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Text File | 1992-10-10 | 38.6 KB | 823 lines

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: October 9, 1992 This 5-MINUTE Newscast presents the following stories: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. 5 Great Reasons to Attend COMDEX/Fall'92 2. INOVAtronics' AVideo12 and AVideo24 Amiga Video Adapters 3. Digital Micronics' Digital EditMaster 4. Digital Micronics Brings Silicon Graphics Performance to Amiga 5. Next Week's *StarShip* Amiga Conferences 6. INOVAtronics Releases TurboPrint Professional V2.0 7. INOVAtronics Adapter Makes IBM Analog Joysticks Amiga-friendly 8. Iomega Offers Floptical Disk 9. Seagate Ships Hard Drive With Magnetoresistive Heads 10. Electronic Arts Announces Joint Venture Company with Subsidiary of JVC 11. Battles in Space Take on New Dimension as SSI Introduces Cyber Empires 12. IBM, Motorola Complete First PowerPC RISC Chip *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 1st of 12 Stories ______ 5 Great Reasons to Attend COMDEX/Fall'92 (__ __) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / / / (_/he World's #1 computer and communications marketplace for resellers and corporate decision makers -- COMDEX/Fall'92 -- will take place this year in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 16-20, Monday through Friday. Here are 5 Great Reasons to Come to the World's #1 Computer Marketplace: 1. See the industry's largest exhibit floor -- thousands of computing products and solutions! o See over 2,000 companies with the latest hardware, software and more on the bigger-than-ever COMDEX exhibit floor! o Join over 130,000 resellers and corporate decision makers from over 200 countries! 2. Plus, see today's hottest technologies at the COMDEX Showcases! o Visit the world's largest exhibition on Network Computing, Multimedia, and OEM Business, plus the latest in Imaging Solutions! o Just announced -- Mobile Computing Showcase! o Each Showcase complemented by a dedicated conference program! 3. Participate in the world's largest computer conference! o Over 100 sessions led by industry experts! o Five major programs in one, including: Corporate Computing; the Channel; New Media; Connectivity; and the International Market! 4. Hear Philippe Kahn, Bill Gates, Robert Corrigan, Steve Jobs, and George Fisher! o Attend the COMDEX Keynote from Borland International CEO Philippe Kahn! o Plus "CEO Perspectives" from Bill Gates of Microsoft... Robert Corrigan of IBM Personal Computer Company... Steve Jobs of NeXT Computer, Inc... and George Fisher of Motorola! o Plus the acclaimed COMDEX "Crystal Ball" Plenary! 5. Over 2,000 exhibitors invite you to be there for the main event. Avoid long lines! Register today! Your $75 Registration Fee includes... o Admission to the COMDEX exhibit floor including Showcases! o Admission to the COMDEX Keynote Address by Philippe Kahn of Borland International! o Admission to the COMDEX "CEO Perspectives!" o Admission to the COMDEX Plenary! o Admission to all exhibits including Commodore Business Machines! [*StarShip* News Note: Rumors say something good may be intro'd there] Pre-registration forms (which must be completed and returned no later than November 4, 1992) are available from COMDEX/Fall'92 Registration Department, 300 First Avenue, Needham, MA 02194-2722, FAX 617/449-2674. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 2nd of 12 Stories AVideo12 and AVideo24 Amiga Video Adapters Open New Possibilities for 12- and 24-bit Graphics and Video ____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / _ ) / __ / Dallas TX -- September 1992 / _ ) (____/rilliant, high resolution 16 million color (24-bit) and 4096 color (12-bit) graphics are now within reach of all Amiga users, thanks to two affordable new graphics enhancement boards from INOVAtronics. AVideo12 and AVideo24 let you work with high color 12- and 24-bit images using any standard Amiga monitor. They can breeze through 12-bit animations at up to 25 frames per second, and output a crisp, broadcast quality, genlockable signal -- all without taking up valuable expansion or video slots, or interfering in any way with systems using the NewTek VideoToaster. AVideo12 and AVideo24 are also the first video adapters that let you overlay normal Amiga images on top of 12- or 24-bit graphics, and then further combine them with a video signal using your own genlock. This type of 3-layer image (AVideo + Amiga graphic + video) is not possible using other video adapters such as HAM-E, DCTV or the Firecracker24. AVideo24 comes with TVPaint, a broadcast quality paint system for creating 16 million color IFF images (known as IFF24), or editing IFF24 images from programs like Art Department Professional, LightWave 3D, Imagine, Pixel 