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Amiga events
18.-21.04.25 • Revision 2025 • Saarbrücken (Germany)
13.-15.06.25 • Flashback-Symposium #02 • Jößnitz (Germany)
01.-02.08.25 • Amiga/040 • Mountain View (USA)
11.-14.09.25 • Classic Computing 2025 • Hof (Germany)
17.-19.10.25 • Amiga40 • Mönchengladbach (Germany)

29.Mar.2003
Andre Sommer (ANF)


Event: Mocca LAN 8 from April, 4th till April, 6th 2003 in Hirsau
It's time again, the next Mocca is near. In almost a week the doors will be opened for the Mocca 8, taking place from April, 4th till April, 6th in Hirsau (Germany). more ... (ps) (Translation: wk)

[News message: 29. Mar. 2003, 22:27] [Comments: 0]
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29.Mar.2003
Olaf Köbnik (email)


Amiga Arena: BabeAnoid 2.0 final version
In the past reported the Amiga Arena several times about "BabeAnoid", the Breakout clone by Richard Fhager. more ... (ps) (Translation: wk)

[News message: 29. Mar. 2003, 21:02] [Comments: 0]
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29.Mar.2003
heise Newsticker (ANF)


heise: US law drafts may mean the end of firewalls
In the view of Edward W. Felten, professor at the Princeton University, could the new suggestions for a stronger 'Digital Millennium Copyright Act' made by some US states lead to the fact that the ownership, the selling und use of encryption software, firewalls and router software may be under penalty in the USA soon.
The (German) heise article can be found following the title link.

Another (German) article about this topic:
Golem - IT News: Firewalls soon illegal in the USA? (ps) (Translation: wk)

[News message: 29. Mar. 2003, 17:17] [Comments: 0]
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29.Mar.2003
Golem - IT News


Golem: New youth protection law: no more Linux games in the future?
»USK logo becomes a problem
From the 1st of April on could the offer of games software for Linux users in Germany be reduced in a drastic way from one day to the other. Because from this day on may only games be sold if they are marked with an age recommendation of the USK and this is only the case for a small minority of Linux games.«
Read the full (German) article under the title link.

In the Amiga sector will the situation not be very different. Games that are new released won't get around the mark but because of financial reasons it is to be expected that only a little number of already released games will get this recommendation symbol. So we are very interested in the consequences of the new youth protection law for the Amiga market and of course for the games developers. Tell us your measures.

Will old games be removed from the shelves?
Will old games get an age recommendation?
What costs does this signing cause?
Is shareware in the same way concerned as commercial software is? (ps) (Translation: wk)

[News message: 29. Mar. 2003, 13:03] [Comments: 0]
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29.Mar.2003
WHDLoad (website)


Installer: WHDLoad - New packages until 28.03.2003
With WHDLoad you can now install games, that were thought to be floppy disk only, on your hard disk. The following packages have been added respectively updated since our last mention: more ... (nba) (Translation: wk)

[News message: 29. Mar. 2003, 00:47] [Comments: 0]
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29.Mar.2003
morphos-news.de


morphos-news.de: Pegasos boards available again
Bill Buck and Raquel Velasco have announced that the first 170 Pegasos mainboards have already been sent to the retailers. Some retailers already received the boards while others will get them today, tomorrow or in the beginning of next week. The rest of the approximately 400 produced Pegasos mainboards will be sent next week to the retailers. (nba) (Translation: wk)

[News message: 29. Mar. 2003, 00:47] [Comments: 0]
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29.Mar.2003
Glenn Fuller (ANF)


Ben Fuller is dead - biography in the work
Benjamin G. Fuller, active Amiga developer since the early days, died on September, 11th 2002. The family, relatives and friends are putting a biography about Ben together and would welcome any contributions from the Amiga community. more ... (nba) (Translation: wk)

[News message: 29. Mar. 2003, 00:39] [Comments: 2 - 14. Feb. 2007, 16:09]
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28.Mar.2003
Olaf Köbnik (E-Mail)


