Amiga Web Directory
Network News
Amiga Online
Amiga Flame
Totally Amiga, Sadeness
- Totally Amiga, a new full colour glossy US print magazine will debut sometime in September. It will contain news, reviews, tutorials and subscribers will receive a covermounted CD-ROM containing the latest and greatest PD and demos. The magazine will be released quarterly and retail for $US3.95. Check the website for subscription rates.
- Amiga Flame reports that Sadeness Software have signed a distribution deal with Weird Science and GTI for international distribution of Foundation and OnEscapee.
- I will begin installing the AmigaCental update tomorrow. There may be a interuption in services (approx 30 mins) and a transistional period of a few days where not all mirrors will be active. Sorry for any inconvienence, hopefully the new design will enhance your visit to Amiga Central.
28th September 1997
Fishwrap gone!
- Colin Thompson's "Almost Daily Fishwrap", a popular Amiga news page has been taken offline due to a dispute with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The whole site including "Amiga Alley" has been taken offline. More information can be found at the Amiga Update Newsletter.
- Please please have a look at Amiga Centrals new design. I've had to rush the update, I'm wanting to get it online within the next 24-48 hours hopefully. If you have ANY problems with the new site mail me!. Thankyou to all those who have had a look.
27th September 1997
PowerUP C, Blade, Islona, ZDNet
- Strong rumours abound that SAS/C, once the Amiga's premier C compiler and still highly regarded will soon support PowerUP.
- On other PowerUP news, it appears the close relationship between Phase5 and Haage & Partner on PPC development has been somewhat damaged. Apparently Haage & Partner are threatening to make all code generated by Storm C++/PPC incompatible with that generated by GCC, which will be bundled with every PowerUP card. In response Phase5 have threatened to alter PowerUP cards making them incompatible with Haage & Partner software.
- Amiga Flame reports that Alive MediaSoft are on the verge of releasing their first title, called Blade. The game which is an RPG/strategy style game comprises 50 levels of exciting action. More information including a demo can be found at Amiga Flame.
- Islona have released a demo of Sixth Sense Investigations, a new graphic adventure featuring cartoon graphics, full character speech and 256 colour graphics running at 50fps. The demo is contained in three files, 6thSense_1.lha (540k), 6thSense_2.lha (680k) and 6thSense_3.lha (626k).
- ZDNet have written a story on the Amiga. titled "Amiga lives! Gateway resurrects a pioneering PC" the article concentrates on Gateway's future plans for the Amiga largely drawing from a recent interview with Darreck lisle. The article can be found at ZDNet.
- The new update of Amiga Central is currently on track to be released mid to late next week. I am still interested in hearing from Netscape 4.0 (Communicator) users who have visited the site.
26th September 1997
Schatztruhe, CM2, Islona
- Schatztruhe, famous for their publication and distribution of Amiga CD-ROM's have announced the 'Amiga CD-ROM surprise pack!'. The package will comprise of 10 CD-ROM's covering a broad range of topics including utilities, games, demos, music and clipart to name but a few. Those who place an order now will receive a free 11th CD-ROM. The package retails for 49DM or $US28.
- A few minor enhancements have been made to Championship Manager 2 again delaying it's release. Included in the list of enhancements is updated team data (end of last season). Nothing else has been changed, it still isn't hard disk installable and will not work on the 040 or 060. Most importantly Eidos have given the coding team responsible for the port permission to make an improved version or release update disks.
- New Amiga games developer Islona now have a website, it can be found at http://www.valivue.demon.co.uk/islona/index.htm.
AI, Phase5, JPMedia, Nova Design, AAA
- Amiga Users of the Heartland usergroup recently had the pleasure of catching up with Amiga Inc's Darreck Lisle and conducted an interview with him. While there is too much to cover here topics covered in the interview include licensing, Java, OS updates plus much more. The full interview can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- While in other Amiga news it has recently been revealed that Amiga Inc are yet to start development on a future update to AmigaOS largely because no one as yet has been hired. Programmers in Germany who have extensive Amiga experience and were employed by either Amiga Technologies or Commodore have been told to "wait" when they approached Gateway. Earlier plans to have an OS update out by years end must now be in jeopardy.
- A little known fact is that Phase5 designers of the the Blizzard PPC accelerator cards for Amiga 1200 have added many new features to the board. Now there are 2 on board SIMM slots and most importantly there is a slot to take expansions. Currently Phase5 are planning on a graphics card called the BVPPC which will utilise Permidia graphics chips. No release date has been announced.
