The July 18th meeting will be one of CUCUG's split SIG meetings. The Macintosh SIG will have a "Bring Your Favorite Utility" pow-wow, so if you have something cool you'd like to share, bring it in and show it to your Mac-mates. The Amiga SIG will be shown some video tape construction techniques by Fred Cline. The C64 SIG will again be treated to Emil's personalized aid and assistance.
Tickets are $5.00 each, with only 500 tickets being sold. (Enter early and enter often!!) The drawing will be held at the regular CUCUG meeting after all tickets have been sold (hopefully the August meeting).
Tickets will be available at CUCUG's July meeting and may also be bought by contacting Jon Sago at (217) 669-2343 or Kevin Hisel at (217) 406-948-1999.
If you dreamed of owning a 4000, don't miss the July meeting or your chance may slip away.
It was a dark and stormy night.... No, actually it was a bright, sun-shiny Saturday afternoon (June 29) when Kevin Hisel, Webmaster of the world respected Amiga Web Directory, with CUCUG Corporate Agent Jim Lewis and Newsletter Editor Kevin Hopkins in tow, went to the Olive Garden restaurant to meet with Christian Krenner, reporter for Germany's Amiga Magazine. After a relaxed, friendly lunch, Christian interviewed the CUCUG trio about their perspective on the Amiga market, CUCUG's history and current activities, and the all important Amiga Web Directory. All in all, it was a fascinating experience. Look for the interview to appear in an upcoming Amiga Magazin ... of course, it'll be in German. I'm sure an English version will make its way onto the Directory - Kevin has translation software.
Yes, some of the links in the Amiga Web Directory appear as if they are now broken. It's not because the information providers have decided to just call it quits or that the Amiga Web Directory staff got into a little too much ale while coding the URLs, either. What has happened is this: the Internic finally pulled the plug. According to published reports, the Internic, that somewhat independent authority which coordinates the assignment of non-numeric domain names (like "cucug.org"), "disconnected" over 9,000 domain names late last week after futile attempts to collect annual registration fees from the domain name owners.
A new policy which went into effect last year charges non-educational domain name holders a modest $50 fee per year to cover administration. If you want to know whether your provider or favorite homepage is one of the sites on the Internic's "dog house" list and you have access to a "whois" command, just look them up by their domain name. If you see "Domain Status: On Hold", then they need to cough up a check pronto.
Apparently, though, just because a site's status is "on hold" does not necessarily mean that they're a dead beat. Our good friends at Microsoft found one of their hottest new ventures, the MSNBC Web site go dark in a heartbeat. This happened just as NBC and MS were pumping all kinds of dollars into media promotions of the site. Was Bill too busy counting his money to notice the polite email reminders from the Internic? Yes and no, according to Keith Rowe, technical director of MSNBC. Apparently MS did indeed pop for the registration fee and the Internic folks just didn't post the payment properly. Maybe someone should have been actually reading the email, but we figure that if they were using Exchange (the Win95 email client) they were probably still waiting for the screen to update.
So, please don't be too alarmed if some of your favorite links in the Amiga Web Directory do not seem to work. We're going to allow a reasonable amount of time to pass before we begin deleting links with no DNS entries.
Thanks for your patience!
REDMOND, Washington - Microsoft Corp. said Monday (6/24/96) it hired two key software designers from Apple Computer Inc. to work on its chief software products, adding to its roster of star computer scientists.
Steve Capps, one of the original software designers of the Macintosh personal computer, and Walter Smith, who designed the software for Apple's Newton handheld computer, will work in Microsoft's Internet platform and tools division.
Capps and Smith will design interfaces - the look of the software on the computer screen - for future versions of products such as Windows 95, Microsoft said.
Since the early 1990s, when Microsoft solidified its dominance of the software industry, the company has been hiring computer scientists responsible for some of the most important innovations in the industry.
The company also is spending more than $1 billion a year - about half as much as the revenue of the next-biggest PC software company - on research and development, particularly focusing on the Internet and new types of computers.
"The secret to Microsoft has always been to recruit the best people of the industry," said Brad Silverberg, senior vice president at Microsoft.
Capps and Smith, who will report to Silverberg, will help improve the look of Microsoft products. The programmers also may help Microsoft on the "Pegasus" operating system, a computer program scheduled to be released later this year for controlling handheld computers.
Hiring Capps and Smith will be a big help to Microsoft, analysts said. Even though Microsoft has improved the look of products tremendously in the past few years, the company has a long way to create an interface that's intuitive and easy to use.
"Windows 95 is a hodge-podge of metaphors," said Robbin Young, managing editor at Windows Watcher, a newsletter that specializes in tracking Microsoft management, strategies and products. "There's five different ways of doing the same thing," such as copying files and opening applications. Hiring Capps, who's partly responsible for the Macintosh's renowned ease-of-use, is a "coup," Young said.
David Cutler, who designed the fundamental program for a best-selling line of computers at Digital Equipment Corp., was hired by Microsoft to write Windows NT, Microsoft's most important business program. Gordon Bell, another Digital Equipment software veteran, joined Microsoft last August to develop video and high-speed communication networks.
Some of the world's best 3-D graphics software designers are also at Microsoft, helping write the tools to create realistic images like the dinosaurs of "Jurassic Park" on regular personal computers.
"Part of the Microsoft overall plan has been to throw judicious amounts of money, but terrific amounts of brainpower at whatever they're trying to solve," Young said.
[Source: Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, Tues., June 25, 1996.]
CUPERTINO, Calif. (Bloomberg) - Apple Computer Inc. stock fell Wednesday (6/26/96) to its lowest point in nearly 10 years as analysts and investors said the future of the struggling computer maker remains in doubt.
Apple's stock dropped 3/4 to 19 7/8 in trading of 3.61 million shares. That's the lowest point since Nov. 24, 1986, when the stock fell to 19. Shares traded as high as 48 3/4 last July.
"There's been no positive announcement in the past three months," said Gary Kaminsky, portfolio manager at Cowen & Co., who owns Apple stock. "People are really starting to think, 'Is Apple going to survive at all?'"
Investors have been hard-pressed to find a reason for optimism. The company is still cutting prices to spur demand to get rid of existing inventory, and two of its most prominent software engineers left this month to join Microsoft Corp.
"When things are melting down, there is no such thing as a support level. You need a reason to buy, not a reason to sell," said analyst Stephen Dube of Wasserstein Perella Securities.
Technology companies, including computer makers, chipmakers and software publishers, have been hammered over the past few weeks on concern that second-quarter earnings won't beat estimates. Computer companies in general face sluggish sales in Europe, while demand for personal computers from home buyers has slowed from last year's pace.
Apple, which posted a $740 million loss in its fiscal second quarter, is expected to continue losing money for the next several quarters.
The No. 3 PC maker had to write down more than $380 million of its inventory to account for lower selling prices. That squeezed profits and forced Apple to cut 2,800 jobs.
Apple's sales are expected to fall about 11 percent to $2.3 billion in the third quarter, and it will report a loss of about $1,10 cents a share. The lowest estimate from Wall Street analysts is for a loss of $1.79 a share.
"It could be worse than expected." said Dube, who expects the loss to come to $1.40 a share. "They are still cleaning house."
Already, some companies that rely on Apple for significant portions of their business have warned of lower earnings.
Apple Chairman Gilbert Amelio, who took over in February, unveiled his reorganization strategy last month, naming a new chief operating officer and creating four product groups. The company also sold $661 million in bonds that can be converted into stock in order to shore up its cash position.