Amiga Arena: PuzzleBOBS Glow Icons online
A Glow-Icon-Set for the game "PuzzleBOBS" is online. The icons have been designed by Simone Battaglioni and are available for the AmigaOS as well as for the MorphOS version. (ps) (Translation: dr)

[News message: 28. Mar. 2003, 22:17] [Comments: 0]
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28.Mar.2003
Pixel Art (E-Mail)


Pixload Version 3.0 also published for MorphOS
Now there is also a MorphOS version of version 3.0 of Pixload which is an Amidock like start menu. From now on icons in the start bar are modifyable by simply dragging and droppping and there is no limitation concerning the number. Quite similar to the Dock of Mac OS X active programs are marked in the Pixload start bar with a triangle.

The MorphOS version has already transparency for icons. (ps) (Translation: dr)

[News message: 28. Mar. 2003, 22:14] [Comments: 0]
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28.Mar.2003
AmiDog (ANF)


AmiDog: AMP Movieplayer Beta Version 030326
Mathias "AmiDog" Roslund has published a new version of its movie player for PPC called ´AMP´. With ´AMP´ currently you can play the following multimedia files: more ... (ps) (Translation: dr)

[News message: 28. Mar. 2003, 18:29] [Comments: 0]
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28.Mar.2003
Lynne Music (E-Mail)


Power Liquids by Divinorum and Aural Planet soon available
The demo scene audio-CD "Power Liquids" which is created in cooperation with the labels Divinorum and Aural Planet will be soon published. Currently the production of the CD is started so probably the CD will be delivered in three weeks. more ... (nba) (Translation: dr)

[News message: 28. Mar. 2003, 15:36] [Comments: 0]
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28.Mar.2003
APC&TCP


APC&TCP celebrates 11th anniversary
For eleven years APC&TCP is a publisher of Amiga software. Because of this event the distributor of games like SeaSide, GunBee F-99 or Jaktar and applications like Digi Booster Pro has reduced the prices of most of its products in its online shop from 27th March 2003 until 30th April 2003. (nba) (Translation: dr)

[News message: 28. Mar. 2003, 14:00] [Comments: 0]
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27.Mar.2003
Matthew Kille (E-Mail)


Crossword Evolution (12 level starter book) now available
Zeoneo are pleased to finally be able to announce that the first release of the game is now available to purchase from stores across the US. (For example CompUSA.) more ... (nba)

[News message: 27. Mar. 2003, 18:14] [Comments: 0]
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27.Mar.2003
st-computer


Magazine: Retrogaming Times #67
The online magazine Retrogaming Times has reached its 67th issue. The magazine concerns itself with games fo classic consoles and computer systems. The current issue contains several reviews of games for the Atari XL, relationally XE, and the Amiga too is mentioned in passing. (nba) (Translation: dm)

[News message: 27. Mar. 2003, 15:45] [Comments: 0]
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27.Mar.2003
Ulrich Panzer (E-Mail)


Game: Tales of Tamar Version 0.49R1
The new Amiga version (V0.49R1) of the Internet-based round-by-round game 'Tales of Tamar' has been released. This update offers the following changes since version 0.48R5:

New Features:
  • Grain silos now also calculate the quantity of offices in the cities
  • Report for failed piracy is built-in
  • Report for succesful piracy is built-in
  • News for the victims of piracy is built-in
  • Dragons and Undead are built-in
  • The coronation screen has been activated
  • The third diplomacy screen has been activated
  • The tenth requestor in the control screen has been activated
  • Vassal contracts in diplomacy have been activated
  • New samples for the coronation and dragons are built-in
  • AnimFX V2 is built-in (completely reworked animation routines!)


Bugfixes:
  • Settlers and spies could conquer cities in a state of rebellion - Bug fixed
  • Shops may no longer be loaded on a ship's position
  • Small fix in diplomacy (Thanks to the PC version)
  • Bug fix in the requestor of the liege lords
  • Loaded spies and settlers may no longer be terminated if they are standing in the city on a ship
  • Grain silos accept only a deposit of 500
  • New card elements are built-in
  • Figures on the water are now terminated, if they haven't been shipped
  • ToT is independent of the animations again
ToT is the first game in the world to administer wideranging structures of liege lords, vassals, and henchmen. Through these game options it is possible for the player to close vassal treaties with other players and thereby to ascend through the hierarchy of titles. There are 8 different titles in Tamar: Baron, Viscount, Count, Marquis, Duke, Archduke, King, & Emperor. For each presently occurring coronation, one will see a little animation of course.

