@database "ar507.guide" @Node MAIN "Amiga Report Online Magazine #5.07 -- August 9, 1997" =========================================================================== August 9, 1997 @{" Turn the Page " link MENU} Issue No. 5.07 =========================================================================== ,a c4%&; 1%%%b 9%=~ " m; mmmm; nmm mmmmm .,pmq,. m; j#6 ##6 j### ### ,#'~ ~`g, j#6 ##&; ##&; #### ### ,#f `# ##&; jP##6 ###6 jP### ### .##' " jP##6 #'$#&; #$#&; #'### ### i## #'$#&; jP l##6 #l##6 jP ### ### &## jP l##6 #' $#&; # $#&;#' ### ### &## #' $#&; j#mmmd##6 # l##6P ### ### ?## mmmw j#mmmd##6 #' $#&; # $##' ### ### ##; $#$ #' $#&; jP l##6 # l#P ### ### `#l ,&#'jP l##6 #' ###mm # $' mm###mm mm###mm `#q,.,p#' #' ###mm (R) "~^~" &&&&q, , ,P `b d' tm d' ,P d&&&P ;P .,d' ,c&&q, &&&&q, ,c&&q, q&,e&q ;P' d&&&P ;P' `& d' `b ;P' `b dP~ `P d' ;P'`&; dB&&&&P ;P ,P d' P ;P ;P d' `&; &, , d' .,d' &, .,d' d' d' , &&& &&'`&&&P' ;B&&&P' `&&&P' &&& `&P' d' ;P &&& "THE Online Source for Amiga Information!" Copyright 1997 FS Publications All Rights Reserved @endnode @node MENU "Amiga Report Main Menu" @toc MAIN Amiga Report 5.07 is sponsored in part by: @{" AmiTrix Development " link AD2}. AmiTrix is the worldwide publisher of the AWeb-II WWW browser. @{" AudioLab16 " link AD4}. AudioLab16R2 provides quality professional audio tools for high-end Amiga work. @{" Amiga Informer Magazine " link NEWS9} The fastest-growing American print magazine @{" Amiga Legacy Magazine " link AD3}. The new Amiga magazine--for your VCR! =========================================================================== == 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. 5.07 August 9, 1997 | \\// == ==============| "THE Online Source for Amiga Information!" |============= |______________________________________________| @endnode @node JASON "Editor" @toc STAFF =========================================================================== EDITOR =========================================================================== Jason Compton ============= Internet Address -------- ------- jcompton@xnet.com 1203 Alexander Ave jcompton@amigazone.com Streamwood, IL 60107-3003 USA Fax Phone --- ----- 847-741-0689 847-733-0248 @endnode @node KATIE "Assistant Editor" @toc STAFF =========================================================================== == ASSISTANT EDITOR == =========================================================================== Katherine Nelson ================ Internet -------- kati@nwu.edu kati@amigazone.com @endnode @node KEN "Games Editor" @toc STAFF =========================================================================== == GAMES EDITOR == =========================================================================== Ken Anderson ============ Internet Address -------- ------- kend@dhp.com 44 Scotland Drive ka@protec.demon.co.uk Dunfermline Fife KY12 7TD Scotland @endnode @node WILLIAM "Contributing Editor" @toc STAFF =========================================================================== CONTRIBUTING EDITOR =========================================================================== William Near ============ Internet -------- wnear@epix.net @endnode @node BOHUS "Contributing Editor" @toc STAFF =========================================================================== CONTRIBUTING EDITOR =========================================================================== Bohus Blahut - Modern Filmmaker =============================== Internet -------- bohus@xnet.com @endnode @node EDITORIAL "compt.sys.editor.desk" @toc OPINION =========================================================================== compt.sys.editor.desk By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON} =========================================================================== Where to begin? Remember all the talk about "The Chinese" and the "Chinese Amiga rights"? It's back again. Lotus Pacific announced that it had purchased the Sino-Chinese Amiga rights from Rightiming, who apparently bought those rights from Escom. The development of the WonderTV Amiga-based computer was announced. But Gateway now disputes Lotus Pacific's ability to buy or Rightiming's ability to sell that license. They claim that they hold the worldwide rights to the Amiga. And for the public, that's about all we know. Both the purported Chinese deal and Gateway's purchase of the Amiga were closed transactions, meaning we have nothing to go on but this "he-said-she-said" argument. We cannot check into the durability of Rightiming's claim on the rights, nor on Gateway's claim that their purchase extends throughout the globe. So it shall be, it seems, until one of them says something else. There's an extra wrinkle here in that shortly after the Lotus Pacific/Rightiming announcement, some of my colleagues did some research and have a pretty good indication that LP and Rightiming are for all intents and purposes the same company. So this may be a very paper move indeed. Remember that promised HTML issue? Sorry, but it's been pushed back one more month. Just to show that we haven't COMPLETELY forgotten about it, a very bare prototype of the upcoming HTML title page has been included. I'm leaving for a trip today so waiting on the release of the issue would have taken up more time than I'm comfortable with. Again, sorry for the delay. The next few months should be interesting ones, as we enter the autumn Amiga expo season. Some companies have some interesting promises coming up. A French company, Ateo, claims to have a new custom-busboard with a graphics card forthcoming for the A1200. We'll see what the future brings. We're hoping to have a good stock of software and hardware lined up for review next issue, so stay tuned. Jason PS: Be sure to check out the @{"Reader Mail" link MAIL} section this issue. Lots of good stuff in there, including a letter from one of AR's founders! @endnode @node COMMERCIAL "Commercial Products" @toc MENU =========================================================================== Commercial Products =========================================================================== @{" AmiTrix Development " link AD2} AmiTrix, publisher of A-Web II @{" Amiga Legacy Magazine " link AD3} The Amiga magazine for your VCR @{" AudioLab 16R2 " link AD4} Professional Amiga audio software @{" Amiga Informer Magazine " link NEWS9} The USA's fastest growing magazine @{" CalWeb " link ZONE} The new home of the Amiga Zone --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node AD1 "The Amiga Informer Magazine" @toc COMMERCIAL The Amiga Informer is about to release our biggest and best issue to date. Due out approximately June 18, you will find issue 8 crammed with important and detailed articles, information and reviews. All the Informer's staff and writers are passionate Amiga users. We use only Amigas to create The Informer and we use them to fill all our computing needs, providing us with a true insight to the platform. The Amiga Informer is currently a mail order, subscription based publication. You will not find us at your local newsstand. However, this fact allows us to keep our prices down for both our readers and advertisers. This also allows us to give our subscribers personal attention when in comes to processing subscriptions and answering questions. >From time to time you may find a sample issue of The Informer enclosed with one of your Amiga purchases or see a copy at your user group meeting. While we do send out some complimentary issues, they do not provide you with all the benefits that a subscription would bring. As a subscriber, you can place free classified ads for your used Amiga products in each issue. This offers a good way to directly reach thousands of Amiga users who want that item you just aren't using anymore. Perhaps you are looking to find an elusive Amiga product. Placing a wanted to buy ad in The Informer just might find it for you. It is difficult at best to sell a used Amiga product in your local newspaper­and it costs you money. In The Informer, your items are seen by an Amiga-specific audience. Therefore, you can sell them quickly, and probably pay for your subscription in the process. If you are a subscriber with an email address, you will automatically receive the Amiga Update Newsletter direct to your email box. Amiga Update is produced by Brad Webb. Through a special arrangement with The Informer, you will get all the latest announcements, press reports, rumors and news at least twice a month with Amiga Update. This info is fresh and direct from the horse's mouth. No need to hunt or wait for the latest info­it's sent directly to you with Amiga Update. Subscribers also receive discounts from Liage International. Through an arrangement with Liage, we are able to offer our subscribers a 10% discount on all orders. While some might think Liage is just a game reseller, the facts are different. They carry not only a full line of popular games, but many educational and instructional titles, as well as a full line of CD-ROM titles. And if that isn't plenty already, The Informer is also working hard to bring you more benefits. We expect to soon have an arrangement worked out with a well know authorized Amiga repair company that will give our subscribers discounts on selected repairs. Likewise, we will periodically be able to offer our subscribers special limited time discounts on popular software titles. These discounts are made possible by software developers or distributors who sometimes offer promotional deals on their products, and we want our subscribers to have a chance at these special savings. If you would like to become a subscriber to The Amiga Informer, now is the perfect time. We offer a No Risk, No Obligation Guarantee to try us out. You will receive a bill with your first issue, but if you're not completely satisfied, just write CANCEL on the bill and return it. If you decide not to subscribe, the first issue is yours to keep and you will owe us nothing. Simply call (914) 566-4665 to subscribe by VISA or MC. If you want to test us out first, call and request to be billed with your first issue. Or if you prefer, you can visit our website at www.amigainformer.com to fill out the On-line Subscription Form to take advantage of the No Risk Guarantee offer. The Informer is devoted to bringing you an accurate and reliable resource of Amiga information. So if you're still not convinced, request that we send you a bill with our No Risk, No Obligation Guarantee, and find out for yourself. Fletcher Haug, Editor The Amiga Informer informer@mhv.net www.amigainformer.com Phone or Fax: 914-566-4665 @endnode @node AD2 "AmiTrix -- Worldwide Publisher of A-Web II" @toc COMMERCIAL =========================================================================== AmiTrix Development, 5312 - 47 Street, Beaumont, Alberta, T4X 1H9 Canada Phone/Fax: 1-403-929-8459 Email: sales@amitrix.com HTTP://www.amitrix.com =========================================================================== Direct Mail Order Price List May - 1997 ============================ (Prices subject to change without notice.) Product Description CAN $ US $ ------------------- ------- ------- AWeb-II (AWeb-II v3.0 / HTML-Heaven v2.1 WWW Software) $ 60.00 $ 45.00 AWeb-II (v2.1 to v3.0 Upgrade) $ 27.00 $ 20.00 SCSI-TV HD controller for CDTV (with 2.5" Internal $190.00 $149.00 Drive Adapter) SCSI-TV for CDTV, with-out Adapter $180.00 $142.00 - the 2.5" adapter is not required for external drives. SCSI-TV570 HD controller for A570 (with 2.5" Adapter) $200.00 $157.00 SCSI-TV570 for A570, with-out Adapter $190.00 $149.00 Amiga-Link/Envoy Starter Kit (2-unit), $270.00 $210.00 - the peer-to-peer network for external floppy port. - (also available as 2-unit expander kit /w extra cable) Amiga-Link/Envoy Expander Kit (1-unit for odd # exp.) $175.00 $135.00 Amiga-Link Expansion Kit (1-unit for even # exp.) $135.00 $105.00 Amiga-Link Accessories: 2-way Floppy Port Splitter (for external drives $ 39.00 $ 31.00 with no pass-thru port) RG58 cable - 1m(3.5ft.) $ 10.00 $ 8.00 RG58 cable - 5m(16.5ft.) $ 13.00 $ 10.50 RG58 cable - 10m(33ft.) $ 17.50 $ 14.00 - (custom lengths available on request) Extra BNC-T connectors $ 4.50 $ 3.50 The P-Net Box, a ParNet Adapter $ 15.00 $ 12.00 AM33C93A-16PC SCSI chip for A3000 (WD-08 equivalent) $ 26.00 $ 20.00 A3000 U202/U203 chip ram control PALs - each $ 15.00 $ 12.00 External Active SCSI Terminator - C50 male $ 29.75 $ 23.50 Internal Active SCSI Terminator - IDC50 male $ 19.00 $ 15.00 External Passive SCSI Terminator - C50 male/female $ 12.25 $ 9.75 DB23 solder-type connector - male, female, or chrome hood - each $ 1.65 $ 1.25 Shipping Costs: (most large boxed items) --------------- First Class Mail: within Canada $ 10.00 within USA $ 10.00 International $ 15.00 $ 12.00 Shipping: (for small bubble-packet items) $ 5.00 $ 5.00 Canadian customers add 7% GST to all orders. Payments may be made with a Bank Draft/Money Order, Postal MO, or VISA to AmiTrix Development in CAN or US dollars. VISA orders charged in CAN $. VISA orders require a FAX with card name, number, expiry date & signature. Please do not send your credit card info via email. Shipping costs may vary for quantity orders/alternative method of shipment. =========================================================================== @endnode @node AD3 "Amiga Legacy Magazine" @toc COMMERCIAL Amiga Legacy's Home Page: http://www.xnet.com/~jcompton/legacy.html ** FLASH ** Issue 1 50% completely edited! Shipping imminent! ...from the editors of Amiga Report...from the producers at The Vantage Point... Amiga Legacy is the groundbreaking Amiga magazine--for your VCR! Legacy will bring you the latest info about the Amiga--its hottest products, its coolest tricks, and its future direction--all on video! From the news in our cyberstudio to the most complete tutorials and reviews possible, Legacy will provide expert analysis of everything today's user needs to stay informed. 1997's issues of Legacy will contain footage from Dave Haynie's acclaimed Deathbed Vigil documentary, including never before seen footage! Let Legacy SHOW It To You! If we say a product provides unparalleled performance, you'll see it in action. Our tutorials will provide you with second to none instruction--made better because we teach by example. ** Amiga Businesses and Professionals ** We can offer you commercial time in Legacy! Our team will work with you to produce unique segments, if necessary. Please contact us for details--space in Issue 1 is still available! The Legacy team will deliver coverage about the Amiga 5 times a year (3 in 1997). Subscribe now--and be a part of the new Amiga Legacy! ** PAL Amigans ** We are currently in discussions which may bring Legacy to you in PAL format! Please contact us if you are from a PAL country and are interested in Amiga Legacy. Subscription Rates: 8 Issues (1997-1998): $11.45 each + $2.05 s/h in the US ($112 total) Save a full 20% off the cover price! 3 Issues (1997): $12.95 each + $2.05 s/h in the US ($45 total) Save $2 per issue off the cover price! Single Issue: $14.95 each + $2.05 s/h in the US ($17 total) [Illinois residents add 8.25% sales tax.] Legacy can accept your subscription via check, money order, or Visa and Mastercard. Please send your name, address, phone number, and account # and expiration date (if applicable) to: Legacy Maker P.O. Box 60711 Chicago, IL 60626 USA Welcome to the Amiga Legacy! @endnode @node AD4 "AudioLab16R2 For Professional Amiga Audio" @toc COMMERCIAL [ AudioLab16R2: digital audio NL-editing/DSP software ] For more informations about the AudioLab16R2 family of products please e-mail to: maurizio@ivg.it AudioLab16R2 is a professional digital audio postproduction application for platforms running AmigaOS-compatible operating systems (currently Amigas and Dracos). Featuring over 4MB of optimized source code, more than 70 windows and hundreds of controls, AudioLab16R2 is the largest audio processing/editing system ever developed for AmigaOS. Different versions are available for every ZII/ZIII audio boards in production or, if you don't have a board yet, the standard Amiga chipset (Standard version only) (1): Hardware AudioLab Version - SoundStagePro AudioLabR2-SoundStage - SoundStage AudioLabR2-SoundStage - DelfinaPro AudioLabR2-Delfina - Delfina AudioLabR2-Delfina - DelfinaLite AudioLabR2-Delfina - Prelude AudioLabR2-Prelude - Toccata AudioLabR2-Standard - Maestro AudioLabR2-Standard (2) - DracoAudio AudioLabR2-Standard - AmigaAudio AudioLabR2-Standard (1) Every version supports direct read/write access to Studio16 audio files for use with the AD516/AD1012 boards by Sunrize. You can apply DSP operators to your Studio16 files and get the processed material written back to disk while preserving SMPTE timecode informations. (2) Maestro driver not available yet. Every other driver is available NOW. Using AudioLab16 it's possible to exchange 16bit formatted audio files with the following hard disk recording software: Program Platform - Audioshop (Opcode Systems) MAC - Cubase Audio (Steinberg) MAC - Deck II (OSC) MAC - Digital Performer (Mark Of The Unicorn) MAC - Digitrax (Alaska Software) MAC - Logic Audio (Emagic) MAC - Pro Tools (Digidesign) MAC - Session 8 Mac (Digidesign) MAC - SoftSplice (Digital Expressions) MAC - Sonic System (Sonic Solutions) MAC - Sound Designer II (Digidesign) MAC - SoundEdit16 (Macromedia) MAC - Studio Vision (Opcode Systems) MAC - Cubase Audio PC (Steinberg) PC - FastEddie (Digital Audio Labs) PC - MicroSound (Micro Technology) PC - SADiE Disk Editor (Studio Audio and Video)PC - SAW (I.Q.S.) PC - Session 8 PC (Digidesign) PC - SSHDR1 HDRecorder (Soundscape Digital T.) PC - Techno Lab (Digital Manager) PC - The EdDitor Plus (Digital Audio Labs) PC - Quad (Turtle Beach) PC - Wave for Windows (Turtle Beach) PC - Producer (Applied Magic) AMIGA - Studio16 (Sunrize) AMIGA - Samplitude (Sek'd) AMIGA The following manifacturers are technical partners, providing official drivers and accepting orders: - Applied Magic Inc. USA (AudioLab16R2-SoundStage only) - Petsoff L.P. FINLAND (AudioLab16R2-Delfina only) - A.C.T. GERMANY (AudioLab16R2-Prelude only) AudioLab16R2 on the WWW (official sites): - http://www.amagic.com/html/al16ss.html - http://www.sci.fi/~petsoff/al16df.htm - http://www.act-net.com/al16pr.htm AudioLab16R2 on AR (technical details): - issue 503 - issue 504 AudioLab16R2 is sponsor of AmigaReport and "The Amiga Audio Cards" WWW site (http://www.iki.fi/pporkka). @endnode @node MAIL "Reader Mail" @toc MENU =========================================================================== Reader Mail =========================================================================== From: Micah Thompson (micah@kxan.com) Hello! Just though I'd drop you a line to say "How's it going?" You don't know me, but Rob Glover, and myself, created Amiga Report magazine years ago, when he was my roomate! I didn't even know it still existed, so you can understand my surprise when I was surfing the web and found it! Unfortunately, we both have strayed from the Amiga due to business requirements, but we both still harbor a deep love for the machine, and miss it terribly. Anyway, just wanted to say "Hi" and keep it going! Micah Thompson, former Technical Editor of AR --- --- --- --- --- From: Richard Dickinson (sparky@icrossroads.com) First I'd like to say thanks for AR, which I enjoyed reading on my A2000 which has since died. I was forced to buy a "PC" and have cursed that day ever since. I've recently got on your mailing list and was wondering if you know of a reader for *.guide format files on a PC? I hope to get myself another Amiga soon as I'm overjoyed to see Amy making a comeback! Rejoicing, Rick D. --- --- --- --- --- From: Dilup Gabadamudalige (dilup@eureka.lk) I am in dire straits. I NEED to get dpaintV AGA for my A4000. I am in Sri Lanka. There is NO Amiga support here. I am the only lonely Amiga user. I create Animations for TV commercials and cartoons. This is a serious request. Please help me to PURCHASE a copy of DPAINT V AGA. - It may be too late to help in this particular case, but Guildhall Leisure is re-publishing DPaint V under the Acid Software label. You can contact them at +44 01302 890000, or guildhall@glsukok.demon.co.uk. --- --- --- --- --- From: Eldor Luedtke Jr. (eldor@swbell.net) Hello, fist off, TNX for all your work on AR, it's realy cool. I would like to point out that it would be nice if you could do an article on CNet Amiga BBS, Ray has busted his butt on coding, he is money in the hole and needs new sysops, the program (IMHO) is FAR ahead of ANY BBS program for ANY micro. They REALY need to get the word out about it. TNX - You're right. I've actually been in touch with those guys for some time now, and it's about time I did a serious article on C-Net and its role in this Internet age. --- --- --- --- --- From: Jason Edmonds (jedmonds@ici.net) I would like to speak in favor of Village Tronic for their standpoint on the Picasso IV/CyberGraphX problem. I own both the Picasso IV and a Picasso II+ cards, using Picasso96 as the driver software. The only real problems I've had are with running Phase 5's MPeg player program (I believe it is called Isis or Osiris - something Egyptian!) and of course the CyberGL stuff (of which there is little or nothing yet). All CybergraphX v.2.0 seems to work fine in both my A4000/040/PIV and A3000/030/PII+ Amigas. In fact, the Picasso96 is so stable I find little desire to even desire the so-called real product (i.e. CyberGraphX). I might add that Picasso96 is free and the older CyberGraphX v.2.0 will run you about $40.00 U.S. to purchase. The promise of CyberGraphX v.3.0 for all of the v.2.0 cards is as yet unrealized. That is not to mention that the Picasso96 supports many cards that CybergraphX does not (such as the Merlin card), and promises to support the much maligned but common Retina Z2. If CyberGraphX started the RTG revolution, which few will deny, why can't it become a truly open standard? What is wrong with a CyberGraphX-compatible clone with better stability and more support? I put the question to Phase 5, who seem intent on stifling Picasso96 by making programs which don't even conform to the original CyberGraphX specifications. Perhaps Wolf Dietrich et al. will see the light and cooperate with Village Tronic. And please, buy the Picasso IV board, I did and you will not regret it. - Jason Edmonds, Boylston, MA, USA - The Phase5 MPEG players are called both Osiris AND Isis, the former for CGX 2 and 3 while Isis is CGX 3-specific. But that's not the main issue here. As it stands today, CyberGraphX 3 is free for most of the boards which are CGX-supported--namely, the CyberVision cards, the Spectrum/Piccolo, Picasso II and II+, and Piccolo SD64. So P96 does not have an overwhelming advantage in being free any longer. The issues in supporting the Retina Z2 (and 2410 card) are difficult ones, which is why both the CGX and P96 guys have had a hard time getting around to implementing them. (CGX 2's 2410 driver was done by someone else). -Jason --- --- --- --- --- From: DeWilton W. Haslup III (dhaslup@erols.com) comments: I am writing because I have a MS2400 Migraph Flatbed Scanner and recently had a reason to scan slides. When I purchased the scanner Migraph had an attachement that allowed the scanning of transparencies. My question is does Migraph still exist? There phone has been disconnected and I can't get a new listing from directory assistance. Do you have any idea where I might find one of these attachments? - I don't know the answer to either of these questions. Anybody else? --- --- --- --- --- From: Alastair Wilson (amw19@hotmail.com) I would just like to say that I am getting excited about the Amiga again. I have had an A500+ for 5 years and a Pentium PC for 1. I used to not shut up about the Amiga and how good it was, constantly quoting specs and the like at my mother. She was happy with my last year's silence until I saw the computers section of the Sydney Morning Herald (australia) last tuesday and the lead article "The Computer That Would Not Die". I am now beginning to tell her all about it again, and cannot wait for a new amiga. If it's PPC or able to be, I will be buying one. The love affair is about to start all over again! Thanks for listening. @endnode @node NEWS1 "Top 100 Amiga Games" @toc NEWS The AR100 - The Top 100 Amiga Games of All Time Amiga Report is launching a major new survey, aiming to determine the best Amiga games of the past 12 years. The Amiga Report 100 will be a reference for games players past and present, and will be repeated every 6 months to reflect the constantly changing Amiga games market. What we want you to do is let us know your own personal "top ten" games - the ten titles you've enjoyed playing more than any others on your Amiga. You can vote for any Amiga game - public domain, shareware or commercial. There's no discrimination between game genres - at the end of the day, number 1 in the AR100 will the be game which YOU have voted the best Amiga game ever. Voting is easy. We allow you to vote in 3 different ways ... By E-Mail: send your vote to kend@dhp.com. Include your full name, e-mail address, and your top ten favourite games of all time. On the web: Point that browser at http://www.dhp.com/~kend/ar100.html and fill in the form. By Fax: Send a fax to Amiga Report on +44 131 226 6996, with your full name and top ten. Of course, there are rules. We only allow one vote per reader, so please don't send 15 e-mails voting for the same games. If we suspect that anyone has voted more than once, all their votes will be disregarded. Please give the full name of the game - a vote for "Tetris" doesn't tell us much; tell us which version. All votes must be in by 31st August 1997, and to keep things consistant, you can only vote on games released on or before 31st June 1997. The results will be announced in the first September issue of Amiga Report. Above all else, the editors' decision is final. May the best game win! --- Kenny Anderson Games Editor of Amiga Report @endnode @node NEWS2 "CallMan 1.1" @toc NEWS TITLE CallMan 1.1 AUTHOR Alexander 'Sascha' Fichtner Vulpiusstr. 