amiga-news.de - Archive

Archive 05/2023

`07.May.2023` Amigaworld.net (forum)	Amiga Documents: Evidence of irregularities / Statement by Mike Battilana On the Twitter account "Amiga Documents" further documents concerning the parties in litigation Hyperion Entertainment CVBA and Amiga Corporation have been published. Among them is especially the proof (PDF file) of financial irregularities at the original, Belgian company A-EON Technology CVBA, which led to the withdrawal of the main shareholder of Hyperion Entertainment, Ben Hermans, from the joint company A-EON Technology and to the foundation of the current, British company A-EON Technology Ltd. (amiga-news.de reported), and later already confirmed by Trevor Dickinson. The now published evidence is the agreement, dated December 17, 2010, between the three directors at the time, Trevor Dickinson, Anthony Moorley and Ben Hermans, on how to deal with "certain financial problems and irregularities". These included the resignation and relinquishment of all banking powers of Ben Hermans relating to A-EON Technology, the reimbursement of funds unauthorizedly withdrawn from A-EON Technology's accounts as well as those raised on behalf of A-EON Technology for its beta testing via Hyperion's PayPal account, and the granting of various rights of companies in which Ben Hermans has an interest in favor of A-EON Technology. The latter included, for example, the worldwide free use of the trademarks AmigaOne, AmigaOS (and associated with it the name AmigaOS 4 including future updates) and the Boing Ball. However, the actual repayments remaining after deduction of these non-cash assets in the form of usage rights were comparatively low. The agreed repayment plan provided for 25,000 euros plus a final payment of an estimated further 7,500 euros as well as further fees and expenses in connection with the investigation and cleanup of the irregularities. In a further - but so far unsubstantiated, being an announcement initially - tweet Amiga Documents sets out the points on which Ben Hermans, Trevor Dickinson and Mike Battilana are said to have initially agreed in August 2019 to settle the dispute, but which were then not honored. In fact, there had been settlement negotiations at the time. Key points had allegedly been: Suspend legal action OS4 Hyperion Pre-OS 3.1.4 Amiga Inc. OS 3.1.4 5-year exclusive Hyperion After 5 years OS 3.1 open source potential Hyperion could continue to develop - Classic Plus pack? Possible cash payment to shorten the 5 year exclusive period Finally, a third tweet (PDF file) originates from the legal dispute. It is a statement by Mike Battilana on the formation of his C-A Acquisition Corporation, whose inclusion in the first legal dispute, which has since been decided in favor of Hyperion, was rejected by the court in exactly the same way as that of Cloanto, which has led to further proceedings that are currently still ongoing. The background to the above-mentioned ruling in favor of Hyperion was essentially that, in the opinion of the court, only C-A Acquisition Corp. would be entitled to sue as a result of the transfer of rights, which is why the actual points of claim in the form of the further ongoing legal proceedings remain open. Against this background, the timing of the transfer of rights from Amiga Inc. by Mike Battilana proved to be unfavorable for him. His statement of April 24, 2023 does not contain any fundamental news, but it explains that Mike Battilana had no influence on that point in time. Since his statements represent a generally understandable course of the takeover of the rights of Amiga Inc. even without knowledge from the court proceedings - admittedly described from his personal point of view - we have translated them in our German news-item into German. Here instead we just reproduce the original text for your convenience, so that you can translate it automatically in case English is not your native language: "I, Michele 'Mike' Console Battilana, declare under penalty of perjury pursuant to U.S. Code § 1746 as follows: 1. I make this declaration based on my personal knowledge, except where I have indicated otherwise. If called as a witness, I would testify competently and truthfully to these matters. 