NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ NetNews Usenet Archive 1993 #3 / NN_1993_3.iso / spool / comp / sys / amiga / misc / 20459 < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1993-01-25 | 42.9 KB | 938 lines

Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc Path: sparky!uunet!gatech!purdue!mentor.cc.purdue.edu!noose.ecn.purdue.edu!gn.ecn.purdue.edu!sacke From: sacke@gn.ecn.purdue.edu (Jeff Hanna) Subject: GEnie 5 Minute Amiga News Message-ID: <1993Jan25.224749.2316@gn.ecn.purdue.edu> Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network Date: Mon, 25 Jan 93 22:47:49 GMT Lines: 928 Welcome to the ____ / ___) *StarShip* 5-MINUTE Weekend Newscast / (_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / ___) / (__ very weekend the *StarShip* on GEnie presents a new 5-MINUTE Weekend (_____) Newscast in Communications Room 10 in the Real-Time Conference Area. Featuring late-breaking stories from the Amiga community, these dynamic, scrolling newscasts cycle every 5 minutes, so you can stop by between 6PM and 3AM Eastern time on Friday, or 3PM and 3AM Eastern time on Saturday or Sunday and learn everything that happened during the preceding week. Industry news, product announcements, upgrades, rumors, special *StarShip* activities, trade show reports, GEnie usage tips, humor, recommended files to download... ... the works -- and it ONLY takes 5 minutes! Each 5-MINUTE Weekend Newscast is available on *StarShip* Menu #10 during the following week. Periodically, newscasts are combined and made available for downloading from the *StarShip* Library. ____________________________________________________________ // \ || -*- 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, COMPUTE's Amiga Resource, for his generous input. DateLine: January 15, 1993 This 5-MINUTE Newscast presents the following stories: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Commodore Features New Amiga Systems with Consumer Multimedia Applications at Consumer Electronics Show 2. St. Clair Designs and Packages Industry Leader Kiosk Systems 3. Freedom Floptical Drives for Amiga -- Available Now! 4. Next Week's *StarShip* Calendar -- Special WINNING Conferences! Blue Ribbon SoundWorks, Mark Thompson on LightWave, INOVAtronics, Blackbelt! 5. Incredible A600 Packages from TENEX Computer Express 6. Gold Disk Announces Professional Page 4.0 7. SoftWood Releases Proper Grammar V2 8. Commodore Features New Amiga Systems with Communication Multimedia Applications at INFOCOMM Show 9. Maxis Releases A-Train for Amiga Computers *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 1st of 9 Stories Better late than never... Commodore Features New Amiga Systems With Consumer Multimedia Applications at Consumer Electronics Show ____~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / ___) Las Vegas, NV -- January 7, 1993 / / / (__ (_____)ommodore Business Machines,Inc. will feature and demonstrate a full range of Amiga (R) products at the Consumer Electronics Show, Booth #10041 in the North Hall, from January 7 - 10, 1993. Commodore's presentation at CES will focus on consumer multimedia applications and retail kiosk systems. Product demonstrations will include the new Amiga 1200 and 4000 Advanced Graphics Architecture TM (AGA) based machines, the entry-level Amiga 600, the Commodore Dynamic Total Vision (CDTV (R)) player, and a variety of peripheral products. Also included in Commodore's booth will be six third-party developers who will demonstrate a number of sophisticated Amiga multimedia applications for the home and professional user. The following is a list of the developers and a brief description of their products to be shown in the booth. The Miracle Piano Teaching System (TM) The Software Toolworks, Inc. The Miracle Piano Teaching System, the first piano which teaches users how to play, has 1,000 piano lessons with fun and exciting video games and popular songs. The system comes with built-in stereo speakers, AC Adapter, and earphones. The keyboard has velocity-sensitive keys, a sustain pedal, and full MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) compatibility. It can produce over 100 exciting digital music instrument sounds. The Miracle, with its three components -- software, a 49-key keyboard, and a cable connection to the user's computer -- has a suggested retail price of $479.95. G-Lock Great Valley Products G-Lock, a very affordable, high quality, versatile genlock rivals even the most expensive genlocks on the market. Compatible with all Amiga models, this feature-packed unit is completely software controllable through its user friendly control panel software, or through ARexx or the CLI. It can accept two composite on one Y/C input, and provides composite, Y/C, RGB or YUV outputs at all times. Many adjustable parameters affecting the incoming video are available and full support is provided. G-Lock lists in the U.S. for $449.00. AmiLink RGB Computer & Video AmiLink/CII (Consumer Industrial) is a derivative of AmiLink TM, RGB Computer & Video's professional desktop video editing system. CI offers cuts and A/B roll editing with the power of professional post-production systems. It also offers complete interface to the Video Toaster and control of up to six source and one record Panasonic AG 1960. Video Director Gold Disk Video Director is a videotape editing system for camcorder enthusiasts and professionals. Familiar VCR style controls make it easy to select and catalog videotaped moments or "clips." Clips from multiple tapes can be arranged in any order desired and VideoDirector will control a camcorder and VCR to produce a cleanly edited tape. VideoDirector includes a special Smart Cable serial port interface for controlling most popular VCRs and camcorders. St. Clair Interactive Communications St. Clair designs and develops custom interactive kiosk systems for a broad range of applications, including retail information and merchandising systems and customer service programs. The company will feature several of their Amiga-based kiosk systems, such as the K-Mart (R) Coupon Center, in the booth. Commodore Business Machines, Inc., based in West Chester, PA, is the U.S. subsidiary of Commodore International Limited. The company manufactures and markets a complete line of Amiga computers and peripherals for the business, consumer, education and government markets. The company's worldwide installed Amiga user base is presently almost four million. Commodore and CDTV are trademarks of Commodore Electronics Limited. Amiga and Advanced Graphics Architecture are trademarks of Commodore-Amiga, Inc. G-Lock is a trademark of Great Valley Products. The Miracle Piano Teaching System is a trademark of The Software Toolworks. AmiLink is a trademark of RGB Computer & Video. Digital EditMaster is a trademark of Digital Micronics, Inc. Video Toaster is a trademark of NewTek, Inc. K-Mart Coupon Center is a trademark of K-Mart Corporation. For more information contact Commodore Business Machines, Inc. 1200 Wilson Drive West Chester, PA 19380 (215) 431-9100 -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 2nd of 9 Stories St. Clair Designs and Packages Industry Leader Kiosk Systems ____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / ___) ( (__ West Chester, PA -- January 4, 1993 \__ \ ___) ) (____/t. Clair Interactive Communications today announced that they have developed a line of NEW, HIGH PERFORMANCE interactive, multimedia kiosk systems. These custom packaged, turnkey models are standardized and tailored for retail markets at a price level that sets them apart as an industry leader. St. Clair Interactive Communications is a full service company that has been developing custom, multimedia information systems, commonly known as kiosks, for the last ten years. Their new line of three standardized interactive kiosk systems are designed to be flexible, exceptionally cost-effective and easy to use while maintaining the highest level of performance. Unlike many other systems in the market today, these kiosks are custom designed by one source that includes a team of professional specialists in the specified retail markets AND are packaged as a turnkey product at an extremely competitive price level. St. Clair is also pleased to announce that they have selected Commodore Business Machine's Amiga as the computer component for their three new, innovative turnkey systems. With the inclusion of the Amiga system, each one of these kiosk models has multimedia capabilities that can exceed other industry standards. They include quality digital audio, exquisite graphics and multimedia capabilities that are all designed for mass market retail applications. Included in each system is the kiosk equipment, software and the interactive multimedia program. The Basic unit includes a simple enclosure, digitized and painted graphics with 50 custom graphics screens, animation and audio, plus authoring and run time software. This basic unit is best suited for tourist and visitor centers, store information, corporate and employee directories. In quantities of 100, this system is available at an MSRP of $2,850. The Deluxe system is based on a high speed multimedia computer which includes a 32bit processor, 100 MB hard drive, a touch screen, digitized and painted animation using 256,000 color pictorial graphics, stereo digital audio, text, an upgraded enclosure, modem and communications software capabilities. This model is targeted for P.O.P. couponing, vendor merchandising, customer service, real estate, ticketing and reservations applications. In quantities of 100, this system is available at an MSRP of $5,500. The Premier system includes all the features of the deluxe system plus a faster processor, 10 MB RAM, 100 MB Hard Drive and full motion video from the hard drive. In addition, there is a printer, graphics processors, a central control panel for remote updating for graphics, audio, video and text. Applications for this system include fashion merchandising, travel, product catalogs and corporate communications. In quantities of 100, this system is available at an MSRP of $9,600. "The interactive information market is exploding. With the number of retail kiosk applications expanding rapidly, we anticipate sizeable growth. We especially feel confident that our custom developed, professional systems with full service networks far exceed the present industry standards in content, operational and multimedia capabilities. Plus, these custom packaged systems are complete turnkey kiosks from just one source AND are one of the best price/performance systems in the industry," commented H. Douglas Peter, president, St. Clair Interactive Communications. "We are also pleased to announce that we have chosen the Commodore Amiga as the exceptional multimedia computer component. The Amiga's quality digital audio, digital video and multitasking capabilities tremendously enhance each system's delivery performance. We know this from experience since St. Clair has already developed and installed successfully running multimedia kiosks that incorporate the Amiga. Some of these prestigious installations include The Logan Airport, Massachusetts; K Mart Coupon Centers; and The National Auto League in Ontario, Canada," added Doug Peter. Commodore is a trademark of Commodore Electronics Limited. Amiga is a trademark of Commodore-Amiga, Inc. St. Clair TM is a trademark of St. Clair Interactive Communications. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 3rd of 9 Stories Freedom Floptical Drives for Amiga -- Available Now! ______ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (__ __) Bellevue, WA -- January 1993 / / / / (_/he Freedom Floptical Drive from Purple Mountain Computers has quickly become a standard on other computer platforms because of its versatility and low price. Floptical disks and drives are more portable than Removable Hard Drives and they allow compatibility with 1.44 MB disks. PMC is proud to take part in the advancement of technology in the Amiga field, as well as serving the Amiga community! Here's what you get when you buy a Freedom Floptical Drive: Versatility Read/write 720K/1.44 MB/21 MB 3.5" disks. Compactness Small footprint (4.7 x 7.8 x 2 inches). Expandability 5 (FIVE!) Floptical disks included = 100 MB of storage.| Buy more disks to expand as needed. Portability 21 MB disks are standard 3.5" disk size, just slip 'em in your pocket and you're off! Quality Hundreds of people now have Freedom Drives and their testimonies are positive: "I've been using the Freedom Floptical drives for many months now and have never had a problem since connecting it to my system. With the prices of Floptical disks dropping in price, the floptical has become a very economical alternative in storage. I have recommended your company to many people that I know, with the secure feeling that they will receive the same outstanding service and product that I have." - Dennis H. Yogi Low Price Price is one of the most important aspects, and with the Freedom Floptical Drive you get the lowest price guaranteed (we'll meet or beat any legitimate advertised price for the same components). The Freedom Drive is JUST $399 for internal model or $419 for an external model! What Do Ya Get? Freedom Floptical Drive For $399 5 (FIVE!) Floptical Disks For $419 Case (in addition to the above items) Power Supply All you need is a SCSI Host Adapter (most such as GVP, ICD, etc. support Floptical drives, just call your respective manufacturer for details). Just plug the drive into the adapter, and step into the future of disk technology! Additional Floptical disks: $19.95 each (or $18.95 each in paks of 5). To Order: Send check or money order for $399 + $15 (Federal Express shipping/insurance) to: Purple Mountain Computers, Inc. (PMC) 15600 NE 8th St. Ste. A3-412 Bellevue, WA 98008 206-399-8700 For more information send GE Mail to: PMC.INC *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 4th of 9 Stories __________________________________________________________________________ | | | *StarShip* Amiga Conferences | | | | _ | | / )____ _____ __ __ ____ ___ __ __ | | __ / // _ ) / _ )/ / / // _ ) / __)/ / / / | | ( (_/ // (/ / / / ) // (_/ // (/ / / / / (_/ / | | \___/(_____)(_/ (_/(_____((_____)(_/ (___ / | | ___/ / | | (____/ | | Except where noted, Conferences begin at 10PM Eastern Time in the Amiga | | Conference Rooms at Page 555;2. Amiga Programmers meet Wednesday nights | | at Pro/Am on Page 670. Amiga/GEnie HelpDesk EVERY Night at 9PM Eastern. | |__________________________________________________________________________| | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Humpday |Thursday | Friday | Saturday | | Help@9EST| Help@9EST|Help@9EST| Help@9EST|Help@9EST| Help@9EST| Help@9EST| |__________|__________|_________|__________|_________|__________|__________| | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |21 | 22 | 23 | |5-MIN News| | Blue | |vv-Video!| New |5-MIN News| | 3PM-3AM | DeskTop | Ribbon's| AmiGames | Radient |*StarShip*|9:Hardware| | -*- |Publishing|One-Stop | ------ | Images' | 5-MINUTE |10: Guest!| |10PM: | Night |MusicShop|Programing| Mark | Newscast INOVAtronics | Graphics | |& Prizes!|at Pro/Am |Thompson!| 6PM-3AM | & Prize! | |__________|__________|_________|__________|_________|__________|__________| | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |28 | 29 | 30 | |5-MIN News| | | |Blackbelt| New |5-MIN News| | 3PM-3AM | DeskTop | o/~ | AmiGames | Ben |*StarShip*|9:Hardware| | -*- |Publishing| | ------ | Williams| 5-MINUTE | Clinic | |10PM: | Night | Music |Programing| with | Newscast |10: Amiga | | Graphics | | Night |at Pro/Am | Prizes! | 6PM-3AM |PartyNight| |__________|__________|_________|__________|_________|__________|__________| -* Special WINNING Conferences Coming these Next Two Weeks! *- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Blue Ribbon SoundWorks -- Tuesday, January 19 at 10PM EST ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Learn about the fabulous new One-Stop Music Shop, and how you can get a Special FREE MusicWare Disk just for mentioning GEnie when you order one! Pick from BEATLES DISK #1 (8 Days a Week, Back in the USSR, Daytripper, Good Day Sunshine) or CLASSICAL PLUS (Ballade 1, Opus 23; Nocturne&March, Canon; Toccata&Fugue in D Minor) or HIP-HOP DISK (MegaMix, Pump Up the Jam, Bad Girls, Tom's Diner, Neutron Dance) -- a $24.95 value, FREE when you mention GEnie. Order the One-Stop Music Shop now for $629 (regularly $649)! Plus, a lucky GEnie member will WIN his/her choice of one of these MusicWare Disks at this special conference with featured guest (and One-Stop Music Shop expert) Dave Miller. Mark Thompson of Radient Images -- Thursday, January 21 at 10PM EST ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Video Toaster/LightWave expert Mark Thompson is featured as our special guest this evening. Mark will share tips, secrets and insiders info on using NewTek's exciting industry-standard equipment to YOUR advantage! INOVAtronics -- Saturday, January 23 at 10PM EST ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The gang's all here! INOVAtronics Programmers and Tech Support Staff with news on their latest and greatest: CanDo Authoring System, Dir OPUS 4.0, GigaMem, TURBOprint, and their entry into entertainment software, Vektor Storm! Someone's going to win a FREE copy of Dir OPUS 4.0 - will it be YOU? Watch the *StarShip* Software Library for new CanDo demos and other goodies! Blackbelt -- Thursday, January 28 at 10PM EST ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not one.. not two.. but THREE lucky conference participants will win their own full-featured image manipulation system, Imagemaster, Blackbelt's flagship product, including -- as soon as it's available -- a free upgrade to Imagemaster V10, a revolutionary NEW image processing product for the Amiga! Three others will win Blackbelt's NoteBook software, a unique personal productivity tool. That's over $750 worth of prizes to *StarShip* members tonight alone! Special guest Ben Williams will also talk about Blackbelt's PackeTerm, a packet-radio handling program for HAM radio operators. HelpDesk *EVERY* NIGHT @ 9PM Eastern Time! Got a problem? If you have questions about learning to use your Amiga, the *StarShip* or GEnie, we have answers! Stop by Conference Room 4 ANY EVENING from 9 to 10 EST for live, on-the-spot help. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 5th of 9 Stories Incredible A600 Packages from TENEX Computer Express _ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / \ Mishawaka, IN -- January 1993 / - \ / ___ \ (_/ \_) TENEX Computer Express mail order catalog arrived at our mailbox this week. A second cover had been placed over the original, and printed on flourescent orange paper are incredible Amiga 600 prices. Among other things, it says: "News SO Hot - it Was LITERALLY Too Late to Stop the Presses!" "IGNORE the price inside the catalog -- We NOW have the Lowest Price IN THE UNIVERSE on the Amiga 600 -- $ 299.99. Includes HUGE Software Value." Four Different Amiga 600 packages are offered inside as follows: _______________________ ______________________________ / \ / \ | $299.99 | | $499.99 | | Amiga 600 Bonus Pack | | Amiga 600HD Bonus Pack | | | | | | Includes: | | Includes: | | Amiga 600 Computer | | Amiga 600HD Computer | | | | with 40 MByte Hard Drive | | Software: | | | | Robocop 3 | | Software: | | Beast III | | Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 | | Myth | | Microtext | | Microtext | | Graphics Workshop | | Graphics Workshop | | PushOver | \_______________________/ \______________________________/ ________________________ ______________________________ / \ / \ | $469.99 | | $669.99 | | Amiga 600 Graphics Pack | | Amiga 600HD Graphics Pack | | | | | | Includes: | | Includes: | | Amiga 600 Computer | | Amiga 600 Computer | | Amiga 1084 Color Monitor | | with 40 MByte Hard Drive | | with stereo sound | | Amiga 1084 Color Monitor | | | | with stereo Sound | | Software: | | | | Robocop 3 | | Software: | | Beast III | | Virtual Reality Studio 2.0 | | Myth | | Microtext | | Microtext | | Graphics Workshop | | Graphics Workshop | | PushOver | \________________________/ \______________________________/ Tenex Computer Express has been serving Commodore and Amiga owners by mail order for years. For more information contact Tenex Computer Express, 56800 Magnetic Drive, Mishawaka IN 46545, 1-800-PROMPT-1, 1-219-259-7051, Fax: 219-259-0300. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 6th of 9 Stories Gold Disk Announces Professional Page 4.0 -- New Features Give Amiga Users More Publishing Power ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Professional Page 4.0 To Support Commodore Amiga 4000 and 1200 AGA Chipset Displaying up to 256 Colors On Screen; Special $75.00 (USD) Upgrade Offer to Current Users of _____ Professional Page 3.0 / ____) / /___ Toronto, Canada -- December, 1992 / /( ) / (__) / (______/old Disk Inc. today announced a new version of Professional Page, the company's award winning desktop publishing program for the Commodore Amiga personal computer. Professional Page 4.0 is fuly compatible with Commodore's new AGA Chipset and includes free-of-charge a hot-linked paint program for fast changes to graphics as part of the company's aggressive $75.00 USD, $85.00 CDN upgrade program for current users of Professional Page 3.0. "Gold Disk is acutely aware of the changing needs of Amiga desktop publishers, and our announcement of Professional Page 4.0 demonstrates the company's commitment to provide users with state-of-the-art desktop publishing tools," said Kailash Ambwani, CEO and president of Gold Disk Inc. New features included in Professional Page 4.0: - Support for the new Commodore AGA chipset ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This new chipset is found on the Amiga 4000 and 1200. Bitmapped images can now be displayed on-screen using up to 256 colors giving users the benefit of true WYSIWYG viewing and more exact on-screen proofing. - A hot-linked graphics editor ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The graphics editor is a full featured paint program. The paint program is used for the creation of bitmapped images or editing existing images and allows for automatic export from Professional Page 4.0 for quick and easy editing. A hot-linked text editor has been a standard part of Professional Page since version 2.0. - Enhanced graphic handling with new graphics import filters ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Users can now import graphics generated in IBM PC and Macintosh GIF, TIF, PCX, BMP and EPS file formats. On screen TIFF preview is included. In addition, Adobe Illustrator and Aldus Freehand EPSF files can be imported and edited using Professional Draw 3.0. Professional Page 4.0 includes a hot-link to Professional Draw 3.0 making it posible to export structured drawings to Professional draw, edit the drawing and return it to Professional Page 4.0 for inclusion in a document. - Additional text handling features ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ These new features include enhanced text styles such as drop shadow effect and pattern filled text; a built-in visual Pair Kerning editor to adjust the kerning of any font to pre-defined specifications; a font preview window that aids in the selection of typefaces, and a new text import filter for AmiWrite, WordsWorth and Kindwords 3. Professional Page 4.0 supports 15 DOS and Amiga wordprocessor text imput filters. - User-definable display modes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Users are now able to define their display modes in an editable two-page view and utilize the zoom-in capabilities from 10 percent to 400 percent (in 1 percent increments). Other new features includes the visual Page Sorter that allows users the capability to arrange pages within a document and a "stick-on" note feature that enables users to add non-printed messages or instructions to a document. Professional Page 4.0 also includes a selection of new time saving Genies. Genies are automated macros that aid in the creation of documents and in the execution of difficult or tedious tasks. Introduced in Professional Page 3.0, Genies automate such functions as envelope addressing, automatic mail merges from external databases and automatic grid and table creation. "The addition of these new features makes Professional Page 4.0 the desktop publishing tool of choice for Amiga users," said Mike Iampietro, sales and marketing manager for Gold Disk's Amiga products. "Professional Page is easy to use from start to finish and is generally recognized as the product with the highest quality output for the Amiga. We are committed to delivering quality products for all levels of users." System Requirements, Pricing and Distribution ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Professional Page 4.0 will run on any Commodore Amiga with at least 2 MB of RAM and a hard disk drive, is Workbench 1.3, 2.0 and 3.0 compatible, and is available through Amiga Dealers or from the company direct. Suggested retail price is $295.00. Other Gold Disk products include Professional Draw, a professional graphic illustration package, VideoDirector, a complete personal videotape editing system, ProfessionalCalc, a spreadsheet program, and PageSetter 3, an entry-level desktop publishing system. Gold Disk Inc., founded in 1984, is the leading developer and publisher of desktop presentation and business productivity software for Windows-based PC, Macintosh and Amiga computer users, and is a software licensee of the MPC trademark, developing products to support this multimedia standard. Gold Disk, privately held, is based in Mississauga, Ontario with sales and marketing offices in Torrance, California. -*- *StarShip* Amiga *Flash* 7th of 9 Stories SoftWood Releases Proper Grammar V2 ____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / _ ) Phoenix, AZ -- January 1993 / ___/ / / (_/roper Grammar (TM) utilizes the Houghton Mifflin CorrecText(TM) Grammar Correction System, a powerful expert system that uses context-sensitive rules of grammar to analyze writing and to detect and correct errors in syntax, usage, punctuation, spelling and style. It is the first and only interactive language-aid system on the Amiga that corrects documents by identifying the grammatical function and relationship among words. Proper Grammar takes the guesswork out of good grammar by detecting 95% of all writing errors. It identifies and corrects embarrassing errors making it a valuable proofreading tool designed to improve writing. Proper Grammar is the perfect accessory to your favorite word processor. Use it with your word processor. Open, check, edit and save Final Copy 1.3.2 and Final Copy II, ProWrite 3.3, QuickWrite, Pen Pal, Excellence!, TextCraft Plus, KindWords 3.0, TransWrite, Scribble! and ASCII files. This release no longer supports compatibility with WordPerfect documents. You can also create a document with Proper Grammar's fast, built-in text editor, correct it, and save it in the format of your word processor or text editor. ARexx and Clipboard are also supported. Interactive Grammar Correction checks your documents for errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation and style. As errors are found in your document Proper Grammar highlights the text, tells you what is wrong, and lets you make the changes directly on screen. All processing is completely interactive. Error messages are clear and informative. Helpful explanations are given where appropriate. Proper Grammar includes complete document statistics which display readability information along with word, sentence, and paragraph counts. Readability information includes: Flesh Reading Ease Score, Flesh Reading Ease Grade Level, Flesh-Kincaid Score, and Gunning's Fog Index. It is ideal for business, personal, government, and educational use. It checks for and corrects such things as: o Wordy Expressions o Mass vs. Count: A vs. An o Redundant Expressions o Verbal Group Consistency o Inappropriate Prepositions o Subject-Verb Agreement o Informal Expressions o Agreement with Here or There o Cliches o Pronoun Rules o Weak Modifiers o Commonly Confused Words o Weak Quantifiers o Word Usage o Ungrammatical Expressions o Style Parameters o Open vs. Closed Spelling o Repetitive Expressions o Multiple Negation o Informal Usage o Overused or Misused Words o Double Negatives o Jargon