulation Rambler"
@toc "menu"

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


Back again.

Here are some speed tests for the Cyrix 486 clipon attachment.
Note that the tests are not done ON a bridgeboard, but the potential
for bridgeboard owners is a real one.  A rumor on CSAEmulations
says that people have run the clipon on a C= bridgeboard with no
problems.

I'll pretty much quote what he sent me verbatim.  Take it away,
Shane...

[Begin quote]

 Landmark 2.0
 PC Magazine 7.0
 I don't know if there are any copyright crap with PC Magazine's benchmark
 program but I'm sure Landmark is OK.
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 The Landmark benchmark is a little archaic in how it measures performance
 but here it is:

 Model 70 with Cyrix              Model 70
 112 Mhz AT  287 5Mhz             24 Mhz AT with no mathco

 Sensing processor came up with this

 486 14.092                       386 19.971
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 PC Magazine Benchmarks looked like this.

 Cyrix 70                     Model 70

  40228                        15703      16bit Prot.Mode Small Mix pass/sec
  57431                        18087      16bit Real Mode Small Mix pass/sec
    104                         76.2      16bit Prot.Mode Stand. Mix pass/sec
    120                         85.7      16bit Real Mode Stand. Mix pass/sec
 329.86                       163.49      Floating Point Emulation ops/sec

 Memory Timings - Not sure if this is influenced by the processor upgrade
 but they are different, so I'll list them.

 1048576                     1048576      Memory Test Start Address (decimal)
 6549504                     4452352      Memory Test End Address (decimal)

    3700                        1322      Ext Mem 8-bit Read Kbytes/sec
    4634                        1864      Ext Mem 8-bit Write Kbytes/sec
    7343                        2637      Ext Mem 16-bit Read Kbytes/sec
    9179                        3729      Ext Mem 16-bit Write Kbytes/sec
   14464                        5245      Ext Mem 32-bit Read Kbytes/sec
   18358                        7343      Ext Mem 32-bit Write Kbytes/sec


 String Sort and Move Test was not run
 Prime Number Sieve was not run
 Math Coprocessor was not run

 I did not include Graphics and Hard drive timings because the 70-Cyrix
 had a Reply-Cirrus SuperVGA card and is much faster than the standard
 VGA the machine comes with.  If you want the hard drive timings and
 need the graphics and 3 excluded tests run mail me a message back.
 The Hard-drive timings take a while and the machines I am testings
 use very slow IDE hard drives that rate around 800 or less Kbytes/sec.

 [End quote: Thanks Shane!]

Just to clarify: The stock Model 70 was a 386/20 with 4 megs RAM,
while the "Cyrix 70" had the replacement 486sx and 6 megs.

Emplant updates:  First off, V3.7 of the Emplant Mac software is
apparently available, fixing some FPU routines and perhaps a few
other bugs.  Emplant Mac is now MMU-independent, and has been
for a few revisions.  On the personal side, UU informs me that
my board was shipped UPS Blue 2 day on Tuesday, meaning
that I can expect it Thursday.  You'll find out next week, and
I'll find out tomorrow.

Also next week, look for the most complete list of emulators ever
to grace these pages (and probably many others), thanks to
a lot of help from Angelo Carpi, another emulation maniac.

Until next week...keep the emulators warm.



@endnode

@node P1-11 "The Amiga on the InterNet - The IRC"
@toc "menu"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%% The Amiga on The Internet - IRC                       by Robert Niles %%
%%                                              (rniles@imtired.itm.com) %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


The next time you're on the Internet and if you have access to IRC
(Inter Relay Chat). Drop by and say hi to the regulars there in the
#amiga channel. Oh, they're a little shy, but friendly. Those guys 
(and the occasional gal) are listed under some strange names such 
as xterm, RKM, oleg, Dense, Monolith, KicStart, RedWine (somehow this 
guy has an umbilical cord connected to the IRC) and many more that 
have a "Frequent Chatting Plan". 

The Amiga IRC group is under the IRC label as #amiga. "Pjotr" is the
"head-moderator" of this conference area, and he has set up a friendly
"Bot" called Mama. Mama is capable of helping you find files that are
on the Aminet, and sending those that you need. When you get on say
"Hello" to Mama and type the command "/msg mama help" for more information.

RBRUNER is one of the many people on the Amiga IRC group. He is the
author of Note-It!, a fantasic but small program that will help reduce
the amount of scaps of paper that some of us commenly have laying all
over the desk. NoteIt! is a computerized version of those little sticky
Post-Its. You can keep track of peoples names, addresses within this 
program, as well as anything else you would like. RBRUNER is also
planning on expanding it further. If you get on there, ask him about
it.