[Source: Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette, Thurs., June 27, 1996.]
Scrambling for every advantage in the browser battles, Microsoft has begun to bundle its Internet Explorer 2.0.1 for Macintosh with widely used email software Eudora Light.
Eudora, made by Qualcomm, is the world's most popular email application with an estimated 10 million users worldwide, according to Matrix Information Directory Services. The "Light" version that will come bundled with Internet Explorer for the Mac is freeware that the company distributes to help popularize its more robust commercial "Pro" version.
Microsoft has developed its own mail and news client for Internet Explorer for Windows 95 and hopes to integrate it into the upcoming version 3.0, due later this summer.
Despite the publicity surrounding Microsoft's current beta of Explorer 3.0 for Windows, no plans have yet been released for a new Mac version of the browser. The current release for Macintosh, complete with the Eudora Light bundle, is available as a free download from Microsoft's Web site.
Microsoft engineers may have been reading too many self-help books: the company says it's empowering the Macintosh with new software.
The Empowerment Pack for the Mac, available for free downloading from the Microsoft Web site, comes with Internet software and a software update for version 6.0 of Word for Mac, which had been sharply criticized for being slow and buggy.
The pack includes the following freebies:
If you are experiencing problems with your computer other than system freezing, it is recommended that a full diagnostic test be performed by an authorized Apple service technician.
If the application is run on a Power Macintosh/Performa 5XXX/6XXX series computer and it finds a problem, it will present one of the following messages:
The logic board has been checked and a potential issue has been found. Please contact Apple customer support or an Apple Authorized Service Provider to have the logic board replaced as part of the repair extension program.
A potential issue with the Cache has been found. Please contact Apple customer support or an Apple Authorized Service Provider to have the Cache replaced as part of the repair extension program.
If no problems have been found, this application will present the following message:
The logic board has been checked and none of the specific, known hardware issues that are covered under this program were found. If you are experiencing problems, we recommend that you verify that any software applications you are using are compatible with your computer. You can do this by contacting the developer of the software. You should also follow the procedures described in the troubleshooting section of the User's Guide to reduce any freezing issues you are experiencing.
The 5XXX/6XXX tester program can be obtained at: ftp://ftp.info.apple.com/Apple.Support.Area/Apple_SW_Updates/US/Mailities/5xxx-6xxx_Tester_1.0.sea.hqx
ESCOM AG and Visual Information Service Corp. (VIScorp- Nasdaq: VICP), have now signed the final agreement about the acquisition of Amiga Technologies GmbH by VIScorp, subject to approval by their boards. According to the agreement, the entire staff and property of ESCOM subsidiary Amiga Technologies GmbH will pass into the possession of VIScorp. This includes all existing components and finished goods in inventory of Amiga and the intellectual properties of the former Commodore group, except Commodore trademarks. The purchase price is approximately US $40 million in stock and cash.
VIScorp's products, the Universal Internet Television Interface (UITI), the Electronic Device (ED), the UITI-TV and the ED-TV (smart television systems), are powered by Amiga custom chip-sets and the Amiga operating system and offer a means by which TV viewers can bridge the separate worlds of the television, computing and telecommunications.
Amiga Technologies GmbH will continue to coordinate the production and distribution of Amiga computers at its headquarters in Bensheim, Germany.
Additional information on VIScorp and its technologies are available through its Web site at http://www.vistv.com/.
For further information: ESCOM AG, Dr. Bernd Wirsing Tel.: +49-6252-709-193 Amiga Tech., Petro Tyschtschenko Tel.: +49-6251-802-110 VIScorp, Florine Radulovic Tel.: +1-312655-0903ToC
System Improvements
In the months ahead, VIScorp will be making substantial improvements to the Amiga system architecture, including both the hardware design and the operating system software. These advanced new systems will be developed not only for our upcoming Set Top Boxes, but also for future Amiga Desk Top Computers. VIScorp is investing considerable resources into engineering these improvements.
One of the primary objectives of VIScorp's business plan is to develop, manufacture, market, and sell Amiga Desk Top Computer Systems.
Architecture Group
Many of the above improvements require an in-depth knowledge of specialty markets and technologies. Because of this, VIScorp made the decision in May 1996 to form an Architectural Design Group consisting of a small number of highly qualified Amiga experts. While this group is still in its early formation stage, we intend it to oversee and resolve the numerous suggestions and enhancements that must be addressed for the long term success of the Amiga.
Technology Licenses
As stated above, VIScorp will research and develop valuable enhancements to the architecture and technology of the Amiga, resulting in a wide range of next generation, price competitive computer products.
There are, however, situations in which it makes sense for VIScorp to license Amiga related technology to qualified companies whose business objectives are consistent with VIScorp's long range plan. Such agreements may include binary, ROM, and documentation licenses for the distribution of Amiga OS upgrades, hardware and software system licenses for specialty markets, and possibly source code co-development licenses to help expand the Amiga and its feature set into the next decade.
Property Rights Infringement
It has come to our attention that several companies plan to build their own "compatible" or "extended" versions of the Amiga without obtaining the proper licensing from VIScorp. These companies will be placing themselves at legal risk, because their systems will undoubtedly infringe on Amiga intellectual property rights, including copyrights, patents, and trade secrets.
In addition, we have recently become aware that versions of the Amiga System ROMs are being reproduced and distributed without proper licensing. This is a violation of international copyright law, and VIScorp will prosecute offenders to the full extent of the law.
Realize that VIScorp is purchasing Amiga Technologies at great expense for ownership of precisely the above property rights and considers them a fundamental asset of the company. As such, VIScorp intends to aggressively defend its position as the owner of the Amiga and its related technologies. Companies that choose to violate the law are well advised to consider the easier and less costly path of obtaining a license.
"The UITI(R) provides new and exciting entertainment, information and telecommunications capabilities using any standard television set, including easy access to the Internet, World Wide Web and on-line services," said William Buck, Chief Executive Officer of VIScorp. "The Emerson Radio branded set-top device will dramatically expand the capabilities of the family TV set by providing TV viewers a host of services like e-mail, on-line chat and Net surfing that have, until now, been available only to those who own personal computers.
"The UITI(R) is more than a network computer (NC) as it turns the TV set into a sophisticated communications center, offering an on-screen menu, a speaker phone, the ability to send and receive fax messages, on- screen caller identification (Caller ID) where available, calendar, telephone and address storage, and other services. In addition, it comes with a series of 'in-ROM' interactive multimedia games so that it provides greater value to the whole family," Mr. Buck continued.
VIScorp explains that the UITI(R) runs on an enhanced Amiga(TM) operating system which, VIScorp says, is internationally recognized as one of the finest multitasking multimedia systems, as well as one of the most cost effective systems. The UITI(R) comes equipped with a built-in modem; includes special fonts and graphics so that networked text, data and images can easily be read at normal viewing distance; contains random access memory (RAM) to enable users to download text, messages and other information; and, comes with a sleek, easy-to-use remote control with an imbedded keyboard for convenient information input.
"We are extremely excited about the prospect of our product carrying the Emerson Radio name," said Mr. Buck. "Emerson is an internationally recognized leader in consumer electronics, with a reputation for quality and value."
Eugene I. Davis, President of Emerson, stated: "We are very optimistic about the inclusion of UITI(R) technology into our product mix going forward. We believe that convergence products will be a major emphasis in the consumer electronics business over the next several years and we believe that Emerson will be a value product to the mass market in this area. We believe the Emerson Radio brand name, which is recognized as one of the top brands in consumer electronics, will help drive not only the Internet-television interface products, but also the second and third generation units which VIScorp has already demonstrated to us. We are currently a major supplier to some of the largest retailers in the U.S., such as Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart and believe these retailers will be looking forward to getting into interactive TV products with the Emerson Radio brand name, a brand name that has always sold well in their stores."
Visit the company's Web page at http://www.vistv.com/, and direct e-mail to flo@vistv.com.
CONTACT: Florine Radulovic of VIScorp, 312-655-0903; Tad Gage, General Information, 312-640-6745, or Bess Gallanis, Media, 312-640-6537, both of The Financial Relations Board (VICP)
By Escom's own estimates, the company had piled up losses of over $117 million last year after the profitability of the PC market in Europe was turned on its head by fierce competition from off-shore vendors and soft demand among home users. Escom also is accused of making some questionable acquisitions (e.g., 200 retail shops in the UK, Commodore/Amiga and Hagenuk, a telecom hardware manufacturer) and attempting to grow too fast in a very volatile market.
A "crisis" meeting was held with shareholders and potential new investors on Tuesday to try to figure out what to do. Unfortunately for Escom, new investors were unconvinced and denied infusing enough cash into the beleaguered PC maker to pull it out of its current tailspin. The company was then forced to make Wednesday's announcement.
Earlier in the week, Escom had indicated that it would initiate a restructuring plan and would close 65 of its 235 retail shops in Britain, additional stores in Europe, sell off sub-companies (like Amiga Technologies) and reduce its workforce from 4,400 to 2,500--an eventual 43% reduction in employees.
For Escom, the reported $40 million selling price of its Amiga Technologies unit will help, but is more like a drop in the bucket especially since an undisclosed portion of the amount is in VIScorp stock.
Anke Reeh-Schild, a GTTSO spokesperson told Reuters, "The turnover seen was very suspicious in comparison with previous levels," and went on to note that the increase was eight to nine times higher than usual.
The investigation could take months to determine any wrong doing, though, as data on all transactions and bank records must be analyzed. No Escom officials are named in the investigation.
QuikPak has been in business since 1992 and is headed by CEO David Zeimbicki. They currently employ about 23 people, and much of the management and work force came from GVP or previously worked for Commodore. QuikPak's background and experience with the Amiga dates back to the early days of the A1000.
QuikPak manufactures the A4000T for Amiga Technologies and distributes these units in both North America and Europe. They provide warranty service for all Amiga products they assemble or sell and recently announced they are also providing repair service for all current GVP products.
The current inventory of the A4000T stands at approximately 2,000 units, and QuikPak has the ability to make up to 200 units a day. They do all the chip packaging themselves and have the whole Commodore dye board at their facility so custom chips are never in short supply. QuikPak could easily configure the A4000T to any specification, but at this point it's being left up to the dealer. If volume increases, they could do the configuration themselves and larger dealers could then stock custom systems.
QuikPak is bringing the A1200 into North America. One thousand units will be arriving from Europe with the initial shipment and more will be imported as needed. These PAL machines will be converted to NTSC units by QuikPak. Eight test units have gone through the conversion process already with no problems, and the NTSC A1200's are expected to be available to customers by the end of June. The NTSC A1200 will be a stock machine and come with an internal 260 Mb HD (most likely), the Magic Software Bundle, and an unnamed web browser. Prices for the units are not yet certain.
QuikPak believes in taking an active role in the Amiga's future. Mr. Zeimbicki flew to Atlanta, GA to talk with the Atlanta Amiga USers Group on May 10, and also attended the VIScorp conference in Toulouse, France on May 19. Mr. Zeimbicki believes there will be a meeting similar to the Toulouse conference some time soon in North America and he expects to be active in its organization.
Back home, QuikPak is in the process of contacting all third party developers to get their ideas and wants to form a strong relationship with these companies. If a company is no longer in business, QuikPak will look at licensing certain popular items from their former product line. In this case, input from Amiga users will directly help determine what products QuikPak would license. For this reason, they are very interested in hearing from Amiga users. They feel users groups are a great source of information and are full of good ideas. Users are encouraged to contact QuikPak to share their thoughts.
QuikPak can be reached in the following ways:
QuikPak Corporation Phone: (610) 666-8080 1000 Forge Ave. Fax: (610) 666-8086 Norristown, PA, 19403 Email: quikpak@aol.com[Source: The Informer, Issue 2, June 1996. Subscription information - The Informer, P.O. Box 21, Newburgh, NY 12551-0021 Phone: (914) 566-4665 Email: fletcher.haug@bbs.mhv.net ]
WCI currently consists of a single retail store and headquarters in Ottawa, Canada and a sales office in Vancouver, British Columbia. The retail store in Ottawa will have its Grand Opening on June 1, 1996. WCI is expecting to open a Toronto retail store in the third quarter of 1996, and a full Vancouver retail store will open shortly after that.
WCI also secured two exclusive distribution agreements for Amiga products in North America. Lazarus Engineering Corp. of Canada, (makers of Design-Works, Dos2Dos, etc.), and Quasar Distribution of Australia, (makers of Quarterback, PC-Task, etc.), have signed WCI as the exclusive distributor for their Amiga products in Canada, the US and Mexico.
Wonder Computers International still retains the right to use the trade names and logos of Wonder Computers, Inc. and WCi.
Wonder Computers International Retail Phone: (613) 721-1800 1315 Richmond Road Retail Fax: (613) 721-6992 Ottawa, Ontario Canada K2B 8J7[Source: The Informer, Issue 2, June 1996.]
Paxtron expects to direct their sales to dealers and service centers worldwide and is currently looking for dealers and service centers to expand their present database. A current price list will be out soon.
Paxtron Corporation
28 Grove St.
Spring Valley, NY 10977
Phone: (800) 815-3241
(800) 595-5534
(888) 729-8766
(914) 578-6522
Fax: (914) 624-3293
URL: http://www.paxtron.com/
[Source: The Informer, Issue 2, June 1996.]Liage International, run by Bill Rosenfeld, is not liable for any outstanding debts of BCI, but is trying to accommodate all past customers. "It's a slow process accommodating people who have been hurt," says Bill. "We will try to help them as best we can. We cannot do hardware repairs but will return all equipment that was sent to BCI for repairs."
They will retain the current mailing address and phone numbers of BCI. They do not have an Email address or Web page, but plan to once they are fully established.
Liage International, Inc.
36 Dye Street
Garnerville, NY 10923
Phone: (914) 786-1711 (new York)
(800) 25-AMIGA (outside New York)
Fax: (914) 786-1708
URL: http://www.qed.net/liageinc/liage.htm
[Source: The Informer, Issue 2, June 1996.]Dubbed the Amiga 5A00, the machine will be Amiga OS 3.1 based, with a built-in CD-ROM drive. The processor will be a standard 68000 CPU.
Few other details are currently available. The machine will be marketed as a home/internet computer, and the company is planning to establish its own Internet service provider to handle Internet for the Chinese market of its computer.
For more information, contact: Jing Jian Li, Vice Chairman/Vice President.
Rightiming Electronics Corp. Phone: (609) 882-03061 20 Lexington Ave Fax: (609) 882-70508 Trenton, NJ 07104 Email: newstar1@ix.netcom.comToC
The Pre-Release version of 3.1 will be available online free as a patch for PageStream 3.0 owners. Those without online access will be able to order it on disk for $10 (+ S&H).
PageStream 3.1 is the culmination of the PageStream 3.0 project. It has taken us a lot longer to finish than planned, both because we underestimated the time involved, and because of the state of the Amiga application market. It would have been easier for us to have abandoned the Amiga market like other firms, but we've stuck with our loyal Amiga customers. We thank you for staying with us through these difficult times. Today's announcement of TextFX 2 demonstrates our continued commitment to our Amiga customers.
To get the 3.1 Pre-Release version if you own 3.0: Visit www.softlogik.com on or after July 12th.
The final 3.1 upgrade is tentatively scheduled for late August 1996. It will be available free to all registered owners of 3.0.
The Pre-Release version is fully functional - you can set type, place graphics, and print to any printer. The extensive drawing tools, and great object and text manipulation features, are fully usable. What's missing from the Pre-Release version is: AppleScript support, editable hyphenation dictionary, spot colors, color separations, and find/change text.
Any Macintosh user can order the Pre-Release version for just $25 (+ $5 S&H) until July 12th. The price will increase to $50 after that date. The suggested retail price for the full commercial package will be $595. Upgrades from the Pre-Release version to the full package will range from $40 for owners of PageStream 3 for Amiga, to $125 for new customers. The Pre-Release version and upgrades are an opportunity to purchase a world-class DTP program at an exceptional price.
The Pre-Release version is available directly from SoftLogik Publishing.
SoftLogik Publishing Corp. Phone: (800) 829-8608 315 Consort Drive Fax: (314) 256-7773 St. Louis, MO 63011 URL: http://www.softlogik.com/ToC
(May 15, 1996) Exponential's first chip should be available for testing this month. If things go to schedule, a second-pass design will tape out in the summer and the chip, whatever it is called, will start production in the new year. The 150 square millimeter chip is 40% Bipolar and 60% CMOS (the caches) and compatible with a 604. It could exceed 500 MHz and become the fastest available chip. Just before the PowerAmiga arrives.
Ideal PowerPC chip for the Amiga arrives
(May 14, 1996) Motorola and IBM recently announced new 604 and 603e chips available in volume. The 604 is now available in 166 MHz and 180 MHz. While the new version of the 603e has finally arrived in 166, 180 and 200 MHz.
So which is the new Ideal PowerPC chip for the Amiga? The Amiga is about affordable power. The 604's are $499 and $693 In quantities of 1,000. Good value compared with Pentiums, but as much as a A1200 all on their own. The 200 MHz 603e costs $360. Which is better and will shortly find it's way into some PowerAmigas, But imagine an affordable Walker type computer with a 166 or 180 MHz 603e. These use just 3 watts so will be happy in an A1200 accelerator. Best of all you have real power available NOW for just $224 for the 166 MHz version and $256 for the 180 MHz version.
By the time manufacturing of the motherboard AT's profit transport wholesaler, retailer and tax man have had their go, it won't be the cheapest computer. But it will be faster than the fastest Pentium you can buy today.
These are release prices so you can expect them to come down even before the PowerAmiga arrives.
New 180 MHz 604 vs New Pentium 200
(April 30, 1996) In contradiction to what was said earlier (see Effective Upgrades, PowerPc processor boards vs. New Pentium Overdrives). Intel has said it will have acceptably priced 200 MHz Pentiums on the street by the end of the year. Someone from intel also said prices will be so low by then that a 133 or 150 MHz pentium will be a low end computer.
Meanwhile Power Computing revealed the new Power Tower range with a 166 or 180 MHz 604 PowerPC. This is NOT a 604e. Unlike the 604e which can handel bus ratios of 4:1 the standard 604 can only handel 3:1. So to run at this speed it needs a bus speed on the motherboard of 60 MHz. Power Computing use modified 7200 PowerMac boards. These may not be as good as the newer PowerMac boards but the new ones with interleaved memory etc. can only handle bus speed up to 50 MHz. Hence Apple intend to wait until the 604e arrives to make computers over 150 MHz (up to 200 MHz).
Power Computing also released the PowerCenter series, Which includes the cheapest ever 604 based computer. The 120 MHz PowerCenter cost just $1895.
Power Tower 180 180-MHz 604 16/2GB/512K L2 $4,195
Power Tower 166 166-MHz 604 16/2GB/512K L2 $3,795
PowerCenter 150 150-MHz 604 16/1GB/256K L2 $2,995
PowerCenter 132 132-MHz 604 16/1GB/256K L2 $2,495
PowerCenter 120 120-MHz 604 8/850/256K L2 $1,895
Remember clock speed is not everything. The new 604e will be even better and prices of these may well come down to match future lower priced Pentiums. Until then the PowerCenter offer a good low price alterative, while the 180 MHz PowerTower should be faster than anything with Intel inside until P7 arrives. Whatever year that is.
[Source: Terry's PowerAmiga Page, URL: http://www.gbar.dtu.dk/~u955090/Computer.html#cont ]
Iomega struck another blow to Syquest with the announcement that a new slimmed-down internal version of its popular Zip drive will be available for laptop computers.
Iomega has been making significant gains against market giant Syquest with its 100MB removable Zip drive. Dataquest, a market research firm, says Iomega has reported that more than 2 million Zip drives have been shipped since March 1995, when the product was introduced.
To keep pace, Syquest earlier this week announced steep price cuts on its EZ135 drives in an effort to cut into sales of the 100MB Zip drive. But Iomega has countered with announcements that several major vendors will be shipping Zip drives in desktop PCs. And now, Iomega is aiming at laptop manufacturers, though no vendors have yet come forward to support the product.
Iomega, which is featuring a working prototype of the drive at the PC Expo trade show in New York this week, expects the 100MB drive to ship in the first quarter of 1997. The company did not specify pricing.
The marathon battle between Iomega and Syquest continued today with Iomega's announcement that it will drop the price of its 1GB Jaz drive.
The price drop is a part of Iomega's strategy to make the Jaz drive a standard in the backup storage market, the company said in a written statement. The retail price of the external Jaz is expected to drop from $599 to $499, while the price of the internal model will drop from $499 to $399.
In conjunction with the price drop, the company announced a new internal PCI card that boosts the speed and performance of the Jaz drive on both the PC and Mac.
Iomega's aggressive marketing moves are mostly aimed at Syquest, and a document recently filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicates that Syquest is staggering from the blows.
In the registration statement, SyQuest says it is seeking to convert 20,000 shares of preferred stock that was sold last month into some 3 million common shares because the company is still in need of cash. Last month's sale raised $19 million, but the company is struggling to pay suppliers for parts needed to manufacture new products, the statement shows.
According to the company's statement in the filing, the company has not been able to ramp up production of its new EZ Flyer drive yet because there aren't enough components to make them - a shortfall attributed to SyQuest's inability to pay suppliers. Even if production gets up to speed, the company isn't sure it can sell the drives for a profit because of the intense competition with Iomega.
Earlier this month, SyQuest announced steep price cuts on its EZ135 in an effort to cut into sales of the Iomega 100MB Zip drive. The company was already losing money on each unit sold.
Iomega turned around earlier this week and offered a $50 mail-in rebate on ZIP drives sold from July 1 to September 15, 1996. In addition, Iomega has announced that several major vendors will be shipping Zip drives in desktop PCs. The company is also aiming to supply a Zip drive for laptops, though no vendors have yet come forward to support the product. Overall, Iomega is hoping to position the ZIP as the successor to the 3.5 inch floppy disk drives found on desktop computers now.
After posting a gross loss of $25.4 million in the last fiscal quarter, the outlook for SyQuest remains bleak even through next year. The company said it will probably need another infusion of cash to cover operating expenses, all while trying to fend off new competition in the form of the LS120 high-capacity optical disk drive being developed by Compaq Computer and other partners.
BroadBand Technologies today demonstrated a way to surf the Net at speeds roughly 1,000 times faster than most current modems allow.
The company demonstrated its FLX PC Adapter Card for the first time at the SuperComm '96 trade show in Dallas. The card is a high-speed Internet access device based on switched digital video that BroadBand has developed jointly with Intel. The collaboration between the two companies was first announced in May in an effort to help telephone companies deliver Internet access to users via high-speed residential fiber to the curb (FTTC) connections.
The adapter runs on BroadBand's allows carriers to provide high bandwidth, both downstream and upstream, to residential users through a single phone jack. The company said the device will run at speeds of 52 mbps - far faster than the 28.8 kbps now available on most standard modems.
The FLX PC Adapter PC interface card will be available from BroadBand in 1997, around the same time phone companies are expected to begin mass-market advanced broadband services based on their new switched digital networks.
If Toshiba, Sony, and other electronics manufacturers get their wish, Christmas stockings will be stuffed with digital video discs, or DVDs, this holiday season. But the road to market for the next-generation CD-ROM is fraught with copyright obstacles.
With more than seven times the storage capacity of compact discs, DVDs are anticipated as a way to deliver movies, games, multimedia titles, and other content to the home market either on PCs that can run the discs or stand-alone DVD players. However, plans for a year-end rollout have been jeopardized by fear that the new technology will spawn an increasing amount of piracy of films, music, and software.
"The challenge of digital media is that it can be copied on a digital-to-digital basis without significant deterioration," said Craig Eggers, director of DVD marketing for Toshiba America.
Envisioning high-quality bootleg movies flooding underground and foreign markets, the Motion Picture Association of America and the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association in March decided to seek government regulation of copyright protection regarding digital video recordings. The computer industry's trade organization, the Information Technology Industry Council, which opposes government intervention in industry standards, complained that it wasn't consulted.
The parties then agreed to pull back from Congress until June 3 and enter private negotiations on the technical and legislative fronts. That deadline has since been extended indefinitely.
At a meeting Friday in Washington, the issue on the table was encryptable discs that would prevent users from downloading material onto a computer hard drive. Details were not immediately available, and representatives from the three consortia stressed that no agreement or resolution to adopt encrypted disc technology was expected.
"All of us will meet on Friday then go back and huddle," an ITIC spokeswoman said in an interview before the meeting.
The rollout of the discs has already been pushed back once, but faced with the prospect of different standards for stand-alone players and DVD drives on computers, it's unlikely the stand-alones would ship without a standard that everyone agrees on.
"It makes no sense to have two kinds of DVDs," the ITIC spokeswoman said. "None of use would go forward without the others."
Still, it wouldn't be wise to expect a quick resolution as long as intellectual property is at stake.
"Copyright will always be an issue," said senior analyst Yvette DeBow of Jupiter Communications. "It even stalled DAT [digital audio tape], because the record companies were really against it."
The Securities and Exchange Commission officially approved public stock trading on the Internet in a major decision that circumvents traditional federal registration requirements.
SEC Commissioner Steven Wallman made the announcement while attending a conference called "IPOs and Capital Formation on the Internet" in Palo Alto, California, according to the San Jose Mercury News. Wallman issued a legal opinion that the SEC would allow such transactions when asked about a case involving Real Goods Trading, an alternative energy company that wants to set up a bulletin board so that investors can buy and sell stock.
Federal securities laws require brokers and dealers who negotiate exchanges of stock to register with the SEC. Wallman reportedly said those laws don't cover all proposed transactions and ruled that Internet trading such as that proposed by Real Goods would not be bound by those requirements.
1. Your stationery is more cluttered than Warren Beatty's address book. The letterhead lists a fax number, E-mail addresses for two on-line services and your Internet address, which spreads across the breadth of the letterhead and continues to the back.
In essence, you have conceded that the first page of any letter you write IS letterhead.
2. You have never sat through an entire movie without having at least one device on your body beep or buzz.
3. You need to fill out a form that may be typewritten, but you can't because there isn't one typewriter in your house - only computers with laser printers.
4. You think of the gadgets in your office as "friends," but you forget to send your father a birthday card.
5. You disdain people who use low baud rates.
6. When you go into a computer store, you eavesdrop on a salesperson talking with customers - and you butt in to correct him and spend the next 20 minutes answering the customers' questions, while the salesperson stands by silently, nodding his head.
7. You use the phrase "digital compression" in a conversation without thinking how strange your mouth feels when you say it.
8. You constantly find yourself in groups of people to whom you say the phrase "digital compression." everyone understands what you mean and you are not surprised or disappointed that you don't have to explain it.
9. You know Bill Gates' E-mail address, but you have to look up your own Social Security number.
10. You stop saying "phone number" and replace it with "voice number," since we all know the majority of phone lines in any house are plugged into contraptions that talk to other contraptions.
11. You sign Christmas cards by putting :-) next to your signature.
12. Off the top of your head, you can think of 19 keystroke symbols that are far more clever than :-)
13. You back up your data every day.
14. Your wife asks you to pick up some minipads for her at the store and you return with a rest for your mouse.
15. You think jokes about being able to program a VCR are stupid.
16. On vacation, you are reading a computer manual and turning the pages faster than everyone else who are reading John Grisham novels.
17. The thought that CD could refer to investment finance or music rarely enters your mind.
18. You are able to argue persuasively that Ross Perot's phrase "electronic town hall" makes more sense than the term "information superhighway," but you don't because, after all, the man still uses hand-drawn pie charts.
19. You go to computer trade shows and map out your path of the exhibit hall in advance. However, you cannot give someone directions to your house without looking up the street names.
20. You would rather get more dots per inch than miles per gallon.
21. You become upset when a person calls you on the phone to sell you something, but you think it's okay for a computer to call and demand that you start pushing buttons on your telephone to receive more information about the product it is selling.
22. You know without a doubt that disks come in 5.25 and 3.5 inch sizes.
23. Al Gore strikes you as an "intriguing" fellow.
24. You own a set of itty-bitty screwdrivers and you actually know where they are.
25. While contemporaries swap stories about their recent hernia surgeries, you compare mouse-induced index-finger strain with a 9-year-old.
26. You are so knowledgeable about technology that you feel secure enough to say "I don't know" when someone asks you a technology question instead of feeling compelled to make something up.
27. You rotate your screen savers more frequently than your automobile tires.
28. You have a functioning home copier machine, but every toaster you own turns bread into charcoal.
29. You have ended friendships because of irreconcilably different opinions about which is better: the track ball or the track pad.
30. You understand all the jokes in this message. If so, my friend, technology has taken over your life. We suggest, for your own good, that you go lie under a tree and write a haiku... and don't use a laptop.
31. You E-mail this message to your friends over the net. You'd never get around to showing it to them in person or reading it to them on the phone. In fact, you have probably never met most of these people face to face.
Oh, no! That's me! -- Harold
[Source: From the Southwest Regional Association of Programmers / 64-128 newsletter "Comm-Adore", May, 1996. SWRAP's address is P.O. Box 528232, Chicago, Illinois 60652-8232.]
Your printer is going along its merry way, doing its job, when suddenly there is a horrible noise coming from within the printer and it stops, or continues to make horrible noises.
