@2VIScorp Proceeds with Amiga Acquisition --------------------------------------- @6Bensheim 22/07/96 @4 On Thursday, the 18th of July, 1996 the final contract of purchase was signed between the bankruptcy trustee solicitor Bernhard Hembach and the president and CEO of VISCorp, William Buck, with approval of the 'pool of banks' for the entire remaining inventory and intellectual property. Until 18th of August 1996 VISCorp has time now to establish the necessary companies to carry on with its current business. In the meantime, the business will be run with the approval of the bankruptcy trustee Hembach under the name AMIGA Technologies GmbH i.K. From the 19th of August, 1996 the business will finally be run under the name, control and ownership of VISCorp. @2 Pure Amiga - News from the pure Amiga Internet site --------------------------------------------------- @4 Next Generation Amiga.....See ya! The next gen Amiga, codenamed Walker, has been resigned to the scrap heap. The exact details are a bit scarce, but it seems AT want to concentrate on getting a new processor up and running before releasing a new machine. However, several other companies have shown interest in the machine , and indeed AT haven't ruled the machine out totally. Indeed, at the Tolouse conference Bill Buck stated it was a good idea, but seemed to indicate they didn't want to churn out another 680x0 based machine. @2 VisCorp Conference. -------------------- @4 A lot of new ideas were being thrown around at the Tolouse conference. For obvious reasons we weren't there, but we managed to piece together what we could from others. They confirmed what was already rumoured - the Walker was going to be scrapped. However, they also said that the OS was in for a revamp for this winter. Undoubtedly the best news was the direction the search for a new chip was taking - having ruled out the EC030@40 for the Walker, they are now in conversation with DEC regarding their 300mhz Alpha chip. This goes directly against the current trend towards PowerPC, leaving developers wondering what to do. The best news has got to be that there is now more support for the Amiga then at any time during the various buyouts - and the most shocking revalation was that of Amiga clones. See elsewhere on this page for more information. Cloning the Miggy Without a doubt the most interesting thing that has happened in AmigaLand this month was the announcement by Blizzard manufacturers Phase 5 that they intend to manufacture Amiga clones. This wouln't be the first, the Draco is quite Amga-compatible, but the Phase 5 machine would be more of a general consumer item. As opposed to AT's DEC Alpha thinking, P5 are looking at the PowerPC chip. In jsut the same was developers converged on @4IBM's PC all those years ago, eventually turning it (annoyingly) into the best selling computer, it seems this is the break we could be waiting for. Clones means competition, and competition intensifies the urge to go faster for less cash. first indications are of a high quality system, with the basic system possibly offering a 120mhz 603e chip, 16mb memory, quad speed CD, 1gb HD, ISDN and networking interfaces, and video capabilities better than the most expensive of PC cards - MPEG support, 1600x1200 res and 24 bit colour as standard. But the best news is the price - at around 1500, it will be over 600 cheaper than the now outdated A4000/040 and even better value when compared to the 060, which crawls by comparison. You can also expect OS3 compatibility, although it will have a native PPC operating system. @4 More news from Phase 5 - the PowerUP project, bringing PPC chips to current Amiga models continues. Developers will recieve their versions this summer, so the sale of them can't be far off. @4 You've just read about Phase 5's wonderful exploits into the world of Amiga clones - now gasp in shock as another company sets out to do the same. PIOS Computer AG aims to create a new Amiga, a sucessor to the current, and now outdated and flakey range. PIOS want to go down the PowerPC road like Phase 5, and expressed their interest in making the machine successful in the UK. They also reckoned that their new "pre-emptive multitasking OS with quasi- real-time behaviour will be the biggest advantage for PIOS". All this cloning, I need a lie down! Siamese system Goes on Sale! The celebrated Siamese system from HiQ has been released. The device, which combines Amiga, PC and Macintosh in one box has been in development for quite some time, but was demonstrated at the World of Amiga show recently. For more information see the HiQ Press Release. Escom go into Liquidation Escom AG, who up until recently owned the Amiga, has gone into voluntary liquidation. The German parent company suffered huge losses during the 1995-96 financial year, having to abandon large amounts of stock. Most Escom shops are closed, or will close soon, which means the end of their trade-in deal for A1200's. However, good news in that the sale of Amiga Technologies to VisCorp was completed before trading stopped, so the Amiga is safe. For now. The phrase "Here we go again..." seems appropriate. Amiga Convention '96 A Amiga Convention has been planned in Montreal for August 1996. All the details are in the press release for your viewing pleasure. Photogenics 2 Photogenics 2 is all ready for release, and indeed should be out in the shops by the time you read this. The package, which costs around 100, is being released only on CD- Rom, after disapointing sales of version 1 on floppy, and includes ARexx ports, more effects and loaders/savers. For more information contact Almathera at almathera@cix.compulink.co.uk IBrowse goes Commercial IBrowse, the popular World Wide Web browser has gone on commercial sale. Written by Omnipresence, it's being sold by HiSoft for the meagre sum of 29.95UKP. You can