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pOS PreRelease

• The special prerelease version of pOS from ProDad has gone into production and will begin shipping on August 6. The pre release version is available on both CD-ROM and floppy but the floppy version comes without many of the demos and miscellaneous utilities shipped with the CD-ROM version. The full press release can be found Here.
• MediaSoft have announced a new Amiga magazine dedicated to games called Amiga Gamer. Thir current title Amiga Review will now drop it's game coverage and concentrate solely on the serious side of the Amiga. Subscribers will automatically receive both magazines. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• An interview with the author of ACE Basic, the Amiga's premier BASIC compiler will be online shortly.

Gateway Dispute RightTiming

• It looks like the Amiga is once again heading for the courts. Gateway 2000 have stated their intentions to oppose Righttiming Elctronics sale of an Amiga license to Lotus Pacific claiming they are the only legal holders of the Amiga technology and patents. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory
• A picture of the so called Amiga 6000 by Righttiming Electronics can be found Here
• The full transcript of the Amiga International speech at the World Of Amiga show can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• The Amiga version of Quake can be found at http://islands.zems.fer.hr/~nfrances/amiga.html. Version 0.3 and 0.47 are online for download.
• On a personal note I would like to apologise for the spasmodic updating of Amiga Central of late. I'm currently struck down with a virus thus I'm bed ridden most of the day. I hope to resume normal activity as soon as possible.

Asain Amiga Action

• The New Strait Times reports that Malaysia now has a new Amiga distributor, Innovations Light and Magic (ILM Malaysia). The company is planning on setting up an extensive dealer network to sell Amiga's to both die hard users and professionals alike. Initially ILM Malaysia will be selling an Amiga 1200 Amiga Magic pack with the Phase5 Blizzard 68030 accelerator card and Amiga 4000T machines in various configurations. By November ILM hope to be selling Amiga clones in particular the Micronik A1200 towers. Also mentioned in the article was that AmigaOS 3.5 is due in December of this year though no further details are revealed. The full story can be found at Infoseek.
• The Amiga Web Directory has reported further details on the mystery Chinese Amiga based set top box and the current Amiga situation in China. Though little further light is thrown on the matter what is known is that Lotus Pacific have full access and rights to the Amiga patents but only for use within selected parts of Asia. They have been developing new products which are not necessarily in co-ordination with either the now defunct Amiga Technologies or Amiga International. The situation can be traced back as far as 1995 when a small article appeared in Amiga Report confirming there are Chinese Amiga clones. Also an unknown person who has a long history with the Amiga did a few necessary OS modifications. More information can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.

Lotus Pacific Buys China Amiga rights!

• CU-Amiga reports that Lotus Pacific have purchased the rights to sell and develop the Amiga in China and other parts of Asia from Rightiming Electronics who are trading under the name NewStar in China. They have apparently purchased rights to a system titled the Wonder TV A-6000 a multifunctional set top box based on Amiga technology. It is unknown whether Lotus Pacific have had any contact with or intend to co-operate with Amiga International. The full press release can be found at CU-Amiga.

AI Distributor, Maggot, AUI News, Interview

• Amiga International has announced a new distributor for the Netherlands, Computer City who have been involved with the Amiga since 1988. The deal is effective immediately. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• Amiga.org reports CircleSoft have released a final beta of Maggots which is a worm type game. The final release will be freeware. A beta and the full press release can be found at Amiga.Org.
• Amiga User International reports that there are strong rumours within the UK that Amiga Computing will be the next amiga magazine to bite the dust. Reports indicate that Amiga Computing is very hard to locate on the news stand a definite indicator that it is struggling. The article can be found Here.
• As promised an interview with Paul Burkey creator of Foundation is now online. It can be found at Amiga Central Features.

Amiga Planet, Aminet Set 5, PMPro

• More information can be found on the upcoming Italian Amiga show, Amiga Planet at it's official homepage, http://sigea.sigea.it/jasa/pianetaamiga/.
• Stefan Ossowski's Sctatztruhe has posted details of Aminet Set 5 including overseas ordering details and a detailed description of what exactly is on the CD set. The full press release can be found Here.
• Picture Manager Professional is now available in english from Blittersoft in the United Kingdom. Hailed as the "ultimate GFX tool for your Amiga" it has such features as picture cataloguer, GFX conversion, scanning, printing, image processing and PhotoCD access amongst others. It is said to support over 40 file formats and only requires OS2.1 with 3mb+ of FAST RAM. The english version retails for 49.95UKP. More information including an indepth feature description and screenshots can be found at Blittersoft

New AI Staff, Amiga Support, IRC

• Amiga International has just announced the hiring of a new staff member, Nicole Gottfried who will be filling the position of Assistant Manager. More information include a picture can be found at Amiga International
• AmigaSupport is currently restructuring it's service to better support the Amiga. Pure Amiga reports that a representative of AmigaSupport stated "We believe that the Amiga Community needs a central source for information. Over the next two weeks Amiga support will be reviewing how Amiga Support can best fulfill this role".
• A new Amiga IRC network has been created titled "AmigaNet" fittingly. It is run by the experienced channel ops including the author of Thor. More information including server details can be found at PureAmiga.
• An interview with Paul Burkey the man behind Foundation will be appearing on Amiga Central very soon!.