- JP Media known in Australia for their Amiga publications and range of imported CD-ROM's are planning on releasing an Amiga magazine in full glossy colour to be distributed throughout newsagents by years end. It will be titled Australian Amiga Annual '98. Also on the website is an unofficial statement from Gateway Australia in regards to the Amiga. While it appears that regional offices know less than knowledgeable Amiga users it was confirmed that a LOT of things are going on beind the scenes. The purchase of Amiga Technologies has also been met positively by Australian staff.
- Nova Design are pleased to announce that their product ImageFX has been chosen by Safe Harbor Computers as one of the top ten Amiga products of 1997. The full press release including the complete top ten can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- The AAA Awards have appointed a new co-ordinator, Tobias Ander who will oversee the the project and attempt to gain more support. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
24th September 1997
Amiga Article, EF2000, AC Test site
- Another pro Amiga article has this time been printed in Computer Dealer News. The article covers the Amiga's use in DTV and highlights it's advantages. Another worthwhile read.
- The Games Machine, an Italian PC/Amiga games magazine has reported that "some programmers" are working on porting the successor of TFX, EuroFighter2000 to the Amiga and PowerUP. I'll try and find more info ASAP.
- As promised I've almost completed a total update to Amiga Central. Besides a few trivial tasks the only thing left to do is beta test. Click here to visit the new design.
22nd September 1997
AI Hiring, History Article, Database
- As previously reported Amiga Inc. are currently in search of staff for various positions in marketing and development. They have hired a professional recruitment agency to find them a VP of Sales and Marketing, VP of Technology and Development and a Director of the AmigaOS. More information can be found at the Jay Miner Society.
- An article on the history of the Amiga, titled "Uncontrolled Execution" written by Phillip S. Moore was printed in Computer Bits magazine earlier in the year. The article can be found at ComputerBits and is definetly worth a read.
- A "Relational Database Management Sever" is currently in development for the Amiga. Designed by Rob van der Veer it will be a full DBMS including multiuser access and a full SQL interpreter. The author is currently seeking suggestions and comments from the Amiga community as to the direction the program should take. The official homepage of the project is at http://www.dataweb.nl/~robv/dbserv/index.html.
- The new Amiga Central design is nearing completing. I hope to set up a test site with the new design before implementing it here. Hopefully this will occur sometime this week. Stay tuned for more details.
20th September 1997
Informer, PageStream 3.3, Randomize, JMS
- Amiga Informer, the premier Amiga print magazine in the United States has recently updated it's web site and added many new innovative features including the Outspoken Amigans Column (my editorials there!), Developers Forum and the GameZone. Also for subscribers an SSL enabled secure credit card subscription service has been added. The full press release can be found Here.
- Softlogik have released a feature set of their latest update to Pagestream, version 3.3, the Amiga's best desktop publishing program. Options for upgrading include a secure FTP server. More information is available at Softlogik.
- Randomize Computers have been licensed by Amiga International to sell and distribute Amiga promotional products such as T-shirts, lighters and stickers. More information can be found at Amiga International.
- Due to a shakeup at the Jay Miner Society the address of it's official website has changed to http://www.cnct.com/~rlv/jms/. Please use this address in preference to www.jms.org while the hostname gets transferred.
19th September 1997
YAM, Turtle Lightning
- Turtle Lightning Amiga Software now have a new website. Available from it is many Amiga games titles old and new. Online ordering is also available. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- YAM 1.3.5 is now available though it isn't the massive update YAM users have been waiting for, it only corrects a few bugs. The patch which requires YAM 1.3.4 will be available on Aminet and is available at the YAM website.
18th September 1997
Nova Sector Engineering, Nova Design, World Foundry
- Nova Sector Engineering a US based company has apparenty entered the Amiga clone business. They plan on developing high end 68060 and PowerPC based Amiga's for graphics and desktop video work under the name of Cordel Alpha. The Cordel will be featuring PPC 604e processors up to 200mhz, 2.2GB+ SCSI hard disk, 32/64/128mb RAM, Cybervision 64-bit 4mb graphics card, AmigaOS 3.1 and an external modem. Other options including Ethernet cards will also be available.
- NovaDesign have stated their special Aladdin 5.0 offer will expire on September 31st. For more information please read the press release at the Amiga Web Directory.
