We'd also like to welcome back several members renewing in the last month: Carmine Gallo, Robert A. Miller, Joseph Alex Palmer, Lucy Seaman, and Stephen Weingram.
Until a new CEO is hired, Fred Anderson, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will assume additional responsibilities for the Company's day-to-day operations, working closely with the board and the executive management team, which includes:
Heading the search for a new CEO will be a committee composed of Board Vice Chairman A.C. Markkula Jr., Apple Board Director and Chairman of the Board of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. Edgar S. Woolard Jr., ExecutiveVice President and Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson, and Apple's strategic advisor Steve Jobs.
"In recent months, Apple has made significant progress in addressing the crises which were threatening its viability," said Woolard. "In pursuit of the best interest of our shareholders and our customers, we now want to move forward and return the Company to growth and sustainable profitability. We believe that with a customer focused CEO and Apple's product and technology portfolio, the Company will have the necessary ingredients to return to success."
"The Company has improved its cash position, reduced operating expenses and improved product quality" said Anderson. "We have also introduced a series of outstanding products, developed a long-term operating system strategy and consolidated our marketing and sales organizations. The executive management team is committed to continue to build on this foundation".
Ellen Hancock, executive vice president of Technology, has also announced that she will be leaving the Company. Her responsibilities have been reassigned to Avie Tevanian and Jon Rubinstein.
Apple will announce its third fiscal quarter results on Wednesday July 16, 1997.
[Source: Apple Developer News, #64 Supplement 2, July 9, 1997, from the staff of Apple Directions. To subscribe to Apple Developer News, send e-mail to (requests@thing1.info.apple.com). In the subject or body of the message, type the string: subscribe adirections ]
Statement on the Communications Decency Act
The Real Issues and The Reporting
26-JUN-97 4:36PM (Eastern)
As someone who has been online for many years and whose business (http://www.iam.com/) depends heavily on the Internet, I celebrated today's Supreme Court Decision to affirm the lower court's ruling that the Communications Decency Act is unconstitutional.
The media has dampened my celebration, however, as I have been extremely disappointed in much of the coverage on the ruling.
I watched two television news reports on the subject this afternoon. Reporters continued to refer only to online porn and to protecting children, as if those were the only issues involved. The Supreme Court decision rendered today explicitly and directly contradicts that description of the CDA. Something much more important is going on here.
The CDA was not intended solely to protect children or solely to apply to online porn. In fact, children have little access to the most hardcore online porn, and then only if the children go looking for it while parents choose not to provide direct or technological supervision. Other laws already cover red herrings like obscenity and child-pornography. The CDA was really about prying into the lives of all citizens, child or adult, to enforce a particularly narrow "moral" agenda. Why else would the CDA have included, for example, a clause specifically banning from the Internet any discussion of abortion?
The Supreme Court itself called into question the motives of congressional legislators. "This uncertainty undermines the likelihood that the CDA has been carefully tailored to the congressional goal of protecting minors from potentially harmful materials." The Court went on to say, "The breadth of the CDA's coverage is wholly unprecedented. The general, undefined terms 'indecent' and 'patently offensive' cover large amounts of nonpornographic material with serious educational or other value."
Correctly evaluating the true effect (and intent) of the law, the court concluded "The CDA, casting a far darker shadow over free speech, threatens to torch a large segment of the Internet community" and to have an "obvious chilling effect on free speech."
Fortunately, the court went much further than simply striking down the CDA. It made clear that the Internet deserves to be afforded the highest protections of the first amendment. It is a perfect haven for individual and democratic freedom, with minimal potential for causing harm by inflicting one's speech (however unpopular) on those who don't wish to be subjected to it. The elements of our society who wish to control what is said, to make the rest of us conform to their "wholesome" ideas for how we should act, will have to look somewhere other than cyberspace. Let them go back to boycotting Disney. The Court says that any future attempts at regulating the net must be defined very narrowly. As Bruce Ennis, lead attorney for the suit against the CDA, said about the ruling, "this is the legal birth certificate for the Internet."
I want to smoke a fine cigar to celebrate this birth of a more democratic and free media. I hope I can get the older popular media to join me.
Sincerely,
Dale L. Larson
P.S. I discussed the CDA in some detail in the forward I wrote to a recent book "Torn Shapes of Desire: Internet Erotica," and that essay is also available online at http://www.iam.com/tsd/tsd-foreword.html
Dale L. Larson was a software engineer involved in networking and the Internet. He is now the president of Intangible Assets Manufacturing, the author of a book about networking and online communications, and is the editor and publisher of two literary books that originated on the Internet.
Intangible Assets Manufacturing
828 Ormond Avenue
Drexel Hill, PA 19026
610 853 4406, fax 610 853 3733
http://www.iam.com/
AMIGA
* * * * *
This is billed as "the most comprehensive guide to Amiga resources on the Web," and if they're lyin'they're dyin'. This tribute to the most-ignored, yet most-championed, hardware on the planet is enormous. You'll find magazines, user groups, commercial products, dealer listings, FAQs, FTP links with tons to download, freeware, a search engine and software support. Our favorite was the directory to the Amiga demo scene where "the competition is fierce among this group of gifted code writers to produce graphically and musically stunning demos on the Amiga." Gorgeous stuff.
Tuesday, June 3, 1997 - Topeka could lose nearly all its high-tech industry before summer's end, Dwight Parscale said Monday.
"We're about 90-some percent sure" NewTek Inc. will leave the state later this year, reported Parscale, the company's chief executive officer.
Tim Jenison, the company's founder and owner, stressed the need for rapid expansion to position NewTek for the 21st century and indicated there are several reasons the company reluctantly has concluded it will have to leave the state.
Those include continuing difficulty convincing qualified employees to come to Kansas - in part because of an absence of similar companies, an unfriendly business climate and a dearth of activities for young adults, he said.
With a line of unique computer-related products that it markets worldwide, the company has doubled in size over the past 18 months. It employs 90 people and expects to reach about 130 by year's end and within 200 a year afterward, based on its present wares. Parscale said current payroll is more than $3 million annually, and the company spends more than $20 million a year in this region.
"We could be approaching 300 people within the next two years," he said. "That's a lot to take out of a community. It just absolutely flabbergasted me" that, although rumors of the impending move have proliferated, no one seems concerned.
"I was talking the other day to someone involved in Kansas politics for over 30 years and they said, 'You guys can't leave. We've held you out as the jewel of high-tech for some time.' And I said, 'You know, I don't think anybody's ever told Tim that, or asked him to come speak.' "
Parscale said no one from the city or state has approached anyone at NewTek to ask about the spreading rumors, although as the company has sought to find jobs elsewhere for employees' spouses, rumors have grown throughout the community.
"My barber asked me about it," he said. "The waitress at Perkins."
San Antonio is the favored choice for a new location, Parscale said.
"Right now we are still negotiating incentives, and hopefully we'll have that done real quickly," he said. "Texas has no income tax on individuals or businesses. You have a franchise fee on your corporation - but the corporate entity will probably stay in Kansas just because Kansas patterns itself after Delaware."
If everything falls into place, the move could happen this summer, "maybe later."
Best known for its advanced, low-cost computer graphics products, NewTek also markets test equipment and other items used by television broadcast studios, music video producers and the film industry.
Officials said what is needed now is $10 million or $12 million to finance an immediate expansion, and added potential lenders have suggested the company would be more risk-attractive if it were to relocate out of state. Part of that is due to the tax structure, which cost NewTek an estimated $1 million extra to stay in Kansas last year. But part is a perceived poor quality of life among those who work in the bleeding-edge computer industries.
Parscale recalled meeting with officials at Kansas Technology Enterprise Corp. and at Kansas Inc. "when I was trying to salvage this company two years ago" and was told "it would take six months to do anything and we would be lucky to get $125,000."
"Topeka and Kansas have done a very poor job of promoting," he said. "We have been approached by quite a few people wanting to invest in us. Most do not believe we will be able to expand in this location. We can get banked here, but they do not think we'll have the ability to grow as rapidly as we need to."
Many other locales, he continued, "can get you all kinds of information and support and help. Kansas is not a pro-business state! I have had no direct contact from anybody in the community except you and Channel 13."
The personal side of the equation, said Parscale, is "we have a company (whose employees are) extremely young, and the fact is Topeka is not a hotbed of the kind of activities young people are interested in -- and it's an industry filled with young people. It's just substantially more expensive to keep bringing those people in here."
Jenison, a native of Belmond, Iowa, launched NewTek in 1985 in the garage of his Topeka home. Parscale, a former assistant attorney general under Vern Miller, incorporated it a year later.
[Source: http://www.cjonline.com/stories/060397/newtek.html ]
Here's some good news. I've been emailing a bit with Timm Martin, the author of the famous Amiga directory utility SID. I am happy to tell that contrary to rumors he's very much alive and it looks like there's still hope for the continued developement of SID.
Here's what he had to say (Edited together from a couple of emails):
"I do still have the SID source code. I'm currently in negotiations with an American company to license the source code to produce another version of SID. Hence, I cannot release it to the public domain at this time."
"I can tell you that negotiations have stalled somewhat, so if you know anyone with a little money and a lot of wherewithall who's interested in licensing and updating SID, let me know."
"However, because of my current heavy commitment to my software company, I don't really have the time and energy to actively pursue a deal. I'll be glad to listen to any valid offer, but the negotiations need to be quick, the deal solid, and my participation after the fact extremely limited to nonexistent."
Regards,
Timm
timm@intcom.net
[So, if you're interested in the future of SID, drop Timm a line.]
[Source: Amiga Report, Issue No. 5.06 - July 11, 1997. AR can be reached by contacting its Editor, Jason Compton on the Internet at: jcompton@xnet.com.]
Fifty-four percent of the time the machines were switched on, they were not being used, and when they were used, the biggest chunk of time (29%) was devoted to "futzing" --fiddling around with operating systems, organizing files, changing "wallpaper" and screensaver patterns, and altering the speed of the cursor blink. Meanwhile, word processing and business software use took up 16% of the time, and Internet surfing accounted for only 12%.
The Sierra Club points out that turning a computer on and leaving it on unused for three hours a day results in about 200 pounds of carbon dioxide pollution every year. (Wall Street Journal 28 Feb 97)
Edupage is written by John Gehl (gehl@educom.edu) & Suzanne Douglas (douglas@educom.edu). Voice: 404-371-1853, Fax: 404-371-8057.
To Apple employees everywhere,
Today, Apple announced my resignation as chairman and CEO of Apple Computer, effective immediately. I will remain an employee, but not an officer, until September 27, 1997, in order to effect a smooth transition.
I joined Apple on February 2, 1996, following a successful tenure as chairman, president, and CEO of National Semiconductor. I did so because as a board member of Apple it had become increasingly clear that the company was entering a period of extreme crisis and the very survival of the company as an independent entity was in question. Someone had to take on the task of trying to bring Apple back to health.
As we came to discover, Apple actually faced five crises from the outset: a shortage of cash and liquidity; poor-quality products; a lack of a viable operating system strategy; a corporate culture lacking in accountability and discipline; and fragmentation, trying to do too much and in too many directions. These issues persisted notwithstanding a number of extremely talented contributors. Much of my time at Apple has been about confronting these and other matters.
I am very confident that the decisions and actions taken have been the right ones. Today, these problems are either resolved or well on the way to being addressed. Today, Apple has the strongest product lineup in the history of the company. Today, we have an exciting operating system strategy and we are on the eve of announcing Mac OS 8, which has received very favorable reviews during beta testing. Rhapsody, our industrial-strength operating system, is close behind and will establish a new paradigm in operating system architecture. Today, we have the strongest management team in recent history. And today, we have a cost structure more in line with achievable revenues.
It has been very difficult, but much has been accomplished in the last 17 months as I believe will become increasingly evident in the months and quarters ahead. Apple's next phase and remaining challenge is to follow through flawlessly on the programs we have launched and to rebuild the sales volume. I am confident that the team in place can handle this mission. On a personal note, I look forward to once again being able to spend a little more time with my family.
My time at Apple has been exciting and fulfilling. We have made great progress. It is now time to realize the value made possible by this work for all Apple stakeholders. Thank you for your unwavering support during my time here...it made the demands less formidable. I lovingly leave Apple in your care. Good luck, I'll be cheering from the sidelines!
Respectfully,
Gil
[Source: http://www.news.com/SpecialFeatures/0,5,12313,00.html ]
Gilbert Amelio's time at Apple (AAPL) began running out back in April, an Apple board member told CNET's NEWS.COM today.
Edgar Woolard, Apple board member and part of the search committee for a new Apple CEO, said that three months ago the company's board of directors began to seriously worry about the company's credibility. "And as each month went by, there were not sufficient reports from the sales of the products to lead us to believe there would be a high probability that things would turn around."
Woolard said that despite "significant improvements" Amelio made in reducing costs, developing a strong management team, and improving the product line, Amelio didn't have the background to successfully sell to consumers and to enlist developer loyalty.
Amelio conducted discussions with board members over the July 4 weekend, according to an Apple spokeswoman. Yesterday, as part of a mutual decision, Amelio resigned, ending a brief but tumultuous 17-month tenure as Apple's CEO.
"Gil is a very decent and good person," Woolard said. "Despite the progress that he made, the next vital step we had to make was to regain credibility."
Woolard said that Apple will no longer state its goals for achieving sustained profitability. The company had previously said its goal was to reach profitability by the fourth quarter.
"It does not serve any benefit to say when we think we'll be profitable," he said.
Woolard maintained that pressure from institutional investors like shareholder activist CalPERS did not play a factor in Amelio's departure.
CalPERS had a July 8 meeting scheduled with Apple's board and management, but a week before the meeting, Apple called it off, said a CalPERS spokesman. Woolard said that decision came from Apple's management, because he was not aware the meeting had been canceled.
Meanwhile, Apple cofounder Steve Jobs has been asked to find the "best CEO" to replace Amelio and set a strategy for the company to execute, Woolard said.
"Jobs will work with the management team and come forth with a plan in the next few weeks," Woolard said.
He added that Jobs has requested "not to be considered a candidate" for the CEO slot.
And what about rumors that Jobs was the single investor who recently sold a 1.5 million block of stock? Apple says it will not comment on the investment activities of its shareholders.
Woolard referred the question to Jobs, who was not available for comment.
[Source: http://www.news.com/SpecialFeatures/0,5,12332,00.html ]
The great Woz has spoken - and what he has to say might surprise you.
The Woz, of course, is Steve Wozniak. He was the engineering genius behind Apple's first computers.
The Woz, as he is fondly known among Mac enthusiasts, left the company more than a decade ago. But he's back now, with former partner Steve Jobs, as a personal adviser to Apple Computer Chairman Gilbert Amelio.
In the June issue of MacAddict, the Woz gives an exclusive interview to editor Cheryl England. The Woz did not mince words. So those of you with little tolerance for any unflattering comments about Apple, cover your eyes.
The Woz told England that Apple let its quality control collapse - and denied it for years. Now, he adds, Apple has licked that problem under Amelio.
But quality control is only part of the equation of a successful computer company. The other is technology. How is Apple faring as a technology leader? "Very, very, very poorly, and they think they're doing very, very great," says the Woz.
In essence, the Woz said Apple is focusing too much on gee-whiz gizmos, such as raw processing speed. He added he believes the company should focus more on innovations that make computing easier and more user-friendly.
"Technology isn't just putting the fastest processor and most RAM - that's packaging," says the Woz.
There is one new technology the Woz thinks is great. That's the use of the Newton hand-held technology to create a new class of computer called the eMate. It's a lightweight computer, using the Newton - not the Mac - operating system. The eMate comes with all kinds of software designs for schoolwork built in. And it will communicate with either Macs or PCs.
"I love the eMate," says the Woz. Why? Because it represents a new way of looking at computers. Right now, the Woz explains, the trend is to make every computer all things to all people. And that has made them complicated and unreliable.
The eMate, though, has just those things that students of any age would need. Consequently, it is easy to use and stable.
"It doesn't have an operating system that crashes or that you've got to upgrade every week, and it doesn't have to be sent in for repairs all the time - it's indestructible," says the Woz.
[Source: http://www.computernewsdaily.com/140_052097_120014_29887.html Charles Haddad writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Cox web site is at http://www.coxnews.com ]
Company: von Wiegandt Productions Contact: Patrick von Wiegandt Telephone: 808-531-3888 Fax: 808-534-0454 E-mail: orders@vwtapes.com Web site: http://www.vwtapes.com/
For more information, see these related sites:
http://www.devworld.apple.com/
http://www.devworld.apple.com/rhapsody.html
http://www.devworld.apple.com/macos.html
http://www2.apple.com/home/wwdc97/wwdc.html
http://product.info.apple.com/pr/library/1997/may.html
http://www.macworld.com/pages/july.97/Feature.3745.html
http://www1.zdnet.com/macuser/mu_0797/features/mmx.html
DISCUSSION: Do not under any circumstances enable the PowerBook 3400 password security if you have At Ease 4.0.x installed on a PowerBook 3400. This especially true if you have enabled the "Prevent users from bypassing security by starting up from a floppy disk" option in the At Ease administration program.
The hard disk driver becomes corrupted in such a way that the PowerBook is unable to start up. Additionally, the computer will not start up from a floppy disk, compact disc, or in SCSI disk mode.
Apple is investigating this issue and is working on a solution.
DISCUSSION: With Mac OS 7.6 a new version of the floppy driver was added to allow for DMF (1.6 MB) formatted floppies to be read on Power Macintosh DOS Compatible computers. With this new driver, there is a higher sensitivity to some floppies that have questionable data on the first few sectors of the disk. Because of this higher sensitivity, there may be delays of up to 90 seconds to mount a floppy. This does not happen on all floppy disks. Apple is currently investigating how this can be addressed in future versions of the Mac OS.
