NEW ATARI NEWS FROM TOAD COMPUTERS! ---- FEBRUARY 27, 1996!! =============================================================== Toad Computers is happy to bring you even more news about exciting new products and developments that will affect YOU as an Atari owner!! Brain Dead 13 for the Jaguar CD is coming March 6th!!! ==================================================================== ToadNet! http://www.toad.net/ info@toad.net ftp://ftp.toad.net/ ==================================================================== MagiC 4 and NVDI 4 Arrive -------------------------- Last Thursday, the greatly anticipated programs NVDI 4 and MagiC 4 arrived at Toad Computers. Also included in the same shipment were HD Driver, GT Look, DA's Picture, and others! If you had an order for any of these products, expect them shortly. The first shipments began Friday with more to follow on Monday. Similarly, if you've been "holding off" until the products were actually in stock, now is the time to order. While we had significant backorders of each program, we have some stock remaining from the first shipment and will have more coming next week. This is the time to buy. ==================================================================== ToadNet! http://www.toad.net/ info@toad.net ftp://ftp.toad.net/ ==================================================================== Houston Atari Safari --------------------- We are pleased to report a successful and enjoyable show in Houston, Texas this weekend. The exhibitors were (in order of the tables!) Gribnif Software, Trace Technologies, Toad Computers, Crawly Crypt, Systems for Tomorrow, Chromagic, Branch Always Software, HACE (Houston Atari Computer Enthusiasts) and other user group representatives. We were able to take small quantities of MagiC 4, NVDI 4, HD Driver, EASE 4, and other new programs for sale, and we also had a good time demonstrating MagiCMac on a PowerBook 540c. Finally -- a PORTABLE, COLOR Atari Compatible Computer -- and oh yeah, it also runs Mac Apps!! On the 540c (68LC040 processor), GemBench placed the display at 26 times the speed of an ST (in monochrome) and placed the CPU at 15 times the speed of an ST. Now THAT's performance, my friends!! Anyway, the show was a great time. Anybody who thinks the Atari market is dying obviously hasn't spent time with the myriad of dedicated users from all over the country (world!) that use the ST to its fullest potential. ==================================================================== ToadNet! http://www.toad.net/ info@toad.net ftp://ftp.toad.net/ ==================================================================== The Potential of MagiC ----------------------- MagiC 4 represents a quantum leap forward in Atari OS technology. It is essentially a reverse-engineered, rewritten and optimized TOS, but with preemptive multitasking and incredible features like background DMA disk formatting. MagiCMac is a version of MagiC for the Macintosh. While it is not yet as advanced as MagiC 4, it is completely compatible. What does this all mean? Well, as Atari has dropped support for TOS and its future development, MagiC is becoming the predominant standard to which software must comply. Because programs that are written to be compatible with MagiC are also generally compatible with MagiCMac, there is a much greater potential market size for such programs. As such, developers are realizing that MagiC/MagiCMac -- not TOS -- is the new standard. Notice that almost every new Atari program that has been released in the last year is not just TOS compatible, but it's MagiC/MagiCMac compatible too. This weekend in Houston, we spoke with Keith Gerdes of Trace Technolgies about support for Aladdin under MagiCMac. This is something he is working on. Dan Wilga of Gribnif gave me a patch to make NeoDesk compatible with MagiCMac -- it's already compatible with MagiC. If you would like to get a copy of the NeoDesk MagiCMac patch, you can download it from: ftp://ftp.toad.net/pub/atarist/magicmac/neo4patch.zip Anyway, the tide is turning. It used to be that MagiC was a curiosity -- something you would run with a handful of programs to get higher performance. Now, it's becoming a standard, and Atari users will benefit!! ==================================================================== ToadNet! http://www.toad.net/ info@toad.net ftp://ftp.toad.net/ ==================================================================== NEW!! Positive Image Photo Retouching Software ----------------------------------------------- Toad Computers is pleased to announce that Positive Image, the much awaited image/photo manipulation software from FloppyShop in Scotland will soon be available through Toad Computers. Place your orders now at the special introductory price of just $99.95! The regular price will be $129.95!! Positive Image will be available soon. There is a demo version available now at ftp://ftp.toad.net/pub/atarist/swdemos/floppyshop/pos_demo.zip. Also available in the same FTP directory are demos of other Floppyshop programs Family Roots II, EZ-Art Professional and EZ-Stitch; we'll have more news on them shortly. Please contact us via email if you have any questions!! **************************************************************************** Positive Image by Stephen Found ------------------------------- Program Type:- Photographic Image Processing and Retouching System: Any TOS based computer. STE, TT and Falcon enhanced. Memory Required: 1024k Display Type: Any Price: $99.95 (Intro Price - normal price $129.95) **************************************************************************** Floppyshop are delighted to announce the forthcoming release of Positive Image, a high end image processing tool developed primarily for the Atari TT and Falcon 030. Positive Image has come about as a result of extensive research into professional photographic image retouching packages on non- Atari machines. The result is an image processing studio, such as has never before been seen running on Atari computers! Positive Image runs on any TOS based computer but is enhanced to take full advantage of the improved hardware on the STE, TT and Falcon, especially the DSP on the Falcon. The blitter (if present) is also used to maximum effect. There are two versions of Positive Image, one for 68000 based ST/e's the other for 68030 machines (including PAK 68/3 accelerated ST/e's and Apple Macintosh machines running MagiC Mac). The basic 68000 version contains all the features of its big brother, being limited only by the slower processor speed and lower resolution displays. If your ST/e, TT or Falcon has a processor accelerator or graphic card fitted, this too will be used to its fullest capabilities. Positive Image is the ONLY GEM based image processing program to allow the editing of 24-bit True Colour graphics on an ordinary ST in any resolution (including low res!). A high spec system is not necessary in order to run Positive Image, but the program will take full advantage of the increased processing power if it is there! The following is a list of the program's main features: System Compatibility * Minimum requirements: 1 Meg of RAM only, 4 Meg of RAM (or more) and a hard drive are recommended for serious use. * Supports all screen resolutions (including ST low res) on the ST/e, TT and Falcon including overscan, all virtual screen drivers and the various resolution boosters such as Autoswitch Overscan on the ST and all known hardware and software resolution boosters on the Falcon 030. * Compatible with all official releases of TOS (1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.62, 2.05, 2.06, 3.05, 3.06, 4.01, 4.02, 4.04) and the developer version of 4.92. * Fully compatible with GDOS 1.1, AMC GDOS, FontGDOS, FSM GDOS, SpeedoGDOS v4, SpeedoGDOS v5 and NVDI 3/4 with regard to both font and printer support. * Compliant with all 100% GEM compatible graphics cards. * Fully compatible with MagiC Mac. * Fully compatible with Gemulator. * Supplied in two versions for the different models in the Atari range. The basic program runs on any Atari and the 68030 version runs on any 68030 or 68040 based TOS compatible system and takes advantage of the DSP in the Falcon. Multi-Tasking Features * Fully compatible with Multi-TOS, Geneva and MagiC. * Supports extended AES messages from Multi-TOS, WinX, Geneva and MagiC 3/4. * Supports the Xacc and AV protocols for sending messages between programs. * Support for Multi-TOS and MagiC 3/4's drag and drop protocol whereby a group of images are dragged onto an open window and are all loaded in a single operation. General Features * Extensive file support allows the following graphic formats to be imported: AIM, Degas, Windows and OS/2 Bitmap, EZ-Art Pro, IFF (including Deluxe Paint ST, standard HAM, high res HAM, HAM6, HAM8, HAM12 and 24-bit HAM), IMG (including HyperPaint X-IMG and conventional X-IMG), InShape, Imagelab, JPEG, MTV Raytrace, NeoChrome, PC Paintbrush, Photochrome, Portable Network Graphic (PNG), Prism Paint, True Paint, Spectrum 512 (both 50hz and 60hz pictures), TrueVision Targa, TIFF v6 (including CCITT fax and JPEG support) and Tiny. * Saves out in most popular formats including TIFF, BMP, JPG, PNG, TGA, XIMG, EZA, P?1 and NEO amongst others. * Full support for true (i.e. non paletted) 256 level Greyscales, fully preserving the colour depth. These are even supported for image formats which do not ordinarily handle this type of image! * Comprehensive file information (filename, format, compression method, dimensions, memory required, memory free) given when loading images. * Handles conversions between monochrome, 16 colour, 256 colour, Greyscale and True Colour, performing colour quantisation or palette boosting as necessary. * Colour selection compliant with both RGB and CMY standards. * Supports separate editing of the red, green, blue and mask channels with colour images. * Subject to memory and/or available hard drive space, an UNDO buffer is available at all times, allowing 'mistakes' to be reversed easily. UNDO works for all operations in Positive Image. * All images are stored internally in 24-bit format and all operations are carried out on the 24-bit representation held in memory. This ensures that the same quality results are obtained whether pictures are edited in monochrome or True Colour. * Uses tiling to redraw only the parts of an image that have been changed. This is in addition to the fact that Positive Image's full screen redraws are faster than any other Atari image processing package that we have encountered. * Near-instantaneous screen redraws in True Colour mode. * Images can be intelligently rescaled and anti-aliased to suit the size of your paper (or the dimensions of your choice provided they do not exceed that of your paper!). Realistically you can print out an image at up to 400% of its original size at 300dpi without any noticeable loss of quality. * Optionally uses windowed dialogues which may be moved to a more convenient location when work is being obscured. Access to the menu bar or other GEM applications is also supported when running under Multi-TOS with this feature enabled. * Multiple dialogues can be open at the same time and you can move between them freely, even under single-tasking TOS. In fact different tools can be active for different images and Positive Image always remembers the currently selected tool for the appropriate image! * Includes its own virtual memory feature which runs on any Atari with a hard drive. Positive Image is also fully compatible with TT Fast RAM and virtual memory drivers on the TT and Falcon such as Outside. * Supports multiple loading of up to five images at once from the Selectric file selector and inserts the filemasks for supported formats into Selectric's list of masks. These features are also available to users of the Freedom file selector. * Makes use of the GEM Clipboard for cutting and pasting of blocks. * Allows you to specify your Clipboard directory and creates a Clipboard for you if you don't already have one. * Retains multiple blocks in the Clipboard to facilitate easier creating of montages. * Clipboard support includes the ability to clear all blocks or delete individual blocks after use. * Support for Brainstorm's DSP based JPEG decoder on the Falcon. * Standard GEM compliant keyboard shortcuts for all menu options. * Iconification of images to maximise desk space. * All your preferred settings are saved as default to save valuable time when next using the package. * Floating toolbar with short tool descriptions being displayed as you hover over their icons. * GDOS fonts may be unloaded when not in use, in order to save memory. * All the common text attributes such as bold, italic, underline and outline may be applied to your text and previewed on screen before use. * Powerful block handling features include the choice of 11 different overlay methods with user definable transparency feature. * The ability to use any of the RGB channels of the block or image as a mask channel when pasting blocks. * Supports the creation of 3D random dot stereograms and foreground enhanced stereograms. * Sixteen zoom levels allow you to scale an image up or down to a maximum factor of eight. When zoomed (in or out), blocks, brushes etc are all scaled accordingly. Outsize images can be zoomed out to view the entire image for pasting blocks or defining localised regions for processing. Zooming in allows fine editing right down to individual pixels. * Fully illustrated in-depth 136 page manual which covers not only the use of Positive Image itself but also the fundamentals of image processing. Includes extensive cross-referencing, a glossary of over 250 terms used within the manual, a guide to the various graphic file formats and a handy trouble-shooting section. Written by a former regular contributor to several popular Atari magazines. Falcon Specific Features * 3D graphic interface. * Compatible with 32Mhz accelerators, probably 40Mhz too! * Fast DSP code handles most processor intensive operations such as re- scaling, rotating, filtering, dithering and such like. * Works on both VGA and RGB monitors as well as ordinary TV sets. * Fully compatible with ScreenBlaster BlowUp030 and other resolution enhancers. Printer Support * Fully supports printing from any version of GDOS or SpeedoGDOS. * Also includes its own printer drivers as an alternative to those available with the various GDOS versions. * Non-GDOS based printer support includes all 9-pin and 24-pin Epson and IBM models (colour and mono), HP DeskJet (colour and mono), HP LaserJet, IBM ProPrinter, Epson Stylus (mono and colour) and Postscript printers. * Supports half-toning, random dithering, clumped (the method used by newspapers) and Floyd-Steinberg dithering as options to use when printing out. * Uses data compression when printing to HP Laserjets and Deskjets to reduce printing time. * Images can be printed to disk if memory is low. These files can then be double-clicked from the GEM Desktop and sent directly to the printer. They can also be printed out from PC, Mac and Unix machines if you transfer them via a PC formatted disk. * Can export images in PostScript format. Image Processing Features * All the usual tools such as Brightness/Contrast, Contrast Stretch, Negate, Threshold, Histogram and Equalise are present as well as many revolutionary new ones. * Images can be rotated to any angle in either a clockwise or anti- clockwise direction to an accuracy of one degree. Uses DSP on the Falcon. * Real-time mirroring of images. * Comes supplied with six commonly used image processing filters (including smooth, sharpen and remove noise) built-in. * Allows the user to create his/her own external filters for use with Positive Image. The package includes about a dozen useful pre-defined external filters including Blur, Emboss, Erode and Vibrate. * Supports 256 level (8-bit) masking. Includes a configurable gradient mask tool which allows you to create your own masks. * Allows processing of user defined rectangular, circular, elliptical and bezier area definitions within Greyscale and True Colour images without affecting other areas of the image. * Powerful auto-trace tool supports user-defined tolerance level to allow easy selection of multi-coloured areas of similar RGB value eg; could be used to select a sky background. * Pixel precise area selection of any shape supported by use of Alpha Channel handling. * Image warping (two different implementations supported) and shearing enable life-like twisting and distorting of images. The closest you'll get to morphing on a non-frame based package. You must see these features to believe them! They are fully operational in the demo version! * Supports gamma correction of images for screen and/or printer. Image Retouching Features Besides having a powerful compliment of image processing tools, Positive Image includes a number of localised retouching tools with user definable brush size and shape. These are for the main part, similar in concept to those found in any standard graphics package, but further enhanced to fully exploit the image processing capabilities of Positive Image. The retouching tools are as follows:- * Sharpen/Blur - A dual purpose tool which applies a local high pass sharpen (or blur) filter to the pixel beneath the mouse. The area affected is directly related to your chosen brush size. * Dodge/Burn - A dual purpose tool which lightens or darkens each pixel in the area beneath the mouse, when used on Greyscale or True Colour images. * Eraser - Erases any given area using a 15x15 pixel block. * Fill - A standard fill tool as found in most graphics packages but with user control over opacity, fade and strength. * Spraycan - A traditional airbrush tool with the added advantage that you can set opacity, fade and strength to suit. * Paint - A standard painting tool which applies you chosen colour to the image relative to the size and shape of your selected brush. * Pencil - Identical to paint except that it always works at single pixel level, regardless of the size of the brush. * Rubber Stamp - A multi-purpose cloning tool. * Full user configurability of all image processing tools allowing you to set the Opacity, Fade and Strength to make them work like 'real' paint! All retouching tools may be used in Positive Image's variable zoom mode to ensure pixel precise accuracy. The retail price has been fixed at $129.95, but you can order your copy now at the introductory price of just $99.95, guaranteeing that you are one of the first to receive this highly sought after package. ==================================================================== ToadNet! http://www.toad.net/ info@toad.net ftp://ftp.toad.net/ ==================================================================== Contact us! Is there a product or service you're looking for? We want to know! We are: Toad Computers 570 Ritchie Highway Severna Park, MD 21146-2925 USA Info / International Orders: (410) 544-6943 FAX: (410) 544-1329 USA & Canada Orders: (800) 448-8623 (448-TOAD) Email: info@toad.net or info@toad.net@INET# (GEnie Mail) Also TOAD on Genie Check out our web site! With more than ever before!! http://www.toad.net/ Get the latest WEB BROWSER for the Atari, too! It's available via ftp at ftp://ftp.toad.net/pub/atarist/internet -- check there for the latest version!! Thanks from ALL OF US here at Toad -- Dave, Jennifer, Ray, Tanya, Jo Ann, Jaimie, Dale, Justin, Kathy, Todd, Mark, Stefan, and Zoe the dog! We appreciate your support!!! ==================================================================== ToadNet! http://www.toad.net/ info@toad.net ftp://ftp.toad.net/ ==================================================================== ===================================== (C) 1996 Toad Computers ======