Take it off line or shut off its power immediately.
First thing is to look at the ribbon to determine if it is caught on anything in the printer. Is part of the ribbon laying askew in the bottom of the printer? With printer power off, try to move the print head to the left or right, observing the ribbon movement closely. Does the ribbon itself wind into its case or take-up reel easily? If not, remove the ribbon and see if there are any pin holes in it. This would indicate that the print head may be responsible for the problem. Try another ribbon in the printer and do a printer self-test. If trying another ribbon does not correct the problem, we now have to take a look at the ribbon take-up mechanism.
The following is for printers using a ribbed drive belt, such as those used in Star & Gemini printers.
The problem may be due to the TIMING BELT not being at proper tension. This is the ribbed drive belt that moves the print head along the carriage from one end to the other, and also rotates the gears of the ribbon take-up mechanism. NOTE: Later production Star printers use a spring to maintain drive belt tension. A much improved method.
With power off, move the print head as far left or right as it will go. Now, press very gently at the mid center of the drive belt nearest you: on its flat front side, towards the rear of the printer. If the tension is correct, the belt will deflect no greater that 3/16" (5.0 mm). More than that indicates a tension adjustment is needed.
Adjustment:
With the printer in normal position, look inside to the left side of the printer. There is a reversing mechanism that advances the ribbon regardless of which direction the print head travels. The timing belt tension is adjusted by loosening one screw and moving that mechanism's attachment plate to the left, thereby tightening the belt very slightly.
I recommend that a scribe mark be made along side the plate before loosening the screw. That way you have a start point marked for a point of reference. A movement of 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm to the left should be made, and then another self-test made. The belt deflection should not be greater that 5.0 mm to the rear, from the side of the belt closest to the front of the printer. Adjust till this is accomplished. Repeat above till satisfactory 4.0 mm to 5.0 mm is obtained.
Try another self test to check your work.
[Source: From the Commodore Hawaii User Group's "Hawai'i On Line", Kaneohe, HI 96744-3532. Article via Lansing Area Commodore Club newsletter, "Double Click" May, 1996. LACC's address is P.O. Box 1065, East Lansing, Michigan 48826.]
Memory interleaving is a hardware performance optimization. When a processor asks for memory, it typically does so in a fundamental access unit - under special conditions it can fetch exactly what is requested but otherwise it will attempt to optimize the fetching of memory.
The fundamental memory access unit it usually 32 or 64 bits now-a-days. However, if that was all the processor did, it couldn't perform anywhere near as well as they do. It turns out that most programs use the memory immediately next to whatever they ask for, particularly when fetching instructions. This leads to a (somewhat) obvious optimization - have the processor ask for several fundamental access units at a time. This is known as burst accesses. A burst line fill (the technical description of this) can be anywhere from two fundamental access units to quite a few.
If the memory array is designed correctly, a burst line fill will be quite efficient. This arises because the overhead of accessing memory is actually very high compared to the time it takes to transfer data - once you get there you can get to the next location (sequentially) much faster.
Even burst line fills with very fast memory pale when it compares to the appetite of today's processors. They can completely overrun the ability of memory to provide data, access, bursting and all and that is where interleaving comes in. Instead of having one big memory array, you split a given amount of memory into a number of smaller arrays (or banks) of memory where the number of banks is a power of two (2, 4, 8, 16, etc.). When the big, bad processor asks for a burst line fill (say 4 fundamental access units), the memory system can split the request into 4 parallel threads of memory access to (say 4 memory banks). This allows a memory request to be completed much faster than it could be with a single bank of memory.
The hardware trick is to make the hardware set up all of the affected banks of memory in parallel (admittedly a bit slow) and then accept the data from all of the banks virtually at the same time. Mucho faster, and you also get another nice side effect - other devices (DMA) or processors can be fetching from a set of banks while a different set of banks is busy. This means improved performance for I/O and multiprocessor systems.
On a CRAY, the memory systems are interleaved into as many as 16 or even 32 banks. On the PowerMac 7500, 8500 and 9500, there is 2 level interleaving. The nice part is that each bank of the interleave is 64 bits wide. As long as DIMMs are added in pairs and placed in the same relative slot positions in the two banks, the PowerMac memory controller will accept a 128 bit burst request and use both banks of memory to service the request. If both banks are free at the time of the request then all of the data can be supplied in 70ns (the speed of each DIMM) instead of 70ns for the first access and something much less for the second (since it is physically the next 64 bit word in the DIMM).
For machines with paired DIMMs, the speed increase (as reported by applications performing complex tasks like scrolling a WP document or PhotoShop filters) is typically about 20% - a very noticeable amount. At Motorola, we conducted some special tests to see just what the theoretical maximum improvement is. One 16 MB DIMM provided about 130 MB/sec of performance on the 7500. When we replaced this with 2 8 MB DIMMs, properly paired, the memory system was able to provide 150 MB/sec, a 15.4% improvement.
Also we discovered that the Apple documentation isn't as clear as it could be about how to get interleaving. You must pair DIMMs in size AND speed in order to achieve interleaving. This means that even if you have a DIMM that is faster than it needs to be (70ns) you must have another DIMM that is identical. This burned me for a while.
It turns out that Apple ships their machines mostly with 70ns DIMMs but more and more frequently is shipping 60ns DIMMs and very rarely, 50ns. This means that any 7500, 8500 or 9500 owner must not order memory before accepting their machine and inspecting it to determine just what they have.
Some time ago, Toshiba started doing nationwide (in the US) television advertising for a new product called the TIMM: the Toshiba Integrated Multimedia Monitor. A 20" VGA monitor that could triple as a television set or as a video monitor, taking RGB, coaxial (cable/antenna) and composite video/audio inputs.
Big deal, right? A 20 inch monitor with a .58 dot pitch isn't exactly at the height of technology.
But there's a catch. The TIMM is a multiscan monitor, meaning it can sync down to 15khz in addition to displaying VGA-style output. In quite plain terms, that means that it can display all native Amiga screenmodes, from NTSC/PAL Low Res on up. And in case you haven't noticed, monitors that support this range of screenmodes are not only in limited supply, but are quite expensive--14 inch models without speakers often reach nearly US$500, and are not exactly easy to find. In Europe, the supply of Microvitec Amiga Technologies-branded monitors has helped somewhat, but they too suffer from high cost, and only now are 15 and 17 inch products being offered.
The TIMM is a fairly attractive piece of hardware that doesn't go too far into the "alternative design" concept. The casing is off-white, with a large tube flanked by two forward-facing strip-style speakers. Control buttons are located below the display screen, but you'll likely find the included remote control (!) more handy.
The TIMM is advertised as the sort of item you'll use equally for TV watching, videotape use, and your computer. Maybe that's why the instruction manual says virtually nothing about its use as a multisync monitor and instead reads like a regular TV booklet. And maybe that's why, for some strange reason, the manual specifies that the TIMM has a maximum resolution of a mere 640x480.
I can personally attest that the TIMM can display up to at least 1280x1024. It does interlace at 1024x768 and above, but the display is actually quite usable.
As an Amiga multisync monitor, I can quite honestly say that I have never seen anything come close to the TIMM. A trusty 1950 or similar is nice while it lasts, but once you've had 20 inch display, it's tough to imagine going back to something that sits comfortably on an Amiga 3000's case. Despite the dot pitch rating, below 1024x768 the display is remarkably crisp and clear.
As a video monitor and TV, the TIMM works quite well--while its size might not make it conducive for use in large-scale video applications, as the output monitor for the finished product it is an excellent choice, with its quite capable built-in speakers.
The TIMM switches from RGB (computer operation) to TV to video input operation at a touch of a button, either on the monitor or on the remote. Each mode has its own settings--the RGB mode is most flexible, allowing you to vertically and horizontally position AND size the screen to your liking. Settings memory seems to be independent of power supply, but there is only one setting stored.
All of this comes at a cost of about $700, street price. That's rather high for a 20 inch TV, but extremely inexpensive for a 20 inch fully Amiga-compatible multiscan monitor with terrific NTSC and PAL displays. (It is worth noting that while the TIMM will handle PAL RGB input it cannot deal with PAL composite or television input) In the Amiga's history, large monitors with this degree of compatibility have been extremely expensive and are no longer widely available. What the TIMM offers is a reasonably priced big-screen solution which offers the convenience of multiple inputs, while sacrificing the .28 or below dot pitch found on monitors with fewer Amiga features and a smaller screen size.
Only a few things concern me about the TIMM. The first is that the power plug is a two-blade affair instead of the usual 3-prong grounded plug found for most serious computer equipment. The second is that often the TIMM will briefly flash the screen a minute or so after a cold start. Finally, the on-screen controls leave a lot to be desired. They're perfectly adequate, but for such a hip multimedia monitor, I expected something a bit better than CGA cyan and purple blocky text.
For those with a dying 1950, or those looking for a large monitor that can still handle a good round of Alien Breed, I would highly recommend you investigate the TIMM. Those looking to do 1600x1200 non-interlaced are going to have to shop for something different.
Toshiba America Consumer Products 82 Totowa Rd. Wayne, NJ 07470 Phone: (201) 628-8000 URL: http://www.toshiba.com/tacp/timm/TIMMhome.html[Source: Amiga Report, Issue No. 4.07 ]
Way back in the early A1000 days, many companies sold tinted plastic filters you could velcro to the front of your 1080 monitor, which would calm flicker a bit. When I first saw these, I decided to see if sunglasses would work. It was then that I discovered that my standard Ray Bans worked okay (and I looked like a pretty cool geek that way, but that my girlfriend's polarized aviator sunglasses did a much better job of reducing flicker.
[Source: The Commo-Hawk Commodore Users Group newsletter, "The File" July, 1996. CHCUG's address is P.O. Box 2724, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406-2724.]
The June 20th meeting began with the now traditional introduction of club officers. President Rollins then launched directly into our Question and Answer Session:
Kevin then reported on some interesting developments on the Amiga Web Directory. He explained how the banner ad for the Fargo PhotoFUN printer came about and how that ad has generated interest from other advertisers in the Amiga community. Being in the business, Kevin said you don't usually have advertisers coming to you. As we are a not-for-profit corporation we aren't really interested in selling advertising space, so a barter type arrangement has been worked out - a banner for donations - as it were. To date we have pledges of $1850 in donations for advertising on the Amiga Web Directory. This announcement was met with aa enthusiastic round of applause for the membership. Kevin continued, saying that one of the more unusual is a donation of 40 Amiga mice. That's almost a mouse per Amiga member.
Kevin told everyone about his instituting a Form to Join CUCUG on our site. This too is bearing fruit.
Kevin reported that we now have three mirror sites for the Amiga Web Directory: Italy, the UK, and Australia.
Kevin said we had two companies that wanted to buy the Amiga Web Directory outright and another that wanted to sponsor the whole thing. It was decided that CUCUG should retain complete control of the site.
Following these announcements came more good news from President Rollins. Richard told everyone about the agreement he and Mark Bellon have been working on with CU-Online to provide their Macintosh customers with connect support in exchange for those people becoming CUCUG members. CUCUG will get the $20 setup fee from CU-Online for providing help to get any Macintosh user up and running on their service. Richard asked for volunteers to help in this effort.
Richard Rollins also outlined a deal he is working on collaterally with CU-Online concerning modems. CU-Online is thinking of replacing their current fleet of 28.8K Sportster modems and there is a possible opportunity to purchase these modems. He and Mark Bellon will be having a meeting with CU-Online on Monday the 24th to discuss the connect service for membership and the modem purchase ideas. More later.
The floor was then yielded to Macintosh Librarian, Mark Bellon, who demonstrated the two newest disks to be released from the Mac Library.
CUCUGMAC #30:
Stuffit Expander (The decompression/dearchiving tool for the Mac), D'oh (a sound file of Homer, 40 years later), El_IXIR_3.0.3.sea (an interesting board game related to "Go" - particularly difficult), Font Box.sit (Excellent font folder checker that examines your fonts and can move them into active or inactive folders, saving you System memory), HP Calculator.sit (RPN calculator for your Apple Menu), MacMath Pro 2.7.1 Installer (Amazingly extensible calculator), and SpiralGraphics (An electronic SpiroGraph).
CUCUGMAC #31:
Stuffit Expander (The decompression/dearchiving tool for the Mac), Black Night 1.0.3.sit (the premier telecommunications program, very sophisticated, the shareware version of the commercial program "White Knight"), Chiron v2.4 Release f.sit (Macintosh error identification/translator and management), Giffer 1.1.2.sit (GIFF viewer), InstantInit102 folder.sit (Virtually instant initialization of floppies!), NoteBook Maker 1.3.sit (Excellent notebook program), PowerScan-2.0.7 Folder.sit (Excellent volume scanner and directory manager), and Smart Dialer 2.0.sit (Phone book manager with dialing capability).
You can check out a more complete listing at (http://www.cucug.org/disksmac.txt).
President Rollins then offered to show anyone interested, during the break, a book he had on "The 50 Mac Advantage - Why Macintosh computers are better than PCs running Windows 95". He also announced that an Interactive movie will be shown, also during the break.
Richard then said the Mac SIG would be upgrading a machine this evening. The Amiga SIG would be treated to John Lynn doing a video demonstration. And, the C64/128 SIG would be doing help with personal computer problems.
Kevin Hisel then conducted the drawing for the Select Solutions gift certificates, having the succeeding winners draw the next ticket. Don Schaffer won the $25 certificate. John Lynn won the $50 certificate. And, Anderson Yau won the $75 certificate. Congratulations, Gentlemen, and Thank You Select Solutions.
The presentation this evening was by John Lynn, basically on the skills, equipment and techniques he uses in his business as J-L's Video Productions.
John's first bit of advice was to get the best camera you can afford, as he showed off a wonderful little number he had. He warned that you will lose resolution through each duplication of your tape, so you want your original to be the best you can manage.
John's second bit of advice was to get a "skylight" lens protector. This is basically a $5 piece of glass that fits over the face of your camera's lens to protect it. Scratch the protector - you're out $5. Scratch the lens - throw your camera way, since the lenses aren't replaceable.
John then showed some effects you can get "cheaply" through the use of lens filters. He showed a six way prism effect and a star effect he obtained through simple filters. All you need is a Koken filter adapter, which has three slots in it, and drop the filters in. You can get them at Good Vibes, Finishing Point, or almost any other photographic shop.
Turning to the computer side of his work. John stated that DCTV is a great program for frame grabbing.
He originally did (and still does) most of his special effects with a Panasonic AVE5 special effects machine. It does pixelization; has audio mixing capabilities; does oil painting effects, wipes, fades and superimposing image effects. It can synchronize two cameras, replacing the need for a time base corrector required by the Video Toaster. All in all, this was a pretty impressive little rig. It originally sold for about $1300, but is now down into the $700 to $800 range.
