Welcome to the ____ / ___) *StarShip* 5-MINUTE Weekend Newscast / (_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / ___) / (__ very weekend the *StarShip* on GEnie presents a new 5-MINUTE Weekend (_____) Newscast in Communications Room 10 in the Real-Time Conference Area. Featuring late-breaking stories from the Amiga community, these dynamic, scrolling newscasts cycle every 5 minutes, so you can stop by between 6PM and 3AM Eastern time on Friday, or 3PM and 3AM Eastern time on Saturday or Sunday and learn everything that happened during the preceding week. Industry news, product announcements, upgrades, rumors, special *StarShip* activities, trade show reports, GEnie usage tips, humor, recommended files to download... ... the works -- and it ONLY takes 5 minutes! Each 5-MINUTE Weekend Newscast is available on *StarShip* Menu #10 during the following week. Periodically, newscasts are combined and made available for downloading from the *StarShip* Library. ____________________________________________________________ // \ || -*- IMPORTANT! -*- | || | || As long as individual stories are kept intact and credit | || is given, this material may be reproduced in ALL or PART | || on a privately owned BBS or in a user group newsletter. | || See wording for proper credit at the end of this Newscast. | \\____________________________________________________________/ || | || | ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Thanks to Denny Atkin, Editor, COMPUTE's Amiga Resource, for his generous input. Here we go!... DateLine: April 30, 1993 This 5-MINUTE Newscast presents the following stories: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. NAB Show: Multimedia World 2. NAB Show: NewTek Intros A New Video Toaster 3. NAB Show: Quantel Soldiers On 4. Next Week's *StarShip* Amiga Conferences 5. MicroBotics Makes Commercial Software Available as "Freeware" 6. Moonlighter Software Announces TapeWorm-FS 7. Empire Presents... War in the Gulf 8. Electronic Arts Booming, Company Readies For 3DO 9. Bullfrog Presents: SYNDICATE *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 1st of 9 Stories NAB Show: Multimedia World ____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / ___) Las Vegas, NV -- April 20, 1993 / / / (__ (_____)omputing's wilder side descended on Las Vegas, at the invitation of the National Association of Broadcasters. It came in the form of NAB Multimedia World, an exhibit of the latest in multimedia technology held off the main show floor at the Las Vegas Hilton. Most of the booths concentrated on low-cost digital video production tools. The room was dominated by the Silicon Graphics Inc (SGI) booth. SGI is fresh from creating a joint-venture with George Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic, and the scuttlebutt among the booth's denizens - most are independent software producers on the SGI Iris platform - was that the company's next move will be to standardize the way its applications look. The idea is to make SGI workstations more competitive with the Apple Macintosh as prices decline. Apple also had a big booth at Multimedia World. Curiously it seemed as devoted to the PowerBook portables as anything else. IBM had a booth, touting its Ultimedia "solution" series, but the IBM managers in the booth never could explain to Newsbytes who was in charge of the company's multimedia vision, if anyone. One wall of the floor was devoted to NewTek Technologies. NewTek, maker of the Video Toaster, was demonstrating its new Toaster 4000 in the main hall. This area was filled with independent companies offering Toaster add-on software, post-production support, or training. The Toaster offers many common video functions, like switching and special effects, in a single device, and it seems to have almost single-handedly kept alive the Commodore Amiga, on which it is based. The 4000, named for the new Amiga it is built-on, offers faster effects and enhanced software. Among the publications available at the show were: "Desktop Video World," from IDG; "Videomaker," from Videomaker of Chico, California; "New Media," David Bunnell's latest multimedia magazine from San Mateo, California; "Video Toaster User" from Avid Publications, Cupertino, California; and the second-ever issue of "Wired," the San Francisco cyber-maven bi-monthly. Although NAB Multimedia World was really designed so that station managers and other industry heavyweights could see the computer technology which is changing their business, the crowd there on the show's first day mainly consisted of techie types, resplendent in long hair and t-shirts, spouting computer jargon. They asked a number of basic questions, such as: What do broadcasters do anyway? As Sculley's keynote address indicated, that's not at all clear anymore. It will be interesting to see whether the station executives Multimedia World was designed for get a chance to catch it. (c) 1993 Newsbytes. Reprinted by permission. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 2nd of 9 Stories NAB Show: NewTek Intros A New Video Toaster ____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (_ _) Las Vegas, NV -- April 21, 1993 / / _/ / (____)n two booths, one in the main show hall and one in the adjoining Multimedia World center, NewTek announced a new version of its famed Video Toaster, the Video Toaster 4000. The new model is based on the new Commodore Amiga 4000, but company spokesmen ranging from vice president Paul Montgomery to product demonstrators including former "Star Trek: The Next Generation" actor Wil Wheaton emphasized that the software has been completely updated. The new Toaster has a switcher with four video inputs and three internal digital sources, close to 300 video effects, an integrated graphics loader, a 24-bit character generator, and a new paint system. The Toaster also runs LightWave 3D, a three-dimensional modeling, rendering and animation system, and ToasterPaint, a video paint system. The company announced that Lightwave will be used to create graphic effects for Steven Spielberg's "seaQuest DSV," debuting this fall on NBC. The Toaster also works with local area networks, including Novell NetWare, meaning it can be the video element in a corporate network. Huge crowds and big talk have become something of a tradition with NewTek since it introduced the Toaster in 1990. This year was no exception. At Multimedia World, a host of small companies offered Toaster enhancement software, harder, and training, amidst hand-painted signs seldom seen at major shows since the 1970s. Said Montgomery. "Since 1990 we've formed a new industry - Personal Video Production. What we represent is the end of this show." (c) 1993 Newsbytes. Reprinted by permission. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 3rd of 9 Stories NAB Show: Quantel Soldiers On _ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / \ Las Vegas, NV -- April 21, 1993 / - \ / ___ \ (_/ \_)midst all the excitement about digital video production and standards-based products ranging from the Silicon Graphics Indigo through the Apple Macintosh to the Amiga-based NewTek Video Toaster, Quantel soldiers on. Quantel, which is based in Berkshire, England, remains a leader in producing video editors with names like the Harry, which sell for up to $750,000 each. While they are all computer-based, they are also proprietary. At this show, the company introduced a simpler version of its off-line editor called the Micro Henry, a tapeless on-air presentation product called Clipbox, and improvements to its digital compositor - known as Hal - as well as its on-line editor, Henry. The company remains quite formidable in its market because it gives broadcasters precisely what they want. Its Paintbox graphics workstation is hugely popular, not only in video but in publishing, for its super high resolution images. US spokesman Dominic Lunney told Newsbytes that the company has no worries about competitors like Silicon Graphics - which can undercut its prices by a factor of 10 - or NewTek - whose Toasters may cost one-hundredth as much. "A general purpose system is compromised," he insisted. "A guy who invests in a hardware platform can be toast when the hardware changes. We're dedicated to maintaining our buyers' investment as the hardware changes." (c) 1993 Newsbytes. Reprinted by permission. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 4th of 9 Stories __________________________________________________________________________ | | | *StarShip* Amiga Conferences | | _ _ | | / \/ \ ____ _ _ | | / \ / _ ) / ) / ) | | / /\ /\ \ / (/ / / (_/ / | | (_/ \/ \_)(____( (___ / | | ___/ / | | (____/ | | | | Except where noted, Conferences begin at 10PM Eastern Time in the Amiga | | Conference Rooms at Page 555;2. Amiga Programmers meet Wednesday nights | | at Pro/Am on Page 670. Amiga/GEnie HelpDesk EVERY Night at 9PM Eastern. | |__________________________________________________________________________| | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Humpday |Thursday | Friday | Saturday | | Help@9EDT| Help@9EDT|Help@9EDT| Help@9EDT|Help@9EDT| Help@9EDT| Help@9EDT| |__________|__________|_________|__________|_________|__________|__________| | 18 | 19 | 20 |\ | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | |5-MIN News| | _| | | | New |5-MIN News| | 3PM-3AM | DeskTop | (_) | AmiGames |vv-Video!|*StarShip*| 3PM-3AM | | -*- |Publishing| MOD | ------ | with | 5-MINUTE |9:Hardware| |10PM: | Night | Music |Programing| Yury & | Newscast | Clinic | | Graphics | | Night |at Pro/Am | Guests | 6PM-3AM |10: Party!| |__________|__________|_________|__________|_________|__________|__________| HelpDesk *EVERY* NIGHT @ 9PM Eastern Time! Got a problem? If you have questions about learning to use your Amiga, the *StarShip* or GEnie, we have answers! Stop by Conference Room 4 ANY EVENING from 9 to 10 EDT for live, on-the-spot help. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 5th of 9 Stories MicroBotics Makes Commercial Software Available as "Freeware" _ _~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / \/ \ Richardson, TX -- April 1993 / \ / /\ /\ \ (_/ \/ \_)icroBotics, Inc., the Amiga peripherals manufacturer in Richardson, Texas, announces the release of the MicroBotics FreeTools Collection. The MicroBotics FreeTools Collection (MFC) consists of two major commercial software utilities, RDPrep (v3.91) and MBRTest-2 (v1.22), plus some additional support programs. Except for a small media and handling charge, the MFC is available as "freeware" from Microbotics. _______________________________________________ / \ | MicroBotics FreeTools Collection is available | | from the *StarShip* Library as file: | | | | #19227 MICROBOTICS_TOOLS.LHA | \_______________________________________________/ RDPrep RDPrep is a powerful, easy-to-use disk partitioning utility that mades simple work of the often daunting task of partitioning a hard disk. RDPrep is designed to work with any interface/driver combination that fully complies with the AmigaDOS Rigid Disk Block standard and which accepts standard direct SCSI commands. Even the IDE interface on CBM's new 1200 and 4000 computers can be addressed by RDPrep and thus RDPrep can be used to support third-party installations of IDE drives on these systems (which is an importnat consideration given that fact that CBM does not provide partitioning software with non-HD 1200s). RDPrep is extremely easy to use -- in most cases its intelligent defaults will be all the user will need to implement. The software also has a special "COMPLEX" mode for hard disk experts or special hardware setups. RDPrep is completely documented by its context sensitive help facility plus extensive online help files. MBRTest-2 MBRTest-2 is an Amiga implementation of several industry standard RAM tests wrapped in a friendly point-and-shoot testing environment. MBRTest-2 will not only test FastRAM but also ChipRAM -- even the ChipRAM the test itself is using! MBRTest-2 is the only RAM test that will test all types of memory on the Amiga (including "high" memory on many accelerator boards). The test automatically discriminates between 16-bit and 32-bit memory. The software permits many configuration options including "hands-off" testing. Test results can be logged to a file for later examination. MBRTest-2 will find and test all properly implemented third-party memory boards and all standard Amiga memory areas on all Amigas. It is a useful diagnostic tool for every Amiga owner and dealer. MicroBotics is making these two great utilities available on many national networks including BIX, CompuServe and GEnie (#19227 MICROBOTICS_TOOLS.LHA), free of charge except for normal telecomm charges. They are also available directly from MicroBotics for a $7.00 (US) shipping and handling fee (on the diskette titled "MicroBotics FreeTools Collection"). MicroBotics has granted permission to non-profit Amiga user groups to distribute the software to their members. All Amiga dealers may use the software in-house for setup and testing. Dealers who want to include the software with Amigas or with hard disk kits should apply to MicroBotics for a free re-distribution license (the chief provision of which is that they may not impose any charge for the software). In its freeware edition, the software carries no customer support. All MicroBotics hardware customers, however, are automatically supported on the software simply by registering their hardware and providing serial number information upon request. For more information, contact MicroBotics, Incs., 1251 American Parkway, Richardson, TX 75081, telephone 214/437-5530 Central Time Zone. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 6th of 9 Stories Moonlighter Software Announces TapeWorm-FS _ _ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / \/ \ Orlando, FL -- April 27, 1993 / \ / /\ /\ \ (_/ \/ \_)oonlighter Software Development, Inc., announced today the development of TapeWorm-FS, a filesystem for tape drives in use with the Commodore Amiga computer. TapeWorm-FS is one-of-a-kind solution; it fills the requirements that Amiga and Video Toaster users have for storing and retrieving extremely large files quickly and easily on their SCSI tape drives. There is no comparable product available for the Amiga or Video Toaster! TapeWork-FS will allow any SCSI tape drive to act like an AmigaDOS volume: You can get directories, add files, copy files, etc. Access times are on the order of 20 seconds on DAT tape drives. TapeWorm-FS keeps all versions of a file so that even the original version of a file is overwritten it is still accessible. A TapeWorm-FS volume is ideal for near-line storage of framestores and large animation sequences. TapeWorm-FS will be available in May, 1993 at a suggested retail price of $129.95. TapeWorm-FS will operate on any Amiga model computer with at least 512 kilobytes of memory or Video Toaster Workstation and a SCSI tape drive (DAT, 8mm, or QIC). For more information on TapeWorm-FS or any other of Moonlighter's products, contact Moonlighter Software Development, Inc. 3208-C East Colonial Drive, Suite 204 Orlando, Florida 32803, Telephone Voice: 407/384-9484, Fax 407/384-9391, BBS 407/292-6080 - 407/295-6992. -*- *StarShip* Amiga *Flash* 7th of 9 Stories Empire Presents... War in the Gulf _ _ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ( \ /\ / ) Ontario, Canada -- April 1993 \ \/ \/ / \ / \_/\_/ar in the Gulf, to be released in May 1993, pits a crack unit of M1 tanks against invading Iraqi forces in northern Kuwait. War in the Gulf is a game of immense tension and hectic action set against a backdrop of hundreds of burning oil wells in the oilfields near the Kuwait border. The year is 1995, and once more the Iraqis have taken one step too many in the Middle East. Still convinced of their territorial claim to Kuwait, they have mounted a surprise invasion of Northern Kuwait using two battalions from the Medina and Nebuchadnezzar Division of the Republican Guard. Not only have they taken over the