Another member of IRC is Xed, the author of X-Comm. A nice terminal 
program that right now is still in the beta stages. Most of you have
probably already seen it, but it will be reviewed here in the near 
future.

So get on the Amiga IRC channel and say hi. There's many more people to
chat with and they always have something interesting to chat about.
They won't bite (normally) and it's a good way to socialize and meet 
Amiga users from all over the world.



@endnode

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

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%                    BIX - Byte Information Exchange                    %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


BIX is the premier online service for computing professionals and en-
thusiasts.  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 P1-12 "UseNet Review - ImageFX v1.50"
@toc "menu"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%% Usenet Review:  ImageFX v1.50                      By Per Espen Hagen %%
%%                                                  (per.e.hagen@ffi.no) %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%



PRODUCT NAME

        ImageFX 1.50


BRIEF DESCRIPTION

        Complete image manipulation package, for image restoration,
retouching, enhancement, analysis, painting, warping, and morphing; scanning
and digitizing; printing; file conversion.  Features a nice, configurable
GUI and an extensive ARexx interface.


AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

        Name:           Great Valley Products, Inc.
        Address:        657 Clark Ave.
                        King of Prussia, PA 19406
                        USA

        Telephone:      (215) 337-8770
        FAX:            (215) 337-9922


LIST PRICE

        I paid GBP 170 ex. VAT.


SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

        HARDWARE

                At least 3 MB RAM.  More is recommended.
                Hard drive strongly recommended.
                Works with any CPU.  68020 or higher is recommended.
                FPU recommended for some operations, but not required.
                AGA chipset recommended, but by no means required.

                Image processing is of course one of the most CPU and memory
                intensive tasks there is.  It goes without saying that a
                reasonably well-equipped Amiga is vital for any serious use
                of this program.

        SOFTWARE

                Requires AmigaDOS 1.3 or higher.
                AmigaDOS 2.0 or higher is recommended.


COPY PROTECTION

        None.  Hard drive installable.


MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

        Amiga 1200 HD with MBX-1200z.
        14.2 MHz 68020/68881.
        2 MB Chip RAM, 4 MB Fast RAM.
        Kickstart/Workbench 3.0.

        SysInfo rating: 4.80 x A600.
        AIBB ratings: ~0.6 x A4000/030 (integer), ~1 x A4000/030 (graphics),
        3-20 x A4000/030 (FP math).


INSTALLATION

        The program comes on 4 floppies, and installation to a hard drive is
very easy.  It uses Commodore's Installer program.  By using the "Expert"
mode of Installer, you may choose to install portions or all of ImageFX.

        If used from floppy, the first disk contains the main program, ready
to use (that is, in uncompressed form).


FIRST IMPRESSIONS

        ImageFX can be run the instant the installation process is finished;
i.e., no reboots or other nasty operations are necessary.  The various menus,
windows, and requesters looked a little blocky on the default setup.  I soon
changed this by using an Interlaced Panel and the Helvetica/11 font.

        The normal display consists of two or three screens on top of each
other:  the Preview screen, the Palette screen (which can be turned off), and
the Gadgets screen.  The latter two screens can be toggled on/off by
clicking the right mouse button.  This multiple-screen concept is similar to
that of ImageMaster and Brilliance.

        Generally, the program is VERY configurable.  The preview mode can
be any ScreenMode, screen type (normal/EHB/HAM), and depth supported by the
Amiga (or one of several 24-bit graphics cards).  For instance, I often use
"Super72:Super-High Res Laced HAM8" for precise painting, cropping, etc., and
"DblPAL:Low Res HAM8" for faster response on other operations.

        The gadgets screen has five primary buttons that change the program
"mode":  Scanner, Palette, Toolbox, Render, and Print.  Each of these
buttons, when pushed, brings up various other buttons and gadgets.  The
Toolbox panel can be customized completely.  The screen layout is generally
quite intuitive and user-friendly.


FEATURES

        ImageFX is absolutely packed with features, so I can only give a few
examples in this review.

        First of all, the package has support for loading and saving in most
image file formats you can think of, including IFF-ILBM, JPEG, GIF, TIFF,
Targa, PBM, BMP, ANIM5/7, FLI/FLC, and even Amiga icon format (".info"
files).  The loader support is a bit more extensive than the saver support,
but both should be more than adequate for most people.

        ImageFX will also render to any Amiga OCS/ECS/AGA screenmode, as well
as several graphics boards (including DCTV, Retina, and OpalVision).  The
AGA rendering quality is high, although the LUT selection can sometimes be
very slow.  There are even three different algorithms for LUT selection
(MedianCut, Enhanced, and Tibbett), for better control of the process.

        The Toolbox is the heart of ImageFX.  It features a decent range of
24-bit painting tools and modes:  freehand, line, curve, box, airbrush, fill,
brush, etc.  One very useful feature is the Pantograph painting mode, where
you copy from one part of the image to another.  You can paint with varying
degrees of Blend, use the Alpha buffer, and other options.  The painting
tools are quite useful for image retouching etc, but ImageFX certainly is no
rival to Brilliance for image creation.

        Among the other buttons in the Toolbox are Balance, Composite,
Rotate, Size, Color, Convolve, Transform, Filter, and Effect.  Pressing any
of these buttons pops up a small list of possible operations.  Selecting any
of these in turn usually causes a requester with detailed options to
appear.  For instance, you can select Convolve, then select Edge Detect from
the list, and then set the detection threshold for edges.  Press Okay, and
the Edge Detect filter is run.  I really like this method of organization.
By dividing the operations into several groups, each list becomes short and
synoptic (a quick summary).  And if you don't like the default grouping of
operations, you can always define your own.

        As for the operators themselves, many look strangely familiar for an
ADPro (ASDG's Art Department Professional) user.  The Balance window, for
instance, is more or less identical to that of ADPro (except that you can
select the colour space with ImageFX:  RGB, HSV, or CMYK).  Another
difference is that ImageFX lacks the intermediate colour table of ADPro.
Once you Okay any balance changes, these are applied to the buffer.  This is
unfortunate, as you lose some information each time you modify the colour
balance (overflow/multiple-colours-to-one).  Of course, ImageFX can Undo any
changes, but that's hardly the ideal way of handling this.  (Also, an
intermediate colour map would probably be quite slow if the balancing was
performed in the HSV colour space; but for RGB and CMYK, it would simply be
a LUT for each RGB component.)  HSV balancing means you can "rotate" the
colours (purple becomes red, yellow becomes green, etc.), by adjusting the
Hue.  A fun effect, if not particularly useful.  The way I use this feature
is to try out the settings in a small region of the image (and Undo them
again) until the results are satisfactory, then apply to the full image.  So
it's not so bad after all, just different I guess.

        One of ImageFX's biggest fortes is the processing of regions.  Most
of the above operations can be performed on any user-defined region of the
image.  (The operations that don't support it are the ones for which regional
processing makes no sense, such as Size.)  A region can be a box, polygon,
or any free-hand closed shape.  The region is defined simply by moving the
pointer up to the Preview screen and drawing it.  There are also three
buttons marked R, G, and B, respectively, that can be used to select which
one(s) of the Red, Green, and Blue buffers to operate on.  For instance, you
can deselect Red and Green, and run Dynamic Range.  Minimums and maximums
are then sought for, and modifications applied to, the Blue buffer only.

        Again, I find ImageFX's approach very sensible.  The modular design
makes it an extremely flexible and powerful program; almost ANY operator can
be applied to almost ANY region of ANY subset of the RGB buffers, simply by
clicking a button or three.  I find the handling of regions very intuitive
and easy to use.

        ImageFX also supports Epson and Sharp scanners, plus a few
digitizers.  I haven't tested any of these modules.  There's also good
printing support (Preferences and PostScript).  Oh yes, and there's a great
warping/morphing program supplied as well... a special version of CineMorph,
which works in tandem with ImageFX (e.g., it can use ImageFX's Load, Save,
and Render modules).  And there's IMP (ImageFX's version of Sentry, more or
less), and the well-known Viewtek image viewer.


AREXX INTERFACE

        As I said, ImageFX is packed with features.  Nevertheless, I find
its ARexx interface adds even more power.  ImageFX's ARexx port is definitely
the most extensive I have ever seen in any program.  Not just a tool for
interprocess communication and macro generation, ARexx is of course a
general programming language.  This means that complete application programs
can be written under ImageFX/ARexx, though speed might be a problem
with an interpreted ARexx script.

        As one example of the range of ImageFX's ARexx port, I can mention
the ComplexRequest command.  This is used to build user-defined requesters!
Such requesters can contain integer, string, checkbox, and cycle gadgets
(and more).  The gadgets are defined in an ARexx stem variable.  Not all of
the standard Intuition gadgets can be defined -- for instance, radio buttons
and sliders (potentiometers), are missing -- but it has all that's NECESSARY
for any requester.

