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Date:         Thu, 10 Sep 1992 11:41:00 EDT
From:         Jim Loomis <LOOMIS@ITHACA.BITNET>
Subject: Warning!!! Long post... 700+ lines. GEnie *StarShip* News. JL

WARNING!  This document contains news of interest to Amiga users, including
new product releases and pricing information.  If this is likely to offend you,
please delete at this time.

[start]
                            -*-   IMPORTANT!   -*-

As long as individual  stories are kept intact  and credit is given, this
material may be  reproduced in ALL or PART on a  privately owned  BBS or in a
user group newsletter. See wording for proper credit at the end of this
Newscast.

Thanks to Denny Atkin, Editor of COMPUTE's Amiga Resource, for his input.



                      DateLine:  September 4, 1992

        This 5-MINUTE Newscast presents the following stories:
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  1.  It's Official!  NEW Amiga 4000 at World of Commodore!

  2.  ASDG Sets Ship Date for State-of-the-Art Amiga Visual Effects Package

  3.  New *StarShip* Graphics Topic Leader Announced: Crickets!

  4.  Next Week's *StarShip* Amiga Conferences
                [DELETED]

  5.  New Horizons Announces ProWrite 3.3

  6.  Black Belt Announces HotLinks Support

  7.  News From Supra Corporation's BBS

  8.  SunRize Industries Ships World's First 8 Track, 16-bit Audio Board

  9.  Accolade Applauds Appellate Court Decision Against Sega




                            *StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
                               1st of 9 Stories


       _    It's Official!  NEW Amiga 4000 at World of Commodore!
      / )   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 __  / /
( (_/ /
 \___/ournalists have reported receiving the following announcement from
Commodore this week:


                         HOT NEWS FROM COMMODORE!

    Introducing the "NEW" Amiga 4000 and other new products at THE WORLD
    OF COMMODORE SHOW at the PASADENA CENTER, Pasadena, CA, from Friday,
    September 11, 1992 through Sunday, September 13, 1992.

                                 SEE IT!

                                 HEAR IT!

                      INTERACT AND CREATE WITH IT!

                 ATTEND OUR EXCLUSIVE PRESS CONFERENCE

 The Amiga 4000 is a revolutionary breakthrough in multimedia computers with:

                         MORE COLORS (16 million)
                           HIGHER RESOLUTIONS
                           FASTER ANIMATION
                          MODULAR PROCESSORS


East Coast press conferences will take place on Sept 16, 1992 in Boston, MA,
and on Sept 17th in New York City.

                                     -*-



                            *StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
                               2nd of 9 Stories


   ASDG Sets Ship Date for State-of-the-Art Amiga Visual Effects Package
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
         ASDG has set an October 1st ship date for MorphPlus(tm), a
         state-of-the-art visual effects package for the Commodore
         Amiga. MorphPlus, already in use in Hollywood for such features
         as Babylon 5, provides cinematic quality full motion morphing
         and other visual effects. ASDG also announced a forthcoming
    _    Microsoft Windows version, called CineMorph(tm).
   / \
  / - \                Madison, WI, August 26, 1992
 / ___ \
(_/   \_)SDG Incorporated, the leading supplier of innovative color imaging
solutions for cinema and video, announce an October 1st ship date for its
state-of-the-art visual effects package, MorphPlus and has announced plans for
CineMorph, a morphing-only system for Microsoft Windows.

MorphPlus produces cinematic and broadcast quality full motion morphs in
record time using a proprietary image warping technology and a user interface
which has been called "strikingly different" and "unique and very impressive."

MorphPlus has already earned a place in major Hollywood productions. Mark
Swain, animator for Foundation Imaging, the creators of the special effects
for Babylon 5 said, "It's scarily realistic. MorphPlus produces the most
realistic shapeshifting special effects I have ever seen on a desktop."

MorphPlus allows for establishing relationships between source and destination
images with unheard-of precision. Animators are free to add as many
relationships as they wish without incurring a significant performance penalty
as the number of relationships grows large (something common to all other
morphing systems).

Other state-of-the-art features abound in MorphPlus, such as the ability to
subdivide an image into logical parts (called groups), assign separate
acceleration and deceleration curves per group, depth arrange groups, and even
the ability to set a transparency curve on a group by group basis.