- A new software house has been formed called The World Foundry. It is in effect a merger of Digital Anarch Software, Deimos Design and Intuition Software. It's main aim is to develop high quality high specification games for the Amiga. The press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- Vulcan Software have joined forces with NonSoLoSoft of Italy to officially launch the Italian Amiga version of Strangers AGA at the upcoming Italian World Of Amiga Fair to be held on September 20 and 21.
- Amiga Flame reports that Vulcan Software have a new title under development called Desolate. More information can be found at Amiga Flame.
- A demo of Pinball Brain Damage from Epic Marketing will soon be appearing on Aminet. More information can be found at Amiga Flame.
17th September 1997
Vulcan, DICE Source
- Vulcan the premier Amiga games publisher has announced Hard Target their Virtua Cop clone has now entered full steam development. No release date has been announced but it is expected early next year. On the new releases front both Uropa 2 and The Final Odyssey are expected for release soon closely followed by Genetic Species which is being touted as the Amiga's best ever Doom clone.
- A little news I'd pushed aside. Mat Dillon programmer of DICE C, a popular but ageing Amiga C compiler has released it's source free to all. The source which all up is 4 megabytes compressed in a gzip'ed tar file is available from http://www.obviously.com.
16th September 1997
Spare Parts, AI, Oshawa Amiga
- Amiga International will now sell spare parts for most Amiga models direct to consumers. Almost every conceivable part is currently available for the A500, A600, A1200, A2000, A3000 and the A4000. The list in english can be found at Amiga International.
- The Gateway Amiga Club based in St Louis USA has met with Amiga Inc's events organiser Darreck Lisle. While no new information has been released Amiga Inc are stressing we must remain patient, a lot of things are going on behind the scenes. The full article can be found at http://www.icon-stl.net/~amiga/news.html.
- Canadian Amiga dealer Oshawa Amiga has released it's latest newsletter. Of most interest is the release of Pagestream 3.3, continuing Softlogik's commitment to the Amiga. A competition has also been organised, those who send in their "hard drive disaster story" have a chance of winning Quaterback 6.1. The full newsletter can be found Here.
13th September 1997
NASA, Voyager 3, Mac
- Intangible Assets Manufacturing's Dale Larson has reprinted online an article he wrote for the now defunct Amiga Computing which details how Amigas are used throughout NASA. The article is definetly worth reading, it can be found here.
- Rumours are circulating that Voyager 3.00 (which is still quite a way off) will include JavaScript support. Apparently support is already present in beta VoyagerNG releases but it is disabled and the plugin not included. Meanwhile Haage & Partner are steadily working on their Java Virtual Machine port called Merapi. Though they are experiencing some problems as most of the code Sun provide is for PC's and requires quite a lot of changes to Amiga-ise it.
- You might like to keep an eye on comp.sys.mac.advocacy for a thread (which has lately died down) about Mac users investigting a possible switch to the Amiga. Currently Mac users are disillusioned with the recent purchase of Power Computing by Apple highlighting this.
11th September 1997
Special Report
- A special report has been compiled on the Amiga's rumoured usage in both the Australian and New Zealand Railways. Click Here to read it.
10th September 1997
Opus Update, CM2, PMPro, Foundation, Amadeus
- GPSoftware have released a free update to Opus Magellan updating the program to version 5.65. The patch files are available free from the GPSoftware website and mainly fix bugs within the program.
- Championship Manager 2 does definetly exist and is on the verge of being released. The game will be playable on any 2mb Amiga but will not be hard drive installable or take advantage of hardware upgrades. Besides this CU-Amiga writer Andrew Korn considers it a brilliant game. His progress report on the game posted to the CU-Amiga mailing list can be found Here.
- Picture Manager Professional V4 is now available from UK distributor Blittersoft who will control all distribution to English speaking countries.
- Foundation the latest game from Paul Burkey and Sadeness Software will not have ECS support. Apparently the developers asked for feedback and only two people requested ECS support, one who owned an A1200 and the other who was planning on upgrading to an AGA based Amiga. Also new screenshots highlighting the features of the game are now available at www.sneech.demon.co.uk/snapshots.html.
- Unconfirmed reports are filtering through that Australia's leading Amiga dealer Amadeus Computers have closed the doors. A short message on their answering machine is said to confirm this. More information on this as it filters through..