Expressions o Jargon Words or Expressions o Pretentious Words o Nonstandard Modifiers o Archaic Expressions o Clause Errors o Misspelled Foreign Expressions o Format Errors o Noun Phrase Consistency o Punctuation Errors o Spelling Errors System requirements for Proper Grammar V2 includes any Amiga with 1 megabyte of RAM and a hard drive. Suggested retail price is $99.95. For more information contact Softwood, Inc. at P.O. Box 50178, Phoenix, AZ, 85076, or call 1-800-247-8330. -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 8th of 9 Stories Commodore Features New Amiga Systems with Communication Multimedia Applications at INFOCOMM Show ____ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / ___) New Orleans, LA -- January 14, 1993 / / / (__ (_____)ommodore Business Machines, Inc. will feature and demonstrate a full range of powerful Amiga (R) products at the INFOCOMM Show, Booth #2147, from January 14 - 16, 1993. Commodore's presentation at the show will focus on "pioneering" communication multimedia applications featured on the new Amiga 1200 and 4000 Advanced Graphics Architecture TM (AGA) based machines, the Commodore Dynamic Total Vision (CDTV (R)) player, and a variety of peripheral products. Also included in Commodore's booth will be industry leading third party developers who will demonstrate a number of sophisticated Amiga multimedia applications for the business professional user. The following is a list of the developers and a brief description of their exciting products to be shown in the booth. IG-Lock Great Valley Products G-Lock, a very affordable, high quality, versatile genlock rivals even the most expensive genlocks on the market. Compatible with all Amiga models, this feature-packed unit is completely software controllable through its user friendly control panel software, or through ARexx or the CLI. It can accept two composite/I.C. or one Y/C input, and provides composite, Y/C, RGB or YUV outputs at all times. Many adjustable parameters affecting the incoming video are available and full support is provided. G-Lock lists in the U.S. for $449.00. Video Director Gold Disk Video Director is a complete videotape editing system for camcorder enthusiasts and professionals. Clips from multiple tapes can be arranged in any order desired and VideoDirector will control a camcorder and VCR to produce a cleanly edited tape. Familiar VCR style controls make it easy to select and catalog videotaped moments or "clips." VideoDirector includes a special Smart Cable serial port interface for controlling most popular VCRs and camcorders. No additional hardware is required. Art Department Professional TM ASDG, Inc. Renowned for its speed and quality, Art Department Professional (ADPro) is a complete professional image processing system offering total input, processing and output flexibility with full ARexx programmability. ADPro reads and writes many image formats, performs thousands of image processing functions and utilizes JPEG de-compression, as well as prints 24-bit data to Preferences printers. It also includes animation features and is expandable. SCALA MM 200 SCALA Inc. The SCALA Multimedia 200 software allows users to create spectacular multimedia presentations that can include animations, sound and special effects for a number of professional business, government and educational applications. St. Clair Interactive Communications St. Clair designs and develops custom interactive kiosk systems for a broad range of applications, including retail information and merchandising systems and customer service programs. The company will feature several of their Amiga-based kiosk systems, such as the K-Mart (R) Coupon Center, in the booth. Commodore Business Machines, Inc., based in West Chester, PA, is the U.S. subsidiary of Commodore International Limited. The company manufactures and markets a complete line of Amiga computers and peripherals for the business, consumer, education and government markets. The company's worldwide installed user base of Amigas exceeds three million. Commodore (R) and CDTV (R) are trademarks of Commodore Electronics Limited. Amiga (R) and Advanced Graphics Architecture are trademarks of Commodore-Amiga, Inc. G-Lock (R) is a trademark of Great Valley Products. Art Department Professional is a trademark of ASDG, Inc. K-Mart (R) Coupon Center is a trademark of K-Mart Corporation. For more information contact Commodore Business Machines, Inc. 1200 Wilson Drive West Chester, PA 19380 (215) 431-9100 -*- *StarShip* NEWS *Flash* 9th of 9 Stories Get on the Railroad to Riches! Maxis Releases A-Train for Amiga Computers _ _ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ / \/ \ Orinda, CA -- Janurary 1993 / \ / /\ /\ \ (_/ \/ \_)axis has released the Amiga