EXPERT ADVICE • TOP TIPS BUYS MORE FACTS % t^t^ Doqs Hotlinks make laying out pages with Pagestream a doddle? DTP: page 81 How to use your Amiga to add top-notch titles to your home videos... Video: page 73 ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 • £1.50 • YOUR DEFINITIVE GUIDE Got Gajits' Sequencer One? - then you should check out Hit Kit MIDI: page 122 It's easier than you think to program a neural network on your Amiga. ..Al: page 44 ave on phone bills up your own Amiga bulletin board! Comms: page 86 All the latest low-cost and no-cost software PLUS where to get fonts PD: page 141 - your problems We just love 'em Nothing's too tough for I 3D Graphics, Printers, Music, BASIC Beginner or expert - Hard disks. Scanners, Accelerators.. we've got the solutions - The top 200 Starts Oh pi ♦ • • 8| uiurei 1 PUBLISHING ■ II III ■ nil i Commodore A600 > • v The new compact AOiK) from Commodore Built-in TV modulator Workbench i\ Kfckstart l , Rnhanced chip set MB of chip RAM O II)!- hard disk controller built-in / Credil card size RAM & ROM slot f A600 £399 A600 with 20MB £499 A600 with 40MB £599 AfiOO with 80MB £699 New PC880B \u\\ wnti X-Cop) Professional! Power Computing have teamed up with Cachet of Germain to brin^ you the ultimate in disk backup systems ^^ The new PC880B disk dnve can lx.» used ilirecilv with the X Cop\ Professional cyclone sntiuare ^ withoul am extra tables or interfaces This gives you the the power and reliabilm rj| the proven \ ulone' backup software with the conve- nience of the PC880B floppy drive. so now you tan have two backup systems bin/' and 'Cyclone' available at the touch ol a button! =5 And the PC880B still has our unique switdiablc anh virus mode, preventing all write accesses to PC50 1 RAM Card ( >ur RAM IxuriJ is designed Specially lor the new A 500+ uimpiUei and comes With 1MB of RAM on board to expand your niemorv to -Mil of chip RAM. Plug in and go operation "tits Into tr.qxioor). Gives you a total ol 2MBol chip RAM £49 32 chip RAM card £39-95 8 rvi B for any A500 th e booiblock ot your floppy disks Ml ? j A600 Memory Cards Q K New RAM boards for the Commodore A600 £POA iscellaneous ><2 tO In Maxell disks, optical mouse Xipstick £45 ** Power Mouse £15 Optical Mouse £29.95 it you all ready own a PC880B. and the Cyclone copier, a hardware upgrade is available to take your drive up to the latest specification, New PC880B with Blitz & X-Copy £90.00 New PC8H0B (Cyclone compatible) £75.00* Cy< lone hardware upgrade for existing PC880B V owners £15.00 - •ihh Jtivc Is avaltthk oolj lo REG15TERKD OWfftffl »■' X i CJ '"' '< " M,,njl Vou musi provide pr<« >r ol punhjM.- ><i \ *PC880 Disk drive £49-95 PC881 \s:oo Internal drive £40.00 PC882 \jmio Internal drive £45 A500 Internal anti-dick board £9-95 ^ Plugs into side slot ^ Fully auto contig Pull thru'port £^ F.xpand 2MB-8MB 2MB £129 MB £189 '" 8MB £299 I \ iZip £19.95 r ' Replacement optical mouse mat £9.95 ' A500 Plastic dust cover £9 Maxell multi colour branded disks met d ten) £9.95 Floppy disks bulk £POA Blitz Amiga Hack up disks at lightning speed Stops all external drives from clicking a ' Q tntains anti-virus from being written into the Special upgrade offer! If vou consider your scanner system to be Inferior to the Power Scanner, we will happiU upgrade your software and interface for onh £49.95 (PoWtfl Siunnif in i "inp.ttiltle vm||i must M/.inninn Iii'.kU I IxKrtblocker £20 \ I m^\jv- sv Cafu Ss& 2IVIB for any A500 Economy 2Mb RAM externally cased 16-Chip < 1 x 1 DIP) No thru'port £99.95 1.5MB RAM Board Plugs easily into your Amiga ^J Fully supports 1MB chip RAM ^W fully compatible with Patter Agnus £^9 ^<\«iut\iiuj ifcu» be opened ihbn rwananiy) 1MB with Thru'port Expand yourA500 l s memorj to a total of 2MB wiihoui disposing ol your existing 512K upgrade. Works with 1MB of Chip K AM. simple internal fitting, £49-95 »__ lil.'K RAM nww hi I dnpt)*pf»nr i enfing 9cm in length! r\j 1 Ump ni-i.il* in he upvned tins mu\ effect \<*jt ^jttjmn * J /( A500 RAM Card **jr 512K RAM expansion with barter) backed dock and a fc^ tree disk packed with useful s< ittw.trc i t chip RAM i £29 f ( MJk KAM card without dock £24 ^B 16 chip KAM card with clock £2-* ^€ 16 chip RAM card withoul clock £19 (A50W compatible) V" AriesRAM | A1500/A2000 I 2MB £129 1MB £169 6MB £209 8Mb £2-49 V Send your order to Power Computing Ltd. 1 nil <s Railton Road, Woburn Road Industrial Estate, Kempston, Bedh >rd MK42 7PN Ring your credit card order thiough on 0234 843388 (10 lines) or Fax on 0234 840234 Technical helpline 0234 841882 All prkv.s include vat. dcli\ m jnd arc aubjeci 10 change Spet Ifluiilonii art *ubted t*> change withoul notice N<*xi d») cJdivci) u ft (UK mainland tmlj » all edged hmcr 4 nuipuilnit Trance ISHkl VokHBf"^!! ttu Pimrri itmpuiime I v \ IH^iribui»rforPwwcrt»impoilnK n, DHksHi Vm Pucrio D> BuoMn aei w 22 Td icifti sm t'\ I'M, W E L C O AT A GLANCE GUIDE To help you find what you want quickly and easily, this is a cross- referenced list of all the products and subjects covered in this month's Amiga Shopper. The subjects covered in Amiga Answers are detailed on page 45; the many PD programs covered on page 146 are listed there. The page numbers given are for the first page of the article in which the product is mentioned. A570 139 A600 13 Amiga Answers 47 AmigaDOS 92 AMOS 98 Artificial Intelligence 42 Bulletin boards 86 Buying advice ' 151 CD-ROM 137 CDTV 137 Comms 86 Competition 154 Desktop publishing 81 DTP 81 Education 78 For sale 140 Graphics 16 HAMA 290 genlock 76 Hit Kit 126 Hotlinks 61 Letters 13 Listings 70 Mail Order 135 MIDI 122 Modems 86 Music 122 Neural networks 42 News 7 PqgeStream 61 Product Locator 152 Professional Calc 131 Programming 70,108 Public domain 141 Reader ads 140 Scala 2.0 139 Shareware 141 Shades 61 SID 2.0 141 Smoothtalker 76 Spellbound 78 Subscriptions 114 Talking Shop 13 User groups 112 Video 73 Word Processors 16 Are there any products or subjects you'd like us to take a look at? Well, just drop a line to: Amiga Shopper, 30, Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW. espite last month's somewhat surprising news that Commodore had decided to cease production of the A500 and concentrate on a new range represented by the entry-level A600, there's still no news on what might fill the gap between that machine and the A3000. Commodore has always refused to speculate on new machines before they're launched - even to the point where the first you hear about them is someone ringing in to say that they've just bought one in Dixons or wherever! But they will go so far as to intimate one is on the way and it seems pretty certain, talking to developers, it's a replacement for the A2000. If you look at the letters pages this issue you'll soon see what the majority of readers think about the decision. Throughout my replies I've tried to stress that I personally believe all is not doom and gloom. Neither Commodore, its developers nor third party manufacturers and publishers are likely to dump a machine range that's sold 1.2 million units in the UK alone. That the A500 is no longer the state of the art is unquestionable - it's just that its replacement leaves a lot to be desired. PUB1K DOMAIN HARD DRIVING There are thousands of Amiga programs which are available for little more than the price of a disk. And many more which allow you to try the software free before you buy. Each month in Public Domain World we examine the best of these programs and explain how to get hold of them. This month our resident PD sampler, Ian Wrigley, scans through his latest batch to focus on SID 2.0 the great hard disk manager and samples a whole bunch of new fonts. Public Domain World or... cor baby that's nearly free.. as we call it, starts on page 141 Commodore would have been much better off delaying the decision to cease production of the A500 until a new machine with a faster processor had been brought to market. That way it could have saved a considerable amount of face. As it is, it has lost credibility. So, in this big meanwhile, what's a poor A500 owner to do? Hang on in there! Buy the new chip set so you're assured of future software compatibility, wait for someone to release an adaptor which'll let you hook up forthcoming A600 peripherals... and relax! Sfa*tf Editor 13 PAGES DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS Every month in Amiga Answers our panel of experts answer more genuine reader questions than any other Amiga magazine. And for beginners our easy Expert Tips will help you get to grips with your Amiga, and understand the other features in this month's issue. We answer questions every month on Workbench • The CLI • Comms • Programming • DTP • Video • Business software and more. THE ANSWERS START ON PAGE 47 FOR A FULL LIST OF CONTENTS, TURN THE PAGE Your guarantee of value # This magazine comes from Future Publishing, a company founded just seven years ago. but which now sells more computer magazines than any other publisher in Britain. We offer: Better advice. Our titles are packed with tips, suggestions and explanatory features, written by the best in the business. Stronger reviews. We have a cast-iron policy of editorial independence, and our reviews give clear buying recommendations. Clearer design. You need solid information, and you need it fast. So our designers highlight key elements in the articles by using charts, diagrams, summary boxes, annotated photographs and so on. Greater relevance. At Future, editors operate under two golden rules: • Understand your readers' needs. • Satisfy them. More reader interaction. We draw strongly on readers' contributions, resulting in the liveliest letters pages and the best reader tips. Buying one of our magazines is like joining a nationwide user group. Better value for money. More pages, better quality: magazines you can trust. uiure PUBLISHING The home of Britain's finest computer magazines: Amiga Shopper • Amiga Format • Amiga Power • Public Domain • Commodore Format • PCW Plus • PC Plus ST Format • Your Sinclair • Sega Power Amstrad Action • PC Answers • PC Format Mountain Biking UK • Needlecraft • Classic CD • Cycling Plus • Photo Plus • Total! and millions of other top-sellers in the pipeline AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 1 6 • AUGUST 1 992 ^ LOWEST PRICES GUARANTEED! CORTEX '/« Mb RAM EXPANSION lor the Amiga A500 ^n io 8 , h .9M U ^~n e n tSp ■Mttfll Acinus' compa<* , "> lof imo wr»r urn L6* prowe enawe/diww- »** '• Avalble «* or **wu. batWV-bacMd ciocK; calendar modul* CLOCK C22.95 £17.95 GVP 8Mb RAM EXPANSION for the Amiga A1 500/ A2000 Fully implemented auto;CO«}«« . Zero wait states • Uses MX8M SIMMs 2.4, or 8Mb configurations. 2Mb £159.00 4Mb 8Mb ROM SHARERS ^^L r^ *2 04 Kick^'art ROMS • ROM sockets .to aiwwlo* luture exoansion. As above but with 2 petition slide switch £26.95 £16.95 KICKSTART ROMS V1.3 rom V2.04 KICKSTART HUM £29.00 £33.95 immmimiiwu CORTEX 8Mb RAM EXPANSION for the Amiga A500/A1000 The ONLY RAM upgrade approved by Commodore UK • Fully compatible with A500 plus for 10Mb maximum RAM ■ External fitting (Warranty remains intact) ■ Through port (covered by blanking plate) • Fully implemented auto- configure • Zero wait states • Compatible with A590 and all major hard disks ■ UseslM x 8bit or 1M x 9bit SIMMs • Complete with its own power supply unit (UK, US, or EURO) ■ FullyAlOOO compatible • RAM test software. CORTEX 1 Mb MODULE FOR A500 plus Gives 2Mb CHIP MEM • plus Ultra low power design • Low component count for maximum reliability ■ Available populated to V 2 MB or 1MB 1/2 Mbl 1 Mb C25.95lC39.95 2Mb I 4Mb £185.00|C241.00I£353.00 * s GVP IMPACT SERIES 2 HARD DISK WITH RAM (A500HD8+) 52Mb Hard disk system with up to 8Mb of RAM • Factory-fitted Quantum Pro-drive. 11ms access • Uses 1M x 8bit SIMMs (see RAM CHIPS section for prices) • Game switch (hard drive disable) and power supply. 52Mb I 120Mb I 240Mb E359.00l£499.00|£799.00 Other GVP products availble: call for prices ENHANCED CHIP SET (E.C.S.) UPGRADES £36.95 EXTERNAL FLOPPY-DRIVE High-quality silent mechanism • Through-port • Enable/disable switch, 8372A j Fatter Agnus 8373 Super Denise £34.95 £47-95 MegaCh.p 2000 with Super Agnus (allows 2Mb to be '-»ed to A500/1 500/2000) See KICKSTART ■ ROMS' for ROM upgrade. £199.00 GVP Full range available including new mini-slot AT-Emulator. Price promise applies! J RAM CHIPS PRICE PROMISE Cortex will match any genuine once offered by one of our U.K. competitors on goods that are m stock on a like-for-iike basis This otter applies at the time of purchase onty and does not apply to pnees offered in sales of bankrupt stock. clearance or dosing down sales 2 YEAR GUARANTEE All product bearing the Cortex brand name cames a 2-year guarantee Other products m this aoVertement carry a t year guarantee AA pnees indude VAT and postage & packaging All products shipped same day where poss**e Allow 14 days for delivery rf ordering by cheque. Make cheques/ PCs payable to CORTEX.. 1M * 8 bit SIMMS (for Cote*. GVP etc) each I GVP etc) each 256K x 4 M DIPS (for A590 2091 CO*, mm f SS !"!jMD'Ps (tor okfer A^OW cards) EACH 1M*< ibrt static - column rnodo ZlPs (tor A3000) EACH £29.00 £ 112.00 £3.49 £3.49 £19.95 DEPT AS, CORTEX DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY LTD, BRITANNIA BUILDINGS, 46 FENWICK STREET, LIVERPOOL L2 7NB. • 24 HOUR SALES TELEPHONE: 051-236 0480 24 HOUR FAX: 051-227 2482 AMIGA SHOPPER Issue 16 August 1992 Editor; Andy Storer Deputy Editor. Cliff Ramshaw Layout Sub-Editor; Diana Taylor Production Editor: Alison Harper Consultant Editors: Jeff Walker, Mark Smiddy Contributors; Jaaon Holborn, Paul Overaa, Gary Whiteley, Phil Harris, Ian Wrigley. Philip Gladwin, Jolyon Ralph, Toby Simpson, Wilf Rees Guest Composer: J S Bach Ad Manager: Margaret Clarke ■ ■ Senior Ad Sales Executive: David Eckett Production: Richard Gingell Production Technicians; * Simon Windsor, Chris Stacker, Jerome Clough Assistant Publisher: Stuart Anderton Circulation Director: Sue Hartley Promotions Manager: Michele Harris Group Publishing Director: Greg Ingham ABC audited circulation: July-December 1991: 45,209 copies/month Printed by Redwood Press News Trade Distribution - UK: Future Publishing 0225 442244 Worldwide: MMC Ltd 0483 211678 This magazine is copyright © 1992 Future Publishing Ltd. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without written permission. We welcome contributions for publication but regret that we cannot return any submissions. Any correspondence will be considered for publication unless specifically stated otherwise. Editorial 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA12BW Tel: 0225 442244 : Fax: 0225 446019 E-mail: amshopper @cix.compulink Advertising Rayner House, 23 Higher Hillgate, Stockport SKI 3ER Tel: 061-474 7333:Fax: 061-476 3002 Subscriptions The Old Barn, Somerton TA11 7PY Tel: 0458 74011 So how about winning another year's free subscription then chaps? - This month all we want you to do is send us the name of the actor who the girlie, who starred in the MvilyvYvvU mwYiv referred to in these pages, fell in love with in that film. You got it? Then just send it in to: I go into a sweat just thinking about her in that chiffon dress', Amiga Shopper, 30, Monmouth St, Bath, BA1 2BW. First out the bag wins 12 free issues . Oh, and last Ish's winner was NP Wilson - well done NP - yep it was Tony Hart's Vision On. News 7 If the demise of the A500 weren't enough, we now hear rumours that Nintendo plans to buy Commodore! You respond to Commodore's decision to cease production of its most popular Amiga and there's flak flying left, right and centre! 42 Artificial Intelligence The third part of our new series revealing the secrets of neural networks and practical Al programming The biggest collection off handy Amiga advice ever published with sections full off essential tips on: printers • desktop video • 2D & 3D graphics hard drives • word processors • Workbench RAM expansion • DTP • sound sampling BASIC • comms • accelerators • Shell C • scanning • music composition spreadsheets and Assembler... Phew! Are these twenty pages you can afford to miss? DIY Listings How to write your own Search and Replace text utility courtesy of reader, and £20 winner, Fu Sang Li Video 70 73 How to get the most from a video titling package PLUS: HAMA's new 290 genlock put through its paces Education 78 We show you the best way to present your data, graphs and stats PLUS: How to improve your spelling Desktop publishing 81 Jeff Walker checks out whether the Hotlinks data exchange system for PageStream does the biz The world of Comms 87 Let the Amiga world come to you! We show you the easy way to set up your bulletin board AmigaDOS 98 Why bother buying an off-the-shelf appointments scheduler when you can code your own the easy way! AMOS 108 More tips on better AMOS programming PLUS: how you can win a free copy of the forthcoming AMOS Professional Programming 108 Cliff Ramshaw continues his BASIC attempts to beat his Amiga at Noughts and Crosses A problem shared is a problem solved! 13 PAGES of your worst nightmares diagnosed by our unrivalled panel of experts. Absolutely nothings too tough for these guys - just try 'em! Expert Tips How to choose the programming language for your needs 119 MIDI Music 122 Can Gajit's Hit Kit add-on for its popular Sequencer One package make your music composition a cinch? Business 131 Is Professional Calc from Gold Disk, the successor to Advantage, the only Amiga spreadsheet you'll ever need? Amiga CD 138 Andy Storer looks at a new easy-to-use CDTV authoring system which could make you a lot of money ffilW Public Domain World 141 Could all your hard disk problems be solved for free with SID 2.0? PLUS: where to get hold of oodles of fonts - well 281 anyway - for next to nothing Product Locator 137 We rate all the Amiga hardware on the market in this easy access, at-a-glance guide to the top products Win Easy AMOS! 1 54 Yep. we have 15 copies of this programming package to give away. All you have to do is answer 3 easy questions! AMIGA 5 IlleServe *% of Hampshire Established 7 years NEW Amiga Workstation /Expansion System Monitor stand with sherf for rJnves etc. Strong metal construction modo from 14SWG steel epoxy coated Amiga colour. Special price LZ / . DU A/6>i/v Pr/'ce Citizen 224 24pin Colour* Pnhanrtd 94p#n printer * optional colour with #»«y to um control panel £ ytw warranty. Prtec with ooWc & paper Mono £209 Cotour £219 Amiga printer driver £5.00 All Citizen printers have 2 year warranty Swift 24E Enhanced 24pin. Colour printer with cable & paper £269 Citizen Swift 9 with cable & paper Mono £1 69 Colour £1 79 Citizen 1 20D + with cable & paper £119 Panasonic KXP1 1 23 Probably the bast 24pin mono printer available. With cable & paper £179 Panasonic/Epson KXP1170 9pin 134 KXP1124i 24pin 227 KXP2180 9pin Colour .... 189 KXP2123 24pin Colour... 269 Epson LQ570 24pin 265 Epson EPL-4100 Laser.. 680 Epson EPL-8100 Laser.. 1115 Prices include VAT cable & paper Naksha Mouse for Atari ST & Amiga with house & mat £21.50 Squik Mouse for Atari ST & Amiga £13.90 Midi Interface 4 channel Midi Interface for Amiga £29 Or. Ts Midi Music Software Inot suitable for A500+) £9.95 New Price HP Deskjet Colour 300dpi colour inkjet printer. Colour laser quality at 1 /1 of the cost. 3 year warranty. Price with cable & paper £529 Deskjet 500 HP 300dpi Inkjet printer. Laser quality at dot matrix price. 3 year warranty. With cable & paper £359 Printer Drivers Citizen Swift Colour 5.00 Canon BJ-10e 4.95 Deskjet 500 Colour 9.95 Printer Dust Covers most types in stock from £4.70 inc vat Hard Disks Floppy Drives Supra 500XP52M fofASOO £299 Commodore A590 £249 20M Hard Disk for A500 GVP Series 2 52M forA500 £359 GVP Series 2 120M forA500 £469 GVP Series 2 52M forA1500 £279 Cumana CAX354 The most refcabie drive you can buy 1M external while stocks last Commodore A1011 1M external £49,90 While stocks last Roctec R0CUteRF382C 1M external £56 1 M Simm Suitable for GVP Hard Disks etc. £29.90 per 1Mb £29.90 Amiga 600HD 20Mb internal Hard disk & software £449 GVP Series 2 120M £419 Hard Disk for A1 500 A2286 Bridgeboard CBM 286 Bridgeboard for A1 500 £319 Amiga 600 Standard A600 with full software £349 Amiga 1500 with full software pack £499 1 12 Meg Ram + Clock £24.95 New Price Canon BJ-10ex 360dpi Inkjet printer with cable & paper £229 Star SJ-48 360dpi Inkjet printer with cable & paper £219 Star LC200 with cable & paper £179 Star LC20Mono 9pin 129 LC200 Colour 9pin 179 LC2420 Mono 24pin 189 LC24200 Mono 24pin .... 209 LC24200 Colour 24pin .. 259 Prices include VAT cable & paper Kickstart Upgrades Commodore 2.04 full upgrade 79.00 Kickstart ROM only v2.04 .... 41.50 Kickstart ROM only vt. 3 29.00 Phoenix Rom sharer 24.95 VXL30 25MHz Accetarator ..239.00 Fatter Angus custom chip .... 37.50 A590 or Supra Hard disk PSU 49.00 Naksha Scanner 200 to 400dpi. 1 05mm nr \r\ width with express-IT £ y y software Commodore 1 084SD 14" Colour Monitor with cable dot pitch 042mm A500 PLUS Cartoon Classics full software pack £329 £219 While stocks last Philips CM8833 mk2 Colour monitor with cable £199 UK. 240V mains +F19 game Accessories SONY DISKETTES SONY branded (lifetime warranty} 000% certified error free) lOx 3.5* DS/DD 135tpi 7.50 50x 3.5" DS/DD 135tpi 32.30 100x3.5" DS/DD 135tpi 59.93 250x3.5" DS/DD 135tpi 141.00 1kx 3.5" DS/DD 135tpi 540.50 Joystick/Mouse twin extension 4.70 3M Joystick/Mouse lead .... 3.75 A500 Printer cable 7.95 Modulator/Disk Extension 10.95 23way Plug or socket 2.95 A500 Dust Cover 4.70 Mouse Mat (thick soft type) .. 4.95 Mouse House 2.95 1M internal 3.5" drive 49.00 A500 replacement PSU 39.00 A590 replacement PSU 49.00 l/2Meg Ram NO Clock 23.90 Rocgen Plus - Genlock + ... 129.00 DISKETTES SONY/DYSAN bulk (lifetime warranty) (100% certified error free) 10x 3.5" DS/DD 135tpi 5.95 50x 3.5" DS/DD 135tpi 21.86 100x3.5" DS/DD 135tpi 39.60 250x3.5" DS/DD 135tpi 94.88 Ikx 3.5' DS/DD 135tpi 353.68 40 x 3.5" Diak box with lock .... 5.49 100 x 3.5" Disk box with lock .. 7.50 Carnage on 50+ disks £3.53 Phone for our 60 page catalogue EDUCATIONAL AND GOVERNMENT ORDERS WELCOME All products have a 30 day money back & 1 2 month warranty. Prices are subject to variation without prior notification. Established 7 years. 3 minutes from M27 Junction 1 1. Free parking. Open 9 to 5.30 Monday to Friday & 9 to 5 Saturday Postage 94p or £3.53 Securicor £6.46 (£5.50 +VAT) CM ID 3 UleServe Larger items dekvered by Securicor Amiga/Shopper Dept. 40-42 West Street Ponchester Hants P016 9UW T«4: 0705 325354 Best for service Best for service E W S «W BOSS FOR COMMODORE SHARE Is Kcll) Sumner oct to take Steve Franklln'R place ac the managing director of Commodore UK? Kelly Sumner Is expected to become the new MD Of Commodore UK. According to industry rumours and as reported in the trade paper CnV. Sumner is to take over the post that Steve Franklin has filled for the last five years. Franklin is to take a management role with Commodore's CDTV project. We spoke to Kelly Sumner, but he would offer no comment on the rumours. An announcement regarding the change is expected to be made at the end of June. Next month's Amiga Shopper will carry an in-depth interview with the new MD. COMMODORE COUP AT MULTIMEDIA AWARDS Three multimedia titles running on Commodore machines won awards at the British Interactive Multimedia Association Awards this year. The Vistrain police training system, first reported in issue 12. was winner in the Productivity category. Developed by the National Computing Centre and the Scottish Police College, it uses a Commodore PC and Amiga 2000 with genlock to teach police officers how to control crowds. The Consumer gold award went to Cloudscan's CDTV Karaoke Hits One. while Eurotalk's CDTV title Learn French With Asterix was winner of the European category and second in the Education section. The awards bode well for Commodore's multimedia hopes, despite the public's current lack of enthusiasm for CDTV. To counter the lack of interest, the company has released the Multimedia Pack, a bundle consisting of a CDTV. a keyboard, mouse and disk drive. Essentially an A500 with a CD-ROM, it sells for £599. Console giant Nintendo Is to make a takeover bid for Commodore International, It has been rumoured on the New York Stock Exchange. The rumours began late in March, when a prominent analyst described Commodore's stock as 'the single best value in the computer industry*. At the time. Commodores share price was quoted at $14 3/8. The analyst predicted the company's share would be at $25 by this time next year. The price of Commodore's shares immediately began to rise following the speculation. Commodore executives were unavailable for comment, and a spokesperson for Nintendo of America denied the speculation. The rumour had not specified whether it was Nintendo of America or its parent company Nintendo of Japan which was to make the bid. so speculation continued. Industry sources m Japan told Amiga Shopper that Commodore directors had met with Nintendo executives at Chicago's recent consumer electronics show and were only weeks away from signing on the dotted line. By the close of business on 26 March v Commodore's share price had risen $1 3/8 to $15 3/4. while the share prices of computer companies such as IBM. Hewlett Packard and Compaq were falling. The takeover would offer both companies benefits. Commodore would gain Nintendo's immense marketing power and a huge cash injection which could, conceivably, be plowed into further research and development. Nintendo, already in a position of near-dominance of the console market, would gain the best possible position in the home computer market without having to develop its own line of machines. The Amiga market would almost certainly burgeon, creating much more interest from third party hard and software developers. Perhaps the acclaimed Mario Brothers game would finally make an appearance on the Amiga. Nintendo is certainly in an acquisitive mood at the moment. It has recently paid $75 million for the ownership of the Seattle Mariners football team. An answer to the C programmer's prayers comes In the form of the Amiga C Encyclopedia. The encyclopedia consists of six manuals contained on 12 disks, and is compiled by the Amiga C Club, based in Sweden. The information contained on the first ten disks is widely available in the public domain, but the last two are only available by registering with the ctub. In total the encyclopedia contains 175 fully executable examples along with source code. All are compatible with Workbench 1.3 and Workbench 2, and follow Commodore's programming guidelines. Subjects covered are the basics of C and the Amiga, using Intuition. using graphics, accessing the operating system, using devices and using sound. Snippets likely to interest coders are explanations on sprites and BOBs, 3D routines and creating copper lists. In addition to the encyclopedia. registration with the club offers programmers many other benefits. Anders Bjerin. the ctub's organiser, offers to digitise members's pictures in colour, as well as sampling sound effects. He also undertakes to help members with their C coding problems by answering questions, giving advice and helping during the debugging stage. The Amiga C Club has been in existence for two years, and currently has 150 registered members. Registration costs £45. for which members will receive the complete Amiga C Encyclopedia. If you already have the first ten disks of the encyclopedia, then registration is £30. Anders requests that you don't send him cheques. Anders Bjerin can be contacted at: Datra, Amiga C Club. Anders Bjerin, Tulevagen 22, 181 41 Lidingo, Sweden, Could Mario, the famous computer games character, soon be making his appearance on the Amiga? There has still been no official comment from either Commodore or Nintendo. If there is any truth to it. the facts will be revealed in the next two months or so. It would be impractical for the two companies to undergo large scale change afterwards, during the much busier sales period of Autumn. Amiga Shopper will keep you posted on any further developments. IT'S A SIM Famous computer game SimCity is being used to test artificial Intelligence software used In urban planning. Scientists from the University of Chicago are using the game from California-based Maxis to put their Al system through its paces. H1S0FT AND KUNIA AGREE HiSoft has become the manufacturer and promoter of Kuma's line of office application packages following an agreement between the two companies. HiSoft. well known for its popular range of software development tools, will be taking over all of Kuma's business oriented software. Existing users of Kuma software will be given technical support from HiSoft. The company will continue the development and enhancement of Kuma's packages. The handing over of its software leaves Kuma free to concentrate on publishing its expanding range of technical books. HiSoft * 0525 718181. Kuma » 0734 844335. AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 E W S PRINTER PROMO OKI Is offering buyers of Its LED page printer a selection of free gifts in an effort to sell more units during the quiet summer period. The 0L810 uses Light Emitting Diode technology to produce laser quality output with less moving parts and, in theory, greater reliability and efficiency. Buyers of the printer before 30 September can choose one of four fTOfi gifts or buy an OKI portable plionc for £39 (it normally costs £289). The gifts on offer are: an Olympus Superzoom camera: a Sony Personal CD Player: an OKI car phone; and a dual bin upgrade for the printer itself. The OL810 costs £1,499. OKI w 0753 531292. AMIGA IN INDIAN STORM Canadian-based Integrated Solutions has used the Amiga as the centre of an interactive presentation system, initially used to re-create the atmosphere of an Indian encampment. The Interaction System debuts at Wanuskewin Heritage Park, Canada, where it will be used to create a soundscape that helps to 'convey the intimate spiritual connection this culture feels towards the land'. The system is made up of an Amiga running ARexx. Geodesic Publications' AirLink and The Blue Ribbon SoundWorks' Bars&Pipes Professional. It is connected to 24 speakers concealed throughout the park and a lighting board to produce changes in daylight and storm effects. Motion sensors are connected to the Amiga so that it can randomly choose a 16-bit digital sound sample to play through any particular speaker when a visitor approaches. The overall volume of the sound is also varied depending on the number of visitors in the park at any one time. The most spectacular effect created by the Interaction System is a storm, for which it uses both visual and audio techniques, including high- powered sub-woofer speakers to shake the floor. Each storm is different by virtue of a random number generator, although always following a natural progression. Integrated Solutions can be contacted on « 0101 306 5652061. COLOUR SCANNER GIVES AMIGA ADDED DTP CREDENCE NEW COLOUR SCANNER A flatbed full colour scanner for the Amiga has been released by Epson. The Epson GT-6000 is an A4 scanner that plugs into the Amiga's parallel port and will scan documents at a resolution of up to 600 dots per inch in up to 16 million colours. Software to use the scanner has been created by ASDG. maker of the Art Department image processing software. The scanning controller software comes in two forms. It can either be integrated into Art Department as a new module, or used as a stand- alone program. One of the big advantages of the program is that it can save scans direct to disk, so that scans can be taken by users without huge Quantities of memory. Zone is to distribute Dr T's brand new Boom Box program. Boom Box is a program for the Amiga that simulates a ghetto blaster and enables the user to trigger samples in real time a la rap or house mixes. As well as supplied samples. Boom Box will accept samples created with other packages. A price has yet to be confirmed, but it is expected to be in the region of £35. Zone is also selling Dr T's Composer Quest, a musical title for Commodore's CDTV. The program contains information on music from 1600 to the present day. including colour screens and 60 musical performances. Biographies of composers can be called up. as can definitions of musical terminology. A trivia quiz is also included. Composer Quest costs £69. The generic editor/librarian XOR The release of the Epson scanner and ASDG's software takes the Amiga one step closer to acceptance as a serious machine for desktop publishing. Commented Keith Howell of MB Marketing: "It has opened up a new price point for full colour A4 scanning. The nearest Excellent results from Epson's full colour A4 flatbed competitive product is scanner Sorr y y° u can,t see the colour considerably more expensive." for a total of £1303.80 by HB Epson « 442 61144. ASDG Marketing tr 0753 686000. w 0101 608 2736585. The scanner Look out for a full review of the plus ASDG's software is being sold scanner in next month's issue. has been updated to contain 150 profiles. It can be used with the KCS sequencer to enable real-time editing and recording of sound profiles. Some of the new profiles included in the latest version are for the Boss SE50 effects unit, the Wavestation A/D, the Wavestation EX and the Roland R8 drum machine. Existing owners of XOR can obtain the update from Zone for the price of postage and packing. The product itself retails at £219. although users of Zone's products can buy it for £159. Zone intends to run two seminars during August and September. Fixed dates or prices have yet to be announced, although one seminar will be for beginners while the other will be for existing users of the KCS sequencer. Zone » 071 738 5444. Dr T's Music Software » 0101 617 4551454. DIAMOND SHARES IT OUT The Computer dealer Diamond Is hoping to float itself on the Stock Exchange and issue shares to the public. This move follows a suggestion for a merger by a technical company already listed on the Stock Exchange. Since Diamond will be the majority share holder, the resulting company will be called Diamond Computer Systems PLC. Diamond recently payed a seven figure sum to take over the beleaguered Microbyte dealer chain. FISHY VIRUS ALERT A new virus has been discovered on disk 622 of the Fred Fish public domain library. The disk contains two versions of Challenger, a quiz game. The English version is safe, but the German version when run will copy a trojan bomb to either the user's hard disk or Workbench system disk. It is believed that the virus was created and distributed by the author of Challenger himself. No current virus checkers will spot the infection. Its effect is to print up a message on 24 July each year. The computer is unusable on this day. If you have any worries about this virus, contact the Virus Research Centre » 0942 895320. ••• siop pms ••• FMG CRASHES Commodore's official repair centre FMG has ceased trading. The company, which repaired all of Commodore's machines under warranty, ceased trading at nine o'clock 17 June. Commodore is currently hoping to be able to carry out repairs itself. If you have a faulty machine under warranty, call Commodore Customer Services « 0908 368222. A spokeswoman for Commodore could make no comment on the status of machines already at FMG. AMIOA SHOPPER • ISSUE 1 6 • AUGUST 1 992 ci writer's dream vH brdworth —" -f Tlie graphical nature of Wordworth® makes produnng docunicnh raster and easier. The WYSIWYG display shows exactly how your printed document will look, different fonts, styles and cizps. headers and Footers graphics and so on. Commands are grouped under a s of pull-down menus dicessible either by the mou» or keyboard. Frequently used commands have on-screen icons, including Help, should you need it. Expenence the look and feel of the new and exciting WB2 (even if you use WBl3i. Each document is a separate multi tasking window, which means you could for example, print one document while editing another. Digita's® innovative Human Interface Protocol'- is incorporated setting a new standard in speed, style and elegance. "It HIP system is intuitive and a pleasure to use." ~ thank you Amiga Shopper, it's nice to be appreciated. Graphics have always been the Amiga's strong point. Now it's better than ever Pictures from Deluxe Paint can be placed in a document, and then sized, scaled and dragged (text automatically reformats around the image). ■E> ^^^^^^i^^^i « ii **^«ai <*.** L lABCabd p mm L -A Wordworth's enhanced fonts will give you the very best printed quality. You can also print special symbols, such as boxes, arrows and so on. Better still, you can mix graphics, Wordworth's enhanced fonts, Ami >nts ( Colorfonts and your printer's own internal fonts, all on the same page. There's even a driver for Postscript printers. You needn't worry about your existing information - Wordworth will let you open documents from most word processors, including Kindwords. Protext and Wordpertect (you can also mailmerge with Superbase). When Amiga Format said "a new word processor that will give the rest of the world a run for its money" they weren't joking. Wordworth is written in the UK by Digita. Which means you'll be using an English Collins spelling checker and thesaurus, and you'll know where to come for professional support. The only way to really appreciate Wordworth is to use it. Phone 0395 270273 for more information or, write to Digita, FREEPOST. Exmouth EX8 2YZ. Wordworth costs £129.99, which includes VAT. postage and pa< king; and when purchased from Digita, comes with a 7 day money-back guarantee. If you already own a word processor, for a limited period only, you can trade-up for just £89.99 by returning Ul Original disks to Digita with your order. Summing up. Amiga Shopper said: "Pounds-per-feature no other Amiga word processor comes close. Wordworth is what every owner of Kindwords would wish they had." Dreams become reality with Wordworth. Wbrdworth Machine support Written .specifically for the Am Fully support* WB VU and V: 00 All medium Of hifth resolution modes 'mono and colour) Requires 1MB ot memory , ® DIGITA INTERNATIONAL software thats right i Woftfctfcvthi* ivabMe frocnMt ' . W H Smith *nd ill gond computer rrtadmor tolhr Digita International Ltd Black Horse House I xmouth EX8 1JL ENGLAND Tel 0395 270273 Fax 0395 2*6893 - A mti Ofc<i<i »»w I>giU logo Ww logo in <•*'! Mfv*f*» ftftwf«d Whtwr iJuh ryb #rr u»drm*rk> of DteUi Holdim i id AN .it owntn w acfcnowbdgtd ^>>ld %«*^t to 4tjnuUitJ mnd Horn of **!