@database "ar413.guide"
@Node MAIN "Amiga Report Online Magazine #4.13 -- October 18, 1996"
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  October 18, 1996            @{" Turn the Page " link MENU}             Issue No. 4.13
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Subject: AR Reader Mail Hi- This is a response to Nick Christie's response to my enumeration of the Ubenefits of a Unix shell account. First off, most of Christie's points I actually agree with. I did not mean to say that the Unix shell account is the be-all and end-all of internet access. I merely meant to point out that the shell account does have its uses and advantages, and that it should not a priori be neglected when considering an internet account. Indeed, one of my points, that a shell account is infinitely easier to get going than a PPP account, is probably obselete now with Miami out there. I haven't tried Miami myself, but everything I've heard about it suggests that setting up a PPP account with it is really not a whole lot harder than running a normal terminal program. I stand by my other points, however, with the understanding that a Unix shell account cannot do the multithreading or graphics than a PPP account can do. There is one point I need to address specifically, though, for Christie's response indicated a lack of understanding of my original point. Christie wrote: > As for the behaviour of Lynx, I do not believe it retrieves only one > screen- full of text at a time. This is correct -- Lynx retrieves the whole document at once. But that wasn't my point. My point was, if you are on a shell account, the whole document doesn't have to go over the modem to your computer. Consider: --------- --------- | Your | | Unix | | Rest | Amiga |--modem link--| Shell |---fast ethernet connection---| of | | | Host | | Internet --------- --------- If you are cruising the web with Lynx on a Unix shell account, when you get to a page the whole thing is transferred to the host on which you have your shell account. Only the screen you are looking at is transferred over the modem down to your Amiga -- not because that's all that Lynx transfers, but because Lynx is running on the Unix host. The Unix host thinks your Amiga is just a terminal, and sends it only what the terminal should see -- i.e. whatever is displayed on the screen. And that's all that has to go over the modem. On the other hand, if you have a PPP account, the whole document is transferred over the modem to your Amiga. Your web browser, whatever it is, is running on the Amiga, so that's where the document goes. Because the modem link will tend to be slower than the host's link to the rest of the internet, the less you send over the modem the faster and more responsive things will be. It's not a big deal, really, I just wanted to make sure that this point was clear. All I was trying to say with the original letter was that if you are shopping for internet access, ask yourself what you really want. If what you really want is an E-mail account, and perhaps the ability to cruise the web to get textual information off of it, then a shell account may actually serve you better than a PPP account. Of course there are things a PPP account can do which a shell account cannot. That's all. -Rob --- --- --- --- --- From: ssolie@freenet.calgary.ab.ca (Steven M. Solie) Subject: Fourth Level Developments Law Suite I'm sorry to bother you but please hear me out. I wasn't sure who to tell this to so I thought I'd tell a "reporter". Over the last couple of months or so, many messages have been passed to FLD about Ami File-safe V3.0 availability. Apparently, a lot of people have sunk money into AFS V3.0 since their valentines special. Many of those people have seeked legal aid and have found dead ends because FLD is overseas. I have written a couple of E-mail messages to FLD about the situation and have heard nothing in response. What I think we all want to know is, "Is FLD bankrupt or not?" Why would a company which advertises excellent support be treating its customers like this? Have certain hostile users, including myself apparently, been singled out and are on the bad list at FLD? Could you please look into the situation and write a short report for the next "Amiga Report"? Many loyal Amigans would be grateful to at least hear a peep. I think they might write back to you considering your place in the Amiga community (great work by the way). Very concerned, --Steven Solie We'll look into this and report in an upcoming issue. Meanwhile, if other readers have stories, good or bad, to share about FLD, we'd like to hear about it. -Jason @endnode @node OPINION1 "E-Cash and Amiga" @toc OPINION =========================================================================== E-Cash and Amiga Jonathan Gapen innuendo@execpc.com =========================================================================== I heartily agree that a good "electronic cash" system could do wonders for the Amiga market, but I believe that the shareware sector would benefit much more than software companies and retailers. As with most Amiga users, I think, I use quite a number of high-quality shareware programs, but without paying the fee. Of course I mean to reg= ister "some day," but some day always seems a few weeks in the future. Why? In part because of limited funds, I have to wait to earn the money before I= can spend it. However, the larger barrier is the effort involved, especially for authors in other countries. Banks charge large fees for cashing personl checks from other countries, so you have to pay for a wire transfer, or go to the US Postal Service to buy a money order. (For ShapeShifter, I simply wrapped cash in stiff cardboard, to avoid the bother.) Recently, I purchased a license for Holger Kruse's excellent Miami. While I would have bought it anyway, the on-line registration with First Virtual made the whole process painless. So painless, in fact, that I purchased a Magic User Interface key file the next day, through SASG's on-line order WWW page. With a number of the proposed "e-cash" standards, this process would get even easier, since there would be no need to go through First Virtual, or waiting for a charge verification on a credit account. Instead, you would simply "spend" the e-cash issued to you by First Virtual, or your bank. It's secure, no one else can spend it but you, and attempting to spend it twice alerts the bank to e-cash fraud. It's as fast as handing over paper bank notes. Retailers and software companies may benefit from e-cash, but to be successful, they already need to accept payment by credit card. They don't suffer from inconvenient transfer of money now, so making that process simpler won't give them the same benefits as the shareware authors of the world. @endnode @node OPINION2 "E-Cash On The Net" @toc OPINION =========================================================================== E-Cash On The Net Maximo Lachman di540@freenet.carleton.ca =========================================================================== There`s only 1 system that works - Minitel. That`s since the French PTT had their own bank, as well as phone system. They are completely self-contained. Any other solution needs too much co-ordination between disparate entities, which means either poor security or high transaction costs. What would work better is a worldwide COD system, similar to what UPS uses in the US. They charge $5 per transaction, which isn`t bad since they ship for less than the Post Office. Although UPS does ship worldwide, they won`t send COD,at least for now. Perhaps they need to team up with American Express to handle the foreign exchange aspect. @endnode @node NEWS1 "Mayland V1.0" @toc NEWS TITLE Mayland VERSION 1.0 AUTHOR Name : Allan Odgaard Snail : Dagmarsgade 36, DK-2200 Copenhagen. Email : Duff@DK-Online.DK WWW : http://WWW2.DK-Online.DK/Users/Allan_Odgaard/ DESCRIPTION Mayland is a very powerful and flexible calender and reminder program. FEATURES o Execute a command and/or show a message! Not only at the exact event time, but also some minutes/hours/days before and after. o Come Again feature of message requester. o Drag'n'Drop events to quickly reschedule. o Year/Month/Day Calculations can be inserted in the message text, e.g., "I'm %y-1976 years old!" will always show my correct age. o Overview containing link buttons to the previous and next months. o Holidays can be defined and are uniquely displayed on the calendar. o ARexx control. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS MUI 3.1+ Kickstart 39+ MC68020 or better. AVAILABILITY AmiNet:Util/Time/Mayland.LhA PRICE The registration fee is 120DKK, US$20, 35DM or =A315. DISTRIBUTABILITY It is *NOT* to be distributed on magazine coverdisks or similar without the owner's explicit written consent. @endnode @node NEWS2 "AQCVid" @toc NEWS For immediate press release: AQCVid: Omnilink Corp.'s NEW Amiga interface for use with the QuickCam Omnilink Corporation is pleased and proud to announce their first foray into Amiga(TM) development with the AQCVid(TM). A unique hardware and software solution which allows Amiga users to enjoy the benefits of the popular PC QuickCam(TM). For those of you who are not familiar with the hardware specifications of the QuickCam, here are a few: * Up to 320x240 pixel capture. * 4-bit grey scale (16 shades of grey) and 6-bit grey scale (64 shades of grey). * Frame rates up to 24 fps. * Draws less than 350 milliwatts of current. * Field of view is approximately 65 degrees (equivalent to a 38mm lens on a 35mm camera). * Focus is fixed from 18 inches to infinity. * Lens is f1.9. A more recent QuickCam model has been introduced, which has 640x480 as one of its resolutions, with 24bit colour. AQCVid support is tentatively planned for this model, adding an even greater quality to an already impressive roster of applications. AQCVid is only for use with the PC/Windows version of the greyscale QuickCam. This development will allow all Amiga users a new field of applications for both amateur and professional use. Here are some of the possible applications: 1. Photography in several file formats (JPEG, IFF, Datatypes, etc.) for desktop publishing, games, multi-media, Internet(homepages, etc.), image processing, family digital picture albums, conferencing, etc. 2. ANIM and CDXL format animations (from live action) for use in games, multi-media, Internet(homepages(AVI, MPEG), etc.), video (image processing), family digital video albums, conferencing, etc. 3. Whatever else 3rd party developers and Amiga users can dream up. The AQCVid is designed to work with all ECS/AGA Amigas, and includes CyberGraphX support. File formats currently include IFF, ANIM5, and ANIM7. CDXL (animation w/sound) and JPEG is tentatively planned for a future release. Users also have the option of time lapse with exposure control. Internet users have an overwrite previous file function, useful for realtime 'net video updates. An ARexx Commodity is also supplied to allow for control of the QuickCam by other external applications. 16bit audio sampling/playback support is also tentatively planned for 16 bit Amiga audio expansion cards. Also planned is a ImageFX(tm) module that will allow direct control of the QuickCam by ImageFX. As new Amiga models come into being, Omnilink is committed to maintain AQCVid compatibility with these hardware advancements. We hope this will show the Amiga community and the personal computing community of the world, Omnilink Corporation's dedication to the best personal computer on the planet, the AMIGA. Developers who would be interested in supporting the AQCVid for their software and hardware Amiga applications, as well as interested Amiga users, may contact us through our Omnilink homepage at "http://www.portal.com/~omnilink" (SEE IMPORTANT NOTE BELOW). Our homepage may also be accessed thru "http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html". IMPORTANT NOTE: --------------- After 9/30/96 our new WWW location will be http://www.olnk.com our E-MAIL will be support@olnk.com for support and sales@olnk.com for sales. More information about the QuickCam and other Connectix products, can be found in the Connectix home page at "http://www.connectix.com". QuickCam is a registered trademark of Connectix. AQCVid is a registered trademark of Omnilink Corporation. Amiga is a registered trademark of VIScorp. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AQCVid Technical Information Release date: November 1996 Price: $59.95 Introductory offer upon release QuickCam is NOT included. The AQCVid is an adapter that plugs into your parallel port. All power is supplied by the Amiga. The QuickCam connects to the AQCVid adapter. There are NO modifications needed to be done to your Amiga or your QuickCam. Minimum Requierments: Amiga 500/600/1200/2000/3000(T)/4000(T) Harddrive Processor: 68000 Ram: 1 Meg Chip Chipset: ECS O.S.: 3.1 Connectix Gray Scale QuickCam, IBM-PC version Recommended: Processor: 68020 or better Ram: 2 Meg Chip 4 Meg Fast Chipset: AGA or graphics card with Workbench emulation Software capabilities: Colors: 16 - ECS/AGA or graphics card with Workbench emulation 64 - AGA or graphics card with Workbench emulation Maximum Resolutions: Stills: 323 x 200 161 x 122 80 x 61 Animations: Anim Op 5 and Anim Op 7W compression: 312 x 200 160 x 122 80 x 61 Anim Op 7L compression: 256 x 200 160 x 122 64 x 61 Image exposure time: QuickCam timing: 1/1000 seconds to 2 seconds Software timing: 1/60 seconds to infinity Save Formats: IFF-ILBM IFF-ANIM Op5 Byte IFF-ANIM Op7 Word IFF_ANIM Op7 Long @endnode @node NEWS3 "Amiga Imagine" @toc NEWS [From the Imagine Mailing List] To all AMIGA users and interested parties here on the IML As you are all aware, Impulse is at a cross-roads in its development of Imagine. Due to the demands of our users, Impulse is investing all of its resources in the on-going development of Imagine for Windows. However, as I have mentioned before, this leaves little for the improvement and upgrade of the Amiga version of our software. Furthermore, the uncertainty of the hardware itself causes us concern over the long term viability of this market. That said, I do not want to abandon those users who have for so many years supported my company and our products. If I can determine that sufficient demand still exists for this effort, I will try to find a way support that group. None the less, I am going to put the ball in your court. You will have the opportunity to "determine the fate" of Amiga Imagine. I have requested that a company named Intellipoint Corporation undertake a market study of the Amiga market. Mr. Michael Nixon is a user of the Imagine product and will oversee the development of this study. My goal will be to determine from this market study how Impulse can meet the needs of its Amiga users. Your response will determine how we proceed from this point forward in this market. If you are a registered user of Imagine, you will be contacted by Intellipoint Corporation and asked to fill out a questionnaire on your use, upgrade desires and wish list for Imagine. If you are not a registered user, I would suggest you email Mr. Nixon at MikeNixon@gnn.com to participate in this study. If you have any questions about this study, please contact Mr. Nixon as Impulse would like to remain impartial during this process. We do, however, look forward to the favorable results. As you can see, we are still interested in your business. Impulse is striving to be the company that earns your respect. We can only earn that respect by delivering products you desire and are willing to pay for. I encourage you to participate in the study and speak your mind. You decide. This is very important for the direction that we take and your input is vital. Sincerely Michael C. Halvorson President, Impulse, Inc. October 3rd 1996 @endnode @node NEWS4 "MathScript V3.0" @toc NEWS TITLE MathScript VERSION 3.0 AUTHOR Simon Ihmig Beim Rauhen Hause 30 22111 Hamburg GERMANY email: Ihmig@tu-harburg.d400.de DESCRIPTION This program is a mathematical equation editor. Like a word processor that lets you write text, MathScript is used to write mathematical formulas. It offers you a variety of mathematical and physical symbols and lots of objects like fractions, roots, brackets and matrices to compose formulas, which can then be imported into word processors or DTP applications to produce scientific documents. Here is an overview of the features of MathScript V3.0: * WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) While you edit your formula it is displayed in its final look. Editing is done like a word processor, use the keyboard to enter characters, move the cursor with the cursor keys or the mouse, mark blocks by dragging the mouse... * MUI Uses MUI 3.x for its nice font-sensitive resizeable and customizable GUI. * Symbols, Objects Extensive amount of symbols and objects, accessable with the keyboard and/or popup menus * PostScript Fonts Uses industry-standard scalable PostScript Type1 or Type3 fonts. You can choose different fonts for the following types of characters: variable, function, text, greek, symbol, number and 2 special purpose fonts. * AutoFormat MathScript automatically formats your input, i.e. it uses the appropriate font for each character. So called "styles" affect the way this is being done. The following styles exist: Math, Variable, Function, Greek, Text, Extra1, Extra2. * Function Recognition MathScript "knows" the most common function names (like sin) and is able to automatically apply the function font to it * Export Save formulas as EPS (PostScript), IFF or TIFF files * Import Files produced by the export function can be loaded back again * ARexx It has an ARexx port with lots of commands * Clipboard Support the system clipboard for cut, copy and paste operations * Function Keys ARexx scripts can be assigned to function keys * Online Help It offers extensive online help in four different ways: - Menu Help: AmigaGuide help for menu items - Gadget Help: AmigaGuide help for gadgets - Bubble Help: Help bubbles for gadgets - Quick Help: Status bar help for gadgets and popup menu items * Toolbar Access the most used functions with nice little image buttons * Locale Supports locale.library (OS 2.1+) for localized GUI text * Registration Registering is easily done with the little Registration Tool SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS AmigaOS 2.04 MUI 3.1 2 MB RAM AVAILABILITY every Aminet site, directory misc/math, e.g. ftp://ftp.wustl.edu/pub/aminet/misc/math/MathScript30.lha DISTRIBUTABILITY freely distributable, but shareware Copyright ) Simon Ihmig 1994-96 PRICE Shareware fee of 20$ or 30DM @endnode @node NEWS5 "R.A.M. Magazine" @toc NEWS R.A.M Magazine ARTbas Editions 31160 ARBAS - FRANCE Tel : (+33) 61 90 49 00 Fax : (+33) 61 90 23 52 E-Mail : jchesnot@pratique.fr R.A.M. is a French magazine dedicated to the Amiga, published twice a month. Until now it was only available by subscription, but from the 1st of September it'll be sold by newsagents (30000 copies in 12000 stockists). Our main aim being the news forefront, we would be grateful if you could keep us informed about your new projetcs and products. You can send us your press releases, or even your software or hardware products for testing. They will, of course, be sent back to you after testing. Don't hesitate to contact us for any complementary information, either by phone, fax or email. Yours faithfully, The editors @endnode @node NEWS6 "IPISA '96" @toc NEWS IPISA '96 Incontro dei Programmatori Italiani per lo Sviluppo su Amiga Sixth Edition Saturday, November 30, 1996 Milano, Italy The Italian Amiga community will meet on November 30th, 1996, at the sixth annual IPISA conference. IPISA stands for "Incontro dei Programmatori Italiani per lo Sviluppo su Amiga" (which means Italian Programmers' Meeting for Amiga Development). IPISA is an open meeting (advance registration is required for a small fee) focussing on non-commercial products, projects and ideas, and on the distribution of high-quality information and advanced software tools. IPISA'96 will be held Saturday November 30, 1996, in the Conference Hall of the Centro Universitario ISU (via Valvassori Peroni 21, in Milan), from 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM. A complete lunch will be served in the ISU refectory. Here is a tentative list of the talks and papers (unless otherwise specified they are in Italian). - Michele Console Battilana (CLOANTO Italia) Perpectives in the personal computing world - Paolo Canali Trends in digital technologies - Rocco Coluccelli MOOS: advanced applications control in ARexx - Luca Danelon (Interactive) The preparation of an Amiga CD-ROM - Vittorio Ferrari VEGA: a graphic-adventure engine - Haage & Partner PowerPC: Architecture and programming (English) - Francesco Leonardi, Giuliano Pochini VOXEL Space - Fabio Rotondo DOOPSI: an authoring system for graphic adventures Attendants will receive the Conference Proceedings, consisting of professionally printed documentation and the IPISA'96 CD ROM. Additional goodies could be donated by the intervening companies. The CD-ROM will contain talks-related software, PD and shareware software and demo versions of commercial programs. The following companies have been invited: - Amiga Technologies GmbH - Haage & Partner - Motorola - PIOS Computer AG - Phase 5 - Stefan Ossowski's Schatzthruhe - VISCorp but until today we are able to the confirm only the presence of Haage & Partner, the developers of Storm C. The other companies couldn't either confirm or deny their presence. The fees are: - Meeting admission (including lunch): ............................. US$ 40 - Conference Proceedings for non-participants (sent by air mail): .. US$ 40 The following special arrangements for an Hotel accomodation (bed & breakfast) for Friday 29 and/or Saturday 30 are available: Approx. prices for 1 night Room | Prices US$ | Prices DM ------------------------------------ single | 42 | 68 double | 28 | 45 triple | 25 | 40 quadruple | 23 | 37 Note well: to join the meeting, non-italian people need to book before November, 1 1996. For details on hotel payments and Conference fees, please send an e-mail to: Sergio_Ruocco@rcm.dsi.unimi.it Further informations can be found on the IPISA Home Page at the following URL: http://www.bhuman.it/ipisa/index_eng.html @endnode @node NEWS7 "SysPic V4.00" @toc NEWS TITLE SysPic VERSION 4.00 AUTHOR Grzegorz Calkowski / The Beet Research Rzedowice ul.Dobrodzienska 8 42-780 Dobrodzien POLAND E-Mail: calkowsk@usctoux1.cto.us.edu.pl unclemat@irc.pl DESCRIPTION New version of the well-known bootpic program. The 4.00 introduces many new features. Just take a look what SysPic can do. SysPic 4.00 * - a star feature :-) o is small & VERY fast! (picture decompression routines written in optimized assembly) o shows IFF-ILBM pictures of any size and resolution, supports AGA modes (also HAM8) * has a flexible script-like language which allows you to display configurable text with hard/soft info, also with typewritter and shadow effects * can display a realtime digital clock