The May 16th meeting will be CUCUG's annual Computer Fair and Swap Meet. This is an extraordinary evening, as anyone a member for more than a year will attest. Every member who attends this great event will be awarded a prize! Each member there will also get one free ticket towards the grand prize of a FotoFUN photo-realistic color printer from Fargo Electronics! Can you afford to miss this meeting?
http://www.livewire.com.au/amiga/cucug/amiga.html
Looks like we've put another shrimp on the barbie!
Apple said some of its desktop Performas and Power Macs have defective chips that can freeze up the computer or change the monitor's color. Also, the PowerBook laptops can show cracks in the casing around the hinges and the AC adapter jack can come loose, said Apple's spokeswoman Nancy Morrison.
The repairs will be made when consumers report the problems, she said. "This is no a recall," Morrison said. "We're not saying you should bring this back."
[Source: The C-U News-Gazette, Friday, May 10, 1996, page B-7.]
The two shows, called The Web and The New Edge, will be aired on July 7. The company's first show, c|net central, has been renewed for a second season on the Sci-Fi Channel and USA Network.
The Web, an hour-long show, will focus solely on the Internet and online services. It will provide instructions on how to select and use various technologies, including browsers and tools.
The New Edge will be a weekly half-hour show focused on cutting-edge technologies and high-tech gadgetry.
It was fun while it lasted. Yesterday's report that American consumers in the first three months of 1996 had for the first time bought more PCs than TVs in a fiscal quarter was incorrect. In fact, TVs outsold PCs on the consumer market by a margin of more than 4 to 1.
The accounting error was made by the Consumer Electronics Manufacturing Association, which reported Monday that 660,000 TVs were sold in the first quarter of 1996. A representative reportedly misread a table, and CEMA corrected the mistake. The actual figure was 4.6 million.
About 937,000 PCs were sold through consumer channels in the same period, according to Computer Intelligence InfoCorp.
It is predicted that American customers will buy 24 million TVs this year compared to about 10 million PCs. PC vendors, however, still top television manufacturers in revenue because the average PC costs about $1,600 more than the average TV.
Many industry vendors, such as Gateway, are now pushing combination PC-TVs that may make the division obsolete in future.
Connectix today released its 24-bit color digital video camera called Color QuickCam for Macintosh.
Color QuickCam plugs into a Macintosh serial port and requires no hardware, according to Connectix officials. Installation takes less than five minutes, after which color images can be taken at 640 by 480 pixels in 24-bit color. Color QuickCam features include a manually adjustable focus lens, Auto-Capture for live Web images, and a self-timer mode.
Color QuickCam is available for $199. A Windows version is in beta testing and is expected to be available in May with the same pricing and features.
As expected, Netscape Communications officially announced today a new beta version of its browser, christened as Navigator 3.0.
The beta version of Navigator 3.0 is little more than a renaming of a "preview release" of the browser code-named Atlas that was posted on the Net last month. But Navigator 3.0, available now from the company's Web site does come with some new features not available in the Atlas version, including the Netscape Administration Kit, a set of management capabilities for customizing directory buttons, the help menu, and other Navigator features.
Netscape will also announce a deal this week at Internet World with Apple Computer to incorporate QuickTime and QuickTime Conferencing in Navigator.
Netscape has maintained a frenetic pace of beta releases of Navigator. As recently as last Tuesday, the company posted another beta of Navigator under the Atlas moniker.
Like the latest release of Atlas, Navigator 3.0 includes:
Apple Computer announced plans to lay off 2,800 employees over the next year after posting expected net losses of $740 million, or $5.99 per share, for the second quarter ending March 29.
The company attributed the better portion of the loss to inventory write-downs of $388 million and restructuring charges of $130 million after tax. But net sales of $2.2 billion were also down 18 percent compared to the same period last year, when the company turned a profit of $73 million.
Apple stock closed down 3/4 of a point today, at 25-1/8.
To hasten a financial turnaround, the company plans to outsource more functions such as manufacturing, liquidate unspecified assets, and eliminate 2,800 jobs. The layoffs include the 1,300 previously announced after the company declared a $69 million loss in January. The company now has about 14,500 employees worldwide.
Some industry analysts say layoffs aren't the answer. "Getting aggressive with staff reductions can be troublesome for the company because employees will most likely look for new jobs, which will affect productivity," said Rob Enderle, an analyst with the Giga Information Group. "The problem is they can only cut back so much or it stops being a company."
Other observers are concerned about the year time frame that the company is projecting for its turnaround. "It seems that they are taking their time in terms of returning the company to profitability," said Pieter Hartsook, editor of the Hartsook Letter and Macintosh market expert. "They are being very conservative in saying that it's going to take them 12 months. They should be able to do it faster than that."
Enderle says the software licensing agreement Apple signed with Motorola and a similar deal that is expected to close with IBM will boost Apple's credibility but won't be enough to solve the company's immediate problems. "They are still dealing with a bad series of strategic decisions that occurred over the last ten years, and they don't appear to be addressing the short-term issues as well as they could," he said.
Apple Computer's stock rose today after IBM's official announcement to license the Macintosh operating system, a deal that both companies hope will attract additional Mac clone manufacturers.
Apple closed at 26-7/8 today on the Nasdaq index, up 1-1/4 points. The increase was rare good news for Apple, whose stock has fallen 52 percent since hitting a high of 49-3/8 last June. IBM's stock, however, fell 1-1/8 points to 105-7/8.
The agreement announced yesterday, which c|net reported early last month, allows IBM to sublicense the Mac OS to other vendors, thereby making IBM the single supplier to hardware companies for both licensing PowerPC processors and the operating system. The license includes rights to the current System 7.5 and the coming System 8, code-named Copland. Previously, hardware companies would have to negotiate separately with Apple and IBM to license the OS and microprocessors.
IBM's deal mirrors an agreement announced in February between Apple and Motorola, which co-developed the PowerPC with Apple and IBM. Neither licensee plans to manufacture Mac clones themselves.
Separately, two hardware component vendors have announced new offerings aimed at Mac clone manufacturers. VLSI Technology will support the PowerPC platform in its Gold Eagle logic boards, a move that will allow system manufacturers to build cheaper Mac OS clones, according to the company. FirmWorks of Mountain View, California, meanwhile delivered its Power Firmware, a product that will let OEMs build systems that can boot multiple operating systems, including the Mac OS and Windows NT.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First of all, I'd like to thank you for being here at this first World of Amiga show in the UK this year.
As you might most certainly have heard already, our company, Amiga Technologies GmbH is about to be sold by ESCOM to VIScorp. The process, engaged by the signature of a binding letter of understanding between ESCOM, VIScorp and Amiga has been announced on Thursday this week.
I will use this opportunity to introduce you Mr. William Buck, president and CEO of VIScorp. I'm quite sure that Bill will say a few words afterwards.
A lot of questions arise. Why is this happening? Who is VIScorp? What does this mean for Amiga?
