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| NOTE: This will be our last meeting at the IBEW. |
| Next month we're at the Bresnan. |
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The March 20th meeting will be one of our split SIG meetings. The
Macintosh SIG will entertain Steve Degler putting Filemaker Pro through its
paces. For the Amiga SIG, Ed Hartman has a demo of PCX planned. Alternately,
he will give a report on the Gateway show. We'd also like to welcome back the nine CUCUG members, renewing this last month: Mike Anderson, James Ceraldi, Ed Hadley, James Harrison, Don Shaffer, Bengt Svensson, and Bill Zwicky.
Although several large vendors failed to show, most notably QuikPak, many other Amiga dealers and luminaries were on hand. Among the dealers, National Amiga and Compuquick seemed to be moving Amiga merchandise as fast as they could write up the sales receipts. Prices were not striking, but there was a plentiful supply of Amiga wares (except of 060 cards). Some of the well-known Amiga people seen in the crowd or in booths were Eric Schwartz, Dale Larson, and Holger Kruse.
A more in depth report, with photos, will appeared on the Amiga Web Directory (http://www.cucug.org). For first hand accounts, talk to those members who made the trek.
The CYBERSTORM PPC will initially be available with the fast PowerPC 604e processor, in clock speeds of 150, 180 and 200 MHz; and a socket for the 68k companion processor which will accept either a 68040 or a 68060 CPU. The BLIZZARD 603e Power Board will be available with the PowerPC 603e processor at a clock speed of 120 MHz and a socket provided for the 68030 companion processor in a PGA housing.
The CYBERSTORM PPC will have the suggested retail prices of:
[Source: http://www.cucug.org/aminew.html ]
3Com (COMS) today announced plans to acquire U.S. Robotics (USRX) in a $6.6 billion stock deal, the largest U.S. data networking merger to date.
The deal is designed to give 3Com customers worldwide comprehensive end-to-end local and wide area network access from network interface cards and high-speed modems.
The combined companies, which will have $5 billion in annual revenues, will operate under the 3Com name.
The deal is expected to close this summer and 3Com will take a one-time charge.
Eric Benhamou, 3Com's chairman and chief executive officer, will assume the same office for the combined company. Casey Cowell, U.S. Robotics' chairman and chief executive, will join 3Com's board of directors as vice chairman.
And remember, we'll take any modem at any speed from any manufacturer and let you trade up to a Hayes 56K modem for only $99! Users who purchase new Hayes Accura 336 and Optima 336 products between Feb. 1, 1997 and April 15, 1997 will receive a free upgrade.
Hayes will offer 56K upgrades to any North American client modem beginning in the first quarter of 1997.
Hayes 56K modems will be based on 56Kflextm, which is an interoperable 56K bps modem protocol developed by both Rockwell Semiconductor Systems and Lucent Technologies. 56Kflex is supported by nearly 400 companies including Internet Service Providers, remote access server manufacturers, modem manufacturers and leading personal computer manufacturers.
Making the leap to 56 kbps is different from past speed increases because the modem is taking advantage of the high-speed, digital connection to the telephone network that Internet service providers and corporations already have. This makes 56 kbps technology well suited for heavy Internet users, while 33.6 kbps technology with its better two-way transmissions remains the preferred standard for information sharing applications such as full-duplex speakerphone, video conferencing and remote collaborative computing.
Hayes will be working closely with Rockwell International, Lucent Technologies, the International Telecommunications Union and other modem manufaturers to ensure that 56 kbps products are compatible with other leading products on the market and that 56 kbps becomes a worldwide standard.
NOTE: This upgrade information applies to North American customers only.
For more information, please visit the Hayes web site - http://www.hayes.com.
by Geoffrey A. Gass (ggass@teleport.com)
Soft-Logik Publishing Corp. of St. Louis, developers of the widely-used Amiga DTP program PageStream, have shipped the first pre-release versions of that program for the Mac, and plan a PC/Windows version before the end of 1997.
Does this herald a new age of cross-platform compatibility of files, documents and formats? Not quite.
Although the three versions of PageStream 3 will be able to load each other's files, there will still be many obstacles to the free interchange of files with other Mac and PC programs, and even between different versions of PageStream 3.
Life's little complications
When PageStream was first started (in the Atari and later the Amiga), the operating systems offered only bitmap screen fonts - hardly suitable for serious publishing. So Soft-Logik developed its own structured font system (DMF/FM format), and then later picked up Compugraphic and PostScript font engines to make use of these widely-used font formats. Most importantly, PageStream managed its own fonts, completely independently of the operating systems' font facilities.
In the Mac, Apple decided to design their own structured font format (TrueType) for use not only by the OS for screen display, but by application programs as well. So DTP programs used the OS fonts and font engines, and didn't have to bother with their own font managers and font engines.
Even when the Mac started using Adobe's PostScript Type 1 fonts, they put them into a special file format (font data buried in the "resource" fork of their two-part file system, rather than in the "data" fork), so that font files from other platforms couldn't be used in the Mac, and Mac font files wouldn't work for other machines. Although TrueType fonts are now widely used in PC systems (and in PageStream 3 in the Amiga), Mac's special file format still assures that font files from the Mac can't be used in other machines, and vice-versa.
PageStream versus PageStream
A PageStream 3 document created in the Mac can be transferred to PageStream 3 in the Amiga, but if other than very common fonts (Times, Helvetica, Bookman, Palatino, etc.) are used, the Amiga won't be able to duplicate the font selection. Similarly, an Amiga document can't be duplicated in the Mac unless the Mac has a program like Fontographer ($330 street price) available to convert PostScript font files over to the Mac format.
Soft-Logik has made TrueType versions of their original DMF/FM fonts available in Mac format for use in PageStream. But for the hundreds of DMF-FM fonts from other sources, there's no hope of a cheap-and-easy solution.
A small leak
There is one chink in the armor that Apple built around their system. If a Mac program generates a PostScript document file for use in a PostScript printer or imagesetter, fonts other than the 35 normally resident in a printer must be included with the file, in PostScript format.
If that downloaded font can be extracted from the PostScript file, it can be installed in the Amiga so that the Amiga version of PageStream 3 can duplicate exactly the document originating in the Mac version.
There is one program - now obsolete, but still in use in hundreds of Amigas - that can extract PostScript font data from a PostScript document file. That program is Saxon Script Pro, developed by Saxon Industries, and most recently owned by Emerald Graphics in Ottawa (a letter to them in November is still un-answered; I'm afraid they are no more).
The program can extract several fonts in one pass from one document, but for simplicity's sake, I create a separate dummy file for each font.