Having just attended a Windows NT class, I feel good in saying that the I'm proud to work with Macs. For all of NT's flexibility and a few nice features, it is one of the most inconsistent and badly constructed server interfaces I have ever seen.
Its much lauded stability is a farce with applications interacting directly with the kernal in order to improve speed, thus countering any advantages gained from protected memory.
The number of security holes present is ridiculous - it only took the class instructor 30 seconds to break into a working system, and he pointed out dozens of other possible problem areas.
Half of the tools necessary to administer such a server don't even come with the server software and must be purchased separately from Microsoft. And, the current round of infamous Microsoft Service Packs, or updates to you and I, weren't even beta tested before being released to the public. In fact, many important features were left out of NT 4.0 due to lack of development time before public release.
Did you know that running a screen saver on the server can drop server performance by 90%? So much for multitasking capabilities, since 90% of the CPU time is given to foreground processes. Admittedly, servers are meant to be accessed remotely, but this makes at machine service a bear. This is supposed to be the best thing out there? What a joke! What I have done in 15 minutes on an AppleShare Server would take me hours on an NT Server.
There are a few nice features, but is it worth it? I've learned how to deal with it, but I frankly want to far less than I ever did before, and I'll punch the next person who tells how great NT is. Perhaps I'll give a more rational explanation of my views later once I cool off.
San Mateo, Calif., June 11, 1997 - Connectix Corporation, developer of the award-winning, productivity-enhancing utilities RAM Doubler and Speed Doubler, announces the shipment of Connectix Virtual PC the week of June 16th. The eagerly-awaited software compatibility product is available in two versions, each bundled with Microsoft Corporation's top-selling Windows operating systems. Connectix Virtual PC Windows 95 Version and Connectix Virtual PC Windows 3.11/MS-DOS Version carry an expected street price ranging from approximately $149.00 to $169.00 U.S. and both will be sold through catalog and retail outlets nationwide. Additionally, Connectix Corporation is offering a $25.00 mail-in rebate to registered users of Insignia's SoftWindows who purchase Connectix Virtual PC.
Connectix Virtual PC lets Power Mac users run Windows 95, Windows NT, Windows 3.x, DOS, IBM OS/2, and even NeXT OPENSTEP. Connectix Virtual PC is a complete standards-based PC in software using components from the Intel Pentium MMX instruction set, Sound Blaster Pro and S3 video, providing Power Mac users a full range of PC software compatibility. There is no additional hardware required - Connectix Virtual PC recognizes existing Mac peripherals such as Ethernet, CD-ROM, printer and modem as PC devices. Connectix Virtual PC delivers to Power Mac owners playable performance PC-based entertainment and productivity software.
Product features and requirements
Connectix Virtual PC includes:
- Connectix Virtual PC Installer CD-ROM and Manual
- Aladdin StuffIt Expander for Mac OS and Windows
- Microsoft Windows 95 CD-ROM and Manual
OR
- Microsoft Windows 3.11 Floppies and Manual
Connectix Virtual PC Windows 95 Version is recommended for a Power PC-based Mac system with a Power PC 603e (180 Mhz minimum), 604 or 604e processor (any speed). Connectix Virtual PC Windows 95 Version requires 24MB of installed physical RAM and 150MB hard drive space; 32MB installed physical RAM and 300MB hard drive space are recommended.
Connectix Virtual PC Windows 3.11/DOS Version is recommended for a Power PC based Mac system running at 100 Mhz or faster. Connectix Virtual PC Windows 3.11/DOS Version requires 20MB of installed physical RAM and 100MB hard drive space; 24MB installed physical RAM and 200MB hard drive space is recommended.
Connectix Corporation: Founded in 1989 and based in San Mateo, California, Connectix Corporation designs, manufactures, distributes and publishes innovative, award-winning products that unlock the potential in users and the world around them. The company's flagship products include: RAM Doubler, Speed Doubler, Color QuickCam, and Connectix VideoPhone. For more information, contact Connectix Corporation at 415.571.5100 or at http://www.connectix.com.
Connectix recently sent me information on their User Group Purchase Program. Below is a list of products with prices which expires 8/31/97. All items have a Macintosh or Windows version available unless otherwise specified.
Color QuickCam - $150 Plugs right in to your computer for brilliant color pictures and video! Grayscale QuickCam - $70 Plugs right in to your computer for instant snapshots and video! Connectix VideoPhone 2 - $39 Video conferencing made easy! Connectix Wig Out! - $19 (Windows only) Trying new looks is as easy as clicking your mouse! (Win 95 CD-ROM only) Connectix PhotoMate - $39 The quick and easy way to enhance and present photos. Connectix PhotoBadge - $39 The quick and easy way to create pictures ID badges. RAM Doubler - $39 More memory with just one click! Speed Doubler 2 - $39(Mac only) Accelerate your Mac! Connectix Virtual PC with MS Windows 3.11 or MS Windows 95 - $119 (Mac only) Run the universe of PC software on your Power Mac
I can provide a printed form or the pdf file for anyone interested in ordering from this program.
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Jim D. Huls Home Page: http://www.pdnt.com/~jhuls/
CUCUG Board Advisor Email:
Macintosh Webmaster IRC: Cappy
The Macintosh Web Directory - http://www.cucug.org/mac/
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
Good luck, hope this helps.
-- Ashok Katwala <*> __ http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~ashok/ Member: Team AMIGA /\_\ Because the alternative is unthinkable... Back for the...? \/_/ (\\\\\I===============----- It seems like the less a statesman amounts to, the more he loves the flag.
[Editor's Note: There is. It's MacLHA.ppc2.14. Works like a charm. Thanks, Ashok.]
AMIGA International, Inc.
Robert-Bosch-Str. 11b
D-63225 Langen
Press release
Now under licence of AMIGA:
The new MicroniK Infinitiv Towersystem
June 1997
The waiting has come to an end: With the new Infinitiv Towersystem, the international AMIGA community can now find a professional high-powered multimedia solution on AMIGA-basis for private use. It is produced by the German company MicroniK. For this development MicroniK has just received an official AMIGA- Licence. With it, MicroniK is the first licensed AMIGA International, Inc. manufacturer of AMIGA-Computers in Europe with world-wide sales.
The Infinitiv Towersystem does not only impress by its case-design. It offers space for all Amiga-typical extensions. In doing so the well devised case design allows a quick and easy exchange of the main board.
The modular design of the Infinitiv Towersystem offers numerous extension possibilities: Internally via hard disc extension case, to the top through the specially designed top case. Both make the Infinitiv Towersystems a high- performance multimedia system in the world of Amiga.
"Snap-and-Click": Simple fitting
The mounting of additional drive bays is very simple and happens through an easy "Snap-and-Click" mechanism. With the help of the top cases, the tower can be extended with CD-ROM and hard disk-drives. This enables a multiple increase in the Infinitiv Tower power spectrum.
The new Infinitiv Towersystem represents a further milestone in the successful AMIGA history. It convinces not only its Mac-OS and PC/DOS compatibility, but above all through its modular construction. This high-end version profits from the whole performance of the Amiga operating system and makes the working with an infinitiv tower a real multimedia experience. Due to the existing A3/4000-compatible CPU-Slot the use of any processor can be realized in the future.
The Infinitiv Towersystem - an overall view: Plug and play
The inner life of the Infinitiv Towersystem also impresses by its variable and modular construction. The Towersystem can be supplied with two high performance Bus-Boards.
The A1500
In addition to the AMIGA 1200 motherboard, the Bus-Board Zorro II/III "Z-3i" offers in the high-performance version Infinitiv A1500:
5* Zorro II/III Slots
1* PC-ISA Slot
2* PC-PCI Slots
1* Video Slot (optional)
1* SCSI-2 Controller
1* CPU Slot A3000/4000 32 Bit
passed through CPU connection
The A1400
As a cost effective alternative for the high efficient A1500-system there are two other variations. The infinitiv A1400 with Bus-Board "Z-2i" offers:
5* Zorro II Slot
2* PC-ISA Slots
2* PC-PCI Slots
1* Video Slot (optional)
passed through CPU connection
The A1300
The basic model is the infinitiv A1300; an Infinitiv Tower without Bus-Board. The tendered Bus-Boards allow subsequent improvements as required.
For further information please call:
Phone: +49 (0)2171-72 45 0
Fax : +49 (0)2171-72 45 90
Internet: www.micronik.de
[Source: Amiga News Index of the Amiga Web Directory.]
Index Information work exclusively with the Amiga product range to develop hardware and software solutions for corporate applications. Index have developed the "Access" Computer, based on the Amiga Chip Set and Operating System. The agreement with AMIGA International allows the use of the AmigaOS, supply agreements on Amiga proprietary chips and the use of the "powered by Amiga" logo on all its products.
"We declared an open policy for licensing the technology of the Amiga and this is one of the first examples of that policy being placed in action. The excellence of the Amiga technology combined with the technical skills and market knowledge of companies such as Index will allow the Amiga to be used in a wider range of applications, broadening the market for software developers and integrators.", said Petro Tyschyschenko, President of AMIGA International, Inc.
Mick Tinker, Managing Director of Index Information Ltd; "We believe that the Amiga is superior to any other computer product for a range of applications, particularly in multimedia and applications that require television output. The machine has exceptionally low resource requirements combined with high performance, enabling the computer to substantially undercut competitive systems on cost, performance or both. The technology has the potential to be substantially miniaturised and cost-reduced to fulfil a wide range of new current and future applications."
"We aim to satisfy the growing need for economical multimedia computer devices targeted to fulfil diverse and unique needs, while delivering the ease of use, performance and cost savings that have only been promised by competitive platforms."
"By focusing on the key advantages of the Amiga technology we can ensure that the customer receives the best solution at the best price. Our products high performance at low cost gives us significant advantages over our competitors and we must use this to ensure that we supply the volume demand in current and new markets."
About Index Information Ltd
Index Information Ltd., Hampshire, formed in 1991 has worked exclusively with the Amiga product range to develop hardware and software solutions for corporate applications. Notable achievements include software for the first 24 bit graphics card, BBC Scotland's Catchword Game Show, all computers and software for London Transport Museum interactive displays, HMS Belfast interactive displays, 7,000 Amiga expansion units for a world-wide training company.
The future expansion of the company will be based around a range of standard products that we are currently designing and will manufacture, along with the ability to rapidly customise the designs to meet the individual requirements of volume purchasers. Available in Q3 1997 will be the first implementations of a product line called "Access", with additional key strategic products to be completed over the next 6 months. Early production Access motherboards are currently shipping to key customers for testing and development.
About AMIGA International, Inc.
AMIGA International, Inc., is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gateway 2000, Inc (Nasdaq:GATE), a Fortune 500 company. AMIGA International operates the sales, distribution and development of the Amiga computer. The company operates from offices in Langen, Germany and can be reached on the World Wide Web at www.amiga.de.
About AMIGA
Since the introduction of the AMIGA A1000 in 1985, Amiga has represented the embodiment of the efficient use of memory and hard drive capacity, while pioneering industry developments in multimedia, 32-bit multitasking and autoconfiguration. AMIGA led the industry in combining computer graphics, animation and file sequences with stereo sound known today as multimedia.
For Press Information:
Mick Tinker
Index Information Ltd
Fax: +44-1256-701023
Email: index@cix.co.uk
Web: http://www.cix.co.uk/~index/
Petro Tyschtschenko
AMIGA International, Inc.
Fax: +49-6103-5878-88
Email: ptysch@amiga.de
Web: http://www.amiga.de
[Source: Amiga News Index of the Amiga Web Directory.]
9th July 1997
Since 1995 ICS have been at the forefront in developing expansion systems that enable A1200 and A4000 users to make the best use of Hard Drive and CD Rom technology. Their MMS tm Technology has made it possible for the Amiga to utilise up to four EIDE devices.
In an not surprising announcement ICS have been awarded a license to produce A1200 based tower systems. Micronik and Index Information Ltd have already been granted licenses and it was only a matter of time that the leaders in multimedia technology for the Amiga would follow suit. The new A1200 tower system will be called the Amigo PC range.
"We know that the Amiga is the best machine available for the home and professional user. Its operating system is far superior to that of Wintel and Mac based machines and that's the reason why we don't develop for any other platform. Amiga OS is far more efficient in the areas of memory, resources and hard disk storage than any other operating system. The future of the Amiga has now become very exciting and we were very pleased when we heard the announcement that Micronik, Index Information Ltd and then ourselves had been awarded licenses to produce Amiga based systems" - Barry Turner of Intrinsic Computer Systems.
An Amigo PC will be supplied in various configurations:
* StormA1200 based tower system
* CycloneA1200 based tower system
68030 50Mhz CPU with 16 or 32Mb
* TornadoA1200 based tower system
68060 50Mhz CPU with 16 or 32Mb
* HurricaneA1200 based tower system
PPC603e 200Mhz with 16 or 32Mb
* They will all have the option of Hard Drive and CD Rom Drive.
An example of a "Fully Loaded" system would be:
Hurricane HC A1200, tower with 2Gb Hard Drive, 1699.95 [approximately $2880.40 US] 16x CD Rom Drive, PPC603e 200Mhz, 34Mb ram, expansion bus, graphics card and monitor.
Every Amigo PC will be bundled with either three new professional software packages or three new games never seen before on the Amiga, these have been supplied by Alive Media Soft who have now transfered several games from the Macintosh and PC to the Amiga platform.
"Although the license is only an interim one that does not allow ICS to use the Amiga name on its products for the next 12 months, the best personal computer there is has just got better" - Barry Turner, Intrinsic Computer Systems.
For further information contact ICS:
Tel: +44 (0)1474 335294
Fax: +44 (0)1474 533500
or visit their web site:
http://www.centrenet.co.uk/~ics/index.html
or write to:
Intrinsic Computer Systems
38 Kings Drive
Gravesend, Kent, England
DA12 5BJ
[Source: Amiga News Index of the Amiga Web Directory.]
Arizona, USA - Cronus is pleased to announce that Aminet Set 5, produced by Stefan Ossowski's Schatztruhe will be available in the U.S. by July 25, 1997. Aminet Set 5 offers Amiga users everything since the release of Aminet Set 4, plus the latest and unrestricted version of Octamed Sound Studio. Aminet Set 5 also features nearly 1 GB of data which will NOT appear on the regular Aminet CD-ROM series. Dated June 1997, the set consists of approximately 4 gigabytes of software in 7400 archives. Tons of stuff for only $ 35.95 (plus S&H).
This CD is available through Cronus at http://www.ninemoons.com/ or via snail mail, phone or FAX at:
Cronus
2176 McCulloch Blvd., Ste. 8A
Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403
520 680 6300 (voice)
520 680 6477 (FAX)
info@ninemoons.com
[Source: Amiga News Index of the Amiga Web Directory.]
To ensure that CygnusEd will once again take up its leading position among the Amiga text editors, we want to give the Amiga community the opportunity to influence development of the product. Please let us know about your ideas and wishes regarding the editor, what features do you want to see implemented and which problems need attention. Send your requests and suggestions to the following address: schatztruhe@cww.de ; every contribution takes part in a lottery, the price being one of ten copies of the editor.
The new CygnusEd version will be published on CD-ROM before the end of this year. Attractive update offers and cross-updates for users of other text editors are in planning.
[Source: Amiga News Index of the Amiga Web Directory.]
Central Islip, NY - Wednesday, February 5th 1997 Mr. Hardware Computers announced today that they are offering a special upgrade price for anyone currently in possession of a previous release of SBase4 or SBase4Pro Amiga. We don't care if you were the original purchaser or not. All we need is the registration number from the version you currently own.
On April 29th 1996 Mr. Hardware Computers purchased all rights to the Amiga version of SBase4Pro from Oxxi, Inc. We did not publicize this purchase because we fully expected to have been able to release an expanded new version of SBase4 by January 1997. However, we have run into numerous difficulties, including a total lack of contracted support from Oxxi, Inc.
Although work continues on brand new Mr. Hardware Computers labeled versions of all SBase4 products, it has recently come to our attention that many people do not realize that SBase4 isn't dead. We have also found out that many people are needlessly using buggy versions of the current SBase4 and SBase4Pro releases. If you are among the thousands of Amiga users who are still using SuperBase Personal, SuperBase Professional, older versions of SBase4, or SBase4Pro, you can upgrade to SBase4Pro v1.30n for the following prices in US dollars.
Cost Including Shipping:
SuperBase Amiga any version - $60.00 SuperBase Professional Amiga any version - $30.00 SBase4 Amiga any version - $50.00 SBase4Pro Amiga version v1.30m or older - $20.00
There are many good reasons for upgrading your current software to SBase4Pro v1.30n. These include many bug fixes and some new features that have been implemented since the version you are currently using was created. Your participation in this upgrade program will also make it easier for us to continue with the further development of SBase4 and SBase4Pro.
Mr. Hardware Computers is 100% Amiga and 100% committed to the further development of SBase4 and SBase4Pro for the Amiga. We have some incredible new ideas and development programs we will be implementing in the future. We invite you to help us prove that the Amiga is better at running business software than any other computer platform available anywhere.
--
I Think Therefore I Choose Amiga! The Computer That Would Not Die!
The team at Aurora Works has taken the Bomberman game concept and brought it up to date both technically and graphically. The game will ship as both Cybergraphx and AGA, and will support AHI and TPCIP (Internet/LAN/Direct-Connect) remote play by linking two computers for up to four players. The CDROM-only game will play direct from cd and will require no installation. Requirements and further details can be obtained from the H-Bomb webpage or by emailing Aurora Works at info@auroraworks.com
The game will be shipped in August for September retail and will be available both direct from Aurora Works and through Amiga dealers worldwide. Demos will be available from our Files page and the Aminet at the end of July/early August.
We sincerely hope you enjoy our first in an exciting line-up of Amiga games that will support TCPIP and higher-end Amiga hardware.
James Ceraldi
ceraldi@auroraworks.com
Aurora Works Inc.
[Source: Amiga News Index of the Amiga Web Directory. James Ceraldi and James Harrison of Aurora Works are both CUCUG members. We wish them the best.]
GamaSoft is pleased to announce the immediate availability of New York, the fantastic newsreader by Finale Development. As North American distributor for Finale, GamaSoft is aggressively pricing direct sales of New York at $32.95 (USD), for customers in North America ONLY. This a limited offer for direct sales, so act quickly! Special pricing for direct sales ends August 15, 1997.
Dealers are also invited to take advantage of Dealer-Direct Network pricing during this exciting release. If you're a dealer and you aren't selling New York, then you're just missing out!
Each New York package comes in an attractive vinyl package with a Quick Start Guide, serial number, and New York floppy disk. To use New York, your Amiga will need at least 2 MB of RAM, a supported TCP/IP stack (Miami, AmiTCP, I-Net 225), and OS3.0 or higher.
New York incorporates the fastest parsing routines and most intuitive interface available. New York also offers encoding, decoding, and hierarchal subscription management.
For more information, see:
http://www.mich.com/~twalling/gamasoft/products.html
GamaSoft is the North American distributor of Finale Development software products for the Amiga and pOS, and is actively seeking new, high-quality products for publishing and distribution on the Amiga. Services include packaging, graphic design, and advertising in major Amiga magazines.
GamaSoft LLC
2644 Botsford St.
Hamtramck, MI 48212
(313) 365-8414
Contact: Ted Wallingford, Production Director
[Source: Amiga News Index of the Amiga Web Directory.]
Subject: Boot interview with Ted Waitt excerpt.
From: landphil@novia.net (Matt Griffith)
This is a very short excerpt from the interview. It comes from Boot magazine, July 97 issue. If you have a PC, I highly recommend Boot. Anyway, here's the excerpt:
Boot: Ok... On the topic of acquisitions, Gateway recently bought the rights to the Amiga. What sort of response has there been to that move?
Waitt: Well, the Amiga people want to know why we purchased the rights. Amiga has some fantastic technology. It's extremely efficient. And there's the tremendous enthusiasm of folks in the Amiga user environment. The core technology is very compelling. I like the modularization of the platform and the operating system, the efficiency of the operating system, the pureness and cleanness of the environment, the video technology... there are a lot of good things.
Boot: What about those valuable patents?
Waitt: The Amiga patents were the primary interest, initially, but now we're thinking there might be a lot more there than just a set of patents.
Boot: What will you do with the Technology?
Waitt: We're trying to develop that right now, but the promise of an open Amiga is very interesting.
Boot: Is there an Amiga curse?
Waitt: I don't think so. Look at the people that have had it before us.
Boot: Commodore is gone, Viscorp is dead, Escom AG...
Waitt: Yeah, but Escom was on the way out. Commodore had its own difficulties. Viscorp was looking at a very narrow approach.
[The interview veers back into PC related stuff]
Matt Griffith, LandPhil Records
www.novia.net/~landphil
[Source: The AWD - http://www.cucug.org/at/gw2k970617.html ]
http://www.gw2k.com/interact/maillist/subscribe.htm
It's Gateway's Amiga Mailing List.
The month of June saw the first five members of CUCUG, who joined via the web, win some very cool prizes.
The June 19th meeting began with President Richard Rollins' traditional introduction of officers. As always, if you have a question or need help, these are the people you can go to first.
Opening the floor to the membership:
After the Question and Answer Session, Kevin Hisel explained the upcoming proceedings and after a short break the fun began. Among the winners were Mike Anderson, Quentin Barnes, Don Berg, Scott Cebulski, Brent Cornwell, Selena Douglas, Charlie Earle, Jerry Feltner, Kevin Hisel, Kevin Hopkins, Jim Huls, Robert Kidd, Herb Kirkley, Mark Landman, Mike Latinovich, Lloyd LeMere, Jim Lewis, John Lynn, Garry Morenz, Joe Palmer, Paul Petersen, Steve Ramsdell, Harold Ravlin, Richard Rollins, Scott Ronchetti, Lucy Seaman, Ed Serbe, Don Shaffer, Jon Sago, Dave Witt, Anderson Yau, Greg Zalucha, Kevin Zalucha and Bill Zwicky. The festivities ran hard upon our set time to end the meeting, so with prizes to spare, the floor was opened to those who had yet to win anything. In the end, every member walked out into the night with a smile on their face and a treasure under their arm; and the club received the benefit. Thanks to all who made the event such a success.
The June meeting of the CUCUG executive board took place on Tuesday, June 24, 1997, at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house. (For anyone wishing to attend, the address and phone number are both in the book). Present at the meeting were Richard Rollins, Emil Cobb, Mike Latinovich, Jim Huls, Mark Landman, Anderson Yau, John Lynn, Kevin Hopkins, Kevin Hisel, Jim Lewis, and Dave Witt.
Kevin Hisel prefaced the meeting by relating a story about how someone has be reposting "classic" messages to some of the newsgroups on the net and one of the messages he'd written a couple years ago about Windows95 has been creating quite a stir once again.
Richard Rollins: Richard began by thanking Kevin Hisel and Jim Huls for their efforts in acquiring the prizes distributed at this year's Computer Fair. Everyone had a great time.
Next month the Amiga SIG plans to have Mike Latinovich "doing Internet stuff." They will be using John Lynn's A4000, which has recently had an '060 Cyberstorm installed in it. The club's acquired Picasso IV card will be installed in this machine. So, the Internet demonstration will also be highlighting these two pieces of hardware, as well.
The Mac SIG had planned to do Internet programs "other than browsers and email clients." This will be moved to August because of the conflict with Amiga SIG and only having one available phone line at the Bresnan.
Jim Lewis: Jim Lewis made a proposal to purchase one of the APCs the club had acquired, but the board felt that all members should have an equal opportunity to gain such items through raffles or auctions, so Jim graciously withdrew the offer.
