Welcome to ImageStudio News!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Contents
~~~~~~~~
	o	Welcome to ImageStudio-2.1.x
	o	Keyfiles and Piracy
	o	Datatypes loader
	o	Future Plans
	o	The Authors Would Like to Thank...
	o	How to Contact the Authors
	o	What the Reviewers Think of ImageStudio

Welcome to ImageStudio-2.1.x
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

	Welcome to ImageStudio v2.1.x. This release sees the start of
the gradual process of separating various parts of the program into
external modules. External modules have several advantages over putting
all the features into one executable:

	o	The main executable can be smaller, thus requiring less
		RAM at runtime.

	o	More modules can be added to the program without increasing
		the program's size.

	o	Modules can be improved and upgraded without having to
		to release new versions on the program.

At the moment the loaders and savers are modular, with plans for viewers
and effects to become modules in the near future. When we have fixed the
format of the modules we will release development information on how to
write your own modules, but we refrain from doing this at the moment as
the current format is liable to change.

						Andy and Graham Dean.

Keyfiles and Piracy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	It became obvious from version 1.x.x, that our method of upgrading
the software was becoming impractical for a large number of orders. We
could therefore either (i) charge for upgrades or (ii) change the upgrade
method. As we aim to provide the best value for money image processor on
the Amiga, option (i) was decided against.

	We have therefore opted for the popular "keyfile" concept of
upgrades. This works as follows:

	o	New registered users will receive the latest version of
		ImageStudio along with a personalised keyfile. When
		ImageStudio is started, if it finds a valid keyfile it
		will "unlock" the program to become fully functional.

	o	Existing registered users will have to generate a new
		keyfile for use with ImageStudio-2.0.0 and above. This is
		done by running the new version of the program, selecting
		`Create keyfile' in the `Project' menu and selecting their
		registered copy of v1.x.x of ImageStudio. Once this
		version of ImageStudio is deemed to be a valid registered
		copy, a keyfile will be generated which will cause version
		2 and above of ImageStudio to work fully.

	Please note:

	YOUR KEYFILE IS FOR YOUR PRIVATE USE AND SHOULD NOT BE GIVEN TO
	ANYONE ELSE. Each keyfile is individual and can be traced back
	to the registered user. Do not try and alter the keyfile, it won't
	work.

	The only reason we can continue to sell ImageStudio so cheaply and
provide free updates is because we have had a healthy response with people
registering. If the number of registrations drops because people abuse the
keyfile system and distribute pirate copies of the program, we will be
forced to do one or several of the following:

	i)	Stop providing free upgrades. All programs will be
		individually stamped and all upgrades must be paid for.

	ii)	Remove online help and provide printed manuals instead. This
		will naturally raise the price substantially.

	iii)	Sell the software to a software publisher for commercial
		distribution. This is likely to lead to a large price
		increase.

	iv)	Stop developing ImageStudio and related products.

We see no reason why we should have to resort to any of these measures, but
if you're using a pirated copy of ImageStudio now and you refuse to register,
you WILL force this upon us.

	If you are using a pirate copy of ImageStudio, so will hundreds of
others. A hundred orders to us is the difference between us writing the next
version of the program, and us abandoning it. It really is your choice.

Datatype loader
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	Making the modules external has caused problems in implementing the
datatypes loader that was available in previous versions. It doesn't at the
moment seem possible to just extract the image data from a datatype without
first rendering to a window, saving out the file as IFF-ILBM or pasting to
the clipboard (the method used previously). If anyone can shed any light
on this, please let us know.

	In the meantime, it is suggested that a program like Multiview is
used to load the image and this is then saved as IFF-ILBM which can be
loaded into ImageStudio. Datatypes will always be a poor way of loading
images.

Future Plans
~~~~~~~~~~~~
	Our immediate plans are to increase the number of image file
formats supported by ImageStudio. If you have any suggestions for
formats we could support, let us know (including references to any
documentation necessary). We already have plans for the following (if all
goes well):

	o TIFF
	o IFF-PCHG
	o IFF-DEEP
	o PPM
	o PNG
	o QRT
	o SGI-RGB
	o Sun raster

	The program itself is likely to get some more of the improvements
suggested by users.

The Authors Would Like to Thank...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
	Andy and Graham would like to thank:

		o	All those who voted for ImageStudio in the Amiga
			Shopper awards.

		o	Russ Le'Bar, for testing our GIF89a files.

		o	All those who've registered the program and made
			suggestions for improvements.

	Many thanks to you all!

How to Contact the Authors
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

	Graham is available at:

		14 Fielding Avenue
		Poynton
		Stockport
		Cheshire
		SK12 1YX
		ENGLAND

for orders and queries.

	Andy is available via Email at:

		adean@eleceng.ucl.ac.uk

for queries only.

What the Reviewers Think of ImageStudio
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

	Included below are some reviews of ImageStudio in the press:

	================================================================
	Winner of the 1995 Amiga Shopper reader award for "Best PD /
			      Shareware Utility"
	================================================================

	"...for just 10UK pounds ImageStudio2 is an absolute bargain and
comes strongly recommended."
			Amiga Computing, June '95

	"Am I impressed with this package? In short, yes. For half the
price of Transition, ImageStudio delivers much more."
			Amiga Report 3.07 '95

	"This program is superb."

			Amiga Pro, Larry Hickmott, December '94

	"This is a real prize program. ... Registration is only 10UK 
pounds, a sound investment if you ask me... 96%"

			Amiga User International, December '94

	"Perhaps the most impressive feature is the option to use a hard 
disk as virtual memory ... a feature that would be welcome in many 
commercial offerings."

			Amiga Computing, December '94

	"It's a promising package... 88%"

			Amiga Format, November '94

	"ImageStudio is an impressive program - all the more considering 
this is the first revision... 90%"

			Amiga Shopper, December '94

	"It is impossible to choose between ImageStudio and Blackboard, 
[Blackboard] has better effects, but [ImageStudio] has better overall 
handling... 89%"
			C.U.Amiga, December '94

	"This is a very stable and useful program with features which are 
worth a lot more that the asking price. ... I urge you to contribute 
your shareware fee as soon as possible to get the most from this 
excellent program."

			Amiga Pro, Phil South, December '94

	"Probably the most incredible thing about ImageStudio is that it
is as solid as a rock."

			JAM, December '94

	"It's been a long time since I've seen a shareware program as good
as ImageStudio."

			EM, December '94