2. I am President and sole shareholder of Cloanto Corporation. I founded Cloanto Corporation with other partners on June 15, 1998, in Las Vegas, Nevada, where the company still has an accountant. I chose Nevada because of local information technology contacts and friends. The purpose of the company was to facilitate software development work, and sales to larger US clients. The company was immediately independent and self-sufficient. Like any other company, it has a bank account, enters into contracts, pays expenses, and files tax returns. 3. In my early years as an Amiga developer (1986-1997), I was not aware of a 'tortured history of litigation'. My relationship with all Commodore and Amiga parties was always an amicable and constructive one. We were quite successful developers. Our software was bundled with Amiga computers. Before this case started in 2017, I was never embroiled in a lawsuit but for proceedings in the United States Patent and Trademark Office (all but one of which involved Hyperion), and I knew of only two Amiga-related lawsuits. Mr. Ben Hermans was involved in both, first on the side of Amiga, Inc. then against it. Mr. Hermans describes himself as 'a member of the Antwerp Bar Association as well as an Intellectual Property litigator with over 20 years of relevant experience'. The word 'litigator' is in Mr. Herman's professional DNA, not in mine. I know that beyond being the director of Hyperion, he also owns more than 90% of the company, directly or through his law firm Ben Hermans BV. 4. I believe that the following statement in Ben Hermans' Declaration in support of Hyperion's Motion for Summary Judgment (Dkt. 106, 7) does not facilitate an understanding of the case (or the 2019 acquisition) because it is simply false: 'Since the 1980s, the parties to this lawsuit have been litigating ownership and licensing disputes related to the Amiga operating system software.' Not only did the first lawsuits start only in the 2000s (not the 1980s), but the first agreement that Hyperion's predecessor, Hyperion VOF, entered into with Amiga, Inc. was in 2001. Moreover, the 'Amiga Parties' in the 2009 Settlement Agreement were not parties to this litigation when it started in 2017. 5. I believe that the Amiga Parties indeed considered all litigation to have ended for good with the 2009 Settlement Agreement, and had no intention of seeing it all flare up again. This all changed in March 2018, when Hyperion sued the Amiga Parties again (rather than the other way around). I believe that being dragged again into litigation, and the fact that we were on the same side of the case caption, brought us closer, and facilitated acquisition talks. Our first conference call discussing acquisition ideas took place in April 2018, i.e., the month after Hyperion's complaint against the Amiga Parties. 6. As my past history shows, the acquisition had a passion and commitment for Amiga at its core, and was certainly not meant to complicate the case. I never expected that it could be construed in this way. Four years later, due to this case, Amiga trademark and copyright ownerships and contractual rights remain more fragmented than they need to be. Out of an abundance of caution, we also have not yet set up the not-for-profit entity which was explicitly mentioned in the 2019 acquisition agreement, and which I always intended to be the entity to channel the long-term preservation efforts of Commodore/Amiga history and culture. 7. I had big hopes, but no actual control over the completion of the acquisition until the very day it actually happened on February 1, 2019. The timing of negotiations, as well as consummation of the purchase, were controlled by Reed Smith, which represented Amiga, Inc. 8. To close the Asset Purchase Agreement, Cloanto Corporation agreed to pay, and did pay, a large sum of money for the Amiga assets. In addition, both Cloanto Corporation and C-A Acquisition Corp. indemnified the Amiga Parties against all lawsuits, damages, and losses, including this one. 9. Because I did not know when the acquisition might occur, I delayed forming C-A Acquisition Corp. until it became necessary. C-A Acquisition Corp. was formed specifically for the purpose of holding the transferred trademarks and related rights. 