on the displayed picture * can fade-in picture and fade-out it to Workbench (with selectable rate) - this works in asynchronous manner (i.e no delays) - mouse pointer is also faded * can play IFF-8SVX samples or Protracker modules with volume slide synchronized to fade-out o centers picture both horizontally & *vertically* o centers the mouse pointer when exits * has a very powerful random selector - an option assures that a picture won't show twice until all pictures are shown o forces Workbench to open behind the displayed picture so it can be closed after whole Workbench initialization, also works with the Directory Opus 5, the Workbench replacement o has no problems with MCP 'PubModes' feature * is iprefs-jump proof - sets overscan prefs before IPrefs will do it! o picture can be displayed in a desired mode or just promoted to specific monitor o optionally blanks the pointer sprite so you won't see it when the Workbench screen opens (it would look annoying) * picture is automatically closed when something goes wrong with booting - when an requester pops up on Workbench or so o detaches from shell in an intelligent way (i.e after loading the picture) * DOES NOT fragment the memory!!! o has been thoroughly tested by a team of betatesters o will be updated and supported in future * comes from Poland :)) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS Kickstart 3.0 or higher required Optional for module playing: ptreplay.library v6.5, included in the package AVAILABILITY Any Aminet site (release date 01-Oct-96): Aminet:util/boot/SysPic400.lha DISTRIBUTABILITY Copyright (c) 1995-1996 by Grzegorz Calkowski Freely distributable shareware. One month of evaluation period. PRICE Shareware fee: US$10 or 15DM The registration is "life-time", i.e you will have not to pay an update fee for any future release of SysPic. The program is not crippled, all features work. It only displays an annoying shareware reminder when quits. Registered users will receive a keyfile which disables it. IMPORTANT: previous versions of SysPic were released as Cardware. All people who sent me a postcard will get the keyfile FOR FREE. @endnode @node NEWS8 "BCS Folds, Amiga User Group Continues" @toc NEWS Press Release From: Herbert Wollman hwollman@mitre.org Secretary for Boston Computer Society Amiga User Group. Boston Computer Society folds, Amiga User Group continues. During the week of Sep 17, 1996, the Board of Directors of the Boston Computer Society, the largest and most influential Computer User Group, shocked their members by suddenly voting to declare bankruptcy and disband. Over the past several years membership had slipped from a peak of 27,000 to about 18,000. Membership was worldwide, but concentrated in New England, USA. The BCS was composed of about 30 Special Interest Groups and User Groups, each with its own organization, and many smaller subgroups. The leaders of most of the groups are currently planning to continue, and are investigating the formation of a new umbrella organization. Since the Amiga is the only computer to emerge THREE times from bankruptcy, the Amiga User Group is experienced with these things, and is leading the efforts. We plan to continue, with "business as usual." General meetings will continue on the fourth Tuesday of each month, at 7:30PM, at M I T The Video and Technical subgroups will continue, but may have to relocate. The BBS which we share with the Commodore and HyperMedia Groups will continue to run on an Amiga. It can still be reached at (617) 729-7340, but we have temporarily lost our e-mail and Internet link. For further information please contact me, Herbert Wollman hwollman@mitre.org (617) 272-2994 @endnode @node NEWS9 "Pretium Demo" @toc NEWS The demo version of Pretium is now available! Pretium is the premier financial software package designed for the Amiga. It is as simple to use as writing in your checkbook, but advanced enough to take advantage of the power of your Amiga. The commercial version is now shipping, and is available through the address listed on the web page. To download the Pretium Demo, visit our web site at . If you have any problems downloading Pretium, just e-mail me by replying to this message. To have a copy of the Pretium demo sent to you attached to an e-mail message (MIME format), simply reply to this message with "send demo" as the message subject and it will be sent to you within 24 hours. Thank you for your interest in Pretium and enjoy the demo. David Orr Innovative Digital Dynamics @endnode @node NEWS10 "Guru ROM V6" @toc NEWS The 'Guru ROM V6' for Commodore A2091 SCSI Controller is available! Suggested Retail Price DM 99.00 / Empfohlener Verkaufspreis DM 99,00 *************************************************************************** Ordering information: Just send an E-Mail to stefano@tchest.e.eunet.de including your address and the products you want to order. Please do not forget to include your credit cards details. *************************************************************************** Product Information: Stefan Ossowski's Schatztruhe and Ralph Babel, author of the well-known "Amiga Guru Book" and long-standing former system software developer for GVP, the American company known for its high-quality hardware products, present: Guru ROM now also for the A2091! The Guru ROM for GVP's line of host adapters set new standards for SCSI on the Amiga; its high degree of compatibility with the widest range of SCSI devices is unprecedented; its performance goes to the limit of the underlying hardware. All of this is now also available for owners of Commodore's A2091 SCSI host adapter. Years of experience, technical know-how, and competence from the world's best Amiga software and hardware engineers are condensed in this penultimate product. It makes it possible for the user to productively and comfortably use SCSI, without sacrificing performance, risk of incompatibility, or waste of resources. Together with exhaustive documentation, the "Guru-ROM" enhances each A2091 and each GVP Series-II host adapter in many decisive, for the serious user essential features: Universal: a SCSI driver without compromise for the A2091, all GVP Series-II host adapters, and all "Combo" and "G-Force" accelerator cards for the Amiga 4000, 3000, 2000, 1200, and 500. Compatible with all 680x0 processors from the 68000 to the 68060. This ROM module, which has been considerably extended in its code and feature set, replaces all previously distributed driver ROMs. Fast: unparalleled transfer rates of up to 3.5 MB/s raw (Zorro-II limit), 3.2 MB/s measured with "RawScsiSpeed", 2,9 MB/s measured with "ScsiSpeed" - even on a stock 7-MHz 68000-based Amiga! Even higher figures (3.4 MB/s and 3.1 MB/s) possible on GVP host adapters with local RAM; all the while, the CPU typically retains 80% free processing time. Always maximum performance through the automatic selection of the currently optimal transfer mode (DMA, buffered DMA, or PIO). Versatile: supports all device types defined in the SCSI standard, such as hard disks, CD-ROM drives, streamers, scanners, and magneto-optical devices. 64-bit support: supports the use of media with more than 4 GB of storage capacity, even with existing filesystems. Compatible: complete support for the RDB standard, resulting in trouble-free autoboot, automount, and the exchange of devices and media between two computers from Amiga OS 1.3 through 3.1. Flexible: disconnect/reselect, synchronous transfers, and parity checking can be enabled individually for _each_ device (even for devices without an RDB). Also complete write-protection is possible (useful for kiosk applications and for virus protection). Intelligent: maximum compatibility with nearly all hard- and software through special handling of all known firmware bugs of the most popular SCSI devices and DMA hardware flaws in the A3000 and A4000, workarounds for internal bugs in the WD SCSI chip, patches for A-Max and Picasso, as well as special modifications to account for defective application software. Upward-compatible: fully compatible both with the SCSI-2 as well as with the SCSI-1 standard, thereby providing the broadest support for all devices on the market including those still to come. @endnode @node NEWS11 "Guru ROM V6 Update" @toc NEWS 'Guru ROM V6' Update for GVP SCSI Controllers Update Price DM 39.00 / Updatepreis DM 39,00 *************************************************************************** Ordering information: Just send an E-Mail to stefano@tchest.e.eunet.de including your address and the products you want to order. Please do not forget to include your credit cards details. Please note that you have to be a registered customer of the Guru ROM V6 (GVP Version) in order to qualify for this special upgrade offer. *************************************************************************** Update features: 64-Bit-Support: Supports the use of media with more than 4 GB of storage capacity, even with existing filesystems. Increased compatibility with nearly all hard- and software through special handling of all known firmware bugs of the most popular SCSI devices and DMA hardware flaws in the A3000 and A4000, workarounds for internal bugs in the WD SCSI chip, patches for A-Max and Picasso, as well as special modifications to account for defective application software. @endnode @node NEWS12 "Belgian Amiga Site" @toc NEWS I have started a new amiga page for belgian people. Therefore I need all information there is about happenings, people, clubs, bbs, sites, home-pages,... on the amiga in belgium. At http://studwww.rug.ac.be/~cfauconn/ami_belg.html you can find an index of the available information. There you can choose for amiga users in Belgium by clicking on users page. I ask you to fill in the form with some info , so that the list can grow, and to pass the word around to your friends, ... If you are a belgian Amiga user , this is the place you were looking for. Thanks for participating ... Christophe. christophe.fauconnier@rug.ac.be !!!!Don't use the old emailaddress: cfauconn@eduserv.rug.ac.be!!! BUT: christophe.fauconnier@rug.ac.be url: http://studwww.rug.ac.be/~cfauconn @endnode @node NEWS13 "Persistence Software" @toc NEWS [We pulled this from the CUCUG Web Directory. Jim certainly has a lot to say. The veracity of some of the claims here, particularly about other developers, has come under fire in the past. Nevertheless, we're interested to see what will come next. - Jason] Announcement from Jim Drew - Persistence Software The History of Utilities Unlimited... By Jim Drew In 1984, I returned from Honolulu, Hawaii and began working for a Commodore dealer in downtown Portland, Oregon. Within a few months I became technical support representative of the educational division of Commodore for the state of Oregon. I worked for this company for about 9 months before being approached by several individuals trying to recruit me as an employee to write disk duplication software. After some nagging, I decided to go ahead and I began working with a company by the name of 'Final Source Software'. I wrote many commercial disk copiers, and designed several hardware based disk copiers. I was also writing some software for a company by the name of MegaSoft (located in Battleground, Washington). After MegaSoft's hardware disk copier had failed to meet its expectations, I was asked to fix it. I did, and shortly thereafter Final Source Software was dissolved and turned into a retail software rental chain. I worked for a few months at Central Point Software, and wrote their Copy ][ 64/128 program. After this was completed I went to work full time for MegaSoft, which after many problems changed its name to "Utilities Unlimited". In 1986, a couple (husband & wife) purchased 50% ownership in Utilities Unlimited. This couple previously bought and sold forklifts (they did not know how to turn on a computer, but wanted to be on the road to the future). After about 9 months of problems with the original owner, the couple purchased the remaining 50% of the company, which included me. At this time the C64 market was just about at its end, and our hottest selling product, SuperCard+ (a hardware based disk copier) was just about at saturation. A deal was made that I would get a small (very small) percentage of the company if I would stay on and develop new products. A choice was made between a Nintendo cartridge copier or an Amiga disk copier. We went the Amiga route after a phone call to Nintendo was returned by their legal staff. SuperCard Ami was born. I designed the hardware, the software, did the advertisement layouts, handled dealer accounts, and technical support. I was constantly busy with software updates due to new copy protection. I was always busy. During this time, I married my beautiful girlfriend Chauna (pronounced Shaw-nuh). During the course of the next two years, I designed the KickStart board (ROM switcher), Boot Drive Selector, DigiDither, SuperCard Ami II, SYBIL, and a few other things which did not make it to market. I also released more than 30 updates to SuperCard Ami I & II. I was still doing everything by myself. We filed a lawsuit against Ashcom Design & Development for ripping off Super-Card Ami II. More than a year after the initial filing, and $10,000 later, we won the copyright infringement suit. In return, we got a box of "MAC II" units (their copy of Super-Card Ami II) and that was it... no damages because the company had nothing (it had been liquidated by its owners). Some things were a bit startling to me at this point because of sales starting to decline. Ads were placed for products that did not exist yet (like SYBIL), based on assumptions. I did not voluntarily create these ads.. I was told to. When products would be late (a natural thing in the software world), lots of excuses would be given... we even had a fire one time that never really happened. I had never done business this way before, although I did not like what was going on, I was only 24 and did not own enough of the company to be counted and the idea of working at McDonalds was not too appealing. I had setup a deal with ReadySoft to bundle SYBIL with their AMAX II+ upgrade for A500 machines (software only since there was no Zorro slot on the A500). After spending a great deal of time setting up this deal, a lot of bad things happened, and it cost Utilities Unlimited nearly everything. I had designed a custom version of SYBIL that could be detected (at the request of ReadySoft) so that you could just not run the AMAX II+ without SYBIL. I had the circuit boards made, boxes printed, etc... the deal fell through and Utilities Unlimited was in trouble. The primary owners of the company decided to sell their home and move the company to Lake Havasu City, Arizona (to start fresh with some new capital). I had little choice but to go, so I did. Before I left, I started getting phone calls from Joe Fenton, who was living in Texas at the time. He was very helpful, giving some suggestions to some quirks he had with SYBIL. After talking with him quite a bit, I explained what had happended with ReadySoft, and I was really out for revenge.. to write a full color, multitasking MAC emulation. Joe said he had a pretty decent knowledge of the MAC OS, and that he thought there would be no problems. Once I got to Lake Havasu (April of 1992), I talked the owners into hiring Joe. Joe came in the middle of May, 1992. Much to his surprise, I was the only person at the company (that did anything). He was under the impression (like thousands of customers) that Utilities Unlimited was as large as GVP, having dozens of employees. This is where things went really sour with Utilities Unlimited.... The owners wanted ads placed immediately for EMPLANT (which by the way was just a name I thought up one day, and then turned it into an acronym after the fact). I could not believe that they wanted to advertise such an elaborate product that had not even existed yet! I knew that they had faith in my abilities, but this was a bit much. So, a list of 'features' was made based on what Joe and I thought we could do. Joe worked on hacking the MAC OS, and I worked on the circuit board layout. We both worked on the custom logic equasions and the features the board would have (we had lots of ideas, some of which were implemented on the EMPLANT board, but have NEVER been used!) Keep in mind that EMPLANT, the circuit board layout, the software, in short EVERYTHING was designed on an Amiga 500! I had a slingshot Zorro expansion on my A500 (which had a VXL*30 accelerator). We had really no Amiga equipment, just two accelerated A500s and a stock A2000 (this at a time when the A3000 had been out for awhile). In the middle of August (already late for its shipping date), EMPLANT went to FCC testing in Chandler, Arizona. We failed miserably. Actually, our Seikosha printer failed, along with our A2000. The EMPLANT board had absolutely no problems, but if the system fails, the product can not be passed. We were at FCC on a Friday, and returned on a Monday (Joe's birthday) after doing some pretty elaborate things to our system in order to get EMPLANT passed. In September, we were suppose to show EMPLANT at the World of Commodore show in Pasadena, California (at DMI's booth, supporting the Resolver video board). Well, Joe, my wife, and I all went to the show and caused quite a scene because we brought the prototype EMPLANT board with us. I have most of it on video tape (my wife taped me with the crowd). At this point we had NEVER even scene a MAC screen pop up! Joe and I were getting very worried. The company had spent all of its money on advertising (full page/full color ads were about $5,000 each) in the various Amiga magazines instead of getting us the equipment we needed to finish and test EMPLANT. Sometime in early November, we saw our first MAC screen appear! (I don't recall the day exactly, but I have it on video tape! We had a party that day!) Hey, we did it! Only 3 months late, but we were successful. Upon hearing this news, the owners instantly cashed checks and ran credit cards.. even though the product was in no way ready to ship! It would be almost a full month before the first version was ready to go. Lots of angry people! Where is my product!? The product shipped, and wow was there a ton of problems (which we expected). Joe and I were working 20+ hours a day, sometimes in 30 hour shifts. Not only did I have to help debug, I had to make new advertisements, handle dealer sales, do magazine interviews (try doing that with a straight face when you know what REALLY is going on), etc. It was a nightmare. The only good thing about the entire situation is that I had beaten ReadySoft, which was my only intention in creating EMPLANT. The first release of software was reportedly in October (according to the history)... this was faked! It was not until mid November did we actually release the product for the first time. Before the first release, the husband of the couple died of a heart attack. Joe and I were shocked by the death, as it was completely unexpected. We were a bit concerned that the remaining owner (a women with no computer experience what-so-ever) could handle things... but who were we kidding? We did everything already anyways! However, pressure was intensified greatly. She had only one thing in mind, and that was retiring. At the World of Commodore show in Pasadena (1993), sound support and 32 bit clean operation was shown for the first time. John DiLulu (Commodore's cheif marketting manager) and Alex Amor (Creative Equipment, Inc.) had a meeting with me to discuss an AMIGA/EMPLANT bundle deal. An agreement was reached, but as usual nothing came of it. One thing that was requested by Commodore engineers was our chunky to planar routines. These routines were given to Commodore (through John DiLulu), but apparently never reached engineering. By the way, we did spend a great deal of time getting licensing agreements with Commodore for reverse engineering the multitasking code. Commodore stated that if we were not using the code in its entirety, then no licensing agreement was necessary, but they would like a copy of the code for reference. I still have the letter from Commodore's managing division (John DiLulu's office) pertaining to this. Looking back, it is now easy to see why Commodore went down the tubes... the cheif marketting manager couldn't even pass along a disk.. how the hell could he make executive decisions? Things were going pretty well for EMPLANT.. AMAX IV was no competition, and it was funny to see them with a full color, multitasking MAC emulation after spending several years stating that it could never be done! I do have to say that I have a great deal of respect for Simon Douglas. Joe and I checked each new version of AMAX IV to see if anything had been 'borrowed' from EMPLANT's MAC emulation, and we never found anything even remotely similar between our code. This made it a good, clean, competitive game. We wanted to make a PowerPC based Pentium(tm) emulation. I even met with IBM and Apple to discuss a technology buyout because our ideas were so revolutionary. We decided to first make a PC emulation on the Amiga, and then port the code to the PowerMAC platform. Business was starting to slow down, so the owner asked what was next? I told her that we could start working on the PC emulation.. great, time for new ads... remember those 'e486DX coming soon!' ads? How about the ads showing Windows running?.. the Windows screenshots were faked! We hired Mark Wignall to write all of the PC sided drivers. A lot of the speed the emulation has is due to experimentations. We spent a lot of time creating things like the CD-ROM driver, comparing our work constantly with SoftPC, PCTask, and CrossPC. We spent countless hours on the ANSI routines so that text output would be the fastest possible. We would time every revision with a stopwatch, hoping to gain that 1/10th of the second extra speed. Mark also wrote the PC emulation's documentation, which would be the last paper-bound documentation ever produced at Utilities Unlimited. The owner did not want to pay for packaging or documentation. She believed that documentation on the disk was sufficient. She also believed that 'people just throw away the packaging anyways, so why pay the extra money to make it look nice?' Sheesh! At this point I was being told what to say and do. Neither Joe nor Mark had a clue as to what was really going on behind the scenes. It became so bad that Mark didn't even know when we released the PC emulation for the first time! He was not to know, fearing he would try to convince everyone it was not ready (which it wasn't)... it did not run Windows, DOOM, or anything else it was suppose to. It worked in simple DOS mode, supported the x87 style FPU, and had the Pentium(tm) Processor instruction decoding. For the most part, it did work well for what support it had (missing ALL of the protected mode and MMU mode support). I went to the World of Amiga show in London, and showed it for the first time. People were impressed at the speed of things that I showed, but I could