8th September 1997
ICOA, Developer Conference, AAG2, Railway Amiga
- I can reveal the ICOA will be the "official developer support interface" between Amiga Inc and the Amiga developer community. This will include organising developer conferences and the creating of an Amiga developer Network as well as other unspecified activities. An official press release will soon be available.
- As a follow on to the leading story Amiga Inc. has announced it's first developer conference which will be held at the Midwest Amiga Exposition. This will be the first of many conferences, the next being tentaviley planned for Computer97 in Germany. On a sidenote Epson have promised Amiga Inc all the resources they require to develop software and drivers for their range of printers and scanners. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- The Australian Amiga Gathering Mark II set down for Melbourne Australia now has an official homepage, it can be found at http://www.unicorn.com.au/aag/.
- Reported on the 5th of this month was the purchase of 1200 Amiga's by the New Zealand Railways Department. Be prepared for something quite interesting over the next few days....
7th September 1997
AI Staff, Computer97, PowerUP card ship
- Amiga International has added another sales representative, Harald Fritsches to their growing staff. While Amiga International concentrate on marketing and licesing a lot is going on behind the scenes at Amiga Inc. in the US as reported yesterday.
- Probably the worlds biggest annual Amiga show Computer97 will once again be held in Germany this year. For information on exhibitors and show dates please see their homepage.
- As previously reported Phase5 are shipping the first Cyberstorm PPC cards which have just rolled off the production line. The A1200 Blizzard line of PPC cards are due to begin shipping later this month. Mystery surrounds though a batch of Cyberstorm cards which reportedly found their way to a few select dealers and prominent Amigans many months ago.
- As you probably know I'm currently in the process of updating Amiga Central. It looks like it will be supporting frames and be slightly more graphics intensive. If you have any comments or suggestions please feel free to mail me.
6th September 1997
AI, Ateo Concepts, Battle, Gloom 3
- CU-Amiga reports Amiga Inc will be establishing a developer database whereby developers can register for support. If the project catches the eyes of those at Amiga Inc then official support and financial help may be provided. Also reported is Amiga Inc now have their own offices are are pursueing previous Commodore Amiga staff including engineers and programmers to work at the new Amiga Inc. Attractive packages have been offered for them to return back to the Amiga. Amiga Inc hope to have approximately 30 employees by December and plan on releasing AmigaOS 3.5 within the next six months. More information can be found at CU-Amiga.
- New French Amiga developer Ateo Concepts are worth keeping an eye on. Currently they sell numerous Amiga peripherals and are in the process of designing a graphics card for the A1200 which will use a bus design quicker than ZorroIII. Also planned is a PowerPC accelerator and numerous other Amiga products.
- Battle, a new strategy being developed now has a homepage which includes details on the game and screenshots. Currently the developers are looking for C programmers, graphics artists and musicians. The homepage can be found Here.
- Guildhall Leisure are set to publish Gloom 3 being developed by Alpha Software and not Black Magic the developers of the previous Gloom incarnations. An official homepage has been created with news on the game and a demo is available.
5th September 1997
CU-Amiga, Amiga in NZ
- Innovative UK Amiga magazine CU Amiga is set to release a DIY kit to create an infrared controller for the Amiga. Encouraged by the success of their first effort, the sound sampler Project XG the magazine will now include a printed cirucuit board for it's current project alleviating many of the problems. The project combined with PD software available on Aminet will have the ability to control pretty much all facets of the Amiga by using ARexx. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- Reports from New Zealand indicate that the government railways department has purchased approximately 1200 Amiga's. What exactly they will be used for is at the moment unknown. More information as it comes to hand.
- Thanks to Fletcher Haug, editor and publisher of Amiga Informer for his publicising of Amiga Central in the magazine and for gratiously providing me with a free copy.
4th September 1997
Vulcan, Amiga Exposition, Magazine List, Myst
- Firstly sorry for the delay in updating, it's been a mixture of ISP problems and a lack of news to report.
- Vulcan, quickly becoming the leading Amiga publisher have announced the release of Strangers AGA CD-ROM. The game which is Vulcan's first foray into the Amiga CD-ROM market precedes many other planned CD-ROM releases by Vulcan who will eventually be CD-ROM only.
- CUCUG are officially backing the Midwest Amiga Exposition to be held on the 1st and 2nd of November. The support includes publicity includes publication of press releases and banner advertising. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- An excellent site has been created listing all available Amiga magazines in most countries of the world. While not a complete list at the moment it is expanding. More information: Amiga Magazine List.
- Screenshots of the much publicised Myst being ported by ClickBOOM are now online at Aminet. The screenshots reveal the game is a direct port with all the graphical brilliance conserved in the port. If the gameplay matches up then this will be the game of the year. The screens in JPEG format (700k) can be downloaded by clicking Here.
1st September 1997
Midwest Amiga Exposition
- Due to ISP problems I am unable to provide a full news report. Sorry about any inconvienence, hopefully everything will be back to normal again soon.
- More news on the Midwest Amiga Exposition has been revealed including the fact that Petro Tyschtschenko will be a special guest at the show along with appearances from many renowned Amiga developers and dealers including NewTek who will be demonstarting the Toaster. More information can be found Here.
- My sincerest sympathy goes out to all those affected by the tragic death of Diana, Princess Of Wales whose tireless work for the underpriveliged will never be forgotten.
31st August 1997
PowerUP, Vulcan
- The PowerUP HomePage reports that the long awaited PowerPC cards will begin shipping from the end of next week. More information can be found at the PowerUP HomePage.
- Vulcan are set to release the "Amiga's answer to VirtuaCop". The game, titled Hard Target, which is due for release early next year will be a raytraced 3D scenic shoot em' up requiring an Amiga with the AGA chipset, 8mb Fast RAM and a 4x CD ROM drive. Details are at the moment scant but screenshots from the first level can be found at Vulcan.
30th August 1997
ICOA, AUI Disks
- The ICOA website has moved to a new server and has been totally redesigned. Included in the redesign is a frames based interface and information on all the ICOA's activities including a list of developers supporting the project and information on the current Steering Committe.
- Defunct Amiga User International will make their popular SuperDisk coverdisks available as a standalone product for approximately 3UKP. The SuperDisks have long been renowned for containing the best and most public domain and commercial software. More information can be found at Amiga User International.
29th August 1997
Amiga Shows
- Wonder Computers, Canada's biggest Amiga dealer will be holding a World Of Amiga 97 show at their premises on the 6th and the 7th of September. Among the exhibitors will be official representation of Amiga International. Visitors who register by paying $5 will also be in the draw to win door prizes and obtain other free Amiga gear. More information can be found at Wonder Computers.
- Another amiga show is being held in Italy but due to it being in Italian I understand very little. For those who are residing in Italy please visit Planet Amiga.
27th August 1997
PIOS
- An article has appeared on Reuters featuring PIOS. The article mainly concentrates on PIOS's means of attaining investments but does contain a little info on the Amiga. The full article can be found at Infoseek.
25th August 1997
Amiga Computing/Amazing Amiga
- US subscribers of the defunct Amiga Computing will be offered the option to transfer their subscription to Amazing Amiga or other non Amiga related publications. The deal is set to see readership of Amazing Amiga soar but according to the publisher advertising rates will stay firm thus encouraging firms to continue supporting the Amiga. Morwe information can be found at the Amiga web Directory.
24th August 1997
QuikPak Speak, No Amiga To Waste
- After a long absence QuikPak have returned. In a letter to the Amiga community CEO of QuikPak David Ziembicki has reinforced QuikPak's commitment to the Amiga and has stated they are still planning on releasing various Amiga variants but are waiting on Amiga International to give them a license to do so. The full letter can be found at QuikPak.
- No Amiga To Waste is a new web site aiming to converge both developers and users. It's aim is to "Make sure that every programming effort provides a final product that is useful, original, easy to use and up to date". It hopes to achieve this by allowing users to tell developers what they would like and allowing developers an area where they can easily see what users want. More information can be found Here.
23rd August 1997
Oz Amiga show, PowerUP cards
- Due to the phonomenal success of the first Australian Amiga Gathering, organisers Australian Amiga Gazette have planned another show this time for Melbourne on the 11th of October at The Pit, Pit Lane, Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit. The show will feature a much greater overseas presence and will run from 9am to 10pm. The press release can be found Here.
- Why are Phase5 continually delaying the release of the PowerUP cards?. Reports from a variety of sources, both credible and not so credible indicate Phase5 are trying to iron out every possible bug and furthermore make sure it passes safety testing. A good side to this if it is true is we will have very high quality cards and as they are futher delayed Phase5 continues to reduce their price and up the specifications.
