The latest Amiga News & Rumours By Paul Morabito

Thankyou to everybody who has sent me supportive emails over the last week, I was never aware how highly some people regarded Amiga News Central. As to the future, I am currently considering a few ideas which I will announce towards the end of next week when my current real life commitments drastically reduce. Thankyou once again and please keep visiting Amiga Central.

Kind Regards,
Paul Morabito.
Webmaster, AmigaCentral.

As some of you may already know it has become quite a struggle updating Amiga News Central. Unfortunately in future this will only get worse as I will have to channel more energy into things outside of Amiga Central. Because of this I'm suspending the updating of Amiga News Central indefinetly (this will not affect the rest of Amiga Central). In the meantime I will reasses Amiga News Central and explore other solutions (if there are any).

Thankyou

Kind Regards,
Paul Morabito.
Webmaster, AmigaCentral.

• Schatztruhe plan on releasing the Complete Aminet Pack. The package will comprise of 22 CD-ROM's in total including Aminet Set 1 to 5 and Aminet 20 and 21. The complete set totals over 20GB's of data in 50,000 files. The package will retail for $US115. The full press release can be found Here.
• This from Amiga Network News. Micronik have announced in issue 13 of T3 magazine that they currently have two Amiga based DVD players in the making. No release date or price has been announced.
• Amiga Games News reports the Q-Group, an Amiga games development team are currently working on a game titled Fubar. The game will be a conquest style game with up to 4 players (through a serial or TCP/IP network). It is said to be a combination of North and South, Civilisation, Command and Conquer, Cannon Fodder, Risk and Chess.

• The Midwest Amiga Exposition is fast approaching. As previously reported the show will hold the first official developers conference and notable Amigans such as Dale Larson, Andy Finkel and Jason Compton will be in attendance. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• Harv Laser's long running AmigaZone is once again offering a special membership offer. Those who register will receive a free CD of their choice (from a selected list) as well as access to AmigaZone's Telnet BBS, including over 40,000 files and many Amiga mailing lists and newsgroups. The full press release can be found the Amiga Web Directory.
• The Lair, an online Amiga zine has announced the release of it' latest issue including as previously reported an interview with Nova Sector Engineering as well as many other interesting articles. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• AmigaFlame reports on a new game from Development Tean titled Fortress Of Fear. The game, set in ancient times where two races struggle for domination, dragons and humans. The game requires 4mb Fast RAM, 030, AGA/Cybergraphics, CD-ROM and a hard drive. More information including screenshots can be found at AmigaFlame.
• The Amiga.Org team will be attending the Midwest Amiga Exposition. There will be live updates on the events as they happen especially the Developer Conference.
• Squids Amiga Page and Rumour Mill has been updated. For those who dont already know, Squid writes a commentary on various Amiga and computing issues. Included in this update is a commentary on the recent DOJ action against Microsoft.

• In keeping with the new "Open Licensing" policy Amiga International has signed yet another clone manufacturer. This time DCE Computer Service GmbH have signed a licensing deal which will see them manufacture and distribute their own enhanced version of an Amiga motherboard. The new boards will make the heart of new modular Amiga computers which will include hardware MPEG support amongst many other features and ship in a specially designed tower case. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• Another Amiga licensee Nova Sector Engineering have released more details on their planned clones which are specially designed for use in the DTV market. The high end Nitro series will ship with a 68060@50mhz, PowerPC 604@200mhz, a video toaster complete with Lightwave 5.0 and hideous amounts of RAM and a super fast hard drive. Prices range from around $US4000 for a low end system to around $28000 for a high end system. Yet to come is the SupremeNitro which if the current clones are anything to go buy will be stunning.
• Due to time constraints I have had little time to dedicate to Amiga Central and once again I cannot complete a full update. Hopefully things will return to normal soon.

• Schatztruhe have released more details about the long awaited update to the Amiga's favorite text editor, CygnusED. The new developers including Olaf Barthel of Term fame hope to add many new "power" features to CED without compromising it's amazing speed. CED 4.0 will be released on November 17. More information can be found at Schatztruhe.
• With the successful completion of the RC5-56 competition and the Amiga team finishing a very credible 7th the new RC5-64 Amiga challenge has been officially launched. The full press release including info on downloading the new client can be found at the Amiga RC5 Page.
• This from the latest issue of Amiga Informer. A new revolutionary interactive television product has been launched called Playable Television. The system uses an Amiga 4000 combined with a VideoToaster and custom software to achieve it's feats. NASA were so impressed that they have purchased preproduction units and the company has met similar responses from many other prominent companies. More information can be found at Playable Television (the website is currently down). Unfortunately contract negotiations with Newtek are not proceeding as the developers had planned and this is stalling mass production of the units.
• As previously reported AmiBench are currently trying to establish a global list of Amiga dealers to be maintained at a single website. The proposed website would be of great benefit to any user looking for Amiga gear in a particular country and allows dealers to advertise their services for free. If you would like to submit a dealer the application can be found here.
• Official Amiga licensee Micronik will appear at the worlds biggest Amiga show, Computer97. On display will be their licensed Amiga clones along with their other Amiga peripherals including flicker fixers (both internal and external) and scan doublers. The full press release in German can be found at Micronik.

• PerSuaSiVe SoftWorX have offered sizeable discounts on there whole product line until the end of Computer97 (November 16). Discounts include a 10DM reduction on SuperView and similar discounts on DRAFU, PNG-Box and PPC modules for SuperView. The full press release can be found here.
• BrowserWatch, the multi platform web browser news service reports that by the end of the year all Amiga browsers will have Javascript support and IBrowse 2.0 will include built in support for QuickTime and MPEG (audio). The full article can be found at BrowserWatch.

• Lotis Pacific, the group responsible for the Chinese WonderTV A6000 Amiga based set top box have unveiled plans for a Wonder TV Broadcast System A6060. The new system will be on show at the upcoming International Broadcast Television Equipment Show in Chengdu, China, from the 28th October to 31st November. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• Haage & Partner have just announced they will be attending Computer97 the worlds biggest Amiga show. With previous attendances as high as 65,000 H&P have a big display planned. On show will be almost all their product line including the yet to be released Tornado3D, the controversial WarpUP and Merapi, the Amiga's new Java client. More information can be found at Haage&Partner
• Schatztruhe are giving every Amiga owner the chance to win a Phase5 PowerUP card by simply solving a riddle. The full press release can be found here.
• With the RC5-56 bit encryption key having been found and the Amiga finishing a very credible 7th, Thomas Tavoly co-ordinator of the Amiga RC5 Effort has announced plans for the team to once again compete in the RC5-64 competition where a 64bit key must be cracked. The competition has already begun, an Amiga client is in the making and is due very soon.
• An exclusive interview with Lisa Tunnah of Vulcan Software is now available on Amiga Central in the Features section.

• Gateway 2000, parent company of Amiga International has announced losses totalling $US107 million. Gateway say this is largely due to the purchase of Amiga Technologies and Advanced Logic Research along with a decline in the value of excess inventory due to a slow down in the PC market. More information can be found at NEWS.COM.
• Asimware, makers of MasterISO, one of the Amiga's best CD-R programs reports that MasterISO 2.0 will fully support SCSI and ATAPI CD-R and CD-RW drives. No release date has been announced.
• New Amiga clone licensee Nova Sector Engineering has been interviewed by The Lair an online Amiga zine. The interview is of interest to all Amiga users especially those who professionally use Amiga's in DTV. The interview can be found at The Lair.
• AmigaFlame reports on a new game currently in development, New Horizon. The game which is set in the future is a space station management simulation. More information including screenshots can be found at Amiga Flame.