In 1995, when ESCOM took over the intellectual property of the former Commodore, ESCOM was in a financially good shape. The year 1994 had been excellent and the corporate policy was set to expansion. A multimedia company was formed. The decisions taken at this time were good and ESCOM saved the Amiga computer from its bad destiny.
Amiga Technologies was founded and Amiga computers were brought back to a demanding market. Strategic decisions were taken to ensure the venue of new technology based models as soon as possible. We have achieved all this and we are proud of that performance.
Of course, all these projects and plans are to be financed. It was clear from the beginning that it would take some time for a break-even point to be reached. The company created in May 1995 only could begin with sales in mid-September. We have then sold 40 thousand A1200, 13 thousand monitors and 2000 A4000T machines worldwide until now, which is a satisfying result.
As you might be aware of, ESCOM is currently facing a quite difficult financial situation. A bad Christmas season and inventory write offs were the main reasons for this. This situation of course is also directly affecting Amiga Technologies. The fact is that ESCOM currently does not have the financial resources needed to support the still ongoing costs of our operation, especially advertising and research & development.
To continue a successful Amiga business, a solution to this situation has to be found. I checked a lot of possibilities, I looked into a lot of alternatives. Ladies and Gentlemen, I personally think that VIScorp is one of the best solutions. It is a very interesting opportunity for our future.
Last year, in December, a license agreement was signed between Amiga Technologies and VIScorp, for the making of the Amiga set-top box. This product is network oriented and needs a system like the Amiga with its video abilities and tight operating system. The relationship between Amiga Technologies and VIScorp built up from this time on became closer and closer.
VIScorp is a research & development oriented company. These research efforts are based on the Amiga technology for use in set top boxes. Former Commodore engineers work for VIScorp, which will of course be an appreciable synergy for the development of Amiga in general.
The set-top box market is huge and will be a fantastic engine for our activities.
As I told our staff yesterday, this procedure is not affecting our daily business and ongoing projects, as well as my position as the president of the company. We want the migration to be made as smooth and transparent as possible, for our company and also for our business partners and the Amiga community.
I am confident that this is a good chance for us to be successful in the future.
When this deal will be finalized, the Amiga technology will return to an American company, which understands our technology and its manufacturing.
Thank you very much.
Info:
Gilles Bourdin, Public Relations Tel: +49 6252 709 195
AMIGA Technologies GmbH Fax: +49 6252 709 520
Berliner Ring 89 Email: gbo@amiga.de
D-64625 BENSHEIM, Germany URL: http://www.amiga.de
ToC
In a copyrighted interview posted on the AMIGA-Magazin (a German Amiga print magazine) web site, Amiga Technologies president, Petro Tyschtschenko said that it's pretty much, "business as usual," for Amiga Technologies now that Chicago-based VIScorp has made its intentions official that it wants to acquire Amiga Technologies from German parent company, Escom AG. He said that VIScorp has a set amount of time to make its assessment of the purchase and to close the deal. Tyschtschenko indicated that he was optimistic that this would happen as planned.
According to the article, Tyschtschenko noted that the selling price of $40 million (USD) consists of the intellectual property, existing inventories of finished products and components as well as existing distribution channels worldwide.
Asked whether he thought VIScorp would develop new Amigas, he said that he was certain of it, but that the detailed plans of the new partnership would be revealed at a press conference to be held later. (Originally scheduled for Frankfurt in mid- to late May, the press conference was subsequently canceled and will be announced later. Another more informal meeting between VIScorp and Amiga users and developers has been set for May 19, 1996 in Toulouse, France.) He also interjected that the infamous Amiga Walker would NOT be produced in the oddly futuristic casing seen at the recent CeBIT96 trade show and that it would have a "traditional" Amiga A????-style name. He then thanked Amiga Magazin for sponsoring an effort to come up with a new name.
On the issue of further development, Tyschtschenko confirmed that ex-Commodorians Andy Finkel and Dave Haynie had been hired on as "external advisors" and that talks are continuing with US-based Motorola.
As an interesting aside, and perhaps one final dig at Commodore, Tyschtschenko said, "The purchase will sure be staged trouble-free, because we fortunately don't have the problems as with the purchase of Commodore. After all, AMIGA Technologies is a decent run, German company."
The interview was led by Ren Beaupoil on the 15th of April 1996.
[Translation by Rainer Koschnick (r.koschnick@r-m-b.gun.de). Thanks to Darren Eveland (darren@mgl.ca) for submitting the English text of the interview.]
Due to the letter of understanding, VIScorp is restricted from releasing information relating to the negotiations until they are completed. Until such time, Amiga remains the asset of Amiga Technologies/Escom and all inquires relating to current Amiga operations should be directed to Amiga Technologies/Escom.
Our intent to purchase the Amiga comes out of (i) an appreciation of the core technology and its importance to VIScorp long-term business development and (ii) a belief that the Amiga can -- like the Phoenix -- rise from the ashes and become a profitable technology for the future.
Over the coming days and weeks we anticipate to see a flood a mis-statements in the press, on the Net and via voice communications -- some will be made out of ignorance, others out of malice. We will do our best to keep the Amiga community regularly informed. We have received hundreds of messages and anticipate many more to be received until final resolution of formal negotiations is completed. While we are making every effort to do so, please excuse us if we do not respond to your individual message.
David Rosen, Vice President, Business Development
VIScorp, April 19, 1996
http://www.vistv.com/
(28-Apr-96) - I have been given the responsibility by Mr Bill Buck, CEO of Viscorp, to rebuild a strong Amiga Developer and Users Community. I know that the Amiga community is currently very fragmented and in the past nothing serious has been done for you. As a Commodore developer since 1983 (C64, then Amiga), I can understand all your wishes.
First of all, we are listening to all your suggestions about software/hardware development, documentation, distribution, contact -- just about anything you want if it's reasonable. It's a great mission to seek information from the entire world. So if you're interested in collecting suggestions and representing your Amiga community, contact us on the VIScorp Web Site, or simply reply to this message.
PS: Mrs. Raquel Velasco (raquel@vistv.com), Director of Sales and Marketing Europe, and Mr. Bill Buck apologize for not replying to the mail they have received because they are very busy, as you can imagine. They will reply when they return to the US around the first of May. But you can always reach me via email:
elaffont@pratique.fr (Eric Laffont)
VISCORP / 111 North Canal Street, Suite 933 / Chicago, IL 60606
Corporate Information Contact: Florine Radulovic
Voice: 312-655-0903
FAX: 312-655-0910
Chicago IL, May 9, 1996 - Visual Information Service Corp. (Nasdaq VICP, Bulletin Board), a developer of Interactive TV (ITV) set-top boxes to enhance television use and viewing by providing Internet access and electronic communications functions, will host a meeting for Amiga computer users, vendors, retailers, software and hardware developers. The meeting will be held in Toulouse, France on Sunday, May 19, 1996 and is intended to encourage dialogue between the Amiga community and VIScorp, which announced on April 11, 1996, a letter of understanding with Escom AG to acquire the assets and intellectual property of Amiga Technologies and the former Commodore Business Machines.
