DID YOU KNOW..? ******************* by Ian Vanderfield This will be another regular department, informing Amiga owners of developments in a wide range of areas. We will be providing information that should help you get the most from your computer, and other titbits which may or may not be fact! * I think everyone probably has TextCraft, but did you know that if your printer is connected in the deselect mode the program often freezes. Either turn your printer off until it's needed, or do whatever is necessary to reach select mode. * If you tear off the front cover of your Deluxe Paint1 manual and send it with $US 42.00 to: Electronic Arts 1820 Gateway Drive San Mateo, CA 94404 U.S.A. you can get the updated Delux Paint2! * If you only have one disk drive and want to examine Public Domain, or Fish Disks, here's what to do:- Boot up Workbench, then enter the CLI environment (either interupt the startup-sequence by pressing CTRL-D, or select the CLI icon). You now need to load whatever commands will be necessary (rather like the RAM disk mentioned in the CLIstuff drawer) into RAM:. At the prompt type the following: 1> copy c/dir to RAM: 1> copy c/cd to RAM: 1> copy c/type to RAM: these three commands should be enough to do the job, but if you want others enter them in the same fashion. NB. The word "to" is optional! Then remove the Workbench, while remaining in the CLI, and put the disk you wish to look at into the computer. If you type: 1> RAM:dir df0: the entire contents of the disk will be displayed. You MUST always prefix the command you need with RAM:, otherwise a requestor will appear asking for the Workbench. To get into directories type: 1> RAM:cd {dir} usaully they contain source files, readme files, and executable files or programs. By typing: 1> RAM:type [readme file], you'll find out what the program is all about, and any special instructions. Entering: 1> RAM:type [filename] will usaully cause some program to begin running. If you have two disk drives leave the Workbench in DF0: and place the Fish Disk in DF1:. Then, enter the CLI on the Workbench and type: 1> cd DF1: follow this with 1> dir opt a , to find all the directories and their contents (this can also be used with the above examples). * Spend some time, if possible, looking at the Public Domain software, because there are many worthwhile things to be found. In fact we shall be having a series on the Fish Disks, telling you just where certain interesting items can be located, and combing "like" information into groups for easy use. If you ever want Fish Disks of a certain type, or disks containing particular information, drop us a line and we can prepare them for you. See Subscribing for details and address... * Later in the year Commodore will be releasing three more versions of the Amiga: 1. An Amiga - with no disk drive (like the Atari ST) 2. An Amiga - using a 68000 chip, and having a 100 pin expansion bus (instead of 86 now) at the right side of the main unit. It is also likely to have space for three built-in disk drives of choice (e.g. combinations of 3.5", 5.25", and hard disk drives). 3. An Amiga Turbo - having the same features as 2., but using a 68020 chip. 1. will be cheaper than the present Amiga 1000, while the other two will be more expensive and geared to the business market, or developers, who need more power and speed. Of course none of these machines has actually appeared! It may be that very soon Commodore releases a new Amiga 2000, which will contain an 8086 card (a 16 bit chip) with buffer and RAM, for complete IMB compatability. This will use a 68000 CPU, have 1 Meg of RAM, and 7 user ports - 4 for Commodore hardware, 3 for IBM. Commodore may release an Amiga 500, which could be one of the above, I mean anything is possible, but the scientist in me will believe it when I see it!! * For all of you Amigans with hybrid machines, ie. A mixture of PAL and NTSC, dont despair. It seems the very first Amigas were straight imports from the USA, and so all NTSC. Then the hybrids appeared with PAL IN and NTSC OUT. Finally version 1.4 was released and it is full PAL, which is what we need in this country to get colour video output. Well, there is a company called LING TECHNOLOGY (ph:969 8088), who make a conversion cable which converts NTSC to PAL giving you a colour picture NOT black & white. It runs from the back of the main unit to the Video IN on your VCR. Worthwhile for anyone wanting to make more use of Aegis Animator or Deluxe Video. Also Commodore have a PAL overlay, for about $80, which performs the same function. * There is a C64 emulator on the way, which will enable that machines software to be run on the Amiga. This will please 35% of Amiga owners who have a C64 computer. It could be available in July. Work is also being done on a MAC emulator, like the Magic Sac for the Atari. * There is more and more hardware appearing for the Amiga, which makes choosing a component overwhelming. The expansion box described below is an excellent unit combing SCSI with DMA, which combines speed with the ability to use a wide range of peripherals. SCSI is the future for Hard Disks, printers, etc., etc.. Now the COMSPEC 2 Meg board has been getting rave reviews, and now that it autoconfigures it is really quite good. However it uses "drumsticks", a computer component introduced years ago that never took off. Although they work, they represent an obsolete technology and are no longer being manufactured. My concern would be service and availability of parts in three years if you start having problems. The moral is study any intended purchases thoroughly, get advice from reputable people - like MEGADISC! * 49% of all Amiga owners are novices, i.e.this is their first computer! * An Amiga expansion box with 4 basic sub-systems is being developed here in Australia. It will consist of: 1. Bus interface and a 68440 DMA controller. ( DMA = Direct Memory Access ) 2. Dynamic RAM (DRAM) and Refresh control. At first 512K will be provided, with 2Meg becoming available towards the end of the year, but only for the Amiga 2000. 3. SCSI interface. ( SCSI = Standard Computer System Interface ) 4. A clock-calendar, which will be battery backed-up. This device will attach to the 86-pin expansion bus on the right side of the main unit, mounting vertically in an aluminium case and using the Amiga's power supply. At present it exists in prototype form and is working. Beta test models should be ready during March, and a cost of $1400 has been mentioned for the final unit. This should be a great boost for local Amiga owners, and it is AUSTRALIAN!!! * Many user have been having lots of problems with Micro Floppy Disks - MF2DD. They seem to be OK for copying onto, but when you start moving files around Read/Write errors appear. Any thoughts?? * Any of you with Aegis software should know that the company likes to hear from users. When working on upgrades for their different packages, about 90% of changes are based on comments from clients. Also they have a low or no cost upgrade policy, so contact them for details: Aegis Development 2210 Wilshire Boulevard Santa Monica, CA 94043 U.S.A. * Aegis have obtained the rights to the ill-fated Musicraft, and will be releasing it as "SONICS". This new package will have MIDI capability and should be available here very soon. * Remember - it's most important to clean your "mouse" regularly (say every 7-10 days). Tape recorder head cleaning fluid, or Isopropyl alcohol (available at most chemists) are excellent for cleaning the rollers inside the "mouse", even the computer casing, as they leave no residue. NEVER use methylated spirits or turpentine! There is advice about this on pages 6-3 & 6-4 of the "Introduction to Amiga" booklet you received with your system. A little care could save you hundreds of dollars for a new "mouse". END OF "DID YOU KNOW..?" | V