Titles in Tamar are not just purely a status symbol, because here good players are rewarded with free rounds each month! If one is able to progress into the highest ranks, ToT makes it possible to play an almost costless game.

As to reports of piracy, the only thing we have to say is that we have added this because the inquiries of players and testers. Pirates should now offer better game options.

Dragons have been observed! (Quote from the ToT forum).

The dragons are a very old breed of winged beings of immense size. They make their homes in remote places. On Tamar there are different types of dragons, which are generally differentiated by skin color and behavior. One thing they all have in common: they are hatched, devour meat, use breath as a weapon, love gold and jewels and are very strong.

Many dragons live for hundreds or even thousands of years. Because of this long history they are inclined to look down their noses at the younger types of beings - such as humans.

On Tamar there are different types of dragons. Some of them may even be called by the races of Elves and Dwarf, when they find themselves in danger.

But the most powerful dragon is the gold one. His breath is of a fire and gas mixture capable of incinerating entire cities. Thankfully he is not particularly aggressive and is even honorable of disposition.

On the opposite angle is the red dragon. This absolutely chaotically evil dragon has nothing else in mind but to annihilate all creatures in a fiery death. He is not quite as strong as the gold, but his aggressiveness knows no limits. He sinks ships, leaves cities in soot and ashes, and attacks great armies if it must be. We want to warn all the players in the world about this dragon! Dragons typically run in small packs of one to four.

Lastly, we wish to call your attention to the 'Offer of Tamar.' Amiga Future publishes a page every two months with news, tips, tricks, and statistics about the best players of Tamar at that time. We're especially happy about this cooperation. (ps) (Translation: dm)

[News message: 27. Mar. 2003, 14:04] [Comments: 0]
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27.Mar.2003
WHDLoad (Website)


Installer: WHDLoad - New Packets through 24th March, 2003
With WHDLoad you can install to your hard-drive games that were thought only to run from floppy disks. The following packets have been released or updated since our last announcement:
  • 24.03.03 improved: Explora / Chrono Quest (Infomedia/Psygnosis) supports German version too
  • 24.03.03 new: Stop Fascism (Alcatraz & Interactive) done by Psygore
  • 24.03.03 new: I've Got The Power (Alcatraz) done by Psygore
  • 19.03.03 improved: Z-Out (Advantec/Rainbow Arts) Snoop accesses removed
  • 19.03.03 improved: Space Crusade (Gremlin) breakpoint removed
  • 18.03.03 improved: Guy Spy (Ready Soft) supports disk version too
  • 18.03.03 improved: Secret of Monkey Island (Lucasfilm Games) protection better removed, restart support
  • 18.03.03 improved: Dragon's Lair 3 - The Curse of Mordread (Ready Soft) imager fixed
  • 17.03.03 fixed: Lure of the Temptress (Virgin) install script corrected
(ps) (Translation: dm)

[News message: 27. Mar. 2003, 13:45] [Comments: 0]
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27.Mar.2003
Grzegorz Kraszewski (ANF)


Font: TTEngine Homepage Has Moved
The project homepage for TTEngine has moved and is reachable under the following URL from now on: http://teleinfo.pb.bialystok.pl/tte/. Please update your bookmarks and links accordingly.

TTEngine is a TrueType-based font text-rendering environment for AmigaOS by Grzegorz Kraszewski. The current version is 6.4. (ps) (Translation: dm)

[News message: 27. Mar. 2003, 13:37] [Comments: 0]
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27.Mar.2003
heise Newsticker (ANF)


Heise: Retro Joystick Console in Germany, only at Karstadt and Amazon
The video game system in the shape of a classic Atari joystick, manufactured by Jakks Pacific and imported to Germany by the game publisher THQ, will not be generally available in individual shops. Through exclusive deals the retro game console will instead be exclusively offered at Karstadt purchase centers as well as Amazon for about 30 euros per unit. The initial sale began just previously, at Amazon the gizmo is offered for preorder under another name, the Atari TV Game Stick.
Click on the title link for the complete article. (ps) (Translation: dm)

[News message: 27. Mar. 2003, 13:32] [Comments: 0]
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27.Mar.2003
Martin Rebentisch (DaFreak) (ANF)


Music: Liquid Skies records #030
The 30th music pack from LQS includes an MP3 tune named "Roboty" in the Trance style. Created by Maxus, our new member, it brings a new diversity to the Liquid Skies collection. Listen to it and decide for yourself! :) (ps) (Translation: dm)

[News message: 27. Mar. 2003, 13:21] [Comments: 0]
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27.Mar.2003
Kultpower.de (ANF)


Kultpower: Big Videogames Special
The BIG videogames special for our 12th "birthday" is online! You can:

  • Win and evaluate historical, unread videogames issues (for a few days only!).
  • Investigate all videogames test data (!) ever published.
  • Have a look at many cool insider factoids about the videogames...
  • ...and more.
For Amiga freaks the earliest interesting report from videogames is this: CD32 report from the October 1993 issue. (ps) (Translation: dm)

[News message: 27. Mar. 2003, 13:20] [Comments: 0]
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26.Mar.2003
Telemar Rosenberger (E-Mail)


Game: New compiles of AMHuhn and AMHuhnXE for the 68040 and the 68060
The author of the game AMHuhn Telemar Rosenberger has recompiled the current versions of AMHuhn and AMHuhnXE for the processors 68040 and 68060. Telemar's debugger does not show any errors now it should run bugfree and clean now and he hopes that the game runs better now on some systems. more ... (ps) (Translation: ub)

[News message: 26. Mar. 2003, 22:51] [Comments: 0]
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26.Mar.2003
Olaf Köbnik (E-Mail)


Amiga Arena: Interview with Matthew Kille (ZeoNeo)
Some days ago the company "ZeoNeo" said within a press release that "Candy Factory 2" will be published for AmigaOS 4.0. The company is known for several producs for the AmigaDE. more ... (ps) (Translation: ub)

[News message: 26. Mar. 2003, 19:23] [Comments: 0]
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26.Mar.2003
Dietmar Knoll (ANF)


GAUHPIL: Many areas updated
The GAUHPIL (Geographical Amiga Users Home Page Internet List) is a list created and moderated by Dietmar Knoll about websites of Amiga users that is sorted geographically according to continents and countries. Today the following areas were updated: more ... (ps)

[News message: 26. Mar. 2003, 17:52] [Comments: 0]
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26.Mar.2003
Carles Bernardez: CatCon Organiser (ANF)


Event: CatCon 2K3 party, the 3rd edition
The 3rd edition of our Amiga party is here. You can espect the typical Demoscene competitions, and the presence of some Amiga related companies. The Party will be held on 3rd and 4th of May in Calella, a touristic town near Barcelona, in Spain. more ... (ps)

[News message: 26. Mar. 2003, 17:50] [Comments: 1 - 26. Mar. 2003, 21:11]
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26.Mar.2003
Carsten Siegner (ANF)


Speech control for Amiga in planning
Carsten Siegner writes:
From today on I will work on a speech control for the Amiga. A speech control modul of "Conrad-Electronic" will be used for that. This one can control 65 different channels which are addressable by freely programmable speech commands. There are different speech recognition modes: more ... (ps) (Translation: ub)

[News message: 26. Mar. 2003, 17:44] [Comments: 0]
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26.Mar.2003
CCC (E-Mail)


Blinkenlights Arcade: Documentation video for download
From September the 25th to October the 6th last year there has been the installation Arcade, the 2nd prank of the project Blinkenlights in Paris. more ... (nba) (Translation: ub)

[News message: 26. Mar. 2003, 01:35] [Comments: 0]
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26.Mar.2003
Nowee (E-Mail)


Amiga-Workbench: OverShaker - Themes website updated
After a longer break the website will be updated reguarly again. Nowee, the maintainer of the 'OverShaker' website has dedicated himself to the brightening of the Amiga Workbench. There are themes for GUI tools like VisualPrefs and icon samples available. At the area 'Work' there are tips for the handling with the colours (palette) of the Workbench. Selfly created themes and icons are welcome by Nowee for providing them at the website. (ps) (Translation: ub)

[News message: 26. Mar. 2003, 00:35] [Comments: 0]
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26.Mar.2003
Jörn-Erik Burkert (E-Mail)


AMIGA-Magazin: Issue 3 and 4/2003 online
The AMIGA-Magazin has published parts of the issues 3 and 4/2003 (German) online yesterday. Beside the editorial and index there are the following interesting articles provided. more ... (ps) (Translation: ub)

[News message: 26. Mar. 2003, 00:21] [Comments: 0]
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26.Mar.2003
Sebastian Brylka (E-Mail)


Interest on the print magazine 'Total Amiga'?
Fun Time World and Amiga Arena are discussing together with Robert Williams the possibility to sell the English print magazine "Total Amiga" in Germany. Before they like to know if there is a demand for that magazine. The retail price would be about 4.50 EUR + porto and package (about 1,50 EUR) per issue. People interested on a subscription might please send an email to us. more ... (ps) (Translation: ub)

[News message: 26. Mar. 2003, 00:03] [Comments: 0]
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25.Mar.2003
Kicko (ANF)


Music: Access Virus MIDI commands for tracks&fields 0.4
Kicko writes:
First i appologise for sending this info in the german part of amiga-news.de. The problem is when using long dir/filenames t&f wouldnt show the commands in commandslist. To solve this i have renamed the VirusPageA-C dirs to VirusA-C. Then in t&f in config window use an assign like V: to tf:commands and it will work.

But remember that you have to reload every commandn in list to use the V: assign instead. There is other solutions too like renaming the command names too. Many of them are numbered like 000.bankchange.cmd. You can rename it like bankchange.cmd. And also you can copy the commands you like from the virus drawers to the actually tf:commands and use them from there. Its upto you. Im not good in assembler so i cant fix it. Maybe someone can do it for me? (ps)

[News message: 25. Mar. 2003, 13:37] [Comments: 0]
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25.Mar.2003
Dietmar Eilert (Website)


Editor: SP11 for GoldED AIX
For the editor 'GoldED AIX' from Dietmar Eilert the service pack #11 is available for dowload for registered user. (ps) (Translation: gf)

[News message: 25. Mar. 2003, 13:36] [Comments: 0]
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25.Mar.2003
Amiga.SF (Website)


New dcr85020-Ports on amiga.sf.net: Lame v3.93.1 und SoX v12.17.4
Under the title link you will find some programs ported to the Amiga by Diego Casorran. Not all programs are tested properly so if you encounter any problems get in contact with dcr8520_at_amiga.org. more ... (ps) (Translation: gf)

[News message: 25. Mar. 2003, 12:45] [Comments: 0]
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25.Mar.2003
RekoNet (Website)


Game: New Klondike cardsets at RekoNet (23.03.2003)
At the RekoNet, the collection of cardsets, programs and links around the Reko production are new cardsets added. Now there are 1100 cardsets available. more ... (ps) (Translation: gf)

[News message: 25. Mar. 2003, 12:28] [Comments: 0]
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25.Mar.2003
AmithlonTV (Website)


TV-Card driver: AmithlonTV beta version 332
Guido Mersmann has released the beta-version 332 of AmithlonTV with updates and enhancements.

Download: AmithlonTVBeta.lh a more ... (ps) (Translation: gf)

[News message: 25. Mar. 2003, 12:22] [Comments: 0]
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25.Mar.2003
Chris Hodges (E-Mail)


USB driver: Poseidon version 2.0 available
Chris Hodges writes:
I've just uploaded the current work in progress version of Poseidon. Although the version number has been bumped to V2.0, it contains mostly bug fixes. Please don't be disappointed, if you would have expected more from this release. I've had a lot of things to do (e.g. writing the driver for the cool Algor board and the FlashRom tool for the Romulus/Algor) and then again, I'm only coding on my spare time. more ... (ps)

[News message: 25. Mar. 2003, 11:28] [Comments: 0]
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25.Mar.2003
ELBOX COMPUTER (E-Mail)


New list of PCI cards supported in Mediator
The list of PCI cards supported in the MEDIATOR busboards has been updated. more ... (nba) (Translation: nba)

[News message: 25. Mar. 2003, 01:43] [Comments: 0]
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24.Mar.2003



Aminet Uploads until 24.03.2003
New Uploads to Aminet: more ... (ps) (Translation: sk)

[News message: 24. Mar. 2003, 21:49] [Comments: 0]
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24.Mar.2003
Kicko (ANF)


Music: Access Virus MIDI commands for tracks&fields 0.4
This is really no update to the actually commands but a description how to solve the problem with using these commands in tracks&fields. more ... (ps) (Translation: sk)

[News message: 24. Mar. 2003, 15:46] [Comments: 0]
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23.Mar.2003
Amig@lien (ANF)


Amig@lien news report back
After some time of irregular news items the Amig@lien news page has been updated and somewhat extended. A.o.t. a list with the ten most recent Amiga interviews has been added. There is a survey where you can specify how many Amigas you own. "Fahrschule 99" has been chosen as PD program and "Bahnstrecke" as PD game of the month. Your news items will be gladly accepted, either via a form on the Web site or via e-Mail. (ps) (Translation: cb)

[News message: 23. Mar. 2003, 22:46] [Comments: 0]
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23.Mar.2003
Amig@lien (ANF)


MultiPlayer Pack 06 for "Descent: Freespace" released
Again this weekend a MultiplayerPack for the Amiga game "Descent: Freespace" has been released. As usual it contains five new Multiplayer missions. (ps) (Translation: cb)

[News message: 23. Mar. 2003, 22:34] [Comments: 0]
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23.Mar.2003
AmigaWorld (ANF)


Weekly Q&A's with Fleecy Moss - episode 2
The English online magazine AmigaWorld has published episode 2 of the regular questions and answers session with Fleecy Moss, CTO at AMIGA, Inc. (Update 2012-03-17, cg: as the original document is no longer available, the following content was moved into our database):

1) BrianHoskins: I know it's a little soon to start drudging up time scales for a more commercialised OS, given that AOS4 isn't quite out yet, but when do you think the Amiga Platform is going to be in a position to release a new OS aimed at the wider audience? Im not talking about exact dates here, just approximately. A Year? 2? 3? More?

Fleecy: As I said in an answer to last week's questions, it is very important that we have a good market profile before we release a product into that market. By that I mean having a comprehensive list of the activities, requirements and roles within that market and, as important, a list of what our competitors offer and plan to offer.

This covers not just the operating system itself but also the hardware, the application base and the pre and post sales and support infrastructure.

You only tend to get one chance to launch into a market and so you have to make sure that you have all the bases covered otherwise it may fail, negative association may follow and this could affect not just any potential relaunch into that market but activities in other markets as well, both existing and planned.

By a wider audience, I assume you mean into the general desktop/home computer market. Based upon that, we need to attend to the following areas.
  • reliable supply of good quality and competitive hardware
  • a stable, localised, well documented and supported operating system
  • a supply of good third party applications, both available and in progress
  • an effective marketing campaign - reviews, advertisements, presence.

That said, to appeal to a wider audience, we need to provide a solution to their needs. The majority of people use a computer to
  1. surf the net
  2. email
  3. Instant Message
  4. compose letters
  5. manage their music collection
  6. play a few simple games
  7. manage their digital photograph and video collections

We thus need to make sure that we have a solution that provides for these seven basic activities, to at least an industry standard level. This means applications, either in house or third party and an operating system which supports those applications.

This itself will be influenced by the move from Amiga Generation 1 (AG1) to Amiga Generation 2 (AG2) technology. For example there is little point in expending lots of effort on a brand new HTML rendering engine or a new printer system until the AG2 graphics service is completed, since both of these will make heavy use of it.

As you say, prediction is not an exact science but assuming full access to the necessary resources I would say that 18 months after AmigaOS4.0 ships, we should have all the elements necessary to offer a compelling alternative in the wider market.

2) seldom: Is there some kind of estimation, when there will be a Java VM for AOS ? Obviously this would open up a whole bunch of apps and developers for AOS. Maybe there is some way to do something special (tight integration into OS, boosting GUI implementation) about this implementation, so it gets especially attractive to develop/use java-apps. for/on AOS ?

Fleecy: Personal Java and MIDP will be available once the AmigaDE runs on the AmigaOS. Once that is the case, we will then look at expanding it into a full java implementation. Such a project would be a lot of work though and would most likely not be resourced until deep into the AG2 project, both because AG2 is more important and because Java itself would be a customer of AG2.

3) DaveyD: Have you considered porting an open source browser such as mozilla to AOS and if so, will it be included with AOS?

Fleecy: We have been looking on with interest at the path followed by Apple with Safari, their new browser and will most likely follow a similar path. We need to consider this though against the wider picture of what goes in an OS and what is/should be provided by third parties

4) SlimJim: Will there be an official list of supported hardware for the AOne + AOS4 combo released before the launch of the actual OS? I know this has been asked before, but it would be nice for people with Earlybird systems to be able to start putting together the hardware (with Linux) now, safely knowing that the addons they buy will also be supported by the upcoming AOS4.

Fleecy: This already exists, built and maintained by those who already have AmigaOnes, and supported by Amiga, Eyetech, Hyperion and Mai. You can find it at

http://web.amigarulez.com/ahs/

The new Amiga Power Platform website is currently under development and will be launched in the near future and will provide lists of hardware, software and links to reviews.

5) Rebel: Why has Amiga Inc not involved its community more? There are many talented graphics artists, webmasters, programmers that could be called upon to help. Also surveys on features etc that users want the most. AI's refusal to engage the users has helped to fragment that community further.

Fleecy: The issue with using the community comes down to the essential delineation between a business and its market. If a company takes work from external sources then there are legal questions of ownership and moral questions of remuneration. As an example, many games companies used to welcome idea submissions from the game playing community as a way of generating new product concepts but a few years ago, a few of them were sued by people who had made submissions and who claimed that their ideas had been used without reward. It is thus necessary to ensure that any flow into a company is legally secure.

Having said that, we do work with the community in several ways.
  1. We often use Amiga artists for graphics work. The new OS4 advert is a good example.
  2. We are working with several webmasters and artists for the new Amiga Power Platform website.
  3. The development team of AmigaOS4.0 consists of many of the best community based developers.
  4. We consult with a group of trusted community figures on issues, ideas and concepts.
  5. The Club Amiga Monthly eMag and the soon to be released DEv DE developer eMag receive extensive contributions from the community.

Of course there is always room for more and as AmigaOS4.0 moves towards release, we will be extending our efforts in that regard. There is a lot of contact and communication with the community but a lot of it goes on behind the scenes.

6) alx: What tools will be available to develop for OS4?

Fleecy: The OS4 team and in particular Olaf Barthel have put in a lot of work to create a GCC compatible compiler which is free of iexmul and older compiler dependencies. We are looking at developing a proper IDE around this to give Amiga developers a world class development environment, and integrating this with a new documentation toolchain. A developer CD will be forthcoming. This is of course subject to change as we move forwards.

Now that we have an eMag pipeline, proven with CAM, we are soon to introduce the DEv eMag for AmigaDE developers and we want to produce a similar product for AmigaOS developers.

7) alx: Do you know when the new SciTech graphics drivers will be integrated into the OS (ie as a Boing Bag, or in OS4.2 or whatever)?

Fleecy: The plan is to release it as part of AmigaOS4.0. It most likely won't be part of the CSPPC version but then that hardware doesn't have the luxury of many graphics cards.

8) Unclecurio: There was much talk of the Zico spec in the early days. Is Amiga Inc continuing the development of these blueprints and, if so, when can we expect to hear more?

Fleecy: The Zico spec was an indication of the type of functionality that we intended to provide with AmigaOS4.0. Our future plans for the AmigaOS will introduce new types of hardware across a range of device classes but we won't be releasing details until individual projects are much more advanced.

9) Kay: Have you given any thought to communication between Amiga desktops and AmigaDE capable PDAs? If so, what devices can we expect to be using together with our AmigaOne systems in the near future?

Fleecy: This is something that we intend to provide once the AmigaDE is on the AmigaOS. However, there are also opportunities for other device synchronisation as well - PocketPC and Palm PDAs, MS and Symbian powered smartphones and of course the digital music devices.

10) The_Editor: "The Matrox are supposed to be an A.Inc Partner... Have / are negotiations taken place to port/create NLE Editing solutions for A1?"

Fleecy: Our partnership with Matrox is currently limited to providing drivers for their product path. There have been initial contacts about their video application offerings and we have agreed to talk in more detail once we can provide them with AmigaOS4.0 on an AmigaOne for them to assess.

We have been contacted in the last week by a company which has expressed an interest in bringing video capture, editing and presentation software to AmigaOS4.0 but I cannot give any more details at this early stage.

(Copyright © 2003 Amigaworld.net. All rights reserved.
Originally available at http://amigaworld.net/modules/fleecymoss/index.php?cat_id=2
You may freely redistribute this article, providing that a URL is provided to the original source,
and the copyright notices remain intact)
(ps) (Translation: cb)

[News message: 23. Mar. 2003, 19:23] [Comments: 0]
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23.Mar.2003
Andreas Magerl (E-Mail)


APC&TCP: Wanted: Beta testers for "Desert Racing"
APC&TCP are still looking for beta testers for the game "Desert Racing". An Amiga with 060 processor, AGA, gfx card and CD-ROM drive is required. Moreover you should have a good Amiga knowledge. Interested users please apply by mail to info@apc-tcp.de. (ps) (Translation: cb)

[News message: 23. Mar. 2003, 19:21] [Comments: 0]
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23.Mar.2003
Martin Rebentisch (DaFreak) (ANF)


Music: Liquid Skies Records #029
Our musician Tripper has written a new MP3 tune under the title "Mindscope", which is to be classified something like Trance, Ambient or House style. But have a listen yourself! ;) As always freely available on our home page. (ps) (Translation: cb)

[News message: 23. Mar. 2003, 19:17] [Comments: 0]
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23.Mar.2003
Felix Schwarz (ANF)


Felix Schwarz: Sale of old AMIGA hardware
In order to create room for new hardware, Felix Schwarz privately sells AMIGA hardware items which are no longer required. Among those there are AMIGA computers as well as digitizers, interface cards and non-AMIGA hardware. Especially interesting for some might be the Amiga 4000 on which the main part of the development of fxPAINT, fxSCAN and VHI Studio had taken place (in the meantime moved to an A4000T). more ... (ps) (Translation: cb)

[News message: 23. Mar. 2003, 12:07] [Comments: 0]
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23.Mar.2003
Michael Böhmer (ANF)


USB: HIGHWAY-successor "ALGOR" from E3B goes into production
E3B is glad to be able to present the well known HIGHWAY Zorro USB controller's successor ALGOR as the consequential result of its further development over a period of several months. Now, after the successful conclusion of a long test phase, ALGOR goes into production. more ... (ps) (Translation: cb)

[News message: 23. Mar. 2003, 12:03] [Comments: 0]
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23.Mar.2003
Ventzislav Tzvetkov (ANF)


Virus warning: Virus in a demo file on JPV (FAG-MD03.LHA)
Subsequently you will find an announcement published in the ANF. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find an e-mail address on JPV's Web site, so I can't inform the maintainer. more ... (ps) (Translation: cb)

[News message: 23. Mar. 2003, 10:35] [Comments: 1 - 24. Mar. 2003, 16:20]
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