99 81739 Muenchen Germany fichtner@informatik.tu-muenchen.de DESCRIPTION CallMan is an integrated phone dialer, logfile analyzer, and cost calculator. CallMan uses MUI. CallMan saves you the time looking for your address book. CallMan allows you to save the essential informations (incl. phone number) on your friends/relatives/etc. in a (quite primitive) database. Using a modem connected to your Amiga you can now let CallMan dial up any of these persons. As soon as dialing has been completed the phone call will be passed on to your telephone. The most important informations on each phone call (date, time, duration, conversation partner) will be saved to a logfile. CallMan can later analyze this logfile. You can view a list of all phone calls, the total time of all calls, and their total costs. You can restrict the analysis to a certain timespan and to a certain conversation partner. Furthermore CallMan can switch to "TelephoneBill" mode, calculating the total costs of your phone calls within regular (free adjustable) intervals. As a bonus CallMan can analyze the ASCII logfiles of the TCP/IP stack Miami, the terminal programs NComm, Term, the fax software MultiFax, and the BTX software MultiTerm/Kit. Their costs will be added to your total costs. NEW FEATURES - device name, unit and serial speed are now configurable - supports "OwnDevUnit.library" - user now can specify an (almost) unlimited number of modem logfiles to be scanned; their individual costs will be summed up to the total modem costs - new logfile scanners: NComm/Term, Multifax - rates files now support additional costs for e.g. Internet charges - several bug fixes SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS - Requires: AmigaOS 3.0, MUI 3.3+, 1 MByte RAM, a Hayes- compatible modem and a telephone hooked to the same phone line. - Recommended: AmigaOS 3.1, hard drive, additional memory, and an accelerator. AVAILABILITY Available via FTP from Aminet sites. e.g. ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/pub/aminet/comm/misc/CallMan11.lha (143.906 bytes) PRICE Shareware registration fee is $15 or DM20 (or equivalent). DISTRIBUTABILITY Shareware. Archive is freely distributable. CallMan is Copyright (C) Alexander 'Sascha' Fichtner 1997 @endnode @node NEWS3 "NGConfig v1.0" @toc NEWS TITLE NGConfig - Configuration editor for NetGate VERSION 1.0 AUTHOR Midkemia Software Development Uffe Holst Christiansen Denmark Fidonet: 2:236/200.12 Amiganet: 39:140/103.12 E-mail: uhc@post6.tele.dk DESCRIPTION NetGate by Michael Berg is an excellent Internet-Fidonet mail and news gateway available for the Amiga. Unfortunately the program comes without a configuration editor. This is such a configuration editor. FEATURES NGConfig features include: * Easy-to-use configuration GUI using gtlayout.library by Olaf 'Olsen' Barthel * AmigaGuide context sensitive online help, asynchronous * Support for all NetGate 1.3 configuration keywords * Fully localized - yet no localizations available * That's all... it's after all only a configuration editor SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS NGConfig requires Kickstart 2.04 or higher. Furthermore NGConfig requires gtlayout.library which are included in the NGConfig distribution. reqtools.library is used for file and directory requesters but is not included. The user is required to read the accompanying 'NGConfig.doc' for full installation, usage etc. AVAILABILITY NGConfig is available on Aminet, eg. ftp://ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk/aminet/comm/net/NGConfig.lha PRICE NGConfig is Shareware. Shareware fee is one e-mail. Donations are naturally accepted. Uffe Holst @endnode @node NEWS4 "MCCLib v12.2" @toc NEWS TITLE MCCLib VERSION 12.2 RELEASE DATE 20.07.1997 AUTHOR Kai Hofmann i07m@informatik.uni-bremen.de http://home.pages.de/~i07m/ DESCRIPTION MCCLib serves as a basis for writing public MUI Custom Classes including preference classes. It is a competitor to "mccheader.c" giving a custom class developer the basic library initialization code. MCCLib features: - Supports 68000-68060 including FPUs - Automatically generates version-string including copyright and C= information - Supports preference classes including preference images - Well formatted/readable source code - Works with SAS/C and GCC 2.7.2.1 - Is prepared for working with StormC, Maxon C++, DICE C 3.x, VBC Aztec C and Lattice C NEW FEATURES - Added AmigaGuide V40 features to the documentation - Added "please rate" section to the documentation - Added MagicWB readme - Now works with GCC 2.7.2.1, thanks to Alexander Leidinger - Prepared for StormC, Maxon C++, DICE C 3.x, VBCC, Aztec C and Lattice C SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS - MUI 3.1 Developer - SAS/C or GCC 2.7.2.1 AVAILABILITY http://home.pages.de/~i07m/amiga/mui/MCCLib.html ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/pub/aminet/dev/mui/MCCLib.lha And all other Aminet sites. PRICE This is Giftware! DISTRIBUTION Permission is hereby granted, without written agreement and without license or royalty fees, to copy and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose, provided that the copyright notice and the following paragraphs appear in all copies of this software, to: - All who will distribute this software for free - All free accessible Internet servers - All Aminet sites - Fred Fish for his great Amiga software library - The German SAAR AG PD library - Angela Schmidt's Meeting Pearls series - All others who do NOT take more than US$ 5.- for one disk that includes this software IMPORTANT NOTE This package may not be included on any further Aminet CD-ROMs unless authors contributing their software to the CD-ROM, (without mentioned distribution "NoCD") are granted a copy of the CD free of charge. @endnode @node NEWS5 "Smaky 400" @toc NEWS We have developed a PCI board with a 68040, 68360 and PCI bridge, running at 33 MHz and supporting from 1MB to 32MB of DRAM (single SIMM). It has originally been developed in order to run the proprietary Smaky OS (PSI-OS) on PCs, thus allowing an easy migration to former Smaky users. This PCI board (Smaky 400) could be used with other operating systems. Since the Amiga community is quite an active one, I thought that some of you might be interested in porting the OS to this board and use it in your PCs. Tests have shown the Smaky 400 to be about 10 times faster than UAE (a great Amiga Emulator) running on a Pentium Pro 200. If the emulation is too slow, why not plug real hardware into your PC - the 68040 CPU will turn your PC into a real computer ;-) Interested? Visit the Smaky 400 home page for more technical details and don't hesitate to contact me. http://lamicounter.epfl.ch/Smaky/sm400.html @endnode @node NEWS6 "VDisk v2.7" @toc NEWS TITLE VDisk v2.7 (Update from v2.6) AUTHOR Etienne Vogt DESCRIPTION vdisk.device is a driver for a recoverable RAM disk. Main features are: - Up to 16 units with virtually unlimited size (512 MB) - Dynamic memory allocation and (optionally) de-allocation - Full support of all AmigaDOS filesystems - Will survive the heaviest system crashes as long as its own data is not corrupted - In case of a recovery failure, the cause can be reported by a support command SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS VDisk requires AmigaDOS 2.04 or higher (v37). AVAILABILITY On any Aminet site. It was uploaded to: ftp://ftp.grolier.fr/pub/aminet/disk/misc/vdisk27.lha (22630) PRICE Free. DISTRIBUTABILITY Freeware (C) Copyright 1994-1997 by Etienne Vogt. CHANGES Fixed a stupid bug that caused crashes when odd unit numbers were used on a 68000 system. @endnode @node NEWS7 "Aladdin 4D 5.0 Shipping" @toc NEWS Aladdin 4D 5.0 Now Shipping! For Immediate Release Monday, August 04, 1997 Contact: Bob Fisher Nova Design, Inc. 804-282-5868 Aladdin 4D 5.0, possibly the most anticipated upgrade to a consumer 3D package on the Amiga, is now shipping! Aladdin 4D is the Amiga's fastest 3D modeling, rendering, and animation package currently available. It's integrated particle systems and volumetric gases along with it's support for Lightwave 3D and the Video Toaster make it an ideal addition to both the consumer and professional markets! Here is just a small sampling of some of the new features incorporated in Aladdin 4D 5.0: o Dongle copy protection - GONE! o All-new AmigaDOS 2.1/3.1 style interface. The completely configurable interface has been designed to make using Aladdin 4D's modeling, rendering and animation tools easier to use than ever before! o Support for all Amiga display modes, CyberGraphX displays, Toaster, DCTV and more. o Full support for the MAGIC image buffer system to allow integration with ImageFX for amazing post-processing and special effects. o New lighting such as spotlights, negative lights, and completely configurable photorealistic soft-edged shadows! o Two lens flare systems! o Support for Newtek's Video Toaster and Lightwave 3D object loading o Hierarchical, spline based, motion paths. o ARexx support, instant texture previewing, interactive help system, multiple level anti-aliasing, motion blur and more! The upgrade price from any previous version of Aladdin 4D is only $99.95. This upgrade brings you the all new Aladdin 4D 5.0 and a completely new manual for less than $100.00! This offer won't be available forever. Call today and order yourself Aladdin 4D 5.0! Call 1-800-IMAGE-69 or (804) 282-1157, to order your upgrades/ crossgrades to Aladdin 4D and ImageFX on this special offer, or fax us at: (804) 282-3768. @endnode @node NEWS8 "OctaMed SoundStudio" @toc NEWS From Ray Burt-Frost, publisher of OctaMed SoundStudio: As Teijo is now busy doing the new PC version and we had a lot of gripes from the few hundred honest Amiga owners about no more new versions for that platform, we decided that even though all the Amiga versions we have released previously have been pirated in the thousands, thus making the years work a total waste of time, we will take a chance just one more time to see if some honesty will prevail. So we are in the middle of arranging to have a new version for the Amiga written. It will be a long time off though and we can only suggest that you keep any eye on our web site pages from around mid August for more details on this. > So , what will be the new features of Octamed soundstudio? > AHI? Any volume on 16bit samples? Yes and yes > Any others? lots!! see our web site Amiga pages from mid August for more details. http://www.octamed.co.uk/amiga.html ( this Amiga page will not be available til mid August ) Ray @endnode @node NEWS9 "Amiga Informer Issue 9" @toc NEWS Holy cow! Issue 9 of The Amiga Informer Magazine is now at the printers and will be available by the end of August. It's our biggest issue yet and we've packed all 48 pages with information that will help every Amigan stay connected and informed. Issue 9 has lots of news. We don't just reprint internet press releases, but investigate the stories and give you a commentary voice. You'll find our lead story covers Amiga licencing and the many new clones becoming available. We have an exclusive discussion with Petro Tyschtschenko and a synapsis of what it all might mean. There's also an inside story on the Lotus Pacific licencing flap with Gateway 2000. In addition, we keep you up to date on the success of the Industry Council of the Open Amiga and the newly elected steering committee that is working with Gateway. Finishing up the news is an on-hand accounting of the new Siamese System, an in-depth report on Aurora Development, the open house at National Amiga and a whole bunch of informative news bytes. Our regular writers once again bring you their insightful columns. Brad Webb goes in-depth on using WBStartup+ to get your system in shape. Davis Sprague guides you through "Talk", the real-time terminal to terminal protocol. Davis also cuts through the confusion of the many available compression routines and provides a useful cheat sheet on how to make them all work. Oleg Moskalensky, aka Dr. Amiga, answers several vexing questions in his new Question and Answer column that will appear in every future issue. We've really gone full speed ahead with the reviews too. You'll find ten reviews, five summaries and one preview in this issue, including a new Game Zone section. Among the products reviewed are PC Task v4.20, Pagemonster, Electrics, MRBackup and Nemac IV: The Directors Cut. Our reviews are done by independent free-lance writers who evaluate and grade products without interference from The Informer's editors, so you get fair appraisals of all tested products. In addition to our numerous product announcements, you'll find a company profile of DKB, information about ShadowWorks Software, several handy tips, and numerous listings of dealers, user groups and dynamite Amiga web sites. In the Action section, you'll find contact information on Amiga International and NewTek and how you can contact them and help the Amiga cause. To top it all off, you can find great deals on used Amiga products in our Marketplace section. There are several ways you can get your hands on Issue 9 of The Amiga Informer. You can purchase it at the cover price from one of our many retailers, hope to get lucky and receive an issue when you buy a product from one of our few distributors, or you can subscribe. If you choose the later, you can call toll free 1-888-88-AMIGA to subscribe by Visa or Mastercard. If you prefer, you can fill out the on-line, no-risk no-obligation "bill me" form at www.amigainformer.com/subscribe.cgi and we'll send you an issue. Either way, you'll find The Informer to be a great source of useful information and insights. We've been producing issues for over 18 months and plan to continue doing so well into the future. I hope you'll give us a try. Thanks for your support, Fletcher Haug, Editor The Amiga Informer Magazine eldritch@mhv.net www.amigainformer.com @endnode @node NEWS10 "OloFight" @toc NEWS OloFight is a beat'em up sporting many innovations, when compared to similar existing products in the Amiga market: - more than 3000 colours on screen at once (there should be 4500 of them in the final release), made possible on an Amiga 1200 by a new routine that exploits the Copper to the most - power-ups to strenghten fighters by adding new moves (special moves will be easier to control than those of similar games) - objects moving on different parallax layers, behind or in front of fighters - animated backgrounds - 3D-perspective floor motion - background music adapting itself to the game events: it gets quiet and gloomy if the player is losing or triumphal if the player is winning - high quality (100% rendered) graphics - support for at least 4 languages (Italian, English, French, German) for both the manual and the game - realistic shadow effect reflecting fighters' movements: not just a dark spot on the floor, but a semi-transparent outline shaped like the character - works are in progress to add a daylight or darkness effect We plan to include an intro similar (read well: similar) to those of Playstation games like Soul Blade, thanks to a fast and effective compression method. The game will run with no problems at 25fps on a basic A1200 (it's a tough challenge). The game will be distributed on floppy disks (probably eight or more) with a HD installation program. We might eventually release a CD version. A playable demo will be ready in September, while the final product will probably be available in December. Best Regards Fabrizio Stoduto The Real Ologram E-Mail: ologram@agarde.it @endnode @node NEWS11 "Midwest Amiga Expo" @toc NEWS AmiCON - The Amiga Central Ohio Network is once again proud to host the Midwest Amiga Exposition. Last year was the first year ever for this event and all who were involved we very pleased with the results. Over 500 people attended the two day event that took place in Columbus, Ohio. Many dealers who attended sold out of product in only the first day. Along with such companies as Nova Design, Silent Paw Productions, and Wonder Computers, many Amiga user groups also attended and rented table space to showcase their talents. This year we expect close to 1000 people to attend the event and many more vendors. We, at AmiCON, would welcome your attendance at our show this year and sincerely hope that you can fit this event into your schedule. Please let us know if you plan to attend as soon as possible so that we can plan our floor layout or any training/demonstrations you may be interested in doing. Thank you for your continued support of the Amiga community. Sincerely, AmiCON The Amiga Central Ohio Network DATES AND TIMES: Dates for the show are: Saturday, November 1st, and Sunday, November 2nd. The show floor will be open from 10:00am to 3:00pm Saturday and Sunday. Companies and user groups renting tables may have access to the facilities by 9:00am. LOCATION: The 1997 Midwest Amiga Exposition will be held at the beautiful Concourse Hotel at Port Columbus Airport. The Concourse Hotel is at 4300 International Gateway, 43219, 614-237-2515 or 800-541-4574. Located on the grounds of Port Columbus International Airport. Indoor/outdoor pool, exercise facilities, airport shuttle are also available. TICKETS: Tickets for the event will be $15.00 the day of the event and $12.00 presale. Tickets are good for both days of the event. TABLE RENTALS: Table rentals for Vendors & Dealers are $175.00 for the first table and $125.00 per each additional. A discounted table rate for Vendors and Dealers is available (please see "Training/Demonstration Sessions") Table rentals for Vendors & Dealers include 2 tickets good for admission both days. Additional tickets are extra. TRAINING/DEMONSTRATION SESSIONS: AmiCON feels that showing new products to potential users is of utmost importance to the Amiga community. Therefore we have provided a platform for Vendors and Dealers to accomplish this. We believe these sessions should be more than just advertisements. An informative session where people interact with the product is an essential, and as such, we have established a few guidelines: A discounted rate of $75.00 for the second table (and every table rented thereafter), is available if the Vendor/Dealer provides show attendees with a training session in one of our several training areas set up for the event. The training demonstration will be no less than 20 minutes in length and must have prior approval by AmiCON. To qualify as a valid session, Vendors/Dealers must provide a format that informs users about new products and/or provides a step-by-step tutorial about the operation of a product. The session must be staffed with presenter, who would be able to answer questions from the audience about the product. Slide shows and video taped demonstrations are welcome, but the session cannot consist of these items only. If you have any questions or concerns about a demonstration you would like to do, please contact dpearce@infinet.com. Please explain your planned demonstration in detail. Please print out and fill-in the form below to purchase tickets or rent table space. ********************************** begin form **************************** Vendor/Dealer Registration Form for the 1997 Midwest Amiga Exposition Company/Organization Name:________________________________________________ Contact Name:_____________________________________________________________ Address:__________________________________________________________________ City:______________________________State/Province:________________________ Zipcode:______________________________Country:____________________________ Daytime Phone:___________________________Evening Phone:___________________ E-Mail address:___________________________________________________________ Quantity: Price: Total *TICKETS: _______ _____ (@ $12.00 ea.) ______ *(Table rental comes with two free tickets) FIRST TABLE: $175.00 ($175 for 1st) ______ EXTRA TABLES:_______ $125.00 (per additional) ______ CONSIDER ME FOR A TRAINING/DEMONSTRATION SEMINAR (circle one): Y N (This entitles the Dealer/Vendor a $50.00 discount for each extra table rented.) ******* Please note: There is no discount for the first table ******* DISCOUNT: _______ _____ ($50 each xtra tbl)- ______ SUBTOTAL: ______ TOTAL: ______ Please include a check or money order for the amount above. Make check or money order payable to: The Amiga Central Ohio Network (or) AmiCON. All returned checks will be assessed a $15.00 processing fee. Please send your form and your payment, no later than October 10th, 1997, to: AmiCON Atten: Midwest Amiga Expo P.O. Box 18311 Columbus, Ohio 43218 ********************************** end form ****************************** CONTACT INFORMATION: If you have questions about the information listed above, please contact: Dave Pearce dpearce@infinet.com Additional information is available at http://www.amicon.org/mae.html and will be updated regularly. Thanks, Dave Pearce -- @endnode @node NEWS12 "Chinese Amiga Rights" @toc NEWS PISCATAWAY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 18, 1997 Lotus Pacific, Inc., a public company listed on NASDAQ Bulletin Board, announced today its strategic alliance, through its direct subsidiary Regent Electronics Corporation, with the largest TV manufacturer in China, Sichuan Changhong Electronics Group Corporation of China. According to the signed co-operation agreement, Sichuan Changhong will produce over 200,000 units of Wonder TV A6000 in China before the end of 1998. Regent has complete product technical license and patent and it will supply product specific chip set and other key components to Sichuan Changhong. Wonder TV A6000 is now highly valued by industry experts as a true TV ready wonder box which combines all the useful functions of a multi-media computer, a fax machine, a karaoke, an Internet box (like WebTV) and a game machine. Sichuan Changhong Electronics Group Corporation, a public company listed in the Central Chinese Stock Exchange, is now No.1 in China and the 8th largest TV manufacturer in the world. In 1996 it produced and sold over 5 million television sets. Lotus Pacific, Inc. is a public company traded on the NASDAQ bulletin board under the symbol of LPFC. Its Internet website is at http://www.lpfc.com. (See also: http://www.businesswire.com) @endnode @node NEWS13 "Video Escort v2.5" @toc NEWS Mr. Hardware Computers Announces Special Video Escort v2.5 Promotion Sale. For Immediate Release Friday, July 11th 1997 Contact: Joe Rothman Mr. Hardware Computers 59 Storey Ave. Central Islip, NY 11722-2332 USA 516-234-8110 Voice or Fax Email: hardware@li.net Web: www.li.net/~hardware Central Islip, NY - Friday, July 11th 1997 Mr. Hardware Computers announced today that they are having a very special promotional sale on their Video Escort business management program for videographers. "We are out to prove that the Amiga is better at running business software," said Joe Rothman, Co-Owner of Mr. Hardware Computers. "Our Video Escort product has been called the best videographers management program on any platform by many of our users. Yet sales have not been what they should be. We have concluded that only Video Escort's high price was holding it back. In an effort to test the waters, and increase our user base, we have decided to have a sale." Our vision of what business management software should do is simple. The management tools you use should be as intuitive and easy to use as possible. Software should make your life as the owner/manager easy. You make the decisions, but the software should do the work. Knowing where your business stands should be just a report or two away. With these thoughts in mind we present you with Video Escort v2.5. From now until August 31st 1997, the price for Video Escort is $100.00 US. This price includes a registered copy of SBase4Pro-RT. This is a significant savings over the cost of either SBase4Pro or Video Escort which each have a $300.00 US list price. Our regular bundled price for both products combined is $400.00 US. This is a particularly attractive offer because the Video Escort and SBase4Pro-RT registrations entitle the buyer to participate in all future upgrade offers for both SBase4Pro and Video Escort. The Video Escort v2.5 demo is available for download on our web site at www.li.net/~hardware or from Aminet under the name biz/dbase/ve25demo.lha. Search for ve25demo.lha to locate it. Video Escort is Mr. Hardware's complete business management software for any videography business with: Accounts Receivable, Tons of Business Reports, Customer Memos, Easy Contracts, Appointment Tracking, Mailing List Importing, Videotape and Mailing Label Printing, Directions Database, Videotape, Music, and Graphics Libraries, Job Price Quotes, Unlimited Customizable Packages and Option Sets, plus a whole lot more. Mr. Hardware Computers is 100% Amiga and 100% committed to the further development of SBase4, SBase4Pro, The Escort Series, and other fine Amiga software. We have worked long and hard to bring the Amiga professional business management software. We invite you to help prove the Amiga is better at running business software, and therefore better for running a business, than any other computer. @endnode @node NEWS14 "Sagittarius Amos Compiler" @toc NEWS 12-JUL-97 Sagittarius Software - Amos Compiler Soon Available This special release of the original Amos compiler is coming to North America for the very first time. Capable of creating smaller, faster stand alone programs, this package comes complete with a printed manual, AmosPro Updater Disk, Compiler Disk, and the Compiler Extras Disk. Availability of this title is scheduled for early August. The package will retail for $29.99 USD / $42.99 CAD. Pre-order sales are now being processed for the discount price of $25.99 USD / $37.50 CAD. Our products can be ordered online, by mail, by FAX, or by telephone. (Mail orders, please add $2.50 USD / $3.50 CAD to total bill for shipping) Checks, Money Orders, MC, VISA, and Discover are accepted methods of payment. Sagittarius Software 1706 Canton Road Akron, OH 44312 USA http://sagsoft.ald.net E-Mail: sales@sagsoft.ald.net FAX : 1-330-794-2170 (10am - 6pm EST Mon-Sat) Phone : 1-800-426-7687 @endnode @node NEWS15 "Gateway Challenges Sale To Lotus Pacific, Inc." @toc NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE As owner of all Amiga, Inc. patent rights worldwide, we at Gateway 2000 want to clarify a recent story on the apparent sale of all Amiga patents, trademarks and copyrights by Rightiming Electronics to Lotus Pacific, Inc. for use in China, Taiwan, Macao and the bordering countries between China and the former Soviet Union. Rightiming purports to hold a license to manufacture Amigas and has apparently attempted to sell this purported license to Lotus Pacific. We dispute their license, their right to sell any license, and we dispute any claims they have made with respect to Amiga patents, copyrights, or trademarks. Gateway 2000 owns all Amiga patents, copyrights and trademarks worldwide and will continue to license Amiga technology to qualified companies. @endnode @node NEWS16 "PMPro V4" @toc NEWS Picture Manager Professional V4 (PMPro) is an excellent commercial image catalogization program with a large number of features for creation and handling of thumbnail tables. It is a powerful database and allows loading, processing and displaying images via SuperView-Library and includes an automatic conversion function for catalogs of images, which allows to convert between all file formats SuperView-Library does support ... AND MORE ... It even can directly scan LHA and LZX archives for images. - The ENGLISH version of Jürgen Schäfer's Picture Manager can be obtained from Blittersoft 6 Drakes Mews Crownhill Industry Milton Keynes, MK8 OER Voice: +44-(0)1908-261466 United Kingdom Fax: +44-(0)1908-261488 Or from any distributor. The official pricing as of August 1997 has been 49.95 UK pounds (no guarantee). Ask them for it. Blittersoft also are the distributors of many other Amiga hard and software products, among them Village Tronic and phase5. Blittersoft WWW page: http://blittersoft.wildnet.co.uk/pmpro.htm Blittersoft: sales@blittersoft.com - The GERMAN version of Jürgen Schäfer's Picture Manager can be obtained from IrseeSoft SPCS Meinrad-Spiess-Platz 2 D-87660 Irsee Voice: +49-(0)8341-74327 Germany Fax: +49-(0)8341-12042 Or from any distributor. The official pricing as of May 1997 has been 129 DEM (no guarantee). Ask them for it. IrseeSoft also are the manufacturers of the TurboPrint V5 high quality printer driver enhancement system. A CD-ROM containing catalogues of more than 25000 graphics from Amiga CD-ROMs as well as a full version of PM 2.0 and demo versions (german) of PMPro 4 and TurboPrint 5 is available for 29 DEM (no guarantee). It's the first one of a new CD-ROM series - the second one just has been released and does contain graphic catalogues for Aminet 1-16 and Aminet Set 1-4 CD-ROMs. IrseeSoft WWW page: http://home.t-online.de/home/IrseeSoft/ IrseeSoft: IrseeSoft@t-online.de ********************************************************* @endnode @node NEWS17 "ANet IRC Network" @toc NEWS A new, small, Amiga-only IRC net has been launched. Currently it consists of a small group of servers--at present, you can reliably connect to- irc.it.kth.se irc.pureamiga.co.uk irc.thule.no irc.whiterose.net And, of course, join channel #amiga. The servers are all run by longtime Amiga IRC users. @endnode @node FEATURE1 "Australian Show Report" @toc FEATURE =========================================================================== Australian Amiga Gathering 1997 Report: By Guy Nathan cyberwlf@wr.com.au =========================================================================== Welcome to a report of the Australian Amiga Gathering 1997, organised and Co-Ordinated by Australian Amiga Gazette and held between the days of the 28th of June and 29th of June this year. The first day went from 10am till 5pm, and the second day from 10am till 4pm. It was held in a building within Sydney's Sydney Showground, which in the past has been most noted for hosting The Royal Easter Show. The turnout at the show on the first day was extremely good and outdid the expectations of most who had stands there, and for this supposedly 'dead' platform in Australia the place was packed almost all day on the 28th (Saturday). Although Sunday was rather quieter, there was still a good amount of people who showed up and even those who attended the show for two of the days agreed the turn out was great overall. (923 turned out) Although I am a freelance writer who has written for numerous publications including Australian Amiga Gazette my actual job at the show primarily was to represent the ICOAi (Industrial Council and Open Amiga Initiative). But I also assisted with duties such as ticket handling at the entrance to the show as well as token help at the Australian Amiga Gazette/Shareware booth stand. The Companies: At the show there was a good turn out of Amiga companies who brought along their product lines and all the stock they could carry. The general feedback from alot of companies seemed to be that they didn't expect there to be that many people, so some companies may have been understocked with some products in some cases. The companies which came along were: * Amadeus Computers * G Soft * Software Buyers Service * GP Software * Power Computing UK * Australian Amiga Gazette/Shareware Booth * Computa Magic * TechMedia * Resource Management Force * Unitech Electronics * Amiga Genius * Unicorn Solutions As well as the organisations: * Sydney's Commodore Hornsby User Group (CHUG), * Melbourne's North West User Group (NWUG) * And also St. Johns Park High School (sponsered by Unitech) As well as this there was a representative for Amiga International, Basil from TAEN (The Amiga Education Network), and two ICOAi Representatives, myself and Paul Morabito. By no means, for an Australian Amiga show, could this considered to be a small show. Some companies who did not show include the likes of Megatron, a company wishing to be the Official Australian Amiga Distributors. Alot of other companies who didn't show, did this due to being unable to afford the flight to Sydney with themselves and all their stock. The Product Lines: All the companies who went along, as well as displaying all the products they usually retail, they also displayed the products they are distributor for. Amadeus Computers: They are the distributors for Digita and Cloanto, and had their products there. As well as a variety of other games and hardware and a huge variety of CD-ROMs going at cheaper than normal prices. They also had deals such as AFS User version going for $25 (all prices in Australian dollars) and SAS C going for $99. As well as a range of BSB Books going for $25 or so and covered the topics of Amiga C and Assembly programming, Introduction to Workbench, Introduction to the Amiga and more. G Soft/Software Buyers Service: G Soft were the representatives for Phase 5, unfortunately upon asking about the PowerUp boards being available for display I was told although the board was requested it was never sent to them in time for the show. Besides this these two companies combined their stands and were selling a huge range of Amiga hardware and software including Studio (Printer Software) of which G Soft are distributors for, as well as being an organisation in which one could officially register Miami. Software Buyers Service were distributors for AWeb 3.0 and Village Tronic, and Warp Engine products, so products such as the PicassoIV and AWeb 3.0 could be bought here. Alot of good deals could be found on this stand between the two businesses which occupied it. The Infinitiv Micronik tower was also on display at this stand. GP Software: At this stand the infamous Greg Perry and Jonathon Potter could be found, authors of much notable Amiga software including Directory Opus 5.6 (aka. DOpus Magellan). Here you could buy their t-shirts, play around with DOpus, or talk to DOpus's authors, or even purchase something from the GP Software range if you so chose to. Power Computing UK: At this stand the head of Power Computing UK could be found as well as two locals. All the goods for this stand for the show were brought over with its' owner from the UK. Available at the stand was some Phase5 goods (such as accelerators and the Cybervision64/3d), and even some PicassoIV boards, but most notable was PowerComputing UK's game Big Red Adventure which was for sale there for only $60, not bad for an AGA Multitasking Amiga CD-ROM game. This game is available no where else in Australia. It was great to see an organisation from overseas to have come to such a show. Australian Amiga Gazette/Shareware Booth: At this stand was the Shareware booth where one could register on the spot Dust, Wildfire, Delitracker2, NewYork, Shapeshifter, ST Fax, and more. You could also on the same stand renew or subscribe to Australian Amiga Gazette or talk to the staff of the magazine. You could also buy an 'Introduction to the A1200 Basic Tutorial Volume 1' Video, or an 'Introduction to the A1200 - A Deeper Look Volume 2 Video, going for $15 each at the show. As well as this, the stand held host to the ICOAi Representatives, of which we are most appreciative of. Computa Magic: This stand had some amazing deals to be had on CD-ROMs. Sensible Soccer CD32, Chaos Engine CD32, Netnews Offline CD and other CDs were going for $5 each, They are also the distributors for ProDAD, DKB Peripherals, Golden Image, Migraph, and Roctek, so all the products they could bring along from these companies were there to be had. On asking about p-OS, I was told due to it currently being in pre-release form and only in german they did not have it for sale there, but when it is completed, a period of 4-5 weeks later one can expect an English version to be released, and at that point they shall sell it. In my opinion even a demo of it in German would have been preferable to not even showing it at all. They also had a huge variety of cheap mice going for around $10 to $15. They were also selling clickBOOMs' Capital Punishment, most of the Vulcan range of games, and numerous other Amiga titles, as well as a whole host of old Amiga games. Techmedia: At this stand there was a constant running demo of the MacroSytem's Casablanca, a Digital Video Editing suite, which was running a pre-edited video done using that suite which was being spooled off the harddrive. Another Amiga there was using Scala and an MPEG Playback unit to display a full screen bit of footage the whole time. As well was MacroSystem's DraCo in operation also constantly being used to display things (although mostly left on the Movieshop screen whenever i went by). Also for sale here was MacroSystem's VLab Motion card and ArtEffect. Brochures for the DraCo were also available. This stand attracted alot of attention, but I am unsure as to how many sales were made. Resource Management Force: I didn't get much of a chance to see much at this stand, and from what I already knew about them, they are the distributors and producers of QuickNet Networking system in Australia, so they had that on display there, they also appeared to have advertisments for AIC there, (Australian Internet Company), a Sydney Internet Service provider which offers Amiga support. Unitech Electronics: This stand had alot of small parts sitting around the stand on sale as well as other Amiga products. As they are the distributors for Competition Pro Joypads, Kickboard Plus, Poswiz, and numerous Amiga cables they had all of these on show. As well they had other Amiga Software and Hardware for sale. You could also buy A1200's and A4000 Towers here. A product near completion, which they have been developing, which they planned to have at the show, but didn't get to, was a Tower expansion for the A1200, but due to a missing part, this missed out on being demonstrated at the show. Amiga Genius: This stand was next to the Australian Amiga Gazette stand, which was near the entrance so often had alot of people checking out the stand. Most notably this stand distributes the Amiga Siamese system and had this on display at the show. They also had a variety of chips and cheap (old) software on sale there as well. They were also selling the Amiga Graffiti cards, a card which has similar purpose to that of a graphic card, but has to have software that is specifically written for it in order to use it with it, these units also plug into small and big box Amigas. They were also selling the AQCVid software which people can use with the product QuickCam digital camera which captures images, and ideal for Internet users. They also distributed The GoldenGate 2 Bus+, which allows the plug in of PC peripherals such as networking cards into big box Amigas with Amiga software support. Unicorn Solutions: This stand played host to showing the capability of networking Amigas together from anything from an Amiga 600 upto an Amiga 4000 with 060, and even linking via a PCMCIA Ethernet card on the A600/A1200 to a Win95 PC. Most things which happened here were discussions of Amiga Networking Solutions within Amiga Networks, or Amigas in PC Ethernet networks. As well as using the A4000/060 a demo of a new and upcoming Amiga game which had a graphics engine which looked similar to Quake (albeit not another Doom-game) from the demo coder Accolyte in Cydonia, an Australian Amiga Demo group, this game is not yet complete, but it was never the less an amazing demonstration. The Other Organisations: Sydney's Commodore Hornsby User Group (CHUG): This stand didn't really have much to it, and could be probably most noted for one of the members of the group sitting there the whole time playing Megaball. They also seemed to be helping out those who came to them for information whether it be regarding the group or about the Amiga in general. Melbourne's North West User Group (NWUG): This stand had about on average four guys sitting around it answering the questions of people who came up to the stand and asked them both about the group and/or Amigas. They had a newsletter available the group publishes for those who were intrested. They also succesfully helped to finish off the last part at converting an IBM user to buy an Amiga (so a great commendation for that alone should go here). They were also selling off second hand parts from the guys computers who came up. St. Johns Park High School: This stand un-like any other had nothing to do specifically with any Amiga organisation, but was sponsered by Unitech Electronics. About 10 or so school children attended this stand with their teacher in which they were designing new graphics in DPaint on the spot and demonstrating via the means of a slideshow and a very impressive video tape the art work and video work they had created using Amigas. The video work was of near professional quality, an amazing achievement for people that age. This stand also represents an example of TAEN, The Amiga Education Network, the stand where the Amiga International Representative was from. The Speeches: There were two speeches made at this show, the one made by me on the Saturday morning, and the one by the Amiga International Representative on Saturday afternoon. The ICOAi Speech: The outline of this speech basically says that the ICOAi, or the Industrial Council and Open Amiga Iniative is an organisation with over 1000 supporters already, and is hoping to get approval from Amiga International to help form a body in which they can set the standards for future Amiga hardware and software. They also have a goal towards OASYS, Open Amiga operationg SYStem, a process of making the AmigaOS no longer hardware bound. A copy of the speech is available on this page: http://www.ozemail.com.au/~cyberwlf/CyberAm_News.html Paul Morabito and myself were the Australian ICOAi people at the show. The Amiga International Speech: Held by the man from TAEN, Basil, he acted as Petro's representative in Australia, as Petro was unable to in the end attend the show. Using a pre-written speech faxed into the country only that day, he read it out to all who listened. The outcomes of the speech are as follows: - They will: * Support the existing Amiga User base * Work with developers to further develop the Amiga * Encourage broad licensing of the Amiga Hardware/Software - They are working with Phase 5 in R&D - They are actively looking for Australian partners - Acknowledged the lack of recognition of Australian market - Aimed to ensure local market much better cared for - Talked of the licensing of the first official Amiga clone Although the first three points have been heard alot of times before, it did suprise me the points mentioned below it as some details are more detailed and more local than any other speech I have ever read before. The actual TAEN/AI Representative also proceeded to go around to every stand talking to the people working at them as well as meeting with and talking with many Amiga owners there, a truly dedicated Amigan, and one of the people who started up one of the Amigas first ever Amiga user groups in Australia. The Seminars: Besides the speeches certain seminars went on. On the first day there was demonstrations of the Siamese System by Amiga Genius, Networking Amigas by Unicorn Solutions, Amiga Sale of the Century (ten rather easy questions asked to three contestants in a Sale of the Century style manner, and in which the participants could all win prizes), Directory Opus demonstration by Greg Perry from GP Software, and Amiga Ethernet card and Casablanca demonstration by TechMedia. Besides the above presentations, on the Sunday the place in which the demonstrations were held also held host to the Amiga User Groups Conference, and also a WildBench (Workbench Comparison) Competition. The outcomes of the Amiga User Group Conference was a very productice conference with many Amiga User Groups from many states in Attendance. Overall: In conclusion, this would have to be an excellent Amiga show, and when one takes into consideration the current situation with the Amiga in Australia, and the fact it has been since 1993 we have had such a show in Australia, I believe it went extremely well. If there are any future shows, which if judging the success of this there should, I'd like to see those who didn't show, show up this time. This article is Copyright Š Guy Nathan 1997. If you wish to re-publish this anywhere please email me at cyberwlf@wr.com.au about it first. @endnode @node FEATURE2 "A Guide To The Ubiquitous Amiga Emulator" @toc FEATURE =========================================================================== A Guide To The Ubiquitous Amiga Emulator Paul Liss paul@armstrong.son.wisc.edu =========================================================================== I have been following the development of UAE (initially, it stood for the Useless Amiga Emulator, then it became the Un*x Amiga Emulator, and now it seems to go by the Ubiquitous Amiga Emulator) since the early days when it was black and white and couldn't boot from a floppy image. It has come a long way since then. This review is primarily directed at those Amiga users who also have a PC, or, those Amiga users who are thinking about jumping ship to the PC, but want to know if they'll be able to take their software with them. This review is not a tutorial on how to use UAE, however I will include links to that information on the WWW. This review focuses on using UAE to play games and look at demos. I will write another article on more advanced issues at a later date. Introduction to UAE: UAE is an emulator that allows you to run Amiga software on whatever platform you can find a port for. Versions exist for Win32/Direct X (Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0), DOS, OS/2, PowerMAC, BeBox, Linux, UNIX, Next, Acorn RISC, and the Amiga (I'll explain this one in greater detail later). So, exactly, what does it emulate? (from the readme in UAE version 0.6.9) This version of UAE emulates: - An Amiga 500 Computer, with 68000 or 68020 CPU (68020 includes 68881 FPU) - OCS Graphics Chipset, plus big blits from the ECS Chipset - Up to 2MB Chip RAM - Up to 8MB Fast RAM - Up to 1MB Slow RAM, for extended compatibility with problem software - 4 x 3.5" floppy disk drives (DF0:, DF1:, DF2: and DF3:) - Hard-disk emulation - Joystick support (with option of mapping joystick to numeric keypad) - Mouse support - Ability to run in various screen modes (for better display quality or better speed) - Full sound support, consisting of 4 x 8bit channels (mixed into one, so output is mono for now). - Beta parallel port support - some other things which don't work well enough to mention them here... Not emulated: - Sprite to playfield collisions (sprite to sprite collisions work) - An MMU (part of 68030/040 CPUs except those that Commodore used). This means you can't use virtual memory systems or real operating systems like Linux or BSD. - The AGA chipset (A4000/A1200). This chipset has enhanced capabilites for up to 256 colors in all resolutions. - Serial port emulation exists but doesn't work too well. I maintain a web page with links to all of the UAE versions for various platforms that I know of at: http://www.son.wisc.edu/~paul/uae.html UAE was written by Bernd Schmidt, and was developed on an Intel based Linux machine. It was designed with portability in mind (i.e. written in C), but some speed critical parts are written in assembly (Intel versions only). Bernd has made the source code available as well. The UAE home page (hosted by Stefan Reinauer) has the source, plus binary versions for Intel Linux at: http://www.schokola.de/~stepan/uae/ Which version of UAE should you get? If you have a PC, and you have Windows 95 or NT 4.0, get the Win 32 version (ported by Mathias Ortmann). It has some advantages over the DOS and Linux versions: it supports all of the sound and video cards supported by Windows 95 or NT 4.0, it takes advantage of Direct X (which makes it faster than the DOS version under certain conditions), and it supports some features that neither the DOS or Linux version do. (Stereo support, for one). http://www.informatik.tu-muenchen.de/~ortmann/uae/ http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/1570/ (USA mirror) If you have a Soundblaster 16, VESA 2.0 support for your video card, and would prefer not to use Windows, you can try the DOS version (ported by Gustavo Geodert). http://www.netrunner.com.br/dosuae/index.html There is a version of UAE for the Amiga, available from my UAE page: http://www.son.wisc.edu/~paul/uae.html I'll discuss UAE on the Amiga later on in this article. When you unpack the UAE archive, make sure to look at the documentation found in the docs directory of the archive. Further, there may be additional documentation found in the root directory of the archive. It might seem like a lot to read, but read everything specific to your configuration that you can find (especially the faq in docs/faq, and the readme in docs/readme). UAE is not a user-friendly program. It is very difficult for a novice computer user to set it up. Fortunately, there are some pages on the WWW where help can be found. I recommend that every UAE user check out the UAE discussion board at: http://www.netrunner.com.br/dosuae/uaeboard/ There is a very good online faq at: http://www.netrunner.com.br/dosuae/uaeboard/uaefaq2.html There is a very good, step by step guide to setting up hard drive support on UAE at: http://app.nexus-online.com/lazarus/harddrive.html How fast is it? That really depends. It depends on how fast your machine is, and it depends on what you're trying to run. If you have less than 16 MB of RAM on the DOS and Linux versions, or 32MB of RAM for the Win32 version, the emulator will be constantly