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Date:         Thu, 13 Aug 1992 00:32:00 EDT
From:         Jim Loomis <LOOMIS@ITHACA.BITNET>
Subject: WARNING!!! Long Post - 570+ lines. GEnie Weekend New080792.

[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.  |
      \\____________________________________________________________/
                                  ||   |
                                  ||   |
                          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                         DateLine:  August 7, 1992
          This 5-MINUTE Newscast presents the following stories:
          ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    1.  Consultron Releases CrossDOS 5.0 Plus

    2.  New Syquest 88MB Removable Drives

    3.  ASDG Selects SCALA Computer Television BV as Benelux Distributor

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

    5.  New FractalPro 5.1 from MegageM

    6.  Keeping Up with the Joneses

    7.  Epic 64-Color Adventure about the Trickster of Sherwood Forest

    8.  Maxis Releases SimEarth -- The Living Planet for Amiga

    9.  SSI AD&D Sequel, "Treasures of the Savage Frontier" Now Available



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


    _               Consultron Releases CrossDOS 5.0 Plus
   / \              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  / - \
 / ___ \
(_/   \_)n important new product for the Amiga line of computers is now
shipping from Consultron of Plymouth, MI. CrossDOS 5.0 Plus -- which is being
offered for a limited time only -- is a combination of CrossDOS Version 5.0
and CrossPC in one slick package. If you ever need cross-system compatibility,
this is it! CrossDOS alone was reviewed in .info Mag where it was given a
5-Star rating. "CrossDOS is truly excellent," said reviewer David Martin.
"It's a wonder that no one thought of this wonderful idea ages ago."

CrossDOS Version 5.0 is "the first MS-DOS File System for the Amiga,"
according to Consultron. It reads and writes the following MS-DOS or Atari ST
disk types:

  - 360K, 720K and 1.44M* floppies. (*Requires special drive.)
  - 20M floptical(tm) disks using the floptical drive.
  - Most hard disk partitions including those created by CrossPC

CrossDOS v5.0 transparently accesses MS-DOS files from any utility or
application (including file requesters) because it fully integrates into the
Amiga operating system (AmigaDOS versions 1.3 and 2.0).

CrossDOS v5.0 also provides utilities to format or diskcopy either an MS-DOS
or AmigaDOS disk -- and offers many other features as well! CrossDOS owner
upgrades are available.

CrossPC, Consultron's software PC-XT Emulator for the Amiga which is packaged
with CrossDOS v5.0 in CrossDOS 5.0 Plus, UNLIKE Commodore's 286 and 386SX
Bridgeboards, emulates ALL of the following MS-DOS devices:

  - CGA              - Mono
  - Floppies         - Hard disk
  - Parallel         - Serial            <-------- Note!
  - Keyboard         - Mouse

CrossPC also incorporates the following features:

  - Runs many PC programs while multitasking with the Amiga.
  - Requires no additional hardware. It's a 100% software emulator.
  - Uses the Amiga-connected floppies and hard drive.
  - Will boot from an MS-DOS hard drive partition.
  - Will automatically execute optimized code for 68020/030/040 CPUs.
  - Provides a high-level of integration with CrossDOS to allow Amiga
    to share data.

Requirements: AmigaDOS 1.3 or 2.0, 1MB memory (minimum) and MS-DOS operating
system** 3.0 or higher. (**not supplied, but available from Consultron.)

Suggested retail price for CrossDOS 5.0 Plus is $79.90. For a limited time, it
is being offered at $59.95. For more information, contact Consultron at 8959
Ride, Plymouth, MI 48170 or call 313/459-7271.

                                  -*-

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


     ____             New Syquest 88MB Removable Drives
    / ___)            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   / (_
  / ___)
 / /
(_/remont, CA, 1992 JUL 27 (NB) -- As the market leader in removable storage,
Syquest says it is committed to constantly improving its product. One of the
ways is in performance. And that is exactly what Syquest has done with its
SQ5110 5.25-inch 88MB drives.

Syquest announced shipment of an improved version of the SQ5110 to their
reseller and integrator channels in the beginning of this year. This version
has several improvements -- the most important is the addition of a "Read/Look
Ahead Buffer." This buffer operates as follows. When a request is received for
a sector of information, the drive actually reads that sector (512 or 1024
bytes) as well as the following sector until it completely fills the 32KB
buffer that it contains. In theory, should your program require more data, it
is likely to be very close to the data that was already read and therefore
likely to be present in the buffer which would respond significantly faster to
your program's request for the data. As a matter of fact, there is a specific
benchmark that tests for the improvement in such matters. Using this
benchmark, Syquest discovered that the buffer gave a 700% increase in
performance.