10. During the long negotiations, I could not divulge to anyone that they were happening. Any number of Amiga-interested people, some who were quite wealthy, could have outbid me. Hyperion, too, could have opened their own negotiations and outbid me. For this reason, I did not and could not divulge the negotiations to anyone but my own attomeys. 11. Since this case started, I made numerous attempts to reach a settlement, including traveling on a number of occasions to meet Hyperion sharebolders Mr. Hermans, Mr. De Groote, and Mr. Dickinson, and to discuss settlement. When Hyperion confirmed to the Court on January 20, 2021, that 'the Parties reached the terms of settlement on the main agreement' and that only ancillary matters (i.e. some exhibits) needed attending, I felt an immeasurable sense of relief. Unfortunately, several days later Mr. Hermans pulled away from our agreement, providing a string of excuses unrelated to the actual agreed-upon terms. I hereby state under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct to the best of my knowledge." (snx) [News message: 07. May. 2023, 13:19] [Comments: 0] [Send via e-mail] [Print version] [ASCII version]
`07.May.2023`	Aminet uploads until 06.05.2023 The following files have been added until 06.05.2023 to Aminet: HollywoodSP.lha dev/hwood 807K Hollywood 10.0 spanish catalo... HWP_hURL.lha dev/hwood 4.3M ALL The multi-protocol data trans... bwbasic320.lha dev/lang 1.3M 68k ByWater BASIC Interpreter v3.20 smb2fs.i386-aros.lha disk/misc 81K x86 SMB2 file system client smb2fs.m68k-amigaos.lha disk/misc 149K 68k SMB2 file system client BWBasic111_Manual.zip docs/help 306K bwBASIC111 Manual. P96Prefs.lha driver/vid 81K 68k P96 Preferences Editor rtgmaster_asmfix.lha driver/vid 173K 68k Rtgmaster Assembler-Include/E... tankkk.lha game/2play 105K 68k 2-4 player shoot'em'up F1GP2023Carset.lha game/data 9K 2023 Carset for F1GP translatetr.lha game/patch 16K 68k Translates TurboRAKETTI to En... TunnelsAndTrolls.lha game/role 18M 68k Implementation of Tunnels & T... tnzk.lha game/shoot 620K 68k The Ninja Zombie Killer Abacus_FR.lha game/wb 6K French catalog for Abacus 2.20 NewMasterMind_FR.lha game/wb 6K French catalog for NewMasterM... 2D_ATcad_UAE.lha gfx/misc 3.6M 68k CAD mit Steppermotor-Ansteuerung AmiVms.lha misc/emu 3.8M 68k Simulates OpenVMS commands MagicWB800x600x8-Set2... pix/back 1.5M Set 2 of 800x600, 8 col Magic... LHArchiver.lha util/arc 5.1M 68k create lha archives intuitively RandomBackdrop.lha util/boot 44K 68k Up to 255 random backdrops wi... IconLib_46.4.lha util/libs 1.3M 68k free icon.library in optimize... Gamebench.lha util/misc 52K 68k WB 1.3 Front End for WHDLoad ... VATestprogram.zip util/misc 10M 68k Versatile Amiga Testprogram (snx) [News message: 07. May. 2023, 09:09] [Comments: 0] [Send via e-mail] [Print version] [ASCII version]
`07.May.2023`	OS4Depot uploads until 06.05.2023 The following files have been added until 06.05.2023 to OS4Depot: milkytracker-sdl2.lha aud/tra 2Mb 4.1 SDL2 version of an FT2 compatibl... hwp_hurl.lha lib/hol 4Mb 4.0 The multi-protocol data transfer... lilcalendar.lha off/mis 2Mb 4.0 Versatile calendar and reminder ... lharchiver.lha uti/arc 5Mb 4.0 Create LhA archives intuitively (snx) [News message: 07. May. 2023, 09:09] [Comments: 0] [Send via e-mail] [Print version] [ASCII version]
`07.May.2023`	AROS Archives uploads until 06.05.2023 The following files have been added until 06.05.2023 to AROS Archives: smb2fs.i386-aros.lha dri/fil 81kb SMB2/3 file system client mplayer-1.0-v6.x86_64-v11... vid/pla 9Mb Multimedia player with MUI user ... (snx) [News message: 07. May. 2023, 09:09] [Comments: 0] [Send via e-mail] [Print version] [ASCII version]
