From: barrett@iastate.edu (Marc N Barrett)
Subject: Re: CDTV is dead.
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 1992 01:00:48 GMT

In article <1992Aug22.213605.14251@uwm.edu> gblock@csd4.csd.uwm.edu (Gregory R Block) writes:
>rhealey@kas.helios.mn.org (Rob Healey) writes:
>:Please forward your proof that C= has shown a viable Multimedia solution
>: 	on the Amiga, and I mean the full computer not CDTV. To date I've seen
>: 	MultiMedia presentations on IBM "Ultimedia" systems, various Windows
>: 	3.1 setups and Mac setups using integrated voice, video and CD-ROM. I
>: 	have yet to see an Amiga 3000 with stock 2.04 do anything even remotely
>: 	close to what the other systems can do. It can do toaster stuff and
>: 	some animations but that's it. Toaster+anims != MultiMedia.
>
>You're right:  Toasters do not equate to multimedia.  I was not,
>however, referring to that.  There are several high-end multimedia
>authoring systems available.  There are mid-level packages such as
>Scala.
>
>I'm not sure what you're looking for that you're not finding.

   Scale is for making presentations with static pictures, the computer 
equivelent of a slideshow.  Not very many people would equate this with
multimedia.  What were are looking for and not finding are interactive 
presentations with high-resolution partial-screen motion video and high-
quality sound.  Something like CDTV, but on a high-resolution non-
interlaced screen with tiny fonts -- more like computer than a VCR, 
with text small enough for "hypermedia" purposes and not an overdependency
on graphics, like traditional low-resolution Amiga multimedia ususally
forces.

>: 	Where are the programs to access the gigabytes of CD-ROM disks? The
>: 	OS certainly doesn't have support for viewing or retrieving data
>: 	from CD-ROM. And the drivers that do exist just access raw data.
>
>Neither do other OSes.  The lack of those types of programs is
>definitely a lack, but I wouldn't define it as being C='s fault for
>not having it in the operating system.
>
>Those are most likely in ISO format.  An ISO cd-rom driver exists.
>Graphics files can be converted by programs such as ADPro.  Text files
>can be displayed, depending on their format.  Applications with ARexx
>interfaces could allow the author to apply conversions.

   A user's nightmare.  Meaning that a person has to have a degree in
computer science to do CD-ROM multimedia from an Amiga.  Nothing is 
available that is ready-to-run on an Amiga.

>: 	CDTV doesn't have the horse power for business multimedia, it's
>: 	the only "Amiga" I've seen that can decently use basic multimedia
>: 	components of video, audio and CD-ROM at the same time.
>
>It's not much different than any other Amiga.  The 3000 makes a very
>good multimedia platform.  For instance, AmigaVision allows control
>over VideoDisc players through itself.  Many drivers are available. 

   There we go again with video.  A flickering, low-resolution screen
with fonts as big as cities.  Terrible for text-oriented hypermedia.

>CD-Roms are a bit harder, but the software would not be impossible to
>write as an arexx command.  It's the power and flexibility of this
>that lets the Amiga's multimedia platform do things the others can't.
>Theoretically, AmigaVision could control toaster effects through
>itself and ARexx.

   There we go again with programming.  To get anything done, a user has
to be an expert programmer.  User-friendliness goes out the window.  

>(: (: (: (: Have you overdosed on smileys today?  Why NOT!?! :) :) :) :) :)
>(: "...and here's Clinton giving the correct spelling of bong-resin..."  :)
>(:	gblock@csd4.csd.uwm.edu			Gregory R. Block         :)
>(: (: (: (: (: (: (: (: (: (: (: (: (:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

---
| Marc Barrett -MB-  |  email: barrett@iastate.edu
--------------------------------------------------
    "Beware the ides of September..."
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