From: mike@egf-bbs.uucp (System Operator)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2,egf-bbs.apple2
Subject: AVATAR.INFO
Date: 8 Aug 92 01:18:35 GMT
Article-I.D.: egf-bbs.1992Aug8.011835.2446
Organization: EGF, MN Public Access Unix


I hadn't noticed this yet, so I figured I'd post it...

Mike

America Online
Apple II Utilities & Desk Accessories Forum Chat
Forum Leader-Joe Schober [ AFL JoeyS ]
Forum Assistant-Warren Hart [ AFA Warren ]
Forum Consultant-John Copple [ AFC JohnC ]
Forum Consultant-Andy Nicholas [ ShrinkIt ]
Wednesday -July 29, 1992 - 9pm EST
Topic: KFest Avatar Universe Master Animasia Sys 6.01 Super
Drives HSTs

Edited transcript of an Apple II Utilities & Desk
Accessories Conference. The date and topic of the conference
is listed above. This is a regular text file. No further
processing is necessary.


AFA Warren Tonight's subject is KFest

AFL JoeyS  So, who all DID make it to KFest??  :)

JoshuaT256 As I was telling Warren, I was there from
Thursday to Sunday.

AFL JoeyS  Comments on the show... people, products,
announcements, general feelings?

AFL JoyceM Was the IIGS clone shown, seen, etc?

AFL JoeyS  The Avatar, Joyce?  It's not a IIgs clone,
really...

JoshuaT256 Bill had a conference on it.  From what he said,
it actually sounds feasible to me.

AFL JoyceM Yes, the Avatar

JoshuaT256 It's more of a nifty 65816 machine that happens
to have GS emulation.

AFL JoeyS  Yes, well, Bill is one of the people who can
certainly do it TECHNICALLY.  Funding is a different
matter.

AFL JoyceM Conferences are nice, but did anyone see it, the
Avatar, that is?

AFC Ted    And getting people to buy it is a third matter

AFL JoyceM People to support is still another matter,
developers, etc.

AFL JoeyS  No, Joyce.  I don't even think Bill has a
prototype yet, let alone a demo model.

AFL JoeyS  Joshua, was Bill's conf under non-disclosure?

JoshuaT256 No, the conf was open to one and all.

AFL JoyceM So, it is a 'just talk about' item?

AFL JoeyS  Pretty much, yes, for now.  (comp.sys.apple2 is
going CRAZY over it... %)

AFL JoeyS  Okay, wouldja mind hitting the highlights, then,
Josh?  :)

JoshuaT256 Sure.  Basically, it's a 10 MHz 65816 machine
layed out like a star LAN network.

AFC Ted    What does that mean?

JoshuaT256 There's several coprocessors doing much of the
work, and the '816 does the coordination.  The graphics chip
is a 34010 right now, but Bill is looking into maybe a
34020, depending on cost.  Lemme dig up my notes here for
more...

AFL JoyceM What's the difference between a 34010 and 34020?

AFL JoeyS  (For those not familiar with the 340xx graphics
chips, they allow you to have, among other things, a  large
virtual display map... i.e. the chip itself can manage a
high-resolution, high-color image.   This image can then be
scaled to the actual platform hosting the chip.)  (Scaled's
not the right word, but hopefully you get the idea...  :)

AFL Marty  Would that be analogous to display postscript,
Joe?

AFL JoeyS  No, Marty.  The chip isn't a definition-oriented
chip... it still does bitmaps.  But the chip can  handle
bitmaps of a much higher quality than the host machine
actually offers... and the chip can be

JoshuaT256 Okay, I've got my diagram now.  There's a 65265
microCONTROLLER handling a serial mouse port and a MIDI
port.  The keyboard is connected directly to the '816
though.  A disk controller handles two serial ports, a
parallel port, a CD-ROM port, an IDE hard drive port,  and
the floppy drives.  It's a "state machine" like the Disk II,
and it can read Apple II GCR disks,  MFM disks (IBM and Mac
high density), as well as Amiga/Atari ST GCR disks.