not show Windows because it simply would not work. Mark left because of what was happening. Joe and I continued our work on the emulations, but we wanted to build some new hardware goodies! NO WAY! The owner did not want to have anything to do with FCC or hardware ever again. Ack! We had plans for a multiprocessor board, 060 board, video board, and other really neat things. We had even drawn out schematics and gotten developer information for everything we needed. I know that we could have made the fastest accelerator and video board ever. Our hands were tied (more like we were tied to a pay check). About this time ShapeShifter was released. After Joe and I looked at it, we were pissed beyond belief. The majority of the code came from AMAX IV, with some of our code, and even Apple's code. I immediately starting documenting the code, and the changes that the code went through after several releases (especially after making it clear that much of the code was 'borrowed'). After going through the lawsuit in the UK, the owner did not want to attempt to go after 'some kid in Germany', because it would cost too much money, and we would get nothing back. I sent two registered letters to the author, and each letter was returned undeliverable. I just wanted him to stop while he was ahead. Joe and I are probably the best 68K reverse engineerers in the world. We have gone through gigs of code over the last 4 years, figuring out why certain MAC applications do weird things with our MAC emulation. We can tell which Apple engineer wrote any part of the ROM or OS code, based on their programming style. We knew AMAX IV well too. It was easy to document what code came from where inside of ShapeShifter. At this point I really can't do much about ShapeShifter, although there are a couple of legal councils in Germany willing to take 80% of the earnings of a successful lawsuit. Personally, I think that when judgement day rolls around, the author will wish that ShapeShifter was just a character in Archon... After a few months, we started working on the PowerMAC version of the e586DX emulation module. But because the company's revenue was slowing down, we were told to make something in the mean time. So, MACPRO was created as a means to produce income. We continued to work on PowerCLONE, and once again, the company's revenue was not up to par, so we created Mac1200 and MacLite. These emulations took several months to create and debug. The company was in bad shape, although it had several considerable assets (a new 10,000 sqft building, cars, etc.) On August 23rd, (one day before Joe's birthday) the owner decided to shut down Utilities Unlimited. We had absolutely no warning. I had been repeatedly told that the owner simply had too much money invested in the company to ever shut it down, so this was the last of my worries. Utilities Unlimited International, Incorporated is officially bankrupt. Even though there were no creditors, a bankruptcy was filed to prevent any potential lawsuits in the future, and to null and void any commitments (like the lifetime warranty on products). Joe and I are both unemployed at this point. My small percentage of the company was dissolved in outstanding loans to the owner. The one thing that I did manage to get was the copyrights to all products free and clear (I owned 50% of the copyright myself, plus a percentage of the company's 50%, so I had controlling interest in the copyrights anyways). Since together, Joe and I did *everything* (except write paychecks), it makes sense for us to try to form a new company ourselves.. one that is honest with what is going on, since we will have no pressure from any outside source. We have decided the name of the company will be "Persistence Software". We will provide the same technical support that we provided to the customers in the past (I think you will find every review of our technical support to be outstanding). We will also still provide support for EMPLANT customers, and I am going to make the information about EMPLANT hardware publically available. Since November of 1995, Joe and I have been working on the PowerMAC version of the e586DX module. That emulation is about 80% complete at this point. IT IS NOT DONE! ...and I am happy to be able to say that! (Well, maybe not happy.... just glad I can be honest about it!) During this time, we have also been working on a completely new Amiga based PC emulation. We have re-written the emulation from scratch (yes, again). And instead of releasing bullsh*t specs, we are going to odopt a new (read as REALISTIC) approach of hyping our software... we are going to release a crippled demo version. If you like it, great... order the full version. If not, you didn't get screwed and left with something you can't use. Please check out the PCx page for further details. We are pleased to announce that Blittersoft (a UK based company) has been granted the world-wide distribution rights to all Persistence Software products. Blittersoft was Utilities Unlimited's European distributor, and quite frankly, was the only reason Utilities Unlimited survived as long as it did. Paul Lesurf does an excellent job of promoting products, and I know that our products will be well handled by his company. All orders (also Trade) should be directed to Blittersoft. Blittersoft and Persistence Software will jointly provide technical support through WEB pages, email, CompuServe, GEnie, and telephone support. Software upgrades will be available through our WEB pages and on various support forums. Again, I would like to stress that Persistence Software WILL support EMPLANT customers. There will still be updates and technical support. No more EMPLANT boards will be manufactured (unless somebody wants to buy the rights to EMPLANT). We do have parts here for repairing boards, however, we will not be able to repair or replace boards for free. Some reasonable fee will be charged for any repair work necessary. I know that this announcement will come as a shock to many people. Hey, it was a shock to Joe and I too! Utilities Unlimited was one of the most successful and well known Amiga companies around.. and everything was done by only two people, not a building full of people. We have accomplished a lot in a very restrictive environment, and I know that we can accomplish much more now that we have complete control. The reason for releasing the 'history' of Utilities Unlimited is to let people to know what really went on behind the scenes, and for everyone to know that although I was the figure head for the company, somebody else was pulling my strings. I will not do business like Utilities Unlimited did. I want honesty at all costs, even if it means losing business. Although there is only two of us, I believe that we have proven our abilities sufficiently for people to at least listen to what we have to say. Joe and I like to tackle the impossible, and fortunately, we don't have to make anymore wild claims. Any officially released information will be very real. I would be interested in hearing from you! If you have an Amiga product idea that you would like to see a reality, drop me a note. We have a lot of nearly finished products (hardware and software based) that we are looking into releasing. Since the Amiga market has temporarily stalled (it will be back), we are not quite sure what products are necessary at this time. This is where you, the user, can help us! I can be reached at my new email address: jimdrew@lnknet.com My AOL account will be gone shortly, so don't try there! I appreciate your support in the past, and I look forward to providing you with high quality products in the future. Sincerely, Jim Drew, Persistence Software @endnode @node NEWS14 "NetNews Offline Vol II CD-ROM" @toc NEWS The 'NetNews Offline Vol. II' CD-ROM is available! = Suggested Retail Price DM 19.80 / Empfohlener Verkaufspreis DM 19,80 *************************************************************************** Ordering information: Just send an E-Mail to stefano@tchest.e.eunet.de including your address and the products you want to order. Please do not forget to include your credit cards details. *************************************************************************** Product Information: On this CD you can find everything that was published in the Amiga-related newsgroups from Usenet and other networks in the 3 month since the release of NetNews Offline Vol. I. This release contains more than 217.000 postings, which are of high interest for every Amiga user. You will find technical advice for many problems, wild flame wars, curious stories and a huge amount of valuable information and news. With this CD, you can take one of the most interesting parts of the Internet directly to your home. Do you know a cheaper alternative of accessing Usenet without paying huge amounts of telecommunication costs? NetNews Offline is one of the most interesting CD-ROM releases published in 1996 and is a 'must have' for every owner of a CD-ROM-drive. Contents of this CD comp.sys.amiga.*: 83,087 articles comp.unix.amiga: 887 articles rec.games.video.cd32: 507 articles comp.sys.cbm: 5,955 articles de.comp.sys.amiga.*: 14,535 articles de.comm.software.ums: 838 articles fido.ger.{amiga|amiprog}: 2,721 articles z-netz.rechner.amiga.*: 23,427 articles comp.periphs.scsi: 7,007 articles diverse C++-Foren: 21,043 articles diverse C-Foren: 19,284 articles comp.lang.{modula2|oberon}: 1,193 articles comp.lang.rexx: 2,008 articles de.newusers[.questions]: 1,201 articles news.announce.newusers: 184 articles news.lists: 156 articles comp.dcom.{isdn|modem}: 19,320 articles de.comm.{isdn|modem}: 11,800 articles Misc 1,960 articles total 217,113 articles @endnode @node NEWS15 "Aminet CD 14" @toc NEWS Aminet CD 14 is available Suggested Retail Price DM 25,00 Empfohlener Verkaufspreis DM 25,00 subscription price DM 19,80 Abo-Preis DM 19,80 *************************************************************************** Ordering information: Just send an E-Mail to stefano@tchest.e.eunet.de including your address and the products you want to order. Please do not forget to include your credit cards details. *************************************************************************** Product Information Aminet CD 14, dated October 1996, contains more than 1 gigabyte (uncompressed) of software in thousands of archives. Since the release of Aminet CD 13 more than 800 MB new software has appeared. The current edition has a special focus on business software. Hundreds of programs from various sources were included. The commercial highlight of this edition is a full version of TurboCalc v2.1. Contents of Aminet 14 Directory Size Files Contents = biz 109 MB 302 Business software comm 73 MB 359 Communications demo 73 MB 104 Graphics & sound demo dev 41 MB 96 Development software disk 5 MB 45 Disk & HD tools docs 32 MB 72 Documents game 72 MB 182 Games gfx 25 MB 93 Graphics software hard 1 MB 18 Hardware related misc 37 MB 65 Miscellaneous mus 23 MB 85 Music software pix 288 MB 289 Pictures text 16 MB 59 Text software util 43 MB 262 Utilities @endnode @node NEWS16 "Opus 5.5 Utilities" @toc NEWS GPSoftware releases new utilities for Opus 5.5 GPSoftware has released new utilities for Opus 5.5. These include:- . A new graphical diskinfo.module . Swedish Locale Catalog files . New user-developed modules including:- deliplay - plays modules using DeleTracker compare - compares files and shows differences hotlist - allows you to keep your own favourite hotlist of directories and programs . OpusSDK - Opus Software developers kit - all you need to develop your own modules for Opus. Autodocs/guide plus includes. . Secrets Revealed ! Also released are a number of hints and tips for using Opus and details of some Opus secrets and undocumented features. . Monthly win an Opus t-shirt competition. See the Opus WWW pages for details http://www.livewire.com.au/gpsoft/dopus55.html -- Regards, Dr Greg Perry GPSoftware, PO Box 570, Ashgrove, Qld Australia 4060 Ph/fax +61 7 33661402 Internet Email: zzgperry@mailbox.uq.oz.au WWW : http://www.livewire.com.au/gpsoft/ @endnode @node FEATURE1 "An Introductory Invitation To Interactive Fiction" @toc FEATURE =========================================================================== An Introductory Invitation To Interactive Fiction Simon P. Dainty izzy@ancient.demon.co.uk =========================================================================== Mentioning 'Adventure' to your average computer game player these days will probably result in that all-too-familiar puzzled look of someone attempting to grasp an unyielding memory of ages past. Adventure - also known as Colossal Cave - sparked off a mini revolution back in the old days, when powerful home computers were as common to the man on the street as time machines are now. Written by both Willie Crowther and Don Woods in 1977, Adventure quickly became something of a behind-the-scenes phenomena with academics and computer professionals alike. In fact, just about anyone with even the most limited access to a mainframe or mini computer back in the late 70's would likely have heard of and experienced Adventure at one time or another. It was something new, something previously unheard of - something wonderful. Something wonderful? Yes, indeed. "So, the graphics and sound effects were well ahead of their time then?" Well, no - not quite. You see, back in those long lost days of lore when a real computer more closely resembled that ancient twin-tub washing machine your folks still keep hidden away at the back of the basement, advanced graphic and sound potential wasn't really an everyday requirement - let alone a commercial viability. The research and development teams that brought you the likes of the pre-80's Digital mainframe, and the growing number of establishments that employed them, were not looking for a machine that could display feature-rich texture-mapped graphics in 256 colours. Nor were they in search of CD quality sound spread across multiple channels. The computers of that era were designed for a commercial and academic role - and those roles didn't require the employ of that which we take for granted today. No Sir, flash graphics and stereo sound were not a factor. "Okay," you may ask, "So, what was the big deal behind the graphically challenged and soundless Adventure, then?" A perfectly valid question if ever I saw one. Indeed, the game must have held some kind of mass appeal for those early pioneers of the academic and professional circuit, as opposed to being yet another chess or Tic Tac Toe implementation that you played whilst waiting for your latest and greatest to compile. The answer to your question, if indeed you ever asked it, would be a single noun that is rarely ever used in common, everyday conversation: Immersion. You see, because Crowther and Woods weren't able to bury their offering deep within a sea of high resolution graphics, they had to opt for a totally different approach. One that was only too common in a time when the closest most people got to a computer was a monochrome VDU and a well used keyboard. Everything revolved around the text-based terminal. There were no windows, no screens, no intuitive menu or gadget system, nothing. Just plain, old fashioned text. Unlike today, people didn't care that the machines they were using could only display an ASCII character set; they were accustomed to it, and they took advantage of any restrictions. The joint authors of Adventure wrote a computer game that would open the floodgates of the gaming world to many that would eventually follow in their footsteps, a game that would one day be available for every computer platform in the world. It required no joystick to play, because it relied on a limited verb-noun parser in order to gain input from the user. There was no need to support non-existent sound and graphics hardware because all of the audio and visual cues you could possibly desire were etched in ASCII on the terminal screen, just waiting for that mass of neural interconnectivity seated deep within your head to interpret the world around you - in a level of detail that only the human brain could ever hope to offer. The idea of the game was as simple as it was brilliant: describe to the player the location around her including any objects she may encounter on her travels and, by issuing simple commands at a prompt, allow the player to travel between locations within the game world, examine any game objects more closely and generally interact with the environment that had been detailed to her through the power of idyllic narrative. Or, in other words, dump the player inside the pages of a book and give her enough freedom of choice so as to enable her to effect the outcome of the story, hopefully arriving at a successful and appreciable conclusion. It was this obvious amalgamation with linear fiction that gave birth to the name 'Interactive Fiction', and even though the words "Text Adventure" were already deeply engraved in the psyche of all who had travelled a wandering path through the genre, 'Interactive Fiction' remained as an alternate reference for those wishing to confuse the ill-informed amongst us. The whole concept of computerized Interactive Fiction was a revolutionary step forward at that time, even though multi-participant, around-the-table role playing systems such as Dungeons & Dragons were a popular and growing movement. It didn't take very long before people other than Crowther and Woods had experienced the magic of: At End Of Road You are standing at the end of a road before a small brick building. Around you is a forest. A small stream flows out of the building and down a gully. > examine building It's a small brick building. It seems to be a well house. > west At Hill In Road You have walked up a hill, still in the forest. The road slopes back down the other side of the hill. There is a building in the distance. > And with that, Adventure gave birth to a flamboyant style of gaming that would very soon become familiar to millions. A richly detailed genre of entertainment that would eventually be written into the annals of computer gaming history under the grossly misleading heading of "Text Adventures." What Crowther and Woods unwittingly set in motion by releasing Adventure was an area of computer gaming that relied more heavily on the imagination of both the author and player, than it did on the level of technology available at the time. And, because of the simplicity and flexibility of the design, it didn't take very long before other developers adopted the concept of Interactive Fiction - thus offering even more worlds for the desk-top adventurer to explore. One such team of early pioneers - more than any other - took the noble art of interactive writing far further than even Crowther and Woods could have imagined when they first put to authoring Adventure. Releasing over thirty titles in the days when their fires burned strongest, Infocom changed the face of the Interactive Fiction movement in ways that still govern the majority of development today. For Infocom, it was the release of 'Zork' back in the 1980's that started their rise to interactive stardom, and it's not surprising to discover that the original Zork drew several similarities toward Adventure. Even though Infocom are credited for over thirty Interactive Fiction titles - the vast majority of which are seen today as classics in their own right - they often stayed well within the sprawling realms of the Zork universe, giving it far greater coverage as each title passed. Of the thirty-five games written by Infocom (formerly known as Interlogic Games in their early publishing days) there were nine offerings directly related to the Zork universe (Zork 0, Zork 1, Zork 2, Zork 3, Beyond Zork, Enchanter, Sorcerer, Spellbreaker and finally Wishbringer) with a further three titles making Zork-esque references (Starcross, Planetfall and Stationfall). As you can no doubt tell, Infocom were proud of 'The Zork Universe', and they must have been doing something right if it was selling and making a profit. Taking the concept of Adventure's limited parser and game engine several leaps further, Infocom was able to offer a complex level of detail and world building that few aficionados of the art could ignore. By developing and employing the flexibility and potential of a virtual 'machine' within a machine, along with a powerful programming language to complement it (ZIL, or Zork Implementation Language), Infocom released title after title where the complexity and ingenuity between each successive offering grew at an astounding rate. You may be prompted to ask yourself how Infocom was so very capable of developing an impressive line of adventure games that had a mass market appeal in such a short space of time, given the sizeable amount of planning and writing that an area of interest like Interactive Fiction requires. It is easy to understand the 'how' when you discover their secret... Infocom's ace in the hole was to become the building block of all of their future explorations. The 'Z-Machine', coupled with the complimentary 'Z-Code' file format layer (each 'Z' referring to Infocom's original Zork), became the base mechanics from which they would grow their impressive line of text-based interactive games. You see, Infocom realised that writing their games from scratch each time would prove to be a long and costly - if not tiresome - endeavour. So, instead of taking that severely limiting route, they hit upon the idea of developing an interactive game system that could be easily adapted for the the number of different computer platforms that were available, and less demanding to code under than the OS of each respective system. They created the Z-Machine as mentioned above, an interpreter much like a BASIC interpreter, that would run on the target machine but with with the design goal of accepting 'adventure' games as its programs. The data format of these individual game-files were given the name 'Z-Code', which is evident in the file name extension that the titles Infocom released were given. Each game-file name was appended with ".z" and a number, detailing the version of the Z-Code game-file interpreter that the code was written to take advantage of. Forthcoming versions of the interpreter offered far greater advances at a programming level over previous releases, eventually allowing for both graphics and sound effects to complement the text of any game. All in all, the Z-Machine/Z-Code combination was a quantum leap in the right direction. Although it is plain to see that Infocom often based their works in worlds outside of our norm - the numerous Zork offerings are especially evident of this trend - there were several examples that took to genres other than pure fantasy. Indeed, there were many noteworthy titles that differed sufficiently from anything that had been previously experienced before, and these became instantly recognisable classics of the era. In Brian Moriarty's 'Trinity' you play the role of a modern day American tourist pulled into the events surrounding the creation and detonation of the worlds first atomic bomb; the 'Trinity' of the title referring to Trinity Site where the atomic age began with a radioactive "BOOM!" As a game, Trinity is a joy to experience, but it's the potential toward a truly interactive educational journey that offers the greatest promise. Actually witnessing the true horror of the events unfold for real it may not be, but being drawn into the history surrounding the birth of The Bomb ignites the hypothetical "What if...?" fires like nothing else. Infocom also delved into the nightmarish realms of Lovecraftian horror with the release of 'The Lurking Horror'. ('Lovecraftian' being the name given to a gothic style of writing based on the worlds and utterly alien monstrosities that were first brought to paper by the enviable, though obviously deranged, pen of Howard Philip Lovecraft way back in the 1920's.) Although not gothic in era, The Lurking Horror introduced a terrifying new concept to the adventure game: play upon the reader's fear and morbid curiosity as opposed to plunging them head-first into an all-too-obvious fantasy world. True, Lovecraft's 'The Case of Charles Dexter Ward' or Poe's 'The Pendulum and the Pit' it isn't, nor are you ever likely to quiver before the towering forms of Azatoth, Nyarlathoptep or Cthulhu, but The Lurking Horror has definitely had a dramatic effect on some of today's interactive experiences. Taking a somewhat surrealist approach (although perhaps not as surreal as Buńuel and Dali's 1928 movie 'Un Chien andalou'), A Mind Forever Voyaging places the player within the role of an Artificial Intelligent machine, alongside a simulated wife and an equally simulated son - an obvious detour from any of Infocom's previous experiences. Pegged as one of the best adventure games in the history of the scene, it takes very little effort to appreciate the awesome creative wealth that Infocom had at their disposal. Coupled with other science fiction elements offered by the likes of both Planetfall and Stationfall, the humble text adventure had fluidly evolved from the initial treasure collecting cave romp, through modern day horror and out into an unmapped future. Even respected linear fiction and medieval legends were given the interactive treatment when Adam's 'The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy', Doyle's 'Sherlock Holmes', and King Arthur's quest for Excalibur made their way onto the game store shelves. As far as Infocom were concerned, imagination really was the only limit. Alas, in 1986, Activision - the renowned and wide-spread game publishing house that had seen years of action under the 8 bit deck - finally acquired everything that constituted the imaginative wealth which surrounded the rise of Infocom, and set into motion the goal of establishing a global media empire. True, Activision did indeed treat the player to several further games that were based in the worlds of Old Infocom, but there was something very fundamental missing from the interactive mix. The graphic adventure 'Zork Nemesis' may have held more than a passing resemblance to those earlier Zork games (including, surprisingly, The Lurking Horror, due to the former game's somewhat gothic streak), but it failed to yield the feel and immersability of the original Infocom works. On the other hand, 'Return to Zork' had completely gone the way of the CD ROM, and was more closely related to an interactive movie production than anything else. Having said all that, though, Activision did attempt - in sparce fashion - to pander to those who would not be directly attracted to their most recent offerings. By strategically releasing 'themed' compilations of previously published Infocom titles, Activision were in a prime position to make a little extra revenue (which, no doubt, contributed greatly toward the sizeable budgets taken up by their more recent graphical exploits) from the die-hard Interactive Fiction fan. Of the two 'Lost Treasures' packages that were released, each contained several Infocom original titles and were swiftly followed by the 'Infocom Masterpieces' collection. Milking the magic of Infocom for all it was worth, it was plain to see that Activision saw only swelling dollars and the furthering of its movie production exploits. Sadly, and probably completely to be expected, Activision finally closed the Infocom offices in 1989, and, with that, an era which covered the early days of the technological revolution came to an uneventful end. If, after reading this far, you've come to the conclusion that the text adventure had its greatest staring role back in the 80's, you wouldn't be far from the truth. Adventure's appearance toward the end of the 1970's sparked a fascination with the idea of Interactive Fiction, and it was the following decade that really made the game style its home. Infocom, Scott Adams, and Level 9 all played a dominant part in bringing us some of the best works of Interactive Fiction ever, but it would probably never have happened had the audio and visual capability of today been available when the interactive ball first started rolling. Technology has come so far since the end of the 1980's that the average game player just isn't satisfied with reading their way through a product. Commercial Interactive Fiction had given way to beat 'em ups, shoot 'em ups and DOOM clones. The gamer wanted fast action, awesome graphics and neato sound, whereas the original adventure games seemed far too laid back for the modern action freak, even though the animated graphical adventures offered by the likes of Lucas Arts, Activision and Sierra still proved popular. It was a clear case of changing with the times. ...Or was it? Although the mighty Infocom has effectively ceased to be an individual, identifiable entity, and just about every other commercial text adventure developer disappeared into the swirling void many, many moons ago, there is still a fringe market that is hungry for both new and old products. It's the mid-1990's, and Interactive Fiction is still a thriving scene between those ancient ghouls that swim the ether worlds vacated by those who had once trampled a colossal path; the enquiring 'newbie' who has but recently discovered the art for the very first time and those who have once again happened across the genre after years in exile. The realm of freely distributable software has opened the arteries for products deemed "off the beaten path", wide enough even for the adventure's life blood to continue its ebb and flow; and it was the advent of four very centralized focal points that helped keep the art healthy and growing long after its alleged sell-by date. The first of the 'focal points' that we shall discuss is widely regarded as the heart of Interactive Fiction today - the reason why, you'll soon discover. The second, third and forth elements that contribute to the modern movement can equally be seen as both the central nervous system and the vocal capacity of our hypothetical gaming 'body'. Without these extra 'anatomical appendages', the end of the text adventure as a whole may very well have passed us by in the night without our even knowing that it was in trouble. The Interactive Fiction Archive at ftp.gmd.de stands testament to the foresight and unfailing dedication of but one man, and his desire to see the adventure game movement of past years flourish in this day and age of fast-paced arcade action. Employed at GMD in Germany as a man of many talents, Volker Blasius' very first experience of Interactive Fiction was a surprising and captivating little title named Advent, that he found lurking amongst the hierarchal clutter of an IBM mainframe. This single encounter held a fascination with Volker that was difficult to ignore, and it would eventually lead him into his own respected and unenviable role within the genre. What's more, it doesn't take a genius to realise that Advent was none other than a simple port of Adventure itself; in fact, since Adventure first reared its very formidable head all those years ago, there have been innumerable variations of the original 1970's title - all with their own subtle, yet appreciable, differences. Believe it or not, Adventure is one of the most updated games in the history of the computer. Alas, for reasons best left for Volker himself to reveal, his days of adventure gaming were somewhat limited. Missing all of the middle period of Interactive Fiction (most notably the Old Infocom era), he wasn't re-introduced to the genre until years later when he accidently happened across several related Usenet news groups (more of which we'll read about later), and that's when the concept of a central archive of Interactive Fiction initially took root. Volker first announced the opening of the original central archive way back in 1992 and, with the unhesitant help of Interactive Fiction veteran Dave Baggett (who we'll hear more of later), set in motion the monolithic task of maintaining and expanding a core reservoir of artistic talent both ancient and new. The popularity of the Interactive Fiction Archive at ftp.gmd.de continued to grow and grow as more fans of the genre either gained Internet access or discovered the archive for the very first time. It was this growth in popularity that prompted Volker to contact Chris Myers of Washington's wuarchive, with the intent of spawning a mirror of the original ftp.gmd.de site. Myer's agreed at once, and the American mirror opened its welcome doors in January 1993 with an appreciable twelve megabyte of server space dedicated to the cause. It wasn't until a short time later that both collaborators realised the initially invested twelve megabyte file store limit would prove to be a very conservative offering. Within the space of a year the Interactive Fiction Archive had not only grown to unforeseen proportions, but its global popularity had demanded, and gained, the need for a mirror image of the original - and that turn of events was only the beginning... In October 1994, Finland's nic.funet.fi also joined in the celebration of what once was by opening a second archive mirror on its own FTP server - offering an even greater distributability of all things adventure. It sure seemed that the initial dream of Volker Blasius had, from its humble beginnings, taken to the world like a fish to water. Since the archive's original conception, Volker has been seen as some- thing of a saviour in the Interactive Fiction scene. Because the archive has witnessed a dramatic increase in activity over the years - due to it being very well received by the unconstrained masses of adventure game aficionados the world over - Volker has had to volunteer more and more of his time to maintaining and expanding the archive, cataloguing all incoming files, notifying the public as to availability and generally playing care- taker to what is widely regarded as the Hub of Interactive Fiction on the Internet. Sadly, this need to distribute all of his time between his work, personal life (yes, some people do have them) and the archive means he has very little time for playing many of those titles that have appeared over the course of the site's steadily evolving life. That shows true dedication to the cause which is appreciated by all who have trodden within the halls of 'ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/', but it is only the story of one element which makes up the whole of Interactive Fiction today... It's all very well having a central repository where today's adventure game developer may distribute the hard earned results of his labour, but without a means to learn the tricks of the trade and exercise those creative skills we are likely to witness very little action and a lot of homeless ideas. That is where Usenet comes into play. I should have no need to explain the design and globe-spanning potential of Usenet, as everyone with Internet access will have crossed its myriad paths at one time or another. Indeed, other than e-mail and Internet Relay Chat, it's very likely that a significant part of your own on-line time is spent browsing the news groups and threads that you find of particular interest. It could never be doubted that Usenet is a very advantageous hunting ground, offering topics of conversion for subjects as diverse and mundane as you're ever likely to envisage, and it's hardly surprising to discover that Interactive Fiction, too, is just as well represented as any other area of interest. Regardless of which style of adventure game we are drawn toward, there will always be a time in our explorations when the path ahead is well and truly blocked, by some seemingly impossible puzzle or quest. Indeed, the very thread of Interactive Fiction both past and present is based around an involvement within a story that is made ever more difficult to complete by the, often, vast number of puzzles inherent. Of course, your simple 'put the iron key in the rusted lock to open the door' type of problems often speak for themselves, but when you can't get the iron key because the starving Ogre won't make a trade unless you give him the peanut butter and jelly sandwich that the wicked old witch of the north-northwest keeps locked away in her candy cottage, you can appreciate where the need for help may arise. (Even more so if you didn't find the parchment hidden within the secret compartment in the bed of King Valoosifus IV, explaining, in cryptic prose, how to locate said cottage in the first place.) Luckily, for the hapless adventurer that we all sometimes tend to become, Usenet rides to the rescue with a news group dedicated to the goal of answering just about any game related question our prying mind could possibly hope to conjure. 'rec.games.int-fiction' is a veritable bee's hive of constant begging, pleading, hair-pulling, game selling and general informing, inhabited by some of the most prominent players in post-Infocom Interactive Fiction. Without a doubt, if you're hopelessly stuck within one of the hundreds of games both commercial and freely distributable, rec.games.int-fiction can appear to be a God-send, offering all the help you could possibly ask for; and, what's more, if you've got your own self-styled wisdom to impart, you can guarantee your words will fall upon at least one receptive hear. But what of the other side of the coin? Where should all those talented beings who wish to pursue a more creative role in Interactive Fiction take up residence? Simple... Let me take the time to introduce you to our previously mentioned news group's twin brother: 'rec.arts.int-fiction' (or 'raif' as it is more commonly known)... From its creation by Adam Engst way back in 1987 as an open forum for the discussion of hypertext-based literary fiction, rec.arts.int-fiction has gone a long way to fulfilling the needs of almost a decade of adventure game development. When Engst first set the wheels of 'raif' in motion as he worked in the computer room at Cornell University (which would have been a sprawling mass of restless students if it was anything like the computer room at WVU's Mountain Lair), he could never have imagined the impact it would eventually come to have. Initially only a sideline topic, the discussion of Interactive Fiction and the problems encountered whilst writing such challenging media have become the soul residential habitat of 'raif' - and the growing amount of traffic passing through its quarters on a daily basis bares witness to the many and varied on-going developments in the genre. When there's an idea for a new game just waiting to take form, a complex or simple programming design that needs a little functional help or the prospect for futhering the already impressive possibilities and lists of specifications that have come to surround modern Interactive Fiction, rec.arts.int-fiction is where all the action is most likely to happen. If it is the development of interactive text-based titles that strikes a chord within, the knowledge base at play in 'raif' is both extensive and far reaching... As of this writing, there are currently two primary adventure development packages available for those creative types who wish to engage in the magical aspects of the art. 'Inform' by Graham Nelson is an unrestricted, freely distributable, multi-platform compiler that accepts hand-written adventure game source code and generates Infocom standard Z-Code game-files for later playing via one of the many versatile freeware Z-Machines. Often touted by many as the ultimate Interactive Fiction development suit, it is not overly difficult to appreciate its staggering potential after you discover the impressive number and quality of games that have previously been written under the environment. Its somewhat modular library structure and Object Oriented approach fits perfectly within the current trend in development system design, and with the recent release of Inform version 6 offering even greater flexibility and world building functionality, you can't help but praise Mr Nelson for such a damn fine contribution to the furthering of our interactive cause - even if the supplied programming documentation does leave the reader a little confused and grasping for purchase from a higher force every now and again. Travelling in a vaguely opposite direction from Inform - for reasons that I will explain shortly - we happen across the undeniably impressive form of Michael J. Roberts' 'Text Adventure Development System' (or 'TADS', for those wishing to save on those all-important syllables). Holding an equal popularity against Inform within the adventure development community, TADS may prove to be responsible for some of the most playable Interactive Fiction titles written since those extremely memorable days when Old Infocom roamed the non-linear circuit. Although offering a world building system that is all-too-often claimed to be significantly more powerful than that of Graham Nelson's already enviable masterpiece, TADS takes to the role of adventure development in very much the same way. Comprising of both an impressive Object Orientated compilation suit and a separate run- time interpreter executable, TADS is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, a truly magnificent authoring system. Alas, the seemingly proprietary way in which Roberts' decided upon going about crafting TADS (along with the current - but very close to changing - Shareware status of the package) may initially pull the potential developer a little off of balance... You see, unlike Nelson's contribution, TADS employs its very own adventure game-file format as opposed to following the highly evolved Infocom Z-Code mechanism, and with that it denies the budding game player the option of using one of the many advanced Z-Machine interpreters that have been so painstakingly written over the years. It should be stressed, however, that this reliance on a "non-Infocom standard" format in no way, shape or form, impairs the true power and scope of Roberts' Text Adventure Development System. At the other end of the spectrum there exist several development systems that either lack the finesse of both Inform and TADS because of their present early state of development, or being viewed by the vocal masses as restricting the full potential of the author in ways deemed inappropriate. The 'Adventure Game Toolkit' (currently available in both 'classic' and 'Master' editions), by David Malmberg and Mark Welch, has been around since the 1980's and can be held partly responsible for many of those interactive titles available today. But, because of the relatively low quality and stability of the majority of those products that were released, it is often viewed by many as being far too easy for the prospective author to create a working game before having fully gain a suitable grasp of the Toolkit's mechanics. Whether or not this argument is true should ultimately be decided by anyone wishing to use AGT in developing Interactive Fiction comparable to those titles offered by Inform or TADS. What's more, it is also worth noting than many of those games written by via AGT were first released in the late 80's, and that could hold to being a deciding factor in any defence of their quality. Thomas Nilsson and Gran Forslund's 'ALAN' (or the 'Adventure LANguage'), on the other hand, is a relative newcomer to the world of the adventure and has seen very little third-party development in recent times. Although the vast majority of present day authoring takes place under the watchful eyes of Inform and TADS, ALAN offers the potential to create moderately sized projects offering competent mechanical potential with only a minimal of programming effort. Whether or not this approach should be seen as a distinct advantage and prove to yield a future crop is a question best left to time itself, but its apparent ease of use, coupled with the fact that it is a free and unrestricted package, may prove popular amongst those budding authors who see the likes of Inform and TADS as too overbearing a system to code under. Similarly, Kent Tessman's 'HUGO' has also seen very little third-party activity since it was initially release, even though it is widely claimed to be far more accessible than several of its rivals, whilst still maintaining a decidedly comfortable state of flexibility. Whatever the future holds for any of the above packages, it's plain to see the desire that programmers hold when it comes to offering the common man a relatively simple entry into the Interactive Fiction authoring arena. This degree of development is equally evident on the other side of the programming fence, where we are delighted to discover that never before in the history of Interactive Fiction as there been the enormous scale of game-file interpreter development than has been witnessed over the course of recent years. Not wishing to stand still in light of the current advances in authoring system complexity, the Infocom Z-Code compatible interpreter of yesterday is undergoing a transformation in functionality and world building integrity at a phenomenal rate. Not content with letting the interpreter lay dormant after the advent of the likes of Zip, ZorkMachine, PInfocom and ITF, the developer's insatiable lust for progress and multi-platform coverage has brought life to several recent additions to the interpreter's family tree - the most distributed of which must surely be Stephan Jokisch's 'Frotz'. As a Z-Code client, Frotz has stood the conclusive test of time making itself available on every computer ranging from the commendable old Amiga of Commodore past, through Apple Macintosh and on to the PC before finally coming to rest at the feet of the mighty UNIX box. Not wishing leave all the hard work of managing the bulk of Interactive Fiction to the likes of the formidable Frotz, the perpetual might of the hive-like developing community have answered the call for faster and more full-featured interpreters by presenting the would-be adventurer with an impressive gathering of titles. MaxZip, JZip and XZip are but three Z-Code clients that live in a constantly developing state of flux, and when you add to those numbers the recently released Level 9 game-file interpreter, 'Level9', along with the 'AGiliTy' Adventure Game Toolkit client, you can clearly see the scale of development that is currently taking form. Even the infamous World Wide Web has seen its own fare share of interpreter action with the admirable creation of Z-Plet - the Java-base Z-Machine applet - meaning that, in more ways than one, the capable Web browser is indeed a multi-faceted window onto the on-line world. Having now firmly introduced ourselves to three of the most fundamental mechanisms involved within the realm of modern Interactive Fiction (the Interactive Fiction Archive based at ftp.gmd.de, rec.games.int-fiction and rec.arts.int-fiction), the final stop in our exploration of the genre's far reaching hypothetical body leads us now to the role that the electronic magazine has taken under its wing. As is clearly the case in every area of interest, there will always be an alliance of minds that are only too willing to share their valuable time and expertise with those who offer a similar topical appreciation. Both Volker Blasius and Dave Baggett are already familiar characters to the reader due to their unfailing dedication in keeping the spirit of today's Interactive Fiction alive, but without an alternative method of spreading further word of the cause other than the previously mentioned news groups, there will always be as many people left out in the cold as there are in on the action. Kevin Wilson had gone some way to bridging that gap when issue #1 of 'SPAG' (otherwise known as the 'Society for the Preservation of Adventure Games') first made a welcome appearance in May 1994, and since then he has strived to mould the quality and scale of the freely available e-zine in an attempt to offer an alternative source of information that is as easily available as a regular FTP or World Wide Web session. By undertaking a periodical approach to Interactive Fiction, SPAG allows the frequent reader with little real 'net access to keep ahead of the latest news, reviews, gossip and offerings that many of us take for granted. Similarly, Eileen Mullin's 'XYZZYnews' - which first saw the light of day in January 1995 - has contributed immensely to the awareness and furthering of Interactive Fiction since the very first issue. Generally taking a more positive stance toward the genre than Wilson's SPAG (which often tends to deal more with reviewing past and present developments as opposed to discussing the application of the art), XYZZYnews is constantly in the face of topical discussions like interactive design and future presentation, as well as regularly pointing the proverbial spotlight at those individuals within the genre who have had the greatest influence on the current state of development. And it is that which makes it a truly indispensable read. As a final word on the subject of e-zines, it's worth keeping well in mind that both SPAG and XYZZYnews are freely available from the Interactive Fiction Archive at ftp.gmd.de, as well as the religiously compiled digests of postings from Usenet's rec.arts.int-fiction and rec.games.int-fiction (along with the impressive number of freely distributable titles that are presently available for the taking - but that's only to be expected). Reading this far you may be curious to know as to exactly where our beloved Amiga stands in all of this. After all, you're reading this article in Amiga Report, so you would expect our challenged platform to have some say in the matter at hand. Well, if the truth be known where Interactive Fiction is an issue, the Amiga is sitting right there at the top of the text adventure heap - along with just about every other computer system available today. There is surprisingly little difference between the state of the text adventure on the Amiga, PC, Apple Macintosh, Acorn Archimedes, PSION Personal Organizer (that's correct), or the several free and proprietary variations of UNIX that are doing the rounds. In actual fact, the vast majority of those freely distributable Interactive Fiction products that are now available tend to be completely interchangeable between different and incompatible Operating Systems. And why would that be? For once, a simple and common answer: some painstakingly documented standards and a imposing library of highly portable source code. As we have already discovered, companies like Infocom wrote the bulk of their titles in such a way so as to be easily portable between any individual Operating System; it would not have been in their best interest to develop each game separately for every available computer whenever the need arose. By offering a system dependant interpreter program (Infocom's 'Z-Machine' is one example, as you may recall) the only other element required to play the adventure games would be the individual game-files themselves. These game-files constitute nothing more than an encoded ASCII text file, which contains all of the important information needed by an interpreter in order to easily reconstruct each individual game world. And, as we should already be aware, ASCII text files can be passed easily from computer to computer, requiring practically zero technological know- how. With the above information firmly in our grasp, it takes very little effort to imagine the awesome scale of adventure now open to us. If the individual game-files can be had so easily, the only other element required before we may play them is the actual interpreter program itself - and that is where the art of portable programming comes into effect... Because standardized programming languages such as C, C++ and Pascal are common amongst many modern computer systems, writing software on one machine with the general intention of applying it under any other brand of Operating System becomes an everyday reality. As long as the author takes special care so as not to encode any system specific elements within his program, porting it to a non-native platform constitutes little more than simply copying the source code onto the desired target computer and then recompiling it from there. It is with this method of multi-platform development in mind that allows today's Interactive Fiction such a wide- spread audience. Impressive Z-Code interpreters such as Stefan Jokisch's Frotz, the proprietary TADS run-time executable; Robert Masenten's Adventure Game Toolkit interpreter, AGiliTy; Alan Cox's 'ScottFree' Scott Adams game-file interpreter and the Level 9 format interpreter, 'Level9' (which was written by Glen Summers and ported to the Amiga by David Kinder) have all made an appearance on practically every viable platform imaginable - along with the formidable porting of Graham Nelson's Inform by Stephan van Egmond, and Michael J. Roberts' TADS. (And all of that is without even bothering to make mention of the relatively new ALAN and HUGO systems). As can be clearly seen, if you've got an Amiga with the minimal resources necessary to take advantage of the basic requirements that adventure games demand, you can guarantee the possibility of being capable of experiencing and enjoying any of the vast number and genre of titles that are currently in circulation. Couple that with opportunities now open to you for actually authoring your own imaginative works of art, and you will discover that the myriad worlds made available to you are uncountable in number and fantastic in design. Sound like Heaven? It is. Incidently, before I continue, I would like to take this opportunity to offer my very special thanks to an individual who, in recent years, has contributed more to the state of Interactive Fiction on the Amiga than any other. Dave Kinder's Amiga ports of Michael J. Roberts' TADS and both the ITF and Frotz Z-Code interpreters, coupled with Glen Summer's Level 9 game interpreter, has truly opened the way for more people to experience and develop adventure games on our ailing but ever-so-capable choice of computer. I doubt very much that I would ever have undertaken my own little renaissance tour of Interactive Fiction had I failed to notice and download an early copy of David's ITF port from Aminet. Thanks David, your effort and support is greatly appreciated by myself and, no doubt, many many others whose lives you have helped enrich - including Amiga Report's very own Jason Compton, who is himself an aficionado of the art. At the outset of this article I was predominantly more inclined to detail, albeit briefly, the historically significant aspects of Interactive Fiction in an effort to illuminate some of its already established accomplishments. I also attempted, in a fashion, to draw the attention toward but a few of the more diverse Infocom offerings of previous years, hoping - as you very often tend to do - that added enlightenment may help give birth to an even greater curiosity in the reader. After all, whilst I'm sitting here at the keyboard of my A1200 typing this article, it would be nice to know that someone, somewhere is actually taking heed of my predictable choice of words, and possibly even contemplating delving into the veritable treasure chest of exotic delights that sit quietly in wait at ftp.gmd.de (or one of its more geographically advantageous mirrors). You see, because Interactive Fiction relies primarily on the ability of the author to competently project the game world he has created, coupled with the imagination of the player who will eventually interpret and inter- act with those events bestowed upon him, the realms of possibility now open to every individual for exploration are infinite. Whether you ultimately decide upon a leisurely stroll through the numerous fantasy lands of David Baggett (the respected co-caretaker of the Interactive Fiction Archive) and L. A. Leary's somewhat Zork-esque 'Unnkulian' [TADS] genre of titles, or opt for the more relatively sombre distractions offered by Leon Lin's 'The One That Got Away' [TADS] and Andrew Plotkin's impressive 'A Change In The Weather' [Inform], you can pretty much guarantee that your curiosity will be pleasantly rewarded. Indeed, the morbid mass appeal of wandering around the shadow infested hallways and haunted back rooms of Brendon Wyber's 'Theatre' [Inform] in an attempt to uncover the abominable secret that lies therein, may initially seem more like a fitting scenario for the pages of a best seller by Clive Barker or James Herbert, but the overall atmosphere of Wyber's well-crafted gothic tale should not be scoffed at. Equally, the story and turn of events surrounding D. A. Leary's 'The Horror of Rylvania' [TADS] would not have appeared out of place in a Saturday night Hammer double feature. When presented with a library of highly acclaimed themes such as Thomas Shelby's conspiratorial exploits through author C. A. McCarthy's impressive multi-dimensional catastrophe, 'The Light: Shelby's Addendum' [TADS], and Graham Nelson's stunning turn-of-the-millennium epic 'Jigsaw' [Inform], it is plain to see that Interactive Fiction can offer an escape from reality that very few of today's commercial products could ever hope to match. The final immersion of the player into the world put before him need only take the reading of a short paragraph of text and a few seconds visualization before the spell is complete. Alas, we are coming to the close of this introductory article, and I hope that it has proven to be as interesting to read as it was for me to write. The whole exercise of putting finger to keyboard was to help bring a greater understanding toward the world of Interactive Fiction with, perhaps, the intention of tempting those readers - who have not previously experienced the cream of the imaginative crop - into investigating the genre a little further. As you have no doubt inferred by now, there is a lot more to both the history and current scene of Interactive Fiction than I could have possibly detailed in such a brief introduction. If I was to hold the bag open and let the cats escape of their own free will, this article would be closer to five times its present length, and Amiga Report would surely attain the (temporary) title of 'Interactive Fiction Monthly'. You now already know that the Interactive Fiction Archive located at 'ftp.gmd.de/int-fiction/' contains a veritable library of multi-platform games, interpreters and development systems just waiting to be downloaded. They can all be had for very little personal cost, and the entertainment value to you could be enormous. Why not drop by sometime? You may even surprise yourself. Happy adventuring @endnode @node REVIEW1 "CSAReview: Vidi Amiga 12 RT" @toc REVIEW =========================================================================== CSAReview: Vidi Amiga 12 RT G. O. Jones gi@gj-Cent.demon.co.uk =========================================================================== PRODUCT NAME Vidi Amiga 12 RT BRIEF DESCRIPTION Full Colour Video Digitiser, Real Time capture (ie. no freeze frame required) AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION Name: Rombo Address: Kirkton Campus, Livington, Scotland EH54 7AZ Telephone: (44) 0506 414631 FAX: (44) 0506 414634 LIST PRICE I paid around 139 UK pounds for mine, although the prices are much cheaper now. DEMO VERSION None SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS HARDWARE 2MB RAM required. More is recommended. Video hardware, NTSC, PAL or Secam. SOFTWARE AmigaDOS 1.3 or greater. COPY PROTECTION None. MACHINE USED FOR TESTING Amiga 1200, 2 MB Chip RAM, 4 MB Fast RAM, 50Mhz 030 CPU. Workbench 3.0. INSTALLATION Uses a custom script: an icon is dragged to the target directory and is double clicked. REVIEW The Vidi 12RT hardware plugs into the Amiga parallel port. It is a fairly large unit which causes some irritating problems. First, due to its width, the serial port on the A1200 is obscured by the right hand side of the case, meaning you will have to remove your modem or MIDI interface each time you wish to use it. You can get around this problem by making an extention cable. There is an order form with the unit for this cable but I feel it should have been included free. The second problem involves powering the unit. Due to its power requirements, you need an external power supply. Yet again this is not included and so you will need to purchase one. The Digitiser has 3 inputs. The first 2 are standard composite video inputs and the other is a Super VHS input (or YC). You can select which input to use using the software so you don't need to fiddle with switches on the unit itself. Big Box Amiga owners may have a problem plugging in the digitiser as the parallel port is lower down than on the A1200. The extention cable will come in handy for this problem too. The software that comes with the digitiser consists of a Grabber, a simple Image Processor and a basic Animation arranger. The Grabber page has all the controls for grabbing images: you can alter the Hue, Saturation, Brightness and Contrast of the images, select the input to be used, and even set it to grab images in a loop with a time delay between each grab. There is also a trigger function that will grab an image each time a joystick button is pressed: handy for a simple security system. The Image Processor contains the usual features found in most Amiga graphics programs. You get Brightness, Contrast, Hue, Blur etc. These functions are fairly useful, but a dedicated program will do this much better. The Animation arranger allows you to arrange your stored frames into an Animation. It displays thumbnails of the images which can be selected and moved around, deleted etc. You can then save them as an IFF ANIM file. The Vidi software doesn't seem to like palette changes or loop frames so you may have to convert the Anim using another program before it will work with certain programs. DOCUMENTATION 64 Page manual, laser printed. The manual is reasonable. It has example images, a tutorial, setup instructions for the hardware, and most importantly a troubleshooting section. LIKES Quality of grabbed images are good. S-VHS input, PAL/NTSC and SECAM are autodetected, DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS The case obscures the serial port and won't connect to Big Box Amigas without an extention cable. Needs external power supply. Software doesn't use ASL filerequesters. COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS ProGrab from Gordon Harwoods seems to be better supported. It has a PCMCIA option for A1200 owners for faster grabs. BUGS There seems to be a bug in the Grab page. After selecting the Mix function to convert to the image to a lower colour mode, returning back to the Grab options resulted in a guru. There is a V2.0 of the software but this isn't a free update. VENDOR SUPPORT Rombo have released PC versions of their Digitisers, however they still sell their Amiga version and even still sell their Atari version. There is a help hotline mentioned in the manual. WARRANTY None mentioned in the manual. CONCLUSIONS Although the ProGrab 24 from Gordon Harwoods is more popular than the Vidi, you can buy a Vidi 24RT for less than a ProGrab, which makes it a good value. The Vidi 12RT's picture quality is good and the software is useful. A1200 owners may want to consider the ProGrab and its PCMCIA option, or the recently re-released Videomaster. COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright 1996 G. O. Jones. @endnode @node REVIEW2 "CSAReview: WordSmith 1.02 And Com-mentor 1.3" @toc REVIEW =========================================================================== CSAReview: WordSmith 1.02 And Com-mentor 1.3 Esa Haapaniemi eha@ernst.oulu.fi =========================================================================== PRODUCT NAME WordSmith 1.02 and Com-mentor 1.3. BRIEF DESCRIPTION Finnish-English-Finnish wordbook and commodity for clipboard translations. There is an educational learning game included. All documentation and button text are currently written in Finnish, but an update is planned to correct this. AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION Name: StoneWare SoftWorks Address: Arsi Koutaniemi OR Marko Ollila Tellervonpolku 7 Elosalamantie 2 C 27 11120 Riihimdki 02100 Espoo Finland Finland E-mail: Arsi@bitfield.fi OR mape@dreamt.org World Wide Web: Promised to be ready "soon" but I don't know the address yet. LIST PRICE The price was 300 Fmk. (Finnish marks) that is approximately some $75 (US). But when compared to normal price difference between countries it will be much nearer $30 (US). Additional vocabularies for other languages are promised with 100 Fmk. Extra word translations should be found freely from the coming WWW page. DEMO VERSION None that I know. SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS HARDWARE 1 M memory and 3 M of hard disk space should be enough. If the words are unpacked, 5 M of hard disk space is needed. The program should work with base 68000 too, and because of the special packing library it is faster if the packed versions of the words are used. No graphics card nor FPU are needed nor especially supported. There is still a benefit of having fast prosessor and more than 2 M of Fast RAM. SOFTWARE Version 2.0 of AmigaDOS at least is needed. Works with 3.0 and 3.1. The program uses StoneCracker library (stc.library) for packed data and that library is included with the package for 68020+ and 68000 prosessors. COPY PROTECTION The program comes on 3 DD FFS formatted Amiga disks. The Commodore (RIP) Installer is included with a paper sheet of cryptic letters and numbers (4420 of them) of which one is asked when the program is installed on HD. After that the sheet can be stored as long as the program is not moved or reinstalled. The program can not be used from the disks. The numbers on the sheet are printed on red paper and the numbers are really tiny (fontsize is some 6 or smaller). Some people might have problems in reading those and they are almost impossible to photocopy with cheap machines. The disks are standard FFS format and can be backed up for safety. The Installer script writes something on the first disk after checking the correct code. After installing, the copy protection is completely invisible. MACHINE USED FOR TESTING Amiga A1200 with 50 MHz 030, 8 MB Fast RAM, 2 MB Chip RAM 1 internal Chinon HD floppy and internal 3.5" 350MB IDE HD. Commodore A1084 monitor (for video work) The KickStart version is 39.106 and WorkBench 40.42. Toolmanager 2.1, SClock 1.72, YAK 1.58, Blanker and DCoMMB loaded Amiga A2000 (model B) w. 25 MHz 030, 8 MB Fast and 1 MB Chip RAM 1.6 GB HD (3 different SCSI disks) Retina Zorro II graphics card and Idek 15 ' MF-II multisync KickStart version 40.63 and WorkBench version 40.42 on 3.1 ROM. ...2.5x SONY CD-ROM, QIC 150 MB tape backup system... I did all the testing on Amiga A1200 and only after finding some special bug or feature I changed to Amiga A2000. INSTALLATION The program is equipped with Commodore Installer. The installation is easy and all of the program is uncompressed inside one directory and wordlists on separate directories inside the main directory. The config file is copied to S: and library into LIBS:. The vocabularies are arranged in subvocabularies including anatomic, botanical, zoological, and computer words. They can be used all at the same time or separately. The slang vocabulary is included as well and it can be protected with a password. All new special words that are not included in these large databases can be added by the user into several new own vocabularies. The installation script gives information on the needed diskspace and tests the prosessor (for unpacking library). The words can be kept packed or unpacked on the HD. When the unpacking is done the installation script asks to input one of the 8 letters cryptic code from the included sheet. There are 4420 different codes on the sheet with really small letters and if the code is miswritten, the same code is asked again. When the code is given the installer asks to insert the original unprotected disk and writes something on it. I did not find any problems reinstalling the program after this (I did want to test the program with uncompressed words). REVIEW This is something that the Amiga should have had for a long time before. The promised Swedish-German-English vocabularies with cross translations to each other add even more to this program's usefulness. I did start the program on the first time without looking at the Amigaguide document file at all. The interface that I saw was rather unprofessional looking, as it was opened on LowRes screen as default and I had everything else on PAL HighRes_InterLace screen. The display could be changed, but there was no testing mode, everything must be either saved or cancelled directly. I did unluckily pick DBLNTSC: High Res No Flicker, saved it and after that did not see anything useful on my 1084 (A1200). Fortunately the WorkBench was still open, and after getting my monitor to sync to that signal I could slide the WorkBench down and reset the WordSmith screen to something more usable on this monitor. I can say about the interface that it is clumsy. There are no menus available and everything is handled from buttons that open new windows on top of the main window. No changes (except the screenmode) are used before they are saved and all of the texts on buttons are in Finnish. Only toggleable button is the button for translation direction (either English > Finnish or Finnish > English) and only target that takes some other input than the left mousebutton is the input field for words. The text in the input field is rather long and it must be cleared completely (SHIFT-DEL) before it can be used. The program knows some really difficult technical terms that were not available on previously used commercial PC program ("Amiga" was translated to a C= made computer :-)). I had to try quite a long time before I found words that were not on the list. My special words for Chemistry are not so well included. BUT simple ones like Asetone, Saccharose, Paraffin, ... are. The vocabularies are really large and the separation of the words into several categories is really useful. And the vocabulary includes really a lot of "dirty" slang words too! Fortunately they can be cut out from the Ahjo educational game and the main program with an owner-specifiable password. For those words that are not included there is a window for starting one's own custom vocabularies that can be used like any other category on Ahjo and on the main program. Only one custom wordlist can be used at a time. The custom word window has checking option for words that are already in other vocabularies, but unfortunately that stops working as soon as any new word is added. That problem was not corrected on the new version I got. There are some annoying parts in the main interface including the already mentioned one mouse button working. Other things like internal single-tasking (the main program stops working until all other windows are closed on WordSmith), error messages at the other end of the window as searched and found words, confusing mixed button types and alike make this all seem like it was only some quick interface test. Version 2 is promised to be much more professional. Current upgrades are concentrated only on found bugs that prevent the use of the program. Ahjo, the educational game, is a new kind of interface window on WordSmith. It has options on choosing the category (all words or slang, custom, computers, botanical, ...) and time to think, a small requester to put the gamer's name for the highscore list, and big buttons for starting, quitting. The question and input requesters are sometimes too short to see all of the words. This part of the program can be used currently only on Finnish>English learning. But if there are self-made vocabularies on any language, they can be tested as well. Only once did I get the previous version of the WordSmith to collapse. It happeded when I chose an unknown word to be printed and iconified the program immediately after that. That bug was not repeatable... Outside the main WordSmith program there is a commodity, Com-mentor. It is a small (27 K) and quick way to make translation of words. It does not include joker mark on search as the WordSmith does. It still does translations to both directions and fast (on 50 MHz 030 !!!). Com-mentor opens with a hotkey to a simple unresizable window on the Workbench and includes only one input field and larger output field that can be scrolled if there are more than ten answers. The size and opening position for the program can be changed with another configuration window that can be opened with another hotkey. All words from the Com-mentor can be copied to the clipboard just by pointing them with a mouse and activating. Even though all the words are represented in capital letters they are read as small letter words to the Clipboard. At the same time all the chosen words are changed to small letters on the Com-mentor preview. Another "problem" is that the words are sometimes misleading. There is no separation between British-English or American-English way of writing the words and many words have more slang meanings than actual translations. Perhaps the worst problem with this is that all of the manuals (only Amigaguide file) and button texts are written in Finnish (correction promised). So currently this is only useful for Finnish speaking people who want to make quick translations Finnish<>English. As it has large vocabulary and there are promises for other languages (including German<>English this can become really something useful! DOCUMENTATION I was somewhat amazed to see that the only things in the envelope were three disks and a red leaflet with thousands of codes on both sides. There was not even any Readme_First file on the disks. Currently the only documentation is an Amigaguide document in Finnish. And even that is very simple, more like an advertisement for the programmers and their "skills." Fortunately when I did contact one of the authors and sent him a list of all the problems he "documented" them back to me, and told to me that they were mainly corrected already. I got a new version of the program and a short README file too, but again no other documents. Still this kind of program should be self explanatory and documents are somewhat enough and the program can be used even without. LIKES - Com-mentor is a really fast and small commodity. And the clipboard working directly with just pointing the wanted word is an extra plus. - Ahjo, the educational game, could be some fun and useful without the annoying bugs. - Really large vocabulary (much bigger than commercial PC/Windows and Macintosh programs I have seen before). - Program is made here, I'll support national programmers !-) - Promised other languages (German<>Swedish<>English<>Finnish) will be useful. DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS - Everything is in Finnish (except one uninformative text in Ahjo). - Several words are still not completely correct. A lot of long words (for example "binary numbering system") are translated with only two words or even with shortenings (exclusive OR = XOR). - Somehow resembles windows programs (unexplainable unrepeatable bugs)... That does not prevent the use, it is only annoying. - Too Macintosh like (one button, no menus). All of the found "problems" should be corrected with version 2. COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS I have shortly used one Windows program and one Macintosh version. The Windows version had translations German<>Finnish and Swedish<>Finnish included with the English<>Finnish but no German<>Swedish<>English. The program was really slow on 75 MHz Pentium w. 8 M RAM and Win 3.1. And as the program was "only" 5 HD disks and took some 8 M of hard disk space, it did not include even nearly as many words as WordSmith. The Macintosh program was an old one and included only the English<>Finnish translation. As it was made to fit on single DD disk, it really did not shine at all. Still the interface was somewhat similar with this Amiga version except that all of the buttons were in English. And no clipboard was directly supported nor any extra educational game. BUGS I'll write this only as a list as all of them should be corrected before this is published. Most of the bugs in the original 1.1 version were already corrected on this current version and only the following were still left. - Custom words can not be written easily, as even the latest version forgets the checking of new words as soon as one new is inserted. - Too small requesters, some words are longer than the window for them - Several words are still "wrong" VENDOR SUPPORT I did tell them about the bugs I found and after some days I received a mail telling me that most of them are already corrected. I got the upgrade as soon as I specially asked for it. I feel a kind of like a gamma tester !-) But I am not connected to the authors in any other way than that I am their customer. WARRANTY There is no warranty that I know. Even the installer script was told to be AS IS and there are no promises to pay for any possible harm made by the program. Still I have found no bugs that could destroy anything, as the data is only read from hard disk and there are no writes done (except when installing). CONCLUSIONS When the author gets all of the annoying bugs out from the programs and makes interface and documents in English/other languages this is much more than it's cheapness (only ~30 US$) and does beat similar (same price) programs in the Windows world easily. When the new languages (Germany<>Swedish<>English<>Finnish) become available there surely is use for others than Finnish and/OR those who want to learn Finnish. Current version could be claimed to be as hackers test of programming skills on any interface (not Amiga specially). Only the large vocabulary is something special. COPYRIGHT NOTICE There is no copywright nor any copy protection on this file !-) Write "Delete" to get rid of this annoying review ;) Esa Haapaniemi University of Oulu Department of Chemistry Finland eha@ernst.oulu.fi @endnode @node REVIEW3 "Review: DirOpus 5.5" @toc REVIEW =========================================================================== DirOpus 5.5 Review: Part 1 By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON} =========================================================================== When DirOpus 5 showed up, I was skeptical. I'd gotten along just fine under the WB2/3 system and was comfortable using DirWork 1.62, and later 2, for my file management purposes. I installed DOpus 5 and played with it a bit, but it just didn't have a lasting appeal for me. "Too much memory use" I said. "Not really my style." I said. I put it aside. Now it's back in my face again and I can't ignore it. DirOpus 5.5 is here, and I've given in. I'm not going to fight it anymore. DirOpus 4 was quite popular as a file manager akin to its contemporaries, DirWork and DiskMaster, among others. The basic idea for those of you who somehow have lived without any of these tools is that you get two side-by-side directory listers, and can copy, delete, picture view, LHA or un-LHA, whatever you like, between the two sides. They're often great timesavers and are in general very convenient to use. DirOpus 5 was a major departure from this system. Instead of being a lister tool that you run in a window or on a separate screen like all the rest, it was going to go farther. It was going to make you throw Workbench entirely out the window. Preposterous, you say? Nope. DirOpus 5 can replace your workbench, backdrops and all. You access your directories as you would have under Workbench, but instead of the fairly limited power Workbench gives you to manipulate files, you have complex button bars, docs full of commands, and other new goodies at your command. As I alluded to earlier, it doesn't come for free. My less-than-elaborate boot system puts up DirOpus 5 on an 800x600x256 color (Retina Z3 CyberGraphX) screen and leaves me with about 11.5 out of 14 megs free when all is said and done. This is fine by me, as memory is so cheap it's not worth complaining about anymore. But it does mean that those systems with under 6 megs of memory are going to feel the burn at one point or another. It is possible to run DirOpus as a separate program rather than as a Workbench replacement, but I so far haven't found a reason that affects me personally. In Part 2 of this review, we'll go into some of Opus 5.5's more endearing configurability properties. For now, I want to look at a few of the advantages immediately available to users who don't have the time, desire, or skill to do in-depth configurations on their file manager/Workbenches. LHA: Opus, like any good file manager, knows how important LHA is to users. But the way it de-archives files is quite interesting. You can de-archive to a new, separate window which acts as a temporary lister for the files in the LHA archive. You then can selectively copy out the files you need for your purposes, in case you don't want everything in the LHA archive. This is significantly easier than the same operation done from the shell. OpusFTP was released as an add-on previously, but is now an integrated part of the DirOpus 5.5 package. A little innocuous button in the default toolbar reads "FTP", and if you're running any sort of TCP stack or clone (MLink), you're in business. Opus will let you open any FTP site, anonymous or otherwise, as a standard lister window. From there, you can carry out just about any operation, from simply copying files to or from the site to renaming to deleting and viewing and reading. There have been other implementations of this scheme (notably, the FTPMount device) but this system feels faster. It is worth noting that I've had some difficulty in getting the OpusFTP program to actually quit. Opus brings a lot of new options to the Workbench. Besides replacing other ToolManager-style dock and button bars, it enables you to keep your left-out Workbench icons, as well as offering the ability to create Windows-style Program Groups. Some may find this useful for organization's sake, or to make the system more palatable to a Windows user who needs to the system for certain purposes. None of this is really as impressive as one particular advantage over standard Workbench (and most directory management utility) operations, and that's the introduction of multithreading. In the Workbench, you're more than welcome to multitask in another program or on another screen if you have a big task going in the WB, but you're not able to, say, start up three different copy commands. DirOpus 5.5 multithreads everything (each lister is its own task), so you never have to wait for something to finish before proceeding with the rest of your work again. There is of course a speed hit, but I find DirOpus very capable under a 4000T standard 040/25 setup. Now, I'm not at all against the shell. I use it quite a bit. But for mass operations that don't necessarily follow any particular wildcard pattern, having a good GUI way to go about them is a great benefit, and DOpus 5.5 provides an excellent medium. Next time, we'll take a look at some more specific configuration options for DirOpus 5.5. DirOpus 5.5 by Jonathan Potter Published by GPSoftware PO Box 570 Ashgrove, Qld Australia 4060 ++61 7 33661402 voice/fax zzgperry@mailbox.uq.oz.au e-mail http://agnus.livewire.com.au/gpsoft/ @endnode @node REVIEW4 "Review: Frotz / Infocom CD" @toc REVIEW =========================================================================== Review: Frotz and Classic Text Adventures Masterpieces of Infocom CD-ROM By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON} =========================================================================== In a thematic gesture, I thought it was high time I gave recognition to one of the neatest gaming genres in the world and how you can take advantage of it on the Amiga. Back in the day before the Amiga started a home computer graphics revolution, much of computer gaming was done in ASCII form. (credit where credit is due, even though the Amiga didn't capture the world, it had everyone running scared, as attested to by then-director of Apple engineering Jean-Louis Gassee) The game of Adventure pioneered the text adventure (or, as it's now known, "interactive fiction" genre) and the game of Dungeon took it to a higher level. The former has been done and redone dozens of times the world over and has turned into the stuff of legend. Many Unix systems (including Amiga NetBSD) ship with it as standard: for fun, the next time you're in your ISP shell, type "adventure." You may get a pleasant surprise--I did on my new CalWeb account. The latter, Dungeon, became known as Zork, and was the motivator behind the founding of the company known as Infocom, which spawned a few dozen of the finest games the world has ever seen. This is not hyperbole by a sentimentalist, I'm being serious. Infocom's authors (called Implementors) are among the best writers and puzzle designers yet seen in computer gaming. Oh, sure, not all of Infocom's games were hits. Some of the best games met with little commercial success (A Mind Forever Voyaging springs to mind), others were decidedly sub-par or at least missing a certain special "something". One of the best things about Infocom was that you could be the owner of practically ANY computer platform (and remember, back in the 80's, that was literally more than a dozen) and Infocom would support your platform. The genius behind this was that each game was compiled into a single data file, and this file was accessed through an interpreter, which, no matter whether you were on a Commodore Plus4 or an Amiga or a Kaypro, looked precisely the same to the Infocom data file. Set up such a useful standard, and others are bound to duplicate and imitate it--which is exactly what has happened. The Infocom "Z-Machine" standard was hacked and disassembled and analyzed until today, authors around the world are able to create their own text adventures in a form nearly identical to the Infocom standard. Dozens of these games are out there, with more on the way all the time. What's the upshot of all this? The other side of the coin is that the interpreter format is an open book as well. Independent programmers for just about every conceivable machine have developed their own Infocom-style interpreters which let you load the data file from any version of Infocom game and play it on your respective machine. For the Amiga, the best interpreter out there right now is the Frotz interpreter, ported and supported on the Amiga by David Kinder. Frotz's operation is very simple. You load up Frotz, which will open itself on any standard Amiga (or graphics card) screen you specify. You load in an Infocom-style data file. The new games are almost all free or shareware, and are available from ftp.gmd.de/if-archive/infocom/games. Infocom released all of its titles for the Amiga. But it is fairly hard to come by the original Infocom packaging, and the Lost Treasures of Infocom series for the Amiga was never in great supply. You can find the Lost Treasures series for the PC or Mac (which is a two-box set containing all of Infocom's text adventures) but even this isn't the easiest thing to find. So now Activision, owners of the Infocom properties, have come out with something else. The Classic Text Adventures Masterpieces CD-ROM is about as inexpensive as it's going to get. For about US$20, you can own almost the entire back collection of Infocom titles on CD-ROM. The exceptions are Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy (the rights on this game license have expired), a fairly good game, and Shogun (the rights have expired here as well), by most accounts a pretty lousy game. You also get three bonus titles: the top three entries in last year's rec.games.int-fiction game contest in the Infocom category. (The other three games were entered in the TADS category, which is another form of interactive fiction game. There is an Amiga interpreter but the games were presented as precompiled PC .exe files.) There is, of course, a catch. While Frotz will access each game flawlessly, giving you a whole lot of entertainment (35 games worth), you'll be hard pressed to get very far without documentation. Infocom was legendary for fascinating, well-presented packaging that could double as copy protection--a vital clue here, a map there, a note that isn't described in the game except to say "You'll find that in your game packaging." The Lost Treasures series provides these in a handbook, but they're more expensive. For a $20 CD, you get online documentation in Adobe Acrobat .PDF format. This is all well and good, but Adobe doesn't make Acrobat for the Amiga. No problem, I'm told, the freeware port of Ghostscript will handle it. This is what I've been told, but I've not been able to get Ghostscript to properly interpret a single PDF document. So, if you're a braver or more successful soul than I with Ghostscript, or have access to another way to read .PDF files (for example, running Acrobat under Shapeshifter or Emplant Mac emulation) then you're set. I can't stress enough how overwhelmingly cool Infocom games are. On the CD-ROM, you'll get the absolute-required-playing Zork series, which set so many standards for entertainment they're hard to count, Douglas Adams' Bureaucracy, the Infocom murder mysteries of Deadline, Suspect, and Witness (all engaging in their own ways), the hilarious Nord and Bert Couldn't Make Head or Tail of It, the Planetfall/Stationfall pair which introduces Floyd, the best computer game character I've ever seen, and the chilling and amazingly well written A Mind Forever Voyaging. And about 20 others which are almost all classics. I strongly suggest giving this CD a look if you can get a hold of it. Activision has it in limited release, but for the price and the quality, it's worth searching for. Also be sure to get Frotz for yourself and browse through other offerings in ftp.gmd.de/if-archive, the home of Interactive Fiction on the net. You can read more about Interactive Fiction in this issue's Feature story. Classic Text Adventures of Infocom Activision, Inc. 310-479-5644 phone support@activision.com e-mail http://www.activision.com Frotz 2.01 Amiga - Available on Aminet David Kinder kinder@teaching.physics.ox.ac.uk @endnode @node REVIEW5 "Review: X-10 Amiga Atlanta Banquet Video" @toc REVIEW =========================================================================== Review: X-10 Amiga Atlanta 10th Anniversary Amiga Banquet Video By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON} =========================================================================== In January of this year, Amiga Atlanta was one of the first Amiga user groups to reach its 10-year anniversary. To celebrate the event, group President Lamar Morgan and the organization decided to put on a major production, a banquet in an upscale Atlanta hotel complete with notable computer industry and Amiga guests. Among those in attendance, apart from some 100 past and present members of the club, were Tim Jenison and an entourage from Newtek, Dale Luck and RJ Mical, (both late of Amiga Corp, with Dale still at and RJ recently departed from 3DO), Dave Haynie, Fred Fish, and three Amiga Report editors: Katherine Nelson, Addison Laurent, and myself. The event was hosted by PBS Computer Chronicles host Stewart Chiefet and CNN TalkBack Live host Susan Rook, whose witty banter with RJ Mical almost entertained the crowd. The event lasted what seemed like forever (actually 4 or 5 hours) and has been effectively edited into just over 2 hours of VHS footage. The AAi membership includes a number of video professionals who shot and subsequently edited the tape. You get just about everything, from the introductory loitering in the hall (which lasted about an hour in real life--you get a minute or so) to the Governor of Atlanta's Amiga Day proclamation, and all of the speeches and presentations of the evening. The night was a lot of fun. You don't get the plate of banquet chicken we all were treated to, nor do you get to experience the night first-hand. But you do get a great insight into the history of the group and