version of its best-selling simulation game, A-Train(TM), for $69.95. The DOS version of the game has been on top-ten lists since its release in May 1992. A-Train, the latest Software Toy from Maxis, challenges you to build the metropolis of your dreams, with a railroad as the transportation hub, and prove that a prosperous city can develop around a clean and efficient public transit system. Each of A-Train's six scenarios start you off with building materials, cash, and a playing field in various stages of urban development. Then you buy land, lay track anyplace for 19 different freight and passenger trains, and schedule their runs. The trains will transport people and building materials to areas under development, laying the groundwork for the housing, jobs and recreational centers that your city needs to grow. Your trains zip around in a landscape that includes trees, farmland, hills, houses, even cows. The simulation cycles through day and night, and through the seasons of the year for a heightened sense of realism. As your city grows, you build wealth by speculating in real estate or dabbling in the stock market. Advisors will pop onto your screen with business and construction advice, which you can act on or ignore, as you choose. With your newfound wealth, you develop office buildings, hotels, apartments, factories, amusement parks, ski resorts, malls, stadiums, and golf courses. On-screen balance sheets of revenues vs. expenses help you track which investments are winners, and which are money pits. You'll need a sharp eye for good business opportunities, and the guts to act on your instincts quickly. Otherwise, competing entrepreneurs may buy prime land out from under your nose for their own development projects. If you succeed in developing a large city, you will be rewarded with a Bullet Train for high-speed transport. If you go broke... well, you can always start over and try again. In a sense, A-Train is the capitalist's SimCity -- the private sector approach to urban development. It combines city-building with railroad management and sophisticated financial modeling to provide a depth of play that will keep you challenged for weeks, months, and even years. Later this month, Maxis will release the A-Train Construction Set for the Amiga, which allows players to create custom playing fields for greater flexibility, experimentation, and challenge. The A-Train Construction Set lets you create your own custom playing field, expanding on A-Train's six scenarios. With the Construction Set, you can: o Change saved games and scenarios, or build a landscape from scratch. o Sculpt your playing field with mountains, forests, and lakes. o Add trains, tracks, land, and business subsidiaries -- for free! o Donate nearly a billion dollars to your favorite charity -- you! o Set up a simple city or challenge yourself to manage an urban disaster. A-Train is the U.S. version of a game originally published in Japan in 1990 by Artdink(R), based on a series of games that began in 1986. A-Train has sold over 100,000 copies, won major awards, and has consistently ranked #1 in Japanese consumer polls. Maxis, based in Orinda, CA, and founded in 1987, publishes Software Toys(R), which let players learn through exploration, with no traditional way to win or lose. Maxis' first game, SimCity(R), was published in 1989 and has been a consistent top seller ever since. SimCity was joined on the best-seller list by SimEarth(R) in 1990, SimAnt(R) in 1991, and A-Train in 1992. Other software titles include RoboSport(TM) and the recently-released SimLife(TM). Maxis is among the fastest-growning software companies today. All Maxis products are distributed in the U.S. by Broderbund Software, CA: 415/382-4400; 800/521-6263. Software Toys, SimCity, SimAnt are registered trademarks and SimLife and RoboSport are trademarks of Sim-Business. A-Train is a trademark of Artdink. A-Train (C) 1992 Artdink and Sim-Business. All products and corporate names are trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective companies. All rights reserved. -*- Over a GIGABYTE of Amiga files in our Library! Catch your limit of Fred FISH Disks from the *StarFish* Library. If you are after a SINGLE PROGRAM on a Fish Disk, SEARCH for it before downloading the disk. Most are available separately! _______________________________________________________________ | | | | | 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). | | * /\ / | |_________________________________________________ ___/ \___ _| ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ \ oo / ~ . \ \__/ / _ (*) We would like to know about it / \ if you do, and you can tell us \ /\ / *FREE* by leaving Feedback to / \/ \/ \ the SysOps on GEnie Page 555. *StarFish* Librarian