using virtual memory, and therefore slow. Do you want to run something that uses the copper, blitter, all 4 sound channels, and has tons of sprites on screen plus horizontal or vertical scrolling (think Turrican)? You need the fastest machine you can find. (Pentium II at 300 Mhz., perhaps, or maybe it's time to put that SGI in your closet to good use). Do you want to play games without a great deal of action on the screen? (Think Bard's Tale or Monkey Island) You can do that on a Pentium 133. Do you want to mess around with the Workbench? You need even less CPU horsepower. Games seem to vary so much that you really need to try it yourself and see how it goes. The typical case you'll discover is that the graphics will look fine, but the sound will be distorted or out of sync. This means that your computer isn't fast enough to let UAE emulate a PAL Amiga 500 at 50 fps for the particular program you are trying to run. You can tune things to some degree to get more speed. UAE can skip the display of some frames, or allocate more of the host's CPU time to hardware emulation as opposed to 68000/020 emulation. If you use the Linux version, you can compile a version of UAE without sound support, which will give you about 10% extra performance. You can even turn off screen updates entirely if all you want to do is hear UAE play mods or other music. Compatibility: UAE does a very, very good job of maintaining compatibility with a PAL Amiga 500. Read the docs/compatibility file for starters. This file is a woefully incomplete list of programs that are known to work with UAE. If you downloaded the Win32/Direct X version, there is a file called compatibility.txt which contains some more compatibility information. A much more complete list can be found at the UnOfficial UAE Compatibility Table at: http://www.alpes-net.fr/~flynn/amiga.htm UAE has, in general, become more and more compatible with a real Amiga 500 over time. However, there are still problems with sprites (specifically, sprite to playfield collisions). For example, the Pinball Fantasies demo from Aminet http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/~aminet/dirs/game_demo.html eventually crashes UAE after you get to watch the pinball sprite go through the bottom of the screen, then appear at the top, then get pulled down etc. However, that same game demo works 100% on version 0.6.3 of UAE. Careful readers will have noticed by now that, just like on a real Amiga, you'll need Kickstart 1.3 to play some games, and later Kickstart versions for others. Getting Disk and ROM Images: First off, you need a working Amiga to transfer ROM and disk images. It may be possible someday to use the Catweasel controller to read Amiga disks on a PC, but for now, UAE does not directly support such hardware. You will need a way to transfer data between a PC and an Amiga. Several suggestions are given in the docs. UAE includes two programs for that purpose; transdisk and transrom. (Found in the amiga directory of the UAE distribution). The operation of both programs is well documented in docs/readme. One pitfall is that transdisk cannot copy copy-protected disks. This presents a problem for those of us who aren't pirates. Like the C64 emulation scene, it is best to have "cracked" copies of games. Fortunately, Tony Bybell has put his Lockpick program (which can remove the copy protection of many popular games) available for download on the web at: http://www.cse.psu.edu/~bybell/lockpick.html Another place to visit for help is The Amiga Ultimate Patch & HD Installers Page: http://www.ensica.fr/~jffabre/patches.html How to get those old Amiga games working is a great web page with even more information on which programs need various Kickstart versions, 1/2 or 1 MB of chip ram, etc.: http://web.ukonline.co.uk/Members/gc.yuen/gamesfixes/ And, finally, don't forget Aminet. Look in the game/patch directory for some more useful programs. Managing UAE: Some clever programmers have come up with front-ends for UAE that take much of the drudgery out of running several different games. For example, Bard's Tale requires Kickstart 1.3, and some older games require kickstart 1.1 or 1.2. I used to have dozens of batch files that took care of starting UAE with different settings, but now I use a front-end program to take care of that for me. I seriously recommend looking at one of the front-ends available for download from these pages: http://www.eastwind.com.au/homepages/timgunn/uae/ http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Bay/3211/ What was that about an Amiga version of UAE? Samuel Devulder has ported UAE to the Amiga. He has made a lot of tweaks to slim down UAE's memory requirements and get as much speed as possible. Despite that, it's very slow. Sam recommends a machine 20 times faster than an A4000 (which doesn't yet exist). With a 060, a decent Zorro III graphics card with CyberGFX support, no sound, and a frame rate of 1/5, games like Bard's Tale are playable under UAE. As Sam points, out, Amigas using the PowerPC chip will eventually be fast enough to run UAE at usable speeds. Some unique features about Sam's Amiga port are the ability to make animations from UAE (read readme.amiga in the UAE distribution), and the ability to dump the sound to a file. (so you could ultimately make an MP3 of the music from your favorite demos, with the use of some other programs of course - I'm going to make one of the Obliterator music from the RasterMagic demo). Another neat thing is that it is possible to run UAE for Amiga under UAE. Remember that patience is a virtue, if you want to try this. Final thoughts: UAE is an incredible piece of software. It does what was supposed to be impossible: Emulate an Amiga in software. It really works! You can play just about any ECS game you can make an appropriate image for. Even games like Shadow of the Beast, Turrican, and the like work under UAE. Unfortunately, on today's PCs, it isn't that fast. In a CPU generation or two, running an Amiga emulator won't be a problem, much like running a C64 emulator on a Pentium. If you want to play action games and look at demos, make sure you have a Pentium II / Pentium Pro class machine. Alternatively, you might wish to try out Fellow, a less-compatible but faster Amiga emulator for MSDOS only. You can find Fellow at: http://www.ifi.uio.no/~pettersc/fellow/fellow.html If you want to play adventure/role playing games without with less screen activity, you can run UAE on a speedy Pentium class machine. In fact, I finally solved the Amiga version of Bard's Tale II, after meaning to do so for about 8 years, using UAE. Make sure to invest the time in looking at the docs, and to get comfortable with one of the front-end programs. The Future of UAE: Recently, it has been announced on the Amiga newsgroups that there will be a Picasso 96 driver for UAE. Once that's out, I'm going to do another review of UAE, focusing on Workbench performance and applications performance. Further, I think some attention needs to be paid to using the serial and parallel port emulation of UAE, and I'll give a review of the dynamic recompilation options available in Linux and older versions of DOSUAE. @endnode @node REVIEW1 "Review: Directory Opus 5.6 Magellan" @toc REVIEW =========================================================================== Review: Directory Opus 5.6 Magellan By @{" William Near " link WILLIAM} =========================================================================== Magellan, back in orbit! The latest version of Directory Opus is 5.6 Magellan. This is much more than a simple bug-fix and superficial rework. Many of DOpus' features have been enhanced to allow easier access, configurability, and power. There is an abundance of new features too. Considering the Amiga's situation over the past three years, it's refreshing to see that some companies are continuing to update their products. GPSoftware has been with us through thick and thin -- let's hope they continue to do so in the future. What's new? Icons: Magellan now comes with built-in support for NewIcons. You can enable NewIcons' support with a click of a mouse button, or discourage the use of NewIcons if you come across any and you don't currently use them on your machine. There are also options to dither the images down to the number of colors you are currently using and the pen precision can be selected too. There is support for using NewIcons' images for all system images and in your button banks as well. You can turn off icon borders on a global or individual basis, the accidental movement of an icon's position while double-clicking it has been remedied, and the ability to split long icon names into two lines has also been added. An area of the Desktop can even be defined to designate where newly appearing icons will be placed, and with what priority. Magellan offers a new icon information requester with pulldown menus for: icon border (on or off), icon label (on or off), display NewIcon image, display original icon image, strip NewIcon image, and strip original icon image from the current icon. The icon's complete path is also shown within a window in the information requester. A new Command Icon option has been implemented. You can define a command and have an icon assigned to the command and left-out on your Desktop. By clicking on this command icon, the assigned command will be executed. Environment: The Environment GUI has been enhanced to allow greater control over DOpus' configuration. DOpus now has the ability to display any image as the Desktop backdrop, in Lister and Group windows, and in Requesters, as long as you have the appropriate Data Type for the selected file type. The Hidden Drives list has been revamped so that when you enter the Environment GUI a device's entry will not be deleted upon resetting, even if that device is not always present on your system. The setting of a Lister's default size and position, colors, fonts, and status bar text have all been moved to a separate Environment area. There are two great new features available in Listers that you may find quite useful. The first feature is in-line editing of a file's name, comment, date, and protection bits, from a name-mode Lister. To accomplish this, all you need to do is click the mouse button(s) that you specify and a cursor will appear on the line of the selected file. Moving the cursor with the cursor keys allows you to directly edit any of the aforementioned attributes without pulling up a single requester! Hitting the Return key will immediately execute the changes you've made. The second feature is a Free Space Gauge option, similar to the old Workbench type, that adds a fuel-gauge to Listers. The fuel-gauge shows the free space available in relation to the used space on the specified device. The color of the gauge can also be adjusted. Desktop Folder: Magellan introduces a new turn on the old left-out icon routine. Instead of just placing a reference to the file or drawer on the Workbench, as the original Workbench does, Magellan takes this a step further by actually leaving the real file or drawer's icon out on the Desktop. However, you must exercise caution when deleting a file or drawer from the Desktop Folder because the actual file or drawer will be completely erased from your hard drive or other device. There are two ways to move files or drawers to the Desktop Folder. The first is to right-click on the file or drawer's icon to activate the pop-up menu and then select the Copy/To Desktop option. The second is to drag 'n' drop a file or drawer's icon to the Desktop, which causes a pop-up menu to appear (if enabled.) The pop-up menu gives you four options: make the icon a normal left-out, copy the icon to the Desktop (leaving a copy in the original location too), move the icon to the Desktop (this will physically move the icon to the Desktop, and is the option that requires the most care when deleting), or Cancel. The default action for a Desktop Folder operation (Create Left-Out, Copy to Desktop, Move to Desktop, or None) can be defined from the Environment requester. The default action will automatically occur whenever you drag an icon to the Desktop, or you can enable the pop-up menu so that it appears every time to ask you what you'd like to do with the icon in question. FTP from the Desktop! The FTP module has undergone quite a bit of reworking. More efficient memory usage by the module has resulted in faster remote directory listings and transfers that are up to five times faster than before. You can even do direct transfers between remote sites, so you can copy or drag 'n' drop files between remote machines. The FTP Address Book has been updated so that double-clicking on an entry will connect to that site, or you can single-click on an entry and then delete or edit it. A NOP function has been added to help keep sites active with an idle timer mechanism. This will allow you to stay connected without actually doing anything at the site; thus eliminating time-outs. Let's get Started. Start menus were included in DOpus 5.5, but they weren't exactly jumping out at you -- they are now a full-featured addition to Magellan. Start menus appear as a single button on the Desktop and have pop-up menus attached to them. A Start menu can be created by drag 'n' dropping a directory onto the Start menu editor. This will create a pop-up menu containing all of the items within that directory. Drag 'n' dropping files onto a Start button will add them to the existing pop-up menu. You can also create a Start menu the old fashioned way -- by manually editing the menu items from the requester. Images can be added to any of the Start menu's items, and submenus are also available. Workbench can be replaced! Using Magellan in Workbench Replacement mode is like having a new version of Workbench installed, your productivity and ease-of-use will at least triple. Just being able to do more than one Workbench operation at a time is well worth the price of admission. The ability to copy files from one device to another, launch your favorite application(s), and scan a directory all at the same time is quite a departure from the normal Workbench's modus operandi -- no more waiting for a busy pointer to return before being able to do anything else. I would not recommend using Workbench Replacement mode if you have a slow Amiga, or if you're short on RAM. If you have at least an '030 and an extra 2 MBs of RAM to spare, then you should be all set to go. You can always boot your computer back to the normal Workbench mode by holding down the shift key as it reboots. This will execute your standard loadwb command, instead of the DOpus Workbench Replacement mode's loadwb command. Extra bits and pieces Directory Opus Magellan includes several other features and additions. Here are a few of them: Improved CyberGraphX support will be a welcomed addition for all you graphics card owners out there. The CyberGraphX enhancements include: faster icon dragging and display speed routines (even with 24-bit backdrops), a rewritten Text viewer that allows faster access to your data and better scrolling on CyberGraphX screens. The Magellan version of Directory Opus has greatly improved compatibility with MUI, MCP, and Datatypes. There is full NewIcon image support for Buttons and Images, plus better animation file support for DPaint IV and PPaint AnimBrushes. Final thoughts I am impressed with the latest version of Directory Opus and I wouldn't want to compute without it -- using it in Workbench Replacement mode is truly amazing. As a longtime supporter of Directory Opus, I can only say that each new release never ceases to amaze me with its new features and configurability. [Bill is one of DirOpus 5's betatesters. -Jason] Contact Info: GPSoftware PO Box 570 Ashgrove, Brisbane, Australia 4060 Phone/Fax +61 7 33661402 Email: zzgperry@mailbox.uq.edu.au (c) William Near 1997 @endnode @node REVIEW2 "Review: Damage" @toc REVIEW =========================================================================== Review: Damage By: @{" Ken Anderson " link KEN} =========================================================================== Firstly, a warning: don't let children read this review. In fact, don't let kids, your mother, right-wing politicians or anyone else remotely sensitive anywhere near Damage. Damage is sick, twisted, violent, and inevitably great fun. For reasons not explained (or required), Micheal Modelcitizen turns into Mr Damage, hell bent on ... well, being anything but a model citizen. This generally means shooting things, stealing things, and injecting things into other things. Shooting things requires bullets and a weapon; to acquire this you'll either have to steal it or buy it. To buy it, you'll need to steal money. To steal it, you have to hit people. You get the idea - there's no working for a living in this game. To kickstart the whole process, you're initially equipped with a baseball bat. With a nicely realistic thump, you can club down the first old lady who totters past. Her walking stick flies into the air, the blood starts gushing, and the first kill has been notched up. Soon after, the police arrive and start fighting back. It's all presented as a side-on, flick screen game. The graphics are very small but well detailed and animated - a shot fired produces a believable amount of recoil, and a baseball bat to the back of a policeman's head gives a nice stunned reaction before he collapses. Coupled with the sound effects splattering and booming in all the right places, Damage is an enjoyable experience, especially after returning home from crowded shopping centres. Just to spice things up, there's various different narcotics you can pump into your veins to speed things up, slow them down or temporarily paint them a different colour. There's even a suicide needle if things get too much. The controls are a bit on the sluggish side, meaning under heavy fire it can be frustrating trying to escape up a side street. There are times when the drugs and violence go just a bit too far - fair enough, it's only a game, but necrophilia? There's not much more to Damage, but isn't cheap and twisted violence enough for you? It's certainly the first game in a while to have the score measured by the number of people killed. Cheaper than a Swedish blond masseur, it's the next best thing for stress relief after a long day conforming. Pros: Wonderful carefree realistic violence. Small but well animated graphics and satisfying effects. Perfect for fans of "Falling Down". Cons: Good God it's sick - Damage will have even the hardest pint-swallowing nutter exclaiming "euurr" after a while. There's only so much to be offended by - plodding around killing things can get boring ... sometimes ... Damage costs 10UKP and is available directly from: Suomi-Peli PO Box 93 45701 KSNK FINLAND http://www.sci.fi/~damage @endnode @node REVIEW3 "CSAReview: CyberSCSI Mk II" @toc REVIEW =========================================================================== CSAReview: CyberSCSI Mk II By: Maarten D. de Jong M.D.deJong@stm.tudelft.nl =========================================================================== PRODUCT NAME CyberSCSI Mk II BRIEF DESCRIPTION A DMA-capable FastSCSI-2 controller for all Cyberstorm Mk II CPU boards. AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION Name: phase 5 Digital Products Address: In der Au 27 61440 Oberursel Germany Telephone: +49-6171-583787 Support: +49-6171-583788 FAX: +49-6171-583789 WWW: http://www.phase5.de/ FTP: ftp://ftp.phase5.de/ LIST PRICE DM 199,-- (approximately US$ 120) in April 1997. SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS HARDWARE - any Cyberstorm Mk II CPU module (whether this includes the PowerPC-based modules is unknown) - at least one SCSI-device to use the controller SOFTWARE All required software is provided on-disk by phase 5. MACHINE USED FOR TESTING A4000 (upgraded with a Cyberstorm Mk II 040/40 ERC) Kickstart 3.0, Workbench 3.0 2 MB ChipRAM, 26 MB FastRAM Harddisks: Quantum LPS270A (270 MB, IDE), Maxtor 7060 AT (60 MB, IDE), Quantum Fireball TM2100I (2100 MB, SCSI-2) CD-ROM: Toshiba XM-5701B (12x, SCSI-2) Cybervision 64 (4 MB, CyberGfx v40.64) GVP I/O Extender (driver software: v1.8) INSTALLATION The CyberSCSI Mk II (from hereon designated as the CyberSCSI- or SCSI-module) is an additional module for any Cyberstorm Mk II CPU card. The latter features a connector on which the SCSI-module is placed. It is simply impossible to connect the two in a wrong way (especially with a 68040-based Cyberstorm: the cooling fin on this CPU forms a large blockage). Of course, if you are not comfortable opening the computer by yourself, have your dealer or a qualified engineer do the job for you. However, no matter who's performing the installation, there are a few `ifs and buts' which complicate the procedure. Amiga 3000(T) users are informed that their computer may not work reliably with Zorro III DMA-capable hardware in their system; this affects the CyberSCSI-module as well. However, I have been informed that this problem is solved by switching to the latest revisions of the Buster and Gayle (or was it Gary?) custom chips. Keep in mind that this is pure hear-say; so please check thouroughly with your dealer or someone with a good knowledge of the 3000-hardware. Additionally, some soldering on the mainboard of all 3000-models is always required if you wish to install the SCSI-module: it requires a signal which is not provided by the CPU slot of said computers. Please note that this is NOT necessary if you install the module in a 4000. Regardless of the type of Amiga, READ THE MANUAL FIRST. The firmware of your Cyberstorm MUST be updated BEFORE you install the SCSI-module. The manual explains how to do this quite elaborately, but also informs you that the updating procedure may cripple your CPU-module beyond repair. These kind of warnings give me the creeps. It really takes a mental push (read: a few gulps of whisky or vodka) to start the updating procedure after reading about the possible consequences. No programs are available to restore your Cyberstorm to its original state; instead, you are advised to contact the support department. And then what?? Good going, guys! Two remarks here. By chance I spotted a question in the comp.sys.amiga.hardware newsgroup about unsuccesful updates; after a week there were still no responses. I therefore conclude (with the necessary precautions) that a failure is rare. The second remark concerns the manual: it says that a rainbow pattern should appear early in the bootprocess to signify the Cyberstorm's presence; this did not occur with my module (strange), despite the fact that the updating procedure completed successfully (*relieved sigh*). The second problem you run into is the amount of space you have to position all cables. The SCSI-module itself is not equipped with termination resistors; they are placed on a separate PCB which houses the external SCSI-connector. The two are connected with a short (but very broad 50-wire) ribbon cable which passes squarely over the Amiga's internal IDE and floppy drive connectors. The effect of this new cable is that you have to reroute the ribbons of said connectors in a way which would have Houdini think for a while. And then you still have to connect the internal SCSI-cable (with connectors for 2 SCSI-devices and the controller)... In one word: messy. I strongly suggest you test everything before you close up the Amiga while you still have easy access to all hardware. And just when you think you've got it all covered: updating the firmware, setting the termination resistors and miscellaneous jumpers, connecting all cables, and so on... you come to the conclusion that the (large) power cables of the devices in the upper front drive bay and lower rear drive bay meet head-on before everything is in place... This is without a doubt strongly dependent on the type of equipment you are using, but since a warned person counts for two... Strangely enough, the informative manual makes no mention what to do with the connector for the activity LED. Since I intended to remove all IDE drives from my system, I simply used the system's LED. However, I have seen various documents on how to install a two-colour LED; check out the Aminet for a copy. Keep in mind this requires you to solder a small circuit, so have a experienced or qualified person do this for you in case you can't do this by yourself. The above process is clearly described in the manual, but it will take you a lot longer to _do_ than to _read_ it. Keep your cool and you'll do fine. Last but not least, I wish to point out that SCSI-devices in general are affected by the quality of your cables like no other equipment in your computer. A full explanantion goes beyond this review, but I recommend the SCSI-FAQ (ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet-by-group/comp.periphs.scsi/) for a full explanation. You may be interested to know that in a random sampling of cables which were supposed to adhere to the SCSI-2 standard, only half actually did. REVIEW Hardware ~~~~~~~~ If you are not familiar with the SCSI-jargon, I recommend you read the SCSI-FAQ of which I gave the address above. This piece of hardware equips your Amiga with an autobooting, RDB-supporting SCSI-2 controller. With this hardware, you can connect up to 7 SCSI-devices to your Amiga. This includes hard drives, CD-ROMs, magneto-optical devices, scanners, tapestreamers, and so on. If it has a SCSI-interface, you can use it on the Amiga. (Of course you need some software as well, but there are no problems concerning the hardware.) Needless to say, this expands the capabilities of your computer considerably. The most important thing you have to care about are the termination resistors. Without these, the backbone cable remains `open' at some end, leading to malfunctions. Since it is easy to forget to place or remove a resistor, phase 5 have equipped the SCSI-module with an automatic resistor. This clever circuit finds out on its own whether it is the last piece of equipment on the backbone and switches itself on if this is indeed the case. One exception exists, but this is clearly documented in the manual. You can of course also switch the resistor to manual or simply to off. Since this resistor is located on a separate PCB and the controller insists on being at the end of a cable if you are just using internal SCSI-devices, it follows you always have to install this PCB -- and thus run into the already mentiond cable routing problem. (If the latter requirement was dropped, you could make a device-controller-device connection, and have the termination resistors reside on both devices, thus eliminating the need for the second PCB. Perhaps it is possible, but since the documentation does not mention it, I decided not to try.) The main controller PCB has three extra jumpers which aid in setting up your system. You can extend the waiting period at startup (useful for old SCSI-devices which are slow starters), put the controller into `slow cable mode' (if you have very long cables), and have the controller automatically operate any device using FastSCSI-2 mode. Of course the device has to be able to handle this. The external port is a SCSI-2 50-pins connector. In other words, if you are going to use equipment which uses the more common 25-pins or Centronics 50-pins connector, you will need an adaptor plug (which are not exactly cheap). Finally, the hardware itself looks well made. However, the design is still something which makes me wonder if it could not have been done in a smarter way. All the equipment is now stuffed in a small amount of space, yet there is a huge amount of room left above the rest of the CPU-module, over the SIMM modules. Software ~~~~~~~~ All software is delivered on one disk bearing the name `SCSI Tool Disk'. When you reach the point that you can start using the SCSI-devices, you will aready have used it: it also contains the updating program. It is quite interesting to see that the disk contains directories for all products by phase 5 which can be extended with a SCSI-module; this includes hardware such as the Fastlane and the Blizzard 1230 Mk IV. (The only difference as far as I could tell were the icons' tooltypes.) After installing the software (which consists of a SCSI-bus control program, a HDToolbox-like program, the AmiCDFS 2.38 filing system, an audio-CD player, DynamiCache and lots of documentation) using the normal Installer, you are in business. The SCSI-bus control program (UnitControl2) allows you to change various low-level options of the SCSI-devices and the controller. This includes parameters like reselection, bus time outs, and probing of LUNs during start-up. It is especially useful if you are optimizing the performance of your storage media. The on-disk manual is quite clear about all options and you should read it carefully. This is because some gadgets carry rather misleading names which might cause data loss if they are operated in the wrong way. SCSIControl3 is phase 5's replacement for the HDToolbox program. It works in a similar way and gives you the same options, save for a few. For example, it lacks a verify option, which can present a problem if you end up with a `disk not validated'-error. For this reason and the fact that the graphical display of your partitions leads to a better overview, I still prefer Commodore's program. There is enough room for improvement, and I therefore hope that phase 5 will do so. In practice it gets the job of partitioning done without problems. However, I did find an annoying bug: in order to access the information about the partition itself (size, location, type of filing system, etc.), you have to double-click on the name of the partition. However, this will not work if the 'Del Partition' gadget is active. You have to deactivate this one first. The AmiCDFS filing system allows you to access CD-ROMs. It can handle quite an amount of formats: ISO-9660, HFS, RockRidge, PhotoCD and CDDA are present and accounted for. Not only is it quite extensive, it is fast as well. AmiCDFS is a shareware program, and I was amazed to find out that phase 5 don't give us the full version. This makes phase 5 look a bit stingy to me; especially in conjunction with the disclaimer that programs may be withdrawn from the disk at any moment if the author of the program wishes it so. Both AmiCDFS and the audio CD-player program (MCDPlayer 1.01) work as they should. However, since I have never used a CD-ROM in any computer until now, I have no experience with other programs. MCDPlayer is quite crude, and I'm sure better alternatives are easily found. (I happened to see a picture of a rather nice one in the April or May issue of Amiga Computing, but I forgot its name.) The documentation is quite interesting for programmers, since it contains (amongst other things) a complete list of all SCSI-2 commands, the source to a low-level SCSI-bus program (not UnitControl2, unfortunately :)) and some tips on how to get MS-DOS partitions on your mass data storage devices. Real World Experience ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Installing all hard- and software and copying my data from the old IDE drives to the Fireball proved not be the quick easy task I had envisaged it would be, but within two hours I could remove the IDE drives and start the first SCSI-only boot. With IDE drives attached, nothing out of the ordinary happened; without them no problems whatsoever occurred as well. Well, _any_ problems is perhaps too grand a word. One small, but _very_ useful utility decided to call it quits: undel by Martin Mares. This undelete program insists on using the standard scsi.device to perform its magic. And the CyberSCSI-module is operated with the cybscsi.device, so... In general, if the program allows to choose your own .device and unit number, you can use it without problems. A small number of people may ask whether you can use the CyberSCSI-module with NetBSD. At the moment of writing (April 1997) the best answer I can give is `maybe'. A developmental module exists for this controller, but from what I read, it still works rather unreliably. In my opinion, you are better off switching to Linux/m68k (yes, Linux/m68k!), which _does_ support this controller. It is a trifle pointless to present DiskSpeed data here, since they are highly dependent on the hardware employed. However, I can say that a fragmented hard disk is a sure speed killer :). However, that's no problem ReOrg can't handle. I am a little concerned with the amount of CPU-time the DMA-controller demands, though. Or better put (since DMA takes no CPU-time at all) the time required by the programs before the DMA-controller can be put to work. Unfortunately, this is mostly OS-stuff and therefore cannot be changed easily. On the other hand, at least the module at least leaves some time free in comparison to the 4000's internal IDE interface! Even under heavy multitasking loads with lots of different programs fighting for control of the hard disk and the CD-ROM, the module performs without a glitch. No compatibility problems could be established (admittedly, my list of tested devices is small). All in all, I am very pleased with the module. DOCUMENTATION The 42-page bilingual (German and English) A6-booklet provides detailed information about your new toy. The installation procedure is clearly described and includes a few small photographs. SCSI in general, termination resistors, jumper settings and common errors are devoted a few pages each. Sometimes I read a section in German, because in my opinion that still describes everything best, but I am convinced you will have little trouble with the English text, despite numerous spelling errors. As a special extra, a pin layouts of the SCSI-2 and Centronics 50-pins connectors are given. LIKES Speed, reliability, the manual and good software. DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS Difficult installation (possibility of damaging the Cyberstorm, strange location of the controller PCB, two-PCB design, cable rerouting problem) and the shareware edition of the AmiCDFS filing system. I know that in order to keep the price of the Cyberstorm down, phase 5 have decided to provide the SCSI-controller as a separately available option. There is nothing wrong with such a design, but more thought should have gone to the problem of installation. I sincerely hope a Mk III will take care of this. A registered version (or at least a discount) for the AmiCDFS filing system should be included as a standard. The SCSIControl3 program (partitioning) can do with a more user-friendly user interface and a verify option. A selector for #?scsi.devices and a RDB-backup option could make interesting additions. COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS Since I don't have extensive experience with SCSI-2 controllers, and tests in magazines were done with different setups (notably different hard disks), I cannot present an objective opinion. Sorry! BUGS Various typos in the manual, plus one small bug in the partitioning program. VENDOR SUPPORT phase 5 is not exactly fast when it comes to handling email. I suggest you phone or fax the company if you want a quick(-ish?) answer. WARRANTY phase 5 have devoted quite a lot of text to the issue of warranty. I will summarize the text in this document, but please refer to the original in case this becomes a necessity. I accept no responsibility when this summary and the original text differ! You get a 6 month guarantee, during which phase 5 will replace or repair your module free of cost if the card was broken due to material or production faults. Excluded are faults caused by `outside interference': improper usage, unauthorized repair or modifications and addition of new hardware and software. This includes SCSI-devices, but upgrades of the _system_ hard- and software as well! AmiCDFS and the supplied other programs form no exception. phase 5 takes no warranty what so ever about the applicability of the CyberSCSI Mk II; the company also does not hold itself responsible in case of data loss, even when it has been warned about the possibility in advance. In case of problems you are instructed to turn to your dealer for assistance first. phase 5 will only accept returns when they have been assigned a so-called RMA-number; this number is given to you when the support department sees justifiable cause for you to return the module to phase 5. CONCLUSIONS The moment you've all been waiting for. The Note. I Have Decided (c'mon, allow a guy his moment of glory for once :)) on 4.5 out of 5. The installation is a bitch, and not without risk to other hardware, but once everything is in place, the module performs as any piece of hardware should: reliably and speedy. The manual is clear and packed with useful information. A very good addition to any Cyberstorm Mk II. COPYRIGHT NOTICE This review copyright 1997 by Maarten D. de Jong. Permission to distribute this text in any form is granted, as long as no modifications are made. The moderator of the comp.sys.amiga.reviews newsgroup is exempted from this requirement, but I trust him not to abuse this fact :-). If you distribute the text, I'd appreciate it if you dropped me a line informing me about the where and how. Reactions, comments and questions are welcome at my email address: M.D.deJong@stm.tudelft.nl. @endnode @node REVIEW4 "CSAReview: CyberStorm Mk II 040/40 ERC" @toc REVIEW =========================================================================== CSAReview: CyberStorm Mk II 040/40 ERC By: Maarten D. de Jong M.D.deJong@stm.tudelft.nl =========================================================================== PRODUCT NAME Cyberstorm Mk II 040/40 ERC BRIEF DESCRIPTION The Cyberstorm is a replacement for the CPU board found in any A3000, A3000T, A4000 and A4000T. It features a 40 MHz 68040 (full version), 4 SIMM slots which can be populated with 4, 8, 16 or 32 Mb SIMMs in any combination and a connector for a separately available FastSCSI-2 controller. AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION Name: phase 5 Digital Products Address: In der Au 27 61440 Oberursel Germany Telephone: +49-6171-583787 Support: +49-6171-583788 FAX: +49-6171-583789 WWW: http://www.phase5.de/ FTP: ftp://ftp.phase5.de/ LIST PRICE DM 719,-- (approximately US$ 420) in April 1997. Prices of up to US$ 520 have been spotted, so shop wisely! SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS HARDWARE Memory (SIMMs, 32 or 36 bits, 70 ns or faster, 4 MB or larger) to populate the board recommended but not required. SOFTWARE 68040.library, which you have to supply, is required. MACHINE USED FOR TESTING A4000/030 with 68EC030 and 68882 (both at 25 MHz) 2 MB Chip, 12 MB Fast memory Kickstart 3.0, Workbench 3.0 Harddisks: Quantum LPS270A (270 MB), Maxtor 7060 AT (60 MB) (both are IDE) Cybervision 64 (4 MB video memory, CyberGFX v40.64) GVP I/O Extender (v1.8) INSTALLATION Installing a new CPU module in a 4000 is tricky, because you'll have to remove quite a bit of hardware in order to have easy access to the CPU slot. I have no clue as to how the situation is with the other computers, but have your dealer or a qualified engineer install the board for you in case you're not comfortable about opening up the Amiga by yourself. The Mk II module differs substantially from its predecessor. The Mk I was made up of at least three PCBs: a carrier board, a CPU board and a memory board. The fourth board, containing the SCSI option, could be added separately. The carrier board featured a second-level cache of 512 KB. All of this made for a rather difficult install: all of the reviews I read mention the author rasping his knuckles or transfixing his fingers. The Mk II design is far simpler. In its basic configuration, the module consists of just one PCB, which houses both CPU and memory slots. The second level cache has vanished, since it was hardly ever used anyway. Only the separate SCSI module has remained, which will be dealt with in a separate review. Before you open up your Amiga, check if you have a 68040.library installed in your LIBS: directory. You can find one on any original 2.04 or higher Workbench disk set. (Since Kickstart 1.3- do not support the 68040, anything might happen if you try to use these versions of the OS. Be careful.) The installation process indeed looks simple too: only three pages of text and photographs are devoted to installing your new gadget in your computer. The process is only described for a 4000, so you are on your own when it comes to the 3000(T). However, as an addtional step I would recommend removing the front drive bay, since it facilitates access to the CPU-slot considerably, especially if you have big hands. There are a few things worth mentioning. According to the manual, a ventilator is included with the card; this is not the case anymore. The 68040 now only bears a cooling fin [heat sink]. This fin gets quite hot during operation; take care that no plastic cables touch it! Second, a leaflet has been provided stating that reliable operation of Zorro III DMA-devices in all 3000 models is not possible due to a flaw of the mainboard, and that DMA-capable additions to the Cyberstorm (in other words, the CyberSCSI Mk II module) will be affected by this problem as well. However, I have heard that you can solve this by upgrading the custom chips Buster and Gayle (or Gary?), but please check this out with your dealer or someone who knows the hardware of a 3000. In any case, I strongly recommend you read the manual thouroughly before opening up the Amiga. REVIEW The Hardware ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Let me start off by answering a few questions which have surely risen by now. The 'ERC' means 'Eco Recycling' -- basically this means the processor on the board has been used before. Not only does this help the environment by keeping an otherwise prefectly functional 68040 from going to the garbage dump, it also keeps the price of the chip down (and thus the price of the entire module). Of course, every chip is thoroughly tested by phase 5 before it is sold. It should be born in mind that 'ERC' has nothing to do with the familiar 'EC' and 'LC' abbreviations often found with Motorola CPUs. While on the subject, the CPU found on the Mk II module is a full 68040. That means that both the floating point unit (FPU) and the memory management unit (MMU) are present and functional. (The LC version omits the FPU, the EC version both FPU and MMU.) This means you can run programs like Enforcer and GigaMem or even the Unix clones NetBSD and Linux/m68k, which all require an MMU. With everyone turning to the 68060, you may wonder why I decided on a 68040. Simply put, I do not run the software which requires a 68060, like rendering or image processing programs. I program a lot, but I found that I spend far more time editing (and crashing) than compiling. And no 68060 will aid in speeding _me_ up. I can make quite an extensive list of what I do with my Amiga, but the bottom line remains that I was happy with the speed which the 68EC030 offered, 20% of the time it being too slow. In my opinion, buying a 68060 in this case is expensive overkill. Plus it helps the environment a little bit, but that of course does not take the power consumption of the 68040 into account... :-). After installation, I switched on the computer and waited. I could establish some speedup while the Amiga booted, but it was not a `WOW' experience. Various system information programs (SysInfo, AIBB 6.5, ShowConfig) showed the presence of a full 68040. Since the presence of an FPU could be established, I had to have a full MMU as well; this was confirmed by Lawbreaker. (Lawbreaker is a utilility to see if your Amiga is capable of running Enforcer. If you have an MMU, Lawbreaker generates 4 Enforcer hits, if not, less.) Memory Upgrades ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I will deal with the software side of memory in the next section, but you should be aware of the fact that the SIMM slots might not be able to take any kind of double-sided SIMM. I was rather unpleasantly surprised when I found out the double-sided 8 MB SIMMs I borrowed from my mothers PC would not fit: the memory chips met the rim of the slot before the `click mechanism' could get a grip on the module. I did not have other SIMMs to see whether this problem would always occur, but I recommend to use 4 or 16 MB sizes when in doubt: they are populated at one side of the PCB only. Another point you should be aware of is that memory slot 4 is located under the front drive bay, and is completely inaccessible. In other words: if you want to populate this slot, you'll have to remove the drive bay (or the Cyberstorm). In my opinion, this is totally unnecessary, since there is plenty of space to move the four slots so that they take the room of three. AIBB Speed Tests ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Because I had forgotten to test the speed of my machine before I installed the Cyberstorm, I have no hard data relating to the old situation to present here. I dislike moving hardware around more than strictly necessary, and considering the rather tight fit of the card (it really snaps into place) I decided to leave it where it was. I did have a few AIBB modules of the A3000 (68030 at 25 MHz) and a Cyberstorm Mk I (68040 at 40 MHz) available, so I decided to use these. The A3000 is equivalent to the 4000/030, but tends to be a bit (usually about 5%) faster when access to memory is concerned. And it is of course slower in the graphics tests. TEST A3000 Cyberstorm Cyberstorm Mk I Mk II won Kickstart 3.1 3.0 3.0 by FPU mode 68882 68040 68040 EmuTest 1 5.79 5.68 I WritePixel 1 7.64 7.64 Sieve 1 3.50 2.87 I Dhrystone 1 5.37 5.37 Sort 1 4.73 4.63 I Ellipse 1 2.12 2.19 II Matrix 1 3.48 3.21 I IMath 1 3.73 3.73 MemTest 1 2.35 1.57 I TGTest 1 1.27 1.41 II LineTest 1 0.57(!) 0.68(!) II Savage 1 1.91 1.91 FMath 1 14.56 14.56 Beachball 1 6.51 6.67 II InstTest 1 4.29 3.90 I Flops 1 9.28 9.38 II TranTest 1 3.69 3.49 I FTrace 1 3.04 3.05 CplxTest 1 6.37 6.37 Memory Latency Indices Mainboard FastRAM 6.1 10.1 11.3 (smaller is Localbus FastRAM--- 7.1 8.1 better) Ok, let's discuss these (inherently questionable) values. The differences between the Mk I and II are in most cases completely irrelevant. I doubt that you will notice them in practice. That is not the case for memory-intensive jobs, however. According to these data, the speed at which the Mk II accesses its memory is decidedly lower than that of the Mk I. Since a lot of the work I do is memory-intensive I found these results to be rather disappointing. (The 'low' speed was confirmed by another program called Bustest, which measures the transfer speed to all types of memory, using byte, word and longword accesses. I have used both Bustest and AIBB on various systems, and their results are always close to eachother.) The ensuing discussion on Usenet showed that phase 5 always operate the SIMMs at 70 ns, regardless of the type installed. So I could in fact be measuring the difference between 60 and 70 ns memory here. However, since most SIMMs are 60 ns these days, I find it hard to accept that a company like phase 5 does not make use of this fact. A second reason the speeds differ so much could be due to the Mk I module using its second-level cache; AIBB does not store this information in its files. Whatever the reason, the Mk II definitely has a slower design, which is a shame. Despite this flaw, the other results are impressive. Of course, the increased clock speed and the CopyBack cache help to boost performance as well, but it's the result that counts. The integer speed has on average increased by a factor four. One can clearly notice this: the response of the Amiga is snappier and during CPU-intensive tasks a lot of the usual jerkiness (unfortunately still present on a 68030) has vanished. Another interesting fact is the floating point speed. A 68882 is not exactly slow, yet it is beaten time and time again by the 68040's internal FPU and the software emulation of unimplemented instructions. I therefore expect a `noticeable' speedup in floating point intensive programs. Real World Impressions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first application I tried is notorious for its demand for speed: Metafont. Metafont is a program which transforms a program-like description of a glyph (any character you see in print or on-screen) into a bitmap, so it can be printed. On average, a font (i.e., a complete set of glyphs) took about 90 seconds on my 68030. My new system requires about 30 seconds for the same font. Additionally, I expect the situation to improve a little when I switch to a SCSI-2 based filing system; Metafont requires a lot of file access and IDE can slow things down considerably. TeX was of course next. TeX is a typesetting program: it transforms plain ASCII text containing control sequences into typeset text. It's like a WYSIWIG word processor, but then with you _writing_ what the text should look like. I ran my Masters thesis (90 pages) through this program. Pages were generated at a `chee, this goes fast' rate. I got the feeling the computer was actually doing something; the 68030 definitely required more time to build a page. Pages containing lots of formulas still have a small pause, but this is hardly noticeable. The next program I tried was Ghostscript. Ghostscript is a screen-based PostScript-interpreter, meaning it shows your PostScript file on screen instead of on paper. Ghostscript requires a lot of calculations to build the display. The speed at which this now occurs was cause for the first `WOW'. Text-based PostScript files are built up faster than the eye can follow; graphics appear with a slight pause (the famous Tiger takes about 4 seconds on my Cybervision), but nevertheless at a very workable rate. At this point I decided to switch from OS-friendly to not-so OS-friendly programs. I unleashed my (small) collection of demos and games onto the Cyberstorm. As I expected, some of the demos crashed in record time; these included Origins Motion and Complex, Kefrens Desert Dream and Silents Demon Download (oldies, I know :)). Others kind-of worked (Faculty's Lethal Dose 2, Silents Ice, Andromeda's Nexus 7). And the few that did work did not contain many of my favourites. I was a bit disappointed at the modern stuff; are there really that little 68040's in Demoland? My games collection was already diminished to almost nothing after I bought my A4000/030; therefore I expected little problems. Populous 2, Rock`n'Roll, Civilization and Frontier (to name a few) worked ok. At this point I would like to point out that not all _old_ stuff fails to run: games like Defender of the Crown, Power Drift and Impact ran without even touching the caches. The rule here seems to be that if it can run on a 68030 (if necessary without caches) it will probably run on a 68040 as well. However, be prepared to reduce your (illegal??!) collection even further. (I wish to mention one strange exception here: Power Drift. On my 68030, I needed to Kickback into 1.3 to get this game working, with the 68040, it functions flawlessly under 3.0 -- it even has become much harder to play!) I already mentioned that Kickstart 1.3- and the 68040 do not like each other. I never got round to testing this, because none of the available softkickers and degrading tools succeeded in starting up the Amiga with 1.3. In other words: if the startup control screen fails, you can kiss the program goodbye. Next were the C-compilers I normally use: SAS/C 6.50 and gcc 2.7.2.1. (Compiling C is a process which is highly dependent on the speed of your hard disk as well, so the times presented are not solely the effect of the Cyberstorm.) SAS/C is a speedy compiler, but with a 68040 under the hood it really screams through sources. 130 KB of complex C-code (interpret.c from the MudOS v22b24 sources, ftp://ftp.imaginary.com/pub/LPC/driver/beta) was compiled in just under 20 seconds. It required 90 seconds on my 68030. With the relatively small programs (<50 KB of source) I normally write, the compile time is therefore reduced to almost nothing. gcc of course requires more time. The aforementioned MudOS sources compiled in 75 minutes on my 68030; the Cyberstorm system requires 35 minutes. When optimization is turned off, the required amount of time is reduced to 28 minutes. A lot of time is wasted because the compiler and the appropriate include files need to be reloaded time and time again. The compiler is also much slower than SAS/C: the interpret.c file requires 45 seconds without and 2 minutes and 15 seconds with optimisation to compile! At this time I decided it was time to test the GVP I/O Extender. The first connections with my provider (Term 4.7a 020+ and AmiTCP 4.0 demo) worked ok. There were a few errors during a ZModem download, but I contributed those to wrong buffersizes. However, I quickly changed my opinion when I found out that a direct 115k2 connection with my mothers PC lead to complete serial garbage and huge amounts of transfer errors when I tried to get something _to_ the Amiga. I spent hours trying to discover the cause of the problem, and eventually managed to track down the culprit: the good ole' CopyBack cache of the 68040. (This on-chip cache buffers writes to memory, as to speed up the processor. However, if a program requires that data and looks at the memory to find it, it will use _old_ data and thus go completely wrong.) When I turned off the cache, the problem vanished. This is not mentioned by either phase 5 or the manual of Term. After the cache problem had been solved, I could use the I/O Extender without further problems. Then it was time for some old-fashioned image processing using Photogenics Lite. This presented an unexpected problem. I never used the program because my 68030/68882 combination was far too slow for this type of work. (Hence the fact that I can't present data on other programs -- I don't have them :-)). The speed of the Cyberstorm proved to be adequate, but during the session I found out that image processing can be very fun. The hitherto impressive speed of the 68040 became a kind-of annoying pain, and for the first time I wished I had bought a 68060 or a (yet to be released) PowerPC. Serious image processing requires huge amounts of raw computing power, and in my opinion, the more the better. If your main application is image processing, the Cyberstorm 040 is _not_ your ideal purchase. I could go on and on about the various programs I tried, but I think I have written enough for now. The main conclusions which can be drawn from these tests is that the Cyberstorm gives your Amiga a solid and very noticeable performance boost. Software compatibility is very good if you stick to OS-legal stuff, and not so good if you don't. In some cases, other hardware may become the bottleneck, and it would be wise if you spent your money to remove these before buying more CPU power. DOCUMENTATION The documentation is good, if a bit short. There are several errors in the English text which are a little annoying considering the total amount of documentation. The documentation was written with the 68060 in mind and therefore some of the steps can be skipped: phase 5 indicate this on a separate leaflet which could have contained more information on the 68040 as well. The disk which is distributed with the 68060-version is not present. This is a bit annoying, since it contains a number of interesting utilities. phase 5 will give you a copy if you upgrade to a 68060, though. LIKES Speed, transparent presence, reliability, recycling of a 68040, simplicity of the module in comparison with its predecessor, price. DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS Slow memory interface, trouble with double-sided SIMMs, position of the fourth SIMM slot, lack of a CPU-cooler, short documentation, lack of disk. I didn't notice the `slow' memory interface in practice, because the speed of the card is still far above what I was used to. However, it is simply a shame to waste computing cycles in order to save a few bucks. I have one suggestion: get rid of these flaws! COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS I have never used other 68040-based cards, so a comparison based on experience is not possible. However, if I compare the literature with what I have seen and experienced so far, and neglect the SCSI-2 options found on all cards, the Mk II does not make it to the top three. Alas! This is simply because other cards (for example the Warp Engine, the Cyberstorm Mk I and the Apollo) have faster memory interfaces, which basically determine the maximum speed at which the CPU can process instructions. Only when used in combination with the accompanying SCSI-2 module does the Cyberstorm Mk II start to shine. Also, please note that the Mk I and the Warp Engine are not available any more. BUGS None found. Or perhaps one, but I cannot be sure. After a _real_ long day of hard work, my Amiga all of a sudden locked up when I wanted to redo an image in Photogenics Lite. I attribute this to a heat problem, though: it had been awfully warm in my room and my computer had been working at huge loads for the entire day. VENDOR SUPPORT Well, as we all know, phase 5 are not famous for their responsiveness concerning e-mail. During the test, I have sent the company several messages, all of which remained unanswered after two weeks. My advice would be to phone or fax them, but I have not tried this. WARRANTY phase 5 have devoted quite a lot of text to the issue of warranty. I will summarize the text in this document, but please refer to the original in case this becomes a necessity. I accept no responsibility when this summary and the original text differ! You get a 6 month guarantee, during which phase 5 will replace or repair your module free of cost if the card was broken due to material or production faults. Excluded are faults caused by `outside interference': improper usage, unauthorized repair or modifications and addition of new hardware and software. This includes upgrades of the _system_ hard- and software! phase 5 takes no warranty what so ever about the applicability of the Cyberstorm Mk II; the company also does not hold itself responsible in case of data loss, even when it has been warned about the possibility in advance. In case of problems you are instructed to turn to your dealer for assistance first. phase 5 will only accept returns when they have been assigned a so-called RMA-number; this number is given to you when the support department sees justifiable cause for you to return the module to phase 5. CONCLUSIONS The moment you've all been waiting for: the note. After a bit of thought I settled on 4 out of 5. The card itself is well-made and works as it should (and quite fast at that), but in my opinion there are too many small flaws in this design which could easily have been avoided. The card is not the ideal purchase for image processing freaks, but if you are looking for reliability and reasonable power at an affordable (even cheap-ish) price, this card is the one for you. COPYRIGHT NOTICE This review copyright 1997 by Maarten D. de Jong. Permission to distribute this text in any form is granted, as long as no modifications are made. The moderator of the comp.sys.amiga.reviews newsgroup is exempted from this requirement, but I trust him not to abuse this fact :-). If you distribute the text, I'd appreciate it if you dropped me a line informing me about the where and how. Reactions, comments and questions are welcome at my email address: M.D.deJong@stm.tudelft.nl. @endnode @node REVIEW5 "Review: Civilization CD" @toc REVIEW =========================================================================== Review: Civilization CD from Guildhall Leisure By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON} =========================================================================== Civilization was one of the first major computer gaming hits of the 90s. Like many of Microprose's games, it's a rather broad undertaking. Microprose has attempted to make a number of "true to life" simulations of war machines, but in this game it's an attempt to simulate the formation and development of a civilization. Obviously, they cut a few corners here and there. Guildhall Leisure has a license to republish virtually all of Microprose's catalog of Amiga games on their Acid Software label. Civilization is their first attempt to publish a CD-ROM on the Amiga as well. The particulars of this re-release will be addressed at the end of the review. For those of you who haven't played it in the 5 years since its release, Civilization puts you in the role of a small group of settlers whose first task it is to found a capital city for your civilization. From that city, you grow food, build military units and important buildings, feed your people so they can have children and make your empire bigger, and go on to start more cities. Meanwhile, a number of computer opponents are doing the same thing. (The game is single-player although I've played it with other people and it's quite fun. The new FreeCiv which can be played over the net can help you if you're looking for a multiplayer game like Civilization.) Civilization takes a long time to play and is pretty addictive. There are a number of different difficulty levels as well as a number of different strategies you can try to use. For example, you will inevitably encounter rival civilizations who have the same goal as you--being the world's best civilization. You can take a very militant and aggressive position with them, or attack only out of self-defense. It is very possible to take over other civilizations' cities, but the game is more challenging if you don't. The level of complexity in Civilization is just about right. One of my gripes with world-simulations (or park simulations, see Theme Park) is that you sometimes have to do so much micro-managing, particularly after your city/empire/park starts growing, that the game is no longer any fun. Civilization is pretty good about that sort of thing. You make work assignments to your citizens by assigning them to work on plots of land around your cities (which reap different rewards, depending on the terrain and how much you've developed it), and by assigning settler units to develop and improve the land around your cities. It's enough to keep you interested throughout the entire game, but not so bad that you're killing yourself trying to keep up with every little person there is. One of the most rewarding parts of Civilization is research. Your civilization starts with only the most basic of skills and abilities--it is, after all, only 4000 BC. But you can assign your wise men to work on new technologies, and as they discover their secrets you can build more and better buildings and military units. You can also trade (or demand, or be shaken down for) technology with other civilizations, and early in the game you might discover a "scroll of ancient wisdom" which immediately bestows a technology on you. The only down side is that the technologies available in the game only stretch into the present day and a bit beyond (to technologies it seems reasonable that humans will master in the not too distant future.) If you're a very good Civilization player, you'll expend these technologies and be stuck researching "Future Tech", which earns you Civilization Points but nothing new in the game. The ultimate goal of civilization is to colonize another planet. You never do this directly, but late in the game you'll be able to start building components for a vast interstellar spacecraft which can carry your people to the stars. Wiping out the other civilizations is another possible goal. Civilization is a lot of fun. There, that's clear. Guildhall has placed both the ECS and AGA versions of Civilization on the CD-ROM, and they can be run directly. (In fact, there's no HD install option, although it would be pretty easy to do it yourself by just modifying their startup script.) The AGA version is the prettier, and implements more of the animation found on the PC version. Unfortunately, because the game seems to insist on running on a DBLNTSC 256 color screen, it's quite slow, even on our test 040/40 machine. I tried a number of methods to persuade the game to run in a different mode but they failed. Part of the delay is in the relative slowness of a 256 color DBL screen, another part is in the excessively long screen fades the game uses. If you're an experienced Civ player or don't care much about pretty graphics, I strongly recommend using the ECS version--it's much, much faster. Guildhall hasn't made any real marked improvement to the game short of making it playable from CD. The extremely uncomfortable save-game scheme is still there (you can save the game, but only to the root directory on a device or partition, and if your partition list is too long the game gets confused). What is nice (and was part of Guildhall's license agreement with Microprose) is that there's still a full printed manual and a color box. The manual is not notably different from Microprose's old manual (except the cover is white, not black, with black type instead of gold). This is nice in general, and important since Civilization has documentation protection. Call me a hypocrite seeing that I'm an online magazine editor, but having printed documentation is tough to beat. Civilization is a modern classic, and plays quite well on the Amiga. It predates the popularity of RTG so you're pretty much stuck with your Amiga chipset, but for UKP15 (around US$24, but the pound keeps getting stronger against most other currencies) it's still a good value. I hope to see more CD products from Guildhall--perhaps next time around they'll consider a multi-game disc. Guildhall Leisure (Acid Software) Unit 15 Guildhall Industrial Estate Kirk Sandall Doncaster, DN3 1QR +44 01302 890000 voice guildhall@glsukok.demon.co.uk e-mail @endnode @node REVIEW6 "The Emulation Rambler" @toc REVIEW =========================================================================== The Emulation Rambler: Fallout from PCx vs. PC-Task By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON} =========================================================================== Very rarely does an article in AR generate so much instant feedback from readers...here's a sampling of the important or interesting notes gleaned from last issue's review. I've included comments and replies where appropriate. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From David P. Crandall, dpc@crl.com THANK YOU! I've been longing for a decent comparative review of these two products for a long time! I wonder about its accuracy though. The current PCx demo version is 2.1 - your review is of PCx 1.1. I don't know if this would make a difference, or if there were any significant changes to PCx, but one would think that the newer version would be better. I would greatly appreciate an updated review. Furthermore, your conclusions suggest that PC-Task can operate at speeds approximating half that of a real Pentium 100 (on a sufficiently beefed up machine - as mine is - see my signature for details). If this is true, then it should have little trouble handling Windows 95 (although it may be a little slow). Have you tried Windows 95 on PC-Task? I ask because there are a couple small utility programs (WIN95 only) which I need to run at home for my work. I would rather spend some money on adding 32 Megs or ram, CrossDOS 6, and PC-Task 4.2 to my Amiga than buying another whole computer, but I wonder if this solution is feasible. Any thoughts? My reply: - PCx's demo versions are numbered along a totally different scheme than the PCx release version. So at the time I did the review (and still today) PCx 1.1 is the most up to date version there is. The benchmarks in the review should not be misinterpreted to suggest that either emulator can approach half of a P100's speed in real world applications. And furthermore, neither emulator can run Win95. I should have made this more clear, my apologies. -Jason --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Emmanuel Latour, emmanuel.latour@geac.com In your AR506 issue which reviews both of these emulators, you don't mention that PCx cannot run Windows 3.1 in enhanced mode, which I believe PC-Task 4.x can. Also, you might want to take a closer look at serial emulation, it simply does not work and I have gotten Jim Drew to admit to it. He claimed that the same is true for PC-Task 4.x and that this will be fixed in the upcoming 2.0 version. I tried both the PCx 1.1 and PC-Task 4.x demos and eventually bought PCx many months ago. The new PCx 4.2 demo now hangs on both my 4000T even with a clean boot (no startup-sequence). Although I agree that PCx is faster, its lack of full support for GFX boards, Windows 3.1 in enhanced mode or communications programs, has become a major annoynance for me. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Jim Drew, msdei@ctaz.com (author of PCx) Hi, just read your review of PCx vs. PC-Task, and I must correct some mistakes and ask some questions: ------------- "Hardfiles are inefficient but useful-in-a-pinch ways to set up hard drive compatibility--they're large AmigaDOS files which the program treats as a physical device. PC-Task and PCx also support real, dedicated partitions, a much better choice. Unfortunately, they do not share formats, and PCx's is a custom filesystem, as opposed to a CrossDOS filesystem as PC-Task uses." Not true. PCx uses MS-DOS format. CrossDOS uses its own custom format, which is not completely compatible with MS-DOS. However, PCx *can* use PC-Task hardfiles if you make DOS Drivers for them. -------------- "The CD-ROM compatibilities are not equal. PC-Task has a decided edge. Very often, a CD would be recognized perfectly by the AmigaOS and by PC-Task but PCx would refuse to read it. This frustration is compounded by another advantage PC-Task has over PCx: the ability to copy between PC and Amiga drives at the PC prompt using special tools included with the emulator. That means if you can't read a CD on the PCx side, you're stuck using clunky floppies to transfer data across." Egads! Not true! We support the mounting of any PCx hardfile or partition as an AmigaDOS (CrossDOS) device, and even provide the ability to create the DOS Driver. People are just using DOpus or the CLI to copy files just fine. Also, the CD-ROM problems you apparently experience have never been reported by *any* customers, so I am not sure what we can do about this problem... I went out and bought the programs you had problems with and they worked fine. :-\ -------------- "Both offer sound emulation of the PC speaker. PCx goes further to implement a partial SoundBlaster emulation. It's an improvement, and will be nicer when it's complete." Huh? The SoundBlaster emulation is complete. It is just v1.0 SoundBlaster, which did not have the FM Synth mode, and was mono only. We will have SoundBlaster Pro 16 support (via AHI) in v2.0. --------------- "In terms of compatibility, the major differences in compatibility come in identifying their graphical capabilities to programs. Modern PC programs should have no trouble, but older programs which hit hardware may get confused. The King's Quest games are not fully compatible on either emulator, for example. But on the processor level, both emulators are very well set up for what they're doing." Please explain the problem with King's Quest! You sent that to me and it works *exactly* the same under PCx as it does my Gateway 2000 and IBM ThinkPad! What more do you want!? ;-) --------------- "PCx is somewhat cheaper than PC-Task--about US$20. And you do get a lot of emulator. On the other hand, PC-Task 4.2 has the look and feel of a more complete product. The CyberGraphX support is wholehearted, the CD-ROM driver works better, and the hard drive integration with the Amiga is much better." [Jim expresses a complaint about my evaluation of the competing prices here, which I'll explain in my reply.] Please explain the 'hard drive integration' comment! I am sure glad the general public doesn't feel the same way about PCx. :-) My Reply: - First off, I have to admit the fact that I made a straightforward error in my comment on price. At the time the article was written the price difference was actually substantially more than US$20 through most PC-Task dealers. However, the price of PC-Task 4.2 has actually fallen notably since then. Software Hut now sells it for $95 (a $35 difference in price, more than the $20 gap I mistakenly reported), but Visionsoft is advertising PC-Task 4.2 for $70. So while I was indeed very wrong when the article was written, the market seems to be shifting to accomodate my error. :) Jim challenges a number of my assertions about PCx's partition handling. But in my e-mail exchanges with him where I asked him directly to point me to the sections of the manual which outline doing what he suggests (sharing partitions with PC-Task, reading PCx partitions from AmigaDOS), he neglected on more than one occasion to show me. Oh, and the newest PCx video drivers purport to fix the King's Quest bug (although it was a two-step process, a very interesting bug showed up once Jim fixed the video display issue). Chalk another one up for PCx, then. :) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @endnode @node REVIEW7 "Silent Service II" @toc REVIEW =========================================================================== Review: Silent Service II from Guildhall Leisure By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON} =========================================================================== I'm certainly not what you'd call a "war movie buff." But for some reason, I enjoy a good submarine movie. Sure, I know that in real life they're cramped, smoky, and stinky, but for some reason it seems to be difficult to do a bad submarine movie. So I was somewhat enthusiastic when I opened the long-awaited box of goodies from Guildhall Leisure, to mark the first bundle of their Microprose re-releases I'd been sent, and found Silent Service II, a game of submarine warfare in the Pacific during World War II. Silent Service II dates back to 1990, and is itself a rework and updating of the original, from the 8-bit era, back when Sid Meier really DID write all of Microprose's software. SSII puts you at the helm of an American submarine. Your goal is to sink as many Japanese vessels as you can and get home alive. It doesn't exactly sound easy and it's made worse by the fact that submarines are not the most maneuverable ships in the ocean. You have stealth on your side, but once your cover is blown the Japanese navy has pretty good odds of blowing you out of the water. The game takes place in one of three modes. In the most basic, you command a submarine for a single battle, either taken from a historical pool or generated at random. The battle ends when either you or the Japanese convoy you're attacking have been destroyed, or one side has successfully fled the combat zone. A bigger commitment is a single patrol, where you take a submarine from a US port into an assigned zone of Japanese-controlled waters, searching and waiting for contacts to pursue. And even more demanding is a "war career", where you begin the war at the date of your choosing (starting with the bombing of Pearl Harbor) and end either when Japan surrenders or you are lost at sea. As you might expect, making all this visually appealing is a bit of a challenge. After all, when you're submerged you only have a periscope, and when you're on the surface, well, submarines don't like to spend lots of combat time on the surface. So in the game, you rely quite a bit on a chart which represents your position and the position and movement of other vessels as lines on a grid. The game tries to be authentic, but not TOO authentic--the chart is updated in real time, not by a pencil or marker-wielding crewman. Microprose always aimed for authenticity in their simulations, and the game adheres to the history of the war, making only certain boats or torpedo model choices available when they are appropriate to the real course of events. You can only have radar, for example, when the US Navy started installing it in submarines--and the Japanese only have it when they started installing it reliably. When you're not looking at the charts, you'll probably want to look out your periscope. Why? To lock on to targets and shoot torpedoes at them, of course! The enemy vessel graphics are actually digitized shots of a war historian's painstakingly recreated models of the ships Japan used during the war. But seeing as how this is an ECS game, the digitized shots are greyscale, and all too often turn out to be all-alike looking grey blobs, which is what usually happened when game designers used digitized shots on 16-color screens. I found the action in the game to be sufficiently edifying if I was in the right state of mind. Mood lighting might be appropriate here--if you've got some blue or red cellophane lying around, try putting it in front of a lone light bulb. (I haven't tried that yet, but it sounds like a good idea.) The game play is interrupted by tedious cut-scenes of torpedo launches or depth charge explosions, which you can and should shut off. There's a lot of strategy and patience required to really play this game well. If you just waltz up to a convoy of 8 Japanese vessels and shoot off a few torpedoes, you'll find fast patrol boats overhead blowing you up in no time. Thankfully, there are accelerate-time options to make plotting an ambush a little more bearable. SS II is not the instant gratification of a SubWar, it strives to be much closer to the real thing. I found it pretty good fun. I was also substantially impressed that the game worked without problems on my 060-equipped 4000T, although I couldn't get the hard drive installer to work to save my life. SS II only requires that you make copies of the main 2 disks before playing, and once you're in the heat of battle there's no loading (except cutscenes which as I said you should shut off.) A full printed manual and a flimsy keyboard cutout are provided, but after a few hours of playing you should have the hang of the controls well enough to set it aside. For UKP15 (about $24) I could probably recommend one or two better games for casual playing, but SS II is pretty good fun. A bit limited after a while since in the long run it's the same sequence of events over and over, but there are enough really big fish in the sea to provide a challenge, if you decide you're man enough to take on an aircraft carrier. Guildhall Leisure (Acid Software) Unit 15 Guildhall Industrial Estate Kirk Sandall Doncaster, DN3 1QR +44 01302 890000 voice guildhall@glsukok.demon.co.uk e-mail @endnode @node CHARTS1 "Aminet Charts: 13-Jul-97" @toc FTP | The most downloaded files from Aminet during the week until 13-Jul-97 | Updated weekly. Most popular file on top. | |File Dir Size Age Description |----------------- --- ---- --- ----------- akJFIF43x.lha util/dtype 223K 1+AkJFIF-dt V43.91 (JPEG, 68000-060) akLJPG43x.lha util/dtype 102K 1+AkLJPG-dt V43.91 (LJPG, 68000-060) akPNG43x.lha util/dtype 217K 1+AkPNG-dt V43.91 (PNG, 68000-060) PGPwithYAM.lha util/rexx 13K 0+Easy use of PGP with YAM, update 1.5 Amigreet10a.lha util/boot 13K 0+Speaks to you on BootUp! akSVG43x.lha util/dtype 83K 1+AkSVG-dt V43.91 (SVG, 68000-060) YellowsMap.jpg pix/park 368K 88+US-park: Yellowstone NP. Map (1M) Wy MetalWEB.lha comm/www 183K 1+1.0a WYSIWYG html EDITOR! Nice_Pointer.lha util/wb 1K 0 A beautiful mouse pointer FAXX43x.lha util/dtype 176K 1+FAXX-dt V43.4 (IFF-FAXX, 68000-060) mbench.lha util/wb 166K 1+Workbench replacement 1.0 ar506.lha docs/mags 81K 0+Amiga Report 5.06, July 11, 1997 NewsPro10dbeta.lha comm/news 306K 1+NewsPro V1.0d beta NNTP news reader Xtruder36.lha util/virus 436K 1+Virus killer with extensive checking anes.lha misc/emu 18K 0+A/NES - Nintendo 8 bit emulator 1084vga.lha hard/hack 8K 1+Use a 1084 AND a VGA-monitor VT_Binary.lha util/virus 378K 0+V2.98 virus killer - binary files WebDesign.lha comm/www 302K 0+V1.6e HTML easy to use editor. VersionWB.lha util/sys 28K 0+V2.7 AmigaDos Version replacement. SerPrefs.lha util/sys 38K 1+Improved Serial Prefs v2.2 | The highest rated programs during the week until 13-Jul-97 | Updated weekly. Best program on top. Please rate all the programs you | download. To do so, send to aminet-server@wuarchive.wustl.edu : | RATE | where is the file you want to judge and 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 |----------------- --- ---- --- ----------- Miami21aeval.lha comm/tcp 187K 6+Internet TCP/IP stack (demo binary) Miami21amain.lha comm/tcp 407K 6+Internet TCP/IP stack (main archive) Miami21areg020.lha comm/tcp 206K 6+Internet TCP/IP stack (reg. 020 bina akJFIF43x.lha util/dtype 223K 1+AkJFIF-dt V43.91 (JPEG, 68000-060) Visage.lha gfx/show 193K 9+Picture viewer for OS 3.0+. V39.14 HappyENV.lha disk/misc 41K 2+Optimized RAM disk for ENV variables Freeciv10.lha comm/tcp 463K 2+Free internet multiplayer Civilizati gfxcon.lha gfx/conv 228K 1+Image format converter (V1.8b) for m GuideML.lha text/hyper 28K 1+Cool AmigaGuide -> HTML converter (V VirusZ_II138.lha util/virus 189K 5+VirusZ v1.38 by Georg Hoermann akPNG43x.lha util/dtype 217K 1+AkPNG-dt V43.91 (PNG, 68000-060) Iconian2_98s.lha gfx/edit 325K 52+OS3.0 icon editor, NewIcon support. PowerFlops.lha mods/sets 598K 200+PT-MODs (2) from Olof Gustafsson A1200FDfix.lha hard/hack 11K 71+Make new A1200 compatible to old one Japanese.lha misc/misc 189K 20+Japanese text patch Japanese_upd.lha text/misc 6K 2+Japanese text patch CA35.lha util/wb 244K 2+ClassAction 3.5 (MUI && GT) GetIcon.lha util/wb 41K 2+Icon-Addition-Tool V1.3 MagicWB21p.lha util/wb 600K 5+The standard Workbench enhancer xwins.lha game/wb 32K 12+Very nice WB game (like wallstones) WBStartupPlus.lha util/boot 180K 23+V2.8 Expands WBStartup capabilities. Waveblaster.lha hard/hack 23K 7+How to connect PC soundcards to your PowerDrops.lha mods/sets 434K 200+PT-MODs (1) from Olof Gustafsson Daywatch.lha util/time 146K 12+Powerful MUI calendar & reminder. WebColors.lha biz/cloan 4K 25+Color palettes used by PC browsers EO230.lha biz/misc 430K 14+Everyday Organiser 2.30 MUI jali.lha comm/tcp 344K 7+Japanese Line Interface for AmiIRC gui4cli.lha dev/gui 237K 5+Scripted, Visually editable GUIs - V @endnode @node CHARTS2 "Aminet Charts: 20-Jul-97" @toc FTP | The most downloaded files from Aminet during the week until 20-Jul-97 | Updated weekly. Most popular file on top. | |File Dir Size Age Description |----------------- --- ---- --- ----------- ar506.lha docs/mags 81K 1+Amiga Report 5.06, July 11, 1997 AmIRCMPEGA.lha comm/tcp 2K 7+Mpega script for AmIRC ahiusr.lha mus/misc 278K 0+Retargetable audio v4.13, User's Arc YellowsMap.jpg pix/park 368K 89+US-park: Yellowstone NP. Map (1M) Wy IDEfix97.lha disk/misc 333K 0+Use ATAPI devices (CD-ROM) with IDE bZ_Filetypes.lha biz/dopus 13K 0+Complete collection of DOpus filetyp ProtrackerDT.lha util/dtype 7K 0+Protracker datatype 1.12 (AHI) STFax.lha comm/misc 271K 1+STFax 2.87 - Powerful and user-frien quantumx.lha util/boot 21K 1+Speeds up exec taskswitching. V1.0 MCC_ImageButto.lha dev/mui 61K 0+ImageButton MUI custom class PGPwithYAM.lha util/rexx 12K 0+Easy use of PGP with YAM, update 1.5 STFaxFix.lha comm/misc 37K 1+Update STFax 2.87 to 2.88 MacPaint_DT.lha util/dtype 10K 1+Replacement for CBM's macpaint.datat MUIBug10.lha dev/mui 3K 1+Some bugs of MUI CommandStrike.lha game/demo 170K 0+CommandStrike (Command & Conquer Clo MUIUndoc14.lha dev/mui 18K 1+Some undocumented features of MUI ar506.lha docs/mags 81K 1+Amiga Report 5.06, July 11, 1997 FrodoV4_1.lha misc/emu 288K 0+C64 emulator, V4.1 runPAL.lha util/boot 2K 54+RunPAL v1.0 +source -runs demos on m Amiclock10a.lha util/boot 25K 1+Stylish & Colourful Workbench Clock | The highest rated programs during the week until 20-Jul-97 | Updated weekly. Best program on top. Please rate all the programs you | download. To do so, send to aminet-server@wuarchive.wustl.edu : | RATE | where is the file you want to judge and 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 |----------------- --- ---- --- ----------- STFax.lha comm/misc 271K 1+STFax 2.87 - Powerful and user-frien Miami21aeval.lha comm/tcp 187K 7+Internet TCP/IP stack (demo binary) Miami21amain.lha comm/tcp 407K 7+Internet TCP/IP stack (main archive) Miami21areg020.lha comm/tcp 206K 7+Internet TCP/IP stack (reg. 020 bina akJFIF43x.lha util/dtype 223K 2+AkJFIF-dt V43.91 (JPEG, 68000-060) Visage.lha gfx/show 193K 10+Picture viewer for OS 3.0+. V39.14 HappyENV.lha disk/misc 41K 3+Optimized RAM disk for ENV variables Freeciv10.lha comm/tcp 463K 3+Free internet multiplayer Civilizati gfxcon.lha gfx/conv 228K 2+Image format converter (V1.8b) for m ProRen.lha gfx/misc 118K 0+Manager for ya animframes, bugfix (M AlgoMusic2_2.lha mus/misc 1.2M 1+Creates algor. techno tunes. Bugfixe AlgoMusic2_2u.lha mus/misc 148K 1+Needs installed AlgoMusic V2.0+ GuideML.lha text/hyper 28K 2+Cool AmigaGuide -> HTML converter (V VirusZ_II138.lha util/virus 189K 6+VirusZ v1.38 by Georg Hoermann akPNG43x.lha util/dtype 217K 2+AkPNG-dt V43.91 (PNG, 68000-060) Iconian2_98s.lha gfx/edit 325K 53+OS3.0 icon editor, NewIcon support. PowerFlops.lha mods/sets 598K 201+PT-MODs (2) from Olof Gustafsson A1200FDfix.lha hard/hack 11K 72+Make new A1200 compatible to old one Japanese.lha misc/misc 189K 21+Japanese text patch Japanese_upd.lha text/misc 6K 3+Japanese text patch Xtruder36.lha util/virus 436K 2+Virus killer with extensive checking CA35.lha util/wb 244K 3+ClassAction 3.5 (MUI && GT) GetIcon.lha util/wb 41K 3+Icon-Addition-Tool V1.3 MagicWB21p.lha util/wb 600K 6+The standard Workbench enhancer xwins.lha game/wb 32K 13+Very nice WB game (like wallstones) WBStartupPlus.lha util/boot 180K 24+V2.8 Expands WBStartup capabilities. Waveblaster.lha hard/hack 23K 8+How to connect PC soundcards to your PowerDrops.lha mods/sets 434K 201+PT-MODs (1) from Olof Gustafsson @endnode @node MAILLIST "Amiga Report Mailing List" @toc WHERE =========================================================================== Amiga Report Mailing List =========================================================================== If you have an internet mailing address, you can receive Amiga Report in @{"UUENCODED" link UUENCODE} form each week as soon as the issue is released. To be put on the list, send Email to majordomo@ninemoons.com Your subject header will be ignored. In the body of the message, enter subscribe areport The system will automatically pull your e-mail address from the message header. Your account must be able to handle mail of any size to ensure an intact copy. For example, many systems have a 100K limit on incoming messages. ** IMPORTANT NOTICE: PLEASE be certain your host can accept mail over ** ** 100K! We have had a lot of bouncebacks recently from systems with a ** ** 100K size limit for incoming mail. If we get a bounceback with your ** ** address in it, it will be removed from the list. Thanks! ** @endnode @node UUENCODE @toc MAILLIST =========================================================================== UUDecoding Amiga Report =========================================================================== If you receive Amiga Report from the direct mailing list, it will arrive in UUEncoded format. This format allows programs and archive files to be sent through mail by converting the binary into combinations of ASCII characters. In the message, it will basically look like a lot of trash surrounded by begin and end, followed by the size of the file. To UUDecode Amiga Report, you first need to get a UUDecoding program, such as UUxT by Asher Feldman. This program is available on Aminet in pub/aminet/arc/ Then you must download the message that it is contained in. Don't worry about message headers, the UUDecoding program will ignore them. There is a GUI interface for UUxT, which should be explained in the docs. However, the quickest method for UUDecoding the magazine is to type uuxt x ar.uu at the command prompt. You will then have to decompress the archive with lha, and you will then have Amiga Report in all of its AmigaGuide glory. If you have any questions, you can write to @{"Jason Compton" link JASON} @endnode @node AMINET "Aminet" @toc WHERE Aminet ====== To get Amiga Report from Aminet, simply FTP to any Aminet site, CD to docs/mags. All the back issues are located there as well. Sites: ftp.netnet.net, ftp.wustl.edu, ftp.luth.se, ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk @endnode @node WWW "World Wide Web" @toc WHERE World Wide Web ============== AR is also available on the WWW! Some of the mirror sites include a mail form, allowing you to mail to Amiga Report from the web site and some also include a search engine allowing you to search recent issues for specific topics and keywords (if your browser has forms capability). Simply tell your browser to open one of the following URLs (pick a location nearest you for the best performance): Australia http://ArtWorks.apana.org.au/AmigaReport.html http://www.deepwoods.saccii.net.au/ar/menu.html http://www.livewire.com.au/cucug/ar/ar.html (w/search and mail) http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~pec/amiga.html Germany http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/amiga/ar/ Greece http://www.acropolis.net/clubs/amiga/amigareport/ Hungary http://mm.iit.uni-miskolc.hu/Data/AR Italy http://www.vol.it/mirror/amiga/ar/ar.html Poland http://www.pwr.wroc.pl/AMIGA/AR/ Sweden http://www.lysator.liu.se/amiga/ar/ United Kingdom http://ppewww.ph.gla.ac.uk/~gowdy/Amiga/AmigaReport/ http://www.iprom.com/amigaweb/amiga.html/ar/ar.html (w/search and mail) http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/kcci1 USA http://www.cucug.org/ar/ar.html (w/search and mail) http://www.omnipresence.com/Amiga/News/AR/ Additional Amiga information can also be accessed at this URL: http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html Mosaic for the Amiga can be found on Aminet in directory comm/net, or (using anonymous ftp) on max.physics.sunysb.edu @endnode @node COPYRIGHT "Copyright Information" @toc ABOUT =========================================================================== Amiga Report International Online Magazine August 9, 1997 Issue No. 5.07 Copyright 1997 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 Amiga Zone. 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 Gateway 2000. 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 ZONE "CalWeb" @toc ONLINE =========================================================================== CalWeb: The Home of the Amiga Zone! =========================================================================== AMIGA ZONE MOVES TO CALWEB! THE AMIGA ZONE MOVES FROM PORTAL TO CALWEB INTERNET SERVICES For over ten years the Amiga Zone has been an online resource, home, community, oasis, for Amiga owners. For over ten years I've made my living running the Zone and supporting Amiga users all over the USA, Canada, and the world. Five years ago when American People/Link pulled their own plug, we had to find the Zone a new home and we found a good one on the Portal Online System. Well, it's happened again.. Portal has informed all of its customers that its ten year history as an online service and Internet provider is coming to an end on Sept. 30, 1996. This is very sad, it's short-notice, and the decision is completely out of my control, but it's also irreversible. Portal is changing its entire business plan from being an ISP to selling an accounting system to other online services. So be it. It's sad, but like I said, the Zone went through this before and now we'll go through it again, and come out the other side better and wiser. THE AMIGA ZONE IS MOVING TO CALWEB INTERNET SERVICES. CalWeb (http://www.calweb.com) is a two year old Internet provider located in Sacramento, CA. It has a good sized customer base, and very knowledgeable support staff. It's also run by a long time Amiga owner who has been a friend of mine for many years. The world of modeming has changed much in the last ten years. In 1985 you had very few choices and you had 1200 baud. These days, everyone and his dog has an ISP running and a web page But the vast majority of those providers don't know an Amiga from a hole in the ground, and could care less about Amiga owners. Say "AWeb" or "IBrowse" to them and they'll say "Omega? Amoeba? What? Huh? They still make those things?" CalWeb is different because it's the new home of the Amiga Zone. In October 1996, a new custom front-end menued system will be added to CalWeb to host the Zone. It'll have features for Zone users that neither Plink nor Portal ever had nor were they willing to add. The tradition of a friendly online Amiga community, run by long time Amiga owners, users and lovers will continue. Message bases, huge file libraries (we plan to move over the 20,000+ files we have on the Zone on Portal to CalWeb, MANY of which you'll never see on Aminet or anywhere else), live nightly chats, vendor support and our famous prize contests will continue. We've given away tens of thousands of dollars worth of Amiga prizes in the last ten years. No one else even comes close. I urge any and all of you who were on Plink, or who are now on Portal or who may have left Portal.. or even if you were never on either but used or still use another online service to join CalWeb for the Amiga Zone. I personally promise you the best online Amiga community we can possibly build. You will not be disappointed. CalWeb has arranged a special signup offer for you! Call: 1-800-509-9322 or 1-916-641-9320 or telnet to calweb.com, login as "guest", and follow the prompts. You can join CalWeb for US$19.95 flat, a month. CalWeb takes major credit cards or you can establish a monthly invoiced account if you don't have plastic. The signup is FREE. To get this deal you must say "THE AMIGA ZONE SENT ME" when you call or signup online. I hope to see lots of you join CalWeb. You can telnet into it from anywhere for no hourly charges at all. Your $19.95/mo fee covers everything and also gets you ten meg of storage which includes hosting your own personal web page. Naturally, when the Zone opens there, you'll have unlimited use of all of its features and areas. Never a "money meter" clock to worry about. Your personal or business CalWeb Web pages are maintained by you via FTP. It's pretty slick. You can make a net connection to the server with any Amiga FTP client, put your files onto it, the permissions are automatically set (no "chmod-ing" required!) and flip to your running browser and see the changes instantly. The Amiga Zone's new home is already up at: http://www.amigazone.com running on CalWeb's server. Ckeck it out! Please feel free to write to me at harv@amigazone.com or harv@cup.portal.com if you want more information. Remember to say "THE AMIGA ZONE SENT ME!" when you join. A splendid time is guaranteed for all. Please plan to join us in the Amiga Zone on CalWeb! @endnode @node BBS_ASIA "Distribution BBSes - Asia" @toc BBS =========================================================================== Distribution BBSes - Asia =========================================================================== -= IRAN =- * MAVARA BBS * 0098 21 8740815 -=JAPAN=- * GIGA SONIC FACTOR * Email: kfr01002@niftyserve.or.jp +81-(0)564-55-4864 @endnode @node BBS_AUSTRALASIA "Distribution BBSes - Australasia" @toc BBS =========================================================================== Distribution BBSes - Australasia =========================================================================== -=NEW ZEALAND=- * BITSTREAM BBS * FidoNET 3:771/850.0 AmigaNET 41:644/850.0 +64-(0)3-548-5321 -=VICTORIA=- * NORTH WEST AMIGA BBS * mozza@nwamiga.apana.org.au Fido: 3:633/265.0 BBS Phone/Fax: +61 3 9331 2831 @endnode @node BBS_EUROPE "Distribution BBSes - Europe" @toc BBS =========================================================================== Distribution BBSes - Europe =========================================================================== -= BELGUIM =- * VIRTUAL VORTEX BBS * vzpirit@hotmail.com +32-2-3873391 -=DENMARK=- * NEMESIS AMY BBS * boersting@hoa.ping.dk Fido: 2:238/43 +45 75-353726 -=FINLAND=- * HANG UP BBS * (telnettable) helpdesk@hangup.dystopia.fi +358 - 09 - 278 8054 * LAHO BBS * +358-64-414 1516 +358-64-414 0400 +358-64-414 6800 +358-64-423 1300 * KINDERGARTEN * matthias.bartosik@hut.fi +358-0-881 32 36 -=FRANCE=- * DYNAMIX BBS * erlsoft@mcom.mcom.fr +33.1.48.89.96.66 Minitel to Modem * RAMSES THE AMIGA FLYING * Fidonet: 2/320/104-105-106 +33-1-45845623 +33-1-53791200 -=GERMANY=- * DOOM OF DARKNESS * marc_doerre@doom.ping.de +49 (0)4223 8355 19200 AR-Infoservice, kai@doom.gun.de * IMAGINE BBS * Sysop@imagine.commo.mcnet.de +49-69-4304948 Login: GAST (Download area: "Amiga-Report") * LEGUANS BYTE CHANNEL * andreas@lbcmbx.in-berlin.de 49-30-8110060 49-30-8122442 Login as User: "amiga", Passwd: "report" * REDEYE BBS * sysop@coolsurf.de Modem/ISDN: +49-89.54662690 Modem only:+49.89.54662680 * STINGRAY DATABASE * sysop@sting-db.zer.sub.org.dbp.de +49 208 496807 * VISION THING BBS * ++49(0)345 663914 System Password: Amiga -=GREECE=- * HELLAS ON LINE * cocos@prometheus.hol.gr Telnet: hellas.hol.gr ++301/ 620-6001, 620-6604, 620-9500 * LOGIC SYSTEMS BBS * Paddy@hol.gr (301) 983-4645 * ODYSSEY BBS * odyssey@acropolis.net Amiganet: 39:250/1.0 ++301-4123502 23.00-09.00 Local Time WWW: www.acropolis.net/~konem/odygb.html -=IRELAND=- * FWIBBLE! * E-Mail: 9517693@ul.ie Fidonet: 2:263/900.0 Phone: +353-902-36124 Midnight to 8am (GMT) Freq "Readme.txt" for details -=ITALY=- * AMIGA PROFESSIONAL BBS * +(39)-49-604488 * AMIPRO BBS* +39-49604488 * DB-LINE SRL * amiga@dbline.it WWW: www.dbline.it +39-332-767383 * FRANZ BBS * mc3510@mclink.it +39-(0)6-6627667 * IDCMP * Fidonet 2:322/405 +39-542-25983 * SPEED OF LIFE * FidoNet 2:335/533 AmigaNet 39:102/12 +39-931-833773 -=NETHERLANDS=- * AMIGA ONLINE BS HEEMSTEDE * Email: sysop@aobh.xs4all.nl Fidonet: 2:280/464.0, 2:280/412.0 +31-23-5471111 +31-23-5470739 * THE HELL BBS * Email : root@hell.xs4all.nl FidoNet: 2:281/418.0 +31-(0)70-3468783 * MACRON BBS HEILOO * Email: macron@cybercomm.nl FidoNet: 2:280/134.0 +31-(0)72-5340903 * TRACE BBS GRONINGEN * Martin@trace.idn.nl FidoNET 2:282/529.0 +31-(0)-50-410143 * WILD PALMS * radavi@xs4all.nl WWW: www.xs4all.nl/~radavi/wildpalms/wildpalm.html +31-(0)30-6037959 * X-TREME BBS * u055231@vm.uci.kun.nl +31-167064414 -=NORWAY=- * BODŘ BBS * bbsoft@sn.no +47 7552 2008 -=POLAND=- * SILVER DREAM!'S BBS * +48 91 540431 -=PORTUGAL=- * CIUA BBS * denise.ci.ua.pt FidoNet 2:361/9 +351-34-382080/382081 -=RUSSIA=- * NEW ORDER BBS * sysop@neworder.spb.ru FidoNet: 2:5030/221.0 +7-812-3270054 -=SPAIN=- * GURU MEDITATION * +34-1-383-1317 * LA MITAD OSCURA * jovergon@offcampus.es Fido: 2:341/35.19 +34-1-3524613 * MAZAGON - BBS - SYSTEMS * jgomez@maze.mazanet.es FTP: ftp-mail@ftp.mazanet.es +34 59 536267 Login: a-report -=SWEDEN=- * CICERON * a1009@itv.se +46 612 22011 -=SWITZERLAND=- * USE COMMUNICATIONS POP ZUG * wenk@use.ch +41 41 763 17 41 -=TURKIYE=- * NEEDFUL THINGS * Erdinc.Corbaci@beygir.bbs.tr 90-216-3629417 -=UKRAINE=- * AMIGA HOME BBZ * Oleg.Khimich@bbs.te.net.ua FidoNet: 2:467/88.0 +380-482-325043 -=UNITED KINGDOM=- * AMIGA JUNCTION 9 * sysadmin@junct9.demon.co.uk FidoNet: 2:440/20 +44 (0)372 271000 * CREATIONS BBS * mat@darkside.demon.co.uk 2:254/524@Fidonet +44-0181-665-9887 * DEMON FEARS AMIGA BBS * mike@timp8.demon.co.uk FidoNet: 2:250/194.0 +44-161-627-3360 * DRAUGHTFLOW BBS * Ian_Cooper@draught.demon.co.uk +44 (01707) 328484 * METNET CCS * metnet@demon.co.uk FidoNet: 2:2502/129.0 2:2502/130.0 +44-1482-442251 +44-1482-444910 * OCTAMED USER BBS * rbfsoft@cix.compulink.co.uk +44 (01703) 703446 * SCRATCH BBS * kcci1@solx1.susx.ac.uk +44-1273-389267 -=YUGOSLAVIA=- * UNIVERSE BBS * sule@universe.bc.co.ui +381-(0)21-741084 @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 * steve_hooper@comm.tfbbs.wimsey.com Fido: 1:153/210.0 604-945-6192 -=CALIFORNIA=- * TIERRA-MIGA BBS * torment.cts.com FidoNet: 1:202/638.0 619.292.0754 * VIRTUAL PALACE BBS * tibor@ecst.csuchico.edu 916-343-7420 * AMIGA AND IBM ONLY BBS * vonmolk@crash.cts.com AmigaNET: 40:406/7.0 (619)428-4887 -=FLORIDA=- * LAST! AMIGA BBS * (305) 456-0126 -=ILLINOIS=- * 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 * THE SAGE'S TOWER * johnh@ezl.com FidoNet: 1:2250/7 618-259-1844 * STARSHIP CUCUG * khisel@prairienet.org (217)356-8056 * THE STYGIAN ABYSS BBS * FIDONet-1:115/384.0 312-384-0616 312-384-6250 (FREQ line) -=LOUISIANA=- * The Catacomb * Geoff148@delphi.com 504-882-6576 -=MAINE=- * THE KOBAYASHI ALTERNATIVE BBS * FidoNet: 1:326/404.0 FTP: ftp.tka.com (207)/784-2130 (207)/946-5665 -=MEXICO=- * AMIGA BBS * FidoNet 4:975/7 (5) 887-3080 * AMIGA SERVER BBS * 5158736 * TERCER PLANETA BBS * FX Network 800:525/1 [525]-606-2162 -=MISSISSIPPI=- * THE GATEWAY BBS * stace@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil FidoNet: 1:3604/60.0 601-374-2697 -=MICHIGAN=- * DC PRODUCTIONS * dcpro!chetw@heifetz.msen.com 616-373-0287 -=NEW JERSEY=- * T.B.P. VIDEO SLATE * 201-586-3623 * DLTACOM AMIGA BBS * dltacom.camphq.fidonet.org Fidonet: 1:2606/216.0 (201) 398-8559 -=NEW YORK=- * THE BELFRY(!) * stiggy@belfry.org WWW: www.belfry.org 718.793.4796 718.793.4905 -=ONTARIO=- * COMMAND LINE BBS * 416-533-8321 * CYBERSPACE * joehick@ophielia.waterloo.net (519) 579-0072 (519) 579-0173 * EDGE OF REALITY BBS * murray.smith@er.gryn.org Fido: 1:244/320.0 (905)578-5048 -=QUEBEC=- * CLUB AMIGA DE QUEBEC * Internet: snaclaq@megatoon.com Voice: (418) 666-5969 (418) 666-4146 (418) 666-6960 Nom d'usager: AMREPORT Mot de passe: AMIGA * GfxBase BBS* E-mail: ai257@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu Fidonet: 1:167/192 514-769-0565 -=TENNESSEE=- * AMIGA CENTRAL! * root@amicent.raider.net 615-383-9679 * NOVA BBS * FidoNet 1:362/508.0 615-472-9748 -=VIRGINIA=- * NETWORK XXIII DATA SYSTEM * gottfrie@acca.nmsu.edu 804-266-1763 Login: anon Password: nopass -=WASHINGTON=- * FREELAND MAINFRAME * freemf.wa.com (360)412-0228 * PIONEERS BBS * FidoNet: 1:343/54.0 206-775-7983 Login: Long Distance Password: longdistance Or FREQ: AR.lha @endnode @node BBS_SAMERICA "Distribution BBSes - South America" @toc BBS =========================================================================== Distribution BBSes - South America =========================================================================== -=BRAZIL=- * 68000 BBS * vaclav@centroin.com.br AmigaNET-BR: 120:5521/1 +55-21-393-4390 [16-06h (-3GMT)] * LITHIUM SYSTEMS BBS * pa100137@datacontrol.com.br 051-632-2805 (00:00 - 08:30) * STUFF OVERLOAD BBS * dan_cab@lepus.celepar.br AmigaNET-BR: 120:120/0 +55-41-252-9389 @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 nighty@gmatter.japan-online.or.jp -= MAYLAYSIA =- Innovations Lights & Magic (M) Sdn Bhd, A1106, University Towers, 28, Jalan Universiti, 46200, Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan Tel: +6 03 7544544 Fax: +6 03 7544588 skchiew@pc.jaring.my @endnode @node DEAL_AUSTRALASIA "Dealers - Australasia" @toc DEALER =========================================================================== Dealers - Australasia =========================================================================== -=AUSTRALIA=- Amadeus Computers 1/534 Old Northern Rd Round Corner, NSW 2158 Voice: 02 9651 1711 Fax: 02 9651 1710 WWW: www.amadeus.com.au amadeus@ca.com/au Amiga Genius 826 Hunter St. Newcastle West, NSW 2302 Ph: +61 49 623-222 Fax: +61 49 623-583 cdgtb@hunterlink.net.au Amiga 'n PC Centre Pty Ltd 644 South Road Glandore Adelaide, SA 5037 Phone: (08) 8293 8752 Fax: (08) 8293 8814 melbice@cobweb.com.au Amiga Technologies (Not officially related) 17 Thompson Circuit Mill Park, VIC 3082 Phone: (03) 9436 5555 Fax: (03) 9436 9935 WWW: http://lion.cs.latrobe.edu.au/~laburacj/amitech.html laburacj@lion.cs.latrobe.edu.au Amilight Pty Ltd 47A Tate Street South Perth, Western Australia, 6151 Phone: (09) 367 4422 Fax: (09) 3674482 WWW: www.vianet.net.au/~dwark dwark@vianet.net.au Amitar Home Computer Systems Unit 1, 25 Gillim Drive Kelmscott, WA 6111 Phone: (09) 495 4905 Fax: (09) 495 4905 WWW: http://crystal.com.au/~amitar/ amitar@crystal.com.au Byte One 24 Silverton Drive Ferntree Gully, VIC 3156 Phone: (03) 9752 3991 gordon@ozramp.net.au Computa Magic Pty Ltd 44 Pascoe Vale Road Moonee Ponds, VIC 3039 Phone: (03) 9326 0133 Fax: (03) 9370 8352 Computer Affair 337 Penshurst Street Willoughby, NSW 2068 Phone: (02) 9417 5155 Fax: (02) 9417 5542 WWW: www.computeraffair.com.au sales@computeraffair.com.au Computer Man 611 Beaufort Street Mt. Lawley, WA 6050 Phone: (09) 328 9062 Fax: (09) 275 1010 WWW: www.iinet.net.au/~cman cman@iinet.net.au Desktop Utilities PO BOX 3053 Manuka, ACT 2603 Phone: (06) 239 6658 Fax: (06) 239 6619 WWW: ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/~dtu 100026.1706@compuserve.com Don Quixote Software PO BOX 786 Toowoomba, QLD 4350 Phone: (076) 391 578 Fax: (076) 320 145 donq@tmba.design.net.au Exclusive Computer Systems Street: 34 Weston Street Weston, N.S.W. 2326 Postal: P.O. Box 68, Weston, N.S.W. 2326 Phone: (049) 361213 Fax: (049) 36 1213 Email: peter.archer@fastlink.com.au Fonhoff Computer Supplies Baulkham Hills, NSW 2153 Phone: (02) 9639 7718 Fax: (02) 9639 5995 WWW: http://godzilla.zeta.org.au/~jfonhof jfonhof@zeta.org.au GSoft Shop 4, 2 Anderson Walk Smithfield, SA 5114 Phone: (08) 8284 1266 Fax: (08) 8284 0922 gsoft@cobweb.com.au Image Domain 92 Bridge St Fortitude Valley, Brisbane Queensland Voice: 617-3216-1240 Fax: 617-3852-2720 imagedomain@msn.com Motherboard Computers Suite 19, 9-11 Abel Street Penrith, NSW 2750 Phone: (047) 222 803 Fax: (047) 215 277 WWW: www.pnc.com.au/~mother mother@pnc.com.au MVB 506-508 Dorset Road Croydon, VIC 3136 Phone: (03) 9725 6255 Fax: (03) 9725 6766 Sigmacom Suite 16, 20-24 Gibbs Street Miranda, NSW 2228 Phone: (02) 9524 9846 Fax: (02) 9549 4554 WWW: www.sigma.com.au Software Buyers Service PO BOX 734 Belmont, VIC 3216 Phone/Fax: (052) 431 445 arne@euphoria.bay.net.au Software Circus 27 Darling Street Kensington, NSW 2033 Phone: (02) 9313 8484 Synapse Computers 190 Riding Road Hawthorne, Brisbane Queensland 4171 Voice/Fax: +61 7-3899-0980 WWW: www.powerup.com.au/~synapse/ synapse@powerup.com.au Unitech Electronics Pty. Ltd. / Maverick Amiga 8B Tummul Place St. Andrews, Sydney 2566 Voice: +61 2 9820 3555 Fax: +61 2 9603 8685 Valhalla: Games and Hobbies 493 Wellington Street Perth, 6000 Phone: (09) 321 2909 Westcomp 96 Bentinck Street Bathurst, NSW 2795 Phone: (063) 322 611 Fax: (063) 322 623 -=NEW ZEALAND=- CompKarori LG/F Karori Shopping Mall Karori, Wellington Tel: +64 4 476-0212 Fax: +64 4 476-9088 WWW: www.compkarori.co.nz sales@compkarori.co.nz Dezigna Systems PO BOX 33-959 Takapuna, Auckland Voice: 0064-9-478-9657 Fax: 0064-9-410-8788 dzign@ihug.co.nz @endnode @node DEAL_EUROPE "Dealers - Europe" @toc DEALER =========================================================================== Dealers - Europe =========================================================================== -=AUSTRIA=- A.R.T. Computeranimation Ges.m.b.H. Feldstrasse 13 3300 Amstetten Tel: +43 7472/63566-0 Fax: +43 7472/63566-6 Solaris Computec Ges.m.b.H. Mariahilfpark 1 A-6020 Innsbruck Tel: ++43-512/272724 Fax: ++43-512/272724-2 solaris@computec.co.at -=BELGIUM=- AVM Technology Rue de Rotheux, 279 B-4100 Seraing Voice: +32 (0)41 38.16.06 Fax: +32 (0)41 38.15.69 defraj@mail.interpac.be CLICK! N.V. Boomsesteenweg 468 B-2610 Wilrijk - Antwerpen Voice: +32 (0)3 828.18.15 Fax: +32 (0)3 828.67.36 vanhoutv@nbre.nfe.be Generation Amiga Rue Hotel des Monnaies, 120-122 B-1060 Bruxelles Voice: +32-2-538.93.60 Fax: +32-2-538.91.35 WWW: www.genamiga.arc.be/genamiga/ Email: genamiga@arcadia.be -=BULGARIA=- KlubVerband ITA Gmbh 1309 Sofia P.F.13, KukushStr. 1-2 Contact: Dr. ING B. Pavlov Tel: +359-2-221471 Fax: +359-2-230062 KVITA@VIRBUS.BG -=DENMARK=- Data Service Att. Soren Petersen Kaerhaven2a 2th 6400 Sonderborg Phone/Fax: +45 74 43 17 36 sorpe-95@sdbg.ih.dk -=FINLAND=- Gentle Eye ky PL 8 33841 Tampere Phone: 358-3-363-0048 Fax: 358-3-363-0058 WWW: www.ge.vip.fi ge@vip.fi Lincware Computers Ltd Lovkullankuja 3 10300 KARJAA Voice: +358-50-5573696 Fax: +358-11-231511 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: +33 50.52.83.31 tcp@imaginet.fr -=GERMANY=- AMItech Systems GmbH Ludwigstrasse 4 D-95028 Hof/Saale Voice: +49 9281 142812 Fax: +49 9281 142712 WWW: www.hof.baynet.de/~mediatech mediatech@hof.baynet.de dcp, desing+commercial partner GmbH Alfredstr. 1 D-22087 Hamburg Tel.: + 49 40 251176 Fax: +49 40 2518567 WWW: www.dcp.de info@dcp.de Hartmann & Riedel GdbR Hertzstr. 33 D-76287 Rheinstetten Voice: +49 (7242) 2021 Fax: +49 (7242) 2167 rick@morrison.inka.de Please call before visiting Hirsch & Wolf OHG Mittelstra_e 33 D-56564 Neuwied Voice: +49 (2631) 8399-0 Fax: +49 (2631) 8399-31 Pro Video Electronic Gabelsbergerstr.6 D-63739 Aschaffenburg Voice: +49-(0)6021-15713 Fax: +49-(0)6021-15717 WWW: www.provideo.de provideo@primanet.de -=ITALY=- C.A.T.M.U. snc Casella Postale 63 10023 Chieri (TO) Tel/Fax: +39 11 9415237 fer@inrete.it (Ferruccio Zamuner) Cloanto Italia srl Via G. B. Bison 24 33100 Udine Tel: +39 432 545902 Fax: +39 432 609051 WWW: www.cloanto.com info@cloanto.com -=NETHERLANDS=- Chaos Systems Watermolen 18 NL-1622 LG Hoorn (NH) Voice: +31-(0)229-233922 Fax/Data: +31-(0)229-TBA WWW: gene.fwi.uva.nl/~marioh/ marioh@fwi.uva.nl Computer City Zebrastraat 7-9 3064 LR Rotterdam Voice: +31-10-4517722 Fax: +31-10-4517748 WWW: www.compcity.nl info@compcity.nl Computer + Repair Schoonbrood Rodeput 15 63695N Simpelveld Voice: 0031-455680048 Fax: 0031-455680049 CRS@CUCI.NL -=NORWAY=- Applause Data AS Storgaten 31 Postboks 143 2830 Raufoss Voice: +47 61 19 03 80 Fax: +47 61 19 05 80 WWW: www.applause.no post@applause.no DataKompaniet ANS Trondheim Innovation Centre Prof. Brochs gt. 6 N-7030 Trondheim Tel: +47 7354 0375 Fax: +47 7394 3861 WWW: www.datakompaniet.no post@datakompaniet.no Sezam Software Ulsmĺgveien 11a N-5o5o Nesttun Tel/Fax: +47 55100070 (9-20) ABBS: +47 55101730 (24t) Email: oleksy@telepost.no -=SPAIN=- Amiga Center Argullós, 127 08016 Barcelona Tel: (93) 276 38 06 Fax: (93) 276 30 80 Amiga Center Alicante Segura, 27 03004 Alicante Tel: (96) 514 37 34 Audio Vision San Jose, 53 Gijon (Asturias) Tel: (98) 535 24 79 Centro Informático Boadilla Convento, 6 28660 Boadilla del Monte (Madrid) Tel: (91) 632 27 65 Fax: (91) 632 10 99 Centro Mail Tel: (91) 380 28 92 C.R.E. San Francisco, 85 48003 Bilbao (Vizcaya) Tel: (94) 444 98 84 Fax: (94) 444 98 84 Donosti Frame Avda. de Madrid, 15 20011 San Sebastián (Guipuzcoa) Tel: (943) 42 07 45 Fax: (943) 42 45 88 Eurobit Informatica C/. Gral. Garcia de la Herran, 4 11100 - San Fernando Cadiz Tel/Fax: (956) 896375 GaliFrame Galerías Príncipe, 22 Vigo (Pontevedra) Tel: (986) 22 89 94 Fax: (986) 22 89 94 Invision San Isidro, 12-18 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid) Tel: (91) 676 20 56/59 Fax: (91) 656 10 04 Invision Salamanca, 53 46005 Valencia Tel: (96) 395 02 43/44 Fax: (96) 395 02 44 Norsoft Bedoya, 4-6 32003 Orense Tel: (988) 24 90 46 Fax: (988) 23 42 07 PiXeLSOFT Felipe II, 3bis 34004 Palencia Tel: (979) 71 27 00 Fax: (979) 71 28 28 Tu Amiga Ordinadors C/ Progreso, 6 08120 La LLagosta (Barcelona) Tel: +34-3-5603604 Fax: +34-3-5603607 vb soft Provenza, 436 08025 Barcelona Tel: (93) 456 15 45 Fax: (93) 456 15 45 -=SWEDEN=- Orebro Videoreklam Slottsgatan 12 703 61 OREBRO Tel/Fax: +46 (0)19-123807 WWW: www.flevel.co.uk/videoking videoking@mbox200.swipnet.se Tricom Data Vision - Stockholm Birkagatan 17 113 36 Stockholm Voice: +46-(0)8-7360291/92 Fax: +46-(0)8-7460293 support@tricom.se Tricom Data Vision - Uppsala Svartbacksgatan 41 753 32 Uppsala Voice: +46-(0)18-124009 Fax: +46-(0)18-100650 info@tricom.se -=SWITZERLAND=- RELEC Software & Hardware AMIGA Village du Levant 2B CH 1530 PAYERNE Tel: +26 660 02 82 Fax: +26 660 0283 Relec@com.mcnet.ch Studio 4D Deinikonerstrasse 14 6340 Baar Voice: +41 41 763 17 47 Fax: +41 41 763 17 48 studio4d@zug.use.ch -=UNITED KINGDOM=- 5DLicenceware 1 Lower Mill Close Goldthorpe Rotherham South Yorkshire S63 9BY Tel/Fax: 01709 888127 WWW: www.ware5d.demon.co.uk phil@ware5d.demon.co.uk Almathera Systems Ltd Southerton House Boundary Business Court 92-94 Church Road Mitcham, Surrey CR4 3TD Voice: 081 687 0040 Fax: 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 brian_fowler@cix.compulink.co.uk Computer Magic Unit 8 Freemans Yard Doncaster Road, Barnsley S71 1QH Tel: 01226 218255 / 0378 425281 Visage Computers 27 Watnall Road Hucknall, Nottingham Tel: +44 (0)115 9642828 Tel/Fax: +44 (0)115 9642898 visage@innotts.co.uk @endnode @node DEAL_NAMERICA "Dealers - North America" @toc DEALER =========================================================================== Dealers - North America =========================================================================== -=CANADA=- Animax Multimedia, Inc. Willow Tree Tower 6009 Quinpool Road, Suite 802 Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 5J7 Voice: 902-429-1921 Fax: 902-429-1923 WWW: www.animax.com/ info@animax.com APC Computer Services 402-5 Tangreen Crt Willowdale, Ont. M2M 3Z1 Voice/Fax: 416-733-1434 WWW: www.interlog.com/~shadow/apccomp.html shadow@interlog.com Atlantis Kobetek Inc. 1496 Lower Water St. Halifax, NS / B3J 1R9 Phone: 902-422-6556 Fax: 902-423-9339 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 s2200147@nickel.laurentian.ca CineReal Pro-Video 272 Avondale Avenue Ottawa, Ontario K1Z 7G8 Phone/Fax: 613-798-8150 (Call first to fax) cinereal@proton.com Computer Shop of Calgary, Ltd. 3515 - 18th Street S.W. Calgary, Alberta T2T 4T9 Voice. 403-243-4358 Fax: 403-243-2684 WWW: www.canuck.com/cshop austin@canuck.com Computerology Direct Powell River, BC V8A-4Z3 Voice: 604-483-3679 (24h) Ask for HEAD SALES REP Comspec Communications Inc 74 Wingold Ave Toronto, Ontario M6B 1P5 Computer Centre: 416-785-8348 Sales: 416-785-3553 Fax: 416-785-3668 bryanf@comcorp.comspec.com, bryanf@accesspt.north.net ElectroMike Inc. 1375 Boul. Charest Ouest Quebec, Quebec G1N2E7 Tel: 418-681-4138, (800) 463-1501 Fax: 418-681-5880 Forest Diskasaurus 35 Albert St., P.O.Box 84 Forest, Ontario N0N 1J0 Tel/Fax: 519-786-2454 saurus@xcelco.on.ca FranTek 5-353 McArthur Avenue Vanier, Ontario K1L 6N5 Phone: 613-746-7854 ext 3 Fax/Modem: 613-746-7854 WWW: www.travel-net.com/~frantek frantek@travel-net.com GfxBase Electronique, Inc 1727 Shevchenko Montreal, Quebec Voice: 514-367-2575 Fax: 514-367-5265 BBS: 514-769-0565 Le Groupe PowerLand 630 Champagne Rosemere, Quebec J7A 4K9 Voice: 514-893-6296 Fax/BBS: 514-965-7295 mchabot@nationalnet.com National Amiga London, Ontario Fax: 905-845-3295 WWW: www.interlog.com/~gscott/NationalAmiga.html gscott@interlog.com Oby's Amiga Computing Shop 16 Keziah Crt. Sudbury, Ontario P3B-2T9 Voice: 705-675-3331 Fax: 705-675-1333 WWW: icewall.vianet.on.ca/pages/obys obys@vianet.on.ca Oshawa Amiga Oshawa, ON L1J 5J8 Phone: 905-728-7048 WWW: web.idirect.com/~oshamiga mjacula@idirect.com Randomize Computers R.R. #2 Tottenham, Ont. L0G 1W0 vox: 905-939-8371 fax: 905-939-8745 WWW: www.randomize.com randomize@interlog.com SpectrumTech Electronics Contact: Derek Clarke 412-1205 Fennell Avenue East Hamilton, ON L8T 1T1 Voice: 905-388-9575 BBS: 905-388-2542 ste@spectrum.gryn.org Valley Soft P.O. Box 864 Pembroke, Ontario K8A 7M5 Voice: 613-732-7700 Fax: 613-732-8477 WWW: www.renc.igs.net/~valsoft Vide0link Canada 53 Lucy Ave Toronto, Ontario M1L 1A1 Voice: 416-690-1690 / 800-567-8481 Fax: 416-690-0136 WWW: www.videolink.ca brich@videolink.ca Wonder Computers Ottawa Retail Store 1315 Richmond Road Ottawa, Ontario K2B 8J7 Voice: 613-721-1800 Fax: 613-721-6992 WWW: www.wonder.ca Wonder Computers Vancouver Sales Office 2229 Edinburgh St. New Westminster, BC W3M 2Y2 Voice: 604-524-2151 young monkey studios 797 Mitchell Street Fredericton, NB E3B 3S8 Phone: 506-459-7088 Fax: 506-459-7099 sales@youngmonkey.ca -=UNITED STATES=- A&D Computer 211 South St. Milford, NH 03055-3743 Voice/Fax: 603-672-4700 BBS: 603-673-2788 amiga@mv.mv.com Alex Electronics 597 Circlewood Dr. Paradise, CA 95969 Voice/Fax: 916-872-3722 BBS: 915-872-3711 WWW: www.wordbench.com/ alex@wordbench.com Amigability Computers P.O. Box 572 Plantsville, CT 06479 Voice: 203-276-8175 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 amiga-x@tka.com Amiga Exchange PO BOX 1381 Manhattan Beach, CA 90266 Voice/Fax: 310-534-3817 BBS: 310-325-1796 robertwt@ix.netcom.com Amiga Library Services 610 Alma School Rd, #18 Chandler, Az 85224-3687 Voice: 800-804-0833 Fax: 602-491-0048 orders@ninemoons.com Amiga Video Solutions 1568 Randolph Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105 Voice: 612-698-1175 Fax: 612-224-3823 BBS: 612-698-1918 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 Apogee@cup.portal.com Armadillo Brothers 4379 South State Salt Lake City, Utah 84107 Voice: 801-262-4454 Fax: 801-262-4441 WWW: www.armadillobrothers.com brent@armos.com Computer Advantage 7370 Hickman Road Des Moines, IA 50322 Voice/Fax: 515-252-6167 Number1@netins.net Computer Concepts 18001 Bothell-Everett Hwy, Suite "0" Bothell, WA 98012 Voice: (206) 481-3666 Computer Link 6573 middlebelt Garden City MI 48135 Voice: 313-522-6005 Fax: 313-522-3119 clink@m-net.arbornet.org The Computer Room 2760 South Havana Street Aurora, Colorado 80014 Voice: 303-696-8973 WWW: www.computerroom.com Email: sales@computerroom.com The Computer Source 515 Kings Highway East Fairfield, CT 06432 Voice: (203) 336-3100 Fax: (203) 335-3259 Computers International, Inc. 5415 Hixson Pike Chattanooga, TN 37343 Voice: 615-843-0630 Computerwise Computers 3006 North Main Logan, UT 84322 Concord Computer Solutions 2745 Concord Blvd. Suite 5 Concord, CA 94519 Orders: 1-888-80-AMIGA Info/Tech: 510-680-0143 BBS/Fax: 510-680-4987 WWW: www.ccompsol.com/ moxley@value.net CPU Inc. 5168 East 65th St. Indianapolis, IN 46220 Voice: 317-577-3677 Fax: 317-577-1500 cpuken@indy.net CyberTech Labs PO Box 56941 North Pole, Alaska 99705 Vox: (907) 451-3285 BBS1: (907) 488-2547 BBS2 & Fax: (907) 488-2647 71516.600@CompuServe.com DC Productions 218 Stockbridge Avenue Kalamazoo, MI 49001 Phone: (616)373-1985 (800)9DC-PROD dcpro!chetw@heifetz.msen.com Digital Arts 1321 North Walnut P.O. Box 5206 Bloomington, IN 47807-5206 Voice: (812)330-0124 Fax: (812)330-0126 BIX: msears Digital Castle 4046 Hubbell Ave. Suite 155 Des Moines, IA 50317-4434 Voice: (515) 266-5098 Sheep@netins.net Digital F/X, Inc. 1930 Maple, Suite 7 North Bend, OR 97459 Voice: (800) 202-3285 / (541) 756-6693 WWW: www.digital-fx.com DFX@Mail.coos.or.us Discount Computer Sales 1100 Sunset Strip #5 Sunrise, FL 33313 Voice: 954-797-9402 Fax: 954-797-2999 DCS@aii.net, DCS@interpoint.net Electronic Connection 635 Penn Ave West Reading, PA 19611 Phone: 610-372-1010 Fax: 610-378-0996 Hawkeye Communication 1324 Fifth Street Coralville, Iowa 52241 Voice: 319-354-3354 Hawkcom@inav.net HHH Enterprises Contact: Tom Harmon PO Box 10 Hartwood, VA 22471 Voice: (540) 752-2100 ko4ox@erols.com HT Electronics 211 Lathrop Way, Ste. A. Sacramento, CA 95815 V: (916) 925-0900 F: (916) 925-2829 BIX: msears HT Electronics 422 S. Hillview Dr. Milipitas, CA 95035 V: (408) 934-7700 F: (408) 934-7717 BIX: msears Industrial Video, Inc. Contact: John Gray 1601 North Ridge Rd. Lorain, OH 44055 Voice: 800-362-6150, 216-233-4000 af741@cleveland.freenet.edu Kipp Visual Systems 360-C Christopher Ave. Gaithersburg Md, 20878 Voice: 301-670-7906 kipp@rasputin.umd.edu Krulewich Enterprises 554 Vega Dr Corpus Christi, TX 78418 Voice: (512) 937-4624 1040.3444@compuserve.com The Lively Computer - Tom Lively 8314 Parkway Dr. La Mesa, CA 91942 Voice: 619-589-9455 Fax: 619-589-5230 tlively@connectnet.com Magic Page Contact: Patrick Smith 3043 Luther Street Winston-Salem, NC 27127 Voice/Fax: 910-785-3695 spiff@ix.netcom.com MicroSearch 9000 US 59 South, Suite 330 Houston, Texas Voice: 713-988-2818 Fax: 713-995-4994 MicroTech Solutions, Inc. 17W745 Butterfield Road, Suite F Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181 Phone: 630-495-4069 Fax: 630-495-4245 WWW: www.mt-inc.com info@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 Multimedia Network Consultants Bellamah N.E. Albuquerque, New Mexico 87111 Voice: 505-292-3504 WWW: www.netcom.com/~hitscom hitscom@ix.netcom.com 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 PSIANIM@agora.rain.com Raymond Commodore Amiga 795 Raymond Avenue St. Paul, MN 55114-1521 Voice: 612-642-9890 Fax: 612-642-9891 BBS: 612-874-8342 WWW: www.visi.com/~raycomp raycomp@visi.com Safe Harbor Computers W226 N900 Eastmound Dr Waukesha, WI 53186 Orders: 800-544-6599 Fax: 414-548-8130 WWW: www.sharbor.com Slipped Disk 170 E 12 Mile Rd Madison Heights, Michigan 48071 Voice: (810) 546-DISK BBS: (810) 399-1292 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 j_sauter@systemeye.ultranet.com TJ's Unlimited P.O. Box #354 North Greece, NY 14515-0354 Voice: 716-225-5810 BBS: 716-225-8631 neil@rochgte.fidonet.org Zipperware 76 South Main St. Seattle, WA 98104 Voice: 206-223-1107 Fax: 206-223-9395 WWW: www.speakeasy.org/zipperware zipware@nwlink.com @endnode @node OPINION "Editorial and Opinion" @toc MENU =========================================================================== Editorial and Opinion =========================================================================== @{" compt.sys.editor.desk " link EDITORIAL} Gotta fly... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" 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 =========================================================================== @{" AR's Top 100 Amiga Games " link NEWS1} AR's Ken Anderson wants your vote! @{" Gateway Challenges Sale " link NEWS15} Gateway asserts its own Chinese rights @{" Chinese Amiga Rights " link NEWS12} Lotus Pacific announces an alliance @{" Aladdin 4D 5.0 Shipping " link NEWS7} Finally! @{" OctaMed SoundStudio " link NEWS8} A new revision may be in the works @{" Amiga Informer Issue 9 " link NEWS9} Now at the 48-page mark @{" Midwest Amiga Expo " link NEWS11} Call for exhibitors goes out @{" CallMan 1.1 " link NEWS2} Phone dialer/logfile analyzer/bill calculator @{" NGConfig v1.0 " link NEWS3} Automated configuration of NetGate @{" MCCLib v12.2 " link NEWS4} Updated MUI custom class library @{" Smaky 400 " link NEWS5} A PCI board which might go AmigaOS? @{" VDisk v2.7 " link NEWS6} Recoverable RAM disk driver @{" OloFight " link NEWS10} A new beat-em-up on its way @{" Video Escort v2.5 " link NEWS13} A special Mr. Hardware sale @{" Amos Compiler " link NEWS14} Coming soon in the US @{" PMPro V4 " link NEWS16} Sort and organize your images @{" ANet IRC Network " link NEWS17} New IRC net launched --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" 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 =========================================================================== @{" Australian Show Report " link FEATURE1} Another look at the show @{" Guide To UAE " link FEATURE2} The Amiga emulator revealed! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" 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 =========================================================================== @{" DOpus 5.6 Magellan " link REVIEW1} Checking out the new stuff! @{" Damage " link REVIEW2} Sick, sick, sick... @{" CyberStorm Mk II 040/40 ERC " link REVIEW4} A look at P5's lower-cost accel option @{" CyberSCSI Mk II " link REVIEW3} The DMA SCSI controller for P5 boards @{" Civilization CD " link REVIEW5} The all-time classic, now on CD @{" Emulation Rambler " link REVIEW6} Dodging flak from last issue @{" Silent Service II " link REVIEW7} Acid re-release of Microprose WWII classic --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" 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 =========================================================================== @{" 13-Jul-97 " link CHARTS1} @{" 20-Jul-97 " link CHARTS2} --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node ABOUT "About AMIGA REPORT" @toc MENU =========================================================================== About AMIGA REPORT =========================================================================== @{" AR Staff " link STAFF} The Editors and writers @{" Writing Guidelines " link GUIDELINE} What you need to do to write for us @{" Copyright Information " link COPYRIGHT} The legal stuff --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node STAFF "The Staff" @toc ABOUT =========================================================================== The Staff =========================================================================== Editor: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON} Assistant Editor: @{" Katherine Nelson " link KATIE} Games Editor: @{" Ken Anderson " link KEN} Contributing Editor: @{" William Near " link WILLIAM} Contributing Editor: @{" Bohus Blahut " link BOHUS} --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" 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 ZONE} --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node BBS "Distribution Sites" @toc WHERE =========================================================================== Distribution BBSes =========================================================================== Arranged by Continent: @{" Asia " link BBS_ASIA} @{" Australasia " link BBS_AUSTRALASIA} @{" Europe " link BBS_EUROPE} @{" North America " link BBS_NAMERICA} @{" South America " link BBS_SAMERICA} Sysops: To have your name added, please send @{"Email", link JASON} with the BBS name, its location (Country, province/state) your name, any internet/fidonet addresses, and the phone number of your BBS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node DEALER "Dealer Directory" @toc MENU =========================================================================== Dealer Directory =========================================================================== Arranged by Continent: @{" Asia " link DEAL_ASIA} @{" Australasia " link DEAL_AUSTRALASIA} @{" Europe " link DEAL_EUROPE} @{" North America " link DEAL_NAMERICA} Dealers: To have your name added, please send @{"Email", link JASON} with the BBS name, its location (Country, province/state) your name, any internet/fidonet addresses, and the phone number of your dealership --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode