=============================================================================  NEWS FROM THE STATES ============================================================================= From our American Editor S.M. Oakland (1800 lines!!) ---------------------------------------------------- NEWS AND VIEWS FROM NORTH AMERICA The last time this column appeared in NewsFlash, things looked VERY bleak for the Amiga. There were serious rumors that the entire computer line had only a few more years to live, that the only thing keeping the Amiga alive at all was its usefulness in video work. And it is true that 1992 was a very bad year for the Amiga community (the editor of Jumpdisk called it "an execrable year"). But during the final quarter of 1992, tiny flickers of hope began to emerge, sparks that have continued to grow through the first months of this year. Why? First, because Commodore finally released the A4000 and the A1200 in the States. So what? So why should this be important to European Amigaphiles? After all, you often have had access to cutting-edge Amiga technology long before it becomes available over here. The reason is this: once a software or hardware design is released for the North American market, it means that the design itself is relatively stable -- most of the bugs have been squashed, most of the major revisions have been made. Now this does not mean that additional refinements and modifications will not occur. They will. It just means that it is less likely that you will have to trot to your dealer's every month or two to get the latest revision, or to find new ways of making your old software work with your newest acquisitions. In other words, once a product is released for the North American market, it is more or less 'safe'. So when you read of a product long available in your country finally becoming available in America, take heart: its development has probably stabilized. Another good sign about these new releases: they are significant advances in Amiga technology. Both the A1200 and A4000 have moved beyond the A1000 design, a design that all other Amigas still emulate to a degree. In other words, the A4000 and A1200 are the first members of the second generation of Amigas. Both models make use of a new video chipset designed to make them visually competitive with the latest PC and Mac technology, and 32-bit bus technology to connect it with the rest of the system. Perhaps best of all, the A4000 employs a modular design: when a new processor becomes available, simply swap the old for the new. No longer is there any need to buy a completely new computer every year or two. And if this isn't the best reason for buying an A4000, I don't know what is. (Now, if only the A4000 chipset was also modular, so owners could simply exchange their current AGA chipset for the new one -- with resolutions of 1024 X 1024 -- rumored to be released in '94.... Sigh) Third, accompanying the new computers were new versions of AmigaDOS: 2.1 for Amigas using the standard or enhanced chipset; 3.0 for those using the AGA chipset ("Agatha" or "AA"). The former adds to AmigaDOS 2.0x such features as: Localization, which adapts the operating system to the customs of your country (for example, the menus, requesters and tools will be in your native language; money, dates, numbers and currency symbols will be correct for your land -- so too will be paper sizes, and list sorts). Built-in CrossDOS (so an Amiga can automatically recognize and read/write data files in PC format). Improved printer drivers -- including a PostScript printer driver. A number of additional screen display modes (e.g., 800 X 600, interlaced at 72 Hz). A standardized software installation utility. Simple point-click-and-drag device installation. With AmigaDOS 3.0, the operating system advances several steps further, with improvements that include: Faster graphics library routines. Faster windows (over 500% faster!). A file system that provides a file listing -- "Dir" -- 10 times faster (floppy directories are accessed faster than are many hard drives on machines using WorkBench 1.x or 2.x). A utility called "MultiView", which displays various types of files in the appropriate format; i.e., it shows text files as text, IFF files as graphics, AmigaGuide files as hypertext, etc. It will also let you show as many pictures on a screen as your memory allows, with each looking its best (for instance, using MultiView, you can show 8 32-color IFF images on one screen). Some other WorkBench 3.0 features are: Support for Intuition-based, high-speed, double-buffered animation. New menu color defaults. A Palette editor with a color-wheel for mixing color selections. Easy use of an IFF image as a WorkBench backdrop. And easier on-line help for applications (maybe someone will start making use of that 'Help' key after all). No matter how you look at it, you can see the evolution of the operating system is accelerating, with retargetable graphics being the next likely addition. Fourth, Commodore's encouraging rumbles have been growing louder: For example, the February issue of AmigaWorld reported that Commodore "plans to move quickly in its development and release of new Amiga models and its further enhancements to the operating system." And in the February issue of Jumpdisk, Commodore's vice president of engineering Louis Eggebrecht was quoted as saying, "The 600, the 1200 and the 4000 are just the beginning of a wave of products that we hope to be able to offer -- very quickly -- with new state-of-the-art technologies." Before the year is out, it is rumored the Amiga 4000 will (finally!) receive: Digital signal processing, providing that improved sound Amiga owners have been clamoring for. And a SCSI-II hard drive interface, with data transfer rates in excess of 10 MB per second. So it looks as if good things are awaiting the Amiga community, if its members can hold fast to their faith. Other positive signs are: - The pricing of Amigas has become much more realistic. For example, at the beginning of 1992, a plain-vanilla A2000 was priced about $2100. Now, it you can buy one for less than $700 -- 2/3 less, and a much more street-wise price. Similarly, since the introduction of the A4000, Commodore has been dumping the A3000 in mass quantities (it makes me want to cry, since I bought one a year ago): In the January issue of AmigaWorld, for example, an A3000-16/40 could be purchased for $1199; an A3000-25/50 for $1399. And both included Scala Multimedia 200 at no extra charge. - As was hinted just above, Commodore has quietly allowed mail order firms to sell Amigas again -- at least, models that have been superseded. This is a wise move, for it was mail order firms -- not dealers -- that sold enough Amigas during the 1980's for there to be a large enough user-base to survive the blunders of the past few years. - In issue 27 of NewsFlash, I expressed scepticism about Oxxi's ability to improve upon the once-mighty SuperBase Professional database program. But not long after that column winged its way to your continent, I received an announcement from Oxxi of four new or improved SuperBase programs (now called "SBase")... so there is reason to hope that development of professional-quality productivity software for the Amiga will continue. It appears that the winter of the Amiga's discontent may be ending. This is not to say that ALL is well: my local Software, Etc. outlet recently stopped stocking software for the Amiga in favor of expanding its MacIntosh offerings (a few years ago, it carried nearly five times more Amiga software than Mac). Commodore has removed the Amiga's speech function in AmigaDOS 2.1 and 3.0. And the venerable American disk magazine, Jumpdisk, has ceased to be available in retail outlets; it is available solely by subscription or direct sales. But on the other hand, a new paper-based Amiga magazine -- Amiga.info -- is said to be beginning. In essence then, if you thought of the Amiga and its supporting industries as a hospital patient, you would have to say that its condition has improved from "critical" to "guarded". It may well still die, but at this point its decline has diminished...and there are signs that its health may return. Who knows? Perhaps if we are patient enough and supportive enough, the vision of what a computer can be -- the dream behind Amiga computing -- will spread from the handful of artists, gamers and dreamers who dared to buy Amiga to the whole world of computing, transforming it forever. Oh, well...I can dream, can't I? VISUAL ARTS >>> ANIMATIONS: AsimVTR ($89), by Asimware, allows animators to edit and play in "real time" animations they have created . All they need -- in addition to the program -- is a set of images stored on a hard drive. Graphics? The program works with all screen modes, including overscan, extra halfbrite, and HAM. With its VCR-like control panel, it is easy to edit to frame-accuracy or to play back your creations at speeds up to 60 frames per second. Non-animators may prefer to use AsimVTR as a presentation tool, particularly if they also have a display enhancer such as DCTV or HAM-E. Or they may want to link it to a 3-D rendering program via ARexx, so they can use it as a dedicated storage option for their renderings. AsimVTR runs on any Amiga with any standard hard drive controller. It supports all transparent display enhancers and is unaffected by complex motion (unlike ANIM's). Again, it contains an ARexx interface, and provides a large number of commands for frame editing and playback. ANIM Workshop ($?), by Axiom Software, lets users assemble and view full color animations made with NewTek's Lightwave 3D. Alternately, it can be used to put together an animation from a simple list of RGB files. With the ANIM Workshop, animators can change the format of an ANIM -- its palette, size and resolution, for instance -- and then view the result. Or they may opt to convert animbrushes from HAM to 16 colors, perhaps altering their resolutions, or maybe even exporting them to Art Department Pro for more extensive image processing. Because of this flexibility, ANIM Workshop includes an extensive ARexx interface so users can customize the program to their tastes and purposes. It also enables the ANIM Workshop to cooperate with ADPro, resulting in a hybrid animation studio beyond the dreams of early animators. CineMorph ($159), by GVP, enables artists and animators to morph ANYTHING, from two static images to frame sequences, to entire sets of frame sequences. Requiring at least 3 MB of RAM and compatible with AmigaDOS 1.3 or 2.0+, the program allows multi-speed morphing (static image or full-motion) as well as the morphing of a single image. Should you get lost or need additional information, CineMorph includes an AmigaGuide help menu. Zoetrope ($?), by Mainstream America. It's back! Zoetrope is a cutting-edge animation program that was introduced in the late 1980's. Unfortunately, it was too advanced and too 'different' for Amiga animators of that time, so its sales lagged. As a result, Zoetrope's creator grew embittered and took his expertise -- and Zoetrope -- to the MacIntosh market, where it was better appreciated. Now it has returned, marketed by Mainstream America. The program uses a layered approach to make it easy for novice users, yet it contains features for even the most demanding professional animators. Pictures and animations may be overlayed or underlayed; 'cel' animation is supported; and images (or titles) may be spun, swooped or otherwise transported through 3-D space. >>> ART: Animatrix Modeler 1.2 ($139.95; free upgrade to current owners), by duBois Animation, improves upon a fine program by providing two more options for stereoscopic viewing (to be used with Haitex' Xspecs or the usual red-and-blue glasses). Also improved are the user interface and the program's compatibility with Lightwave or WaveFront files. Other new features are: single and grouped point editing, point joining, edge and face subdivision, and real-time scaling, rotation and translation. Art Expressions! ($249.95), by Soft-Logik, is the long-awaited structured drawing program from the folks who brought you "PageStream". Featuring a set of basic shapes and complex path tools, an artist can use Art Expressions's editing functions to add, align, delete, move, join or split points in space. He or she can change magnification levels, close paths, or create text. Better still, s/he can wow the public with the program's special effects. These include: warping text inside shapes, curving text to fit curves, or blending objects and colors for shading and morphing. Art Expressions! supports all major graphics standards, loading and converting files created by Professional Draw, ProVector, Aegis Draw, and Adobe Illustrator. In addition to IFF DR2D files, it can load and save its own PostScript and encapsulated PostScript files. ArtisticCLIPS, Vol. 1 ($?), by Artistic Software, is a set of clipart images drawn from ten different areas of life, such as animals and transportation. Unique to ArtisticCLIPS is the fact that all the images are in AEPS format -- Amiga Encapsulated PostScript Format -- rather than EPS. As a result, each image contains an IFF bitmap header that provides an image the user can be size, position, and crop. And when it comes time to print the image, it will print without jaggies, to the best resolution of the printer. Brilliance ($249), by Digital Creations, is among the first of the next generation of Amiga Paint and Animation software. How so? First, the program is FAST! Digital Creations claims that Brilliance runs faster on a stock 68000 Amiga than do other art programs on accelerated ('030) machines. Second, the program supports ALL Amiga graphics modes, including 8-bit HAM and 24-bit, 256 color. Third, Brilliance supplies "real world" air brushing, dynamic animation, and a gradient mode that allows the artist to define 8 separate gradient ranges of up to 64 colors apiece. What is more, an Interpolate mode automatically chooses the best "in-between" colors from the palette. Last, many of the capabilities supplied by other paint programs are available in Brilliance in multiples: multiple windows, multiple animation and picture buffers, multiple brushes and animbrushes, multiple levels of Undo and Redo. Hmm...if only it supported Agatha (the AGA chipset). Caligari 24 ($399), by Octree, is the heir apparent to Caligari-2. Adding to the already formidable capabilities of Caligari-2, the new program features 32-bit color, organic deformation, IFF textures, and hierarchical animation. Caligari 24 supports the majority of display enhancers now available and can display images in resolutions up to 736 X 482 (NTSC) or 736 X 575 (PAL). Its flexibility is illustrated by its ability to read and write in Lightwave 3D and Videoscape formats, and read Imagine, Sculpt 3D, and AutoCAD DXF 3D formats. Caligari 24 can also use DCTV, IFF and Rendition images for texture mapping. Needless to say, this kind of power demands more than the usual amount of memory: In this case, at least 2 MB of RAM are necessary. Deluxe Paint-AGA, ($179; upgrade for $39 for owners of DPIV), by Electronic Arts, represents the latest in Amiga paint programs. Seemingly no more than a version of Deluxe Paint IV modified to work with the new AGA chip set found in the A1200 and A4000, the program is also a step forward. For Deluxe Paint-AGA contains several bug fixes to DPIV.5, in addition to support for ALL the new Amiga display modes (both AGA and ECS). Color support is better and now extends to a 24- bit palette. Thus larger blitter operations are now possible. And for greater ease and consistency, the program uses WB 2.0-style requesters. Last, while Deluxe Paint-AGA cannot display or write 24- bit data, it CAN read 24-bit files and display them in whatever mode the use chooses. Digital Collage Package by DRC Sequential Graphics is a set of ten textures, five Deluxe Paint motion clips, and five 16-color overscan backdrops -- all contained on two disks. How can you get a set? By subscribing: you will receive a different two disk set each month. A 6 month subscription is $30; 12 months are $587 (can this be right?); and 24 months cost $100. ImageFX ($369), by GVP, combines image processing software with special effects programming to create a powerful tool for achieving professional effects on any Amiga computer. Requiring at least 512K of chip RAM and 3 MB of fast RAM, ImageFX provides comprehensive 24- bit image editing and manipulation capabilities -- including morphing tools. Among the image processing aids included in ImageFX are: color correction and alteration, image transformation, image analysis, image creation, and photographic adjustment. Essence ($79.95), by Apex Software, gives users of "Imagine" (Impulse) more than 65 Imagine-compatible texture algorithms. In other words, it increases the number of surfaces available for Imagine-d objects. Textures vary from Hex, composed of hexagonal tiles, to FractalNoise, a set of detailed, natural-looking colors and textures useful for rendering objects such as trees, clouds, landscapes, or fire. The textures are also compatible with Imagine's predecessor, TurboSilver. Last, if there is sufficient demand, Apex will provide an integer- based version for use on 68000-based Amigas. Morphus ($119.95), by Impulse, is an Italian-designed solid modelling program able to run on as little as 1 MB of RAM. Using Morphus, artists and designers can import a TDDD object or group created with another modelling program, and deform it to taste...later saving it as one or more TDDD files. The structure remains unaltered, except for its 3-D coordinates. Among the deformations available are: Bend, Oscillate, Ripple, Shear, Twist and Wave. And because the program works by calculating matrices, Impulse encourages the use of an accelerated Amiga with Morphus. Pro-60 #2 ($199.95), by Texture City, is a second set of professional- quality 24-bit textures. Subject-matter ranges from animal skins to metals, to quarry marble, to glass, to scenery, to special effects. Each image is in full overscan 752 X 480, providing a set of excellent choices for video work or 3-D texture mapping. TexTiles Vols. 1 - 4 ($49.99 ea), by Mannikin Sceptre Graphics, is a library of true color texture-images, each measuring 256 X 256. Every image is seamless, making the library an excellent resource for 3-D work. Moreover, the smaller image size makes TexTiles ideal for Amigas with little extra memory. >>> ART: TUTORIALS The Beginner's Guide to Art Department Pro 2.+ ($39.95), by Dreamworks Video Productions, is an instructional video tape designed to familiarize novices with the powers and capabilities of The Art Department Professional 2.x (ASDG). Among the topics covered are: anti-aliasing, the Backdrop Loader, the Broadcast Limit Operator, Compositing Images, Enhanced Palette Control, the Negative Operator, the PrefPrinter Saver, the Scaling Operator, and the Visual Operator. If you are an owner of ADPro and are NOT intimately familiar with the topics just listed, this video tape is for you! Principles of Composition ($68.95), by Art Instruction Software, is designed to teach you the fundamentals of visual design and composition. The Amiga program teaches those without formal training or who are simply 'out of practice' such design fundamentals as balance, color, contrast, gradation, harmony, rhythm, pattern and unity. >>> CAD GFX-CAD 3000 ($649), by Grafx Computing, is a software bundle containing both XCAD-3000 and XCAD-3D. XCAD-3000 is the latest version of XCAD-Pro 2D: a program that is not only the fastest 2D engine available for the Amiga, it is one of the few that supports most printers and plotters. XCAD-3D, on the other hand, is a precision modeler able to import XCAD-3000 files and write them in Imagine or TurboSilver format. Though requiring 3 MB of RAM, both programs sport revised X-Shell or Z-Shell interfaces to make the work easier. And if you are fortunate enough to have 2 MB of chip RAM, you can run XCAD-3000, XCAD-3D and Imagine (or TurboSilver) simultaneously. This makes the transfer of elements between programs a breeze. Last, the package includes a 6-month subscription to the Amiga CAD newsletter, XPress. >>> VIDEO -- HARDWARE G-Lock ($449), by GVP, is a powerful genlock completely controllable by software. Using ARexx, the CLI, or the accompanying G-Lock software, videographers can manipulate such variables as brightness, contrast, filtering, gain, hue, saturation and sharpness. On the video side, the G-Lock can accept two composite or one Y/C input; its output consists of RGB, Y/C or YUV displays. On the audio side, the unit provides full two switchable audio inputs the user can mix. And by using the included software, video editors can control the audio bass, treble and volume. Mediaphile 2.0M Infrared Controller ($50), by MicroSystems, is an infrared controller that installs in the Amiga's mouse port. When used with Mediaphile editing software, the controller is great for video editing or hypermedia production. It is compatible with other Mediaphile software, with the VideoDirector (Gold Disk), with VBOX and VISCA (Sony), and with Future Video's system. It can also control the Video Toaster (NewTek) and Panasonic's WJMX switchers. Additional information about Mediaphile products is in issues 23 and 27 of NewsFlash. VideoMaster ($?), by Microdeal/Michtron, is integrates a sound sampler, a video digitizer and a video sequencer within a single unit. The digitizer is able to record monochrome, 1/4 screen images at speeds close to 25-30 frames per second. And with its "Pause" or "Still Frame" features, VideoMaster can produce impressive greyscale pictures from ANY video source. In addition to the hardware unit, the VideoMaster package includes TRI-Color filters for use with color video cameras, supporting software, and a thorough instruction manual. >>> VIDEO -- SOFTWARE 24-Bit Maps -- U.S.A. ($38), by CeV, is a set of JPEG compressed 24- bit images of the USA and its states. They are suitable for adding to videos and other presentations. DAS Book ($29.95), by Electric Crayon, is a completely redrawn and remastered 2-disk version of the Animattes Wedding animation described in issue 25 of NewsFlash. Requiring either 5 MB of RAM or 3 MB of memory and a hard drive, DAS Book automatically installs itself in memory or memory/hard drive to run itself with ease. An accelerator is recommended, though not necessary. Eurofonts Video 3.0 ($129.95), by Classic Concepts, is a broad-based library providing complete upper and lower case alphabets and symbols for over 25 different languages European languages. Each professional-quality font-set is compatible with the Video Toaster and its software. A Universal Keymap function makes it easy to enter text from multiple languages on one screen. Among the languages supported by Eurofonts are: Albanian, Baltic, English, Finnish, Hungarian, Icelandic, Polish, Scandinavian, and Western European. Volume 10 V2.0: The Illustrator: Animation Background Scenery in 24- bits ($30), by CeV Design, is a set of 4 disks featuring street scenes, landscapes and other useful locations. Designed for use as a backdrop in video or multimedia work, the collection's images make use of "ultimate" colors and shades for use with DCTV or the Video Toaster. >>> VIDEO -- INSTRUCTION Mastering Toaster Technology ($?), by Positron, is a 256 page guide and reference to the Video Toaster. In step-by-step fashion, the book instructs the reader on such matters as Toaster system design, rotoscoping and 3-D creation. It also provides a set of guidelines for determining a price for video services. EYES & EARS >>> MULTIMEDIA Scala Multimedia 200, v. 2.0 ($?), by Scala, Inc., is Scala's answer to AmigaVision, HyperBook, Foundation, and CanDo. It consists of a software package possessing all the tools and resources necessary for Amiga owners to assemble multimedia presentations right out of the box. With Scala Multimedia it is easy to create and combine text, logos and other illustrations. The 'box' includes more than 70 backgrounds; 17 typefaces; 100 symbols, animations and music files; and -- best of all -- over 70 wipes (can you ever have too many?). Using these with text or graphics on a single page -- or for dramatic transitions between pages, multimedia authors can swiftly put together an audiovisual delight. >>> MUSIC Bars & Pipes Professional 2.0 ($?), by Blue Ribbon Soundworks, is a major revision of the powerhouse, state-of-the-art music program (described earlier in issues 20 and 27 of NewsFlash). For example, Blue Ribbon added to the program's already powerful MIDI sequencing abilities such tools as groove quantize, rubato, sequence trigger, and tempo tap. Pattern-style rhythm design with drum mapping is also available. So, too are global transport and guitar tablature. Also included are improved versions of the tools and accessories previously available as add-ons to Bars & Pipes, such as "PatchMeister" and "SuperJAM!". Second, Bars & Pipes Professional 2.0 now works seamlessly with the Soundwork's 16-bit multi-timbral card, "One-Stop, Music Shop". Putting the two together, users can have a full-featured music machine for less than the cost of a simple MIDI layout. But if you need more, consider this: Bars & Pipes Professional 2.0 now includes a module called "Media Madness". Using this feature, musicians and multi-media fans can now create, combine and control animations, music, sounds, slides, video effects and graphics for mind-blowing presentations. No need for "AmigaVision" or "CanDo" here: The Media Madness module controls such things as Toaster transitions, SunRize sound effects, ANIM file playing, ARexx-linked programs, genlocks, and video decks. Included with Media Madness is a freely distributable player that works on ANY Amiga, and a Recorder that records your presentation for playback and distribution. If you are a multimedia artist or a musician in search of more powerful tools, Bars & Pipes Professional 2.0 offers "one-stop" shopping: it not only combines most of the features of Blue Ribbon's other programs with those of Bars & Pipes itself, it adds to these the functions and capabilities of an authoring system or hypermedia presentation tool. Keys to Music ($59.95 each), by Electric Theatre, is a five volume set of interactive software designed to teach users how to read and write music, even if they have never played an instrument. Each program uses the Amiga's synthesized voice, together with point-and-click examples to make learning music fast and fun. Each volume covers a different area of music theory, and each volume in turn is divided into modules which introduce new material or expand on previous subjects. Each module takes about 15 minutes to complete, and is followed by a short quiz, to make sure the user has mastered the information. Users of Keys to Music will find that their composition -- or those included with the programs -- can be ported to sequencers such as Bars & Pipes Professional, or The Deluxe Music Construction set. In this way, they can fine-tune their creations. A demo disk is available for $2, for those unable to find it on a BBS. Keys to Music requires at least 1 MB of RAM, though 1.5 MB is recommended. The topics covered are: Volume 1: Learning to Read Music, which teaches the names of the notes, various musical terms, note values and basic rhythm. Volume 2: Learning to Write Music, which covers such topics as musical scales, key signatures, and time signatures. Volume 3: Rhythm and Ear Training, enables users to mentally 'hear' what they see on the screen. It also covers intermediate and advance rhythm, and melodic and harmonic intervals. Volume 4: Traditional Harmony, features instruction on voice leading, chord resolution, inversion, and melody harmonization. Volume 5: Modern Harmony, provides instruction on the 7th - 13th chords; diminished, altered or augmented chords; chord symbols and substitutions. MusiColor ($?), by Virgin, is a CDTV version of the renowned Tobin Music System. Using MusiColor, users of any age can learn to read and compose music. The program is easy to use, allowing wannabe musicians to write music on the screen while hearing it played back. The student learns music theory as s/he composes harmonies to a set piece. If the subject-matter becomes confusing, MusiColor includes on-screen help, as well as aural tests to train the listener's ear and test his understanding. Rock Through MIDI ($39.95), by New Sound Music, teaches the art of rock 'n' roll keyboard playing. More than 65 classic keyboard riffs are 'unpacked' to teach and illustrate in this program -- each sequence using bass, drums and piano. Also included are transcriptions (on paper) of each riff or solo. Rock Through MIDI requires both a MIDI sequencer and keyboard. Soundtracks for MIDI ($49.95), by New Sound Music, is a set of MIDI soundtracks for use as background music in video, multimedia, film and radio. All compositions are original works; the user may use them in any way s/he chooses. Subject matter ranges from string quartets to contemporary electronic tracks. >>> SOUNDS Clarity 16 ($?), by Microdeal, is a 16-bit stereo sound sampler able to record sound from any 'aux' or 'line' signal source. The unit contains three interfaces: a set of stereo 'phono' inputs for recording sounds; stereo 'phono' outputs for connecting the unit to a mixer or amplifier; and a MIDI interface for linking it to MIDI keyboards and the like. What's under the hood? The Clarity 16 contains two 16-bit analogy-to-digital converters; used in tandem, they enable sound digitization in full stereo. HARDWARE >>> ACCELERATORS G-Force '40 Accelerators for the A2000, by GVP: Owners of this kind of GVP accelerator will be pleased to learn that floating point operations can be speeded-up by as much as 550% by making the following change in the user-startup file: Find the line "GvpCpuCtl >nil: FastROM", and change it to: "GvpCpuCtrl >nil: FastROM MoveSSP" Krueger Instant Speed System ($295 without RAM; $339 with 512K of 32- bit SRAM), by The Krueger Company, is an easily installed 68030/68882 accelerator board running at 33 MHz. The board is capable of holding 512K of 32-bit SRAM -- power users may opt to improve the memory situation by adding CSA's 32-bit memory board (an accessory for CSA's Mega-Midget Racers), which can hold 2, 4 or 8 MB of DRAM. Perhaps best of all, the Krueger board features icon-based switching to the 68000 mode, for those times when it is necessary to drop back to the slower processor. >>> COMMUNICATIONS -- MODEMS SupraFAXModems, by Supra. Owners of the v32 or v32bis versions of Supra's FAXModem may wish to obtain the latest available chipset for them. Among the new features provided are: a new error-correction mode (ECM) and the Silent Answerer. The former increases the accuracy of faxes when used with software that supports it. The latter enables users to use a single telephone line for BOTH voice and fax communication. If the unit detects telltale "CNG" tones on an incoming call, it routes it to the fax software. Otherwise, it waits for the user to answer the phone. Other niceties of the new chips include: v32 and v32bis negotiation, &V modem settings, and better recognition of busy-signals. Contact Supra for additional details. PM14400FX Pocket ($?), by Practical Peripherals, is a palm-sized high- speed fax machine and modem. Weighing only 4.2 ounces, the Pocket fax/modem uses v.42 error control and v.42bis data compression to achieve data transmission speeds of 57,000 bps. In addition, this 'pocket rocket' includes Group III send-receive fax capabilities, sending data at high speeds over ordinary phone lines. The PM14000FX includes Quick Link 2 (for downloading material to or from a computer), a plug-in power cube, a battery pack and the necessary cables. >>> DISPLAY Monitor Master ($128), by Vortex, is a switch-box that allows both the Amiga's video output and that of an EGA/VGA card to be connected to either a VGA or a multisync monitor. In this way, owners of the BridgeBoard or Vortex's Golden Gate board can display EGA/VGA alongside their Amiga graphics. >>> EMULATORS Golden Gate 486 SLC ($1099 standard; $1398 with 8 MB of memory), by Vortex, is a PC-AT emulator for use in the A2000/A3000/A4000. With a 25 MHz '486 SLC processor, the board comes with 2 MB of RAM and can hold a total of 16 MB. If this is not enough, the Golden Gate can access up to 4 MB of the Amiga's memory as well. Also included with the Golden Gate is a PC/AT IDE hard drive controller; an optional HD floppy disk drive controller is also available. The Golden Gate is compatible with both WorkBench 1.3 and 2.0 and supports Amiga floppy drives in 360K, 720K and 1.44 MB (HD) formats. It works with MS-DOS 3.2-5.0; DR-DOS 5.0-6.0; and Windows 3.0-3.1. The Norton Speed Index rating of the Golden Gate 486 SLC is 45. >>> HARD DRIVES Trifecta ($199.96 - $349.96), by ICD, is a set of cost-effective IDE (AT) cards for adding low-cost IDE hard drives to the Amiga. Each high performance card features a 16-bit IDE controller, together with room for a 2.5" or 3.5" drive. Combining this controller with the intelligent caching and quick block transfers of IDE drives, the result is a hard drive system as fast or faster than most 16-bit SCSI- based drives. Each IDE interface is able to control up to 2 IDE drives; each Trifecta SCSI interface (another option) can control up to 7 drives. >>> MEMORY PSRAM IC Card ($189 for 2 MB; $299 for 4 MB), by New Media, is a memory expansion for the A600. No larger than a credit card, the autoconfiguring PSRAM fits nicely into the A600's PCMCIA slot, adding up to 4 MB of memory. >>> MISCELLANEOUS Xtractor+ ($12.95), by Better Concepts, combines the features of both a chip puller and a torx screwdriver into one tool. Using the Xtractor+, you can extract DIP and PLCC chips or loosen the torx screws from your Amiga's case or motherboard. Those who do not need a #10 torx screwdriver can get the Xtractor chip puller for $9.95. >>> MULTI-PURPOSE MF2 MultiFace Card ($295), by Pre'spect, is a half-length board providing 2 serial and 2 parallel ports for the Amiga. It can be installed internally in A2000 and A3000 computers, or used as an external expansion chassis for the A500. All ports are external and able to operate simultaneously. The serial port works at all standard baud rates up to 57,600 -- even the MIDI rate of 31,250. Features of the board include: a dual async receiver/transmitter, a switchable interrupt level, and a parallel interface timer. A graphical interface makes control of the MultiFace Card easy; when it not needed, users can disable the board with the flip of a switch. The documentation for the MF2 is in English, French and German. PRODUCTIVITY AND MORE >>> BOOKS -- GENERAL Mastering Amiga - AMOS, published by Bruce Smith Books, is a useful reference to AMOS commands. What is more, it provides valuable programming ideas for aspiring AMOS programmers. Mastering Amiga - AMOS also includes a free disk containing programming examples, so the reader can begin programming right away. Mastering Amiga System, by Paul Overa (published by Bruce Smith Books), is a useful introduction to Amiga system programming in the C language. The instruction proceeds by specific examples, using fully commented skeleton programs. In this way, those new to the Amiga system can quickly learn the essentials. The book includes several larger programs, which can then serve as templates for the reader's own programs. Mastering AmigaDOS 2, Vol. 2, published by Bruce Smith Books, is a detailed alphabetical reference guide to all AmigaDOS commands through version 2.04. Volume 2 explains each command's function and illustrates it with 'hands-on' examples. Also included is valuable information about the Mountlist, the IFF graphics format, error codes, and viruses. Professional Page 3.0 Style Book, ($7.95), by Vidia, features a variety of typeface samples compatible with Gold Disk's Professional Page program. Sizes vary from 13 to 120 points; styles include bold, italic, outline, reverse, and underline. Each typeface, whether CompuGraphic or PostScript, receives a full page of treatment, including various tracking settings. The style book also includes reference guides both to ProPage text formatting codes and to ProPage keyboard equivalents for menu commands. The Desktop Studio: Multimedia with the Amiga, ($21.05), by Wordware Publishing, is a thorough guide and reference to the Amiga's position within the multimedia field. The book discusses the strengths and weaknesses of several Amiga models, along with such topics as available hardware and graphics options. Finally, the book furnishes hints and tips useful for the creation of professional-level multimedia. >>> DATABASES Address-It! ($39.95), by Legendary Technologies, is a powerful address database compatible with both Workbench 1.3 and 2.0. Users of Address-It! can store up to 5,000 names and addresses per file, including three phone numbers, comments and a user-defined field. Though requiring as little as 512K of memory, Address-It still has enough power for users to categorize addressees up to 15 ways. This enables users to print out lists with only those names of people fitting certain characteristics. Print-outs may be as address books, mailing labels, envelope addresses, rolodex cards, or roster lists. SBase Pro 4, v. 1.2 ($299.95; upgrade from SuperBase Pro 4 is $20; $$224.95 from Oxxi direct; $100 from owners of SuperBase Professional 3; $135 from owners of SuperBase Personal 2), by Oxxi, is an improved version of SuperBase Professional 4. Version 1.2 eliminates the known bugs in its predecessor. In addition, it provides better ARexx control from DML programs, and enhanced printer control. SBase 4 LAN ($149 for one Amiga; $435 for 2-5 Amigas; $799 for 5-10 Amigas), by Oxxi, is a version of SBase designed for use among networked computers. It permits Amigas running SBase 4 LAN to share information with other Amigas or PC's running SuperBase programs -- including PC's using SuperBase for Windows. Registered owners of SBase 4 Pro can upgrade it to a network version. SuperBase Pro 4 Developer's Extension ($399.95), by Oxxi, provides developers with a runtime module supporting all SuperBase 4 Pro functions. Using this module, developers can create standalone versions of their programs, rather than requiring users to purchase SuperBase 4 Pro to run them. Included with the runtime module is an Extension License allowing the developer to make unlimited numbers of copies of the module (within the constraints specified by the license). SBase Personal 4 ($149.95 list; from owners of SuperBase Personal $65; from owners of SuperBase Personal 2 $50; from Oxxi direct, $112.95), by Oxxi, adds full compatibility with AmigaDOS 2.x to SuperBase Personal 2. Other improvements include: Logical Fields. Store and recall report and query formats. Query across relationships and multiple files. And up to 40 function key definitions. >>> DESKTOP PUBLISHING FontDesigner ($?), by Pre'spect, enables users to create or convert fonts. By means of FontDesigner, desktop publishers can change vector-oriented fonts (or symbols or icons) to Outline fonts. These, in turn, may be converted further with such programs as PageStream or Professional Page for use with Laser or Linotronics printers. Or users may prefer instead to display them as WorkBench Intellifonts. Professional Page 4 ($295; upgrade $75), by Gold Disk, is the latest incarnation of the powerful DTP program. The chief rival to "PageStream", Professional Page 4 has even more features that strengthen its claim to be the best Amiga desktop publishing program. Among these are: support for the AGA chipset; a paint or graphics editor hot-linked to ProPage, so users can easily alter the images in their layout; and a set of import filters permitting owners to import graphic images created on other platforms. At last it is simple for desktop publishers to use pictures, charts, diagrams and other images originally in BMP, EPS, GIF, PCX or TIF format in their publications. PS-400 Full Page Scanner Wand ($799 with Touch-Up; $899 with Touch-Up and Migraph OCR; $249 for sheet-feeder), by Migraph, is the first black-and-white scanning wand for Amigas in North America. Able to scan full pages (8.5" X 14") in one pass, Migraph claims that the PS- 400 offers many of the benefits of a flatbed scanner at a fraction of the cost. Among the other features built into the PS-400 and its supporting software: 3 resolutions for text scanning; an art or text setting; and 4 dither patterns for scanning colors and halftones. One of these patterns (8 X 8) provides up to 256 grayscales by way of software conversion. The PS-400 includes a compact interface that connects to the Amiga via the parallel port. An optional sheet-feeder is also available, for those needing to scan more than a few pages in a session. Information on the supporting software -- Migraph OCR and Touch-up -- is in the 27th issue of NewsFlash. Typesmith ($199.95), by Soft-Logik, is a professional-level editor for Amiga outline fonts. With Typesmith, users can create and edit CompuGraphic, PostScript or Soft-Logik's own (proprietary) outline fonts -- or convert fonts from one format to another. The program is also a valuable means for importing and converting typefaces or symbols from structured drawing programs. Now there is finally a way to use