"The Amiga community is a large, established and dedicated one, and I believe this is the first time that an owner or prospective owner has gone to this vast community to ask for its opinions," said Raquel Velasco, VIScorp's Director of Sales and Marketing - Europe. "We are excited about the opportunity to tell people about VIScorp and our vision for the future of Amiga Technologies.
"We have asked for proposals and suggestions from the Amiga community. With the `anticipated acquisition of Amiga, we see limitless opportunities. We welcome ideas and are coming to France to listen, as much as to share our own vision."
The meeting will feature VIScorp Chief Executive Officer William Buck, Chief Technical Officer Don Gilbreath, Vice President - Business Development David Rosen, Ms. Velasco, and Chief Software Engineer Carl Sassenrath.
The company asks that all proposals be sent by May 12, 1996 via email to VIScorp Manager of Technical Development for Amiga, Eric Laffont, at: elaffont@vistv.com or via facsimile at: 33-61-538-656.
VIScorp has announced that it intends to begin marketing its first set-top box with full Internet and Web capabilities, called the Universal Internet Television Interface, (UITI) in the fourth quarter of 1996. The company says an enhanced set-top device, the Electronic Device (ED) is scheduled for roll out in 1997, and will feature capabilities such as telephone reception and dial-up, facsimile, pay-per-view options, electronic mail, access to on-line services, including the Internet, and more. Both devices utilize the Amiga operating system and chip sets. Information about VIScorp can be obtained at the company's Web site at http://www.vistv.com/.
The Service Management Group is ceasing all sales, administrative and support activities for Amiga Technologies products in North America. This action is effective immediately. The SMG regrets taking these actions, but the worsening situation with Amiga Technologies, an unscrupulous distribution system, and the wholesale de-emphasis of support, leaves us no choice. Despite the SMG's best efforts to provide fairly priced and well supported Amiga systems, Amiga Technologies and the North American Amiga market has deteriorated irretrievably. Conscience mandates that we no longer participate.
[content of similar tenor edited out for space]
After six years of supporting the Amiga, we bid you farewell. Being of character and conscience we refuse to participate in a business that holds its dealers and consumers in such low regard. When management philosophy espouses the tenets of P.T. Barnum, it is time to leave. We depart with some words from John C. Dvorak, in the May 14, 1996 issue of PC Magazine: "The whole lame situation reminds me of what happened to the Amiga. " [they] were mostly jerks."
[The full text of this exercise in hyperbole can be found at http://www.cucug.org/at/at960429.html.]
Anti Gravity Products would like to discount SMG comments about AT. AT has always been very professional to Anti Gravity Products and has fulfilled any request we made to them regarding products, slicks product information, etc. SMG's claims about AT are based on the fact that they did not perform, thus they were removed from Amiga distribution because they do not know how to sell the product. SMG did not know how to sell Amigas and did not put much effort in learning.
Bill Panagouleas, Sales Manager, Anti Gravity Products
Robert Van Buren, Communications SysAdmin., Anti Gravity
(04-May-96) - The Service Management Group (SMG) did not entirely voluntarily leave the Amiga market as might be inferred from a recent, rambling press release distributed widely on the Internet by SMG. According to brief comments made by Amiga Technologies' Company Spokesman, Gilles Bourdin to CUCUG, "The contract with SMG was indeed resigned to the 31st of March 1996." CUCUG has received a copy of the actual letter to SMG dated March 25, 1996 and signed by AT president Petro Tyschtschenko terminating the SMG contract.
However, SMG's president, Paul Bielski said in an interview with CUCUG today that the decision was not entirely one-sided on AT's part, either. Bielski told us, "During many phone calls in the final weeks, Gilles, Petro Tyschtschenko, and others asked us to stay. There were 'many ways' acceptable to AT Germany, we could continue to participate in the Amiga marketplace. We chose not to continue."
"The termination of the SMG contract was simply not a factor in our decision. The role the SMG would play in the North American market was agreed to by the SMG, Amiga Technologies and QuikPak more than a month earlier. The SMG continued to purchase systems from QuikPak and directly from Amiga Technologies, Germany, well into mid-April," Bielski noted.
In the meantime, AT has named QuikPak of Norristown, Pennsylvania as the exclusive sales source of Amiga product in North America. QuikPak is also the manufacturer/assembler of the Amiga A4000T line of computers. Another company, Zober Industries, a contract manufacturer in Croydon, Pennsylvania, makes many of the PC boards and other components of the A4000T.
CUCUG has also received a copy of a FAX dated April 3, 1996 addressed to SMG from Quikpak declining SMG's request to purchase Amiga product at distributor pricing. This would severely hinder SMG's ability to continue to distribute Amiga products to dealers since they would be forced to buy merchandise at the same prices their customers already pay. Bielski said, "The QuikPak letter... was authored AFTER the SMG notified the 400+ NA dealers that we would sell single units for dealers for $2400. Our dealer letter was release at the close of business on April 2, 1996. This was a unilateral action on our part to reduce the price dealers pay for the Amiga 4000T. It was our sincere hope this action would result in more Amiga sales as well as reduced dealer and consumer prices."
A few Amiga pundits have questioned the authenticity of the now-infamous SMG press release, however after much hoopla surrounding its publication on the Internet, SMG did not deny its authorship.
Another charge against SMG making the rounds on the Internet, was that SMG refused to import the popular, low-priced Amiga A1200 computer into North America. Bielski's response to that was, "This is simply not true. We polled every dealer asking if they wanted them. Amiga Tech told us their minimum order quantity was 5,000 units. Despite repeated dealer queries, we never could amass a six month forecast larger that 500-700 units. Despite all of this, the SMG formally presented Amiga Technologies with a purchase order for 5,000 A1200 units in January '96 and again in March'96. For reasons Petro Tyschtschenko may want to provide, Amiga Technologies could not deliver the systems. When those efforts failed, we asked AT to sell us the pieces of the A1200. The SMG would do the PAL to NTSC conversion and repackage the systems with more memory, bigger disk and faster modem, all at our own expense. Again, AT would not sell us the units. Finally, we asked AT to simply license the technology to us. The SMG would build the units itself, paying AT a license fee, and assuming all of the risk on our own. Still, no sale."
"The SMG made every effort, and fully accepted the financial risk, of bring the A1200 to North America. The reason the A1200 is not in North America does not rest with the SMG," Bielski said.
10. On TV, there are only 53 channels with nothing worth watching. The
Web has *thousands.*
9. On the Web, you're always master of the remote control.
8. What would you rather do: configure a browser or program a VCR?
7. "We will be right back after these important messages."
6. The Web has no laugh track.
5. Modem dial tones are less grating than the theme song to "Friends."
4. Ever heard of the Jerry Lewis Webathon?
3. On the Web, you miss nothing during a bathroom break.
2. A mouse has fewer buttons to master than a remote.
1. "Married...With Children."
[Source: The Digital Dispatch, the c|net newsletter, V2, N18, May 2, 1996. C|Net's address is http://www.cnet.com/.]
Each summer I repair numerous computers that have been hit by lightning. Yes, the owners tell me, they had surge protectors on their computers, but it didn't seem to help. The reason generally is that the surge protectors were neither the proper type nor installed in the correct place. This article will describe the causes for the lightning damage, illustrate how it can be better prevented, and finally, describe how to cut the repair costs on computers that have been hit. Specific repair examples are given for Commodore Amiga computers.
THE SOURCE OF DESTRUCTION. In the USA the power grid and distribution system is such that most homes have a "split phase", center tapped 240 volt service wherein the center tap is grounded. The grounded center leg is not only connected to the water line at each service drop, but it is also "earth" grounded back at the power company distribution transformer. When lightning strikes the power grid, there are numerous earth grounds to "absorb" the bulk of the energy before it travels to your computer. Even then, there is always a perturbation on the line that can result in a surge that is capable of damaging your computer. If the computer has an external surge protector, damage to the computer is rare. Unlike the power grid, the telephone system is UNgrounded. The shortest path to ground for a lightning surge on the telephone lines is through your MODEM and computer! In my experience, 9 out of 10 computers damaged by lightning have been damaged by a surge on the telephone line. This damage typically results in the destruction of the MODEM, in portions of the computer I/O serial port circuitry, and even to the +12 and -12 volt circuits and main power supply in the computer (the serial port is driven by the +12 and -12 volt power supplies).
PROTECTION. The main 120 volt power to your computer should certainly be surge protected. While the ubiquitous surge protectors on the market are usually adequate, the ferroresonant transformer is much superior (and much more expensive). Frequently these can be found at significant discounts at HAM fairs and at surplus outlets, but a word of caution -- they must be the 60 Hz models. An excellent price compromise is an isolation transformer followed by a conventional surge protector.
Telephone line protection has many options. By far the cheapest is to not use your MODEM during thunderstorm activity and to physically disconnect your telephone line from the MODEM when it is not in use. The simplest full time protection is to purchase and install a phone line spike protector between your telephone line and MODEM. A very effective such device is part number 43-102 marketed by Radio Shack. While it is extremely effective in saving your MODEM and computer, it is usually irreparably destroyed when subjected to a surge. Nevertheless, its replacement cost at $13 is much less than the cost of a new MODEM or computer repair. To better protect the surge protector AND your MODEM, consider a double pole, double throw (DPDT) relay such as Radio Shack part number 275-206 connected in such a manner that the actuating coil is energized each time the computer is turned on and the relay contacts are connected such that BOTH leads going to the MODEM are connected to ground (and disconnected from the telephone line) when the computer is turned off and each lead is connected to the telephone line (and disconnected from ground) when the computer is turned on. Another means of protecting your telephone line surge protector and MODEM is to install a ferrite torroid ring. BOTH the red and green telephone lines should pass through the center of the ferrite ring. This significantly increases the impedance of any surge signal that may be propagating down the line. If this ferrite ring is placed on the telephone drop prior to its connection to your main telephone service entrance box, then all of the telephones on your line will receive the benefit of its protection. This latter application may not be approved by the telephone company as it increases the probability that the surge is reflected back to the central switching office.
COMPUTER REPAIRS. All too often I hear horror stories where entire mother boards and power supplies on the computer were replaced at a cost of several hundred dollars. This can only happen when serviced by an incompetent repair facility. While the MODEMs generally must be sent to the manufacturer (as schematic diagrams are generally not available to the repair trade), the I/O and power supply circuitry of the computer itself is almost always rather simple and capable of being repaired by any competent repair facility at a relatively low cost.
GENERAL REPAIR TIPS. When the power supply is rendered inoperable by the surge, it is almost always the -12 volt supply and sometimes the more rugged +12 volt supply. What generally happens is that the regulators in the supplies go out and the -12 volt supply becomes a -17 volt supply and destroys any replacement parts put into the mother board or serial I/O board. Rather than replacing the power supply, a simple $ 1.00 in-line regulator IC part # 7912 can be inserted in the -12 volt lead between the power supply and the mother board. If the +12 volt supply is also so affected, a regulator part number 7812 can be installed in the +12 volt supply lead in a similar manner (Similar 7812 regulators will probably also be needed in the floppy disk and hard disk +12 volt supply lines. If either of the -12 or +12 volt supplies fail in such a manner than there is no voltage present, then repair procedures must consider the entire cost of a replacement supply. In the case of MS DOS-based systems, entire supplies are generally cheaper than repair. In other computers the service personnel can usually make a compact auxiliary supply at a lower cost than that for full power supply replacement. In MS-DOS-based systems, the I/O circuitry is seldom a part of the mother board. It is usually cheaper to replace the serial board than it is to repair it. Seldom is the MS DOS mother board itself damaged. In other computer systems, the I/O sections (e.g., serial ports) are usually an integral part of the mother board. These circuits, however, are generally simple and are easily repaired.
AMIGA I/O BOARD REPAIRS. Check to insure that all power supplies are at their proper voltage. If there is an overload on any of the three main supplies (+ 5 volt, -12 volt, or +12 volt), the entire supply will fail to operate. Disconnect the two twelve volt wires to the main board and all supply leads to the hard and floppy drives. If the +5 volt supply is now functional, the overload is in one of the 12 volt circuits. If there still is no +5 volts, then there are major (expensive) problems. If the +5 volt supply does not operate properly when not connected to the mother board and disk drive loads, then the entire supply requires replacement. If it does operate correctly without any loads connected, then there are major problems on the mother board itself and the repair is best left for experienced repair personnel. If the supply fails to function only when one or both 12 volt circuits are connected, repairs to the mother board are relatively simple and are described below. Probable defective ICs are given below in the order of priority of being affected.
A-500. In the A-500 computer, the prime suspects are ICs # U38 and U39 followed by U8.
A-1000. In the A-1000 computer, the prime suspects are ICs # U6K and U6L followed by U6N.
A-2000, A-2500. In these machines the prime suspects are fuse F2, and IC#s U-304, and U305 followed by U301. On rare occasions, transistor Q300 and/or diode D300 may also be found defective.
A-3000. In these machine, the prime suspects are fuse F300, ICs 304 & 305, then U300 and on rare occasions transistor Q300 and diode D300.
When these are replaced and the computer still does not boot, again check the two 12 volt power levels. Connect one at a time to determine which is overloading the supply. When this is determined, check all of the capacitors (about a dozen) that filter this supply at various locations on the mother board. If a capacitor is charred black, it is a prime suspect.
The procedures described above has been found to restore over 90% of Amiga computers hit by surges on the telephone line.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR. Max Yoder is a Certified Electronics Technician operating his own electronics repair facility part time for the past 25 years. He has a BSEE from Purdue University and a graduate degree in engineering from the George Washington University. His main occupation is that of a program officer in the electronics division of the Office of Naval Research where he manages a research program in wide bandgap semiconductor materials and devices.
Copyright by M. N. Yoder. This article is freely reproducible providing, however, that it is reproduced in its entirety. Mother boards on computers are generally 5 layer boards and can be destroyed by inept servicing procedures. The author assumes no responsibility associated with do-it-yourself repairs.
[The following tip came to us from the SCUG newsletter of Mead, WA, who obtained it from Civic 64/128 Gazette.]
If a drive doesn't find the load/read data on it's first attempt, it automatically searches to the sides of where the data should be. Thus, a drive can be out of alignment and still load/read, but it might create files that can't be loaded/read by other drives.
So, an easy way to check a drive's alignment is to command the drive to search once and only once for the data. On a 1541, turn the drive off and on, then type:
OPEN15,8,15,"M-W"+CHR$(106)+CHR$(0)+CHR$(1)+CHR$(193):CLOSE15
and press RETURN. Insert a commercial disk, type LOAD"$",8 and press RETURN. If the directory loads and the error light is not flashing, the alignment is good.
[Source: CUCUG received this article from the Commodore Users Group of St. Louis journal, "Keywords" March, 1996. CUGSL's address P.O. Box 837, Bridgeton, MO 63044. The other sources mentioned are the CIVIC 64/128 User Group newsletter, "CIVIC 64/128 Gazette", P.O. Box 2442, Oxnard, CA 93034-2442, the Louisville User of Commodore of Kentucky, Inc. newsletter, "LUCKY Report" P.O. Box 9551, Louisville, KY 40209-0551, and the Spokane Commodore Users Group, P.O. Box 474, Mead, WA 99021.]
This article contains questions about Copland, which is next major release of the Mac OS. This article was originally posted on the Copland web site: (http://www.macos.apple.com/copland/)
DISCUSSION:
Question: What is Copland?
Answer: Copland is the development name for the next major release of the Mac OS. Apple's goal is to make a person using a personal computer running Copland more productive than is possible with any other system. Copland will lead the way towards the next generation of personal computing by:
Question: How does Copland fit into Apple's vision and strategy for the Mac OS?
Answer: Copland fits into Apple's vision for the Mac OS by:
Question: What goals and strategies are driving the development of Copland?
Answer: Apple's goal is to make a person using a personal computer running Copland more productive than is possible with any other PC. Several primary goals will contribute to achieving this overall goal:
Question: What are the key features and benefits of Copland?
Answer: Copland will advance the Mac OS by delivering enhancements in human interface, improving system performance on PowerPC-based personal computers from Apple and MacOS licensees, and delivering technologies that will enable users to work more efficiently.
Copland will redefine ease of use beyond what today's personal computers offer, by simplifying how people use personal computers, providing new ways that a computer helps the user accomplish tasks (in some cases by actually performing them automatically), and by offering unique personalization and customization capabilities, so the computer can be adapted to the needs and style of each particular user.
Copland will deliver the highest system performance and stability by fully exploiting the power of RISC processing. Copland will be written almost fully in native RISC code and will be optimized for performance, concurrency, and robustness-providing the most productive working environment of any personal computer.
Finally, Copland will enable new and more productive ways of working by delivering next-generation versions of Apple's existing industry-leading core technologies in the areas of multimedia authoring and playback (QuickTime), two- and three-dimensional graphics (QuickDraw GX and QuickDraw 3D), component software (OpenDoc), international language support (WorldScript) and communications/collaboration (Open Transport and QuickTime Conferencing).
Question: What architectural changes are being made in Copland?
Answer: Copland is built on a completely new OS foundation. Copland will offer a pre-emptive multitasking microkernel. The microkernel offers many advanced services, like the ability for applications to spin off threads into their own pre-emptively-multitasked and memory-protected address spaces. Additionally, the microkernel, file system, I/O, networking services, system extensions and device drivers are also protected, so the system will be more responsive and more stable.
Question: Is Copland a 32-bit operating system?
Answer: Yes. In fact, the Mac OS has been 32-bit since System 7 was introduced in 1991.
Question: Is Copland a multitasking operating system?
Answer: Yes. Like, System 7, System 7.1, and Macintosh System 7.5, Copland supports multitasking. Additionally, Copland introduces preemptive multitasking for critical system resources like the microkernel, file system, I/O subsystem and any threads that are spun off by applications. This improved model will improve system performance, responsiveness, and stability while insuring a high degree of compatibility with existing applications.
Question: The improved productivity goals defined for Copland suggest that you will deliver performance improvements. How will you achieve this?
Answer: Performance improvements will be delivered by making as much of the OS as possible native, and by improving the algorithms for software routines to optimize their performance.
Question: How will the new human interface features in Copland make a Macintosh or Mac OS-based system easier to use?
Answer: The enhancements in Copland's human interface will simplify using a computer in the following ways:
Answer: No. Since Copland builds on the same metaphors and skills that Macintosh customers have been using for years, upgrading to it will be easy and require very little retraining.
Question: What are the most significant improvements in human interface in Copland?
Answer: Copland will include human interface enhancements in three key areas:
[Source: Information Alley, 01 May 1996, Apple Computer, Inc.]
Okay, after reading the hubbub in January's Status Register, I decided to finally break down and get an Iomega SCSI Zip drive, despite Vic Serbe's recommendation in favor of the Syquest EZ-Drive. The Zip is basically a 100-megabyte floppy drive. I purchased the SCSI version for $194 mail order, but prices vary. Disks run about $14.50 a pop when you buy them in bulk. Apparently, you can also buy 25-meg media for a few dollars less, but it hardly seems to make any sense.
Vic's counter recommendation of the Syquest unit was based on larger storage (35% more on a disk) and faster performance. However, the big drawback of the EZ-Drive is that its cartridges--being little hard drives--are quite fragile and accidentally dropping one almost certainly dooms all the data as well as the media itself. Zip media is based on a more traditional and robust floppy-disk technology. In two months I've already dropped three Zip disks from a height which would have mangled the Syquest carts but they were completely unharmed. I'll stick with my puny (100MB!) and slow (see below), but reliable Zip disks!
The Iomega Zip-100 Disk Drive comes in a totally "cute" purple (Iomega says "grape") case. The unit can be placed horizontally or vertically; small rubber feet keep it from slipping in either position. The only front-panel control is a momentary-contact, one-touch eject button. Just a tap on it quickly spits out the disk. Power is supplied by an external "brick" transformer and there is no power switch. The Zip comes standard as SCSI device 5 but can be easily switched (externally) to device 6 if you already have a device on that address. The Zip includes SCSI pass-through so if you have an external CD-ROM, tape backup unit, etc., you can still use it. Termination is also controlled by a simple, external switch.
Setting up the Zip Drive
First, the Amiga experience. Last year, Microsoft invented something called "Plug and Play" for the PC. My Amiga (circa 1990) had no problems (nada, zilch, ZIP!) recognizing the Zip drive and works flawlessly with it--requiring no additional hardware nor software drivers.
To get it to work with the A3000 was fairly simple, although not completely "Plug and Play". After plugging the SCSI cable into the back of the A3000 (remarkably no adapters were required), placing a Zip disk in the drive (probably a good idea not to do this with the Tools disk that comes with the unit--go out and buy some blanks) and turning everything on, I ran HDToolbox (your software may be different) and told it to read the info from the Zip about how it's configured. When HDToolBox came up, it said that the drive on address 5 was "unknown". I clicked on drive #5 and easily changed the drive information to "IOMEGA ZIP 100 N*32" which HDToolBox read from the drive itself.