        Other commands allow you to read and write the RGB values of any
pixel of the current image, to draw "virtual" lines and boxes on the preview
screen, to add wedges (like notifying an ARexx port when the left mouse
button is clicked), and so on.  Of course, all the regular stuff is there
too -- load, operate, render, save, etc.  Preview screen updating can be
temporarily turned off via ARexx for faster operation.

        Many commands have synonyms - Mono2Grey can also be written
MonoToGrey, Mono2Gray, and MonoToGray.  Very elegant.

        One command that seems to be missing is a multiple-file requester.
This isn't too much of a problem, though, as I use Rafael D'Halleweyn's
RexxReqTools.library for these (and other) requesters anyway.

        About 200 pages of ImageFX's manuals are devoted to the ARexx
interface.  However, you can also create ARexx macros without ever reading
the manual!  ImageFX 1.50 has a "learn" mode, where all actions are
"translated" to ARexx and stored in a file.  For example, to create an anim
from a set of individual files, you can (1) turn on learn mode, (2) set the
desired rendering options, (3) load, render, and save the first image, (4)
turn off learn mode, and (5) add a DO I=1 TO N loop to the script. ET VOILA,
a complete ARexx script for creating anims.  (Well, more or less...)

        ImageFX comes with very few pre-written ARexx scripts.  This isn't
really a problem if you're familiar with ARexx, but newcomers to this weird
and wonderful language would probably have wanted more scripts.  Of course,
the need for pre-defined ARexx scripts is also alleviated by the Learn mode.


OTHER ASPECTS

        I have to mention a few of the other features of this package.  First
of all, ImageFX contains a rather useful online help function.  An
operation-sensitive AmigaGuide manual pops up any time you press the Help
key (except when ImageFX is busy).  Although not more than a quick
reference, it can save quite a few look-ups in the paper manual.

        ImageFX also comes with its own virtual memory system, which can be
configured in several ways -- "Use Always", "Never", "When Needed", "Ask
Before Using".  You can specify the maximum amount of RAM to use, and the
VMEM page size in KBytes.

        I find ImageFX's memory handling system good, but not ideal.  With
any setting except "Never Use VMEM", ImageFX automatically allocates and
holds on to the specified maximum amount of RAM.  This memory has to be
contiguous.  If you use Ask or When Needed, the program will use any extra
(not necessarily contiguous) available RAM before it goes to virtual
memory.  One problem with this is that ImageFX sometimes runs out of memory
when rendering (or, to be precise, when making histograms for CLUT
selection.  The histogram memory must also be contiguous).  There might be a
way to limit the amount of RAM to use for the buffer, but I haven't found it
yet.

        If you select "Never Use VMEM", ImageFX allocates memory only when it
is needed.  The memory does not have to be contiguous.  ImageFX needs only 3
bytes per pixel for the buffer.  (ADPro always allocates 4 bytes per pixel,
using the extra one for rendering.)

        After having used the "Ask Before Using VMEM" initially, I have now
switched to "Always Use VMEM", with about 1.5 MB as maximum amount of RAM to
use.  This setting is good for multitasking (plenty of Fast RAM available),
and I never have memory problems when rendering.  If the whole buffer fits
in the 1.5 MB of memory, VMEM isn't really used.  I can also use huge 24-bit
images (2000x1500, say) without any problems.

        (I am actually running ImageFX on another screen with a 1280x1024x24
picture as I am typing this... while playing a MOD with MultiPlayer, and
running about a dozen other commodities, etc.  And I still have (checking...)
about 1 MB of free Fast RAM!)

        Unfortunately, at least one effect (Oil Transfer) will not work on
disk-based buffers.  I have no idea why.

        One last feature: ImageFX has a VERY useful Undo/Redo command.
Multiple Undo is supported; the maximum number of Undos is user-specified.
It's only limited by the free RAM and/or disk space of your machine.


DOCUMENTATION

        As ImageFX 1.50 comes with approximately 600 pages of documentation,
one might think that this subject was handled excellently.  Wrong.  In fact,
the documentation is my one major gripe about this package.

        First of all, the main manual describes only ImageFX 1.03.  All
modifications and extensions for version 1.50 are described in a separate
addendum.  This is perhaps marginally acceptable for people who have
upgraded to 1.50, but it's intolerable for new users.  What are we supposed
to do?  Read both manuals at the same time?  (It might seem that this is the
intention, because the 1.50 addendum doesn't even fit into the original
binder!)  No, this isn't good enough, GVP.

        Secondly, I find the manual a bit too shallow.  The explanation of
some operators is rather superficial.  For instance, what algorithm is used
for "Smooth" scaling?  Is it a bilinear approximation?  The manual only
states that "Smooth mode smoothly anti-aliases the image as it is
rescaled"... wow, I would never have guessed!  Well, I guess the manual is
OK for beginners.  It is definitely too shallow for advanced users.