22nd August 1997
National Amiga, Digitiser
- National Amiga, Canada's favorite Amiga dealer has released yet another newsletter. Full of specials including a large range of Amiga CD-ROM's the newsletter also carries the disappointing news that Phase5 have rescheduled the release of the PowerUP cards to the first week in September. the newsletter can be found at National Amiga.
- Amiga users are fighting back, seeking retribution from Sturat Campbell and Digitiser, the UK teletext channel that frequently abuse the Amiga. The letters section of this month is packed with complaints including a letter from CU-Amiga journalist Matt Bettinson who challenges the claims of Stuart Campbell who declared that 68% of Amiga users had never had a girlfriend and that this information from gleaned from Amiga magazine surveys.
21st August 1997
Foundation Update
- Sadeness Software, publishers of Foundation have announced ECS support from the final game will almost certainly be scrapped mainly due to ECS's inability to handle modern graphics and time constraints. This though is open to discussion and the developers welcome any input. More information can be found Here. An interview with Paul Burkey, creator of the game can be found Here.
- An interview with ClickBOOM will soon be online.
20th August 1997
ArtEffect, AmigaNutta, Amiga Show, RSA Comp, C
- Haage & Partner have released details on forthcoming Art Effect based products. Already one of the best Amiga image processing programs Art Effect is leading the market in PPC software development. More information can be found Here.
- Web based Amiga games magazine AmigaNutta will now be available in archived HTML format available from Aminet and various BBS's. The first issue is due to appear on Aminet soon and like it's web based equilivant will have up to date games new including a release schedule.
- Once again it's time for the Midwest Amiga Exposition show which will this year be held at the Concourse Hotel at Port Columbus Airport. Exhibitors include new Amiga clone licensee Index Information Ltd., Intangible Assets Manufacturing (IAM) and Nova Design. More information and ticket pricing can be found at the Midwest Amiga Exposition page.
- A competition is currently being held to determine who can crack a piece of RSA encrypted code, more information can be found Here.
- In respone to demand from CU-Amiga readers a new Amiga C mailing list has been created. More information can be found at CU-Amiga.
19th August 1997
ClickBOOM News, AROS, Street Racer
- ClickBOOM have continued with their innovative promotions this time announcing a competition in which the winners will receive a free copy of the yet to be released Myst. Also from ClickBOOM is the news that the special Capital Punishment files-only offer will cease on September 1. And finally all those who purchased Capital Punishment online are entitled to a 20% discount on all products from PXL Computers and members of CUCUG will receive a 10% discount up until the 10th of September. More information can be found Here.
- AROS, The Amiga Replacement OS project has now released it's 11th beta. Highlights include almost all of Exec has been ported along with the majority of AmigaDOS and parts of Intuition. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- Amiga Flame has details and screenshots on the soon to be released game from Guildhall Leisure/Epic Marketing Street Racer a port of the Playstation and PC hit. The screenshots look amazing and the finished game is due out in September for a mere UKP14.99 for both the floppy and CD-ROM versions. More information and screenshots can be found at Amiga Flame.
18th August 1997
- Firstly sorry for the delay, I'm currently in the process of redesigning AmigaCentral and installing new tracking software.
- After a delay in updating of over a week the Amiga Web Directory is now back. According to Kevin Hisel, mentor of the AWD those involved in the AWD were enjoying a much needed vaction. More information can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- A financial report on VIScorp by Small Wonders Research indicate VIScorp have pulled well and truly out of the WebTV type market and is now concentrating on telecommunications. Of interest is the injection of $US3 million by unnamed European investors. VIScorp is now run by ex Atari President Larry Siegel and the company is directed by Robert Wussler who has decades of experience in television through his work at CBS Television. The report can be found at VIScorp.
- The long running AmigaZone run by Amiga stalwart Harv Laser has undergone a redesign and pages are now quicker to load and make use of tables. More information can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- Future Publishing, publishers of the worlds biggest selling Amiga magazine, Amiga Format have announced a special subscription offer whereby you save 33% on the normal news stand price and get the magazine delivered to your door. Considering the recent demise of Amiga Computing, Amiga User International and Amiga Review questions must be asked. Is this an act of desperation?, are Future Publishing giving the Amiga one last chance with this offer?. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- As previously reported a PCI 040 card will be available for all PC's allowing it to run UAE much quicker. The product is called the Smaky 400 and was originally designed to allow PC's to use Smaky OS (PCI-OS). The manufacturers claim UAE runs 10 times quicker than a PentiumPro 200 running UAE. While this may be a little exxageration it will certainly increase speed. More information can be found at http://lamicounter.epfl.ch/Smaky/sm400.html.