Saxon Script Pro extracts a Type 1 .pfb file for the font. Then TypeSmith can generate a matching .afm file, and the pair are ready for use in PageStream 3 in the Amiga. When all the unique fonts in a given Mac are thus available, the Amiga is ready to reproduce any files from the Mac version of PageStream 3 in that machine.
Just the one leak
So far, that's the only leak. Adobe Illustrator EPS images created in the Amiga are looked on only as text files by other Mac programs, though they are placed normally by the Mac version of PageStream. Adobe Illustrator EPS files exported from the Mac version of PageStream 3 aren't even listed in the file directories of other Mac programs, though they will load again into the Mac version of PageStream 3.
Windows Adventures Ahead
Although the future Amiga-to-PC-to-Amiga transfer problems will probably not be as awkward as those with the Mac, the prospect of PageStream PC versus PageStream Mac is somewhat daunting. Keep in mind that the Mac and Windows versions of PageStream are the first products that Soft-Logik has ever done for either platform. Yes - we live in interesting times!
[Source: Northwest Amiga Group, Inc.'s "Northwest Amiga Journal" January, 1997. NAG's address is Galleria Suite 553, 921 SW Morrison, Portland, OR 97205-2723 or on the net is http://www.aracnet.com/~bern/NAG.]
Although it's a commercial site, Microtek presents easy to understand and informative tips on scanning that would apply to any scanner [see their "Tips & Techniques" section]. Finally, you can find definitions for those strange words in the manuals and help screens that come with scanning software. Learn the difference between half tone and gray scale images. Grab a copy of the glossary and suggested reading list. Take a good look at the charts which show the storage requirements of images scanned at different sizes and resolutions. I only wish I had found this site a year ago when I plugged in my scanner for the first time.
[Source: From Springfield's Premier User Group newsletter, "The Gazette", January, 1997. SPUG's address is P.O. Box 9035, Springfield, Illinois 62791-9035.]
Many attempts and efforts are currently being made to give the computer community new machines and operating systems. BeOS, pOS, Apple's NeXT merger, they all show that the present standard operating systems (being Windows 95 mostly) lack features we all dream of but can't use due to almighty Windows. For many end users the only question to ask before buying a computer is "Does this box run Win'95?". Over the years, I really found myself growing into the impression that anything that is not Intel or Windows will not have any kind of a big chance to survive this decade. And even big and mighty Apple recently showed how they suffer from that grid lock situation.
Many users of alternative systems, including myself, being an Amiga user for many years, are juggling with thoughts about buying a Wintel machine. Sure, I still love to play around with my Amigas, enjoying the great operating system, but when it comes to real work, I have to switch to a PC which at least runs MS Word.
I really couldn't think of any solution to the present situation until I ran across something which seemed to be just "another HTML extension to make your home page look brighter", as it is currently being treated in most German computer magazines. The thing is called "Java", invented by SUN and constitutes a C++ related, object-oriented, fully networking capable programming language. On the first sight, it seemed to be nothing but a nice extension to Netscape's Navigator, so I didn't take any further notice of it. Until I understood that approaches like Java might be the future for alternative computer systems like the BeBox or the Amiga (and in a few years maybe even for now still well supplied Apple clones?).
The reason for that becomes evident when we look at Java, not just as a nice plug in for web pages, but as a powerful object oriented programming language with integrated networking features that already comes with a large class library with enhanced functionalities for almost any need. The best of all: Java applications run on any machine that has the "Java virtual machine" ported to it. Java applications are interpreted by that virtual machine from a intermediary "byte code" that is produced by the Java compiler and are, although executed by an interpreter, pretty fast. The necessary information on how to produce a Java virtual machine for any platform as well as already implemented virtual machines for Win95, MacOS and Unix boxes can be obtained from Sun for free (Netscape is only executing "Java applets" which are some kind of "light" applications. For the real thing, you need the virtual machine). So there are almost no hurdles to jump over for any machine to become a Java box.
The big Java wave that is rolling across the Internet right now has already grown visible results. Corel is planning to release their Wordperfect suite ported to Java. Demonstration versions can already be downloaded from their Web site. Such applications can run on any machine that can interpret Java, no matter which operating system it is running.
As a matter of fact, Java covers the underlying operating system. Applications are no longer compiled for platforms but for the Java environment. Therefore the operating system is no longer a key factor -- at least not at first sight. But when it comes to comparable system performances, it is the operating system that actually makes Java applications fast. Only if the operating system is well designed, resource saving and running efficiently, are Java applications (depending on capabilities like real multi tasking and multi threading) well executed. Whereas most Windows applications cannot be directly compared on how they would perform on different platforms because they simply aren't available for other platforms than Windows, Java applications can! So, let's imagine a Java application (for example Word Perfect) run on a Win95 PC and on a BeBox -- where do you think it would performing better?
To cut it short: Java could be the key to a new computer world where the question about what computer to buy is no longer "Does it run Win95?" but "Does it run my Java application efficiently?". Modern operating systems and innovative computers can be chosen on matters such as best efficiency, usability and most convenient application surrounding environment and not just on application availability. Application vendors on the other hand enlarge their market from "only Win95 users" to "all Java users" -- isn't that exactly the thing that we are all waiting for, no matter if we use Macs, PCs, BeBoxes or Amigas? (Except Microsoft maybe...)
Developments like Corel's Wordperfect Suite or several Java based implementations of standards to come like CORBA object request brokers etc. show that the development around Java has to be taken seriously. Java might not be the best object oriented programming language, interpreting code not the perfect solutions, Java GUIs not taking advantage of all features the different systems are offering. But eventually, it could be Java that makes different and innovative computers comparable again and gives users the needed independence from market governing producers like Microsoft.
If you haven't done it yet, check out the virtual machine that is available from SUN for your machine. It's worth it. If you are a good Amiga programmer, let's start porting the Java virtual machine for AmigaOS and pOS.
( ftp://ftp.info.apple.com/Apple_Support_Area/Apple_SW_Updates/US/ Macintosh/System/CFM-68K/)
(http://www.dartmouth.edu/pages/softdev/fetch.html)
In an unexpected move, Apple announced last week that Tempo, the next incremental release of the Mac OS due this July, will ship under the moniker Mac OS 8 instead of Mac OS 7.7. Apple claims Tempo is a significant technological and user experience upgrade, and includes features like a PowerPC-native, multi-threaded Finder, significant interface changes, and the spring-loaded folders originally intended for Copland (the now-scrapped operating system formerly known as Mac OS 8).
It's widely rumored this re-christening has less to do with making operating system releases clear to customers than with Mac OS licensing fees. Clone vendors currently have licenses only for System 7, and may have to obtain new licenses for Mac OS 8. Although this may create new opportunities for the application- poor BeOS, the timing should come as no surprise: most clone vendors knew Apple planned to ship a Mac OS 8 in 1997 when they originally signed up. However, Apple could be looking to increase its flagging revenues at the expense of Mac OS licensees, which could hurt the Mac clone business, a dangerous move in today's market.
( http://macos.apple.com/macos/releases/macos8/naming.html)
( http://www.be.com/aboutbe/benewsletter/Issue63.html#Gassee)
(http://www.ci.zd.com/news/macos.html)
DISCUSSION: Mac OS 7.6 is not recommended for a 68030-based computer with a 68040 upgrade card installed. If Mac OS 7.6 is installed on a computer with this configuration, it will exhibit problems starting up.
The performance improvements implemented in System 7.5 update 2.0 (7.5.3) specifically for 68030-based computers, can cause cache flushing problems on the 68040 upgrade card when Mac OS 7.6 is installed. There is no workaround to use Mac OS 7.6 with these upgrade cards installed. System 7.5.x users can startup in 24 bit mode with Virtual Memory turned off, turn off the cache of their 68040 cards, and still see benefit from their upgrade card.
Although Apple has not done extensive testing, cards which only increased the speed of an existing processor should work. For example, a 33 MHz 68040 upgrade card in a 25 MHz 68040 computer, or a 33 MHz or 40 MHz 68030 upgrade card in Mac IIci class computers. These cards should work correctly with Mac OS 7.6.
[Source: 24 January 1997-Information Alley ]
by Carmela Z. Robertson
Due to the important subject matter, this issue of QuickConnect has been upgraded from a supplement to a full issue. We encourage User Groups to reprint this article in their newsletters and/or web sites. -- editor
Q: Why did Apple decide to look at acquiring another OS technology, rather than continue to develop with Copland?
A: Several months ago, after Ellen Hancock came on board, the team took a hard look at where we were with Copland, where the market was going, and how long it would take us to achieve everything we needed with our future OS. It became apparent that we just weren't converging fast enough on delivering some of the critical requirements, like full memory protection and preemptive multitasking at the application layer. We decided we needed to take a different technical approach. Once we decided on the new technical approach, we underwent an extensive evaluation of the various options we could take to get there. The alternatives were to build the technology internally (which would have taken a long time) or to license or acquire existing technology.
Q: Dr. Amelio has mentioned several times during many speeches that one of Apple's focus will be to protect current end user's investments. However, it sounds like a lot of current Mac applications will not be able to run on Rhapsody which is slotted for release early in 1998. Exactly how is Apple planning to protect users' current investments?
A: This is a very important issue for us. Any Macintosh or Mac-OS compatible or Mac OS software you buy today will continue to run with the future OS, Rhapsody. We are designing Rhapsody to support this. We have two products planned for Rhapsody: the Premier Release due in late 1997 or early 1998 and the Unified Release due in mid-1998.
The Premier Release will support some Mac OS compatibility and will be targeted at early adopters or customers who want access to all the power that the NeXT technology brings and who don't need full Mac OS compatibility. The Unified Release will support full Mac OS compatibility.
So, rather than wait until mid-1998, we decided that we can do an earlier release for early adopters (Premier Release), and one with full Mac OS compatibility later when it's ready (Unified Release). The hardware and applications investments Mac users make today will be preserved.
Q: Apple is going to need Developers to buy in on developing under this "new" OS -- how have they responded? Are they jumping on the bandwagon to develop applications that will run under Rhapsody?
A: Developers have expressed excitement over what NeXT brings to the Mac OS. For developers we will deliver an OS and development tools that have proven to increase developer programming productivity dramatically. They are anxiously waiting for Apple to release these tools so that they can get going as soon as possible.
Q: There are still a lot of end users out there using older Macs, many will keep up with the new technology but what can they expect in terms of support for their older machines when Rhapsody is released?
A: We have a great plan for older Macs. Apple has an unmatched record of supporting older Macs. System 7.5.3 supports the Mac Plus. Mac OS 7.6 supports '030, '040 and PowerPC systems all the way back to the Mac IIci. We will continue to extend the Mac OS line. We have announced that we'll deliver at least three more Mac OS releases: Tempo due in July 1997, Allegro in early 1998, and Sonata in mid-1998.
Q: Can you share with us Apple's transition strategy for users to adopt the new OS?
A: The great thing about the transition for customers is that they can make it at their own pace. This is a result of our complementary OS strategy where we will continue to evolve the Mac OS line with Tempo, Allegro, and Sonata and have Rhapsody as well.
If customers feel they are ready to move to Rhapsody, they can adopt it right away. If they want to wait a while, they can keep their existing OS whether it's 7.5.5, 7.6, Tempo or future Mac OS releases. Customers will have flexibility and choice.
Q: A Mac developer told me that NeXT had decided to stop development on the NextStep technology last Fall. Do you know if this was true and if so, why has Apple gone ahead and picked up a technology that was abandoned?
A: NeXT did not abandon NextStep. It was simply renamed OPENSTEP for MACH. NeXT built great object-oriented OS and development tools on top of this technology. Of late, they have built mission critical products that some of the largest corporations in America are using in mission critical applications for client-server or dynamic web site development. Apple will build our future OS, Rhapsody, on the same technology on which NeXT has built their business.
Q: Why should people invest in Apple computers now instead of waiting until the new OS is released next year?
A: Today's Macs remain the easiest computers to use and provide some of the fastest systems in the personal computing universe. Customers should always evaluate their needs and buy systems when they need them.
If customers buy today, they get great Mac systems which are a delight to use. And they can upgrade to future OSes in the future... whether that be Tempo, with the awesome multithreaded Finder and the new look and feel, or Rhapsody, which will be a generation ahead of anything in the market.
Q: Dr. Amelio mentioned at the Shareholder's meeting that this summer the next OS release scheduled will deliver many advanced features which were originally developed for Copland, can you tell us 2 or 3 of those features?
A: Here are a few exciting examples. The Copland Finder, or Finder 8.0, will support multithreading which is an incredible feature. It allows you to do multiple copies, launch applications, empty trash... all at the same time. Everything is multitasked. We are also delivering the new look and feel that was planned for Copland. We are providing new ways of navigating through the hard disk hierarchy. You can click on a document and drag it over a folder, watch the folder open automatically, and continue to navigate your way around.
Q: Many people are speculating that Apple will eventually be a software company rather than a hardware company? Is there any truth to that?
A: I don't anticipate that. Apple excels in hardware and software integration. No one does that better. However, I do believe that Apple will continue to derive an increasing percentage of our revenues from software.
Q: Where do you see Apple in 2 or 3 years?
A: In that time frame, Apple will be a more focused company. We will be building hardware and software products for specific market segments where we have existing strengths and where we have a good chance of succeeding. In two to three years I think that customers and developers will be jumping on the Rhapsody product in a very big way. Our hardware products will continue to lead in price/performance characteristics and lead the way in hardware and software integration.
I think that our publishing, media authoring, web authoring, and scientific/technical markets will invest aggressively in Mac and Rhapsody. I see the enterprise markets opening up to Apple because of Rhapsody and its great tools for client/server and Intranet/Internet development. These markets will begin looking at Apple again in a big way.
The education and consumer customers will be beginning a transition to Rhapsody. In the interim, they will be more than happy with the improvements we will make in Mac OS releases. Higher education will probably move more aggressively to Rhapsody than K-12.
I see Apple's fortunes changing for the better as a result of strong senior management, a clear understanding of our products and markets, and a strong focus on delivering products that meet the needs of those customers.
Q: As you know UGs are Apple's most loyal customers and frankly Apple's sales team on a grass roots level. They are constantly being hammered by Apple skeptics, what words of encouragement can you give them to keep the faith and keep fighting the battle?
A: First, on behalf of Apple, we want to thank these people for their support and are working very hard to retain that loyalty.
Apple has a strong leadership team that understands very clearly the market dynamics currently sweeping our industry. They understand our challenges and have put in place a plan that will transform Apple and restore the leadership Apple brought to the computing industry. As an advisor, Steve Jobs will provide some of that vision.
This kind of transformation will not occur overnight. We are getting our finances in order. We have a strong product portfolio in the works, both in the hardware and software space, which will demonstrate that Apple can provide that leadership.
The current products remain industry leaders in many segments particularly publishing, multimedia, internet, education, and of course the home.
Remember, new technology is making computing more complex, not less so. Apple is doing a better job than anyone to hide that complexity but provide access to it. Our products are doing that today. Our plans call for an even better job tomorrow. We have strong leadership, a clear strategy, and the financing to execute that strategy. Prepare to be blown away!
[Source: QuickConnect - Mac Edition, March, 1997. The User Group Connection can be reached at http://www.ugconnection.com ]
Dear Editor,
In the February 1997 edition of the Status Register, in the Article entitled Eudora and Prairienet by Jim Huls, Jim was asked about separating the In and Out boxes for him and his wife. Jim recommends using a filter to separate the e-mail. There is actually an easier way to do it and Jim almost hits on it during an earlier question.
Jim suggested making a specific setting file for each user and just renaming it, leaving them in the Eudora Folder in the System Folder, and just having the users double-click the different settings files (via an alias) to separate the settings.
Here is the easier way: Make a copy of the entire Eudora Folder (the one found in the System Folder) and rename the folder to "Big Daddy's Email" (using Jim's example). Then, double click the Eudora application (which will create a new Eudora Folder) and rename it "Little Mama's Email". Then, create aliases to the two settings files. Everything will be separate.
Editor: Gary, in your example, where is the Eudora application? Is it in System Folder/Eudora Folder or some place else? Do you wind up with two copies of the application itself: one in Big Daddy's Email and one in Little Mama's Email? Or does the alias call upon the Settings file in the respective "Email" folders, which in turn call upon the Eudora application some third place?
Gary: The Eudora application is sitting somewhere else on the hard drive. Probably in an Application Folder or Eudora Folder. Not in the System Folder or any folder within the System Folder: one copy of the app. The Alias calls upon the Settings file in the respective Email folders which in turn call upon the Eudora application in some third place!
Editor: Do the renamed System/Eudora Folders (ie. "Big Daddy's Email" and "Little Mama's Email") have to remain in the System Folder? This, I assume, IS the case.
Gary: No, that is not the case. They can be anywhere as long as the pref file is inside the folder.
Editor: Just to recap: When Eudora starts up, it creates the "Eudora Folder" in the System Folder which contains all the mailboxes: In, Out, etc., ... and the Eudora Settings file. It is this "Eudora Folder" that we renamed "Big Daddy" etc. You saying that, although the Eudora application puts the "Eudora Folder" in the System Folder, it doesn't have to go there. It can be anywhere as long as the Settings File is in that "Eudora Folder" (no matter what we may later rename it).
Gary: Correct - assuming that you are double clicking on the preferences file in that System folder (or an alias of that file).
Editor: ... to launch Eudora, as opposed to the application icon itself, right?
Gary: Correct.
For existing purchasers, IBrowse 1.1 is available as an online update at http://www.hisoft.co.uk/ibrowse/support.html#download.
IBrowse update mailing list
In response to the many people who are eager to get the new 1.10 version of IBrowse as soon as it is released, we have set up a mailing list to notify you; subscription details for this list are on the IBrowse Support page [ http://www.hisoft.co.uk/ibrowse/support.html].
[Source: http://www.hisoft.co.uk/news.html]
With this update ToolManager has some special requirements. The ToolManager handler requires AmigaOS 3.0 (V39) or better, WBStart 2.0 or better, DOSPath 1.0 or better. It optionally requires ScreenNotify 1.0 or better and picture.datatype V43. The ToolManager preferences editor requires AmigaOS 3.0 (V39) or better, MUI 3.7 or better, and MCC_Pop 0.3 or better.
ToolManager 3.0 is available for download from the Aminet at ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/pub/aminet/util/wb/ToolManagerBin.lha (91740).
The price ... it's GiftWare. Recommended donation is US $10 - $20 or 10 - 20DM.
Zipperware, Seattle's Last (Great) Amiga Store, will be closing as of March 2, 1997. We are currently liquidating all of our merchandise at blow-out prices, and we welcome Seattle-area residents to stop by at our retail location. Thank you for your support through the years.
Zipperware zipware@nwlink.com 76 South Main St. (206) 223-1107 Seattle, WA 98104ToC
February was a month that began with much promise - the sale of AT was to be resolved by the 28th. All month long, the anticipation grew throughout the Amiga community. The Newsgroups were awash with speculation. It was rumored that as many as ten companies were bidding on the Amiga.
Running concurrent to the sale rumors was another thread of conversation concerning many new proposed operating systems and Amiga-ish hardware platforms. In the midst of all this, The BeBox computer was discontinued and Apple bought Next, thus driving a stake through the heart of the Copeland OS.
I need a scorecard just to keep track of the players. PIOS announced they will release an Amiga compatible PPC computer, and a new Amiga OS. The hardware will ship with the pOS operating system, BeOS, and Linux. Did you get all that?
Yes? Quikpak, the manufacturing company announced it had placed a bid to purchase the Amiga and, if successful, will continue developing several advanced Amigas. I heard that they have a Pentium/060 hybrid, joined at the hip with the Siamese system in the wings, ready for immediate delivery when the Amiga is sold to QP. I like this one.
Phase5 spent the month reorganizing their web site. They also got around to announcing two new accelerators. The one for the 1200 is a 603e/030 hybrid. The 3K/4K Tower version features a 604e running at speeds up to 180MHz, along with an 060. Neither of the cards are shipped with the 68K chips in place. You have to buy them separately. The shocker is the price of the 1200 card: $399.
What I do not understand is why they chose an old, slow 030 to run the Amiga side. Cost must be an issue, but I don't care how fast the PPC is. Most of the software you would run would still be lumbering along under the outdated 030. For a guy like me, who has already upgraded to an 040/40, this would be a step backwards. Sure, a few programs will run fast by accessing the PPC, but none of my current programs could do this. I'll have to give this one a pass, but it will be a great upgrade for people with 020-030 powered Amiga 1200s.
Personally, I'm saving my dead presidents for an A\BOX. I fear I have a long time to wait, but I will no longer spend any more money on my 1200.
Last year I spent $40 on IBrowse. That investment paid a dividend on March 1st. The new version 1.10 was released. This elevated the premiere Amiga browser to new heights. Now IB features Frames and cookies. Both features work great. Now I can get into web sites that were barred to me in the past. In addition to those new features, it now sports a much better looking display because you can dither the internally decoded images. For a 1200 user, this is pure heaven. The speed of the browser was noticeably improved. It's very much like NetScape now in that respect. It still does not support NEWS, but they are getting there.
But, I can hear you saying, what about Voyager Next Generation? It has Frames as well. Yes it sure does, and you should go get the pre-release demo at Vapor's web site. I've been testing VNG all month long. I really like some parts of it. The display is as good as you can get on an AGA , non-RTG equipped machine. When it comes to a shootout between the two browsers, I'll take IB with it's better menu layout, history pulldown, and hotlist. I don't use News much, and VNG's News is cumbersome and not at all easy to use. No threading, tagging or anything else I'm used to in a newsreader.
When I read the news, I use IB and DejaNews (http://web1.dejanews.com). This is a much nicer way to deal with the News. The bad part is that DejaNews does not monitor all the Amiga Newsgroups.
There is one other way to check the newsgroups, whether your browser supports NEWS or not. It's Christian Kemp's synopsis page (http://www2.vo.lu/homepages/ckemp/News/). He scours the Amiga News scene and writes up blurbs about the most important threads. These blurbs are available in HTML form on his web site. This is an outstanding service. You can find a link to Christian's site from the Amiga Alley Newsgroups page.
Cloanto has released a major upgrade to Personal Paint. It's now at v7.0 I'll get the program next month and give it a test drive. I know that it supports gifanims now. That makes me very happy.
MOCA is our innovative Java Virtual Machine for AmigaOS and pOS computers. MOca's heart is a powerful Just In Time (JIT) compiler that allows speeds of up to 10x faster than a conventional Java Virtual Machine. MOca also provides a full JDK 1.1 Application Programmers Interface with an AWT implementation based on our excellent BOOPSI development system ClassAct.
MOca works both on Amigas and on pOS-based computers. The MOca JIT compiler supports 680x0 and PowerPC based computers.
Some information about Java and Java VM's:
Java consists of two parts: a high-level object oriented programming language, comparable to C/C++, and a low-level virtual machine. A Java compiler turns the Java language into so called "Byte code". This byte code is very comparable to machine code, except that it is made to be executed on a virtual CPU, the "Java Virtual Machine". Every computer that is equipped with such a Java Virtual Machine can run Java programs. Most JVM's these days are implemented as software emulators; hardware implementations are slowly becoming available though.
MOca is a software implementation of a Java Virtual Machine. What MOca does can be compared with what a PC emulator does - it emulates the Java 'CPU'. Anyone who has ever used a PC emulator knows how slow these are. Emulation is a slow process. Java byte code, being a very special kind of machine language, allows re-compilation though. Instead of emulating the code, MOca converts it to native machine code with a powerful optimizing JIT compiler.
JIT stands for Just In Time, meaning that MOca does not waste time converting Java byte code that will never be executed. Instead, the code gets converted at the moment that it is first executed.
For more information please send e-mail to: Java@Finale-Dev.com
Alain of Finale Development, Inc., the company which promises us Java for the Amiga and Finale Web Cruiser, among other things, has given me permission to post excerpts of his reply to my questions about Finale's products. So, without further ado:
Paul: First, will there be there be demos of your products available soon?
Alain: Demos of the browser should be out, together with the commercial version, in about one - maybe two - months. For the Java product, it will take a bit longer. The problem there is that by the time you can run any decent Java program, 95% of the work is done.
Paul: Will your Java implementation be usable with any of those browsers, or only with Finale? Most Amigans who are going to use their Amigas to browse already have a browser. It may be a bit tough to sell them on your java implementation if they also have to buy your browser.
Alain: I'm aware of this. In the first instance, we also want to sell our browser, of course. So, the first version of MOca that we release will only interface to Finale Web Cruiser. MOca is a standalone product, though, and if it looks like a good idea, we surely will release versions that work with the other browsers as well. Several of the browser distributors have already contacted us about this.
Paul: Finally, are all the products you list developed in-house? I ask because Voodoo has been around for a long time, but hasn't been updated in almost as long.
Alain: No. The only products that are really done in-house so far are MOca, FWC and New York. For ClassAct, we only handle distribution. For Voodoo, we handle distribution of the new (upcoming) version (Voodoo v2.0 - will have built-in SMTP, POP3, etc.). Dig Quill is distribution only, as well. Although the programmers of those other products aren't directly Finale Dev. people, we work closely together with them to establish a base of high quality products that we want to distribute.
Alain Penders
http://www.Finale-Dev.com/
Finale Development, Inc.
[Source: The Commo-Hawk Commodore Users Group newsletter, "The File" March, 1997. CHCUG's address is P.O. Box 2724, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406-2724.]
ZIP RAM. Aaargh.
It's hard to mention the former without immediately proceeding to the latter. ZIPs are oddly shaped, fragile, and difficult to find. And those are the GOOD things about them.
So it's a foregone conclusion that if you've got an Amiga 3000 and less than the full 16 megs of Fast RAM, you're somewhat unmotivated to rush out and get some more memory. But if ProvTech has anything to do with it, everybody's A3000s will be running with 16 megs of Fast RAM, and in nice, convenient SIMM packages, no less.
The AmiFast from ProvTech is a long, narrow PCB that covers almost the entire area of ZIP sockets, mating with a number of pins. The board runs the long way from the front of your A3000 to the back, and has four SIMM slots at the back of the machine, awaiting 4 or 8 meg modules. You can fill these up to 16 megs of Fast RAM, the most the onboard A3000 RAM controller will handle. The idea is simple-For about US$90, you buy the ability to replace your existing ZIPs with more economical and MUCH more available 72-pin SIMMs, so you can take your A3000 with less than 18 megs of memory up to the limit. If you have the full 16 megs of ZIPs now, the AmiFast will be of no use--but if your A3000 is like mine, with just 8 megs of ZIPs, the cost of an AmiFast and 2 8-meg SIMMs, if you're a good shopper, isn't such a bad deal. If you're running with less than 10 megs, you should give the board some serious consideration.
Installation
ZIP chips are fairly fragile, and their vertical design makes them an incredible pig to remove from their homes.
In order to install the AmiFast, you're going to need to gut your A3000, removing the disk drive array. This is no simple task in and of itself, but can be accomplished by mere mortals.
Once that's done, you'll see the bank of ZIPs in the front, right-hand quadrant of the A3000. Yank these out. This is easier said than done.
As I said, I had 8 megs of ZIPs, which meant the ZIPs were next to each other in pairs. Removing the first ZIP was an incredible chore--I wound up prying them up gently with a very small flathead screwdriver, and then working them loose with my fingers. The second was a snap--just pull straight up with a pair of pliers. In the course of doing this, I bent a LOT of little ZIP pins, and one chip lost a pin. Scratch one ZIP.
Did I mention these ZIP chips are fragile?
Once that's done, you'll need to install the AmiFAST. ProvTech recommends that you not install any SIMMs into the board until you are done with installation. I took their advice.
Mating the AmiFAST board isn't the easiest thing in the world to do - there are pins running down the length to lock it into the bank of ZIP sockets. There's a small hole provided, allegedly for guiding the board into place, but I found it much more productive aligning the board by sight on the corners. The manual does a good job of explaining which pins need to be where in which sockets, and the board itself is well labeled, pointing to key pins and telling you where they should be.
Once the board is pushed in place with some satisfying crunches, you can install your SIMMs. You can put in 4 or 8 meg SIMMs, of basically any type (but ProvTech says they should be 8 or 16 chip SIMMs, 1Mx16 DRAMs will not work), following the rule that 8 meg SIMMs preclude a SIMM in the previous slot. (i.e., out of slots 0, 1, 2, and 3, 2 8-meg SIMMs would be placed in slots 1 and 3, leaving the other two blank, or 1 8-meg SIMM would be placed in slot 1 and two 4 meg SIMMs in slots 2 and 3.)
I personally used the 8/4/4 configuration, as that was the memory I had on hand. The 8-meg SIMM was a double-sided model and fit just fine.
ProvTech maintains that the AmiFast is compatible, in functionality and in real estate, with an installed A3640 board, but we did not have an appropriate 3640 to test in the A3000.
Using Your New RAM
Well, it's really simple. Either you have the memory, or you don't. (The first time I didn't, because I accidentally put the SIMMs in the wrong configuration.) There's no software to configure, no jumpers to set on the AmiFast--furthermore, there isn't even a single IC on the AmiFast board.
What You Get
Basically, you get exactly the RAM you put into the A3000, and neither you nor the A3000 are tipped off that they're SIMMs instead of ZIPs. Both AIBB and real-world testing tell me that the computer functions precisely the same - the AIBB benchmarks were all within .01 of the pre-SIMM A3000, suggesting that the machine is exactly the same for the journey.
Is It Worth It?
At current pricing, a pair of 8 meg SIMMs is US$80 or less, if you're a good shopper. Or, if you're like me, you might have some 80ns 4 meg SIMMs that aren't particularly useful in some newer accelerator boards, but they're perfect for the AmiFAST. Tack on the $90 AmiFAST board and you're looking at about $170, tops, to get a 16 meg A3000. Current ZIP pricing is a difficult thing to analyze--after all, the irony of the AmiFAST is that as people buy it, they'll be selling their ZIP chips, which will create a new supply of ZIPs.
Since it's generally easier to come up with reasons NOT to buy something than TO buy something, let's get those out of the way.
An AmiFAST isn't for you if you --
[Editor's Note: Mark Vitale (mark_vitale@sterling.com) of the National Capital Amiga U. G. has since reported that Keith Siders, owner of ProvTech and designer of the AmiFAST, has sold out all of the kit versions of the board and isn't planning to stock any more. The assembled version is now the standard offering. Mark also stated that "this is a very nicely laid out and manufactured board. All the logic is standard TTL gates ... The board appeared to be hand-soldered, but the solder work was very good; I only found one tiny solder ball which I flicked into the wastecan before I installed the board."]
ProvTech
RR 4 Box 72
Washington, IN 47501
812-254-1781 evenings
812-257-0902 BBS
75507.3170@compuserve.com
[Source: Amiga Report, Issue No. 5.01 - January 23, 1997. AR can be reached by contacting its Editor, Jason Compton on the Internet at: jcompton@xnet.com.]
The February 20th meeting began with President Rollins welcoming everyone and apologizing for last month's meeting cancelation due to the weather. He followed that with the announcement that Mark Bellon had resigned (as reported in the January newsletter), leaving the Mac Librarian's position open. Richard said,"We need a volunteer to fill this position, so please consider it."
The floor was then turned over to Kevin Hisel who officially announced the winners of the club officer elections in December. They are:
President - Richard Rollins
Vice President - Emil Cobb
Secretary - Kevin Hopkins
Treasurer - Mark Landman
Corporate Agent - Jim Lewis
Kevin then announced the planned bus trip to the Gateway Amiga Computer Show on Saturday, March 15. We have rented a luxury bus, as we've done in past years. The price of the bus ticket is $10 for members $20 for non-members. CUCUG has received 35 entry passes to the show in exchange for advertising the show on the Amiga Web Directory, so the first 35 members to sign up to go will be able to enter the show for free.
Kevin also announced the donation of a TIMM monitor to the group by Greg Scott, owner of National Amiga in Canada. We are deeply appreciative of Mr. Scott's generosity. It seems he read in the newsletter of our club's dilemma of needing a monitor for the Amiga SIG and he decided to help us out in this wonderful way. Everyone present at the meeting got to see the new monitor put through its paces since the Mac people wanted to see if it would work with the club's Performa - it did with no problems whatsoever, which amazed a few people. Several of the CADD draftsmen in the crowd drooled over the 20" screen, despite the pixel size. The TIMM was then moved to the Amiga SIG meeting after the break and John Lynn showed what the monitor looked like with his A4000T and Toaster - not bad at all. We thank Mr. Scott very, very much.
Next was the Question and Answer Session:
The program this evening was deceptively lacking in fireworks. John Lynn showed Wavemaker 2.0, a program for the construction of video logo presentations. The problem was that the program did exactly what it said it would do, automatically, if you wanted it to. No muss, no fuss. It was like watching a well oiled machine do it's stuff. Of course, the final product was spectacular. One could hardly believe it took so little effort.
John actually showed version 2.5, which hasn't been released yet, since he had called in with some problems he was having with 2.0 and the company just send him the newer version to take care of them. John said the program cost him about $125.
John began his presentation by showing a video tape of the sample logos and rendered backgrounds you can choose the program to do. As these samples ran, Amiga SIG co-chair Ed Hartman turned to other business and asked the members what they would like to see the SIG address in the coming year. Bill Zwicky said he'd like to see an '060 card demonstrated. Kevin Hopkins agreed. Ed said he has a demonstration of PCX in the planning stages. John Lynn voiced an interest in seeing some 2D animations and how to print images out onto T-shirts. John said he'd also like to see a program for the Amiga that could print out labels for video cassettes.
As the video tape continued to run, John described his machine. It is an Amiga Technologies produced A4000T 25 MHz '040 with 16 MB of RAM and a 2 gigabyte hard drive.
John then described what the program was doing in a little more detail. Wavemaker takes prefab animations and, with your logo, will dump them into Lightwave to render, at which point, you can actually shut Wavemaker down and go on to something else. The sample we finally chose from the video tape to experiment with would have taken 35 hours to render its 210 frames (about 5 minutes per frame) in medium resolution. Ed Serbe said that some of the hires HAM Sculpt 3D renderings he did on his old A500 took about 8 hours per frame, just to put things in perspective. After showing a few wire frame and low res renderings, John showed some of the test logos he'd run for his business, J-L's Videos.
Addressing some of the speed issues of his rendering, John said he has had trouble trying to get an '060 accelerator for his machine. He had tried to get an '060 Cyberstorm from England, but the company wouldn't send it to America, even though they advertise in an American magazine.
Returning to the software John pointed out a feature called Smart Anim in Wavemaker that will do the whole job for you, just give it the logo. It will choose a background animation and constructed the whole thing. After showing how to launch this process, John joked, "I'm tired, guys, that took a lot of work."
Although Wavemaker can do some rather remarkable things automatically, the real professional quality output is attained by a knowledgeable human being finessing the process. John says he spends quite a bit of time getting effects just right. Some of the tricks he mentioned was turning on anti-aliasing to clean up logos. He also spoke about field rendering an animation at 60 frames per second to get a smooth flow in your animation.
With that the presentation was pretty much over. As a footnote to the evening, Ed Hartman had a Video X-Tender for an A500, 600 or 1200, for anybody that wanted it. Nobody did. As the piece had been hacked pretty badly, it was junked.
At the February meeting of the Mac SIG Rich Rollins presented a discussion/demonstration of the new System 7.6 software. Here are just a few of the things that were mentioned at the meeting.
When you buy your new System 7.6 software, check around first, it shouldn't cost more than 70 buck plus/minus. A recent price reduction went into effect. You will receive several extra items, one such "The Connectivity Kit" was quote "useless, except for a bad coaster". But there are goodies elsewhere in the system disk. It has to be installed from a non-booted disk, in this case the CD-rom.
Classic networking is gone. Everything has been converted to OpenTransport and OpenDoc. The OpenDoc version on the official system CD-rom is 1.1.1 and it will install over any other version, including 1.1.2. If you want OpenDoc 1.1.2, you must go elsewhere for it.
The 68k machines are finally being left behind. While it is stated that 7.6 can be installed on the 68k machines, some problems with the 68k OT Lib files makes it problematic. It will not work on the SE30s, Mac II, MacIIcx and earlier machines.
A speed increase should be noticed, in particular the 6100s, 6200s and 6115s should notice the biggest jump.
The new system software features an improved installer, making for a less confusing install. It still hasn't gotten rid of all the prompting screens, but some things just can't be helped. It includes a full list of all that will be installed, a clean install button and a clearer custom install option. You don't have to remember the arcane keystrokes to do a clean install or rebuild the desktop anymore. System 7.6 has two bug fixes not in 7.5.5. (At the time, Jim Huls and Rich Rollins got into a discussion as to just how many fixes were in the new version and I missed what any of them were.)
System 7.6 has expanded Extension Manager with more access to more system items like start-up items, control strip, etc. It also has descriptions of all items, including the more mysterious goodies that hide in the dark corners of your system. Richard Hall noted that "the new Extensions Manager is almost, but not quite, as good as Conflict Catcher."
SpeedDoubler and RamDoubler will have to be updated; there were reports that updates would be available soon. You can get the patch fixes from the web site.
Power PC owners also have to remember to turn on the SharedLibManager and the SharedLibManager PPC (make sure that the Shared Library Manager and the Shared Library Manager PPC Extension are loaded), otherwise Netscape may die after your third URL. Some other applications may crash as well. The reason is that there is still some 68K code in the PPC version of Netscape and other applications. It seems that when you start up after installation, the new System does not automatically initialize either library manager.
Rich noted that the Chooser requires a desktop printer be chosen. If you throw the icon away, it will reappear in short order. Rich also suggested engraving the following two items on your mind. 1) Rebuild your desktop often, and 2) Back-up your hard drive often. and [make that three items to engrave on your mind] 3) Do a clean install of your system software.
At this point my notes deteriorate into a disgusting chaotic mess and so, I will not try and foist any questionable "facts" upon you. Just be satisfied that in this region "there be monsters."
[Gary Bernstein picks up the baton here.]
We talked about expected compatibility of Rhapsody (the next OS). While there is and was much discussion on this subject, I believe it is sufficient to say that everyone has heard a different story from Apple and/or their reps and we will not know the exact degree of compatibility until they release the system.
We talked about the release schedule of the Mac OS. There will be versions of MacOS 7.x through 1998.
We aired the rumors that the next OS (probably June release) will drop more Macintoshes that it is compatible with.
We discussed the CFM-Runtime bug which affects only non-PPC machines. It causes the latest version of Laserwriter, Cyberdog and others to crash. This bug was found in 7.5.3 or 7.5.5. A patch or fix is rumored to be out in March (possibly with the OS release).
As an aside, it was mentioned that Mark Bellon is selling a SCSI Tape Backup drive and tapes.
There was a lively discussion about whether or not the price of the OS is worth it. You can buy it direct from Claris for about $69.
The February meeting of the CUCUG executive board took place on Tuesday, February 25, 1997, at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house (address and phone number, both in the book). Present at the meeting were Richard Rollins, Emil Cobb, Ed Hartman, Anderson Yau, Mark Landman, Kevin Hopkins, Jim Huls, Kevin Hisel, Dave Witt, and Jim Lewis.
Richard Rollins: Richard began by giving a tentative schedule for the Macintosh SIG: The March meeting will have Mark Landman showing Photoshop; the April meeting will be Steve Degler showing Filemaker Pro; and in May, Tim Thomas will show Bryce 2.