MorphPlus's morphing system is so precise and flexible, that it can be used to
edit fine details of an image, or to create mattes and cut-outs.

As for performance, on a non-accelerated A3000, MorphPlus can produce a
complex full broadcast sized morph in the same time as Pacific Data Images's
morphing system (the one used for the Michael Jackson "Black or White" video)
running on an ultra-high performance Silicon Graphics workstation.*

Incredibly, morphing is but one of the special effects provided by MorphPlus.
Other capabilities allow high quality DVE tumbles and fly-bys, mapping images
onto rotating spheres, mapping an image onto the surface of a pond into which
any number of pebbles can be thrown, and others  All of these operations are
presented in easy-to-use WYSIWYG user interfaces.

MorphPlus is compatible with ASDG's award winning image processing program,
Art Department Professional, although ADPro is not required. MorphPlus can
also be used with ASDG's recently announced support for the Abekas A60, A65,
and A66 Digital Disk Recorders to move broadcast quality video between
platforms.

MorphPlus carries a list price of $295 and requires Kickstart 2.0 or later.

On a related note, ASDG has announced the development of a morphing-only
version of MorphPlus, called CineMorph, for the Microsoft Windows environment.
CineMorph requires Windows 3.1 or later and an Intel 386 processor or better.

For information about MorphPlus, CineMorph, or ASDG'S other color imaging
solutions, contact Gina Cerniglia at ASDG Incorporated, 925 Stewart Street,
Madison, WI 53713 or call (608) 273-6585.

Sample files from ASDG's MorphPlus are available in the *StarShip* Library:

                        16837 FACEBOUNCE.LHA
                        16659 HORSEBOUNCE.LZH

Art Department Professional is a registered trademark, MorphPlus and Cine-
Morph are trademarks of ASDG Incorporated. Amiga is a registered trademark of
Commodore-Amiga, Inc. Microsoft and Microsoft Windows are registered
trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

 * 1992 SIGGRAPH Proceedings, "Feature Based Image Metamorphosis," page 38.
Two minutes per frame on an SGI 4D25 with 100 correspondance pairs.

   ______________________________________________________________________
  /                                                                      \
 |                                                                        |
 | How would you like to be a part of one of the most exciting companies  |
 | in the Amiga community?                                                |
 |                                                                        |
 | I am looking to add a Technical Support Representative for ASDG's      |
 | complete product line. Although you are not required to have a working |
 | knowledge of all of our products--both hardware and software--the more |
 | you know the better.                                                   |
 |                                                                        |
 | You need to possess excellent phone skills, know how to listen to our  |
 | users' problems and respond with clear and helpful answers. You need   |
 | to be organized, responsible, and have a service-oriented mentality.   |
 | You also need to have a good deal of knowledge with the Amiga's hard-  |
 | ware and operating system software, and be willing to learn how to use |
 | existing and new products.                                             |
 |                                                                        |
 | ASDG offers full health benefits, an extremely aggressive profit       |
 | sharing and pension plan, bonuses from time to time, an excellent work |
 | atmosphere, and a chance to be part of one of (what are nearly uni-    |
 | versally regarded as) the good guys of the Amiga marketplace.          |
 |                                                                        |
 | To respond, either email me a SHORT NOTE describing yourself (WHICH    |
 | MUST INCLUDE YOUR PHONE NUMBER) or call me at (608) 273-6585. If you   |
 | email, you run the risk of your mail getting lost, so if you don't     |
 | hear from me...call.                                                   |
 |                                                                        |
 |                                      Jeff ASDG Technical Support       |
 |                                      GE Mail Address:  ASDG.TECH       |
  \______________________________________________________________________/

                                     -*-



                            *StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
                               3rd of 9 Stories


    ____        New *StarShip* Graphics Topic Leader Announced
   / ___)       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  / /
 / (__
(_____)rickets (Sylvia Lutnes) first became interested in computers when she
was given a Digicomp, a plastic 1-byte computer kit. All it could do was play
a mean game of NIM. Computers have come a long way since then but Crickets
hasn't. She still likes to play.

After having been involved with the Commodore 64 for many years doing stereo
SID music, Crickets got her first Amiga three years ago. She enjoys coming
home to her 3000 after a long day of programming the AS400 (in RPG which,
according to JSP, has totally fried her brain). Each night there's a decision
to be made: Should she pull out Deluxe Paint, Imagine, VistaPro, or the Med
Editor? Should she take a trip to GEnie? Play a game? Fire up AMAX? Should she
work on that AREXX script or dust off that C program she's been putting off?

"It's not just the variety of programs available," she says. "It's the way the
Amiga lets you hang it all together. You can actually get work done and not
realize you've been working. Unless, of course, you're playing Pinball Dreams.
Then you KNOW you haven't been working."

Crickets also likes the feeling of community that comes with being an Amiga
owner which is one of the reasons she enjoys GEnie and the people online who
share the joy of computing with their favorite machine.

She's employed as a consultant programmer/analyst at the headquarters of a
large company in Richmond, Virginia, although her dream is to somehow be
totally involved with the Amiga 24 hours a day.

Crickets was born in Minnesota, but grew up on the West Coast. Her adult life
has been spent in Connecticut, New York City, New Jersey, and Virginia, and
she's hoping to move to Arizona or New Mexico sometime in the future. "I like
going places, but don't like coming back, so I find it easier to move. Right
now I'm happy in Virginia with Jabba and a cat named Cat(nip)."

Crickets replaces Chris.P as *StarShip* Graphics Topic Leader, although Chris
will continue to be an active participant during these busy days of his
Freshman year in college.

Please welcome Crickets to the *StarShip* Crew by stopping by her Graphics
Conference any Sunday evening starting at 10PM Eastern time. You'll be glad
you did. :)
                                  -*-



                            *StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
                               4th of 9 Stories

                                  [DELETED]




                            *StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
                               5th of 9 Stories


    _    _          New Horizons Announces ProWrite 3.3
   / \  / )         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  /   \/ /                  September 1, 1992
 / /\   /
(_/  \_/ew Horizons is pleased to announce a new upgrade to ProWrite, the best
selling Amiga word processor. ProWrite version 3.3 adds a number of
enhancements over version 3.2; these enhancements include:

- HotLinks
ProWrite 3.3 supports the HotLinks dynamic data exchange system developed by
Soft-Logik Publishing. This gives you a very close integration between
ProWrite and other HotLinks-capable programs; you can edit text in ProWrite
and have it automatically incorporated into your desktop publishing system, or
change graphics in a drawing or painting program and have the changes
automatically brought into ProWrite!

- Automatic Text Wrap Around Pictures
You can now have text automatically wrap around pictures, either block-style
or following the picture's curves, and with an adjustable offset.

- Picture Enhancements
There are a great many enhancements to picture handling in ProWrite 3.3,
including the ability to name pictures and search for them in your documents,
and precise control over a picture's location and size.

- Print Preview
Now you can get a reduced view of the each page of your document, to see on
the screen how your final layout looks.

- Improved Font Handling
You can specify any font size for your text, not just those that are installed
on your system. This gives you complete creative control over your text's
appearance, and is especially useful if you are using outline fonts or
printing on PostScript printers.

- System Clipboard Support
ProWrite 3.3 can exchange text and pictures with other Amiga programs through
the Amiga's system clipboard.

- Macro and AREXX Enhancements
ProWrite 3.3 adds a very large number of new macro commands, giving you
virtually complete control over ProWrite's operation through AREXX.

- Kickstart 3.0 and New Amiga Graphics Chips Support
ProWrite 3.3 includes support for new features in Kickstart 3.0, as well as
allowing you to open up to 256 color screens on machines with the new Amiga
graphics chips.

- And Much More!
There are many more improvements throughout the program; things like document
password protection, an optional vertical ruler, and much faster PostScript
picture printing.

ProWrite 3.3 will be shipping in September 1992, with a new suggested retail
price of $99.95 US. Registered owners will be sent upgrade information in the
mail. Upgrade information is as follows:

     Upgrading from version 3.0 or later:   $20.00
               from version 2.5 or earlier: $60.00

     Shipping and handling in US:            $5.00
                 other countries:           $10.00

     (Texas residents must add 8% sales tax.)

For details contact your local Amiga dealer or New Horizons Software, Inc.

                                   -*-



                            *StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
                               6th of 9 Stories



    ____             Black Belt Announces HotLinks Support
   / _  )            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  / __ /
 / _  )
(____/lack Belt Systems is pleased to announce support for Soft-Logik's
"HotLinks" file publish/subscribe system, as part of the standard Imagemaster
release. This is another first for Black Belt; we are the first developer to
provide comprehensive HotLinks support, though in this case, we'll all benefit
as the other developers catch up to us. Again. :^)

Hotlinks allows you to share items (images in this case) between programs via
intermediate files which are handled by the HotLinks system. Benefits include
not having to exit applications, or manually import or export data - Hotlinks
"knows" when an item (like an image) in a document has changed, and will
correctly deliver the goods when the output is generated. Hotlinks keeps track
of the latest version of your files and maintains them as up-to-date. Hotlinks
is a very exciting capability newly added to the Amiga by Soft-Logik.

This is not vaporware; Imagemaster's HotLinks capability will be generally
available beginning this coming week (the week of August 31st). Black Belt
Systems would like to express our thanks to Soft-Logik, who has co-operated in
the spirit of the finest Amiga developers.

Note that when other developers release HotLinks capabilties, Imagemasters
HotLinks tools will link our image files to their applications as well; as
other software matures in this way, a great deal more power will be afforded
the user.
                                   -*-



                            *StarShip* Amiga *Flash*
                                7th of 9 Stories



    _                 News From Supra Corporation's BBS
   / \                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  / - \
 / ___ \
(_/   \_)ccording to Supra, everyone whose been selling V.32bis modems in the
same price range as theirs has been having some problems with bugs, even
Practical Peripherals, which is using an AT&T chipset (Supra and most of the
others use a Rockwell chipset).

Supra says they are doing final beta testing on version 1.2G of the ROM'S and
if no more problems are encountered, they will be able to ship this ROM to
current customers in a few weeks. Some features of this ROM are:

 Enhances Busy Detection
 Fixes several Lock Display/Modem problems
 Improved Speed Renegotiation (Fall Back) upon bad line conditions
 Implements Fall Forward upon better line conditions
 Fixes Adaptive Answering (allows data/fax determination)
 Implements ECM (Error Correction Mode)
   Note:  Must be supported by fax software
 Implements BFT mode (Binary File Transfer)
   Note:  Must be supported by fax/terminal software
 Fixes problem with DCD line turning off if modem configured with &C
   &Dx and &Cx settings are respected when in fax mode
 Fixes problem connecting with some fax machines
 Added S-Register S109
 Added S-Register S110=3

This upgrade is free to registered owners. For $30, registered owners can get
an enhanced ROM that also has the following features:

 Implements Silent Answer (allows voice/fax determination,
         eliminating the need for a voice/fax black box.)
         Note:  Must be supported by fax software

Implements Caller ID

The fastest way for Supra customers to get the ROM upgrade will be by ordering
it via the Supra BBS (503) 967-2444, but the ordering system is not yet
installed on the BBS.

"The following features and new products are being worked on. We do not have
any information on dates, technical information, upgrade costs, or product
cost. As soon as we have the information, we will post it on our BBS.

        Internal version
        Certifiable International version
        MNP10
        V23
        Voice digitization in modem
        Voice software
        DTMF encoding/decoding"

                                    -*-



                            *StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
                                8th of 9 Stories


                        SunRize Industries Ships World's
                       First 8 Track, 16-bit Audio Board
 ______                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(__  __)              Silicon Valley, CA, USA, August 1992
  / /
 / /
(_/oday SunRize Industries announced it has begun shipping the AD516 digital
audio card with Studio 16 version 2.0 for the Commodore Amiga personal
computer. The AD516, bundled with Studio 16 editing software, is the first 8
track audio card available on any platform. The AD516 supports stereo with 16
bits of resolution, and a built-in SMPTE time code reader for easy
synchronization of digital audio to video tape. The AD516 records, edits, and
plays back direct to hard disk allowing almost unlimited sample length. The
supplied Studio 16 editing software supports cut, copy, and paste as well as
more advanced functions like a SMPTE cue list. The AD516 and Studio 16 bundle
provide a perfect low cost audio for video post production system.

The AD516 digital audio card plugs into an Amiga 2000 or 3000. The card
processes 16 bit samples at up to 48K samples per second. Sigma-Delta
converters are used with 64 times over sampling to provide an SNR > 85dB.
Jacks include stereo audio in, stereo audio out, and LTC SMPTE in. All
connections are RCA line level. Also included on the AD516 is an Analog
Devices 2105 digital signal processor. This "sound accelerator" chip is rated
at 10 MIPS, and allows the AD516 to perform digital effects in real time. This
includes mixing, flanging, chorusing, and echoes to name but a few. Finally,
the AD516 includes a SMPTE time code reader capable of reading standard SMPTE
longitudinal time code at 24, 25 and 30 frames per second.

The AD516 is bundled with the new release 2.0 of Studio 16, a modular software
system. Release 2.0 includes many new features, such as "drag & drop"
technology for entering sounds into the cue list or transport. Studio 16
synchronizes audio frame accurately with video, and allows editing and mixing
of digital sounds. Studio 16 includes:

  o  Non-destructive editor with cut, copy, past
  o  Fade in, fade out, scale, FFT, normalize, and more
  o  The ability to define named "regions" in a sample
  o  The ability to play from multiple hard disks simultaneously
  o  SMPTE cue list with SMPTE chase
  o  Internal SMPTE preview generator
  o  External SMPTE reader
  o  Eight track playback with simultaneous 2 track record
  o  Multi track mixer
  o  VU, LED, and graphic meters
  o  Realtime echo, delay, chorus and flange
  o  ARexx Port

The Studio 16 cue list triggers sounds on any video frame. The audio tracks
the tape, jumping to new positions as the tape is fast forwarded or rewound.

SunRize is working with other developers, such as Blue Ribbon Sound Works, to
provide direct support for the AD516 in their software. For example, Bars &
Pipes users are able to trigger the AD516 as a MIDI channel. This allows
vocals or guitar to be sequenced along with normal MIDI instruments.

AD1012 owners can upgrade to the AD516 with a full credit discount towards the
AD516's list price. The AD516 has a list price of $1495 and is available now
direct from SunRize or from an Amiga dealer.

For more information, contact Anthony Wood, SunRize Industries 2959 S.
Winchester Blvd. Suite 204 Campbell, CA  95008  USA (408)  374-4962

                                      -*-


                            *StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
                               9th of 9 Stories


    _       Accolade Applauds Appellate Court Decision Against Sega
   / \      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  / - \             SAN JOSE, CA (AUG. 31) BUSINESS WIRE
 / ___ \
(_/   \_)ccolade Inc. Monday announced that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
has dissolved the injunction which prevented it from developing, manufacturing
or selling video games that are compatible with Sega's Genesis system.

On Friday, Aug. 28, the Ninth Circuit issued a brief, unanimous order, in the
landmark Sega vs. Accolade case, throwing out the District Court's injunction,
which was issued in April of this year. The order also noted that an opinion
specifying the reasons for the court's decision would be issued in the future.

Accolade Chairman Alan R. Miller, applauding the Ninth Circuit's decision,
stated: "I'm tremendously pleased by the Court's confirmation of Accolade's
position in our dispute with Sega. We were convinced that the actions Accolade
took to study the interface requirements of Sega's Genesis game system were
perfectly proper and thoroughly in accord with standard industry practice.

"Although the Ninth Circuit's final opinion has not yet been issued, we have
every reason to believe that the opinion will support our position on both the
copyright and trademark issues and vindicate our reverse engineering
activities."

In its lawsuit, Sega alleged that its copyright and trademarks were infringed
when Accolade studied a Sega Genesis game system and several game cartridges
to learn how to make Accolade games compatible with the system.

Specifically, Sega claimed that Accolade illegally copied its software during
its reverse engineering. Reverse engineering is a widely used method of
studying how a product operates in order to develop products that are
interoperable with it.

Accolade, with headquarters in San Jose, is a leading developer and marketer
of entertainment software for IBM-compatible, Macintosh and Amiga personal
computers and is a licensed developer and marketer of video game software for
Nintendo and NEC video game systems.

                                     -*-


Permission is hereby  granted to quote ALL or PART of this Newscast on a
privately owned BBS or in a user group news letter provided you include the
following credit:

       Reprinted by Permission from the 5-MINUTE Weekend News Network,
                   a *StarShip*(tm) Production on GEnie(R).

[end]

  Disclaimer:  I have no relationship with GEnie other than as a subscriber.

              Jim Loomis   LOOMIS@ITHACA.BITNET   GEnie: J.LOOMIS
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU