The Champaign-Urbana Commodore Users Group

The Status Register - September, 1997


This newsletter will never appear on CUCUG.ORG before the monthly CUCUG meeting it is intended to announce. This is in deference to actual CUCUG members. They get each edition hot off the presses. If you'd like to join our group, you can get the pertinent facts by looking in the "Information About CUCUG" page. If you'd care to look at prior editions of the newsletter, they may be found via the Status Register Newsletter page.

September 1997


To move quickly to an article of your choice, use the search feature of your reader or the hypertext directory above. Enjoy.

September News:

The September Meeting

The next CUCUG meeting will be held on our regular third Thursday of the month: Thursday, September 18th, at 7:00 pm, at the Bresnan Community Center. Direction to the Bresnan are on the back of this newsletter.

The September 18 meeting will be one of CUCUG's social gatherings combined with a swap meet. You are encouraged to bring in any software/hardware you'd like to sell or trade. You are also encouraged to bring yourself and any topic you'd like to discuss with like minded people. The meeting will be informal and informative. Come and enjoy.

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Welcome New Members

We'd like to welcome the new members who've just joined us in the last month: Ray Curtis (C64, A500/3000), Nathan Morse (C128, A500/600/1000/1200/2000/4000, CD32), Scott Parker (C64/128, A500), Anthony E. Bodo (A500/1200), Phil Bruggeman (A3000), John E. Luberti (A2000/2500), Michael O. Weathers (A1200), Fred Holy (Performa 6400), Eric Crump (Performa 6400), Jukka Aho (A1200), Dan Giannelli (A500, Clone PC), Richard D. McConnell (A3000), Fred Schafer (A1000/3000), Sharon Lee Taylor (A3000).

We welcome any kind of input or feedback any member would like to engage in. You have an article or review you'd like to submit? Send it in. You have a comment? Email is a click away. Involvement is the driving force of any user group. Welcome to the best.

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Curbing the Clones - IBM, Motorola split with Apple

Published: Sept. 11, 1997
By Tom Quinlan and Jodi Mardesich
Mercury News Staff Writers

Apple Computer Inc.'s relationship with its two key partners of the past six years -- IBM and Motorola Inc. -- is in disarray, the result of its decision to drastically restrict cloning.

IBM has given up its rights to the Macintosh operating system, sources close to IBM said. Motorola is expected to announce plans to do the same today, meaning it no longer will make its own line of Macintosh clones. The moves are part of wide-ranging plans by the two companies to restructure their long-standing partnership with Apple.

As negotiations continue, they are being complicated by the fact that most of the decision-making power at Apple these days is in the hands of "minister without portfolio" Steve Jobs, who is known for abrupt decisions that often reverse established policies.

But while the elimination of clones is something Jobs wanted, it is not clear the same is true of the fallout. Particularly dicey, according to sources, are tense negotiations under way with Motorola about its future as the key supplier to Apple of the PowerPC microprocessor, the chip currently at the heart of the Macintosh.

Motorola and IBM have been Apple's partners since the trio entered a path-breaking covenant in summer 1991, the AIM Alliance, to jointly develop processors and operating systems as a means to combat Microsoft Corp.'s and Intel Corp.'s growing influence. But the alliance failed in its mission and now appears to be crumbling.

Today, for example, Motorola likely will announce that it intends to stop making its own version of Mac clones -- known as the StarMax line -- and that it will no longer supply other manufacturers with hardware designs and the Mac operating system, sources close to the company said.

Sources close to both IBM and Motorola claim that Apple's latest decisions to dramatically restrict the clone market have violated basic terms of the AIM Alliance. As a result of the Mac's shrinking market share -- and uncertainty about Apple's future -- both companies want to redefine their contractual obligations regarding design and manufacture of the PowerPC microprocessor.

Sources familiar with the AIM contracts said Apple backtracked on two key elements agreed to in 1991 -- that it would furnish technology to make available a Mac clone based on industry-standard parts and that it would grant cloners rights to make those systems, which later became known as the Common Hardware Reference Platform design.

Both IBM and Motorola say they will continue to furnish Apple with PowerPC processors for as long as necessary, but manufacturing of the processors is likely to be done solely by IBM in the future, with Motorola still helping in their design. The two companies will also give up attempts to maintain parity with Intel Corp.'s increasingly powerful processor line, sources said.

"The market has changed dramatically since the first agreements were signed," said one source close to IBM. "At the time there was the expectation that there would be a thriving clone business that would grow the market for PowerPC microprocessors. There really doesn't seem to be a need for two manufacturers of the PowerPC processor now."

But the renegotiations are taking place in an increasingly acrimonious atmosphere, sources said.

Apple, at Jobs' urging, is demanding discounts of as much as 50 percent on the newest PowerPC processors being developed by IBM and Motorola, sources close the chip makers said, and is threatening not to accept shipments of those processors unless the prices are dropped dramatically. Apple is also considering future computers built around different processors, possibly from Intel.

Apple's hardball tactics have led to similar posturing from Motorola, which is using its ability to withhold processors from Apple as leverage, sources close to Motorola said.

[Source: http://www.sjmercury.com/business/apple/motorola091197.htm ]

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Amiga Inc. To Host Official Developers Conference at MAE

From: Kevin Hisel (khisel @ cucug.org)

September 6, 1997 - We are very pleased to announce that South Dakota-based Amiga Inc., will be hosting its first-ever official Developers Conference at the The 1997 Midwest Amiga Exposition (MAE) which will be held in Columbus, Ohio on November 1 and 2. The show is produced by the Amiga Central Ohio Network (AMICON) user group and will be attended by many Amiga software and hardware companies, Amiga industry luminaries and promises to be a very positive shot in the arm for the entire Amiga community.

Darreck Lisle, Amiga Inc.'s Public Relations and Events Coordinator told CUCUG, "The Developers Conference at the MAE show is actually just the first of a series of international conferences Amiga Inc. will be sponsoring. We recognize the importance of effective communication and cooperation between software and hardware makers and the new Amiga development team here at Amiga Inc. and we are putting together an ambitious program to facilitate an effective exchange of ideas and information."

Additional conferences are now planned for Cologne Germany, Milan Italy, St. Louis Missouri, and London, according to Lisle.

Amiga Developers Network Planned

CU Amiga Magazine announced today that it was contacted by Amiga Inc. and asked to assist in building a database of Amiga developers. Serious Amiga developers are being encouraged to register at the CU Amiga web site for possible, later contact by Amiga Inc. A Registered Developers Network will at some point be put together by Amiga Inc., according to Lisle who also went on to say, "The Industry Council Open Amiga (ICOA) will play a big part in the future of the Developers Conferences, and the Developers Network."

Epson Supports the Amiga

In another bit of promising Amiga news, Lisle told CUCUG, "The people at Epson have agreed to work with us and to supply us with everything needed to develop software and drivers to support their full line of printers and scanners." This unexpected announcement will come as a relief to the many Amiga users who have been frustrated by the lack of Amiga driver support for popular peripherals in the past.

[Source: Amiga News Index (http://www.cucug.org/aminew.html) of the Amiga Web Directory (http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html). ]

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AI's First meeting in USA with representatives of the Amiga community

from Petro Tyschtschenko, Managing Director AMIGA International, Inc.

August 11th, 1997, Dakota Dunes, USA - First official meeting in Dakota Dunes/USA under direction of Jeff Schindler, General Manager AMIGA, Inc. (Technology and Licensing Company) and Petro Tyschtschenko, Managing Director AMIGA International, Inc. (International Sales & Marketing) with competent representatives of the AMIGA community.

We came together with:

to better understand the AMIGA community and its concerns.

In three days we discussed history and possible strategies for the future of our AMIGA.

* Industry Council Open AMIGA Initiative
** Jay Miner Society

[Source: http://www.amiga.de/diary/dakota-e.html. Mail to M.Grohmann (webmaster@amiga.de). ]

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Amiga Web Directory Updates Resume

August 17, 1997 - Many of you have written in the last few days expressing concern over the fact that an entire week has gone by without any new updates to either the Amiga News or New Links pages of the Amiga Web Directory. We thank you for expressing your concerns that something might have been amiss, but please rest assured that we were simply on summer holiday (we call them "vacations" in the USA).

We will resume all normal services within a few days.

Thanks again for all the email and in general, all of your support for the Amiga Web Directory and CUCUG.

Kevin Hisel, CUCUG Webmaster

[Source: Amiga News Index (http://www.cucug.org/aminew.html) of the Amiga Web Directory (http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html). ]

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Apple to Acquire Power Computing for $100M

CUPERTINO, Calif.--Sept. 2, 1997--Apple Computer, Inc. announced today that it will acquire Power Computing Corporation's core assets in a deal valued at $100 million in Apple common stock. Included in the key assets Apple will acquire are the right to retain key employees with expertise in direct marketing, distribution, and engineering; Power Computing's customer database; and the license to distribute the Mac OS operating system.

"Power Computing has pioneered direct marketing and sales in the Macintosh market, successfully building a $400M business, " said Steve Jobs, Apple Board member. "We look forward to learning from their experience, and welcoming their customers back into the Apple family."

"Power Computing is grateful for the tremendous support and encouragement we have received from the entire Macintosh community," said Stephen Kahng, Power Computing founder and CEO. " We believe that in our small way, we have helped to make the Macintosh stronger, and that the spirit of Power will live on."

Power Computing will retain the Power Computing name and has stated it will sell Mac OS compatible computers through Dec. 31, 1997. Apple will provide ongoing Mac OS support to Power Computing customers and Power Computing will continue to provide hardware and warranty service to its customers.

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Apple to write off Power buyout

By Reuters, September 2, 1997, 3:15 p.m. PT

Apple Computer (AAPL) said today that it expects to write off a significant portion of the $100 million acquisition of Power Computing in its fourth quarter.

In a conference call with reporters, Apple chief financial officer Fred Anderson said the company did not yet know how much of the purchase would be written off.

Earlier, Apple announced it was buying the core assets of Macintosh clone maker Power Computing for $100 million in stock, reversing its strategy on Macintosh clone makers.

Apple officials said the stock would be nonvoting shares.

Earlier this month, Apple said it expects to report another loss for the fiscal fourth quarter ending in September and said sales for the period will be lower than a year ago.

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Power cutting Mac prices

By Michael Kanellos, NEWS.COM
September 3, 1997, 5:10 p.m. PT

Now that it's getting out of the Macintosh business and jumping into the Intel-compatible PC market, Power Computing has cut prices on its main Macintosh computer lines.

Under the terms of a deal struck earlier this week with Apple Computer (AAPL), Power has agreed to stop selling computers that run the Macintosh operating system by December 31, 1997. As a result, Power has discounted its current computers to clear them out before year end.

Ironically, Apple executives have said that low clone prices have undercut Apple's own marketing efforts and constitute one of the reasons Apple bought back the licensing rights from Power. Price cuts on systems from the other clone vendors are expected as well, as Apple has said that it will not extend its licensing agreements with those companies.

The PowerBase 240 line of computers have been reduced by $300. The basic desktop configuration PowerBase 240, which uses a 603e PowerPC processor, now sells for $1,299, while the mini-tower configuration starts at $1,399. Basic configurations of both computers include 16MB of RAM, a 2GB EIDE hard drive, 3 PCI slots, a software bundle, and a keyboard and mouse.

In addition, Power has discounted the PowerCenter Pro 240 systems by $100. The PowerCenter Pro comes with a 604e PowerPC processor running at 240 MHz, a 16X CD-ROM, a 2GB hard drive and 32MB of RAM in its base configuration. After the price cuts, the PowerCenter Pro desktop sells for $2,495 while the minitower sells for $2,595.

Power will continue to provide warranty support after its Macintosh license expires, the company said, while Apple will provide OS support.

Although the Power discounts will put price pressure on Apple, the overall effect will be temporary, said Chris LeTocq, an analyst at Dataquest. "There will be general inventory closing-out sales, but you're looking at a subsection of the market," he said. "Apple has some hot hardware," he added.

Discounts are likely from other clone vendors such as Umax Computer and Motorola, LeTocq added, but should have less effect. Both companies had smaller market shares than Power. Apple has yet to agree to give these companies ongoing OS support too.

Apple on Tuesday announced that it would buy various assets of Power Computing for $100 million. Under the deal, Apple obtained Power's Macintosh license and the right to recruit certain Power employees, among other considerations. In return, Power surrendered its rights to make Macintosh clones beginning January 1, 1998. Power in the future will only make computers based on Intel technology.

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Umax gains Mac OS8 License

By Jim Davis, NEWS.COM
September 8, 1997, 11:50 a.m. PT

Umax Computer Company officials today confirmed for the first time that they have reached an agreement with Apple Computer to sell computers with the newest version of the Macintosh operating system, called Mac OS 8.

Meanwhile, Apple will allow Power Computing to ship computers with OS 8 through the end of the year, after which time Power Computing will exit the Mac market.

This afternoon, Umax formally announced that it is authorized to sell Mac-compatible computers with OS 8 in all international and U.S. market segments through July of 1998. The company will pay increased fees to license the OS, but officials declined to provide further details.

Apple will also include Umax's U.S. customers in its Mac OS Up-to-Date program. The program allows people who have purchased computers to upgrade to the newest version of the Mac OS if Apple releases a new OS within 30 days of the purchase. Apple sends customers the newer version for $10, instead of the usual $99 retail price. Power Computing customers will be allowed to participate in the program.

Apple had suspended the program due to the lack of a licensing agreement with the Mac clone vendors.

"We needed to resolve [these issues] for our customer base, so we came to terms to get this past us," says Phil Pompa, vice president of marketing for Umax. The agreement was reached in principle last week, as NEWS.COM reported last Friday, while details of the agreement were hammered out over the weekend, Pompa said.

The new short-term agreement does not include Rhapsody, which is the next-generation operating system that Apple is hoping to introduce by mid-1998. "Rhapsody [negotiations are] still completely open. We will be talking to [Apple] about that," Pompa said.

The agreement also does not grant Umax the ability to ship systems based on the new CHRP (Common Hardware Reference Platform) architecture, which would enable clone vendors to ship systems even more competitive with Apple's offerings. Motorola, the only vendor that has announced a CHRP system, is still unable to release its StarMax 6000 computer because Apple will not certify the system. Motorola also has not reached an agreement with Apple on the licensing issue.

The agreement further highlights Apple's shift in licensing strategy from one where licensing was being openly encouraged to one where the clone companies are being directed to avoid competing head-to-head with Apple.

Apple purchased the "key assets" of Power Computing, the largest Mac clone maker, in a stock deal worth $100 million last week, forcibly preventing Power Computing from selling any Macintosh-compatible systems after December 31, 1997. Apple Computer says the deal was made because Power Computing didn't expand the market for the Mac OS as was originally hoped the licensees would do.

Executives at Apple have explained the shift by saying that the company has been losing money and market share as a result of the licensing program, which wasn't in full swing until 1996. Because Mac clone vendors weren't expanding the market for Mac systems, Apple said last week it would not extend its current licensing agreements to cover Macintosh operating system 8.0, the new version of the OS, or any other technology unless the terms could be reworked to the financial advantage of Apple.

"We were subsidizing [each clone computer] with several hundred dollars," said Guerrino De Luca, the executive vice president at Apple who is involved in the licensing project.

Fred Anderson, Apple's acting CEO, said that the company would consider extending a licensing agreement if a clone maker planned on moving into new geographic markets, especially in East Asia. Umax, for its part, has said it wants to focus on international markets.