• Chris Hames, author of PC-Task is currently working on a PPC version of the popular software PC emulator but is unsure of it's viability. Those interested are asked to register their vote at the PowerUP Homepage. The full Usenet posting can be found here.
• The RSA Secret-Key Challenge which an Amiga group competed in has ended. A group calling themselves the Bovine Team successfully found the key on Sunday the 19th. The system was no where near as powerful as some of it's competitors being only a single 200mhz PPro with 128mb's RAM and running NT 4.0.
• Not really Amiga news but interesting none the less. Microsoft has found themselves in serious trouble with the Department Of Justice in the US for bundling copies of Internet Explorer with it's Windows operating system. If found guilty Microsoft could be fined up to US$1 million per day until the situation is corrected. However the court ruling could have massive ramifications on the future of Operating System development on all platforms. For those interested in more information NEWS.COM has been providing good coverage.

• Canadian based Power Solutions have obtained the US distribution rights to the Melody, a 16-bit MPEG audio ZorroII card. The card fully supports AHI and includes a Toccatta emulation mode. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• Amitrix Development have released an upgrade patch for AWeb 3.0. The patch is said to correct many of the bugs that were present in the original version and generally make the program more stable. More information can be found at Amitrix Development.

• Vulcan have issued a press release announcing the signing of The World Foundry, a new Amiga development team. The deal will mean all World Foundry titles will be published by Vulcan beginning with Explorer2260 and Maim & Mangle. The full press release can be found here
• Sony have released two disk based Digital Cameras. Titled the Mavica the cameras include a built in high density PC disk drive (1.44mb) allowing easy transfer of pictures from the camera to the PC. Of most interest to Amiga users is that any Amiga with a high density disk drive can also use the camera through CrossDOS. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• The AAA Awards has just appointed a committe and has recently held it's first meeting. The committe will allow the AAA awards to expand and grow in popularity. The full press release can be found at Amiga.Org.
• With the resignation of Matt Bettinson, CU Amiga is on the look out for a new staff writer. For those interested in the position more information can be found at CU Amiga.

• The cloak has been totally uncovered on the once mysterious Chinese Amiga based set top box. Amigan Fabian Jimenez recently visited the US arm of the company responsible for the device and has compiled a report including photographs of the system. An interesting note is negotiations are currently taking place with certain Amiga software developers as to releasing their programs in China. The full report can be found at Fabian Jimenez's HomePage
• Amiga Flame reports on the creation of a new Amiga games developer, Skillo Interactive. The group is largely composed of UK based university students. Currently they have two games in development, Radioaction and Martian Tales. More information including screenshots can be found at Amiga Flame.
• Amiga Flame reports that Titan Computer have struck an agreement with Blittersoft to distrubute their games in the UK.including games like Sword, Brainkiller and Shadow Of The Third Moon. More information can be found at Amiga Flame.
• Attentive readers would have noticed that the promised interview with AteoConcepts has not been put online. I apologise for this but I decided against publishing it as it was very poorly answered and had no news value.

Party, Titan, NovaDesign, Vulcan

• The first ZKM Internet Media Party is currently taking place both on the internet and at the 150 Goethe-Instituts worldwide. The party, the first of it's kind will run for 24 hours and will celebrate the opening of the ZKM, the worlds first institution dedcated entirely to art in new media. The party has caught the interest of many including President of Amiga International, Petro Tyschtschenko. More information can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• Amiga Games News reports Titan Computer have released the first Amiga voxel engine powered flight sim for the Amiga, called Shadow of the Third Moon. Enemies and landscape is calculated in real time and the landscape features such effects as fog, smoke, shadows and water effects. The game is AGA only and supports RTG, rquires 4mb fast RAM and an 030. More information including a downloadable demo can be found at Titan Computer.
• NovaDesign have announced a special.holiday price for bundled copies of Aladdin 4D, the Amiga's most eagerly developed 3D modelling, animation and rendering package. The deal is only avail from selected dealers and distributors. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• Vulcan are adding the finishing touches to The Final Odyssey CD-ROM. The game will definetly be released on the 1st November as planned. More information can be found at Vulcan

Schatztruhe, Dealer list, PPC, AR

• Schatztruhe has announced they will begin distributing a variety of Amiga CD-ROM games. The first titles to be sold include Trapped 2, NemacIV and Wendetta 2175. The full press release including a full list of titles, prices and ordering information can be found here.
• Amibench, a group of enthusiastic Amiga users are in the process of creating a global database of Amiga dealers. The database which will be accessible online will help both users and dealers. The full press release can be found at Amiga.Org.
• A review of one of the first PowerUP cards from Phase5 is available at the PowerUP Homepage.
• Amiga Report 5.08 is now available in the new look HTML interface. An online version can be found at CUCUG.
• And now a correction. Yesterday (16/10) I stated Digita had announced their will no be further development on their Amiga product range, besides Worworth. This isn't true, development has only been suspended.

Digita, Hurricane Software, Phase5

• Long time Amiga developer Digita have announced the release of Wordworth 7.0 and simultaneously stated there will no be no further development on their other Amiga products. No feature list is available for WordWorth 7 but it is due for release in March/April 1998. Another interesting note is that Wordworth is in the process of being ported to the PC, a prerelease version is available free from Digita. The full email can be found here.
• Hurricane Software, an Italian Amiga developer have signalled their intentions to produce a new graphic adventure game in the style of Monkey Island from LucasArts. The game will be AGA only. More news as it comes to hand.
• Ralph Schmidt of Phase5 has responded to Jim Drew's statement about the PowerUP system. In the reply Ralph "corrects" a lot of statements made by Jim Drew and disputes almost everything Jim previoisly stated. The posting can be found here. A reply by Jim Drew is already available but I have chosen not to publish it as it has no news value.

CU-Amiga, ICQ, Octamed, Mushroom

• Matt Bettinson, technical editor of CU Amiga has resigned from his position to take up empolyment with a "legendary American publisher". However he will still be involved with CU Amiga as a freelance writer. Another interesting note is that CU-Amiga is still exceeding profit predictions made by the parent company so it appears it will be around for a good while yet.
• It now appears highly likely ICQ will be ported to the Amiga, though by whom it is unknown. Both Matt Bettinson of CU-Amiga and the previously mentioned team have been talking with the creators of ICQ, Mirabilis and have receieved positive feedback. Basically, Mirabilis want to do an Amiga port but there are a few issues to be resolved.
• Octamed, a long time favorite with Amiga users is now available for free. Original author Teijo K. has abandoned the Amiga (due to poor sales) and will be concentrating solely on the PC version. However the Amiga development has been picked up by another programmer. The latest version Octamed Soundstudo v1.03 is available for free at the Octamed Amiga Page.
• Mushroom PD is now an official distributor of F1 licenseware products. The deal expected to be finalised and signed within a few days will see F1 and 5th Dimension Licenseware products available from Mushroom by the end of the month.
• A short interview with innovative Amiga developers Ateo Concepts will be online by the end of the week. Stay tuned for more information.

IPISA, Hisoft C, TV, Mushroom

• The seventh annual Italian computer conference, ISPISA '97 will this year be held in Milan on the 29th and 30th of November. This year the conference features 27 different seminars ranging from BeOS demostrations to speakers from Sun about the Java development platform and will feature presentations from Haage & Partner, Urban Mueller (Aminet admin) and Aaron Digulla (AROS project) to name but a few. The full press release can be found here.
• Since the initial announcement of Hisoft C I have received more information about the exciting new C compiler. The package is not yet shipping although HiSoft are happy to discuss an Intermediate developer version for those who require it ASAP. The Lite version should be about later this week with a CD-ROM version to follow. More information including a comprehensive feature list can be found here.
• There will defintly be a feature on Amiga's in an upcoming episode of US Techno Slams, a television program about computers that is made in the US and screened in the UK. The staff would like to thank all those who sumbitted information and offered support saying, "you guys are the absolute greatest for providing such a wealth of material". It is not yet known when the Amiga feature will screen.
• Mushroom PD have released their monthly newsletter which concentrates on the news and events in the AMOS world. Included in this issue is information on obtaining an AMOS Pro compiler and information on AGA support within AMOS. The full newsletter can be read here.

RC5, Amiga Alley, Vulcan, Sponsor

• Amiga RC5 Team Effort has amazingly made it into the Top 10 worldwide competing in the RC5-56/RSA Secret Key Challenge. However the team is not just happy with the Top 10, they are interested in consolidating their position and are seeking more Amiga users to join in the project. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• CyberWlf's Amiga Domain, run by fellow Australian Guy Nathan will officially be taking over some parts of the old Amiga Alley site run by Colin Thompson. This will of course not include the Fishwrap but most other parts will be integtrated into the website.
• Amiga Flame reports Vulcan Software have signed up another Amiga developer, World Foundry. The deal will see titles such as Explorer 2260 and Maim and Mangle published by Vulcan. More information can be found at Amiga Flame.
• Amiga Central is desperately seeking a sponsor. Any money raised through sponsorship will be reinvested into the site (inluding hostname, more server space etc). Any company or individual interested can email me for more details.

Midwest T-Shirts, Microcode, UAE

• To celebrate the annual Midwest Amiga Expo the organisers have created an official T-shirt, with the permission of Amiga International. depending on the method of payment and shipping the T-shirts range in price frim $US12 to $US16. More information can be found at the MidWest Amiga Expo Page.
• Jim Drew of Microcode Solutions, developers of Fusion, a software Mac emulator has had his say on the Phase5/Haage & Partner scuffle. He also states that he has devised a patch to increase AmigaDOS function calls by 423 times over the original library without any compatibility loss but has recieved no response from Phase5. Also in the statement he mentions that he is working on a PPC native exec.library which should further increase the PowerUP's speed. The full statement can be read here.
• Not really news but interesting none the less. A once prominent Amiga developer who shall remain nameless recently purchased a CD-ROM full of old pirated Amiga games from a UAE site, but not for the purposes of prosecution as you may think. Over time they had lost a lot of their older games and merely wanted to have a copy themselves.

Amiga Forever, Aminet 21, LZX, , Gateway

• Cloanto have released an official press release announcing their new licensed Amiga emulator, Amiga Forever. The complete package will sell for approximately 40UKP. The full press release can be found here.
• Schatztruhe have released Aminet 21, continuing the successful Aminet based CD-ROM series. The CD dated October 1997 contains 500mb of new software and includes Personal Paint 6.4 from Cloanto. The full press release can be found here.
• A petition has been created to attempt to convince Jonathon Forbes, author of LZX to release a freely distributable fully functional version of the compression utility. Those interested in signing the petition can do so by visiting http://www.wirenet.u-net.com/lzx.html
• Is the Amiga curse striking again?. Gateway 2000, Amiga International's parent company is currently laying off staff and is according to financial sources the prime target of a buyout. It is unlikely any of the layoffs and cutbacks will affect the Amiga.
• Following on from yesterdays Share-1 shareware registration system is an official press release which can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.

Amiga Forever, AI, Foundation, Phase5, Share-1

• A lot of news has become available since the announcement of Amiga Forever the first officially licensed Amiga emulator from Cloanto. I have compiled a little report, it's a must read for those interested in Amiga emulation.
• Amiga International have announced the availability of an Amiga poster titled "Back for the Future" and have simultaneously signalled their intentions to protect the Amiga ROM's and OS from pirates by posting copyright information on Kickstart and AmigaOS 3.1.
• Foundation, one of the most eagerly awaited Amiga games is nearing completion. The latest newsletter outlining a worldwide distribution deal and new features added to the game can be read here.
• The ongoing slanging match between Phase5 and Haage & Partner continues with Phase5 posting a reply to the lengthy statement from Haage & Partner. In this statement Phase5 express regret that the ongoing battle is overshadowing the release of an evolutionary Amiga product. The rest of the statement basically refutes much of what Haage & Partner recently said. For those interested the latest statement can be found at the PowerUP Homepage.
• Share-1 is a new credit card based Amiga shareware registration system set to commence operation on January the 2nd 1998. Currently Gamasoft are looking for interested developers to support the scheme.

• Amiga International has announced in a surprise development that Italian developers Cloanto have been officially licensed to produce a software Amiga emulator. The package will ship with a licensed version of AmigaOS as well as "Amiga/PC networking software". More information including some "surprise features" will be announced shortly before it's release which, Cloanto report is on the 14th November. Speculation suggests it could be a "super" version of UAE incorporating some features of the Siamese system.
• Any Amiga user who has used the net on the PC or Mac will probably be aware of ICQ, the excellent Internet communication tool. For the uninitiated it it similar to AmiComSys but informs users of when certain people are online and allows you to chat and exchange files amongst other things. Currently a project is underway to get it ported to the Amiga, those who are interested in an Amiga ICQ can register their support at The Amiga ICQ Page.
• HiSoft Systems hsve released their latest entry into the C programming field with the release of HiSoft C++ Lite. The compiler is ANSI C and AT&T 3.0 C++ compliant and boasts a powerful GUI. The full press release can be found here.
• Another new games developer, Desktop Corruption have announced details on their first title, Children Of Darkness, a new ground breaking RPG for the Amiga. Currently only a prologue to the games story and a few sketches of the animated into are available but this is definetly a project to keep your eyes on.
• C.H.I.P.S, a New York Amiga user group are celebrating their 10th anniversary. As part of the celebrations they have announced their appearance at The Computer and Business Show while afterwards an anniversary dinner will be held. For those interested in attending, the full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.

• Haage & Partner have posted a lengthy article in defense of their WarpUP software and attacking Phase5, claming their reaction is "unproductive". Haage & Partner also went on to say that at the end of the day Amiga users are the winners. The posting goes on to describe the history of the WarpUP and explains the motivations behind it. The full article can be found at Haage & Partner.
• Amiga Flame reports that the long awaited sequel to Trapped, Trapped 2 from Oxyron Software is now available. The full game containes a 3D world consisting of 15 levels and various weapons and special effects that have not yet been seen on the Amiga. More information can be found at Amiga Flame.
• Schatztruhe has again announced reductions to a large range of their products, this time including such gems as Wordworth Office, TurboCalc and Aminet Set 3. More information can be found here.
• Distant Suns, the Amiga's longlasting astronomy program has once again changed distributors. This time Power Solutions has picked up world wide distribution rights and will sell the program for a competitive $CAD27.75 (Floppy and CD-ROM versions). The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.

• Sam Jordan, one of the developers of the controversial WarpUP software has posted an official statement. In it he pleaded to the Amiga community to judge the system on it's merits and to test the speed of the system in comparison to Phase5's software. He said Haage & Partner's goal was that both parties accept the others solution and that both sets of software can live in co-operation. He said it was easy to run both systems on the one Amiga and even in parallel. The full article can be found at the PowerUP Homepage.
• Meanwhile Amiga International has covered the release WarpUP and appears to have taken a neutral standing. The full press release can be found at Amiga International.
• Paul Carrington of Vulcan Software has viciously attacked the beta tester who released a version of Genetic Species to the warez scene. He went on to say if he had proof of who it was he would "sue there ass off" and continued saying he is "fed up with asswipes killing off this machine". The full article can be read here.
• Paymaan Jafari Tayemeh has decided on creating his own improved version of ISO-8859-X, a standard that defines Persian character sets in computers. More information can be found here.

• US Techno Slams, a computer show produced for UK TV and broadcast on the computer channel are considering a feature on the Amiga. Currently the shows producers and researchers are in liason with various Amigans sourcing news and other information. Those who wish to contact the show with encouragement can email them at susan@slams.com.
• The latest issue of AmigaMonitor is now online, access it from the left menubar or non frames users click here.
• You should notice the images and text on the menubar are better aligned. Thanks to Christian Kemp for the tip. Expect ongoing improvements.

• The ongoing public slanging match continues with Phase5 posting a preliminary statement as to where they stand in regards to Haage & Partner's WarpUP PPC software. In the statement Wolf Dietrich of Phase5 claims that "The functionality which Haage & Partner outlines is nothing special, but a standard functionality provided by the Phase5 PowerUP system software". Phase5 have taken steps to ensure that WarpUP software will create a "incompatibility mess". In other news, Haage & Partner have announced plans to create an open forum on the future of the PPC Amiga OS and software.
• National Amiga have released their latest newsletter. Amongst the notable entries is that every purchase over $US200 will entitle the customer to a free C= 64. The newsletter can be read in full here.
• Pantheon Systems in combination with a few notable Amigans have got together to host a seminar called "No limits: Internet development on the Amiga". The seminar will kick off at the Midwest Amiga Expo on Saturday November 1 at 3pm. Topics such as Perl and ARexx scripting, use of the Amiga as an information server and real life examples of the Amiga in use as such tools will be covered. Besides that those who attend will get a sneak peak at the new Amiga browser Web Cruiser by Finale Development. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• Team NewIcons are pleased to announce the release of NewIcons 4.0 including the addition of many features. The full press release can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• In response to NewIcons 4.0 SASG have decided to release the full version of MagicWB 2.1p to the public. The program is still shareware but SASG feel by releasing the full version to the public Amigans can get a better idea of what MagicWB can do. The full press rlease including download information can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• The user links section is now working, Amiga Central users can now add there favorite link to the database. Updates and improvements to Amiga Central will be ongoing. Stay tuned for more info.

• Nova Sector Engineering have obtained an official license from Amiga International to produce Amiga clones. They plan on designing a range of high end Amiga's titled the Cordel specifically for the desktop video market. More information can be found at Amiga International.
• AmigaInformer issue 10 is at the printers and should be out by October 17. It contains 48 pages of the best Amiga news, reviews, articles and tutorials. The full press release can be found here.
• It has been confirmed that SAS/C is definetly coming out for the PPC Amiga's. The patch is not an official SAS product (even though they have SAS's blessing) and as such no official support will be provided. More information on this and more SAS/C Amiga news can be found here.
• Those who have experimented with MPEGA, the Amiga's MP3 decoder will have realised it is unable to play streamed files. Matt Bettinson of CU Amiga has devised an Arexx script that will allow MPEGA to play streamed audio and will work with any Amiga web browser. The script is still in prerelease but it is useable. It can be found at ftp.cu-amiga.co.uk/pub/mat/.
• At the recently held Pianeta Amiga Exhibition in Italy Petro T head of Amiga International has revealed AmigaOS 3.5 will be a firmware and software upgrade and be released February 1998 at the absolute earliest for approximately 40UKP. He also revealed there has been no firm decision on the future CPU the Amiga will use due to the ongoing Apple and Motorola saga. However he did reveal no future Amiga will use Intel CPU's (thank heavens!) and that the next generation Amiga is set to debut in late 1998. A show report can be found at the Amiga Web Directory.
• Schatztruhe has announced massive reductions on it's Cloanto product range including it's flagship product Personal Paint. The full press release can be found here.
• Haage & Partner have designed the first of many online ArtEffect workshops. Designed to allow users of varying expertise to get the best out of the Photoshop like program the first workshop can be found at Haage & Partner.
• ClickBOOM have created an Amiga Web Ring with the intent of bringing together all Amiga WWW sites both commercial and personal. The webring has advantages for both the web surfer and the webmaster. The full press release can be found here.

• The slanging match between Phase5 and Haage & Partner continues with the former announcing details of a new PPC software system in direct competition with Phase5's ppc.library and components.WarpOS from Haage & Partner promises increased speed and efficiency as well as many other features. Phase5 are yet to make a formal public statement but off the record Phase5 are said to be seething. WarpOS is available as a free download, for more information visit Haage & Partner.
• The Site, recently reported on recent events in the Amiga community. Like it's equilivants, it is just a rehash of the now widely distributed Darreck Lisle interview. The article can be found at The Site.
• Amiga International has signed another merchandising deal this time with German company ICP, publisher of AMIGA PLUS magazine. More information can be found at Amiga International.