Other speed and reliability improvements have also been incorporated into the
drives. An 8% improvement in the average seek time is being claimed by the
company as well as an 11% improvement in the sustained transfer rates.
Finally, the company is making a change to its predicted reliability number,
upping it to 80,000 hours MTBF (mean time between failures). The previous
figure was 60,000 hours MTBF.

All of these changes are in the drives that you are likely to buy today.
Syquest actually started shipping the new drives in January to their resellers
and integrators but chose to not say anything about it in order for the
"channels to get flushed."

Syquest officials also told Newsbytes that there was an internal debate on
changing the model number of the drive but they decided not to, in order to
decrease any possible confusion regarding which cartridge works with which
drive. The SQ800 cartridge works with both the old and the new SQ5110 drives.
There is also no difference in price between the models.

                                   -*-


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


                 ASDG Selects SCALA Computer Television BV
                  as Exclusive Distributor in the Benelux
                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
            ASDG, makers of Art Department Professional, announce
           that they have selected SCALA Computer Television BV as
    _  _   their exclusive distributor in the Benelux (Luxembourg,
   / \/ \              Belgium, and The Netherlands).
  /      \
 / /\  /\ \
(_/  \/  \_)adison WI, July 30, 1992 -- ASDG Incorporated, the leading
supplier of image processing products for the Commodore Amiga, announce that
they have selected SCALA Computer Television BV as their exclusive distributor
in the Benelux (Belgium, Luxembourg, and The Netherlands).

Both companies view this relationship as a tremendous benefit to their
clients, among whom there is a large overlapping segment. Benelux based users
of SCALA, the premier authoring and presentation system for the Amiga, can now
get ASDG products (to make their presentation graphics look their best) from
the same source.

To learn more about ADPro and ASDG's other color imaging solutions (including
several exciting new products about to be released), contact Gina Cerniglia at
ASDG Incorporated, 925 Stewart Street, Madison, WI 53713 or call (608)
273-6585. In the Benelux, contact Leon Klinkers at SCALA Computer Television
BV, Maarssenbroeksedijk 39 NL-3606 AG Maarssen Nederland, or call (030)
413995.
                                  -*-


                          *StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
                             4th of 9 Stories
                                [DELETED]


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


 ______                New FractalPro 5.1 from MegageM
(__  __)               ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  / /
 / /
(_/he premiere fractal art and animation program for the Amiga has just taken
a giant leap with 24-bit hi-res graphics, ARexx and AmigaDOS script remote
control, ultra-high speed image rendering, and four new types of fractals.
Plus you still get all the great features of FractalPro v4.0!

Uses Fast Math Coprocessor

FPro5.1 requires a math coprocessor and at least 2.5 megabytes of RAM. It has
been entirely rewritten in floating point code for the 68881, 882, or the
ultrafast 68040 boards. FPro5.1 is 4 to 35 times faster than 4.0, an
all-important advantage. It means that even deep zooms don't suffer a time
penalty for their high precision because FPro5.1 uses 80-bit IEEE precision
throughout.

24-bit Color Pro Video Output

You also get full 24-bit graphics support in double the resolution of the 4.0
program. FPro5.1 can produce 24-bit images simultaneously with its beautiful
Amiga 256-color HAM images. The 24-bit images are automatically produced in
true hi-res, twice the horizontal resolution of the HAM images. You get NTSC
24-bit support in 640x400, 736x480 (ideal for DCTV), 752x482 (Toaster v.2),
768x482, and 1024x482 (full overscan and larger for Firecracker24 and
Imagine). The PAL version supports the corresponding resolutions for PAL
(including overscans, no Toaster).

Multiple 24-bit Viewing Modes

The 24-bit images are rendered in up to 16,384 different colors on screen, and
FPro5.1 provides over 100 modes of organizing them in the 24-bit format. You
get 6 'packed' formats for concentrating to maximum number of shades of either
red, green, or blue. You also get 108 'spectral' formats in which the image
bits are spread among red, green, and blue bitplanes for maximum color
visibility. There's also a mode for creating 'negative' images.

Full 24-bit IFF Load/Save

All the 24-bit images can be saved as 24-bit IFFs for processing with
FractalPro5.1, Art Department Pro2.0, ImageMaster, Imagine, VistaPro2.0, DCTV,
HAM-E and LightWave.

Integral Firecracker 24 Support

All versions of FPro5.1 automatically sense and render to a Firecracker 24-bit
graphics board if it is present in the Amiga. No complex preparation or user
setup is required. There are two specific resolution modes included for
768x482 and 1024x482 direct Firecracker renderings.

DCTV and Toaster v2 Support

There are dedicated versions of FractalPro5.1 for DCTV conversions (726x480)
and also for the Video Toaster version 2 (752x480). A sample script is
included for 'on the fly' conversion to DCTV after rendering.

ARexx & DOS Script Control

With its thorough ARexx interface, FPro5.1 can be operated by simple scripts
using either ARexx or AmigaDOS (with the suppled JAH command). FPro5.1 also
provides for automatic script execution after each image. Now you can not only
let FractalPro automatically create long sequences of images for animations,
but you can have each image processed or sent to a video recording device via
script control 'on the fly.'

Four New Fractal Types

Two pair of Mandelbrot/Julia transcendental functions. Artistically enchanting
enhanced variety of imagery for your video and texture-mapping applications.

New Vista(tm) Landscape Mode

FractalPro5.1 will automatically generate Vista-type DEM landscapes of any of
the fractals either centered or from the lower left corner of the image. DEM
creation is 'on the fly' as the image in generated. These DEMS can be used
with Vista, VistaPro, and Scenery Animator for truly spectacular 'fly-by'
animations.

Preserves Features of 4.0

All 12 animation modes and the other automatic image sequencing features of
FPro4.0 are fully operational in 5.1. Even in 24-bit modes. You lose no
functional features and if you've been using FPro4.0 you'll find it easy to
start using FPro5.1 right away.

Pricing

FractalPro5.1 retail list price is $149.95. Shipping is $4.00 in North America
($8.00 abroad). Upgrade from 4.0 is $60.00 ($1.50 shipping). Add California
tax of 7.75% to all sales and upgrades shipped to CA.

                                    -*-


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


    _                   Keeping Up with the Joneses
   / \                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  / - \
 / ___ \
(_/   \_)tari Corporation's new 68030-based Falcon computer is supposed to be
introduced in Germany sometime this month. Following are some of its
UNOFFICIAL specs and features recently published by an Atari magazine:

  * Motorola 68030 Microprocessor running at 16MHz, multi-tasking capable
  * Motorola 68881 or 68882 16MHz Floating point coprocessor
  * Motorola DSP 56001 Digital Signal Processor (DSP)
  * 1 to 16MB of memory and 512KB of ROM
  * 16 bit BLiTTER Graphics coprocessor running at 16 MHz
  * Enhanced Broadcast TV quality Video
    -- "True Color" 320x200 resolution, 32,768 colors or 640x480
       resolution, 256 colors from a 264,144 color palette
    -- VGA or Video 320 or 640 by 200 or 400 resolution, 2, 16, or 256
       colors from a 262,144 color palette
    -- Standard STe video modes with a 4096 color palette
    -- RF modulator and VGA monitor connections
    -- Overscan support
    -- Genlock and multi-media capable
    -- Graphics overlay and video tiling
    -- Enhanced high speed 16MHz Blitter graphics co-processor
    -- STe horizontal scrolling
  * "CD quality" stereo sound
    -- Stereo 16 bit Analog to Digital inputs
    -- Stereo 16 bit Digital to Analog outputs
    -- Eight channel stereo DMA sound engine with 16 bit PCM digital
       record/playback with up to 50KHz sample rates
    -- Stereo 8 bit STe compatible PCM sound
    -- ST compatible 3 channel PSG sound
    -- Multiplexer to connect Codec, DSP and DMA sound engine
    -- Stereo microphone inputs and headphone outputs connected to a
       16 bit stereo codec
    -- DSP digital audio connector, up to 1MHz data transfer rate
    -- Built-in monophonic speaker
  * 1.44MB floppy drive
  * Built-in IDE 2 1/2" hard drive interface (drive optional)
  * SCSI II peripheral interface (hard drive, tape drive, etc.)
  * Mega STe/TT compatible local area network (LAN) interface
  * Enhanced modem/RS232 port
  * ST and STe compatible joystick/controller ports
  * Built-in "processor direct" expansion connectors
  * On board real time clock and battery backed up RAM
  * MIDI input and output
  * Parallel printer port
  * Enhanced keyboard controller allows 300 DPI mice

                                    -*-


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


                            Hear ye, Good People
        Epic 64-Color Adventure about the Trickster of Sherwood Forest
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                            Announcing Release of
       _       Conquests of the Longbow: The Legend of Robin Hood
      / )                    for Amiga Computers
 __  / /
( (_/ /
 \___/ourney through the ever-enchanting but imminently dangerous Sherwood
Forest as the most enduring outlaw of all time in Conquests of the Longbow:
The Legend of Robin Hood, just released from Sierra On-Line for the Amiga.
Blending history, legend and pure magic, designer Christy Marx, creator of the
critically acclaimed Conquest of Camelot, recounts this age-old tale with
amazing detail and authenticity.

Cross the threshold from modern computer to Medieval England, assume the role
of Robin Hood and join with his band of loyal men -- Little John, Will Scarlet
and Friar Tuck -- in the quest to save King Richard the Lionheart. For those
who dare, raise his ransom by force or skill. But money alone won't win his
release nor protect our highwayman from unrelenting attacks by the Sheriff of
Nottingham. A keen wit will be the weapon of choice and the key to finishing
the quest. But most importantly... think and act like Robin Hood would... or
die!

Dozens of pathways and alternative solutions leading to any one of four
possible endings makes Conquests of the Longbow Sierra's most complex computer
game to date for the Amiga. "I gave special attention to each situation and
how previous actions could alter each future event. So, like my design of
Camelot, Conquests of the Longbow involves many more choices. It is imperative
that people pay attention to every interaction with each character and think
about the consequences of each action," said Christy Marx.

Conquests of the Longbow's distinctive hand-painted 64-color art, styled after
the works of the late Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth, blends medieval color
palettes with countless animation sequences to create a festival of light and
color. An original soundtrack based on medieval music styles and using many
sounds of period instruments adds the finishing touches.

Conquest of the Longbow is shipping on eight low density disks and requires a
hard disk, one meg of memory and Workbench 1.2 or greater. Amiga 4-voice sound
is supported. Suggested retail price is $59.95.

Sierra On-Line, located in Oakhurst, California, develops and publishes
entertainment and education products for home computers. It is one of the
oldest and largest developers of home computer applications.

                                   -*-


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


    _        Maxis Releases SimEarth -- The Living Planet for Amiga
   / \       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  / - \           The Fate of the Earth is in Your Hands!
 / ___ \
(_/   \_)fter nearly five billion years in development, SimEarth -- The
Living Planet has been released for Commodore Amiga computers by Maxis, for
$69.95. Over 200,000 copies of SimEarth have been sold in the game's
previously-released IBM, Macintosh, and Windows formats.

SimEarth has won several awards including Best Simulation and Best Secondary
Education Program from the Software Publishers Association; the PC Magazine
Award for Technical Excellence; the Parents' Choice Award from the Parents'
Choice Foundation; and Windows Magazine's Win Award.

SimEarth lets players control the evolution of their own planet, from the
formation of oceans to the development of intelligence, civilization, and
interplanetary travel. Players can create their own planet from scratch or use
one of seven pre-built worlds: Aquarium, Stag Nation, Earth -- Cambrian Ear,
Earth -- Modern Day, Mars; Venus, and Daisy World.

In all scenarios, the planet can be viewed as a flat map or a spinning globe.
Players can zoom into interesting areas to etch new coastlines; tear apart
continents; lay down jungles and swamps; introduce animal species ranging from
single-celled organisms to mammals; and unleash plagues, earthquakes, comets,
volcanoes, and other natural disasters.

SimEarth -- More Than a Game

SimEarth represents a departure from other software games in its design and
content. Players have the option of exploring the game with no set goal, or
pursuing goals of their own -- developing a civilization of intelligent
dinosaurs, for example, or purposely creating a greenhouse world to see which
species survive.

SimEarth does not rely solely on fantasy but challenges players to solve
real-life problems of pollution, famine, global warming, and nuclear war. The
game is currently being used in high school and university classrooms to give
students a better understanding of environmental issues.

Will Wright, who also designed SimCity(R) -- The City Simulator, was inspired
to create SimEarth with Fred Haslam after reading books on British scientist
James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, developed in 1969. Lovelock served as
technical consultant on SimEarth.

"I was impressed that Lovelock was one of the first people to treat the Earth
as a single, self-regulating system, rather than as separate systems of
biology, geology, climate, and human culture," Wright said.

SimEarth's DaisyWorld is a version of a computer model Lovelock developed to
demonstrate how life may regulate the environment and thereby create
conditions favorable to its continued existence.

Brian Rosborough, president of the environmental group Earthwatch, calls
SimEarth "a triumph of imagination and technology. It gives you control, for a
moment, of the systems which govern life on the planet, and the hope that
humans will someday learn to cooperate with nature."

Johnny Wilson, editor of Computer Gaming World, says "SimEarth is so complex
and impressive that it seems like it can run itself," while Gregg Keizer,
writing in PC Games magazine, says "SimEarth is richly detailed and makes
every other world builder pale by comparison."

SimEarth has been inducted into Macworld's Game Hall of Fame, and was featured
in the Innovations Software Showcase at the 1992 Summer Consumer Electronics
Show in Chicago.

Maxis brings sophisticated technologies -- such as systems simulation and
adaptive computing -- to personal computer users in the form of a new
generation of entertainment software called Software Toys(R).  Unlike
traditional computer games which require players to follow highly structured
rules, Software Toys provide unlimited challenge, learning and fun through
exploration. Other Software Toys published by Maxis include SimCity -- The
City Simulator and SimAnt(tm) -- The Electronic Ant Colony. All three "Sim"
games have been best-sellers and have won several national awards.

                                   -*-


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


           Face the Fearful Frontier in Latest SSI AD&D Sequel
       "Treasures of the Savage Frontier" - Now Available for Amiga
       ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  ____               Game Category: Fantasy Role-Playing
 / ___)           Versions: Amiga - $49.95, IBM PC - 49.95
( (__                      Clue Book - $12.95
 \__ \
 ___) )
(____/unnyvale, CA - July 27, 1992 -- Following up on the success of "Gateway
to the Savage Frontier," the #1 game on the Software Publishers Association's
Top MS DOS game list, Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI), today announces the
release of its sequel -- Treasures of the Savage Frontier -- for Amiga
computers. Treasures is a recent addition to SSI's ADVANCED DUNGEONS &
DRAGONS(R) "Gold Box" fantasy role-playing series.

The Savage Frontier is teetering on the verge of cataclysmic war and the
future depends on the Heroes of Azure. They must free Llhork from its evil
captors and regain a powerful, magical item lost since ancient times.

AD&D has taken you through the FORGOTTEN REALMS World in the Curse of the
Azure Bonds and has even thrown you into the Pools of Darkness. This time, the
Savage Frontier beckons you to battle.

During the battle, you find your movements and actions are at the mercy of
unpredictable weather conditions. You may be searching through the forest in
bright sunlight and warm wind or fighting to survive the freezing Arctic
winds. You can also draw upon the aid of combat reinforcements if you find
yourself on the brink of disaster.

You can choose to battle characters of your own creation or transplant your
Gateway heroes to the fifth level with their money and items intact. And now,
for the first time ever, players have the ability to interact with non-player
characters -- and even become romantically involved.

"Because of the tremendous popularity of Gateway to the Savage Frontier, game
players have been eagerly awaiting its sequel," said Kathleen Watson, Director
of Marketing for SSI. "We are confident that the challenges they'll find in
Treasures of the Savage Frontier will be even more exciting than those in any
previous AD&D games."

SSI is the leading computer fantasy role-playing game publisher and is most
noted for its ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS(R) line of computer products. The
company is recognized as the premier war game publisher and based on industry
rankings is one of the top ten entertainment software publishers worldwide.
ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D and FORGOTTEN REALMS are registered
trademarks owned by and used under license from TSR, Inc., Lake Geneva, WI,
USA.

                                   -*-


                ____________________________________________
               |                                            |
               |                                            |
               |                                            |
               |                Spellbound                  |
               |                ~~~~~~~~~~                  |
               |             by Penney Harper               |
               |                                            |
               |                                            |
               |      I have a spelling checker             |
               |      It came with my PC;                   |
               |      It plainly marks four my revue        |
               |      Mistakes I cannot sea.                |
               |      I've run this poem threw it           |
               |      I'm sure your pleased too no.         |
               |      It's letter perfect in it's weigh.    |
               |      My checker tolled me sew.             |
               |                                            |
               |  __________________________________________|_
               | /                                           /
               |/___________________________________________/


       |  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:  My only relationship with GEnie is as a subscriber.   No
compensation of any kind is received by me from GEnie, General Electric or
any of its many subsidiaries.

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