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Text File | 1993-01-08 | 35KB | 754 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: January 8, 1993 This 5-MINUTE Newscast presents the following stories: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Commodore Announces "Power Up" Savings Program for the A4000 and A1200 2. CORRECTION: Commodore Announces Availability of AmigaDOS Release 2.1 3. Commodore Announces Special Pricing on A3000T-040 4. Next Week's *StarShip* Amiga Conferences 5. ICD's Trifecta 2000: A new standard in hard cards for A2000 and 2500 ICD's Trifecta 500: An exciting new product for Amiga 500 computers 6. Deluxe Music II Programmer Speaks Out 7. Yet Another Upgrade! SuperJAM! 1.1 from Blue Ribbon SoundWorks 8. OpalVision Featured on Computer Chronicles 9. Mach Ten Releases The Switch Man 10. Commodore Announces Availability of AmigaVision Professional *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 1st of 10 Stories Commodore Announces "Power Up" Savings Program for the Amiga 4000 and 1200 ____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / ___) West Chester, PA -- December 14, 1992 / / / (__ (_____)ommodore Business Machines, Inc. today announced that the company's newest and most technologically advanced systems, the Amiga(R) 4000 and the Amiga 1200, will be available at major cost-savings through its "Power Up" program. This offer begins January 1, 1993 and runs through March 31, 1993. The Amiga 4000-25/120 plus ASDG Art Department Professional(tm) and Electronic Arts DeluxePaint IV AGA will be available for a Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price of $2693, a savings of $1500 (if these items are sold separately). The A4000 was introduced in September 1992 as Commodore's premier multimedia computer. The Amiga 1200 plus SoftWood Inc.'s Final Copy 1.3 (TM) and Electronic Arts DeluxePaint IV AGA will be available at a MSRP of $599, a savings of $600. Both the A4000 and the A1200 feature Commodore's new Advanced Graphics Architecture (AGA) chip set that enables users to display and animate graphics in multiple resolutions at up to 256,000 colors from a palette of 16.8 million colors. Important to note is that the "Power Up" software programs listed with the A4000 and the A1200 are not packaged with the systems. Customers will receive these software packages within 30 days, at no additional cost, directly from Commodore after receipt of proof of purchase and a completed CPU Warranty Card. All "Power Up" software offers are designed to support the AGA chip set design. The A4000 comes standard with a 120MB hard drive, 6MB of memory, a dual speed high-density floppy drive, and CrossDOS software which enables users to read and write to MS-DOS formatted floppy and hard drives. The A1200, the lower cost, entry level member of the AGA based family, is the company's newest 32-bit personal computer. Other features include a low-profile design, CrossDOS and PCMCIA expandability. "Since their introduction, both the A4000 and the A1200 have been widely publicized as the newest standard setters for video and multimedia users. Now, through the "Power Up" program, these Amiga systems are being offered at substantial savings. This program is an excellent opportunity for multimedia users to purchase outstanding Amiga equipment at competitive prices," commented David Archambault, director of business marketing. Commodore Business Machines, Inc., based in West Chester, PA, is the U.S. subsidiary of Commodore International. The company manufactures and markets a complete line of Amiga computers and peripherals for the business, consumer, education and government markets. Commodore is a trademark of Commodore Electronics Limited. Amiga and Advanced Graphics Architecture are trademarks of Commodore-Amiga, Inc. MS-DOS is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Art Department Professional is a trademark of ASDG. DeluxePaint IV is a trademark of Electronic Arts. Final Copy 1.3 is a trademark of SoftWood Inc. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 2nd of 10 Stories CORRECTION TO: Commodore Announces the Availability of AmigaDOS Release 2.1 ______~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (__ __) West Chester, PA --- December 17, 1992 / / / / (_/he AmigaDOS Release 2.1 Upgrade Kit (AS216) includes _five_ disks -- not six -- as was erroneously mentioned in the Commodore press release dated 12/14/92. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 3rd of 10 Stories Commodore Announces Special Pricing on A3000T-040 ____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / ___) West Chester, PA --- December 17, 1992 / / / (__ (_____)ommodore's A3000T-040 with a 200 MB hard disk and 5 MB of RAM is being offered at the special price of $2875.00. (U.S.) All Amiga 3000T and Amiga 3000T-040 CPUs currently shipping in the U.S. are configured to accept the MC68040 processor. To locate the authorized Commodore dealer near you call (800) 66-AMIGA. Commodore (R) and CommodoreExpress are trademarks of Commodore Electronics Limited. Amiga (R) is a trademark of Commodore-Amiga, Inc. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 4th of 10 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@9EST| Help@9EST|Help@9EST| Help@9EST|Help@9EST| Help@9EST| Help@9EST| |__________|__________|_________|__________|_________|__________|__________| | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |14 | 15 | 16 | |5-MIN News| | o/~ | | | New |5-MIN News| | 3PM-3AM | DeskTop | | AmiGames |vv-Video!|*StarShip*|9:Hardware| | -*- |Publishing| Mikey's | ------ | with | 5-MINUTE | Clinic | |10PM: | Night |Mad Music|Programing| Yury & | Newscast |10: Amiga | | Graphics | | Night |at Pro/Am | Guests | 6PM-3AM |PartyNight| |__________|__________|_________|__________|_________|__________|__________| 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 EST for live, on-the-spot help. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 5th of 10 Stories Trifecta 2000: A new standard in hard cards ____ for Amiga 2000 and 2500 computers (_ _) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / Rockfold, IL -- November 10, 1992 / / _/ / (____)CD, Incorporated, a leading designer and manufacturer of hardware enhancements for Amiga computers, today began shipping the new Trifecta(TM) 2000, a new standard for Amiga 2000 and 2500 computer hard cards. Trifecta offers the top three computer peripherals in your choice of packages and options to fit your budget. Trifecta is absolutely the quickest SCSI hard drive controller available for an Amiga computer, bar none. This SCSI-2 controller offers 10 Megabytes per second synchronous and 5 Megabytes per second asynchronous transfers. Data flow is full DMA on the bus and hidden DMA to Trifecta RAM. This keeps sustained transfer rates extremely high while using very little CPU time, which makes the Trifecta 2000 ideal for Video Toaster machines or applications that take advantage of the Amiga s multi-tasking capabilities. Whether your Amiga uses a 68000, 68020, 68030 or 68040 you won't find a faster hard card. Trifecta is a high performance 16-bit IDE (AT) hard card for connecting low-cost IDE hard drives to an Amiga computer. Quick block transfers combined with intelligent caching make IDE drives on this card as fast or faster than most 16-bit SCSI cards. The hard card configuration has ample physical space and mounting holes to attach a 2.5 or 3.5 inch hard drive on the board. One or two drives are supported on this IDE interface while up to seven drives are supported by Trifecta's SCSI interface. Trifecta is a high performance fast RAM card which supports up to 8 Megabytes of 0 wait-state RAM using low-power 4 Megabit ZIP DRAM ICs. Hidden DMA from the SCSI-2 section in to this RAM takes almost no CPU time which keeps a multi-tasking computer zipping along. Amiga 2000 and 2500 owners can choose from Trifecta 2000 LX with all of these features on a single hard card or the low cost Trifecta 2000 EC without the SCSI-2 feature. A simple, plug-in upgrade kit is available to add the LX option at a later date. For the past few years ICD has enjoyed an enviable reputation as an innovator in the development of interfaces and peripherals for Amiga computers. Products like Flicker Free Video, AdSpeed, AdRAM 540, and Novia, have defined new paths in Amiga architecture. Not willing to rest on its laurels, ICD is always looking for ways to push the envelope for data transfer rates, to use the latest in hardware and software technology in order to continually redefine state-of-the-art in the Amiga market. This path will give ICD customers the fastest possible hard drives, with uncompromising compatibility and speed at competitive prices. Trifecta 2000 includes ICD's all new version 4 software package. Version 4 provides a new AmigaDOS 2 friendly front-end with user-friendly features to help beginners get going without replacing the features that advanced users expect. Thomas Harker, president of ICD, explained, "We simply asked our customers what they would like to see ICD develop. Trifecta is the answer. We offer an upgradeable entry level solution with the EC package or the full blown deluxe LX package for those who want the best. The SCSI-2 controller with direct memory access is guaranteed to be unbeatable. ICD engineers have figured out how to tame DMA, how to benefit from the performance but avoid the drawbacks that other companies have had so far such as losing data over the serial port." All Trifecta packages are competitively priced. Suggested retail prices for the Trifecta products are: Trifecta 2000 EC at $199.95, the Trifecta 2000 LX at $249.95 and the Trifecta EC to LX upgrade kit at $79.95. Trifecta comes with a full one year warranty. For further information, contact Thomas Harker at ICD in the United States by phone (815) 968-2228 extension 220 or fax (815) 968-6888. Trifecta is a trademark of ICD, Incorporated. Other trademarks are those of their respective holders. Trifecta 500: An exciting new product for Amiga 500 computers ____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (_ _) / / Rockfold, IL -- December 30, 1992 / / _/ / (____)CD, Incorporated, a leading designer and manufacturer of hardware enhancements for Amiga computers, today announced Trifecta 500, a new standard for Amiga 500 computer peripherals. Trifecta offers the top three computer peripherals in your choice of several packages and options to fit your computer and your budget. Trifecta is absolutely the quickest hard drive controller available for an Amiga computer, bar none. This SCSI-2 controller offers 10 Megabytes per second synchronous and 5 Megabytes per second asynchronous transfers. Data flow is full DMA on the bus and hidden DMA to Trifecta RAM which keeps sustained transfer rates extremely high while using very little CPU time. This is ideal for applications that take advantage of the Amiga's multi-tasking capabilities. Whether your Amiga uses a 68000, 68020, 68030 or 68040 you won't find a faster hard card. Trifecta is a high performance 16-bit IDE (AT) hard card for connecting low-cost IDE hard drives to an Amiga computer. Quick block transfers combined with intelligent caching make IDE drives on this card as fast or faster than most 16-bit SCSI cards. The hard card configuration has ample physical space and mounting holes to attach a 2.5 or 3.5 inch hard drive on the board. One or two drives are supported on this IDE interface while up to seven drives are supported by Trifecta s SCSI interface. Trifecta is a high performance fast RAM card which supports up to 8 Megabytes of 0 wait-state RAM using low-power 4 Megabit ZIP DRAM ICs. Hidden DMA from the SCSI-2 section in to this RAM takes almost no CPU time which keeps a multi-tasking computer zipping along. Amiga 500 owners can choose from Trifecta 500 LX and Trifecta 500 EC. Trifecta 500 comes in a side-car type case with styling to match the Amiga 500 perfectly. External "game" switches disable RAM and/or hard drives as desired. A "Mini-Slot" expansion connector allows access to all A500 expansion bus signals. A universal switching power supply insures full compliance with Commodore's A500 power limitations in all countries. Generous cooling vents in the attractive plastic case top keep Trifecta 500 running cool without the unnecessary noise of a fan. The sturdy metal base provides strong support for hard drive mounting and connection to the Amiga 500 expansion bus. As with the Amiga 2000 versions, SCSI is an option on the EC version. For the past few years ICD has enjoyed an enviable reputation as an innovator in the development of interfaces and peripherals for Amiga computers. Products like Flicker Free Video, AdSpeed, AdRAM 540, and Novia, have defined new paths in Amiga architecture. Not willing to rest on its laurels, ICD is always looking for ways to push the envelope for data transfer rates, to use the latest in hardware and software technology in order to continually redefine state-of-the-art in the Amiga market. This path will give ICD customers the fastest possible hard drives, with uncompromising compatibility and speed at competitive prices. Trifecta includes ICD's all new version 4 software package. Version 4 provides a new AmigaDOS 2 friendly front-end with user-friendly features to help beginners get going without replacing the features that advanced users expect. Thomas Harker, president of ICD, explained, "We simply asked our customers what they would like to see ICD develop. Trifecta is the answer. We offer an upgradeable entry level solution with the EC package or the full blown deluxe LX package for those who want the best. The SCSI-2 controller with direct memory access is guaranteed to be unbeatable. ICD engineers have figured out how to tame DMA, how to benefit from the performance but avoid the drawbacks that other companies have had so far such as losing data over the serial port." All Trifecta packages are competitively priced and include a heavy duty universal switching power supply. Suggested retail prices for the Trifecta products are: Trifecta 500 EC at $299.95, the Trifecta 500 LX at $349.95 and the Trifecta EC to LX upgrade kit at $79.95. Trifecta comes with a full one year warranty. For further information, contact Thomas Harker at ICD in the United States by phone (815) 968-2228 extension 220 or fax (815) 968-6888. Trifecta is a trademark of ICD, Incorporated. Other trademarks are those of their respective holders. Trifecta 2000 versions are now shipping in quantities and should be available from your dealer. We expect to be shipping Trifecta 500 models in quantity by the end of this month (January 1992). -*- _____________________________________________________ / \ | Reminder! | | ~~~~~~~~~ | | The *StarShip* 1992 Amiga Review and Top 100 Files | | are available on GEnie Page 555, Menu Option 10, | | until late Sunday night, January 10, 1993. | | | \_____________________________________________________/ *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 6th of 10 Stories Deluxe Music II Programmer Speaks Out ____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / ___) by David Joiner, December 1992 / (_ Author of Music-X and Faery Tale Adventure / ___) / / (_/or over a year now, I've been working on an exciting project which, unfortunately, I could not tell you about. Last October, my company (The Dreamers Guild) was hired by Electronic Arts to update Deluxe Music Construction Set for the Amiga. After some review, it was decided that nothing less than a complete rewrite would suffice. (None of the existing Amiga code was used -- instead, I used the current Mac version, written in Pascal, as a reference). The project is now in testing, and is expected to be released in March of next year. (BTW, the beta-testers have already been selected and approved by EA, so please don't send me mail asking if you can be a beta-tester). Here just a few of the features of the new version: o Complete new user interface design, in accordance with the Amiga User Interface Style Guide. All aspects of the user interface are now font-aware and resolution-aware. o Complete ARexx implementation. Not only can you control almost every facet of the program via ARexx, but you can also write scripts that scan through the score, adding notes and making changes. This allows you to create filtering scripts, or write algorithmic composition programs. Also, an ARexx console, similar to the one in TurboText, is provided, as well as the ability to assign ARexx scripts to the Amiga function keys. o Supports multiple display modes and public screens. (Should run fine on a Moniterm-type monitor, where you'll be able to see a full page of music at once!). o Runs under both 2.0 and 1.3 (1.3 compatibility provided by emulation libraries). o Vastly improved print quality. (From about 18 inches away, I can't tell that it didn't come out of a music book!) o Multiple documents (limited only by available memory). o Many limitations removed or expanded. o Improved memory use. Deluxe Music only takes what memory it needs for the current music in memory, and uses a memory-block management system to avoid fragmentation. o Deluxe Music will come with a freely-distributable, stand-alone player utility that can be used either from the CLI, or can be used as a default tool for Workbench icons. (Now you can upload your songs, and upload the player as well!) o Fully localizable using locale.library (emulated under 1.3). o Supports the new "camd.library" and "realtime.library". Now Deluxe Music can coexist with other MIDI programs, and use 3rd-party serial cards. In addition, Deluxe Music will be able to synchronize with animation players that use realtime.library for interactive multimedia presentations. o Uses a new file format, "FORM CMUS" (Common Musical Score) which replaces the old SMUS score. CMUS will be a public file format, unlike the old DMCS file format. (And I bet you all thought that my big CMUS discussion in amiga.dev/standards had something to do with Music-X, didn't you?) o In addition to the new CMUS format, Deluxe Music also imports the following file types: -- Old DMCS (FORM DMCS) -- Simple Musical Score (FORM SMUS) -- Standard MIDI (SMF) -- Music-X (FORM MSCX) File type is automatically detected at load time -- no need for a seperate "import" command. o Deluxe Music can save out CMUS, SMUS or Standard MIDI Files. o Deluxe Music will use the Commodore Installer utility. -*- *StarShip* Amiga *Flash* 7th of 10 Stories Yet Another Upgrade! SuperJAM! 1.1 _ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / \ Atlanta, GA -- December, 1992 / - \ / ___ \ (_/ \_)lthough SuperJAM! has met with rave reviews, here at Blue Ribbon SoundWorks we've been busily improving and expanding its features. To do so, we asembled a high-level team of musicians, engineers and SuperJAM! users to find out what was important in making SuperJAM! useful, exciting, entertaining and innovative. We then listened intently to the feedback we received from SuperJAM! users worldwide. Taking all of this into account, we created SuperJAM! 1.1! SuperJAM! 1.1 provides you with even more composing power. To begin with, we've created Stereo TurboSounds. Now you can assign each TurboSound to either the left or right speaker. We then added a Graphical Mixing grid that lets you drag your instruments up and down or slide to easily adjust your panning and volume settings. For those who design chords, SuperJAM! now includes two-octave Chord creation. You can creath 11th and 13th chords and split your chords, so that the Bass sounds on the "bottom" of the keyboard and the other Band Members sound "on top!" Composing is even easier with our new Eas-o-matic MusicMaker. Using a few simple keystrokes, you can compose full-fledged melodies and chord progressions in real-time. The Eas-o-matic MusicMaker helps you make musical choices. Plus, you can now access intros, breaks and ends, as well as fills, from the Keyboard window. Even SuperJAM!'s styles are more sophisticated. Now each and every Style contains four Grooves. Each Groove provides a subtle musical variation, which gives you greater control over the shape of your composition. We even updated every Style included with SuperJAM! with these Grooves. Finally, we've improved SuperJAM!'s look and feel, including Workbench 2.0 added feature support such as ASL file requester, public screen and virtual screen size. SuperJAM! 1.1 ($149) works splendidly with The One-Stop Music Shop, too! For more information, contact Blue Ribbon SoundWorks at their NEW offices at Venture Center, 1605 Chantilly Drive NE, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30324, or call 404/315-0212. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 8th of 10 Stories OpalVision Featured on Computer Chronicles ____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / ___) Los Angeles, CA -- December 28,1992 / / / (__ (_____)entaur Development's powerful OpalVision hardware and software for the Amiga computer will be demonstrated on a new edition of the popular PBS television program "Computer Chronicles." "Computer Art" is the show title being aired between January 12th and the 18th. OpalPaint, OpalVision's professional paint program, is demonstrated by John Sievers, Centaur's General Manager. OpalPaint's image processing modes, "artist-friendly" interface and other features are shown, as well as real-time 24-Bit OpalVision animation capabilities. In addition to its appearance on "Computer Chronicles," OpalVision has been widely hailed throughout the Amiga community since its release last August. OpalPaint in particular has received virtually unanimous rave reviews. For example, Amiga Format, Britain's largest Amiga publication, called it "Undoubtedly the finest, most professional paint program to arrive on the Amiga." The Amiga Video Journal (AVID) said "OpalPaint is in my opinion the best paint program currently available in the United States for the Amiga." Camcorder magazine proclaimed "OpalVision is awesome!" The OpalVision system is a combination of several modular boards which occupy the video slot of Amiga series 2000, 3000 and 4000 machines. The OpalVision main board is a true 24-Bit RGB display device which includes OpalPaint, OpalPresents and OpalAniMATE software. Additional plug-in modules are under development which add a framegrabber, genlocker, production switcher, Digital Video Effects and scan-rate conversion. The OpalVision main board has a suggested list price of $995.00. "Computer Chronicles" can be seen on over 250 PBS stations throughout the United States and is carried on USA Net in Europe and other territories. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 9th of 10 Stories ______ Mach Ten Releases The Switch Man (__ __) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / / Baltimore, MD -- December 1992 / / (_/he Switch Man(tm) allows users of any bridgeboard - VGA, SVGA card to share the same monitor as your Amiga Video Output. This manual switch makes connecting two 15 pin (VGA) outputs to one 15 pin monitor. With the flick of a switch you can view either your Amiga display or your PC display. The Switch Man comes with all necessary cables to hook up both video outputs to your monitor. So stop unplugging and plugging in your monitor and start switching screens with The Switch Man! The Switch Man is available now from Mach Ten Computer Products for a retail price of $46.95. The Switch Man will also be available at most Commodore-Amiga dealers. This device is intended for users who have a bridgeboard-Amiga system setup with either VGA or SVGA display capabilities. It may also used to hook up two monitors to one display. For more information contact Mach Ten Computer Products, 28 Heathrow Manor Court, Baltimore, Maryland 21236, or call 800/925-3587 or 410/529-5361 in Maryland. Amiga is a Registered Trademark of Commodore Amiga, Inc. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 10th of 10 Stories Commodore Announces Availability of AmigaVision Professional ____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / ___) West Chester, PA -- December 12, 1992 / / / (__ (_____)ommodore Business Machines, Inc. today announced it is now shipping AmivaVision(TM) Professional, a new implementation of the Commodore icon-based authoring tool. AmigaVision Professional builds and expands on the visual programming environment used in earlier versions of AmigaVision. One of the many new product features is the ability to display Advanced Graphics Architecture(TM) (AGA) based screens, which is key to users of the new Amiga 4000 and Amiga 1200 AGA computers. Among other new features are full support for the CDTV player, including playback of CD-ROM based CD-XL motion video files; speed and memory improvements; and enhancements to the authoring environment. In addition, a freely redistributable Runtime Module has been included, enabling flows created in AmigaVision to be played back without loading AmigaVision. _________________________________________________________________ / \ | *StarShip* News Note: The AmigaVision Runtime Module mentioned | | here is available in Library File 18120 AVPLAY24.LZH. | | | | Interested in a classy AmigaVision flow to use it on? This is a | | big download (two disks) but well worth it: W.MEYERS4's Virtual | | Reality Tour of William Shakespeare's Globe Playhouse from the | | 1600s! Illustrated according to historically accurate sources | | and complete with Elizabethan music. Available in Library Files | | 18071 GLOBE.1.LHA and 18070 GLOBE.2.LHA. | \_________________________________________________________________/ AmigaVision Professional has a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of $399.00. The product is an attractive option as an authoring and presentation package for interactive courseware designers and developers; educators for classroom, administrative and interactive learning applications; kiosk and point-of-information displays; user friendly front-end interfaces to complex data processing networks; as well as business, government and educational presentations. Current users of AmigaVision can upgrade to AmigaVision Professional for only $99.00 plus shipping, by contacting CommodoreExpress(TM) at 1-800-448-9987. Users will be required to return their original AmigaVision disks to CommodoreExpress within ten days to receive the $99.00 upgrade price. Commodore Business Machines, Inc., based in West Chester, PA, is the U.S. subsidiary of Commodore International Limited. The company manufacturers and markets a complete line of Amiga computers and peripherals for the business, consumer, education and government markets. The company's worldwide installed Amiga user base exceeds three million. -*- 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 The December Issue of ViewPort ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --> The *StarShip*'s Monthly Online Magazine <-- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Available FREE on GEnie*Basic Menu Option #9 on Page 555. Get YOUR copy Today! Back Issues can be located in the Library by searching on the term VIEWPORT.