I then proceeded to partition the drive. HDToolBox wanted to split the Zip into two equal partitions which you probably do not want to do. I just deleted the second partition shown and dragged the boundary of the first partition to the end of the second. I was a little confused since HDToolBox only allowed a 95M partition but then I read that under AmigaDos, that's what you get. You really shouldn't have to change much else. Just make sure that you set it up to use Fast File System and try to remember the device name (mine was IDH0:). So, I just clicked on "Save Changes to Drive" and exited HDToolBox. Some people have been advising that before you shut down HDToolBox, you must low-level format the disk before you can use it. This is not true unless the disk has been magnetically damaged or suffered some other fate. Iomega low-level formats all Zip blanks at the factory and I have never had trouble skipping this time-consuming task (although I've only used the MS-DOS blanks; Mac-formatted disks might be different although I doubt it.).
Then, I rebooted and there was a new icon on my Workbench. One more step was to perform a normal Amiga disk format using the Icon/Format menu option (I later figured out that the "quick format" option works here, too, also saving a ton of time). I then had a brand-new, 95-meg removable drive! Note that I get the same results whether my Zip is terminated or not. If you have trouble getting the computer to see the drive, try toggling the termination.
Zip Drive Performance and Use
The Zip works almost just like a floppy drive on the Amiga. Eject the disk and the disk icon goes away. Pop in a new disk and a disk icon magically appears. It's also quieter than a whisper. The Zip seems to be faster than I expected. It's not supposed to perform like a hard drive in the speed department, but it's magnitudes faster than a floppy and you might not ever notice that it's technically slower than your hard drive. In fact, my unscientific speed testing revealed that the Zip is only about 4% slower than my Quantum hard drives! Here is a very unofficial and completely suspect speed performance table I put together under real-world conditions (i.e., dozens of background processes, 8-color overscan display, lots of windows open, etc.) They may or may not reflect what you'll get with your Zip.
Machine used: A3000 25MHz/10M RAM - Workbench/Kickstart 3.1
Copy One Big File (6,048,768 bytes, 5.9MB)
Source Destination Time Rating
RAM: ZIP 0:16 370.1 KB/Sec.
ZIP RAM: 0:20 295.4 KB/Sec.
RAM: ZIP CrossDos 0:18 328.2 KB/Sec.
ZIP CrossDos RAM: 0:16 369.2 KB/Sec.
ZIP ZIP (to itself) 0:30 196.9 KB/Sec.
Copy Medium Files (22 files, 820,809 bytes, avg. = 36.4KB)
Source Destination Time Rating
RAD: ZIP 0:06 133.6 KB/Sec.
ZIP RAD: 0:06 133.6 KB/Sec.
RAD: FFS Floppy 2:06 6.4 KB/Sec.
FFS Floppy RAD: 0:43 18.6 KB/Sec.
Well, the Zip blows the doors off of floppies, that's for sure! And,
these numbers are only about 4% slower (on average) than I get out of my
hard drives! So, at least for me, having a Zip is almost as fast as having
an unlimited number of 95-meg hard drives. I'd say its "slow" performance
compared to the EZ-Drive will not be a big deal to most people.There Are Some Gotchas
There are a few caveats, though. I have heard that the Amiga is a little picky about device names. You will be given the opportunity to pick a device name for the disk when you partition it. It's apparently important to always choose the same name so that the Amiga recognizes each of the disks you insert into the drive. HDtoolbox suggests IDH0: when I use it, so that's what I've stayed with. You may prefer Zip: or Zippy: or whatever--just always try to use the same device name. You may make the partition name (disk name) anything you want. Another little gotcha--always partition the Zip disks the same way as well. I prefer the simplicity of one, fat 95-megabyte partition, although as mentioned earlier, HDtoolbox will try to split it into two equal partitions. One other thing: my Amiga seems happiest when it's got a Zip disk in the drive at boot time. Otherwise it just sits and waits about 30 seconds before it gives up on the drive. This also auto-mounts the drive. If you don't want to always keep a disk in the drive, you can use a mountlist to explicitly mount the drive after you boot. The Starship BBS (217-356-8056) has a few utilities available to make that easier to do.
MS-DOS Compatibility with CrossDos
The PC (ugh) experience was just about as easy, except for the fact that I had to install a special hardware driver file before the PC would recognize the drive. Admittedly, this was painless, but one really has to wonder why the 1990 Amiga just works without the additional software. Offsetting the driver installation is the fact that blank disks are available preformatted for MS-DOS, so no formatting was required. Since Iomega formally supports Mac and PC, there were some other programs available for write-lock, password-protect, eject, etc. included with the drive. Similar PD utilities for the Amiga are starting to pop up (see ZIPTOOLS.LZH on the Starship BBS in the Amiga conference).
One truly nice treat that the Amiga has going for it (especially for us users who are forced to also use MS-DOS) is CrossDos. This utility (a floppy-only version has been included with the Amiga since Workbench v2.0x) allows you to read and write MS-DOS disks with your Amiga. The Zip drive is no exception, here either, except that you must have the commercial version of CrossDos to access devices such as the Zip. It's very inexpensive and I recommend you get it. All you have to do is to create a custom mountlist file and place it in your Devs:DosDrivers drawer and you can freely and quickly use MS-DOS format Zip disks in your drive as well as Amiga format disks. Here's a sample mountlist file:
/* $VER: ZIPC 40.1 (31.8.93)
*
* ZIP file system entry
*
* This file enables CrossDOSFileSystem on a 100M ZIP cartridge.
*/
FileSystem = L:CrossDOSFileSystem
Flags = 0
Surfaces = 1
BlocksPerTrack = 1
SectorsPerBlock = 1
SectorSize = 512
Mask = 0x7ffffffe
MaxTransfer = 0x100000
Reserved = 0
Interleave = 0
LowCyl = 0
HighCyl = 196607
Buffers = 5
BufMemType = 0
StackSize = 2000
Priority = 10
GlobVec = -1
DosType = 0x4d534800
/* The Device and Unit fields are controlled by tooltypes in the
* ZIPC icon.
*
* Device = scsi.device
* Unit = 5
*/
Be sure to either remove the comments from the Device and Unit fields and
place your own SCSI device name (Commodore's is "scsi.device" but check your
SCSI card manufacturer's docs) and SCSI address you've set your Zip to in
this file or simply add the following tooltypes to the project icon
associated with this file:
ACTIVATE=0 Device=scsi.device Unit=5Also, set the icon's default tool to C:Mount and place both the icon and the mountlist (above) in your Devs:DosDrivers drawer where it will be automatically added to your system. I call my mountlist ZIPC, but you can name yours anything you want as long as the last letter of the name is the letter "c". That's a CrossDos thing that really tripped me up for quite some time.
