@database "ar401.guide"
@Node MAIN "Amiga Report Online Magazine #4.01 -- January 16, 1996"
===========================================================================
  January 16, 1996            @{" Turn the Page " link MENU}             Issue No. 4.01
===========================================================================
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                 "THE Online Source for Amiga Information!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    @{"     Where to Get AR      " link WHERE}             @{"     Advertisements      " link COMMERCIAL}
 Mailing List &  Distribution Sites     Online Services, Dealers, Ordering
               ______________________________________________
         //   |                                              |       //
========//====|  Amiga Report International Online Magazine  |======//=====
==   \\//     |  Issue No. 4.01            January 16, 1996  |   \\//    ==
==============|  "THE Online Source for Amiga Information!"  |=============
              |______________________________________________|
@endnode
@node JASON "Editor"
@toc STAFF

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

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

               Fax                                      Phone
               ---                                      -----
           708/741-0689                             708/332-6243
@endnode
@node KATIE "Assistant Editor"
@toc STAFF

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

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

                                 Internet
                                 --------
                            Kati@cup.portal.com
@endnode
@node ROBERT "Senior Editor"
@toc STAFF

===========================================================================
                               SENIOR EDITOR
===========================================================================

                               Robert Niles
                               ============
            Internet                                   Address
            --------                                   -------
        rniles@Wolfe.NET                           506 W. Orchard
                                                   Selah, WA 98942

            FidoNet                                      Fax
            -------                                      ---
           1:3407/103                                509/697-5064
@endnode
@node WILLIAM "Contributing Editor"
@toc STAFF

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I really really wanted to kick off Amiga Report's fourth year of
publication (wow, that sounds cool to say) on a rip-roaringly positive
note.

Unfortunately, 1996 arrived rather unremarkably for Amiga users worldwide.
While new releases are showing up, none are doing so with any great
fanfare.  News from Amiga Technologies has been virtually nonexistant--and
what news there is, is bad.  Almost all of AT's UK office has been
released, AT UK now consists of two people at one of Escom UK's facilities.

Australian Amiga 1200s are reportedly selling at less than a breakneck
pace, but they ARE selling.  North America has yet to see Amiga
Technologies A1200s released, but more than one company has been able to
procure unsold Commodore stock.  4000T delivery has been slowed by the
major snowstorm in the Pennsylvania area, so SMG says.

In Europe, everyone is waiting to hear great things about the imminent (?)
A1200+ and even greater things about the progress of the PowerPC project.
Instead, we're eating static.

Amiga Atlanta's 10th anniversary banquet is just a few short days away.
It'll be fun to see Dave Haynie and Fred Fish again, as well as the AAI
crew and the guests at the banquet.  I need to write a speech between now
and then, and of course will have a report when I return for AR 4.02.

Meanwhile, enjoy Amiga Report's first entry into the new year!  May 1996 be
better than all other years for the Amiga.  50 weeks to go...

Jason

P.S. Over the Christmas holiday, both of Amiga Report's listservs were
lost--the machines were taken out of service by powers greater than ours or
our list maintainers.  If 

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

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

@{"      Desktop Supply Shop      " link AD1}  Hard drives and Amiga supplies

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

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

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node AD1
@toc COMMERCIAL

                             .----------------------.
      JANUARY 1996           | DESKTOP SUPPLY SHOP  |  VOL. 01  ISSUE 10
                             |     P.O. BOX 841     |
         EMAIL:              |JENISON, MI 49429-0841|        PHONE: 
 maciakt@river.it.gvsu.edu   `----------------------'    (616)662-4147
                            WWW: HOME PAGE COMING SOON!

     == ALL PRODUCTS ARE NEW AND HAVE FULL MANUFACTURER WARRANTIES! ==
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------
  * JANUARY SPECIAL *  QUANTUM 3.5" SCSI 4 GIG ATLAS 7200 RPM's FOR $999
 .----------------------------------. .-------------------------------------.
 | 3.5" SCSI-2 INTERNAL HARD DRIVES  |    3.5" IDE INTERNAL HARD DRIVES     |
 | QUANTUM 850 MB TRAILBLAZER  $210  |  CONNER 540 MB FILEPRO          $190 |
 | FUJITSU 1 GIGABYTE PICOBIRD $275  |  QUANTUM 850 MBYTE TRAILBLAZER  $210 |
 | QUANTUM 1 GIGABYTE FIREBALL $285  |  QUANTUM 1.2 GIGABYTE FIREBALL  $265 |
 | SEAGATE 1 GIG MEDALIST SL   $290  | +NEW PRODUCT+ CONNER 1.6 GIG    $330 |
 | CONNER 1.060 GIGABYTE       $295  | +NEW PRODUCT+ SEAGATE 2.1 GIG   $420 |
 | CONNER 2 GIGABYTE           $635  `--------------------------------------'
 | FUJITSU 2 GIGABYTE ALLEGRO  $670  . 2.5" INT HARD DRIVES (NOTEBOOK/A1200).
 | QUANTUM 2 GIGABYTE CAPELLA  $685  |  TOSHIBA 19mm 810 MEGABYTE IDE  $460 |
 | FUJITSU 4 GIGABYTE          $965  |  TOSHIBA 19mm 1.3 GIGABYTE IDE  $590 |
 | CONNER 4 GIGABYTE          $1000  |  QUANTUM EUROPA 12mm 540 MB IDE $320 |
 | MICROPOLIS 9 GIG SCORPIO   $2225  |  QUANTUM EUROPA 19mm 810 MB IDE $480 |
 `-----------------------------------'  QUANTUM EUROPA 19mm 1.08 GB IDE$535 |
 .        5.25" CD ROM DRIVES        |  QUANTUM DAYTONA 341 MB  *SCSI* $160 |
 | TOSHIBA 6.7 SPEED SCSI (Int) $340 |  QUANTUM DAYTONA 514 MB  *SCSI* $210 |
 | TEAC SIX-SPEED    IDE  (Int) $250 `--------------------------------------'
 `-----------------------------------' ASK ABOUT CASES TO MAKE EXTERNAL HD's
 -INTEGERAL PERIPHERALS (1.8" TYPE 3)- 
  --.VIPER PCMCIA 170 MB HD $330.--          =SANDISK PCMCIA FLASH RAM=
    |VIPER PCMCIA 260 MB HD $405|        -PERFECT FOR DIGITAL CAMERA FILM!-
    |VIPER PCMCIA 340 MB HD $485|        ---.1.8mb PCMCIA RAM CARD $160 .--
    `---------------------------'           |2.5mb PCMCIA RAM CARD $190 |
 SYQUEST EZ 135MB SCSI2 DRIVE Ext $245      |5.0mb PCMCIA RAM CARD $265 |
 SYQUEST EZ 135MB *IDE* DRIVE Int $205      |10 mb PCMCIA RAM CARD $390 |
    EZ 135 MB DRIVE CARTRIDGES $22          |20 mb PCMCIA RAM CARD $640 |
                                            |40 mb PCMCIA RAM CARD $1020|
  PC 3.5" High Density Floppy Drives        |85 mb PCMCIA RAM CARD $2155|
 3.5" MITSUMI 1.44 meg HD Floppy  $36       `---------------------------'
 3.5" TEAC    1.44 meg HD Floppy  $40      DIGITAL CAMERA'S COMING SOON!
 --------------------------------------+----------------------------------
=FAST DATA/FAX MODEMS FOR PC/MAC/AMiGA=| 24 BIT FLATBED SCANNERS BY MIGRAPH
PM 14.4 FAX-MODEM MINI-TOWER (Ext) $105| -DESIGNED FOR YOUR AMIGA COMPUTER-
USR 14.4 SPORTSTER FAX-MODEM (Ext) $125| MS1200 - 1200DPI COLOR SCANNER $865
SUPRA 28.8 V.34 FAX-MODEM    (Ext) $220| MS2400 - 2400DPI COLOR SCANNER $990
USR 28.8 SPORTSTER FAX-MODEM (Ext) $225| OCR AND PC SCSI INTERFACE AVAILABLE
 --------------------------------------+----------------------------------
AMIGA 4000T - 25MHZ 68040 WITH 6mb RAM, 1 GIG FUJITSU HARD DRIVE WITH MOUSE
              KEYBOARD, FLOPPY, MANUALS , AGA CHIPSET, ADOS 3.1! ---> $2699
 
                [-------------- AMiGA PRODUCTS --------------]
   VLAB MOTION WITH TOCATTA     $2040  VLAB MOTION W/O TOCATTA       $1645
  *SUPERGEN SX                   $665 *CYBERSTORM 060/50mhz ACCEL.   $1325
  *WARP ENGINE 060/50mhz A4000  $1495 *WARP ENGINE 060 A3000/A4000T  $1495
   TekMAGIC (GVP)040/33mhz SCSI2 $950  TekMAGIC (GVP) 040/40mhz SCSI2$1125
  *CYBERVISION 64bit GFX w/4mb   $630 *CYBERVISION 64bit GFX w/2mb    $495
  *RETINA 24bit GFX ZorroII 4mb  $555  RETINA 24bit GFX ZorroIII 4mb  $740
   24Bit Picasso II (w2mb)       $350  TOCATTA 16bit Audio Digitizer  $440
   A1260 BLIZZARD ACCELERATOR    $975  CLARITY 16 FOR A1200           $199
   A1200 COBRA ACCEL. 030/40mhz  $225  COBRA FERRET (SCSI-2 ADD ON)    $99
   DATAFLYER XDS 1200 3.5" IDE    $85  DATAFLYER XDS 1200 SCSI PLUS    $95
   BIG FOOT a500/a1200 POWER SUP. $95  DATAFLYER OPTIONAL POWER SUPPLY $85
   DKB 1202 RAM BOARD 0k (up 8mb)$125  CD-1401 14" MULTISCAN MONITOR  $525
   DKB MEGACHIP                  $225  DATAFLYER 2000 SCSI CONTROLLER $100
   LINK IT PROGRAM (SERIAL PORT)  $39  ARIADNA ETHERNET CARD 10baseT  $290
   1X4 STATIC COLUMN ZIP RAM $27.50ea  4 MB GVP 32bit SIMM            $220
   AMIGA 2 BUTTON MOUSE $25   TriMedia Drawing Board 3 12X12 3 Button $570
   AMIGA 3 BUTTON MOUSE $30   TriMedia Drawing Slate 6X9 Tablet       $360
    DERRINGER PLATINUM A500 ACCELLERATOR 50mhz 68030 with 50mhz MMU   $525
    A500/A2000 3.1 AMIGA DOS ROM ENHANCER KITS (3.1 CHIP and MANUALS) $145
 
ITEMS WITH * COME IN AND OUT OF STOCK VERY QUICK! WE CAN BACKORDER FOR YOU!
 LOOKING FOR SOMETHING ELSE? OR WANT TO BE ADDED TO MAILING LIST? EMAIL US
 
+MI RES. ADD SALES TAX, PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE, SOME ITEMS
  MAY BE OUT OF STOCK AT TIME OF ORDER.  NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR TYPING ERRORS
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 SHIPPING AND HANDLING - USA $6 FOR MOST ITEMS, CANADA/MEXICO $15 MOST ITEMS
 OUTSIDE OF NORTH AMERICA - SHIPPING BY BOAT $20 (14 DAYS) AIR $50 (5 DAYS)
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 MUST BE PAID IN US DOLLARS! MAIL CERTIFIED CHECKS, MONEY ORDERS, NO VISA/MC!
 FOREIGN ORDERS CAN BE WIRED TO OUR ACCOUNT - IN USA $6 C.O.D. AVAILABLE!

@endnode

@node MAIL "Reader Mail"
@toc MENU

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

From: Mike.Fellhauer@canada.to.org (Mike Fellhauer)

Re: 1995 World of Amiga by C. Edward Stewart
    Amiga Report Online Magazine #3.22 -- December 18, 1995
 
Dear Editor,
 
I was reading the article titled "1995 World Of Amiga" by C.  Edward
Stewart in the December 18, 1995 issue (3.22) of Amiga Report Online
Magazine and I was angered with the following paragraph:
 
    "ABUG (Amiga Based User Group) also had a booth,
     though they were a bit less flashy than the TPUG.
     Also, ABUG had a huge pile of games, peripherals,
     computers and other Amiga paraphernalia for sale.
     Most of it was used, but all in good shape."

I am part of ABUG and I was in the booth all three days of the show.  What
C.  Edward Stewart wrote doesn't fit what we did at the show at all...we
did not have used peripherals, computers, etc.  for sale.

In our booth we had an Amiga 3000 tower and 500 running various graphical
demos...the third machine we had was my Amiga 1000 running DCTV and Deluxe
Music Construction Set hooked up to a MIDI keyboard.

The reason why I place emphasis on the 1000 is that it generated a great
deal of interest at the show...it was a highly expanded 1000 with a hard
drive in an old 1060 Sidecar case, and a Comspec Amiga Rom Module allowing
the 1000 to have 2.0 Kickstart in ROM (we had many questions from 1000
owners).

As well, there were a lot of questions asked about the Amiga and MIDI...it
was a great draw to the booth.  So great that even CITY TV, a local TV
station in Toronto who was filming the World of Amiga show, took great
interest in the Amiga 1000 and MIDI keyboard and filmed it for five
minutes.  It showed on their MediaTelevision program a week after the World
of Amiga show.

Anyway, the purpose of all this is to point out how wrong the discription
that was written about us was.  I realize that the article is submitted to
you and you can't remember details a week later, but we want you to know
how upset we were at the false discription.

Although it's great that Amiga Report is available when it is so hard to
find a North American source of Amiga information, at the same time you
should be concerned with accuracy of the information that has been
submitted for publication.

mike.fellhauer@canada.tor250.org

---  Of course I'm concerned.  I apologize for the error and oversight on
     my part not to have spent more time at the ABUG booth.  -Jason

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

From: Eyal Teler <teler@cs.huji.ac.il>
Subject: BLAZEMONGER rules

I was overjoyed to see the news about the BLAZEMONGER port.  I've been a
big fan for many years.  That was in a previous life, of course, and now
I'm a man (though a floor mat would be a better description) - you didn't
really think that fans could write e-mail, did you.

I was especially enthusiastic about the invention of the MUTILATION USER
INTERFACE.  I've always wanted to be able to configure the appearance,
size, and location of every monster in BLAZEMONGER.  Unfortunately until
now BLAZEMONGER's "Customer Service" department only enabled me to
configure the appearance, size and location of my own facial and bodily
features.

Now my only question is: when will BLAZEMONGER be ported to Weirdos 95.  I
still keep my A500 for playing BLAZEMONGER, but all my friends tell me that
I must forget the Amiga (and OS/2) and put Weirdos 95 on my PC to play the
latest games.  They make a very convincing point (some of them probably
freelance for the BLAZEMONGER "Customer Service" department).   But if I
move to Weirdos, I won't be able to play BLAZEMONGER.  What should I do?

---  The answer seems simple enough.  Simply insert the BLAZEMONGER (any
     version) floppy into the drive on your Weirdos 95 box.   The resulting
     matter-antimatter reaction should be enough to deter you from any
     further considerations of Weirdos 95 use.  If that isn't enough,
     contact your local BLAZEMONGER sales office, who I'm sure will be
     happy to, uh, encourage local retailers to carry more
     BLAZEMONGER-platform compliant software.  -Jason
@endnode
@node OPINION1 "Defining an 'Amigan'"
@toc OPINION

===========================================================================
                           Defining an "Amigan"
                              By: Guy Nathan
===========================================================================

"You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one..", the Amiga's return
can be compared to this line from a famous song.  Many said the Amiga
couldn't survive Commodore's demise, but through it all Amiga users kept
believing, having faith, in something which was much more to them than the
average PC.  It has been said only the Amiga could've died and come back
again, any other platforms would have merely died off all together.  And
this feeling has been echo'd by Amiga users, corporations which support the
Amiga, and industry critics themselves.  So on this return of the Amiga I
will attempt to define an Amigan.

Those of you who have kept up with Amigas over the years, who have
read magazines, participated in Amiga Computer user support groups,
participated in mail echos such as comp.sys.amiga areas on the
internet, and Amiga related echos through Fidonet and Amiganet, will
know most likely of the sort of feeling certain Amiga users have about
their machine. In this article I will discuss some of these feelings
expressed in the things mentioned above, and other matters which I
believe help to define an Amigan.

As a bit of background, I will start off by first discussing what the Amiga
was designed to be.  The Amiga was designed to be the Ultimate Games
Machine, and was developed and built by a dedicated bunch of computer
experts in 1982-5, who wanted to make a machine which people would think of
as something they would be proud to own.  The bunch of experts were made up
of people such as RJ Mical and Jay Miner(RIP), who designed part of the
Amigas custom chipset, and who is known to many as the "father" of the
Amiga.  Due to a lack of funds originally supplied by a trio of doctors,
the development company could no longer afford to continue development
without the aid of being bought out by a larger company.  To make a
long story short as to who bought what, when, and where the company which
ended up with it in the end is as many of you know was Commodore.  When
Commodore got hold of it, they changed several aspects of the machine, and
introduced a Disk Operating System based on Tripos.  This was coded by
Bristol-based Metacomco, a company which only prior to that had developed
for mainframes.  This helped the machine to change from a purely games
machine to a proper personal computer.  Since the A1000's release there
have been subsequent releases of newer, "better", and faster Amigas.  HAM
mode found in Amiga's wasn't supposed to have existed, and Jay was going to
remove it, but at the last minute he changed his mind (due to external
influences) and kept it.

The best way to characterize an Amigan, is probably to meet one yourself
and talk about their feelings about the Amiga PC.  An Amigan, is a computer
user who has an above average knowledge about computers in general, as
opposed to your average Mac and PC user who buy a computer because it has
the label "Multimedia" on it, or "Free 5 hours user of the Information
Superhighway".  An Amigan, is generally a person who is not afraid to
explore the limits of their machine and try to take it one step further.
They are innovative, creative, well opinionated, and many things more.  The
average PC or Mac user, when they run into a problem, will generally ring a
company for support to come in and fix it, where as an Amigan will usually
solve the problem themselves in a small amount of time, and continue going
on whatever they were doing prior to it.