Amiga Informer, Video Escort

• US based Amiga print magazine Amiga Informer has just announced another overhaul of their popular web site. All articles from previous issues are now online and technical support is now available through "Dr Amiga" or for Amiga graphics/video related questions through "Graphics Class". Another edition is the "Specials" section where Amiga Informer readers will be offered various discounts on popular Amiga software and hardware from Amiga Informer advertisers. The full press release can be found Here.
• Mr Hardware Computers is now offering Video Escort 2.5 a business management program for videographers at only a third of it's original price ($US100). Mr Hardware Computers states that poor sales are the main motivation for the massive price drop but also "to prove the Amiga is better at running business software". The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.

Survey Offline

• Thankyou to those few who took the time to fill in my online survey. The results have been flattering, I am glad you all find AmigaCentral informative. Many concerns and suggestions were raised, I will be addressing these in the near future. Thankyou all.

WebStats, Aminet Set 5, AmiTCP, Amiga Report

• Boutell.Com Inc have announced the release of Wusage for the Amiga which provides web server statistics which provides reports in HTML charts with inline GIF's. A 30 day limited unrestricted trial version and more information is available from Boutell.Com Inc.
• Cronus have announced that Aminet Set 5 by Schatztruhe is now available. The CD set includes approximately 4 gigabytes of files in 7400 archives. Also included is the commercial version of Octamed Sound Studio. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• Network Solutions Development Inc. report that the demo versions of AmiTCP/IP 4.0 have been taken offline at Aminet sites in the US and Australia due to export encryprion laws. However it is still legal for both Australian's and American's to download the demo from any other site.
• Amiga Report 5.06 is now available, an online version can be found Here.
• The Survey will only be online for a futher 24 hours, please fill it in if you havent already done so.

AI License, FutureNet, Amiga Sale, Direct Software

• Amiga International has once again licensed the Amiga technology this time to Intrinsic Computer Systems. They plan to integrate their MMS Technology into the Amiga which allows the connection of EIDE devices easily into both the A1200 and the A4000. ICS have also been granted a license to produce A1200 tower systems and plan shipping them in various configurations from an 030 system to a PPC system naming them Hurricane, Cyclone and Tornado. Every ICS Amiga will ship with three productivity titles or three games produced by Alive Media Software. The only restriction on the license is that ICS cannot use the Amiga name on their machines naming them Amigo PC. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• FutureNet publishers of famous Amiga magazine Amiga Format have seen fit to send subscribers free copies of PC Review and The Edge much to the anger of Amiga users worldwide. Apparently the FutureNet subscription hotline has been bombarded with complaints from irate Amiga users.
• Canadian Amiga dealer Oshawa Amiga have announced huge discounts on various printers primarily Epson's amongst other things. Those interested should visit Oshawa Amiga.
• Now to a correction, it was reported in many sources including on Amiga Central that Direct Software had gone out of business. This is simply not true, they continue to operate normally only there games development department has been sold to Alive Media Soft. Further information can be found at PureAmiga.

CygnusED, CU-Amiga, Squid

• Schatztruhe has announced it plans on updating the Amiga's famous text editor, CygnusED. Before it's demise CygnusED was by far the best text editor on the Amiga and remains to this day a formidable opponent to any of the currently available editors. Currenrly Schatztruhe are asking for suggestions from the Amiga community on what they would like to see implemented. The new CygnusED will appear on CD-ROM and be released before the end of this year. For the full press release click Here.
• The worlds leading Amiga magazine, CU-Amiga has announced that in their September issue there will be full instructions to build a 18bit 48khz sound sampler. The DIY kit will cost no more than 130UKP and be reasonably easy to assemble. It will work on all Amiga's (minus the A4000T) because it utilises the disk drive and serial ports. For more information please visit CU-Amiga.
• In other CU-Amiga news a new subscription offer has been announced whereby you only pay for 9 issues but receive the full 12. For more information please visit CU-Amiga.
• Squid has once again updated his page which is for those who dont know a general comment on the Amiga and the wider computer industry. It can be found Here.
• The Survey will be online for less than 48 hours, please fill it in if you haven't already done do.

Italian Show, AI Licensing?

• Thanks to Enigma Amiga Run Italian's will get an Amiga show called "AMIGA PLANET" to be held at Empoli in Florence on the 20th and 21st of September of this year. The show as already stated is held by one of the most innovative Amiga magazines with the backing of JASA Communications S.R.L. who have extensive experience in exhibitions and fairs. Currently interested parties are asked to contact the magazine or the organisers. More information can be found at Enigma Amiga Run.
• While under attack in some quarters for licensing particularly from Olaf Barthel, it is understood Amiga International are very keen to license the Amiga for use in all kinds of applications, Index and Micronik are only the beginning. Although it is at this time unknown if Amiga International are planning on licensing the OS sources, if they don't clones may suffer compatibility wise but if they do they could lose control of the OS.

Oz Amiga Distribution Update

• In futher news on the current state of the Amiga distribution rights in Australia Petro Tyschtschenko has stated that Amiga International "have no sole distributor in Australia" but that "Megatron is doing sales with me". Petro T. also stated he wants to "establish more distributors". A very confused Mark Barber of Megatron has stated Petro T. instead told them that they were the Australian distributors and that "this is the sort of thing holding the Amiga back!!". It appears there has been a massive misunderstanding between all parties involved and the big question is what about the existence of a letter by Amiga International officially confirming Megatron's position supposedly dated 17th June.
• Basil Flinter of The Amiga Education Network and dictator of the Amiga International press release at the recently held Australian Amiga Gathering has written yet another show report. It can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• Rumour has it we will be seeing Deluxe Paint 6.0 and Art Department Professional 3.0 in the not too distant future. Also Guildhall Leisure have purchased the Amiga version of Street Racer from Ubi-Soft. It is at the moment unknown when it will be released.
• Please if you haven't already answer the Survey, it will be taken offline at the end of the week and the results will be collated.

IBrowse, NewYork, Foundation

• HiSoft have removed the registration page from the IBrowse SSL downloads page. Apparently the registration process was causing difficulties amongst users. The full press release can be found Here.
• GamaSoft have announced the availability of NewYork the latest and greatest newsreader from Finale Development for a mere $32.95 (USD). This offer is limited to North American residents only and ends on August 15. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• Sadeness Software publishers of the upcoming game Foundation by Paul Burkey are on the look out for someone to draw "professional looking hi-res sprites". They also state the "mugshot" offer where you can star in the game is still running. For either or both of these please contact Sadeness Software. In other Foundation news a demo is due to ship with the next 2-3 months.

Amiga Report Top 100, Scorpio?

• The premier Amiga on line magazine Amiga Report is currently conducting a survey amongst Amiga users to determine the "Top 10 Games of all time". To enter please visit Here.
• Intrinsic Computer Systems have reportedly suspended further development and possibly cancelled their Scorpio Supercharger due to a "pending patent in the US". The Scorpio Supercharger first made headlines earlier in the year when it claimed it could overclock current Amiga 68k's to between 100mhz and 200mhz safely using new cooling technology.

Index License, Fusion, Nova sale, AAG

• Amiga International has announced the second successful company to gain a license for the Amiga technology. Index Information situated in the UK attained the license to create "corporate applications", this includes releasing an Amiga technology based machine titled Access. All licensed Amiga based machines will have a "Powered by Amiga" sticker on them. For the full press release please visit the Amiga Web Directory.
• Blittersoft have announced their long awaited answer to Shapeshifter, a Mac emulator by emulation Guru Jim Drew (of Microcode Solutions) called Fusion. Highlights include support for GFX cards, AHI, the fastest screen drawing routines (even faster than 68k and some PPC Macs!) and the ICP (Inner Communication Port) which allows the Amiga and emulated Mac to share resources. It is said that by using the ICP an Amiga image processing program could access Photoshop plugins and vice versa. The full press release can be found at BlitterSoft.
• NovaDesign, leaders in Amiga graphics applicatioms have announced a massive summer sale including huge discounts on many popular products. Please visit NovaDesign for more information.
• While my report of the Australian Amiga Gathering has been taken offline others continue to flow in. Both Guy Nathan and John Pospisil have posted reports.
• If you havent already answered my survey please do so!.

Everything!

• Internet magazine The Lair has an exclusive interview with Dr Edward Helper who you may recall was the brains behind the Hombre chipset set to be used in future Amigas before Commodore's collapse. A must read!, it can be found at The Lair.
• CU Amiga is set to release the much awaited game, TFX free with the October issue of CU-Amiga. The game will appear in full (on the CD-ROM) including optimised versions for the 040 and FPU based Amigas. Full details including screenshots can be found at the CU-Amiga Homepage.
• FutureSights a US based ISP is now offering discounts to webmasters of Amiga WWW pages which vary between 10% and 20% depending on the type of site you run. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• Haage & Partner have just released a stub library for Storm C to support CyberGL. The full press release can be found Here.
• An SSL encryption component is now available for the Amiga's premier web browser, IBrowse. Currently only the International version is available (not for US residents) but one for the US is available. The full press release can be found Here.
• CU Amiga have reported that Champioship Manager 2, the long awaited sequel to Championship Manager is going to be released anyday. Apparently Eidos Interactive want to get it completed as quickly as possibly so as they can work on future titles. Currently they have no future Amiga plans. Also reported are plans by ACT Electronics/Eyetech to produce a 66mhz 68060 accelerator amongst other things. For more information please see CU-Amiga.

• AuroraWorks have announced their first title to come with built in TCP/IP support. Titled H-Bomb it is a Bomberman type clone and will ship with Cybergraphics, AGA, AHI support and be directly playable from CD-ROM. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory. In other AuroraWorks news they have stated in future they will develop for high end Amigas only, that is Cybergraphics/AGA with a 68030/50mhz+, 8mb FAST RAM+ and an FPU where applicable. Games will only be converted for low end Amiga's if quality of the game is not compromised.
• One for interests sake, ex Amiga owner Commodore is once again in the midst of a buyout, the full press release can be found at Nando Net.

• Rumours abound within the Australian Amiga scene of actually who IS the Australian distributor for Amiga International. Megatron, who are best known for their use of the Amiga in industrial applications claim they have just accepted reappointment as the Australian distributor and have a letter signed by Petro T. dated June 17 confirming this. Yet there is persistent rumours stating otherwise which Megatron put down to stemming from the dealer network who "want us to spend $100,000's in advertising but they are not prepared to make any commitment to purchase stock!!". The scathing attack continued with Megatron stating "If the dealers put their money where their mouths are the Amiga would return as a force..". I'll be sticking with this story as events unfold.
• The full press release dictated by Basil Flinter of TAEN (The Amiga Education Network) at the recently held Australian Amiga Gathering is now online at the Amiga Web Directory.
• A reminder that my survey form is now online. I have had a very poor response so far, having only 1%-2% of users replying. It will only take a few moments of your time, and eventually lead to a better AmigaCentral. A big thanks to those who have responded.
• Stay tuned for a couple of big interviews coming in the not too distant future.

• In what can only be seen as a major shock, Direct Software has ceased trading reportedly due to financial difficulties which mainly stem from their failed "Power Amiga" project. Amiga Serious, the Nottingham based Direct Software partner will also cease trading. All is not lost though, a new company has been set up titled Alive Media Soft which has bought all the intellectual property from the old Direct Software. In short this means all projects will continue as is. Both AmigaFlame and PureAmiga cover the story.
• An english translation of the Micronik and Amiga International licensing deal press release is now available at the Amiga Web Directory.

• The latest National Amiga newsletter is out. Now on sale from Canada's favorite Amiga dealer is New York News and VooDoo from Finale Development. The full newsletter can be found Here.
• The National Amiga Open Day was a rousing success. A report compiled by Fleecy Moss of the Jay Miner Society can be found Here

After a short interruption of services Amiga Central is back. A few slight changes have been made including the discarding/delaying of a few concepts (the price of being too ambitious). These include:
• Press releases will gradually move to be stored locally instead of relying on other news services. I have contacted most dealers/developers, if I have forgotten you please mail me.
• A Survey Form is now online, please take the time to fill it out. It will help me immeasurably in improving Amiga Central.
• You may also have noticed the removal of the "Gateway/AT Buyout Watch" page, basically I decided it was in it's current form redundant though a link still exists to it from this page. A new page will appear soon.
  
  Thankyou for your patience.
  
  Major News stories that occured during the past week:
  
  
• HiQ have announced that it's Siamese System now supports Alpha based WindowsNT workstations. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• Amiga International has announced it's first licensing deal with Micronik. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• The Melbourne Age and the Sydney Morning Herald both printed a story on the Amiga. In the Sydney Morning it was front page of the Computers section. The article in full can be found at The Age.
• ClickBOOM have announced games will be directly available from their website. For more information please see the Press Release
• The Australian Amiga Gathering '97 has just finished, my show report can be found at the Amiga Central Features page.
• An interesting list of rumours some plausible and some not so has recently been posted to the PureAmiga mailing list. I stress they *ARE* rumurs and not fact. The list can be found Here.