3D, ToasterPaint and DPaint IV. The TVPaint package even lets you edit 24-bit images in real-time -- unlike ToasterPaint -- without having to toggle to another display just to see the real effect of your image editing. Both AVideo packages come with utility software for installation, image display and manipulation, as well as AVPaint, a 12- and 24-bit basic paint package (limited to 12-bits with AVideo12) with separate versions for owners of Workbench 1.3 and 2.0. It includes many features you would expect from a mature and more expensive professional graphics system, including picture compositing effects and text handling. The AVideo boards are also completely ARexx-drivable, working well with such ARexx interface authoring systems as AmigaVision or CanDo, and making them excellent for use in kiosks and presentations. Both packages also come with Opera, an ARexx-script control system that lets you run automated multimedia presentations. Opera presentations can incorporate wipes and transitions between Amiga- and AVideo-based graphics, ANIM and ANIMBRUSH-type animations, sound (8SVX and SoundTracker format files), and a wide variety of dynamic text handling options. Both AVideo boards install between the DENISE graphics chip and the Amiga motherboard. The AVideo24 works with any Amiga 2000, 2500 or 3000 computer, and AVideo12 also works on the Amiga 500. AVideo12 and AVideo24 work by increasing the Amiga's display depth in high resolution (HIRES) mode from 4-bits per pixel (16 colors) to 12-bits per pixel (4096 colors) and 24-bits per pixel (over 16 million colors), respectively. AVideo12 displays 12-bit pictures in all Amiga HIRES modes. AVideo24 allows both 12- and 24-bit display, and features a high performance animation system. The AVideo boards support all Amiga resolutions (LOWRES and HIRES) up to a maximum size of 724 x 566 pixels in OVERSCAN mode (the physical limit of the proprietary AGNUS and DENISE chips). Larger images (768 x 580 pixels) can be loaded, though only 724 x 566 pixels will be displayed. Both AVideo boards are available now. The AVideo24 carries a suggested retail price of $999.95. The AVideo12 carries a suggested retail price of $499.94. To learn more, contact INOVAtronics, 8499 Greenville Ave., #209B, Dallas TX 75231, telephone 214/340-4991. In Europe, contact the company at their new office: INOVAtronics GmbH, Im Heidkamp 11, W-5000 Cologne 91 Germany, telephone +49 (0221) 875126. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 3rd of 12 Stories ______ Digital Micronics' Digital EditMaster / __ ) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / ) / Carlsbad, CA -- Sept. 11, 1992 / /__/ / line with the Digital EditMaster digital editing system for the Commodore Amiga 2000 and 3000 series of personal computers. DMI's exciting new product turns a Commodore Amiga into an entire video editing suite for use by video production house, professional videographers, and video enthusiasts. Traditional editing equipment with similar capabilities costs upwards of $100,000. Suggested list price for the Digital EditMaster system is $2,495. The heart of DMI's new system it its video compression board which digitizes, compresses and stores traditional video segments onto the computer's hard disk drive in real time. This amazing technology allows users to record video segments from their VCR or video camera directly into their Commodore Amiga. The video segments can then be edited, modified and played back in real-time to a monitor or directly to video tape. DMI's Digital EditMaster system allows instant access to any number of video segments stored on the hard drive, giving complete creative freedom and flexibility to the editor. The final edited version of the production is as simple as hooking up a VCR or laser diskplayer and pressing record. The Digital EditMaster system is a Computer Animator's dream come true. Typical animation frames can be compressed and stored to the hard drive on a frame-by-frame basis. The animation can then be played back in real-time, directly to tape, without the need of an expensive frame-by-frame recorder. Video clips and computer animations are easily combined to produce stunning Hollywood-style special effects. The Digital EditMaster video compression board is based on full motion JPEG technology and the JPEG chipset from LSI Logic. Digital Micronics, Inc. also develops and markets super high resolution graphics co-processor boards and rendering engines utilizing the Texas Instruments TMS340 chip family as well as offering complete UNIX systems solutions to its base of satisfied Fortune 500 companies. Digital Editmaster Specifications - Full-motion JPEG Technology - Real-time 30fps Video Capture - Real-time Video Display & Recording - Frame-by-frame Recording - Direct 32 bit Pixel Bus - Full Screen Non-linear Editing - SMPTE Time Code Read & Write The Digital EditMaster system from Digital Micronics, Inc. allows you to edit and produce professional quality video productions on your Commodore A2000 or A3000. It is the only video editing system for the Amiga that lets you capture in real time full-screen NTSC, PAL and SVHS video to a standard Amiga hard drive at 30 frames per second (25 fps for PAL), edit your production and then output the final results in real time to a standard video tape recorder. REAL-TIME VIDEO CAPTURE - DMI's Digital EditMaster system records NTSC, PAL or SVHS from a video camera or VCR directly to the standard hard disk drive in the Commodore Amiga. The heart of the system is the video compression board which digitizes, compresses and stores video segments onto the hard drive in real time. REAL-TIME VIDEO DISPLAY AND RECORDING - DMI's video compression board decompresses the stored video segments from the hard drive in real time, delivering full screen, broadcast quality video frames to an NTSC, PAL or SVHS recorder or monitor. Making the final master of the production is as simple as hooking up a VCR or Laser disk recorder and pressing record. COMPUTER ANIMATOR'S DREAM COME TRUE - The Digital EditMaster system is a Computer Animator's dream come true. Typical animation frames can be compressed and stored to the hard drive on a frame-by-frame basis. The animation can then be played back in real time, directly to tape, without the aid of an expensive frame-by-frame recorder. Video clips and computer animations can be combined very easily to produce a final production. NON-LINEAR EDITING SOFTWARE - Stored video segments can be edited, modified and played back to tape. DMI's Digital EditMaster software allows instant access to any number of video segments stored on the hard drive, giving complete creative freedom and flexibility to the editor. THE DMI BUS - Supports the DMI 32-bit pixel bus which allows direct 32-bit connectivity with DMI's Vivid 24 (TM) graphics co-processor for complete digital transfer of data to and from the Digital EditMaster compression board. AUDIO - The Digital EditMaster system and sound boards from SunRize Industries are fully integrated using SMPTE time code for simultaneous digitizing and editing of both the audio and video tracks. Based on full motion JPEG technology, using the LSI Logic chipset, the Digital EditMaster system works in full screen, real-time NTSC (30 fps), PAL (25 fps), and SVHS broadcast quality resolutions. The digital video compression board digitizes the analog video signal, from any standard NTSC, PAL and SVHS format video device, and then compresses the digital frames to the hard drive in real time. Video compression ratios are user selectable, from between 15:1 and 70:1. Editing is done on an NTSC, PAL, or 15kHz-capable RGB monitor. The final edited production is decompressed, encoded back to a composite signal and recorded to any standard NTSC, PAL or SVHS format video device. For more information, contact Digital Micronics, Inc., at 2075 Corte del Nogal, Suite N, Carlsbad, CA 92009 or call 619/931-8554. Specifications and prices subject to change without notice. Commodore and Amiga and registered trademarks of Commodore Amiga, Inc. Digital EditMaster is a trademark of Digital Micronics, Inc. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 4th of 12 Stories _ _ Digital Micronics Brings Silicon Graphics Performance to Amiga / \ / )~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / \/ / Carlsbad, CA -- October 1992 / /\ / (_/ \_/ow shipping, Digital Micronics' Vivid 24 graphics co-processor board is a super high resolution graphics rendering engine designed for the Commodore Amiga A3000 series of computers. Capable of calculating and rendering 100,000 Gouraud shaded polygons per second, DMI's graphics controller can display 24 bit color images at resolutions up to 2048 x 2048. The Vivid 24's design is completely modular allowing user the option of adding only the features they require. One of the modules is a broadcast quality digital video encoder supporting NTSC, PAL and SVHS resolutions. Suggested list price for the Vivid 24 starts at $2,995. The Vivid 24 is powered by a Texas Instruments' 34020 Graphic Processor and four TI 34082 Graphics Math Co-processors providing 160 million floating point operations per second (MFLOPS). Applications hungry for such power include 3D rendering, computer animation, image processing, real-time scientific simulation and medical imaging. This technology brings unprecedented rendering and image processing power at an affordable price to within the reach of every professional 3D graphics animator. Graphics houses of all sizes can now concentrate