Those of you who have read Amiga magazines and participated in Amiga mail
areas, will be all too familiar with Amiga Vs's X Machine debates.  An
Amigan is the type of person who is not afraid to speak out in a crowd of
PC and Mac "experts", and voice their opinion in regards to the Amiga Vs's
PCS and Macs.  They are generally well equipped with facts and other
related information about the Amiga and machines on other platforms,
whether it be information on a Pentium (tm), a Mac Quadra (tm), or even a
PowerPC.  There is a real 'flame' in an Amigans heart to defend their
machine through thick and thin, and not falling for the sheep syndrome when
times are tough.  The real test for Amigans has been the demise of
Commodore.  The Amiga gameplayers (not to be mistaken at all with Amigans),
were the first to go, and went off and jumped platforms.  Other
non-dedicated Amiga users went next, attracted by the likes of Doom I and
II, Excel, and Word 6/7, even though chances are, they wouldn't use any
more features than on their Amiga counterpart software which is also far
cheaper.  Other people who were real Amigans unfortunately had to leave for
other platforms, not by choice but due to financial and job matters.  The
most recent test for Amigans has been ESCOM'S (tm) buyout of Commodore
International (tm), and the formation of ESCOM's "Amiga Technologies"
division.  Opinions on what they can provide the Amiga with, has been
heavily disputed, and left some Amigans rather heartbroken at the thought
of it.  As a result of this, in very recent times these people have jumped
platforms as well, but being Amigans, as they still are, they have kept
their Amigas for use, whenever they feel like it.  An Amigan who jumps
platform are usually the smartest of the PC and Mac users around.

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting up with an Amigan who was one of
the first Amiga owners in the world (the Amiga was purchased from the first
batch of Amiga 1000's to ever hit Australia), and was also one of the very
first Amiga Developers here in Australia.  They told me of the experiences
they had with meeting Jay Miner, and other "famous" people in the Amigas
history, with much joy and enthusiasm as if it was only yesterday, praising
these people who put the "heart" in the Amiga.  After meeting with them I
felt a link to them in a way, like a family, ethnic community, race, or
religious link because they were another Amigan.  An Amigan is not
determined by race, religion, or anything else like that, but by ones
feelings towards a machine which makes you think it really has a heart, and
your ready to defend that machine against all odds.  In magazines you read
of people who say, "I have an Amiga but my friends have bought PCs.  I tell
them the Amiga is a better machine and they say 'Ha!  That crappy thing?? 
It cant do anything but play some really old games, it doesn't even have
doom!' (No jokes about ShapeShifter running DoomII go here =) ).  But I
know, and im right when I say my Amiga will provide me with much more
enjoyment than their PC will ever".  It is this dedication which makes an
Amigan.

Those who have noticed the number of programs on the Amiga which are freely
distributable, will know that a lot of Amiga authors do it for the love of
their machine, gaining no profit what so ever, but maybe some fame.  It is
this sort of dedication, willingness to provide something for nothing, that
makes an Amigan.  The programs which are Shareware, are usually products
which are of commercial standard, but at a non-commercial price.  On the
PC, I have found many applications which are freely distributable on the
Amiga, come at a great expense on the PC (eg.  Screenblankers, general
purpose utilities :^)).

Amigans know that although initial costs of hardware for their machine far
out weighs that of the existing competition, when it comes down to buying
applications after purchasing their machine, the Amiga user usually comes
out fairly to well infront.  For example, the price of Final Writer 4 or
WordWorth 4, if they were PC only applications would cost the user many
times more than what is currently charged, and although some Amiga users
complain that software is too expensive, they would find if they were after
the equivalent on a competing platform the costs would be higher.  The
Amiga is STILL the cheapest low-cost, true-multimedia, true-multitasking
machine with an OS which isn't system resource heavy.

Before I go on though, it must be said that words alone can't describe the
feelings involved here.  Is it Magic?  Who knows?  Amiga Tech's new "Amiga
Magic" pack may be a good way to describe the Amiga, Magic.

The announcement of a PPC (PowerPC) Amiga has left some un-sure whether
this will be just another jazzed up "Multimedia" (note quotes) PowerPC (a
bebox?  =) ), or a real Amiga, with a big step-up in the processing power
department and probably in the graphics department too.  I don't believe I
can judge whether an Amigan can be determined by which one of the above two
they choose to believe.  But with Vapourware, something founded by
Commodore ;), Amiga users have over time become more sceptical about
'promises' made, and things to be released 'real soon' which change into
being released days, months, years later, or maybe in the end, never.  What
ever happens, the release of upgrades for our Amigas are more than welcome,
as people's patience wades more and more for the Amiga to be able to come
once again up to scratch against the competition, or to once again be
innovative and do for the Computer industry again what it did back in '85.
I believe all Amigans would support this idea.

Some of us Amigans are stupid, actually we almost all are!  Why?  Because
we defy Economics, defy Business logic, defy Industry standards, defy
common sense (??  :)), and more.  But especially the fact we spend more on
our machines to turn them into powerful beasts, than Mr/Ms/etc average PC
owner would.  We spend amounts on accelerators which would buy us much
faster PC CPUS, we spend amounts on Graphics cards which are a fraction of
the price on PCs, we spend more for hardware especially made for the Amiga
when cheap clones exist which can do more for less cost on the PC.  PC owners
can buy their P5's for less than we spend on getting a 060 Upgrade CPU for
our Amigas.

But all costs aside, all dollars/pounds/etc spent, PCs still don't
come up to scratch in many areas. Their multitasking is still far
from perfect, although their "pseudo" multitasking in Win95 is
noticeably improved.  Above all PCs are still limited by their
XT-originated architecture, some thing that with all the marvels of modern
PC technologies, they still have not totally overcome.  An Amigan
recognizes this, and as a result sticks with a machine which still truly
does most of what they want, and can run Shapeshifter to do things it
doesn't ;).

It is without argument though, the PC has way more 'flashier' games
now-a-days (not necessarily better), with their 'c00l' interactive movies
(ie.  spot the section where you actually get to make a decision what to do
next and watch the pretty sequences), and the like, and obviously a lot
more games are released for this 'Business' platform =) than on our humble
Amigas.  But despite this Amigans still keep their machines, and some have
gone out and bought a Next Gen console for the purposes of playing those
'c00l' games found on the PC, and the rest of us have generally been happy
with our Colonizations, Pinball Illusions, Fears, our Gloom, our Alien
Breed 3D's, our Lemmings, and so on.

Amigans live in a world dominated by PCs, Macs, UNIX Boxes, and so on.  We
don't have as many magazines as other platforms do, we don't have as much
support by companies as other platforms do, so what do we have?  We have
Amigas, we have magazines dedicated to our machines, we have a general
ignorance about our machine in the general public, okay, so we don't have
it all, but what counts is that we've stuck by this wonder of a machine,
and still care about it just as much.  Ignoring what the competition has is
just ignorance, once you have learnt about the competition, you can then go
and say how bad it is =).

But when it comes down to defining an Amigan, in reality I can't, neither
can any other article attempt to, what I have given you here though is a
bit of an insight into what I believe might constitute an Amigan Vs's
anyone else.  Feel free to discuss this on c.s.a.* if you wish, debate over
it, whatever.  Hopefully we'll see some responses to this in the letters to
the Ed section in future issues of AR (or any other place this article may
be copied/duplicated to/in). 

Down with the Be/Pc/Mac - Long Live the Amiga!

Additional Note: I give full permission for this article to be
                 re-printed in any magazine (electronic or
                 print), but it must be an Amiga-related one,
                 and have someone preferably email me first to
                 tell me please.
@endnode
@node NEWS1 "Amiga-Link/Envoy Price Reduction"
@toc NEWS

=======================================================================
AmiTrix                   PRESS RELEASE                January 02, 1996
=======================================================================

          Amiga-Link/Envoy Networking Package Price Reduction
          ---------------------------------------------------

AmiTrix Development is pleased to announced they have just reduced the
price of their Amiga-Link/Envoy networking package for all Amigas.

Amiga-Link is a complete solution to your Amiga peer-to-peer networking
needs.  With the included software and hardware, you can share your hard
drives, printers, and also run other network applications as well.  The
package is compatible with all Amigas, using the external floppy port for
maximum compatibility across all models, while keeping the rest of the
ports available for their intended uses.

The Amiga-Link package comes with both the standard AmigaLink software and
also the Amiga Envoy software.  The Amigalink software's advantage is that
it works with Amiga WB 1.3, providing compatibility with older machines.
Amiga Envoy requires 2.04 or higher, but provides superior reliability,
device sharing, and an API that allows for the development of third-party
networking applications, with many already available.

New MSRP for the basic 2 unit package is $275.00 US, or $350.00 CAN.

Expansion kits, floppy port splitters, cable options and accesories are
also available.

Dealer and Educational Institution inquiries welcomed.

For more information or ordering AmiTrix products, contact us at:

AmiTrix Development,
5312 - 47 Street,
Beaumont, Alberta, T4X 1H9
Canada

Phone or Fax: 1+ 403-929-8459

(Please leave your mailing address on phone messages when requesting)
(information, or contact us via email at the addresses shown below.)

Email: sales@amitrix.com
 or: support@amitrix.com
http://www.networkx.com/amitrix/index.html
@endnode
@node NEWS2 "Persistence of Vision v3.0"
@toc NEWS

FREE RENDERING PROGRAM NEARS COMPLETION FOR AMIGA

[Persistence of Vision is a cross-platform project to create a free
rendering package.  We hope to run a review in the near future. -Jason]

Persistence of Vision RayTracer verison 3.0 is currently nearing completion
on most platforms, including an updated command-line version for Amigas.  A
GUI version is being worked on also (GUI renderer, as yet no modeller) for
release soon thereafter.  The 3.0 Amiga version is being developed with
full support for OCS/ECS/AGA and CyberGFX displays, and will take advantage
of windowing and color sharing on WB3.0 systems. 

Currently beta-testing is being done on versions for
68020,68020/881,68030/882, and 68040.  For release the 68020 plain version
will probably be downgraded to 68000 version, for usability on any Amiga
system (provided enough memory is present).

Information on the features new to V3.0 and some sample images are
contained in an archive called 'pov3prev.lha' in the gfx/3d section of
Aminet.  Information is also presented on the groups FTP and WWW sites,
'ftp.povray.org' and 'http://povray.org'.  The team asks that inquiries as
to release date be withheld: as soon as it's done it will be on the net,
Amiga versions will hit Aminet within hours of completion.

Amazing Computing/Amiga magazine's December issue highlighted an article
about this renderer, but covered only version 2.2, and failed to mention
that 3.0 is under beta testing, expected to be released early 1st q quarter
1996, and incorrectly lists Dave Park as the Amiga representative (he left
the team after V2.2)

Joel NewKirk
102627.1152@compuserve.com
@endnode
@node NEWS3 "Pentium-Class Bridgeboard"
@toc NEWS

NEW PENTIUM-CLASS BRIDGEBOARD APPEARS?

According to Anti-Gravity Products of California, Eagle Computer of Germany
has created a new, unique Pentium-class bridgeboard for Amiga 4000s, which
they will distribute in North America.

The board actually consists of a custom A4000 daughtercard and custom tower
case, which the A4000 motherboard must be installed in.  The new
daughtercard gives the Amiga seven Zorro-III slots and two video slots, as
well as a dedicated (to PC) PCI bus of 4 slots, one of which is inline with
the special Pentium processor card.

The bridging software will share certain input devices and a clipboard
between the Amiga and PC sides.

For more information, contact Anti-Gravity Products, 800-7-GRAVIT.
[We would welcome contact information for Eagle as well. -Jason]
@endnode
@node NEWS4 "PRETIUM Personal Finance"
@toc NEWS

PRETIUM Amiga Personal Finances Software

Innovative Digital Dynamics introduces PRETIUM, a personal finances
software package for the Amiga.  It is designed to be as simple to use as
writing in your checkbook, but advanced enough to take advantage of the
power of your Amiga.

To record a transaction (such as a deposit or withdrawl from your checking
account), simply enter the information the same way you would record the
transaction in your checkbook.  Pretium keeps your transactions sorted by
date and check number and displays a running balance.

To better organize your finances you can assign categories and
subcategories to transactions and enter extra information in the memo
field.  To mark a transaction as cleared just double-click it and the
transaction is marked with a checkmark and the on-screen cleared total is
instantly updated.

If you want a clearer picture of where your money is going, you can have it
print a report at the click of a button.  You can generate categories
reports, account reports, or reports summarizing several accounts at once.
Reports can be limited to transactions over a range of dates and sorted by
amount, date, or category.  You can view a report on-screen or send it to
your printer.

It also handles more than just checking accounts.  You can use Pretium for
keeping track of:

   * Checking accounts
   * Saving accounts
   * Credit card charges and payments
   * Petty cash funds
   * Cash transactions

In fact, you can work with up to 100 separate accounts on-screen at one
time.  Pretium also imports and exports Quicken data files.

*** FOR MORE INFO SEE <http://iag.net/~cstone> ***

PRETIUM Financial Software for the Amiga

Pretium requires AmigaDOS version 2.04 or better.  It is hard drive
installable, or it may be run from a single floppy.  A printer is optional
but but recommended.

Price: $49.95 (includes shipping & handling)

Please send a check or money order to:

   Innovative Digital Dynamics
   209 Brom Bones Lane
   Longwood, FL 32750-3821

Fax: 407-331-3175
E-mail: davido@grove.ufl.edu (fast reply guaranteed!)

*** Support Amiga software development ***

Quicken is a registered trademark of Intuit Inc.
@endnode
@node NEWS5 "ImageFX Driver for Snappy"
@toc NEWS

PLAY, INC.'S SNAPPY TO GET AN IMAGEFX DRIVER?

The Snappy is Play, Inc.'s first product.  Play was formed by the union of
two largely Amiga companies and a splinter group of Newtek employees.

The Snappy has no Amiga software support.  However, it may come to pass
that Nova Design, creators of ImageFX, will obtain the necessary code from
Play to create an ImageFX Scanner module for the Snappy, allowing access to
the $200 device for Amiga users.

Play's marketing department can be contacted at:
markr@play.com
916-851-0800

Nova Design can be reached at:

kermit@cup.portal.com.
@endnode
@node NEWS6 "'Wonder Power' A1200 Packs"
@toc NEWS

WONDER COMPUTERS TO OFFER "WONDER POWER" AMIGA 1200 PACKS IN NORTH AMERICA

January 11, 1996, Ottawa, Canada
--------------------------------

Wonder Computers' retail division today announced the new, limited edition
"Wonder Power" Amiga 1200 bundle in North America.  Despite the current
unavailability of NTSC Amiga 1200s, Wonder has obtained a number of
previously unsold Commodore Amiga 1200s and built a high-power, high-value
Amiga workstation around them.

The Wonder Power pack includes the following:

A New Amiga 1200, NTSC standard, boasting a DKB Cobra 68030/28mhz processor
and 4 additional megs of Fast RAM for a total of 6 megs of onboard memory.

A 210 meg Seagate internal 2.5 inch hard drive, with a top transfer speed
of nearly 2 megs/second.

A NEC 3D Multisync monitor, capable of displaying all of the A1200's AGA
modes.  (Refurbished by NEC, with a 1 year warranty)

Two games: Nigel Mansell and Zool 2 on floppy.

The Amiga 1200 is backed by a 1-year Wonder Computers warranty.

The price of the Wonder Power Amiga 1200 is $1499 Canadian (Approximately
$1099 US).  Contact your nearest Wonder Computer retail outlet for ordering
information.
@endnode
@node NEWS7 "Alien Breed 3D Competition"
@toc NEWS

                  THE GREAT ALIEN BREED 3D II COMPETITION

Do you have an overactive imagination?

Are you plagued by visions of bug-eyed aliens with writing tentacles and large
teeth?

Are you regularly pursued by terrifying monsters in your dreams?

                           YOU ARE?  EXCELLENT!

We are looking for a few good aliens for Alien Breed 3D II - the latest in
the stunning Alien Breed series.

If you fancy yourself as a sprite artist who knows how to use DPaint (or
any other Amiga animation program), you could find your way into Alien
Breed.

Not only will the winner have his/her/its sprite used in Alien Breed 3D II
(name subject to change), but they will also be credited in the manual and
receive all sorts of wonderful Team 17 goodies!

What you need to do

Produce animations of your alien which fit into the following
specifications :

* 256 Colours
* maximum size 128 by 128 pixels
* 6 frames of animation for each of the following views :
     + Front view
     + Left view
     + Right view
     + Back view
     + Death
* 2 frames of movement for :
     + Aiming & shooting (or about to bite & biting, depending on
       your alien)

E-mail your entries to Phil Quirke-Webster.  Alternatively, you can send
them by post to :

I've got an alien that wants to meet you
Phil Quirke-Webster
Project manager
Team 17 Software
Longlands House
Wakefield Road
Ossett
W Yorkshire
WF5 9JS
@endnode
@node NEWS8 "AmigaTech UK Relocation"
@toc NEWS

Amiga Technologies 
PRESS RELEASE
-------------
Date: 10 January 1996

Amiga Technologies are to relocate their offices from Maidenhead to
Stansted as from Monday January 29th 1996.

Full address and telephone numbers will be given once new telephone lines
have been established as we will occupy part of the Escom building, close
to Stansted Airport, which are more spacious and prestigious than those we
have currently.

Stansted has always been a consideration but Maidenhead allowed the company
to become up and running more quickly last year for the re-emergence of
Amiga computers.

As there is a team of approximately forty people in Germany supporting
areas such as finance, product evaluation and technical support, some staff
will not relocate.

John Smith / Jonathan Anderson

[In plain English, all but two Amiga Technologies UK staff are no longer
working for the company. -Jason]
@endnode
@node FEATURE1 "Amiga Internet Terminal"
@toc FEATURE

===========================================================================
                    The Amiga as the Internet Terminal
                           By: @{" Addison Laurent " link ADDISON}
===========================================================================

This is an open letter to Amiga Technologies, developers, and users.

Currently, one of the hotter Topics in the internet magazines, is the
concept of the "Internet Terminal".  Similar to the old dumb terminals hung
off of mainframes, but with access to the internet, and one would presume
some basic built in software.  Running programs remotely, through a
graphical interface.

While many current internauts laugh at such a supposition, in large
measure, that is where the use of the WWW is taking us.  A browser
connects, downloads graphic data, and the server handles the vast majority
of the CPU needed in case of programs.

With developments such as JAVA, the load can begin to be distributed, and a
"Internet terminal" becomes more feasible.  Programs can be loaded from a
remote server instead of the local drives.

The question is not if this will come, but when, and how it will look.  One
need only look at the growth in CGI-BIN programming on web pages to realise
the potential.

There are currently several companies scrambling to make a Internet
terminal, aiming for a artifically defined $500 limit in cost.

One that can be purchased, hooked up, and connected.  No fuss, no muss.

I would like to propose that one of the greatest opportunities for the
Amiga exisits right now.

We almost have that box.  Now.  Not in development.  Not in theory.
Currently. 

The Amiga 1200 is almost perfect for that description.  With a very minor
amount of work, I feel that it could _be_ a defining standard for said
Internet Terminal.

The current basic configuration has aged, however, to where it is not quite
competitive.

It would require a minimum of 4M FAST RAM, and a 33 megahertz 68030.
Easily available from several distributors.  A built in 250 megabyte hard
drive.  Again, easily done.

The only complex part is the graphics.  AGA isn't fast enough.  We need a
display similar to that enjoyed by those of us with Zorro buses and
graphics cards.

I have heard that there is a 1200 tower out, that converts a 1200
motherboard to a tower case with Zorro-III slots.  This proves the
feasibility of passing the Zorro-III information to a set of chips.  While
it would be a hack, a kludge, it would allow _fast_ development and
deployment.  For the Amiga to get into the forefront, fast movement will be
essential.

Using any of the current chips used in third party graphics cards would
simplify porting CyberGraphics to said card - which would then bring the
basic Amiga to a level to be competetive with the rest of the field.

This raises the complexity considerably, but not above the level of
ingenuity already exhibited by Amiga developers.

Is this impossible?  I don't think so.  Improbable?  Possibly.  Something
on the scale of this would require Amiga Technology's resources.  Package
deals with chains.  Marketing.  Distribution. 

_Store_ sales.  Mass merchandising.  Remember the C-64?

Things that a single Amiga Distributor can't guarantee, without Amiga
Technology's help.

And, if they did what I (and others) propose, what would it gain us?  Why
bother?

Simply put - its a niche the Amiga can own, and defend.

Of all the "Internet Terminals" I have heard described, ALL are being
developed from the ground up.  All will require new teams of developers,
new tools, new everything.

The Amiga's got it.  Now.  Developers.  Compilers.  1200's to test on. 
Internet utilities _out there now_.  Not in 6 months.  Now.

This turns the whole argument against the Amiga on its ear - usually you
hear "not enough developers developing quality software".  Given a brand
new niche, suddenly the Amiga has loads of experienced developers with
impressive resumes.  A single glance at Aminet should be enough for any
doubters.

Instead of a completely new machine, which has to built support gradually,
you have a machine with Internet resources that are stunning.  Places for
new users to visit and download software.  peripherals on the market to
buy.  Upgrade paths to newer, bigger, better machines.

A reason for dealers to stock computers, parts and have expertise.

A standard basic unit, suitable for basic use.

What would the competition be?
I cannot think of any current competition which would not require at least
8 megabytes of RAM (not counting graphics cards) to be able to perform
decently.

And lets not forget, the Amiga _can_ display on the TV, at the worst. 
$250-500 monitor not needed.

SUN? 
Very nice machines, but no experience in the consumer market, and it would
be hard to get a machine to do UN*X (where their experience lies) well with
a $500 sale price.

WinTel boxes?
Again, the $500 sale price.  With a completely re-written OS, an Intel
chipset could do well.  But that would require said re-written OS, losing
many of the development tools, programs, and compatibility.

Converted Game Machines?
This, I think, would be the greatest threat.  Developers for games are out
there.  Several of the Chipsets are much faster that the 1200s.
Distribution channels exist, and are being used.  Marketing is underway,
and with effect.  How many have been planned with a keyboard and more
memory, I do not know.

I do not write this to establish single-handedly the idea.  I've heard
similar ones for a while.  I am trying to drum up support, and particularly
get a dialog started.  This opportunity will not last forever.  I doubt
there is an Amiga owner who does not know about the previous missed
opportunities.  The HP cable boxes.  The Sears distribution.  The list goes
on and on.

I, and I feel most other Amiga owners, do not want to see another
opportunity to which the Amiga is so well suited pass us by without a shot
at it.
@endnode
@node REVIEW1 "Review: WBStartup+ V2.5"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                          REVIEW: WBStartup+ V2.5
                          By: @{" Katherine Nelson " link KATIE}
===========================================================================

WBStartup+ by John Hughes is an easy-to-use utility that lets you enable
and disable the execution of the different programs in your WBStartup
drawer more quickly and easily than before.  It also allows you to use your
Workbench while it loads your boot-time programs, which is great for those
of us in a hurry.

It is somewhat hard to classify this type of utility.  Some people
would have no use for it at all, if they consistantly wish to load
everything they put in their WBStartup drawer.  For others, like myself,
who may need to make sure one or two programs are not loaded because they
may conflict with something that is to be run, it can be quite time-saving
and well worth using.

The utility comes with its own installer, so starting to use it is
hassle-free.  It places the main program and two new drawers inside the
WBStartup drawer.  One of the drawers is for the programs that should be
enabled at boot time, and the other drawer is for those that are not to be
loaded for the next boot/reboot.

The only drawback to this setup is that when you install another program
that you wish to run at boot time, you must place it in the "Enabled"
drawer, rather than the main WBStartup drawer. (It will still run if it is
in the main drawer, but WBStartup+ will then not have any control over it).
If a program comes with an installer, you most likely have to take that
extra step on your own.

To use the program once it is installed, you open up your
Prefs drawer, and run WBStartup+ Prefs.  This reveals a window that lists
everything in both the enabled and disabled startup drawers, with a check
in front of the enabled ones.  To the right of the name of the program is a
column which lists its STARTPRI value, found also in the tooltype area of
the program's icon.  This value can be changed by clicking on it in the
WBStartup+ Prefs program, or just by changing the tooltype value in the
icon.

Note that the STARTPRI only determines the order in which the programs are
to be executed -- it has nothing to do with the running priority.

The program list can be sorted either alphabetically or by priority,
whichever you prefer.  This is a nice touch in case you're tired and want
to know the order in which your programs will be run and you don't want to
figure it out for yourself.

A nice ability is to be able to create several different defaults, with
different combinations of startups.  To do so, you select the items for the
group you wish to create, then choose "Create Group" from a menu option,
and you have it.  Then, if you need to use that configuration for your next
boot, you just choose "Select Group" from the menu in WBStartup+Prefs, and
it sets it up for you with less hassle.

I have settings for "Minimum", "Normal", and "Extra".  The minimum is so
that just about everything I have is guaranteed to run.  The "Normal" is
for everyday use, and "Extra" is for a more flashy Workbench.  The
downside, is that in order to use one of these groups, you have to save the
configuration.  So if you're going to be using the "Minimum" group that you
created (if you have done so). then that group will always be loaded at
boot until you change it back to "Normal".  I personally am somewhat
forgetful, so it would be nice to be able to choose to only use settings
for the next boot only, rather than for all following.

Another nice feature is that you can select one of the programs in the
WBStartup+Prefs list, and then choose the "Icon Window" from the menu.
This brings up the Information in the .info file for the selected program,
allowing you to make your changes more quickly and with less trouble.  It
is somewhat interesting that you can not bring up the icon window for
WBStartup+ itself, especially because there are one or two features of the
program itself that can only be changed in the tooltypes, rather than from
the Prefs program.

The tooltypes for WBStartup+ include options for the paths of the enabled
and disabled drawers (allowing you to place them anywhere if you choose),
whether or not to show a progress window when loading the individual
programs (see more about the progress window below.), whether or not the
progress window should have a background picture (for WB 3.X only), and the
name of the public screen on which to open.

There are also tooltypes in the Prefs program, which include the paths to
the enabled and disabled drawers.  I think that this repetition, while no
doubt making the programming much easier, is kind of...  silly.  But it's a
small point.  There is also an option for the default listing of the
programs to be alphabetic or in STARTPRI order.

Anyway, about the progress window.  I, personally, like it.  It does lend
somewhat of a "Mac" type feel to your boot, with the icon of the program
currently being loaded shown next to a progress bar.  Others may say that
it just adds fluff, and has no real purpose.  It can be disabled, so either
way, it's not a problem.  Contributing to the Mac feel, but of even greater
use, I think, is the fact that if you hold down shift during boot,
WBStartup+ stops any of the boot programs from running.  I have used this
feature more than a couple times, and I think that it is actually one of
the more important aspects of the program itself.

One feature that I would really like to see added to this useful utility,
is the ability to have a boot-menu as well if desired.  Personally, I don't
wish to have a boot-menu each time I start the computer, because more often
then not, I'd be choosing the same configuration, and would just get
irritated at the delay.  However, if it were implemented in such a way that
the left shift key, instead of disabling all the programs, brought up a
list of the user-defined "Groups", allowing you to choose one, I would be a
very very happy camper.  This would also eliminate the problem of reseting
your preferences each time you wanted to boot with a different config, and
the fact that you have to boot up your machine to change what happens when
you boot up your machine.

WBStartup+ is Postcardware, so it's well worth the price.  This is a good
utility to have if you have use for it.  It also has the potential to be an
even greater one.

WBStartup+ V2.5

John Hughes
901 Highview Rd.
East Peoria, IL 61611
USA

johughes@heartland.bradley.edu
@endnode
@node REVIEW2 "Review: Supra 28.8k FaxModem"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                       REVIEW: Supra 28.8k FaxModem
                           By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}
===========================================================================

28.8k modems are getting cheap enough to give them a serious look.  Supra
is one of the most respected names in the business, so when they wanted me
to review their modem I was all for it.

Months of using it later, I'm FINALLY getting around to writing the review.

The Supra comes as two different packages: A Mac or a PC bundle.  You'll
want the PC bundle as that one will come with a 25-to-25 serial cable
compatible with the Amiga.  As cables go, it's nice.  The modem also ships
with some PC telecom and fax software, but you're on your own as far as
getting Amiga software goes.

Note, however, that you're not entirely on your own as an Amiga user when
it comes to this modem.  Supra sold a number of Amiga-specific hardware
products in the past and unlike many other companies, they haven't
forgotten the business of the Amiga community.  You'll find an Amiga tech
support number listed in the manual, and they have Term on their
ftp.supra.com FTP site, as well as GPFax drivers.

The modem itself is housed in a small rectangular case, virtually identical
to their 14.4k model.  The power button is front-mounted, as are four
flashing LEDs and a small LED letter display, used for a variety of
purposes.  The letter display indicates your state of connection, any
errors that arise, and updates you on the current connect rate and
compression.

The internal flash ROMs are constantly being updated.  While Supra has in
the past created Amiga-specific flash programs, a recent revision of the
romcode gave the modem a special self-flashing mode which allows you to
upload new ROMs TO THE MODEM itself.  The latest ROM is nearly two months
old and still has no Amiga flasher, and the FTP site encourages Amiga users
to either use a different machine to flash or use the built-in mode.

The Supra supports the official v.34 high-speed protocol.

The built-in speaker is about as annoying as any modem's, but recent ROM
updates have made the speaker act more "silent" while truly off.  (Earlier,
even an atm0 would not stop the modem from clicking when dialing was
initiated and hangups were made.)

As far as connections go...well, real world usage is the best way to test.
Real world use of the modem in an MLink network setup to Xnet at 28.8k
tends to give me in the range of 2700-3000 usable CPS.  (That is, I can
have an FTP session pull down 2600-2800 CPS while text-based clients
continue to update).

Real world benchmarks:

Machine 1 is an A3000, 030/25, with Supra 28.8k FaxModem, running
Terminus, using artser.device.

Machine 2 is an A1200, 020/14 stock, with Supra 28.8k FaxModem, running
VLT, using serial.device.

Thanks to Steve Judd for Machine 2 for testing.

Tests are done on crosstown phone lines of questionable quality, which
resulted in a connect rate that fluctuated between 26 and 24kbaud.

Machine 1 -> Machine 2 at 57.6k serial rate
-------------------------------------------

File Type                          Time of Transfer    Average CPS
---------                          ----------------    -----------

283529 byte file, LZX'ed                1:43              2753
Result reflects 3 errors in transfer.

We then set the serial rate down to 38.4k.

Machine 1 -> Machine 2 at 38.4k serial rate
-------------------------------------------

File Type                          Time of Transfer    Average CPS
---------                          ----------------    -----------

282285 byte file, text                  1:20              3529

755549 byte file, LHA'ed                4:13              2986

Machine 2 -> Machine 1 at 38.4k serial rate
-------------------------------------------

File Type                          Time of Transfer    Average CPS
---------                          ----------------    -----------

113549 byte file, LHA'ed                0:44              2581

282285 byte file, text                  1:21              3485


Remember that the rates reflect a very non-ideal situation, in which our
modems were unable to negotiate a true 28.8k connection to each other over
the phone lines.  The modems do renegotiate on the fly, and watching the 26
and 24 displays flip is not an uncommon sight for me.

Is the Supra a high-performance product?  In my experience, yes.  I'm
certainly getting significantly increased transfer rates over a 14.4k
modem.  Our benchmark test between two Amigas returns some results that may
be lower than you'd expect, but the A1200 was hampered by a lack of
accelerator or fast RAM.  (It's in the shop.)

The company is still well aware of the Amiga and makes an effort to
accomodate its users.  At the same time, they put out a high-quality piece
of hardware at a decent price--I've seen mail order offers around US$190.
If you're looking to give your Amiga a communications boost, and want to
get continued support for your machine, the Supra 28.8k FaxModem is a good
choice.

Supra Corporation
7101 Supra Drive SW
Albany, OR, USA  97321-8000

(503) 967-2400  Main line
(503) 967-2493  AMIGA & Other Products {9A-12N M-F}
supratech@supra.com, amigatech@supra.com
@endnode
@node REVIEW3 "Review: Digita's Organiser v2"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                       REVIEW: Digita's Organiser v2
                            By: @{" William Near " link WILLIAM}
===========================================================================

Have you ever forgotten an important birthday, anniversary, project
deadline, or possibly a school paper due date?  If it's one of the former
then you will never hear the end of it from the family member or loved one
whose birthday or anniversary you forgot -- if it's one of the latter then
you may lose your job or find that your grade has fallen due to your
forgetfulness.  Maybe it's just an important address that has slipped your
mind or you need to know what magnitude the star Betelgeuse has in the
Orion constellation!  Enter Digita's Organiser with the answer to all your
prayers.

Digita's Organiser is a combination address book, calendar, daily diary and
task manager all rolled into one neat package.  When you start up the
Organiser program you are presented with a screen that resembles a daily
planner opened to a yearly calendar with a set of icons running across the
top and down the left hand side of the screen.  Click tabs for Calendar,
Diary, Tasks, Addresses and Supplements are located on the side of the
current page.

Clicking on any one of the days in a particular month will instantly take
you to the diary page for that day.  From here you can enter a specific
event for that day or just browse that day's events.  If you decide to
enter an event then you simply click on the diary event detail's icon and
enter the information that is required for that specific event.  The
information that may be entered consists of any single one or combination
of: title, notes, priority, end date, start and end time, alarm, repeat
frequency, and auto start options.  You could, for instance, set an
important meeting's starting and ending time along with important notes
associated with that meeting and have the Organiser remind you a week, or
even a day, before the meeting's date.  You can even have the Organiser
automatically start up a word processor or make a backup of your hard drive
on a specified date by using the auto start feature.  Once you have entered
all the information into the diary event's requestor you can either exit
this process or enter another day's events into the Organiser.  When
finished, all the information you have entered will be inserted into the
correct dates in the Organiser's Diary.

There are four views for Diary, Task, and Address pages depending on
whether you want to see one, three, four, or seven day's listings per page
on the screen.  There is also an "at a glance" icon that toggles between
just showing the first line of information or all lines of information per
event on each day in the Organiser.  Flipping to the next or preceding page
in the Organiser is as easy as clicking on the lower outside edge of either
the left or right hand page currently displayed.  Deleting or repeating a
specific event is only a mouse click away, so is the option to search for a
specific field or other data contained in a particular day's listing of
events.  An undo option has also been included.

Another feature of the Organiser is the entry of Tasks.  Tasks can be
anything you'd like them to be, such as a report that is due on a certain
date.  You simply enter the pertinent data for the task at hand and the
Organiser will insert it into the due date.  When the task's due date has
past, the task will turn red in the Organiser and the number of days that
the task is overdue will be displayed.  There is also a check box which you
can click in once the task is completed.  This can be very handy when
having many tasks due on the same day.

The Address book feature of the Organiser is just like the type you will
find in the local supermarket.  The letters of the alphabet appear in click
tabs down the right hand side of the screen.  Clicking on any one of the
letters will take you to the specified page in the Address book.  Entering
address information is a simple process of clicking on an icon and entering
the information in a requestor.  My only complaint about this area of the
Organiser is that it is geared with the UK and Europe in mind.  There is no
entry area for a state instead there is an area for county and country!  I
just used the county area to enter the state for the address. 

A link feature has been implemented whereby you can link related items
together.  You could, for example, link an address to a birthday and then
have the Organiser remind you to buy a birthday present.

The final area of the Organiser are the Supplements.  Supplements are those
sometimes handy pages of a daily planner that contain such things as:
weights and measures, important holidays, first aid procedures, etc.  
While the Organiser comes with loads of such information, the majority of
it is again geared towards the UK and Europe.  Information specific to
North American is very sparse.  While many of the included Supplements are
quite informative they are wasted on most North American users of the
Organiser.

The Organiser also offers a printing feature that can be used to print out
any of the section's information in a whole plethora of options.  Digita
seems to have thought of every conceivable way that you may want to print
the information contained in the pages of the Organiser, including mailing
labels!  I did find one glitch in the printing process, however.  If the
printer is not turned on when you click the print icon then the Organiser
program seems to have a hard time dealing with this.  The usual
resume/cancel print requestor will pop up via AmigaDOS, but clicking on
cancel will not halt the process.  Clicking on the Organiser's stop button
in the print window seems to have no apparent effect either.  I was
effectively locked out of the program -- only a reboot seemed to remedy
this!

Context-sensitive on-line help is just a press of the HELP key or click of
an icon away.  The Amigaguide help function is very thorough and easy to
understand.  A tutorial section is also included.

Digita's Organiser seems to be a very complete package for the
businessperson, student, or just plain old Joe who wants to keep track of
important dates and events in their lives.  My only gripes would be the
lack of North American Supplements, the annoying way of entering the day
and then the month (although you can enter it as month-day, but the program
will automatically reverse them in the requestor) in the event requestor,
and the lack of a state entry area in the address book.  They also need to
look into the printing problem I pointed out earlier.  If Digita would
release a new version with the above suggestions implemented (why not ask
what country the user lives in when installing Organiser and implement the
appropriate data entry layout and Supplements?) then they would have an
absolute winner in this category on the Amiga platform.  As it stands,
Digita's Organiser is a nearly perfect product.
@endnode
@node REVIEW4 "Review: Virtual Karting"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                          REVIEW: Virtual Karting
                            By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}
===========================================================================

When Steven Rennocks materialized on comp.sys.amiga.games, it was the
answer to a hope I never quite knew I had.

Steve was promoting his new Amiga publishing company OTM and their first
release, Virtual Karting.  For someone to pop out of nowhere into what has
been a shaky gaming market at best and release a new product takes
guts--the kind of guts the Amiga needs.  As publishers lose interest in the
Amiga, it is not so much important to "convince" them that they've made a
mistake as it is to make sure NEW publishers get into the business.  OTM
has done just that, and it's a good thing.

VK was hyped and hyped and hyped, given favorable previews in several
magazines, and finally released.

At its heart, VK is a racing game based around professional karts.  The
author himself is a kart driver and reportedly was striving for exceptional
realism when he created the game.

You take the place of a kart driver, with a choice of a 100 or 125cc
engine.  That may not sound like much, but when you consider the kart
doesn't have much weight you understand how it flings you across the track
at such high speeds.  Your view is configurable, with a camera either just
behind your kart (Pole Position style), with adjustable angle and horizon
settings, or a top-down view.  You choose your input device from among
digital or analog joysticks or the mouse, and can choose automatic
(recommended) or manual shifting.

The game itself can be summed up in one word--"difficult."  A pre-race
"helicopter" camera flying over the track is supposed to give you clues to
your racing strategy, but even with that in mind, the word of the game will
be practice, practice, practice.  You'll spend most of your first races
going off the track and watching helplessly as your opponents zoom past
you.  It is worthwhile to run yourself into the water, just to see the
race-ending result.  But the computer is a merciless (and unconfigurable)
opponent and you'll need to get up pretty early in the morning to have a
chance of beating it.

While I'm pleased with the attempt to make the race truly realistic, I
cannot accept the fact that going offroad even the slightest bit
automatically drops your speed to 15 km/h.

VK was designed in AGA, with the goal of providing realistic-looking 25 fps
performance on a stock A1200.  And author Fabio Bizzetti got it--at a very
high price.

Bizzetti discovered that if he dithered the screen in black, he could
generate an acceptable display and get the speed he wanted.

Acceptable, perhaps, to some.  But the black-gauze dithering technique
looked awful the first time I saw it, on a C-64 demo designed to give the
illusion of over 100 colors.  That was on a 1702 monitor, no less.  On a
1084 or multiscan monitor, it's positively annoying.  On a TV, apparently,
the effect is minimal.  But the option to enable a fully rendered display
just isn't there, which means the action flies by on our A4000/040 but
looks like the monitor is very dirty.

A VK demo is available on Aminet, and I highly recommend it to anyone
looking for a racing challenge.  If you discover that the thrill of the
chase, not to mention the adventure of learning to drive a different sort
of vehicle, is for you, then by all means patronize OTM and buy a copy of
the game.  I find the display extremely distracting, and find it takes away
from what should be a really enjoyable game.  However, I may just be overly
picky.

The manual, while extremely spartan, is printed in English,
German, French, and Italian.

Distributed by Guildhall Leisure and published by OTM:
Phone: 44 1827 312 302
Fax:   44 1827 670 10
e-mail:otm@otmltd.demon.co.uk
@endnode
@node REVIEW5 "Review: Gamers' Delight 2 CD-ROM"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                     REVIEW: Gamers' Delight 2 CD-ROM
                            By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}
===========================================================================

Let's see, 1070 games for $40 works out to be...something really small per
game.

That's the reasoning that Schatztruhe is hoping will pervade the thinking
of Amiga CD-ROM owners, at least.  And it's not such a bad idea, putting
tons and tons of games and game demos on a CD-ROM for a reasonable price.

The problem is that the bulk (1000) of the games are just the Aminet "game"
directory.  They don't hide it, which is actually a good thing, all things
considered.  There's even the familiar Aminet search icon to let you look
for what you want.

The other 70 are, allegedly, full versions of commercial titles.  Maybe I
don't get out enough, but I can say without reservation that I have never
seen a single one of these games sold as a commercial title.  Some are old
enough that they would be before my time, others (even 1994 and 1995
titles) I have heard nothing about.

Be that as it may, some of them are worth playing, to be sure.  A
reasonably nice front-end in English or German leads you through the
selection of the 70 highlighted games with a short description and
instructions, and I actually got the occasional surprise of being able to
quit one game to play another through the menu.  It's a shame that the menu
is in PAL and makes no effort to let you switch out of NTSC, though.

For the Aminet games, the AmigaGuide interface familiar to Aminet CD-ROM
owners is used.  Functional and quick, as ever.

All things considered, the Aminet collection is going to be the way to go.
The problem there is that if you're an Aminet user with a decent enough
connection or a regular subscriber to Aminet CD-ROMs, having the collection
of Aminet games on this CD-ROM is totally superfluous, so you're actually
only buying 70 new games, at best, for the cost of the CD.  Which now works
out to be...well, something still really small but this time it's
measurable, and I'm not sure the Space Taxi clone or Galaga 94 are dying to
be played that much.

There is something to be said for having information at your fingertips and
not having to store hundreds of megs of Aminet games on your hard drive, or
being able to load them off your CD-ROM at 600k/second instead of a modem
connection of, at best, 3k/second.  If that's 200 times more convenient for
you, splurging on Gamers Delight 2 will be worthwhile, and will certainly
keep you occupied.

On the other hand...Aminet 9's focus is on the games archive, which means
it contains just about everything this CD does, minus those 70 special
titles.  Something to think about...

Published by Stefan Ossowski's Schatztruhe
Distributed in North America by Amiga Library Services
610 N. Alma School Rd.
Suite 18
Chandler, AZ  85224-3687
800-804-0833
info@amigalib.com
@endnode
@node REVIEW6 "Review: Meeting Pearls III CD-ROM"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                     REVIEW: Meeting Pearls III CD-ROM
                            By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}
===========================================================================

The bank slip is back!

Andrea Schmidt and friends decided one day it would be a good idea to put
together a low-cost CD-ROM full of good, useful, and new freely
redistributable Amiga software, sell it, and encourage people to send in
donations if they liked it, making it more convenient by including a direct
bank transfer slip in the CD case.  Sharecompilation, it was called.

That worked well enough that they decided to do it again.

That worked even better, so they've done it yet again and are already
planning a fourth Meeting Pearls CD party.

650 megs is a lot of stuff.  So, what do you get?

You get a more friendly and helpful installer than I remember in the past.
MP I, in particular, was a bit overly insistent on proper assigns and
installation.  However, Achtung!--when using Novice mode, it defaults to
German if it sees a CD-ROM filesystem it doesn't like (the OS 3.1 version,
for example)

You also get an AmigaGuide interface for browsing the CD-ROM.  Sound
familiar?  Well, yes and no...it's not a clone of the Aminet interface, it
actually allows you to configure virtually all of your preferences
(viewers, MetaTool use, etc.) through AmigaGuide.  Some very clever
scripting is going on here...

The FindPearls utility is comprehensive, allowing more "attractive"
searching than plowing through a directory utility or using the AmigaGuide
interface.  It comes in handy if you're not up for a marathon session of
exploring the CD.

Also of note is the special CD-Write demo included.  The version included
will allow you to CD-Write only to the MP III CD, but will give you an idea
of the workings of the program and of course try to convince you that you
can't live without it.

Pictures and text from the meeting itself are included, along with bios on
many of the Meeting Pearls admins, for those who really want to see Angela
Schmidt on a unicycle.

But there really are more useful items on the CD than that.  Although it's
not necessarily everyone's cup of tea, PasTeX 1.4, all 96 megs or so of it,
is included on the disc.  At the other end of the horizon, the game
selection is pretty small but largely consists of the best available in
free redistribution.

Some HTML documents are included, driven by an AMosaic 2.0 frontend.
Roughly 10% of the CD's archives are text files of some kind, including
Amiga Reports 3.01 through 3.18 with an included text search tool.  Picking
up one of these for the search tool alone is a good idea--more than once,
I've searched through a tool such as this one to find out "just when did we
do that review, anyway?"

AmiTCP 4.0 and a selection of useful tools and add-ons are provided for the
network-minded.  My heart skipped a beat when I saw what appeared to be a
registered version of Holger Kruse's PPP driver, but it requires a keyfile
which, obviously, is NOT included.

If you're curious, a fan, or have discovered the bizarre phenomenon known
as Baconizing (attempting to trace actors and their film appearances back
to Kevin Bacon), you'll be interested in the complete Internet Movie
Database.

The disc overall seems very application, development, and text oriented,
but a respectable amount of music and pictures and the aforementioned games
are provided for variety's sake.

The layout of the "good stuff" is roughly the same as the Aminet structure,
of short, easily recognizable subdirectories.  There may not be a lot of
love lost between the Meeting Pearls and Aminet camps, but at least there
is some sort of agreement on logical structure.  There are only so many
ways to call a "game" directory a "game" directory...

In all, MP III is quite professionally put together, with a lot of
attention given to providing an eclectic blend of Amiga software, even if
the fun stuff does give a little way to the likes of the mammoth PasTeX.
The Pearlers have come a long way since the first disc, and I wish them
continued success.

The bottom line on this CD is that for the suggested price of US$12 (15
DM), it's really, really hard to say no, unless your CD-ROM tower is
overflowing.

Published by Stefan Ossowski's Schatztruhe (say that 3 times fast)
Veronikastr. 33
45131 Essen
Germany
++ 49 201 788 778
@endnode
@node REVIEW7 "Review: R3 (Registered)"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                 REVIEW: R3 (Registered) by Bruce Webster
                            By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}
===========================================================================

Thrust!  Thrust!  Thrust!

I got Thrust as part of a two-game el-cheapo Firebird disk years ago on the
64.  Sadly, the Thrust disk has been corrupted.

But Bruce Webster has captured the fun of that game and mixed it with his
own rather bizarre sense of humor to create the eminently playable R3.

For those of you unfamiliar with the genre, R3 puts you at the controls of
a spaceship.  In R3, your goal is to fly your spaceship across a large
virtual world to retrieve cargo for the aptly named Nice People of the
Universe or something like that.  The bad guys, who have an unpronouncable
name, have stolen it.  Standard plot.

At your disposal to start is 1000 credits, which you can use to buy one of
the 3 Class 1 vessels.  (Classes 2-5 are out of your price range at the
start.)  Luckily for you, the introductory levels are easy, because these
vessels, with quite graphic names, aren't much to rely on for defense,
offense, or maneuverability.  You get paid for blowing up bad guy
installations such as guns that shoot at you, as well as retrieving the
cargo.

Each ship has a fuel tank, a cargo carrying capacity, a certain amount of
shields, a missile launcher with a certain number of ordinance, and a gun
or three.  The Schmu, the top of the line vessel, has an extremely powerful
engine, a small turning radius, two high-power fast-repeat guns, and more
missiles than you can count.  The Fart, the bottom of the line vessel, has
a tough time getting off the landing pad, makes horrible noises (I'm not
making this up), and you're likely to run into whatever you're trying to
kill before its gun is in range.

One or two players can work to rescue cargo through the game's many levels,
or they can face off in a Dogfight game with levels designed specifically
for the purpose.  In Dogfight, each player gets an initial generous outlay
of cash and is sent off to fend for themselves.  The goal is to kill the
other guy, or alternately to let him kill himself.  Big money can be had
here just racking up destroyed enemy installations.

The game has a split-screen, where the left hand side (in 1-player mode)
shows the outside view of the ship and its surroundings (the game playfield
is 2 dimensional, you can move up, down, left, right, but not "in") with
the right side as the Missile-Cam, which tracks your missiles.  This isn't
horribly useful in most cases, but if you want to know if enemies lurk
around a corner or down a passageway, firing a missile through isn't a bad
idea.  The camera stays locked at the missile's detonation or impact point
until another is fired.  In 2-player mode, each gets a side of the screen,
with no missile cams.  Under each display is a diagram of your ship showing
damage incurred when shields drop to zero.  When this happens, you'll want
to immediately find a red cross station which will repair some or all of
your damage and shield loss.  Ironically, your home base will only refuel
you and repair your system damage but will not recharge your shields.
Military cutbacks, I guess.

Although the author is from New Zealand, for some reason he smiled upon
North America and wrote the game in NTSC.  It runs best in 1 meg or more of
RAM (1 meg CHIP highly recommended) but will work in a 512k 1.3 machine,
with lousy sound effects.  You really ought to have a better machine than
that, though.

The graphics are ECS, but still attractive.  Flying through water is fun.
Flying in zero gravity is even better.

Despite its silliness, R3 is really a great game.  It is not without flaws,
the most obvious being that you can get yourself stuck in a wall (which is
often rectifiable but occasionally not), and the fact that sometimes
certain explosions will leave "shadow" explosions behind somewhere else.
These don't get in your way, but look ugly.

What do you get for registering?  For your US$15 or equivalent, you get the
ability to play all of the included levels in the shareware package, as
well as all of the levels in the recently released add-on pack.  That gives
you hundreds, all told, between 1 and 2 player and dogfight levels.

You also get a very clever and relatively easy to use level editor.
Nearly infinite enjoyment if you have the time.

You also get Tritus from Davin Pearson, a 3-player competitive Tetris clone
that has to be seen to be believed.  At one point, I found myself much more
drawn to Tritus than to R3--and I like R3.  You can play against the
computer or 1 or two human opponents.  Certain diabolical weaponry comes
into play, such as the slimy creature that eats your lower bricks, a huge
nasty thing that shakes the screen and gives your opponents lines of junk
to deal with, and a way to disable the walls between you and your opponents
and drop YOUR pieces on THEIR stack in nasty ways to screw them up.  If
there was a way to make Tetris a combat sport, this is it.

Two games, a low price, and two registration locations.  It's a pretty good
deal.

To register, send your (real) name and address and the registration fee

TO:  Ellen Johnstone     (pounds preferred)
     11 Abbey Rd
     Scone
     Perthshire
     Scotland
     U.K.  PH26LW

OR
     Bruce Webster       (NZ$ preferred)
     29 Tika St
     Christchurch
     New Zealand 8004

EMAIL:  b.webster@student.canterbury.ac.nz
@endnode
@node REVIEW8 "Review: TurboCalc 2.1 CD-ROM"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                       REVIEW: TurboCalc 2.1 CD-ROM
                            By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}
===========================================================================

Back in AR 3.15, we had a look at TurboCalc 2.0, which for the price
(US$40) was an unbeatable deal for a very usable spreadsheet.

The deal just got a lot better.  TurboCalc 2.1 CD-ROM has emerged at the
ridiculously low price of US$15.

What do you get?  A rather innocuous looking CD-ROM which contains the
TurboCalc 2.0 binaries in English, German, French, and Italian, and full
online documentation in English and German.  Yes, for $15, you give up
having a printed manual.

There has been a recent push to put more application software on CD-ROM,
and this is an excellent way to do it.  After all, TurboCalc 3.5 is out,
published by Digita instead of TC 2.1's publisher, Schatztruhe.  For those
looking for new features and options, going with the newer version is worth
investigating.  However, since TC 2.1 also comes with the TurboCalc 3.5
demo, it's a no-lose "try before you pay a lot" concept.  For a lousy $15,
you get a CD-ROM with a quality application and a peek at the next version.
If you're interested in getting more, fine, upgrade.

TC 2.1 is an incredibly cost-effective way of delivering software--one that
more publishers should look into.  Sure, there's no box, no printed manual,
and you need a CD-ROM drive.  But you get thorough online documentation and
really should have a CD-ROM drive anyway, if for no other reason than to
catch deals like this.

If you think you may need a spreadsheet, you probably do.  It's worth your
while, then, to pick up a copy of TurboCalc 2.1.  If it meets your needs,
you've just gotten a great deal.

Published by Stefan Ossowski's Schatztruhe
Distributed in North America by Amiga Library Services
610 N. Alma School Rd.
Suite 18
Chandler, AZ  85224-3687
800-804-0833
info@amigalib.com
@endnode
@node REVIEW9 "Ami-File Safe Filesystem"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
   REVIEW: Ami-File Safe Pro filing system from Fourth Level Development
                            By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}
===========================================================================

Filesystems scare me.  I've had more than my share of run-ins with corrupt
root blocks, weird checksum errors, and lots of lengthy re-validations.
I'd really rather just leave them alone.

But Fourth Level Development came up with AFS, and IAM sent me a review
copy, so with my heart in my throat, I bravely created a whole new
partition so I wouldn't damage any of my data. :)

Ami-File Safe sells itself on the following ideas-

1.  It's faster than FFS.
2.  If your machine crashes or blows up during disk access, your partition
    won't have to be revalidated.
3.  Did we mention fast?

AFS is sold in two configurations, the User and Pro versions.  The User
restricts your installation in size--not partition size, DRIVE size.  You
also are allowed fewer partitions.  Pro, the version we are reviewing, has
unlimited usage.  It's also considerably more expensive--$40 vs. $100 (or
equivalent).  But if you're going to invest, you may as well go with the
unrestricted package.  No point in finding out you need to buy something
twice...

Installation of the package is pretty benign.  After that, you're free to
install a new partition christened AFS: and format it.

You'll be up and running in no time.  But I have to take time out here to
enter a major complaint.   I got my hard drive partition up and running
DESPITE the manual, not because of it.  For something as major and system
critical as a new file system, I'd like to hear the hows and whys, in
detail, of its functionality, even if I don't fully understand it.  AFS
asks you to put your data in its hands with 13 pages of documentation, and
it never really ventures into the "how and why" area, just "what."  So far
so good, but forewarned is much more confident.

AFS recommends you use at least 50 buffers.  Actually, the documentation
basically demands it.  So you may find yourself using more memory than you
might have chosen to otherwise, but buffers do tend to be useful.

AFS hard drive partitions can be made bootable--this is something to
consider for me, because the biggest cause of my machine crashes come from
my DH0: partition.  However, call me a wimp, but I'm just not willing to
trust my system files to 13 pages of documentation, despite its impressive
performance on a storage drive.  I've reinstalled my OS too many times for
that.

AFS does come with floppy version, and there is an AFS demo that allows
floppy sharing among those who don't own AFS.

AFS claims to be exceptionally good with huge directories.  I honestly
haven't noticed a big performance difference, except instead of hitting the
hard drive for directory information, AFS seems to have it cached away in
memory.  It still took a considerable amount of time to bring up the larger
listings.

Down to benchmarks...

For those who absolutely LOVE benchmark tests, here's your big chance.
Click @{" here " link BENCH} for the entire DiskSpeed 4.2 rundown.

(Note that DiskSpeed is unable to generate CPU ratings on the AFS drive)

The test system is my trusty A3000 with standard 030/25, 2 megs of chip and
8 megs of fast RAM.  The drive is a Quantum Fireball 730 on the A3000's
SCSI port.

Is it fast?  Well, the directory tests for AFS in general beat the hell out
of FFS.  On virtually every read/write/create test, AFS scores higher, and
once the higher buffers come into play, the difference is astonishing.

But benchmarks can be so...sterile.  So here's a real-world test, a copy of
a really large file from RAM to each partition, and between the two.

Test:

4483434 byte file (text), the Aminet 9 file database.

From RAM to:

FFS: 10.12s
AFS:  6.39s

From AFS to FFS:

12.87s

From FFS to AFS:

6.44s

Here, with no disk caching of any kind in place, AFS again looks to be a
whole lot faster than FFS.

The upshot: AFS is an excellent high-speed performance filesystem, which I
do recommend highly if you are frustrated with your current hard drive
performance.  Remember that the A3000's controller, while it supports
SCSI-II commands, does not take advantage of the impressive SCSI-II speed
enhancements, yet speeds well in excess of 1 meg/second were being piped
out of the filesystem in testing.

For the brave at heart, a utility is enclosed that will automatically
convert your FFS partitions to AFS.  Good luck!

Published by Fourth Level Developments
afssales@flevel.co.uk

31 Ashley Hill Montpelier            
Bristol, England BS6 5JA
tel: 0117 985 4455 
fax: 0117 955 9157

Distributed in North America by
Intangible Assets Manufacturing
http://www.iam.com 
info@iam.com

828 Ormond Avenue
Drexel Hill, PA  19026-2604
USA
tel: +1 610 853 4406 (orders only)
fax: +1 610 853 3733
@endnode
@node BENCH "AFS vs. FFS Benchmarks"
@toc REVIEW9

MKSoft DiskSpeed 4.2  Copyright © 1989-92 MKSoft Development
------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: 68030  AmigaOS Version: 40.68  Normal Video DMA
Device:  dh1:    Buffers: 30
Comments: FFS drive

CPU Speed Rating: 1372

Testing directory manipulation speed.
File Create:           46 files/sec  |  CPU Available: 40%
File Open:             72 files/sec  |  CPU Available: 28%
Directory Scan:       193 files/sec  |  CPU Available: 21%
File Delete:          142 files/sec  |  CPU Available: 17%

Seek/Read:             74 seeks/sec  |  CPU Available: 60%

Testing with a 512 byte, MEMF_FAST, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:        89152 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 28%
Write to file:      96192 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 28%
Read from file:    103488 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 21%

Testing with a 4096 byte, MEMF_FAST, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:       392893 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 46%
Write to file:     464896 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 46%
Read from file:    569344 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 37%

Testing with a 32768 byte, MEMF_FAST, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:       576095 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 64%
Write to file:     720488 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 67%
Read from file:    974848 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 60%

Testing with a 262144 byte, MEMF_FAST, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:       917504 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 65%
Write to file:    1139756 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 73%
*Read from file:   468114 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 30%

* - Seems to be an anomalous reading.

Testing with a 512 byte, MEMF_FAST, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:        82752 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 20%
Write to file:      85120 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 22%
Read from file:     87936 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 17%

Testing with a 4096 byte, MEMF_FAST, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:       275968 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 21%
Write to file:     310784 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 18%
Read from file:    307200 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 11%

Testing with a 32768 byte, MEMF_FAST, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:       360800 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 24%
Write to file:     419267 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 20%
Read from file:    427408 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 8%

Testing with a 262144 byte, MEMF_FAST, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:       469063 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 15%
Write to file:     525524 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 12%
Read from file:    477609 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 7%

Testing with a 512 byte, MEMF_FAST, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:        85760 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 26%
Write to file:      32960 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 46%
Read from file:     95552 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 20%

Testing with a 4096 byte, MEMF_FAST, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:        96256 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 33%
Write to file:      34671 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 48%
Read from file:    105472 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 24%

Testing with a 32768 byte, MEMF_FAST, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:        89186 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 37%
Write to file:      34695 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 48%
Read from file:    107240 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 25%

Testing with a 262144 byte, MEMF_FAST, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:        95325 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 35%
Write to file:      34044 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 49%
Read from file:    106812 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 25%

Testing with a 512 byte, MEMF_CHIP, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:        89280 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 27%
Write to file:      95744 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 26%
Read from file:    103936 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 19%

Testing with a 4096 byte, MEMF_CHIP, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:       390656 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 40%
Write to file:     459264 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 39%
Read from file:    569344 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 27%

Testing with a 32768 byte, MEMF_CHIP, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:       577536 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 54%
Write to file:     716041 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 55%
Read from file:    980588 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 42%

Testing with a 262144 byte, MEMF_CHIP, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:       927094 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 49%
Write to file:    1142595 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 53%
Read from file:   1121643 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 50%

Testing with a 512 byte, MEMF_CHIP, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:        76288 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 20%
Write to file:      80768 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 20%
Read from file:     83840 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 16%

Testing with a 4096 byte, MEMF_CHIP, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:       227978 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 18%
Write to file:     254976 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 14%
Read from file:    264704 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 11%

Testing with a 32768 byte, MEMF_CHIP, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:       289009 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 18%
Write to file:     324958 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 13%
Read from file:    358209 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 6%

Testing with a 262144 byte, MEMF_CHIP, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:       356746 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 9%
Write to file:     384422 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 7%
Read from file:    395482 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 5%

Testing with a 512 byte, MEMF_CHIP, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:        81152 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 24%
Write to file:      32576 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 45%
Read from file:     88704 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 19%

Testing with a 4096 byte, MEMF_CHIP, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:        71528 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 44%
Write to file:      31677 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 50%
Read from file:     80384 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 37%

Testing with a 32768 byte, MEMF_CHIP, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:        68074 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 47%
Write to file:      31647 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 50%
Read from file:     81583 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 37%

Testing with a 262144 byte, MEMF_CHIP, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:        68385 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 47%
Write to file:      31145 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 51%
Read from file:     83370 bytes/sec  |  CPU Available: 36%

Average CPU Available: 32%  |  CPU Availability index: 439


MKSoft DiskSpeed 4.2  Copyright © 1989-92 MKSoft Development
------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: 68030  AmigaOS Version: 40.68  Normal Video DMA
Device:  dh4:    Buffers: 200
Comments: AFS Test

CPU Calibration shows that CPU availability tests
would be inaccurate in the current system state.
No CPU Speed Rating -- CPU % not available.

Testing directory manipulation speed.
File Create:          126 files/sec
File Open:            235 files/sec
Directory Scan:      1443 files/sec
File Delete:          226 files/sec

Seek/Read:             67 seeks/sec

Testing with a 512 byte, MEMF_FAST, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:       276544 bytes/sec
Write to file:     322624 bytes/sec
Read from file:    108352 bytes/sec

Testing with a 4096 byte, MEMF_FAST, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:       528384 bytes/sec
Write to file:     561152 bytes/sec
Read from file:    635904 bytes/sec

Testing with a 32768 byte, MEMF_FAST, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:      1462272 bytes/sec
Write to file:    1634314 bytes/sec
Read from file:   1626112 bytes/sec

Testing with a 262144 byte, MEMF_FAST, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:      1650536 bytes/sec
Write to file:    2181819 bytes/sec
Read from file:   1966080 bytes/sec

Testing with a 512 byte, MEMF_FAST, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:       269056 bytes/sec
Write to file:     321088 bytes/sec
Read from file:     96640 bytes/sec

Testing with a 4096 byte, MEMF_FAST, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:       522240 bytes/sec
Write to file:     556544 bytes/sec
Read from file:    337920 bytes/sec

Testing with a 32768 byte, MEMF_FAST, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:       572009 bytes/sec
Write to file:     590231 bytes/sec
Read from file:    492537 bytes/sec

Testing with a 262144 byte, MEMF_FAST, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:       626389 bytes/sec
Write to file:     647269 bytes/sec
Read from file:    530529 bytes/sec

Testing with a 512 byte, MEMF_FAST, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:       233344 bytes/sec
Write to file:     263936 bytes/sec
Read from file:    103872 bytes/sec

Testing with a 4096 byte, MEMF_FAST, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:       369664 bytes/sec
Write to file:     458240 bytes/sec
Read from file:    459776 bytes/sec

Testing with a 32768 byte, MEMF_FAST, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:       839680 bytes/sec
Write to file:     880640 bytes/sec
Read from file:    835584 bytes/sec

Testing with a 262144 byte, MEMF_FAST, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:       942029 bytes/sec
Write to file:    1015808 bytes/sec
Read from file:    961408 bytes/sec

Testing with a 512 byte, MEMF_CHIP, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:       264192 bytes/sec
Write to file:     305984 bytes/sec
Read from file:    107136 bytes/sec

Testing with a 4096 byte, MEMF_CHIP, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:       487424 bytes/sec
Write to file:     511488 bytes/sec
Read from file:    616448 bytes/sec

Testing with a 32768 byte, MEMF_CHIP, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:      1306624 bytes/sec
Write to file:    1638400 bytes/sec
Read from file:   1626112 bytes/sec

Testing with a 262144 byte, MEMF_CHIP, LONG-aligned buffer.
Create file:      1928490 bytes/sec
Write to file:    2187253 bytes/sec
Read from file:   1969308 bytes/sec

Testing with a 512 byte, MEMF_CHIP, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:       210560 bytes/sec
Write to file:     283200 bytes/sec
Read from file:     88448 bytes/sec

Testing with a 4096 byte, MEMF_CHIP, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:       435200 bytes/sec
Write to file:     456192 bytes/sec
Read from file:    282112 bytes/sec

Testing with a 32768 byte, MEMF_CHIP, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:       395679 bytes/sec
Write to file:     403838 bytes/sec
Read from file:    400556 bytes/sec

Testing with a 262144 byte, MEMF_CHIP, WORD-aligned buffer.
Create file:       425080 bytes/sec
Write to file:     436906 bytes/sec
Read from file:    426746 bytes/sec

Testing with a 512 byte, MEMF_CHIP, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:       198080 bytes/sec
Write to file:     225216 bytes/sec
Read from file:     98048 bytes/sec

Testing with a 4096 byte, MEMF_CHIP, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:       342016 bytes/sec
Write to file:     355328 bytes/sec
Read from file:    353792 bytes/sec

Testing with a 32768 byte, MEMF_CHIP, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:       545454 bytes/sec
Write to file:     563136 bytes/sec
Read from file:    563136 bytes/sec

Testing with a 262144 byte, MEMF_CHIP, BYTE-aligned buffer.
Create file:       592944 bytes/sec
Write to file:     618724 bytes/sec
Read from file:    633198 bytes/sec
@endnode
@node REVIEW10 "Aminet 9 CD-ROM"
@toc REVIEW

===========================================================================
                            REVIEW: Aminet 9 CD
                            By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON}
===========================================================================

Aminet's Christmas release is out, and appropriately enough, Santa is on
the cover.

I'm pretty sure it's just an image from somewhere rather than Urban Mueller
in a big red suit.

Anyway, following closely on the heels of Aminet Set 2, Aminet 9 puts all
of the archive's games on the CD-ROM, including 5 aging commercial titles
that you're not supposed to give away.

Hey.  Wait a second.  This sounds awfully familiar...

Yes, released at just about the same time, Aminet 9 offers just about
everything, except the 70 "special commercial" titles, from Gamers' Delight
2.

In addition to the ~190 or so megs of compressed games, Aminet 9 boasts a
slew of material more recent than the 4-disc Aminet Set 2 (to be reviewed
in AR 4.02, backwards though that may be) and a superset slew of stuff more
recent than Aminet 8.  Older chart-topping material is included as well to
round out the disc to a comfortable 628 compressed megs.

The "new since Aminet 8" category is not specially indexed, but the "since
Set 2" is.  The former is explained as being because of the large amount of
new material (except the game archive), but considering the number of "top
download" material included, a special index would have been nice to have
for completists.

Nothing has changed much in the interface.  AmigaGuide as ever with
external prefs, you now get a lot of new mod file descriptions, only when
viewed in their individual directory.  Which is too bad, since the playlist
is really convenient.

Speaking of mods, it seems that more than usual are on this particular CD,
which is not necessarily an unwelcome feature--just unusual.  In fact, as
sheer space goes, the music directory far outweighs the other major
directories-nearly 100 megs, while its closest competition, docs, trails at
75 megs.  Most of the 75 megs in docs are the docs/etext directory, the
Project Gutenberg archives.

The 5 commercial games on the disc are indeed from Gamers' Delight 2, and
are fairly nondescript.  You may have a good time in Jumpman for a while,
but for me their inclusion was less interesting than the registered version
of Delitracker Aminet disc owners got recently.

Some 50 megs of demos are included, categorized generally by what will and
will not work on an A4000/040, which is a nice touch.

Unless you're IV'ed to the Aminet, it's tough to beat the convenience of
having it for yourself on CD-ROM, and the price, which hovers around US$20,
isn't bad at all for the ease of use and promptness of the material.
Aminet 9 doesn't come with the best "gifts", but then again I remember the
days when it didn't come with any "gifts" at all, and the CDs were still
good. 

Published by Stefan Ossowski's Schatztruhe
Veronikastr. 33
D-45151 Essen
Germany
++ 49 201 788 778
stefano@tchest.e.eunet.de
@endnode

@node CHARTS1 "Aminet Charts: 01-Jan-96"
@toc FTP

| The most downloaded files from Aminet during the week until 1-Jan-96
| Updated weekly. Most popular file on top.
|
|File              Dir        Size Age Description
|----------------- ---        ---- --- -----------
Gloom_Deluxe.dms   game/demo  575K   1+One level demo of Gloom Deluxe.
WebMaker1.0.lha    text/hyper  72K   1+HTML Pages Maker (using MUI3.x and O
xtrndemo.lha       game/demo  680K   0+XTreme Racing Net Demo
MagiC64.lha        misc/emu   352K   0+The fastest C64 emulator for Amiga V
WebMaker1_0.lha    text/hyper  72K   0+HTML Pages Maker (using MUI3.x and O
ABackup510.lha     disk/bakup 299K   0+Backup software w/ GadTools GUI
mcx236.lha         util/cdity  51K   0+Multi Function Commodity
NT70.lha           hard/hack    4K   0+72hz NTSC monitor driver WORKS!
MagicPtr10.lha     util/cdity  51K   0+HighRes Busy Pointers.Includes Anim
MPEGIntuition.lha  gfx/show   115K   0+Ver 2.3 MPEG with SOUND (GUI 4 mp &
MagicCX12.lha      util/cdity 623K   1+Great modular commodity system
PNG_dt.lha         util/dtype  79K  11+Datatype for PNG pictures. V43.1
Visage.lha         gfx/show   146K   1+Picture viewer for OS 3.0+. V39.4
thor222_main.lha   comm/mail  790K   0+Offline reader, main archive (requir
VMM_V3_3.lha       util/misc  267K   1+Virtual memory for Amigas with MMU
ar322.lha          docs/mags  111K   1+Amiga Report 3.22, December 18, 1995
duck.lha           game/shoot 199K   0+A fun little shoot em up
ADMail.lha         comm/mail   62K   1+GUI EMail package, v1.7 (updated)
FW_Tables.lha      util/rexx   20K   0+Powerful FW-Macro to create tables V
mui31usr.lha       dev/gui    771K   5+MagicUserInterface V3.1, user files

| The highest rated programs during the week until 1-Jan-96
| Updated weekly. Best program on top. Please rate all the programs you
| download. To do so, send to aminet-server@wuarchive.wustl.edu :
| RATE <path> <num>
| where <path> is the file you want to judge and <num> is a mark from 0..10
| with 10 being the best. You can rate several programs in one mail, but
| don't rate your own programs. Example: RATE dev/gui/mui23usr.lha 8
|
|File              Dir        Size Age Description
|----------------- ---        ---- --- -----------
imdbDiff951222.lha biz/dbase  704K   0+Diffs for the Internet MovieDatabase
IPDialv19.lha      comm/tcp    93K   4+SLIP dialer; stdin/out terminal prog
DiamondCave2_3.lha game/misc  563K   1+The ultimate Boulder Dash Clone V2.3
ZXAM20b.lha        misc/emu   494K  21+ZXAM Spectrum Emulator v2.0b
bs131.lha          util/boot   49K   5+Try it now! No BootScreens, but sele
Remind1.52.lha     util/cdity  55K  16+Never forget an important event agai
snoopdos30.lha     util/moni  128K  67+System monitor, many new features ad
thor222_inet.lha   comm/mail   81K   1+Internet archive for THOR 2.22 (TCP/
thor222_main.lha   comm/mail  790K   0+Offline reader, main archive (requir
AmigaFAQ.lha       docs/misc  468K   1+Amiga: Frequently asked questions  5
nemac4d1.lha       game/demo  441K   3+3D T-mapped game demo 1/3. Read .rea
nemac4d2.lha       game/demo  695K   3+3D T-mapped game demo 2/3. Read .rea
nemac4d3.lha       game/demo  698K   3+3D T-mapped game demo 3/3. Read .rea
Child_Murd_AGA.lha game/role  2.3M  38+Text/graphics adventure in horror ge
ShapeShiftr3_3.lha misc/emu   258K   3+Macintosh II emulator, V3.3
spice3f5r2_020.lzh misc/sci   929K  26+R1.2 of Analog Ckt. Simulator (020/F
pip_v22.lha        util/misc   35K   4+View any screen in a window on anoth
Executive.lha      util/misc  527K   5+UNIX-like task scheduler (V1.30)
SlateGames.lha     comm/tcp    13K   1+Backgammon and Reversi for AmiSlate
slipcall4.lha      comm/tcp    97K   0+Dialer for AmiTCP, release 4. NEW!!
melchior.lha       demo/aga   1.4M  10+Melchior  1/1 *AGA*
ar322.lha          docs/mags  111K   1+Amiga Report 3.22, December 18, 1995
s3m_realize.lha    mods/8voic 211K  77+S3M-Mod by Necros/PM
Typeface11.lha     text/misc  153K   8+Bitmap font editor
SysPic211.lha      util/boot   84K   1+The best boot-time picture displayer
NewMode_V39.lha    util/cdity  63K  12+Screen promoting utility
@endnode
@node CHARTS2 "Aminet Charts: 08-Jan-96
@toc FTP

| The most downloaded files from Aminet during the week until 8-Jan-96
| Updated weekly. Most popular file on top.
|
|File              Dir        Size Age Description
|----------------- ---        ---- --- -----------
ar323.lha          docs/mags   80K   0+Amiga Report 3.23, December 31, 1995
PAL_on_SVGA.lha    hard/hack    3K   0+Use 15kHz PAL on SVGA monitors! IT W
VarkNET1.lha       comm/net   731K   0+The Internet Installer <BETA> Disk1
VarkNET2.lha       comm/net   780K   0+The Internet Installer <BETA> Disk2
mcx239.lha         util/cdity  53K   0+Multi Function Commodity
PatchOverscan.lha  util/boot    9K   1+REMOVES Overscan limits, V1.0, 23.12
VarkNET3.lha       comm/net   533K   0+The Internet Installer <BETA> Disk3
MotoWB-1.1.lha     util/wb     36K   0+Motorola backdrops for MagicWB v2. V
floppy.lha         disk/misc   13K   0+Trackdisk.device alternative, store
GloomC2P10.lha     game/demo   26K   0+Alternative c2p files for Gloom Delu
ftype.lha          util/misc   33K   0+V1.0, Neural network learns about fi
mcxp212.lha        util/cdity  54K   0+MUI Preferences for MultiCX
MWB_Stuff_5.lha    pix/mwb    571K   0+MWB Icons, Patterns and stuff
DTview1.3.lha      gfx/show     7K   0+DataType picture viewer & converter,
SwazBlanker240.lha util/blank 529K   0+Modular screen blanker
SView532.lha       gfx/show   737K   1+SuperView V5.32 + Library 12.6 (22.1
cedpatch10.lha     biz/patch    7K   0+Make CygnusEd v3.5 look better
cosmc247.lha       game/think 633K   1+Tactical space combat simulator. v2.
KSSFAQ12.lha       docs/help   63K   0+Klaatu's ShapeShifter Guide and FAQ
Orbz.lha           game/think 552K   0+An AGA strategy/think game

| The highest rated programs during the week until 8-Jan-96
| Updated weekly. Best program on top. Please rate all the programs you
| download. To do so, send to aminet-server@wuarchive.wustl.edu :
| RATE <path> <num>
| where <path> is the file you want to judge and <num> is a mark from 0..10
| with 10 being the best. You can rate several programs in one mail, but
| don't rate your own programs. Example: RATE dev/gui/mui23usr.lha 8
|
|File              Dir        Size Age Description
|----------------- ---        ---- --- -----------
imdbDiff951222.lha biz/dbase  704K   1+Diffs for the Internet MovieDatabase
AmigaFAQg.lha      docs/misc  489K   2+Amiga: H ufig gestellte Fragen ( 5.0
ParrotIsland.lha   game/demo  761K   1+Very great adventure like Monkey Isl
DiamondCave2_3.lha game/misc  563K   2+The ultimate Boulder Dash Clone V2.3
ZXAM20b.lha        misc/emu   494K  22+ZXAM Spectrum Emulator v2.0b
Remind1.52.lha     util/cdity  55K  17+Never forget an important event agai
snoopdos30.lha     util/moni  128K  68+System monitor, many new features ad
thor222_inet.lha   comm/mail   81K   2+Internet archive for THOR 2.22 (TCP/
thor222_main.lha   comm/mail  790K   1+Offline reader, main archive (requir
AmigaFAQ.lha       docs/misc  468K   2+Amiga: Frequently asked questions  5
nemac4d1.lha       game/demo  441K   4+3D T-mapped game demo 1/3. Read .rea
nemac4d2.lha       game/demo  695K   4+3D T-mapped game demo 2/3. Read .rea
nemac4d3.lha       game/demo  698K   4+3D T-mapped game demo 3/3. Read .rea
Child_Murd_AGA.lha game/role  2.3M  39+Text/graphics adventure in horror ge
ShapeShiftr3_3.lha misc/emu   258K   4+Macintosh II emulator, V3.3
spice3f5r2_020.lzh misc/sci   929K  27+R1.2 of Analog Ckt. Simulator (020/F
hip222.lha         mus/play   304K   1+Modplayer for kick1.2+. Try it.
pip_v22.lha        util/misc   35K   5+View any screen in a window on anoth
Executive.lha      util/misc  527K   6+UNIX-like task scheduler (V1.30)
SlateGames.lha     comm/tcp    13K   2+Backgammon and Reversi for AmiSlate
slipcall4.lha      comm/tcp    97K   1+Dialer for AmiTCP, release 4. NEW!!
melchior.lha       demo/aga   1.4M  11+Melchior  1/1 *AGA*
ar322.lha          docs/mags  111K   2+Amiga Report 3.22, December 18, 1995
tmapfaq151.lzh     docs/misc   48K   2+Amiga Texturemapped games /demos FAQ
s3m_realize.lha    mods/8voic 211K  78+S3M-Mod by Necros/PM
headtrip.lha       pix/anim   1.7M 105+AGA animation
Typeface11.lha     text/misc  153K   9+Bitmap font editor
zip201x.lha        util/arc   129K 113 Archiver for .zip files
@endnode
@node CHARTS3 "Aminet Charts: 15-Jan-96"
@toc FTP

| The most downloaded files from Aminet during the week until 15-Jan-96
| Updated weekly. Most popular file on top.
|
|File              Dir        Size Age Description
|----------------- ---        ---- --- -----------
taskbar.lha        util/wb     15K   0+Win95 style taskbar for the Amiga
ReqToolsUsr.lha    util/libs  156K   0+ReqTools 2.4 - the requester toolkit
cedpatch10.lha     biz/patch    7K   1+Make CygnusEd v3.5 look better
AmiPhone1.2B.lha   comm/net    99K   1+AmiTCP based voice chat program
Voodoo-1.103.lha   comm/mail  424K   0+Very nice GUI MIME E-Mail reader for
urouhack06.lha     util/wb     22K   0+Sysihack and frame-patch clone, XEN-
mcx241.lha         util/cdity  53K   0+Multi Function Commodity
Tetriz.lha         game/think 149K   0+Polished tetris clone. Great sfx & g
IdentD1_2.lha      comm/tcp    12K   0+RFC 1413 Authentication Daemon for A
GVPPatch17.lha     biz/patch    5K   0+Reliable SER xfers using a GVP Serie
HTML-Heaven.lha    text/hyper 319K   0+Add HTML command-editing to editor.
cybershow60.lha    gfx/board   96K   0+SlideShow&Viewer(incl.PCD)for CybGfx
ReqToolsDev.lha    util/libs  284K   0+ReqTools 2.4 - the requester toolkit
ShowFont.lha       text/font    9K   0+Shows Amiga fonts. Working on ALL Am
ar323.lha          docs/mags   80K   1+Amiga Report 3.23, December 31, 1995
AmigaTecM1438S.txt docs/rview   9K   0 REVIEW: Amiga Technologies M1438 mon
MultiReset3_0.lha  util/wb     75K   0+No longer boring resets!
PatchOverscan.lha  util/boot    9K   0+REMOVES Overscan limits, V1.1, 28.12
CGWBPattern103.lha util/wb    210K   0+Replacement WBPattern (supports. CGf
ACDGv14.lha        docs/hyper 109K   0+AmigaGuide to *ALL* Amiga CDROMs! v1

| The highest rated programs during the week until 15-Jan-96
| Updated weekly. Best program on top. Please rate all the programs you
| download. To do so, send to aminet-server@wuarchive.wustl.edu :
| RATE <path> <num>
| where <path> is the file you want to judge and <num> is a mark from 0..10
| with 10 being the best. You can rate several programs in one mail, but
| don't rate your own programs. Example: RATE dev/gui/mui23usr.lha 8
|
|File              Dir        Size Age Description
|----------------- ---        ---- --- -----------
imdbDiff951222.lha biz/dbase  704K   2+Diffs for the Internet MovieDatabase
AmigaFAQg.lha      docs/misc  489K   3+Amiga: H ufig gestellte Fragen ( 5.0
ParrotIsland.lha   game/demo  761K   2+Very great adventure like Monkey Isl
DiamondCave2_3.lha game/misc  563K   3+The ultimate Boulder Dash Clone V2.3
ZXAM20b.lha        misc/emu   494K  23+ZXAM Spectrum Emulator v2.0b
Remind1.52.lha     util/cdity  55K  18+Never forget an important event agai
snoopdos30.lha     util/moni  128K  69+System monitor, many new features ad
thor222_inet.lha   comm/mail   81K   3+Internet archive for THOR 2.22 (TCP/
thor222_main.lha   comm/mail  790K   2+Offline reader, main archive (requir
AmigaFAQ.lha       docs/misc  468K   3+Amiga: Frequently asked questions  5
nemac4d1.lha       game/demo  441K   5+3D T-mapped game demo 1/3. Read .rea
nemac4d2.lha       game/demo  695K   5+3D T-mapped game demo 2/3. Read .rea
nemac4d3.lha       game/demo  698K   5+3D T-mapped game demo 3/3. Read .rea
Child_Murd_AGA.lha game/role  2.3M  40+Text/graphics adventure in horror ge
ShapeShiftr3_3.lha misc/emu   258K   5+Macintosh II emulator, V3.3
hip222.lha         mus/play   304K   2+Modplayer for kick1.2+. Try it.
pip_v22.lha        util/misc   35K   6+View any screen in a window on anoth
Executive.lha      util/misc  527K   7+UNIX-like task scheduler (V1.30)
SlateGames.lha     comm/tcp    13K   3+Backgammon and Reversi for AmiSlate
slipcall4.lha      comm/tcp    97K   2+Dialer for AmiTCP, release 4. NEW!!
melchior.lha       demo/aga   1.4M  12+Melchior  1/1 *AGA*
ar322.lha          docs/mags  111K   3+Amiga Report 3.22, December 18, 1995
tmapfaq151.lzh     docs/misc   48K   3+Amiga Texturemapped games /demos FAQ
s3m_realize.lha    mods/8voic 211K  79+S3M-Mod by Necros/PM
headtrip.lha       pix/anim   1.7M 106+AGA animation
zip201x.lha        util/arc   129K 114 Archiver for .zip files
NewMode_V39.lha    util/cdity  63K  14+Screen promoting utility
mcx241.lha         util/cdity  53K   0+Multi Function Commodity
xpkDisk37_8c.lha   util/pack  101K  39+A compressing disk device v37.8; use
TinyMeter_V402.lha util/wb    197K   0+Shows memory, volumes, time and date
@endnode
@node MAILLIST "Amiga Report Mailing List"
@toc WHERE

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

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

As you will be writing to a human, ask nicely to be added to the list.

However, due to the recent disappearance of both AR mailing lists, we ask
that if it is feasible for you to read AR by FTP or WWW, that you do so.

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


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

@endnode
@node UUENCODE
@toc MAILLIST

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

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


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

     pub/aminet/arc/

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

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

     uuxt x ar.uu

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

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

@endnode
@node AMINET "Aminet"
@toc WHERE

                                  Aminet
                                  ======

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

Sites: ftp.netnet.net, ftp.wustl.edu, ftp.tas.gov.au, ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk

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

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

AR can also be read with Mosaic (in either AmigaGuide or html form). 
Reading AmigaReport with Mosaic removes the necessity to download it.  It
can also be read using programs found in UNIX sites such as LYNX.

Simply tell Mosaic to open one of the following URLs:

     http://www.omnipresence.com/Amiga/News/AR/
     http://www.pwr.wroc.pl/AMIGA/AR/
     http://mm.iit.uni-miskolc.hu/Data/AR
     http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/amiga/ar/
     http://ramiga.rnet.cgi.com/~AR
     http://www.sci.muni.cz/ar/
     http://metro.turnpike.net/P/panther/main.html
     http://www.lysator.liu.se/amiga/ar/
     http://ArtWorks.apana.org.au/AmigaReport.html
     http://www.vol.it/MIRROR2/EN/AMIGA/

The following AR sites also have a mailto form, allowing you to mail to
Amiga Report from the web site.  <Make sure your reader has forms
capability).

     http://www.pwr.wroc.pl/AMIGA/AR/
     http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/kcci1

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

Mosaic for the Amiga can be found on Aminet in directory comm/net, or
(using anonymous ftp) on max.physics.sunysb.edu

Mosaic for X, Macintosh(tm) and Microsoft Windows(tm) can be found on
ftp.ncsa.uiuc.edu
@endnode
@node COPYRIGHT "Copyright Information"
@toc ABOUT

===========================================================================
==                       _    _       __  ___    _                       ==
==                      /\\  |\\   /| || //  \  /\\                      ==
==                     /  \\ | \\ /|| ||(< __  /  \\                     ==
==                    /--- \\|  \/ || || \\_||/--- \\                    ==
==                   /______________________________\\                   ==
==                  /                                \\                  ==
==              Amiga Report International Online Magazine               ==
==                January 16, 1996        Issue No. 4.01                 ==
==                     Copyright 1996 FS Publications                    ==
==                           All Rights Reserved                         ==
===========================================================================

Views, Opinions and Articles presented herein are not necessarily those of
the editors and staff of Amiga Report International Online Magazine or of
FS Publications.  Permission to reprint articles is hereby denied, unless
otherwise noted.  All reprint requests should be directed to the editor. 
Amiga Report and/or portions therein may not be edited in any way without
prior written permission.  However, translation into a language other than
English is acceptible, provided the editor is notified beforehand and the
original meaning is not altered.  Amiga Report may be distributed on
privately owned not-for-profit bulletin board systems (fees to cover cost
of operation are acceptable), and major online services such as (but not
limited to) Delphi and Portal.  Distribution on public domain disks is
acceptable provided proceeds are only to cover the cost of the disk (e.g. 
no more than $5 US).  CD-ROM compilers should contact the editor. 
Distribution on for-profit magazine cover disks requires written permission
from the editor.  Amiga Report is a not-for-profit publication.  Amiga
Report, at the time of publication, is believed reasonably accurate.  Amiga
Report, its staff and contributors are not and cannot be held responsible
for the use or misuse of information contained herein or the results
obtained there from.  Amiga Report is not affiliated with Escom AG.  All
items quoted in whole or in part are done so under the Fair Use Provision
of the Copyright Laws of the United States Penal Code.  Any Electronic Mail
sent to the editors may be reprinted, in whole or in part, without any
previous permission of the author, unless said electronic mail is
specifically requested not to be reprinted.

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

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

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

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

     1.  Please use English.

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

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

     4.  Please send us your article in ASCII format.

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

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

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

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

All prices are in $US.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chris Hames' PC-Task 3.1 IBM emulator is available for the rather low price
of US$110.

PC-T 3.1 offers 286-level compatibility, video displays up to SVGA with
support for many popular graphic card systems including CyberGraphics, and
a built-in BIOS.

Orders will be drop-shipped from Wonder Computers, North American
representatives for Quasar Distribution products.

Credit card or money order/postal cheque accepted to
@{" Jason Compton " link JASON}.

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

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

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

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

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

|                                | Issue    | Approximate  | Amiga Report |
|           Product              | Reviewed | Retail Price | Reader Price |
---------------------------------|----------|--------------|--------------|
|                                |          |              |              |
|Swifty 3-button mouse           |   2.28   |    $39.95    |    $22.75    |
|                                |          |              |              |
|GPFax Amiga Fax Software        |   2.30   |   $100.00    |    $60.00    |
|    (Class 1 and 2)             |          |              |              |
|                                |          |              |              |
|Micro R+D CD-ROM Volume 1       |   2.25   |    $69.00    |    $30.00    |
|    (Includes early Transition  |          |              |              |
|    graphics converter and loads|          |              |              |
|    of artwork)                 |          |              |              |
|                                |          |              |              |
|Micro R+D CD-ROM Volume 2       |   2.26   |    $99.95    |    $46.75    |
|    (Includes entire Nature's   |          |              |              |
|    Backdrop series)            |          |              |              |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

                The Portal Information Network's Amiga Zone

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

Portal is the home of acclaimed Amiga Zone, a full-service online SIG
(Special Interest Group) for Amiga owners and users. We promise, and
WE DELIVER ongoing & aggressive Amiga support!

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

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

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

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

 * 2.5 GIGabytes of Amiga-specific file space - we have so much Amiga Stuff
      online, we've lost count!
 * The *entire* Fred Fish collection of freely distributable software,
       online.  ALL 1000 disks!
 * Fast, Batch Zmodem file transfer protocol. Download up to 100 files at
      once, of any size, with one command.
 * Amiga vendor areas with participants like AmigaWorld, Elastic
      Reality (ASDG), Soft-Logik, Apex Publishing, and others.
 * 40 "regular" Amiga libraries with over 10,000 files.  Hot new stuff
       arrives daily.
 * No upload/download "ratios" EVER. Download as much as you want, as
      often as you want, and never feel pressured doing it.
 * Live, interactive nightly chats with Amiga folks whose names you will
      recognize.  Special conferences.  Random chance prize contests.  We
      have given away thousands of bucks worth of Amiga prizes - more than
      any other online service.
 * Message bases where you can ask questions about *anything* Amiga
      related and get quick replies from the experts.
 * Amiga Internet mailing lists for Imagine, AMosaic, LightWave, EGS,
      OpalVision & others feed right into the Zone message bases.  Read
      months worth of postings.  No need to clutter your mailbox with them.
 * FREE unlimited Internet Email with 5 meg of free storage.
 * A FREE UNIX Shell account with another 5 meg of free storage.
      You can run Amiga Mosaic through your shell and explore the
      vast World Wide Web!
 * 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,
      UNIX, Science Fiction, Disney, and dozens more.  ALL Portal SIGs are
      accessible to ALL Portal customers with NO surcharges ever. You
      never worry "Ooops... Am I paying for this area?" again!
 * Portal was THE FIRST online service to offer a full package of Internet
      features: IRC, FTP, TELNET, MUDS, LIBS.  And you get FREE unlimited
      usage of all of them.
 * Our exclusive PortalX by Steve Tibbett, the graphical "front end" for
      Portal which will let you automatically click'n'download your waiting
      email, messages, Usenet groups and binary files!  Reply to mail and
      messages offline using your favorite editor and your replies are sent
      automatically the next time you log into Portal.  (PortalX requires
      Workbench 2.04 or higher)
 * Portal does NOT stick it to high speed modem users. Whether you log in
      at 1200 or 2400 or 9600 or 14.4K you pay the same low price.

To join Portal or for more information call:

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

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

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

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!]

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

===========================================================================
                      Distribution BBSes - Australia
===========================================================================

                              -=NEW ZEALAND=-

                             * BITSTREAM BBS *
               FidoNET 3:771/850.0   AmigaNET 41:644/850.0
             +64-(0)3-548-5321, SupraFaxModem 28k8 VFast Class


                               -=VICTORIA=-

                         * NORTH WEST AMIGA BBS *
          EMail: mozza@nwamiga.apana.org.au     Fido: 3:633/265.0
         BBS Phone/Fax: +61 3 9331 2831   USR Courier V.Everything


@endnode
@node BBS_EUROPE "Distribution BBSes - Europe"
@toc BBS

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

                                -=FINLAND=-

                               * LAHO BBS *
       +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.32bis

                             * KINDERGARTEN *
                      Email: matthias.bartosik@hut.fi
                        +358-0-881 32 36, v.34/HST


                                -=FRANCE=-

                              * DYNAMIX BBS *
                        Email: erlsoft@mcom.mcom.fr
        +33.1.48.89.96.66 Minitel (vv23) to Modem (v32bis/Videotex)

                        * RAMSES THE AMIGA FLYING *
     Internet: user.name@ramses.fdn.org     Fidonet: 2/320/104-105-106
              +33-1-45845623 V.34     +33-1-53791200 V.32bis


                                -=GERMANY=-

                           * DOOM OF DARKNESS *
                      Email: marc_doerre@doom.ping.de
                    +49 (0)4223 8355 19200 V.42bis/Zyx
           AR-Infoservice, contact Kai Szymanski kai@doom.gun.de

                              * IMAGINE BBS *
                    Email: Sysop@imagine.commo.mcnet.de
                B+49-69-4304948 Yoriko 28.8ET V.Fast Class
              Login: GAST (Download from area "Amiga-Report")

                         * LEGUANS BYTE CHANNEL *
                    Usenet: andreas@lbcmbx.in-berlin.de
                49-30-8110060   49-30-8122442   USR DS 16.8
                 Login as User: "amiga", Passwd: "report"

                              * REDEYE BBS *
                       Internet: sysop@redeye.muc.de
               +49-89-5460535 (V.32b, Zyxel EG + / USR V.34)

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

                            * VISION THING BBS *
             Infect East German HQ, Keks ASCII Design World HQ
                          ++49(0)345 663914 19200
                          System Password: Amiga


                                -=GREECE=-

                            * HELLAS ON LINE *
          EMail: cocos@prometheus.hol.gr    Telnet: hellas.hol.gr
       82 Hunter Lines (28.8KB): ++301/ 620-6001, 620-6604, 620-9500

                              * ODYSSEY BBS *
            email: konem@prometheus.hol.gr   39:250/1@Amiganet
                ++ 301 412-3502 (ZyXEL 16.8K)   22.00-10.00


                                -=IRELAND=-

                               * CUGI BBS *
                            Fidonet: 2:263/155
                          +353 1 837 0204 V32bis

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


                                 -=ITALY=-

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

                               * FRANZ BBS *
                          EMsil: mc3510@mclink.it
                            +39/6/6627667 24hrs

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


                              -=NETHERLANDS=-D

                       * AMIGA ONLINE BS HEEMSTEDE *
   Fidonet: 2:280/464.0, 2:280/412.0   Internet: michiel@aobh.xs4all.nl
                +31-23-282002   +31-23-470739   14400 Supra

                             * THE HELL BBS *
           Fido-Net : 2:281/418.0   e-mail : root@hell.xs4all.nl
                     +31-(0)70-3468783 (v32bis Supra)

                          * TRACE BBS GRONINGEN *
            FidoNET 2:282/529.0   Internet Martin@trace.idn.nl
               +31-(0)-50-410143 (14k4 Buad (28k8 V.34 soon)

                              * X-TREME BBS *
                      Internet: u055231@vm.uci.kun.nl
                            +31-167064414 (24h)


                                -=NORWAY=-

                              * FALLING BBS *
                       EMail:  christon@powertech.no
                            +47 69 256117 28.8k


                                -=POLAND=-

                          * SILVER DREAM!'S BBS *
                            SysOp: Silver Dream
                            +48 91 540431 (24h)


                               -=PORTUGAL=-

                               * CIUA BBS *
                FidoNet 2:361/9   Internet: denise.ci.ua.pt
                  +351-34-382080/382081 (V32bis soon V34)


                                -=RUSSIA=-

                          * NEW ORDER BBS *
 E-Mail: norder@norder.spb.su  FidoNet: 2:5030/221.0  AmigaNet: 39:240/1.0
            +7-812-2909561 (24 hours) USR 21k6 Dual Standart


                                 -=SPAIN=-

                            * GURU MEDITATION *
                           Running Remote Access
                          +34-1-383-1317 V.32bis

                            * LA MITAD OSCURA *
  E-Mail: jovergon@offcampus.es  Fido: 2:341/35.19  Amiganet: 39:192/1.19
                               +34-1-3524613

                        * MAZAGON - BBS - SYSTEMS *
       E-mail: jgomez@maze.mazanet.es   FTP: ftp-mail@ftp.mazanet.es
                        +34 59 536267 - Supra 28.8
                              Login: a-report


                                -=SWEDEN=-

                                * CICERON *
                        E-mail: peman@solace.mh.se
                               +46 612 22011


                              -=SWITZERLAND=-

                          * LINKSYSTEM LINK-CH1 *
                   contact: rleemann@link-ch1.aworld.de
      +41 61 3215643 V32bis/Zyx16800     +41 61 3832007 ISDN X75/V110
                 Local newsgroup link-ch1.ml.amiga-report


                            -=UNITED KINGDOM=-

                           * AMIGA JUNCTION 9 *
        Internet: sysadmin@junct9.demon.co.uk     FidoNet: 2:440/20
                    +44 (0)372 271000 14400 V.32bis/HST

                             * CREATIONS BBS *
 E-Mail: mat@darkside.demon.co.uk   2:254/524@Fidonet   39:139/5@Amiganet
              +44-0181-665-9887 Hayes Optima 288 2400 - V.FC

                              * METNET CCS *
     Email: metnet@demon.co.uk    FidoNet: 2:2502/129.0  2:2502/130.0
           10 Lines: +44-1482-442251   14k4 +44-1482-444910 16k8

                           * OCTAMED USER BBS *
  EMail: rbfsoft@cix.compulink.co.uk     Support board for OctaMED Users
                            +44 (01703) 703446

                              * SCRATCH BBS *
      EMail: kcci1@solx1.susx.ac.uk     Official Super Skidmarks site
                      +44-1273-389267  24 hrs  14.4k
@endnode
@node BBS_NAMERICA "Distribution BBSes - North America"
@toc BBS

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

                                -=ARIZONA=-

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


                           -=BRITISH COLUMBIA=-

                             * COMM-LINK BBS *
               InterNet: steve_hooper@comm.tfbbs.wimsey.com
  Fido: 1:153/210.0    AmigaNet 40:800/9100.0    604-945-6192 USR DS 16.8

                              -=CALIFORNIA=-

                            * TIERRA-MIGA BBS *
  FidoNet: 1:202/638.0   AmigaNet: 40:406/3.0   Internet: torment.cts.com
                           619.292.0754 V32.bis

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

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


                                -=FLORIDA=-

                            * LAST! AMIGA BBS *
                              (305) 456-0126
                             USR 21600 HST D/S


                               -=ILLINOIS=-

                           * EMERALD KEEP BBS *
                 FidoNet: 1:2250/2     AmigaNet: 40:206/1
                      618-394-0065 USR 16.8k DS

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

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

                         * THE STYGIAN ABYSS BBS *
                            FIDONet-1:115/384.0
  312-384-0616 USR Courier HST   312-384-6250 Supra V.32 bis (FREQ line)


                               -=LOUISIANA=-

                             * The Catacomb *
                        E-mail: Geoff148@delphi.com
                       504-882-6576 Supra v.fc 28.8k


                                 -=MAINE=-

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


                                -=MEXICO=-

                               * AMIGA BBS *
                             FidoNet  4:975/7
                        (5) 887-3080   9600 V32,MNP

                           * AMIGA SERVER BBS *
                         Now with 17 CDs available
                              Number: 5158736

                          * TERCER PLANETA BBS *
                  FX Network 800:525/1, CD-ROM, ANSI/RIP
           [525]-606-2162 24h   2400 - 28.8k V.fast Class / V.34


                              -=MISSISSIPPI=-

                            * THE GATEWAY BBS *
        InterNet: stace@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil   FidoNet: 1:3604/60.0
                    601-374-2697 Hayes Optina 28.8 V.FC


                               -=MICHIGAN=-

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


                                -=NEVADA=-

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

                              -=NEW JERSEY=-

                          * T.B.P.  VIDEO SLATE *
              Full Skypix menus + normal and ansi menu sets.
                         201-586-3623 USR 14.4 HST

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


                               -=NEW YORK=-

                             * THE BELFRY(!) *
                         stiggy@dorsai.dorsai.org
                       718.793.4796     718.793.4905


                                -=ONTARIO=-

                           * COMMAND LINE BBS *
                Canada's Amiga Graphics & Animation Source
                             416-533-8321 V.32

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


                                -=QUEBEC=-

                              * GfxBase BBS*
       E-mail: ai257@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu     Fidonet: 1:167/192
                             514-769-0565 14.4


                               -=TENNESSEE=-

                            * AMIGA CENTRAL! *
                  Internet mail:  root@amicent.raider.net
                   615-383-9679  1200-14.4Kbps V.32bis

                               * NOVA BBS *
    AmigaNet 40:210/10.0 40:210/1.0 40:210/0.0     FidoNet 1:362/508.0
                         615-472-9748 USR DS 16.8


                               -=VIRGINIA=-

                       * NETWORK XXIII DATA SYSTEM *
                       EMail: gottfrie@acca.nmsu.edu
                           804-266-1763 v.42bis
                     Login: anon     Password: nopass


                              -=WASHINGTON=-

                          * FREELAND MAINFRAME *
                         Internet - freemf.wa.com
                  (360)412-0228 five lines - USR v.32bis
         New users have immediate access to Amiga Report Downloads

                              * PIONEERS BBS *
                            FidoNet: 1:343/54.0
                   206-775-7983 24 hrs.  Supra 28.8k v34
              Login: Long Distance     Password: longdistance
                  Or File Request the MAGIC NAME: AR.lha

@endnode
@node BBS_SAMERICA "Distribution BBSes - South America"
@toc BBS

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

                                -=BRAZIL=-

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

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

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

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

@endnode
@node DEAL_AUSTRALIA "Dealers - Australia"
@toc DEALER

===========================================================================
                            Dealers - Australia
===========================================================================

                              -=QUEENSLAND=-

                               Image Domain
                               92 Bridge St
                        Fortitude Valley, Brisbane
                     E-mail: s322698@student.uq.edu.au
                 Voice: 617-3216-1240   Fax: 617-3852-2720


                             -= NEW ZEALAND =-

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

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

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

                                -=AUSTRIA=-

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

                                -=BELGIUM=-

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


                               -=BULGARIA=-

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


                                -=DENMARK=-

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


                                -=FINLAND=-

                              DataService Oy
                               P.O.  Box 50
                            Kuurinniityntie 30
                                02771 ESPOO
          Voice: +358 (9) 400 438 301     Fax: +358 (9) 0505 0037

             Lincware Computers Oy / Lincoln Technologies Ltd
                              Lovkullankuja 3
                               10300 KARJAA
            Voice: +358-(9)50-5583720   Fax: +358-(9)11-205415
                      EMail: linctech@freenet.hut.fi


                                -=FRANCE=-

                            ASCII Informatique
                             10 Rue de Lepante
                                06000 NICE
               Tel: (33) 93 13 08 66   Fax: (33) 93 13 90 95

                            Quartz Infomatique
                          2 bis, avenue de Brogny
                              F-74000 ANNECY
                  Tel./Fax (automatique): +33 50.52.83.31
                      E-Mail: Yann-Erick.Proy@Imag.fr


                                -=GERMANY=-

                           AMItech Systems GmbH
                              Ludwigstrasse 4
                             D-95028 Hof/Saale
               VOICE: +49 9281 142812   FAX: +49 9281 142712
                       EMail: bsd@blacky.netz.sub.de

                    dcp, desing+commercial partner GmbH
                               Alfredstr.  1
                              D-22087 Hamburg
                 Tel.: + 49 40 251176 Fax: +49 40 2518567
                 EMail: info@dcp.de WWW: http://www.dcp.de

                          Hartmann & Riedel GdbR
                               Hertzstr.  33
                           D-76287 Rheinstetten
            EMail: rh@fs.schiele-ct.de     Fido: 2:2476/405.12
              Voice: +49 (7242) 2021     Fax: +49 (7242) 5909
     Please call first before visiting us, otherwise we may be closed.

                             Hirsch & Wolf OHG
                              Mittelstra_e 33
                              D-56564 Neuwied
            Voice: +49 (2631) 8399-0   Fax: +49 (2631) 8399-31

                           Pro Video Elektronik
                                Roßmarkt 38
                           D-63739 Aschaffenburg
                 Tel: (49) 6021 15713 Fax: (49) 6021 15713


                                 -=ITALY=-

                              C.A.T.M.U.  snc
                            Casella Postale 63
                             10023 Chieri (TO)
                          Tel/Fax: +39 11 9415237
       EMail: fer@inrete.it (Ferruccio Zamuner)   Fido: 2:334/21.19

                            Cloanto Italia srl
                           Via G.  B.  Bison 24
                                33100 Udine
                 Tel: +39 432 545902   Fax: +39 432 609051
              E-Mail: info@cloanto.it   CompuServe: 100145.15


                                 -=SPAIN=-

                               Amiga Center
                               Argullós, 127
                              08016 Barcelona
                Tel: (93) 276 38 06     Fax: (93) 276 30 80

                           Amiga Center Alicante
                                Segura, 27
                              03004 Alicante
                            Tel: (96) 514 37 34

                        Centro Informático Boadilla
                                Convento, 6
                     28660 Boadilla del Monte (Madrid)
                Tel: (91) 632 27 65     Fax: (91) 632 10 99

                                Centro Mail
                            Tel: (91) 380 28 92

                                  C.R.E.
                             San Francisco, 85
                          48003 Bilbao (Vizcaya)
                Tel: (94) 444 98 84     Fax: (94) 444 98 84

                               Donosti Frame
                           Avda.  de Madrid, 15
                      20011 San Sebastián (Guipuzcoa)
                Tel: (943) 42 07 45     Fax: (943) 42 45 88

                            Eurobit Informatica
                    C/.  Gral.  Garcia de la Herran, 4
                           11100 - San Fernando
                                   Cadiz
                           Tel/Fax: (956) 896375

                                 GaliFrame
                           Galerías Príncipe, 22
                             Vigo (Pontevedra)
                Tel: (986) 22 89 94     Fax: (986) 22 89 94

                                 Invision
                             San Isidro, 12-18
                     28850 Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid)
              Tel: (91) 676 20 56/59     Fax: (91) 656 10 04

                                 Invision
                               Salamanca, 53
                              46005 Valencia
              Tel: (96) 395 02 43/44     Fax: (96) 395 02 44

                                  Norsoft
                                Bedoya, 4-6
                               32003 Orense
                Tel: (988) 24 90 46     Fax: (988) 23 42 07

                                 PiXeLSOFT
                              Felipe II, 3bis
                              34004 Palencia
                Tel: (979) 71 27 00     Fax: (979) 71 28 28

                                 Tu Amiga
                             Plaza Pedro IV, 3
                       08120 La LLagosta (Barcelona)
                Tel: (93) 560 76 12     Fax: (93) 560 76 12

                                  vb soft
                               Provenza, 436
                              08025 Barcelona
                Tel: (93) 456 15 45     Fax: (93) 456 15 45


                                -=NORWAY=-

                             DataKompaniet ANS
                        Trondheim Innovation Centre
                           Prof.  Brochs gt.  6
                             N-7030 Trondheim
                  Tel: +47 7354 0375   Fax: +47 7394 3861
EMail:datakompaniet@interlink.no  WWW:http://www.interlink.no/datakompaniet

                              Sezam Software
                              Ulsmågveien 11a
                              N-5o5o Nesttun
                       Tel/Fax: +47 55100070 (9-20)
           ABBS: +47 55101730 (24t)   Email: oleksy@telepost.no


                            -=UNITED KINGDOM=-

                           Almathera Systems Ltd
                Southerton House / Boundary Business Court
                             92-94 Church Road
                         Mitcham, Surrey / CR4 3TD
            VOICE: (UK) 081 687 0040     FAX: (UK) 081 687 0490
 Sales: almathera@cix.compulink.co.uk     Tech: jralph@cix.compulink.co.uk

                        Brian Fowler Computers Ltd
                           90 South Street / Exeter
                              Devon / EX1 1EN
               Voice: (01392) 499 755   Fax: (01392) 493 393
                Internet: brian_fowler@cix.compulink.co.uk

                             Visage Computers
                              27 Watnall Road
                           Hucknall / Nottingham
           Tel: +44 (0)115 9642828   Tel/Fax: +44 (0)115 9642898
                        EMail: visage@innotts.co.uk

@endnode
@node DEAL_NAMERICA "Dealers - North America"
@toc DEALER

===========================================================================
                          Dealers - North America
===========================================================================

                                -=CANADA=-

                          Animax Multimedia, Inc.
                         196 Joseph Zatzman Drive
                          Dartmouth, NS / B3B 1N4
                 Ph: (902)468-AMAX     Fax: (902)468-4341
                       EMail: animax@ra.isisnet.com

                           Atlantis Kobetek Inc.
                           1496 Lower Water St.
                           Halifax, NS / B3J 1R9
               Phone: (902)-422-6556     Fax: (902)-423-9339
                     E-mail: atkobetek@ra.isisnet.com

                Atlas Computers & Consulting - Derek Davlut
                       400 Telstar Avenue Suite 701
                           Sudbury, ON / P3E 5V7
                Phone: (705) 522-1923   Fax: (705) 522-1923
                   EMail: s2200147@nickel.laurentian.ca

                           Computerology Direct
                             Powell River, BC
                                  V8A-4Z3
               Call 24 hrs.  orders/inquiries: 604/483-3679
          Amiga users ask for HEAD SALES REP for quicker response!

                        Comspec Communications Inc
                              74 Wingold Ave
                     Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6B 1P5
 Computer Centre: (416) 785-8348  Sales: (416) 785-3553  Fax: 416-785-3668
      Internet: bryanf@comcorp.comspec.com, bryanf@accesspt.north.net

                             ElectroMike Inc.
                         1375 Boul.  Charest Ouest
                       Quebec, Quebec, Canada G1N2E7
         Tel: (418) 681-4138, (800) 463-1501   Fax: (418) 681-5880

                         GfxBase Electronique, Inc
                              1727 Shevchenko
                             Montreal, Quebec
                  Voice: 514-367-2575   Fax: 514-367-5265
                             BBS: 514-769-0565

                              National Amiga
                             Oakville, Ontario
              Fax: 905-845-3295   EMail: gscott@interlog.com
          WWW: http://www.interlog.com/~gscott/NationalAmiga.html

                        Oby's Amigo Computing Shop
                             765 Barrydowne Rd
                     Sudbury, Ontario, Canada P3A-3TG
                         VOICE/FAX: (705)524-5826
                    All Amiga Computer Store Since 1990

                            Software Supermart
                            11010 - 101 Street
                     Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5H-2T1
                Voice: (403) 425-0691   Fax: (403) 426-1701
                       EMail: ssmart@planet.eon.net

                         SpectrumTech Electronics
                       412-1205 Fennell Avenue East
                           Hamilton, ON L8T 1T1
                Voice: (905) 388-9575   BBS: (905) 388-2542
           E-Mail: ste@spectrum.gryn.org   Contact: Derek Clarke


                           Wonder Computers Inc.

                        WCi (Corporate)
                        1827 Woodward Dr. Suite 110
                        Ottawa, Ont. CAN K2C 0P9
                        V: (613) 226-0000
                        F: (613) 226-9990

       Calgary Store                      Ottawa Store
       8180 Macleod Trail S. Suite 12     1315 Richmond Rd.
       Calgary, Alb, CAN T2H 2B8          Ottawa, Ont. CAN K2B 8J7
       V: (403) 253-0009                  V: (613) 596-2542
       F: (403) 253-2435                  F: (613) 596-9349

       Toronto Store                      Montreal Store  
       371 Old Kinston Rd.                130 Laurier St. W.
       Scarborough, Ont. CAN M1C 1B7      Montreal, QC. CAN H2T 2N7
       V: (416) 286-0001                  V: (514) 279-0002
       F: (416) 286-0038                  F: (514) 279-6229

       London Store                       Vancouver Store
       395 Wellington R. S.               4040 #3 Rd. Unit 280
       London, Ont. CAN N6C 5Z6           Richmond, B.C. CAN V6X 2C2
       V: (519) 681-0004                  V: (519) 279-4240
       F: (519) 681-7736                  F: (519) 279-4241


                             -=UNITED STATES=-

                               A&D Computer
                               211 South St.
                          Milford, NH 03055-3743
                Voice/Fax: 603-672-4700   BBS: 603-673-2788
                         Internet: amiga@mv.mv.com

                                AmegaByte!
                             5001 Garrett Ave.
                           Beltsville, MD 20705
              VOICE: (800) 834-7153   VOICE: (301) 937-1640
             FAX: (301) 937-1658     INTERNET: amega@globe.net

                           Amigability Computers
                               P.O.  Box 572
                           Plantsville, CT 06479
                            VOICE: 203-276-8175
                         Internet: caldi@pcnet.com

                              Amiga-Crossing
                                PO Box 12A
                        Cumberland Center, ME 04021
        VOICE: (800) 498-3959 (Maine only)   VOICE: (207) 829-3959
              FAX: (207) 829-3522   Internet: amiga-x@tka.com

                          Amiga Library Services
                          610 Alma School Rd, #18
                          Chandler, Az 85224-3687
                Voice: (800) 804-0833   Fax: (602) 491-0048
                        E-Mail: orders@amigalib.com

                           Amiga Video Solutions
                           1568 Randolph Avenue
                            St.  Paul, MN 55105
                 Voice: 612-698-1175     Fax: 612-224-3823
           BBS: 612-698-1918     Net: wohno001@maroon.tc.umn.edu

                          Applied Multimedia Inc.
                              89 Northill St.
                            Stamford, CT 06907
                           VOICE: (203) 348-0108

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

                            Armadillo Brothers
                            753 East 3300 South
                           Salt Lake City, Utah
          VOICE: 801-484-2791     Internet: B.GRAY@genie.geis.com

                            Computer Advantage
                             7370 Hickman Road
                           Des Moines, IA 50322
                          Voice/Fax: 515-252-6167
                       Internet: Number1@netins.net

                             Computer Concepts
                   18001 Bothell-Everett Hwy, Suite "0"
                             Bothell, WA 98012
                           VOICE: (206) 481-3666

                               Computer Link
                              6573 middlebelt
                           Garden City MI 48135
                 Voice: 313-522-6005     Fax: 313-522-3119
                         clink@m-net.arbornet.org

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

                          Computerwise Computers
                              3006 North Main
                              Logan, UT 84322

                              CyberTech Labs
                               PO Box 56941
                         North Pole, Alaska  99705
 Vox: (907) 451-3285   BBS1 : (907) 488-2547   BBS2 & Fax: (907) 488-2647
            EMail: 71516.600@CompuServe.com   Fido: 1:355/17.0

                              DC Productions
                          218 Stockbridge Avenue
                            Kalamazoo, MI 49001
                       (616)373-1985   (800)9DC-PROD
                    Email: dcpro!chetw@heifetz.msen.com

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

                              Digital Castle
                       4046 Hubbell Ave.  Suite 155
                         Des Moines, IA 50317-4434
                           Voice: (515) 266-5098
                          EMail: Sheep@netins.net


                              HT Electronics
           E-Mail: HT Electronics@cup.portal.com     BIX: msears

           422 S. Hillview Dr.          211 Lathrop Way, Ste. A.
           Milipitas, CA 95035          Sacramento, CA 95815
           V: (408) 934-7700            V: (916) 925-0900
           F: (408) 934-7717            F: (916) 925-2829


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

                            Kipp Visual Systems
                          360-C Christopher Ave.
                          Gaithersburg Md, 20878
                               301-670-7906
                           kipp@rasputin.umd.edu

                     The Lively Computer - Tom Lively
                             8314 Parkway Dr.
                             La Mesa, CA 91942
                   Voice: 619-589-9455 Fax: 619-589-5230
                        Net: tlively@connectnet.com

                                Magic Page
                            3043 Luther Street
                          Winston-Salem, NC 27127
          Voice/Fax: 910-785-3695   E-mail: Spiff@cup.portal.com
                          Contact: Patrick Smith

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

                         MicroTech Solutions, Inc.
                         1885 N.  Farnsworth Ave.
                               Suites 6-7-8
                           Aurora, IL 60505-1162
        Voice: 708-851-3033   Fax: 708-851-3825   BBS: 708-851-3929
           Email: info@mt-inc.com   WWW: http://www.mt-inc.com/

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

                         OverByte Industries, Inc.
                       661 Blanding Blvd.  Suite 391
                        Orange Park, FL 32073-5048
            Voice: 904-858-3348   E-mail: overbyte@jax.gttw.com
          URL: http://www.jkcg.com/Webmaster/Overbyte/index.html

                            Paxtron Corporation
                              28 Grove Street
                          Spring Valley, NY 10977
     Voice: 914-576-6522    Orders: 800-815-3241    Fax: 914-624-3239

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

                          Raymond Commodore Amiga
                            898 Raymond Avenue
                         St. Paul, MN   55114-1521
                 VOICE: 612.642.9890     FAX: 612.642.9891

                           Safe Harbor Computers
                          W226 N900 Eastmound Dr
                            Waukesha, WI 53186
                 Orders: 800-544-6599   Fax: 414-548-8130
                       WWW Catalog: www.sharbor.com

                               Slipped Disk
                               31044 John R
                      Madison Heights, Michigan 48071
                           Voice: (810) 546-3475
                  BBS: (810) 399-1292   Fido: 1:120/321.0

                           Software Plus Chicago
                         2945 W Peterson Suite 209
                             Chicago, Illinois
                           VOICE:  312-878-7800

                        System Eyes Computer Store
                          730M Milford Rd Ste 345
                         Merrimack, NH 03054-4642
               Voice: (603) 4244-1188   Fax: (603) 424-3939
                  EMail: j_sauter@systemeye.ultranet.com

                              TJ's Unlimited
                              P.O.  Box #354
                        North Greece, NY 14515-0354
                  VOICE: 716-225-5810   BBS: 716-225-8831
           FIDO: 1:2613/323   INTERNET: neil@rochgte.fidonet.org

                                Zipperware
                             76 South Main St.
                           Seattle, WA  98104
                 VOICE: 206-223-1107     FAX: 206-223-9395
                          E-Mail: jon@nwlink.com

@endnode
@node OPINION "Editorial and Opinion"
@toc MENU

===========================================================================
                           Editorial and Opinion
===========================================================================

@{"   compt.sys.editor.desk   " link EDITORIAL}  1996, here we come...

@{"   Defining an 'Amigan'    " link OPINION1}  Or, at least, trying to...

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node NEWS "News & Press Releases"
@toc MENU
===========================================================================
                           News & Press Releases
===========================================================================

@{"     AmigaTech UK Relocation      " link NEWS8} New offices in the UK

@{"    'Wonder Power' A1200 Packs    " link NEWS6} More pack-ins from Wonder Computers

@{" Amiga-Link/Envoy Price Reduction " link NEWS1} Network for cheaper

@{"    ImageFX Driver for Snappy     " link NEWS5} Plans from Nova Design

@{"    Persistence of Vision v3.0    " link NEWS2} Free cross-platform ray-tracer

@{"             PRETIUM              " link NEWS4} New personal finance software

@{"    Alien Breed 3D Competition    " link NEWS7} Create an Alien for Team17

@{"    Pentium-Class Bridgeboard     " link NEWS3} Plans from Eagle Computer

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

===========================================================================
                             Featured Articles
===========================================================================

@{"    Amiga Internet Terminal    " link FEATURE1}  The potential for the future

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

===========================================================================
                                  Reviews
===========================================================================

@{"      WBStartup+ V2.5       " link REVIEW1}  Multiple boot configurations, less hassle

@{"   Digita's Organiser v2    " link REVIEW3}  Who, what, when, where (and sometimes why)

@{"      Virtual Karting       " link REVIEW4}  Behind the wheel from behind the computer

@{"  Gamers' Delight 2 CD-ROM  " link REVIEW5}  Many games for little cash

@{" Meeting Pearls III CD-ROM  " link REVIEW6}  Another low-cost, high-content CD

@{"      Aminet 9 CD-ROM       " link REVIEW10}  Santa brings you some games...

@{"       Ami-File Safe        " link REVIEW9}  Out with FFS...

@{"      R3 (Registered)       " link REVIEW7}  Fun with spaceships

@{"    Supra 28.8k FaxModem    " link REVIEW2}  Download AR faster!

@{"    TurboCalc 2.1 CD-ROM    " link REVIEW8}  If you need a spreadsheet, it's a deal

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

===========================================================================
                               Aminet Charts
===========================================================================

                            @{"    01-Jan-96    " link CHARTS1}

                            @{"    08-Jan-96    " link CHARTS2}

                            @{"    15-Jan-96    " link CHARTS3}

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node ABOUT "About AMIGA REPORT"
@toc MENU

===========================================================================
                            About AMIGA REPORT
===========================================================================

@{"        AR Staff         " link STAFF} The Editors and writers

@{"   Writing Guidelines    " link GUIDELINE} What you need to do to write for us

@{"  Copyright Information  " link COPYRIGHT} The legal stuff

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node STAFF "The Staff"
@toc ABOUT

===========================================================================
                                 The Staff
===========================================================================

               Editor:               @{" Jason Compton    " link JASON}

               Assistant Editor:     @{" Katherine Nelson " link KATIE}

               Senior Editor:        @{" Robert Niles     " link ROBERT}

               Contributing Editor:  @{" William Near     " link WILLIAM}

               Contributing Editor:  @{" Addison Laurent  " link ADDISON}

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node WHERE "Where to Get AR"
@toc MENU

===========================================================================
                              Where to Get AR
===========================================================================

                         @{"   The AR Mailing List   " link MAILLIST}

                         @{"         Aminet          " link AMINET}

                         @{"     World Wide Web      " link WWW}

                         @{"   Distribution Sites    " link BBS}

                         @{"   Commercial Services   " link PORTAL}

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node BBS "Distribution Sites"
@toc WHERE

===========================================================================
                            Distribution BBSes
===========================================================================

                          Arranged by Continent:

                          @{"    Australia    " link BBS_AUSTRALIA}

                          @{"     Europe      " link BBS_EUROPE}

                          @{"  North America  " link BBS_NAMERICA}

                          @{"  South America  " link BBS_SAMERICA}

Sysops: To have your name added, please send @{"Email", link JASON} with the BBS name,
its location (Country, province/state) your name, any internet/fidonet
addresses, and the phone number of your BBS

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
@{"   News   " link NEWS} @{"  Opinion  " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{"  Reviews  " link REVIEW} @{"  Charts  " link FTP} @{"  Adverts  " link COMMERCIAL}
@endnode
@node DEALER "Dealer Directory"
@toc MENU

===========================================================================
                             Dealer Directory
===========================================================================

                          Arranged by Continent:

                          @{"      Asia       " link DEAL_ASIA}

                          @{"    Australia    " link DEAL_AUSTRALIA}

                          @{"     Europe      " link DEAL_EUROPE}

                          @{"  North America  " link DEAL_NAMERICA}

Dealers: To have your name added, please send @{"Email", link JASON} with the name,
address, phone, and net address (if available) of your establishment.

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