====================================================================== ________ _________ ____ _|__ __ __|_______ _________ __\ _____ \\\\ \_ _/ //___// _____//______\ _____ \\ // \\\\ /. \\\\__ \/ __// \\ \\____. /// \\\\ /. \\ \\___\¯ /___///___\ /___\ \\_________//\\___\¯ /___// ¯ \/ ¯ ¯ \/. |¯ ¯|z!o ¯ ¯ \/ ¯ A M I G A | 050531 | U P D A T E |________| "SO THE WORLD MAY KNOW" ====================================================================== AMIGA and the Amiga logo are trademarks of Amiga, Inc. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- W O R D M E U P F R O M A M I G A I N C . A M I G A I N C . J O I N S H P P R O G R A M B O I N G E D I N B E L G I U M I N , U M M , B E L G I U M A M I G A E A S T S H O W W A S C A N C E L L E D A M I W E S T I N F O R M A T I O N U P D A T E A M I G B G I N J U L Y - W H A T ' S S C H E D U L E D B O O T J I N G L E C R E A T E D F O R O S 4 G U R U M E D I T A T I O N S P O N S O R S D R I V E R S E L B O X A N N O U N C E S D - B O X T O W E R M I C R O G O L D E D I T O R N O W F R E E D O W N L O A D Editor's Thoughts and Introduction: Long time readers know that May marks the start of a new publication year for Amiga Update. We are beginning our 12th year of publication with this issue! Hard to believe as I sit here typing this that it has been so many years! How many more will it be? At this point I can't say but the Amiga community is still here after all that time, and still reading Amiga Update which we find gratifying. We have interesting stories from Amiga, Inc. this time around. Clearly, games are the thing as far as Amiga is concerned right now. That's probably a good thing as games should generate some cash. Our second story below gives some indications of Amiga's plans for the near future at least. We'll have to see how they work out in practice, but it's great to see plans being talked about. What are Amiga's long term plans? I don't think we can determine that from what we've seen in recent weeks and months. For now, I'm just pleased they're still in existence and doing things. As we've done for many years now, we will have to let the future show us what's in store as it happens. Since we published our first issue the week after Commodore went bankrupt, we've been doing this for 11 full years, starting on 12. We should all be good at it by now. We hope you enjoy this issue. Brad Webb, Editor -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- W O R D M E U P F R O M A M I G A I N C . May 12, 2005 - San Francisco, CA; Today, Amiga, Inc. announced the availability of Word Me Up, produced by Jerome Senay, founder of the Boing Attitude team. This original production creates a zany combination of action, dexterity and brain-twisting fun. Word Me Up introduces a set of cartoon characters, graphics and amusing sound effects into a world of word-based memory challenges that progressively scale in up to 60 levels of difficulty in four different languages. Players can choose from 5 characters immersed in the world of darkness facing the task of retrieving texts stolen by a bad sorcerer. Every level is a race against the clock to collect the letters of the word that opens code-locked doors. Along the way are a series of endless mazes infested with numerous sorcerer henchmen. To save humanity, users must find hidden parts, avoid drowning and steer clear of raging elephants. "Word Me Up combines the fun elements of a medieval sorcerer arcade adventure with an educational platform for effectively learning words," said Vince Pfeifer, Amiga Product Manager. "Today, educational entertainment is among the fastest growing segments of the digital entertainment market." "We wanted to create a funny, skill-challenging application that brings rich graphics and high quality performance across a variety of portable devices. Amiga enables the cross-platform sharing of binaries, allowing us to concentrate on content," said Boing Attitude founder Senay. Word Me Up is immediately available for WinCE Mobile-based devices, including PocketPC and SmartPhone, and will soon be available for Linux and Symbian-based devices, set top boxes, personal multimedia devices, set top boxes and PCs. About Boing Attitude: Boing Attitude is a small enthusiastic team located in Nantes, France. Focusing on gameplay, Boing Attitude's aim is to create addictive and nice games for portable & small devices but also for desktop computers. For more information visit http://boing.attitude.online.fr. Email inquiries: boing.attitude@online.fr ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A M I G A I N C . J O I N S H P P R O G R A M April 26, 2005 - San Francisco, CA Amiga, Inc. announced it has become a Premier Member of the Hewlett-Packard iPAQ Developer Program. As a Premier Member, Amiga gains access to development tools, source code, pre-release tools and information and multiple opportunities for joint marketing and collaboration at tradeshows. "We are pleased to welcome Amiga as a Premier member of the iPAQ Developer Program," said Joel Vincent, Product Manager, Handhelds Global Business Unit. The Hewlett-Packard program comprises more than 15,000 members from 109 countries, including 121 universities worldwide. While the US still constitutes the largest block of members, a majority of members are from outside of the United States. The original purpose of the program was to serve those developing iPAQ expansion sleeves. The widespread adoption of SDIO (Secure Digital Input Output) and CF (Compact Flash) has shifted the program's main focus now to providing developers with finer control over unique features of the hardware, especially new features that do not yet have standard operating system support. "The breadth of iPAQ devices enable the consumer/home and business/mobile users with extensive applications geared to their respective needs," said Greg Sigel, Amiga's vice president of sales and marketing. "The specific focus of each device, covering multimedia, imaging, productivity and business applications mirrors the development path that Amiga is pursuing with our developer community. By gaining access to the HP tools, Amiga developers can more effectively serve each market with the optimal set of graphically rich, superior performing applications." After having recently launched its revised web site, on-line store and a host of new titles, Amiga continues to pursue an aggressive distribution strategy and product release plan of 12 new titles per quarter. The HP-Amiga partnership is a key step to enabling handheld users with premium content. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- B O I N G E D I N B E L G I U M I N , U M M , B E L G I U M 16 May, 2005 Boinged In Belgium will be held this summer 6 and 7 August near Antwerp. Organized together with the Belgian Amigaclub and celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Amiga. You should be there... why? Because we all want "those" days to come back, doesn't mather if you're a user or a merchant. Some of the things that will be to do or to see: - 20 years of Amiga exposition - Bring your modded amiga with you, the best ones win a prize - Non-Stop day and night party ( hotel and camping-info will be added soon ) - Big screen gaming and big screen demoshows - Various exhibitors have shown interest in the show and there will be some official announcements soon ( exhibitors ) - Of course you can combine the event with a visit to the beautifull city of Antwerp ( www.visitantwerp.be ) If you have something to show, sell or whatever : simon@amigaclub.be and we will work something out. And don't forget the dresscode: let us see those "intel outside" and "boingball's" once again ! http://users.skynet.be/boingedinbelgium/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A M I G A E A S T S H O W W A S C A N C E L L E D {This is presented after the fact to inform those who were unaware of the cancellation. Quite sad, we hope for better luck for the show in the future. Brad} 1 May, 2005 We regret to inform you all that the AmigaEast Show May 28-29 2005 has been cancelled. Many people and companies had expressed interest in the show, but the money did not come in to support the $6000 needed to run the show. As a result of not being able to put the additional $2500 prepayment the time slot was sold to another event in the hotel. All the work and logistics had been done, but too little money came in. There is still a possibility one could happen at the end of the year but it looks as though I would need to front most of the money myself. Anyone who gave a credit card # in to order tickets for the show or banquet have not been charged anything and any checks have not been cashed and will be disposed of properly. I would still like to look forward to doing another show in the northeast of the US and am open to ideas. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A M I W E S T I N F O R M A T I O N U P D A T E 1 May 2005 From the beginning of the AmiWest shows, certain goals and objectives have been in evidence. While those who have been connected with the show are aware of most of those goals and objectives, many of you who attend may not be aware or may be new to the show. So for you (and to remind others), here are the things we are trying to accomplish with each and every AmiWest show. 1. First of all, we are providing a place for the Amiga community to gather. This gathering takes place from among a worldwide community of manufacturers, developers, users, retailers, and others interested in our great Amiga computers. Old friendships are renewed and new friends are made among the many attendees at AmiWest. Organized user groups are especially encouraged to come and exhibit through a user group special rate policy detailed on our website. (see www.sacc.org/amiwest/exhibform.html#pricing) 2. Second, we provide a place for breaking news announcements of interest to the Amiga community. Companies who are part of the Amiga marketplace have always sent their representatives to announce significant developments. 3. Third, we provide an encouraging, peaceful atmosphere where even those in conflict can come, bury the hatchet, and meet in a high-energy environment for exchange of ideas. We tell those that are in conflict, legally or otherwise, to please leave their conflicts for other arenas. 4. Fourth, we provide a place where vendors can come to sell the latest and greatest Amiga technologies as well as some of the best tried and true Amiga hardware and software. Each has its advocates and we support the efforts of our vendors who support our show and make it possible. 5. Fifth, we try to be as educational as possible along the way. We're working on a few surprises this year as we try to do every year. We're also continuing our practice of giving qualified presenters a platform to demonstrate what the Amiga can do. For 2005, our theme is "AMIGA at 20: Past, Present and Future," in honor of John Zacharias. Keep watching our webpage (with brilliant new graphics) at sacc.org/amiwest and these continuing information releases for further information, including our 2005 exhibitor list and our 2005 banquet speaker! AmiWest 2005 will be July 23th and 24th, 2005, at the Clarion Hotel Cal Expo 2600 Auburn Blvd. Sacramento California 95821 Reservations Phone 1-800-424-6423 toll-free (local 1-916-487-7600) and by snail-mail at the above address. Please watch our website at www.sacc.org/amiwest for continuing news and information regarding AmiWest 2005. We are on target for another improved show! See you there! !!!! So remember, AmiWest 2005 is rolling! The facility is reserved and the vendors are notified! Keep watching for these releases and tell everyone that you know - the Amiga and the Amiga community is alive and well! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A M I G B G I N J U L Y - W H A T ' S S C H E D U L E D The fair will take place on the 23rd of July 11AM-5PM at Lindholmen Science Park in Gothenburg, Sweden. The conference center is located at Navet which is the main building in the area. It holds the latest in IT and AV-technology as well as all modern conveniences, like an ATM, kiosk etc. IBM talks about Power and Cell at AmiGBG 2005-05-25 Mikael Haglund is a well known name among Amigans since the success at AmiGBG 2004. This year Mikael will update us on the progress of Power and give us more information on the new Cell processor. Haglunds presentation 2004 was extremely appreciated, this year he will reveal more details about IBM´s new ´mystery´ CPU called Cell. New exhibitor and sponsor - GGS-Data 2005-05-28 AmiGBG is proud to once again present Swedens oldest Amiga reseller, both as an exhibitor and as the official sponsor of AmiGBG Retro Room 2005. Niels Bache as official fair photagrapher 2005-05-27 We´re proud to have Niels Bache as the official photographer of this historical event. Niels is a frequent visitor to Amiga events. His previous pictures are avalible at http://nbache.dk/ New exhibitor: Norwegian amiga union 2005-05-26 We welcome Norwegian amiga union(Norsk amigaforening) as a exhibitor. Norwegian amiga union (Norsk amigaforening) has existed by it´s name since 1992, established on the Internet in the fall of 2000. In the early 2003 they got their official organization number in the norwegian organization register. Norwegian amiga union is an organization for norwegian usergroups that has Amiga hardware and software as an interest. http://naf.as The pre-booking system is now avalible 2005-05-25 The booking system is now online so don´t postpone you preorder! Book your ticket Today! The price is 12 EUR when preordering and 16 EUR at the door. Booking is fast, easy and payment is avaliable through PayPal. Kalms talks about 3D programming 2005-05-25 Few people who have owned an Amiga computer back in the 90s do not know the name Kalms. Mikael Kalms is one of the programmers in the demo group ´The Black Lotus´. TBL has a long list of 1st places at parties like The Gathering, Mekka Symposium and lately Breakpoint 2005. Still coding on the A1200 with a Motorola 68060 CPU. Mikael will talk about 3D demo programming in the Developers Pavilion at AmiGBG 2005. http://web.kicker.nu/amigbg/startsida/default.asp?sub=&lang=uk&pid =&nid= ---------------------------------------------------------------------- B O O T J I N G L E C R E A T E D F O R O S 4 Leuven, Belgium. - May 25, 2005 Chaos Union and Hyperion Entertainment VOF announced today that recording artist Susumu Hirasawa will deliver a boot jingle created specifically for AmigaOS 4.0. Two additional tracks will also be included on the AmigaOS 4.0 CD to showcase Hirasawa's music. About Susumu Hirasawa Susumu Hirasawa is a highly acclaimed recording artist. He has written soundtracks for commercial successes such as Millenium Actress, Paranoia Agent, the Beserk tv-series and videogame, and he is currently working on his latest cd-release. Since 1979 he helped defined Japanese pop-techno in the group P-MODEL and launched his first solo album in 1989. Since the mid-90s Hirasawa has toured with his Interactive Live Show utilizing Amigas with the support of Amiga user group of Japan(FAMIGA) for a spectacular interactive multimedia performance. About Hyperion Entertainment VOF Hyperion Entertainment is a privately held Belgian-German company, founded in March of 1999. The company specializes in 3D graphics and the conversion of top-quality entertainment software from Windows to niche-platforms including Amiga, Linux (x86,PPC) and MacOS (OS 9/X). Hyperion Entertainment has undertaken contract-work in the field of 3D graphics for companies such as Monolith (www.lith.com) and has developed a mature, fast, small foot-print technology to bring 3D graphics to low power digital devices such as PDAs and STBs. Hyperion is currently working on AmigaOS 4.0, a vastly enhanced PPC native incarnation of the groundbreaking OS introduced by Commodore in 1985. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- G U R U M E D I T A T I O N S P O N S O R S D R I V E R S 20 May, 2005 Andreas Loong, Proprietor of GuruMeditation, has stated: "We would consider sponsoring development of hardware drivers for OS4, whether it be PCI, clockport or Zorro based. So I'll make this a general call to developers: If you can make a driver, let me know and I'll send you the required hardware." We feel drivers are inherently important to a platform as a whole, and AmigaOS 4 currently covers alot of audio and video drivers, and a good number of IDE controllers. If you have written drivers before, or if you are an experienced programmer, this is an excellent opportunity for you. If you can make a driver for AmigaOS 4, we are prepared to ship you the card that you need. It should be in C, it should follow the new AmigaOS interface guidelines, and it should be portable. It must not be a port of a GPL driver, or a proprietary driver. Check with us if you are uncertain. http://www.gurumeditation.se/index.php?fullNews=true&nID=26 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- E L B O X A N N O U N C E S D - B O X T O W E R 17 May, 2005 Elbox Computer is happy to announce a new tower system for Amiga 1200 computers. D-BOX 1200 is a perfectly designed, modern, functional, spacious tower case. D-BOX 1200 is targeted for these Amiga 1200 users who want to upgrade their computers with the DRAGON 1200, a ColdFire-based accelerator card combined with the PCI/AGP Expansion busboard. D-BOX 1200 allows also using other busboards like Mediator PCI 1200 SX, Mediator PCI 1200 LT4, Mediator PCI 1200 or Zorro IV with Mediator PCI ZIV. After all of the amazing Amiga chassis designs that Elbox released in the past few years, the D-BOX 1200 includes the first chassis with the movable back bracket bays born after extensive research and development by the Elbox engineers. The D-BOX 1200 is much more performance-oriented and versatile than all previous towers for Amiga 1200 computers. Standard features such as four 5.25in drive bays, five 3.5in drive bays, and a chassis prepared to perfectly fit A1200 motherboard with many different PCI and Zorro busboards are combined with new elements like USB ports in the front panel or a movable front cover bay for CD-ROM. D-BOX 1200 tower system with a powerful 350W ATX PSU is ready for massive expandability of your A1200 hardware. D-BOX 1200 replaces the discontinued Mirage 1200 and E/BOX 1200 (also known as A1200 Power Tower and A1200 Winner Tower) Amiga tower systems. Pricing and availability The D-BOX 1200 Tower will be on sale from early June 2005 at the suggested retail price of only EUR 149.95 or US$194.95 (VAT and local taxes excl.) For more information see: D-BOX 1200 website. http://www.elbox.com/products/d-box_1200.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------- M I C R O G O L D E D I T O R N O W F R E E D O W N L O A D 25 May, 2005 The microgolded editor is now available as free download. Instead of asking users to pay for it, it is released as sponsored software and contains offline advertising. microgolded is a small editor. It provides basic editing features, such as undo-redo, folding, macro recording, formatting, auto-case, auto-completion and other basic editor stuff. It is very fast and very configurable. All in one file, no installation. Registered users can find a new, advertising-free version on the GoldED web site. New features: black-on-white color scheme (optional) and navigation tabs. Amiga users and dealers interested in advertising software, events, web sites or services in microgolded please contact GoldED support. http://www.dietmar-eilert.net/golded/files.htm =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Amiga Update on the net: All back issues available at: http://www.globaldialog.com/~bandr/AU/index.html Stop by and check out our archive! Now in our 12th publication year. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2005 by Brad Webb. Freely distributable, if not modified. ====================================================================== _ __ _ <>_ __ _ A M I G A /\\ |\ /|| || / ` /\\ A M I G A U P D A T E /__\\ | \ / || || || ___ /__\\ U P D A T E / \\_ | \/ ||_ _||_ \__// / \\_ amigaupdate@globaldialog.com ======================================================================