@database "ar131.guide" @Node MAIN "Amiga Report Online Magazine #1.31 -- October 29, 1993" @{" Open Magazine " link "menu"} _ ____ ___ ______ _______ _ d# ####b g#00 `N##0" _agN#0P0N# d# d## jN## j##F J## _dN0" " d## .#]## _P ##L jN##F ### g#0" .#]## dE_j## # 0## jF ##F j##F j##' ______ dE_j## .0"""N## d" ##L0 ##F 0## 0## "9##F" .0"""5## .dF' ]## jF ##0 ##F ##F `##k d## .dF' j## .g#_ _j##___g#__ ]N _j##L_ _d##L_ `#Nh___g#N' .g#_ _j##__ """"" """"""""""" " """""" """""" """"""" """"" """""" ###### ###### ###### ###### ###### ######## TM ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## #### ## ## ## #### ## ## ## #### ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ## ### ###### ## ###### ## ### ## International Online Magazine "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information." October 29, 1993 No. 1.31 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// / Winners Don't Use Drugs / /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Copyright © 1993 SkyNet Publications All Rights Reserved A Member Of STR Online News @endnode @node P2-1 "Where to find Amiga Report" @toc "menu" /// WHERE TO FIND AMIGA REPORT Distribution Sites! -------------------------- Click on the button of the BBS nearest you for information on that system. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// / FidoNet Systems / //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// FREQ the filename "AR.LHA" for the most current issue of Amiga Report! @{" OMAHA AMIGANET " link P2-1-9} ..................................Omaha, Nebraska @{" NOVA BBS " link P2-1-1} .............................Cleveland, Tennessee @{" CLOUD'S CORNER BBS " link P2-1-3} ............................Bremerton, Washington @{" BIOSMATICA BBS " link P2-1-4} .........................................Portugal @{" AMIGA JUNCTION 9 " link P2-1-5} ...................................United Kingdom @{" BITSTREAM BBS " link P2-1-6} ..............................Nelson, New Zealand @{" REALM OF TWILIGHT " link P2-1-7} ..................................Ontario, Canada @{" METNET TRIANGLE " link P2-1-8} ......................Kingston Upon Hull, England @{" AMIGA-NIGHT-SYSTEM " link P2-1-10}.................................Helsinki, Finland @{" RAMSES THE AMIGA FLYING " link P2-1-11}............................................France //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// / Non-FidoNet Systems / //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// @{" IN THE MEANTIME " link P2-1-2} ...............................Yakima, Washington @{" FREELAND MAINFRAME " link P2-1-50} ..............................Olympia, Washington @{" LAHO BBS " link P2-1-51} ...............................Seinajoki, Finland @{" FALLING BBS " link P2-1-52} ...........................................Norway @{" COMMAND LINE BBS " link P2-1-53} ..................................Toronto, Canada @{" RENDEZVOUS BBS " link P2-1-54} ......................................New Zealand @{" LEGUANS BYTE CHANNEL " link P2-1-55} ..........................................Germany @{" STINGRAY DATABASE " link P2-1-56} ...........................Muelheim/Ruhr, Germany @endnode Non-AmigaGuide Users: See the end of this document for numbers to each BBS. ___________________________________________________________________________ /// 10/29/93 Amiga Report 1.31 "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information" -------------------------- · The Editor's Desk · CPU Status Report · New Products · FTP Announcements · Dealer Directory · Usenet Reviews · The Humor Department · Reader Mail · AR Online » Deluxe Music 2.0 Reviewed « » Delphi Upload Contest « » SAS/C v6.5 Features List « /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Amiga Report International Online Magazine "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information" » FEATURING WEEKLY « Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information Hardware · Software · Corporate · R & D · Imports /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// / PORTAL · FIDO · INTERNET · BIX · AMIGANET · DELPHI / /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @node P1-1 "From the Editor's Desk" @toc "menu" /// From the Editor's Desk "Saying it like it is!" ---------------------- I guess you could say it's officially fall, huh? I mean sure, the actual season is here, but the weather is finally starting to agree with the season. Of the years I've been in Omaha (I spent four years here before while in the Air Force), this is the first 'real' autumn I can remember. It usually went from being dreadfully hot to being dreadfully cold. But the past several weeks have been rather pleasant. Halloween is this Sunday. All Hallow's Eve is a time celebrated for many years, and treated with much disdain by many of the more religious faiths, feeling that celebrating it is flirting with certain disaster. But this isn't a regligous publication, at least not in that sense. Our religion is the Amiga faith, and this Halloween, I'm going to dress up as one of the scariest things I've ever dreamed of -- A Microsoft employee! I wish everyone the happiest of holidays, and with a stab at being 'politically correct,' I have to say, DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE. You might spill your drink! And heaven help you if you stain your seats... ;) Rob @ AR @endnode ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @node P2-2 "AR Staff" @toc "menu" /// The Amiga Report Staff Dedicated to serving you! ---------------------- Editor ====== Robert Glover Portal: Rob-G Delphi: ROB_G FidoNet: 1:285/11 AmigaNet: 40:200/10 Internet: General Mail: ROB_G@Delphi.com Submissions: Rob-G@cup.portal.com Assistant and Technical Editor ============================== Robert Niles Portal: RNiles Delphi: RNILES FidoNet: 1:3407/104 (Private) Internet: rniles@imtired.itm.com Contributing Correspondents =========================== Daniel Barrett @endnode *************************************************************************** @node P1-2 "CPU Status Report" @toc "menu" /// CPU Status Report Late Breaking Industry-Wide News ----------------- ** Sega to Create "Next Generation Video Game" ** Sega Enterprises is attempting to steal a march on rival Nintendo by developing a 64-bit video game machine - nicknamed the "Saturn" - and getting it to market by the fall of 1994. Nindendo's 64-bit offering isn't expected to reach market until 1995. Reportedly the "Saturn" will be equipped with dual processors. One will be Hitachi's 64-bit processor and the other a 32-bit processor. The 64-bit processor will be used to produce high quality screen movement, as well as voice and sound features. It is claimed that the picture can be three-dimensional and highly realistic. Sega will set up a software development center, called the "Creative Center", in Shibuya, Tokyo, to start creating software for its new game system. Besides that, Sega is also planning to set up a software development studio, called "Multimedia Studio," next April. At the studio, Sega wants to create advanced software incorporating video and sound technologies. Movie producers, broadcasting firms and music companies will participate in the project. Sega has reportedly already signed deals with movie and broadcasting firms. ** 3DO Interactive Multiplayer System Gains Major Supporter ** The 3DO Company this week gained the support Macromedia, a leader in multi-media software tools. Macromedia announced it had entered into an agreement to develop a software player that will allow Director Windows or Macintosh files to port easily and quickly to the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer system. This agreement makes it possible for Macromedia Director developers to seamlessly port applications to a leading consumer platform. Titles created with Director can currently be distributed on Macintosh and Windows platforms. With the Director Player for 3DO, developers focused on the Macintosh and Windows platforms can now deliver titles to a wider consumer audience. "Our agreement with 3DO represents our strategic commitment to provide our multimedia playback technology on the leading consumer platforms," said John C. (Bud) Colligan, president and chief executive officer at Macromedia. "We believe the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer system will be an important consumer standard." This agreement extends Macromedia's strategy to offer developers platform optimization rather than forcing them to develop on the lowest common denominator. The Director Player for 3DO will provide developers with special extensions that optimize titles to take advantage of the unique features of the 3DO platform. "The Director Player for 3DO is the next step in providing a rich authoring platform to 3DO developers," said Bill Duvall, senior vice president of software at The 3DO Company. "The Director Player for 3DO, along with the other multimedia development tools that Macromedia and 3DO are delivering to developers, ensures that the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer environment will have a wide selection of software titles." "For multimedia title developers to be successful and competitive, they need to both decrease their development time and optimize their titles for target platforms," said Larry Miller, vice president of marketing at Macromedia. "With our Player for Windows and now the Player for 3DO, the world's largest installed base of multimedia developers will be able to do just that." The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer system attaches to a television set and delivers 50 times the graphics animation performance of PCs and video game systems. The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer system plays interactive entertainment, education and information software, as well as music CDs, photo CDs and motion CDs. Designed to be a worldwide standard like VHS, the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer is available in a CD-based version from Panasonic under the name FZ-1 REAL(TM) 3DO Interactive Multiplayer. ** WordPerfect and Microsoft Fight it out in the Courts ** Which word processor is the most popular in the world, WordPerfect or Microsoft Word? It appears that the courts are going to have to make the decision on this question. WordPerfect has filed suit in U.S. District Court in New York which challenges Microsoft Corp.'s claim that Microsoft Word in the most poplar word processor in the world. Microsoft executives have estimated their firm has about 40% of the word-processing market. WordPerfect says that an independent tracking service showed that for every 57 packages of Microsoft Word sold worldwide, WordPerfect has sold 95 packages. Microsoft partially bases their claim because of its practice bundling its most popular personal computer programs for a far lower price than buying the applications separately. Chris Peters, general manager of Microsoft's Word unit, acknowledged that WordPerfect does have more units installed worldwide and has been outselling Word this year within the United States. However, Peters defended the Microsoft ads, saying the popularity claim is based on sales over the past year, rather than in current domestic sales or total units installed. Saying that DataQuest and Soft-ware Publishers Association figures both showed sales of more than 3.5 million units worldwide for Microsoft Word and more than 3 million for WordPerfect in 1992, Peters added, "We didn't fall off a cliff starting January 1st. The trends continued." ** Microsoft Office 4.0 ** Microsoft has introduced version 4.0 of its Microsoft Office software suite that includes Microsoft Word word processor, Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, Microsoft Powerpoint presentation graphics, Microsoft Access database, and a workstation license for Microsoft Mail. IntelliSense attempts to sense what it is the user is trying to do and produce the desired result. Microsoft says the 100 most common tasks performed by users can now be accomplished in a single step. IntelliSense will automatically correct common typing and misspelling, and can format an entire document in a single step. Excel 5.0, part of Microsoft Office, has a tipWizard feature that offers tips on how to get the current task done faster, and Powerpoint 4.0's Autocontent Wizard helps the user develop appropriate content for a presentation. All of the Office components share the spelling checker, custom user dictionary, Microsoft Graph, Microsoft Query Tool, equation editor, clip art gallery, font effects, graphics filters, setup, and text conversion filters. Office uses Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) 2.0 to share information among the applications. OLE allows the user to edit objects such as a spreadsheet chart within another application such as the word processor without leaving the document, then drag and drop objects across applications. It's also easier now to insert objects. In addition to the productivity applications in Office, Microsoft has also included Microsoft Office Manager (MOM), a tool with a customizable toolbar that contains icons to launch or switch between applications. MOM also has an uninstall feature that cleans up files associated with applications the user decides he or she doesn't want. Two versions of Office are being offered. Microsoft Office Standard for Windows includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and the Microsoft Mail license. Microsoft Office Professional includes all of those plus Access. A Macintosh version of the standard version is also available, and files created for either platform are cross-compatible. Office for the Mac is expected to ship in the first half of 1994. Microsoft says it is working on 32-bit versions of the Office applications that will run on Windows NT. Intel-based versions of Word and Excel are scheduled to ship in the second quarter of 1994, with Digital Alpha AXT and MIPS versions scheduled for the third quarter of 94. Other platform-specific versions are scheduled for next year also. Microsoft said Office will be available in more than two dozen languages. Microsoft said it will continue to offer no-cost standard support for all its desktop applications from 6AM to 6PM PDT. Evening and weekend support is available for $2 per minute, $25 per incident, or $195 for an annual support subscription. Office 4 has a suggested retail price of $750, and Office Professional is priced at $899. Users of any Office application can upgrade through February 1, 1994 to Office Standard for $259. Users of competitive programs can switch to Office for $299 during the same period. Various installation options are available to meet the available disk space and memory configurations of laptop and desktop systems. Minimum requirements include 16.5 MB of disk space and 4MB of memory. ** PicoPower Technology Granted Power-Saving Patent ** PicoPower Technology says it has been granted a patent for its PC power conservation technology. The company reports that the U.S. Patent Office has awarded patent number 5254888 to its "Switchable Clock Circuit for Microprocessors To Thereby Save Power." The patent covers technology that reduces power consumption on the microprocessor by dynamically slowing the clock frequency during periods when the microprocessor is idle. Since power consumption is directly proportional to a microprocessor's clock frequency, the slower clock frequency dramatically reduces power consumption. The slower clock only occurs when the microprocessor is idle and there is no degradation in performance, says PicoPower. ** Motorola Launches Law Venture ** A venture intended to help lawyers deal with mountains of legal documents has been launched jointly by electronics giant Motorola Inc. and accounting firm Arthur Andersen & Co. The venture, called LegaLink Services, "streamline(s) the process of searching for, managing and analyzing legal documents." ** Now You Too Can Be a Computer Games Expert ** Baseline Publishing has announced Axis The Gamecheater, a utility designed to enable you to manipulate your favorite game. While the game cannot be modified, the variables in a game can be manipulated. Just by pressing a hot key you can add points, lives, or whatever to the game you're currently playing. The program is memory resident and works in the background. Over 50 games are supported, including Prince of Persia, Lemmings, Hellcats, PGA Tour Golf, Spectre & Spectre Supreme, Dogs of War, Simcity, A-Train, and more. Both Macintosh and IBM compatible personal computer (PC) versions are available. Retail price of Axis The Gamecheater is $69.95 on the PC and $59.95 on the Macintosh. The company says the product is available through major software retailers via distributors such as Merisel and Baker & Taylor. ** New Chips From IBM, DEC ** Both Digital Equipment Corporation and IBM have announced additions to their most advanced microprocessor lines. IBM announced first production of the PowerPC 603 chip, a low-power member of the PowerPC line that resulted from an alliance of IBM, Motorola Corp., and Apple Computer. With lower power consumption, the 603 will be aimed mainly at the portable computer market. Digital announced two new versions of its Alpha AXP processor, boosting the top speed of the Alpha design to 275 MHz. The new versions of the DECchip 21064 run at 225 and 275 MHz, joining existing versions at 150, 175, and 200 MHz. ** Hitachi Intros 2GB Magneto-Optical Drive ** Hitachi America has introduced a new, higher-capacity 5.25-inch magneto-optical (MO) drive which allows users to store as much as 2 gigabytes (GB) of data on a single cartridge. Hitachi's new OD152 drive is not ISO (International Standards Organization)-compatible because there is no ISO standard for this general capacity of 5.25-inch drives. However, it does comply with a European standards organization, the European Computer Manufacturing Association. This new drive has the highest capacity of any 5.25-inch MO drive disc and the discs formatted for this drive are not compatible with other manufacturer's drives. Unlike WORM (write-once, read-many) drives and discs, MO discs can be erased and rewritten to a number of times, making them the operational equivalent of very large, rather slow hard drives, with removable cartridges. Average access time for the new drive is 50 milliseconds (ms), rotational speed is 3,000 revolutions-per-minute (rpm), and it is SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface)-2 compatible. ** Have Pen Computers 'dried up'? ** A survey conducted on portable computer user trends by Datapro Information Service, a Delran, N.J.-based market researcher, shows little interest in pen computer applications outside of some specialized niches. The survey revealed that only a very small number of the users utilize a pen/stylus device, and that handwriting recognition was not a leading topic of interest. Margaret Jacobs, a Datapro analyst, noted, "At present, pen-based computing/handwriting recognition software is generally limited to forms-based applications for niche markets such as the insurance and medical fields. Handwriting recognition software must become much more reliable and intuitive before users can adopt it for general purpose applications." ** Sculley to Head Spectrum Information Technologies ** Less than one week ago, John Sculley resigned as Apple's CEO. This week it was announced that the former Apple Computer Inc. chairman will head Spectrum Information Technologies Inc. Spectrum, which specializes in wireless data transmission, has annual revenues of about $100 million. The firm holds patents on technology for transmitting data over cellular phone lines. Peter Caserta will remain as vice chairman and president. ** White Males Still Dominate ** A survey by the Computerworld trade weekly suggests white males still dominate the computer industry, particularly in the ranks of top management. The survey puts the top information systems manager who is a minority at 9% of U.S. businesses. Minorities fill 10.3% of management positions in general, according to government figures. Reporting on the survey of 107 information systems professionals - -:- Three percent of top technology slots are held by African Americans, 2% by Hispanics, 1% by Asians and 3% by other groups. -:- Women are holding 15% of the top information systems management positions -:- Seventy-four percent of the repondents said the number of minori- ties in their information systems departments stayed the same in the past year, while 7% said the number had decreased. Computerworld attributed the predominance of white males in computing partly to the nation's economic slump, which has led to aggressive costcutting and staffing reductions among information systems divisions in many corporations. ******* General PC News ******* ** IBM Adds Pentium To ValuePoint Line ** IBM Personal Computer Co. this week launched its new ValuePoint P60/D computer. The P60/D has a Pentium processor running at 60-mhz, which IBM said will more than double the performance of a 66-mhz 486-based computer. It comes with four expansion slots and five bays for storage devices. Customers can choose a 424-meg or 527-meg hard drive. The machine comes with 16-meg of memory, expandable to 128-meg, IBM said, plus 1-meg of video memory, expandable to 2-meg. The system also comes with PCI local bus architecture, 256-kb of Level 2 cache, and the Mach32AX graphics accelerator chip from ATI Technologies Inc., of Markham, Ontario. IBM said, it also will comply with the Energy Star guidelines, consuming less than 30 watts of power in standby mode using power-management software. ** Peter Norton Bets On Windows-NT ** In a speech this week to the Atlanta PC Users group, Peter Norton, an author and computer guru, talked about the future of operating systems. He seemed to endorse Windows NT was the best bet for the future. Norton started by saying there needs to be a single standardized operating system for PCs. The reason for that, in a word, is efficiency. He said the three top operating systems are OS/2, Unix, and Windows-NT. He dismissed the Apple Macintosh system, saying its best days are behind it. He called OS/2 a dead-end operating system, and said not many systems are running Unix. He added that Windows-NT is where the industry is heading. But he also said that it doesn't really matter which is the best operating system, from a technical standpoint -- what matters is which OS wins the marketing wars. The winner there, hands down, he said, is Microsoft. ** Artisoft Announces Home Office Networking System ** Artisoft Inc., a Tucson, Arizona based company, this week announced that it's introducing an entry-level network operating system designed to meet the basic networking requirements of small businesses and home offices. The Simply LANtastic network operating system provides basic file, printer and CD-ROM sharing features and is specially designed for easy installation and use. The Simply LANtastic network operating system is scheduled to begin shipping by early December. It will be available in software-only kits as well as two hardware bundles, with pricing starting at $79 per node. ** IBM's 'baby' Turns Out to be a Phenomena ** The IBM ValuePoint brand was 'born' a year ago this month. In that year, it has grown into the parent's 'pride and joy'. Since its 'birth' the the 'new kid on the block' has turned in a phenominal amount of 'firsts' - The first new brand, since the formation of the IBM PC Company, to ship more than 1 million units in less than a year. The first to deliver the latest industry-standard technology through four product refreshes in a development cycle spanning less than six months. The first to make multimedia available to businesses at affordable prices. The first to offer a power-packed desktop based on Intel Pentium technology. The first to respond swiftly and decisively to industry price cuts three times during the year -- and within 48 hours -- that left the competition blinking. At the same time, ValuePoint has contributed to the IBM PC Company's gain in worldwide market share, impressed industry experts, grabbed the Number 1 spot in the dealer channel share, seen two of its models acclaimed as the industry's "best-selling desktops" with dealers, and won several prestigious awards from major publications. ** Dell Desktop PCs For "Techno-boomers" ** Dell Computer Corporation has announced a new line of its Dimension PCs designed for what the company calls the "techno-boomer," the small office or home office user who wants a good value for the money spent and can upgrade as new technology becomes available. The new systems are all Intel 486SX or DX-based, with clock speeds from 25MHz to 66MHz; have system memory, or RAM, up to 64-meg; and include 1-meg of video RAM and local bus graphics. The PCs are upgradable to use Intel's Pentium Overdrive technology, and external cache of 128K or 256K can be added. Options include tape backup devices, fax/data modems, and CD-ROM drives that support Photo CD. Dell systems come with one year of next-business-day onsite support, unlimited around the clock telephone support with guaranteed five-minute response, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Pricing for the new Dimension systems starts at $1,230 with a color monitor. Dell says the new systems will begin shipping in early November in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. ** Aldus Ships First Standalone Pagemaker Addition ** Aldus Corp., has announced shipment of its first standalone Aldus Addition for Pagemaker. Infopublisher Database Addition is an application that links the desktop publishing program to database management systems. "Anyone who needs to produce graphically appealing information retained in a database needs Infopublisher, especially if they already use Pagemaker," says senior product marketing manager Karen Howe. The company says Infopublisher Database Addition is an upgrade to the Aldus Pagemaker 4.0 Database Edition. Users can now place data from Paradox 3.5, Microsoft Access, Foxpro and Excel into documents. The importing of ASCII text files have been improved, and Microsoft's Open Database Communication (ODBC) protocol is supported. Infopublisher can be launched as an Addition from within Pagemaker, several columns can be grouped as one for use in side-by-side paragraphs, and style and graphics compatibility has also been improved. Infopublisher Database Addition has a suggested retail price of $199, but Aldus is offering it at the introductory price of $129 through the end of November. Registered owners of the Database Edition 4.0 can upgrade for $79. If you purchased Database Edition 4.0 after June 29, 1993 the upgrade is free. ** Wordperfect Outlines New Support Policies ** Wordperfect Corp., has announced new support programs for large accounts and says it will continue its free and toll-free end-user support. The company said it will continue to provide its free and toll free support for end users. "Alan Ashton and Bruce Bastian founded WordPerfect Corporation with two basic objectives," said Ad Rietveld, senior VP of sales and marketing. "The first was to write software that enables people to be more productive, and the second was to offer the best customer support. We hold to these objectives today." In addition to telephone support, end users can get help through the company's BBS, a toll-free fax-back system, and an automated telephone system that allows the customer to navigate through the company's technical support infobase via their Pc and a modem. ******* General Apple News ******* ** DCA Ships Crosstalk for the MAC ** Digital Communications Associates Inc. has released Crosstalk for Macintosh, a Macintosh communications program. Crosstalk has been available for the IBM and compatible personal computer for a number of years. This is DCA's first release of the product for the Macintosh. "Crosstalk for Macintosh offers [features] including cross-platform compatibility giving users a smooth migration from other operating system environments," said William Miller, vice president of DCA's emote access division. A current user of Crosstalk for Windows in an IBM environment could migrate to the new Macintosh product without resorting to the manual conversion of scripts and other software facilities. In addition, the software follows Apple guidelines for user interface design and operation while maintaining operational compatibility with Crosstalk for Windows. Crosstalk for Macintosh allows users a wide choice of file transfer protocols which include CompuServe B+ and QuickB. Crosstalk for Macintosh retails for $195. Users of Crosstalk or a competitive product can upgrade to the new product for $49 directly from DCA. For additional information, call DCA at: 800/348-3221 (voice) or 404/442-4364 (fax) ** Apple's New PhotoFinish Bundled With UMax Color Scanner ** Apple Computer's PhotoFinish, a new photo publishing software package being unveiled this week, is being included with the UMax UC630 color scanner. A UMax spokesperson said that UMax is the first scanner vendor to bundle PhotoFinish, a product that provides image browsing, a drag-and-drop capability for direct placement of photos, automated tools for image adjustment, and real time "adjustment preview" that lets the user experiment with results. Apple's PhotoFinish is also equipped with AppleScript, a scripting language for automating repetitive tasks, and JPEG image compression for saving disk space, she said. Priced at $999 and available immediately, the UC630LE/MAC bundle includes Adobe's PhotoShop LE for image editing as well as the UC630 color scanner and PhotoFinish. PhotoFinish accepts PhotoShop plug-in modules for import, export, and special effects. The UC630 color scanner is a 24-bit, 600 dpi (dot-per-inch) flatbed color scanner with a hardware resolution of 600-by-300 dpi, according to the spokesperson. Resolution is enhanced to 1200-by- 1200 dpi through software interpolation, she noted. ** What's New About Apple's Quicktime 1.6.1 ** Apple Computer has announced its latest version of the multimedia extensions, Quicktime 1.6.1, at the announcement of the new Macintosh operating system, System 7 Pro. The company says that, key differences between this new release and Quicktime 1.5 include less memory use, better performance, better integration with Apple technology, new interfaces, and increased reliability. Quicktime offers users the ability to imbed sound, video, and animation into ordinary documents or applications on the Macintosh. While the new version of Quicktime still takes the same amount of memory when operating, it unloads a large portion of itself from memory when not in use. The 1.5 Quicktime version took up 160 KB of RAM when installed, but the new version only requires less than 18 KB upon installation. This also means less memory is required for movie playback as well, Apple representatives said. The new version is also more reliable, as Apple claims it fixed all known bugs present in the 1.5 version. For example, 1.6.1 adds tear-free movie playback support to the image compression manager which reduces the tearing visible when playing back movies with large amounts of background motion, Apple maintains. In addition, the latest Quicktime version integrates better with Apple's technology by offering explicit support for the grayscale Powerbook, Mac Easy Open, and Color Sync. Also, a new 3.0 version of the Sound Manager, offered with Quicktime 1.6.1, allows for a faster movie playback environment than under Quicktime 1.5. Quicktime users will notice a few new enhancements in the Quicktime 1.6.1 user interface as well. For example, the movie import component is now a drag-and-drop operation, allowing users to import compact disc (CD) tracks as easily as they can open PICS or AIF files. Apple is offering a toll-free order line to accommodate those who wish to upgrade to Quicktime 1.6.1. There is a $10 charge plus tax where applicable for the upgrade, but no shipping and handling charge, according to staffers on the toll-free line. The new version is also now available in the System 7.1 upgrade and upgrade kits or from Apple bulletin boards and user groups, company officials said. _____________________________________________________________ Intel to put serial numbers on chips following warehouse robb SANTA CLARA, Calif. (UPI) -- Computer-chip giant Intel Corp. announced plans Friday to begin putting serial numbers on its products following a recent string of warehouse robberies. Several such incidents have hit California's Silicon Valley in the past six months, with thieves cleaning out wholesalers' stocks of Intel chips. "They (the robberies) have become a lot more violent, and that is why we've decided to take this action," Intel spokesman John Raftrey said. ``Until now, these chips have been perfect targets. They are small, untracable and are in great demand.'' Julius Finkelstein, head of Santa Clara's High Tech Crime Task Force, called chip robberies ``the gang crime of the 1990s." He said well-organized Asian street gangs have allegedly perpetrated the thefts. Finkelstein said the gangs generally drive up to warehouse doors as if coming for a shipment, then pull guns once inside and force warehouse workers to the floor while suspects load up chips. The robberies generally take just a few minutes because of the chips' small sizes, Finkelstein said. Last month, theives struck the Wylie Laboratories Electronic Marketing Group in Santa Clara, netting an estimated $1 million in chips in just 15 minutes. "We see a trend developing here that concerns us," Finkelstein said. "These are very violent attacks. Generally, the gang is well armed. It's just a matter of time before someone gets hurt. "(Chips) are just as valuable as cocaine, but they are easier to get rid of," he said. "And if you are caught, the penalties aren't as severe." Intel's 486 microprocessors have been among the thieves' favorite targets. Raftrey said the company expects to sell more than 30 million 486s this year, but that demand has outstripped even that large figure. Authorities said they hoped other chipmakers would soon follow Intel's lead. @endnode ------------------------------ @node P1-3 "Upload Contest" @toc "menu" DELPHI ANNOUNCES ITS '93 UPLOAD CONTEST As promised, beginning November 1st through November 30th, the Delphi Amiga SIG will hold an upload contest. Winners will be determined by the person uploading the most bytes of data during this month. There will be a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winner. All participants must comply with the rules below for your uploads to qualify. Rules and Regulations 1. All uploads MUST contain the folowwing text file in the archive for the upload to count towards the contest. ZZZDelphi.93.contst This file is in the RECENT UPLOADS area for all to download. Any file not containing this file WILL NOT count towards the contest! 2. DO NOT upload duplicate files! All files will be checked against our existing database 3. If you program has a version number, include it in the group name or description . 4. Include KEYWORDS. If you file is called "VIRUS CHECKER 1.2", You should include VIRUS, CHECKER, 1.2, as keywords. ALWAYS include part of the name of your group as a keyword. (even when we are not running a contest) 5. ALL files MUST be compressed! ONLY .LHA, .LZH, or .DMS files will be accepted! Files not conforming to these rules will be removed and not counted. All files will be moved to "RECENT Uploads" until the end of Novemember Prizes 1st place up to $60 software package of you choice 2nd place up to $40 software package of you choice 3rd place up to $30 software package of you choice Helpful Hints We are missing a handful of Fred Fish files.. You might fill in this gap. We also are behind on newer versions of many programs.. Uploading a newer version counts towards you byte count! Looking for original Files? I run a BBS in NJ called the T.B.P. Video Slate. (201) 586-3623. Its LOADED (900meg) with original stuff. Instant access, D/L on first call. Sorry for the shameless plug for my BBS, but since the prizes are coming out of my pocket, I should get SOMETHING out of it :-) Some new users would be just fine. On a final note. If the turn-out is good for this contest, I will have ALOT of files to download and check; For this reason, some files might not be moved until the next day. Due to this, Uploads will be handled on first in, first to get credit! There is a good possiblity for 2 people to be uploading the same program at the same time. Delphis' database works on time and date, so I will know who uploaded a file first. Sorry but the second person will not be credited for the upload. -=Burbs=- @endnode ------------------------------ @node P1-4 "Intro to DCron" @toc "menu" /// Introduction to DCron --------------------- by Robert Niles Something that would be nice to have is a program that automatically maintains your system for you....well sort of anyways. This is especially important and needed by those of you who run BBSes, but I'm sure there is enough reason for everyone else out there to get a program that will help keep your computer from becoming a mess. One such program is DCron, a UNIX like CRON utility, by Matt Dillon. It took me a long time before looking into this pretty little program, mostly because of the description given in the documentation: " Those not familar with the UNIX cron command probably do not need it. " While it might be descriptive to most people, I was at a loss. ...until another set of documents showed me how useful it could be. DCron is a program that allows you to execute other programs at any interval you like. Monthly, hourly, by the minute, or on a specific day of the week. As I run a BBS, there are call in which I would like to have my computer make at strange hours, logs that need to be resized, deleted, or renamed. Even have GPFax see if there is a fax to be sent out every hour. Using DCron makes this alot easier for those of us who do not want to get up in the middle of the night to do these things. DCron is set up as a 'grid' for example: # [] 01 0 1 * * copy uuspool:xferstat uuspool:old 02 0,07,20 * * * delete uunews:junk/#? 40 18-07 * * * uucp:c/uucico -b -7 -r1 0 0 * * * copy axsh:etc/passwd sys:t/ 15 12 * * * delete sys:t/cronlog 20 * * * * c:rx GPFax:Fax_Send.gpf 01 12 * * * date >>axsh:etc/adm/answers The '*' indicates "everytime". If it is under the "day" field, then that command is executed every day. Look at the first field. I have "01" under minute, "0" under hour, "1" under day, and an asterisk under month and dayofweek. This copies the files mentioned at 12:01am on the 1st day of each month. The second field has "02" under minutes, "0,07,20" under the hour column, and an asterisk under the rest. This deletes the files in the "junk" drawer every day at 12:02am, 7:02am and at 8:02pm. As you see, it's quite flexable, but remember, DCron can only start a program, it cannot quit a program. That has to be done by the program that was started, or you have to do it with an ARexx script, if you can. DCron can be found in the AmigaUUCP archive, and there are other versions of the unix Cron utility for the Amiga. Whichever you choose, it should make some of your everyday work a little bit easier. @endnode ----------------- @node P5-1 "FindIt v1.1" @toc "menu" FindIt v1.1 Available for FTP TITLE findit -- A MUI-based disk search utility VERSION 1.1 AUTHOR Glade Diviney (divineg@prism.cs.orst.edu) DESCRIPTION `findit' is a utility that will help you locate files that match certain specifications. These specifications include: o Date searching (before/after/on a date, files changed or created in the last X days) o Name searching (full AmigaDOS pattern matching supported) o Size searching (matches, greater than, less than) Any combinations of devices, volumes, or assigns can be searched. REQUIREMENTS You must have MUI installed. It is available on Aminet as pub/aminet/dev/gui/mui13.lha archive. (See below for more Aminet information) Of course, installing MUI precludes that you are running AmigaDOS 2.04 or higher. PRICE Absotively, posulutely, and unequivicably FREE. AVAILABILITY Available on Aminet as pub/aminet/util/wb/findit11.lha. SPECIAL NOTE This archive contains a .info file. The .info file does not specify a large enough stack for drives with deeply nested subdirectories. Be sure to increase this value before running `findit' from the Workbench. @endnode ------------------------------ @node P5-2 "SatTrack v3.0" @toc "menu" SatTrack v3.0 Demo Available for FTP TITLE SatTrack VERSION Current Version is SatTrack 3.0. V4.0 is expected by 94, with extra features. Upgrades are free. AUTHOR Randy Stackhouse, N4RTL DESCRIPTION A satellite tracking program. Allows for selection of a database that can contain up to 1000 satellites. Tracks satellites on a graphics display of the world. All graphics are IFF compatible allowing for loading of display to standard painting program. Allows for input of satellite information using either standard data format or by simple user input. All operations use standard windows and menus. SatTrack has a simulation mode that allows for predictions in the future. Operates on Workbench 1.3 and 2.0. This is version 3.0. SatTrack is keyware, see the registration file for more information. SatTrack is fully operational until the expiration time is reached. NEW FEATURES New for SatTrack 3.0 Besides several modifications and enforcer hit corrections, SatTrack has added a FIND command as well as an OVERHEAD view display which allows for easier viewing. Overhead view is a map of the sky from your location. It is representative of where the satellite will travel within your view. The display represents a circle. The center of the circle is "up". The outside circumference of the circle is your "horizon". Another circle 1/2 the size of the other circle with the same center is the 45degree azimuth from your location. Planned for SatTrack 4.0 o Pre-configurable screens, allowing for new special display formats. User may select a screen size and SatTrack will self configure to that size. o Addition of RETINA support. Including 1024x1024 or more pixels on screen. o Addition of umbra/preumbra calculations. This will allow for calculations required to indicate when a satellite is "in the sun" and the user is "in the dark". This is the best time to see satellites or the Space Shuttle. o Updated to standard file requester. o Capability to use a painting program to create a "brush" picture of a satellite and have that picture drawn as a "sprite" on the display, tracking at the location of the satellite. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS SatTrack V3.0 works on floppy or hard disk. Installation is simply a copy. Some files are required to be in the same directory as the executable. Works on 1.3 or 2.X etc. Supports math co-processor and all 680X0 chips. No other special hardware required. HOST NAME Aminet, GENIE. DIRECTORY Aminet: misc/misc/sattrack_v3_0.lha FILE NAMES SatTrack_v3_0.lha SatTrack_v3_0.readme (short description) PRICE Valid KEYS are $20 and will cause your copy of SatTrack to work forever. If the most recent version of SatTrack is desired, $30 will get you a distribution disk with your keys already installed. SatTrack is keyware. Keyware allows user evaluation of all features. Demo keyware expires on a certain date. After that date, Amiga system time may be moved back to allow for evaluation of the software, however execution of tracking for current time is not possible. ALL PURCHASED KEYS WHICH DO NOT EXPIRE AND WILL WORK WITH ALL FUTURE VERSIONS OF SATTRACK. FUTURE VERSION ARE FREE TO REGISTERED USERS. SEND A DISK TO: Randy Stackhouse 4 Sinclair Cir Indialantic Fla, 32903 Include proper postage. DISTRIBUTABILITY SatTrack is Copyrighted, 1993. Copies of SatTrack and DEMO keys may be freely distributed. Purchased keys contain Users' name, phone number and address. Public release of these keys is not allowed by purchase agreement. OTHER New demo keys are provided below. Strip the text between the stars "*", excluding the stars and make sure the last line is in column one. All other lines should match. Do not edit or remove blanks from this file. Do not include blanks after the last printable character. | This is Column 1! ************************************************************** SEE DOCS FOR INFO. SET TIME BACK TO USE KEYS AFTER THEY HAVE EXPIRED. INSTRUCTIONS ARE IN THE DOCS. THESE KEYS ARE GOOD UNTIL 9/93. *PLEASE* UPLOAD THIS TO OTHER BBSs AND FRIENDS b6ff8c5d 8d9a1dc3 9f0db51d febf1ae2 72c0e38 3467a00 ************************************************************** Note that under the T in SET should be I from Instructions, A for Are , S from THIS and 5 from 9f0db51d. The b in b6ff8c5d should be in the first col. Be careful that if you cut this with a mouse, etc. that there are no spaces after the last printable character. There are no "hidden" special characters with this file Only printable characters and spaces @endnode ------------------------------ @node P1-5 "AORM v2.2" @toc "menu" Amiga Online Reference Manual v2.2 TITLE Amiga Online Reference Manual v2.2 Copyright 1993 Area52. All Rights Reserved. RELEASE Revision 2.200 AUTHOR David Tiberio (dtiberio@libserv1.ic.sunysb.edu) DESCRIPTION AORM is an AmigaGuide based online help system for Amiga computers and Video Toaster Workstations. Using a hypertext point and click interface, users have access to over 1,200,000 bytes of information, contained in over 830 AmigaGuide pages. Using built in virtual memory, modules may be loaded in as needed, often occupying only 150k of memory. Modules may be updated as new features are added. Free maintenance updates are provided to registered users. Modules include: Answers to commonly asked questions (over 500). Hardware specifications on Amiga models (20 total). Explanation and usage of AmigaDOS commands (over 80) and usage of ARexx commands (over 20). List of features that makes the Amiga stand out from other platforms, and explanations of their capabilities. List of people, places, and things created on the Amiga computer. List of publications that carry Amiga related topics, including magazines and newspapers (over 30). Index of frequently used charts and tables, such as the Hayes Command Set and S Registers, list of most Amiga screenmodes, frequently used abbreviations such as RTG, XPK, DIG, etc, list of GURU Meditation Errors, AmigaDOS qualifiers and pattern matching, and more. Glossary of computer and Amiga related terms (over 500). A freely distributable demo version is available by request, and a public domain predecessor is also still available, known as AmigaFAQ v0.84 (by David Tiberio). SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS AmigaOS 1.3, 2.04, 2.1, or 3.0. AmigaGuide (included), MultiView optional for OS3.0 users. Hard disk strongly recommended, but not required. NEW FEATURES ** version 2.2 includes the first software update module ** - free to all registered owners of any version of AORM - over 20% larger in size - NEW AdPro section - description of loaders and savers - how to use operators - ARexx commands supported by AdPro - improvements in all areas, including: - list of area codes and state abbreviations - revised list of monitor types and screen resolutions - CD32 specifications added - updated Workbench information to new format - use of all Workbench tools and prefs programs - added more information on using AmigaGuide or MultiView to online help system - NEW software section with more modules coming PRICE MSRP $35. Special User Group pricing of $20 to qualified Amiga and Video Toaster User Groups. AVAILABILITY Version 2.1 now shipping. Version 2.2 to be released November 1st. Contact Area52 at 516-476-1615, or send a check or money order to: Area52, 6 Lodge Lane, East Setauket, New York 11733. Please make all checks payable to Area52. New York State residents must add 7% sales tax. 2nd-day shipping available for $2.90 by request. DISTRIBUTABILITY Amiga Online Reference Manual may be purchased from your local Amiga dealer. If you wish, you may order direct from us by calling (516) 476-1615. Amiga Online Reference Manual is a commercial product and may not be redistributed freely. A demo however will be available shortly. Amiga Online Reference Manual Copyright 1993 Area52. All Rights Reserved. @endnode ------------------------------ @node P5-3 "Synworks 2.1" @toc "menu" Synworks 2.1 available for FTP TITLE SynWorks - A design, training, test, and visualization environment for neural networks. VERSION 2.1, September 1993 AUTHOR Michael Kaiser Rintheimer Strasse 59 D 76131 Karlsruhe, FRG Phone : (+49) (721) 61 18 19 EMail : kaiser@puma.adsp.sub.org kaiser@ira.uka.de DESCRIPTION SynWorks is a fully integrated environment for design, training and test of neural networks. Currently, it supports 11 different network types, the networks' sizes are only limited by the amount of memory available. SynWorks provides instruments to watch and track (to disk) all important network parameters, all kinds of errors and of course, all input and output values provided to or by the network. All network parameters can be edited, and, starting from standard networks, custom networks can be created by adding links and neurons, modifying all functions (learn, transfer, error, evaluation). Input/output behaviour can easily be specified in terms of ranges, sources, and targets. Network display modes include structural, error-related, change-related, weight-related and memory related displays. All displays provide point- and click interfaces to the displayed parameters and are available simultaneously (watch chipmem !). All networks can be printed in four different modes, giving a textual, structural and two different descriptions on the network's weight map. SynWorks also provides a context-sensitive on-line help system that includes descriptions of all actions and important components, linked together via cross-references and easily accessible via buttons and hot-keys. Also, SynWorks features a full AREXX-interface that allows to define macros for internal use as well as using a network as part of a larger system, execute demonstrations etc.. The full version of SynWorks includes five disks with both a 68000 and a 68020/881+ version of SynWorks, several examples, linkable libraries for easy use of networks in other applications (supporting the Amiga and Sun workstations), a tool for data visualization and a set of printed manuals, including a short introduction to neural networks. INTENDED AUDIENCE With SynWorks, people generally interested in neural networks are provided with an easy-to-handle, integrated environment that allows them to experiment with neural networks on their own data. The visualization possibilities of SynWorks make access to the network easy and intuitive. The network's behaviour can be watched and tracked, which in combination with the included examples results in a good insight of how the actual neural network is working. On the other hand, people working on neural network projects and application programmers will find SynWorks powerful enough for most of their needs. Especially in the signal processing field, neural networks are quite attractive. With SynWorks, programmers can create a signal processing or pattern recognition unit on the base of a neural network, and use this network in their application by simple function calls. WHAT ARE NEURAL NETWORKS ? A neural network is a processing device, either an algorithm, or actual hardware, whose design was motivated by the design and functioning of the building blocks of the human brain, such as neurons and connections (axons, dendrits). It is realized as a network of many simple processing units that are regularly interconnected. The connections carry a numerical information, they are "weighted". What makes neural networks very attractive is their ability to "learn" from examples. Most neural networks have some sort of "learning law" which describes how the weights of connections are to be adjusted on the basis of presented patterns. Probably the most popular neural networks are the feedforward networks, with the backpropagation technique/generalized delta rule being the learning law. WHAT CAN NEURAL NETWORKS DO ? In principle, NNs can compute any computable function, i.e. they can do everything a normal digital computer can do. Especially can anything that can be represented as a mapping between vector spaces be approximated to arbitrary precision by feedforward NNs (which is the most often used type). In practice, NNs are especially useful for mapping problems which are tolerant of a high error rate, have lots of example data available, but to which hard and fast rules can not easily be applied. BOOKS ON NEURAL NETWORKS (No completeness intended) Hecht-Nielsen, R. (1990). Neurocomputing. Addison Wesley. Aleksander, I. and Morton, H. (1990). An Introduction to Neural Computing. Chapman and Hall Beale, R. and Jackson, T. (1990). Neural Computing, an Introduction. Adam Hilger, IOP Publishing Ltd. Rumelhart, D. E. and McClelland, J. L. (1986). Parallel Distributed Processing: Explorations in the Microstructure of Cognition (volumes 1 & 2). MIT Press. and lots more ... FEATURES OF SYNWORKS 12 different standard network models 5 different possibilities to display network (simultaneously) 4 different possibilities to print network (standard WB printer, colour printing supported) 24 different instruments to watch and track the network's behaviour 53 AREXX commands give full external control over SynWorks. On-line context sensitive help system, supports keyword tracking. Supports all resolutions higher than or equal to 640 x 400 with at least two bitplanes (incl. A 2024, Productivity, AGA). GUI according to User Interface Style Guide. Version for 68020/68881 and up available. C programming interface available. REQUIREMENTS Amiga 500, 1000, 1200, 2000, 2500, 3000, 4000, 1.5 MByte RAM, Kickstart 2.04 and up. Harddisk recommended, FPU (special program version) highly recommended, Display enhancer/FF/AGA recommended. HOST NAME Aminet: ftp.wustl.edu (128.252.135.4) and its mirrors DIRECTORY /pub/aminet/misc/sci FILE SynWorksDemoAGA.lha PRICE Shareware fee: DM 130/US $80/Students DM 200/US $120/Others DISTRIBUTABILITY Demo version is freely distributable. Full version is shareware, the ftp archive contains a demonstration version with certain features disabled. Users of versions 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 will be directly informed about upgrade possibilities, all new users can get the full version as described above directly from the author. This version is now fully AGA compatible and contains some new demos. THANKS The maintainers of Aminet. @endnode ------------------------------ @node P5-4 "Amiga Wacom Driver v1.0" @toc "menu" Amiga Wacom Driver available for anonymous FTP TITLE Wacom Digitizertablet driver for the Commodore Amiga. VERSION Version 1.0 COMPANY Private developer. AUTHOR Roland Schwingel Lilienthalstrasse 9 92421 Schwandorf GERMANY Email: roland.schwingel@rrzc1.rz.uni-regensburg.de DESCRIPTION With this program you can use wireless tablets manufactured by Wacom with the Amiga. The tablet is connected to the serial port of your Amiga (Multi-IO boards are also supported.) The driver supports tablets of the SD and the new UD-Series. Both the pressure sensitive and the non-pressure sensitive mode are supported. (When in pressure mode the tablet transmitts the pressure which is applied to the tablet by the pen to the driver instead of button presses.) The driver enables you to control the Amiga mouse pointer with your tablet. Appropriate buttons on the tablet's input devices are mapped to the normal mousebuttons. Therefore the driver can be used with almost any program. Also, a software interface is implemented which enables you to map unused buttons in your own applications and/or to use the pressure and coordinates in your own applications. Some sample source in C is included to demonstrate the usage of the interface. Driver settings are made using an intuitive graphics user interface (GUI). Also a German catalog file is supplied which you can use with at least Workbench 2.1. German and English documentation included. NEW FEATURES Initial release. (=> All features are new ;-) ) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS * At least Kickstart and Workbench 2.04. On 2.1 or 3.x you can use German localization. * Wacom tablet of the SD or UD-Series. HOST NAME Available on servers in the aminet. e.g.: Scandinavia ftp.luth.se 130.240.16.3 Germany ftp.uni-kl.de 131.246.9.95 Germany ftp.uni-erlangen.de 131.188.1.43 USA ftp.wustl.edu 128.252.135.4 ... ... ... DIRECTORY Aminet: /pub/aminet/os20/cdity FILE NAMES Wacom.lzh ----- 109523 Bytes Wacom.reamde -- 605 Bytes PRICE The program is shareware. Requested fee: US$20 (or 25DM) DISTRIBUTABILITY May be distributed freely as long as all files remain complete and unmodified. May appear on PD-disks which are cheaper than US$5 (PD-CDROMs may be more expensive). Also refer to the program's documentation. @endnode ------------------------------ @node P5-5 "Zilog Z80 Emulator" @toc "menu" Fast Z80 emulation package for 680x0 processors TITLE Zilog Z80 CPU emulator package for the Motorola M68000 family VERSION 0.99b AUTHOR Richard Carlsson (m90rca@tdb.uu.se) DESCRIPTION A general and flexible subroutine package for fast emulation of a Z80 on any 680x0-based machine. It has a simple interface, and stubs for calling from C are included. The package could be used to emulate a Z80 in any environment (CP/M, ZX80/81, ZX Spectrum, ... ). The purpose of the package is to serve as the kernel of any such emulator; only the environment is left for the user to implement. The package has been developed in cooperation with Peter McGavin, the author of the best known ZX Spectrum emulator for the Amiga. All you who have written to Peter asking him to make a more general package of his emulator - this is the thing for you. NEW FEATURES First release (beta testing version). Only some minor bugs remain. Try it out and tell me if you want any modifications or new features. HOST NAME Aminet (wuarchive.wustl.edu and its mirrors) DIRECTORY /pub/amiga/misc/emu FILE NAME fastZ80_099b.lha PRICE Free. DISTRIBUTABILITY The archive and its contents are freely distributable. See documentation for details. The package is (c) 1993 Richard Carlsson @endnode ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @node P1-6 "Online Weekly" @toc "menu" /// ONLINE WEEKLY Amiga Report Online The lines are buzzing! --------------------------------- From the AmigaZone on Portal ---------------------------- .../Message Bases/General Q&A, Announcements, and Help!/Two Announcements! 16026.3.624.1 hey.. read.me 10/23/93 13:57 66/3331 Harv Sick of doom and gloom about Amigas? Well now you have something to live for :-) On the evening of November 7th, 1993, (that's a Sunday), the Amiga Zone will proudly present "An Evening of Amiga Optimism with Dave Haynie!" Yes, you heard it here first. Dave (also known as "hazy"), a ten year veteran of Commodore's engineering dept. (his name is etched onto to motherboards of most of your Amigas if you'd care to peek inside and check), will be in our live chat to take your questions and talk about what is really going on at Commodore engineering. Mark this date on your calendars and don't miss this *important* live chat. Everyone on the Amiga Zone mailing list will receive further info about this live chat soon via email, so those of you who never read our message bases (and who can't see this anyway :-) will soon learn of this upcoming chat too. While other services spread their doom and gloom with conference guests who hide behind curtains and rubber masks, not revealing their real identities, the Amiga Zone respects your intelligence and is happy to bring you the real truth. So stay tuned! Next on today's hit parade, I have just received over 10 Megabytes of software which was published by Compute magazine on their series of Amiga Resource Disks, this through the courtesy and generosity of Denny Atkin, former Editor of Compute's Amiga Resource edition. As you may or may not know, Compute decided to stop publishing the Amiga edition and the Sept. 1993 issue was their last. Denny is now their general entertainment software editor, so happily he's still gainfully employed. Unhappily, he has to touch MS DOS computers all day instead. The uploading of this ten meg of Compute software will commence shortly and you will find all of it in the Compute vendor area here in the Amiga Zone so it will NOT appear in our regular new uploads library. If you want to pick it up in your Portal subscriptions, then I would suggest that you visit that vendor area (type "go amiga;3" to get there) and enter each of its sections and type "sub" to make sure you are subscribed to it. That way, when you read or scan your subs, each new file will be presented to you for downloading. Of course you may also wander around the system aimlessly and just check in there from time to time to see what new files have arrived. As this is a massive uploading project, it'll take me more than a day to complete it most likely so keep checking back. Further, as with the files already in Compute's vendor section here, these new files will contain a distribution restriction and copyright notice. NONE Of the files in the Compute's vendor area here, be they the ones already there, or the ones soon to arrive, NONE Of them may be posted on other commercial services, or user- or user-group-run BBSes, or Internet FTP sites, nor may they be included in user group monthly disks. Sorry kids, but them's the rules. The files will be here for the personal enjoyment of those who download them directly from Portal... ONLY. There will be games, application software, and "art gallery" pictures. NONE Of this stuff has ever been (legally) uploaded anywhere else before. The only way you could previously get it was by buy8ing the Amiga Resource disks from Compute magazine. Have fun! Harv Laser Amiga Zone Moderator/Sysop ------------------------------ .../Message Bases/Files - Talk about our Library here/iff to mac sound? 16032.3.129.1 iff to mac sound? 10/17/93 21:48 9/224 DrAllosaurus Any recommendation for a utility to convert amiga sounds to mac sounds? I've poked around the libraries a little, but nothing jumped out as being exactly what I need. So any ideas would be welcomed. Thanks, DrAllosaurus ------------------------------ .../Message Bases/Files - Talk about our Library here/iff to mac sound? 16032.3.129.2 Re: IFF to Mac sound 10/19/93 13:10 9/623 ScottJ Dr Allosaurus, there are two program that will do what you want. The first is Oplay by David Champion. It allows you to play MAC, SUN and a whole bunch of sound file formats on you Amiga. It wont convert the sound into an Amiga IFF sound though. The 2nd program is AmiSox, also by David Champion. It converts to and from Amiga IFF and a whole bunch of other sound formats. You would use it if you need to actuslly convert the sound to Mac format. AmiSox is an Amiga port of the Unix sound conversion program Sox, so if you have access to a Unix machine you can FTP the source code for Sox and compile it for your Unix box. ------------------------------ .../Message Bases/General Q&A, Announcements, and Help!/Two Announcements! 16026.3.624.3 Compute disks now online! 10/28/93 17:17 29/1471 Harv Seven .DMS full disk archive files containing seven issues of COMPUTE magazine's "Amiga Resource" disks are now online for your downloading pleasure in the COMPUTE Vendor section. "Go Compute" or "go 22237.3.3" to get to the collection where these new files have just been uploaded this date. (Note that I put them into the COMPUTE apps & utils section, but every disk also contains some games, and some of them also contain some "art gallery" files). BE SURE to read the Distribution, Copyright, and What'sMissing text files which you will also find in this collection at 22237.3.3. It is of paramount importance that you understand that these are Copyrighted programs and that you are limited to the ways in which you can re-distribute them. If you feel that you cannot comply with the Distribution restrictions, then just don't download these files. Each .DMS file is named with a Month/Year to indicate which issue of COMPUTE'S Amiga Resource magazine it was attached to. If you have the relevant issues of the magazine in your collection, you will get full descriptions of each of the programs on each of the disks. Otherwise you may wish to order these issues as back issues from COMPUTE Publications. Some of the programs on the disks have docs on the disks, some have built-in online help, some have neither. But ALL of them were fully described in the issue of the magazine with the same cover date as the dates of the disks. Have fun! Harv Amiga Zone Sysop ------------------------------ From FidoNet's Amiga International Echo --------------------------------------- Area: AMIGA Date: 24 Oct 93 3:29:34 From: Jonathan Gapen (1:121/6.11) To : All Subj: Amiga Ad - Proposal Hey everybody, here's an idea for an Amiga ad. Part of it came from Travis Cunningham, in Australia, part of it from me. The words in bold print: THE SOLUTION TO ALL YOUR PC AND MAC PROBLEMS: And that's all. Simple, effective. A series of TV commercials could be made too. People smashing their computers is guaranteed to capture people's attention. If Amiga users had to make the ads instead of Commodore, I'm sure there'd be a few donations of computers to smash. ;^) In case you're wondering, this isn't a joke. I think this type of ad could work. It could be part of an "Assault an Apple Today" campaign. It may be too late for conventional ads by Commodore. I think the president, or some one from Commodore, should make her/himself seen in public smashing Macs and Clones. ("Ever wanted to 'Hit any key'?") It would be totally rediculous and out of character for the computer industry, but it would get Commodore noticed. Smashing computers on TV would get the buying public's attention, I know that. Jonathan Gapen ------------------------------ Area: AMIGA Date: 19 Oct 93 9:07:14 From: William Sloggy (1:238/105.0) To : All Subj: 3DO Just thought a news update on the 3DO might be interesting to you' all ----------------------------------------------------------------------- From the 10/11/93 issue of Broadcasting & Cable magazine: 3DO, SET WITH SET-TOP BOX California computer graphics company 3DO made a big jump into television last week, signing on to build equipment for US West's video dialtone test in Omaha. US West tapped 3DO to design the set-top converter boxes for the proposed test, which still is awaiting FCC approval. The set-top box will be the subscribers interface for a variety of planned inter- active services, including games, video on demand and home shopping. The news is a boost to 3DO, a relative newcomer to the industry. Until now, 3DO has concentrated primarily on developing a CD-based graphics system called Interactive Multiplayer. The new interactive box will be based on the Multiplayer, which hit stores last week. Unlike many other computer companies, 3DO does no manufacturing on its own. Instead, it develops and licenses the animation and graphics system. The first Multiplayer, for example, is made by Panasonic, and, 3DO says, more than 400 companies have signed to develop 151 software titles for the system. 3DO chief operating officer, Hugh Martin, says that the CD titles will be available to US West to provide a pool of interactive material for the test. He says other interactive TV tests, including Time Warner's Orlando test, may suffer from a lack of consumer-tested interactive material. The early CD offerings will include video games, simulators and family games that are similar to software available for home computers. US West has not designated a manufacturer for the new box, nor has it chosen the exact format for the electronic program guide that will allow a subscriber to navigate through the available services. Since many particulars of the box are uncertain, it is not yet possible to determine how much the units will cost per home, Martin says. The basic circuitry is the same as the CD-based system, but since it can operate without the costliest component, the CD drive, it will likely be less expensive. He warns, however, that the set-top box will require various cable hardware not included in the Multiplayer, driving costs back up. ------------------------------ Area: AMIGA Date: 21 Oct 93 23:25:45 From: Jonathan Guidry (1:3803/3.4) To : All Subj: A600 - June Bug! Remember that discussion a while back on the sayings on the Amiga 500/1200 motherboards(Rock Lobster, etc)...? Well, I opened up my trusty 'ol Amiga 600, and it says Amiga 600 Rev 2B "June Bug" in it.... I wonder what compels the motherboard designers to think about when they choose these sayings? Jonathan ------------------------------ [Editor's Note: I hope the following message isn't another one of those 'Crying Wolf' messages that tend to find their way around the nets. I'm going to take a chance on it not being one, in the interest of keeping people informed. Just take it with a grain of salt until we can confirm it. Thanks! --Rob] Area: AMIGA Date: 24 Oct 93 3:52:22 From: Nikolai Waldman (1:363/204.100) To : All Subj: Screwed by Bell Canada * This message forwarded from area 'NET363' * Original message dated 23 Oct 93, from Clay Fugitte * Forwarded from "INTERDUCK" * Originally by Lavern Hoy * Originally to All * Originally dated 20 Oct 1993, 23:19 Here is something I captured off another net and am forwarding to this net so that all SysOps can see what may affect us here in the U.S., If Ma Bell is trying to pull this off in Canada, they sure as Hell will attempt this same thing on us. We need to be aware of this and STOP crap like this before it even gets started. ******************************************************************** I M P O R T A N T N E W S A M U S T R E A D F O R A L L ******************************************************************** Bell Canada, the communications giant is planning to charge ALL modem/fax users with 4800 baud or higher ADDITIONAL fees! The following text file was captured off ADULTNET, and I encourage everyone to READ IT, and WRITE TO BELL. At least, SPREAD the word, by POSTING this message EVERYWHERE. Capture file opened 20-Oct-1993 04:53p ******************************************************************** Are you aware that BELL CANADA is out to empty your pockets "legally" and is trying to keep you from knowing about it till it's too late? All modem and fax users transmitting data at more than 4800 bps will be forced to purchase the use of a "data line" instead of just using the regular phone lines. This may surprise a few, but a "data line" is rented at approx. $60. per month besides the regular line that you still have to use at $15. /month. MA BELL is planning to have a regulation passed to this effect and is trying to do it fast and quiet before anyone is the wiser. When this will be accomplished it will be almost impossible to repeal this regulation. Since most fax & modem users are transmitting or are planning to do so at a baud rate ABOVE 4800 baud, everyone will be billed, and if you think that you are immune to this because you don't have a fax or modem or that you transmit at 2400 baud, think about this; Who do you think will foot the bill sent by your local merchant who uses a high speed fax? Cost increases will be passed on to the public.(namely you...) "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" Ma BELL has a monopoly of the phone system and if nobody yells back, they will use that absolute power to wring your wallet dry. For yourself and your fellow phone users, don't let this go by without a word of protest. Phone the CRTC and voice your concern, let them know that Ma BELL is pushing too far and that you are aware of the sneaky way they are going about it. Tell them that this is intolerable and ILLEGAL. Call CRTC in Montreal (514) 283-6607 (Mrs Methot is in charge of this dept. Or CRTC in Ottawa (toll free) (819) 997-0272 dept of telecommunications. You can also get in touch with Mr Normand Toupin (514) 870-5077 who is in charge of Public Relations at Bell Canada. Via FAX you can reach the CRTC at (514) 283-3689 If the people reached deny knowledge of this, tell them you intend to notify your local radio & tv about this. This valuable info was brought to you by: THN SYSTEMS ------------------------------ Area: AMIGA Date: 22 Oct 93 22:51:41 From: Jeff Grimmett (1:202/739.1) To : ALL Subj: AmigaEchoDisk 4!!!! AT LAST!!!! AT LAST!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, frabjous! The AmigaEchoDisk -=Deux=- is finally released! AmigaEchoDisk 4 is freqable from my BBS, Magic Blue Smoke, at 14400 (v32bis) as AMYDISK4.DMS. You may also call and download it from file area 24, file 16. It is over 600K in size! Asha already has a copy of the disk, as will Orin. I have file attached a copy to Joyce so it should be available at 1:3612/42 as well. As soon as I get connected to the appropriate area, I will be hatching it out via the Sky Amiga Network (SAN). If someone is willing to, it may be hatched via ADS as well. Anyone wishing to spare the cost of calling long distance to get the disk may go the cheap, if slower, route by sending a disk and disk mailer *pre-stamped* to me at: Jeff Grimmett 3152 Kemper St #5 San Diego, CA 92110 Those who have sent pix in for this and other disks need not follow this stipulation... just send me your address and I'll send a disk with thanks for making the disk work! A few notes: We've tested this disk on a 2000HD/020, a 3000/16 under 1.3 and 2.04, a punked out A2000/PPS040, an A2000/GVP030, a 1200, a 2000 with 1.3, and a 1000 with 1.3. I think we hit most of the high points with this beta test. However, if it does NOT work for you, please let me know. Have the following information ready: your system, your OS, and what you did to make it crash. This disk will self-boot under 1.3 and 2.0, but works best if run along with an already booted workbench. The following software was used to create the disk: HDClick 2.0: intended as an application to launch tasks from a menu environment. While it WILL let you modify the script, be warned that it will CRASH if you modify too many things at once. Save your work! SuperView 3.11: fairly old, but servicable, IFF viewer. MuchMore 3.20: Very slick text viewer. Sound, a small sound player. Used with permission of the author. WARNING: this has NOT been tested on 040's, so if it crashes your system, do not be alarmed. I will try to find a better player for the next disk. This program is powerpacked using PowerPacker 2.30, so if you have problems with powerpacker files, just avoid it. All files are uncompressed and viewable using any iff viewer, text viewer, or sound player as applicable. Enjoy yourself, and keep your eyes peeled for disk 5! Remember, if you haven't appeared, YOU WILL. Resistance is futile... ------------------------------ Area: OMAHA_AMIGA Date: 22 Oct 93 5:50:12 From: Rick Ethridge (1:285/15.51) To : Scoffers Subj: Not the End for ME! I'm not amused with those who will so quickly write off the Amiga, or will forget it's place in computer history. When I see SEAQUEST DSV or BABYLON 5 I know that the television industry has taken the Amiga seriously. I don't regret the overtime needed and the gracious help of my wife in getting my A1000 or A1200HD. I look forward to getting a multisync monitor to bring the video up to '90 standards. While others may feel that their PEECEES or MACS can "rule the roost", let them try to MULTITASK ON 512K! Try using a COMMAND LINE INTERPRETER on a MAC! I can always write my own programs with the available PD "C" compilers and shareware programming tools! For serious, imaginative computing only an Amiga will do!!! Rick Ethridge ------------------------------ Area: AMIGA Date: 17 Oct 93 18:14:40 From: Christian Buchner (2:246/65.0) To : All Subj: CD32 commercials on TV - in GERMANY! Hello World! I'm living in Germany and have recently bought an Amiga CD32. Cool machine - but software is still rare. Today I saw a TV commercial for the Amiga CD32 on a private TV channel (RTL), connected with an announcement of the "World Of Commodore" exhibition in Cologne. The TV spot was done like the SNES campaigns: Some grey-haired professors who had "developed" the CD32 connected it to the "big brain". The brain played a 3D arcade game and finally exploded. Quite a silly storyline, don't you think either? ;-) The commercial was shown in the afternoon, right before "A-Team". Just when all the kids are sitting in front of their TV. Seems that Commodore finally took the step towards more aggressive advertisement campaigns. Let's hope they will succeed. ------------------------------ From Delphi's Amiga SIG ----------------------- 19832 27-OCT 23:45 General Information RE: CD32 & C= (Re: Msg 19745) From: MICHAEL86 To: 16BITTER (NR) Sega had a hand in splitting the console market with Nintendo... According to Forbes Magazine (Oct 25, '93) Sega started as the gnat on the windshield in 1989. Sega Genesis: 1 million customers... Nintendo: 30 mill. Tom Kalinske, in his early 50's now as the US chief of Sega, convinced his Japanese bosses to drop the Genesis price from $199 to $149, and got close to Electronic Arts. Sega took lower royalties from developers... 15% below Nintendo's...by way of encouragement. Then he started a daring marketing plan. Three years later, said Forbes, Sega was close to a tie w/Nintendo in a $5 billion market. Nintendo dropped from 90% to 50%, while Sega went from 7% in 1990 to 50% today. Kalinske spend $125 million on marketing last year. Kalinske set out to make Sega Genesis the "cool" machine, with tie-ins with Coke and the Lifesaver Co. He pushes the image more than the machine, and plans to spend $250 mill this year to do it. If you don't think image marketing is powerful, check out the color-blind dog commercial for Game Gear, poking fun at the Gameboy green screen! Kalinske just doesn't stop... He just hired away Nintendo's marketing specialist for the 6-to-14-year-olds categoy where Nintendo is still ahead. Cable's Sega channel will cost approx $12.5/mo for customers to choose among 50 games for download. Forbes says that 50% of the potential mrkt could pop Sega Channel's revenue to almost $700 mill for 1994. Irving Gould should issue lots of new stock and use it to lure Tom Kalinske his way... @endnode ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @node P4-5 "Amiga Report Mailing List" @toc "menu" /// Amiga Report Mailing List ------------------------- Are you tired of waiting for your local BBS or online service to get Amiga Report each week? Have you been spending more money that you want on long distance phone calls to download it from one of our Distribution Sites? If so, have we got a deal for you! If you have an internet mailing address, you can receive Amiga Report in UUENCODED form each week as soon as the issue is released. To be put on the list, send Email to Amiga-Report-Request@gnu.ai.mit.edu. Your account must be able to handle mail of any size to ensure an intact copy. For example, GEnie has a limit of about 40K per message, and most of our issues are well over that limit. Please do not send general Email to Amiga-Report-Request, only requests for subscription additions or deletions (or if you are not receiving an intact copy). All other correspondence should be directed to the editor at ROB_G@Delphi.COM. Many thanks to Bob Caron for setting this service up for us! P.S.: Please be sure to include your Email address in the text of your request message, it makes adding it to the list much easier. Thanks! ** IMPORTANT NOTICE: PLEASE be certain your host can accept mail over ** 100K! We have had a lot of bouncebacks recently from systems with a ** 100K size limit for incoming mail. If we get a bounceback with your ** address in it, it will be removed from the list. @endnode ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @node P1-7 "Usenet Repost - SAS/C v6.50" @toc "menu" /// Usenet Repost: Features List for SAS/C v6.50 --------------------------------------------- * Forwarded by Adam Sjoegren on 2:230/149@fidonet * Subj : SAS/C V6.50 Features * To : , * From : Doug Walker, walker@twix.unx.sas.com * Area : comp.sys.amiga.programmer Many people have asked for a feature list for Version 6.50 of the SAS/C Development System with C++. Here it is! ============== SAS/C(R) Development System with C++, Version 6.50 ============== C++ Due to popular demand, Version 6.50 offers support for translating C++ files. We've also added extensive support in our CodeProbe debugger to allow you to debug C++ source code directly. When debugging C++ source code with CPR, you can * display C++ auto, static and extern variables * display members of C++ classes * set breakpoints on overloaded C++ functions, member functions, operators, constructors, and destructors * display the proper C++ source code at all times, in both regular and mixed mode. Version 6.50 also provides a C++ name demangler that lets you write AREXX scripts that work with CPR to help debug your C++ programs. ============== 68040/68882 Instruction Scheduler The new 68040/68882 Instruction Scheduler helps your code make the most of running on higher processors. The Instruction Scheduler changes the order of instructions to create code that runs faster on the 68040 CPU and 68882 math coprocessor. These processors can execute some instructions in parallel to run your code faster. ============== SPROF Profiler Version 6.50 includes SPROF, a brand new profiler designed to provide specific statistics on a function-by-function basis, including * number of times each function is called * amount of time spent in each function, including subroutines * amount of time spent in each function, excluding subroutines * percentage of total time spent in each function. SPROF can be used on shared libraries, devices, dynamically created tasks, and virtually any other type of AmigaDOS task that has access to global data. ============== SMFIND Utility How many times have you tried to remember which file a particular variable is defined in and couldn't? SMFIND is a new utility that was designed with such a situation in mind. From the Workbench, you can double click on the SMFIND icon, enter the string to search for, and sit back and watch as SMFIND lists in the message browser window all the instances where that string was found. Double click on an instance, and the relevant file is automatically opened and positioned to the exact location where the string is found. This new tool makes managing your projects easier than ever. ============== New Support for Writing Devices We have added several new features, including an example device to get you started, that make writing and debugging devices easier than ever before. SAS/C now provides new startup modules for creating devices so that now you will not have to write your own startup code. And most helpful of all, CPR now allows you to set breakpoints in devices so that you can easily load them to be debugged. ============== User Interface New system font support in SCOPTS, SE, SCMSG, and CPR. These utilities now use the default screen font as selected in Preferences under AmigaDOS 2.0 and higher. GO, ASM, SC2, and the C++ translator now send any messages to SCMSG if requested instead of just to the console. New support for public screens in SC, SCOPTS and SCMSG. SMFind utility lets you search for strings in your C source files, and lets you use the SCMSG utility to go to the locations found. ============== CPR SegTracker support added to CPR, enabling CPR to locate debugging information automatically for most multitasking programs, shared libraries, and devices. Now easier than ever to debug multitasking programs, shared libraries, and devices! Improvements in CPR's multitasking debugging capabilities. Support of #line statements enhanced. Now you can debug functions in header files and inline functions. Support for user-selectable fonts under AmigaDOS 2.0 and above. All menus and title bars are displayed in the proportional Screen font selected in the Preferences font editor. All other text is displayed in the fixed System Default font selected in the font editor. The number of spaces taken by a TAB character is now a user-selectable option. ============== Compiler and Optimizers Enhanced compiler and optimizers help you generate better, faster code. Compiler now automatically detects the use of standard I/O functions and generates code accordingly, making your program smaller and faster. (This makes the NOSTDIO option obsolete.) More efficient code for passing and returning structures and classes. More efficient code when stack extension is used. New optimizations added to the peephole optimizer. Version 6.50 comes with the AmigaDOS 3.1 include files and link libraries. ============== Better Support for Shared Libraries and Devices You can build your shared libraries in C++! You can use C++ member functions as library entry points, including constructor and destructor functions. Encapsulate your entire C++ class as an AmigaDOS shared library. Includes autoinit/autoterm support for shared libraries and devices and support for virtually all SAS/C library functions in shared libraries. The only exceptions are exit(), abort(), and other functions which terminate the program, since this isn't possible from a shared library. Special startup code included for building devices. Support for building shared libraries and devices directly from the SC command. No need to invoke SLINK seperately! ============== Documentation Over 300 new pages of documentation, bringing the total number of pages to over 1500. 90% of the documentation has been rewritten for version 6.50. Documentation includes a quick reference guide, library reference manual, and a two-volume user's guide. Online documentation is even more complete - now over 1.3 megabytes of online help, compared to 800k in Version 6! More detail is provided on library functions, and information on C++ messages has been added. Online documentation for new utilities and options has been added. ============== Enhanced Conversion Process New utilities CCTOSC and LNTOSLINK convert Aztec C options to their SAS/C equivalents. New utilities MCC and MLN accept Aztec C options and invoke the Version 6.50 compiler. Compiler now implements #pragma amicall and #pragma regcall to ease the transition for Aztec C customers. and are now provided, along with Aztec C or UNIX compatibility library functions dos_packet, scdir, mktemp, mkstemp, and many screen control functions. lmktosmake script (in SC:EXTRAS) converts Lattice C or SAS/C Version 5.10 makefiles into Version 6-compatible makefiles. All C compiler and library components are fully ANSI/ISO compliant for maximum portability to other platforms. All C++ compiler and library components are compliant with the ANSI C++ committee draft working paper as of January 1993. SAS Institute is committed to supporting both the C and C++ language standards in the future. ============== Are you currently using another commercial C compiler? Conversion is easy! We've added several new features to our "Upgrade to SAS/C" program to make the conversion process even easier. For more information, call 919-677-8000, extension 7001. ============== SAS and SAS/C are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. SAS Institute Inc. Book Sales Department SAS Campus Drive Cary, NC 27513 Phone (919)677-8000 Fax (919)677-8166 Email sasdsb@vm.sas.com NO ORDERS! Sales information only! Ms. Gerlinde Schuster SAS Institute GmbH PO Box 10 53 40 69043 Heidelberg Telephone (49)6221-4160 Fax (49)6221-474850 Email eurdoc2@vm.sas.com NO ORDERS! Sales information only!r For contact information in other countries, please contact the US office (via email or any other method.) @endnode *************************************************************************** @node P4-2 "Portal" @toc "menu" /// Portal: A Great Place For Amiga Users -------------------------------------- Portal Communications' Amiga Zone The AFFORDABLE alternative for online Amiga information ------------------------------------------------------- The Portal Online System is the home of acclaimed Amiga Zone, which was formerly on the People/Link System. Plink went out of business in May, 1991 and The Amiga Zone's staff moved to Portal the next day. The Zone has just celebrated its second anniversary on Portal. The Amiga press raves about The Amiga Zone, when compared to its competition. If you live in the San Jose, CA area, then you can dial Portal directly. If you live elsewhere, you can reach Portal through any SprintNet (formerly Telenet) indial anywhere in the USA or through Tymnet from anywhere in North America. If you have an account on another Internet-connected system, you can connect to Portal using the UNIX Telnet programs, from anywhere in the industrialized world. Delphi and BIX users can now Telnet into Portal for a flat $19.95 a month, with *unlimited* use. Some of Portal/Amiga Zone's amazing features include: · Over 1.5 GIGabytes of Amiga-specific files · The *entire* Fred Fish collection of freely distributable software, online. · Fast, Batch Zmodem file transfer protocol. Download up to 100 files at once, of any size, with one command. · Twenty Amiga vendor areas with participants like AmigaWorld, ASDG, Soft-Logik, Black Belt, Apex Publishing, Stylus, Prolific, NES. · 35 "regular" Amiga libraries with thousands of files. Hot new stuff arrives daily. · No upload/download "ratios" EVER. Download as much as you want, as often as you want, and never feel pressued doing it. · Live, interactive nightly chats with Amiga folks whose names you will recognize. Special conferences. Random chance prize contests. Famous Amiga folks aren't the exception on Portal, they're the norm. · Vast Message bases where you can ask questions about *anything* Amiga related and get quick replies from the experts. · Amiga Internet mailing lists for Imagine, DCTV, LightWave, HyperAmi, Director and Landscapes are fed right into the Zone message bases. Read months worth of postings. They don't scroll off, ever! No need to clutter your mailbox with them. · FREE unlimited Internet Email. Your Portal account gets you a mailbox that's connected to the world. Send letters of any length to computer users in the entire industrialized world. No limits. No extra charges. No kidding! · Portal has the Usenet. Thousands of "newsgroups" in which you can read and post articles about virtually any subject you can possibly imagine. · Other Portal SIGs (Special Interest Groups) online for Mac, IBM, Sun, NeXT, UNIX, Science Fiction, Writers, amateur radio, and a graphics SIG with thousands of GIF files to name just a few. ALL Portal SIGs are accessible to ALL Portal customers with NO surcharges ever. · The entire UPI/Clarinet/Newsbytes news hierarchy ($4/month extra) An entire general interest newspaper and computer news magazine. · Portal featues an exciting package of Internet features: IRC, FTP, TELNET, MUDS, LIBS. Free to all Portal customers with your account. Internet Services is a menu driven version of the same kinds of utilities you can also use from your Portal UNIX shell account. · All the files you can FTP. All the chatting you can stand on the IRC. And on IRC (Internet Relay Chat) you can talk live, in real time with Amiga users in the U.K., Europe, Australia, the Far East, 24 hours a day. · Our exclusive PortalX by Steve Tibbett, the graphical "front end" for Portal which will let you automatically click'n'download your waiting email, messages, Usenet groups and binary files! Reply to mail and messages offline using your favorite editor and your replies are sent automatically the next time you log into Portal. (PortalX requires Workbench 2.04 or higher) · And Portal does NOT stick it to high speed modem users. Whether you log in at 1200 or 2400 or 9600 or 14.4K you pay the same low price. How does all that sound? Probably too good to be true. Well, it IS true. Portal Signup or for more information: 408-973-9111 (voice) 9a.m.-5p.m. Mon-Fri, Pacific Time 408-725-0561 (modem 3/12/2400) 24 hours every day 408-973-8091 (modem 9600/14400) 24 hours every day or enter "C PORTAL" from any Sprintnet dial-in in the USA, or enter "portal" from any Tymnet "please log in:" prompt, USA & Canada or telnet to "portal.com" from anywhere. PORTAL'S CURRENT RATES: All prices shown are in U.S. Dollars Total Total Total Total Cost Cost Cost Cost Fee 1 hr. 5 hrs. 10 hrs.30 hrs. Startup Monthly Per Per per per per Fee Fee Hour month month month month $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Portal 19.95 19.95 2400/9600/14.4Kbps, *direct 24 hrs 0.00 19.95 19.95 19.95 19.95 2400/9600bps nonprime Sprint or Tymnet 2.50 22.95 32.45 44.95 94.95 2400/9600bps prime Sprint +% or Tymnet 5.50-10 29.95 69.95 119.95 varies 2400/9600bps non prime # PCPursuit 1.00 20.95 24.95 29.95 49.95 * plus cost of phone call if out of Portal's local dialing area Direct rates also apply to connections made to Portal using the UNIX "telnet" program from an account you may already have on an Internet-connected system. % 9600 bps Sprintnet and Tymnet available in over 300 cities areas + $10 rate prevails at smaller US Cities # PCPursuit is a service of US Sprint. Portal is a PCPursuit "Direct Access Facility" thus connection to Portal with a PCP account is simply a matter of entering C PORTAL,PCP-ID,PCP-PASSWORD at the SprintNet login prompt instead of C PORTAL. Note: Portal Direct 9600/14400 bps service is availble for both USR HST modems, and any V32/V32.bis modems. There are dozens of direct-dial high speed lines into Portal. No busy signals! SprintNet 9600bps service is V.32 modem protocol only. Tymnet 9600bps services is V.32 modem protocol only. Again, Portal does NOT surcharge high speed modem users! Portal subscribers who already have an account on an Internet-capable system elsewhere, can use that system's "telnet" program to connect to Portal for $0.00 an hour. That's right ZERO. From anywhere in the world. If you're in this category, be sure to ask the Portal reps, when you signup, how to login to Portal from your existing Internet account. Call and join today. Tell the friendly Portal Customer Service representative, "The Amiga Zone and Amiga Report sent me!" [Editor's Note: Be sure to tell them that you are an Amiga user, so they can notify the AmigaZone sysops to send their Welcome Letter and other information!] That number again: 408-973-9111. Portal Communications accepts MasterCard, Visa, or you can pre-pay any amount by personal check or money order. The Portal Online System is a trademark of Portal Communications. @endnode *************************************************************************** @node P1-8 "UseNet Review - DM 2.0" @toc "menu" /// Usenet Review: Deluxe Music 2.0 -------------------------------- By Daniel Barrett (barrett@cs.umass.edu) PRODUCT NAME Deluxe Music 2.0 BRIEF DESCRIPTION Deluxe Music 2.0 ("DM2") is a program for creating, printing, and playing music using the Amiga's sound chip or MIDI instruments. It is primarily a music notation program rather than a sequencer, though it has some basic sequencer functions. A freely distributable demo version of DM2 is available on the Aminet ftp sites and elsewhere. This demo is based on an older version of the program and contains some bugs which have reportedly been fixed in the actual release. It also has saving and printing disabled. However, it will give you a reasonable idea of the program's user interface. AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION Name: Electronic Arts Address: PO Box 7578 San Mateo, CA 94403-7578 USA Telephone: (415) 572-2787 The program was written by David "Talin" Joiner. LIST PRICE $100 (US). Mailorder price is approximately $80. An upgrade is available to owners of the original Deluxe Music Construction Set for $50 plus shipping. Call Electronic Arts at 800-245-4525, weekdays between 8am and 5pm Pacific Time, and have your DMCS manual ready. SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS HARDWARE Any Amiga computer. 1 MB RAM or more. 2 floppy drives or 1 hard drive. A printer is recommended. SOFTWARE Reportedly runs under all AmigaDOS versions from 1.3 to 3.0. ARexx is recommended. COPY PROTECTION Serial number protection. When you install the program, you are prompted for your name, company name, and program serial number. This information is then encoded directly in the program. A little window pops up for a few seconds and displays it every time you load the program. This copy protection is painless, and I find it completely acceptable. MACHINE USED FOR TESTING Amiga 3000T, 8 MB Fast RAM, 2 MB Chip RAM, 210 MB hard drive. ECE MIDI Plus interface. AmigaDOS 2.1 (Kickstart 2.04 ROM). OVERVIEW The long-awaited Deluxe Music 2 is finally shipping. More than an update of the original Deluxe Music Construction Set (DMCS), DM2 is a completely rewritten program with a similar interface, created by David Joiner, the author of the MIDI sequencer "Music-X." For many years, the Amiga has had no professional-quality music notation programs; see the section "COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS," below, for more information. Does DM2 finally give us a pro-level notation program? I hope to answer in this question in my review. DM2 includes the program itself, a directory full of sampled instrument sounds, a few example scores, and a freely distributable player program called DMPlayer. This review will discuss the operation of DM2 in some detail, and then I shall focus on the shortcomings of the program. Unfortunately, this program really needs some improvement. VOCABULARY FOR NON-MUSICIANS You will need some musical knowledge to understand this review. Here is a little vocabulary that may help non-musicians or people who need a brief review of terminology. MUSICIANS MAY SKIP THIS SECTION. DM2 is a "notation" or "scoring" or "music transcription" program, which means that it is used for creating written music or "sheet music." A "score" is a complete piece of sheet music, either printed or on the screen, and consists of one or more "staves" (which is the plural of "staff"). A "staff" refers to the 5 horizontal lines on which we write traditional music notation. Typically, the music of one instrument appears on each staff, although some instruments typically use two (piano) or three (organ) parallel staves. A staff contains "notes" (indicating a musical sound) and "rests" (indicating a period of silence), plus various other symbols. If we want to write a note that is too high or too low for the staff, little extra lines called "ledger lines" are added for that single note. A single note consists of two parts: the "note head" or "head" which is the little circle indicating the pitch, and a "stem" which is the vertical line extending from the head, indicating the duration. A symbol called a "clef" indicates which lines on the staff represent which notes. Notes can be grouped together or "beamed" by connecting the stems with horizontal or diagonal lines. The music on a staff is separated into "measures" using vertical lines called "bar lines." A "time signature" determines how much music goes into each measure, and a "key signature" determines which pitches are appropriate to be used in the piece. (This set of pitches is called the "key" of the piece. You can use any pitches you want, but the pitches in the "key" are more convenient to notate.) A pitch that is not in the key of the piece is called an "accidental," and there are 5 kinds: sharp (raise pitch), double-sharp (raise pitch twice), flat (lower pitch), double-flat (lower pitch twice), and natural (undo any sharp or flat). "MIDI" stands for "Musical Instrument Digital Interface." This is a method of communication between a computer and an electronic musical instrument (e.g., synthesizer), or between two instruments, so one can control the other. Pressing a key on (for example) a synthesizer keyboard sends a message through a wire (a "MIDI cable") saying "Key number 23 was just pressed!" This message can be recorded and played back by a computer, causing the instrument to reproduce the note, or it can simply be sent to another instrument which will then play its "key number 23." (This is a VERY simplistic explanation suitable for beginners only.) The important thing to realize is that MIDI does not transmit any sound; instead, it transmits messages like "play this note" and "stop playing that note." A computer program or hardware device that records and plays back such information is called a "MIDI sequencer." If you are a non-musician who read this section, please send me e-mail telling me whether it helped you understand the review or not. (I am just curious.) THE CHALLENGES OF COMPUTER NOTATION The perfect music notation program still does not exist. The reason is that musical notation is very diverse, somewhat arbitrary, and quite difficult to get right. Here are some examples of why writing a notation program is hard. I am including this section because, in my opinion, some USENET readers do not know what I mean by a "professional" notation program. Let's start with the obvious stuff: correct output. Symbols should look correct, clear, and be free of "jaggies" when printed. The dots on dotted notes should be close to the notes they modify. Horizontal spacing should look "natural," and simultaneous events in different staves should line up vertically. Beaming can be a challenge. When several notes must be beamed together, we want the results to look both clear and natural. By clear, I mean that the individual beams should be visible and not overwrite any note heads. By natural, I mean that the beams should be at a "good" distance from the note heads and drawn at an angle that looks appropriate for the notes. If the notes are ascending or descending by simple steps, then beam angles may be easy to calculate; but if the notes are spread out all over the staff, should the beam angle upwards, downwards, or neither? The answer may depend on the notes that appear before and after the beamed ones. Chords can be challenging to notate if the individual notes are very close together. Note heads should not overlap too much to obscure each other, nor should they be so far apart that gaps are visible. This is particularly true when a chord contains a half step. Two of the most difficult pieces of musical notation for a program to get right are "ties" and "slurs." These are slightly arced lines -- similar to the arcs drawn in a paint program -- that connect two notes (in the case of a tie) or group several notes (a slur). These are difficult for a program to draw precisely because their size is not constant, they need to be diagonal at arbitrary angles (in the case of slurs), and they may need to extend between measures or even staves. A final challenge is that there are many symbols available in musical notation, and some composers even like to make up their own notation. Does the program support all standard clefs? How about non-standard time and key signatures? What if we want only 4 lines on a staff and diamond-shaped note heads (as in some medieval music)? What if we don't want any bar lines (as in modern classical music)? How do you notate the scraping of an aluminum can lid on a violin string? The ideal notation program would allow the user to draw his/her own symbols and add them (permanently or temporarily) to the program's musical vocabulary. We shall see how DM2 fares against these notational challenges. INSTALLATION Installation is easy. Simply click on the Install-Deluxe Music icon, and the Commodore Installer program guides you through the steps to put DM2 on your hard drive or another floppy disk. I had one problem when using the "Pretend To Install" option. After I choose the name of the directory which will contain the DeluxeMusic subdirectory and click "Proceed", I get the error message Sorry, an error has occurred Getenv: string too long and the Installer exits. I don't know if this a bug in the Installer or in the particular installation script. I think I've seen this happen before when installing another application. CREATING AND EDITING MUSICAL DATA My first test of DM2 was to invoke the program and start using it without reading the manual. I found the interface to be very intuitive. Three windows are presented to the user at first: the Score Window, the Tool Window, and the Piano Keyboard window. The Score Window is a blank score with two staves (treble and bass), 1 measure long. As you add notes to the score, a blank measure is continually appended. When you play back your score, notes get highlighted as they are played. The Tool Window contains gadgets which represent different kinds of musical symbols. Click on a symbol, the mouse pointer turns into that symbol, and you can insert that symbol into the Score Window by clicking on the desired part of the staff. The Tool Window also has tools for erasing symbols, beaming, and text entry. The Piano Keyboard window looks like a piano and is an alternate way to add notes to the score. Click on a key, and the corresponding note is inserted into the score. You can also build chords and insert rests. During playback, the corresponding keys on the keyboard are highlighted. The menus are pretty standard, conforming pretty closely to those in the Amiga User Interface Style Guide. Without the manual, I was able to figure out what most menu items do with only a few exceptions. That is, given a menu item, I could use it. The opposite gave me trouble, though: if I want to do some operation, how do I execute it? I had to hunt quite a bit for some operations. For example, to control the global amount of space between staves, I guessed to look under "Score Settings" first. Nope. It's under "Staves." Little ambiguities like that made the program a little bit hard to use. But these are small complaints -- once you read the manual, it's no problem. DM2 has a reasonable amount of notational flexibility, but it has some unfortunate limitations. For example: NICE FEATURE UNFORTUNATELY... ===================================================================== You can set the number of The number of staves must remain staves. constant for the entire score. You can change the clef in Clef changes are allowed only at the any measure. beginning of the measure. Note values from whole note No grace notes. all the way to 64th note Important symbols available These are font symbols only and do like fermata, C clef, not affect playback. "dc a fine", etc. Automatically numbers your No page numbers. measures. Insert text into the score. No score title, author name, page headers/footers, piano fingering. So while DM2 has some nice features, I wish it went a little further than it does. Once really nice feature of the program is that you can leave various requestors (really they are windows) open while you edit the score. Other programs force you to close the requestor before you can continue working. In addition, while playback and printing are going on, you can still work with the program. (Though this sometimes leads to trouble: see the "BUGS" section.) Now for the bad news: Deluxe Music is missing LOTS of important features that prevent it from being a professional-level notation program. I've already mentioned grace notes, score titles, page numbering, and piano fingering. Some more are: o Accent signs (that look like ">") for notes. o Double sharps. The double flat exists but only as a font symbol with no meaning for playback. o Glissando markings. It is also missing basic features like: o Rests inside a set of beamed notes. (For example, putting a beam over two 16th notes, a 16th rest, and a 16th note.) o Full-page view of the score. o Cannot drag notes on multiple staves simultaneously. o Cannot align a group of notes -- all you can do is align an entire measure. o Clef changes cannot occur in the middle of a measure. o Key signature changes that reduce the number of sharps or flats should produce a key signature with naturals in it, indicating visually which sharps/flats have disappeared. Or if the change occurs in the first measure of a staff, a good program will place a indicator of the change at the end of the previous staff. Deluxe Music doesn't do either. It's also missing professional features like: o Cannot design your own symbols easily, except by editing a font and memorizing which symbols correspond to which ASCII codes. o Cannot change the number of staves within a score -- you must use the same number of staves throughout the score. o No N-tuplets for N greater than 7. o There is only one size for notes and staves. o No mezzo and soprano clefs. o No Baroque-style ornamentation (in a tiny staff above a note). MEETING THE CHALLENGES In the section "THE CHALLENGES OF COMPUTER NOTATION" above, I listed some things that are difficult to do in a notation program. Let's see how DM2 handles them. Correct Output: DM2 gets a bunch of the basics right. Note heads are clear (though sometimes they overlap and notes must be moved manually). In some rare occasions, note stems do not reach all the way to their beams. Plenty of jaggedness is visible when scores are printed on my 300dpi laser printer. Some symbols overlap each other and cannot be corrected; for example, "8va up" symbols overlap high notes. Dots on dotted notes are sometimes correctly placed, sometimes too high, and sometimes missing (!!), particularly in chords with dotted notes (see the "BUGS" section, below). Beaming: In general, DM2 chooses beam distances and angles well. Unfortunately, some note/rest combinations are impossible to beam with DM2. Chords: DM2 does a decent job, even with chords containing half steps. Ties And Slurs: DM2 can tie/slur notes within a measure, across measures, and across staves. Nice. But they look lousy printed: very jagged. And very small ties are not symmetric, making them look deformed. Creating Your Own Symbols: DM2 provides no facility for this. You can create your own Amiga font full of musical symbols and use it, but DM2 has no user interface for inserting these symbols except by keystroke, forcing the user to memorize which keystrokes correspond to which font symbols. PROGRAM PREFERENCES DM2 can run on many kinds of screens, including custom, Workbench and Public Screens. You can change the Palette and the font. However, if you change the font to something too large, you can't access the rightmost menus because they are pushed offscreen. And the rightmost menu is the "Settings" menu, so you can't change the font back. And the Settings menu has no keyboard equivalents. OOPS!!! You're stuck. Quit the program and restart it. Even with this little "Catch 22" problem, it is great to see a program that lets the user modify the screen type so nicely. Well done. INTERNAL SOUNDS DM2 comes with 32 sampled instrument sounds. I think their quality is reasonable for use as a sketchpad and for quick feedback. I do my real playback with MIDI synthesizers. Since sounds are a matter of taste, I won't say any more on this. MIDI IMPLEMENTATION Instead of using the internal sounds, you can assign different staves to play on different MIDI channels. This worked fine for me. You can also input your music using a MIDI keyboard, on one staff at a time. Note duration is increased the longer you hold down the key: it jumps to eighth, dotted eighth, quarter, etc., at a speed that you may set. Too bad there's no metronome built in, or you might be able to enter your music in real time. DM2 is not a heavy-duty sequencer. It doesn't have sophisticated features like MIDI event filtering, system exclusive handling, etc.: just simple recording and playback. MUSIC PLAYBACK The score can be played back starting either from the beginning, or between two markers (Begin/End Section). This is pretty lame, since there is only one set of markers in a score. I'd rather see an unlimited number, and the ability to name them for easy reference. During playback, there is no way to cause the program to skip repeats, or skip to a second ending. There also appears to be no way to adjust the volumes of the internal instruments relative to one another. I'd rate the playback options as "minimally acceptable." MUSIC PRINTING Printing speed is approximately one page every 5-6 minutes on my 68030 Amiga with an HP Laserjet IIP printer. Some of my complaints about the printing are: o Repeated 16th-notes overlap their note heads. o Flats sometimes overlap the previous note stem. o In a chord with 2 sharps, one of the sharps invariably overlaps the previous note. o Beams are jagged, even on a 300dpi laser printer. o "Begin repeat" signs overlap the first note in the measure. o "8va" signs overlap high or low notes. o Very small ties look like crap. In general, ties and slurs look jagged and sometimes deformed. If you look at the output from 1-2 feet away, it appears close to publication quality. But look closer and you see the jaggies. This is not professional output, but it's good enough to read. AREXX IMPLEMENTATION DM2 has a very rich ARexx implementation with 86 commands, some having many options. I wrote a few scripts, and most things worked as documented. If your script contains an error, DM2 puts up a requestor with the ARexx error message -- THANK YOU for this. ARexx macros may be recorded and played back interactively. Just choose "Record", do a bunch of things in the program, and then stop recording. You have just created a macro that can be played back repeatedly, and then saved in a file if you desire. ARexx macros are executed using a file requestor (choose the script name) or may be assigned to function keys. DM2 also has an ARexx Console (a command-line shell) which lets the user type ARexx commands directly if desired, for experimentation or quick operations. GREAT feature. A few of the ARexx commands are implemented strangely. For example, the "Next Note" command which moves the cursor to the next note will deselect the previous note, if it was selected. This is dumb, since a very obvious operation is to move from note to note, selecting each. I wonder if this behavior is a bug? Another strange thing is that "Goto Measure" does looks like it moves the cursor to the beginning of the measure, but internally it doesn't. If you try to do a "SelectItem" immediately afterwards, it selects the second item in the measure. To go the beginning of a measure, you have to do "Goto Measure" followed by "Previous Note". I have one big complaint about ARexx in DM2, and that is Electronic Arts' attitude about it. The manual repeatedly describes ARexx as "an advanced programming language" which is "recommended for expert computer users" only. Not only that, but "Electronic Arts does not offer technical customer support for ARexx scripting issues." Hey, why not just say that ARexx is poison that will kill you?!? Come on, EA, what's the point in trying to scare away new users from ARexx? I have more complaints about the ARexx documentation in the "DOCUMENTATION" section, below. FILE FORMATS DM2 stores its files by default in CMUS format, a new IFF format which is more powerful than the old SMUS that Deluxe Music Construction Set used. It can also read and write files in SMUS and Standard MIDI File (SMF) format. Realize, however, that not all file formats store the same information. If you don't save in CMUS format, not all of the symbols in your score will be saved. SMF format is great for importing your music into a sequencer, but it won't store beaming, text, etc. It also doesn't notice your repeat signs, which I consider a design flaw: DM2 should give you the option of "expanding" repeated sections by including them multiple times in the SMF. Finally, according to a report I read in comp.sys.amiga.audio, saving in SMUS format has problems with notes with long duration. DOCUMENTATION Documentation consists of a 167-page, spiral bound manual, an 8-page fold-out Amiga Reference Card, and a README file on disk with last-minute information. The manual is suitable for beginners and contains several tutorials that are reasonably good. Experts will occasionally be frustrated with the manual's "beginner" tone. I don't like the presentation of the ARexx information. Pardon me for yelling, but I wish manufacturers would... STOP DOCUMENTING AREXX COMMANDS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER!!! IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE NAME OF THE COMMAND YOU NEED, YOU HAVE TO READ THE WHOLE DAMN SECTION TO FIND IT!!!! PLEASE DOCUMENT AREXX COMMANDS ACCORDING TO THEIR FUNCTION!!! For example, "file commands", "movement commands", "delete commands", "locking and unlocking the GUI commands", etc. If you insist on using alphabetical order, then AT LEAST provide a brief functional grouping of command names in a separate section. This is SO frustrating. In fact, I am so frustrated that I wrote my own functional grouping and uploaded it to Aminet, in the directory /pub/aminet/mus/midi, in the file DMusic2-ARexx.lha. The Reference Card is very handy, except for its coverage of ARexx, which does nothing but scare users away from trying it. LIKES AND DISLIKES * Likes (1) It's easy to use. (2) It adheres to Commodore's User Interface Style Guide. (3) It has a ton of ARexx commands. * Dislikes (1) There is no visual indicator of whether the current score is saved or not. (2) You can't erase text with the Eraser Tool. In fact, you can't erase text boxes at all! You can delete the text in them, but the invisible boxes stay around forever. (3) While multitasking, it's easy to insert extra notes accidentally. Click the Note Tool, flip Deluxe Music's screen to the back, work on a different screen for a while, and then flip back to Deluxe Music. If you activate the screen by clicking in the score window, an unwanted note gets inserted. Boo. Other programs can detect that they are being reactivated and won't treat the first mouseclick as an operation. (In fact, David Joiner's own Music-X program does this.) (4) The program is missing many standard notation features that I mentioned in the body of the review. (5) This is a BIG one. Deluxe Music uses the same Clipboard unit as most programs -- unit 0. This means that if you are multitasking Deluxe Music with your favorite word