John then demonstrated some of the built-in tricks his camera could do. Running it with a remote control, he showed how you could produce interesting effects.
John also explained about his Steady-Cam equipment, showing a video of a skiing trip he took in Colorado using it. He didn't bring this equipment in, but the quality of the video gave testimony of its efficacy.
John concluded his presentation showing a demo tape of the type of work he does shooting weddings and other special events. John pointed out some of the inexpensive effects he utilized as the tape played. He also showed some of the finishing work he did with his Amiga Video Toaster.
Thanks for an interesting evening, John.
The June meeting of the CUCUG executive board was held June 25, 1996 at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house (address and phone number, both in the book). In attendance were Richard Rollins, Mark Landman, Craig Kummerow, Emil Cobb, Mark Bellon, Jim Huls, Kevin Hopkins, Jim Saxon, Jon Sago, Fred Cline, Dave Witt, Jim Lewis, and Kevin Hisel.
Richard Rollins: Richard began the meeting by thanking everyone who participated in last meeting's demonstrations, especially Emil Cobb for his work on the C64. The Macintosh SIG spent their time upgrading Ed Hadley's machine.
The Amiga SIG in July will witness some video tape construction techniques presented by Fred Cline. The Macintosh SIG will be a "Bring Your Favorite Utility" show and tell. The C64 SIG will be whatever Emil Cobb wants to do.
Mark Bellon announced cryptically that he will be able to demo a CHRP platform sometime before the end of the year, and maybe a few other things as well.
Mark Landman: Mark apologized for missing the last Board meeting. He had to attend to a sudden health crisis at home which, happily, has resolved itself since then. He proceeded to give his Treasurer's report.
Richard Rollins: Richard reported on a meeting he and Mark had with CU-Online on Monday the 24th at 1 PM. We have signed an agreement making CUCUG their Mac instruction provider. This entails a visit to get a CU-Online client up and running on their service. Everything is at our discretion. We will only service people within a 30 minute radius of Champaign and the need for a visit is triggered only "if they contact us, at which time their $20 service fee becomes a membership in CUCUG."
Mark gave an analysis of the two disks CU-Online gives out to their Macintosh clients. He said the software was good 6 months ago, but now "it is a major liability" due to the conflicts it creates with newer software. Mark proposed working up a new kit for them. If they take him up on it, one of the stipulations is that they must use "Macintosh service provided by CUCUG" in their advertising.
Turning to the topic of the possible purchase of CU-Online's old Sportster modems, Richard reported that they are going to rack mount them in professional quality racks and will be keeping them for another year. Anyone waiting to get a deal on a 28.8K modem should go ahead and get one on their own.
Craig Kummerow: Craig said, "So nice to be back. School is out and I'm back." He then asked for opinions on the ZIP drive. Many Board members highly recommended them. Mark Landman related some problems he had with the one he bought.
Emil Cobb: Emil reported that there were 31 members at our last meeting. He said he'll work on something for the C64 SIG.
Mark Bellon: Mark reported that he had just made Mac disk #75 and has material for 4 or 5 more. Mac ZIP Disk #1 will close by August. New material is still coming in, but the files are getting bigger.
Mark announced that Apple will have a PowerPC native PPP stack by next month.
Kevin Hopkins: Kevin presented the exchange newsletters and delivered the mail to the appropriate officers, as usual.
Kevin reported on the influx of new members joining via the net.
Finally, Kevin reported that the cost for this month's newsletter was back up in the "normal" range.
Jim Huls: Jim reported that CUMUG has been removed from Apple's list of Mac Users Groups and been replaced by CUCUG's Macintosh SIG.
Jim said he is working part time at Parkland Community College on DOS networking. He reports that Parkland needs Mac people badly.
Jim Saxon: Jim was ecstatic to report, "No more quail in my life! No more mosquitoes!" He has a new job at NCSA and the "new job is great!"
Kevin Hisel: Kevin reported that we now have our first paid ad on the Amiga Web Directory. It's a 468x60 pixel banner for ImageFX from Nova Design. We will receive two fully working copies of ImageFX for that ad.
Kevin discussed two other possible ad candidates: National Amiga in Canada. He may send 40 Amiga mice. And... Intangible Assets. Dale Larson may send six copies of DiskSalv.
Putting on his librarian's hat, Kevin reported that "Disk sales? We actually had some."
Concluding this year's Computer Fair, Kevin passed the receipts to Treasurer Landman.
Kevin revealed that a reporter from Germany's "Amiga Magazin" will be coming the weekend of the 29th to interview him and he was looking for a few other CUCUG members to go with him.
Kevin concluded his portion of the meeting with a discussion of a new phenomenon on the web - advertising brokers. It was quite interesting.
Jon Sago: Jon said, "I'm hungry." (This is code for "Speed things along and let's go out and eat like we do after most of our meetings.")
Fred Cline: Fred agreed to do the presentation at the next Amiga SIG meeting.
Fred reported that he was very impressed with "that Italian CD I won" - Cloanto Personal Suite CDROM.
Dave Witt: Dave regretted he couldn't give his usual impression of the last meeting as he was sick and couldn't make it.
Jim Lewis: Jim stated that "John Lynn did a fantastic job on his presentation at the Amiga SIG. His switcher was way cool." Amiga member turn out was good.
Jim announced that he will not be Amiga SIG Chairman next year. We will need an enthusiastic Amiga member to head this SIG next year.
The meeting concluded with a conversion about how Kevin Hisel has been dealing with people who have been lifting content from our web site in violation of copyright for their own web sites.
Meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the IBEW Local 601 Union Hall (352-1741), located at 2901 Research Road in the Interstate Research Park in northwest Champaign. To get there, go north on Mattis over I-74 and turn right at the second stop light, onto Interstate Drive. Then take the first "real" left at Research Road. The Electrician's Hall is the third building on your left. There's a big flag pole right out front and it's directly across the street from one of Hobbico's signs. You should park and enter the building in the back.
ASCII text files of all recent Status Register newsletters are available for downloading on our BBS or our WWW site. Other user group newsletter editors may leave a comment to the BBS Sysop to request free access. To initiate a newsletter exchange, just send us your newsletter. As a matter of CUCUG policy, a newsletter exchange partner will be dropped after three months of no contact.
This newsletter was prepared with PageStream 2.22 on an Amiga 3000 25/100 and output to an HP Laserjet IIP plus. Pagestream was donated to CUCUG by Soft-Logik Publishing Corporation.
For further information, please attend the next meeting as our guest, or contact one of our officers (all at area code 217):
President: Richard Rollins 469-2616 Vice-President: Emil Cobb 398-0149 e-cobb@uiuc.edu Secretary/Editor: Kevin Hopkins 356-5026 kh2@uiuc.edu Treasurer: Mark Landman 398-2910 mlandman@prairienet.org Corporate Agent: Jim Lewis 359-1342 NOSPAMlewis_j_e@yahoo.com Board Advisor: Jim Huls 892-8730 Librarian/Sysop: Kevin Hisel 406-948-1999 khisel @ cucug.org Mac Librarian: Mark Bellon 337-5804 mbellon@urbana.mcd.mot.com
Call our Starship CUCUG BBS at (217) 356-8056, always online, up to 28,800 baud, supporting all CBM and Macintosh computers. Surf our home page at
To get on the net free, call Prairienet at (217) 255-9000. Login as "visitor". Once you're on, just type "go cucug" for a good place to start.