Richard said he enjoyed showing System 7.6 and has had positive feedback from several members via email.
Richard said he had recently gotten Emil Cobb's and Don Berg's machines up and running on the net. He said that Ed Hadley has volunteered, and is learning, to put people online for CU-Online. He said Emil will be pitching in too. So, CUCUG's recruitment through our association with CU-Online seems to be gradually lifting from Richard's shoulders alone.
Richard reported that the group has received Quicken 7.0 for the Mac from the User Group Connection and he will be providing a review for the newsletter in the near future.
Richard reported that the check for the bus trip to the Gateway Amiga show has been mailed to the Monticello Bus Service. So far 15 people have signed up to go. After much discussion it was decided that we had to have at least a minimum of 20 people going to warrant the cost to the group. We have until the 5th to sign up the additional people. Methods to enlist more membership participation were explored.
Emil Cobb: Emil reported that we had 24 members attending the February General Meeting.
Ed Hartman: Ed stated that he would be doing a demo of PCX at the March Amiga SIG meeting. He said he needed a version of MS-DOS to be able to do this, as well as a Super Kickstart disk for the A3000. If he was unable to get this demo together, he said he would give a report of what went on at the Gateway show.
A discussion of the needs of the Amiga SIG was sparked by a misunderstanding of the video output capabilities of the club's Amiga 3000 by some of the non-Amiga board members. There was some serious emphasis placed on getting a video card for the 3000 by some board members. There was also a push to upgrade the operating system to 3.1 (from the machine's current 2.1). Jim Lewis made a generous offer to sell the club his A3000T which would address several of the upgrade concerns in one package: better graphics, faster processor, newer OS, and more RAM. After sorting out all the issues and clarifying several members' positions, the Board decided that to spend any more money on upgrading the hardware of the club's machine in this period of uncertainty and transition for the Amiga would be imprudent.
When Ed regained the floor, he talked about selling off some of the club's old equipment and software, in order to reduce our inventory and to raise funds for any of the proposed upgrades.
After further discussion, the Board OKed the purchase of OS3.1 from Jim Lewis.
Anderson Yau: Anderson said he had nothing to bring up.
Mark Landman: Mark gave a report of the Treasury, which is quite solvent. He reported that the phone line once used by the BBS has been cancelled and that expense eliminated from our budget. Mark concluded his segment by commenting on the size of the stack of checks he is going to deposit in the next week. The web has been very good to us.
Kevin Hopkins: Kevin dispensed the mail and laid out the exchange newsletters as usual. He turned over to the Board a copy of QuickBooks Pro sent to us by Intuit as a review copy. Jim Lewis will examine this package and report on it.
Kevin raised the issue of recruiting a Membership Chairman to take care of all the various lists engendered by our swelling ranks. After some discussion, Kevin said he'd continue doing the job a while longer "and see how it goes."
Kevin asked if the club's copy of Filemaker Pro had come in yet. Jim Lewis said it had, and arrangements were made for Jim Huls to pick it up.
Kevin reported that, as of now, CUCUG had 205 members. President Rollins asked to know the percentage of Mac users to Amiga users in the group. Kevin said he did not have that information readily at hand since we had purposely tried to avoid creating any schism within the organization and it would be a little difficult to ascertain, since several members use both platforms. However, a review of the membership list as the meeting progressed showed we had approximately 22 primary Mac users for a rough percentage of 10%.
Kevin reported that his campaign to collect members' email addresses has been paying off. Of the 205 members, only 10 are without email or their address is still unknown. These members are: ABCO Research Associates, Norris Adams, Brent Cornwell, Jerry Feltner, Paul Froberg, John Lynn, Paul Neubauer, Ed Serbe, Jeremy Turner, and William Whetzel. Kevin asks any of these members who have email to message him at kh2@uiuc.edu, or any member who might know the address of one of these people to message him with their address. [We have since had three addresses go bad. These belong to Michael Clark, John Goin, and Stuart Maxwell. If you gentlemen can send corrections, it would be appreciated.]
Kevin also reported that the free email services he featured in last month's newsletter really do work. He was able to successfully set up an email account for his wife at Netaddress.com and can retrieve her mail directly home using Eudora.
Jim Huls: Jim said his wife was very pleased with the reference to her in last month's article on Eudora and Prairienet.
Jim said he is very anxious to see Filemaker Pro. He said, with it, he will be able to automate postings to the Macintosh Web Directory.
Speaking of the February Mac SIG meeting, Jim said it was nice to see the demo on System 7.6.
Jim concluded his segment by asking what the club would want for the purchase price of the '386 clone machine we used for the BBS. There was some discussion on this point, during which it was decided that we should pull the large SCSI drive out of the BBS machine and put it in the club's 3000, if it would fit, or in the A2000 if it won't. A couple of the Board members explored this after the official meeting.
Kevin Hisel: Putting on his BBS Sysop hat out of sheer habit, as he has done for years, Kevin noted quizzically that, "The BBS has been slow." After the laughter subsided, Kevin said the BBS has a Motorola 28.8K modem that can now be sold. After some discussion, it was decided that Richard Rollins would sell it on one of his installations jobs.
Kevin reported that his effort to have members accept email delivery of the newsletter has been quite successful. He has had 65 members express a preference for that method of delivery.
Addressing the annual raffle, Kevin stated his belief that the local Amiga membership is not large enough to support the scale of activities we've had in the past. He also wants to focus some benefit to the many members who have joined us via the web. Therefore, he is formulating some ideas to address those concerns. On the same subject, Kevin stated that he would be conducting his solicitations via email this year, rather than snail mail, so the club won't incur the expense of a large mailing. As to the Macintosh members, Kevin said he needs a Macintosh Raffle Chairman. He will lend all the assistance he can to whoever volunteers, but his own commitments prevent him from tackling that side of the raffle.
Turning to the web, Kevin said phase one of the membership drive has peeked and he is preparing for phase two. Phase one was garnering discounts for CUCUG members from vendors. Phase two will be a "door prize" arrangement he is concocting. Stay tuned.
Dave Witt: Dave had no new business to address.
Jim Lewis: Jim said he had already given his input on the various topics raised earlier, so we moved to adjournment.
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.
Membership dues for individuals are $20 annually; prorated to $10 at mid year ($25US outside the U.S. and Canada; prorated to $15 at mid year).
All recent Status Registers are available on our WWW site. Other user group newsletter editors can contact our editor directly. To initiate a newsletter exchange, just send us your newsletter. As a matter of CUCUG policy, an 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 Webmaster: Kevin Hisel 406-948-1999 khisel @ cucug.org Amiga SIG: Ed Hartman 893-8206 ehartman@prairienet.org
Surf our home page:
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.