Umax does have a strong presence in the Asian markets and is expected to continue to expand its Macintosh sales efforts abroad. But in the U.S. market, it is not yet apparent how the Umax deal will expand the Mac market since the company is not restricted from selling systems to customers in Apple's core markets of education and desktop publishing.

Bruce Berkoff, director of product marketing for Umax, said of the licensing deal, "This is, in some ways, our reward for being a good citizen." Berkoff says Umax has been expanding the Mac platform by selling systems through smaller VARs (value-added resellers) and retailers where Apple doesn't have a strong presence, even though the machines may serve the same kinds of users. The company has also worked to sell less expensive systems and offers models below the $1,000 price point, where Apple has no offerings.

Apple officials could not be reached for comment.

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IBM likely to quit Mac OS Licensing

By Jim Davis, NEWS.COM
September 11, 1997, 12:35 p.m. PT

IBM (IBM) is likely to cease its efforts in sublicensing the Macintosh operating system to other hardware manufacturers, continuing the fallout from Apple Computer's (AAPL) decision to reverse its licensing practice.

Since Apple's buyout of key Power Computing assets and its stated intention to curb the cloning market, IBM believes that there is no longer any reason to continue licensing the Mac OS, sources say. The company will, however, continue to develop PowerPC processors for the platform.

"Our original purpose was to help grow the Mac market. We would do that by supplying processors and OS licenses...With no growth opportunity, why sublicense?" one source asked rhetorically.

With little possibility that Apple will certify any new hardware designs or provide access to the newest version of its operating system, called Mac OS 8, IBM can no longer supply its partners with the components necessary to keep clones competitive with the latest offerings from Apple.

Companies that have already sublicensed the Mac OS from IBM, including Datatech Enterprises and Taiwan-based Tatung, would still be able to sell Mac systems based on current hardware designs and the Mac OS 7.5, an older version of the operating system, sources said.

A spokesperson for IBM declined to comment on the licensing issue. The company did deny reports, however, that it would stop development of the PowerPC chips.

"We fully continue to make and develop processors for Apple. There is a generation of processors being developed beyond what we've already announced," said Pam Olsen, a spokesperson for the company, referring to the recently introduced 350-MHz version of the PowerPC 604e. Olsen also noted that a new 64-bit version of the PowerPC for use in RS/6000 line of computers will be discussed at the upcoming MicroProcessor Forum, a technical conference on semiconductors.

IBM first became a Mac OS licensee in May of 1996. At the time, IBM's presence offered a huge boost in credibility to the Mac platform, but the company never produced its own Mac clones, and recently the company came under criticism from Apple for not moving more aggressively with its own licensing program back in the days when Apple was hoping that clone vendors could grow the market beyond "cannibalization" of Apple's market share.

In a recent press conference, Apple CFO Fred Anderson said IBM "really hasn't gotten their [licensing] program off the launching pad in a significant way yet."

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Motorola Gives up Macs

By Jim Davis, NEWS.COM
September 11, 1997, 4:30 p.m. PT

Motorola Computer Group will cease development of its StarMax line of Macintosh-compatible computers, the company announced today, confirming a report yesterday by CNET's NEWS.COM.

Motorola will take a charge of approximately $95 million as a result of its decision to stop producing Mac clones, which it attributed to its failure to reach a licensing agreement with Apple Computer for the latest Macintosh operating system, Mac OS 8.

Motorola will continue to ship its current systems and supply its sub-licensees of the Mac OS with hardware designs and also an older version of the Mac OS as long as supply is available. The company said customers of the company's StarMax line of computers will have one full year of current telephone support and committed to full support of warranties.

"In summary, this was a tough decision for all of us, but given Apple's position on licensing, we really had no choice," said Motorola Computer Group general manager Joe Guglielmi in a conference call with the press.

Motorola has been unable to license Mac OS 8 or ship powerful new StarMax 6000 systems because Apple has begun a relentless drive to shut down the Macintosh clone market. Motorola's plight is only the most recent example.

With the ascendance of Steve Jobs, Apple has begun a relentless drive to shut down the Macintosh clone market. Motorola's plight is only the most recent example. Earlier this month, Apple purchased Power Computing's "key assets" in a stock deal worth $100 million. Apple essentially bought back the license to the Mac OS and a list of some 200,000 customers who bought Power Computing's Mac systems. The company that was once the largest Mac clone vendor will no longer sell Mac systems after December 31, 1997.

Apple's management has come to believe that it was giving up more money in lost sales than it could ever make from licensing fees. To restore Apple's financial health, management has so far restricted licensing to just one company--Umax Computer Company.

After the purchase of Power Computing, Apple CFO Fred Anderson said, "If we could have a licensing agreement that...grew the base of customers and if it enhanced the shareholder value of Apple, then we would have a positive attitude towards licensees. But through our negotiations with the licensees, we haven't been able to develop an agreement on any program that would meet Apple's objectives."

The clone vendors have been in negotiations with Apple during much of this year over Mac OS 8. Clone vendors were paying Apple for each copy of the Mac OS sold with their systems as well as for use of Apple hardware designs.

Today, Motorola's Guglielmi stated publicly that they had reached an agreement which would have given Apple "substantially higher" fees in return for "a much more open and less-controlled market on the Mac OS platform," in reference to the ability to ship CHRP systems.

CHRP, or Common Hardware Reference Platform, was a long-awaited line based on a new architecture that was to use more industry standard parts and allow clone vendors to come up with their own system designs. Apple has decided not to let anyone ship CHRP-based systems, including Umax.

Of Motorola's momentous decision, Guglielmi said that being in the Mac market without rights to OS licensing from Apple did not make for a financially viable business.

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North American Amiga Computing Subscribers Offered Amazing Computing/Amiga Magazine

August 23, 1997, PiM Publications Inc. announced today they have made an agreement with IDG Media of the UK to offer Amiga Computing subscribers Amazing Computing/Amiga Magazine to fulfill their subscriptions. Don Hicks, Managing Editor for Amazing Computing stated, "We felt the history of IDG's involvement with the Amiga as well as our own long-time commitment to the Amiga market made this an honor as well as our duty to step in and provide all North American Amiga users a continued professional source to Amiga information."

Ian Bloomfield, Amiga Computing Publisher, stated, "After 117 issues, Amiga Computing has sadly closed. However, we are proud to know that Amazing Computing/Amiga will continue to speak to all Amiga users with the same journalistic responsibility that has made Amiga Computing famous. We wish Gateway 2000 and Amiga International Inc. all the best."

Don Hicks also stated, "Amiga Computer subscribers will be offered an assortment of other publications from IDG in a letter being sent with their October (last) Amiga Computing issue. However, none of the other publications being offered are Amiga-based. We wanted to offer these Amiga users an opportunity to stay within the Amiga marketplace."

Amazing Computing/Amiga to maintain advertising rates for current advertisers.

A representative of PiM stated, "Although we are increasing our current subscription base, we will not increase advertising rates to current Amazing advertisers at this time. When AmigaWorld closed, PiM cut Amazing Computing's full page ad rates in half in order to stabilize the marketplace and maintain an outlet for Amiga users, dealers, and developers. We believe the current situation is similar and we want to do all we can to keep Amiga developers actively producing for the Amiga market."

Mail orders to:
Amazing Computing
C/O PiM Publications Inc.
P.O. Box 9490
Fall River, MA 02720

Amazing Computing's web site is at www.pimpub.com for the latest Amiga news and special offers.