them in desktop publishing! Last, Typesmith includes an ARexx interface and compatibility with Soft-Logik HotLinks. >>> PROGRAMMING AMOS Professional ($?), by Europress, adds more than 200 commands to the 500+ AMOS command set. This newest version of the AMOS programming language comes with a new 650 page manual, and on-line help as well. Moreover, AMOS Professional is compatible with earlier versions: Programs written in earlier versions of AMOS or in Easy AMOS may be loaded into AMOS Professional for additional work. Blitz BASIC 2 ($159), by Acid Software, is a significant upgrade to the Blitz BASIC programming language. The developers at Acid added an additional 300 commands for application programming, while including another extended command set for writing entertainment software. The language now includes a library manager for adding your own commands or importing them from other libraries. Blitz BASIC 2's programming structure permits C-style structures, linked lists and macros. And its source code compiles into small, standalone programs entirely in machine language. Finally, Acid Software added 5 arcade games and an application designer to the package. What a lagniappe! CanDo 2.0 ($199.95; upgrade $50), by INOVAtronics, is an upgraded version of the popular authoring system. Still the most powerful interactive audiovisual authoring system available, CanDo is now even better. New features include: Script Bookmarking, SuperDuper, a BugBasher, a DOS Notify Object, a Configuration Utility, and an Object Layer Tool. Moreover, the revised program promises greater support for multiple screens and windows, foreign language support, improved brush and animation support, better on-line help, enhanced floating math support, and additional database functions. In addition, CanDo 2.0 is now completely compatible with accelerated Amigas and AmigaDOS 2.x. But best of all -- and I am speaking from experience -- CanDo 2.0 has a new, completely rewritten 428 page manual in a 3-ring binder and slip-case. Also included in the package are the decks found in the CanDo Beginner's Pack. >>> TEXT EDITORS AND WORD PROCESSORS Proper Grammar II, ($99.95), by Softwood, is an upgrade of the best- selling proof-reading program described in issue 20 of NewsFlash. The upgraded version is not available yet -- though by the time you read this, it will probably be out -- so details are spotty. The best description of the revised version is Softwood's own: "Proper Grammar II is an easy-to-use proofreading tool designed to help you improve your writing. It takes the!guess work out of good grammar by detecting 95% of all writing errors. Use it with your favorite word processor to identify and correct embarrassing errors that your word processor cannot detect. Proper Grammar II identifies potential errors, indicates how to correct them, and lets you decide whether to make the change or not. By using Proper Grammar II you will have confidence in your writing, and increase your grammar skills. Grammar usage is a reflection on you -- make sure it is correct." Proper Grammar II supports text files created by the following word processors: Final Copy, PenPal, ProWrite, KindWords, Excellence!, TextCraft Plus, Scribble! and plain ASCII. It requires a hard drive and at least 1 MB of memory. If you need to write documentation, letters, essays or even school papers in English, you would do well to consider adding Proper Grammar II to your computer's toolbox. WordWorth 2 ($?), by Digita International, is a graphical word processor whose main claim to fame is its ability to use a wide variety of typefaces. For instance, WordWorth 2 is one of the few Amiga word processors able to make use of true Agfa CompuGraphic fonts (the package includes ten). What is more, WordWorth also supports ALL Amiga fonts, ColorFonts, PostScript fonts, and over 400 internal printer fonts. Word processing features include: bookmarks, endnotes, hotlinks, indexing, mailmerge, multiple-columns, sorting, table of contents and toolbar. WordWorth 2 is compatible with AmigaDOS 1.3 and 2.0. It requires a minimum of 1.5 MB of RAM. >>> UTILITIES Directory Opus 4.0 ($?), by INOVAtronics, is the latest and most powerful version of Jonathan Potter's directory utility. Directory Opus now supports the AGA/AA chipset, all ILBM formats (including SHAM), and features ANIM and Animbrush playback. It also runs executables, launches CanDo decks, displays fonts, plays 8SVX and raw data sound files, displays hexadecimal files, displays text files (normal, ANSI or Powerpacked), and plays MED (with MIDI), NoiseTracker, Oktalyzer, ProTracker, and SoundTracker music modules. The entire user interface is completely configurable: There is an unlimited number of user configurable buttons and configurable device buttons. And a special 'hot key' function was added, so users can launch any Amiga application whenever Directory Opus is running or iconified. Directory Opus 4.0 features extensive on-line help and user-definable searches and sorts. The ARexx interface was upgraded - - it now includes more than 100 commands -- and a new print facility permits the printing of individual image-frames, from full-screen to brush animation. HyperCache Professional ($49.95), by Silicon Prairie, fills the enormous void created when Amiga owners began to add hard drives and CD-ROM's to their systems. Previously, ASDG's memory caching program -- FACC II -- was more than sufficient for floppy-based systems; it still remains a useful program. However, with the arrival of hard drives as 'standard' Amiga equipment, something more was needed...desperately. This 'something' may well be HyperCache Professional, a memory cache program that works not only with floppies, but with hard drives, CD-ROM drives and SCSI tape drives. Accelerated versions have the best results (a version optimized for the 68030/040 processor is available), but the program provides significant speed improvements for ANY Amiga. It is compatible with the Old File System, the Fast File System, MS-DOS, CrossDOS, and the A590 CD-ROM drive. Finally, while HyperCache Professional automatically defaults to a 512K cache, the user can adjust this upwards or down, as well as fine-tuning such variables as the prefetch and number of lines and sets. MRBackup ($25; upgrade $10), by MRsofware, is an upgrade to MRBackup Professional, the first commercial version of a previously PD/shareware backup program (MRBackup was distributed by the now defunct TTR Development). One of the most inexpensive commercial backup programs available, MRBackup can backup files to floppies (AmigaDOS or 'fast' format); any sequential fast format device, whether local or networked; or to SCSI streaming tape devices. The program multitasks; its interface is graphical point-and-click; and it provides optional 12- or 16-bit compression. MRBackup also includes a full ARexx implementation, and a special utility section for manipulating files. MISCELLANEOUS >>> EDUCATION Air Traffic Control Simulator Sector Disks ($19.95 each), by Wesson International, are add-on sector disks for owners of Tracon II. For added realism, each disk includes customized aircraft files and complete voice files appropriate to the area. The newest disk options include: Australia, Canada, and the Pacific. So, if you have grown tired of practicing the world's most stressful job in familiar environs, try a new sector disk to get your adrenalin pumping! Your Family Tree 2.2 ($79.95), now by MVP, is an updated version of the popular genealogical program for the Amiga. Now compatible with WorkBench 2.0 and PAL-displays (though still designed for NTSC), "Your Family Tree" supports multiple databases, each holding up to 16 million persons. Fortunately, data need be entered only once; retyping is unnecessary with YFT. Also supported are: IFF pictures, multi-condition searches, note files created with any editor, phonetic name-matching, and user-defined options. Print-outs? Sure. Your Family Tree 2.2 offers more than 30 kinds of report, including descendent charts, pedigree trees, family groups, and lists. Finally, the illustrated manual comes complete with index and tutorial -- to help you create and manipulate a genealogical database. >>> MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE AMPlot2 ($135), by SciTech Software, is an upgraded software program for generating professional-quality graphs for publication. Using the standard Amiga interface, users can save or print graphs in such formats as IFF-DR2D, HPGL, PostScript and Encapsulated PostScript (EPS). Data can be as simple as two columns of numbers, or users may opt to use specific commands to define exactly a graph's format. EzAd ($?), by Boone Technologies, is an easily installed, modular system for acquiring and logging environmental data on the Amiga. A hardware sensing module simply plugs into the Amiga's second port. This can be used to measure humidity, light levels, temperature, barometric pressure, or other quantities. Since the module transfers information directly into the computer, daily data entry is not necessary. Instead, using the included software, you can spend your time displaying (and saving) the data or exporting it to a database, spreadsheet or other program for further analysis. An ARexx port enables you to create custom displays by linking ezAd with programs such as "CanDo" or "AmigaVision". Hardware options include 8- or 10-bit analog-to-digital converters, and sensors with either single or multiple inputs. Each option is modular, so you can add to the system as your interests or finances permit. Best of all, each module simply plugs into the basic ezAD unit -- no soldering or wiring or chip changing is needed. FasTrig ($55), by Parth Galen, uses binary trigonometry to implement very fast trigonometric functions usable with any Amiga software. The single 880K disk contains source code, object modules, interface modules using the floating point libraries, and example code. The disk itself is not copy-protected, and FasTrig requires neither special hardware nor large amounts of memory. It is compatible with AmigaDOS versions 1.2, 1.3 and 2.0. For programmers seeking to reduce development time on a program using trigonometry, FasTrig is a must. THE BEST OF 1992 At the end of each year, American magazines are fond of listing what they believe to be the best movies, books, fashions, or music of the year. American computer magazines are no exception to this trend: At the end of 1992, Amiga computer magazines joined their Mac and PC cousins in putting together a list of their favorites. Following this introduction, you will find a summary of their conclusions. Why should you care? Because it serves as a useful guide to selecting good quality software or hardware. Even if you have absolutely no interest in buying an American or Canadian word processing program, say, it would still be wise for you to look at the features of the leading American word processor. Why? As a way of helping you determine what you want in such a program. This way you can create a list of desirable features to look for in other, European-made word processors. Or, if you are a developer seeking to create or enhance your Amiga soft- or hardware, it would be a good idea to see what other developers 'across the pond' are doing. Then again, you may be a BBS 'surfer', fond of cruising the boards looking for programs that are new or interesting. If you are, you would do well to consult the PD Picks for 1992, in case there is something you ! may have missed.... About the 'picks': Those lists found in "AmigaWorld" were assembled by the magazine's authors and editors; the single list offered by "Amazing Computing" this year represents the results of a vote by its readership (the ballots were contained in two consecutive issues). In this way, you see the opinions not only of American Amiga 'experts', but also those of American Amiga users. AmigaWorld's PD Picks for 1992 AIBB, by LaMonte Koope (benchmark program) Aladdin - Tim Purves (front end for Genie) EdPlayer 2.1 by Ed Mackey (music module player and sequencer) GadTools Box - by Jaba Development (Jan van den Baard) (programming aid) LhA 1.38+ by Stefan Boberg (archiving and compression) Parnet- by Doug Walker and Software Distillery (for networking two Amigas or an Amiga and CDTV) PortalX 1.10 by Steve Tibbit (commercial BBS front-end) Rend24 1.04F by Thomas Krehbiel (animation batch processor and JPEG/GIF viewer) SysInfo - Nic Wilson (benchmark program) View 3.2, by Michael Hartman & Cryogenic Software, (animation and IFF viewer) AmigaWorld's PD Game Picks for 1992 1 - Mother Lode 2 - Umoria 5.4 3 - Minefield 1.15 4 - Poing 1.0 5 - Intruder Alert 6 - Deluxe Pac Man 7 - Rocky 8 - Super Artillery AmigaWorld's Top Ten (Commercial) Game Picks for 1992 1 - Out of This World (Interplay) 2 - World Circuit (MicroProse) 3 - Knights of the Sky (MicroProse) 4 - Gods (Konami) 5 - Monkey Island II: LeChuck's Revenge (LucasArts) 6 - (Tied) Might & Magic III (New World Computing) Ultima VI (Origin) 7 - Fighter Duel (Jaeger Software) 8 - (Tied) Battle Isle (UBI Soft) RoboSport (Maxis) The Perfect General (Quantum Quality Productions) 9 - Leander (Psygnosis) 10 - Pinball Dreams (21st Century) Honorable Mentions: Lure of the Temptress (Konami) Heimdall (Virgin Games) RoboCop 3D (Ocean) Amazing Computing's Readers' Choice Awards (based upon information supplied by the readers of Amazing Computing) 3-D: Imagine (Impulse) Accelerators: Those made by Great Valley Products (GVP) Animation Package/Drawing Package: DeluxePaint IV (Electronic Arts) Authoring Systems/Presentation Program: AmigaVision (Commodore) Business Package: SuperBase Professional 4 (Oxxi) CAD: DynaCADD (Ditek) CD-ROM Drive: CDTV (Commodore) Customer Support & Service: Great Valley Products (GVP) Desktop Publishing: PageStream (Soft-Logik) Desktop Video: DeluxeVideo III (Electronic Arts) Education: Distant Suns (Virtual Reality Labs) Emulators: A2286 BridgeBoard (Commodore) Entertainment Company: Psygnosis Entertainment Game: Lemmings (Psygnosis) Graphics Cards: DCTV (Digital Creations) Hard Drive Controllers: Those made by Great Valley Products (GVP) Hard Drive: Quantum Image Processing: Art Department Professional (ASDG) Language Scripting: ARexx (Hawes/Commodore) Memory Expansion: Those made by Supra Corp. Music: Bars & Pipes Professional (Blue Ribbon Soundworks) Music: Deluxe Music Construction Set (Electronic Arts) Printers: Those made by Hewlett-Packard Programming LanguageL SAS/C Development System (SAS Institute) Scanner: Those made by Epson Telecommunications Package: JR Comm (Public Domain) Utilities: Quarterback 5.0 (Central Coast/New Horizons) Video Hardware: SuperGen (Digital Creations) Word Processor: ProWrite 3.3 (New Horizons) AmigaWorld, 80 Elm Street; Peterborough, NH 03458 Amazing Computing, P.O. Box 2140; Fall River, MA 02722-2140 THE GROUND RULES Below are the guidelines I used in compiling the "News From The States" articles: 1.) The software categories are NOT fixed divisions, but instead constitute loose, somewhat arbitrary groupings created for the sake of order. Some font packages are listed under "Desktop Publishing", for instance, while others will be found under "Video" -- it all depends upon what their chief use appears to be. Similarly, as Amiga games have grown more complex and sophisticated, they have often ceased to be purely arcade games, strategic games, adventure games or the like. Instead, the better games are blends of arcade, strategic, simulation, adventure, logic and mystery. So, the reader seeking a particular kind of program should read the product descriptions within related fields. 2.) All prices given are in U.S. dollars. 3.) All prices given are "list" prices -- you may be able to obtain them for up to 40% less, by ordering from an Amiga- oriented mail order companies. 4.) I have included some European Amiga products being sold in North America, in case the rate of exchange becomes such that it is less expensive for you to buy from US or Canadian vendors (during the 1970's, I could often buy American books from British booksellers for less -- including shipping, handling and currency exchange -- than I would have paid in a local bookstore). 5.) I have included the addresses of the products' vendors at the end of this article. If a product interests you, PLEASE contact them for more information. Better still, have your Amiga dealer contact them; if you do, it will increase the chances that the better North American Amiga products will become available in Europe (just as European Amiga products are finally becoming available here in North America). This cross-pollination will be good for both Amiga communities. 6.) For those seriously interested in what hardware and software are available for the Amiga in North America, I recommend you buy a recent copy of "AC's Guide to the Commodore Amiga" (PiM Publications). This is a reasonably complete compilation of Amiga products available in North America. Published 2 to 4 times each year, the Guide has become something of a 'Bible' for North American 'Amigoids'. The most recent edition (Winter '93) contains 287 pages, and costs only $9.95. Get in touch with PiM for more details. I hope you will enjoy the new and descriptions: Please let us know what you find useful...and what you don't! S. M. Oakland The addresses of companies mentioned in these articles: ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ --- ADDRESSES: --------------------------------------------------- ------ Accolade; 5300 Stevens Creek Blvd.; San Jose, CA 95129; USA Acid Software; 2151 S. Dobson Rd., Suite 17-196; Mesa, AZ 85202; USA Activa International BV; P.O. Box 2360; 110 DT Amsterdam Zuidoost; The Netherlands ADDesigns; P.O. Box 8543; Warwick, RI 02888; USA Addison-Wesley; Jacob Way, Reading, MA 01867; USA Adspec Programming; P.O. Box 13; Salem, OH 44460; USA Advanced Control Systems; Old Mine Rock Way; Hingham, MA 02043; USA Advanced Image; 2 Route 13 South; Brookline, NH 03033; USA Advanced Thinkware Designs; 61 E. 8th Street; Suite 324; New York City, NY 10003; USA AFGA Corporation; 90 Industrial Way; Wilmington, MA 01887; USA Aggressive Communications; P.O. Box 260883; Plano, TX 75026-0883; USA AirStream Graphics; P.O. Box 291090; San Antonio, TX 78229-1690; USA Allen Avionics, Inc.; 224 East Second Street; Mineola, NY 11501; USA Allied Studios; 482 Hayes St.; San Francisco, CA 94102; USA AltoFirma Software; 36M Ridge Road; Greenbelt, MD 20770; USA American Software Distributors; 502 E. Anthony Dr.; Urbana, IL 61801; USA Ameristar Technologies; 47 Whittier Avenue; Medford, NY 11763; USA AmiComp Software Development; 2925 East Colonial Dr.; Orlando, FL 32803; USA Amiga C Club; Tulevagen 22; 181 41 Lindingo, Sweden AmiGrafix, Inc.; P.O. Box 2063; Apopka, FL 32704-2063; USA Anjon & Associates; 6433 Topanga Canyon Blvd.; Suite 122; P.O. Box 7956; Canoga Park, CA 91303; USA Anti Gravity Workshop; 456 Lincoln Blvd.; Santa Monica, CA 90402; USA Apex Software; 405 El Camino REal; Suite 121; Menlo Park, CA 94025; USA Applied Engineering; P.O. Box 5100; Carrollton, TX 75022; USA Applied Optical Media Corporation; 18 Great Valley Parkway; Malvern, PA 19355; USA Applied Vector Technology: distributed by American Software distributors Art Instruction Software; 38 Balsam Drive; Medford, NY 11763; USA Artistic Software; 55 Selwyn Place; Kanata; Ontario K2K 1P1; Canada ASDG; 925 Stewart St.; Madison, WI 53713; USA Asimware Innovations; 101 Country Club Drive; Hamilton, Ontario L8K 5W4 Canada ATOP; 11914 Girdled Rd.; Painsesville, OH 44077; USA Axiom Software; 1221 E. Center St.; Rochester, MN 55904; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Bantam Books, Inc. 666 Fifth Avenue; New York, NY 10103; USA Beta Unlimited; 87 Summit St.; Brooklyn, NY 11231; USA Bethesda Softworks; 15235 Shady Grove Rd; Suite 100; Rockville, MD 20850; USA Better Concepts; 22 N.Main St., Suite 393; New York City, NY 10956; USA Beverly James Products; P.O. Box 40191; Redford, MI 48240; USA Black Belt Systems; 398 Johnson Road; RR-1 Box 4272; Glasgow, MT 59230; USA Black Knight Peripherals; 255 W. Moana; #207; Reno, NV 89509; USA Blue Ribbon Soundworks, Ltd.; Venture Center; 1605 Chantilly Dr., Suite 200; Atlanta, GA 30324; USA Blue Shadow Productions; 36 Mud St.; Hamilton, ON; Canada L8J 1R5 Bluesand Video Productions; P.O. Box 93581; Cleveland, OH 44101- 5581; USA Boone Technologies; P.O. Box 15052; Richmond, VA 23227; USA Bose Corporation; The Mountain; Framingham, MA 01701; USA Brain Technologies; P.O. Box 215147; Sacramento, CA 95821; USA Broderbund Software; 17 Paul Dr.; San Rafael, CA 94903; USA Brown-Wagh Publishing; 130-D Knowles, Dr.; Los Gatos, CA 95030; USA Bruce Smith Books; P.O. Box 382; St. Albans, Herts AL2 3JD; England BullsEye Publishing Co.; Buffalo Theater Bldg.; Spring St.; Jasper, AR 72641; USA Bytes and Bullets; Route 3, Box 3532; Manchester, TN 37355; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Cachet Software; P.O. Box 65; Scotch Plains, NJ 07076-0065; USA Canadian Prototype Replicas; P.O. Box 8; Breslau, ON; Canada N0B 1M0 Cancor; 14 Garrard Rd.; Whitby, Ontario; Canada Cardinal Video; P.O. Box 2617; Grass Valley, CA 95945; USA Case Computer Simulations, Ltd.; 642 Lea Bridge Road; London, England E10 6AP CDTV Publishing; 1200 Wilson Drive; West Chester, PA 19380; USA CeV Design; 61 Clewley Rd.; Medford, MA 02155; USA Centaur Software; P.O. Box 4400; Redondo Beach, CA 90278; USA Central Coast Software; New Horizons Software; P.O. Box 164287; Austin, TX 78716; USA OR// Central Coast Software; New Horizons Software; 206 Wild Basin Road; Suite 109; Austin, TX 78746; USA CHS Inc.; 602 North Country Fair Drive; Champaign, IL 61821; USA Cineamaware: distrbuted by Electronic Arts Circuits and Software; 1052 Estates Ct.; Stockbridge, GA 30281; USA Classic Concepts; P.O. Box 786; Bellingham, WA 98277; USA Cochenille Computer Knit Products; P.O. Box 4276; Encinitas, CA 92023; USA Commodore Business Machines; 1200 Wilson Dr.; West Chester, PA 19389; USA Communications System Engineering; 20 Trafalgar Square; Suite 430; Nashua, NH 03063; USA Compute Books; 324 West Wendover Avenue, Suite 200; Greensboro, NC 27408-8439; USA Compute Publications International, Ltd.; 324 West Wendover Avenue, Suite 200; Greensboro, NC 27408-8439; USA Computer Imagery; 49 Walnut Avenue; Shelton, CT 06484; USA Consultron; 11280 Parkview; Plymouth, MI 48170; USA Context Systems; The Technology Center; 333 Byberry Road; Hatboro, PA 19040; USA CRC Productions; P.O. Box 9, Mantachie, MS 38855; USA Creative Focus; Box 580; Chenango Bridge, NY 13745; USA Crossway Books; 1300 Crescent St.; Wheaton, IL 60187; USA CSA (or Computer System Associates); 7564 Trade St.; San Diego, CA 92121; USA CV Designs; 61 Clewley Rd.; Medford, MA 02155; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Dale K. Myers; 9602 Hartel; Livonia, MI 48150; USA Delphi Noetic Systems, Inc.; 2700 W. Main St.; P.O. Box 7722; Rapid City, SD 57709; USA Delta Research; P.O. Box 151051; San Rafael, CA 94915-1051; USA Deltaware Products; 3148 Kingston Rd., Suite 202, Box 395; Toronto, ON; Canada M1M 1PA Designing Minds; 3006 North Main Street; Logan, UT 84321; USA Desktop Utilities; P.O. Box 3053; Manuka, ACT 2603; Australia Diemer Development; 12814 Landale St.; Studio City, CA 91604; USA Digi International, Ltd.; Black Horse House; Exmouth, EX8 1JL; England DigiScape Software, P.O. Box 113058; Carrollton, TX 75011-3058; USA Digital Creations; 2965 Sunrise Blvd.; Suite 103; Rancho Cordova, CA 95742; USA Digital Designs Group; P.O. Box 593; Whiteville, NC 28472; USA OR// Digital Designs Group; MDG Studio II; Highway US701; Whiteville, NC 28472; USA Digital Expressions; P.O. Box 33656; Cleveland, OH 44133; USA OR//?? Digital Expressions; W6400 Firelane 8; Menasha, WI 54952; USA Digital Graphics Library; 1382 Third Avenue; Suite 333; New York, NY 10021; USA Digital Processing Systems; 55 Nugget Ave.; Unit 10; Scarborough, Ont.; Canada M1S 3L1 Dineen Edwards Group; 19785 W. 12 Mile Rd.; Suite 305; Southfield, MI 48076-2553; USA Disney Computer Software; 500 S. Buena Vista St.; Burbank, CA 91521; USA Display Systems International, Inc.; 147 West Main Street; Dayton, PA 16222; USA Dissidents; 730 Dawes Ave; Utica, NY 13502; USA Ditek International; 2651 John St.; Unit #3; Markham, Ontario; Canada L3R 2W5 DKB Software; 50240 W. Pontiac Trail; Wixom, MI 48393; USA DoMark; 550 S. Winchester Blvd.; San Jose, CA 95128; USA Douglas Nakakihara; 2762 Goldfield Place; Simi Valley, CA 93063; USA DPD Tech; 139 Garden Hts Avenue; Columbus, OH 43228; USA Dr. T's Music Software, Inc.; 124 Crescent Rd.; Suite 3; Needham, MA 02194; USA DRC Sequential Graphics; 57 E. 400 North #9; Provo, UT 84606; USA Dreamworks Video Productions; 5037 East Keresan; Phoenix, AZ; USA DuBois Animation; 1012 N. Chartrand Avenue; Suite F; Edmond, OK 73034; USA Dynamix; P.O. Box 485; Coarsegold, CA 93614; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Earthquake Productions & Publishing; 13351 Foothill Blvd.; Fontana, CA 92335; USA EasyScript!; 10006 Covington Dr.; Huntsville, AL 35803; USA Edu-Vid Research; P.O. Box 149; Pembina, ND 58271; USA Electric Crayon Studios; 3624 North 64th St.; Milwaukee, WI 53216; USA Electric Theatre; 111 Holme Avenue #2; Elkins Park, PA 19117; USA Electronic Arts; 1820 Gateway Dr.; San Mateo, CA 94404; USA Electronic Services International; 942 Calle Negocio; San Clemente, CA 92672; USA Empire Graphics; P.O. Box 964; Union, NJ 07083; USA Empress Software; 6401 Golden Triangle Drive; Greenbelt, MD 20770; USA Eschalon Development, 110/2 Renaissance Square; New Westminster, B.C.; Canada V3M 6K3 Euphonics; 2685 Burnside Rd.; Sebastopol, CA 95472; USA Europress Software; Europa House; Adlington Park; Macclesfield; SK10 4NP; England Expansion Systems; 44862 Osgood Road; Fremont, CA 94539; USA Expert Systems; 5912 Centennial Circle; Florence, KY 41042; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ FairBrothers, Inc.; 5054 S. 22nd St.; Arlington, VA 22206; USA Free Spirit Software; P.O. Box 128; 58 Noble St.; Kutztown, PA 19530; USA FrostByte Systems; P.O. Box 481; Station D; Toronto, ON; Canada M6P 3K1 FTL Games; P.O. Box 6160 Lusk Blvd.; C-206; San Diego, CA 92121; USA Future Touch; 192 Laurel Rd; East Northport, NY 11731; USA Future Video Products; 28 Argonaut; Laguna Hills, CA 92656; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Genisoft; Unit 3; Poyle 14; Newlands Drive; Colnbrook, Berks, SL3 0DX; England GENP; 37 Charles St.; Cheltenham; Victoria, 9192; Australia Geodesic Publications; P.O. Box 956068; Duluth, GA 30136; USA Gfxbase; 1881 Ellwell Drive; Milpitas, CA 95035; USA Gold Disk; 5155 Spectrum Way; Unit 5; Mississauga, Ont.; Canada L4W 5A1 Grafx Computing; 6680 Wiltsie Rd.; Panama, NY 14767; USA Gramma Software; 17730 15th Avenue N.E.; Suite 223; Seattle, WA 98155; USA Gulfgate Technologies; 7507 S. Tamiami Trail, Suite 82; Sarasota, FL 34231; USA GVP (or Great Valley Products); 600 Clark Ave.; King of Prussia, PA 19496; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ HarmonySoft; 69 Jabotinsky Street; Givatayim, Israel 53319 Help Disk; 6671 West Indiantown Road; Suite 56360; Jupiter, FL 33458; USA Holosoft Technologies; 1637 E. Valley Parkway; Suite 172; Escondido, CA 92027; USA HyperMedia Concepts; P.O. Box 85303; Racine, WI 53408; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ ICD, Inc.; 120 Rock St.; Rockford, IL 61101; USA I.Den Videotronics Corp.; 9620 Chesapeake Drive; Suite 204; San Diego, CA 92123; USA I-Koen, 5452 Southfield Center Drive; Box 220; St. Louis, MO 63123; USA Imagetects; 7200 Bollinger Road; #802; San Jose, CA 95129; USA Immunobiology Laboratory; Massachusetts General Hospital East; Building 149; 13th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129; USA Impulse, Inc.; 6870 Shingle Creek Parkway; Suite 112; Minneapolis, MN 55430; USA InnerPrise; 128 Cockeysville Rd.; Hunt Valley, MD 21030; USA INOVAtronics, Inc.; 8499 Greenville Ave.; Suite 209B; Dallas, TX 75231; USA Interactive MicroSystems; 9 Red Roof Lane; Salem, NH 03079; USA Interactive Video Systems; 7245 Garden Grove Blvd.; Suite E; Garden Grove, CA 92641; USA Intercore Development Systems; P.O. Box 76; 7 Dover Hill Dr.; Nesconset, NY 11767; USA International Technologies, Inc.; 2302 d Ave.; Suite 203; National City, CA 92050; USA Interworks; 195 E. Main St.; Suite 230; Milford, MA 01757; USA ITAC Systems, 3121 Benton; Garland TX 75042; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Jaeger Software; 7800 White Cliff Terrace, Rockvill, MD 20855; USA James Rudy; 27 Rife Drive; Mechanicsburg, PA 17055; USA JEK Graphics; 12103 S. Brookhurst St.; E-125; Garden Grove, CA 92642- 3065; USA JMH Software of Minnesota; 7200 Hemlock Lane; Maple Grove, MN 55369; USA J. Miller & Associates; P.O. Box 17; Imbler, OR 97841; USA Jumpdisk; 1493 Mt. View Ave.; Chico, CA; 95926; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Kara Computer Graphics; 2554 Lincoln Blvd.; Suite 1010; Marina Del Ray, CA 90291; USA KarmaSoft; P.O. Box 1034; Golden, CO 80402-1034; USA KFS Software; P.O. Box 897; Corning, CA 96021; USA Kludgecode Software; P.O. Box 1163; Holland, MI 49422; USA Koei Corporation; 1 Bay Plaza; Suite 540; 1350 Bayshore Plaza; Burlingame, CA 94010; USA Konami, 900 Deerfield Parkway; Buffalo Grove, IL 60089; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ L & V Productions Reg'd; 110 Columbus Ave.; Moncton, New Brunswick; Canada E1A 5EA Legendary Design Technologies, Inc.; 25 Frontenac Ave.; Brantford, Ontario; Canada N3R 3B7 LIVE Studios; 30151 Branding Iron Rd.; San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675; USA LucasArts Entertainment Co. (or LucasFilm Games); P.O. Box 10307; San Raphael, CA 94912; USA Luna Tech, Inc.; 3667 Lalani Way; Sarasota, FL 34232; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ M.V. Micro; P.O. Box 1237; Wheatridge, CO 80034-1237; USA Madrigal Designs, P.O. Box 2292; Santa Rosa, CA 95494; USA Magni Systems; 9500 S.W. Gemini Dr.; Beaverton, OR 97005; USA Magic Matrix; Station A, P.O. Box 2406; Champaign, Il 61825-2406; USA Mahoney Software; P.O.Box 2962; Newport News, VA 23609; USA MainStream America; 1012 South Main Street; Taylor, PA 18517; USA Mannikin Sceptre Graphics; Suite 285; 3208-C E. Colonial Drive; Orlando, FL 32803; USA Marksman Technology: distributed by Psygnosis MAST; 1395 Greg St.; Sparks, NV 89431; USA Maxis, 1042 Country Club Dr.; Suite C; Moraga, CA 94556; USA MBZ Products; 6023 Kilgore Ave,; Muncie, IN 47304; USA McGraw-Hill Publishing; 2600 Tenth St.; Berkeley, CA 94710; USA Mediacom, Inc.; P.O. Box 36173; Richmond, VA 23235; USA MegageM; 1903 Adria; Santa Maria, CA 93454; USA Meggido Enterprises; 7900 Limonite Avenue, Suite G-191; Riverside, CA 92509; USA Merlin's Software; 1441 E. Fletcher Avenue; Tampa, FL 33612; USA Merit Software; 13535 Gamma Road; Dallas, TX 75244; USA MichTron; 3201 Drummond Plaza; Newark, DE 19711; USA Microdeal; P.O. Box 68; St. Austell, Cornwall, England PL25 4YB Microft Software, Ltd.; P.O. Box 1072; Exton, PA 19341; USA Microillusions; P.O. Box 3475; Granada Hills, CA 91394; USA MicroProse