processor, then cutting/pasting with your word processor deletes or garbages the data that Deluxe Music puts into the clipboard. FRUSTRATING! Possibly this is a bug in Deluxe Music, because writing to the Clipboard with DM2 doesn't garbage other programs' clipped data. (6) Insert some text. Now adjust the staff spacing using the Staff Window. The text stays in the same absolute position, rather than moving to the same relative position in the score. Let the user attach text to symbols so the text moves when the symbol does. (7) If two notes are tied, and you want to tie the second also to a third note, you can't do it directly. You have to remove the first tie, select all 3 notes, and tie them all. (8) "Revert" makes the display jump away from the current location to elsewhere in the score. This is because while the old version is reloading, the scroll bar gets moved around, and then the score jumps to correspond to the new scrollbar location. (9) Why does "Tie Note Up" have a keyboard equivalent but "Tie Note Down" does not? Why doesn't every non-dangerous menu item have a keyboard equivalent? * Suggestions (1) Allow the user to choose which Clipboard unit is used by the program, so it doesn't conflict with other non-music programs. Or if this behavior is a bug, fix it. (2) If you click on the background screen, you have no menu bar at all. While this is natural from a programming standpoint, it can be confusing to the user. Always have some menu active. (3) If you want to make a very high note on a low staff, the program can't distinguish it from a low note on a high staff (due to overlap). There should be a "staff lock" command that forces all input to go to a particular staff. (4) Too often, I have to click on the background before the Note Tool to "clear" the fact that notes are selected. If I don't, then I can't click on any modifiers (to apply to the next note) without applying them to the selected notes. There should be a quick way to do "deselect all" rather than clicking on the background, or even better, the program should "deselect all" (at the user's option) when the Note Tool is clicked (perhaps under certain circumstances... THINK about how this should be done.) (5) I don't like the use of "Exit" in some requesters, such as the one in the "Save As" requestor, which should probably be "Cancel." (6) The GetItemAttr command has no way to discover the name of the current note (A, C, etc.), only the MIDI pitch number. Thus, enharmonic notes (e.g., A-sharp and B-flat) cannot be distinguished. COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS The old "Deluxe Music Construction Set" was interesting to play with, but it had severe limitations and does not work reliably under AmigaDOS 2.0 and higher. Dr. T's "Copyist Professional DTP" produces excellent output, but it is primarily a graphics program lacking real knowledge of music. (For example, if you want to insert a measure, you have to move all the later measures by hand to make space. This is pathetic! Can you imagine a word processor forcing you to do this when you insert a word?) DM2 has more musical knowledge, though its printed output is inferior to Copyist's Postscript. Maybe someone will write a new "Copyist Companion" program that will convert from CMUS to Copyist format for printing. The freely distributable MusicTeX or MuTeX also produces great output and is quite flexible, but it requires TeX programming knowledge to use effectively. DM2 is far easier to use. The Macintosh and PC have pro-level programs like Finale, Score, Notator, and several others, but these have never been ported to the Amiga. These programs are light-years beyond anything available for the Amiga. Finale can reportedly be run on the Amiga using the AMax II+ or Emplant Macintosh emulators. BUGS Sigh... Deluxe Music is FULL of bugs. I am really surprised that the program was released in this buggy state. Here is a brief listing of the bugs that I discovered in two weeks of using the program. * Serious Bugs (1) The program produces Enforcer hits. They happen at various times that I cannot predict. One reproducible hit is to open the ARexx Console and type "changeitem pitch -1", which is an illegal command, but NOTHING should produce Enforcer hits. (2) Create a measure with an octave chord in it. Apply a sharp accidental to the lower note. Save the score and close it. Re-load the score, and both notes now have sharps on them. (This is musically incorrect -- accidentals do not automatically apply to other notes with the same name, e.g., an octave away.) [This bug was discovered by someone else on USENET.] (3) Sometimes, quitting the program causes a recoverable alert (yellow) to be displayed, saying "Not enough memory for this operation." Not enough memory to QUIT?!?!? Huh?? (4) After pasting from the clipboard, the score cursor does not appear in any consistent place. Sometimes it's in the next measure of the same staff. Sometimes it's in the same measure of the next staff. Sometimes it's in the middle of a measure. And so on. So quick, consistent, repeated pasting is not possible. * Other Bugs (5) Inserting a rest sometimes causes a note to be played. (6) Inserting a note sometimes causes the wrong note -- an octave off -- to be played. (7) Use the "Up Octave" menu item to raise notes in your topmost staff so high that they go beyond the staff separation markers. Now lower the notes. Bogus ledger lines are left in the staff above. (8) Click the depth gadget on the Tools Window. Then click the Note Tool. The cursor should change into a note head, but it doesn't. (9) Slurs don't move upward during an "Up Octave" operation. If you flip the note stems twice, the problem is corrected. (10) Sometimes when dragging a note, the wrong pitch will sound. For example, in the key of A-flat major, drag an E-flat up a half step. An F-flat sounds, but the actual note is F. (11) Once when I clicked on the close gadget of the Tool Window, the mouse pointer disappeared. It came back when I clicked the right mouse button. (12) The "8va up" and "8va down" symbols cannot be moved up and down; therefore, they overlap very high and low notes, respectively. This is true both on the printout and on screen. (13) Very high notes overlap with instrument names. (14) Insert a very low note as the first note of the last measure in the score. This forces the screen to scroll. Under some circumstances, if you hold down the mouse button too long, the scrolling causes the note to be inserted much too low. This is intermittent, but I can usually reproduce it after a few minutes of trying. (15) Open a new text box. Then change font to a smaller size. The box stays big (to accommodate the large font), and the text in the new font sometimes comes out too large. This is intermittent. (16) Scrolling the score vertically sometimes causes graphics glitches. The main one is that a portion of the staff gets drawn one pixel too high, so the straight lines are disconnected at a point. (17) It is not possible to apply an "8va up" to a single note. Try it, and no "8va" symbol appears. (18) Display the Piano Keyboard Window and click on the "Enter Notes In Score" gadget so a checkmark appears. Now print your score. While printing is in progress, click on the gadget again and the checkmark disappears. However, the program still thinks that you are in "enter notes in score" mode, even though the gadget is unchecked. (19) Create a half-step chord -- adjacent E and F at the bottom of a staff with a treble clef -- made of dotted notes. The dot for the E is missing. For other note combinations, the upper note has two dots instead of one. (20) Multiple menu selection doesn't always work. (Holding down the right mouse button and clicking several menu items with the left button.) I could not reproduce this problem later. (21) I was able to drag a text box so far to the left of the score window that the drag gadget was left out of the window bounds (that is, I could not see it). Thus, I was not able to drag the box any more since the gadget was out of sight. I could not reproduce this bug. Maybe I was clueless and forgot about the horizontal scroll bars. (22) The "8va up" modifier is ignored when you select a note to hear its pitch. The pitch that is played is the un-raised pitch. (Similarly for "8va down".) (23) In a measure with some beamed notes, spend a lot of time adjusting the beams manually so they look just the way you like. Then add a new note to the measure. All the beams jump back to their original positions!!! (24) When you do a "Down Octave" operation on beamed notes, the note stems grow downward, but the beam stays in the same place. So you get notes with ridiculously long beams. If you flip the note stems twice, the stems go back to normal. (25) Try to beam a triplet consisting of an 8th note and a 16th note which are tied together. The beam appears normally. Click elsewhere in the score. The beam disappears! This is intermittent. (26) Halting (canceling) a print job leaves my printer's "job in progress" light turned on. I don't know if the program or the printer is at fault, but my other programs don't cause this to happen. (27) Saving a score as a Standard MIDI File removes all of the repeat signs. It also loses some time signature changes. (28) Clicking on the Play Section control sometimes produces a burst of audio noise instead of starting playback. Clicking a second time starts playback. (29) The empty measure at the end of the score is impossible to get rid of permanently. Delete it, save the score and reload it, and the empty measure is back. (30) Insert two instrument changes in the same staff. Now insert notes after the second instrument change. The notes you hear during insertion use the first instrument sound. (31) The ARexx sequence of LockGUI followed by UnlockGUI leaves an extra score cursor (vertical bar) on the screen. UpdateDisplay doesn't remove it. Resizing the score window does. (32) Rests are considered of NOTE type when using GetItemAttr. They have Note.Pitch = 0. However, 0 is a legitimate MIDI note pitch, so this is a conflict. * Unintended Behavior (probably) (1) The "undo" command clears all of the modifiers (sharps, triplets, etc.) in the Tool Window. (2) Locate a note in your score that is a natural in the key signature (that is, its scale degree does not have a sharp or flat applied). Use the mouse to drag the note to a sharped/flatted scale degree. This turns on the sharp/flat in the Tool Window, and it stays on! Thus, the next notes you enter will have this sharp/flat applied to them. (3) Apply an "8va up" to a group of notes. Then use the Score Setup Window to increase the score width. The notes spread out, but the "8va up" symbol doesn't line up with the notes any more. Unfortunately, this bug is intermittent. (4) Click the Play Section gadget. Then click the Stop gadget. Then click the Stop gadget again, so the score should start playing from where it left off. It does (sometimes), but now the Play (instead of Play Section) gadget is turned on. I think that "continue from where you left off" should mean that the same play mode should be used. VENDOR SUPPORT DM2 was supposed to ship by April 1993, according to advertisements by Electronic Arts, but it didn't appear until late September. Such delays reflect badly on the vendor, in my opinion. I have had no reason to contact the vendor, but I will be sending them a long bug report. :-( WARRANTY Media is guaranteed for 90 days. After 90 days, it costs $7.50 (US) for each replacement disk. CONCLUSIONS Page 32 of the manual states that "DeluxeMusic gives you complete flexibility in the way you format your musical scores." Unfortunately, this statement is too optimistic. The fact that you cannot raise "8va" symbols and instrument names so they don't obscure your notes is a simple counterexample, and there are dozens more. The sheer number of bugs in this program is very disappointing. Since many of them are intermittent bugs, I fear that they will be hard for the author to track down. I really hope they get fixed though, and soon. Deluxe Music 2.0 is not a professional level notation program. But pro-level programs run $250 or more on other computers. Is Deluxe Music 2.0 worth the price? Yes. You can get some work done with it, and it's rather fun, except for the annoying bugs. I give this program 2.5 out of 5 stars in its current state. It fills a much-needed gap in Amiga software, but not enough to satisfy me. I hope that Electronic Arts will give this program a serious update, or at least a bug fix very soon. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright 1993 by Daniel J. Barrett. This article may be freely distributed as long as it is distributed in its entirety. It may not be included in any commercial publication without the written permission of the author. @endnode *************************************************************************** @node P4-3 "Holonet" @toc "menu" /// Holonet: Inexpensive Internet Access ------------------------------------- *** HOLONET *** HoloNet is an easy to use Internet Access BBS. HoloNet is based on custom BBS software which provides an easy to use menu driven interface. HoloNet is ideal for those looking for an easy way to use Internet services. HoloNet does not currently provide UNIX shell access. Services include: o Convenient Access A local call in 850+ cities nationwide. o Online Publications Include USA Today Decisionline, Newsbytes, Datanet Computer News, Eeeekbits, and Boardwatch Magazine. o USENET Averages over 30MB of USENET news per day. The following news readers are available: NN, TIN, and RN. o Internet E-Mail Members have an Internet E-mail address similar to: member@holonet.net o Internet Access Access to telnet, talk, finger, IRC, and FTP. (note: you must comply with the policies of any networks you use) o Single and Multi-player Games Board, card, fantasy, and puzzle games. o Support for Eudora Excellent off-line Macintosh e-mail reader. o UUCP E-mail and USENET feeds Link LAN E-mail systems and BBSes to the Internet. How to try HoloNet for FREE: Telnet: holonet.net Modem: 510-704-1058 (Berkeley, CA) at 1200, 2400, 9600, or 14400 bps. There are free demo numbers nationwide, for an automated response containg a list of access numbers, send e-mail to access@holonet.mailer.net How to get more information: E-mail: info@holonet.net Modem: 510-704-1058 at 1200, 2400, 9600, or 14400bps Voice: 510-704-0160 Fax: 510-704-8019 HoloNet is a service mark of Information Access Technologies, Inc. Copyright © 1992 Information Access Techologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted with permission. @endnode *************************************************************************** @node P1-9 "Reader Mail" @toc "menu" /// Reader Mail Our readers speak! ----------- #4 24-OCT-1993 22:05:49.65 NEWMAIL From: IN%"mbuford@..." "Matthew W. Buford" To: IN%"ROB_G@delphi.com" CC: Subj: Lemmings 2 article in AR129 Hi there... I was reading AR129 and saw the article about Lemmings 2. Well I don't even own Lemmings 2 but I thought I'd let you know that the that guy's lemmings 2 disk's installation file was deleted because he did not follow the instrucions. Like I said, I don't own lemmings 2, but this is what I understand from reading messages on GEnie... Apparently the idea is you're supposed to drag the Lemmings 2 installation icon to the place you want the game installed on your hard drive, then click on the icon THERE. What the icon does is copy the required files to the current directory (where the icon was started from) and then deletes itself (the install program) from the current dir. Well, he click on the install icon on the original disk, which proceeded to try to copy itself to itself and then delete the install program. Psygnosis has received a LOT of griping because of this problem, but it was not something they did on purpose to keep people from installing the game on multiple systems as William Jones states in his message from FidoNet. @endnode *************************************************************************** @node P4-6 "BIX" @toc "menu" /// BIX - Byte Information Exchange Lots of information! ------------------------------- BIX is the premier online service for computing professionals and enthusiasts. While other online services cater to computer novices, BIX is the place for knowledgeable people to go for answers to tough questions. You're likely to find many others in similar situations who can offer advice, give technical assistance, or point you in the right direction. BIX is divided into areas called conferences, each devoted to a particular area of interest. They range from algorithms to windows, from writers to amiga. Conferences are categorized into groups, usually referred to as exchanges, so that you can browse through whatever groups interest you and see a list of the conferences it contains. These are some of the exchanges on BIX: amiga.exchange - the place for Amiga developers and enthusiasts byte - the full text of each issue of BYTE magazine; source code too e.and.l - Entertainment and Leisure; music, pets, games, more ibm.exchange - everything from OS/2 to PC clones mac.exchange - Mac news, support, software, advice professionals - consultants, engineers, financiers gather here programmers - some of the best brains in the business! wix - the Information Exchange for Windows; Windows Magazine online writers.ex - the professional and amateur writer's exchange *** FULL INTERNET ACCESS! *** BIX also features access to the Internet - you can use FTP to transfer files from sites all over the world, telnet to log on to other online services, schools, and research sites, and send Internet mail to millions of people at services like DELPHI, CompuServe, America Online, MCI Mail, and other sites and services. Services like "WHOIS" and "Finger" are also available, with more features on the way (like USENET newsgroups; our newsreader is currently being tested and should be available very soon!) There are no usage fees or special charges for Internet access - it's all part of your BIX subscription. ============================== Rates and Connect Information: ============================== BIX membership costs $13 per month, plus connect time. There are several different ways to connect: SprintNet* $3/hour evenings/weekends $9/hour weekdays Tymnet:** $3/hour evenings/weekends $9/hour weekdays (SprintNet and Tyment rates shown are for 48 contiguous US states only.) Tymnet Canada: $4/hr eves/wkends $9/hour weekdays Tymnet Hawaii: $10/hr eves/wkends $20/hour weekdays Telnet(via Internet): $1/hour, round the clock Direct dial (Boston): $2/hour, round the clock (up to 9600 bps) * SprintNet daytime hours are from 6am to 7pm, M-F, ET. ** Tymnet daytime hours are from 7am to 6pm, M-F, ET. To find your local SprintNet number, call SprintNet at (800) 877-5045, ext. 5. Internationally, call (404) 859-7700. To find a local Tymnet number, call Tymnet at (800) 937-2862. Internationally, call (703) 442-0145. ================ There is no surcharge for 9600 bps access via either telecom carrier. There is no surcharge for up to 10mb of Internet mail per month (sent and received). There will be a charge of $1 per 100,000 bytes thereafter. ================ 20/20 PLAN OPTION (for USA-48 users only): Volume users can choose the 20/20 Advantage Plan, which is $20 per month and includes the first 20 hours of access by any combination of methods from the contiguous United States. Additional use is $1.80 per hour (additional use for telnet access is $1 an hour). The 20/20 Plan's cost is in addition to the $13 monthly fee. INTERNATIONAL USERS: If you wish to connect internationally through Tymnet or SprintNet, please contact your local PTT. BIX accepts prepaid international calls, direct