[Source: Amiga News Index (http://www.cucug.org/aminew.html) of the Amiga Web Directory (http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html). ]

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Directory Opus Magellan Upgrades Available

September 8, 1997 - GPSoftware is pleased to demonstrate its continuing support for the Amiga with the release of new upgrade patch files for Opus Magellan. For registered Opus users, these patch files are available free from our from our web site to upgrade the original Opus Magellan 5.6 versions to versions 5.62 and 5.65. For more detail please see

http://www.gpsoft.com.au

Regards,

Dr Greg Perry
GPSoftware, PO Box 570, Ashgrove, Qld Australia 4060
Ph/fax: +61 7 33661402
Internet Email: greg@gpsoft.com.au
WWW: http://www.gpsoft.com.au

[Source: Amiga News Index (http://www.cucug.org/aminew.html) of the Amiga Web Directory (http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html). ]

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Aminet 20 CD-ROM Available

Aminet CD 20, dated August 1997, contains more than 1 gigabyte (uncompressed) of software in thousands of archives. Since the release of Aminet CD 19 more than 500 MB new software has appeared. The current edition includes a special registered version of Wildfire, the amazing animation editor.

The most convenient method of placing an order is to use our electronic order form located at http://www.schatztruhe.de/order.html. You can also send an E-Mail to stefano@schatztruhe.de including your address and the products you wish to order. Please do not forget to include your credit cards details.

Suggested Retail Price  DM  25.00       Subscription price      DM  19.80
                        US$ 13.66                               US$ 10.82
                        GBP  8.68                               GBP  6.88

Please note: US$ and GBP were computed employing today's exchange rates. The above quoted prices do not include shipping.

Stefan Ossowski's Schatztruhe GmbH
Veronikastr. 33
45131 Essen
Germany

Phone ++49-201-788778
Fax ++49-201-798447
Email: stefano@schatztruhe.de
WWW: www.schatztruhe.de

[Source: Amiga News Index (http://www.cucug.org/aminew.html) of the Amiga Web Directory (http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html). ]

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Common Ground:

Consortium to pursue superchip

By Michael Kanellos, NEWS.COM
September 11, 1997, 4:30 p.m. PT

The Department of Energy, Intel, AMD, Motorola and the premier U.S.-owned research labs have formed a company that will seek to devise a new semiconductor manufacturing process resulting in smaller, faster processors by 2002.

The consortium is also tasked to keep the U.S. at the forefront of the semiconductor field worldwide, said Secretary of Energy Federico Pena, adding that its endeavor should boost revenue for domestic supercomputer makers, equipment manufacturers, and the national labs themselves.

In a paper last year, Intel senior vice president and Microprocessor Group general manager Albert Yu predicted that by the year 2011, chips could run at clock speeds of 10 GHz, contain 1 billion transistors, and process 100 billion instructions per second. By contrast, most of today's chips run at 200 MHz, contain 5 million transistors, and process 200 million instructions per second.

The Extreme Ultraviolet Limited Liability Company--the name of the company formed by the government and the semiconductor makers--will be dedicated to creating a manufacturing process around "extreme ultraviolet" waves, or EUV.

EUV has a shorter wavelength than ultraviolet light, which semiconductor manufacturers now use to "mask" or map out chip designs, said Gordon Moore, chairman emeritus of Intel.

The current process yields chips with lines .25 microns across and can probably be used to make two more generations of chips with lines as thin as .18 and .13 microns. Refining the process beyond that will prove difficult because "you can't make images much thinner than the wavelength of the light making the images," Moore said. The industry will hit this barrier in mass production in six months to 2 1/2 years.

EUV represents the current best alternative, Moore said. Problems have been experienced with x-rays. Electron beams are thin enough, but require manufacturers to etch one line at a time, a consuming endeavor.

"It's an extension of what's already been done," said Nathan Brookwood, a semiconductor analyst at Dataquest. "X-ray lithography, which IBM has tried, is completely different."

EUV was developed through research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories/California, which are participating in the company.

"If this is successful, the product will be much better supercomputers," said Bruce Tarter, a scientific representative from Lawrence Livermore. The process can also be translated to regular PCs, Tarter added.

Potentially, that also means further income for Intel, mused Chris Villard, an analyst at International Data Corporation. Proprietary chips are becoming harder to justify for supercomputers. If the consortium improves standard chip design, there is no reason to think these processors can't be used for supercomputer-class machines, mused observers. Neither Intel nor AMD have any appreciable share of the supercomputer chip market. Under the terms of the agreement, the three semiconductor manufacturers will put up $250 million for further research and costs over the next three years. Intellectual property relating to EUV that comes out of further research becomes property of the consortium. Intellectual property that is tangential to EUV reverts to the labs.

The agreement, called a cooperative research and development agreement, or creda, is the largest the Department has ever created, said Pena.

Although the arrangement means that three major semiconductors are getting exclusive access to government-sponsored research, Pena claimed that the agreement benefits the lab. Funding for EUV projects for the most part had been phased out close to 18 months ago.

The parties further stated that safeguards have been set up in the creda to ensure that U.S. companies, or at least U.S. residents, benefit. The new technique is expected to result in a boon market for semiconductor equipment makers. To participate, an equipment maker must be of U.S. origin or at least open an office in the U.S. within two years after signing a contract to make EUV manufacturing tools.

"The government has an important role to play in facilitating the advance of technology, especially because the payoff at the end is so great," said Jeff Weir, a spokesman for the Semiconductor Industry Association. "Foreign countries know this, that's why in Korea and Japan you have direct relationships between government and industry, particularly the chip industries."

[ Paul Festa contributed to this article. Intel is an investor in CNET the Computer Network. ]

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The Humor Section:

Top Ten Reasons Why Apple Bought Power Computing

Apple's unofficial leader, Steve Jobs, has long been anopponent of licensing the Macintosh OS. This week, he had the opportunity to act on his convictions -- and he did just that by purchasing key components of Power Computing, a Mac clone manufacturer. Why did he do this? We have the top ten reasons...

10. Traditional Apple strategy: invest in losing technology
9. Needed a more loyal customer base
8. More fun to invest in other companies than in new product research
7. Steve Jobs's evil identical twin made the call ("Kill all clones!")
6. Oops: meant to buy out sheep cloning facility, but paperwork got misrouted
5. Only way Apple will be able to get its hands on inexpensive computers
4. Proprietary platforms! It worked for Novell, it'll work for us. Oh, wait a second...
3. Need manufacturing facility for new line of NeXT computers
2. Power Computing has better technical support
1. That Microsoft money had to go somewhere

For a full report on Apple's acquisition of Power's Mac technology, see the NEWS.COM special report:

http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2c4%2c13867%2c00.html?dd

ToC

Definition of Windows95

Windows95 (noun): 32 bit extensions and a graphical shell for a 16 bit patch to an 8 bit operating system originally coded for a 4 bit microprocessor, written by a 2 bit company, that can't stand 1 bit of competition.

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The C64/128 Section:

A Break-In At CMD

via July 97 Double Click, Omaha, NB

In June, a burglary occurred at Creative Micro Designs. Sometime during the night, thieves broke through a glass window near the front door of the CMD headquarters and then were able to open the door to gain entry. Not knowing whether or not a security system was in place, it was believed that the bandits were in and out in less than 10 minutes. (They knew what they were after.)

The target... Macintosh systems. CMD uses several to produce their magazine "Commodore World" and to run their business. None of the Commodore equipment or plans on the new equipment were touched, just the Macs. Every Mac that could be found was taken, as was a laser printer and a video camera. They left all the inventory that CMD sells.

All of the equipment can be replaced, but at a cost. The worst part about losing the Macs was that many of the business related files were stored on the hard drives. They have backups and will be able to recover much of the lost data. All of their recent business is also kept on paper and can be recovered, but what a hassle to set up systems and enter all the recent business back into the machines.

Issue #20 of Commodore World had to be started over from scratch. It was all on the hard drives of the taken computers. (You know the first thing the thieves did was reformat all of the hard drives.) Editor Doug Cotton has already begun the task of recreating Issue #20.