Software; 180 Lakefront Dr.; Hunt Valley, MD 21030; USA Micro R&D; 137 N. 7th; Loup City, NE; 68853; USA MicroSearch; 9896 S.W. Freeway; Houston, TX 77074; USA Micro-Systems Software; 12798 Forest Hill Blvd.; Suite 202; West Palm Beach, FL 33414; USA Migraph; 32700 Pacific Highway South; Suite 12; Federal Way, WA 98003; USA Mindware International; 110 Dunlop St. W; Box 22158; Barrie, Ont.; Canada L4M 5R3 Mirror Image Productions; 12798 Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 202; West Palm Beach, FL 33414; USA Moonlighter Software Development; 3208-C East Colonial Drive; Suite 204; Orlando, FL 32803; USA MRsoftware; 348 Indian Avenue; Portsmouth, RI 02871; USA Mr. Hardware; P.O. Box 148; C.I. NY 11722; USA Motion Blur Publishing; 915A Stambaugh St.; Redwood City, CA 94063; USA MVP Software; P.O. Box 458; Aliquippa, PA 15001 USA Myers, Dale K.; 9602 Hartel; Livonia, MI 48150; USA Myriad Visual Adventures; 1219 NW 79th St.; Oklahoma City, OK 73114; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Nakakihara, Douglas; 2762 Goldfield Place; Simi Valley, CA 93063; USA Natural Graphics; P.O. Box 1963; Rocklin, CA 95677; USA NerveWare; 171 E. 99th St. #20; New York, NY 10029; USA Network Technologies, Inc.; 7322 Pettibone Rd.; Chagrin Falls, OH 44022; USA Neuralink; P.O. Box 16311; Lubbock, TX 79490; USA New Horizons Software, Inc.; P.O. Box 43167; Austin, TX 78745; USA New Media Corp.; 15375 Barranca; B-101; Irvine, CA 92718; USA New Sound Music; P.O. Box 37363; Oak Park, MI 48237; USA NewTek, 215 S.E. Eighth St.; Topeka, KS; 66603; USA No Budget Productions; Myke Muller; 10100 Movine Avenue; Sunland, CA 91040; USA Norris Software, Ltd.; 3208 West Lake St.; Suite 65; Minneapolis, MN 55416; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Octree Software, 311 W. 43rd St.; Suite 904; New York, NY 10036; USA Odyssey, P.O. Box 367; North Eastham, MA 02651; USA On-Line Entertainment, Ltd.; 642a Lea Bridge Rd.; London E10 6AP; U.K. Oxxi; 1339 E. 28th St.; Long Beach, CA 90806; USA OR// Oxxi, P.O. Box 90309; Long Beach, CA 90806; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Pacific Digital; 6 Stetson Dr.; Kentfield, CA 94904; USA Parallax Publishing; 471 Lighthouse Avenue; Pacific Grove; CA 93950; USA Pelican Software; 338 Commerce Dr.; Fairfield, CT 06430; USA PiM Publications, Inc.; P.O. Box 869; Fall River, MA 02722-0869; USA Poor Person Software; 3721 Starr King Circle; Palo Alto, CA 94306; USA Practical Peripherals; 375 Conejo Ridge Avenue; Thousand Oaks, CA 91361; USA Practical Solutions, Inc.; 1135 N. Jones Blvd.; Tucson, AZ 85716; USA Preferred Technologies; 14540 E. Beltwood Parkway; Dallas, TX 75244; USA Pre'Spect Technics, Inc.; P.O. Box 670 Station H; Montreal, Quebec; Canada H3G 2M6 Progressive Peripherals and Software; 464 Kalamath St.; Denver, CO 80204; USA Prolific, Inc.; 6905 Oslo Circle; Suite B3; Buena Park, CA 90621; USA Psygnosis, Ltd.; 29 Saint Mary's Court; Brookline, MA 02146; USA Push*Button Publishing; P.O. Box 2521; West Columbia, SC 29171; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Quma Software; 20 Warren Manor Court; Cockeysville, MD 21030; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Radical Eye Software; P.O. Box 2081; Stanford, CA 94309; USA Raw Entertainment; 3027 Marina Bay Dr.; Suite 110; League City, TX 77573; USA ReadySoft; 30 Wertheim Ct.; Unit 2; Richmond Hill, Ont.; Canada L4B 1B9 RCS Management, Inc.; 120 McGill St.; Montreal, Quebec; Canada, H2Y 2E5 RGB Computer and Video Creations; 3944 Florida Blvd.; Suite 4; Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410; USA Ribeiro, George; 2550 Hilborn Rd.; #167; Fairfield, CA 94533; USA Ricketts, Inc.; 8611 E. 63 S.; Derby, KS 67037; USA Right Anwers Group; P.O. Box 3699; Torrance, CA 90510; USA Rimik Enterprises; 836 Osborne Street; Vista, CA 92084; USA Roctec; 170 Knowles Drive; Suite 202; Los Gatos, CA 95030; USA Rombo Limited; 2 Baird Rd.; Kirkton Campus, Livingston, EH54 7AZ; Scotland Rudy, James; 27 Rife Drive; Mechanicsburg, PA 17055; USA Russ Jones Marketing Group; 17700 Raymer St; Suite 1001; Northridge, CA 91325; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Saddleback Graphics; 12812 Garden Grove Blvd.; Unit P; Garden Grove, CA 92643; USA SAS Institute, Inc.; SAS Campus Drive; Cary, NC 27513; USA Saxon Industries; 14 Rockcress Gardens; Nepean, ON; Canada K2G-5A8 Scala, Inc.; 12110 Sunset Hills Rd., Suite 100; Reston, VA, 22090; USA SciTech Software; 23 Stage Leys; Ashtead, Surrey; England KT21 2TD Selectech; 30 Mountain View Drive; Colchester, VT 05446; USA Seven Seas Software; P.O. Box 1451; Port Townsend, WA 98368; USA Shereff Systems; 15075 SW Koll Parkway; Suite G; Beaverton, OR 97006; USA Shocking Software; 3535 N. Nevada, Chandler, AZ 85225; USA Showline Video; 120 Beacon St.; Boston, MA 02116; USA Sierra On-Line, Inc.; P.O. Box 485; Coarsegold, CA 93614; USA Siliconation; 351-B Jalan Besar, Reliance Bldg.; Singapore; 0820 Sir-Tech; P.O. Box 245; Ogdensburg, NY 13669; USA Software Publishing; P.O. Box 54983; Santa Clara, CA 95056; USA Soft-Logik; 11131 South Towne Square; Suite F; St. Louis, MO 63123; USA OR// Soft-Logik; P.O. Box 290070; St. Louis, MO 63129; USA Software Technology; P.O. Box 22066; Portland, OR 97222; USA Software Visions; 12625 La Tortola, San Diego, CA 92129; USA Softwood; P.O. Box 50178/51209; Phoenix, AZ 85076; USA SOGWAP, 115 Bellmont, Rd.; Decatur, IN 46733; USA Solid Gold Software; 118 Parkway Drive; Arlington Park, Huntington, WV 25705; USA Sony of America; Sony Drive; Park Ridge, NJ 07656; USA (check out the Sony dealer in your country, first!) Spectrum Holobyte; 2061 Challenger Dr.; Alameda, CA 94501; USA Spirit Technology; 220 West 2959 South; Salt Lake City, UT 84115; USA Spotlight Software; 4165 Thousand Oaks Blvd.; Westlake Village, CA 91362; USA Strategic Simulations; 675 Almanor Avenue; Suite 201; Sunnyvale, CA 94086-2901; USA Strategic Studies Group; 8348 Montecello Dr.; Pensacola, FL 32514; USA StudyWare, 4805 Murphy Canyon Rd.; Suite A, San Diego, CA 92123; USA Stylus, Inc.; P.O. Box 1671; Ft. Collins, CO 80522; USA Sundance Technology Group; 6221 N. O'Connor Rd.; Suite 105; Irving, TX 75039; USA SunRize Industries; 2959 S. Winchester Blvd.; Suite 204; Campbell, CA 95008; USA Supra Corporation; 1133 Commercial Way; Albany, OR 97321; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ TAB Books, P.O. Box 850; Blue Ridge Summit, PA 17294-0850; USA Take Four Productions; 11396 Camarosa Circle; San Diego, CA 92126; USA TechMedia Video; 80 Elm Street; Peterborough, NH 03458; USA Technical Magic; 26090-62 Robertson Rd.; Nepean, ONT; Canada K2H 9R0 Technical Resource Systems Laboratory; 3950 Koval Lane, Suite 3409; Las Vegas, NV 89109; USA Technical Tools; 2 S. 461 Cherice Drive; Warrenville, IL 60555; USA TelePro Technologies; 20-1525 Rayner Avenue; Saskatoon, SK; Canada S7N 1Y1 Texture City; 3215 Overland Avenue; Suite 6167; Los Angeles, CA 90034; USA The Byte Factory; 2317 SW 31st St.; Oklahoma City, OK 73119; USA The Disc Company; 11040 Santa Monica Blvd.; Los Angeles, CA 90025; USA The Krueger Company; 1544 W. Mineral Rd.; Tempe, AZ 85283; USA The Memory Location; 396 Washington St.; Wellesley, MA 02181; USA The Other Guys; 55 North Main St.; Suite 301-D; P.O. Box H; Logan UT 84321; USA The Puzzle Factory; P..O. Box 986; Veneta, OR 97487; USA The Right Answers Group; Box 3699; Torrance, CA 90510; USA Three-Sixty Pacific, Inc.; 2105 South Bascom Ave.; Suite 380; Campbell, CA 95008; USA Tiger Media; 5801 E. Slauson Ave., Suite 200; Los Angeles, CA 90040; USA Titus Software; 20432 Corisco St.; Chatsworth, CA 91311; USA Toaster Crustaceans; 1730 Arcane St.; Simi Valley, CA 93065; USA Top Secret Devices; 1610 George Washington Blvd.; Wichita, KS 67211; USA Tri-Media; 60 East Hintz Rd.; Wheeling, IL 60090; USA Troika Multimedia; 3900 Fairfax Drive; Suite 404; Arlington, VA 22203; USA TTR Development; 6701 Seybold Road; Madison, WI 53719; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ UBISoft: distributed by Electronic Arts Unili Graphics; 143 Lorraine Ave.; Pittsburg, CA 94565; USA USA Media; 7810 Malcolm Rd.; Clinton, MD 20735; USA U.S. Gold; 550 S. Winchester Blvd.; San Jose, CA 95128; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Video Bookshelf; 2405 E. Mt. Hope, Lansing, MI 48910; USA Videographix; 12231 Nicollet Avenue S.; Burnsville, MN 55337; USA VideoMania, Inc.; 211 Weddell Dr.; Sunnyvale, CA 94089; USA VideoMedia; 175 Lewis Rd.; San Jose, CA 95111; USA Vidia; P.O. Box 1180; Manhattan Beach, CA 90266; USA VidTech International, Inc.; 2822 NW 79th Ave.; Miami, FL 33122; USA Virgin Games, Inc.; 18061 Fitch Ave.; Irvine, CA 92714; USA Virtual Reality Laboratories; 2341 Ganador Ct; San Luis Obispo, CA 93401; USA Vortex Computersysteme; Falterstrabe 51-53; D-7101 Flein bei Heilbronn; Germany ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Walnut Creek CD-ROM; 1547 Palos Verdes Mall; Suite 260; Walnut Creek, CA 94596; USA Waterloo Maple Software; 160 Columbus Street West; Waterloo, ON; Canada N2L 3L3 Wesson International; 50 S. Capitol of Texas Hwy.; Bldg. 5, Suite 200; Austin, TX 78746; USA Whitestone; 511-A Girard Blvd. SE; Albuquerque, NM 87106; USA Willow Mixed Media, Inc.; P.O. Box 194; Lennox Avenue; Glenford, NY 12433; USA Word Perfect Corp.; 1555 N. Technology Way; Orem, UT 84057; USA Wordware Publishing, Inc.; 1506 Capital Avenue; Plano, TX 75074; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Xetec, Inc.; 2804 Arnold Rd.; Salina, KS 67401; USA Xiphias; 8578 Venice Blvd.; Los Angeles, CA 90034; USA XYXIS Corp.; 14631 Martin Dr.; Eden Prarie, MN 55344; USA ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ Zardoz; 6114 LaSalle Ave.; Suite 304; Oakland, CA 94611; USA Zen Computer Services; 2 Silver Birch Grove; Swinton; Manchester M27 1FS; England ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ If you want more specific information about the products mentioned please look for the following magazines: ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ "AmigaWorld" - IDG Communications/Peterborough, Inc. "Amazing Computing for the Commodore Amiga" - PiM Publications, Inc. "Compute" (Amiga Edition) - Compute Publications International, Ltd. S. M. Oakland =============================================================================  NEWS FROM THE STATES =============================================================================