Jim reported that his HP 6020I CDROM burner works great. The unit costs about $400. It is a 6-by read, 2-by write burner. He uses a Jaz cartridge as his master disk. It will also do a CD to CD burn. Jim said you can make a killer CD of MP3s. In the discussion that followed, it was advised to get the "green" blanks as they are more reliable. Jim uses "Easy CD Pro" software on his Clone PC. Mac users might want to look at "Toast" by Adaptec for similar ease of use.
Jim brought in the latest copy of Amazing Computing for those that would like to see it.
Jim gave an unofficial report of the revenue generated at the Computer Fair. He said it went very smoothly.
Jim closed by saying he was going to a PC oriented computer show in the Chicago area on Sunday for anyone who wanted to tag along.
Kevin Hopkins: Kevin had the exchange newsletters and mail for interested parties. Kevin also brought in the club's A2000 which had just been placed in his care, since the hard card that belongs with it seemed to be no longer functioning. The machine was given a cursory look. It was later determined the hard card appears to be damaged.
Kevin asked about the status of the Lost Souls Letter. Richard said it was on his to-do list. It has since been sent out with some positive responses.
After over a year of complaining about the New Membership Form used at our meetings, Kevin finally took it upon himself to update the form and presented it to the board this evening for their inspection, suggestions and approval. The new form seems to fit the bill. Kevin noted that one of the interesting things about the old form is that it listed our BBS as one of the benefits of membership and the BBS featured baud rates up to 2400 baud! When the BBS was retired on January 1 of this year, it had a 28.8K modem on it. Needless to say the form was a little out of date.
Kevin brought up the subject of the several CUCUG mailing lists that Mike Latinovich has been working on establishing. Mike elaborated on what he had done and wanted to do in the future. President Rollins expressed concerns as to who would have access to the lists and that they be monitored in some way. Mike assured him that this was easily done. As this subject is a work in progress, there will be more later.
Kevin formally brought up the suggestion of purchasing the Amazing Computing video tape of the Gateway news conference at the London World of Amiga show. This was approved. Kevin also suggested purchasing a subscription to Jason Compton's Legacy video magazine as material for Amiga SIG meetings. This idea was placed on hold to see if Legacy actually becomes a reality.
Kevin concluded his segment with a report that CUCUG membership now stands at 317.
Kevin Hisel: Kevin said he was quite happy with winning a Topolino at the last meeting. He then gave the official tally of the revenue garnered at the Computer Fair.
Kevin then turn in some membership receipts to Mark.
Kevin reported that five prizes were awarded to web members in the last month. Four new prizes have been posted on the web site to be awarded soon.
Kevin stated that he has significantly changed the rate card for banners on our site. We are a bargain at $3 per 1000 exposures, whereas the rest of the web is $10 to $20 per 1000.
John Lynn: (John's discussion actually occurred earlier in the evening.) John reported that he had gotten the TIMM monitor to work with his A4000, but that it had broken soon thereafter. There was a discussion on how best to get the TIMM serviced or replaced.
John discussed the installation of his '060 board. He said A400T owners should not lose their OS3.1 system software installation disks. These disks are specific to the A4000T and have particular library files necessary to get an '060 to work properly. A tale of woe about a bad disk and an improper substitution accompanied those words of wisdom. But once installed, John was ecstatic about the '060's performance. In a benchmark comparison, John re-rendered a medium-res animation with a [supply your own euphemism] of Polygons which had taken one hour and fourteen minutes to render on his '040 and did it in five minutes! "A hell of a difference!"
Anderson Yau: Anderson said he "liked the meeting."
Mark Landman: Mark stated that we had 5 members join or reup at the last meeting. He reported our current checkbook balance and there followed a discussion of placing more funds in interest bearing CDs and constructing a ladder of maturing instruments.
Speaking about his prize from the last meeting, Mark said Real 3D is a great program, but difficult to learn.
Jim Huls: Jim said it was nice to be the winner of two graphics cards at the meeting, since one of them didn't work. The VP-2M PCI card was dead. The 4MB Mac Picasso works perfectly. All in all, the meeting went pretty well. The noise level in the back of the room was a major distraction. The Union Hall was better on that score. We're going to have to ask those wishing to conduct discussions while other proceedings are going on to please take it into the lobby as a consideration to others.
Jim revealed that a lot of the time spent getting email addresses was contributed by his wife, Sue Huls. The entire board asked Jim to express our appreciation to Sue for her efforts on our behalf. Thanks, Sue.
Jim reported the Mac Web Directory will be seeing the institution of a search feature similar to that of Amiga Web Directory very soon. He said he has had tons of submissions for inclusion in the Mac Web Directory, so expect some changes there as well.
Returning for one final note on the last meeting, Jim suggested that the ticket box be color coded to help clarify where the different tickets should go.
Mike Latinovich: "Loved the meeting! The Ethernet card kicks ..." Mike said (grinning) he was glad everyone heeded his warning and let him win the card. He said the meeting was a lot of fun. He loves being back in Champaign and he's liking his new job as Top Tier tech support at PDNT.
Emil Cobb: Emil was mum this evening.
Dave Witt: Dave's review of the meeting was that it went fairly well. He felt our Computer Fair was better held at the Electricians Hall too. He said he was thrilled with his APC-UPS. He thought the Picasso IV posters and banners gave the room a distinctive touch.
Richard Rollins: Richard closed the session by stating that a meeting on the CUCUG channel on the IRC should be conducted at least once. Planning for such an event should be expedited.
Meetings are held the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 p.m. at the Bresnan Meeting Center in the Champaign Park District Headquarters (398-2550). The Center is located at 706 Kenwood, 1/2 block south of the corner of Kenwood and John Street, in west Champaign. Kenwood is the fourth north-south street off of John as you are going west, after crossing Mattis. The Center is in the northwest corner of Centennial Park, northwest of Centennial High School.
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).
Our monthly newsletter, the Status Register, is delivered by the postal service or email at the member's choice. All recent editions are available on our WWW site. To initiate a user group exchange, just send us your newsletter or contact our editor via email. 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: John Lynn 586-3555
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.