Saabriyaa and Ar Rawdatayn oilfields, but they have overpowered local resistance and invaded Failaka and Bubiyan islands -- the two most important off-shore possessions of the Kuwait. Team Kuwait, the stars of War in the Gulf, are a crack unit of mercenary 'tankers,' who are all-American veterans from Operation Desert Storm. Since the final withdrawal of US troops from Kuwait, the major part of Kuwait's defence forces have been hired by the ruling al Sabah family. With foreign assistance not available in the short-term, Team Kuwait is in the frontline of the offensive to repel the Iraqi invaders. The format for War in the Gulf gives the player simultaneous control of four groups of four armed vehicles, most notably the M1A1 tank. Team Kuwait's first missions will be to completely retake the islands of Failaka Bubiyan, just off the Kuwait shoreline. If the player is able to succeed at the furious level of action required in meeting these objectives, then it is only a short drive over the Khawr-as-Subiyah waterway to meet landfall and the rump of the Republican Guard on shore. The two major Kuwait oilfields need to be retaken, and the Iraqis pushed back over the border. It will tkae over fifteen separate tank battles in the four hundred square miles of oilfield to achieve success. To be quite frank, only the very best will succeed. Based on accurate topographical data from Northern Kuwait, War in the Gulf is sure to be the most explosive game you have ever played. Available May 1993 on IBM PC, Amiga and Atari ST. o 25 battle areas individually coded to very fine detail o View the battlefield from four different perspectives using a 3D mix of bitmap and vector graphics o Take command of 4 tank units, simultaneously controlling 16 different vehicles through the unique split screen control system o Call upon the latest military technology including: laser-range finders, infra-red imaging, TOW, HEAT and SABOT missles o Liberate Kuwait villages, capture oilwells and disrupt desert supply lines o Lay minefields and order up artillery barrages. War in the Gulf is the ultimate battefield simulation! For more information contact ReadySoft Incorporated, 30 Werheim Court, Suite 2, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada L4B 1B9, telephone 416/731-4175, fax 416/764-8867. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 8th of 9 Stories ____ Electronic Arts Booming, Company Readies For 3DO / ___) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / (_ San Mateo, CA -- April 23, 1993 / ___) / (_ (____)lectronic Arts, known for its production of entertainment software for personal computers, says its fourth quarter net income is up sixty-one percent and the company's net income for the year is up sixty-five percent. The company credits sales of software game titles for the home entertainment systems Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo (SNES), but says it is gearing up for new interactive titles for the Sega Genesis and 3DO markets. Net income for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 1993, was $8,595,000, up from the $5,322,000 in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 1992. Net income for the fiscal year 1993 was $30,858,000, compared to $18,688,000 for fiscal year 1992, an increase of 65 percent. Like most companies these days, EA reported revenues that were higher than its net income. The company reported revenues for the fourth quarter of $86,581,000, compared to $47,999,000 in the fourth quarter last year, an increase of over 80 percent. And for the year revenues were $298,386,000, up over 70 percent from fiscal year 1992 revenues of $175,094,000. The company says its top-selling titles were twelve of the 51 titles it released during 1993. Five of the new titles were for the Sega Genesis, six for the IBM PC, and one for the Amiga. EA says its top-selling new releases during the quarter were Road Rash II for the Sega; PGA Tour Golf II for the Sega, John Madden Football '93 for both Sega Genesis and SNES; NHLPA Hockey '93 for Sega Genesis and SNES; and Bulls vs Blazers for SNES. In addition, revenue from PC products were up over 35 percent compared to the fourth quarter last year, the first year-over-year increase in this category in many quarters. Overall for the fiscal year the company released 51 new products, compared to 45 last year. In addition, EA said its presence in the depressed European market was strong with revenues up in Europe 89 percent. North American revenues were up 56 percent in North America, and Australian revenues showed a 49 percent increase. However, EA said approximately $7 million of its revenues were out of the Japanese market. EA has received attention lately, because the company's founder Tripp Hawkins, has started 3DO, a company which claims it can revolutionize the home entertainment market. The first 3DO player was demonstrated at the Winter Consumer Electronics show in January and the first 3DO player which will use compact discs (CDs) is to be released from Panasonic this summer. Billed as the next "VCR" of the 90s, several important companies have gotten behind the 3DO including American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T). EA says it is developing titles for the 3DO player as well. ____________________________________________________________ / \ | *StarShip* News Note: Among others, 3DO was developed by | | R.J. Mical and Dave Needles, members of the original Amiga | | cmputer development team. | \____________________________________________________________/ "The 16-bit cartridge market continues to be strong and new CD-ROM formats such as Sega CD and 3DO offer new opportunities to significantly improve on the current generation of software, and we believe, expand the markets for interactive products," said Larry Probst, president and chief executive officer of Electronic Arts. (c) 1993 Newsbytes. Reprinted by permission. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 9th of 9 Stories ____ Bullfrog Presents: SYNDICATE / ___) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / (_ San Mateo, CA -- April 26, 1993 / ___) / (_ (____)lectronic Arts has announced the release of Syndicate for the IBM PC and compatibles and the Commodore Amiga. Syndicate is the brand new title from Bullfrog, the creators of Populous and Powermonger, and one of the most innovative software development teams in the business. The setting for Synicate is a grim and dangerous future world some time after the Corporation Wars. The world's multinational corporations grew to such an extent that their power began to rival that of small countries. Before long the corporations owned the small countries and corporate influence was felt at the highest level of world government. Then they developed the CHIP... The CHIP was a technological revolution that was better than any drug. Inserted into the head, a CHIP could alter a person's perception of the outside world, and give hope to the masses by numbing their senses to the misery and squalor surrounding them. For example, a person living on the 49th floor of the grimiest city apartment block could buy a "Mansion CHIP(tm)" which, once inserted, would make him immediately believe he was living in the grandest, most expensive mansion! 'Why change your evnironment, when you can change your mind?' ran the company slogan. The only problem was that the CHIP had a 'back door,' and like any new and potent drug, control of the CHIP meant control of the people. Before long the corporations were at war with each other, battling to monopolize CHIP manufacture, toppling nations and governments in the process. The greed of the corporations began attracting dangerous criminal elements and soon the crime Syndicates had infiltrated the corporate boardrooms and had become the controlling force all over the globe. Using custom built cyborg-agents, they hunt down rivals and battle each other for ultimate control of the entire globe. The player takes the role of a young executive in one such Syndicate who is looking to make a name for himself. From his control platform in an airship high above the city, he observes as his agents controlled by CHIP technology spread the shadow of Syndicate terror in a bid to conquer territory after territory, ousting the rival Syndicates and striving for world domination. From the stunningly atmospheric intro sequence with its state-of-the-art 3D rendered graphics, the player is made aware that Bullfrog has once again created an original and stimulating experience. Having customized his corporate logo, he is faced with over fifty elaborate missions -- each set in a living city, alive with intelligent men and women, cars and commuter trains, rival agents and law enforcement forces. Within this environment the player has complete freedom to perpetrate the nefarious deeds of the Syndicate! Succeed in conquering a territory and he can raise taxes to fund research and development into more advanced weaponry and cybernetic body parts. Raise taxes too far and the territory will become ripe for insurrection and defection to a rival Syndicate. With the use of new graphic technology -- Syndicate has had more full time dedicated graphic artists than all Bullfrog's previous projects put together -- and realistic sound effects including music and digitized speech, Syndicate is Bullfrog's most unique title to date! Syndicate will be available on IBM PC and compatibles priced at $59.95, and Commodore Amiga priced at $49.95 from Electronic Arts in June. -*- Over a GIGABYTE of Amiga files in our Library! Catch your limit of Fred FISH Disks from the *StarFish* Library. If you are after a SINGLE PROGRAM on a Fish Disk, SEARCH for it before downloading the disk. Most are available separately! _______________________________________________________________ | | | | | Permission is hereby granted to quote ALL or PART of this | | Newscast on a privately owned BBS or in a user group news- | | letter provided you include the following credit: | | | | Reprinted by permission from the *StarShip* 5-MINUTE News. | | Joining GEnie is easy! Use half duplex at 300/1200/2400 | | baud. Dial 1-800-638-8369 (Canada 1-800-387-8330). Type | | HHH at CONNECT. At the U#= prompt, * | | type AMIGA and press Return. \ * * / | |________________________________________________ * * ________| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ * * ~~~~~~~ * * * * * * * * * * * * We'd like to know if you reprint * The * the *StarShip* 5-MINUTES News. * *StarShip* * Tell us by leaving *free* Feedback * on GEnie * to the SysOps on GEnie page 555. * * _ / * * * * * * * * * * * * * / * * * \ * ViewPort for May -- At Your Neighborhood Menu Soon!