«■ V h 0\ • • • E W S KD ROM SWITCHER ICD haft released KlekBaek, a ROM ftwttcher for all Amiga computer*, including tho A600. KickBack win enable users to choose between versions 1.3 and 2 of Kickstart. It requires no soldering; ll connects Instead via a ribbon cable, which also solves any conflicts of space with internal accelerators and so on. A particular ROM is selected by holding down the (Amiga] and [Control] heya simultaneously for o fixed period. After this a tone will sound, informing the user that the ROM hoa been switched, end ateo which ROM is now being used. The user may also choose which of the two ROMs is to be used as the default on boot up. KickBack costs £27 and is available from Silica Systems » 081 309 1111 and HB Marketing « 0753 686000. ICD IS on * 0101 815 9682228. FIRST REAL WORLD APPLICABLE NEURAL NETWORK FOR AMIGA LAUNCHED NEURAL NETWORK SOFTWARE American-based software house MegageM has released a professional neural network package for use on the Amiga. NeuroPro 2 uses a three layer back- propogation system with up to 256 cells per layer and up to 131.072 connections in total. It utilises a Workbench 2 look and feel to make its application in pattern recognition, speech recognition, language translation and so on as easy as possible. Control from ARexx is also possible. The system makes full use of the Amiga's graphical abilities to show the workings of all network operations and data objects. Data can by input at up to 256 bits at a time, in the form of ASCII text, HOME OFFICE mini Office PROGRAM TO BE RELEASED fPMKn There'll be no escaping extra office chores with Europress' Mini Office for the Amiga Europress is to launch an Amiga version of Its popular Mini Office home business package. Mini Office was originally released for the Commodore 64 computer in 1984. It has been updated for the Amiga, and consists of an integrated word processor, spreadsheet, database, graphics program and set of disk utilities. The word processor may be used in conjunction with the database and graphics modules to produce mail merges. A variety of graph forms are supported, including bar. line and pie charts. A price has yet to be confirmed, although it will be between £60-80. Europress « 0625 859333. SOUND AND PICTURE COMPETITION Elite Publications is organising a three pronged competition for creative Amiga users. The first of the categories is still images, which is sub-divided into hand drawn images using packages such as Deluxe Paint, hand drawn images from HAM art packages, and images created with the aid of a computer, such as ray-traces and fractals. The second category Is for moving pictures, which can be submitted as either ANIM files, stand-alone demos or on VHS video tape. Prizes for both of the above categories are £300, £70 and £30 vouchers for purchases from Trilogic Computers. Sound samples and music form the third category of the competition. Sound effects, instruments and music are permissible. Entries to the competition must be either in IFF format or on audio tape. The best ten entrants will receive a TechnoSound sampler and have their work released into the public domain. The closing date for the competition is at the beginning of September. For further details call Elite Publications « 0733 571109. _^_ J ■•»' J 1 •• ■ 1 ■ - ' • • • 1 * » - ft p 1 1 1 1 1 .... I t 1 1 1 !'<••*•< ■ " « ■ • * 1 M *»» * ~1 *~ * 1 - * * arbitrary bit arrays or as arrays of pixels. The package requires a maths co- processor to run, and a minimum of 1.5Mb of RAM, although 2.5Mb are recommended. It is available at an introductory pnee of $199.95 until the end of August, after which It will sell for $299.95. A demo version, which NeuroPro 2 has a graphical front end to facilitate Its doesn't need a maths u *® in real worid 9ltuat,ons - You'll need a big Amiga! co-processor to run. is available for $12. MegageM • 0101 805 3491104. TITIECEftRVinEnr,PAPUEP< Videographers may be Interested In users to add captions and titles to a new package from Elite their masterpieces. Graphics. Subjects covered by the Videopack is a set of eight package include weddings. disks containing animations, engagements, festive holidays. backgrounds, ANIM brushes, text sport and children. A minimum of brushes and special effects, all of 1Mb is needed to make use of the which load into version III or IV of animations. Deluxe Paint. The package is Videopack costs £24.99 from designed to help desktop video Elite Graphics « 0827 288348. Mastering AmigaDOS 2 Volume Two has been updated to take Into account the commands Included In version 2.04 of the Amiga's operating system. The book, written by Mark Smiddy, gives an alphabetical listing of every command available under AmigaDOS. from version 1.2 through to the very latest. It includes appendices that deal with error codes, viruses, the Interchange File Format and the Mountlist. Mastering AmigaDOS 2 Volume Two costs £19.95 and is published by Bruce Smith Books tr 0923 894355. Relax In front of your Amiga with a good book - this one's packed full of info MORE FONTS... George Thompson Services has released a collection of Compugraphic fonts. The collection, the first of many, comes on three disks containing a total of 37 fonts. They are suitable for use with all versions of Professional Page, PageSetter 2, PageStream 2.x and Workbench 2.x via the Fountain utility. The pack costs £9.99. George Thompson Services » 0707 664654. 1 A AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 E W S BOOK FOR BASIC PROGRAMMERS A new book for Basic programmers has been released by K&M Publishing. Called Creative Basic, the book is by D Martin Evans and consists of a variety of functions, procedures, subroutines, programs and tips to aid the Basic programmer. String manipulation, dates, numeric functions, box drawing, menuing. conversions, indexing and full screen editing are all covered. The programs are written in Turbo Basic, and it is claimed by the publisher that they will be easily convertible to other dialects. Creative Basic costs £5 from K&M Publishing * 0490 2328. PRINTERS GOING (HEAP Kodak Dlconix 150 Plus printers are being sold cheap by Morgan Computers, specialists in surplus and excess stock computer hardware. The printers, which retail for £345. are being sold for only £150. They are portable ink jet machines capable of up to 150 characters per second. They connect to the Amiga via the parallel interface and are capable of both Epson and IBM emulation modes. Morgan Computers » 081 575 0055. LEARNIN GERMAN MKLAUS WIRTH'S LATEST LANGUAGE TO BE RELEASED FOR AMIGA Verstehst du diese Frage? If not you'd best get hold of Micro German Educational software house LCL has released Micro German, a package designed to take students up to GCSE standard in German. With the aid of graphics and sound the package teaches written and spoken German. It joins LCL's Micro range - Micro Maths, Micro English and Micro French. LCL hopes that the package will appeal to business people, as well as students, thinking in terms of the forthcoming single European market. A program to automatically generate business letters is incorporated. Micro German costs £24 (plus 99p postage and packing) from educational software stockists or direct from LCL « 0491 579345. PROGRAMMERS' DREAM Real Time Associates Is to the first commercial version of Oberon-2. Oberon-2 is the latest brainchild of Nicklaus Wirth, creator of Pascal and Modula-2. The mam advance it offers over Modula-2 is the addition of object-orientated features. These enable the programmer to treat the data, rather than the program itself, as the most important feature of the application under development. Such a methodology is thought to aid the rapid production of reliable code. The package released by RTA is called EXTACY. It is not a compiler as such, but rather a set of two translators. One is a Modula-2 translator, the other an Oberon 2 translator. Both produce C code which must be further compiled with a package such as SAS/iattice C. With EXTACY, the programmer is at liberty to write part of an application in Modula-2, part in Oberon-2. and part, perhaps the Amiga specific areas, in C. and then link the whole lot together. The C code produced by the translators is said to be very efficient; although the programmer is free to optimise or modify the resulting C code as necessary. A program is currently under development that will convert the Amiga C include files into Oberon so that the system can access all of the Amiga's facilities. It will either be included with the finished EXTACY package or supplied as an update. EXTACY will cost £150 from Real Time Associates » 081 6567333. HUNTING FOR FONTS EM Computergraphic has Just been named as the sole UK distributor of American-based Computer Safari's collection of fonts. The fonts are Adobe type 1, which means that they can be used directly with PageStream or with Professional Page after conversion by Professional Page's Fontmanager program. The first sixteen disks in the collection, which each contain three fonts, cost £7.99 each. A further eight disks are available with slightly more esoteric fonts for £12.99 each. LICENCEWARE REGISTER ESTABLISHED A number of UK public domain houses have formed a single organisation to deal with the distribution of llcenceware. Called the Central Licenceware Register, or CLR. the organisation aims to distribute all of the currently available licenceware disks under a single label, putting an end to the divisiveness usually associated with licenceware. Any PD library which is a member of the scheme will be able to distribute the entire range of disks. Prices are to be fixed at £3.50 for a program based on one disk, £4.50 for one based on two. There are currently 17 titles in three categories: educational, utilities and games. All disks will be badged with CLR's Hydra logo. Licenceware programmers will benefit by being sent £1 for each disk sold.* Libraries wishing to join the CLR scheme or programmers wishing to submit software for distribution should contact their nearest participating library. These currently include 17 Bit Software, Blitterchips. Essex Computer Systems. Goldstar EC, Loadcrest. NBS, PD Soft. Start Computersm Valley PD and Virus Free PD. NEW CHROMA KEY UNIT Desktop video enthuslats will be pleased to hear of a new chroma key unit launched by RocTec. The RocKey retails for £351.33 and, when used in conjunction with a genlock, enables users to superimpose live video over graphics or video, display graphics in front of video, substitute the brightness portion of a video source with a keyed image, embed graphics in video and embed video in graphics. The product is to be marketed by Jessops photographic stores and HB Marketing » 0753 686000. Jessops will be running a competition until September 1 in which any buyer of a RocTec genlock will be eligible for winning a RocKey unit. In addition to these disks. EM Computer-graphics is distributing a number of public domain and shareware fonts which have been sourced from America and Canada. Volume 3 contains 34 fonts for use with PageStream only. It costs £5. Volumes 4 through 7 each contain between 60-80 Adobe type 1 fonts across five disks. Each volume costs £12.50. For more information on the above contact EM Computergrapics » 0255 431389. SAMPLE LIBRARIES FOR AMIGA Walkabout Music has released a collection of sound samples on 25 disks. Each sample is taken directly from a studio master at twice the rate used in public domain sample disks. The disks are divided into different categories, including African. Indian. Arabic, guitars, strings and brass. Each disk costs £2.50. or £19.95 for 10. with an additional £1 for postage and packing. Walkabout Music tt 072681 3807. DIARY DATES July 19: All Formats Computer Fair. National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull. ? 0225 868100. September 5: All Formats Computer Fair. National Motorcycle Museum. Solihull. « 0225 868100. * September 12: All Formats Computer Fair. Sandown Racecourse, Esher. •b 0225 868100. AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 1 1 MEMORY EXPANSION HOENIX PRODUCTS i r h PHOENIX 1 // With its modern compact fimi portabl* w«dg* shape design, the new 600 comtt wilh the following features as standard 1Mb of RAM as standard (eipandabiel • KickslarVWorkbench 205 ' Built in TV modulator • standard smart card slot * Trapdoor expansion port • 2 * joystick/mouse ports ■ Optional internal IDE hairl drive • State ol the art surface mount technology A 600 (includes Deluxe Paint * 1 software trrje)....£ 3 1)9.99 A 600 HD (including 20 Mb Hard Drive) £469.99 AVNUfUt NOW ..-STOP PRESS .. ftllABlf NOW ....STOP PRESS Phoenix 1Mb upgrade! to 2 Mb) A600 Keyboard switchable ROM Sharer .£ ALTERNATIVE!^' 1 Purchase the A600 as pari ol our Unbeatable Value PHOENIX POWER PACK, which includes over £100 of quality software and accessories. Probably the best bundle around, just look at what you get) .rTiml!ni4TTafi Rick Dang* Tew 2 Joystick Capacity 3 5" Disk Box 8mm Mr i Phoenix Power Pack <*...aso<» i (includes Deluxe Paint > I software title) Phoenix Power Pack (w^moohoi .-£499.99 NOW BACKED BY A 12 MONTH ON-SITE WARRANTY! Son of Phoenix Power Pack Buy the following top quality items together and save rt more money on accessories. Comprises of: 100 . 35* Disk Box • 10 3.5 Disks * Labels • Top quality icroswitch Joystick • 8mm Mousemat • Dustcover STORAGE Disk Box lo Lap S/ISK DOa tJ woD *■••■••••■>••■••••••••••••>••>*.>•..>. ...».>. ul jR DUX <Jv well) ■*■••••••■ ..-...•••••••••••••••■•• Disk Box 100 Cap £6. stands: 14" Tilt 'n' Swivel stand 2 piece printer stand miscellaneous: Printer cable 1.8 m std I Mouse Mats I Roctec Mice £ Disk head cleaner f 1000 Disk Labels SUPRA 500RX Manufactured out of Albany. U.S.A. SUPRA offer the ultimate in Fast Ram expansion units. Built to the highest technical specifications they offer full auto configuration and quick easy fitting to the side expansion port. 8 Mb pop to 1 Mb* £99.9 8 Mb pop to 2 Mb» „ „ £124.99 8 Mb pop to 2 Mb „ £149.99 8 Mb pop to 4 Mb £209.95 8 Mb pop to 8 Mb £309.99 ("Uses 256x4 Zips) PHOENIX A500 Plus 2 Meg RAM Upgrade Modules PHOENIX RAM Modules expand your chip RAM up to 2 Mb using the trapdoor expansion port Chip RAM is required to unleash the full graphics capabilities of the Amiga 500 Plus. Designed and built to exacting standards m the U.K. all our boards carry a full 2 year no quibble replacement guarantee It's never been cheaper to upgrade! PHOENIX 1 Mb Fully populated RAM board.„X39.99 PHOENIX 1 Mb unpopulated RAM board £16.99 PHOENIX Kickstart ROM Sharer Because some older games and business software will not run on the new Kickstart ■ 2.04 ROM s^m. \ PHOENIX have designed a sharer tor both ROM chip sets. Switchable between 1.3 and 2.04 you can get all the benefits of the latest A500 Plus without the drawback of losing your old software. Fits all Amiga 500/150072000. •Kickstart ROM Sharer X24.99 •Kickstart Rev 3/5 ROM Sharer £27.99 "NEW, Keyboard Switchable ROM Sharer..£34 99 Kickstart 1.3 ROM X29.99 Kickstart 2.04 ROM £34.99 '(ROM Chips not included) ROMBO-Complete Colour Solution £99.99! Amazing Price Reduction! R0CGEN Plus SPECIAL OFFER-ONLY £129.99 Quality features and performance. Recommended. AMIGA RELEASE 2 The long awaited Upgrade kit for 1.2 / 1.3 owners from Commodore has finally arrived and is selling fast! VIDEO IN ST0OC...£79.99 EXTERNAL DISK DRIVES All drives feature super slim design, enable-disable switch, thru port and come with a 1 year replacement guarantee! ......£49.99 Phoenix Deluxe Drive Roctec Roclite*.....*...***.*.*.*,.*.. Mouse/Joystick Switch £1 3.99 Don't damage your Amiga's ports! This device saves wear and tear makes switchover FAST, and dons NOT require powor unlike many others. Computer/Video Scart Switch....£19.99 Similar to the Mouse/Joystick switch. Flip between Video or computer signals at the push of a button. AMIGA MUSIC Attention all you music lovers! Phoenix have put together an unbeatable music deal for you this summer. iSSP* MUSIC-X J(lf When purchasing 1 thu following " » * isr iucts Stereo Sampler £34.99 Combines ease of use with state of the an analogue to digital conversion technology (mc FREE sample editing software *aud»o lead) Pro-Midi 2 Interface £24.99 This fully featured professional quality midi interface is very flexible grvmg semi-patch bay facilities. It has five ports in, out thru and two switchable out/thru. (inc. FREE midi lead) Amiga Music in Two Easy Steps-Only from Phoenix! DISKS Do not confuse these quality disks with others currently available on the market. 3 5' 100% certified error free 70% clip. All disks come with FREE high quality labels. 10 £5.99 200 £72.99 25 £12.99 500 £174.99 M£22 99 ?so £259 99 100 .....£40.99 1000 £339 99 CHIPS PHOENIX have bulk buying power which means that prices frequently change. These prices are accurate at the time of going to press but please call for the best deals. Quantity discounts are also available on some chips so please ask. AMIGA CUSTOM CHIPS Kickstart 2.04 ROM „ £34.99 K.ckstert U ROM £29.99 Fetter Agnus 9372A £34.99 NEW Super Denise £34.99 CIA 8520A. „ i9.99 MEMORY CHIPS 4 Mb * 9 f-70) Simm.i1 19.99 1 Mb x 4 (-S0) Zip '£34.99 1 Mbx9M0)Simm £29 99 256k x 4 (-80) Zip.- *£29 99 x9l-80!Simm £12 99 1 Mb x 1 ORAM £3.49 « t*ttttttt*t*»t***«tl ..£59.99 256k x 4 ORAM £3.49 This price is for 1 Mb of RAM These chips cover practically every popular memory expansion or Hard Drive system on the market for the Amiga ie. GVP. SUPRA. MICR0B0T1CS, COMMODORE etc. RING OUR TECHNICAL HELPUNE IF YOU NEED ADVICE HARD DRIVES GVP IMPACT SERIES II Hard Drives, the fastest Hard Drive/Controller for the Amiga. Features Game Switch, external SCISI port, FAAASTR0M SCISI Driver. GVP's custom VLSI chip and internal RAM expansion up to 8 megl All units use high specification fast access QUANTUM Hard Drives and come with 3 yr. guarantee. A500-HD8+ 52 MEG(Unpopulated) £349.99 A500-HD8+ 120 MEG (Unpopulated) £46499 Series II Hard Disk Controller/RAM card NoHDU.£1 39.99 Series II 52 MEG Hard Disk and RAM card £279.99 Series I1 120 MEG Hard Disk and RAM card £419.99 Series II 240 MEG Hard Disk and RAM card £649.99 EXTRA MEMORY Only £27.99 when bought with drive! Tel: 0532 311932 FCC DISTRIBUTION, UNIT 19. ARMLEY PARK COURT, STANNINQLEY ROAD, LEEDS LS12 2AE TEL (0532) 311932 UJC Sates TEL: (0632) 310796 Trade/European Sales TEL (0532) 319061 Technical Helpline Ail prices indude VAT. and free U.K. delivery. Next day delivery by courier £4.50 Please make cheques payable to F.C.C Distribution Ltd. LETTERS DEAD BABIES I remember the day that my new A900 arrived, nudging the sturdy but distinctly uncool CPC6128 into the dark recesses of the spare room. The dining room table gradually disappeared beneath winters and extra disk drives. cables snaked across the carpet Into the Hi-Fi, the children were given a quick blast of The Simpsons And then t Aid that the Amstrad was all theirs now (howls of derisive laughter), and my wife packed a few ••■•ntlnlft and went to stay with her mAther. The world was my oyster! All those slots! And best of all. a dirty bie slot in the side which would connect to anything... RAM expansions hard disks. PC emulators, expresso coffee machines... But now my Baby is obsolete. Th« A600 takes smart cards, but nobody is rushing to make any. The A570 will now cost £350 as it needs WB2.0. The CDTV software Is elephant doodoo. The Big Cheese at Commodore says that putting faster chips In an A 500 would be like driving a Ferrari In a no-parking zone. PC386s wrth SVGA monitors, stonklng great hard drives and sound boards can be picked up for £7-800. and PC prices are in free fall... what's a poor boy to do? Commodore has not just shot itself in the foot, but seems to be intent on stuffing its nuts Into the food processor too. Punters like myself who enjoy being a Railroad Tycoon, checking out the odd dungeon and flying the F-29 Turbonutter will be asking Santa for the low risk option of a good PC. oh and by the way, lob the kids a SuperNintendol Martin Badkin Leighton Buzzard Don't get too nostalgic though Martin will you? - It's not as though 1.2 million UK Amigas. and the software and add-ons for them, are going to disappear off the face of the planet. I'd say the machine still has a bright future ahead of it - look at it this way; sheer force of numbers is going to maintain a healthy market provision because developers and publishers can't afford to ignore such a massive user base. WHITHER THEM 500? So that's ft then, the A500 range is officially stuffed! Do you ever get the feeling that you're having the old wossname taken out of you? At the same time, I read that production of the A500 Plus is to be terminated, I learn that the entire range of Amigas is to be "Improved ". and that the price of the A570 CD-ROM drive is to be hiked up by £100 and that's before It's even released! When will it all end? I have had an A1500 for barely three months now but I'm already heartily sick of seeing "Not enough memory" on the screen, and those clunky drives are sending me gaga. Additional memory is a must and so too. if you want to do more than play games, is a hard drive. That's about £400 right away. Wrth the demise of the A500 Plus, the cost of the add-ons for existing machines will probably drop to clear stocks, so, does that mean that A1500/2000 and A3000 owners will have to pay more for their add-ons to make up the loss? Finally. I direct this last comment to Commodore. If I knew three months ago what I know now I may well have gone for a PC instead of an Amiga. Think It over! Richard Sharp Dundee I don't think you should assume you'll have to pay more for add-ons to make up for losses on A500 peripherals. But if you have any doubts then maybe you should buy that extra memory now. "/f / knew three months ago what I know now I would have got a PC" 68000 REASONS The A600 is a step backwards not forwards. If the 500 is obsolete then It's because It only has a 68000. and what's the 600 got? The same thing - absolutely stupid! NP Wilson Peterborough Yes... this is probably the fact which A500 owners find most perplexing. If the A600 had been launched with a 68020/030 or even 040 chip then all would have been forgiven and Commodore would now be receiving rapturous applause. The A600 just doesn't appear to be any great leap forward and as such doesn't do much to instill confidence in the company. If, for my sins, I were appointed to the board of Commodore US (and hey! - you know where to contact me guys...) I would have just put a lid on the whole subject until I had a Super Amiga about to be launched. Because that's what should have been done. As it is though... ill Last month we broke the news that the Amiga A500 is to be discontinued. Since then, we've been inundated with a flood of letters commenting on this err... rather brave decision by Commodore to cease production of a machine which has sold 1 .2 million units in the UK alone. Here's the pick of the postbag... LUNACY The A600 - one small step for man, one... CR Thorpe Merseyslde POCKET AMIGA NEXT? What on earth do those nonsense- mongers at Commodore think they are doing? Wasn't it only six months ago that they were saying that the A500 Plus was the product, the personal home computer? You'd better keep an eye on the boys at Commodore because by Christmas they'll probably discontinue the A600 and replace it with a pocket Amiga. Don't they know a good thing when they are on to it. From a very confused but proud A500 owner. Mr Anon My money is on an Amiga Organiser. Only joking... THE AMIGA CONSOLE So Commodore is dropping the A500 "range" in favour of the A600 - what a ludicrous move. It would seem more viable to me to release a cheaper, cutdown A600, (If It has to exist) as a superior alternative to the ever growing console market while retaining the A500 and marketing it as an entry level "serious" machine. Also, why is it recently that every time CBM develops a minor improvement to Its existing range it releases a whole new machine? The Amiga Is now seven years old and Is in need of a serious revamp. So why not give us a completely new Amiga and give us. the users, peace of mind and the third party developers a break. They are the people who have to keep putting the time and money into redesigning upgrades for every new machine. Surely CBM should support existing Amiga users not alienate them. It would serve CBM right if third party developers refused to acknowledge the A600. Thanks for hearing me out. Darren Kemp Leeds We took an A600 apart the other day (and not with a lump hammer and crowbar i hasten to add) and lo and behold there on the motherboard was the legend *A300\ Now. all through 1991 there were rumours circulating of a proposed Amiga console with the codename A300. I think basically what's happened is that CBM has done some furious continued on pa go 14 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 | 4 LETTERS continued from page 13 bach pedalling here. It's seen the HDject failure of the C64 console, seen the unassailable world domination of Nintendo and Sega and realised, in any case, that its impossible to bring out a cut-down Amiga at anything like the sut>£150 price point of a games console. Hence the A600. DO THE WRITE THING Having just upgraded my three-year- old Amiga 500 to a new A500 Plus, I was horrified to road that Commodore is withdrawing support for the A 500. in my opinion. Commodore has let us A 500 owners down once too much. I for one will not be downgrading to an A600 to stay compatible, nor can I afford to trash my Amiga system for an A1500 or B2000. Therefore, unless Commodore at least compromises, I for one will not be continuing to support its products. For that money I can buy a nice lGMhz 386 PC with a 40 meg hard drive. I have written to the managing director of Commodore UK. Mr Steve Franklin, and the managing director of Commodore USA, expressing my views, and I would strongly urge other users In my position to put prlnthead to paper and do likewise. It Is time that Commodore learned to support Its customers, and not abuse them. David French Salcombe You might therefore like to know that coincidentally. or un-coincidentally depending on how conspiratorial you are about these things. Commodore UK has a new MD - Mr Kelly Sumner. "/, for one, will not be downgrading to an A600 to stay compatible" ON THE OTHER HAND The A500, Commodores entry level model for the past few years, was a great machine for its time. Unfortunately, everything must come to an end and In the computer industry lifetimes are often shorter that of a hedgehog crossing the Ml. Next up the line are the A1500/2000 series computers. Excellent machines and almost Infinitely expandable, but I don't think that even these will defy the grim reaper for much longer either. Finally the A3000. the top of the range and definitely top of the price range Amiga. A marvellous machine held back by the fact that it costs almost as a much as an annual season ticket from Brighton to London on British Rail. The good thing Is that, at this time, only two series of processors are widely used on the market. The 680x0 and the 80x86 CPUs, both of which are available to Amiga users via accelerators and Brldgeboards, which means that current users won't be left out. As for chip upgraders - well at least Commodore released models with the ECS and Kickstart 2, which saved people who bought their machines in the last six months from forking out on upgrades, and those who have old models can buy an upgrade and have It fitted quite easily and cheaply. Even If you want the Super Agnus chip with 2Mb of Chip RAM, third party manufacturers have made an adaptor for ASOO and A1500/2000 machines. But because of the way the A600's motherboard Is made, they will have great difficulty in upgrading that. As for the 'credit card' slot on the A600. I doubt If many Items that aren't already available for the A 500 will be manufactured for It until it's known Just how popular the machine Is, and even then I'd bet my last penny on a third party manufacturer producing an add-on with the Gayle chip and a 'credit card drive' for existing machines. Personally. I think that the A600 machine is just a bridging machine for a better A800 or A2200 running a 68020 CPU. and won't last for long. I believe the A1500/2000 series will soon die a natural death. Hopefully Commodore will reduce the price of the A3000 enough to make that the mid-range machine and a new A4000 model the top of the range. Either way, unless Commodore makes a radical change to AmigaDOS and Workbench, existing users shouldn't be left out too much. Preferably, Commodore's 'Power Up', the machine upgrade system, should be made more comprehensive as to allow more users to upgrade with better deals. After all, if it wasn't for Amiga lovers all over the world, there wouldn't be anything to upgrade anyway. By the way, I'm an A 1500 user so my machine could be phased out as quickly as the A500. Although this worries me, I have to look at the future, and personally I'd rather have a new range of Amlgas than no Amlgas at all. Kevin Breldenbach Heme Bay A good, positive angle there Kevin and one which I think is the best way to reflect on this whole development. It's got to be only a matter of time before some enterprising third party company brings out an A500 to A600 add-on connector. As I said earlier, sheer force of numbers will dictate it. QUICK GOODBYES 1 I think the A600 will fall to sell like the A500 did. It certainly Isn't an improvement. RL Hughes Dariaston I feel this is a great kick In the teeth from Commodore to all one million of its supporters. Julian Baum Chester Commodore needs to take a serious look at Sinclair. Watch out! - you're heading the same way. PBetts Leydene The A600? I like It, but It should have three things, battery power, LAN and a screen in a clam-shell lid. Graeme Bell Glasgow Commodore could have warned its users that the A500 was to become obsolete. Mr JA Ettles Bury tee BUT THEN AGAIN.. I was horrified by the announcement that Commodore is to junk the ASOO and A500 Plus, mainly because of Its crass idiocy in treating one million owners as If they were Just a set of sales statistics. I bought my A500 a year ago, not for games, but because It was cheap, and went on to discover what a great number of things one can do with It: designing knitwear for my knitting machine with DPalnt, corresponding with friends and business people, desktop publishing and the whole world of PD programs which Is a revelation. I don't want a costly all-singing, all dancing, high-spec machine to do all these bits and pieces, nor do I want an A600 which Is mainly for games. What I want are improvements to the A500 and A500 Plus and a bit of continuity. I definitely don't want an "end of the line" announcement which is. to say the least, a slap In the face for one million Amiga owners. Commodore has really flipped Its corporate lid this time around! Margaret Haedicke Bridgewater Somerset I think you just have to rest assured that third party developers and publishers will provide the continuity you are looking for Margaret. But by all means have a good moan in the meantime. "\ don't think the Al 500/2000 series will defy the grim reaper either" A BUNCH OF CYNICS? I purchased an Amiga A500 Pius in November 1991. Never having owned a computer before It has been a challenge to be able to use it In a productive manner. Seven months later I have managed to get to grips with some aspects of Its use. It comes as a great disappointment to learn that the A 500 range of computers is now no longer In production. It Is my opinion that Commodore has little commitment to Its existing customers. This is displayed by the cynical comments of Commodore's representative, Kelly Sumner, in Amiga Shopper's July Issue. Computers are unlike most Items which are purchased in a shop as they rely heavily on software and hardware produced and supported by independent companies. This could be adversely affected by the news that the A500 range of computers will no longer be produced. My other concern Is, If in the future my computer should require repairs, will spare parts be readily available? Derek Brown Kilmarnock Ayrshire I can only imagine that spare parts will always be available if there's sufficient demand for them. It's like old cars. I have a 1969 BMW which is no longer 'officially' supported but you just find that small companies turn out 'cloned' spares, mostly at significantly cheaper prices than the 14 AMIGA SHOPPER ft |«Uf }(> « AUGUST 1992 LETTERS originals. In any case, I guess there's literally tons of A500 spares out there - look at how many Amigas need fixing! (Only Johing- admission 2). MURDER MOST FOUL I road with Interest your article on the death of the A500 Plus. I have quite a few friends with Amigas and all of them said that this is the end of tho Amiga. A lot of third party m.mtil.if turr-rs are going to either stop making extras for Commodore computers or just produce add-ons for tho now brood. Commodore has constantly ignored the people who have Qupperted It (and made it vast profits) and hampered developments by others who could have pushed the Amiga forward, by refusing to allow its chips to be used - take for instance the few failed attempts to produce a lap top by German and American firms - these could have opened huge new markets but, no, Commodore nas scuppered every attempt to bring such machines out. Well, as far as I can see. once again It's the end user who Is left out. When the new Plus came out It was hailed as the new wonder to take the Amiga ^__^^^^^^^ Into the 90s. Now all those people who bought new 500s or upgraded their 1.3s have been dumped by Commodore. I myself have spent nearly £1750 on Commodore hardware in the past year and now I am seriously thinking of selling "— — ^— — up and buying a PC, at least I will be able to keep up with changes thanks to the way the PC is set up, ie upgrading a 286 to a 386 is easy. just spend £150 and insert a new motherboard - no problems. If Commodore had any sense rt would have released a 500 or 1500 with a faster processor at least a year ago - the prices of such things have been dropping for ages but, no, It stuck blindly to the same old 68000 with the exception of the 3000. The Amiga is now at the same stage as the Speccy was two years ago and we all know where that Is now... and you cannot say that ft will not happen to the Amiga as there are over a million of them In the U.K alone and that will keep It going. The humble Speccy had sold over 3 million In the UK, even before the 128 was released and that didn't help ft. The way forward Is not by alienating people who have invested lots of cash and time In Commodore's products, but by bringing out sensible upgrades with as much compatibility as possible with older models. This gives people the chance to buy upgrades at a reasonable price, not bringing out stupid things like the 600. Who in their right minds is going to develop for this? I can just see software houses investing in the smart-card port idea when the Amiga scene is dying: all they are going to do is move into PC and console markets; why invest in the smart-card if Commodore is going to bring another computer out in a few months with yet more stupid slots, etc? To save the Amiga, the people say Commodore should trash the 600 and any machines based round ft that they might be bringing out, and go back to the 500 Plus/1500 but stick a 68030 cpu and 68882 fpu In some of them running at 25MHZ/33MHZ with a SCSI interface. R.I.P. the Amiga - killed by Commodore's inability to support end users. Bom - June 85. Murdered - May 92. M Barker Hull "If Commodore had any sense it would have released a 500 with a faster processor at least a year ago" I take your point about the Spectrum but the situation here is different. It's not as though you can significantly upgrade a Speccy by sticking in a 68040 card is it? No. The Speccy died because it was superseded by technological -7— advance. With the Amiga you can at least transform its power beyGnd belief and. with emulation, even run a 386 PC. MISUNDERSTOOD YES... It seems to me that Commodore has completely misunderstood where the A500 series now lies in the market place, namely that It is an upgradeable affordable machine capable of being used as a simple games machine or for more serious business purposes after improving the machine internally as well as externally. People are able to improve the performance of the A500 gradually as their pocket allows. My A500 for example has a Microbiotlcs VXL30 25Mhz accelerator board now with Co-Pro, an A590 fitted with 40 meg drive with two meg memory expansion and a SuperRam 500RX 2 meg ( at present) also a Rendale Genlock all of this added gradually. With the "/n short I think Commodore is very slowly committing suicide // scrapping of the A500 you will not have a machine in the A500 price bracket that can be turned In to a more powerful machine. Certainly ft would seem Impossible to improve an A600 In such a way! In short I think Commodore is very slowly committing suicide. It has developed two flexible machines (thanks largely to third party suppliers) called the A500 and the Plus. There is a huge network of companies supporting the A500 and it has a large amount of users. But It's been all thrown away. Wake up !! Mr G Scott Bognor Regis BUT UNEXPANDABLE? What on earth is Commodore doing switching to SMT (Surface Mount Technology). It makes the A600 virtually Impossible to expand to any large degree. This will stop a lot of people from buying them; for instance, small business' which need an emulator won't buy them, because none of the emulators can be plugged in. As a side effect of SMT. people with A500s could be worried about future expansions not being made for their machines. Also, what happens when Commodore releases new versions of custom chips? Can you see Amiga owners all over the country trying to solder a new Agnus Into the thing? It's difficult enough for a professional to do. As I see things at the moment Commodore needs to do one of two things (or both) if they want to stay on top. Either lower prices all round, (drastically In the case of the A3000) or upgrade the machines by a large amount so people are getting good value for money. I see room for four versions of the Amiga. The A600 for the games player. The A2000 for the serious home user. The A3000 for the professional on a budget. And lastly, the A4000 (with a 68040 CPU) for the professional who needs serious power. Stephen Boddy York - I don't think you should assume the A600 is unexpandable in the way you refer. It has a pretty decent 25-pin edge connector which opens up to the outside world of add-ons - it's just that CBM has caught everyone on the hop and there's none available yet. Time will tell... QUICK GOODBYES 2 Why didn't they give the A500 a faster processor, new custom chips and take notice of the tremendous Industry support out there? Build on success, not kick it in the teeth. John Ward Derby The only people who will enjoy the new A600 are the sort of people who think Mario and Sonic are the best thing since Space Invaders. Ian Shillito Uxbrldge All in all I think the A600 is a cut- down A 500 games console not worthy of the name Amiga and the sooner it dies the better. OrahamSmfth N Featherstone NOW the A500 Is dead, Commodore is bound to kill off the A2000 as well. It's OK to say trade-in buy a A3000 but they're overpriced and buying a 040 card for my 2000 would be cheaper. Robert Hart So there you have it.. .except for this: COMMODORE IS DEAD Stupid... idiotic... insane... the list goes on. There's sure to be loads of comment and anger over the loonies at Commodore scrapping the A500/A500 Plus - suffice to say I will personally never purchase any product by them ever again. Kev Allcock Stockport Just one of the many letters that seem to sum up 'the feeling on the street'. Depressing stuff maybe but take it from me - there's loadsa life in the old dog yet! NEXT MONTH TALKING SHOP will return to Its normal format - so get writing on anything and everything under the Amiga sun and send It to me, Andy Storer, at: Talking Shop, Amiga Shopper, 30, Monmouth St, Bath B A 1 2BW. AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 •AUGUST 1992 15 200 TOP TIPS HARD DRIVES Here it is - the greatest collection of Amiga tips ever printed. From programming in assembler to word processing, we give you the hints that ensure you get the most out of your machine. One basic tip before vou read on: subscribe to Amiaa Shoooer hard drive is one of the most essential purchases for all Amiga users. Choosing and using a hard drive can be tricky; there are quite a few different drives on the market, some are excellent, some arc real stinkera. How do you work out which is the best to buy? And once you have your hard drive, how should you go about using it. And how should you make sure your hard drive continues to perform flawlessly? 