`07.May.2023`	MorphOS-Storage uploads until 06.05.2023 The following files have been added until 06.05.2023 to MorphOS-Storage: HWP_hURL_2.0.lha Development/Hollywood/... A plugin for Hollywood ... EasyRPG_Player_0.8.0.lha Emulation A program that allows t... HollywoodCompile_1.1.lha GUI A GUI for Hollywood com... FFMPEGui_1.0.lha GUI A GUI for FFMPEG command (snx) [News message: 07. May. 2023, 09:09] [Comments: 0] [Send via e-mail] [Print version] [ASCII version]
`07.May.2023`	WHDLoad: New installers until 06.05.2023 Using WHDLoad, games, scene demos and intros by cracking groups, which were originally designed to run only from floppy disks, can be installed on harddisk. The following installers have been added until 06.05.2023: 2023-05-06 fixed: CyberPunks 2 (Mutation Software) patch-list was not set for CD32 version (Info, Image) 2023-05-05 improved: Dark Castle (Three-Sixty) another version supported, manual included (Info) 2023-05-02 new: CyberPunks 2 (Mutation Software) done by Psygore (Info, Image) 2023-05-01 improved: Total Eclipse (Incentive Software/Domark) relocated main game in fastmem for increased framerate (Info) (snx) [News message: 07. May. 2023, 09:09] [Comments: 0] [Send via e-mail] [Print version] [ASCII version]
`07.May.2023`	Cross-Development: RADRunner RADRunner supports the development of Amiga programs under other operating systems by waiting for the compiled programs on the Amiga side via network connection, without the requirement of a mounted file system, and then executing them. A C++ 14 compiler is required. Besides the intended use, the reverse working direction, i.e. development on the Amiga and execution on another computer, would in itself also be possible. (snx) [News message: 07. May. 2023, 09:09] [Comments: 0] [Send via e-mail] [Print version] [ASCII version]
`07.May.2023` Andreas Magerl (ANF)	Print magazine: Amiga Future, issue 162 The English and German issue 162 (May/June 2023) of the print magazine Amiga Future has been distributed. It can be ordered directly from its editorial office and from Amiga dealers that stock the magazine. Content of the current issue includes previews about Boxx and Settle World as well as reviews about e.g. Hollywood X, AmigaOS 3.2.2 and "Prelude ZII recreated 2022". (snx) [News message: 07. May. 2023, 09:09] [Comments: 0] [Send via e-mail] [Print version] [ASCII version]
`07.May.2023`	Library: Reading and writing Amiga partition tables with "Hst Amiga" Henrik Nørfjand Stengaard's "Hst Amiga" (see also his HstWB Installer) is a library for reading and writing Amiga partition table, file systems, data types and is available as a Nuget package for .Net and a console application for Windows, macOS and Linux. Version 0.3.156 is the first official release of Hst Amiga console focused on creating and updating Amiga icon files. It can also import, export and convert icon images supporting planar, new icon and color icon. Tool types can also be imported and exported. Hst Amiga Nuget package contains following features: Datatypes Read, write disk objects containing icons and tool types. Supports planer, new icon and color icon images. Read and write Rigid Disk Block (RDB), Amiga partition table. File systems Read, write and format Fast File System (FFS) partitions. Supports DOS types DOS0-7. Read, write and format Professional File System 3 (PFS3) partitions. Supports DOS types PFS3, PDS3. Read version strings. Hst Amiga console version comes with following features: Icons Create and update icons. Import and export icon images, supporting iff, png and bmp image formats. Convert icon images between bit plane, new icon and color icons. (dr) [News message: 07. May. 2023, 06:14] [Comments: 0] [Send via e-mail] [Print version] [ASCII version]
`06.May.2023`	Linux: Using Amiga software and imitating an Amiga desktop Some time ago the hobby YouTube channel "Proteque - Classic Beige Nostalgia" showed in a video Experiencing that Amiga nostalgia on a modern Linux system, how on a computer with Debian installation an Amiga emulation is integrated into the desktop to use Amiga programs. In addition, the interface was adapted to the appearance of the Workbench. Many users then wanted to know how all this was done. This is now explained in two further videos: part 1 shows how to integrate the Amiga software using FS-UAE and shared folders. Part 2, on the other hand, explains how to imitate the Amiga desktop. (dr) [News message: 06. May. 2023, 07:13] [Comments: 0] [Send via e-mail] [Print version] [ASCII version]
`05.May.2023`	Retro gaming: WHDLoad 18.9 Using WHDLoad, you can install games, scene demos and intros from cracking groups to your harddisk that were only working from floppy disks previously. Version 18.9 provides the following changes: fix: fixed possible race condition when using XPK compressed files and multiple data directories, if a compressed file with the same name was contained in two consecutive data dirs and was the last compressed in the first dir and the first compressed one in the subsequent dir it was preloaded two times and the second one got visible to the installed program, this has been corrected now fix: the Slave structure flag EmulDivZero now also works on 68010, in previous version it always faulted (missing support for different stack frame format on the 68010) fix: DIC option SkipTrack was broken in version 1.2, now fixed with version 1.3 (CFou!) new: new local option ExecuteArgs to supply arguments to the scripts/programs called via the ExecuteCleanup/Startup/... options, using this it becomes possible to control the behavior of the scripts in single install without the need to have many different Execute* scripts new: if started from Workbench WHDLoad now opens a window CON:////WHDLoad .../AUTO/CLOSE/WAIT for the ExecuteCleanup and ExecuteStartup scripts which opens if there is any output chg: option Cache/S can also be specified in the global configuration file (Tomaz) new: the kick13 emulation now also supports the WHDCtrl resident command which can be used to quit WHDLoad, because the boot CLI under 1.3 does not run resident commands a patch has been implemented to add this feature (Hexaae) fix: now resload_ListFiles is able to list the install root directory also when listing from cached files, this was broken since the introduction of the feature to list cached files in release 18.7, which broke for example Gauntlet3 fix: depending on the already used chip memory WHDLoad has corrupted read/write data (all io related Resload functions), if the file cache feature wasn't used (NoWriteCache or NoFileCache set), this may have corrupted saved data! this bug has been introduced in WHDLoad release 18.4, thanks to DJ Mike for reporting/testing chg: the options ExecutePostDisk and ExecutePreDisk are now working as intended/documented, previously they were called only once fix: RawDIC has been updated to version 6.1 which fixes compatibility with imager slaves which used DoubleInc and one track too much in the tracklist (e.g. Beast) fix: made EmulChk working on 68010 (dr) [News message: 05. May. 2023, 21:37] [Comments: 0] [Send via e-mail] [Print version] [ASCII version]
`05.May.2023`	Mutation Software: CyberPunks 2 released Mutation Software has released the second part of their top-down shooter Cyberpunks (YouTube video of the pre-release). The game requires an AGA Amiga. A first review was published yesterday on Amigaguru. The download version is available for around 15.60 euros, a demo version is available under the title link. Mutation Software also sells a Physical Box for around 19.50 euros plus shipping and a Big Glossy Box for 46 euros via their eBay store. (dr) [News message: 05. May. 2023, 20:59] [Comments: 0] [Send via e-mail] [Print version] [ASCII version]
`05.May.2023`	Video tutorial: Detecting BOB collisions in AMOS In another part of his series of short tutorials on AMOS Pro (amiga-news.de reported), retro and Amiga fan 'Yawning Angel' this time explains how to detect collisions between one or more Blitter Objects (BOBs). This is done by making use of the Make Mask and Bob Col(x) commands. (dr) [News message: 05. May. 2023, 06:11] [Comments: 0] [Send via e-mail] [Print version] [ASCII version]

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