dial, or telnet connections. In order to make a "collect" (not prepaid) call to BIX, your account must be verified before the charges are accepted. When you complete the registration, we'll mail you a BIX Membership Agreement by regular US Mail. Whe you receive it, sign it and return it to us by mail. When we receive it here, we'll authorize your account to make reverse charged calls. If you want to access BIX right away, contact your local PTT to set up a prepaid account. You'll pay your local carrier for your calls to BIX in advance, so there's no waiting period or verfication needed. Or, connect at BIX via telnet to x25.bix.com. SprintNet international calls from most locations are $24 an hour. Tymnet international charges vary, but are generally between $20-$30 an hour. ==================== Billing Information: ==================== You can charge your monthly BIX membership fees to your Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express card. You may have your company invoiced for one or more BIX memberships with a BIX Corporate Account. To do so, send by US Mail or fax a Purchase Order including a Purchase Order number, invoice address, contact person, a phone number where we can reach the contact person, and the company's fax number. Please direct it to the attention of Connie Lopes, who handles corporate accounts. Our fax number is 617-491-6642. Your corporate account will generally be set up within 24 hours. =================== To Sign Up For BIX: =================== Dial by modem 1-800-695-4882 or 617-491-5410 * (use 8 data bits, no parity, full duplex) Press a few carriage returns until you see the Login:(enter "bix") prompt, then type bix At the Name? prompt, type bix.amrpt * Users already on the internet can telnet to x25.bix.com instead. At the USERNAME: prompt enter bix, then bix.net at the Name? prompt. Once your account is registered, you can connect the same way, except at the Name? prompt you'll enter your BIXname and then your password. Using the above procedure will allow users in the 48 contiguous United States to take advantage of our special "5 for $5" offer. This offer lets you use up to 5 hours of evening/weekend time on BIX during the current calender month (whatever month you sign up in), for $5. Additional time is $1.80 per hour ($1 per hour for telnet). At the end of the calender month, you will be placed into our standard rate plan, at $13 monthly plus connect charges. You may also join the 20/20 Plan at this time. If you have other questions, please contact BIX Member Services at (800) 695-4775; send a fax to BIX at (617) 491-6642; or send Internet mail to info@bix.com. BIX Member Services hours are 12pm - 11pm, Monday through Friday, ET. @endnode *************************************************************************** @node P3 "Dealer Directory" @toc "menu" /// Dealer Directory Serving our readers! ---------------- Almathera Systems Ltd Challenge House 618 Mitcham Rd Croydon, Surrey CR9 3AU England VOICE: (UK) 081 683 6418 Internet: (Sales) almathera@cix.compulink.co.uk (Technical) jralph@cix.compulink.co.uk Amigability Computers P.O. Box 572 Plantsville, CT 06479 VOICE: 203-276-8175 Internet: amiga@phantm.UUCP BIX: jbasile (Send E-mail to subscribe to our mailing list) Apogee Technologies 1851 University Parkway Sarasota, FL 34243 VOICE: 813-355-6121 Portal: Apogee Internet: Apogee@cup.portal.com Armadillo Brothers 753 East 3300 South Salt Lake City, Utah VOICE: 801-484-2791 GEnie: B.GRAY CLICK! Microcomputer Applications B.V.B.A. Boomsesteenweg 468 B-2610 Wilrijk - Antwerpen Belgium - Europe VOICE: 03 / 828.18.15 FAX: 03 / 828.67.36 USENET: vanhoutv@click.augfl.be FIDO: 2:292/603.9 AmigaNet: 39:120/102.9 Computers International, Inc. 5415 Hixson Pike Chattanooga, TN 37343 VOICE: 615-843-0630 DataKompaniet ANS Pb 3187 Munkvoll N-7002 Trondheim Norway - Europe VOICE/FAX: 72 555 149 Internet: torrunes@idt.unit.no Digital Arts 122 West 6th Street Bloomington, IN 47404 VOICE: (812)330-0124 FAX: (812)330-0126 BIX: msears Finetastic Computers 721 Washington Street Norwood, MA 02062 VOICE: 617-762-4166 BBS: 617-769-3172 Fido: 1:101/322 Portal: FinetasticComputers Internet: FinetasticComputers@cup.portal.com HT Electronics 275 North Mathilda Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94086 VOICE: 408-737-0900 FAX: 408-245-3109 Portal: HT Electronics Internet: HT Electronics@cup.portal.com Industrial Video, Inc. 1601 North Ridge Rd. Lorain, OH 44055 VOICE: 800-362-6150 216-233-4000 Internet: af741@cleveland.freenet.edu Contact: John Gray MicroSearch 9000 US 59 South, Suite 330 Houston, Texas VOICE: 713-988-2818 FAX: 713-995-4994 Mr. Hardware Computers P.O. Box 148 59 Storey Ave. Central Islip, NY 11722 VOICE: 516-234-8110 FAX: 516-234-8110 A.M.U.G. BBS: 516-234-6046 MusicMart: Media Sound & Vision 71 Wellington Road London, Ontario, Canada VOICE: 519-434-4162 FAX: 519-663-8074 BBS: 519-457-2986 FIDO: 1:221/125 AmigaNet: 40:550/1 MaxNet: 90:204/1 iNET: koops@gaul.csd.uwo.ca PSI Animations 17924 SW Pilkington Road Lake Oswego, OR 97035 VOICE: 503-624-8185 Internet: PSIANIM@agora.rain.com Software Plus Chicago 3100 W Peterson Avenue Chicago, Illinois VOICE: 312-338-6100 (Dealers: To have your name added, please send Email!) @endnode ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ /// AR Confidential We heard it through the grapevine! --------------- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @node P1-10 "Humor Department" @toc "menu" /// The Humor Department Jokes, Quotes, Insults, Shameless Plugs -------------------- Q: Whaddaya get when you cross Lee Iacocca and Dracula??? A: An Auto-exec bat! @endnode @node P2-3 "In Closing" @toc "menu" /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Amiga Report International Online Magazine October 29, 1993 * YOUR INDEPENDENT NEWS SOURCE * No. 1.31 Copyright © 1993 SkyNet Publications ~ All Rights Reserved /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Views, Opinions and Articles presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors and staff of Amiga Report International Online Magazine or of STR Publications. Permission to reprint articles is hereby granted, unless otherwise noted. Reprints must, without exception, include the name of the publication, date, issue number and the author's name. Amiga Report and/or portions therein may not be edited in any way without prior written per- mission. However, translation into a language other than English is accept- ble, provided the original meaning is not altered. Amiga Report may be dis- tributed on privately owned not-for-profit bulletin board systems (fees to cover cost of operation are acceptable), and major online services such as (but not limited to) Delphi and Portal. Distribution on public domain disks is acceptable provided proceeds are only to cover the cost of the disk (e.g. no more than $5 US). Distribution on for-profit magazine cover disks requires written permission from the editor or publisher. Amiga Report is a not-for-profit publication. Amiga Report, at the time of pub- ication, is believed reasonably accurate. Amiga Report, its staff and con- ributors are not and cannot be held responsible for the use or misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained there from. Amiga Report is not affiliated with Commodore-Amiga, Inc., Commodore Business Machines, Ltd., or any other Amiga publication in any way. All items quoted in whole or in part are done so under the Fair Use Provision of the Copy- right Laws of the United States Penal Code. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Only * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * _ _ __ ___ _ * * /\\ |\\ /| || // \ /\\ * * / \\ | \\ /|| ||(< __ / \\ * * /--- \\| \X || || \\_||/--- \\ * * /______________________________\\ * * / \\ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Makes it possible!! @endnode @node "menu" "Amiga Report Main Menu" @toc "menu" @{" Columns and Features " link P1} News, Reviews, and More! @{" About AMIGA REPORT " link P2} Staff, Copyright information @{" Dealer Directory " link P3} Amiga Dealer Addresses and Numbers @{" Commercial Online Services " link P4} Sign-Up Information @{" FTP Announcements " link P5} New Files Available for FTP @{" AR Distribution Sites " link P2-1} Where to get AMIGA REPORT /// 10/29/93 Amiga Report 1.31 "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information" -------------------------- · The Editor's Desk · CPU Status Report · New Products · FTP Announcements · Dealer Directory · Usenet Reviews · The Humor Department · Reader Mail · AR Online » Deluxe Music 2.0 Reviewed « » Delphi Upload Contest « » SAS/C v6.5 Features List « /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Amiga Report International Online Magazine "Your Weekly Source for Amiga Information" » FEATURING WEEKLY « Accurate UP-TO-DATE News and Information Current Events, Original Articles, Tips, Rumors, and Information Hardware · Software · Corporate · R & D · Imports /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// / @{" PORTAL " link P4-2} · @{" FIDO " link P2-1} · @{" INTERNET " link P4-5} · @{" BIX " link P4-6} / /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// @endnode @node P1 "Columns and Features" @toc "menu" @{" From the Editor's Desk " link P1-1} Saying it like it is! @{" CPU Status Report " link P1-2} Computer Products Update @{" Upload Contest! " link P1-3} Delphi's Amiga Upload Contest '93 @{" Introduction to DCron " link P1-4} A nice system utility @{" Amiga Online Reference Manual " link P1-5} An AG based online help system @{" Online Weekly " link P1-6} The lines are buzzing! @{" UseNet Repost " link P1-7} SAS/C v6.50 feature list @{" UseNet Review " link P1-8} Deluxe Music 2.0 @{" Reader Mail " link P1-9} Our readers speak! @{" The Humor Department " link P1-10} It's Halloween! @endnode @node P2 "About Amiga Report" @toc "menu" @{" For Starters " link P2-1} Where to get AMIGA REPORT @{" AR Staff " link P2-2} The Editors, and Contributers @{" In Closing " link P2-3} Copyright Information @endnode @node P4 "Commercial Online Services" @toc "menu" @{" Portal " link P4-2} A great place for Amiga users... @{" Holonet " link P4-3} Inexpensive Internet Access @{" InterNet " link P4-5} Subscribe to the AR Mailing List @{" BIX " link P4-6} For Serious Programmers and Developers @endnode @node P5 "Files Available for FTP" @toc "menu" @{" FindIt v1.1 " link P5-1} A MUI based disk search utility @{" SatTrack v3.0 " link P5-2} A satellite tracking utility @{" SynWorks v2.1 " link P5-3} An enviroment for neural networks @{" Amiga Wacom Driver v1.0 " link P5-4} Wacom digitizer tablet driver @{" Zilog v.99b " link P5-5} Z80 Emulator for the 68000 @endnode ----------------------------------------- @node P2-1-1 "NOVA" @toc "menu" * NOVA BBS * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site * Running Starnet BBS * Wayne Stonecipher, Sysop FidoNet 1:362/508 An Amiga Software Distribution Site (ADS) 615-472-9748 USR DS 16.8 24hrs - 7 days Cleveland, Tennessee @endnode ------------------------------------------ @node P2-1-2 "In The MeanTime" @toc "menu" * IN THE MEANTIME BBS * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site * Running AXShell * Robert Niles, Sysop rniles@imtired.itm.com 509-966-3828 Supra V.32bis 24hrs - 7 days Yakima, Washington ******* Notice ******* After 13 September 1993, In The MeanTime will no longer be on FidoNet, thus we will no longer be accepting File REQuests (FREQs). We WILL be still accepting calls and will have the latest edition of Amiga Report online. Downloads to first time callers are still accepted. For the west coast call @{"Cloud's Corner" link P2-1-3} to FREQ the latest edition of Amiga Report. Those who call for the latest edition of Amiga Report, and who do not with to establish an account, log in as guest with the password of "guest". At the prompt type "ARMAG" (without the quotes). @endnode ------------------------------------------ @node P2-1-3 "Cloud's Corner" @toc "menu" * CLOUD'S CORNER BBS * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site Starnet/MebbsNet Support Site West Coast USA * Running Starnet BBS * Larry Cloud, Sysop FidoNet: 1:350/30 Internet: larryc@hebron.connected.com 206-377-4290 USR HST DS 24hrs - 7 days Bremerton, Washington New users can call and get ANY copy of Amiga Report. These are considered "free" downloads, they do not count against any file ratio. The latest issue of Amiga Reports can be Freq'ed (FileREQusted) from here as "AR.LHA", as "AR" or as ARxxx.LHA where xxx is the issue number. For users interested in reading AR, but who do not have access to AmigaGuide, you can freq ARBUL and get the AR in bulletin form. This service is provided for persons who do not have Amigaguide (such as IBM users). Please note that any pictures distributed with the "regular" Amiga Reports archive will NOT be sent with this freq. This file is not available for dial-in users, but you can read bulletin #22 with your capture buffer open and get the same file. @endnode ------------------------------------------ @node P2-1-4 "Biosmatica" @toc "menu" * BIOSMATICA BBS * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- Portugal * Running Excelsior/Trapdoor/UUCP * Celso Martinho, Sysop FidoNet 2:361/9 +351-34-382320 V.32bis 24hrs - 7 days @endnode ------------------------------------------ @node P2-1-5 "Amiga Junction 9" @toc "menu" * AMIGA JUNCTION 9 * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- United Kingdom * Running DLG Professional * Stephen Anderson, Sysop Internet: user_name@junct9.royle.org Line 1 +44 (0)372 271000 14400 V.32bis/HST Fido 2:253/510 Line 2 +44 (0)372 278000 14400 V.32bis only Fido 2:253/520 Line 3 +44 (0)372 279000 2400 V.42bis/MNP Fido 2:253/530 Sysop Email: sysadmin@junct9.royle.org @endnode ------------------------------------------ @node P2-1-6 "BitStream BBS" @toc "menu" * BITSTREAM BBS * The BBS of the Nelson (NZ) Amiga Users Group Official Amiga Report Distribution Site * Running Xenolink 1.0 Z.3 * Glen Roberts, Sysop FidoNet 3:771/850 +64 3 5485321 Supra V.32bis 24hrs - 7 days Nelson, New Zealand @endnode ------------------------------------------- @node P2-1-7 "Realm of Twilight" @toc "menu" * REALM OF TWILIGHT BBS * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- Canada * Running Excelsior! BBS * Thorsten Schiller, Sysop Usenet: realm.tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca UUCP: ...!uunet.ca!tdkcs!realm FIDO: 1:221/202 Fish: 33:33/8 24hrs - 7 days 519-748-9365 (2400 baud) 519-748-9026 (v.32bis) Ontario, Canada Hardware: Amiga 3000, 105 Meg Quantum, 213 Meg Maxtor, 5 megs RAM @endnode ------------------------------------------- @node P2-1-8 "Metnet Triangle" @toc "menu" METNET TRIANGLE SYSTEM Official Amiga Report Distribution Site UK Support for Mebbsnet * Running Mebbsnet and Starnet 1.02a * Jon Witty, Sysop FIDO: 2:252/129.0 24 hrs - 7 days Line 1: 44-482-473871 16.8 DS HST Lines 2-7: 44-482-442251 2400 (6 lines) Line 8: 44-482-491744 2400 Line 9: 44-482-449028 2400 Voice helpline 44-482-491752 (anytime) Fully animated menus + normal menu sets. 500 megs HD - Usual software/messages Most doors online - Many Sigs - AMIGA AND PC SUPPORT Very active userbase and busy conference Precious days and MUD online. AMUL support site. @endnode ------------------------------------------- @node P2-1-9 "Omaha Amiganet" @toc "menu" * OMAHA AMIGANET * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site * Running DLG Professional * Andy Wasserman, Sysop 24 hrs - 7 days FidoNet: 1:285/11 AmigaNet: 40:200/10 Line 1: 402-333-5110 V.32bis Line 2: 402-691-0104 USR DS Omaha, Nebraska @endnode ------------------------------------------ @node P2-1-10 "Amiga-Night-System" @toc "menu" * AMIGA-NIGHT-SYSTEM * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site - Finland * Running DLG Professional * Janne Saarme, Sysop 24 hrs - 7 days InterNet: luumu@fenix.pp.fi FidoNet: 2:220/550.0 +358-0-675840 V.32bis Helsinki, Finland @endnode ------------------------------------------ @node P2-1-11 "Ramses Amiga Flying" @toc "menu" * RAMSES THE AMIGA FLYING * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- France * Running DLG Professional * Eric Delord, Sysop Philippe Brand, Co-Sysop Stephane Legrand, Co-Sysop Internet: user.name@ramses.gna.org Fidonet: 2:320/104 +33-1-60037015 USR DS 16.8 +33-1-60037713 V.32bis +33-1-60037716 1200-2400 Ramses The Amiga Flying BBS is an Amiga-dedicated BBS running DLG-Pro on a Amiga 3000, 16MB RAM, 2GB Disk space, 3 lines. We keep a dayly Aminet site mirroring, NetBSD-Amiga complete mirror site from ftp.eunet.ch (main site), Amiga Report, GNU Amiga, Ramses is the SAN/ADS/Amiganet French coordinator. @endnode ------------------------------------------ @node P2-1-50 "Freeland Mainframe" @toc "menu" * FREELAND MAINFRAME * Offical Amiga Report Distribution Site * Running DLG Progessional * John Freeland, SysOp 206-438-1670 Supra 2400zi 206-438-2273 Telebit WorldBlazer(v.32bis) 206-456-6013 Supra v.32bis 24hrs - 7 days Internet - freemf.eskimo.com Olympia, Washington @endnode ------------------------------------------ @node P2-1-51 "LAHO" @toc "menu" * LAHO BBS * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- Finland * Running MBBS * Lenni Uitti, SysOp Tero Manninen, SysOp (PC-areas) Juha Makinen, SysOp (Amiga-areas) +358-64-414 1516, V.32bis/HST +358-64-414 0400, V.32bis/HST +358-64-414 6800, V.32/HST +358-64-423 1300, V.32 MNP Seinajoki, Finland Our machine is a 386/33 with 20MB of memory, 1GB harddisk and a CD-ROM drive. The BBS software is a Norwegian origin MBBS running in a DesqView windows. We have over 7000 files online (both for the Amiga and PC) + 650MB stuff on the Aminet CD-ROM disk. Every user has an access to download filelist (LAHOFIL.ZIP), list of Finnish 24-hour BBS's (BBSLIST.ZIP or BBSLIST.LHA) and every issue of the Amiga Report Magazine (AR101.LHA-AR1??.LHA) even on their first call. The system has been running since 1989 and is sponsored by the local telephone company, Vaasan Ladnin Puhelin Oy. @endnode ------------------------------------------ @node P2-1-52 "Falling BBS" @toc "menu" * FALLING BBS * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- Norway * Running ABBS * Christopher Naas, Sysop +47 69 256117 V.32bis 24hrs - 7 days EMail: naasc@cnaas.adsp.sub.org @endnode ------------------------------------------ @node P2-1-53 "Command Line BBS" @toc "menu" * COMMAND LINE BBS * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- Canada Canada's Amiga Graphics & Animation Source * Running AmiExpress BBS * Nick Poliwko, Sysop 416-533-8321 V.32 24hrs - 7 days Toronto, Canada @endnode ------------------------------------------- @node P2-1-54 "Rendezvous BBS" @toc "menu" * RENDEZVOUS BBS * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site - New Zealand New Zealand Excelsior! BBS Support Site * Running Excelsior! Professional BBS * David Dustin, Sysop Internet: postmaster@eclipse.acme.gen.nz +64 6 3566375 Supra V.32bis 24hrs - 7 days Palmerston North, New Zealand @endnode ------------------------------------------- @node P2-1-55 "Leguans Byte Channel" @toc "menu" * LEGUANS BYTE CHANNEL * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- Germany * Running EazyBBS V2.11 * Andreas Geist, Sysop Usenet: andreas@lbcmbx.in-berlin.de 24 hrs - 7 days Line 1: 49-30-8110060 USR DS 16.8 Line 2: 49-30-8122442 USR DS 16.8 Login as User: "amiga", Passwd: "report" @endnode ------------------------------------------- @node P2-1-56 "Stingray Database BBS" @toc "menu" * STINGRAY DATABASE * Official Amiga Report Distribution Site -- Germany * Running FastCall * Bernd Mienert, Sysop EMail: sysop@sting-db.zer.sub.org.dbp.de +49 208 496807 HST-Dual 24hrs - 7 days Muelheim/Ruhr, Germany @endnode --------------------------------------------