1 Space - Work out how much hard drive space you really need. Remember that each floppy disk you install on your hard drive will eat away nearly 1Mb of your precious storage. Don't expect to be able to install many games on hard drive. Most games are copy protected, so check on the boxes to see if they will allow hard disk installation. If you're only interested in word processing you can probably get away with a small 40Mb or 50Mb hard drive (the 20Mb drives still sold by some companies, in particular Commodore, are really not worth considering unless on a really tight budget). Desktop publishing, graphics, databases and programming require a little more space to work, and if you're going to do any multimedia work you're looking at big (500Mb+) hard drives. 2 Plug-in and go - Unless you know your SCSI terminators from your Rigid Disk Blocks, make sure you buy your hard drive and controller together and make sure that the drive ts Preformatted and installed by the supplier. This will mean you can plug in and go when you get your hard drive home, and you won't be frustrated with trying to get installation programs working. Under no circumstances be tempted to buy a hard drive cheap from an auction. Most of them don't work, and those that do will be almost impossible to link to the Amiga. You may think that £50 for an 80Mb drive is cheap when you buy it, but it's an expensive doorstop when you can't run it. 3 Drive mechanism - Check what type of drive mechanism is being supplied; most are SCSI, but some are XT or AT IDE drives. In general. SCSI is the best (as it will allow you to add up to six more drives. CD- ROMs, tapestreamers or other devices to your system), whereas IDE will only allow one extra hard drive to be attached (and on some controllers none at all). AT IDE and SCSI drives are more or less the same speed, but XT IDE and ^^^ w ^^fl L * ^^^. ^^ ^^^^ y ^^ i ' . L^^s ^m What's so hard about a hard drive? Get to grips with tips numbered one to ten and you'll be able to plug in and go! MFM/RLL drives are much slower, and should be avoided. 4 Drive standards - Commodore, when designing its new generation of Amiga hard drives (the A590 and the A2091) published a specification for hardware manafacturers to follow so that different drives and controllers from different manufacturers could be compatible. Fundamental to this is a feature called Rigid Disk Block (RDB). It means that a small table of information about the drive including where the partitions are set up. what file system they are using, and their names is written to a block on the disk. Any controller using the RDB system can then look at this block and correctly identify and use the drive, so a hard disk formatted on a Commodore Amiga 3000 can be read fine when plugged into the back of a GVP Impact 500 controller. This may not seem useful, but it means that software (such as drive optimisers and disk repair programs) can be written to function with all such controllers. Not all controllers support this. GVP. Commodore. Supra. IVS. ICD. Nexus and Microbotics controllers support RDB; some others do not. 5 Extras - Controllers vary widely in extras supplied. Some have room for expansion RAM to be fitted. often up to 8Mb. With Amiga 500 controllers check how much the full 8Mb will cost, in some (for example the Supra and GVP). using 8Mb requires expensive lMbx4 chips. Other extras to look out for are a SCSI through port (for adding contioved en pogt 18 16 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 ROCHARD RH800C EXTERNAL HARD DISK DRIVE FOR THE A500 AND A500+ « SW1 your Amiga and be amazed at the speed with which it « ■ If you're | rive for your Amiga, lis should be high i your list AMIGA SHOPPER REVIEW MAY 1992 streamline plastic casing for perfect fit to your A500 or A500 Plus upgradable HDD capacity (40MB and avove) with user friendly installation supports 2 IDE hard drives external SCSI port supports up to 7 extra SCSI hard drives or other SCSI periphals expandable to 8MB SIMM memory in 4 easy steps game switch ensures complete compatibility with game softwares can be used solely as a 8MB RAM expansion Augoconfig compatible and auloboot with Kickstart 1.3 and above auto power sensing reliable external power supply unit included ROCTEC 52MB SCSI.0K £339 105MB £1QQ SCSI,0K iw ORDERS CONTACT: 316 SUPPLIES, SULLYVIEW INDUSTRIAL ESTATE. BARRY, SOUTH GLAMORGAN. CF6 3BE (0446) 421316 ORDERS CONTACT: EVESHAM MICROS LTD. UNIT 9. ST. RICHARDS ROAD EVESHAM. WORCS. WR11 6XJ (0386) 765500 DEALERS ONLY CALL: ZYE TECHNOLOGY LTD.. UNIT 2. ALPINE WORKS. OAK ROAD. CRAWLEY. WEST SUSSEX RH118AJ (0293) 538666 M i T I D iiffBPrf A* MnduriHl to / *c Humu tmnenttttn 0292 775ft / 1 200 TOP TIPS HARD DRIVES/2D PAINT PACKAGES N> rofttinunH from pngn 16 oxtcrnol drives), a game switch (for disabling the hard disk to load floppy based games), and an external power supply (essential if you've got a hard drive plus Fast RAM). 6 Through porta - If you've got an Amiga 500 and you've already got a dovice plugged into the oftponoion Docket to the left of the Amiga, you may have to remove this to use the hard drive. While some hard drives and other devices have through ports, these are notoriously unreliable, and you don't want your hard drive to crash while you're in the middle of saving something. 7Vlru« alert - Once you novo got your hard drive up and running you should install a virus checker on your machine to avoid infection. The only types of viruses that con infect a hard drive are file viruses'. The hard drive does not have a boot block' In the some way that a floppy disk has, co virucoe cannot infect it this way. Always boot with your hard drive if possible; if you have to boot with a foreign disk disable the hard drive if you can. Another good way to avoid viruses is to upgrade to Kickstart 2.04 - most viruses do not work under the new operating system, particularly the nasty Saddam virus. 8 Backing up - Back up your hard disk regularly. It is well worth investing in professional backup software {Quarterback 5 and Ami Back are two of the best) to do the job properly. If you've got a large hard disk you will either need a lot of blank disks and a lot of spare time, or a SCSI tapestreamer. which can back up over 500Mb in one go. 9 Fragmentation - You may find that after a few weeks use your drive will seem to slow down, this is because the disk is fragmented. Files are not always stored in one lump on the disk: sometimes, if there are no gaps large enough for the file to fit in one place, the file will be split Into several fragments' which are placed on different physical areas of the disk (although it will still appear as one file to the Amiga). When you try and load this file it will take much longer (as it has to load several small parts). To cure this you need to 'defragment' your hard drive. To do this you can back up all the files on to disks, reformat and restore all the files, or use a program such as Quarterback Tools to defragment the drive (Always back up the drive before defragmenting). 1 /\ Parking - Most hard drives JL" have autoparking (when the power is turned off the drive heads move to a safe place for transit). All modem SCSI drives autopark, so you'll never have to use the Park programs provided with the drives. Only elderly A590s need to use Park: modern A590s have SCSI drives which autopark. Virtually every Amiga owner in the known universe owns a 20 paint package. Whether you use DPaint or Photon Paint, DigiPaint or SpectraColour, here's a few tips to help you get the most from your pixel punching program. UHAM - Amiga paint packages generally come in two flavours - HAM {Photon Paint 2. DigiPamt etc) and non-HAM {DPaint 3. Express- Paint etc). Although several paint packages are not starting to bridge this gap (notably DPaint 4), which type of paint package to buy is a difficult decision. Generally though, always go for a non-HAM package first and move up to HAM later. HAM can be a pain to work with, so you'll find a non-HAM paint package much easier to contend with. •| C% Basic tools - When choosing 1m a HAM paint package, check that your chosen program includes all the basic painting tools. Many HAM paint packages are available that offer a multitude of power (but often useful) extra features, but fail to deliver basic painting tools. DigiPaint 3 is a good example of this. Although it is arguably the fastest and most capable HAM paint package available, it lacks a fill tool. DPaint 4 is a very capable HAM paint package but it can be painfully slow. 1 O ' ma 6 e processslng - A good XO companion product to any 2D paint package is an image processing program such as ASDG's Art Department Professional or Progressive's PIXmate. These can be a godsend when you need to convert images between different formats (a low resolution picture to high resolution, a HAM picture to 32 colours etc). Unless you're working with 24-bit images. PIXmate is the best image processing program available. It's available from Silica Systems on 081 309 1111. M Shading - Realistic shading effects can be achieved quickly and easily within DPaint using its excellent 'Smooth' facility. To create graduated shading between two colours, create a spread of colours between the two colours you wish to blend and then use the Freehand Dotted tool to smooth over the border. This can be very effective when used on postensed images. "1 Q Changing size - If you need to A O resize an image to either low. medium or high resolution within DPaint, simply alter the page size to the same as the screen mode you desire. DPaint will then ask you whether you want the bitmap stretched or compressed to fit the new page size. Although the image will still be saved in the original format, just select 'Cancel' when DPaint asks you whether you wish to change the screen mode when the image is loaded into a screen of the desired mode. 15 Colour conversion - If you need to convert a HAM picture to 32 colours or less under DPaint 4. set the screen mode to the mode that you wish the image to be converted to and then load the HAM image in as if it were a 32 colour image. DPaint 4 will then convert the HAM image to 32 colours for you, removing the need to use a separate image processing program. DPaint 3 has a similar facility, but it cannot handle HAM images. Unravel the mysteries of shading, colour conversion and Image processing with tips 11 through 20. Never before has handling DPaint been this easy ■| /J Stencils - Large unconnected A \3 areas can be re-coloured without affecting other areas of the same colour with ease using DPamt's stencil function. Simply select the Stencil function and then mark the colour that you wish to recolour, click on 'Invert' and then Make'. You can then recolour the areas in question in bulk using the filled rectangle tool without messing up any of the colours that surround them. The Stencil is very powerful but few users seem to use it to its full potential. 1 W Mono digitising - If you do a X f lot of digitising using a mono video digitiser such as VidiAmiga. then get your hands on DigiPamt 3. DigiPaint 3 has a very powerful 'Colorize' function which enables you to apply coloured tints to any area of a monochrome images. The results are very impressive indeed. If you can't quite stretch to the price of a colour digitiser. then DigiPaint 3 provides a quick and easy method of adding colour to any mono image. 1 Q Extra HalfBrite - Alth °ugh the It/ Amiga's rather obscure Extra HalfBrite mode is usually pretty useless, it can be very useful indeed for adding shading effects to images with DPaint. Say for example you wanted an object to cast a shadow on to another object within DPaint. All you would have to do is to pick up the object that is to cast the shadow as a brush, select 'HalfBrite' from the Mode menu and stamp the brush down where the shadow is to appear. The brush will then be pasted down using darker shades of the pixels in the background. 20 Background and foreground - If you need to mix a background from one image with the foreground from another (both with different palettes), reduce both to sixteen colours in low resolution, load in the first, pick it up as a brush and then save it off to disk. Load in the second image then load in the first in its brush form and then select Remap Colours'. DPaint will then automatically mix the two images and create a new palette that retains both palettes. 18 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 WORKBENCH/RAM EXPANSIONS 200 TOP TIPS Preferences Vi,3,tB EJUS. Reset 38 Jan 92 17138 Key Repeat Delay Short I > | Long Key Repeat Speed Slow f TlFast Workbench Interlace Prom screen size to mouse speed, you can customise your whole set-up with the aid of the Preferences screen. Printer and serial port (used for modems) BOttlngc can also bo altered Much of the Amiga's power goes unnoticed by the new user, who Instead often becomes frustrated at Its apparent inability to carry out a simple task. Much of this frustration can be avoided by learning the little tricks and tips that make life easier. So off we go with ten tips for getting to grips with the Amiga's Workbench. Avoid all that tiresome rummaging through countless reference manuals. Read on, and become a power user... 21 Drawers - These are a convenient means of filing programs and data. Placing sometning in a drawer is a matter of selecting its icon, dragging it over the drawer and releasing it. A new drawer is created by making a copy of the existing Empty drawer. (Select Duplicate from the Workbench menu). This can be renamed and placed wherever you like. Have an organising principle behind your drawers. You might choose to place all of your DTP software in one drawer, all of your programming languages in another, and all of your graphics files in a third. There moy well be drawers within each of these, determined by each package's requirements. C\ f\ The Trashcan - Get rid of an £i m unwanted file by dragging this icon into the Trashcan; even a drawer and its contents can be deleted this way. Nothing is actually removed from the disk until you click on the Trashcan and then select Empty Trash from the Disk menu. Until then you can double click on the Trashcan and it will reveal its contents in a window. f\ O Snapshot - This repositions £i O icons and windows. If you want to move an icon to a different area in its window, select it and move it to its new home. Then select Snapshot from the Special menu, thus storing its new position. Windows can be moved around the Workbench screen and re-sized in a similar manner - to do this the window alone must be selected. You can Snapshot several icons by multiple selection. While holding down the [Shift] key, select each icon in turn by single clicking on it. They should all become selected. Now choose Snapshot; all of their new positions will be remembered. O Fi Preterences ~ Tne Preferences £i T" program, found in the Preferences drawer of Workbench, enables you to customise various Workbench settings: screen colours can be altered with the slider controls at the bottom left of the screen; the sensitivity of the mouse can be adjusted such that a physical movement corresponds to a varying degree of movement in the screen pointer; and the delay between a left mouse button double click can be altered, as can the key repeat speed. You can choose between having 60 and 80 characters in a column - 60 columns is easier to read on a TV. There is also a choice between interlaced and non-interlaced screens. An interlaced screen has twice as many horizontal lines in it, and as such it can display twice as much information, C\ [* Initialize - This prepares disks £i %J for use by the Amiga. Any blank disks you buy must go through this process before anything can be stored on them. If you initialise (sometimes called 'format') a disk already in use, then all information stored on the disk will be lost. To initialise a disk, put it in the drive, click on its icon once and select Initialize from the Disk menu. O #? Duplicate - This copies the M \J entire contents of one disk to another. Click on the disk to be copied and then select Duplicate from the Workbench menu. You will be asked to periodically insert the source (the disk you are copying from) and the destination (copying to) disks as the process goes on. Duplicate can also be used to copy files. Select the icon and then Duplicate. C% *y Copying files without icons - mt f This is often necessary when copying PD programs to Workbench or hard disk. If a file doesn't have an icon, the only way you can see it is via the Shell. Open the Shell and make the Dir. Copy and Makedir commands resident by typing: resident c:dir and so on. Then insert your PD disk and find out what is on it by typing 'dir'. Transfer each of the listed files to your destination disk using the Copy command: copy df0:Pil«Of Interest J MyDiek: Other files will be held in directories. If directories with the same names already exist on your destination disk, then copy the files into those directories. Otherwise, make a directory of the same name on the destination disk: makedir MyDisk:NewDirectory and then copy the files across. C\ Q Info - Among other things, Ld O this Workbench menu option can be used to link a project with its parent application. If you have a program written in AmigaBasic. then you can write the name of its application and where it can be found in the Default Tool box of the file's Info window - in this case 'Extras 1.3:AmigaBasic'. You can then use the project by clicking on its icon instead of having to click on its application first and loading the project from there. If you later move the application to another disk, you can modify the Default Tool box in the project's Info window to point to the application's new location. O O SetMa P ~ Tn,s le,ls lne Amiga Li J/ which national keyboard you are using. It is found in the Systems drawer. Click once on SetMap. select Info from the Workbench menu, click in the Tool Types [Add] box and type the following: KEYMAP=gb {The first word must be in capitals.) Press [Return] and click on [Save]. Now run the SetMap program by double clicking on it. thus setting up your keyboard as a British one. Q A RAM Disk - The RAM disk can O \3 be used like an ordinary floppy disk, but is faster and its size is limited only by the memory available. Penodically save your work to floppy, because a power loss or a reset will erase its contents. uying the right RAM expansion to suit your needs can be a bit of a minefield - especially if you have one of the traditionally more limited machines such as the A 500 or even the latest A600. If you have a bigger model the choice Is generally more limited - but the options are better. 31 How much do you need? - This depends a tot on the type of applications you intend to run. For most jobs, other than playing games, consider 1Mb to be the absolute minimum. The more complex the application, the more memory it will require. Incidentally, the size of an application does not determine its RAM requirements - a program just a few bytes long could literally grab GIGAbytes of RAM in one go. In practice of course, this rarely happens, but assume most packages (ontiavtd on pogt 21 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 19 £p & s& h <^ s^ ROCLITE 3.5 SLIMLINE DRIVE Amiga Format says 'beautifully mad© slimline drive, quick and qutet with ail the extras - 86%' ♦ 3V 880KB Ejftemai Dftve ♦ AcceBttme 3ms trocfc to ttock 4-0.9' high ♦ EnoDto/dbaDle switch ♦ 23 pm pass through socket 4» Allow, connection to a 3rd drive £54.95 MITSUBISHI DISKETTES 3.5' MICRO FLOPPY DISK MF-2DO 3.5' D5DD 135lpi 1MB Ibox 2-5 boxe» £6.93 £6.46 MF-2HD 3.6' DSHD I 35tpl 2MB Ibox 2-5 boxes (14.00 512.90 5-10 boxes £6.22 5-10 boxes £10.00 ' Our diskettes ore 100% error free and carry a lifetime guarantee. We only sell top quality products! I NO APOLOGIES JUST QUALITY! QUALITY DISKS! QUALITY VALUEI FREE STORAGE BOX! 3; DISKS MITSUBISHI DSDDIMb DSHD 2Mb m £12.92 £25.80 50 061 200 3i DISKS .£31.10 £60.00 £110.00 £5000 £95.00 £180.00 UNBRANDED 50 100 200 500 DSDDIMb 521.15 £41 12. £7990 £182.12 DSHD 2Mb. £17.00 ..£32.50 £64 00. £122.20 ADD UP STARTER PACK includes ♦ DUSTCOVER. ♦ MOUSE MAT £9.99 ♦ 3.5- CL£ANING KIT ♦ 5 x 3.5" DISKETTES 3 5 LOCK ABU STORAGE BOXES /uu«_upactiY tivvs 40Capaciiy £5.50 lOOCapacity £0.95 25 Capacity £3 95 80 Capacity £6 50 10 Capacity £0 65 50Copoclty £6.25 MavertCk QS128F F»aht< f «Y JOYSTICKS £14 95 Qulckshot Turbo £9 50 £8 95 SpeedWng Autoflre £10 50 £9 95 Cheetah Bug . £13 95 ACCESSORIES ■ ■ f - Mouse Mat Moure Pocket 2 p*ece Universal Printer Stand Mullfunctlon Printer Stand , Monitor Stand, (tilt/swivel) O.D wieonina Rl* i . . i Computer Cleaning Kit. 14* Colour Screen Filter Monitor Ptynth Mouse Pad Station includes mouse pad. mouse holder wrist rest and pen/penc« tray ADDUP Starter Pack tor IBM users mc 5 * 3.5* DSOD. 1 x mouse mat. I ■ 3 5 - cleaning kit and 1 * keyboard dustcover 80 capacity BANX storage box CAKES AND SWITCHES ■ ■ ■ ■ -•+■ »-* Parolel Printer Cable RS232 EXTENSION CABLES CENTRONICS PLUG TO PLUG DATA SWITCHES - MANUAL 2 pfinlea fo ' compute' 2 computers to 1 printer 4 computers to 1 printer 2 computers to 2 printers 2 metre 3metre 5 metre ' Kj iTT^Tr^r x merr e 3 metre . 5metre lOmetre 2 metre , 3 metre 5 metre Poranei £13 50 £1350 £21.00 ""•"" ..£2 50 ..©35 .£3.95 £595 £1599 £12 95 £2.25 £9 95 £9 95 £22 96 £6 99 £9 99 £9 99 £5.25 £9.50 £13.95 £22.50 .£6.50 .£8.95 .£10.95 £20.50 ...£9 50 £1150 £16 95 Serial £13 50 £1350 £20.50 l*° *o ROCGEN PLUS GENLOCK ♦ User friendly design. easy Instalation ♦ Video-Thru & RGB - Thru Ports ,♦ vanaple fading effect: inversion of overlay function ♦ key-in port for expan- sion with externol keying device ♦ Compatible with all Amiga models & Commodore CDTV £175.00 MICE & SCANNERS ROCTEC AMIGA MOUSE rm3000 Superbly styled, ergonomlc design Smooth precoe operationl 20Oc»pl/500mm/5ec £13.95 OPTICAL MEGA MOUSE 6leod.300dpl £29.95 NAKSHA SCANNER for Amiga 500 £1 15.00 DAATASCAN PROFESSIONAL A625 SCANNER 2/3/400 dpi £170 00 MONITORS PHILIPS CM8833/1 1 STEREO 14 - COLOUR MONITOR. Covered by a 12 month warranty includes connecting cable, green screen switch UK specifications £229.99 SPECIAL OFFER Free storage box with every 50 disks ordered BEST BUYS SAVE£££ s ROCTEC MOUSE QUICKSHOT TURBO JOYSTICK ADD UP STARTER PACK OUH PRICE £28.50 6&M- ROCTEC MOUSE MOUSE PAD STATION 3.5" CLEANING KIT 10 3.5' DISK IN PLASTIC BOX SXtt OUR PRICE £23.50 t)^l ROCTEC SLIMLINE DRIVE 10X3.5' DISKS IN PLASTIC BOX 3.5' CLEANING KIT. 100 CAPACITY STORAGE BOX SJfrGS OUR PRICE £63.50 6eal SMrTT UNIVERSAL PRINTER STAND. AMIGA DUST COVER. 1 REAM A4 PAPER. 14- SCREEN FILTER. KEYBOARD STATION. OUfl PRICE £35.50 f*M- ADDUP AMIGA A500 PLUS UPGRADE. 1Mb EXPANSION BOARD. 14" SCREEN FILTER. 50 x 3.5- DISKETTES. 50 CAPACITY STORAGE BOX, £U#S0 OUR PRCb £93.95 AMIGA UPGRADES ADDUP A500 Plus 1 Mb RAM expansion board £63 95 AMIGA EXTERNAL FLOPPY DRIVES A0OUP Dora L>mj 3 5' rvoppy orr^e simine T ftopov drtve £5595 INTERNAL RAM EXPANSION Amiga A501 RAM/clock expansion unit 500/500 Plus £99 50 Amiga A2508 8Mb RAM board 1500/2000 £345.00 GVP SIMM 32bit 1Mb Upgrode- 60ms 1500/2000 £6600 GVP SIMM 32bU 4Mb Upgrade -60ms 1 500/2000 £195.00 LASER PRINTERS DOT MATRIX Brother Ml 309 9pm SOcol £175.00 Citizen 120D9 pin SOcol £12500 Citizen Swift 9 pin SOcol £155 00 Star LC200 colour 9pm £160.00 Brother 1324 24pin SOcol £230.00 Star LC24-200 colour 24pln £225.00 Cr frzeo Swtft 24 24pm ..£199.00 Brother HL4V £765.00 Brother HL4 PS £1400.00 Brother HL8E £1150.00 Brother HL8V , £1250.00 HP LaserJet III £835.00 StarLP4 £725.00 Canon LBP4 £705.00 Canon BJ10E £22500 HP Deskjet 500 £385.00 HP Deskjet 500 colour £57500 INK -JET PRINTERS HOW TO ORDER BY PHONE 0446 421316 BY FAX 0446 420404 BY POST 316 SUPPLIES LTD 7/8 TY VERLON INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, BARRY, SOUTH GLAMORGAN CF6 3BE Acces ALL PRICES INCLUDE VAT CARRIAGE COSTS All ORDERS ARE NORMALLY DESPATCHED TO YOU WITHIN 48 HOURS OF ORDERING Please add S3 60 per order tot carnage up fo i2k*os Over 12 tokx chargea w RAM EXPANSIONS/BASIC PROGRAMMING 200 TOP TIPS limited power modules capable of driving about 2Mb RAM and a single external drive. Internal RAM expansions will cause extra drain and may shorten the life of both the PSU and the machine. External units are less of a problem since most come supplied with (or support) an extra PSU. If you need 2Mb or The Cortex 1Mb - te easy to install that the Instructions are on the back of the box (ontmocd fiom page It require twice their own size (in bytes) of RAM ana you won't go Tar wrong. Oa What will ,1 O M coat? If one thing is certain. PAM is never cheap and the price fluctuates all the time. Interestingly, the price (and availability) of silicon is often blamed although few RAM chips are manufactured from silicon and utilise a system of evaporated metal oxide. The price of an upgrade is determined by two major factors: basic capacity and upward expansion. The basic configuration determines the initial price. The type and design of the expansion fixes the future cost - this point is especially applicable to A500 expansions. Q Q Wi " rt ** compatible? - OO Owners of A2000 and similar machines should have few problems with compatibility between boards since the expansion bus system is quite well defined. The problem is aggravated with the A500 since some manufacturers shoehorn their internal boards into the memory map with software patches. More costly, external expansions such as those made by Supra, Power and Cortex use a well defined standard called Autoconfig IM which solves most, if not all, the problems. The final proof of the pudding is testing it - and then it's often too late. If budget allows, slick with external boards. {One exception to this rule is the 512K and 1Mb trapdoor cards.) O Fa Is power drain a problem? - O^ Again, this is something where the bigger machines score over their baby brothers. On larger Amigas, the internal PSU is designed to cope with large RAM expansions and other cards. The story with the A500/600 is somewhat different though. Both these machines have The Zydec 512K - one add-on for the A500 and the A500 Plus you definitely shouldn't forget more, prefer one of these to the internal option. 35 Four or 16 chips? - In theory at least. RAM is RAM and the story ends there. Chip manufacturers are always getting more bytes per- inch and therefore, the number of chips required to fulfil a certain memory requirement drops. An interesting aside to this is: as the chip count is reduced so are both the power consumption and the heat dissipation. Also, four chip designs are less complex, cheaper to produce in large quantities and probably more reliable. Given the option, the lower chip count is usually the better bet. 36 Chip or Fast RAM? - This question only applies to the A500/600 and A3000 machines. The first expansion you buy will probably be Chip RAM since these are the cheapest. (On the A3000. you can swap the bits around as you add more RAM.) The vast majority of applications don't care what sort of RAM you have - so long as there is enough to go around. Chip RAM is gobbled up by screen displays and the sound system so this is the most important. Q ^f 512K trapdoor expansion O I with the A500 Plus - As a rule this is a waste of money, unless the budget is tight. RAM added to the trapdoor is automatically mapped for the custom chips and the A500 Plus supports 2Mb of CHIP RAM. As has already been mentioned. Chip RAM is the most important for most applications, so get as much as you can afford. The choice for A600 owners is much more limited at present, and it seems unlikely a 512K expansion of this type will be produced. Such a device would be a white elephant anyway. O Q Throughports - Sideways RAM O O expansions for the A500/500 Plus come in two groups: those with throughports and those without. In a perfect world. Autoconfig™ should take care of RAM in any number of external devices up to the machine's theoretical memory limit. In practice throughports can be more trouble than they are worth: some A590s for instance are known to suffer problems with the Supra 500RX. However, a RAM expansion without a throughport is a dead end - so if you cannot afford a combination unit, prefer the design with a throughport. Q Q PC emulators? - Some of the O %J more recent hardware based PC emulators such as the new Vortex card for the A1500/2000 series machines have their own RAM anyway. Emulators for the A500/500 Plus are more problematical. Both AT- Once and the KCS Powerboard will use any Autoconfig™ RAM - the KCS system supplies its own RAM anyway. If you have a PC emulator, or intend to buy one. avoid internal RAM expansions - especially those with software patches. /i f\ ComD,natlon units ~ Combo TTvJ cards, those incorporating RAM expansions with accelerators, hard disk controllers - you name it - are always going to cost more in the short term because of the extra bits. However, on the A500 at least, combinations represent very good value for money because they can save a lot of incompatibility problems in the future. However, you should be careful to choose a card which will fulfil your RAM requirements both now and in the future. The A590, for instance, only supports an extra 2Mb of on- board RAM. This might seem attractive initially, but it soon gets used up. A1500/2000 owners have it easier and there are generally less compatibility problems. asic Is by far the most popular programming language. Just about everyone who has ever begun to program has started with Basic. It Is easy to learn, easy to understand, and offers far more power than many people think. Here are some tips to help the would-be programmers (and the more experienced but lax programmers) on their way: Fa "I Design before you code - 4 X Always create a logical 'blueprint' of the program you wish to write. You are not aiming for perfection, just something to guide you on the way! Fa C% Documentation - Do produce TA at least skeleton documentation while you are developing the program rather than afterwards. This way the program is still fresh in your mind. Fa O Use comments - It may be ^O obvious to you now what actions your masterpiece performs, but it may not be in a couple of years! Use comments to divide the program into named sections to make the program far more readable. See Figure 1 on page 22 for an example. Fa Fa Clear variable names - ^T" Nowadays Basic allows the use of long variables names, so make the most of this facility to create helpful, descriptive, code. Admittedly code written in this style will take longer to type, but it is guaranteed to make more sense than the cryptic use of variables named 'A', 'B' and so on. Fa J* Minimize the use of globals - T"»jGlobal variables are variables which can be accessed (and changed) from anywhere within a program. Although they are useful at times (error indicators and program exit flags are examples of where global variables can be used to good effect) it is usually better to create isolated procedures which work with local copies of any data that is passed to them. Fa f* Keep your code clean - Isolate ^ vf any control sequences that your program might need so that the main body of code is not littered with awkward-to-read statments like this MIDI/serial-port related fragment... AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 •AUGUST 1992 21 200 TOP TIPS BASIC PROGRAMMING/DESKTOP PUBLISHING PRICT* 1,CHR$(4H90 OR J channel) +CHRS (note) +CHR$ J Embedding these types of control sequences will make your programs look messy and more difficult to maintain. The best idea is to isolate the sequences into separate subroutines or functions. For the above example the preliminary user defined function dpfinition... DE¥ raNoteonS(note,ch)«CHR$ J (&H90 OR J ch ) tCHRS ( note ) tCHRS < 64 ) would enable the rest of the program to send its data by using the more readable expression... nuwTffi, J FNNoteOn$ ( note , channel ) A m Isolate I/O Code - Try to T^ I eliminate all I/O and machine dependent statements from the main parte of rode. Instead access these facilities indirectly. You do not want statements such as the following... PR0MPT$="Please enter a J record number" COLOUR 1,4 SAY TRANSLATES (PROMPTS) J INPUT This would mean that the program was linked to the computer on which the program was writtten. The best idea is to reference the facilities using function calls, subroutines or, subprograms... REM COLLECT - MATRIX COLLECT: FOR RCW%=1 TO N% FOR C0LUMN% = 1 TO N% PRINT'A (-;R0W%;-,*;C0LUMN%;-) ... "; INPUT TT<R0W%,C0LUMN%) A ( ROW% , COLUMN% ) =U ( ROW% , COLUMN* ) NEXT COLUWrt INVERSE. L(R0W%, ROW*) =1 'Not relevant to the collection of 'the matrix - it's just that this 'input loop is a convenient place 'to set up an identity matrix. NEXT RCW% REM Figure 1: Use REM statements to isolate, and document, your code sections FNSetScreenColour(RED) 00SUB UserMeseage GOSUB Collectlnput rem Get record number These are useful if you want to write programs that can be easily moved to other machines. In these cases, aim to eliminate all screen graphics commands, data input or other I/O and 0/S specific references from the main body of the code and place them in a set of isolated subroutines at the end of the program. To get such a program running on another machine you will probably have to re- write most of those I/O or 0/S related calls... but the important point is that you are unlikely to have to alter the main body of code. Jj Q Subroutines which do nothing ^O- You might be forgiven for thinking that subroutines which do nothing serve little purpose. In fact routines such as the one shown below can be useful... REM D - N DoNothing: RETURN THING Supposing an input value S has five different possible states and. depending on the value of S, a program has to execute one of five subroutines. The code could be based on an arrangement such as... IP (S >0 AND S <6) THEN ON J S GOSUB A, B, C, D, E where A, B. C. D and E are the subroutines which perform the processing associated with the five values. During development some of these may be non-operational (or nonexistent), so you need some way of preventing certain subroutines from being executed. Suppose you wanted to prevent subroutine C from being used in the above example - just replace the reference to subroutine C with a reference to a subroutine that does nothing, like this... IF (S >0 AND S <6) THEN ON J S GOSUB A, B, DoNothing, D, E The approach is useful when you have a large number of possible test values and where not all values require a subroutine to be executed. One example is the execution of routines performed when control characters are detected. On the basis of detecting keypresses related to particular control codes you may wish to perform certain subroutines but in all probability you will not wish to support all possible control characters. Executing a 'Do Nothing" routine for all control characters that you do not wish to support provides an easy solution. f, t~\ Plan for the unexpected - ^2/ Your program should be user- friendly but don't expect the user to be program-friendly. Assume that the user will make all possible mistakes as far as use and data input are concerned and plan so that your programs do not come to a grinding halt when a user puts a wrong disk into the drive or supplies a wrong input value. Programs should provide error messages (and helpful prompts) to guide the user back on course. C| /\ Keep It simple - Clarity will 4j vf pay off. Remember, one day you may need to look at (and understand) the code you wrote years ago in order to make changes. Pw hether vou are producing the occasional single sheet flyer, a fanzine or even a whole book, you'll find the following tips Invaluable for getting the very best results out of your desktop publishing package. J* ^ Memory considerations - To %J X conserve memory (and increase the speed at which the program operates) work on a 2- colour non-interlaced screen. Professional Page has switches for this in its Preferences menu; PageStream users will need to alter the Tool Types of the program's icon so that C0L0RS=2 and INTERLACE=No. Memory can be further conserved by opening the program on the Workbench. Alter PageStream's or Professional Page's SCREEN Tool Type so that SCREEN=Workbench. Alternatively, Professional Page users can open the program on a 2- colour non-interlaced screen and then switch the Workbench off from the Preferences menu, which conserves even more memory. £ C\ Keeping It fast - O^Compugraphic fonts, bitmaps and structured drawings all take time (and memory) to render, so it makes Is DTP a prickly subject? Scaling down pictures and other DTP tips will become second nature with the tricks of the trade presented on these pages 22 AMIGA 5H0PPIR • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 DESKTOP PUBLISHING/SOUND SAMPLING 200 TOP TIPS sense to cut as many corners as possible. • Professional Page users - Once you have a bitmap scaled to the size you want it. X-out the graphic by selecting the Hide button in the Alter Current Box requester, if you're working with a structured drawing, make sure wireframe mode is on. or else vou 11 nave to wait ror an the mi patterns and line thichncsacs to render. When come text has been imported and requires no more editorial changes, hide the boxes containing that text so that it gets greeked' instead of rendered. • Pagestream users - You can't tilde individual bitmaps, so import, size and position all the bitmaps vou require right at the start, then toggle the 5huw pictures option in tne view menu to cross them all out. f* Q 24-bit pictures - Professional \J O Page usccj do nut need lots of memory to import 24-bit pictures, out tneyii need a fair on to oe aoie to print them to a Preferences printer. The Amiga's printer. device supports only up to 4,096 colours. so it you are printing to a non- PostScript printer you may as well convert your 24-bit pictures down to HAM to save memory, time and disk space. Remember that HAM pictures can be interlaced, but they must be lo-res, so scale the width to 50 per cent of the height to keep the aspect ratio. J* yj Bitmaps - Amiga bitmaps •3^ have a resolution of 75 dpi. To reduce the Oluchineaa of printed output, scale bitmaps down (within the DTP program) to at least 50 per cent. If your printer's graphics output resolution is 300 dpi. 25 per cent is the smallest you can go before the software has to start removing data from the bitmap; if your printer is 240 dpi (9-pin) that figure is 31.25 per cent, for 360 dpi printers (24-pin and bubble jet) it is 20.83 per cent. [■ [■ Squaring pixels - Screen Vv pixels are not exactly square, and at some resolutions (like med- res) they are positively rectangular. You can help tne UTP software to make a better job of scaling and printing them by preparing bitmaps beforehand by converting them to hi- res interlaced format. Do this with Art Department by selecting Hi Res and Lace from the screen controls panel, and then (if necessary) enlarge the Y dimension (height) by 200 per cent. Do this in Deluxe Paint by selecting Screen Format from the Picture menu and selecting the Hi-Res button. When the software asks if you want the image stretched to fill the page, say 'Yes'. If your bitmap contains too many colours for hi res mode, convert to lo- res non-interlaced. K H Mono P r,nt,n g - If you are %J \J printing to a monochrome printer then there's not a lot of point in using coloured pictures, converting them to 16 levels of grey beforehand will save time and memory. The best tool to do this with is Art Department Professional, but Deluxe Paint is also able to convert to 16 greys, even from HAM. although you have to put some work in. First load the picture and then change its Screen Format to 16 colours. Then bring up the palette tool and change colour to black and colour 15 to white. Click on the black colour, click on Spread, click on the white colour. Now select Remap from the Color menu to get the picture looking normal again. J* W Screen frequency - O I PageStream users can take advantage of the Screen Frequency feature of the Edit Coordinates requester to get better greyscale output. If your printer is 300 dpi, make the screen frequency figure 75 to get the printer to produce 16 greyscales. Increasing that figure to (say) 100 will give you a higher apparent output resolution (the dots will be printed closer together), but fewer levels of grey will be produced. Decreasing the screen frequency to (say) 60 will allow more levels of grey (handy for 256 greyscale TlFFs) but the apparent resolution will decrease as the dots will be printed further apart. 