15th August 1997
Conflicting Opinions
- As well connected Amiga users know, Gateway have been in negotiations with a certain organisation with regards to the Amiga's future. An announcement on that is expected very soon. On the other hand we have Next Generation, an online magazine telling readers Gateway only purchased the Amiga for it's intellectual property and plan only on supporting the European market. That story can be found at Next Generation. While it seems improbable there is any truth behind this it is time Gateway started publically speaking about their plans or such innuendo and rumours will continue to prosper. Us Amiga users know it isn't true but the average Joe Public does not.
- An 040 based PCI card will soon be released for UAE users. It should increase performance quite a bit but the all important custom chips of the Amiga will not be making an appearance. More information when it comes to hand.
- I've just begun a massive overhaul of Amiga Central. The new Amiga Central isn't likely to appear for a while but it will be worth the wait. I'm currently looking for a GFX artist to do a few pieces for me including a new Amiga Central logo. Please mail me if your interested.
14th August 1997
Aminet 20
- Schatztruhe have released the latest in a long line of CD-ROM's, Aminet 20. Dated August 1997 it contains more than 1 gig of uncompressed data and includes 500mb of new uploads. Also on the CD is a registered version of WildFire, the powerful shareware image processor. More information can be found Here.
12th August 1997
Picture Manager Pro Demo
- Blittersoft have released a demo version of Picture Manager Professional, said to revolutionise the way you handle graphics. A demo can be found Here. More information on PMPro v4 can be found at Blittersoft.
11th August 1997
Digitiser strikes again!, Miami 3.0 Gadtools?
- Reported on the Pure Amiga mailing list is that Digitiser and Stuart Campbell have struck again this time stating 68% of Amiga owners have never had a girlfriend (what about the female Amiga owners? ;) and that these are figures gleaned from CU-Amiga and Amiga Format reader surveys. For those who don't already know Digitiser is a teletext type channel dedicated to computers and have long been critical of the Amiga. The criticism has been headed by ex Amiga Power staffer Stuart Campbell. Click Here for more information.
- A little something you might have missed. It's been reported on Amiga Network News that Miami 3.0 will come in both Gadtools and MUI GUI's.
9th August 1997
Informer, Aladdin, Battle, Gateway
- Amiga Informer has just announced the release of it's latest issue. Feature packed it will include an exclusive interview with Petro Tyschtschenko, contain all the latest news including information on the Lotus Pacific Amiga patents dispute plus all the regular columns. The full press release can be found Here.
- NovaDesign is now shipping Aladdin 5.0. Sporting many new features including support for Lightwave and Toaster users it is quickly becoming the Amiga's premier 3D package. Also in the latest version is an updated OS 2/3 style GUI, new lighting effects, instant texture previewing, interactive help, full ARexx interface amongst others. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- Amiga Flame reports a new game is in development in the style of BlueByte's Battle Isle. Unfortunately the programmers are unable to complete the game themselves and are in need of musicians and graphics artists amongst others. For more information please visit Amiga Flame.
- Be prepared for a rather large announcement from Gateway 2000. in regards to Amiga support and PR very soon. Unfortunately due to confidentiality agreements I'm unable to say more.
8th August 1997
Haage&Partner, Gateway, G3, Oshawa, 5000 hits
- Haage & Partner have remained leaders in PPC Amiga software development by announcing the release of PowerEffects 2 a new set of add on effects for ArtEffect requiring Phase5's PowerUP RISC cards. New effects include Lensflare, Lightning and Fisheye. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- Amiga User International reports that President and Chief Operating Officer of Gateway 2000 Rick Snyder has resigned to work as head of a venture capital funding company.
- In other news from Amiga User International, Motorola will soon be releasing a new range of PowerPC processors dubbed the G3. Speeds will range from 266mhz to 400mhz. Also reported is that 68060's are being used to boost the performance of the ageing Sinclair QL computers. Interestingly these accelerators only cost UKP160. More information on att the AUI stories can be found at Amiga User International.
- Canadian Amiga dealer Oshawa Amiga are having an August "Back to school" sale. Further information can be found Here.
- The long delayed interview with the author of ACE Basic can now be found at Amiga Central Features.
- Amiga Central has just recently had it's 5000th registered hit. I started Amiga Central back in late January of this year as a means of learning HTML, and it wasn't until April that it really kicked on. I would like to thank everyone who has ever been involved in the production of Amiga Central, Christian Kemp, Brad Webb, Michael Webb, Andreas Alderud and those who continually motivated me and provided support in times of need, namely Jeff Sereno, George Liontos and X (The guy who wishes to remain annonymous ;)). It hasn't always been safe sailing, but it's been a pleasure. Finally, thanks to all my loyal visitors, some of you have been with Amiga Central since it's inception. Thankyou for making it worthwhile.
7th August 1997
High Street CD's, Pulsator, AMOS News, Alternate Reality
- CU-Amiga reports that due to the efforts of Guildhall Leisure and Epic Marketing Amiga CD-ROM's will once again be sold in high street UK stores including Game, HMV and Electronic Boutique. The first CD to hit the stores will be the classic Civilisation at UKP14.99. Not long after that Microprose F1, Super Skidmarks, Dune2, Theme Park, Blitz Basic and DPaint 5 will also appear. As well as that unseen titles like Street Racer (a Playstation conversion) and Gloom 3 will be released, the latter including over 200mb of data. More information can be found at CU-Amiga.
- FullSpeed Creative Development a German based Amiga games developer has released information on it's upcoming title Pulsator. The game will be a RType like shoot em 'up featuring 512 color AGA screens amongst other stunning technical feats. A demo is due for release in the next 2 to 3 weeks and the full game will ship in January '98 being published by APC & TCP.
- AMOS experts Mushroom PD report that they will soon begin shipping AMOS Pro Compiler 2.0 which will retail for appromixately 25 dollars. In other AMOS news rumours are floating around about the existence of AMOSPro 2.0, according to Mushroom PD it does exist and will be available soon.
- Legendary RPG game Alternate Reality is now available as freeware from it's author. Released over ten years the game is still popular today and is yet to be surpassed by any of it's imitations.
- Aminet is now back online after undergoing hardware upgrades including the addition of more storage space.
6th August 1997
Amiga Review gone!
- In what can only be seen as a major shock, MediaSoft publishers of Amiga Review and Amiga Gamer have cancelled publication of both titles. The main reason cited for the shock announcement was a refusal by bigger magazines and other Amiga publications to carry advertisements for the fledging magazine, "Sales were growing for us until we were refused advertising from the mainstream glossy magazines" said Editor David Pettifer. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- Due to circumstances beyond my control updates have once again been small and spasmodic. I have had limited time and restricted net access due to ISP problems. I apologise if any of you are having trouble accessing Amiga Central.
3rd August 1997
Randomize
- Randomize a Canadian based Amiga dealer have announced they are now taking orders for Phase5 PowerUP cards. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory
- Colin Mohr, ex editor of Amiga Computing has said on the Pure Amiga mailing list he doesn't expect Amiga Computing to come back anytime soon nor is he holding his breath for an Amiga revival. He also said Amiga Computing could have gone on for some time but it "was a shadow of it's former self".
- The interview with the author of ACE Basic has been delayed due to time constraints. It will be online within a week hopefully.
2nd August 1997
Vidamus, Made For Kids
- Vidamus have been licensed by Amiga international to manufacture and market Amiga based merchandise including pens, shirts etc. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- A campaign has been launched to increase awareness of Amiga education and childrens titles. Called Made For Kids the campaign has many objectives in mind including the creation of a misc/kids directory on Aminet. The press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
31st July 1997
VulcanUS, New tower, OnEscapee
- Vulcan Software have established offices in the United States where all their titles and technical support will be available. The North American branch will assume the role of main distributor to the American and Canadian regions. Titles will also be available to dealers wishing to stock Vulcan software.
- Chroma have announced the release of a DIY fully featured A1200 tower kit that is considerably cheaper than any of it's competitors. Titled the T-CASE it is a full sized A1200 tower with 10 drive bays, the option to use Zorro cards and the tower still allows usage of the PCMCIA slot. Prices start at UKP79.99. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
- Hot on the heels of Foundation Sadeness Software have announced they have completed negotiations with Hungarian group Inviticus Team to publish their upcoming title OnEscapee which is said to be a brilliant game similar to Flashback and Another World. Release is expected around September or October. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
30th July 1997
Amiga Computing Closes
Last revised: 29th September 1997, 9:16:14