        Thirdly, it's difficult to navigate the manual.  As previously
mentioned, the manual's coverage of the ARexx interface spans about 200
pages.  Yet it is only given one line in the Contents, and there's no
chapter introduction detailing the disposition.  You have to browse through
it to find that it contains (1) 127 pages of commands, (2) a 7-page Quick
Reference, (3) loading commands, (4) rendering commands, and so on.

        This might sound awfully harsh, so I should say that the manual IS
usable.  As a matter of fact, it's about average for this kind of software.
It's just not the same excellent quality as the rest of this package.


LIKES AND DISLIKES

        I really like the flexible, extensible and customizable nature of
ImageFX.  It can be configured to suit pretty much anyone's taste.  The
program's number of features is formidable.  Having used ImageFX extensively
for about a month, I still feel like I'm only scratching the surface of this
program (and I usually get the hang of programs very quickly).

        The ARexx interface is also brilliant.  As is the regional
processing, the 24-bit painting tools, the always-present Preview buffer,
not to mention the consistent and pretty (once you've tailored it to your
personal taste) GUI.  Also, virtual memory and multiple Undo are wonderful
features.  Finally, I like the fact that everything is included in the basic
package; no vital tools are sold separately.

        I dislike that some effects don't work with VMEM buffers.  And I
STRONGLY dislike the poorly written and assembled manual. Also, the AGA
chipset is supported only for preview and rendering.  For instance, the
palette screen is only LoRes HAM6, with a 12-bit colour space (at least it
looks that way to me).

        I would like to see more ARexx macros supplied with the package.


COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

        It is of course impossible to test this package without comparing it
to ASDG's Art Department Professional.  I have used ADPro for some time,
including the current version (2.3.0).  I have only very slight experience
with ImageMaster, so I can't really compare ImageFX to that product.

        ImageFX can do more or less everything that ADPro can.  Quality and
time consumption are also quite similar.  But ImageFX can do much, much more
than ADPro, and some operations are a lot easier to perform.

        Furthermore, ImageFX utilizes the Amiga's intrinsic advantages much
better than ADPro does:

        o       Multiple and "split" screens.
        o       A HAM screen for the palette.
        o       Images are rendered directly to auto-scrolling screens in
                Chip RAM (ultra-fast scrolling of large images).
        o       Good memory usage (multitasking-friendly).
        o       HAM8 preview mode.
        o       Gadgets, requesters, etc.

        ADPro, on comparison, is designed almost as if it were a PC product.
But sure, it works, and it's quite easy to get used to.  And there are a few
options that are unique to ADPro; e.g., the Antique operator.

        I seriously can see no reason why anyone would use ADPro once they
get to know ImageFX.  Being an image processing scientist, I have used quite
a few IP packages professionally (under Unix and VAX/VMS).  I can honestly
say that ImageFX comes quite close to several of these.


BUGS

        The program is reasonably bug-free.  I've noticed a few minor bugs,
but nothing really serious.  ImageFX seems very stable; it has never crashed
on my machine, without being SERIOUSLY provoked.

        One "bug" is that small rendering screens sometimes look like
complete garbage.  This is actually a bug of the AGA chipset, which
apparently doesn't handle arbitrary screen widths.  The screens look right
when moved horizontally.  However, if the machine is not meant to handle
such screens, ImageFX should not try to open them.


SUPPORT

        Author Tom Krehbiel and co-author Kermit Royce Woodall are both on
the Internet.  Kermit frequently answers ImageFX questions in the USENET
newsgroup comp.sys.amiga.graphics.  I have e-mailed Tom Krehbiel with a
question, and he answered me a few days later.

        Telephone and fax numbers to GVP Technical Support are given in the
manual.  I haven't tried these.


CONCLUSIONS

        ImageFX is a very good program, quite possibly the best Amiga
program I have ever used. On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd give it a 9: The
program and the UI are a solid 10, but the manual is hardly worth more than
6.

        ImageFX is highly customizable, and it really utilizes the Amiga
(multiple/split screens, HAM, multitasking-friendly, ARexx, etc).  The ARexx
interface is the best I've ever seen, and allows for creation of complete
new image processing applications.

        The program is also very stable.  In my opinion, ImageFX is well
worth its price.


COPYRIGHT NOTICE

        Copyright 1993 Per Espen Hagen. All rights reserved.

        The author can be contacted on e-mail as per.e.hagen@ffi.no
        (or peh@ffi.no if you're lazy...)



@endnode

@node P1-13 "UseNet Review - AmiCDROM v1.4"
@toc "menu"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%% Usenet Review:  AmiCDROM v1.4                        By Dylan McNamee %%
%%                                             (dylan@cs.washington.edu) %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%



PRODUCT NAME

        AmiCDROM version 1.4


BRIEF DESCRIPTION

        This is the first freely distributable CD-ROM filesystem for the
Amiga.  It supports the ISO-9660 standard, the Rockridge extensions, and
Macintosh HFS.  It includes source in C.  It works.

        The program is available on the Aminet ftp sites in the file
/pub/aminet/disk/cdrom/AmiCDROM-1.4.lha.


AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

        Name:           Frank Munkert
        Address:        Zum Froschbruecklein 5
                        90411 Nuernberg
                        Germany

        E-mail:         ln_fmu@pki-nbg.philips.de


LIST PRICE

        Free.


SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

        HARDWARE

                Any Amiga with a SCSI host adapter supporting "SCSI Direct."
                A SCSI CD-ROM drive.

        SOFTWARE

                Apparently works with AmigaDOS versions 1.3 through 2.1.
                (I tested it only on version 2.1.)


COPY PROTECTION

        None.


MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

        Amiga 2500/30
        Commodore 2091 SCSI controller
        Apple CD300 CD-ROM drive (see a previous comp.sys.amiga.reviews
                review of this excellent drive)
        Kickstart 2.04, Workbench 2.1

INSTALLATION

        For AmigaDOS versions previous to 2.1, installation consists of
slightly modifying a supplied Mountlist template, adding it to your
DEVS:Mountlist file, and then copying the cdrom-handler file to your L:
directory.

        For DOS version 2.1 and above, installation consists of dragging the
"CD0" icon into the DEVS:DosDrivers drawer, changing the icon's "info" to
specify your CD-ROM's unit number, and copying cdrom-handler to L:.  It would
be nice to have an Installer script, for newer Amiga users; but even as is,
installation is quite easy.


REVIEW

        Once installed, AmiCDROM makes a CD-ROM drive accessible by an
Amiga.  Operation is transparent and fast.  Once you mount the CD device
(e.g., "mount CD0:"), discs inserted into the CD-ROM drive show up on the
Amiga Workbench, accessible just like an ordinary read-only device.  It
works as advertised.  I was able to read the following discs with AmiCDROM:

        Aminet CD-ROM (from Walnut Creek CD-ROM)
        Kodak's PhotoCD sampler (came with Apple CD300)
        Lost Treasures of Infocom 2 CD-ROM
        Lemmings CDTV
        Hypermedia's Fish Collection
        Various Mac HFS CD-ROMS
        Various MS-DOS & Windows CD-ROMS (junk I had lying around)


DOCUMENTATION

        The archive comes with a "README" and a "doc" file.  The doc file is
slightly technical but very readable.  A simple AmigaGuide help file would
have been useful, but this is an excellent first effort.


LIKES AND DISLIKES

        I am amazed by this program.  It has always seemed strange that all
the CD-ROM filesystems for the Amiga were commercial, but the situation has
persisted for years, effectively adding $40 to $90 (US) to any CD-ROM
purchase.  This program eliminates that extra cost for most CD-ROM users.
Even more amazing is that it comes with source code, virtually ensuring a
continuing stream of improvements and support.

        Frank mentions in the documentation that Amiga protection bits are
currently not supported, but will be added in a future version.

        In addition, the program does not support discs with the following
features, simply because the author doesn't have access to discs with these
attributes:

        - Interleaved mode (ISO)
        - Multi-disk volumes (ISO)
        - Multi-volume disks (ISO)
        - Logical blocks other than 2048 bytes (ISO)
        - Deep directory relocation (Rock Ridge)


COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS

        The only other CD-ROM filesystem I have used is CDROM-FS, from
Canadian Prototype Replicas.  CDROM-FS supports one less filesystem (no HFS
support) and the same set of CD-ROM drives.  It has a bug which caused me to
try AmiCDROM in the first place -- using "lha" to extract large archives
directly from CD-ROM always hangs my Amiga.  I haven't reported this bug to
CPR, because I haven't been able to contact them.  (I wrote a letter over a
year ago, trying to get an updated version of the software, and never
received a reply.  My current version of CDROM-FS was updated by my dealer,
after much hassle.)

        Aside from CPR's CDROM-FS bug, the products are quite similar,
except for the following cosmetic differences:

        o       CDROM-FS displays non-Amiga discs on Workbench with a fancy
                icon.  AmiCDROM displays them with a generic disk icon.

        o       CDROM-FS comes with an Installer script and AmigaGuide
                documentation, and AmiCDROM does not.

        o       CDROM-FS comes with a program to control the playing of
                audio CD's.  This program is much like Jukebox (available on
                the Aminet ftp sites) which I have found to be an excellent
                substitute.  A bug in previous versions of AmiCDROM
                prevented audio CD programs from working, but it has been
                fixed.

        A previous version of AmiCDROM has been compared to other CD-ROM
filesystems, and was found to be slower, due to lack of caching.  The
current version has added caching, but I haven't heard of any more recent
benchmarks.


BUGS

        I found no bugs.  (One net reader reports some Enforcer hits,
but hasn't been able to attribute them to AmiCDROM for sure.)


VENDOR SUPPORT

        You get source code, and Frank's on the internet.  Support just
doesn't come better than that.  In the past couple months, AmiCDROM has had
three updates.


CONCLUSIONS

        I'm amazed by this program.  Out of nowhere, this program reduces
the cost of almost every Amiga CD-ROM drive by $40.  Frank should be thanked
and commended for his efforts (I guess that's what I'm doing here...).
Thanks Frank!

        I give it a hearty two thumbs up.  On a scale of 1 to 5 shiny discs,
I give AmiCDROM a solid 4.9.  If it came with an Installer script and an
AmigaGuide help file, this would raise my rating to 5.





@endnode

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

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%                           Dealer Directory                            %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%



                           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
                     Internet:  B.GRAY@genie.geis.com


                        Brian Fowler Computers Ltd
                                11 North St
                                  Exeter
                                   Devon
                                  EX4 3QS
                              United Kingdom
                           Voice: (0392) 499 755
                           Fax:   (0392) 423 480
                Internet:  brian_fowler@cix.compulink.co.uk


                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


                        Comspec Communications Inc
                  Serving your computing needs since 1976
                              74 Wingold Ave
                             Toronto, Ontario
                             Canada   M6B 1P5
                     Computer Centre:   (416) 785-8348
          Service, Corporate & Educational Sales: (416) 785-3553
                            Fax:  416-785-3668
                   Internet:  bryanf@comcorp.comspec.com
                              bryanf@accesspt.north.net


                       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


                           Wonder Computers Inc.
                             1315 Richmond Rd.
                      Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2B 8J7
                           Voice:  613-596-2542
                           Fax:    613-596-9349
                           BBS:    613-829-0909


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

@endnode 

@node P1-14  "The Grapevine"
@toc "menu"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%                             The Grapevine                             %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


- Detroit, Michigan
  -----------------
  
  Okay, it's not computer news at all, but it's interesting.  On January
3rd, 1994, Bob Lutz, President and CEO of Chrysler Corporation, announced
that the Dodge Viper GTS Coupe will see production.  The vehicle will be
a 1996 model, and will not go into production until the first quarter of
1996.  Marketing strategies and pricing have not been set, and dealers
cannot accept orders at this time.  Stay tuned for future announcements.


@endnode

@node P1-15 "Humor Department"
@toc "menu"

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%                         The Humor Department                          %%
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


From the Internet.  Anyone who has used one of the new PDA (Personal
Digital Assistant) devices like the Apple Newton or Tandy Zoomer will
appreciate this:

	Q:  How many Newtons does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
     A:  Foux!  There to eat lemons, axe gravy soup.


[Editor's Note:  Get it??]


@endnode

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

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
%%                       _    _       __  ___    _                       %%
%%                      /\\  |\\   /| || //  \  /\\                      %%
%%                     /  \\ | \\ /|| ||(< __  /  \\                     %%
%%                    /--- \\|  \/ || || \\_||/--- \\                    %%
%%                   /______________________________\\                   %%
%%                  /                                \\                  %%
%%              Amiga Report International Online Magazine               %%
%%                  January 14, 1994 ~ Issue No. 2.02                    %%
%%                 Copyright © 1994 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.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

@endnode


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

@{"   From the Editor's Desk  " link P1-1} Saying it like it is!
@{"   Computer Product News   " link P1-2} Product Announcements and Info
@{"         AR Online         " link P1-3} The lines are buzzing!
@{"         CES Report        " link P1-4} A look at the games
@{"         CES Report        " link P1-5} 32/64-bit game platforms
@{"        CD32 at CES        " link P1-6} CBM launches the new games console
@{"    A3000 Sparkle Defect   " link P1-7} Problems with the A3000?
@{" Lesser Known Amiga Models " link P1-8} A look at those that didn't make it
@{" Programmers and Databases " link P1-9} You don't need them ..or do you?
@{"   The Emulation Rambler   " link P1-10} Cyrix 486 speed tests
@{" The Amiga on the InterNet " link P1-11} The IRC
@{"       UseNet Review       " link P1-12} ImageFX v1.50
@{"       UseNet Review       " link P1-13} AmiCDROM v1.4
@{"       The Grapevine       " link P1-14} We heard it through the grapevine!
@{"   The Humor Department    " link P1-15} 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...
@{"  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"


No files are available


@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
         MebbsNet/Starnet Support/Distribution Site West Coast USA
                         * Running MEBBSNet BBS *
                            Larry Cloud, Sysop
                            FidoNet:  1:350/30
                            MaxNet:  90:180/10
                  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.  Freq's are valid at ANY time.

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 #5 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
                  Sysop Email:  sysadmin@junct9.royle.org

      Line 1  +44 (0)372 271000  14400  V.32bis/HST   FidoNet 2:440/20
      Line 2  +44 (0)372 278000  14400  V.32bis only  FidoNet 2:440/21
      Line 3  +44 (0)372 279000  2400   V.42bis/MNP

                   Internet:  user_name@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.fipnet.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 Hayes Optina 28.8 V.FC
                            Biloxi, Mississippi


@endnode
                 ------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-13 "Talk City"
@toc "menu"


                               * TALK CITY *
                  Official Amiga Report Distribution Site
   708-372-0190 - 2400bps   708-372-0268 - V32 14.4K  708-372-0283 USR DS 14.4K
     Fido Net 1:115/372,0  Phantom Net 11:2115/2.0  Clink Net 911:6080/4.0 
                            UUCP tcity.com

        Over 3 Gig of Files Online  |  More and More things everyday.

With Three IBM CD-ROMs online, 10 lines, support for all platforms, and a REALLY
dedicated sysop (The Mayor).


@endnode
                 ------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-14 "Amiga BBS"
@toc "menu"


                               * Amiga BBS *
                  Official Amiga Report Distribution Site
                        * Running Excelsior! BBS *
                         Alejandro Kurczyn, Sysop
                             FidoNet  4:975/7
                         First Amiga BBS in Mexico
                        (5) 887-3080   9600 V32,MNP
                         Estado de Mexico,  Mexico


@endnode
                 ------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-15 "The Stygian Abyss"
@toc "menu"



                         * THE STYGIAN ABYSS BBS *
                    312-384-0616  14.4 USR Courier HST
                    312-384-6250  14.4 Supra V.32 bis (FREQ line)
                    312-384-0716  2400 USR Courier

  FIDONet-1:115/384.0    CLink-911:6200/2.0  NWNet-206:310/0.0--206:310/1.0
      PhantomNet Central States Cooridinator-11:2115/0.0--11:2115/1.0
      FaithNet Central States Cooridinator-700:6000/0.0--700:6000/1.0
                     AMINet Chicagoland HUB-559:2/5.0
                             Chicago, Illinois

     Over 4 GIGS of files  I  Over 3700 MODS  I  Over 120 On-Line Games
              Tons of digitized sounds  I  Over 15,000 GIFS
           Supporting:  Amiga  I  IBM  I  Macintosh  I C=64/128
              SIR SAMMY-SysOp     Enter.......If you dare!!

@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
                 --------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-58 "Amiga Central"
@toc "menu"


                            * AMIGA CENTRAL! *
                  Official Amiga Report Distribution Site
                          CNet Amiga Support Site
                        * Running CNet Amiga BBS *
                            Carl Tashian, Sysop
                  Internet mail:  root@amicent.raider.net
                   615-383-9679  1200-14.4Kbps V.32bis
                             24 hours - 7 days
                           Nashville, Tennessee


Hardware: Amiga 3000 Tower 68030+882@25MHz, 105 meg Quantum, 225 meg Seagate,
Zoom 14.4k modem

@endnode
                 --------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-59 "Continental Drift"
@toc "menu"


                         * CONTINENTAL DRIFT BBS *
                  Official Amiga Report Distribution Site
        * Running MAXsBBS software (DLG Pro is being delivered!) *
                   Murry Chaffer & Andre Lackman, Sysops
                               +612 9188375
                            24 hours -  7 days
                            Sydney, Australia 


@endnode
                 --------------------------------------------
@node P2-1-60 "Guru Meditation:
@toc "menu"



                            * GURU MEDITATION *
             Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- Spain
                         * Running Remote Access *
                            Javier Frias, SysOp
                              +34-1-383-1317  V.32bis
                             24 hours - 7days
                                   Spain

@endnode
