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Date:         Fri, 28 Aug 1992 11:25:00 EDT
From:         Jim Loomis <LOOMIS@ITHACA.BITNET>
Subject: WARNING! Long Post: 700+ lines. GEnie *StarShip* Weekend News

                                Welcome to the

                     *StarShip* 5-MINUTE Weekend Newscast
                         -*-   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 assistance.

DateLine:  August 21, 1992

This 5-MINUTE Newscast presents the following stories:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 1. Industry News:
      Gail Wellington Leaves Commodore
      Amiga 4000 to Debut in Pasadena
      Updated World of Commodore Exhibitor List
      Robinson Indulges More Bashing
      UEdit Author Passes Away

 2. ASDG Releases High Quality Color/Grey Scale Printing Utility

 3. Commodore International Ltd. Posts Loss of $21.9 Million for 4th Quarter

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

 5. Three Computers In One: The Amiga Multiplatform Solution :(C) MicroTimes

 6. SAS/C(r) Releases Development System, Version 6.0

 7. Trojan Virus Warning: Bogus Utilities Around

 8. Amiga Smart Port(tm) from InterACTIVE Digital Devices

                                     - * -


                            StarShip* NEWS *Flash*

                               1st of 8 Stories

    ___  ___                    Industry News
   (_  )(  _)                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    / /_/ /                *StarShip* News Network
   / __  /
 _/ / / /
(___)(__)ere's the latest Amiga happenings from around the country...

Gail Wellington Leaves Commodore
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Companies rarely announce the departure of executive staff, and Gail
Wellington's quiet exit from Commodore earlier this month is no exception.
You'll not see a press release about her leaving to "pursue other interests,"
the standard explanation that often indicates the decision was management's.

Ms. Wellington, who was in the employ of Commodore International (not U.S. --
which usually means a job for life), was director of CATS (Commodore Amiga
Technical Support, the group in charge of third-party developers) which she
left a couple of years ago to became an instrumental force on the CDTV
development team. Many Amiga developers and members of the press will mourn
the loss of her enthusiasm, technical expertise, and forthright approach.
Wherever you are, Gail, you did us proud and we wish you ONLY the best.


Amiga 4000 to Debut in Pasadena
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the better news department, we have it on good authority that the new Amiga
4000 and at least two models of the Amiga 600 will be introduced and displayed
(we don't know about availability) at the World of Commodore Show in Pasadena
next month. At last, the rumors will stop! We suspect this may be a preview of
the A4000 and that Commodore will save its "real" introduction for the
upcoming broader-based COMDEX trade show to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, this
October, in hopes of garnering nationwide press attention. We also understand
that the compact A600 is about as close to a portable Amiga as Commodore has
come yet, and its display on a television set is acceptably readable in
temporary circumstances.

The *StarShip* News Network will present an on-the-scene report with details
on all of this in the 5-MINUTE News from the exhibit floor of the World of
Commodore Show on the weekend of September 11-13. Don't miss that one!


Updated WoC/Amiga Exhibitor List
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of Pasadena, here's an updated list of exhibitors at the World of
Commodore show. Asterisks (*) indicate additions since our report last week.
Looks like a pretty good line-up.

   Amazing Computing                        INOVAtronics
   Ambitious Technologies                   L.A. Video Toaster Group
   Amiga News                              *MegageM
   Amiga Video Graphics Guild               Memory World
  *Amiga Users Group of Long Beach          Merit Software
  *Anjon & Associates                       Micro-PACE, Inc.
   ASDG                                     Migraph, Inc.
   Avid Publications                        New Horizons Software
   Black Belt                               Nucleus Electronics
   Centaur Software                         Opal Tech
   Central Coast Software                   Oxxi, Inc.
   Commodore Business Machines              Pacific Digital
   Computer System Associates               Premier Software
  *Connecting Point Computer Centers       *Pride Incorporated
   Creative Computers                      *SAS Institute
   Digital Creations                        SCALA, Inc.
   Digital Micronics                        Soft Logik
   Euphonics                                SunRize Industries
   Gold Disk                                Video Graphics Toast & Coffee
   Great Valley Products                    Virtual Reality
   ICD                                     *Warner Engineering
   IDG Communications

The World of Commodore Show will take place in the Pasadena Convention Center
on September 11, 12 and 13th. For more information contact:

                          Ramige Management Group
                          20 Sundial Crescent, Toronto, Ontario M4A 2J8
                          Tel: 416/285-5950  Fax: 416/285-6630


Robinson Indulges More Bashing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Knight Ridder columnist Phil Robinson drew the wrath of Amiga owners all over
the country last month by claiming that the Amiga is a dead platform due
primarily to Commodore's mismanagement. Among other things, he labeled it a
simple power supply for NewTek's Video Toaster.

Commodore responded with an open letter published in our July 31st 5-MINUTE
Weekend Newscast, saying they were in contact with Robinson and asking Amiga
owners to correct his misinformation with the editors of the newspapers in
which his column is syndicated, and directly with Robinson himself as he was
in the process of writing a follow-up article.

The title of his second article, which we understand was printed in numerous
newspapers last week including the San Jose Mercury News, was, "The Commodore
Amiga Lives -- Just Not Competitively." We have to wonder where Robinson gets
his non-information. Perhaps someone should enlighten him by forwarding this
Newscast complete with MicroTime's "Three Computers in One" article which is
reprinted here by their gracious permission. Although Robinson's articles are
available on GEnie in Dow Jones News/Retrieval's //TEXT database, *StarShip*
News Network was unable to secure permission from Knight Ridder to reprint
Robinson's bashes in our 5-MINUTE News.


UEdit Author Passes Away
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rick Stiles, author of Amiga software UEdit, passed away on July 11th of
cancer. Please join us in a moment of silence to mourn the loss of this
talented man.

                                   -*-




                            *StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
                               2nd of 8 Stories



        ASDG Releases High Quality Color/Grey Scale Printing Utility
        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     ASDG announces availability of TruePrint/24, a stand-alone utility
     which outputs 24 bit-plane color or 8 bit-plane gray scale images
     on Preferences supported printers. TruePrint/24 can output prints
     of any size from single pages to outdoor signs. You can even print
    _  _      graphics on non-graphics printers (such as daisy wheels).
   / \/ \
  /      \
 / /\  /\ \
(_/  \/  \_)adison WI, August 6, 1992 -- ASDG Incorporated, makers of the
award winning Art Department Professional, announce the availability of
TruePrint/24 (TP/24), a stand-alone printing utility which puts high quality 8
and 24 bit-plane printing within reach of all Amiga owners.

TP/24, listing at $89, can produce stunning prints with 16 million colors (24
bit-planes) on most Preferences supported color printers without the need for
custom drivers. TP/24 can also print 256 shades (8 bit-planes) of gray on
black and white devices such as laser printers. Prior to TP/24's release, the
Amiga's operating system was limited to printing 4096 colors or 16 shades of
gray.

Especially exciting is TP/24's ability to output prints of any size, even as
large as outdoor signs. And, TP/24 can print directly from disk rather than
requiring the image fit entirely in memory.

TP/24 provides 11 dithering and halftoning techniques, including traditional
as well as artistic methods. One method even allows the printing of images
with 32 shades of gray on character only devices such as daisy wheel printers.

TP/24 is fully compatible with Kickstart versions 1.3 and 2.X. Art Department
Professional is not required to use TP/24.

To learn more about TruePrint/24, ADPro or ASDG's other color imaging
solutions, contact Gina Cerniglia at ASDG Incorporated, 925 Stewart Street,
Madison, WI 53713 or call (608) 273-6585.


Art Department is a registered trademark and TruePrint/24 is a trademark of
ASDG Incorporated.  Amiga is a registered trademark of Commodore-Amiga, Inc.

                                   -*-





                            *StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
                               3rd of 8 Stories



                       Commodore International Ltd.
    _    _     Posts Loss of $21.9 Million for Fourth Quarter
   / \  / )    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  /   \/ /
 / /\   /
(_/  \_/EW YORK (AUG. 19) PR NEWSWIRE - Commodore International Limited (NYSE:
CBU) today reported earnings of $27.6 million, or $.82 per share on sales of
$911 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1992. This compares with net
income of $48.2 million, or $1.45 per share after extraordinary charge on
sales of $1,047.2 million reported for fiscal 1991.

For the fourth fiscal quarter ended June 30, 1992, Commodore reported a net
loss of $21.9 million or $0.66 per share on sales of $140.7 million. In the
prior year quarter, Commodore reported net income of $3.3 million or $0.10 per
share on sales of $216.5 million.

The decline in sales for the fourth quarter was related to the discontinuation
of the low-end MS-DOS products, and a reduction in C64 sales due to economic
weakness in European markets, especially Eastern Europe. Despite the
significant economic softness throughout Europe, Amiga revenues were equal to
the prior year, although peripheral sales declined.  While overall PC revenues
declined, revenues related to the continuing PC product range increased
significantly.

Gross profit for the quarter declined as a result of lower revenues, net
unfavorable pricing, volume related cost inefficiencies, and the adverse
impact of hedging and translation adjustments which substantially offset the
favorable impact on revenues of strengthening European currencies. Operating
expenses were reduced by 14 percent. Other income amounted to $8.7 million,
primarily reflecting net gains from the sale of certain properties. As a
result of these factors, the pre-tax loss for the quarter was $26.9 million
compared with a pre-tax loss of $4.3 million in the prior year. The tax
benefit for the quarter was significantly lower than the prior year, resulting
in a net loss of $21.9 million compared with net income of $3.3 million in the
prior year.

Irving Gould, chairman and chief executive officer, stated: "Although we are
disappointed with our fourth quarter results, we remained substantially
profitable for the fiscal year. Our results for the quarter primarily reflect
global economic softness, especially in major European consumer markets. We
sold over 1 million Amigas in fiscal 1992 and are planning to launch new Amiga
products as we enter our traditionally strong Christmas selling season. We are
also redoubling our efforts to expand our PC business and achieve
substantially greater cost efficiencies."

Commodore International Limited, through its operating subsidiaries around the
world, manufactures and markets personal computers to customers in the
professional, government, education and consumer market sectors. The company
has four product lines: the Amiga multimedia computers, the MS-DOS PC
compatibles, the C64 computers, and the CDTV.

                                  -*-




                            *StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
                               4th of 8 Stories

                                   [DELETED]



                          *StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
                              5th of 8 Stories



                            Three Computers In One
                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                       The Amiga Multiplatform Solution
                                 by Rich Grace
 ______
(__  __)          (C) 1992 MicroTimes. Reprinted by Permission
  / /
 / /
(_/he Amiga's been out for some years now, and has been considered a "niche"
machine by most users, who tend to identify it with games and desktop video.

However, one generally unnoticed aspect of this machine is its unique
multiplatform capability. The Amiga is the only machine to successfully
implement the capabilities of the top three consumer microcomputers in the
market - PC, Mac, and Amiga - all in one box. In this article, we'll explore
how this is done, and the products that make it possible.

To begin with, let's examine the hardware. Our multiplatform system is an
Amiga 2000 CPU with the following enhancements:

AMIGA SIDE:
  AmigaDOS 2.04 ROM upgrade
  AdSpeed 14 Mhz 68000
  9 MB RAM
  1.0 GB Micropolis Hard Drive
  600 MB TEAC Serpentine tape drive
  Seiko CM1450 Multisync Monitor
  MicroWay Flicker Fixer video card

PC SIDE:
  Commodore 80286 BridgeCard with 1MB RAM
  Plus Development 105MB HardCard
  Sigma 512K VGA card
  Dual Serial/Parallel Ports

MACINTOSH:
  AMAX II Plus Macintosh Emulator
  Macintosh Plus ROMs
  Macintosh External Floppy Drive

This machine is in use at Wright Engineering in Huntington Beach, a small
software firm I'm affiliated with. It has just released a shareware product
called GDraw for the PC, largely created on this Amiga platform.

The Amiga/Mac Interface

Leaving the legal controversy of cloning Macs aside, the Amiga/Mac interface
consists of a very simple setup: a set of Apple Mac Plus ROMS obtained from a
reseller, and a module called Amax II Plus.

Amax II Plus is an Amiga 2000 card, which plugs into the Amiga backplane, and
provides the ability to run most major Macintosh applications software (our
test bed included Microsoft Word 5.0, Aldus PageMaker 4.2, and Adobe Type
Manager, plus a selection of fonts). Amax II Plus lists for $500, which I
consider somewhat exorbitant, but the quality of the product does help
compensate its price.

On a 14 Mhz Amiga, Macintosh software runs roughly three times faster than on
a stock Macintosh Plus or Mac Classic. The processor speed is one factor;
another, more important, one is the graphics coprocessor chip set built into
the Amiga motherboard, which Amax fully supports. With such a system, screen
updates are quicker than my Macintosh IIci! Any Amiga processor upgrade will
automatically boost the performance of the Mac emulator.

Another felicitous aspect of Amax is its ability to harness the Amiga SCSI bus
to its fullest. Amiga hard disk subsystems can be painlessly allocated for
Macintosh partitions. SCSI performance is fully functional, dependent only on
the speed of the SCSI controller. We've set aside a 100MB partition on the 1GB
Micropolis hard drive, and it works seamlessly. We even use the TEAC tape
drive to back up the Mac system.

Memory available on Amax II Plus is the same for a Mac Plus, which means
you're limited to 4MB regardless of the memory available on the Amiga. It's
possible to run System 7 on 16-bit systems. It's also not possible to run Mac
II roms, or software that requires Color QuickDraw or other recent additions
to the Mac system. However, if all you need to do is run some of the essential
Macintosh applications, and you don't want to spend money on a new system or
take up more desktop space, Amax is an efficient option.

The Amiga/PC Interface

The Amiga 2000 and 3000 Tower systems are distinguished by a dual backplane:
one backplane on the system board is dedicated to Amiga expansion slots, and
another is devoted to standard ISA PC expansion slots. The two backplanes are
joined by a pair of "bridge" slots that share the PC and Amiga slot
architecture. This dual backplane sets the Amigas apart from any other machine
in its class, because you can place an Intel processor-based card on it,
enabling simultaneous Amiga/PC operations in the same box. The secret to this
dual-platform operation is called the Bridgecard, and it's manufactured
exclusively by Commodore. The Bridgecard comes in two flavors: 8088 and 80286
(it's rumored that a 386SX Bridgecard is imminent). The XT bridgecard is
barely worth mentioning, and the 80286 Bridgecard runs at 8 Mhz, which is
barely adequate for any serious work. (It's possible to place a 386SX
accelerator into the 286 socket on the Bridgecard, but we have not done this)
The card can accommodate an 80287 math coprocessor, which makes the Bridgecard
fairly suitable for CAD work. The vast majority of DOS applications, such as
Word Perfect, Microsoft QuickBasic, Quick C, and Word, and spreadsheets such
as Lotus 1-2-3, do run very acceptably on such a system.

Is the Bridgecard stable? Well, we're running DOS 5.0 plus a wide selection of
DOS applications, and have had absolutely no problems.

Don't try running Windows though. Slow as molasses!

PC/Amiga Expandability

Although Commodore provides a utility with the Bridgecard which allows it
access a DOS partition on an Amiga hard drive, the process is laborious and
results in what's probably the slowest PC hard drive you'll ever see!

The obvious solution is to provide a hard disk subsystem on the PC backplane.
Unfortunately, with only three slots available after Bridgecard installation,
and no drive bays at all available in the Amiga 2000 case, we were confronted
by the problem of finding a place to mount the physical hard drive.

The solution to this problem, which I can recommend to any Amiga 2000 user, is
the Plus Development Hardcard 105. The Hardcard is a hard disk controller with
a complete 1"-high hard disk mechanism built onto the card. The drive itself
is of excellent quality, manufactured by Quantum. Installed and formatted, the
Hardcard works flawlessly in a Bridgecard-based system, and provides over
100MB of storage. The Plus Hardcard lists for $595 (and sells in the streets
for perhaps $450), and is the perfect Bridgecard solution. It also comes in a
50MB version for around $300. It is a superb and reliable product.

Most standard VGA cards will work with the Bridgecard, and I recommend their
use, because the CGA and monochrome video provided by the Bridgecard on the
Amiga monitor is very slow and barely functional. Our standard modus operandi
is to use a video switcher to change back and forth between the PC and Amiga
video, and to send the video signals to a Multisync VGA monitor. (It must be
mentioned that the Amiga must be modified to make use of a multisync, unless
you own an Amiga 3000. This requires de-interlacing circuitry, which is
readily available for under $300.)

Conclusion

One thing we discovered - there are areas in which neither the Mac nor PC
platforms are state-of-the-art. With the PC, it's processor technology, and
with the Mac, it's system architecture.

Nonetheless, I consider this system, with three platforms in a single case
without significant problems, to be a technical marvel. No other PC or Mac
system has ever achieved this. Creating this platform was not a cheap
undertaking, and it is certainly not for everyone. The Wright Engineering
Amiga 2000 platforms also winds up being a very crowded machine!

However, such a system does exhibit remarkable possibilities. It also points
out the technical excellence of this machine.

                                    -*-






                            *StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
                               6th of 8 Stories



                    SAS/C(r) Development System, Version 6.0
  ____                 Software Designed for AmigaDOS(tm)
 / ___)                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
( (__
 \__ \
 ___) )AS Institute, Inc. is pleased to announce version 6.0 of its C
(____/ compiler development system for AmigaDOS. Release date is September 15,
1992.

Version 6 of the SAS/C Development System was developed to provide users with
a responsive, controllable C compiler designed for the Commodore Amiga. The
System presents options for customizing and increasing the speed of program-
ming activities. Recommended for novices as well as experienced programmers,
the SAS/C Development System addresses the needs of all who program in the C
language.

New features since version 5 include the following:

 * Online help for library functions, commands, and utilities
 * Memory-resident precompiled header files for faster compiles
 * Easy creation and debugging of shared libraries and devices
 * Global optimizer and peephole optimizer
 * #pragma tagcall statement for calling system routines
 * Message Browser
 * Customized Amiga-specific keywords
 * Workbench and shell interfaces
 * CodeProbe debugger
 * Amiga to Amiga cross development
 * Customization of the compiler interface
 * SCOPTS options-setting program
 * Fully integrated Workbench environment

Version 6.0 contains 1200 pages of all-new documentation, including a quick
reference guide, library reference manual, and a two-volume user's guide.
Except for the quick reference guide, all documentation is in three-ring
binders which lie flat while you work.

Free technical support is available from the Institute's Technical Support
Hotline, the Online Customer Support Facility, and on BIX and Usenet.

The SAS/C Development System works with any Amiga computer running AmigaDOS
version 1.2, 1.3, 2.0 or later. The System requires 1MB of memory, but some
features are only available with 2MB or more of system memory. A hard disk is
recommended, but the system will work with two 880KB 3.5" diskette drives.

COST

  Suggested Retail Price   $395

  Upgrade from SAS/C or
     Lattice C Version 5    109

  Users who have already purchased the ANSI-compliant library
                             87.20 (with appropriate proof--call for details)
  Upgrade from Lattice C
      Version               197.50

  Student discount          197.50

  Competitive upgrade       197.50 (with appropriate proof--call for details)

Degree-granting institutions contact SAS Institute about our Academic
Discount.

Ordering Information

For more information or to order Version 6 of the SAS/C Development System,
contact your nearest Amiga dealer or SAS Institute at 919-677-8000.

SAS and SAS/C are registered trademarks of SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.
All other trade names references are trademarks or registered trademarks of
their respective companies.

For information in great detail on some of the changes and enhancements to the
SAS/C Development System, Version 6.0, see Category 9, Topic 11, Message 87 on
the Pro/Am (M670) Bulletin Board.

                                  -*-






                            *StarShip* Amiga *Flash*
                                7th of 8 Stories



    ____         Trojan Virus Warning: Bogus Utilities Around
   / _  )        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  / __ /
 / _  )
(____/e careful where you get those downloads...

From the Author of Directory Opus
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have been informed that there is a version of Directory Opus going round
called 3.51. I would like to publicly announce that this has nothing
whatsoever to do with me at all. 3.50 is a legitimate beta version that
escaped, but 3.51 has obviously been hacked by some mindless idiot, for what
purpose I'm not sure.

It is accompanied by a file called the Dorex.library, and version 3.51 of
ConfigOpus and DirOpus itself. You should on no accounts even consider running
this version; it could be a trojan virus for all I know.

                                                         Jonathan Potter

From the Author of DirWork
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have heard reports of a file appearing on BBS's called DW171.lha that is
described as a directory utility but is instead a dangerous trojan virus. So
this message is to warn people that there is no DirWork version 1.71 and never
will be as I will skip that version. The latest version of DirWork is 1.62.

Any information about the #$?#?# idiot who is behind this would be appreciated
so legal action can be taken. It really is a shame that the Amiga users have
to put up with such stupidity.

                                                             Chris Hames
                                   -*-






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


 ______      Amiga Smart Port(tm) from InterACTIVE Digital Devices
(__  __)     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  / /
 / /
(_/he Amiga Smart Port (tm) is now being sold by InterACTIVE Digital Devices,
Inc. First shipments are expected to begin September 1st, 1992. The Amiga
Smart Port is an auto switching game port interface system for the Amiga. No
plugging or unplugging of cables required to switch from mouse to joystick
modes! Three ports are available for a mouse, digital joystick, and a fully
compatible dual joystick PC style game port. Simply press the button on the
device to be used and the automatic electronic switching does the rest.

The following items are included in the Amiga Smart Port package:

       The Amiga Smart Port (tm)
       Two 9 pin interconnect cables
       Four self-adhesive Velcro patches for mounting
       Installation and operating instructions
       Common Questions and Answer section, "If you have problems ..."
       3.5" diskette with the "SmartPortCal" utility program

Operation of the Amiga Smart Port

The Amiga Smart Port was designed to be effortless to use. In fact it was
designed so that you would forget that it was there. Inspired by the Amiga
itself, the Amiga Smart Port is designed to activate the peripheral in
question by simply pressing a button on that device without having to
disconnect and connect several devices.

With a mouse, digital joystick, and two PC style joysticks (using a "Y"
adapter), the Amiga Smart Port will provide the user with:

                  MOUSE* or PC JOYSTICK 2  on (MOUSE PORT 1)
       DIGITAL JOYSTICK  or PC JOYSTICK 1  on (MOUSE PORT 2)

       * See special mouse mode discussed below.

Special Mouse Mode

A special mouse mode switch is incorporated to allow several peripherals to be
used simultaneously with the mouse.  When the special mouse mode feature is
on, the following items can be used:

       - A two button mouse (MOUSE PORT 1)
       - One PC style analog channel for rudder pedal or throttle (MOUSE
         PORT 1, see Rudder Pedal Adapter below)
       - One PC style analog joystick (MOUSE PORT 2).

With the switch in the "normal" mode, the Amiga Smart Port will support a
three button mouse and will turn off the single analog channel on MOUSE PORT
1.

Trim Adjustment Features

Two sets of X and Y axes trim adjustments are provided to set the analog ports
for maximum performance. The package comes with the SmartPortCal software
which allows the user to view all of the digital and analog system values,
making adjustments of the four analog channels a snap.

Special Protection

The Amiga Smart Port isolates the power supply from the potentiometer output
with solid state current limiting circuitry. This allows even a dead short to
occur across the Amiga Smart Port analog output without damaging the computer.

The Amiga Smart Port is compatible with all Amiga software currently
supporting the analog joystick(s); that is those using the reversed IBM X/Y
axis configuration.

The SmartPortCal program will run on any Amiga system with 512 KB of RAM and
any Workbench environment. Mouse and joysticks are not included.

Ordering Information

Send personal check, certified check, or money order for $42.95 + $5.00 for
shipping and handling. Georgia residents should add 6.5% sales tax. Sorry, at
this time we cannot accept VISA and MASTERCARD. Send information to:

       InterACTIVE Digital Devices, Inc.
       2238 Nantuckett Court
       Marietta, GA  30066
       Or call (404) 516-0248 for additional information and shipping cost

Please include the items wanted along with your name, telephone number, and
shipping address for immediate delivery. If possible, include your Amiga
model, version of operating system, and software that you will be using in
conjunction with the Amiga Smart Port.

Rudder Pedal Adapter

To use rudder pedals with some of the new Amiga flight simulator games, such
as Fighter Duel Pro by Jaeger Software, you must use an adapter to switch the
X and Y analog lines on analog joystick 2. InterACTIVE Digital Devices is
offering a Rudder Pedal Adapter for the price of $6.95. It is a rugged metal
case adapter which plugs directly into the Amiga Smart Port. There is no
shipping cost if ordered with the Amiga Smart Port. If ordered separately, a
$2.50 shipping and handling charge is added. (Please see Order Form / Survey
included in this archive.)


InterACTIVE Digital Devices' Amiga Products:

  Part No.      Description                                       Price
  ----------    -------------------------------------------      ------
  ASP           Amiga Smart Port (tm)                            $42.95
  ASP-RPA       Rudder Pedals Adapter                             $6.95
  JYA           Dual IBM "Y" Joystick Adapter                     $7.95
  IBMJEC        Joystick Extension Cable for IBM joystick         $6.95
  C0909MF-6     6' 9 pin MALE/FEMALE cable                        $3.15
  C0909MF-3     3' 9 pin MALE/FEMALE cable                        $2.85

The Amiga Smart Port comes with a 30 day guarantee. Additional shipping
charges may apply and are not refundable. Most shipments sent out the same
business day. Please allow three weeks before shipping when using a personal
check. Prices and availability subject to change without notice. Returns: All
items returned must have an RMA# before returning and are subject to a
restocking fee.

InterACTIVE Digital Devices, Inc. is a diversified company that develops,
manufacturers, and distributes various computer and consumer products. Look
for more exciting products to come THIS FALL that work with the Amiga Smart
Port from InterACTIVE Digital Devices!

All trademarks and tradenames herein are the properties of their respective
owners.

Photos of these devices are available in *StarShip* Library File #16745.

                                   -*-


         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).


Disclaimer:  I have not relationship to GEnie other than as a subscriber.

        Jim Loomis   LOOMIS@ITHACA.BITNET   GENIE: J.LOOMIS