of some of the guests present, which is a capsule history of the Amiga itself. The evening was full of laughter (some of it cheap jokes about VCR clocks), and not too much maudlin reminiscing performance. (I have to admit that most of that actually came from me during the now apocryphal "Message to Escom" tape Amiga Atlanta put together last year) About the only complaint I have with the tape is the train-wreck loss of pace the AAi commercial has. About 2/3s of the way through AAi advertises its aging tape of Amiga demos. Had there been other commercials in the tape (which coincidentally wouldn't have been such a bad idea), it wouldn't have seemed so out of place. The rest of the tape is well worth having. In terms of sheer power, it's not a Deathbed Vigil, but as a source of whatever this thing we call "Amiga" is, and what it means to people, there's few better places to look than the X-10 vidoe. X-10 Banquet Tape Amiga Atlanta, Inc. Available in NTSC and PAL Contact lamar@mindspring.com for pricing and availability. @endnode @node REVIEW6 "Review: Phase5 Blizzard 1260 Accelerator" @toc REVIEW =========================================================================== Phase5 Blizzard 1260 Accelerator Review: Part 1 By: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON} =========================================================================== Phase5 was the first to hit the market with 68060 technology for the Amiga. It didn't take long after the introduction of their first CyberStorm 4000/060 board for them to realize that there was a market for colossal speed among the 4000's little brother, the A1200. The Blizzard 020 and 030 series has done well for A1200 users, and they can make the switch to full 060 power as well. The Blizzard 060 board is a high-performance 68060/50 accelerator card for Commodore/AT A1200 machines. The board itself is a very tightly designed PCB, like most Phase5 products, with what few additional components there are surface-mounted very near to the PCB. Most of the components, including the PCB and the single SIMM slot (Which can accept up to a 64 meg SIMM) face to the underside of the machine when installed. Like all accelerators, the Blizzard goes in the trapdoor. I imagine it would be possible to slip it in without removing the case, but my A1200 has long been open for access and the screws misplaced, so I did it the easy way. There is comfortable room for installation and removal, unlike the Falcon 040/25 card which takes up ALL available space and is a headache. There is basically only one jumper of interest, which selects whether or not Kickstart ROM will be mapped to FastRAM for increased performance. This is highly recommended. The Blizzard comes with special support software. Of most interest to general users is the CyberPatcher software. When activated, certain software packages (generally graphics and rendering packages such as ImageFX, Lightwave, Cinema4D, etc.) gain dramatic increases in performance. This is due to the nature of the programs as well as the nature of the 060. Since virtually no software is compiled specifically for 060 processors, 060 users at best can use 68040 compiled software. But the 060, while fully compatible with the 68040 and its FPU math unit, does not run all 040 and FPU instructions equally well. Some require additional emulation, which slows performance. CyberPatcher circumvents these bottlenecks and puts the software back on the path of least resistance. CyberPatcher is, plainly, very cool, and an advantage no other 68060 board out there has. Documentation is provided in English and German. The English instructions are adequate, with only a word or two that slipped by untranslated. There are other support tools to make programming with the 060 easier (and more compatible), including an Enforcer-alike and an assembler. StormC is purported to support the 68060 chip directly, but as we don't have a copy we are unable to test its performance. Next issue, we'll deal with benchmark issues, although for early reference you can look at the Blizzard's performance in the Apollo 1240/40 test. From a usage point of view, the Blizzard is more or less transparent in operation. Once you've dealt with the single board jumper, you're done worrying about the hardware. The 060 is relatively low power so no provisions for heat are made. It can get a bit warm, but nowhere near the scorching temperature of a full 040. Most software will run unhindered. Anything that does exhibit problem (certain games aren't going to run) can be dealt with easily. By holding down the "2" key during a reset, you can switch the board off entirely, giving you back a 2 meg A1200 with 020/14 processor. For software that demands nothing more, you'll be in good shape. The Blizzard can be switched back on at the next reset by repeating the process, or by cold booting the machine. Since the A1200 can't normally benefit from graphic card enhancements (unless you venture to put the machine in a tower case), AGA will be somewhat of a damper on the speed of the 060 for certain applications. However, for pure raw processing speed, little contends with the Blizzard 1260 card. Phase5 updates its 060 software on a fairly regular basis, so continued support exists. A SCSI/memory card may be added to the Blizzard, which provides an external SCSI port and a second SIMM slot, this one capable of taking a full 128 megs of memory. We were unable to obtain one for review. Stay tuned for benchmarks... Phase5 Digital Products ++49 6171 583787 voice ++49 6171 583788 fax http://www.phase5.de/ mail@phase5.de e-mail @endnode @node MAILLIST "Amiga Report Mailing List" @toc WHERE =========================================================================== Amiga Report Mailing List =========================================================================== If you have an internet mailing address, you can receive Amiga Report in @{"UUENCODED" link UUENCODE} form each week as soon as the issue is released. To be put on the list, send Email to majordomo@amigalib.com Your subject header will be ignored. In the body of the message, enter subscribe areport The system will automatically pull your e-mail address from the message header. Your account must be able to handle mail of any size to ensure an intact copy. For example, many systems have a 100K limit on incoming messages. ** IMPORTANT NOTICE: PLEASE be certain your host can accept mail over ** ** 100K! We have had a lot of bouncebacks recently from systems with a ** ** 100K size limit for incoming mail. If we get a bounceback with your ** ** address in it, it will be removed from the list. Thanks! ** @endnode @node UUENCODE @toc MAILLIST =========================================================================== UUDecoding Amiga Report =========================================================================== If you receive Amiga Report from the direct mailing list, it will arrive in UUEncoded format. This format allows programs and archive files to be sent through mail by converting the binary into combinations of ASCII characters. In the message, it will basically look like a lot of trash surrounded by begin and end, followed by the size of the file. To UUDecode Amiga Report, you first need to get a UUDecoding program, such as UUxT by Asher Feldman. This program is available on Aminet in pub/aminet/arc/ Then you must download the message that it is contained in. Don't worry about message headers, the UUDecoding program will ignore them. There is a GUI interface for UUxT, which should be explained in the docs. However, the quickest method for UUDecoding the magazine is to type uuxt x ar.uu at the command prompt. You will then have to decompress the archive with lha, and you will then have Amiga Report in all of its AmigaGuide glory. If you have any questions, you can write to @{"Jason Compton" link JASON} @endnode @node AMINET "Aminet" @toc WHERE Aminet ====== To get Amiga Report from Aminet, simply FTP to any Aminet site, CD to docs/mags. All the back issues are located there as well. Sites: ftp.netnet.net, ftp.wustl.edu, ftp.luth.se, ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk @endnode @node WWW "World Wide Web" @toc WHERE World Wide Web ============== AR is also available on the WWW! Some of the mirror sites include a mail form, allowing you to mail to Amiga Report from the web site and some also include a search engine allowing you to search recent issues for specific topics and keywords (if your browser has forms capability). Simply tell your browser to open one of the following URLs (pick a location nearest you for the best performance): Australia http://ArtWorks.apana.org.au/AmigaReport.html http://www.deepwoods.saccii.net.au/ar/menu.html http://www.livewire.com.au/amiga/cucug/ar/ar.html (w/search and mail) http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~pec/amiga.html Germany http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/amiga/ar/ Greece http://www.acropolis.net/clubs/amiga/amigareport/ Hungary http://mm.iit.uni-miskolc.hu/Data/AR Italy http://www.vol.it/mirror/amiga/ar/ar.html Poland http://www.pwr.wroc.pl/AMIGA/AR/ Sweden http://www.lysator.liu.se/amiga/ar/ United Kingdom http://ppewww.ph.gla.ac.uk/~gowdy/Amiga/AmigaReport/ http://www.iprom.com/amigaweb/amiga.html/ar/ar.html (w/search and mail) http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/kcci1 USA http://www.cucug.org/ar/ar.html (w/search and mail) http://www.omnipresence.com/Amiga/News/AR/ Additional Amiga information can also be accessed at this URL: http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html Mosaic for the Amiga can be found on Aminet in directory comm/net, or (using anonymous ftp) on max.physics.sunysb.edu @endnode @node COPYRIGHT "Copyright Information" @toc ABOUT =========================================================================== Amiga Report International Online Magazine October 18, 1996 Issue No. 4.13 Copyright 1996 FS Publications All Rights Reserved =========================================================================== Views, Opinions and Articles presented herein are not necessarily those of the editors and staff of Amiga Report International Online Magazine or of FS Publications. Permission to reprint articles is hereby denied, unless otherwise noted. All reprint requests should be directed to the editor. Amiga Report and/or portions therein may not be edited in any way without prior written permission. However, translation into a language other than English is acceptible, provided the editor is notified beforehand and the original meaning is not altered. Amiga Report may be distributed on privately owned not-for-profit bulletin board systems (fees to cover cost of operation are acceptable), and major online services such as (but not limited to) Delphi and Portal. Distribution on public domain disks is acceptable provided proceeds are only to cover the cost of the disk (e.g. no more than $5 US). CD-ROM compilers should contact the editor. Distribution on for-profit magazine cover disks requires written permission from the editor. Amiga Report is a not-for-profit publication. Amiga Report, at the time of publication, is believed reasonably accurate. Amiga Report, its staff and contributors are not and cannot be held responsible for the use or misuse of information contained herein or the results obtained there from. Amiga Report is not affiliated with Escom AG or VIScorp. All items quoted in whole or in part are done so under the Fair Use Provision of the Copyright Laws of the United States Penal Code. Any Electronic Mail sent to the editors may be reprinted, in whole or in part, without any previous permission of the author, unless said electronic mail is specifically requested not to be reprinted. =========================================================================== @endnode @node GUIDELINE "Amiga Report Writing Guidelines" @toc ABOUT =========================================================================== Amiga Report Writing Guidelines =========================================================================== The three most important requirements for submissions to Amiga Report are: 1. Please use English. 2. Please use paragraphs. It's hard on the eyes to have solid screens of text. If you don't know where to make a paragraph break, guess. 3. Please put a blank line in between paragraphs. It makes formatting the magazine much much easier. 4. Please send us your article in ASCII format. Note: If you want to check ahead of time to make sure we'll print your article, please write to the @{"Editor" link JASON}. Please stipulate as well if you wish to retain copyright or hand it over to the editor. @endnode @node ZONE "CalWeb" @toc ONLINE =========================================================================== CalWeb: The Home of the Amiga Zone! =========================================================================== AMIGA ZONE MOVES TO CALWEB! THE AMIGA ZONE MOVES FROM PORTAL TO CALWEB INTERNET SERVICES For over ten years the Amiga Zone has been an online resource, home, community, oasis, for Amiga owners. For over ten years I've made my living running the Zone and supporting Amiga users all over the USA, Canada, and the world. Five years ago when American People/Link pulled their own plug, we had to find the Zone a new home and we found a good one on the Portal Online System. Well, it's happened again.. Portal has informed all of its customers that its ten year history as an online service and Internet provider is coming to an end on Sept. 30, 1996. This is very sad, it's short-notice, and the decision is completely out of my control, but it's also irreversible. Portal is changing its entire business plan from being an ISP to selling an accounting system to other online services. So be it. It's sad, but like I said, the Zone went through this before and now we'll go through it again, and come out the other side better and wiser. THE AMIGA ZONE IS MOVING TO CALWEB INTERNET SERVICES. CalWeb (http://www.calweb.com) is a two year old Internet provider located in Sacramento, CA. It has a good sized customer base, and very knowledgeable support staff. It's also run by a long time Amiga owner who has been a friend of mine for many years. The world of modeming has changed much in the last ten years. In 1985 you had very few choices and you had 1200 baud. These days, everyone and his dog has an ISP running and a web page But the vast majority of those providers don't know an Amiga from a hole in the ground, and could care less about Amiga owners. Say "AWeb" or "IBrowse" to them and they'll say "Omega? Amoeba? What? Huh? They still make those things?" CalWeb is different because it's the new home of the Amiga Zone. In October 1996, a new custom front-end menued system will be added to CalWeb to host the Zone. It'll have features for Zone users that neither Plink nor Portal ever had nor were they willing to add. The tradition of a friendly online Amiga community, run by long time Amiga owners, users and lovers will continue. Message bases, huge file libraries (we plan to move over the 20,000+ files we have on the Zone on Portal to CalWeb, MANY of which you'll never see on Aminet or anywhere else), live nightly chats, vendor support and our famous prize contests will continue. We've given away tens of thousands of dollars worth of Amiga prizes in the last ten years. No one else even comes close. I urge any and all of you who were on Plink, or who are now on Portal or who may have left Portal.. or even if you were never on either but used or still use another online service to join CalWeb for the Amiga Zone. I personally promise you the best online Amiga community we can possibly build. You will not be disappointed. CalWeb has arranged a special signup offer for you! Call: 1-800-509-9322 or 1-916-641-9320 or telnet to calweb.com, login as "guest", and follow the prompts. You can join CalWeb for US$19.95 flat, a month. CalWeb takes major credit cards or you can establish a monthly invoiced account if you don't have plastic. The signup is FREE. To get this deal you must say "THE AMIGA ZONE SENT ME" when you call or signup online. I hope to see lots of you join CalWeb. You can telnet into it from anywhere for no hourly charges at all. Your $19.95/mo fee covers everything and also gets you ten meg of storage which includes hosting your own personal web page. Naturally, when the Zone opens there, you'll have unlimited use of all of its features and areas. Never a "money meter" clock to worry about. Your personal or business CalWeb Web pages are maintained by you via FTP. It's pretty slick. You can make a net connection to the server with any Amiga FTP client, put your files onto it, the permissions are automatically set (no "chmod-ing" required!) and flip to your running browser and see the changes instantly. The Amiga Zone's new home is already up at: http://www.amigazone.com running on CalWeb's server. Ckeck it out! Please feel free to write to me at harv@amigazone.com or harv@cup.portal.com if you want more information. Remember to say "THE AMIGA ZONE SENT ME!" when you join. A splendid time is guaranteed for all. Please plan to join us in the Amiga Zone on CalWeb! @endnode @node BBS_ASIA "Distribution BBSes - Asia" @toc BBS =========================================================================== Distribution BBSes - Asia =========================================================================== -= IRAN =- * MAVARA BBS * 0098 21 8740815 -=JAPAN=- * GIGA SONIC FACTOR * Email: kfr01002@niftyserve.or.jp +81-(0)564-55-4864 @endnode @node BBS_AUSTRALASIA "Distribution BBSes - Australasia" @toc BBS =========================================================================== Distribution BBSes - Australasia =========================================================================== -=NEW ZEALAND=- * BITSTREAM BBS * FidoNET 3:771/850.0 AmigaNET 41:644/850.0 +64-(0)3-548-5321 -=VICTORIA=- * NORTH WEST AMIGA BBS * EMail: mozza@nwamiga.apana.org.au Fido: 3:633/265.0 BBS Phone/Fax: +61 3 9331 2831 USR Courier V.Everything @endnode @node BBS_EUROPE "Distribution BBSes - Europe" @toc BBS =========================================================================== Distribution BBSes - Europe =========================================================================== -=FINLAND=- * HANG UP BBS * Email: helpdesk@hangup.dystopia.fi (telnetable site) +358 - 09 - 278 8054 * LAHO BBS * +358-64-414 1516 +358-64-414 0400 +358-64-414 6800 +358-64-423 1300 * KINDERGARTEN * Email: matthias.bartosik@hut.fi +358-0-881 32 36 -=FRANCE=- * DYNAMIX BBS * Email: erlsoft@mcom.mcom.fr +33.1.48.89.96.66 Minitel to Modem * RAMSES THE AMIGA FLYING * Internet: user.name@ramses.fdn.org Fidonet: 2/320/104-105-106 +33-1-45845623 +33-1-53791200 -=GERMANY=- * DOOM OF DARKNESS * Email: marc_doerre@doom.ping.de +49 (0)4223 8355 19200 AR-Infoservice, contact Kai Szymanski kai@doom.gun.de * IMAGINE BBS * Email: Sysop@imagine.commo.mcnet.de +49-69-4304948 Login: GAST (Download area: "Amiga-Report") * LEGUANS BYTE CHANNEL * Usenet: andreas@lbcmbx.in-berlin.de 49-30-8110060 49-30-8122442 Login as User: "amiga", Passwd: "report" * REDEYE BBS * Internet: sysop@coolsurf.de Modem/ISDN: +49-89.54662690 Modem only:+49.89.54662680 * STINGRAY DATABASE * EMail: sysop@sting-db.zer.sub.org.dbp.de +49 208 496807 * VISION THING BBS * ++49(0)345 663914 System Password: Amiga -=GREECE=- * HELLAS ON LINE * EMail: cocos@prometheus.hol.gr Telnet: hellas.hol.gr ++301/ 620-6001, 620-6604, 620-9500 * ODYSSEY BBS * email: odyssey@acropolis.net Amiganet: 39:250/1.0 ++301-4123502 23.00-09.00 Local Time http://www.acropolis.net/~konem/odygb.html -=IRELAND=- * FWIBBLE! * Fidonet: 2:263/900.0 E-Mail: 9517693@ul.ie Phone: +353-902-36124 Midnight to 8am (GMT) Freq "Readme.txt" for details -=ITALY=- * AMIGA PROFESSIONAL BBS * Amy Professional Club, Italian Amos Club +(39)-49-604488 * AMIPRO BBS* AR and AMINET distributor +39-49604488 * DB-LINE SRL * Email: amiga@dbline.it WWW: www.dbline.it +39-332-767383 * FRANZ BBS * EMsil: mc3510@mclink.it +39/6/6627667 * IDCMP * Fidonet 2:322/405 +39-542-25983 * SPEED OF LIFE * FidoNet 2:335/533 AmigaNet 39:102/12 The AMIGA Alchemists' BBS +39-931-833773 -=NETHERLANDS=- * AMIGA ONLINE BS HEEMSTEDE * Fidonet: 2:280/464.0, 2:280/412.0 Email: sysop@aobh.xs4all.nl +31-23-5471111 +31-23-5470739 * THE HELL BBS * Fido-Net : 2:281/418.0 e-mail : root@hell.xs4all.nl +31-(0)70-3468783 * TRACE BBS GRONINGEN * FidoNET 2:282/529.0 Internet Martin@trace.idn.nl +31-(0)-50-410143 * X-TREME BBS * Internet: u055231@vm.uci.kun.nl +31-167064414 -=NORWAY=- * FALLING BBS * EMail: christon@powertech.no +47 69 256117 -=POLAND=- * SILVER DREAM!'S BBS * SysOp: Silver Dream +48 91 540431 -=PORTUGAL=- * CIUA BBS * FidoNet 2:361/9 Internet: denise.ci.ua.pt +351-34-382080/382081 -=RUSSIA=- * NEW ORDER BBS * E-Mail: norder@norder.spb.su FidoNet: 2:5030/221.0 +7-812-2909561 -=SPAIN=- * GURU MEDITATION * +34-1-383-1317 * LA MITAD OSCURA * E-Mail: jovergon@offcampus.es Fido: 2:341/35.19 +34-1-3524613 * MAZAGON - BBS - SYSTEMS * E-mail: jgomez@maze.mazanet.es FTP: ftp-mail@ftp.mazanet.es +34 59 536267 Login: a-report -=SWEDEN=- * CICERON * E-mail: a1009@itv.se +46 612 22011 -=TURKIYE=- * NEEDFUL THINGS * E-Mail: Erdinc.Corbaci@beygir.bbs.tr 90-216-3629417 -=UKRAINE=- * AMIGA HOME BBZ * E-Mail: Oleg.Khimich@bbs.te.net.ua FidoNet: 2:467/88.0 +380-482-325043 -=UNITED KINGDOM=- * AMIGA JUNCTION 9 * Internet: sysadmin@junct9.demon.co.uk FidoNet: 2:440/20 +44 (0)372 271000 * CREATIONS BBS * E-Mail: mat@darkside.demon.co.uk 2:254/524@Fidonet +44-0181-665-9887 * DRAUGHTFLOW BBS * Email: Ian_Cooper@draught.demon.co.uk +44 (01707) 328484 * METNET CCS * Email: metnet@demon.co.uk FidoNet: 2:2502/129.0 2:2502/130.0 +44-1482-442251 +44-1482-444910 * OCTAMED USER BBS * EMail: rbfsoft@cix.compulink.co.uk +44 (01703) 703446 * SCRATCH BBS * EMail: kcci1@solx1.susx.ac.uk Official Super Skidmarks site +44-1273-389267 @endnode @node BBS_NAMERICA "Distribution BBSes - North America" @toc BBS =========================================================================== Distribution BBSes - North America =========================================================================== -=ARIZONA=- * MESSENGER OF THE GODS BBS * mercury@primenet.com 602-326-1095 -=BRITISH COLUMBIA=- * COMM-LINK BBS * EMail: steve_hooper@comm.tfbbs.wimsey.com Fido: 1:153/210.0 604-945-6192 -=CALIFORNIA=- * TIERRA-MIGA BBS * FidoNet: 1:202/638.0 Internet: torment.cts.com 619.292.0754 * VIRTUAL PALACE BBS * Sysop Email: tibor@ecst.csuchico.edu 916-343-7420 * AMIGA AND IBM ONLY BBS * EMail: vonmolk@crash.cts.com AmigaNET: 40:406/7.0 (619)428-4887 -=FLORIDA=- * LAST! AMIGA BBS * (305) 456-0126 -=ILLINOIS=- * EMERALD KEEP BBS * FidoNet: 1:2250/2 AmigaNet: 40:206/1 618-394-0065 * PHANTOM'S LAIR * FidoNet: 1:115/469.0 Phantom Net Coordinator: 11:1115/0.0-11:1115/1.0 708-469-9510 708-469-9520 * STARSHIP CUCUG * Email: khisel@prairienet.org (217)356-8056 * THE STYGIAN ABYSS BBS * FIDONet-1:115/384.0 312-384-0616 312-384-6250 (FREQ line) -=LOUISIANA=- * The Catacomb * E-mail: Geoff148@delphi.com 504-882-6576 -=MAINE=- * THE KOBAYASHI ALTERNATIVE BBS * FidoNet: 1:326/404.0 (207)/784-2130 (207)/946-5665 ftp.tka.com for back issues of AR -=MEXICO=- * AMIGA BBS * FidoNet 4:975/7 (5) 887-3080 * AMIGA SERVER BBS * 5158736 * TERCER PLANETA BBS * FX Network 800:525/1 [525]-606-2162 -=MISSISSIPPI=- * THE GATEWAY BBS * InterNet: stace@tecnet1.jcte.jcs.mil FidoNet: 1:3604/60.0 601-374-2697 -=MICHIGAN=- * DC PRODUCTIONS * Email: dcpro!chetw@heifetz.msen.com 616-373-0287 -=NEVADA=- * PUP-TEK BBS * EMail: darkwolf@accessnv.com 702-553-2403 -=NEW JERSEY=- * T.B.P. VIDEO SLATE * 201-586-3623 * DLTACOM AMIGA BBS * Internet: dltacom.camphq.fidonet.org Fidonet: 1:2606/216.0 (201) 398-8559 -=NEW YORK=- * THE BELFRY(!) * Email: stiggy@belfry.org WWW: www.belfry.org/ 718.793.4796 718.793.4905 -=ONTARIO=- * COMMAND LINE BBS * 416-533-8321 * CYBERSPACE * joehick@ophielia.waterloo.net (519) 579-0072 (519) 579-0173 * EDGE OF REALITY BBS * EMail: murray.smith@er.gryn.org Fido: 1:244/320.0 (905)578-5048 -=QUEBEC=- * CLUB AMIGA DE QUEBEC * Internet: snaclaq@megatoon.com Voice: (418) 666-5969 (418) 666-4146 (418) 666-6960 Nom d'usager: AMREPORT Mot de passe: AMIGA * GfxBase BBS* E-mail: ai257@freenet.hsc.colorado.edu Fidonet: 1:167/192 514-769-0565 -=TENNESSEE=- * AMIGA CENTRAL! * Email: root@amicent.raider.net 615-383-9679 * NOVA BBS * FidoNet 1:362/508.0 615-472-9748 -=VIRGINIA=- * NETWORK XXIII DATA SYSTEM * EMail: gottfrie@acca.nmsu.edu 804-266-1763 Login: anon Password: nopass -=WASHINGTON=- * FREELAND MAINFRAME * Internet - freemf.wa.com (360)412-0228 * PIONEERS BBS * FidoNet: 1:343/54.0 206-775-7983 Login: Long Distance Password: longdistance Or FREQ: AR.lha @endnode @node BBS_SAMERICA "Distribution BBSes - South America" @toc BBS =========================================================================== Distribution BBSes - South America =========================================================================== -=BRAZIL=- * 68000 BBS * AmigaNet: 120:5521/1 Email: vaclav@antares.com.br +55-21-393-4390 [16-06h (-3GMT)] * AMIGA DO PC BBS * Fidonet: 4:801/44 Email: fimoraes@dcc.unicamp.br +55-192-33-2260 Weekdays: 19-07 (-3 GMT) Weekends: 24 hours @endnode @node DEAL_ASIA "Dealers - Asia" @toc DEALER =========================================================================== Dealers - Asia =========================================================================== -=JAPAN=- Grey Matter Ltd. 1-22-3,Minami Magome HillTop House 2F suite 201 Ota-ku,Tokyo 143 Tel:+81 (0)3 5709-5549 Fax:+81 (0)3 5709-1907 BBS: +81 (0)3 5709-1907 Email: nighty@gmatter.japan-online.or.jp -= MAYLAYSIA =- Innovations Lights & Magic (M) Sdn Bhd, A1106, University Towers, 46200, Petaling Jaya, Selangor Darul Ehsan Tel: +6 03 7544544 Fax: +6 03 7544588 Email: skchiew@pc.jaring.my @endnode @node DEAL_AUSTRALASIA "Dealers - Australasia" @toc DEALER =========================================================================== Dealers - Australasia =========================================================================== -=QUEENSLAND=- Image Domain 92 Bridge St Fortitude Valley, Brisbane E-mail: imagedomain@msn.com Voice: 617-3216-1240 Fax: 617-3852-2720 Synapse Computers 190 Riding Road Hawthorne, Brisbane 4171 Voice/Fax: +61 7-3899-0980 -=NEW SOUTH WALES=- Amiga Genius 826 Hunter St. Newcastle West, NSW 2302 Ph: +61 49 623-222 Fax: +61 49 623-583 E-Mail: cdgtb@hunterlink.net.au Unitech Electronics Pty. Ltd. / Maverick Amiga 8B Tummul Place St. Andrews, Sydney 2566 Voice: +61 2 9820 3555 Fax: +61 2 9603 8685 -=NEW ZEALAND=- CompKarori LG/F Karori Shopping Mall Karori, Wellington Tel/Fax: +64 4 476-0212 Email: sales@compkarori.co.nz @endnode @node DEAL_EUROPE "Dealers - Europe" @toc DEALER =========================================================================== Dealers - Europe =========================================================================== -=AUSTRIA=- A.R.T. Computeranimation Ges.m.b.H. Feldstrasse 13 3300 Amstetten Tel: +43 7472/63566-0 Fax: +43 7472/63566-6 Solaris Computec Ges.m.b.H. Mariahilfpark 1 A-6020 Innsbruck Tel: ++43-512/272724 Fax: ++43-512/272724-2 EMail: solaris@computec.co.at -=BELGIUM=- AVM Technology Rue de Rotheux, 279 B-4100 Seraing Voice: +32 (0)41 38.16.06 Fax: +32 (0)41 38.15.69 Email: defraj@mail.interpac.be CLICK! N.V. Boomsesteenweg 468 B-2610 Wilrijk - Antwerpen VOICE: +32 (0)3 828.18.15 FAX: +32 (0)3 828.67.36 INTERNET: vanhoutv@nbre.nfe.be FIDO: 2:292/603.9 -=BULGARIA=- KlubVerband ITA Gmbh 1309 Sofia P.F.13, KukushStr. 1-2 Tel: +359-2-221471 Fax: +359-2-230062 Email: KVITA@VIRBUS.BG Contact: Dr. ING B. Pavlov -=DENMARK=- Data Service Att. Soren Petersen Kaerhaven2a 2th 6400 Sonderborg Phone/Fax: +45 74 43 17 36 EMail: sorpe-95@sdbg.ih.dk Nemesis Amy BBS EMail: boersting@hoa.ping.dk Fido: 2:238/43 USR 33k6 V.E. +45 75-353726 -=FINLAND=- Lincware Computers Ltd Lovkullankuja 3 10300 KARJAA Voice: +358-50-5573696 Fax: +358-11-231511 EMail: linctech@freenet.hut.fi -=FRANCE=- ASCII Informatique 10 Rue de Lepante 06000 NICE Tel: (33) 93 13 08 66 Fax: (33) 93 13 90 95 Quartz Infomatique 2 bis, avenue de Brogny F-74000 ANNECY Tel./Fax (automatique): +33 50.52.83.31 E-Mail: tcp@imaginet.fr -=GERMANY=- AMItech Systems GmbH Ludwigstrasse 4 D-95028 Hof/Saale VOICE: +49 9281 142812 FAX: +49 9281 142712 EMail: bsd@blacky.netz.sub.de dcp, desing+commercial partner GmbH Alfredstr. 1 D-22087 Hamburg Tel.: + 49 40 251176 Fax: +49 40 2518567 EMail: info@dcp.de WWW: www.dcp.de Hartmann & Riedel GdbR Hertzstr. 33 D-76287 Rheinstetten EMail: rick@p22.aop.schiele-ct.de Fido: 2:2476/12.22 Voice: +49 (7242) 2021 Fax: +49 (7242) 2167 Please call before visiting, or we may be closed. Hirsch & Wolf OHG Mittelstra_e 33 D-56564 Neuwied Voice: +49 (2631) 8399-0 Fax: +49 (2631) 8399-31 Pro Video Elektronik Roßmarkt 38 D-63739 Aschaffenburg Tel: (49) 6021 15713 Fax: (49) 6021 15713 -=ITALY=- C.A.T.M.U. snc Casella Postale 63 10023 Chieri (TO) Tel/Fax: +39 11 9415237 EMail: fer@inrete.it (Ferruccio Zamuner) Fido: 2:334/21.19 Cloanto Italia srl Via G. B. Bison 24 33100 Udine Tel: +39 432 545902 Fax: +39 432 609051 E-Mail: info@cloanto.com WWW: www.cloanto.com -=NETHERLANDS=- Chaos Systems Watermolen 18 NL-1622 LG Hoorn (NH) Voice: +31-(0)229-233922 Fax/Data: +31-(0)229-TBA E-mail: marioh@fwi.uva.nl WWW: gene.fwi.uva.nl/~marioh/ -=SPAIN=- Amiga Center Argullós, 127 08016 Barcelona Tel: (93) 276 38 06 Fax: (93) 276 30 80 Amiga Center Alicante Segura, 27 03004 Alicante Tel: (96) 514 37 34 Audio Vision San Jose, 53 Gijon (Asturias) Tel. (98) 535 24 79 Centro Informático Boadilla Convento, 6 28660 Boadilla del Monte (Madrid) Tel: (91) 632 27 65 Fax: (91) 632 10 99 Centro Mail Tel: (91) 380 28 92 C.R.E. San Francisco, 85 48003 Bilbao (Vizcaya) Tel: (94) 444 98 84 Fax: (94) 444 98 84 Donosti Frame Avda. de Madrid, 15 20011 San Sebastián (Guipuzcoa) Tel: (943) 42 07 45 Fax: (943) 42 45 88 Eurobit Informatica C/. Gral. Garcia de la Herran, 4 11100 - San Fernando Cadiz Tel/Fax: (956) 896375 GaliFrame Galerías Príncipe, 22 Vigo (Pontevedra) Tel: (986) 22 89 94 Fax: (986) 22 89 94 Invision San Isidro, 12-18 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid) Tel: (91) 676 20 56/59 Fax: (91) 656 10 04 Invision Salamanca, 53 46005 Valencia Tel: (96) 395 02 43/44 Fax: (96) 395 02 44 Norsoft Bedoya, 4-6 32003 Orense Tel: (988) 24 90 46 Fax: (988) 23 42 07 PiXeLSOFT Felipe II, 3bis 34004 Palencia Tel: (979) 71 27 00 Fax: (979) 71 28 28 Tu Amiga Ordinadors C/ Progreso, 6 08120 La LLagosta (Barcelona) Tel: +34-3-5603604 Fax: +34-3-5603607 vb soft Provenza, 436 08025 Barcelona Tel: (93) 456 15 45 Fax: (93) 456 15 45 -=NORWAY=- DataKompaniet ANS Trondheim Innovation Centre Prof. Brochs gt. 6 N-7030 Trondheim Tel: +47 7354 0375 Fax: +47 7394 3861 EMail:datakompaniet@interlink.no WWW: www.interlink.no/datakompaniet Sezam Software Ulsmĺgveien 11a N-5o5o Nesttun Tel/Fax: +47 55100070 (9-20) ABBS: +47 55101730 (24t) Email: oleksy@telepost.no -=SWEDEN=- DataVision Box 1305 753 11 Uppsala Street Address: Sysslomansgatan 9 Orders: +46 (0)18-123400 Shop: +46 (0)18-124009 Fax: +46 (0)18-100650 -=UNITED KINGDOM=- Almathera Systems Ltd Southerton House / Boundary Business Court 92-94 Church Road Mitcham, Surrey / CR4 3TD VOICE: (UK) 081 687 0040 FAX: (UK) 081 687 0490 Sales: almathera@cix.compulink.co.uk Tech: jralph@cix.compulink.co.uk Brian Fowler Computers Ltd 90 South Street / Exeter Devon / EX1 1EN Voice: (01392) 499 755 Fax: (01392) 493 393 Internet: brian_fowler@cix.compulink.co.uk Computer Magic Unit 8 / Freemans Yard Doncaster Road / Barnsley / S71 1QH Tel: 01226 218255 / 0378 425281 Visage Computers 27 Watnall Road Hucknall / Nottingham Tel: +44 (0)115 9642828 Tel/Fax: +44 (0)115 9642898 EMail: visage@innotts.co.uk @endnode @node DEAL_NAMERICA "Dealers - North America" @toc DEALER =========================================================================== Dealers - North America =========================================================================== -=CANADA=- Animax Multimedia, Inc. Willow Tree Tower 6009 Quinpool Road, Suite 802 Halifax, Nova Scotia B3K 5J7 Ph: (902) 429-1921 Fax: (902) 429-1923 EMail: info@animax.com WWW: www.animax.com/ APC Computer Services 402-5 Tangreen Crt Willowdale, Ont. M2M 3Z1 Voice/Fax: (416) 733-1434 EMail: shadow@interlog.com WWW: www.interlog.com/~shadow/apccomp.html Atlantis Kobetek Inc. 1496 Lower Water St. Halifax, NS / B3J 1R9 Phone: (902)-422-6556 Fax: (902)-423-9339 E-mail: atkobetek@ra.isisnet.com Atlas Computers & Consulting - Derek Davlut 400 Telstar Avenue Suite 701 Sudbury, ON / P3E 5V7 Phone: (705) 522-1923 Fax: (705) 522-1923 EMail: s2200147@nickel.laurentian.ca CineReal Pro-Video 272 Avondale Avenue Ottawa, Ontario K1Z 7G8 Phone/Fax: (613) 798-8150 (Call first to fax) EMail: cinereal@proton.com Computer Shop of Calgary, Ltd. 3515 - 18th Street S.W. Calgary, Alberta T2T 4T9 Ph. 1-403-243-4358 Fx: 1-403-243-2684 Email: austin@canuck.com WWW: www.canuck.com/cshop Computerology Direct Powell River, BC V8A-4Z3 Call 24 hrs. orders/inquiries: 604/483-3679 Amiga users ask for HEAD SALES REP for quicker response! Comspec Communications Inc 74 Wingold Ave Toronto, Ontario M6B 1P5 Computer Centre: (416) 785-8348 Sales: (416) 785-3553 Fax: 416-785-3668 Internet: bryanf@comcorp.comspec.com, bryanf@accesspt.north.net ElectroMike Inc. 1375 Boul. Charest Ouest Quebec, Quebec G1N2E7 Tel: (418) 681-4138, (800) 463-1501 Fax: (418) 681-5880 Forest Diskasaurus 35 Albert St., P.O.Box 84 Forest, Ontario N0N 1J0 Tel/Fax: 519-786-2454 EMail: saurus@xcelco.on.ca GfxBase Electronique, Inc 1727 Shevchenko Montreal, Quebec Voice: 514-367-2575 Fax: 514-367-5265 BBS: 514-769-0565 Le Groupe PowerLand 630 Champagne Rosemere, Quebec J7A 4K9 Voice: 514-893-6296 Fax/BBS: 514-965-7295 Email: mchabot@nationalnet.com National Amiga Oakville, Ontario Fax: 905-845-3295 EMail: gscott@interlog.com WWW: www.interlog.com/~gscott/NationalAmiga.html Oby's Amigo Computing Shop 765 Barrydowne Rd Sudbury, Ontario P3A 3T6 Voice/Fax: (705)524-5826 Email: obys@vianet.on.ca WWW: icewall.vianet.on.ca/pages/obys Randomize Computers R.R. #2 Tottenham, Ont. L0G 1W0 vox: 905-939-8371 fax: 905-939-8745 Email: randomize@interlog.com WWW: www.interlog.com/~randomize/ Software Supermart 11010 - 101 Street Edmonton, Alberta T5H-2T1 Voice: (403) 425-0691 Fax: (403) 426-1701 EMail: ssmart@planet.eon.net SpectrumTech Electronics 412-1205 Fennell Avenue East Hamilton, ON L8T 1T1 Voice: (905) 388-9575 BBS: (905) 388-2542 E-Mail: ste@spectrum.gryn.org Contact: Derek Clarke Wonder Computers Ottawa Retail Store 1315 Richmond Road Ottawa, Ontario K2B 8J7 Voice: (613) 721-1800 Fax: 613-721-6992 Wonder Computers Vancouver Sales Office 2229 Edinburgh St. New Westminster, BC W3M 2Y2 (604) 524-2151 voice young monkey studios 797 Mitchell Street Fredericton, NB E3B 3S8 Phone: (506) 459-7088 Fax: (506) 459-7099 EMail: sales@youngmonkey.ca -=UNITED STATES=- A&D Computer 211 South St. Milford, NH 03055-3743 Voice/Fax: 603-672-4700 BBS: 603-673-2788 Internet: amiga@mv.mv.com Alex Electronics 597 Circlewood Dr. Paradise, CA 95969 Voice: 916-872-0896 BBS: 915-872-3711 EMail: alex@ecst.csuchico.edu WWW: www.km-cd.com/~alex/ Amigability Computers P.O. Box 572 Plantsville, CT 06479 VOICE: 203-276-8175 Internet: caldi@pcnet.com Amiga-Crossing PO Box 12A Cumberland Center, ME 04021 VOICE: (800) 498-3959 (Maine only) VOICE: (207) 829-3959 FAX: (207) 829-3522 Internet: amiga-x@tka.com Amiga Library Services 610 Alma School Rd, #18 Chandler, Az 85224-3687 Voice: (800) 804-0833 Fax: (602) 491-0048 E-Mail: orders@amigalib.com Amiga Video Solutions 1568 Randolph Avenue St. Paul, MN 55105 Voice: 612-698-1175 Fax: 612-224-3823 BBS: 612-698-1918 Net: wohno001@maroon.tc.umn.edu Applied Multimedia Inc. 89 Northill St. Stamford, CT 06907 VOICE: (203) 348-0108 Apogee Technologies 1851 University Parkway Sarasota, FL 34243 VOICE: 813-355-6121 Portal: Apogee Internet: Apogee@cup.portal.com Armadillo Brothers 753 East 3300 South Salt Lake City, Utah VOICE: 801-484-2791 Internet: B.GRAY@genie.geis.com Computer Advantage 7370 Hickman Road Des Moines, IA 50322 Voice/Fax: 515-252-6167 Internet: Number1@netins.net Computer Concepts 18001 Bothell-Everett Hwy, Suite "0" Bothell, WA 98012 VOICE: (206) 481-3666 Computer Link 6573 middlebelt Garden City MI 48135 Voice: 313-522-6005 Fax: 313-522-3119 clink@m-net.arbornet.org The Computer Source 515 Kings Highway East Fairfield, CT 06432 Voice: (203) 336-3100 Fax: (203) 335-3259 Computers International, Inc. 5415 Hixson Pike Chattanooga, TN 37343 VOICE: 615-843-0630 Computerwise Computers 3006 North Main Logan, UT 84322 Concord Computer Solutions 2745 Concord Blvd. Suite 5 Concord, CA 94519 Orders: 1-888-80-AMIGA Info/Tech: 510-680-0143 BBS/Fax: 510-680-4987 Email: moxley@value.net WWW: www.ccompsol.com/ CPU Inc. 5168 East 65th St. Indianapolis, IN 46220 Voice: 317-577-3677 Fax: 317-577-1500 Email: cpuken@indy.net CyberTech Labs PO Box 56941 North Pole, Alaska 99705 Vox: (907) 451-3285 BBS1 : (907) 488-2547 BBS2 & Fax: (907) 488-2647 EMail: 71516.600@CompuServe.com Fido: 1:355/17.0 DC Productions 218 Stockbridge Avenue Kalamazoo, MI 49001 (616)373-1985 (800)9DC-PROD Email: dcpro!chetw@heifetz.msen.com Digital Arts 1321 North Walnut P.O. Box 5206 Bloomington, IN 47807-5206 VOICE: (812)330-0124 FAX: (812)330-0126 BIX: msears Digital Castle 4046 Hubbell Ave. Suite 155 Des Moines, IA 50317-4434 Voice: (515) 266-5098 EMail: Sheep@netins.net Digital F/X, Inc. 1930 Maple, Suite 7 North Bend, OR 97459 Voice: (800) 202-3285 / (541) 756-6693 Email: DFX@Mail.coos.or.us WWW: www.digital-fx.com Electronic Connection 635 Penn Ave West Reading, PA 19611 Phone: 610-372-1010 Fax: 610-378-0996 HHH Enterprises PO Box 10 Hartwood, VA 22471 Contact: Tom Harmon Voice: (540) 752-2100 Email: ko4ox@erols.com HT Electronics E-Mail: HT Electronics@cup.portal.com BIX: msears 422 S. Hillview Dr. 211 Lathrop Way, Ste. A. Milipitas, CA 95035 Sacramento, CA 95815 V: (408) 934-7700 V: (916) 925-0900 F: (408) 934-7717 F: (916) 925-2829 Industrial Video, Inc. 1601 North Ridge Rd. Lorain, OH 44055 VOICE: 800-362-6150, 216-233-4000 Contact: John Gray Internet: af741@cleveland.freenet.edu Kipp Visual Systems 360-C Christopher Ave. Gaithersburg Md, 20878 301-670-7906 kipp@rasputin.umd.edu Krulewich Enterprises 554 Vega Dr Corpus Christi, TX 78418 Voice: (512) 937-4624 Email: 1040.3444@compuserve.com The Lively Computer - Tom Lively 8314 Parkway Dr. La Mesa, CA 91942 Voice: 619-589-9455 Fax: 619-589-5230 Net: tlively@connectnet.com Magic Page 3043 Luther Street Winston-Salem, NC 27127 Voice/Fax: 910-785-3695 E-mail: Spiff@ix.netcom.com Contact: Patrick Smith MicroSearch 9000 US 59 South, Suite 330 Houston, Texas VOICE: 713-988-2818 FAX: 713-995-4994 MicroTech Solutions, Inc. 17W745 Butterfield Road, Suite F Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181 Phone: 630-495-4069 Fax: 630-495-4245 Email: info@mt-inc.com WWW: www.mt-inc.com Mr. Hardware Computers P.O. Box 148 / 59 Storey Ave. Central Islip, NY 11722 VOICE: 516-234-8110 FAX: 516-234-8110 A.M.U.G. BBS: 516-234-6046 Paxtron Corporation 28 Grove Street Spring Valley, NY 10977 Voice: 914-576-6522 Orders: 800-815-3241 Fax: 914-624-3239 PSI Animations 17924 SW Pilkington Road Lake Oswego, OR 97035 VOICE: 503-624-8185 Internet: PSIANIM@agora.rain.com Raymond Commodore Amiga 795 Raymond Avenue St. Paul, MN 55114-1521 VOICE: 612.642.9890 FAX: 612.642.9891 Safe Harbor Computers W226 N900 Eastmound Dr Waukesha, WI 53186 Orders: 800-544-6599 Fax: 414-548-8130 WWW: www.sharbor.com Slipped Disk 170 E 12 Mile Rd Madison Heights, Michigan 48071 Voice: (810) 546-DISK BBS: (810) 399-1292 Fido: 1:120/321.0 Software Plus Chicago 2945 W Peterson Suite 209 Chicago, Illinois VOICE: 312-878-7800 System Eyes Computer Store 730M Milford Rd Ste 345 Merrimack, NH 03054-4642 Voice: (603) 4244-1188 Fax: (603) 424-3939 EMail: j_sauter@systemeye.ultranet.com TJ's Unlimited P.O. Box #354 North Greece, NY 14515-0354 VOICE: 716-225-5810 BBS: 716-225-8631 FIDO: 1:2613/323 INTERNET: neil@rochgte.fidonet.org WenteK - Amiga Computers 10317 N. Scottsdale Rd. Scottsdale, Ax. 85253 Voice: 602-483-7200 Fax: 602-483-6826 EMail: robert2@doitnow.com Zipperware 76 South Main St. Seattle, WA 98104 VOICE: 206-223-1107 FAX: 206-223-9395 E-Mail: zipware@nwlink.com WWW: www.speakeasy.org/zipperware @endnode @node OPINION "Editorial and Opinion" @toc MENU =========================================================================== Editorial and Opinion =========================================================================== @{" compt.sys.editor.desk " link EDITORIAL} @{" E-Cash and Amiga " link OPINION1} One view... @{" E-Cash On The Internet " link OPINION2} ...and another. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node NEWS "News & Press Releases" @toc MENU =========================================================================== News & Press Releases =========================================================================== @{" Amiga Imagine " link NEWS3} Be a part of its future @{" IPISA '96 " link NEWS6} The prestigious Amiga conference @{" R.A.M. Magazine " link NEWS5} The French magazine goes newsstand @{" Opus 5.5 Utilities " link NEWS16} DOpus 5.5 gets a boost @{" Persistence Software " link NEWS13} Jim Drew is back! @{" NetNews Offline Vol II " link NEWS14} NetNews returns @{" Aminet CD 14 " link NEWS15} The series continues @{" Mayland V1.0 " link NEWS1} Calendar/Reminder software @{" AQCVid " link NEWS2} The QuickCam Interface package @{" Pretium Demo " link NEWS9} Financial organization software @{" MathScript V3.0 " link NEWS4} Mathematical equation editor @{" SysPic V4.00 " link NEWS7} Bootpic display program @{" BCS Folds " link NEWS8} But its Amiga branch continues @{" Guru ROM V6 for A2091 " link NEWS10} The famous ROM for Commodore SCSI @{" Guru ROM V6 Update " link NEWS11} An update for current GVP GuruROMs @{" Belgian Amiga Site " link NEWS12} A .be site goes online --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node FEATURE "Featured Articles" @toc MENU =========================================================================== Featured Articles =========================================================================== @{" Interactive Fiction " link FEATURE1} An introductory invitation --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node REVIEW "Reviews" @toc MENU =========================================================================== Reviews =========================================================================== @{" Phase5 Blizzard 1260 " link REVIEW6} The A1200 powerhouse @{" DirOpus 5.5 " link REVIEW3} The massive directory utility @{" Vidi Amiga 12 RT " link REVIEW1} The video digitizer @{" WordSmith / Com-mentor " link REVIEW2} Finnish translations and more @{" Frotz / Infocom CD " link REVIEW4} The legendary Infocom and its legacy @{" X-10 Amiga Banquet Video " link REVIEW5} Amiga Atlanta's event immortalized --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node FTP "Aminet Charts" @toc MENU =========================================================================== Aminet Charts =========================================================================== Due to Aminet downtime, there are no available Aminet Charts this time around. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node ABOUT "About AMIGA REPORT" @toc MENU =========================================================================== About AMIGA REPORT =========================================================================== @{" AR Staff " link STAFF} The Editors and writers @{" Writing Guidelines " link GUIDELINE} What you need to do to write for us @{" Copyright Information " link COPYRIGHT} The legal stuff --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node STAFF "The Staff" @toc ABOUT =========================================================================== The Staff =========================================================================== Editor: @{" Jason Compton " link JASON} Assistant Editor: @{" Katherine Nelson " link KATIE} Games Editor: @{" Ken Anderson " link KEN} Contributing Editor: @{" William Near " link WILLIAM} --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node WHERE "Where to Get AR" @toc MENU =========================================================================== Where to Get AR =========================================================================== @{" The AR Mailing List " link MAILLIST} @{" Aminet " link AMINET} @{" World Wide Web " link WWW} @{" Distribution Sites " link BBS} @{" Commercial Services " link ZONE} --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node BBS "Distribution Sites" @toc WHERE =========================================================================== Distribution BBSes =========================================================================== Arranged by Continent: @{" Asia " link BBS_ASIA} @{" Australasia " link BBS_AUSTRALASIA} @{" Europe " link BBS_EUROPE} @{" North America " link BBS_NAMERICA} @{" South America " link BBS_SAMERICA} Sysops: To have your name added, please send @{"Email", link JASON} with the BBS name, its location (Country, province/state) your name, any internet/fidonet addresses, and the phone number of your BBS --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adv @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode @node DEALER "Dealer Directory" @toc MENU =========================================================================== Dealer Directory =========================================================================== Arranged by Continent: @{" Asia " link DEAL_ASIA} @{" Australasia " link DEAL_AUSTRALASIA} @{" Europe " link DEAL_EUROPE} @{" North America " link DEAL_NAMERICA} Dealers: To have your name added, please send @{"Email", link JASON} with the BBS name, its location (Country, province/state) your name, any internet/fidonet addresses, and the phone number of your dealership --------------------------------------------------------------------------- @{" News " link NEWS} @{" Opinion " link OPINION} @{" Articles " link FEATURE} @{" Reviews " link REVIEW} @{" Charts " link FTP} @{" Adverts " link COMMERCIAL} @endnode

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08/1997