on their final product as opposed to the limitations of their hardware budget. "The Vivid 24 ushers in a new era of affordable and extremely powerful graphics boards for personal computers. This type of image manipulation and 3D graphics power was previously available only on very expensive and very high end engineering graphics workstations," said Dean Tucker, Director of Marketing for Digital Micronics, Inc. DMI's Vivid 24 in a Commodore Amiga A3000 provides 160 MFLOPS of graphics processing power. A Silicon Graphics Indigo Elan provides 4.2 MFLOPS and a top of the line silicon Graphics 4D/480 VGX provides 70 MFLOPS. Digital Micronics, Inc. develops and markets super high resolution graphics co-processor boards for the Commodore Amiga and the Apple Macintosh based around the Texas Instruments TMS340 chip family. Other high-end DMI product offerings include digital video workstations for multimedia applications based around JPEG technology. DMI was founded in January of 1988 as a manufacturer of low cost Apollo memory expansion boards. For more information, contact Digital Micronics, Inc. at 2075 Corte del Nogal, Suite N, Carlsbad CA 92009 or call 619/931-8554. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 5th of 12 Stories __________________________________________________________________________ | | | *StarShip* Amiga Conferences | | ____ _ _ | | / ) __/ ) / ) | | / /) /____ (_ __)___ / /_ ____ ___ | | / // // ___) / / / )/ )/ __ )/ __) | | / (/ // (_ / / / /) // /) // ___// / | | (____/(____) (_/ (____/(____/(____)(_/ | | | | | | Except where noted, Conferences begin at 10PM Eastern Time in the Amiga | | Conference Rooms at Page 555. 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@9ED | Help@9EDT|Help@9EDT| Help@9EDT| Help@9EDT| |__________|__________|_________|__________|_________|__________|__________| | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |15 |16 | 17 | |5-MIN News| | | | | | | | 3PM-3AM | | | AmiGames | |*StarShip*|5-MIN News| | -*- | DeskTop | Music |with Zach!|vv-Video!| News | 3PM-3AM | |10PM:Amiga|Publishing| Night | ------ | with | |9:Hardware| | Graphics | Amiga | with |Programing| Yury & | 6PM-3AM | Clinic | | with Syl | Style! | Mikey! |at Pro/Am | Guests | |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* 6th of 12 Stories ______ INOVATronics Releases TurboPrint Professional V2.0 (__ __) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / Dallas TX -- October 1992 / / (_/he ideal printer driver for the Commodore Amiga, TurboPrint Professional V2.0, has been released by INOVAtronics. TurboPrint is fully compatible with Amiga software. Once TurboPrint is installed, resident & reset-proof, all printouts are controlled automatically. Features include: Highest Printing Quality o True-to-screen colors thanks to variable color correction o Optimal brightness thanks to the flexible gamma-curve control o Multiple dithering methods (12 ordered, 2 Floyd-Steinberg) o Special half-line mode for dot matrix printers minimizes horizontal banding o Enhanced smoothing removes steps and edges o Supports the highest printer resolution Easy to Use o The menu can be called up immediately with a keystroke o Printing can be interrupted at any time at the touch of a button o Direct selection of text color and printer's built-in fonts Technical Detail o High transfer speed to the printer by direct programming of the parallel port o Efficiently programmed in 68k Assembler o Drivers included for all major printer models o Compatible with Workbench 1.3 and 2.0 o Five comprehensive set-up windows for extensive user customization Helpful Tools o Automatic poster mode for printouts up to 64 pages large o Cut out sections from the screen and print them or save them as an IFF-file o Reversed printout of graphics (e.g. for imprinting T-shirts with a transfer ribbon) o Creation of color separations To learn more, contact INOVAtronics, 8499 Greenville Ave., #209B, Dallas TX 75231, telephone 214/340-4991. Orders may be placed by calling 800-875-8499. In Europe, contact the company at their new office: INOVAtronics GmbH, Im Heidkamp 11, W-5000 Cologne 91 Germany, telephone +49 (0221) 875126. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 7th of 12 Stories INOVAtronics Adapter Makes IBM Analog Joysticks Amiga-friendly _ _ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / ) / ) Dallas, TX -- September 1992 / (_/ / (_____/sing IBM-compatible joysticks with your favorite Amiga games is no longer a problem, thanks to a new analog joystick adapter now available from INOVAtronics. INOVAtronics' new ACE Adapter fits into the Amiga gameport and lets you make full use of any standard PC-compatible analog joystick. It offers complete compatibility with any existing Amiga games, driving- and flight-simulator packages, and any Amiga software package that supports the use of an analog joystick. INOVAtronics' new ACE Adapter works with all Amigas and carries a full 90 day warranty. It is the newest product from INOVAtronics GbmH, which recently opened the doors of its new Cologne, Germany, office. To learn more, contact INOVAtronics, 8499 Greenville Ave., #209B, Dallas TX 75231, telephone 214/340-4991. In Europe, contact the company at their new office: INOVAtronics GmbH, Im Heidkamp 11, W-5000 Cologne 91 Germany, telephone +49 (0221) 875126. -*- *StarShip* Amiga *Flash* 8th of 12 Stories ____ Iomega Offers Floptical Disk (_ _) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / Roy, Utah -- 1992 Oct 5 (NB) _/ / (____)omega Corporation, the maker of removable mass storage devices, has announced a "second generation" 21 megabyte (MB) Floptical diskette. "The way to think of Floptical technology is as a bigger, better floppy (disk)," says Iomega senior VP of corporate development, Anton Radman. He says the newest storage media will bring the floppy disk back into mainstream use as a practical, cost-effective general purpose storage medium. Flopticals could replace use of hard drives, especially in laptop computers. Floptical disk drives can read the 21MB Floptical disks, and can also read the older 720 K (kilobyte) and 1.44 MB disks currently in use in most desktop and portable computers. The optical servo pattern in the disk surface provides very accurate read/write magnetic head positioning over data tracks to achieve the higher capacity, equal to many hard drives, especially those in use in older machines. Iomega says the optical servo method enables Floptical disks to pack 1,245 data tracks per inch, compared to 135 tracks per inch on conventional floppies, and 2,000 tracks per inch on Winchester-style hard drives. Iomega explains that first generation Floptical diskette manufacturing used a stamping process, while the second generation disks are etched by a laser. Iomega says it is the only company currently producing laser-etched Floptical disks. Features of laser-etched disks include a harder coating and smoother surface; high optical contrast and track concentricity; more precise head alignment; testing and certification of every disk; low-level preformatted diskettes; and compatibility with all Floptical drives. Iomega Floptical diskettes are sold in packs of one, five, and 25, with suggested retail prices of $35, $155, and $750 respectively. For more information, contact Iomega Corporation at 800-777-6179. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 9th of 12 Stories ____ Seagate Ships Hard Drive With Magnetoresistive Heads / ___) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ( (__ Scotts Valley, CA -- 1992 Oct 7 (NB) \__ \ ___) ) (____/eagate Technology has shipped the company's first hard disk drive with magnetoresistive (MR) heads to an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) for technical evaluation. Stacy Lund, spokesperson for Seagate, told Newsbytes that there are various ways of increasing data recording density on a disk drive. "Once you increase that density it becomes increasingly more difficult to read and write the data onto the drive because it gets to be a smaller and smaller space that you are reading and writing from, or to." She went on to say that one way to achieve the increased data density is by using magnetoresistive head technology. "Essentially, it allows us to write more bits per square inch onto the disk surface and read those more accurately," she said. "Magnetoresistive heads are an evolutionary step [from thin film heads] that allow us to fly the heads closer to the media without damaging it. The closer you can fly, the more regularity you can pick up in terms of the reading of the data." Alan Shugart, Seagate's president and chief executive officer, said: "This is a milestone in our technology efforts. We have been conducting R&D activities in advanced recording head technologies for more than a decade, and believe that MR head technology will allow Seagate to continue aggressive increases in areal recording density while providing customers with more reliability than other technologies attempting to achieve the same end." Julie Still, a spokesperson for Seagate, declined to name the OEM that had been sent the drive. She did say, however, that she understood the drive was an 80-megabyte product. The company announced in its press release that it was developing a single- disk 2.5-inch drive using MR heads for its first demonstration of the technology application. Still confirmed to Newsbytes that Seagate is planning the implementation of MR head technology in production-level products for the third calendar quarter of 1993. In April, Newsbytes reported that Seagate had signed an agreement with Microsoft that allowed it to preload MS-DOS and Windows 3.1 onto its hard disks. The agreement was reported to be the first time a hard disk manufacturer had made this type of agreement with Microsoft or any operating system supplier. These arrangements are more common with OEMS. For details, call Seagate Technology at 408/439-2838. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 10th of 12 Stories Electronic Arts Announces Joint Venture Company in Japan ____ With Victor Musical Industries, Inc. A Subsidiary of JVC / ___) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / (_ San Mateo CA -- September 28,1992 / ___) / (_ (____)lectronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) and Victor Musical Industries Inc., (VMI), of Japan, today announced a joint venture to develop and publish entertainment software in Japan. These two successful worldwide publishers will create a new company called Electronic Arts Victor (EA Victor), and expect to begin operations in November. Initial capitalization of the venture is approximately $10,000,000 with Electronic Arts as the majority shareholder in the venture. The company will be headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company's mission will be to convert Electronic Arts' worldwide library of products into Japanese and publish these titles in the Japanese market, and to create and publish original titles for both the Japanese as well as worldwide markets. Initially, products will be developed for the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, leading CD platforms, NEC 9801, MS-DOS and FM Towns. Larry Probst, president and CEO of Electronic Arts, said, "This joint venture is an integral part of our company's expansion into international territories and significantly enhances our presence in the Japanese market. We are fortunate to join forces with Victor Musical Industries Inc., one of the leading entertainment companies in Japan." Probst continued by saying, "This new venture is an important event for Electronic Arts. It allows us to develop and translate products locally which is a key factor to success in the Japanese market. Additionally, the joint resources of VMI and Electronic Arts will allow both companies to exploit emerging technologies." Jun Deguchi, president of Victor Musical Industries, Inc., said, "VMI has long been dedicated to providing high quality products to customers. VMI is very pleased to expand the range of products soon to be available in Japan, through this significant joint venture with Electronic Arts. This partnership expands upon VMI's long-term strategy of continued growth in software markets globally." EA Victor will be headquartered in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. The chairman will be Steve Salyer, also vice president, business development at Electronic Arts. Its president and CEO will be Satoshi Honda, also a director of VMI. The start-up venture will open business with a staff of 35 people, to include product development, sales, marketing and administrative personnel. Products planned to ship in the December 1992 quarter for the Sega Genesis will be: John Madden Football 92, Electronic Arts Hockey, Road Rash and Team USA Basketball. VMI is a wholly owned subsidiary of JVC. The company is 20 years old, with annual sales last year of $445 million. They are a leader in the entertainment industry, publishing video, music and entertainment software products. JVC is a leading worldwide consumer electronics company with annual sales of $5.054 billion. Electronic Arts is an entertainment software company that develops, publishes and distributes worldwide. Established 10 years ago, Electronic Arts' revenues in its last fiscal year were $162,129,000. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 11th of 12 Stories Battles in Space Take on New Dimension ____ as SSI Introduces Cyber Empires / ___) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ( (__ \__ \ Sunnyvale, CA -- September 15, 1992 ___) ) (____/trategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) announces the release of Cyber Empires, a strategy-arcade, science fiction computer game for the IBM and Amiga. The suggested retail price is $49.95. As an economically strategic game, Cyber Empires starts the player off with a limited amount of money and a country to control. The player can then employ spies, build factories and fortresses, institute taxes and purchase futuristic weaponry. The ultimate purpose is to gain control of the planet, Orion, by effectively allocating finances and leading an army of up to nine different types of Cybernetic juggernauts. Players can choose to battle in true arcade fashion and dominate enemy Cyborgs with lasers, missiles and flame-throwers. Kathleen Watson, SSI's Director of Marketing, stated, "Cyber Empires is about military intelligence and world conquest. This makes it both a challenging and high-action game that will completely absorb the player." Designed for one to five players, Cyber Empires' simple interface provides players with 25 to 75 hours of quick play action. In addition, 256 color VGA graphics and IBM sound systems realistically depict the destruction of cities, forts and factories. The game features three different ways to play -- strategy, arcade or a combination. Strategic Simulations, Inc. is one of the leading computer fantasy role-playing publishers and is noted for its ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS(R) line of computer products. The company is recognized as the premier war game publisher and, based on industry rankings, is one of the top ten entertainment publishers worldwide. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 12th of 12 Stories _____ IBM, Motorola Complete First PowerPC RISC Chip / _ ) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / ) / October 1, 1992 / (_/ / (_____/n the eve of the one-year anniversary of their technology alliance with Apple Computer, Inc., IBM and Motorola today announced that they have achieved first production of a PowerPC microprocessor chip. The two companies completed the design and first fabrication of the new PowerPC 601 chip in just 12 months -- a much shorter time period than is common in the industry. The chip, which uses a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) architecture, incorporates leading-edge technologies and processes from both IBM and Motorola, including Motorola's high-performance bus architecture and IBM's design capabilities. The 601 chip features 2.8 million transistors, with a dimension of approximately four-tenths of an inch per side. It is being manufactured at IBM's Burlington, VT., facility using IBM's .6 micron complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process. The chip includes the Motorola 88110 bus, which provides an advanced interface that supports a range of computer systems, including personal computers, workstations and multiprocessing systems. Products using the 601 are expected to be announced in the next 12 - 18 months from IBM, Apple Computer, and others, including Groupe Bull and Thomson-CSF, which have stated their intent to develop PowerPC-based systems. The 601 is the first of four initial PowerPC RISC microprocessors that IBM and Motorola will design, produce and market to the industry. The firms are now developing the designs for the next three PowerPC parts at Somerset, a new facility in Austin, Texas, which was dedicated in May of this year. PowerPC parts are intended to address a wide range of computing requirements, from portable and desktop computers, to midrange workstations and servers, to fault-tolerant and supercomputing systems. The chips also will be suitable as embedded control systems in automotive and consumer products. PowerPC is a Trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. -*- 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 5-MINUTE Weekend | | News Network, a *StarShip*(tm) Production on GEnie(R). | | * /\ / | |_________________________________________________ ___/ \___ _| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ \ oo / ~ . \ \__/ / _ (*) We would like to know about it / \ if you do, and you can tell us \ /\ / *FREE* by leaving Feedback to / \/ \/ \ the SysOps on GEnie Page 555. *StarFish* Librarian *StarShip* 5-MINUTE Newscasts are compiled periodically and made available for downloading as well. Search the Library using the term 5-MIN to locate the various files. Compiled July Newscasts are in file #16699; August is in #16895; September is in #17117. October's ViewPort -- The *StarShip*'s Hit Monthly Newsletter-- Available FREE THIS Weekend! Watch for October Date on Menu #9. Back Issues are available in the *StarShip* Library: 14584 VIEWPORT_1_1.LZH The Premier Issue of ViewPort 14586 VIEWPORT_1.1.TXT The Premier Issue of ViewPort 15461 VIEWPORT_1.2.LHA ViewPort April 1992 - archived 15463 VIEWPORT_1.2.TXT ViewPort, April 1992 - ASCII version 15946 VIEWPORT_1.3.LHA The May/June issue of ViewPort 15948 VIEWPORT_1.3.TXT The May/June Issue of ViewPort-text 16405 VIEWPORT_1.4.LHA The July issue of ViewPort 16407 VIEWPORT_1.4.TXT July ViewPort, The Amiga Newsletter 16688 VIEWPORT_1.5.LHA The August, 1992 issue of ViewPort 16694 VIEWPORT_1.5.TXT August,1992 issue of ViewPort [TEXT] 16840 VIEWPORT_SEP92.LHA The September 1992 issue of ViewPort 16842 VIEWPORT_SEP92.TEXT The September 1992 issue of ViewPort 16991 SHOWPORT.LHA The WOCA ShowPort issue of ViewPort 16990 SHOWPORT.TXT The special WOCA ShowPort edition