AFL JoyceM GCR?

AFC Ted    What does "state machine" mean?

JoshuaT256 Group Code Recording.  It's kind of technical.

AFL JoyceM Gotcha...thx

JoshuaT256 Basically it reads Apple II, Mac, IBM, Amiga, and
Atari ST disks.

AFC Ted    it refers to how data is recorded on the disk,
Joyce.

AFL JoyceM Thanks, Ted

AFL JoeyS  scaled simply by upgrading its memory, as I
understand it.  Don't quote me on this stuff.  :D

JoshuaT256 There are four AT-style slots.  Each slot is
mapped to 256k of memory in banks $C0 through $DF.  So each
slot gets four banks of memory space.  And finally, there
are optional "sub-processors".  The minimum will be 3 or 4,
and in theory up to  65,536 (!) can be present.  They
communicate with the 65816 over a fully arbitrated
high-speed bus.  These processors can be of ANY type, maybe
more 65816 chips, or 65265 chips, or 80386's.  They will be
carried on credit-card style peripheral cards.  It will be
possible to offload tasks to these subprocessors for true
multiprocessing.  In theory,  you could add a 386
subprocessor and make the Avatar run MessyDOS software.

AFL JoyceM Will we see an actual machine in our lifetime?
What help does Bill need, etc.?

JoshuaT256 Bill says that confidential project for another
company has given him enough capital to build  some
prototypes.

AFL JoeyS  Cool...  :)

JoshuaT256 What I'd like to see is funding from Bill Mensch.

AFL JoeyS  From Bill Mensch??  Yeah, it'd be nice, but don't
hold yer breath... <sigh>

JoshuaT256 Bill has certainly got this thing well planned
out.  He's even figured out how to emulate the Apple II
video modes without reverse-engineering a Mega II.

AFL JoeyS  What's he gonna do about the ROM infringement
problem?  (insert "copyright" in some appropriate place
there)

JoshuaT256 Basically they're gonna try to clean-room all new
toolbox routines.  Jawaid is one of the people  helping Bill
with that.  I almost forgot, the 65265 chip handles the
sound.  Full stereo digital sound.  As far as I know though,
it won't emulate the Ensoniq chip.

AFL JoeyS  Sort of a problem for IIgs emulation.  %)

AFL JoyceM Great, Joshua ....re the stereo digi sound :)
Why won't it emulate the Ensoniq chip?

JoshuaT256 For some stuff, yes.  Anything using tools will
work, but all the nifty MOD players won't :(  It may emulate
the DOC, I don't have that info written down here.  I didn't
have a notebook and  was jotting this down on the back of a
sheet of paper

AFL JoeyS  It'd be interesting to see 'em try to duplicate
MIDI Synth on another chip... %)

AFL JoyceM True, Joey :)

AFL JoeyS  LOL... crowded sheet of paper, I'd think.  :)

JoshuaT256 You bet.  Most of it is a block diagram of the
machine's architecture.  Maybe I'll scan it at work  and
upload the darn thing :)

AFL JoeyS  Cool... that'd be good, :).  Thanks, Josh!
Appreciate the overview... :)

AFL JoyceM What format, Joshua?

JoshuaT256 You're welcome.  There's a lot more to the Expo
though!

AFL JoeyS  I know, Josh.  :)  You wanna keep going, or are
your fingers about to fall off?  :)

JoshuaT256 Joyce, I can upload it in ANY format.  I'll scan
on a Mac (I work at an Apple dealer), but I can  convert it.

AFL JoyceM Would appreciate that, Joshua...(have an Apple
IIGS, not a Mac)
      :)

JoshuaT256 I've got plenty more on other things.  Foundation
was released officially.

AFL JoyceM What actually is Foundation?

AFL JoeyS  Cool... that's a hot resource utility.  :)

JoshuaT256 It's a resource editor.  It's still a bit bare,
but it crashes less than Genesys does.

AFL JoeyS  Closest description, Joyce: ResEdit.

AFL JoyceM Oh, I remember....thanks...

JoshuaT256 I own a copy and I'm working on an rBundle editor
for it.

AFL JoeyS  Cool.  Did Mike Nuzzi/Triad release the
rSoundSample editor for it?

JoshuaT256 Yep, it was selling for $25 I believe.  I didn't
buy that part, since I don't really need it.

AFC SteveB Yep...SoundREM was selling.

AFL JoeyS  Cool...  :)

AFC SteveB (SoundREM's been final for a few weeks)

JoshuaT256 Animasia was showing demos of Animasia 3-D, an
animation and rendering program for the GS.  The  darn thing
actually can read AutoCAD DXF files!

AFL JoeyS  Terrific, Josh!  How was its performance?

JoshuaT256 I was watching the animation and it was pretty
smooth.  One of the programmers said it would be  even
better by release, with better dithering of the colors when
rendering.  And it's supposed to retail for only $99, an
incredible deal for a rendering application!

AFC SteveB Animasia is incredible.  It does everything.

AFL JoeyS  No kidding, Josh!  Did they have an estimated
release date?

JoshuaT256 Sometime later this year.  I have the propaganda
sheet around here but I cant find it.

AFC JohnC  Did Apple have anything to announce this time
around?

JoshuaT256 ECON Technologies released a new hard drive
utility called Universe Master.  I ran out of money though

JoshuaT256 System 6.0.1 was shown.  It has some minor but
wonderful improvements.

AFL JoyceM Like what,Joshua on 6.01?

JoshuaT256 The primary purpose of 6.0.1 will be to support
the Apple II EtherNet card (coming later this year)  For
one, it has keyboard navigation in the Finder, so you can
move between icons with the arrow keys  You can also click
on the column titles on "view by..." windows to change
views.

AFL JoyceM I 'read' that it would also have MSDos FST, on
6.01? is that true?

AFL JoeyS  Makes it all more Mac-like.  %)

JoshuaT256 Provided no bugs are found in it, the MS-DOS FST
will be out ina read-only form with 6.0.1

AFL JoyceM Any release date on 6.01?

JoshuaT256 It's supposed to be as fast reading as the ProDOS
FST, and later on they will make it read/write

AFC Ted    "When it's ready" :)

JoshuaT256 That's it, Ted.

AFL JoeyS  The MS-DOS FST (read-only) was announced, yes.
It'll require a SuperDrive to read 3.5" floppies,  or you'll
be able to read other devices (i.e. Syquest cartridges)
directly, if you want.

JoshuaT256 The EasyMount extension is now built-in as "Make
Alias..." and works for anything except documents,  and even
that may change if time permits.

AFL JoeyS  But the aliases are only valid from within
Finder, correct?

AFC Ted    Who's doing the revisions to the Finder?

JoshuaT256 They didn't say, but that's what I assumed.

JoshuaT256 Dave Lyons is heading up the Finder work to my
understanding.

JoshuaT256 Oh, speaking of speed, there's an 18% speed
increase in the HFS FST.  And whoever wrote that INIT to
scroll the boot icons will be out of businesss when 6.0.1
ships :(

LindaW19   Any change in floppy drivers?

AFL JoeyS  Yeah, the faster HFS FST will be NICE...
('specially for those of us with large HFS HD partitions %)

JoshuaT256 No change to the drivers, Linda, except the
Appletalk drivers (added EtherNet support)

AFL JoyceM Did I miss when 6.01 is supposed to be released?

AFL JoeyS  "RSN", Joyce.  :)

JoshuaT256 There was no firm release date, Joyce, just
another "when it's done" type answer.

AFL JoyceM Oh..that answer, thx

AFC SteveB 6.0.1 will fix the problem that made people go
back to 5.0.4 drivers, too.

AFC Ted    Which problem was that, Steve?

LindaW19   That's what I was asking about.

AFL JoyceM What problems?

JoshuaT256 It was interesting to see how fast SuperDrive
controllers sold at the show after the FST was shown!

AFL JoyceM GMTA

Spottysoft The 5.25 drives.....  (non Apple ones..)

AFC SteveB Disappearing volumes was the problem -I think-.

AFL JoyceM I don't have the problem.....

JoshuaT256 It was really bad with Vulcans.

LindaW19   Will the AMR 3.5" drive pain still be there?

Spottysoft Josh.... what were the SuperDrive cards going
for??

AFL JoyceM And the drives $$$$$?

JoshuaT256 We were selling them at the Alltech booth for
$139.  The list is $149, and some places had them @ $129.
The card is a lot more complex than the old 3.5 controller.
It appears to have an actual coprocessor of some sort on it.

Spottysoft Apple FDHD is $429 I think, Joyce... same as the
Apple 3.5 (800K).

AFL JoyceM What slot must they go in?  Thanks, Spotty...was
afraid of that price

JoshuaT256 Any slot Joyce, but usually slot 5, since this
card  replaces the built-in 3.5" controller.

AFL JoeyS  Right... the FDHD basically bumped the Apple 3.5
Drive off the price list (I don't believe the 800K  drive is
actually sold anymore, since you CAN use a SuperDrive as a
800K if you want).

JoshuaT256 At the dealer where I work we sell FDHDs for
$259.

AFL JoyceM Oh...so you either have 3.5" or FDHD? but not
both?

Rook2      FDHD?

AFL JoeyS  No, Joyce, you can have both.

LindaW19   Will some of the cheap ones sold for the Mac
(Fujitsu, for ex) work?

JoshuaT256 You can have both on one controller card.

Spottysoft There are some third party drives (for Macs)
tho... but whether or not they  work on an Apple II is
another animal.

AFL JoeyS  Rook: Floppy Disk/High Density... Apple's 1.44
megabyte 3.5" SuperDrive.

AFC Ted    Floppy DIsk High density, or something like that

AFL JoyceM But according to what Joey said, why have both?

JoshuaT256 If the drivers are truly Apple-compatible then
they should work.  I've heard AE's drives work great.

AFL JoeyS  Well, having two 3.5" drives is always nice,
Joyce... and there's no upgrade plan from Apple 3.5"s to
SuperDrives.

AFL JoyceM I have 2 now...but a FDHD sure looks inviting
too...oh well,

Rook2      How much more is a HD, why would you buy a FDHD?

LindaW19   I haven't thought of a _good_ reason, at least
for me.

AFL JoeyS  Biggest reason, Rook, is to exchange floppy disks
with other computers... in case you missed it, Apple
announced an MS-DOS FST for IIgs System 6.0.1, that allows
you to directly read MS-DOS disks on the  GS... IF you have
a SuperDrive.

AFC JohnC  105 meg is about $60 more than list price

AFL JoyceM My new 50 meg HD will cost me $319

AFA Warren More capacity for Backups?

LindaW19   Of course, there's always the reason that...it
exists.

AFL JoeyS  And there's that, yes, Linda.  :))

AFL JoyceM True, Linda...how true :)

LindaW19   Glen Bredon isn't planning to support them in
ProSel. He might be persuaded  to change his mind, I guess.

Spottysoft One other thing I saw... the SuperDrive card does
not support 5.25" drives. :(  (not that it'll matter to most
folks..but it should be noted..:)

AFL JoeyS  Hmmm... Spotty, isn't the Slot 6 Disk Port still
available, even with the SuperDrive card installed  and
active??  (i.e. you should be able to plug a 5.25" drive
directly into the back of the machine,   even with a
SuperDrive card in the machine).

Rook2      Not programs , just disc files?

JoshuaT256 I'm sure Greg will give in and complain about
doing it, just like he did with the Non-ProDOS FST thing

AFC JohnC  Glen would have to rewrite major portions of his
code Linda...that was one of  the reasons that he gave

Spottysoft Joey... I'm not sure.... nobody has said
anything.... but if you put the...  SD card in Slot 5 and
set it to "Your Card"... what does it do to the "Disk
Port" setting in slot 6??

AFL JoeyS  Absolutely nothing, Spotty.

JoshuaT256 As long as you don't put the superdrive
controller in slot 6, the port on the back will still use
them

AFL Marty  Right Joe, but PCs can write to 1.4 meg 5.25"
disks.  It'd be nice to have a  way to read them too.

AFL JoeyS  Although the Utilities in ProSel-16 should
already be fairly FST independent.

LindaW19   I would think it would be nice to use the 1.4 MB
floppies for Prosel backups.

JoshuaT256 It's interesting to note that DD Deluxe has
supported 1.4 meg disks for YEARS!

AFL JoeyS  1.2 meg 5.25"s, actually, Marty.  Yes; I believe
that AE 5.25" TransDrives should be directly   supported,
though, so you could at least read 360K 5.25" floppies.

AFL Marty  Whatever.  What's .2 meg among friends.

LindaW19   Duh. DD Deluxe?

AFL JoeyS  An old packing utility, Linda.  It and most of
its cousins went out the window when ShrinkIt  came along...

JoshuaT256 The FST will read MS-DOS disks "how ever you can
get them into the computer."  Floppies, syquests, etc

Rook2      FST?

AFL JoeyS  FST = Filing System Translator, Rook... a gadget
for GS/OS that lets it read disks from other  computers,
directly.

Spottysoft So.... the SmartPort controller will still handle
slot 6 even with slot 5 set  to "your card"??

AFL JoeyS  It should, yes.

LindaW19   I'd like to dl PC stuff with my GS. Guess I'd
need a R/W FST for that?

JoshuaT256 That's right Spottysoft.

Rook2      Where do you get an FST

AFC Ted    It's part of the system software

AFL Marty  You get FSTs from Apple on GS System Disks.

AFL JoeyS  Right, Linda.  You'll have to wait a little while
yet...

JoshuaT256 With slot 5 off, the port on the back still
works, but 3.5s just aren't recognized.

AFC JohnC  Now if someone would just invent a "slot board
extension" so that I can use all  of these cards...I'd be
happy!!!!

AFL JoeyS  Only from Apple, Rook.  They come on the IIgs
System Disks.  Right now FST's are available for ProDOS,
HFS (Mac disks), High Sierra CD-ROM's, and AppleShare
(networking).

Rook2      Are they on sys 6

AFL Marty  They are.

AFC SteveB Yuppers

AFL JoeyS  Yes, Rook.

JoshuaT256 If GS/OS ever went to the 14-slot model (minimal
support is there), things would be much easier!

AFC JohnC  That's true Joshua!!!!!

Rook2      But you need a FDHD, right?

JoshuaT256 An FDHD is only required for high-density Mac
disks or for MS-DOS disks.

AFL Marty  No... You need an FDHD to use the MS DOS FST
(which isn't available yet)  or to read/write Macintosh high
density disks.

AFL JoeyS  Nope, Rook... only for the (imminent, but not yet
available) MS-DOS FST will you need a FDHD.  Read and write
to Mac disks and CD-ROMs, Rook, as well as ProDOS disks.

Rook2      Ah, what can I do with apple sys 6 FST

AFL Marty  Are you using System 6 now?

Rook2      yes

AFL Marty  Then you're using an FST.  (the ProDOS FST)

LindaW19   Copy Mac disks in the System 6 finder, formatting
if you need to.

AFL Marty  If you have the HFS FST installed you can read
and write Macintosh 800K  disks, and format them.

LindaW19   Copy TT fonts off of Mac disks for use with
Pointless...

AFL JoeyS  Rook: The HFS (Mac) FST isn't installed by
default when you install System 6.0, but the Installer will
do it for you under the "Custom Install" button.

JoshuaT256 I talked with Dave about modifying some Finder
calls a bit so I could write an intelligent copy  extension
that'd drop DAs, INITs, etc, in the right folders when you
droppd them on the System folder.

AFL JoeyS  GMTA Joshua.  %)  Both Steve and I have such
projects planned...

JoshuaT256 We should get together then.  Id also like to do
an extension to compare rVersions and dates when  copying
and display intelligent messages like the Mac.

AFC SteveB Did we ever decide which one of us was gonna stab
at it, Joe? :)

AFL JoeyS  Yeah, I think I was going to take that one, and
you were going to take the strip FX...  :)

JoshuaT256 The idea was also brought up of an extension to
make icons run away from the mouse pointer... :)

AFL JoeyS  Hmmm, Josh... interesting idea.  I didn't have
that sort of sophistication in mind... basically just
something to route copied files to the correct sub-folder.
I've got several ideas of how to implement  it, and about
half the code written.

LindaW19   Is there any way for the Finder to tell you
there's not enough room on the  floppy to copy the selected
files (like the Mac).

JoshuaT256 No there isn't Linda, but that's another neat
extension idea!

AFL JoeyS  Drop me a note on that idea sometime, Josh, if
ya' want...

AFC SteveB (CC me too, please.)

AFL JoeyS  Linda, sure it's possible via Finder Extensions.
HOWEVER, you'd probably want an override button on  that
sort of warning dialog: because ProDOS can sparse files,
sometimes it's possible for files to fit  on a volume even
though they "shouldn't" fit.

LindaW19   Glad to hear it's doable. Wish I could do it ;)

SPEEDLIMIT Joey.. would it be cool for me to create a Finder
Extention Folder in the  System folder... for some reason
when I upgraded to Systme 6 it wasn't made

AFC JohnC  Speed...you have to create that folder yourself

Rook2      Will we be talking about program launchers
tonite?

AFL JoeyS  That topic's been deferred 'til next week, Rook,
though if you've got any particular questions we'd be  glad
to help ya' out...  :)

AFL Marty  By the way, do any of you recall rumors about a
disk doubler type utility?

Rook2      Is there a disc doubler for the IIgs?

AFL Marty  There is a disk doubler promised.

Rook2      Like for PC's

AFL Marty  The utility is called "AutoArc" and it will be
published by Econ.  Says here it will be available in mid
September.

LindaW19   So it's not just a GS+ Blatent rumor, then?

AFL JoeyS  Cool!  :)

JoshuaT256 AutoArc?  Perhaps I should have spent more time
at the Econ booth.

AFL JoeyS  Speaking of which... any of y'all have a little
more information on that Universe Master thing??

AFL Marty  Econ did not have it available for demonstration.

AFL JoeyS  I've heard NOTHING about that one... %)

AFC SteveB [TEX does allow you to select multiple files...in
my case, 208 files :)]

Spottysoft AutoArc.... sound likes a new car battery.... :D

Rook2      Any launchers available in software library you
recomend?

LindaW19   UtilityLaunch!!!!  IMHO, of course :)

AFL JoeyS  On the IIgs, Rook?  Ummm, you might try
UtilityLaunch (use "Search Software Libraries" to search for
"UtilityLaunch")... that's one of the better alternatives.

SPEEDLIMIT <-- tried everying and now I'm back to the Finder
to Launch everything  ;)

AFL JoeyS  ProSel is also an outstanding commercial choice;
you can find out more about that in the ProSel   Company
Support area here in AUT...  :)

AFC JohnC  UtilityLaunch, Powerlaunch to name two Rook!

AFL Marty  What do you want to know about Universe Master?

AFL JoeyS  Oh, well, anything, Marty.  Unlike most of the
topics discussed so far, I know NOTHING about  "Universe
Master".  %)

JoshuaT256 And neither do I, since I ran out of money before
I could buy a copy!

AFL Marty  Universe Master was being touted as "competition
for ProSel."  It provides (according to the brochure)...
file backup and restore, data compression and password
encryption,...  recovery for deleted or damaged files,
volume analysis & optimization,...  ASCII editor,
single/batch file copy & deletion  batch file, script based
backups  etc.

LindaW19   Is Universe Master a desktop application?

AFL Marty  Yes.

AFL Marty  As of show time, it did not handle HFS volumes.

AFL JoeyS  Hmmm... fascinating.  Passing by the promo stuff,
Marty, how'd it =look=?

AFL Marty  It -looks- good...

AFL JoeyS  Cool.

LindaW19   Such a modest name for it, too!

AFL Marty  but I had private conversations with two
individuals whose opinions I trust...  and who observed
Universe Master attempting to fix a hard drive directory.
Both individuals told me that it was unable to repair it.  I
think I will stick with ProSEL for volume repair, backup,
and  optimizations.

AFC SteveB (Anyone know if the "strip line feeds" options
turns 'em into CR's? :)

AFL JoeyS  (No, Steve, it just removes them.)

SPEEDLIMIT ,-- My finder Looks like ICONs from Mars, but it
more fun that way :)

SPEEDLIMIT I need to look at some of the DL's Quick.. wanted
to ask a few questions about  some :)

AFL JoeyS  Shoot, Speed...  :)

JoshuaT256 I pity the poor programmers who have to write HFS
disk utilities! :)

SPEEDLIMIT I know I'm going to sound stupid, but I couldn't
make heads or tails what this  does... File Extender v1.00
NDA

LindaW19   I think I understand File Extender but I haven't
found any advantage to it.

LindaW19   Open the FE NDA, open a file and whatever action
the Finder would have taken  with that file, FE will do it.
Such as...  play the sound, or the song, or open
TeachReader, etc.

JoshuaT256 File Extender has uses, Linda.  For instance, I
can open Server Aliases and mount servers anywhere.

AFC JohnC  FE allows you to do those things that you do in
the finder with certain   extensions to do in a program that
supports NDAs without leaving the program

AFL JoeyS  Correct, Linda.  The basic idea is so if you have
Finder Extensions for that sort of thing, you DON'T   need
to have redundant NDA's, etc. to handle the same tasks.

SPEEDLIMIT Linda... would it add the File Extenders to the
other programs  :) that would  be cool  :)

AFL JoeyS  Yes, basically, Speed.

LindaW19   But since I use UtilityLaunch so much, I do have
those NDAs already. I figure  FE has its uses and the server
mounting looks like a good one.

AFL Marty  I saw a very interesting application called
Animasia 3D.

GerryR5    I heard about that Marty..tell me about it? :)

AFL JoeyS  That was mentioned in passing earlier, Marty...
want to give us some more details??  :)

AFL Marty  Creates 3D animations, edits in full perspective
mode...  creates 3D shapes using a variety of tools.

AFL Marty  I particularly liked the way it generates solids
by rotating 2D shapes  about an axis you define.

AFL Marty  Imports and exports in DXF format.

AFL Marty  The program seemed very close to completion.  I
think AGR may be having  the author in for a chat one of
these days.

JoshuaT256 Animasia 3-D will be great for schools since it
can read AutoCAD DXF files.

AFL JoeyS  Sounds good, Marty!  Yeah, it sounds VERY nice...
the AutoCAD import/export support alone is worth ton

JoshuaT256 For all of you programmers, Resource Central now
has ALL the System 6.0 docs, including the System 6.0
Programmers Reference (from ByteWorks) and printed versions
of the May 1992 Tech/FileType Notes

-- 
I should really be _doing_ something now...