find out more in the HiSoft press release @2 Oberursel, @6 This text from the Phase 5 Internet site: ----------------------------------------- @4 According to the plans of phase 5 digital products, Oberursel near Frankfurt, Germany, the coming year, 1997, will be a year of joy for all Amiga enthusiasts. As an expansion of the PowerUp project, which involves developing PowerPC processor cards for existing Amiga models, the company has announced that an independent Amiga OS- compatible computer system will be available in the first six months of 1997, representing a revolution on the computer market. "We will continue to give our full support to the Amiga idea because as we were among the first Amiga users we continue to believe in the advantages and superior concepts of the Amiga", says Wolf Dietrich, Managing Director of phase 5 digital products. "However, it is high time for a radical leap forwards in technology that needs to be borne by a vision of a computer for the next millennium. We have seen too many half-hearted efforts in the last few years." In the view of Gerald Carda, Technical Director at phase 5, it is necessary to take a step towards complete innovation in order to realise such a vision. "Concepts that build up on the standard components of the PC world never offer the scope that give a computer system the lead that the Amiga 1000 had over other systems 12 years ago." In line with this philosophy, the new computer will be based on a highly integrated Custom Chip design which, as a central functional unit, will enable the system to achieve a hitherto unknown performance. "We will demonstrate the possibilities that are inherent in the resolute and single- minded pursuit of a new development that does not become submerged in the mainstream of adaptation to the Wintel world and the general tendency towards economy in the PC mass market which more or less throttles innovation for the sake of saving one single dollar", continues Gerald Carda. Despite this, the system now being announced is not intended to become a dream machine in the high price category. In the words of Wolf Dietrich: "On the basis of our current price calculation we will be able to offer unusually good value for money for which our products for the Amiga market are already renowned. @4 "It is actually true that the extremely high degree of integration and the realisation of novel concepts will make it possible to achieve a performance that explodes existing bounds. Based on the PowerPC as the main processor, the new computer, in addition to the high performance of the processor, offers hardware support for multimedia (MPEG) and 3D functions, while even the basic system offers a resolution of 1600x1200 pixels at 24- bit color depth and a refresh rate of 72 Hz. At the same time special functions for image and video effects have been implemented in the hardware. In addition there are audio inputs and outputs in stereo CD quality, a video-compatible and Genlock-capable 24-bit video output and an FBAS/S-VHS video input. Along with the usual interfaces, the system is rounded off by a Fast SCSI-II controller, a network interface and an ISDN interface. With these features a complete system with a 120 MHz 603e PowerPC, 16 MByte memory, a SCSI hard disk of 1 GB and a quad-speed CD ROM will be available for a purchase price of around 3,000 DM (1,400 £ or 2,000 US$, respectively) on the basis of the present market prices for the components. "We hope that in just about one year from now we will even be able to offer a 150 to 166 MHz 603e-processor at this price", anticipates Wolf Dietrich. "In terms of performance the processor has no problems in keeping up with a Pentium processor with an equally fast clock. However, there is no sign of any comparable graphic performance anywhere the PC field and the features of our systems will be difficult to match." There will be a similar system available with a PowerPC 604-e processor and 150 MHz for about 4,000 DM (1,800 £ or 2,700 US$, respectively). Although @4phase 5 digital products state that the total concept for the system has already been under development for quite some time and has practically been concluded, it is not possible to publish a more exact description of the system features at the present point in time. "At the moment we are intensively concerned with looking into whether it would be worth applying for a patent for any of the concepts we have developed and, if so, for which. So unfortunately we are not able to publish more precise details of the concept until after this process has been concluded and we have possibly applied for protection by patent", says Gerald Carda. For this reason we cannot reckon with any publication of the full system specifications until the end of June. Not only the hardware concept of phase 5, but also the software approach comes as a surprise. The new computer system will be supplied with a completely new operating system written in Native PowerPC code, but with binary compatibility with Amiga-OS 3.x. Here Gerald Carda has the following comments: "As we are already developing an Amiga-compatible PowerPC-Exec with an expansion library and a PowerPC CyberGraphX version in the context of the PowerUp developments, it is the logical consequence that the next step will be the innovative development of the other components. An operating system that is compatible with Amiga-OS 3.x makes it possible for the user to continue to use the existing software that can run under CyberGraphX, while developers who already give massive support to CyberGraphX will be able to continue to maintain and develop their products at the present level. In this way we will be enabling Amiga users to switch to the new system without any problems." "In addition", continues Gerald Carda, "we will be opening up ways of making considerable improvements in the internal structure and extensive additions to the scope of functions". Besides the 24-bit support @4which has already become a standard due to CyberGraphX, Gerald Carda names the coming CyberGraphX 3D and multimedia interface as an example. There will also be an optimisation of the system's performance and a revision and adaptation of the user interface in line with the functional and optical state of the art. "For years Amiga-OS has represented the conceptual realisation of ideas that today are propagated by many to be special innovations. This means that reprogramming will make it possible to achieve a really highly powered and modern OS. Of course our system will also be open for other operating systems or emulations, such as MacOS or an X- Windows link-up. The discussion concerning so-called new operating systems, however, was intended more as marketing hype than as a realistic alternative." The commitment with which phase 5 digital products will force forward this project is reflected not least in the considerable volume of investment that has been made in the development. "By the middle of 1997 we will have invested seven-digit figures in this project", says Wolf Dietrich. "We have the know-how, the development team, the technical equipment, the support from third parties (especially Motorola) and the financial basis for this project. The only thing that we still need is massive and positive support from the Amiga user basis. With this early disclosure of our objectives we expect to receive the anticipated response from the users, for, after all, such a project only makes sense if there is still a large number of convinced Amiga fans. We therefore appeal to all Amiga fans to write to us, to send us faxes or to contact us via E-mail (under the address specially set up for this purpose: Every positive reaction will strengthen this forward-looking project."
@2 PowerUP project continues to make progress @4The PowerUp project also continues to make progress. "The delivery of the developer PowerPC boards will now start in summer", says Gerald Carda. "Unfortunately, we are a few months behind in our schedule due to extensive discussions between Motorola, Amiga Technologies and phase 5. These companies were to agree on a close cooperation and clarify a number of matters, especially with regard to new standards specific to the new PowerPC. After the discussion concerning a takeover by VIScorp started and the wave or redundancies that directly followed at Amiga Technologies, which led to most of the contact persons who had been involved in the projects leaving the company, AT abandoned the present cooperation. For this reason we will waste no further time and will continue with our project on our own, which was the way in which we started it. Nor can we wait any longer to see what VIScorp might possibly intend or not intend." The support for external developers in the PowerUp program is now complete. More than 250 developers - including practically all noted commercial software suppliers in the Amiga field - are registered and their numbers are growing every day. This alone is evidence of the strong support for the future Amiga-compatible PowerPC platform. As from the second half of May, the registered users will now be able to order the PowerPC Beta developer boards from phase 5 which mean the green light for the hot phase of the world-wide software development. Motorola appreciates the concept of phase 5 In the realisation of their new, innovative computer system phase 5 will @4be fully supported by Motorola. "We appreciate the powerful and innovative concept that phase 5 represents and we fully support the efforts of this company as a partner in our global PowerPC strategy." says John Letham, European Technical Marketing Manager, Motorola RISC Microprocessors. "We have had a number of joint meetings now and we are impressed by the know- how and vision that is the basis of phase 5's driving force. "Technology demonstrations In close cooperation with Motorola phase 5 is preparing technology demonstrations, to be shown in due course, which will demonstrate the impressive capabilities of the next generation of PowerPC 603e CPUs at significantly increased clock rates. This programme is already underway and Summer of 1996 will see phase 5 present prototypes of PowerPC boards for Amiga 3000/4000 as well as for the Apple Macintosh 7500/8500/9500 series. "With the presentation of these new processors, Motorola as a leading semiconductor manufacturer clearly illustrates their capabilities demonstrating exactly why the next generation of PowerPC CPUs will hold the pole position in the microprocessor performance race". says Wolf Dietrich of phase 5. "Our computer system, when shipping next year, will also offer these extremely fast processors, delivering true high-end workstation performance. The higher speed of the CPUs will also deliver a performance increase to the upgrade boards for existing Amiga systems." With the presentation of this PowerPC technology demo on Apple MacIntosh system phase 5 digital products announces their entry into the MacIntosh @4accelerator market. This new branch of their operation will make additional use of the PowerPC know-how that is been build up in the Amiga development, while for both the Amiga and the MacIntosh PowerPC products an even more attractive pricing can be realized due to the higher quantity demands of PowerPC processors. @4 In addition to this project announcement, phase 5 also made some side remarks on the current state of affairs with regard to Amiga Technologies. "To our regret we found that Amiga Technologies offers us no sort of outlook or basis for developing into the future", says Wolf Dietrich. "The first year of Amiga Technologies was marked by a continued chain of wrong decisions which have been responsible for the bad situation in which the company now finds itself. The results must be adequate to the objectives set in the spring of 1995 and in this respect they are more than disappointing. There is no getting away from this. In fact the same mistakes were made that were previously made at Commodore and partly by the same people. For example, attempts continue to keep technically outdated products on the market at unrealistic prices, which is particularly true in the case of the A4000T. Another point is that the marketing concepts are completely outdated, there is an absence of any kind of futuristic vision and a lack of any independent development, which is so pronounced that today AT neither has any 68060 technology to show for itself nor even a sign of any PowerPC technology. The brief spark of any independent development was extinguished again by the latest wave of redundancies. In this respect the only thing that we can just about expect from AT is that they sell off their large quantities of existing stock. These do give us some cause to hope that the existing products will be on the market for a while and that, in due course, they will be offered at more realistic prices. Finally, the only thing that can be said about the activities of AT is: They should have asked someone who knows his stuff." In the opinion of phase 5 a takeover of Amiga Technologies by VIScorp does not awaken hope of any major innovations or any strengthening of the Amiga system. "So far we @4have heard nothing from VIScorp that would cause us to assume that anything different is being planned than the exploitation of the Amiga technology in a settop box. Nor do we see why this company, which must certainly concentrate all its efforts on realising its settop projects, should be interested in further pursuing the primary aim of continuing with the Amiga system. If this had been the case, it would already have been quite feasible for VIScorp to initiate such a project as a licensee of the Amiga technology." phase 5 sees this critical opinion confirmed by current events. "The actions of VIScorp do not convince us that they are serious in continuing with the Amiga. So far, for example, VIScorp has not directly spoken to the developers who were the last to support the Amiga. Nor was there any reaction when we tried to make contact. The VIScorp meeting in Toulouse that has now been announced lacks any kind of organisation and was called without there being any recognisable concept behind it. For this reason it is more than doubtful whether even a sign of any constructive result can be expected to come out of it, so that in our view it would be a pure waste of time to attend, as we have repeatedly found in the recent year at ESCOM meetings. We don't need a repeat of that." Let it be mentioned in passing that the hope often expressed in the general discussion, i.e. that in VIScorp Amiga will find itself taken over by a company that will finance the development of a new generation of Amiga @4products more or less from the petty cash, is something that Wolf Dietrich considers to be very optimistic. "For a start we had exactly the same expectations a year ago when everyone thought that the giant ESCOM would get things moving at Amiga from a standing position and quickly produce a new generation of Amiga computers for a more competitive price. Secondly we should first wait and see whether the figures that have been bandied about in the discussion concerning VIScorp's takeover of AT have any sort of real fundament."About phase 5 digital products phase 5 digital products, based in Oberursel near Frankfurt, are internationally operating manufacturers of hardware and software products. The company is entirely owned by its founders, Gerald Carda and Wolf Dietrich. Since the market launch of its first product line in 1992 this company, which consists of an experienced team of the first Amiga users and developers, quickly established itself as one of the leading manufacturers in the Amiga market. Since 1992 its products have been distinguished many times, including 20 awards for Product of the Year in Amiga journals. In 1995 phase 5 supplied accessories to the value of some DM 12 million (5.5 million £ or 8 million US$) in the Amiga market alone. Since the Christmas season of 1995 almost 30,000 hardware products have been delivered. The product portfolio for Amiga includes accelerator cards, SCSI controllers and graphics cards. In these fields phase 5 digital products has repeatedly proved itself to be manufacturer that is a forerunner and an innovative leader, for instance in bringing out the first Zorro III-DMA- SCSI controller world-wide, the Fastlane Z3, in producing the first 68030 @4card world-wide with a DMA-SCSI controller for the Amiga 1200, in offering the first 68060 card world-wide for Amiga systems (the Cyberstorm 060/50 for A4000), in manufacturing the first 64-bit graphics card world-wide with full system-integrated 24-bit support (the CyberVision64 for A3000/A4000) or in bringing out the first 68060 card for the A1200 world-wide, the Blizzard 1260. Along with intensive development activities as a Beta developer for Motorola in the 68060 and PowerPC field, hardware developments at phase 5 include pure research work in the field of multimedia high-performance DSPs and in the latest development department ASE (advanced silicon engineering) VLSI chip design. An expanding team of some 20 staff is currently working on these projects at the company's headquarters in Oberursel on premises covering an area of 960 square metres. In the adjoining service area, which covers an area of almost 600 square metres, the company, as from August 96, will be producing hardware products - including the new PowerPC products - in its own, highly modern manufacturing plant using the most recent manufacturing techniques.