Conclusion
This was one of the best $200 investments I've ever made in my computer system! The Zip drive has freed my ability to store limitless amounts of files, saved me room in my house (I can store about 120 floppies on one Zip disk), saved me time backing up (Zip disks beat the pants off of tapes and absolutely smoke floppy backup systems), allowed me to back up more often and lets me share files between all the computers I work with--even across platforms. If you own a modern Amiga with SCSI, you just gotta get a Zip!
Anybody want to buy some cheap, used floppies?
The April 18th meeting opened with the traditional introduction of CUCUG officers, performed by President Rollins.
After that formality was dispensed with, President Rollins opened the floor up for our regular Question and Answer Session.
After the Question and Answer Session, the floor was turned over to Chief Librarian Kevin Hisel who showed the new CUCUGAMIZIP disk #2. He explained the price advantage of getting the CUCUG Library on a ZIP disk. The difference in price between it and the corresponding floppy collection would allow you to purchase the ZIP drive itself. Plus you get additional material not available in the floppy collection. The ZIP disk contains 9 MB of MODS in the Music Set drawer. It contains 7 1/2 MB of animations by our own Ed Serbe. After mentioning this, Kevin said he just had to show some of them. He Played "Room1" which is the paper airplane animation for those who have seen it. Kevin then publicly thanked Ed for his contribution to the Library. In closing, Kevin was asked if all the big icons still worked. "Yes, but we advise that you don't click on them," he said with a wink.
After Kevin's presentation the floor was turned over to Macintosh Librarian Mark Bellon, who had three new disks to release this month.
CUCUGMAC #26: Mariner (shareware spreadsheet), Scorpio (shareware word processor with speech capability), Quick Editor (edits QuickTime movies), and List Files (a very nice file finding and cataloging tool, also a tool for working on scripts).
CUCUGMAC #27: Battleship II (a very nice implementation of the game Battleship), Chronograph (a utility to run applications at specific times), DepthApplet (a nice utility to change the color depth quickly), Disk Charmer (an excellent background floppy formatter), FileTyper (a file type converter), LockVol (a utility to lock/unlock volumes (disks)), PopupCD (an interesting CD player that pops up when asked), SENTRY (password protection utility for your machine) and SuperClock! (an excellent menu bar utility).
CUCUGMAC #28: Short Circuit (a game involving connecting things like a circuit), Symbionts (a very nice extension manager), TimeTracker (an excellent time management utility and business billing tool) and Ultra Recorder (an excellent sound recorder, just dictate to it).
After the Library presentations, President Rollins reminded everyone that next month would be our annual raffle. He then asked the SIG Chairmen: Jim Lewis (Amiga), Mark Bellon (Mac), and Emil Cobb (C64/128), to announce what their respective SIGs would be doing this evening, which they did.
The Amiga SIG meeting started out as a discussion of a program from Dimension Technologies called Wipe Studio. With Wipe Studio you can create custom wipes for use with the Video Toaster 4000. Not only can you make the matte wipes (like the sports wipes), but you can also make color wipes such as the rolling gears, Kikibell and Space Fighter effects.
The program comes with a very thin manual, which might lead you to believe that it is either a very lightweight program, or that it is a lousy manual. Neither is the case. Although the manual is very brief, it explains everything clearly. The manual is also supplemented with a full help menu (this is one of the few programs I've seen that actually USES the Help key) and a 40 minute tutorial tape. The program did not run correctly when first received. A call to Dimension Technologies got the problem fixed quickly. After a few phone calls and E-Mail messages from the programmer, we eventually determined that a few of the library files were corrupted on the program disk. His last E-Mail message had the library files attached to it and I was quickly up and running. I was able to successfully compile a full color wipe on my first attempt.
After viewing a little of the demo tape, discussion turned to various other video and graphics topics. The high prices of some Amiga graphics programs was one topic mentioned. Although some of the programs are expensive for the hobbyist (such as $750 for Lightwave, $2500 for the Toaster, etc) they are downright cheap compared to broadcast equipment. One of the local TV stations will soon be spending over $50,000 on a new character generator and has been looking at non-linear editors which cost from $45,000 to $90,000. Compared to those price tags, a $2500 Toaster or even $15,000 for a Video Flyer system is a steal. The point was made that all of the fancy equipment in the world is no substitute for talent and immagination. CUCUG's Ed Serbe has done some very creative animations on an unaccelerated Amiga 500 and DCTV (check out his animation of a paper airplane flying through a house!)
The April Macintosh SIG focused on the program launcher and hierarchical menu program Apollo. Mark Bellon was very positive about Apollo, so much so that he has become a beta-tester for the program.
Mark began by showing a printout of the extensive and clearly written documentation for the program. He said, although the shareware fee of $30 was somewhat steep, by the usual standards, he felt the program was well worth it.
Mark said that Apollo basically is the Apple Menu Items done correctly. The flaw with the Apple Menu Items is that it forces you to put things in a particular place - in the Apple Menu Items folder in your System folder. Apollo, on the other hand, organizes your programs by "logical" location rather than "physical" location. You can install your programs anywhere you like; you just have to tell Apollo where to find them in order to have them launched, and you can group them by category rather than having them all lumped into one big hopper. One of the biggest selling features of Apollo for Mark is that it is so highly configurable. Mark said, "The programmer, Jeremy Roussak, is a preference freak."
One of the preference features that Mark likes is the "sticky click" - when you click on Apollo with the mouse the menu is held open automatically without you having to hold it open yourself. The menu will stay open 30 seconds for you to make your selection.
There is a limit to Apollo's menuing system - you can only go five levels deep, but that should be plenty for just about any use since you set up the menu structure. Mark said using Apollo is a way to get to a buried folder quickly, since you don't have to open all of the intervening folders to get there. Because you put together a group logically in an "abstract group," you aren't tied to the actual directory tree structure. You don't have to rearrange your hard drive to make your groupings work.
Mark said Jeremy maintains the Volume Group for you. He said you can put the Apple Menu into Apollo's menus to use its programs, too, if you like.
Mark then showed the Apollo Configure screen. The Active Groups item fixes up the programs in the order they appear in the group. He also showed what to do when installing a new program, both to your machine and into Apollo.
Among some of the other features of Apollo is the ability to assign key bindings? Want to know what is running on your Mac? Hold down an assigned key and Apollo will tell you what's running. You can kill a single task, kill a selection of tasks, or kill everything. Want you menus to appear wherever your mouse pointer is? That can be done too. You can use key bindings to switch between multiple running programs, rotate and hide them, or rotate among active windows.
Mark said that thanks to Apollo's menu system, "I never open windows anymore." Mark said Apollo can save you disk space as well. "I don't put aliases on the Desktop anymore." Each alias file is 64K in size. "This thing only has about a 40K preferences file." You can configure Apollo to put thumbnails of your applications' icons in the menus, which will add about another 50K of disk storage, but that's it. Stop using two aliases and you're ahead in the storage game. And, if there is something you would like different about the program Jeremy is very receptive to suggestions. Mark said he's going to incorporate the Scene Manager mode switch into Apollo soon. In short, Mark said, "It's just a wonderful, wonderful program."