The most serious loss is the graphic files that are used to make the logos for the RAMLink and JiffyDOS. Backups of these graphics have not been found yet. If copies can not be found, they will have to be recreated and probably not exactly the same.

New equipment has been obtained and by the time this goes to press Issue #20 should be ready to go to press also.

Lately, CMD has been conducting a Macintosh service for local customers. They had been advertising Macintosh services in the local newspaper. They can perform repairs or help to set up a system in a home or business. They can also help with software and hardware acquisition if needed. This has been an extra little sideline for CMD, but on a local level.

It was believed that the thieves had come into the building a few days prior to the burglary, inquiring about some Macintosh repairs. This would have given them the opportunity to take a quick look at what was available. Those particular people didn't come back. At least not during normal business hours.

(This article was rewritten from an article out of News & Views to fit the space available.)

[Source: Treasure Valley / Boise User Group's "Bug Bytes" Sept., 1997. TV/BUG's address is P.O. Box 6853, Boise, ID 83707.]

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CMD News

SuperCPU 128 Update - September 4, 1997

Alpha testing of the SuperCPU 128 is nearing completion. Currently, some work is being done on finalizing corrections to the zero page and stack relocation functions. Some work on optimization modes and final testing at 20MHz remains before work begins on the final circuit board layout. We expect to complete the Alpha testing stage in the next two weeks. The circuit board layout is expected to take one to two weeks beyond that. Once that stage is complete, we should be able to post an approximate shipping date for the product.

SuperRAM Card Shipping - September 3, 1997

CMD recently began shipping the SuperRAM card for the SuperCPU 64/128. Shipments include an updated copy of the SuperCPU Utilities disk that includes the new GEOS CONFIGURE program (64CONFIG 2.1s) for the SuperRAM, and SRBOOT, a SuperRAM version of RBOOT. The new CONFIGURE program supports using up to 2MB of SuperRAM memory for creating RAM disks (it is possible to have two 1581 RAM disks, though other types are also supported). The program also supports CMD HD Series Hard Drives and FD Series Floppy disk drives. RAMLink is not supported since it isn't possible to have two different types of RAM disk (each requires different patches to the GEOS Kernal). The new CONFIGURE file is also the first known use of 65816 native code within a Commodore 64 commercial program.

[Source: From the Southwest Regional Association of Programmers / 64-128 newsletter "Comm-Adore", September, 1997. SWRAP's address is P.O. Box 528232, Chicago, Illinois 60652-8232.]

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The Macintosh Section:

A Perspective from the Mac-in-touch site

by Ric Ford, Mac-in-touch

September 10 - Steve Jobs called this morning and we spent 20 minutes talking about Apple's plans, the future of the Macintosh and the Mac community. (He also is composing an e-mail, which should follow a little later.) I'm enormously relieved about Apple's direction, based on what Steve told me, and I'm excited about moving forward into a healthy future for the Mac platform. I summarize non-confidential parts of our discussion below. (He also described a confidential plan that I expect will bring large benefits to the Mac platform next year.) - Ric Ford.

1. The Mac OS is the epicenter of Apple's strategy, and the Mac OS runs only on PowerPC, not on Intel. (Rhapsody is not replacing the Mac OS.) Apple will be selling PowerPC-based Macs running Mac OS in 1998, 1999, 2000 and beyond.

2. Steve said Mac developers care about one thing - how many Mac OS boxes ship in a year - and Apple will sell plenty of them.

3. Steve admitted that cloners did help slow migration of Mac users away from the platform, but he insisted that Apple had to take the licensing actions it took in order to ensure profitability. He would not discuss the licensing fee at which "subsidies" switch to profits, but he noted the very high costs of Macintosh marketing. He said that 90% of IBM PC clone marketing is paid by Intel but that Motorola and IBM would not do the same for the Mac platform. We talked briefly about other business models, and Steve said he looked at a lot of options when he got involved again with Apple, but that there was no simple solution and that they were doing what they had to do to keep the company from "going broke."

4. Apple has some "great" new computers coming this year, along with "much, much better marketing." There are also large changes underway in manufacturing and distribution, moving towards a build-to-order model and reducing the current 8-12 week channel inventory, which is problematic.

5. Steve asked for "90 days" in which to complete and announce all the big changes in progress and on which he is working as hard as he possibly can.

6. Lastly, he also noted that Apple is not killing off MessagePads, despite rumors.

September 12 - With Motorola leaving the Mac-compatible computer market, I'm getting lots of e-mail about the Mac's future and my conversation with Steve Jobs. Here's my current take on the situation. (After tomorrow morning's update, I plan to take a short break, returning to update the page again Sunday evening or Monday morning.) - Ric.

1. Steve answered one critical question, insisting that his strategy for the next several years is completely centered on PowerPC and the Mac OS. I think this is good.

2. A second critical question is growth of the Mac market. Steve's unannounced plan for early next year should expand the Mac market. I think this is good.

3. The third critical question: Can Apple survive and expand the Mac market as the sole supplier of Mac computers? Steve Jobs' actions and words argue this view, and he (with the board of directors) has unique access to Apple internal financial data. My personal view, shared by many people, is the opposite. We think that blocking licensing will hurt the Mac and Apple.

4. A new question concerns Apple's partnership with PowerPC chip makers. Will Motorola and IBM provide advanced PowerPC designs to compete with Intel processors in future computers? Right now, the PowerPC is a great, competitive processor, but the IBM/Motorola move towards embedded systems could leave Apple with less competitive CPUs as time goes on.

5. It's impossible to predict from all this what will happen to Apple in 1998 and beyond. I'm more optimistic now than I was before Steve claimed his strategy is centered on Mac OS and PowerPC, but I am discouraged by the end of Mac cloning and CHRP.

[Source: http://www.macintouch.com/ ]

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Quicken Tips - Secrets you can bank on

by Gregg Keizer (4/17/97)

Quicken is the most popular personal finance program on the planet, and for good reason. It smoothly blends ease of use with top-to-bottom power. Although many people use it as an electronic checkbook and not much more, the package includes advanced tools for budgeting, paying off loans, figuring debts, investing, and tax reporting and planning. And in these everything-online times, Quicken can connect you to banks and other financial institutions to help you electronically pay bills, manage accounts, and retrieve financial data.

But although the basics of the program are easy to grasp, moving beyond check writing isn't always simple. Mastering all of Quicken's capabilities can take some work. To make the job easier (and save you time and legal tender), CNET has assembled 47 tips designed to make the leading personal finance package smarter, faster, and more convenient.

Because Intuit updates the product annually -- and because the most recent version, Quicken 6 for Windows, is such an improvement over its predecessors -- all of our tips are set up for Quicken 6. Those that work only with that version have the Q6 icon ([Quicken 6]) to their left. Tips not marked with the icon should work on older versions of Quicken as well, although the menu choices may be slightly different. We haven't outlined specific tips for the Macintosh version of Quicken, but many of the tips will work (sometimes with minor changes) on Macs and Mac clones.

So grab your checkbook, load Quicken, and get ready to boost your money IQ.

Customize Quicken

Tip 1 - make cosmetic changes (Q6)

Quicken 6's interface is quite mutable: just right-click the mouse anywhere except in an account window or on the toolbar. From the pop-up menu that appears, you can turn QuickTabs, the Activity Bar, or the toolbar on or off; select a color scheme; or position the QuickTabs on either the right or left side of the screen.

Tip 2 - color-code your accounts

Each type of account you keep track of in Quicken can be tinted with a different color for faster identification. These colors appear in the account bar at the bottom of the register and as background shading in the register itself. To change the default colors, select Edit/Options/Register from the main menu, choose the Display tab, and click the Colors button in the Register Appearance area. The dialog box that appears lets you choose from a palette of colors for each type of account.

Tip 3 - drag and drop account tabs (Q6)

The account tabs that run along the bottom of the register in Quicken 6 for Windows take you from one account to another with a single click, but they aren't necessarily in a logical order. You can easily reorganize the tabs by clicking one, holding down the mouse button, and dragging the tab to its new location.

Tip 4 - put memorized reports on the toolbar (Q6)

Quicken 6 for Windows lets you place icons on the toolbar to represent the memorized reports you've custom-built. Just select Edit/Options/Iconbar from the main menu; then click the New button in the Customize Iconbar dialog box. Select "Use a memorized report" from the Icon Action list, and click the Change button at the bottom right. In the dialog box that pops up, choose an icon, and type a short (up to seven characters) label. After you've clicked OK in the two dialog boxes, you can choose which report you want to link to the icon. The new icon -- with the label you just gave it -- now appears on the toolbar.

Tip 5 - print a logo on your checks

Quicken has the ability to print a small logo on your checks, but it needs just the right-sized graphic so the logo won't look dorky. Because Quicken prints a .5-inch by .5-inch logo, you'll have to set the image's resolution to half that of your printer. So, for instance, if you're printing at 600 dots per inch, the image should be 300 by 300 pixels in size. Once you have a logo, select File/Printer Setup/For Printing Checks from the main menu; then click the Logo button. Click the File button, and choose a BMP-format graphics file; then click OK. The next time you print a check, the logo will be included.

Tip 6 - hide inactive accounts

After you've used Quicken for several years, it's easy to have accumulated long-dormant accounts, such as credit cards you've cut up or loans you've paid off. Don't delete them from the program: you'll lose the transaction information you entered, skewing comparison reports and long-term analyses. Instead, press Ctrl-A to call up the Account List window, select an account, and click Hide on the button bar. (The Hide button is a toggle, so if you accidentally hide the wrong account, just reselect it, and click Hide again.) Later, if you need to see a hidden account, check the View Hidden Accounts box at the bottom left of the Account List window. (If that window isn't showing, click the Accounts tab on the right side of the screen to bring it up.)

Tip 7 - shut up Quicken (Q6)

Tired of the sounds that Quicken 6 makes when you launch it or click the Activity Bar? The easiest way to mute the program is by selecting Edit/Options/Register from the main menu. Click the Miscellaneous tab, and uncheck the Beep When Recording and Memorizing box.

To hear different sounds, click Windows 95's Start button, and select Settings/Control Panel. In the Control Panel, double-click the Sounds icon. Scroll down the list; near the bottom you'll see Quicken. To give the program new voices, select each action under the Quicken entry, click the Browse button, and select a new audio file.

Tip 8 - stay secure

It doesn't take long before your Quicken data becomes invaluable to you -- and valuable to thieves. The program provides two kinds of password protection: one prevents anyone but you from accessing the data inside a Quicken file, while the other prohibits unauthorized changes to existing transactions or the addition of new ones. To help protect yourself, particularly if you keep a copy of the program on a laptop computer, lock up Quicken with these passwords.

To add password protection, select File/Passwords from the main menu; then choose either File or Transaction. Enter your password in the dialog box that appears -- it can be as long as 16 characters and isn't case-sensitive.

Recent news may convince you that even these passwords are insufficient; however, hackers have shown how rogue ActiveX controls can surreptitiously peer into users' hard drives, locate a Quicken file, and transfer money into another bank account without requiring a password or personal identification number. Fortunately, this kind of attack won't succeed against U.S. versions of Quicken, which can transfer funds only between preauthorized accounts at the same bank. Just as important, U.S. and Canadian editions of Quicken 6 encode data files for extra security.

Tip 9 - export to Excel

Shareware add-ons for Quicken are relatively rare, but one worth downloading is QuickBridge. This $10 program, available for download from SHAREWARE.COM, moves data out of Quicken for Windows and into Microsoft Excel (and Word), where you can manipulate it to create reports that look more sophisticated than the ones available with Quicken.

Manage the Checkbook

Tip 10 - speed up check writing

Use Quicken's keyboard shortcuts to trim the time it takes to cut a check. To quickly change the date and check number, for instance, use the plus (+) and minus (-) keys to increase or decrease the values. To move between fields, press the Tab key. You can also tell Quicken to use the Enter key for the same purpose: select Edit/Options/Register from the main menu, click the QuickFill tab, and check the "Use Enter key to move between fields" box. (On most keyboards, the Enter key is substantially larger than the Tab key, making it easier to find and tap.) And to record a check at any point in the writing process, press Ctrl-Enter.

Tip 11 - add or change categories

Quicken lets you categorize -- or recategorize -- any transaction at any time for more accurate organization. It's even easy to find all transactions that haven't been categorized so that you can tag them en masse. In Quicken 6, select Edit/Find & Replace/Recategorize from the main menu (in earlier versions, it's in the Activities menu), enter a space in the Search Category field (in earlier versions, you can just leave the field blank), and click the Find All button. To label any of the transactions that Quicken locates, select it, and choose the correct category from the Replace With list.

Tip 12 - enter ATM withdrawals fast

If you typically withdraw the same amount (say, $40) each time you visit the cash machine, enter something like 40ATM as the payee and $40 as the withdrawal amount. Quicken memorizes this transaction so that the next time you type 40 in the payee field (Quicken recognizes the entire payee after you've entered just the first few characters of its name), the program automatically drops in the proper withdrawal amount.

Tip 13 - schedule bills

Scheduling your regular bills -- such as rent or mortgage, college loan installments, or car insurance -- guarantees that you won't forget to pay them. Select List/Schedule Transaction from the main menu, click the New button, and complete the form with the necessary info. For the utmost in convenience, select Automatically Enter in the Record In Register field; Quicken will then automatically enter the transaction. All you have to do is print the check.

Tip 14 - sort checks (Q6)

In Quicken 6 for Windows, you can sort the checkbook (or any account) by date, amount, or check number -- a useful technique when you're reviewing all checks drafted to a particular payee, for instance, or those written on the first of the month. Click the View button at the top right of the register; then choose one of the sort options.

Tip 15 - step through similar payees

When Quicken has memorized two or more payees with the same initial characters -- say, CompuServe and CompUSA -- you don't need to keep typing until you hit a character that's not shared. With the cursor in the payee field, just press the plus (+) key to bring up the next alphabetically ordered payee, or press the minus (-) key for the previous payee.

Tip 16 - lock in standard transactions

Here's the scenario: nine-tenths of the time you pull $100 from the ATM. But on rare occasions, you withdraw only $80. Trouble is, after you do that, Quicken automatically records $80 the next time you enter a withdrawal. Unless you catch it, that's an easy way to mess up and unbalance your books.

To keep Quicken from changing the standard amount just because you make a single anomalous transaction, lock it. Select Lists/Memorized Transaction from the main menu, select the transaction, and click in the Lck column. (If you accidentally lock the wrong transaction, just click again to unlock it.) To change the amount from the locked default in future transactions, just type over the amount that Quicken enters.

Tip 17 - automatically add an address

If you're printing checks and mailing them in those nifty envelopes with little windows, save yourself a minute or two by letting Quicken print the payee's address on the check. Select Lists/Memorized Transaction from the main menu, select a payee, and click the Edit button. In the Edit Memorized Transaction dialog box, click the Address button, and type in the address, using the first line for the payee's name; followed by the street address; and then the city, state, and zip code. Click OK twice. The next time you write a check to this payee, Quicken will automatically print the address right on the check.

[Source: http://www.cnet.com/Content/Features/Howto/Quicken/index.html ]

[Editor's Note: The above Quicken tips are the first portion of the article I intended to print. Other tips will come next month.]

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The Amiga Section:

Jeff Schindler Named Managing Director of Amiga Inc.

by Fabian Jimenez (fabian@cais.com)
http://www.cais.com/fabian

August 22, 1997 - Greetings. In my last article I hinted that Gateway had hired a R&D Manager who was meeting with groups of Amiga developers and end users for their ideas and input. I can now tell you that this "manager" is an individual named Jeff Schindler.