Mark said registering the shareware program is very simple too. Mr. Roussak is using the Kagi Shareware Service in California, which a lot of shareware programmers are turning to. It is a service that handles all the foreign exchange conversions, all the bookkeeping, and all the other business details the drive most programmers nuts. Detail can be found in the Apollo documentation.
After the official presentation, discussion turned to color printers. The Hewlett-Packard HP660 color printer and the HP550C both got favorable recommendations.
Richard Rollins talked about Graphic Converter 2.4.1 which may be found on the club's BBS. Richard said it's a great program.
Rich Hall has been having some problems connecting to the network. Mark asked him what version of FreePPP he was using. The problem was that FreePPP prior to the newest version 2.5b4 doesn't work with virtual memory on. Rich was running version 1.0.4.
Someone asked about PowerPC accelerator cards for older machines and software problems. Mark said, "It's kid of irrelevant now. We're over the PowerMac conversion hump."
The Mac SIG ended with Richard Rollins showing a demo of the game "Day of the Tentacle."
The April meeting of the CUCUG executive board took place on Tuesday, April 23, 1996, at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house (address and phone number, both in the book). Present at the meeting were Richard Rollins, Jim Huls, Mark Landman, Kevin Hopkins, Kevin Hisel, Emil Cobb, and Jim Lewis. Board members were met by a rearranged meeting room and a Dell Pentium 166 MHz, 32 MB with a 2 GB drive setting on Kevin's desk. "Oh, the times they are a changin'."
Richard Rollins: The May General Meeting will be our annual Computer Fair and Swap Meet. Richard said we will have a video playing which compares the features of Windows 95 and the Macintosh OS.
Discussion wandered afield a little with members talking about the recent tornados, one of which touched down in south Urbana. The village of Ogden didn't fair very well either.
Returning o club matters, Richard said that Mark did an excellent job in presenting Apollo at the April Mac SIG meeting.
Richard said he really liked the new room se up. It was decided that it should stay that way. The consensus was the, "There's something about seeing the computer stuff set up at the front of the room like that."
Discussion then turn to the logistics of running the raffle in May.
Jim Huls: Jim reported that Motorola modems can be upgraded to the Premier for $99. He also said that there is supposed to be a software update coming for the 28.8K modems this month.
As Mac Webmaster, Jim said the Mac Web Directory hasn't changed at all. It has been a very rough month for him personally, but he hopes things will be better soon. The Board extends its best wishes to Jim and his wife.
Jim said CU-Online has some bad modems. But, all of the mail problems seem to have gone away.
Lastly, Jim reported that @Home says Microsoft Explorer has been released again.
Mark Landman: Mark reported that the Amiga SIG talked about Wipe Studio used with the Video Toaster, general video production questions, and then subjects ranging all over the lot. Richard Rollins added that he had heard Lightwave will be moving to the Macintosh.
Mark gave the usual Treasurer's report. He also stated that there were no new members or membership renewals at the meeting.
Kevin Hopkins (KH2): Kevin presented the exchange newsletters and handed out the mail as usual.
Richard mentioned that he would like to register the copy of Apollo that is installed on the club's Mac. The Board approved the $30 fee.
Kevin brought up a topic he had discussed with Mark Bellon concerning a U of I employee who teaches Macintosh Adult Education courses a Urbana High School. Kevin had put Mark in contact with her as a possible source of membership recruitment. Kevin had hoped to ask Mark how that lead had panned out.
Kevin brought up the subject of awarding plaques for services rendered to the club.
Emil Cobb: Emil reported, as Sergeant at Arms, that 25 members attended the April meeting.
Kevin Hisel (KH1): Kevin relayed Mark Bellon's report that Mac Library sales were OK. Kevin said that Amiga Library sales were not noticeable.
Commenting on recent news of the pending sale of Amiga Technologies to VIScorp, Kevin said, "No mater what VIScorp does, it'll be too late."
As Webmaster, Kevin reported that today (April 23, 1996) was a record setting day at the CUCUG WWW site. We had 44,944 total hits for the day!" We average about 30,000 hits a day. Our Italian mirror site takes about 350 HTML hits a day.
Our site got two more Internet awards.
We will be adding two more international mirror sites soon: Australia and the United Kingdom.
Turning to the Computer Fair, most of the items so far are Amiga CD-ROM titles. The prize break down at present is 75/25% Amiga to Macintosh, but this can change overnight.
There followed a meandering and vague discussion about a Windows 95 SIG. The Board left it as "something to think about."
As BBS Sysop, Kevin said that Fish disks 900-1099 are now on the BBS thanks to our recently purchased ZIP disk. The Fish Library is handled by his company which is called Cronus. It is CD-ROM only now.
Jim Lewis: Jim stated, as Amiga SIG Chairman, that Mr. Landman did an excellent job with his presentation at the April SIG meeting. All in all, it went well, although attendance was down (probably due to the first good weather of the season).
Jim recommended that we have a "fire sale" of club equipment at next month's swap meet. There followed a discussion of other methods of sale of the club's surplus equipment.
Meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the IBEW Local 601 Union Hall (352-1741), located at 2901 Research Road in the Interstate Research Park in northwest Champaign. To get there, go north on Mattis over I-74 and turn right at the second stop light, onto Interstate Drive. Then take the first "real" left at Research Road. The Electrician's Hall is the third building on your left. There's a big flag pole right out front and it's directly across the street from one of Hobbico's signs. You should park and enter the building in the back.
ASCII text files of all recent Status Register newsletters are available for downloading on our BBS or our WWW site. Other user group newsletter editors may leave a comment to the BBS Sysop to request free access. To initiate a newsletter exchange, just send us your newsletter. As a matter of CUCUG policy, a newsletter exchange partner will be dropped after three months of no contact.
This newsletter was prepared with PageStream 2.22 on an Amiga 3000 25/100 and output to an HP Laserjet IIP plus. Pagestream was donated to CUCUG by Soft-Logik Publishing Corporation.
For further information, please attend the next meeting as our guest, or contact one of our officers (all at area code 217):
President: Richard Rollins 469-2616 rrollins@cucug.org Vice-President: Emil Cobb 398-0149 e-cobb@uiuc.edu Secretary/Editor: Kevin Hopkins 356-5026 kh2@uiuc.edu Treasurer: Mark Landman 398-2910 mlandman@prairienet.org Corporate Agent: Jim Lewis 359-1342 jlewis@cucug.org Board Advisor: Jim Huls 892-8730 jhuls@cucug.org Librarian/Sysop: Kevin Hisel 352-1002 khisel@cucug.org Mac Librarian: Mark Bellon 337-5804 mbellon@urbana.mcd.mot.com
Call our Starship CUCUG BBS at (217) 356-8056, always online, up to 28,800 baud, supporting all CBM and Macintosh computers. Email us at
cucug@cucug.orgor surf our home page at
To get on the net free, call Prairienet at (217) 255-9000. Login as "visitor". Once you're on, just type "go cucug" for a good place to start.