Jeff has been with Gateway 2000 for several years working on various projects, most notably Gateway's Destination PC/TV. Jeff also spent some time selling Vic20 and C=64 items in the past. Jeff's official title is Managing Director of Amiga Inc. Petro Tyschtschenko remains the Managing Director for Amiga International and is working with Jeff on the Amiga's future. To refresh your memory, Amiga Inc. is the "independent" company Gateway 2000 has created to run their Amiga oriented R&D. In turn, Amiga International controls worldwide sales and marketing. Amiga International will remain at their German location. Petro stated in email that both Jeff and he are "teamwokers" [sic] in running the Amiga related operations, and that Amiga Inc. does not "control" Amiga International as I previously have stated. Both Petro and Jeff answer to Mr. Joseph Burke, Vice President of Market Development for Gateway 2000.

Mr. Schindler has been busy building a new Amiga infrastructure literally from the ground up. A new two story building mostly dedicated for Amiga Inc.'s operations is being set up near Gateway's headquarters in North Sioux City, South Dakota. Jeff has been very busy hiring staff for administrative, engineering and marketing functions of Amiga Inc. Gateway has been very impressed by the energy and enthusiasm that exists in the Amiga market. This leads to another rumor that the new building's hallway will be decorated with Amiga memorabilia, both past and present, leading to the conference room that represents the Amiga's future. No names from the Amiga's storied past have been mentioned for positions at Amiga Inc, but Carl Sassenrath, Ed Hepler and others have been in contact with Jeff Schindler.

During mid-August Jeff and Petro also met with several Amiga personalities to discuss their plans and ideas for the Amiga. Most of what was discussed is heavily protected under non-disclosure agreements. Meeting with Jeff and Petro were members of the Transitional Steering Committee of the ICOA. This committee consisted of Alain Penders (Finale Development), Andy Finkel (PIOS and C=), Fleecy Moss (JMS Org), Jesse McCluskey, and Dean Brown (DKB). Jason Compton (Amiga Report) also met separately with Jeff most likely on PR issues and rumored employment opportunities. Joe Torre, who is associated with the Amiga Atlanta User Group, met with Jeff and Petro. It is believed that Mr. Torre is a new hire for the engineering staff, but this is not confirmed.

Of course, much speculation centers on why Gateway wanted the Amiga, will there be a "next Amiga" if any, and how will they support it. Fueling this speculation up to now has been a lack of information coming from Gateway. However, Pat Carle of Hill & Knolton stated that around the first week of September a press release will be issued. Hill & Knolton is a New York based public relations firm used by Amiga Inc. and Gateway 2000. This press release will highlight what Gateway's immediate intentions are for Amiga Inc. Mr. Carle said that Hill & Knolton advised Gateway to contact the numerous Amiga user groups as a valuable resource for feedback and ideas.

Amiga users have speculated that Gateway wanted the Amiga patents to leverage against Microsoft when negotiating Window's licensing, or to use Amiga technology for palmtop and set top boxes. Jason Compton comments that, as far as he can determine (those damn NDAs), Jeff's business plan was long term and comprehensive. Jason said this contrasted with what he knew of VIScorp's plan when he was employed by them. Jason emphasized to me that he does not know Gateway's complete business plan. Jason expressed his view to Jeff that he hoped the Amiga could be restored as a good alternative platform, as well as for use in specialized niche markets.

Mr. Carle did want to emphasize that Jeff has a very aggressive plan in place, and that Gateway will vigorously support and defend their "worldwide" Amiga rights. This leads to questions concerning the recent announcements from Lotus Development/Regent Electronic Corporation on Amiga based products and patents for the Asian market. Mr. Carle was not able to discuss specific details, but stated that the issue is being resolved. A good measure of what is occurring is that Regent's web page completion, originally set for July 31st, remains incomplete.

I think Alain Penders summed it up in a discussion on the IRC, "If you leave the Amiga now after all that has happened, you'd want to shoot yourself." Whether the Amiga's future will truly be bright is yet to be seen, but with Jeff Schindler in control with the full support of Gateway 2000, the future is looking better than ever. With Apple floundering, Microsoft bent on world domination, and Be still determining what they want to Be, I feel the Amiga is in the perfect position for rebirth if done right. Peace!

[Source: http://www.cais.com/fabian/sept.html]

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The CUCUG Section:

August General Meeting

reported by Kevin Hopkins

The August 21st meeting began with President Richard Rollins' traditional introduction of officers. The officers are introduced in this manner so that if you have a question or need help, you can go to these people first. Vice President Emil Cobb was temporarily absent from the beginning of the proceedings as he had volunteered to chase down a 100 foot extension phone cord for the Mac SIG's Internet demo this evening.

President Rollins asked what the SIG meetings would be covering this evening. Amiga SIG Chairman John Lynn stated that the Amiga folks would be shown how to deal with LHA files by Ed Serbe, and they also had a look at games on the agenda. As a point of old business, John stated that the SIG's TIMM monitor was reportedly fixed and being UPSed back to us as he spoke. Richard said the Mac SIG would witness Jim Huls showing 10 programs on Internet stuff other than browsers and email.

President Rollins the opened the floor to the membership for a general Question and Answer Session:

Richard announced that next month's meeting will be a social/swap meet.

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The Mac SIG: Jim Huls Shows Other Internet Applications

reported by Kevin Hopkins (kh2@uiuc.edu)

The Mac SIG meeting began with a question to Jim Huls about his Picasso video board. Jim said that his new card's performance is better than built in video of the PowerMac 7500

The first major topic was a comparison of Netscape to Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Much as it pained him to say so, Richard Rollins said that he liked Explorer better than Netscape, but he assured us that it was the only piece of Microsoft software on his machine.

Jim said he uses Internet Explorer as well. The reasons he gave for this choice is that Internet Explorer is more stable, it's faster, and it uses less memory. Kevin Hopkins asked, if a Netscape user wanted to change to Explorer, can Explorer import a Netscape bookmarks file? Jim said it can.

Jim said Netscape Navigator 4.0 will be out in two weeks.

Richard noted that Explorer takes 6MB. Netscape takes 9MB plus.

One of the things Jim liked is that Explorer has a download history feature. Explorer can also tie in your own email client and/or news reader. And, Explorer "seems" a bit faster.

Gary Bernstein noted Internet Explorer does not support the full implementation of Java.

Summing up, Richard Rollins said, "Explorer has never trashed my B-trees. Navigator has crashed my system 3 times, requiring about 15 hours to fix the damage done."

Shifting into his Internet demonstration Jim focused on his computer set up initially, showing how his Macintosh can do two monitors side by side.

Discussing his Internet connection software Jim said that with OS8 OpenTransport PPP has supplanted FreePPP. He said FreePPP seems easier for new people to set up. Also, FreePPP seems to be more stable on older machines.

Jim then explained his "project", a tower case (that used to be the club's BBS system) sitting along side his Mac 7500. Jim said his 7500 could only handle 3.5" hard drives, but he was able to get a good deal on a 3 Gigabyte 5 1/4" full height drive, so he put it in the tower case. He filled us in on his future plans for this hardware combination. He hopes to put Linux on the tower system, networking it with the Mac via ethernet, and have it become a server/Internet connection. The Mac would then access the Internet through it.

Doing a reprise of Internet Explorer, Jim discussed its Download Manager. It will handle multiple downloads flawlessly. He said Explorer's one active connection refers strictly to downloads. The Download Manager queues up multiple download requests, to do them serially, which keeps up your bandwidth (the speed of your connection). By contrast, Netscape Navigator tries to bring down all your files together, and your speed drops to a snail's pace.

Jim then began to show the various Internet programs he had in his arsenal.

1. The first was IRCle, the client Jim uses for accessing the IRC on his Macintosh. Jim said the IRC is as close to real time as you'll get on the Net. He explained that their are different servers and networks for different channels of the IRC.

The version of IRCle he reviewed in a previous newsletter was version 2.5. In this newer version the Connection Preferences layout is very different so he showed us how to fill it in.

Jim said IRCle will let you use a QwikCam. He hasn't done it himself. You need a quick connection for it to be of any use. He said several other clients do it better.

Jim summed up the IRC saying it is like a real time newsgroup, like Ham radio. You can your session to a file. In fact, Jim was involved in some early interview/roundtable discussions conducted on the IRC when he was actively involved with the Amiga. Several of these events were quite newsworthy.

Jim conclude by saying you can get IRCle at Info-Mac Archive.

2. A centrally located Internet preferences program, "Internet Config," is a database that holds internet information for all the clients that might need it. Jim said Internet Config comes with Explorer. To be useful, Jim said the other programs have to be aware of it to use it, but many of them are and more are becoming Internet Config aware as time goes by. You can also use it for multiple people on the same machine.

3. Big Brother validates all your links, telling you which ones are dead and which ones have changed.

4. Point Cast - Jim said this one is really interesting for him. Point Cast pioneered what is called "push" technology. IT is content tailored for and brought directly to you. He said Point Cast is included with OS8. It takes about 3MB. Jim said he wished he had more time to show this one. He believes it is something to watch. "It is one of the things of the future."

5. IP Net Monitor provides a graphical display of the condition of your connection to the Internet.

6. Version Master checks your software and informs you if there are newer versions. It does this by checking back with the database on its home site. It can be "spoofed" or fooled because it does its checking by comparing the version number of your software with the latest one it has on record. If yours is greater, it changes the number in its database to that number. Some pranksters took file editors and changed the version numbers on their software to falsely run up the version numbers of some of the software Version Master thought it knew about. Needless to say, if this has been done, Version Master can be somewhat unreliable. Version Master also tells you where to get updates. Jim said Version Master is available from Info-Mac, Shareware.com, or download.com.

7. Insider Updates is similar to Version Master but it only does System files for free. As a commercial product, you have to pay for information about other programs.

8. Vremya is a program that sets the time on your computer with some know standard.

9. Real Player - Jim barely had time to mention this one. Real Player is an audio player for such things as Cnet Radio.

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The Amiga SIG: Ed Serbe Using LHA

reported by Dave Witt (dpcs@pdnt.com)

This month, Ed Serbe showed the group how to uncompress LHA and LZH files from CD-ROM to the hard drive. He also showed people how to associate picture files to different picture viewers in Directory Opus. Following that, he showed various pictures using an assortment of viewers to show what the quality differences are between low and hi-res graphics.

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August Board Meeting

reported by Kevin Hopkins

The August meeting of the CUCUG executive board took place on Tuesday, August 26, 1997, at 7PM, at Kevin Hisel's house. (For anyone wishing to attend - which is encouraged, by the way - the address and phone number are both in the book). Present at the meeting were Richard Rollins, Dave Witt, Jim Huls, Kevin Hopkins, Kevin Hisel, Emil Cobb and Jim Lewis.

Richard Rollins: Richard began the meeting by publicly thanking Jim Huls for his presentation at the last meeting. Richard said, "Regretfully, we just touched on what he had."

Next month's meeting will be one of our social/swap meets. Richard wanted it strongly emphasized to the members that this is the place you can bring your old equipment and software and find others interested exchanging or buying it. Also for the meeting, Richard will have a few thing on a ZIP disk running on the club's machine.

There was a discussion on upgrading the club's Amiga again.

Richard reported that the TIMM monitor would be back pretty soon.

There was a discussion of upgrading club Mac to a newer machine. Richard said he is principally interested in getting a machine that can run two monitors at the same time, which the club's Performa 6116CD will not do. He also said the forthcoming Rhapsody OS will not run on a PPC 601. He stated he will seek authorization for the expenditure at an upcoming meeting.

Richard said he will be doing a presentation on OS8 in October for the Mac SIG. The Amiga SIG in October will have Bill Zwicky doing a scenery generator. As an aside, Richard noted that John Lynn is doing a fine job with the Amiga SIG.

Dave Witt: Dave said Ed Serbe's demo was very nice. He showed everybody how to associate viewers with JPEGs in DirOpus.

Richard Rollins: Prompted by the though of the last meeting, Richard discussed meeting structure, format, and conduct. He asked for input and suggestions. He also noted that we had 34 people attend the August meeting.

On another topic, Richard said that the new Mac flyer is done.

Jim Huls: Taking that cue, Jim said that he had worked on flyer and it was pretty much finished.

Jim said he had wanted to cover more at the last meeting, but time just run out.

On the news front, Jim stated that Iomega has a new ZIP drive out now, the ZIP Plus. It is still only 100MB. Jim said he thinks the 100MB ZIP is dead. In his opinion Iomega is making a mistake by not going to a larger size, somewhere between the ZIP and the Jaz, perhaps in the 500MB range.

Kevin Hopkins: Kevin presented the usual exchange newsletters and mail. He had membership money to turn in but we had no Treasurer at this meeting.

Kevin reported that he needed more membership cards to distribute to our members joining over the web.

Kevin made the point, concerning the club's Mac upgrade, that if the Amiga was not going to be substantially upgraded, primarily because it is merely a machine for demos, why was it necessary to upgrade the club's Mac, which servers exactly the same purpose. Richard reiterated the points he had made earlier and went into more detail on the finances involved which would make the upgrade a reasonable one in light of the overall cost.

Kevin asked about upgrading the OS on the club's Mac to OS8. Richard has the copy Apple provided the club, but he would like to wait to install it until he puts it on the machine at the October meeting.

Kevin related a personal story about how one of his Bernoulli disks got damaged by water and asked for suggestion on how it might be fixed.

Kevin reported that the newsletter printing costs unexpectedly went up last month, due to a pricing change at Staples. They made the mistake of angering the editor, so our business will be on the move.

Kevin asked those board members using the membership list, what types of information they needed. He is in the process of making an export document for our database and he wanted to know what details should be included.

There was a discussion on ways to contain the costs and reduce the work load in newsletter production. It was decided that we will email the newsletter to all members starting January 1 unless the member specifically requests a postal version.

Jim Huls pointed out that the name "Commodore" still appears in a couple of places in the newsletter. The editor was requested to change these references to "Computer".

Kevin Hisel: As AWD webmaster, Kevin said he is still waiting for a big R&D announcement from Gateway 2000 and Amiga International.

He reported that he had 299 email messages asking why the AWD had gone silent for a week, plus another 81 more at work. The answer was that our webmaster went on a much needed vacation cruise to Alaska.

Kevin said he added 25 new links in one day upon his return.

Kevin then commented on some of those taking ad space on the AWD, among these the Amiga Informer, Digital Video Direct, VillageTronic and Amazing Computing.

Kevin said he is planning so new marketing on the AWD in the near future.

Kevin reported that Gateway 2000 is providing some seed money to Amiga developers.

Kevin mentions that there will be a 1/3 page, 4 color ad for AWD in Amazing Computing.

There was a discussion of web prizes and another discussion about acquiring AWD T-shirts.

Emil Cobb: Emil apologized for wasting people's time at the last meeting, stating should have gotten back sooner with phone cord. The other board members told him that that was silly and thank him profusely for going to Jim Lewis' house to get it.

Jim Lewis: Jim said he didn't have much to say. The flooding of his basement at home prevented him from attending the last meeting.

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The Back Page:

The CUCUG is a not-for-profit corporation, originally organized in 1983 to support and advance the knowledge of area Commodore computer users. We've grown since then.

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@earthlink.net
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:

http://www.cucug.org/

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.

ToC