360 dpi printers should have a screen frequency of 90 to get 16 greyscale output. 240 dpi printers should have a screen frequency of 60. (■J Q TurboPrint Professional - %J O Professional Page and PageSetter II users will get much better greyscale output if TurtyoPrint Professional is doing the dithering, rather than Preferences. If you find that pictures are coming out too dark, adjust TurboPrint s Gamma Correction upwards slightly and try again. Each picture will be different, so you will need to experiment each time to get the best results. If you have more than one greyscale picture on a page, you may have to compromise with a happy medium. g Q Colour printing- You're \J \J asking a lot for a 9-pin. 24-pin or inkjet printer to give you top quality colour output of HAM pictures. Each picture, and each printer, will give different results, but one trick you can try in order to get better printed output is to convert the HAM picture to 32 colours (or fewer) before importing into the DTP package. Again. Art Department Professional is the best tool to use. but Deluxe Paint can do a similar thing by simply changing the Screen Format to 32 colours and letting it compute a new palette. The picture won't look as good on-screen, but it will probably print better. £ f\ Using the RAM disk - When 0\/ you are printing a desktop published page to a Preferences printer you are basically dumping a massive picture. It takes time for the software to create that picture in memory, time to transfer it to the printer, and time for the printer to print it. You can speed things up. if you have the memory, by using the CMD tool in order to send the output to a RAM file instead of the printer, and then using the Copy command to send the file to the printer for printing. Double click the CMD icon, and then 'print' your page or document. When it has finished, quit the DTP program and open a CLI or Shell. Type the command COPY RAM:CMD FILE TO PAR: and the page/document will get printed. Depending on what you are printing, this method can reduce printout times by up to 25 per cent. If you can afford It, then dump the sample editor that came with your sampler and treat yourself to a copy of AudioMaster 4 f your samples don't quite I come up to scratch, or you're confused by the plethora of poorly documented Sound Tracker programs around, read on and gain some handy Insights into the world of Amiga sound f+ 1 Quality - The quality of the \J X samples that are obtainable from any sampler will only be as good as the source signal that you feed it. If you're sampling from a crummy tape deck, then the results that you get wont be that good. Unless you're sampling real world sounds (speech. for example) then always try to sample from CD. Even the cheapest CD players will consistently give you much better results than audio tape simply because of the cleaner audio signal that a CD can output. £JO Leads - Another equally \j£i important factor to consider when you sample from an audio source is the quality of the audio lead that you use to connect the sampler and your audio source together. Many samplers come with their own sampling lead, but these are rarely any good. If you can spare a couple of pounds, then take a trip to your AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 23 200 TOP TIPS SOUND SAMPLING/COMMUNICATIONS local music technology store and treat yourself to a professional audio lead. Considering their relatively low price (about £5 for 3 metres), these leads will substantially increase the quality of your samples. /J O Microphones - If you're DO sampling real life sounds, then a decent microphone is a worthwhile purchase. Many samplers do como with thoir own microphones hut I have yet to see a microphone that could be described as anything oilier than a tolal waste of space. Once again, a trip down to your local music technology store will be well worth the effort. Have a chat with the salesman - he will be able to advise you on which microphone is best for you. You may have to pay at least £40 for a decent mike, but the results will be worth it. £*/a Stereo and mono - When "t? purchasing a sampler, don't Ignore mono samplers in favour of the trendier stereo units that hove flooded the market To be perfectly honest, stereo sampling on anything other than a Fairlight or a Synclavier (two professional samplers with price tags to match) is a complete waste of time. Stereo samples not only use up twice as much memory as a mono sample, but they also restrict you to Wave goodbye to the MIDI blues. Sampling's a cinch with the tips numbered 61 to 70 sampler, it may be worth your while ditching the sample editing software bundled with the sampler in favour of one of the stand alone sample editor programs now available on the marKet. These may cost you anything from £50 u-*-Qct*MEO-Profiuion*Hv3.oo) FILES HISC [iDBB vol / ?** * ■ VOL H£H Qfl FILTER U ti 13 STS SPUD 833/63 IMSTR MIDI SVHTH ▼ 0EL CHANNELS „„ flftY SON* COMT. 50NG BLOCK TRANS ShPED I INSj 1 5 I 7 Q HAV ILOCK COMT. ILOCK ED j T RANGE SLIST nm 889/812 12 1 w chad !!!!!m8i < ► 8i/8i 888 B-2 18 ', 882 — 88889— — HfH~ 887 — 88888- 188 A-2 18888- 189 — 88888- 118 — 88881- Sll — HMh 1888 8888*-? m 8888V81 48881 88881- 88881- 8888*81 4888I-- 8888 88881 88888- - 88889— 88888 II * * I T TT TT 8888BF-2 78881- 88889— 88889- 888881612 78889- 88889-- 88889- 88888F-2 78888 88881- 88888- 88888F81 48888- 88888— 88888- 88889H 48888- 88888--- 88888- 88889TI1 48898- 88888- 89888- 88889- 88889 988 88888- 88888- 99999- 88888- 88888 99989 559152/ MI8?7? 1 1 1 1 1 1 f 1 1 mum 1 1 1 ii ii in i m " II I I III II I | M I I I II I M I | II I I I I I I I I I III I II I Choosing a Sound Tracker utility can be confusing unless you know what to look for. OctaMED shown here is one of the most fully featured available a maximum sampling rate of just 29KHz. Very few packages support stereo samples, so you're unlikely to ever find a use for this facility. If the sampler produces good quality mono samples, then that's the one to go for. f* £? Editing software - For the vJO best results from any upwards, but they're streets ahead of any of the bundled packages available. The current top two sample editing packages on the market are SunRize Industries' Audition 4 and Oxxi/Aegis' AudioMaster 4. Both of these packages are available from HB Marketing on 0753 686000. /^ /> Sampling - If you vJvlare serious about your sound tracking sessions, then an absolute must is a sound sampler. Although most trackers come with a wide selection of sampled instruments, owning a sampler will allow you to grab your own instruments adding a bit of individualism to your tracker tunes. If you can, always go for a Sound Tracker which has sampling facilities built into it. This will enable you to grab instruments, edit them and use them within your tunes without ever having to leave the comfort of your Sound Tracker. /J P9 Commercial software - O I Although virtually all Sound Tracker utilities are the same, there are commercial trackers available which are worth checking out. One such program is OctaMED 2 (soon to be upgraded to OctaMED Professional), a fine commercial tracker written by Teijo Kinnunen, the author of the PD tracker clone MED. OctaMED 2 costs just £20 and is far superior to the PD trackers. It offers score editing and the ability to play up to 8 samples simultaneously. For serious tracking. OctaMED 2 is a must. /J Q Construction - Song U O construction is one aspect of Sound Trackers which confuses many people. Songs are built up within a Sound Tracker by linking together the patterns that you define. Somewhere within your Tracker will be two controls marked 'Song Position', Pattern' and 'Song Length'. Song Position is simply a counter which dictates your position within the Song. Pattern defines which pattern number should be played for the current song position value and Song Length tells the Tracker how many Song Positions there are in your song. r» Q Modular format - When \J %J choosing a Tracker, always check that the program can load and save modules in standard SoundTracker format. SoundTracker modules are a standardised file format for Tracker songs which will enable you to load and play your songs within other Tracker packages and even programming languages such as AMOS without having to convert them first. AMOS now includes direct support for SoundTracker format modules, so a Tracker that can save m this format is far more useful. 7 f\ Preset " sts " Many older • v/ Tracker utilities were tied to a system of preset lists containing a list of sampled instruments that the program new about. Although these could well be spread across several disks, there was no way of loading a sample that was not in this preset list without exiting the program and editing the preset list from within a separate program. Always check that the Tracker that you choose is not tied exclusively to a silly preset list. Most modern Trackers allow instruments to be loaded from any device including hard disks (some early trackers didn't support hard disks!). Modems open up a whole world of fun: exciting boards, free software, new friends and big telephone bills. Communications is notoriously expensive but with Amiga Shopper by your side, you'll be able to save money, and get more out of your modem with our top tips. n "1 Use Mercury - The easiest f X way to save money during comms work is to cut down the size of the telephone bill. Apart from buying a faster modem the simplest way of doing this is to subscribe to Mercury. For under a tenner you get about 20 per cent off non local calls - well worth a try. ^Q Keep a log - Use the log • £i facility of your comms package to keep a record of your visits to each BBS. There are a couple of reasons for wanting to do this. Firstly, it enables you to go back over any contnved on page 26 24 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 Computers Unlimited 25 MHz 80386SX PC/AT Emulator for Amiga 2000/3000/3000T. PC/AT Slot Support. Max. 16MB PC/AT RAM ^ Up to 4MB for Amiga. MS-DOS IDE Hard Disk Interface and HD Floppy Disk Controller* (2,88 MB). i Gate fs Golden Gate 6 Golden Gate is the 25 MHz 80386SX PC/AT emulator for Amiga 20OO/3OOO/30O0T As a bridge-slot-board it closes the gap between the Amiga's PC/AT (ISA) slots and the Zorro slots ISA expansion boards like EGA/VGA graphics cards. LAN controllers, RAM expansions or SCSI host adapters are accessible under MS-DOS. Golden Gates PC/AT RAM expansion can be configured to a max of 16 MB (SIMMs). Up to 4 MB of this RAM are available under AmigaDOS. 512 KB RAM are already installed. Golden Gate uses RAM expansions and Commodore compatible hard disk subsystems in the Zorro slot. Golden Gate's IDE interface supports AT bus hard disk subsystems under MS-DOS. A Golden Gate supports flicker fixing cards and accelerators. Authorized Dealer SILICA SYSTEMS Mall Order Hotline 081-309 III! London Shops 081-580 4000/071-629 1234 SldOJpShop 081-3028811 Golden Gate integrates the internal and external 360 KB and 720 KB Amiga floppy disk drives. •With the optional 82077A floppy disk controller up to three internal and external HD floppy disk drives with 1 .2 MB: 1 .44 MB and 2.88 MB can be used w With a standard Amiga monitor and no further graphics card the following video emulations are available: CGA with 16 colours. EGAWGA monochrome graphics, Hercules. Olivetti and ToshibaT3l00. Windows 3 runs unrestrictedly in the enhanced 386 mode and the protected mode. Golden Gate runs fully as a task on the Amiga. Cold. iolden Gate is compatible with Kickstart I 3 and 2.0. A With the optional 80C387SX arithmetic co-processor the performance can be increased. j^ The Amiga mouse is emulated as a serial Microsoft mouse. The Amiga keyboard works as a PC keyboard. ± The serial interface can be used as COMI/COM2; the parallel interface as LPT I under MS-DOS A Golden Gate offers sound. RTC and CMOS RAM. A An external option connector for future expansions is integrated. Yes. I would like to get more information about the vortex PC/AT emulators. \ it VORTEX COMPUTERSYSTEME GMBH FALTERSTRASSE 51-53 • 0-7101 FLEIN TIL 4971 31 /59720 • FAX 4971 31 /55063 □ 80286 ATonce 80386SX Golden Gate With the Installation the guaranty might be voided All company or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks o/ their respective holders Golden Gate and AToncCare registered trndwiwrifflcrfvorlMcComputereyslemeGmbH Distributed in the UK by SDL, 10 Ruxloy Comer Industrial Estate Edglngton Way. Stdcup. Kent. DAM 5SS. Tel Oft I -300 5000 Fax 081-300 W40 200 TOP TIPS COMMUNICATIONS Inspired by the comma tips and you don't have a modem - well, lucky for you, a Hyundai modem Is one of the bargain buye on our mall order pages trntintd frta ftft 24 problems you had and see what the reasons were. If you had trouble downloading a file for instance, you can check to see if you spelt the name wrong. Secondly, you can use the log file to read messages you didn't have time for, or to go back over a conversation with the sysop and write down that telephone number. Py O Know your software - Your f O communications software has been designed to provide you with the facilities to get the most out of your comms work - use it! Get to hnow what facilities are there, and how they work. Things like the scrollback facility in NComm are particularly useful. A few minutes spent learning how your package works will pay off the first time you need to show the sysop a piece of a message you just read or you want to write down some information offline. ^ Fa Know your BBS - Every I TT minute you spend on-line is another minutes worth of charges. Become aquainted with the boards you call regularly. Take a look around, even at areas you aren't interested in at the moment, and try to remember where all the interesting things are kept. Learn how the file search facilities work; it will make it easier when you need to find that elusive file. You can use your log files to go back over the board offline, especially if you are looking for something in particular. Once you know where it is you can go straight to it when you get on-line, saving time and. more importantly, money. Download the file lists and keep them for later, it is much easier to find a file off-line when BT aren't involved. n £f Off-line readers - I O If you are a member of a conferencing system such as CIX or CompuServe, or you enjoy reading the messages on your local BBS then get yourself an off-line reader. Offline readers allow you to read all the messages you want in the comfort of your own home, without the shadow of the phone bill hanging over you. Although the download size for an off- ne reader can be pretty large, often a couple of hundred kilobytes of data, the savings are well worth it and it will pay for itself within a few days of using it. If you don't read the messages on your BBS. you're missing out on an important aspect of comms, the chance to make new friends, and find out things you never knew you didn't know. Give it a go - you don't know what you're missing. 7 f% Scrlpt8 " lf vour § \J communications program offers you a script facility, use it. A good script can save a lot of time, and also protects you against accidents such as you forgetting your password. As you are using a board, think about how scripts could be used to automate processes other than logging on. Downloading files is one particular case in point, where the same information is entered every time the operation is performed and a prime candidate for a script. ^A^Stay friendly - Remember. • f when you are calling a BBS you are a visitor on another persons' computer. That person has kindly spent a lot of their spare time and money to create somewhere for you to call, they don't want you messing about. Follow these guidelines and you won't upset anyone: • Be polite. People don't call bulletin boards to be insulted or offended. more time on-line, and be allowed to download more software. • Follow the rules. Read and abide by the rules of the BBS. It's not difficult and it will save a lot of hassle. • Don't drop the carrier unless you absolutely have to. The most annoying thing for a sysop is a user who can't be bothered to log off. Hanging up in the middle of a session can cause problems, sometimes even taking the board offline. • Don't hassle the sysop. Don't keep paging the sysop if you have a problem - leave him a message. Even the most friendly sysop will get fed up of being continually paged, and a message will save you money as well. The Connections Interdlal modem - another favourite. No more muddles with modems when you've followed our top comms tips Bear this in mind when you are leaving messages. • Upload files. To be successful a board needs to keep a steady flow of new files. Most sysops will try and do this anyway but if every caller uploads a couple of files a week, the sysop's job is made easier and the board becomes more successful. You'll also be given higher security. S vsten Irj flfl ffT Cqm Translate Screen Phone Dial 1st at* ASCII CaptureQ-T Start ASCII Send OS Message Upload OY Download CJD Upload QU Server Corwtands Options Protocol Default Directory! Load Scrollback Save Scrollback View Scrollback Search In Buffer Save Marked Block ISend Marked Block Disable Addin >/ Xnoden CRC 1/ Chop Files GAR protocol GAR host node 2 ho den Resune >/ Znoden AutoDl Znoden AutoUi V 2»oden ACK Remit Host Kernit IK E-XPR Setup E-XPR Query y/ Create Icons 78 t4M;8fi •l::* M:ll NComm is one of the most popular comms packages. But remember a package Is sometimes only as good as its user Always hang up - Always hang up when you leave a board. It doesn't happen often but sometimes a bug in the bulletin board software will cause it to not drop you off the line when you exit. You will then end up there sitting on the line clocking up a huge bill. The most well known example of this is a bug In CIX which after logging you off and telling you to hang up. sometimes places you back at the login prompt. On a multi- tasking machine such as the Amiga it is all too easy to swap to the Workbench screen and begin playing with the software you've downloaded, leaving the comms package sat at the CIX prompt. 7Q Don * ,eave '* alone ~ Comms f %J packages are wonderful. scripts are wonderful, off-line readers are even more wonderful. Unfortunately they are far from perfect. No matter how good you think your script is. you should never leave it running when you aren't around. It is easy for a stray bit of line noise to upset the script completely. When this happens, one of two things will go wrong. The most likely scenario is that the script will just stop and stand there clocking up on-line charges until the BBS times out and throws you off. Worse though is the script that wanders off on its own through menus it was never supposed to see. trying to download files and leave messages to people who don't exist. A A AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 COMMUNICATIONS/USING THE SHELL 200 TOP TIPS Q /\ Support your sysop - Bulletin 0\J boards are usually run on a voluntary bacis. The system operator gives up his free time, and very often a substantial amount of money, to provide you with a service. Apart from respecting his wishes, uploading files and generally being a nice person, there are plenty of ways you can encourage your sysop. When you first visit a ooara. let the sysop know what you thought. Be constructive though, simply saying that you didn't like it is no use. The opposite is true as well, just saying that you liked the board isn't much help. Try and offer at least some suggestions as to why you liked it, and any areas that could be improved on. Report any problems you may have to the sysop. Particularly things that could be considered "bugs". For instance, if a particular menu option doesn't work, let him know so that he can fix it. Finally, if the board has a membership scheme, and it's not too expensive, join it. Not many boards do have a scheme but supporting those that do is well worth the little cost. Not only do you get increased access but it encourages the sysop to do more with the board, something that benefits everyone. another disk, and AmigaDOS will look there instead for the required directory. Getting a list of the files held in the Joyce directory, held in the Irish directory, all on the disk ModernLit. would be done as follows: Dir ModernLit : Irish/ Joyce It is possible to specify which files you want to list by the means of a wildcard. Represented by the '#?' characters, a wildcard means 'any characters'. The Dir #? command will behave exactly as normal, but the Dir #?.iff will only list those files whose names end with '.iff. Q 1a CD - This command changes O^the current directory (the one which will be listed with a simple Dir command, and which is named as part of the AmigaDOS prompt). Followed simply by a '/' character, it will move one level up in the directory hierarchy. Followed by a ':*, it will move to the root directory copy graba:#?.iff article: 87 ome operations on the Amiga are made so much oaaicr by using the Shell. Some operations Just can't be done Any other way. Using the Workbench Is all very well, but it's only once you click on that Shell icon that you can really get your hands dirty and find out exactly what Is going on. Here we provide a brief introduction; If you need more information don't forget our regular Cracking The Shell column by Mark Smlddy. which covers Just about every conceivable use of AmigaDOS. Q "I Flloa - A file is a collection of O X information stored on a disk. It could be a program, or simply a group of data for use by other programs. Each file has associated status information stored with it, which records such things as when the file was last altered and whether or not it is a program file. All of tho Shell commands are held on disk as program files. QO Directories - These are the OsW Shell equivalent of Workbench drawers. They are arranged in a hierarchical, tree-like fashion, and may contain further directories and files. Take a look at the above diagram for an illustration of this idea - often it's easier to think pictorially. At the top of the hierarchy is a directory termed the root'. It is denoted by the ':' symbol. The root directory of another disk is specified by the disk name followed by a root (ModernLit:) English 1 American 1 1 Irish (ModernLiUrish) I 1 French Yeats Joyce (ModernLit :lrish/Joyce i Ulysses < ModernLit Insh/Joyce'Ulysses Directories are organised in a hierarchical structure often called a 'tree'. In fact, the shape is more like an upside down tree, with the root at the top. The AmigaDOS path to the directories Is shown In brackets colon. A directory further down the hierarchy is specified by supplying its name after the colon. If the directory Is not immediately below' the root, then any intervening directories must also be named, each of them being separated by a '/' character. QQOIr- Dir is an AmigaDOS OO command that produces a listing of all the files held in a directory. Normally, the listing is given for the current directory - the one named in the Shell's prompt. Any directories held within the current one are marked '(dir)*. It is possible to get a listing of files in a different directory by using that directory's name (and those of any others between it and the current one, all separated by the '/' character) as part of the command. If the directory is above the current one in the hierarchy, then the '/' character must be used before the directory name to instruct AmigaDOS to look one level up. Alternatively, the ':' character tells AmigaDOS to look from the root directory on the disk. Precede this with the name of of the current disk. A directory name can also be specified with CD. but if it is anything other than directly below the current directory in the hierarchy, then a path to it must be specified. 85 Makedir - This creates a new directory inside the current one. The name of the new directory is specified as part of the Makedir command, but must be separated from it by a space. The newly created directory will initially be empty. Q d Co Py " Tne cop y command. O O funnily enough, copies files. Following the command comes the source file, then, after a space, the destination where the copy should be placed. Both source and destination can be specified with full AmigaDOS paths. If the name of the destination file is omitted, then the source file name is used. In this case, wildcards can be used to copy several files with only a single command: RAM: - This is the RAM disk, behaving like an ordinary disk although much more quickly and with the information held in memory. If you are using a single drive machine, it is useful to copy often used commands into RAM: so that you won't have to insert the Workbench disk whenever you use *one of these commands, thus saving time and irritating disk swapping. The RAM: disk can also be used as an intermediary store when copying groups of files from one disk to another on a single drive system. ft ft Ust ~ This is an advanced O O form of the Dir command. As well as listing the files in a directory. it will display the status information and size of each file. The command has many other possibilities. Its output can be sent to another file by use of the command To following it. followed itself by the name of a destination file. The options available are far too complex to go into here in such a short space - refer to Cracking The Shell each month for more details and handy tips. QA Startup-sequence - This is a O %J text file containing a number of AmigaDOS commands. The startup-sequence is a type of file which is known as a script. It behaves in a similar manner to a program when run. Each of the commands in the file are executed in turn, as if a user were typing them one by one at the keyboard. Think of it as a way of creating your own AmigaDOS commands by joining together existing ones. The startup-sequence is a specialised script which is executed every time the Amiga is switched on or reset. It performs various set-up functions, such as telling the Amiga which nationality of keyboard to use, and where to look for certain, often used files. It is possible to modify the startup-sequence, although it's advisable to make a back-up first, using the Copy command (only ever do this with a copy of your Workbench disk, as tampering may stop your Amiga from booting up altogether). QAEd-Edis the AmigaDOS text %J "editor. It is like a very simple word-processor, and is mainly used for creating and altering script files such as the startup-sequence. Just type Ed at the prompt to use it. AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 •AUGUST 1°*2 *J 200 TOP TIPS CHOOSING AN ACCELERATOR fej-fWEUlS? '.in>ii ii^uiji 1 / i'-j'^hriljlii i fji^ij I ^/iijjj I J^j £yj* fj/j You A5W "IfR A2HHR A25W-2I MM -25 CPU Clock; FPUClwk: il-iw. I ^i;- Inst Cacte: » IBurst Node: ON Data Cache: vN DBurst HodelvfF MdJiMti MMU Status: OH MCwM: — ^iii. JibJj' I ''-'- HJl^ill.l .iOiiii mm ji^i^" jj-ujjm,: j.;-jsj iiajIiiLjUl 'Jvl/.j'-rSJ The program above is used to rate the speed of your accelerator compared to standard Amiga set ups, just so you can bo sure your machine really is fast rvt to a hard disk, your accelerator could be the most expensive add-on that you buy for your Amiga, and in some cases they can be more expensive than your Amiga Itself. Consequently, with the huge jungle of different ones you can get, It Is vital that you get the right one for you. The accelerator market can be very confusing, not only because of the range of models, but also due to the range of prices. The cheapest ones start at under £15 for a 68010 chip, and If you have the money it Is quit© possible to spend over £1.500. With this in mind. I shall attempt to untangle this and make that decision a little less of a headache. A 1 Do you really need one? - %J A Accelerator cards are for running high powered applications, such as DTP or ray tracing, much raster, ir you ]U5t use your machine for occasional word processing, games and perhaps some AMOS programming, it is unlikely that you need a fast accelerator card - your money would probably be better spent on a large hard disk or other hardware add-ons. Q rt Consider your needs - You %J £d can save a lot of money at this stage. If you do a lot of ray tracing and other processor intensive graphics work then you definitely need a good FPU {Floating Point Unit), either a 68882 or a 68881. If you are on a tight budget and are buying your accelerator to generally speed up your Workbench and programming environment, you probably don't need to worry about such gadgets as Memory Management Units, or possibly floating point co-processors, and it might be better to consider getting a faster, or better processor instead. O *i Hard diftk contro " ers " Quite 5/ O a few of the A1500/2000 accelerator cards come with built-in fast SCSI hard disk controllers. These are well worth considering if you do not already own a hard disk card - they will be considerably faster than ordinary plug in cards as they are specially optimised to work with the faster processor and faster 32-bit RAM. Q Fa 32-blt RAM - From the 5/^X68020 upwards, the processor is 32-bit. This means that it can access a whole 32-bits (4 bytes) of data in one go. All current Amigas except for the A3000 series have 16-bit RAM, which means that whatever the processor is. 68020 '030 and 040 included, they can only ever get 16 bits. 2 bytes in one go - half their potential performance. By spending a little more money on your accelerator card, you can get it with some 32-bit Fast RAM on board. If your programs are running in this 32-bit fast RAM they will run at the full potential of your processor. You really want 2Mb or more 32-bit RAM. preferably 4Mb. If you are not able to afford fast 32-bit RAM on the card, think about getting a card that has the facility for you to add some at a later date. Qf- MMUs and the %7 O 68030EC - Programmers and developers buying accelerator cards need to watch out for the 68030EC and 68040EC chips. The EC stands for 'Economy*: to save cost on the chip Motorola removed the MMU (Memory management unit.) The MMU is vital for Virtual Memory operating systems, such as Unix, in which part of your hard disk will act as an extension to your available RAM. The Amiga operating system does not currently support Virtual Memory, but if you intend to buy or use Amiga Unix, then you must avoid the EC chips. Likewise developers may find the MMU useful, as it is able to trap and report illegal memory accesses. Amiga developer programs, such as Enforcer, are invaluable for large Amiga applications development, because, if your program does something naughty, it reports it down the serial port so you can see what happened and where the fault was. Q /■* MHz-age and MIPS MFLOPS %J \J - There are two basic performance figures that will show you how fast an accelerator card is. These are MIPS and MFLOPS. MIPS stands for Millions of Instructions Per Second. For a normal 68000 chip this is less than 1. A 25Mhz 68040 could manage over 20 MIPS. which would make it as fast as 20 A600s. MFLOPS stands for Millions of Floating Point instructions Per Second. There are a number of things that affect both these figures. One is the MHz (MegaHertz). or clock speed, of the processor, the other is the availability and speed of 32-bit RAM. As a reference, a standard stock A600 runs at 7.14Mhz, and a stock A3000 at 25Mhz. To get the best from 68040 cards you really need fast 32-bit RAM (wth 60 or 40ns access time). You would be well advised to steer clear of slow 68020 cards, as for very little extra money you can get the 68030 chip which is far superior. Q m 68000/68010 options - %J I These are the cheapest of the accelerator card options. In the case of the 68010 upgrade, it simply involves buying a £15 68010. 8 or lOMhz version, from an electronic components supplier, removing your existing 68000 chip and replacing it with the 68010. It is a plug in and go option. You will notice a small increase of speed, of up to 20%. There are also several 68000 upgrades, whereby a small card fits The G-Force 040 Accelerator speeds up your machine, just as these accelerator tips accelerate your learning curve... in your existing 68000 socket and doubles the clock speed of the chip to around 14Mhz. These cards cost around £200. and their value is doubtful. If you are going to spend this amount of money it may be better to wait for a cheaper 68020 or 030 card. Q Q The 68020 - The 68020 was U O the first of Motorola's full 32- bit microprocessors. It is capable of reading a full 32-bits of data at a time if it has access to 32-bit RAM. The chips have an on-board cache, which enables the processor to work much faster on loops and other tight code by storing information in its own internal ultra-fast RAM. The 68020 is available in clock speeds from 16 to 33Mhz. (Although the 33Mhz version of the chip is brand new.) The 68020 does not ship with a MMU as standard: the Commodore card has a seperate MMU chip on the card, but if you want a 68020 with an MMU from another manufacturer, you will have to check. 99 The 68030 - The 68030 has the MMU built into the processor, although the EC version of the chip has omitted this. It is faster than the '020 chip, having had its instruction speeds sped up. A 68030 clocked at 25Mhz will run about one and a half times as fast as a 68020 at the same speed. Cache sizes on the 68030 are also larger than the 020. 68030 chips are available at speeds from 16 to 33Mhz. although 40 and 50Mhz versions of these chips are planned. A 25Mhz 68030 chip will manage around 8-12 MIPS and about 2-2.5 MaOPS. 1 /\ /\ The 68040 - Currently X \J \J this is the flagship of Motorola's processing chips. Technically it is nearly a RISC chip, as it is able to execute, on average, one instruction every 1.3 cycles. This means that a 25Mhz 68040 chip can Oft AMIGA SHOPPER • I55UE 10 • AUGU5T 1992 PROGRAMMING IN C 200 TOP TIPS run at about 21MIPS. This is twice as fast as a 25Mhz 68030. Another advantage of the 68040 is that the FPU is built in. This makes it even faster, as the FPU has been optimised to run at high speeds on the same piece of silicon as the 040 Chip. Unfortunately some of the more complex Floating point operations could not be fitted on. and have to be emulated in software. This is of little consequence, however, as the 68040 chip is so blindingly fast. Motorola also produce an EC version of this chip, without the twin MMUs. 68040 chips are current available at clock speeds from 25Mhz to 33Mhz. giving a maximum MIPS of around 29. Faster 40 and 50Mhz versions are planned. }m- i V-Vtt*i* t ; y<YStai-t+YL*n*tl%; V** > nmth ■ • tATpnCnIob^l i «% t cur r ^.coi); ":j"*^u?hVfS^n! |, r l - |, - K ' v,; pi<v>>: tfiii:; ■Ti;rM n ^■dniwiii mi (I*xt rolrv noO . rr*i5 IT The above Mandelbrot generator Is being edited In the LSE screen editor supplied with the excellent SAS/Lattice C development program may be a brilliant language but unlike languages like Pascal and Modula 2, It does little to guide or force the programmer into adopting good coding habits. All Is not lost however because the following tips should put some of those 'potential coding nasties' well and truly out of harm's way... m Parameter passing - One of C's greatest strengths is its parameter passing facilities. Design code units that make the most of this facility. When a lot of data is involved however parameter passing can add a significant overhead so the best idea then is to create structures which represent the parameters and then pass a single pointer to the parameter block. ■| /*\0 Brevity - Avoid highly J. Um compressed code styles like the plague. Despite the fact that C would allow this code fragment: if (key«ESCAPE) < ClosePilesO; DisplayMessage (CLOSING) ; WaitToQuit ( ) ; ) to be written along these lines... if(k==E){CF();DM(C);WTQ();} you'll gain absolutely nothing by doing so in the long run. The code will not run more quickly and trying to understand programs years after you've written them in this type of condensed form would be a nightmare. 1 f\ Q Re-useable code - Write X \/0 functions that are generally useful. Re-used code rapidly becomes bug-free code and of course using pieces of existing code in this way reduces the effort required to write your programs. "1 /\ fi Public domain compilers - X \J ^ Without detracting from some of the excellent work that people put into public domain software you should be aware that in using a public domain compiler you may not be able to place so much dependence on the compiler itself. Rightly or wrongly professional programmers tend, in the main, to assume that a program which compiles without error is syntactically correct. To suggest that they use a compiler where this might not be the case would be extremely disconcerting to them. Public domain software, especially something as large and as complex as a compiler, is unlikely to ever achieve the reliability and stability of a commercial product. If you are using a public domain compiler it is probably wisest to take extra care in this area so that you assume as little as possible about the errors the compiler can catch. *f /\ f* Re-useable modules - X \J%J Modularize and compile units that are generally useful. In the same way that individual functions are more useful when written in a general way so also are precompiled modules that have a well defined interface and this of course takes us into the world of the ADT (abstract data type). The philosophy underlying the ADT Is basically simple: by defining the important, le useful, properties of an abstract data structure, and defining which operations will be allowed, we can build an ADT description. When translated to real code this blueprint' becomes a data structure* building block which can be used to solve problems. By way of an example let's take a fairly simple ADT type, the queue. A queue is a set of objects logically arranged in First-ln-First-Out (FIFO) order. The type of operations which can be usefully associated with queue structures are well known... we need some means of initializing, adding items to, and retrieving items how intermediate macros calls have been used to enable me to work with any size of queue object using just CreateQueue(t), AddToQueue(s.x). RemoveFromQueuets.x). KillQueue(s) and QueueEmpty<s) function calls... 1 A/? -Library functions - X v/\J Maximise the use of standard library functions. The effort which has gone into the Amiga system routines, Lattice/SAS and Manx compiler C function libraries (and many other third-party libraries) is considerable. With the new ANSI standard now firmly established all C compilers support the ANSI specified core routines and. when you have a choice of functions to use. the best idea is to opt for these ANSI forms because it means your code will be that much more portable. 1 ft 7 Keep ** s' m Pte - Code in X \J 4 the most obvious way possible to start with: In the early stages of program development there is little to be gained by worrying about rurvtime efficiency and so forth. Your main aim should be to write code which is a clean, and easily understood, representation of the design or algorithm that you are trying to implement. Go for obviously recognisable variable and procedure names and develop your program in LISTING 1 • LISTING 1 • LISTING 1 /• Queue ACT header * typedef void CKJEUE; * These macros are used to create a slightly more friendly interface to the user. They just remove the need for explicit sizeofO. casting and address talcing operations in the applications code * tdefine CreateQueueit) CreateQ(sizeof (t) ) •define AddToQueue ( s . x ) AddToQts, (UBYTE M&(x>) ■define RemoveFromQueuets.x) RemoveFrocnQ(s, (UBYTE *)&(x)) ne KillQueue(s) KillQ(s) #define Queue£*npty(s) QBipty(s) * These are the prototypes for the underlying- queue access routines which do the real work */ QUEUE *CreateQ(UL0N3 unit_size) ; void KillQtQUEUE •descriptor^) ; BOOL AddToQ (QUEUE "descriptor^, UBYTE *data_iten\) ; BOOL RemoveFromQ (QUEUE *descriptor_p, UBYTE *data_item) ; BOOL QBrpty (QUEUE *descriptor_p) ; An ADT queue header that provides simple user-Interface functions from, the queue in the proper FIFO order. There's not the space to go into internal coding details but that's not particularly important anyway. What is important is that you should aim to create a programmer-friendly interface so that the module can be used without the programmer knowing how it is implemented. The header file given in Listing 1 shows a way which allows each new routine to be tested as it is written (the so called 'incremental testing' approach). Once you've got the program running then by all means make any improvements, or use any additional coding tricks, that you feel are necessary. 108 functions - Development of routines AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 20 200 TOP TIPS PROGRAMMING IN C/NAND SCANNING using Ihe 'nested function' approach is good in theory but in practice, when many nesting levels are used, the parameter passing overhead that can build up can be significant factor as far as execution speed is concerned. To get speed increases just eliminate the unessential internal calls whilst leaving the function's mam parameter interface intact. 1 |~|Q Assembler patches - X \J %J Remember that if you use assembler patches you can. with ANSI C get the compiler to check your usage of the patch by creating a suitable prototype. If, for example, you've got a piece of assembler code which represents a GetNextTextLine() function that expects to be given a pointer to a line of text and returns a pointer of the same type you can force the compiler to check your use of the assembler function using a prototype like this: TEXT *GetNextTextLine(TEXT J •cextlinej)); no Pointers - The use. or rather misuse, of pointers can cau5e programmers serious problems and because of this it's wise to adopt a convention of naming pointer variables using a _p suffix. This obviously doesn't stop potential misuse, but it is a useful reminder that a pointer variable is being dealt with. It therefore goes some way towards helping reduce the likelihood of inadvertant misuse. A fatal, and common, pointer slip involves non- initialization. The programmer declares and uses a pointer variable, but forgets to set it to a suitable initial value (or perhaps sets it to an incorrect value). With the Amiga many system structure pointers are used. When, for example, an Intuition Screen is opened the OpenScreenO system call returns a pointer to an Intuition Screen structure. This type of system call code: global_screen_p« (struct J Screen J * ) Open. Screen ( tNewScreen ) ; in most cases would function correctly, ie the OpenScreenO call would set the global_screen_p pointer variable to the appropriate Screen structure address. The trouble is that, although the code itself is correct, it's not possible to guarantee that this line of code will always work. Why? It is because the Amiga's system routine OpenScreenO may itself fail - if your Amiga is already using most of its RAM then OpenScreenO will not be able to allocate memory for a new Intuition Screen. The system tells you this by returning a NULL (zero) pointer rather than a valid Screen structure address. The result? If you did not check for a 'non-NULL pointer' value your program would crash the moment you made use of the global_screen_p variable. It is because of the possibility of system call failures that all Amiga system calls should be tested to see that they have been successful. sing a hand scanner to transfer Images to your Amiga con sometimes seem like a trial and error process. But follow these handy hints below and you'll find that you're getting superb scanning results every time. scan better than a black-and-white photograph of the same thing. 112 in Picture quality - Choose a suitable picture to scan. The quality of the scan will always depend on the quality of the original image. It's not true that black-and-white photographs produce better results than colour ones: what's important is the amount of contrast. A good quality, bright and colourful photograph taken in strong light will The right surface - Always scan on a flat surface. If the surface on which the image is printed is uneven, slippery, or too small for the scanning head to roll over it smoothly, place a sheet of clear plastic or acetate over the image before scanning. If you haven't got a clear sheet of plastic then buy one of those clear A4 paper sleeves that stationers sell, and slip the image inside it. 113 Lighting - Avoid scanning near a strong light source. Because the scanner works by shining its own light on the image and measuring the brightness of the light that is reflected, you must make sure that there are no bright lights shining on the image or the top of the scanning head. Changes in the ambient lighting level can also affect the scanner's performance. If you are scanning from a book with thin pages, there is a chance that light emitted by the scanning head will be absorbed by dark images on the reverse side of the page. When this happens, turn the brightness wheel up and scan again. adjust the brightness control with software that scans in real-time is to move the scanning head on to the darkest part of the image and roll the head backwards and forwards over this area while gradually decreasing the bnghtness until the dark area just appears black. Touch-Up users will have to wait between scans for the software to process the image, but the principle is the same. 114 Resolution - Scan at the maximum resolution possible. This will usually be 400 dots per inch (dpi), which will produce a large bitmap that can be scaled down to get the best possible resolution from your particular printer. Amiga bitmaps (IFF ILBMs) have a resolution of 75 dpi, no matter how 3 116 Moving the head - Move the scanner head at a constant speed. Always remember that a single, slow and smooth pass of the head over the image is better than a series of small jerky ones. As the head passes over the image it is taking in an awful lot of information and passing it on to the computer. If you drag it too quickly it won't be able too keep up with you and the resulting scan will either be Oth>r If the image is too wide to scan upright software to rotate it by 90 degrees large or small the picture is. Scaling not only changes the printed size of the picture, it changes the output resolution. Note that we are talking about output scaling here, not scaling or resizing a brush in an art package. Halving the output size of the picture increases the resolution by a factor of two, to 150 dpi - the image still contains the same number of dots, but they are being printed half the size. Reduce the picture to 25 per cent of its original size and the resolution soars to 300 dpi. This is handy if you have a 300 dpi printer, such as a laser or inkjet. but not if you have a 24-pin dot-matrix or bubble jet printer, which have output resolutions of 360 dpi. To cut a long story short. 360 dpi printers get the best results when images are scaled down to 20.8 per cent. 1 -1 £? Brightness - For your first 1 ID practice scan, set the brightness wheel to the lightest setting possible. The best way to scan it sideways and then use the corrupted, have bits missing, or appear 'squashed' on-screen. 117 Pressure - Don't apply too much downwards pressure on the head. The height at which the scan head rolls over the paper has an effect on the image brightness. Pushing the head down on to the paper excludes ambient light from getting in underneath the scanning head, adding to the illumination of the picture, and consequently the amount of light reflected from It. Result? It makes it darker. So if you press downwards too hard you will muck up the brightness setting that you carefully adjusted. 11 ft Dra 6g |n 8 - Drag the head A O in a straight line. Use a straight edge to drag the edge of the scanning head against, like the spine of a thick and heavy book - a telephone directory is ideal. The book needs to be heavy so that it doesn't slip if you accidentally push the scanner against it too heavily. 30 AMIOA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1QOQ HAND SCANNING/DESKTOP VIDEO 200 TOP TIPS Leaning on the book with your elbow gives it extra stability. 11 Q Keeping it straight - If you J. *J find that the head is still not scanning in o straight line then it probably means you are pressing down too hard. There are two solutions, either ease up on the pressure you are applying or get another heavy booh and place Its spine on the other side of the head, parallel to the first book. This makes a gully along which you can pull the scanner without any chance that the head will wander. 120 Problems of width - If a picture is too wide to scan but not very high, scan it sideways and then rotate the IFF by 90 degrees. This is illustrated in the screen grab on page 30. Only the Datel Handiscan software is not capable of rotating scans in this way. If the picture is too high to use this trick, then try scanning the image in two parallel strips and then joining them together. Scanning two parallel strips is quite difficult but not impossible. Use the spine of a heavy book or even a ruler to guide the scanning head. Try to apply the same amount of downward pressure on the head for both scans and ensure that the ambient lighting level remains the same. esktop Video can have a variety of meanings, including using your computer to produce and display graphics and animations, digitising, video titling, multimedia presentation and video production, either on or off the desktop. For me, there are three main ingredients which contribute to DTV success. These are hardware, software and application, which, when mixed together in the right proportions, make for good productions. m Quality - Whatever your DTV production, quality should always come first. This doesn't mean buying broadcast equipment - it means using what you have to the best of its ability. But if you are recording to VCR it does mean using the highest quality video tape you can afford, since skimping here will invariably let down even top quality computer output. \ f)f) Planning - Think about \.£i £i your projects. Prepare alternative strategies. Brainstorm. Doodle. Fool around with your paint program or titling software. Work up a storyboard. Determine what you can do with the equipment available and that what you require can actually be achieved. You may need to decide how to put an animation together from various component parts - some pictures here, some 3D work there, and some words from somewhere else. You will often have to find a work-around to achieve what you want and familiarity with production techniques and equipment will pay dividends here. 1 C\ Q Experiment - Don't be JL £i O afraid to experiment. If you have a few spare minutes and you're tempted to get blasting with your favourite shoot 'em up. try out a few ideas with Deluxe Paint instead. It can be just as much fun working up an idea successfully, knowing that at the same time you are adding to your repertoire and knowledge. The more strings you have to your bow the more ideas and techniques you can contribute to a production. 1 O Fi Software ■ Learn tne fu " ImT capabilities of your software. And be prepared to buy what you need to do the job. If you need high quality titling there's no point in using a lores PD program. If you want animation you'll need a program which does what you want. We all have our favourites - I personally like Deluxe Paint, Scala and Broadcast Titler 2 for good quality video work, but if your needs are lesser there is plenty good software now available. m Colours - If you plan to work on video, colours can be crucial. The lower the standard of video format you are working on. the worse the colours may be affected. Watch out for deeply saturated colours, especially deep blues and reds, as they tend to look very smeary, particularly when transferred to VHS. Try to record your graphics direct to the master video tape to avoid the extra "generations" caused by editing. Don't forget that there is a marked difference in quality between crisp RGB and any composite video signal. 1 9 fi Good s rabbln s ■ lf vou J- mi vl plan to grab images from a video camera it's best to mount it on a tripod or copy stand to avoid camera shake. Have plenty of diffuse lighting to illuminate your subject evenly - fluorescents are good for this. Avoid hot spots, as these will tend to "burn-out" the digitised image. If you have a black and white camera you will need to use the colour filters provided with your digitiser to capture colour images. If you are using a colour camera or VCR you'll need an electronic colour splitter to separate the video signal into the red. green and blue components required by the digitiser. The VCR must also have a rock-solid freeze frame or you'll find that the grab is all shook up and looks rather nasty. Digitise in the highest resolution you can, as you can always convert images down the scale, but they won't look good if you need to convert then up. 1 n^y Presentation - In the early A £d I days of the Amiga. DTV was confined to simple slide shows of IFF images. Now it's possible to put sound and vision together and play some very complex sequences back, thanks to programs like Scala, them on self-running disks for distribution. 1 O Q The big picture - When A m O working for video applications it's very important to use an overscan screen format for your graphics. Most good software has overscan support these days, though there seems to be no agreement as to what the overall dimensions should be. Why overscan? Well, if you output a standard Amiga screen to video you'll notice that it doesn't fill the full TV screen. Overscan screens are significantly larger than this standard size, and therefore cover the entire monitor area. A typical example would be an overscan size of 704 x 566, while the normal screen size would be 640 x 512. 1 QQ Fine words - If you are M-£i%J doing video titling you'll need some typefaces. Many programs come with a reasonable selection to get you started, and you can use the ones that came with your Amiga, but inevitably you will need more. There are many sources of commercial fonts, and a lot of PD ones. Choose large typefaces wherever possible, as they can be shrunk down for more flexibility and they will look better in hi-res modes. Better still, go for Color fonts or anti- e i i i i i i i i i l i i i i i i i i i i v The dark area represen a standard Amiga screen, The dashed line is the edge of a TV screen. The light area is an over- scan image. It reaches past the TV boundary. Screen size is a very important thing to bear in mind when getting into desktop video - see tip 128 AmigaVision and Tne Director, amongst others. Whole productions can be generated from your Amiga, with the control being handed over to software, and with their built-in transitions such programs can save the cost of putting everything together in a video studio, for all you need now is enough memory and storage space to hold all the components of your presentation. Then you can lay them straight to video-tape or you could even provide aliased fonts. These will impart added slickness to your titles. Or, if you don't need too many letters on screen, design your own titles screens with your favourite paint software. 1 Q A Watch TV - Television is a X O vl free source of DTV knowledge in your own home. Watch business, news and sports programmes, current affairs, wildlife and Saturday mommg kids shows. In AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1993 31 200 TOP TIPS DESKTOP VIDEO/MUSK COMPOSITION fact, watch everything you'd normally watch, but be more aware of how the professional directors on TV do things. You'll be able to pick up quite a few ideas this way and adapt these to your own taste. TV doesn't have all the answers but it can teach you plenty about presentation techniques. Watch the way they use colour and layout, what kinds of text work well, and what kinds of backgrounds are used. Notice how information is usually presented cleanly and simply, and is easy to quickly digest. Borrow from TV, use ideas you like. You may not get the quality the BBC gets, but you'll be on the right track. omposition he great thing about using your Amiga to create music is that the whole job becomes significantly easier and almost everyone can achieve good results from the moment they start. Here are some goodies to help all you budding rock-stars out there to get the most from your musical endeavours. m Section It off - Create song sections that are meaningful rather than incorporate everything into a large single sequence. Plan your songs using beginnings, ends, verses, choruses, 132 Some of SuperJAWs internal sound editing facilities and so on and label sequences so that their purpose is obvious. If, for instance, you have a song that has a number of different verse sequence variations then call them versel. verse2 and verse3 and so on. Most sequencers allow songs to be created in this way and being able to build the final song by linking the various sections together makes it very easy to alter arrangements. Re useable libraries - Build libraries of your favourite riffs, drum parts or even control sequences, in a form which allows re-use with the minimum of effort. In fact whenever something is created which you think is likely to be of use in the future... isolate the track/tracks of interest and save them separately from the main composition. You can even store single bars of completed songs of various styles containing bass, drums, keyboard data and anything else other than the main melody line. If you collect fragments based on common chord types (major, minor, 7ths, diminished and so on) then you'll be able to piece together backing tracks very easily indeed; read n the appropriate style library's chord bar, protect the drum part from transposition, and then transpose that bar to give the required chord. Clone as many of those bars as needed. then read in the next library fragment and repeat the process ad infinitum. Lazy? Never, after all... you still have to do the transposition and copying operations yourself! 133 MIDI channels - Standardise the use of your MIDI channels so that you get used to seeing particular instruments on particular channels (eg channel 1 for drums. 2 for bass. 3-6 for other synth modules and so on). This type of consistency has a number of benefits: firstly, it makes it easy to recognize sequence data, and this leads to fewer silly mistakes when editing. Secondly, it eliminates the need to physically alter the receive/transmit channels of the equipment itself when working with your own, previously arranged, material - this again makes life easier. 134 Voice doubling - Sequencer users can do and used as the basis of your own compositions (again using either midi or internal IFF sounds). 1 Q7 Tricky ideas - When you lO f are stuck for ideas or your songs are beginning to sound monotonous use a few standard tricks to add some variation. Having created a reasonable melody or chord progression in one part of the song try things like reversing the theme, mirror imaging the first part of it, or adding a third harmony to the melody line - these types of alterations will all f »<Mh f Keyboard Sons Styles Chords Accessories SHPTE Prefs □ ^ J ■*«**■► nnrn uuu R r"g ) CHORUS \l\ VERSE 8 1 CHORUS 45 KRSE 53 CHORUS 69 CHORUS E'C 85 Manage your music making with ease - tips 131 to 140 give a sequence of notes guaranteed to tighten up your tunes an awful lot to thicken up poor sounding synthesizer voices. Doubling, where you take a track and duplicate it, and then change the voices so that two different voices play essentially the same notes (perhaps after slightly time-shifting one of the tracks) can improve things no end. IFF sound users can, memory permitting, do the same thing. 1 Of? Choosing your key - If you X O O are struggling with physically playing the keyboard then stick to keys, such as C and A minor, that are easy to play in. You can always transpose the final song to the required key when it is finished. Don't be embarrassed about this approach - a great many professional musicians who are not primarily keyboard players, but because of their need for MIDI facilities have to be able to 'get by' on the synthesizer keyboard, do exactly the same thing. 1 Q/J MIDI file format - Get into X O O the habit of storing your data in MIDI file format. A great many music programs can read MIDI file data and even non- MIDI users can benefit from the advantages. SuperJAM users for instance can create song accompaniments based on IFF sampled sounds and can store the note details of the SuperJAM generated composition as a MIDI file. Such files can then be read into sequencers like Sequencer One Plus help make the duplicated sections sound more interesting. With sequencers sometimes merely changing the voices, or using the 'doubling' technique mentioned earlier, will be enough to bring additional musical interest back to the piece. Third harmonies incidentally are easy to generate: With songs written in a major key and just the basic chords of the key being used you can just duplicate the melody line, transpose it upwards by four semitones {thus creating a whole track of major third harmonies), and then flatten the intervals which need to be minor thirds. 1 QQ Control messages - It is lOO best to use short introductory sequences to set up your MIDI instruments rather than embedding lots of program changes, tempo changes and so on, in the early parts of the first music section. This eliminates possibly unnecessary duplication of control messages when the first real music section is copied but best of all you not only always know where to look to find the initial program change data but you can edit it, or replace the whole sequence, very easily indeed. It's common to use a one bar sequence containing the high-hat (playing once on each beat) plus the program change events which set up the synthesizers, drum-machines, delay units and so on. continued on page 34 *■) AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 Po w RC88OB Power Drive Dual D r i v Blitz copier built-in <switchable> Virus Blocker built-in (switchable) Anti-dick & FSt included £125 li ard u r bo Features 100-400 DPI scanning resolutions *■ 64 Grey.scales Thnj'port for printer *65 Viruses, disk swapping, clicking drives, disks which I ■ won't back up. Is there no end to the whingeing <>l the Amiga user? Memory Board for A500/A600. \: 7 Software Full screen image editor Interlace mode on/off Edit true greyscale ik colour images Fully multi-tasking -^ Editing Cut rectangle, cut bfiSOO, crop, flip, rotate, Kale, j drawjines, circles. boxes , elipses. tree-hand, - x \ zoom mode ~ Scanning N* I Oique True feel' real time scan mode - know At Power we want to tell you )ust where vou can stick your disks and worries. In fact we'll you The slot in this picture belongs to our PC880B. the first intelligent disk drive Insert a disk Past uS(MK) processor already installed on Ixiard NOw you can back up at lightning speeds using Fu!!y .„„» .configuring, DMA compatible fast RAM the inbuilt Blitz Amiga hardware*, with free Si A- J^ Expand up to 8MB (Ok installed) ^ , Memorj 8 uHOOO CPU can run with doubled clock "raieol M 28MHz ware, (even if the disk is atari or PC) and if your computet has a virus the PC8K0H will stop it being written to the bootblock of any ol you drives, though you CM still live files as normal When vou do not warn these features, switch them ^\ instantly il you are scanning the image too quickly ^^ oil' and the PC880H wi! sit quietly, without dick- : Automatic selection of 100-400 I > PI ■ 0i Produce true greyscale images V ing, pretending to be simply an extra drive lC A c t u a I Amiga Sere c n Shots Amiga can only display 16 grayscales e PC880B, the onh drive 10 introduce BlltZ Amiga the Power aim click de\ u e and to combat ^Jj viruses, is only available direct from Power, priced at nisi Jb65 Optical S12K shadow RAM on extra memory bank for shadi '\\ ing the operating system out of ROM < >i from disk £169 Kickstart ROM switch The Power Kickstan ROM switch fits into any A500 or A 500+ and can be lilted with up to 3 Kickstan ^\ ROM s. It can be enabled when switching on the li Amiga, giving all the benefits of the new versions c Kickstan and the use of old games and software £17.95 £59-95 is o Kickstan ROM Switch (Bare) Kickstan ROM Switch with 2XM od e m s .(V.R EYSCAL AT E in< \ \l" C O I- O I' R oupra C n Supra i ax Modem Plus We have noticed how pricey unintelligent drives l-^ Supra Fax Modem v32 BIS jj are Perhaps, u's your turn to tell people where to LijC Supra Modem 2400 (External) >* slick it. )^ supra Modem 2400 Plus (EHemal) 'supra Modem 2»O0 ZIplus (Internal) 1 Same Address i k jt r ' ' thr likr u Oct hifrfi drn*V <Ji^» huv k' rrquim) Willi lOflX Description Postcode < rcdli < ard No. Telephone No Cl i System Owned I'xpiry Signature -4- r~ SorftnrerOmiptMki«> n lui> IIKKMU vu Duma Di BuanHMBgi WI HUFMttMU PtmcT i 'imputing \r*i*t \** I Wll PiU A f / .\o Xj r>" m** ^%r Make cheque- psj able I wer ComputinK Ud hill in yuur older form and send it GO Power Computing Ud I nil x Raifton Road Wobum Road industrial Estate kempston Bedford MK427PN Ring your credit card order on 02 *> t JH3388 or lax on 023* 0402*4 All prtrt^ in* luiic VAT. ik a li\m am! ate wtrf taflgl Sjxn tficiiKim .»"* Mibjetl 10 1 binge without notice Natl dny ddMfy 44.90 K numLind only; AlIlMLkiiurks Jikih>wk\lgtxl Pdwtt * ompuiinit I J \ liu I'A 19106 P 200 TOP TIPS MUSIC COMPOSITION/WORD PROCESSING continued from page 132 1 QQ Sysex messages - Avoid X O U the use of embedded cysex messages in your song sequences because in the main they'll make the data difficult to port (having said that, a few generally recognised sysex messages do exist). When you get to the stage where you have hundreds of arrangements, then the last thing you'll want is to have to edit all of them just because you've changed one or more pieces of your MIDI equipment. The best idea is to start as you mean to go on and, if you are intent on making regular use of sysex facilities, isolate the sysex data into a separate 'control sequence' so that, if the occasion arises, it is at least easy to replace or eliminate. 1 ijA Cheat the beat - There is X T 1 " a lot of non-copyright MIDI/music material around in the public domain and very good some of it is too. Similarly lots of synths, sequencers, and drum machines come with any number of pre- programmed demo tunes or drum patterns. Providing you do not steal something clearly marked as copyright there's nothing to stop you borrowing ideas from the examples you hear. Either write it out as a MIDI file or. if it is an external unit like a drum machine then just link it to your sequencer and record the output. Remember though that you will need to maintain proper bar divisions so it'll be necessary to set the external unit up so that it generates MIDI clocks and set the sequencer to 'external sync' so that it uses the externally generated clock data rather than its own internal clock. word processor Is probably one of the most sought after Amiga ap- plications. Just about everyone has a need to write. It may be nothing more than personal notes, or letters to the bank manager. But It may be you have ambitions as a professional writer. or that you have to compile attractive-looking business reports. The costs and facilities of word processors vary considerably. It's therefore important to have a clear idea of your needs, and of what the various packages supply, before parting with your cash. Here's ten pointers to bear In mind: 1 Fi 1 Gra P n,cs " Not a " word ItI processors support graphiGOi and of those that do, some offer better facilities than others. Before investing in a word processor with graphics facilities, decide whether you really need them. Remember that the primary purpose of a word processor is to help you write. If graphics are important to your work, you may be better off with desktop publishing, which will give you far better control over graphical output. on. If your printer is fairly basic, with only one or two fonts, then control codes aren't that important, but if it has lots of fonts built-in for you to play with, then you'll want a word processor which enables you to send control codes to it to make use of i' and 'w' in this text. The standard Amiga font is not proportional - all letters take up the same space on the screen. Some word processors will enable you to use proportional fonts on-screen, and send these to your printer. However, these tend to be slower - updating a screen containing a proportional font is a much more complex process than one with an ordinary bitmapped font. Whether you need this facility depends on how professional you want your output to look. Again, if the quality of your documents is really important, it might be an idea to look at a system comprising of a basic word processor and a DTP package. None of the word processors currently available will support a printer's built-in proportional fonts. \ Fi Fi Number °' documents - If X ^Tc you're doing nothing more than writing letters, you're unlikely to need more than one document open at a time. If. however, you are involved in creative writing, the facility to cut text from one document and paste into another can be invaluable. Just about every word processor will enable you to have more than one document open at once, but different packages set different limits on how many can be open. Available memory will often be a limiting factor. Bear in mind that programs which make use of colour and graphics in documents will use much more memory for each opened document as well as running progressively more slowly. Being able Hwdworth vl.|B13 1991 Digit* International Ok V«5 PM i -*■ 1 If m* limb if artearaftces as a frMlitr, cm u«kt s*j tkat ranters scare! fir icssaccs duck eras tke f recti er: icssaecs *Vich com f ro. tke i*k of Ike risikle. M this, net ketatse all paiitefl arc Platmsts, bet because the* leek Si kartV TWhccwI tfcis wj eariei 1 beck, ad especially nken unlm* m art, ick lereer ictites is li acknwleeje Ike absolutes *A universal* duck, ke iisists lie bekine 1 tke surfaces if tkincs. He coesn'l have a treat deal U say aboat these aksilvl.es, M asks is U be content lilh tens like tke essential, Ike invisible, Ike sacred er tke real, as if tke Hire's tkecselves, floating free of m diseertikle uWw or Mtatkjsics, can aisier tke ecestims Ike? raise kj tke sinrle ureency ritk nkicb tkci re lUerct 1 . f cr te tkei cat'L: mnj vet I fwmi mself IwrrmM tkroek tkese essavs, eatue tkee. et, as iM reall) WhetM 1 Lkei well 1 feci 1 tke keaeer tkci create! 1 . 1 Wordworth Is one of the most popular and professional Amiga word processors, but Is It really what you require? Perhaps you need DTP? a m 142 Control codes - These are ayout instructions which are sent to the printer. They do things such as change fonts, sizes, switches from bold to italic and so them. If you need to send control codes, be sure that the package you have in mind supports them - most don't. I Fi Q Proportional fonts - These ItO consist of letters which are of different widths, such as the to type faster than a word processor can display is a real irritation. 1 A f* Spelling checker - All but X ^T O the cheapest word processors come with spelling checkers. A spelling checker is a pretty useful utility, but it should never be relied upon one hundred per cent to correct your text. Also, don't forget that word processors from American manufacturers will have American dictionaries, in which many words will be spelt 'incorrectly'. Some of the better word processors have several dictionaries against which they can check your work. With these programs, text will be checked against a dictionary of commonly used words before a larger (and therefore slower) dictionary is consulted. This is useful if you have large documents to check. Another thing to look out for is the facility to create more than one user dictionary {in which you can enter your own words, unrecognised by the computer's dictionary). Having more than one user dictionary means you can store sets of esoteric words relating to different subjects. If you intend to create large documents, another good facility is the ability of the spelling checker to go through the whole document before querying any words. That way. you don't have to wait for requester after requester to appear as the checker churns through your text and all the instances of the same word mis-spelled several times throughout the text will be corrected with only one entry from the user. 1 Fa £• Thesaurus - Not many J. T"0 packages include a thesaurus, but then again not many people need one. Computer thesauruses tend to be pale shadows of their bookish counterparts. Don't let the inclusion of a thesaurus in a package sway you overmuch in its favour. \ Fa^ Columns - Some lTl packages enable you to format your text in several columns across the page, which can be handy for producing newsletters and the like. However, if you intend to make a great deal of use of this facility, and you require a good deal of flexibility in the formatting of your text, again you might be better advised to look at a DTP package. The multi-column facilities of word processors are OK, but basic. One thing to look out for is the ability to insert column breaks in your text, giving you greater freedom in deciding which text goes where. 1 Fi ft Content$ • Tne ability oi a l^O word processor to form a list of contents or an index based on user-selected words can be a boon when producing a report or technical documentation. 1 f Q Headers and footers - X ^ 2/ These are short sections of text that get printed at the top and ^M AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 WORD PR0CESS0RS/3D MODELLING 200 TOP TIPS bottom of every page. They are useful for just about anything beyond simple letters. Look out for the facility to use different headers and footers for left and right-handed pages. 1 p* f\ Mail merge - This Is the X Jl/ ability of a word processor to take name and address information from a database and place it in a document. This is handy if you intend to use your word processor for business and will be writing a lot of standard letters (those in which the main text is the same tor each recipient). Look out for the facility to choose names and addresses from the database according to user-specified sort criteria (only sending letters to people tn London, for instance). D programs have been appearing for the Amiga since it was first launched. One early offering, Vldeoscape, has since evolved into Lightwave, the powerful software which is the heart of the Video Toaster's 3D system. Other programs, such as Imagine and Real3D, have also been developed extensively over the years, though some, particularly Sculpt 3D, have almost faded away. As Amlgas become ever more powerful, 3D software continues to push at the boundaries of reality. But whatever the power, 3D requires sustained Input from the user. Here are ten tips to help you towards virtual reality. 1 C "1 Speed and time - 3D work X %J X is very time and memory intensive. Some serious software now requires at least 1Mb of Chip and 2Mb of Fast RAM just to get started. I'd advise you to add as much RAM as you can - you'll need it. Also add a largish hard disk, because you'll need somewhere to keep your 3D objects and textures, as well as your renderings. And. especially, add an accelerator, the faster the better. Otherwise you'll quickly become frustrated with the snail's pace that your Amiga seems to work at. Of course, while none of these items are obligatory, any serious 3D work, particularly in 24-bit, will really benefit from any or all of the above. A tape streamer might also come in handy for those large sequences of images which will ultimately be transferred to video-tape. ^ 5 i\ Is ray tracing necessary? 1i)m- The answer is often no. Annougn many images do look prettier when raytraced, it can be a waste of precious rendering time and the final product may benefit only marginally over a non raytrace rendered image. Weigh up the benefits of including shadows, refraction and true reflections. Use reflection mapping instead if your software allows, as a simple two or four colour reflection map can make a major difference. 1 ff Q Keep cool - 3D modelling luO and animation requires high levels of concentration and patience. And even then the failure rate can be high. Conceptualising a 3D solid and translating it into a wireframe representation in a 3D modeller can require some bold leaps of imagination. Be prepared for a long learning curve. Patience, practice and regular saves will help keep you out of the 3D straight jacket. "1 E* JJ Sleep on It - Don't waste X t_l ^ precious computing time rendering frames. Let your Amiga do the hard work while you take a well- earned rest. Even with multitasking. 3D rendering can be very time consuming, with frames often taking many hours to complete on non- accelerated machines. So while you dream about reality, let your computer handle your virtual dreams and have them ready for you in the morning. 1 Pp Get converted - Instead lOiJof building your object from scratch it is often simpler to take a 2D image and convert it to 3D with a program like Pixel 3D or Race Trace. Some recent 3D software, such as Imagine, have built-in 2D converters, though they can be a little flaky. It's amazing how much time and trouble you can save by digitising or painting a company logo and converting it for that flying logo extravaganza. Don't forget that it's also possible to use a file format converter to transmute an object from one particular format to another. Two programs spring to mind for this - Interchange and, once again, Pixel 3D. You'll wonder why you wasted all that time before. "I £*/* Tape or disk? - How you X «J \J output your work depends on your needs. In most cases the choice will be between video-tape or computer disk. The best quality will obviously be obtained by saving all images and animations on disk and playing them back on an RGB monitor. But for many purposes this is either impractical or downright impossible and video is usually the preferred method, with animations either being played back directly to tape via a quality RGB encoder or genlock or by single frames being recorded consecutively to an accurate, time-code equipped VCR. The frames will usually be of 24-bit quality and the VCR will be a professional model. 1M How many bits? - 24-bit X «J f devices undoubtedly provide the best-looking output, but they are expensive, with the up is. or where your current position is in relation to 0.0,0, then you are quickly lost! Understanding of the notional 3-dimensional space within the software is a must. If you aren't sure about something, pencil and graph paper. Lego bricks, or whatever you need to bring you back to the real world can be a big help. Setting a notional scale for the world is also extremely helpful. As 3D software space has no absolute dimensions you should impose your own measurements. Think in metric, or feet and inches, but stick to one system and you'll have a better sense of scale. "I J? Q Lighting -In most cases X «_J *J at least two light sources are desirable to get a good image. Use a mixture of ambient (environmental) and lamp source lighting. This will at least give you a crude representation of lighting in the real world. In other cases multiple lights are needed. When you light a scene, think about how tight might enter in reality. One light source is often the brightest (the Key light) and the Tactical tips for taking your 3D modelling into another dimension. As you can see from this picture, some superb effects can be achieved cheapest costing around £600 and offering little other than video output. While 16. 32 or HAM colour formats all have their place, they aren't always acceptable for quality 3D applications. Some programs produce animations in proprietary formats for playback directly to tape or monitor, though the size of these is limited by onboard RAM. Another option is to use DCTV. which can play animations back in high-quality DCTV format. Whilst there is a trade- off in quality against 24-bit. DCTV anims are pretty space-efficient and provide a way of getting close to 24- bit motion playback. "I G Q The world - Understanding X O O the 3D world is paramount. If you don't know where others fill the scene with dimmer light. Less ambient light will give a moodier feel to your image. 1 £*f\ Pebble dashing -Often it X \j\J really isn't necessary (or practical) to go to extremes in modelling all the minute details of an object. If your software supports surface mapping you should make use of it as it is a very useful feature. For example, you want to build a row of houses for the background of an animation. By using surface mapping to apply a 2D IFF image of a house front to one side of a simple cubic shape you not only avoid some extremely time- consuming and difficult modelling, but also reduce memory usage dramatically. AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 35 200 TOP TIPS PRINTERS Judging by the vast numbers of printer queries which appear again and again In our Amiga Answers mail bag. printers pose a few problems to many of you. That's why we've devoted a massive 20 per cent of out tips to printers... 1 /J 1 Plugging it In - Never. lUl ever, plug a printer cable into the printer or the Amiga while the printer or the Amiga is switched on. Some tech-heads will tell you mere is no problem with doing this. that there is no power travelling along the parallel cable so no damage can be caused, but this not always the case (see tip 162). If you are using a serial printer this tip is especially important because there almost certainly will be power travelling along the serial cable. •| /JO Parallel port - The Amiga's A Om parallel printer port is not completely standard, it sends power along a couple of lines that standard parallel ports don't use. This is so that peripherals can take their power from the parallel port rather than a separate power supply. DigiView does this, and so do all Amiga sound samplers. A standard (IBM PC) parallel printer cable does not have these lines connected, and this is the type of lead you need to connect your printer to the Amiga's parallel port. There will be no need to alter such a cable in any way, it will work 'straight out of the box'. But avoid leads that are made out of ribbon cable, it is likely that all the lines in such a cable will be connected, and you will end up frying the printer, the Amiga. or both. "I /JO Serial port - Connecting a A QO serial printer to the Amiga's serial port is a black art. While the Amiga end (obviously) remains the same, the connections at the other end will be of the printer manufacturer's invention. You will need a special lead; you certainly won't be able to walk into a shop iind fl- 'or :i r-orinl lond to ronniTt my Amiga to such-and-such a printer'*. A lead will have to be made up specially, and for this you will need details of the printer's serial port. These details should be in the printer manual, and you'll need to give this and your Amiga manual to somebody who knows what they are doing. If the serial lead is wired wrongly, you will at the very least (and instantly) blow up your Amiga's serial port. 164 Bargains - Resist every temptation to buy an old Amiga. Don't accept printed output from under the counter as proof that it works, you want to see it working for yourself. If the retailer's response to any of these questions sounds at all nervous, assume that the printer will not work properly with the Amiga because there isn't a specific printer driver for it. Repeat this process with as many retailers as it takes until you find one that knows what it is talking about. *| /? f! Claiming your rights - A U\J When buying a new printer, make the retailer write "For text and graphics use with the Amiga" on the receipt. When you find out it doesn't work Don't settle for anything less than print perfection - test out our tips and see your printing improve In leaps and bounds, whatever your printer printer at a knock-down price at an auction or car boot sale unless you know for certain that there is an Amiga printer driver for it. You will need to know what popular printer the knock-down printer emulates in order to find a driver. If you're lucky these details will be in the manual under the 'specifications' section, otherwise you'll need to phone the m^m^mmm^m manufacturer and ask. Then comes the frustrating task of finding a driver that works with that emulation. If you buy an old, manual-less serial printer at an auction you have almost certainly thrown money down the drain. "Resist every temptation to buy an old printer at a knockdown price at a car boot sale." properly you can return it and ask for your money back because the printer does not do the job you bought it for, as written down by the retailer on your receipt. This is your statutory right as a consumer. ■| /J Py Profusion of Ps - If you A O f are getting Ps or other weird characters ^^mmm^^mm printed at the top of the first page of every printout, check that you have a current version of 'printer.device' in the DEVS directory of the disk you booted from. Open a CLI or Shell to full screen size and enter the command line: 1 /*£* Compatibility - When lOO buying a new printer, ask the retailer if that model of printer will work 100 per cent perfectly with the Amiga. Ask which of the supplied Workbench Preferences printer drivers you should use. And then ask to see the printer working in both text and graphics mode with the TYPE DEVS: PRINTER. DEVICE HEX Press the spacebar once to halt the listing before it scrolls out of the window. About half way down the page, on the right-hand side, you'll see a version number, followed by a date. Your version should be at least 35 point something, and dated 1988 or later. The version of printer.device distributed with Workbench 2.04 is V35.603; the version distributed with Workbench 1.3.2 is V35.563; with Workbench 1.3 it was V35.562. All these versions should work OK. The version of printer.device distributed with Workbench 1.2 was V33 (Revision 132). and is the one that is causing some programs to print out strange characters at the top of pages when used with Workbench 1.3 or later. 1 £J Q Epson emulation - If you A O O are getting strange results from an Epson compatible printer and an Epson compatible printer driver that are supposed to work together perfectly, check the printer manual to see if the printer has an IBM emulation as well as an Epson emulation. If it does, check the printer's dip switches to make sure they are set for Epson emulation. This may sound like an obvious tip. but printers that the manufacturer is aiming at the "professional" tie PC) market almost always come set-up for IBM emulation. "1 f*(\ Ribbon Ink - Never use A O %J Qumk or stamp pad ink (or anything else like that) to re-ink a monochrome printer ribbon. And for heaven's sake don't let anybody convince you that it is OK to use WD40 or any other type of 'duck' oil. Proper ribbon ink contains a special type of lubricant that not only helps the pins in the head move in and out. but also transports the large amounts of heat generated by the pins away from the printer head. If the pins get too hot they become brittle or soft and are liable to snap or bend a little bit and get stuck. The classic symptoms of this are very noticeable horizontal white lines on graphics dumps, and bits of letters going missing in text printouts. There is proper stuff available, called Re-inK. that will re-ink between 20 and 100 ribbons, depending on the size of your ribbon. It costs about £12 per "future friendly* spray can. For more details call the Re-inK help line on 0202 666155. 1 7n Refl " ktts " lnk,et printer Jl I \J owners can save money by buying re-fill kits instead of new cartridges. There are various companies selling these kits, Systems Insight (0707 276913) for example, which cost about £20 and normally include a syringe and enough ink for about five re-fills. Colours are also available. m Technical line - If you are having bad problems with your printer, it is always worth calling the manufacturer's technical help line. These lines tend to be quite busy, so you may have to call quite a 36 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 PRINTERS 200 TOP TIPS few times, or hang on the line for a while, until you can get to talk to somebody. In my experience I have found the following companies to be especially helpful, and most of them know quite a bit about the Amiga and Amiga applications: Star (« 0494 471111). Citizen (« 0895 272621). Canon (• 081 773 3173). Brother (• 061 330 6531). and Facit (w 0634 868000). 170 Being nlce - Strictly 1 Im speaking, pnnter manufacturer technical help lines are for the use of printer dealers and distributors, not for customers, but if you eaten tnem on a good day ana you throw a few compliments around. you'll be surprised how helpful they can be. If you steam in with the -it's your legal responsibility" approach. or explain to them that "this phone call is costing me a fortune", expect to rw» politely requested to take your problem to the dealer from which you bought the printer. 1 ^Q Deksjet owners - DeskJet 1 I O 500C owners will be pleased to hear that the latest version of TurboPrint Professional comes with a DeskJet 500C driver. If you've already bought TurboPrint Professional and want an update you will need to contact IrseeSoft direct. The address is on the back of the manual. If you own a DeskJet 500C and are considering buying TurboPrint Professional, do ask the retailer, before you buy. if this is the version that comes with the DeskJet 500C driver. 1 ^ A PostScript support - If J. • TT you are considering buying a laser printer, think long and hard about whether to buy one that supports PostScript. While the cost of the printer will be slightly more, there are enormous advantages to using PostScript over LaserJet emulation, not the least of which is the fact that there are no proper LaserJet II or III Amiga printer drivers yet. *| PJ P* PostScript software - lit) Before buying a PostScript printer keep in mind that the software you are using must also support PostScript, and that if you want to use the printer to create A4 desktop published pages then 2Mb of printer memory is a realistic minimum. If your A4 pages use lots of downloaded fonts (as opposed to the 35-ish fonts that will be built into the printer), then you will need more pnnter memory. Also, make sure that the Implementation of PostScript inside the printer is a modern version and 100 per cent Adobe standard, some aren't. "1 *7 /? Colour separations - If 1 I U you are outputting PostScript colour separations, remember that the screen frequencies (lines per inch) and dot angles are extremely important. Professional Page users should note that the default values supplied in the Output PostScript requester are not "suggested" or "tried and tested" values, they are simply arbitrary numbers. Screen frequencies and dot rotation angles must be discussed with the bureau which is doing the films for you. otherwise you'll end up paying for wasted films and time on the imagesetter. If the bureau doesn't understand what you are talking about or says or implies that "it doesn't matter", go to another bureau toot-sweet. 177 Page width - The PostScript page width is very important. If you specify a width of PostScript page wider than that which the bureau's imagesetter can handle, most imagesetters will happily accept the input... trundle, trundle, trundle... but will output nothing. However you will still have to pay for the time on the imagesetter because it was your mistake. The maximum width of film imagesetters can take differs depending on the model of ^^m^m—m imagesetter being used. You must ask the bureau what width of PostScript page you should use. Remember that if you want cropping and registration marks, these marks will be printed in the area between the edge of the physical page and the edge of the PostScript page. "Cafcfi them on a good day, and you'll be surprised how helpful manufacturers can be." and plate - and that's as well as the four plates for the cyan, magenta, yellow and black separations. Don't assume that the bureau knows or understands about the Pantone colour system. Ask beforehand or you'll end up having an argument about whose fault the 'mistake' was. And unless you ^MM^Hhave deep pockets. ask about the cost of using Pantone colours before the bill gives you a heart attack. 179 178 Pantone colours - Professional Page users should note that each Pantone colour used requires a separate film This is a list of popular current printers for which there are known printer drivers that work perfectly and take full advantage of the printers' facilities, in cases where the software that is doing the printing allows. It Is certainly not a complete list, but we get more letters about these models of printers than any others. None of the drivers in this list come with Workbench. Citizen Print Manager is available from Citizen (w 0895 272621). all the others are on various Jamdisks, available from JAM on « 0895 274449. Note that at the time of writing there are no proper Amiga printer drivers for the Hewlett-Packard DeskJet Plus. DeskJet 500, DeskJet 500C, LaserJet Plus, LaserJet II. LaserJet IIP. LaserJet ill and LaserJet HIP. If this fact annoys you. phone Hewlett-Packard (« 0344 360000) and give its technical boffins an ear-bashing, then phone Commodore (» 0628 770088) and give the people there an ear-bashing too. It should also be noted that Canon. Star and Citizen have gone out their way to ensure that there are Amiga printer drivers for at least some of their current models. PRINTER MODEL/S Canon BJ-lOe/lOex Canon BJ-300/330 Canon BJC-800 Canon LBP-4/8 Citizen printers Commodore 1550C Epson FX-850/1050 (or emulation) Epson LQ-850/1050 (or emulation) Epson LQ-1000/1500 (or emulation) Epson LX-850 (or emulation) NEC 24-pins Panasonic KX-P1123/1124 Star LC-200 Star LC24-10/15 Star LC24-200 Star SJ-48 Star XB24-10/15 DRIVER NAME CanonBJIO CanonBJ300 coming soon CanonLBP Citizen Print Manager Star9Plus Star9Plus EpsonQPIus Star24Plus Star9Plus Nec24Plus PanasonicPlus Star9Plus Star24Plus EpsonQPIus Star24Plus Star24Plus Printer trouble - if after telling an application to print something, nothing happens and then after about 30 seconds a 'Printer Trouble' system requester appears on your screen, this means the printer driver has been trying desperately to send data to the printer, but the printer has not sent back a message saying that it has received that data. This could be due to several things... Is the printer switched on? Is there paper in the printer? Has the paper jammed? Is the printer on- line? Are you using a proper printer cable? Is the printer cable plugged in? Are you using the correct printer driver? 1 Q A Opening the printer lOU device - If when trying to print you end up with a "Cannot open printer device" system requester, this (normally) means one of two things. Either some other application that you are multitasking is using the printer (and therefore already has the printer device open), or some required system files are not where they should be. Luckily both these problems are easily remedied... This mostly happens when you create your own 'boot-up' disks and forget to copy the pnnter.device' or paraliel.device' file into the DEVS directory of the boot-up disk, or you've forgotten to copy the printer driver into DEVS/PRINTERS on the boot-up disk. The answer to this problem is to work backwards. Instead of creating a boot-up disk from empty, copy the Workbench disk, remove the files and directories that you do not need, and then copy your application on to the copy of the Workbench disk. Do note, however, that unless you know precisely what you are doing, you should leave the DEVS. L. UBS. S and SYSTEM directories exactly as they are. c Mtiavtd on poojt 40 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 37 - \ 1 THE ALL J*ff3^ AMIGA 600 PACK ** y *^ Very Lal.sl Amiga f .a it On-sife maintenance * KrCKstart/WofVbench 2.05 * Built-in TV/Modulator * Smart Card Slot * IDE Hard Disk Controller (Optional 20Mb inrornal hard disk) Exclusive to Futureworld* ■MM AoOOPock AoOOJirtc DPo.nt III 4 gam.) RRp £399 99 Ajtro Ten Game* Pack RRP £229 78 Gf A Bosk RRP £49.95 TOTAL RRP £679 72 lot yours for an unbelievable £399.99 r\ A600 HD Pack: Aj above but featuring 20Mb Hard Disk TOTAL RRP £779 72 But yours for an unbelievable £499.99 Ni: HD VERSION DOl5 NOT INClUOl DPIII OR GAME ALL OUR A500 PLUSES COME WITH A MASSIVE 2 ME6 OF AMKrtWVi^iSfSPU Only vetlion g"° ,a Megobyl (RAM 1 MEG UPORABE BOARD f^urnl'Oitopiayy^' = M NIGHTS HOUDAY*C C N(NG up £349 95 Rffp £229.71 MP £7.t» «»£6vv nrv* fr|#r . Backup U*** GAMESMASTER PACK A500+ CARTOON CLASSICS PACK D C7Q0 o 2 MEG RAM BOARD (lat«si blu* pcb dttign) P cq ft< l^aHMvyouf A500t to a muuv* 2 mtQAbyitf o* RAM HKr £ JT.Vii ASTRA TEN GAMES PACK Otftttlorm * Ounp^on QlfMI • E Mc#on • Grind M*ti* Slim • *UJ Qiovm Pow«o>ty • RVF Hond* - ShuirupMfc Ca** ■ Soccer • TowtH of BflM (PVB Ail QAmo» indfWfciAfy ptcfcAQMft WICKED 40 GAME PACK 2 FIGHTER MICROSWITCH JOYSTICKS Not ori# Dwl TteO O^ilHty OylliCU QUALITY MOUSEPAD TAILOR MADE DUSTCOVER •PLUS- FD DISK PACK CONTAINING Wvtffoimav • So>Mdtf<M( • D«uu • Virus **•> - Baouc IM* ' R °"" ,0NAl "««C PACK £2-252?? CUSS.CS PACK 2 meg ram *zsr:*r ■>-£ "- HI MUSIC X 1 i ,," QUALITY MIDI iiuSS?r."- RRp £399 9 5 flflp£59,» 5 ~~- M i»£*« ■"•Ml RRP £24 f 5 ** RRP 1 5 98 RRP £6.99 RRP £6.99 Sassa** "•* .95 TOTAL RRP £744.59 But yours for an unbelievable.. . £399 .99 2 x MIDI CABLES QUALITY MOUSEPAD TAILOR MADE DROVER TOTAL RRP £672 ?t "* rrp£149.9 5 RRP £34 95 ««p£13.w ww»£6.w r »p £6 w ""r^-^Sffis^-c-^a^ GFA BASIC The 9* conwwns*, rfimKK ^JJJ "9.95 CLIP-IT PAPER HOLDER 10 DS/DD DISKS 10 CAPACITY STORAGE BOX SCART LEAD TO YOUR COMPUTER »£Z RRP £9.99 RRP £4.99 MOUSE HOUSE AMIGA CDTV STARTER PACK CDTV PLAYER Complete with remote RRP £499.99 control. Lemmings etc CDTV KEYBOARD RRP £49.99 CUMANA SUPER SUM DRIVE RRP £79.99 GFA BASIC used with above, transforms CDTV into a fully programmable Amiga RRP 79.99 TOTAL RRP £679.96 But yours for an unbelievable £549 .95 «°">STA* 14" TV/MONITOR ar,::ir^r ,onds,eep,mer *«*—** TOTAL RRP WITH VALUE PACK £325 79 £ 1 OO WHIPS 3332 IS" FST ■» — * ■ ^V.95 TOTAL RRP W.TH VALUE PACK £330.75 £ M O ~ SBSSSM2B— 5^" ™ roige 3 speaker sound oufput {"credible value for money *■ **r» fer on unheal* w,„ wc Z!!„I!!«' ,^,,,0 C0l0 "« <"<w"to« • EXTRA SPECIAL OFFER * WHILE STOCKS LAST ? 500 CARTOON CUVS5.CS SUPERPACK L699 95 m mJS&&^E8&2SSS&s. MUM* GAME PACK .0 individ-aHy M*« GFA BASIC EtNrttal lor bos* pwgtonwn.no. RRP U9.W CARTOON CLASSICS SOFTWARE M S,mp»n V, Space Muton., • lammrngs^ ^ ^ Captain Planet oop c 1 S Qfl QUAUTY MOUSEPAD _ _ W/ M^lator (CW.95) jj * " » be us^ with a te^on TOTAL RRP £1082.62 But your* for on unboUtvablo £599.95 £229 .95 95 »vf your, for on unb«favabla f239 .95 - " % ■ : This mochino rw^uiro* O MEMORY DRIVES A SCANNERS 512K RAM EXPANSION WITHOUT CLOCK £19.95 WITH CLOCK £24.95 1 .5 MEG EXPANSION (Not Plus compatible) £79.95 1 MEG EXPANSION (Gives your A500 plus a massive 2MB) £39.95 1 MEG EXPANSION WITH THRU-PORT £49.95 NEW 8 MEG RAM BOARDS FROM POWER Complete with Thru-Port Populated board with OMeg RAM £99 • 2 Meg RAM £129 • 4 Meg RAM £189.95 • 8 Meg RAM £299.95 DIRECT A500 REPLACEMENT DRIVE with instructions £44.95 POWER PC880E Robust slim drive with anti-click £49.95 CUMANA CAX 354 SLIMLINE DRIVE £54.95 POWER PC 8808 with Blitz/Virus hordware £69.95 POWER PC880B+ X-COPY PROFESSIONAL £99.95 DUAL POWER PC880B complete with Power supply £124.95 GVP 52 MEG HARD DRIVE WITH RAM EXPANDABLE TO 8MB Meg RAM £379.95*2 Meg RAM £429.95-4 Meg RAM £499.95-8 Meg RAM £679.95' GVP 105 MEG HARD DRIVE WITH RAM EXPANDABLE TO 8MB Meg RAM £579.95-2 Meg RAM £629.95-4 Meg RAM £729.95-8 Meg RAM £899.95 POWER SCANNER WITH VERSION 2.0 SOFTWARE £99.95 UPGRADE KIT FOR NON POWER SCANNER UNITS Complete with hardware interlace and new version 2.0 Software £49.95 -.^ ■ W computers STAR PRINTERS All ov S*o' P'inloti no** co<"» vittK lh« following value pock worth £34.9© COMPLETELY FREE QUALITY COMPUTER CABLE RRP £9.99 UNIVERSAL PRINT! R STAND RRP £9 99 200 SHEETS CONTINUOUS PAPER RRP £4.99 TAILOR MADI DUST COVER RRP £9 99 1 6 NIGHTS HOLIDAY ACCOMMODATION t PLUS • PD DISK PACK CONTAINING Word processor • Spreadsheet • Databaie • Virui K.llerG Backup Utility •TAR LC30 MONO PdlNTIPt 9 Pin Dot Mohi* 1 80/45 cps TOTAL RRP wilh value pock £268.01 ■ut your* for an unbelievable £ 1 49. •• STAR LCaOO COLOUR PRINTER 9 Pin coloui 1 85/45 cps TOTAL RRP with value pock £33995 Bui your* for on unb.li.vabl. £209.ts STAR LC24-200 MONO PRINTER 24 Pin mono printer ??0/55cp» TOTAL RRP with vok/o pock £386.29 »v? yovrt for on unb.li.vobl. £ 240. •* STAR 1X24-300 COLOUR RRINTIR 24 Pin Cvk»v' pcnt»' 220/55cpi TOTAL RRP with volu. pock C445 04 But yours for on unbelievable £ 299.es STAR SJ48 INKJIT RRINTIR High speed/quality mono printer lOOcps [LQ| TOTAL RRP with value pock £379 96 Rut yours for an unboUvabU £244.91 SERIOUS SOFTWARE WORD PROCESSORS OUICKWRITE oastc but efficient and easy to use £59.99 PENPAL Ideal for both beginners & experienced users £79.99 WORDWORTH Industry standard, the best' £129.99 DATABASE K-DATA Affordable, reliable & easy to use £51 .99 SUPcRBASE PROFESSIONAL £249.95 The ultimate, you can't get better SPREADSHEET K-SPREAD 2 Simple & easy to use £63.99 K-SPREAD 3 Enhanced version of above £81.99 MAXIPLAN Well known powerful spreadsheet £69.99 ADVANTAGE Powerful package for business users £99.99 UTILITIES PERSONAL FINANCE MANAGER Get your finances m order! £39.99 HOME ACCOUNTS 2 Suitable for home & small businesses £54.99 DEVPAC 3 Extremely powerful assembler £69.99 ORAPHICS AMOS THE CREATOR Become a budding gamesmaker £49.99 WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIO every cartoonists dream £99.99 MUSIC MUSIC X I.I Speoal purchase whilst stocks last £49.99 BARS & PIPES Top of the range for the professional £148.99 TT PACKB \ll MEG UPGADE BOARD RRP £29.95 2 f IGHTER JOYSTICKS RRP £1 5. 98 40 CAPACnnOCKAB" DISK BOX RRP £9.99 10 DS/DD 3.5' DISKS RRP £9.99 TOTAL RW "5.91 SUPER ABC PERIPHERAL PACKS PACK A QUALITY REPLACEMENT MOUSE RRP £19.99 SOLID PERSPEX DUST COVER RRP £12.99 QUALITY SEMI-SOFT MOUSEMAT RRP £7.99 TOTAL RRP £40.97 SUPER VALUE PACK PRICE £24.95 10 DS/ °D 3.5- disks HeEsl. £±».9S PROFESSIONAL AMIGA REPAIRS "Simply The Best" Commodore authorised repair centre FREE COLLECTION & DELIVERY BY COURIER Make one simple phone call and leave the rest to us' GUARANTEED 7 DAY TURN AROUND We guarantee to return your computer WITHIN 7 days of collection FULL OVERHAUL INCLUDING OVER 50 DIAGNOSTIC CHECKS Your Amiga will look as good as new 3 MONTH COMPREHENSIVE GUARANTEE Our engineers work to the highest standard ALL INCLUSIVE PRICE We won't con you with hidden extras FREE 50 GAMES SOFTWARE PACK For a limited otter we will give you a 50 games pack completely free! 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Wk '"-to 200 TOP TIPS SETTING UP A SPREADSHEET HTslntablt formula might change. Adding a row at A12. would change this formula thus: A21-A8+A23. The above shows a series of sin waves rotated through 180 degrees - the message to be learned from this Is to keep It as simple as possible Settin evlslng a spreadsheet for any particular application Is one of the most arduous tasks a beginner can be faced with - but with some careful planning, It need not be as complex as you might imagine. m Basics - To begin with, you must have a basic idea of what the sheet is meant to do. Most spreadsheets can be configured in countless variations - but it is important to lay down a few ground rules before starting out. Three things are required: • What values you have available. • What results you will require. • The formulas required to turn A into B. The actual maths involved in the calculations will be handled at great speed by the sheet, but it can only follow the rules you enter into it. If you start with the prerequisites described above, you will find designing the sheet will be a breeze. 1 Q O Add Up x ' 0ne of the IOm most common jobs a spreadsheet is called upon to do is to add up the entire contents of a column or row: you might want to add up a column of numbers for example. The most obvious way to do this is add each individual cell in turn, viz: A1+A2+A3+A4+A5+A6 However, most spreadsheets will allow you to add up a sequential series of cells such as this with the SUM() function. Cell referencing techniques may change @SUM(A1..A6) or =SUM(A1:A6) for instance, but it means the same thing. 1 Q Q Add u p 2 - The (| p lOO described above uses a technique called "cell relative addressing" or "cell relative referencing". This just means the cell addresses are not fixed and if you want to add an extra row between, say A3 and A4, the formula: @SUM(A1..A6) will change to: @SUM(A1..A7) The extra row is accounted for automatically in this calculation and all others affected. This is. of course, one of the advantages of using a spreadsheet. However, the benefits of using "absolute referencing" should not be ignored. In this case cell references always point to the same cells. You would use this in a cashflow (for instance) to calculate the difference between the total income (B8) and total expenditure (B20) plus the balance carried over (A22): A20-A8+A22 If you should add an extra row or two, the relative references will be corrected by the sheet, so the 184 Cut and Paste 1 - The fastest way to create a basic sheet for simple jobs such as a cashflow is to create an entire column manually, copy it, then paste it into the remaining columns. Any column specific (monthly headings etc.) alterations should be made later. In Procalc the keypress A-v is a shortcut for Paste... Relative - to automatically resolve cell addresses. In Advantage you must use the menu option Paste... Relative. The shortcut A-V (menu Paste. ..Full) is absolute and does not resolve the references. 1 Q f* Cut and Paste 2 - The lOu paste function in Analyse is more comprehensive than either Advantage or Procalc. In this system you can copy a single cell to a range of cells - Analyse will resolve all the cell references automatically. Follow these steps: a) Click on the cell (formula) to copy. b) Press /RC. (Menu: Range... Copy). c) Press Return to confirm the selection. d) Move the cursor where you want to copy TO... e) ...and press "." to hold the first cell. f) Move the cursor to mark the entire block. g) Press [Return] to complete the operation. The same technique can be used to copy a row or column. Select the row as described above. Move to the first column/(row) you want to fill and press V. Move the cursor to block out the entire selection and press Return. The copy and paste areas need not be the same size. 1 g/J Basic charting - Most lOO systems offer a large number of complex graphics - but for most purposes a bar or a line chart will be quite sufficient. Automatic systems such as Advantage and Procalc. while easier and faster to use suffer from labelling problems. Therefore, either keep the label names short, or. reduce the amount of data shown on the graph. If you're printing graphics on an impact machine, keep them simple to save wear on your print head and your nervous system. 1 O n Automatic chart parsing - lO I This suffers from two major bugbears. First the data can be read in one of two directions: by row or by column. This can cause all kinds of bother when you produce say a pie chart and it only has one segment. In this case change the parsing from Row to Column or vice- versa. By the same token, automatic scale labels are read from the respective rows and columns above and to the left of the selected data. If you need to produce a chart of some specific data, copy it (values only for speed) and its respective labels to a separate area on the sheet and take a chart from there. 1 QQ Formulas - Always keep A OO formulas simple! Always prefer an internal function to one constructed from separate functions. This will help keep the sheet's recalc time down to a minimum and makes it easier to understand. If you must use a complex formula, break it down into smaller chunks and hide the intermediate results elsewhere on the sheet. You can hide intermediate values on some spreadsheets by changing a range of cell's pen colour to the background colour — use this as a last resort though. Keep a separate "sheet" of any special formulas you devise so they can be copied-in whenever they are required. 1 QQ Show negative results - lOi/ Most spreadsheets have a feature to allow you to highlight negative values. Advantage and Procalc do not: you must use a function instead although this is more powerful. Assume you have a row of results A20...G20 and wish to highlight any negative values. The following function should be entered into any spare cell below in column A: SETCOLOR(A20<0.2.3.A20) and then pasted relative (A-V in Procalc) into all the cells through to column G. The colours are determined by the two centre numbers. Also, the cell highlighted need not be the one checked. A similar technique is available using the SETSTYLE function. This uses binary values to set one of seven available styles — consult your manual for more information. 1 Q /\ To Transfer Data - The A %J " simplest way to exchange data with other spreadsheets - either on the Amiga or other systems such as PC and Macintosh - is to save the file in Lotus 1-2-3 format. Major packages such as Procalc, Advantage and The Works all support a major subset of the Lotus file format and this is generally the most effective method. Other methods such as DIF are less reliable. If you are sending your sheet to a database package use CSV (comma delimited) if this is available. 40 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 Two Identical sections of code. Which looks best to you? Learn how to make your code more productive with tips 191 to 200 rogramming ssembly language programming on any machine can turn Into a complete nightmare If you are not careful. Programs, by nature, are naturally longer and seemingly more complex. But If some simple guidelines are adhered to, It can be a very productive choice of programming language. Here are some suggestions which you can follow and build on. m Development tools - Make sure that you are using the right software and utilities. I recommend Hisoft's excellent DevPac 3, written to look and work well under the 1.3 and 2.04 . It also comes with the full 1.3 and 2.04 Include files as supplied by Commodore and a powerful monitor/debugging tool- Monam. It also comes with a linker and other utilities with a comprehensive manual and after-sales support. 1 QQ Back-ups - This cannot li/W possibly be stressed enough. Regular and organised back- ups of your code protects you against unfortunate incidents with your floppy or hard disks. It's so easy to save files under the wrong filename - in a puff of smoke your 10.000 line source code file can miraculously become a copy of your startup-sequence! It's good to use automatic or timed back-ups if you can, or save files under different filenames. Back-up to a separate place (another disk or partition) regularly if you are working hard on your software. 1 QQ Labels and comments - X %J O Assembly language programs are notoriously bad to read. They are much longer than programs in other languages due to their simplicity. It is easy for even the simplest utility to grow to over several thousand lines. It is important that you use sensible label names and comment your code. The illustration shows two identical segments of code, one is well commented and labelled. Which one would you rather have written? Labels such as Loopl. Loop2 Loop3 and so on are almost meaningless. Document routines too. with input and output parameters and the registers that they corrupt. 1 Q yi Program organisation - X 2/^ Structure your program. If you can. separate your set-up and close-down routines, such as AllocateMemory and CloseLibraries. Keep all routines and subroutines specific to a particular subject together. For instance, keep all your set-up routines in one place. This helps you to find your way round large source files quickly. If you know you need to check something in the graphics routines, for example, you ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE PROGRAMMING know that they are together. It makes debugging and development easier. 1 QCJ Correct Include flies - X %J %J Use the correct Include files. If you are writing Amiga assembly language code, you will need to use some of the Amiga library routines. It is easy to pepper the start of your programs with lines such as "CloseLibrary = -414". This is a bad thing to do. Use the official Include files, this reduces the things that can go wrong with your program, and makes debugging easier. The same applies to operating system label names. Try to avoid having tables of numbers at the start of your program defining things such as "CUSTOMSCREEN". Simply include the correct files, and all of these things are then defined for you. 1 Q /* Obey the rule* - This X %J \J should be carved in stone and stamped on the foreheads of all Amiga developers. Commodore has laid down a comprehensive set of rules and guidelines for your Amiga programming, designed to make your programs more efficient and easier to write. They are also designed for future compatibility with improved operating systems and video hardware. The primary reason why software (games, applications and PD products) broke when Commodore released Workbench 2.04 was because of people failing to obey these rules. Commodore had to spend additional time developing Workbench 2 to minimize incompatibilities. Amiga development is on-going! Obey the rules now, and your software will work on future versions of the operating system. 1 QH Books and documentation It/ I -I would recommend you have at least one 68000 reference manual, not specific to the Amiga, talking about the 68000 series of chips, and detailing the individual instructions in the processor, including descriptions of the additional features present on the 68010. '020. '030 and '040. Although the official Amiga documentation is expensive, it is worth its weight in gold. Programming hints and guidelines are present in the books, and are written by the people who have developed the operating system itself. The official Amiga documentation will not teach you how to program assembly language, it will show you how to use your assembly language skills to their best on the Amiga system. "I C\ Q Processor specific code - lt/O Don't use it without thought. This one should be under the obey the rules tip, but I shall detail a couple of things which you 200 TOP TIPS should bear in mind when starting developing 68000 assembly language programs. Many 68000 programming manuals show how to create delays by executing loops lots of times. This is very bleak indeed, as a delay routine that takes one second under a 68000 may execute in a millisecond on a 25Mhz 68030. This is another of the reasons that software which works fine on an A500 fails to function on an Amiga 3000. Instead, create your timings in a non processor-specific manor, such as counting vertical blanking gaps, or using the CIA timers (preferably with the timer device, but if this is not possible, remember to ask the operating system for a CIA timer before you simply use one!) 1 QQ Des, * n " Work out what lt/I/ you are trying to do before you do it! You may find yourself with spaghetti code - which is worse with assembly language programs than with other languages. It's always a good idea to sit down with a pen and a piece of paper initially to scribble down some ideas, possible screen layouts and so on before committing yourself to code. The same applies to complex or long routines. Sometimes it can lead you to discover even better ways of doing things that you would not have thought about otherwise. Pseudo code is also a good starting point, see the third window in the screen shot for an example. This is not real code, and is not intended to run - it's an easy way of getting the basic gist of how a routine will work, and is a good starting point for coding. QAA Debugging - It's unlikely M \J \J that you will be able to write a bug-free Amiga application. Debugging can be by far the longest part of software development if your program design and layout is not up to scratch. If there is a fault in your program, you need to isolate it. Reduce the code you need to wade through to the smallest possible chunk. There are many ways of doing this, you could step through your entire program, or. more sensibly, narrow it down by putting indicators at certain points in the program so you know how far the code got before went wrong. These indicators can range from the simplest, such as flashing the screen a different colour, to printing messages on the screen saying things such as "I got to the memory allocation routine OK", or "I opened the serial device successfully." If you have access to another computer with a serial port, you may like to refer to the section on RomWack in the Amiga Libraries book, as this can be helpful for finding what went wrong after a software failure (Guru meditation). QJ AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 41 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE In part two of this introduction to Prolog, Philip Gladwin shows you DCGs and cuts, and naturally, processes some language. Plus: part two of the Route Finder his month I'm going to finish off the discussion of Prolog's syntax by looking at lists, and at controlling backtracking. I'm also going to sketch details on writing an English language grammar, followed by hints on navigating a node network (that's roads and road junctions for the Imaginative among you). [M,S,T,S] The list is the primary means of data storage in Prolog. As SBProlog is interpreted you don't have to worry about which data types you are using, so lists can be lists of anything: numbers, mixed with atoms and variables, or predicates, or other lists - even empty lists. Lists are indicated by the use of square brackets: [atom, 1234, foo (bar)..] -there id a standard way to refer to them. We say that a list has a head - the first element in the list, and a tail, which is a sublist made up of all the other elements in the list. Figure 1 illustrates this. How do lists work? Well, if you want to add an element E to a list L you push what is already in the list into the tail, and insert the new element in at the head: [EIL]. Simple. Deleting an element from a list is a little more complicated, and requires code. There are two cases when deleting an element from a list: if E is the head of list L, the result after deleting E is the tail of L. On the other hand, if E is anywhere in the tail, you should produce a tail with T deleted from it. Look at some code which does this: delete (E, [E I Tail] -Tail) . delete<E, [XITail] , [XINewTail] ):- delete(E,Tail,NewTail). Try drawing out a trace of what happens when you call it with the query delete (a, [a,s,d] , Result). (Hint - Result should = [a,d] ). SBProlog comes with an excellent set of library functions, including plenty stuff for messing about with lists. However, delete is not one of them, so you may find the above useful. The predicates built into the interpreter are indicated in the source code by beginning with a '$'. The library predicates loaded by the interpreter - in the same way that it loads your source files - are not labelled in the same way, but if you can't find a definition of a predicate in my code then it has to be from the SBProlog library. CUT!! The Cut, (written as 'I ') is a procedural directive used when you are sure that the bit of proving you have just done should not need to be repeated, either because you know the result to be true and further backtracking would waste time, or because if the first alternative is wrong then you don't want any other alternative to occur. It commits you to the line of proof that you are already on; If any of the goals on the Figure 1: The main method of data storage In Prolog... The Ust [H/T] X r i For the list [el, abc, pol(arg),Var} H«l T=[abc, pol(arg), Var] [H/T] For the list rr T*[] right of the :- fail then you cannot try another version of the goal to the left of the :- . For example: LINE la:- b,c,d,e. LINE 2 a:- ff,o;,h. LINE 3 b. LINE 4 c. LINE 5 c. LINE 6 d:- x. LINE 7 f . In the normal path of execution, calling the predicate a would make Prolog try to prove it by stepping through all the goals on Line 1 - so it would call in turn predicates b.cd and e. If all of these predicates succeeded, the execution would stop there, and a would be taken as proven. If, as In this case, predicate d failed, Prolog would begin to backtrack. This is where it gets a To load source file into Prolog you ask it to 'consult' it. There are two ways of doing this at the I ?- prompt : type either consult (filename) . or use the shortcut and type £f llename] . When it has looked at your code, run the program by typing go. Enter one of the two types of query at the prompt: "give me a route from <node> to <different node>" "how do i get from <node to <dif ferent node>" Enter the queries as they appear here - including all the lower case letters, the quote marks, and the full stops, but substituting your preferred node in between the angle brackets. About 30 seconds later you should have some result. You can tell when Prolog has finished, because it will echo 'yes' or 'no', depending on your query's success, and return you to the I ?- prompt. little complicated. The trace of execution looks like this: / ?- a. call a (line 1) call b (Line 3, succeed) call c (line 4, succeed) call d (line 6) call x (no x's, fall) d falls (backtrack) retry c (line 5, succeed) retry d (line 6) call x (no x's, fall) (backtrack) retry c (no more c's) (backtrack) retry b (no more b's) a falls retry a (line 2) call f (line 7, succeed) call g (nog's, fall) a falls NO I ?- Now look what happens to the same trace if you alter the code by inserting a cut in LINE 1: NEWUNEla:- b, l,c,d,e. The trace now looks like: I ?- a. call a (newline 1) call b (Una 3, succeed) call c (line 4, succeed) call d (line 6) ' call x (no x's, fall) d falls (backtrack) retry c (line 5, succeed) retry d (line 6) call x (no x's, fall) (backtrack) retry c (no more c's) (can't backtrack past I) a falls (I has committed you to the first line, you are not allowed to try any other a's, so the call to a stops here.) no. I ?- AND SO TO CODE Look at the code you have been supplied with this month: it is divided up into four main sections. The first predicate, go, is the controlling predicate: you call this one to run the program. The other three sections, nip, lang and route preprocess your input; parse your input, checking that it is a question and extracting the important information; and find the shortest route between the two nodes you have requested. Let's look at the preprocessor first. dbclear initialises the bits of Prolog's internal database we're going to be using later. get_query/l takes the question from the user, and breaks it up into a list of words, prepare/ 1 takes this list, checks that each of the words is in the vocabulary (declared in last month's code section), and asserts the fact that the sentence 42 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE contains each word into the database. Note that the character; is to be read as 'OR'. Moving to the first of the predicates in the lang section; s/3, let's sidestep for a moment to look at an Artificial Intelligence type formalism called a DCG, or definite clause grammar. Take a look at Figure 2. You'll recognise (if you read the introduction to Al in AS 15) this way of representing an English sentence as a tree. The DCG is one of the most efficient ways of doing this, and it happens that using Prolog is one of the best ways of working a DCG. Assume that there is a sentence stretching between the beginning and the end of the list of words passed as input to the DCG (eg [hcw,do,i,go,from,aA,to,d)|. According to the Prolog rules in the Lang section, a sentence (S) is until you are looking In the vocabulary section to see if there is such a thing as a determiner ('a', 'the') and a noun ('route') to concatenate to make up an NP. CRUEL (REAL) WORLD The route finding section of the program is simplicity itself after all this - get_routea/4 finds all the routes it can between the two nodes, and f ind_shorte»t/3 finds the length of each of them, and presents you with the shortest. What else is there? Well, of course, this is a technique that only works on such a small network. Using a full UK map and finding every possible route between Blackpool and Grimsby would last longer than my lifetime. In the real world you would throw in a few heuhstics, such as working out a way of preventing your route being ure 2: Two sentences to Interrogate your program VP s\. [give] NPT taught phrase lew] [a] [route] TPrep Node DPrep Node I I [to) [X] Ifrom] m Quest Qadv [how] NPT from toY legitimate if it can be proved that there is a questioning verb phrase (QVP) and a targeting noun phrase (NPT) such that, when concatenated, they equal the list given as input to S/3. This is explicitly stated by this extract of code: ■ <8, _•_>:- Vrvp(WYT). npt(NPT,_,_>, $append(QVP,NPT, S) . (The other S/3 rule allows another sentence format to be used - you can have as many sentence formats as you like.) Of course, Prolog being Prolog this process recurs and recurs, and so a QVP exists if there exists a Questioning Phrase (QP), and a Vert), and they can be concatenated together to form a (JVP. Likewise for NPT. Note that the NPT does something else which, strictly isn't part of a language parsing process: it uses the Target and the Origin nodes for use in the Route Section. This process of definition and subdefinition occurs longer than 2x the crow's flying route between the two nodes. Or perhaps making a classification of the types of routes, and only using routes with a fair percentage of A roads and Motorways. Real Routefinder systems use these methods, and then some. The point is that Prolog is a nifty way of prototyping your ideas. SBProlog may not be a serious development tool, but I've used Prologs in the IBM world that gave blistering performances and could be used for real programming. All we need is for an enterprising someone to port one over... r.vt 7JOOOOOOOO SHOPPING LIST SBProlog (Fish Disk 140) available from PD Direct (Disk PDU29a) • 0782 715255 -£1.25 ROUTE FINDER DEMO PROGRAM PART 2 /• AMIGA SHOPPER ROUWJJDKR DEMO PROGRAM PART 2 •/ 90:- nip, I, nl, print ('Mow finding -J roue*. . . ' ) ,nl, route, route (R.L), print ( 'The shortest routs is J along road ssgassnts: '), print (R),nl, printCThis routs J is '), print U), pr int ( ' mi lss long * ) , nl . •NLP- dbclear:- sbolish(db, 1), abolish (target, 1) , abolish (origin, 1) , abolish (route. 2) . get_query(Out) t- printl 'Enter your Query: ') (X). (X. [],[]. Out) . nip: -dbclm g«t quary(Out), I, print ( 'Parsing request prepare (Out), I, s (Out , Target , Origin) , assert (target (Target) ) assert (origin (Origin) ) prepared]). prepare ( [HIT] t :- word(H), (T). word(X)t- UdetUX] >. assert (db(det([X]>) )>; (oprep((X)), assert (db(oprep J ( (X] ) ) ) ) ; (n( [XI ) ,a»sert<db(n< [X] ) ) ) ) 1 (pro ( [X] ), assert (db (pro ( [X] > ) ) ) ; <qa ( [X] ) , assert < db < qa ( (X) ) ) ) ) ; (tprep( [X] ),asssrt(db(tprep J UX])))>! (▼( CX] ) , assert ( db ( v { (X) ) ) ) ) J ( node ((X)), assert (db( node J (IX)))))). words ([], Mord , Carry , Out ): - Srevaree (Word, Mordl > , nans <Mord2. Mordl) , 9reverse((Mord2ICaxry],Out) . words ( (33 IT], Mord, S, Out) :- $reverse (Mord, Mordl ) , nana (Mord2 , Mordl ) , words(T, [] , lMord2|8] .Out) . words! [HIT] , Mord, 8, Out) 1- words(T, (HIMord],S,Out). /•■ -LAMG- Handles 2 types of queries: "give me a routs to T frost X' -how do i get frosi X to Y*. np(MP):- db(det(DET>). db(n(N>), $append(DET,N,MP). npt ( HPT , Target , Origin) tp(HPT, Target, Origin) . npt (HPT, Target , Origin) np(HP), tp (TP, Target , Origin) * Sappend (HP, TP, MPT) . opp(OPP.N):- db(oprep( db(node(M))« $append ( OPRXP , M , OPP ) . qp<QF)t- db(qa(QA>), db(v(V)), $append(QA,V,QP). qvp(QVP):- qp(QP). - J >>. vp(VP), Sappend ( QP , VP , QVP ) . s (8, Target, Origin) :- *P(VP), npt (MPT, Target, Origin), l(VP,NPT,8). ■ (S, Target, Origin) :- qvp(QVP), npt (NPT, Target, Origin) , l(QVP,NPT,8). tp(TP, Target, Origin) :- tpp (TPP , Target ) , opplOPP, Origin) , Sappend (TPP, OPP, TP) . tp(TP, Target. Origin) 1- opp (OPP, Origin), tpp (TPP, Target), Sappend (OPP. TPP, TP) . tpp(TPP,M)i- db(tprep( db(node(N) ), (append (TPREP, N, TPP) . vp(VP)i- db(v(V)), db(pro(P)), $append(V,P,VP). vp(VP):- db(pro(P)), db(v(V)), $append(P,V,VP). )). -ROOTS exists_route(Snd, End, Route, Route) lata route (Start. End, List. -J Route) 1- ■ road (Seg, Start, Midway, > ; road (Seg, Midway, Start, _)), not Smasher (Seg, List), exi at a rout a (Midway, End, J [Seg I List], Route). (H,[H|_].Pos,Pos). ■IX, (HIT],Pos,Out):- Hewpos Is Poa * 1, find _poa(X,T,Newpoa, Out) . find_ shortest (Routes, Routs, Len) 1- | sua(Routes, [] .Totals), sort (Totals, (Shortest |_] ) , find pos (Shortest .Totals, 1, . S reverse (Routes, Routeel) , Snthmember (Routel, Routesl, J Number), total (Routel, , Len) , $reverse(Routel, Route) . get routes ( Start , Bad. Routes, J Out):- exi at a route (Start, End, [), Route), not taasaber (Route, Routes), get routes (Start, End, [Route J t Routes], Out). get_routes (Start, End, Routes, J Rout eat . route i* J origin ([Start] ), target ( [End] ), get. routes (Start, End, [], Routes), find short eat (Routes, Route, Len) , assert (route (Route, Len)) . suaMM.Out.Out). susi([HIT),Begin.Out):- total'H.O, Total), i(T, (Total I Begin] , Out ) . total ( (] .Out, Out) . total ( [H I T) , Running. Out ) : road(H._,_,X), Carry is Running + X, total(T,Carry,Out). AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 43 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE The third part in Philip Gladwin's series helping you to give your Amiga a smidgen of Al ast month I gave you the concepts you need to handle single processing nodes - this month we're going to use these concepts and begin to connect them together Into the neural network shown In Figure 1. We're going to use nodes which have four output channels and four primary input channels; notice how they send their output directly into the input channels of their four nearest neighbours. Notice also how the net wraps around, so that the nodes on the outside of the net take some of their input from the nodes on the other side of the net. Figure 2 gives the complete look-up table tor the net when it is in a state of complete ignorance. Each node starts off with undefined output; this alters when we teach the net anything. How do we do this? OK - let's start off by giving the net information about the letters "C" and "K". To teach the net the pattern for "C", assume that nodes 1,2,3,4,7,8,9 put out a 1, and nodes 5 and 6 put out a 0. Then, for every node, look at its input pattern, and find the column In the look-up table which corre- sponds to it. If the node is outputting a '1' change the '?' to a '1'; if it is putting out a '0', change it to '0'. Repeat this for the letter "K*. When you have done this the look-up table should look like the top half of the table in Figure 3. Now generalise the net's memory. You do INPUTS & OUTPUTS NODE Figure 1 : Nine node neural net The next step up in network complexity would be to allow the connections between the nodes to have strengths, or weights, between -1 and 0. This simulates the fact that in the human brain there are some inputs which inniDii tne firing or the node, ana some that excite its firing. A node, in deciding whether or not to fire, will sum Its inputs and apply some sort of function to the total. This function can be a simple thresh-holding (fire if the sum of the inputs is greater than 0) or something much more complicated. INPUT 1 INPUT 2 INPUT 3 INPUT 4 N0DE1 : NODE 2 I NODE 3 NODE 4 NODE 5 NODE 6 NODE 7 NODE 8 NODE 9 1 1 110 10 10 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 01111111 100001111 100110011 101010101 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? all ?s Input 2 Input 1 Figure 2: Look-up table for a 9-node net before learning Input 3 Input 4 COLUMN 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 1 NODE 1 1? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??????1? 1 NODE 2 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ????0??1 ? NODE 3 ? ? ? ? ? ? 1 ???????1 ? NODE 4 ? ? ? ? ? 1 ? 1??????? ? NODE 5 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?1????0? ? NODE 6 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? 0??????? NODE 7 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ??????1? 1 NODE 8 ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ????1??0 ? NODE 9 ? ? ? 1 ? ? ? ????1??? ? ungenerallsed outputs for 'C and 'K' NODE1 11111 11 11111111 1 NODE 2 ? ? 1 ? 1 ??0?01?1 ? ! NODE 3 11111 11 11111111 1 ! NODE 4 11111 11 11111111 1 NODE 5 1 ? 1 ? ? ? 01?1??0? NODE 6 00000000 NODE 7 11111 11 11111111 1 NODE 8 ? 1 ? 1 ? ??1?10?0 ? NODE 9 11111 11 11111111 1 generalised outputs for C and 'K' - nodes 1,3,4,1 and 9 always output 1. and node 6 always outputs Figure 3: Completed look-up table for a 9 node net learning *C" and K f this by allocating as many as possible of the remaining ?*s to their nearest Hamming neighbour. (See last month's article if you're confused by this.) When you've done this you should have the second, usable version of the table, ie the net has been taught two patterns. From now on the net is ready to use. So. put the net into operational mode by switching the Teaching Input on each node from 1 to 0, and you're ready to test its knowledge. The point about neural nets is not that they work or they don't - like the brain they are modelled on, they have a performance gradient. They can sort of half work, or work most of the time. This net is no exception, and it performs best on pattern completion problems where the pattern is close to one or the other of the patterns it has been taught. Where the test pattern has a Hamming distance towards the midpoint of the two taught patterns then the net can get confused. Operating the net is dead easy. Type it all in, and get it to pass the AMOS internal syntax check. The printed code shown is the code which runs on my Amiga, so if you have problems, check your typing. The first screen teaches the net the patterns you want it to know. Clicking on the grid switches nodes on and off. When you're happy with the pattern, click on "Pattern OK" to make the net accept your pattern, and clear grid for the next instruction. Teach the net the letter T, and repeat this for the letter 'H\ When the net has accepted both patterns click on the "Use Net" button. You will then see a screen with two separate grids. The grid on the left is the test grid, where you enter the patterns you want the net to identify. Try it - click on nodes (1,3.5 and 8) and click on the "Go" button. The net will identify that partial image as being closest to a T. Click on "Clear", and try it again, with nodes (1,2,3,4.6.7 and 9). This time the net settles on an 'H'. It shouldn't take you long to realise that the net can settle into strange loops and cycles. Next month I'll be closing the series with an explanation of why this is. © 44 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AMOS NEURAL NET PART 2 • AMOS NEURAL NET PART 2 • AMOS NEURAL NET PART 2 Procedure GENERALISE Pen 3 : Locate 5,5 : Print "Learning . . . . " i Pan 2 11-31 | jj-101 : KK-32 : LL-104 Por NODE-1 To 9 i Ram For avary node Por T-l To 16 : Rem Oat avary J untaught col If OUTPUTS (NODE, T) -9 SHORTEST [NODE, T, 1] : Ran J find the shortest 1 diat X- Pa ram SHORTEST [NODE, T, 01 i Ran J find the shortest diat ▼■Par am If X<Y i Rem if closer to J 1- taught ■ .OUTPUTS ( NODE , T ) -1 End If If X>Y : Ran if closer to J 0- taught • GEN^OUTPUTS ( NODE , T ) - End If Rnd If Ink 1 : Bar II, JJ To kk,ll inc KK i ink 2 Next T Next NODE End Proc i Procedure INIT Randomize Timer Reserve Zona 25 : Curs Off i J Ink 3 i Cls i Paper DESCRIBE_NET SET_TRUTH_TABLB End Proc Procedure LEARN LEARN_SCREEN CELLS and Proc Procedure LEARN SCREEN !LD_ZONES[36, 36, 126, 126, 1, 3, 3] BUILD_ZONES[36,146,126,166,10,1,1] BUILD_ZONBS[36, 178, 126, 198, 11, 1, 1] Locate 13,0 : Print "TEACH MODE" Locate 5,19 i Print "Pattern OK" Locate 7,23 : Print "Use Nat- End Proc Procedure PBAR[N0D1.K1 Ink K On NODE Goto A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I Ai Bar 37,37 To 65,65 : Goto LEAVE Bi Bar 67,37 To 95,65 : Goto LEAVE Ci Bar 97.37 To 125.65 : Goto LEAVE Di BOX 37,67 To 65,95 : Goto LEAVE It Bar 67,67 To 95,95 : Goto LEAVE P: Bar 97,67 To 125,95 : Goto LEAVE Gi Bar 37,97 To 65,125 : Goto LEAVE H: Bar 67,97 To 95,125 : Goto LEAVE Ii Bar 97,97 To 125,125 End Proc Procedure PPBARINODE, K] Ink K On NODE Goto A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I A: Bar 157,37 To 185,65 i Goto LEAVE B: Bar 187,37 To 215,65 : Goto LEAVE C: Bar 217,37 To 245,65 I Goto LEAVE D: Bar 157,67 To 185,95 : Goto LEAVE E: Bar 187,67 To 215,95 t Goto LEAVE P: Bar 217,67 To 245,95 : Goto LEAVE G: Bar 157,97 To 185,125 : Goto LEAVE B: Bar 187,97 To 215,125 I Goto LEAVE I: Bar 217,97 To 245,125 LEAVE: End Proc Procedure SITTRUTHTABLl Por 1-1 To 4 Reatora 1*100 Por J-l To 16 Read TRUTH_TABLE(I,J) Next J Next I 100 Data 0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1 : J Rem top neighbour 200 Data 0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1,0,0,0,0,1,1,1,1 i J Rem right neighbour 300 Data 0,0,1,1,0,0,1,1,0,0,1,1,0,0,1,1 : Rem bottom neighbour 400 Data J 0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1,0,1 i -J Ram left neighbours End Proc i Procedure SHORTEST [NODE, COL, TYPE] HAMMING-4 For 1-1 To 16 STORE- 4 If C0LOI If OUTPUTS {NODE, I) -TYPE If TRUTHJTABLE (1,1) -TRUTH_TABLE ( 1 , COL ) Dec STORE End If If J TRUTH_TABLE (2,1) «TRUTH_TABLB ( 2 , COL ) Dec STORE End If If TRUTH_TABLE (3,1) -TRUTHJTABLE ( 3 , COL) Dae STORE End If If J TRUTH .TABLE (4,1) -TRUTH .TABLE ( 4 , COL) Dae STORE End If End If If STORE < HAMMING HAMMING-STORE End If End If Next I End Proc [HAMMING] i Procedure TEACH ' Finds out which row in the J truth table the node ' should occupy by referring to J its neighbours and finding 1 which of them are on For C-l To 4 : Ran for every J node get the neighbours X-CONNECTBD(N,C) I Ram X - J this node's current neighbour If node(X)-1 Than J NElGHBOURS(N,C)-l : Ram if neighbour J on then . . . If NODE(X)«0 Than J NEIGHBOURS (N,C)-0 i Ran Next C FIND_TT_COL[N] COL-Param OUTPUTS (N, COL ) -NODE (N) GEN OUTPUTS ( N , COL) -NODE ( N ) TEMP(N,C0L)-1 Next N ALLOCATE End Proc * Procedure USE Shared CLICKED () Do Cls USER_SCR£EN USKR_PATTERN Repeat CLCK -Mouse Click : J ZON-Mouse Zone DELVE Until (CLCK-1 and ZON-11) orJ (CLCK-1 and ZON-12) If ZON-12 Than Edit CLEAR_GRID For 1-1 TO 9 NODE(I)-9 Next I Loop End Proc Procedure USER PATTERN Shared CLICKED () Repeat : Rem this loop gets the J pattern from the uaar CLCK-Mouse Click : ZON-Mouse Zone If CLCK-1 and ZON<10 and ZON>0 J Then CLICK [ZON] Until (CLCK-1 and ZON-10) or (CLCK-1 J and ZON-12) If ZON-12 Than Edit i Ran option J to quit Por 1-1 To 9 t Ram this loop puta J the user pattern into Node (J If CLICKED(I)«1 Than NODE(I)-l If CLICKED(I)-0 Then NODBU)-0 Next I End Proc * Procedure U8BR_SCREBN Reset Zone BUILD ZONES [36, 36, 126, 126, 1,3, 3] BUILD_ZONBS[156,36,246,126,12,3,3] BUILD ZONES £ 106 , 146, 176, 196, 10, 3, 1] Locate 14,0 i Print "USE MODE" Locate 17,19 : Print "Go" Locate 15,21 : Print "Clear" Locate 16,23 : Print "Quit" Proc ' End Neural Net Program For N-l To 9 : Rem for every node AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 *E COMPUTER SUPPLIES Suppliers of Discount SoJIirare since 1984 Educational, Local Authority and government orders welcome. 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MJC PRICE C229.95 OVP 9 II Hard Drive (A1500/2000): Quality Quantum drives running as fast as 1 1ms plus the excellent GVP controller board, with the ability to add up to 8Mb memory (SIMMS). 52Mb version £279.95 NEW • 120Mb version £419.95 SIMM MODULES - £59.95 per 2 meg SUPRA A1 500/2000 MEMORY BOARDS SUPRARAM memory cards with space for up to 8Mb SUPRARAM with 2Mb fitted £145.00 SUPRARAM with 4Mb fitted £195.00 SUPRARAM with 6Mb fitted £255.00 SUPRARAM with 8Mb fitted £295.00 Kind Words 3 - Due soon CALL PenPal £54.95 WORDWURTHvl.1 Genuine UK version £74.95 PROTEXT - VERSION 5.5 Latest version of this best selling word processor for those wanting serious processing power, includes new 1 10 000 word dictionary and Thesaurus (1 meg) MJC PRICE £99.95 PROTEXT V4.3 • new low price £39.95 PRODATA V1 .2 Amiga £84.95 NEW - ACTION REPLAY III MJC PRICE £57.95 | MISCELLANEOUS £29.95 £29.95 £19.95 £22.95 £34.95 £36.95 £59.95 £47.95 £69.95 All Fun School programs will work with a standard 512k Amiga and the new A500 Plus. AMIGA EDUCATIONAL KOSMOS Answerback Junior Quiz - includes 750 general knowledge questions and a game reward £14.95 Answerback Senior Quiz - as above but for age 12- £14.95 Facttilts - add-on question packs for the Answerback (NIc Factfile Spelling (6-11) £7.95 Factfile Arithmetic (6-1 1) £7.95 KOSMOS Language Tutors: with a vocabulary of over 2500 words + the ability to add your own - up to GCSE level: French Mistress £14.95 German Master £14.95 Spanish Tutor £14.95 Italian Tutor £14.95 KOSMOS Maths Adventure: The latest offering from Kosmos covers the National Curriculum maths using a series of four games. There are four difficulty levels and your performance can be kept and printed out. (6-14) £17.95 ROMBO PRODUCTS NEW - TAKE 2 New Animation package from Rombo MJC PRICE C39.95 VIDI COLOUR SOLUTION Vidi Colour package - including Vidi Digitiser, Vidichrome software and free Photon Paint MJC PRICE C49.93 RGB SPLITTER - for use with Vidichrome or Dtgiview (includes PSU) MJC PRICE C49.95 COMPLETE COLOUR SOLUTION Package includes Vidi Amiga, Vidichrome and the RGB Splitter for a complete colour digitising outfit. NOTE: For best colour pictures you require a video camera or perfect soil frame VCR. MJC PRICE C99.9S Comp Col Solution * Tako 2. MJC PRICE C1 29.95 Rombo prices held whilst stocks last. NEW - MEGAMIX MASTER New Stereo sampler and digital effects package. MJC PRICE C28.9S ROMBO prices held whilst stocks last. VIDEO TITLING/PRESENTATION Big Alternative Scroller £42.95 Broadcast Titter II £159.95 Broadcast Font Pack £89.95 Broadcast Font Enhancer Pack £89.95 ROCTEC ROCGEN GENLOCK Budget priced genlock, includes fader. MJC PRICE C89.95 AMOS - The Creator NEW - EASY AMOS - Powerful but easy. ..£25.95 AMOS VI. 2 - The original Language £32.95 AMOS COMPILER £19.95 AMOS 3D..... .£21.95 MATHS 11/12: Covers geometry, algebra, statistics symmetry, quadrilat- erals and number operations MJC Price £17.95 Further information on our Educational range is available in our Educational Supplement - on request LCL SOFTWARE Primary Maths Course (3-12) £19.95 Micro Maths (GCSE level) £19.95 Mnrro French {GCSE level) £19.95 Micro English (GCSE level) £19.95 Reading and Writing Course (3+) £19.95 MEW - MEET A01 1 ADI is a friendly alien being that appears on this latest range of educational software from Europress (the manu- facturers of the fun School range). Each package is specifically designed to follow the National Curriculum for a particular school year. ENGLISH 11/12: Features pronouns, verbs, adverbs, spelling, synonyms, and prefixes/suffixes MJC Price £17.95 ENGLISH 12/13: Using dictionaries and reference books, construct adverbs, punctuate sentences MJC Price £17.95 VISA CONTENTS AT-A-GLANCE Accelerator Action Replay cartridge 54 AmlgaDOS 52 AMOS 52 Animation 62, 66 MrfOXX n. i (l .Do Art Department 54, 67 Audio Engineer. 54 Audio fitter 64 Basic 52, 62, 66 Brother printer 68 C 53, 54, 65 Canon printer 65 CD-ROM 63 Chip RAM 53, 68 Citizen printer ...64, 67 Commodore printer 53 Database 52, 65 Deluxe Paint 54, 62 Denlse 65, 67 Exponentials 63 nicker fixer 67 Fountain 67 Hard drive 53, 54, 62, 63 Include flies 53 Klckstart 64, 67 Mac 68 Mannesman printer 63 Memory expansion 53, 54, 65 MesaySID 68 Mlcrovrtec monitor 63 NoPalRoaat 68 PageStream 64, 67 Partitions 62 PC 54,68 PC monitor 66 Prlntf 54 Protext 65 Rambrandt Requesters Sampler 54 Selkosha printer SID Star printer 52, 53. 54, 64, 65 TechnoSound Turbo 54 Trackball OUR EXPERTS TACKLE YOUR REAL-LIFE PROBLEMS ALL OF YOUR AMIGA PROBLEMS ANSWERED SO WHAT DO ALL THOSE ICONS MEAN? Beginners: this icon will appear next to any questions which are 'basic' in content. Printers: this icon denotes a query about printers, printer drivers and so on. B General: this icon is used for any general Amiga-related queries. Technical: any queries about programming will have this icon next to them. Caution: be sure that you fully understand the answer before trying it out. * Video: this icon relates to any query about using your Amiga with video hardware. Danger: the answer to this question could well invalidate your warranty - or you! Music: this icon is for questions about MIDI, sampling, synthesizers and so on. Y f% Hardware: W ^d this icon is PT m used to mm M denote questions relating to general hardware. Programs: any program- specific queries have this icon next to them. Buying advice: we use this icon if the question asks us for buying advice. Comms: if r\ 1 your question ^^^J relates to comms. this Is the icon that we'll use. WHATEVER YOUR PROBLEM WITH THE That's the task we have set ourselves In giving you the best possible support for your Amiga. We are confident that our experts can cope with any technical questions you can throw at them. If they don't already know the answer to your problem, they will find it out for you. We are prepared to deal with any problem you have with the Amiga, from general enquiries about AmlgaDOS or Workbench, through questions about specific pieces of software and hardware, to advice on what you need to buy to do a particular task. If It's to do with the Amiga, we will help out. What we cannot do Is offer this service over the telephone - do not phone us with your enquiries, but write to us at the address below. We also cannot enter into personal correspondence - all enquiries will be dealt with In the pages of the magazine. This does mean a bit of a delay in solving your problem, but you'll just have to be a little patient and wait for It to appear in print. You won't get a personal reply even If you enclose an SAE with your letter, so please don't bother. Send your question on the form below to: Amiga Answers, Amiga Shopper, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW. The Amiga Answers panel consists of our consultant editors AMIGA, WE ARE HERE TO SOLVE IT Mark Smiddy and Jeff Walker - and, of course, our resident deputy editor Cliff Ramshaw. We will also be calling on the services of all our other contributors, so you won't be able to catch us napping whatever the subject of your query. Each panelist will be dealing with queries In their own specialist area(s) so It would help us greatly if. when writing, you label your query envelope with the name of the expert who can solve your particular problem. Below is a list of areas of expertise. It's a list that we will add to and update every month, so you will know who to write to about any subjects not mentioned here. Gary White ley - Paul Overaa - Mick Draycott - Jeff Walker - Mark Smiddy- Jason Hoi born - Jolyon Ralph - Cliff Ramshaw ■ Video Programming, music Hardware, programming, MIDI Desktop publishing, programming AmlgaDOS, business, CDTV, hardware projects, hard and floppy disk drives Public Domain, AMOS Programming, hardware, CDTV The really hard stuff that no-one else can answer If you send in a question for the Amiga Answers experts, please fill in and include the form below (or a photocopy if you don't want to cut up your magazine). And please also make sure that you include all the relevant details - version numbers of software and so on - so that we have the best chance of helping you. Send your form and question to: Amiga Answers, Amiga Shopper, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath BA1 2BW. Sorry, but we cannot personally reply to any questions - even if you include an SAE. Name: Hard disk: Mb as DH : Manufacturer Extra RAM fitted - type, size In Mb and manufacturer Details of any other hardware which could help us to answer your question: i i i i i i i i Address: Now, use this space to describe your problem, Including as much relevant Information as possible. Please continue on a separate sheet If necessary. Your machine: A500 J A10O0 ^ A2000 □ A3000Q Approximate age of machine: A1500.J Klckstart version (displayed at the Insert Workbench' prompt) 1.2 □ 1.3 □ 2.x □ Workbench revision (written on the Workbench disk) 1.2 □ 1.3 □ 1.3.2 Q 2.x □ PCB revision (If known). Do not take you machine apart Just to look for this! Total memory fitted (see AVAIL in Shell for 1.3 Workbench) Chip memory available (see AVAIL in Shell) Agnus chip (If known) Extra drive #1 (3.5"/5.25") as DF_: Manufacturer Extra drive #2 (3.5"/5.25") as DF_: Manufacturer i i i i i i i i I I i i i I i i i i i I i i i I i i i I I I : I AS 16 i J 48 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 CO* I TEL: 0532 637988 FAX: 0532 637689 NEW OPENING HOURS west Yorkshires premiere OPEN MON - SAT 9.30AM-5.30PM AMIGA AND ATARI COMPUTER STORE SUNDAY OPENING 1 1 .00AM-3.00PM AUTHORISED DEALERS FOR STAR, CITIZEN, THURSDAY NIGHT LATE 9.30AM-7.30PM COMMODORE, ACORN, ROMBO & PHOENIX The Atew AMIGA A600 Commodore's new computer/games machine. Built in keyboard and compact in size the A600 will take "Smart Cards". The A600 comes with 1 2 month on «ite warranty, workbench 2.05, Dpaint III and Lemming*. now only £359.99 The New AMIGA A600HD Same spec as the A600 but with a built m 20 meg hard disk for those games that run better on a hard disk. We shall be offering larger hard drive upgrade* for the A600. Please ring for details and prices The 600HD dogs not come with Lemmings or DPamt III now only £459.99 THE AMIGA A500 PLUS CARTOON CLASSICS MO ORS The ASOO has more lerloui capability than the A600 with it greater expandlblllty and a large selection of high quality third party Add-ons Complete with: • One Mb of chip RAM expandible to 1 Mb or RAM In total • The new Kickstart 2-04 • Workbench 2.04 • Built in battery backed real time clock • New improved user friendly manuals Thus pack also comes with Lemmings, (the only game ever to fet ■ 100% rung'] The Simpsons. Captain Planet »nd Deluxe Paint J the incredible paint and animation package plui mouse and modulator now only £339.99// or £374.99 for 2Mb version THE AMIGA 1500 & 2000 PLUS The New AMIGA 2000 Plus Base pack now complete with the latest 2.04 Kickstart chip and Workbench 2.04 11 The 2000 Base pack is the ideal upgrade machine for those wanting to upgrade from thetr present Amiga 500 only £529.99 Amiga 1 500 Plus Business & Entertainment Software pack The same spec as the base pack but with Deluxe Paint 3. Platinum Works (the best integrated package available for the Amiga), Home Accounts, Puzznic EK. Toki plus the latest Amiga Format Tips book (2-04 compatible) and Joystick. now only £549.99 or £769.99 with 1 085 SDI colour monitor (UK Spec.) I on 'y ^ ' 9.99 UK Spec All our monitors are UK spec All monitors come complete with a free Amiga lead WARNING; Belore /ou purthaw i monitor rrafct • it has ■ full UK ipeclfication. You mifht be buying what you Think u * tJmilar monitor at a lower price but It tt Ukely to be i "GMT import Then monitor* do not comply with BrttHh talety *t*nd *rd> And are not comtd by an officii! warranty Protar Stereo colour monitor This monitor uses the same tube at x he PM*pt 883 3 MK2 and has a similar specification The Prour cores with a full I 2 month replacement guar- antee. This must be the best value medium res monitor on the market Amiga cable Included. Tilt and swivel stand only C I I .** when pur- chased with this monitor. Cover only £S.»9 only £195.99 uk spec Commodore 1 085 SDI Stereo Colour monitor The perfect complement to your Anuja system Thu Colour stereo monitor features 5 1 dot pttch reioki- Don and green screen facJtty Amiga cable In- cluded- Tilt and swivel sand only 1 1 1 .ft when purchased with this monitor Cover for moni- tor only iS.tf THE AMIGA A500 & 1500/2000 Rl The AMIGA 500 Deluxe Is an uprated version of the A500 Plus with the Phoenix ROM sharer and 1 .3 chip because some older software will not run on the A500 Plus. The ASOO Deluxe has been developed so you can choose to run either Kickstart I J or 2.04 making incompatibility problems a thing of the pa$t ! The Deluxe also Comes complete with the Cartoon Classics software pack, only £4 1 4.99 or £449.99 for 2 Mb version The Amiga 1 500 Deluxe is an advanced version of the standard AMIGA 1500 Plus incorporating the famous Phoenix ROM sharer and I 3 Kickstart ROM chip, As with the A500 Deluxe, this enables you to twitch between the old and new operating system to accommodate older software that can only run on the 1 .3 operating system. Ollly tJJ/f/V for base pack version or l6w7*T7 for the 1500 software pack version Philips CM8833 MK2 stereo colour monitor Colour iureo monitor. 600*285 line rttolut»or green vcreen facility, one years on tlte mainte- nance, cable for Amiga Included. Tilt and swivel stand only (II. ft when purchased with monitor. Cover only IS ft only £219.99 uk spec with FI9 Flight Simulator Philips Brilliance SVGA Colour monitor with overscon facility GVP HARD DRIVES AND ACCELERATORS AMIGA 1500/2000 Hard Drives Impact Series II HC8+ Control card only £134.99 Impact Series II HC9+ with 52Mb Hard Drive £279.99 Impact Series II HC8+ with 1 20Mb Hard Drive £4 1 9.99 Impact Series II HC8+ with 240Mb Hard drive £639 99 Impact Series II HC8+ with 420Mb Hard drive £ I 169.99 AMIGA 1 500/2000 Accelerator Cards G-Force 030-2SMHz with 1Mb 32 bit RAM £549.99 G-Force 030-40MHz with 4Mb 32 bit RAM £899.99 G-Force 030-$0MHz with 4Mb 32 bit RAM £ 1 269.99 G-Force 040-28MHz with 2Mb 32 bit RAM £ 1 699.99 AMIGAA500 HARD DRIVES GVP Series II HD8+ 52Mb £354.99 GVP Series II HD8+ 105Mb £469.99 GVP Series II HD8+ 240Mb £734.99 GVP Combo Accelerator Series for the AMIGA A500 A530 Combi 40MHz with 52Mb Hard Drive £699.99 A530 Combo 40MHz with 1 20Mb Hard Dnve £849.99 A530 Combo 40MHz with 240Mb Hard Drive £1039.99 68882 Co-Processor for A530 £234.99 GVP memory RAM modules Series II RAM 8 RAM card for AMIGA 1 500/2000 with 2Mb £ 1 49.99 32 bit 60ns 1Mb SIMM for Accelerator cards £64.99 32 bit 60ns 4Mb SIMM for Accelerator cards £179 99 The Brilliance monitor has a h*|h quality Super VGA resolution »d*il for malung your AMIGA •nto a professional iystem (dudes overscan facu- lty. 28 dot pttcivand tj^swrvel stand Monitor cover only (S ** if purchased tt the same time i5w version £399.99 with Flicker Free Video card asoo version £499.99 Goldstar remote control TV/monitor superior to i uandard TV let with full 'tmoM control now only £179.99 Commodore I960 multisync only £436.99 I I I • •Jill 010 FAX; 0532 637689 Free Delivery on all products/// $$ Commodore Dynamic Total vision Complete with Hutchinson* Encyclopedia. Lemmings and Welcome CD disk. COTV is a powerlul media (or both entertainment and educa- tion Capable of handling up to 540 Mb of data, whole encyclopedias can be stored on just one compact disc. The COTV is also a high quality audio CD player We also stock a large range of CD TV software all at discount prices now only £399.99 uk spec. New CD Rom for the Amiga A500 || FIRST CHOICE PACK The addon that every one has been waiting for. This high quality CO ROM turns your amlga into a CDTV only £279.99 New CDTV keyboard Effectively transforms your COTV into an Amiga to you can get even more out of CDTV With the aid of a standard 3 5" disc drive the CO TV will tike most of the normal Amp software from word processing to entertainment only £49.99 New CDTV Trackerball complete with 2 joystick ports, thii ii a must for CDTV owners only £74.99 Take the headache out erf buying a computer wtth our ever popular fIRST CHOICE Pack. All the eMentiaU required (or the fiat time buyer Ideal for any Amip and great vafua too* Comprises: * Top quality microswttched Powerplay Cruiser joystick * Mouse Mat . -* AA -*-. * Dust cover only £29.99 * 10 Blank Disks •Plus 3 Extra <*z*m***z99 gam STAR PRINTERS All Star printer* inC ribbons, (ree ltd printer cable and 1 7 month guarantee The Star LC20 Replacing the famous LC 10, the LC20 is faster at I80cps draft and 45 cps NLQ. It's also quieter. The front pane* now has push button operation replacing the old LCIO membrane panel. Other spec is similar to LC 1 0. now only £139.99// New Star LC24-20 24 p*n quality at the pnee of many 9 pins. 2i0cpsdn- t L fonts* LCD front display, Auto emutooon selection only £199.99 Star LC24-200 Mono and colour 222 cps draft wd 67 cps LQ 10 resident fonts A4 Landscape printing only £229.99 mono or £289.99 colour Star XB24-200 Colour The choice of many profcmonal orpnenoons. this printer 100 cps LO 29k buffer e*p to lB9*u 4 super LQ tents and 14 LQ fonts now only £379.99 Star LC200 Colour 9 pin printer with B resident fonts and a high ipeed of 22Scps draft and 4S cps m NLQ. A4 Landscape printing now only £199.99 THE STAR SJ48 BUBBLEJET With Epson LQ and IBM Proprtnter emutooon The SJ48 is a revolution *n printer technology The quality Is almost is good as an expensive lase*" pnnter yet costs less than many 24 pm printers. Portable m sac very quiet, and faster than most dot matnx printers at 1 00 cps in LQ. Pnmer cable included only £229.99 Auto sheetteeder £52.99 HEWLETT PACKARD INKJETS Star printer accessories : Dust coven from C4+99 Pnnter stand fust £7 99 when purchasing printer Mono ribbons from only £3.69 CITIZEN PRINTERS AH Qtlzen primer* Inc frte printer cable and come with a full 2 year warranty.' The Citizen Swift 9 Colour Unbeatable value colour printer. 4 resident fonts. 192 cps draft and 48 cps m NLQ. Highfy reconv mended. This pnnter is also available in a wide carnage ( 1 36 column) version only £194.99 (80 col) or £314.99 (136 col) The New Citizen 224 A replacement for the famous 1 24D. the 224 now comes wtth the option to upgrade to a high resolution colour pnnter. If you want 24 pin quality, you want to print in colour if necessary and you don't want to spend a fortune, the new 224 is an ideal solution. Using the same technol- ogy as the Swift 24, the 224 is basically a cut down version. 1 92 epi draft and 64 cpl letter quality with 3 built in fonts. only £214.99 (mono) or £244.99 (colour) The New Citizen Swift 24e and 24x (What Micro Best Buy) The best budget 24 pin printer has just got better! Thii must be the best 24 pin colour printer (or leu than £300 8* buffer expandable to 40k, 216 cps drift. 72 cps LQ and multdtfiguaJ too ' only £274.99 (80 col) or £414.99 (136 col) The HP Deskjet 500 printer aiiowt you to create later |et quality without the cost with 100 page auto sheet feeder, printer cable. J pace /minute speed and } year UK warranty only £359.99 The HP Deskjet 500C The famous desVjet 500 is now avadabk as a colour pnnter W«h this pnnter you can get stunning colour output at laser quality now only £569.99 CANON BUBBLEJETS Canon BJI0ex..£244.99 Canon BJ300...£379.99 Canon BJ330....£5 1 9.99 Citizen printer accessories : Mono ribbons only £4.99, Printer sunds £24.99. auto sheet feeders £85.00, semi auto sheet feeders only 111. 19 I *"- canon paintsbs are uk seic SUPRA MODEMS Su P ra 2400 Plus The .\ew super fast Supra-Fax Modem V.32 bis (1 4400 baud .'.'.') Allows you to send and receive fa* messages This new modem from Supra has fult 14400 baud capability Spec include* V.32bi&» V.32, V 22bis. V22, V2I. MNP4-S, MNPtO <for cell phone comms), V 42. V42bH. Class I A 2 com- m.nd*. 9600' 14400 Group 3 Fa* Includes free comrm software and modem cable only £259.99 (up to 9600 BPS) Even faster than the standard 2400 modem from Supra with auto dial and auto receive 9600 bps Hayes compatible V4 2 B*s. MNP 5 and auto adjusting facility to maximise transmission speeds. Spec includes V22 Includes free modem cable and comms software" only £129.99 Supra 2400 Get on line with this incredible value fast modem from Supra with auto dal and auto receive. 2400 baud Hayes compatible. V22 BIS. Includes 're* modem cable and comms software" now only £79.99 EMULATORS KCS Power board Regarded as one of the best emulators on the martet, th*i emulator fit* easily mto the trap door and also acts as a RAM upgrade H-ghry recommended now only £179.99 Add £15.00 tor MS-DOS 4.01 A500 Plus compatible KCS Amiga I 500/2000 adaptor only £59.99 New Commodore 386-20 This is a full PC 1I6-20SX Bndgeboard (not an emulator) running.t.MliOMHi^ . £439.99 TheNewGVPI6MhzPC-286 pkjp no an neural rim Wc on the GVP Seres H HM+orGVr 1 ASM hard fee **ts only £239.99 VORTEX AT Once Plus emulator turns you' Anvp into an IBM AT compatible The AT-Onee Plus can be teed to ether ffw AMIGA I $004000 or the asoo now with 1 6 Mhz clock speed/ £214.99 only ACCESSO RIES i Mr APAcrrv iockahl c dkx bov socAPAcrrr lockable disk box H CAPACITY STACKABLE BANX BO) ISO CAPACITY STACKABLE POSSO BOX AMIGA A400 DUST COVER J*l H AMIGA tOO COVER O.M t4"MONITORDUSTCOVER , , UH 1 2" MONITOR DUSTCOVER- H AMIGA TO SCART MONITOR CABLES (IN STD II METRE AMIGA PRINTER CABLE ..HW MODEM AND NULL MODEM CABLES l» •• HIGH QUAUTY AMIGA ASM CONTROL CENTRE •4* «r»m*l diili 6irri »Ht(f , nwtfM & fOfMrfk poru, prtnrd KMl ranmurtm. u«m vahiaMa ipua only £39.99 AMIGA SOUND ENHANCER By Omap rVqKti ths sound enhancer w> improve anp sowd that ts payed tr^ougn your Amiga Hear the Amiga's sound Hce you've never heard rt before' only £32.99 [ 2 Way Parallel port sharer inc. cable ] Many peripherals such as pnroers and scanners share the Amiga parallel port causing [he user to hive to i »>*p between the two. Solve this problem with the 2 way sharer bo* only £17.99 ST V l-i The Zy-Fi Stereo System The speakers are optimised with reflex ported cabinets The 3 way system has bass, mid range and treble drivers* Complete wtth its own power supply the ZyFi system can also be powered by batter** only £36.99 DISK DRIVES New Roclite 3.5" The new super shm Rocfate has recently received the best rev^rw tor *sV i drives m Anxga Format only £59.99 Cumana 3.5" I meg external drive The best name in disc drives now at a super km poet Still the most reliable » A _ A »» now only £53.99 Golden Image 3.5 Tracker with built in LCD tracker d.iplay Qply (ZA 00 Now falter and easier to use. this superb word publisher from the writers of PenPal. Witfi bmtt In outline fonts for top quality output, full f raphics import capability (IFF and HAM). Features include Thesaurus, spelling checker and detector, automatic hyphenation, insert date. ome. and page number, scale graphics to any size, crop graphics, multiple columns layout, magnified and reduced page vtew. full post script support and much more. Highly Recommended Oflly £49.99 or £ 1 04.99 with Cumana 3.5" external drive AMIGA RELEASE 2 UPGRADE KIT Complete with: Klcktcart 2.04 CHIP Workbench 2.04. Install. Fonts and Extras disks full Commodore manual set only £79.99 3D Ttit Animate now Aeglt Sonu **r*t * ■ ' PLATINUM WORKS plus home accounts" As ^eccmmf^dec dj ^ommodor* *• Mm Tm tobvevwaf WM ■nMrUii^juCbLantsi pactaya on &* A/ny k come* «e Ncrv Scrtae wp, iptl &+dw trenLrui, Aratpe I * T-ODa. 1 23" axrptfcei ic^wAhtt wrt 10 yipho) a dwataw. nfrways pr/*rg ucM> and comnxr^aoon i iflfcwart f*j* tf* btfl ijiof Ofo Home Acqxro only £44.99.'.' DIGI-V1EWCOLO The ntw complete graphic! creation presentation package for your Amiga Comei complete with the famous Digt-View Go^d. Dlgt*Paiftt and Elan Performer only £129.99 PAGESTREAM 2.2 The lateu ver»*on of this powerful DTP package that we recommend Better than alot of DTP packages on a PC and better dun tno»t on a Mac only £129.99 WORD WORTHVI. I The latest *tn*or» d tf« hghfr KCh w rt A 'sfWYG word pubfcther Come* with multiple *ont», powerful theuuru. targe *p*Jkhecke*. tpeech aynthcM only £72.99 PENPAL.T4 Th** betT i#ll*ng word puWiher incorporate* many features found only in a desk top pub- uthcr Also includes an easy to use database now only £53.99 New INTERSPREAD Z I Thi» new spreadsheet II highly recom* tended at at a bargain price Features nclude graphics presentation, and advanced macros only £24.99 New. completely re-written venion of this Fast and Famous hard disk backup utility Support* up to A disk drives. vanib'e compression options and full Macro and AREXX support The Best 1 only £39. only l» »» ti9.11 Art D»partm«ot Pro 2.1 £109.99 Amiga Vision £39 99 Amoi Creator £14.99 Amoi Compiler £22.99 Amoi 3D £27 99 Audio Engineer £149.99 Audio Miuif venion 4 £39.99 •roedceal Tiller only£!49 99 CronDoi X I 9.99 Dctua* Muilc Coitruction S«r..£S4.99 Deluie Pelnt 2 now only £4.99 Deluxe Paint 3.... now only £12.99 Deluae Peint 4 now only £57.99 Eaiy AMOS £24.99 EXPERT DRAW ONLY £49 99 EXPERT 4D JR ONLY £37.99 Flenldump printer utility .£31.99 DEVPAC 1 £S7.99 Oittant Sum £34.99 Final Accounts £29.99 GB Route Planner £29,99 Gold Disk Office .£44 99 CFA 4A4IC J i INTEMMT8R ONLY £19.99 Hi Sod Bask .£14.99 Home Accounts 2 .................£! 7 99 Imagine V2 £U9 99 Opus Directory .£39 9t Pagesetter 2 OTP £42 99 Pi* male £39.99 Platinum »<ribeU w'p mc spell checker' thetavrwi now ofljr £29.99 Pro Page professional V3 DTP..£I49.99 Prataxt 4.3 W/P now only £19 99 Pro Video Plus £119.99 Quarterback Toota only £44 99 Sequencer One ,£74.99 Smooth Talker £20.99 TURBO PRINT £49.99 Vi.ta £29 99 Vim Pro 1(2 Mb required) £69.99 Walt Disney Animator .£64.99 XCAD JD £16999 Xcopy Pro tnt hard**'* £31.99 SCANNERS PANDAAL HANDSCANNER On test oSfs scanner has proved to be the easiest and most elective scanner that w* have used to date havinj compared n to most of the other major hand iOAften on the market We are able to ofltr th*i hijh quality scanner at a fraction o* the normal coil Complete with the lateit improved venton o' Daata-stan software this scanner n abie to p*ck out text and graphics at up to 400 d p i »n real time Daau-stan enables you to easily manipulate the image. Scans in real ome up to M grey walevldeatfor desk top publishing and presentation. now only £ 1 04.99 or £ I 1 9.99 with 2 way parallel switcher box THE POWER SCANNER Highryr?tedbyth«rev94miTtqndia.t^ W»th bnght and sharp grey scale performance and flexible scanned image d<spUy man*pulaoon options, this scanner must be rated as a best buyf Opoons rvctude Clean up. embolden. resize and flip. HigWy recommended by the reviews! only £94.99 DRAM & CUSTOM CHIPS Kickstart 1 .3. ..£29. 99 Kickstart 2.04.£39.99 Fatter Agnes. .00. 99 Super Denese.O0.99 4 Mb by 9 Simms (for cvp> only £114.99 each I Mb by 4 ZIPS ii med n Supn aovdi * IM »M ZIPSequilIMb only £38.99 per Mb 256by4DRAM(DILs) •deal (or A590 & Supra Hard drrvet plui many other Anvja RAM applauont I Mb by 4 DRAMS for Supra and other RAM application*. I 27 99 QTY 4+ (5l2K)..now only £3.59 8+ (I Mb).. ..now only £3.39 16+ (2Mb)..now only £3.09 I Mb by 8 or 9 SIMM boards now only £29.99 THE COMPLETE COLOUR SOLUTION 1 a IfH t^J ^ *J i$ <> * pV MICROBOTICS ACCELERATORS Ai official Wn *or Rombo, we are ab*e to offer this txctllvK pitkije at a great pnee The tonv plett colour solution come* with RGB ipiitte* * ^-ija. Vidi Chrome, power supply ar*d Photon Paint now only £94.99 MEGAMIX MASTER Th*s * i low cost S tut high spec sampler that pKip into your printer port Special effects include echo that can be added in real time, fully muKitutung and easy to use. only £29.99 from Rombo Features include load and save from D Paint arumawn and IFF files Sup- poru HAM iraph lcl Qn |y £44.99 I VIDIAMIGA |^ quality digitizing Inc Vidi chrome lourwng tohware now only £59.99 RGB SPLITTER EnMn rou to Coiour Dtpose m t sec- ond RepUces red freen blue filter set On be used with Dtp view or Rombo products ***** now only £44.99 VXL30 25Mhz EC only £239.99 VXL 30 40Mhz EC only £369.99 68881 co-pro for above only £79.99 2 Mb of 32 Bit RAM (60ns) only £214.99 8 Mb of 32 Bit RAM (60ns) only £419.99 ROCTECMOUSE NAKSHAMOUSE Th»s it an excellent high qual- ity mouse for the Amiga, Fully micro-twitched mouse. Excellent value and highly recommended only £13.99 Of £16*99 ^mwrnMlUMfr This famous and best setting mouse comes complete w*th Operation Stealth, mouse mat, Solder and 2 year warrenty Features include 290 DPI resolution dS*s is still our most popular upgrade mouse only £24.99 GENLOCKS RocgenPlus Rocgen Genlock with built in mode switch box and auto pass thru function, the Rocgen repre- sents excellent value 'or monc only 99.99 with all the features of the standard Rocgen Also includes dual control for overlay and keyhole effects, ex- tra RGB pass thru allowing real time graph editing. only £129.99 DISKS jmMIGAA500PLUS 600 RAM MODULES All our 3 S HKL%.f»r^^AaANT^gD FQRAUFET lMtandare CERTIFIED !00% EftftQR f ftfc E double uded. double density disks are of the highest quality in magnetic m#d*a and are extensively used by duplicating houses SUPRA RAM d or the new A600 up to QTY SONV BR AS D l D I £4.99 £6.99 30....£ I 4.29 £ I 7.99 50 £21.99 £28.99 100. ...£39. 99 £54.99 200. ...£72. 99 £99.99 500 £169.99 n/a... 1000. .£339. 99 n/a.. Sony Branded disks come complete with labels Disk Labels....500 now only £6.99 Disk Labels... 1 000 now only £9.99 These high qual't* RAM moduiM will take jour A$QC *" 2 Mb of chip RAM without invalidating your warranty, ASOOP A600 Unpopulated only £1 6.99 £29.99 Populated to SI2K only £29.99 £39.99 Populated to I Mb only £39.99 £49.99 PHOENIX ROM SHARERS Because tome older wftwirt Mill not run on the new 2 04 operttmg intern Phoenix ha»e designed a high quality ROM ihart'. Recognised ** being iht best on the market. iha ROM sharer features a lie. .Die rtbbon connection >o that it can be positioned anywhere within your A500 Plus or A600 Keyboard iwltchable sharer now available? All Phoenix products come complete with a full 2 year replacement warranty The u'timate Amiga AS00 expansion Tabe your A500 up to 9 Mb ( 10 Mb *nth the A500 Plui). Fin onto the ude expansion port Auto configures with qo software patchtng Please note that when 256*4 ZIPS are used, the Supra RAM can onty be populated to a maximum o' 2 Mb If you use chit configuration and want to further increase your capacity you muit replace the 256M ZIPS with I Mb by * ZIPS. 8Mb pop to 1Mb £94.99 8Mb pop to 2 Mb using 256*4zips...£l 19.99 8Mb pop to 2 Mb using IMb*4 zips. 1139. 99 8Mb pop to 4 Mb £194.99 8Mb pop to 8 Mb £299.99 now only £19.99 or £29.99 for keyboard switchable version Kickstart 1.3 only £29.99 or Kickstart 2.04 only £39.99 MAIL ORDER ? WHY FIRST CHOICE ? Order by telephone quoting your credit card number. If paying by cheque please make payable to FIRST CHOICE. In any correspondance please quote a contact phone number and post code. Allow 5 work- j ng days for cheque clearence Mail order Hotline 6 lines 0532 637988 Prices are subject to change without notice. E&OE. * All prices include VAT and Standard Delivery * All hardware/computers are genuine UK spec. * Free Fast Standard 4 to 7 day Delivery * Guaranteed 2 to 3 day Delivery only £2.00 * Guaranteed Next Day Delivery only £4.50 * Open seven days a week for your convenience 5 1 2K RAM EXPANSION Top Quai'iy RAM expansions for tfi* AS00 complete with battery bached clock and orVoff twitch ThU RAM sxpan- »lon will not In any way invalidate your Amiga war- now only £24.99 PLEASE ADDRESS ALL CORRESPONDENCE TO: DEPTAS,UNIT8.ARMLEY PARK COURT, OFF CECIL STREET, LEEDS, LS122AE Wolcomo onto moro to Amiga Answers, the section of the magazine where we endeavour to straighten out your hassles with that wonderful but occasionally stubborn machine, the Amiga. Every month w« devote more space and apply more resources than any other Amiga magazine to solving your problems. We receive something like 100 queries a week, so the service Is obviously appreciated. It's my job to co-ordinate the whole thing: Sorting through the questions and sending them off to the relevant chappies for the kind of in- depth answers you've come to expect; and compiling them Into the lovingly crafted pages which you see before you. I call on a wide variety of expertise to make sure you get the answers you need, which Is why Amiga Antwors Is so successful. There's Mark Smtddy, industry guru, AmlgaDOS-tamer and business applications wizard; Jeff Walker, probably the most knowledgeable Amiga desktop publisher there Is; and Jason Holborn, long-time AMOS explorer and PD sampler, as well as good all-rounder (or should that be all round good guy?). If It's a question about video, then I'll pass It on to Gary Whlteley, our professional vldeographer for whom the word 'genlock' means 'mixing Amiga graphics with video for magical results' and for whom the word 'snlpwlrral' means nothing at all. Programming queries are dealt with by Paul Overaa, who's not afraid to code In any language, and who doubles as a MIDI maestro to solve your sequencing slip-ups. Our hardware guru Is Jolyon Ralph. This man knows Just about everything about disks, both hard and floppy, and what he doesn't know about memory he's probably forgotten. Communication breakdowns are flxed-up by Phil Harris. All In all, a formidable team, supplemented by my own not Inconsiderable Amiga suss. Let's face It, If we can't answer your question, It's probably one of the Mysteries of the Universe. This month we put yet more people In the right direction for printer drivers - the most common Amiga query there Is. We give Amiga buying advice, explain the Intricacies of floating point representation, partition a hard drive, and detail the connection of several monitors. The sound filter Is analysed, using requesters from C is explained, and the delights of Denlse are divulged, amongst numerous other things. Don't forget to keep sending us those problems - we thrive on theml Cheers, &#%»*>*««, AMOS ANSWER W a ^ As the Editor of IJ\ I Vector, the l^^^^J shareware disk b^^^kJ magazine. I was wondering whether It would be possible to Include listings from Amiga Shopper In a new section devoted to AMOS. I am especially Interested In using the 3D requester routine by Chris Hurst and the Time procedure by Francois Lionet. Anon Having checked with Andy (our editor), you'll be pleased to learn that he has given the big thumbs up. Other readers should note however that it is always a good idea to contact a magazine before re- publishing anything that appears In print. Every single word that a magazine publishes is copyrighted to the author and the magazine in question, so legal action could be taken if someone re-publishes any part of an article word for word without the permission of the publishing house in question. We're pretty easy going on Amiga Shopper, but we still like to know when someone wants to re-publish any part of the magazine. JH BASIC PRINTING Is It possible to detect whether a printer Is on-line from Amiga Ba»le7 Frank Dyson Elland West Yorkshire It is possible to detect errors when writing to the PRT: device (whether explicitly or by using LPRINT) and you will find that having the printer off- line will generate a normal Basic type trappable error as this short example will show: ON ERROR OOTO TRAP LPRINT H Juet a line of J test text- END TRAP: PRINT "Sorry - J printer is still not on line" RESUME NEXT If you run this program with the printer disconnected you'll get, after a short delay where nothing appears to happen, a system requester telling you that there is printer trouble. If the requester is cancelled without the fault being rectified then the Basic error trap takes over and in the case of the above example the attempted LPRINT is cancelled, a message telling the user that the printer is still not on line appears, and the program terminates. As far as I know there Is no way to prevent the system requester from appearing but the error trap statements can, at least, make sure the program takes a suitable course of action, PAO CROSS WITH FILO-DOS HI have entered the AmigaDOS database on page 121 of Amiga Shopper's May edition but I can't get It to work. It just says "Command:" at the bottom and refuses to do anything else. What Is going wrong? Shane Lambert Beverly South Humberslde I suspect you have misunderstood the article. The AmigaDOS database is constructed from several modules which were serialised from issue 13 to 15. The Database listing you refer to forms the main menu which calls the individual modules. MS TRACKBALL TROUBLE Ml recently purchased an Alpha Data TKB- MT-A trackball from Gastelner Techno- logies. When the trackball Is plugged-ln. my Nexus/Quantum hard disk refuses to auto-boot, although the system will boot from floppy. Can you please help? I am capable of and willing to perform the minor surgery of replacing leads and/or connectors If this Is necessary. Graham Darlington Halewood Village. Liverpool I have never heard of dodgy mice/trackballs crashing the Amiga. I have heard of mice that have the metal shielding on blowing up Amigas by short circuiting the mouse port (indeed I did this to my first Amiga 2000 the week after I bought it), but this is not the same thing. I'd try replacing the trackball. failing that, take your Amiga to a repair centre and ask them to take a look at your mouse port. JR STAR FADES AWAY ^■^ ^ I have a problem with r ^^P my Star LC24-10 r%^^S| printer. Parts of the ^^A\m printed text or graphics are faded at the beginning and end of some lines, more so with graphics than text. We've taken the printer back to the shop, where it has supposedly been repaired. It usually performs better after a repair, but gets worse JARGON BUSTING • JARGON BUSTING Chip RAM - The area of the Amiga's memory directly accessible by the custom graphics and sound chips. It Is used for producing screen displays, animations and sound effects. Hard drive - Like a floppy drive, but much bigger and faster. Also, the disk cannot be removed, so once the hard drive has been filled, It's either time to delete excess files or get another one. Include flies - Supplied by Commodore, these provide the offsets needed to access system library routines, and the formats for all system structures. 24-Wt graphics - Normally, the Amiga uses between one and five bits (binary digits) to store the colour of each pixel (picture element) of a display. This means that between two and 32 colours can be displayed. Hardware add-ons are now becoming available which use 24 bits per pixel, giving a possible 16.7 million colours. 52 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 1 6 • AUGUST 1 992 again. It's never been completely solved. We've had the printer for two years; the problem developed after one. What causes the fading? Mark Fox Hoxlemore High Wycombe This sounds suspiciously like the ribbon gear mechanism isn't working properly. When you return it to the retailer he probably opens up the printer and twiddles around with this mechanism, which will cure it for a while, but not for very long, as you have discovered. Your retailer won't fix it properly because the guarantee has run out. The only solution is to pay someone to repair it. If the place you bought it from won't or can't do the Job, then phone Star sales » 0494 471111, explain the problem, and ask for details of Star dealers who will be able to repair It. But before you do that, try it with a new ribbon just in case the one you are using is faulty or worn out. I know this might sound like a sales pitch for Star, but the only LC24-10 ribbons I can put my hand on my heart and recommend are those manufactured by Star Itself; some of the cheap third-party LC24-10 ribbons are not worth the plastic case they come in. JW GAME DECISION I wish to purchase an Amiga computer for the sole purpose of playing games. I had decided upon an Amiga A 500 Plus but the arrival of the A600 has left me wondering which of the two machines wouKJ bo boot suited for my purposes. When I purchase my new machine, Is It Important to specify the Klckstart version? Is the Philips CM8833 compatible with both the A500 Plus and the A600? FD Bellby Thome Doncaster If you only ever intended playing games, then I'd probably tell you to buy an A600, but chances are that you'll probably want to do a lot more than this once you actually buy an Amiga. Many people buy Amigas for the sole purpose of playing games, but most of them eventually realise that there's a lot more to computing than waggling a joystick. I for one started my computer career playing games only, but you'd be surprised just how easy it is to get tempted by the more serious side to computers, especially when they're as capable as the Amiga. With this in mind, your best bet is the A500 Plus. Although Commodore has discontinued the machine, third party hardware and software vendors will continue to support the machine for years to come. After all, In the UK alone the A500 accounts for almost 95% of the user base. If hardware vendors were to ignore such a huge market, they'd be cutting their own throats. Even when vendors start to produce titles for the A600's ROM card slot, you can bet that some enterprising company will come up with an adaptor. Take my advice - buy the A500 Plus instead. All new machines come equipped with Kickstart and Workbench 2.04, so there's no reason to specify the Kickstart version. Finally, the Philips CM8833 will work perfectly with the A500 Plus and the A600. JM HEY BIG SPENDER I am In the market for |9| a 24-blt display card. I have an Amiga 500 with an SSL A5000 68020 accelerator and 3Mb RAM. I've seen the adverts for the Progressive Peripheral and Software's Rambrandt system which utilises the Texas 34020 and 34082 chip set to produce very fast graphic processing, 3D hardware shading etc. I have a budget of £3 £4000 and this must also Include a 68040 processor as well as the display card. Could you tell me If Rambrandt Is the fastest system currently on the market within my price range or. would I be better looking at other systems? DF Edwards Harlow Essex Unfortunately you are going to have to include a new Amiga in your shopping list if you want a Rambrandt. Why? Simply because the Rambrandt Is designed to fit Amiga 1500/2000/3000 series computers as an Internal expansion system. This also applies to many other 24-bit devices based on expansion slot architecture, for instance Amiga Centre Scotland's Harlequin. G2's VD2001 and GVP's IV24. Archos's AVideo24 will fit in the Denise slot of your Amiga 500. but you'll need an '030 card to run TV Paint. In fact, an '030 is almost obligatory for graphics work at the level you appear to be aiming for, though your projected '040 will, of course, do nicely Instead. From what I've seen so far (which is limited to the Amiga Shopper Show) the Rambrandt appears to be a very interesting device. The selling price will be around £2200 when they eventually hit the streets, probably around the time you are reading this. As I said last month, the spec looks great, but until there is enough softwi support I would hold fire. You may also be interested to know that GVP is producing a graphics card which attaches to the 32-bit expansion slot of their G-Force cards, which is rumoured to be excellent, and Britain's own G2 should be pitching in with its own offering soon. My best advice for now is to stick with what you have and wait a little while. Keep an eye open for the new generation of hardware which Is literally just around the corner. By this time the whole lot. including a new Amiga, should be well within your budget. QW MINISCRIBE DRIVE HI have a Mlnlscribe 8425 E8D5I PM 8000 hard drive. All I would like to know la the capacity and the Interface type - IDE or whatever - and which controller you would recommend. The drive has an Inspection date of 20/5/87 and was made In Singapore and I have no paper work with It. It's to fit a revision 6.2 B2000. Jim McCusker Letchworth Herts I'm not sure about the capacity of this drive, although I'd hazard a guess and say it is probably a massive 20Mb drive. The interface you describe is ST-506, and there is no way of connecting this to the Amiga 2000, except the Commodore A2090A controller, which is no longer made and was a piece of junk anyway. Sorry I can't help any more. M WHICH PRINTER? I am going to be buying a printer near Christmas, and I want to know which would be best. My choices are the INCLUDING C I have recently purchased NorthC, a PD version of the C language. Can you please tell me how and where I can purchase the Commodore Amiga Include flies. S Bultitude Lower Stondon Beds The header files can be ordered for £25 directly from Commodore UK at: Commodore Business Machines (UK) Ltd., Commodore- Amiga Technical Support, Bradbourn Drive, Tllbrook, Milton Keynes MK4 SAT. PAO Selkosha SP 1900 Plus dot-matrix, the Commodore MPS-1270 InkJet, and the Star LC20 dot-matrix. I was thinking about the Commodore one, but I read in Amiga Answers (Issue 9) that this printer is not currently being produced. Is this true? Finally, could you tell me which printer driver each of the above printers require? Mark Whrtworth Yeadon Leeds If the MPS-1270 is not in current production, this is big news to Commodore's marketing people, who tell me the opposite. The driver Commodore recommends for use with the MPS- 1270 (in IBM or Epson mode) is the CBM_MPS1000 driver on the Extras disk; however, as the name of the driver Implies, it is not a 'proper' driver for the MPS-1270 and there may be problems with graphics, and there might be some features of the MPS-1270 that cannot be used. The Seikosha SP-1900 Plus HEART SURGERY HI recently gave my Amiga A500 open heart surgery successfully made the modifications necessary to allow the machine to use 1Mb Chip RAM. I managed that without a hitch, but while I was working, I noticed that near to the existing four RAM chips there were another four empty spaces. Does this mean I can add another 512K to my machine in addition to the 1Mb already shared with the A501 expansion? BBal Wolverhampton The Midlands This is commonly known as a "gotchya". There Is room for 1Mb on the main board: two 512K blocks configured from four 1Mbit chips. The "gotchya" is the fact that the A501 occupies exactly the same physical address space as those four chips. The answer therefore is. no. Sony. At better typical solution would be to get a larger expansion - preferably on which fits on the side of the machine - Power Computing has just released two; one of which is a budget 2Mb expansion. MS AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 53 JARGON BUSTING • JARGON BUSTING HAM - Hold And Modify is an Amiga graphic mode allowing all 4096 colours to be displayed at once, with certain restrictions. PC clone - IBM PC compatible computer based on one of the Intel 8067 or 80m series CPUs, ana with similar hardware/software configuration. Printer driver - A program that sits inoetween any applications program producing output and the printer. It converts any codes describing text and graphics format into a form suitable for a specific printer. - Random Access Memory, the place in the Amiga where programs are stored while they are being executed. The more RAM the better. Sample - A digital - computerised - representation of a sound, A sample can be sent through a digital to analogue converter (the Amiga has four of these) and be heard as sound. Changing the speed at which the sample is played back changes the frequency (or pitch) of the sound. emulates the Epson FX-850. It's supposed to be a 100% FX-850 emulation, but then they say that to all the girls. If it is 100% FX-850 emulation, then the best driver to use is called Star9Plus, available on a £2 Jamdisk from JAM » 0895 274449. If you are considering a Star 9- pin printer then 1 would recommend the LC-200. This Is the only printer in your list for which an Amiga printer driver has been specifically written, that driver being the afore-mentioned StarQPIus one. JW MEMORY MATTERS I want to add more )j memory to my Amiga A500(about2-3Mb). What Is the best memory expansion available bearing In mind that I don't want to spend any more than £140? Also, I use the PD program PrtntStudlo to print out Vista landscapes but the printouts are rather dark. Surprisingly though, other programs seem to print OK. What can I do to Improve the quality of my printouts? I am using the Star LC 10 driver to drive my LC-200. Paul Chamberlain Letch worth Herts Having used several RAM expansions, I personally prefer the Cortex {v 051 236 0480) range of boards. The 2Mb board that the company produces costs £160. OK. this is £20 more than you want to spend, but it really is worth it. Cortex RAM expansions boast an Impressive list of features including a pass-through connector (very important if you wish to buy a hard drive at a later date) and they come with their own power supplies so they won't burden the Amiga. If the printouts that you are obtaining from the Star are too dark, then check the density setting on your Vista program disk. If the setting is too high, then the printout will be rather dark. Under 1.3 Preferences, go into the Graphic 2 window and adjust the density setting to about 3 or 4. Failing that, it might be worth getting your hands on a copy of the Star9Plus printer driver which is on Jeff Walker's JAM disk 5. It costs £2 and can be obtained from JAM, 75 Greatfields Drive. Uxbridge UB8 3QN. JH REAL 32 COLOURS I read a review of Real3D some time ago. I have beginners version 1.1 and I am having difficulty rendering Images In 32 colours. I can render to 16 greyscale and HAM but I am unable to render 32 colours. Do I need the professional version? M Wallman Colchester Essex The short answer to your question is that none of the versions of Real3D support 32 colour rendering, only HAM, 16 colour greyscale and 24~bit! If you want to produce a 32 colour image you'll have to render it in HAM or 24-bit and convert it. You could try using DPaint IV to do this by loading a HAM image and then changing the screen format to 32. Alternatively, other programs such as PixMate or Art Department are available to perform the same tasks. GW PC BLUES My Amiga A1500 has r a CSA-MMR because tO-^B ' needed the SDeed for DTP and DTV work. I have now discovered I need to run PC software at home for a training course. Would any of the current emulators suit my setup? I don't want to have to buy a separate PC. David Sellwood Warrington Cheshire There are several choices for such a setup such as the Commodore Bridgeboards, Vortex ATOnce and the KCS Power PC cards. The choice is up to you. but my personal choice has always been the KCS system. Although, like ATOnce, it needs an adapter for the larger Amigas, it remains the most consistently reliable system I have used and offers the best choice of screen modes. However, if you intend to run any hkesolution EGA or VGA modes. it may be worth investing in a flicker fixer and multi-sync monitor. MS SWITCH GLITCH W M% I have bought a *gW ^A Golden Image hand ^^ m? scanner with Touch \f ^H Up software. I also bought a Centronics switch box so that I could switch between using my Star LC-200 printer and the scanner without having to switch off the computer. All seemed fine until I took a look at some line art that I had scanned. It was very corrupt. So I tried connecting the scanner directly to the computer and the corruption problem went away. All the cables appear to be making good connections, and the switch box has no fault. Any Ideas on what is going wrong? Graham Crowther Pant Oswestry You've proved that the switch box Is the problem, it obviously cannot keep up with the speed at which the scanner is trying to pass data through the parallel port. Solution? Get a better switch box. Avoid these big (and cheap) switch boxes that look like a rat's nest of wires inside, go for one that is made with a printed circuit board. JW THROUGH-PORT ADAPTOR ?tW J^% I want to buy a hard J w A drive. I had settled on ^^ ^H the GVP 105Mb as |a# JH the Ideal choice but It does not have a through-port and would consequently need unplugging at regular Intervals to use my Action Replay. I know this question has come up from numerous people In different forms a number of times, but It seems nobody will give a definite answer to the question. Most Just duck It and give a totally different and unsatisfactory answer. I use the Replay a lot now: formatting, Installing, doing directory checks, checking which disks I'm stupid enough not to have labelled, ripping pictures and words and so on. I found recently that life was a lot harder without a Replay. Is there a reliable company that can make up a lead to connect both hard drive and replay to the Amiga at once? David Lord Manchester You are in luck. Datel Electronics Ltd (« 0782 744 324) does a little board which will allow you to plug both the replay and hard drive into the Amiga at the same time. JR SOUND EDITS I use TechnoSound ISB^ Turbo to produce samples, but one thing seems to puzzle me. I know that to Increase the pitch of a sample it has to be played at a higher speed but this also speeds up the sample. Audio Engineer Plus claims to be able to after the pitch without altering the playback speed. Could you please tell whether this process works well or does the quality of the sample suffer? Are there any cheaper packages available that will do the same Job? Stuart Wilkes i unbrldge Wells Kent Altering the prtch of any sample will effect its sound quality no matter whether you're using TechnoSound Turbo or the latest Akai 16-bit sampler, especially when the pitch Is lowered. Considering the limitations of the Amiga's sound hardware. Audio Engineer Plus actually does a very good job of altering the pitch without effecting playback speed. It doesn't work too well on shorter samples, but for long looped rhythms etc. the results are certainty pretty impressive. Audio Engineer is rather expensive (£200) so no doubt you'll be pleased to learn that the software is available separately in the shape of AudioMaster 4. It costs approximately £30 and is available from HB Marketing » 0753 686000. JH C POWER I have been using NorthC 1.3 for a number of months now, mainly to get the feel of Intuition. Recently however, I needed a power function so I used the math.h Include file to get access to powQ. I've noticed that this only has an accuracy of five decimal places, as does the exp<) which I assume Is used along with k>g() to make up the pow() function. Although math.h uses different declarations to the libraries/ s j sjwaj sspptt AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 You know what you want from your computer, that's why you 're choosing AMIGA ...NOW YOUVE CHOSEN THE RIGHT COMPUTER. MAKE SURE YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT DEALER Anyone can be good at selling Amiga or CDTV, but sadly, that's often where it ends. So, when it's time to choose the best computer, it's also lime to find the best supplier. The one who is not only always competitive, but the one who also gives you the best possible ongoing support for you and your system. Gordon Harwood Computers, Pioneers of (he 'Complete Pack' approach, have specialised in Commodore, from the earliest VIC 20, to the latest Amiga, for almost a decade... In fact, we've supplied so many, if you ask all your friends, the chances are that some of them can tell vou already of our excellent service. Our service means that we'll help you gel the most from your new system straight away. But, if you do have problems, and need that extra hand, that's where we have earned our reputation. If you 'd like all Ibis, and more: J FRII NDI.Y AND HELPFTI. EXPERT ADVICE J I N1.IMITED ACCESS TO ( AH IN SUPPORT AND EX-DIRECTORY TELEPHONE TECHNICAL HOTLINE J All ADVERTISED PRICES II I1Y VAT INCLUSIVE j SHOVl R(K)M DISPLAYS OF OCR EXTENSIVE RANGE OF HARDWARE, SOFTWARE AND PERIPHERALS J EXPRESS (OMPITERISED MAIL ORDER, STOCK WARRANTY AND CUSTOMER SUPPORT SYSTEM J COMPREHENSIVE INSTRI < TI( >\S WITH AI J. SYSTEMS HARDWARE AND HELP BTUJmNS WHERE REQ11RED J FREE COLLECTION OF MAJOR HARDWARE ITEMS REQUIRING IN WARRANTY SERVICE J NEW PRODUCT 50 DAY REPLACEMENT Gl ARANTEE J EXPERIENCED AND TRAINED SERVICE TECHNICIANS J AND OF COURSE. THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE RANGE OF REAII.Y COMPETITIVE PRODUCTS AND PACKS ANYWHERE m If* £3 • If STOP PRESS...STOP PRESS...STOP PRESS...STOP PRESS NEW 1Mb. AMIGA A600 RANGE AT FANTASTIC PRICES As this issue of the magazine was going to press, Commodore announced these new models - due for release at the end of April 1992. The details below are provisional, but rest assured the multi title Powerplay pack we are putting together around the 600 will include as usual, a superb value collection of high quality software and accessories. By the time you read this, our plans should be finalised. PLEASE CONTACT US FOR UP TO THE MINUTE PACK INFORMATION AND AVAILABILITY. TWO MODELS: A600 FD Single 3.5" 880Kb- Floppy Drive A600 HD Single 3*5" 880Kb. Floppy Drive with internal 20Mb. Hard Disk Drive. These two latest additions to the Amiga family introduce some stunning new features... COMPACT DESIGN: With built-in modulator for smaller desktop footprint. SMART CARD SLOT: For instant software loading and future expansion.' COMPATIBLE: With virtually all Amiga A500* software. INTERFACES: 2 Mouse/Joystick ports, Parallel Centronics, Serial RS232, External Floppy Drive. Direct RF TV Output, RGB Analogue, Composite Colour Video, Stereo Audio. Smart Card Slot. Memory Upgrade Port ft^H • • • 1Mb. RAM: Expandable to 2Mb. internally with Real Time Clock.' IN HOME SERVICE: Means should a hardware fault develop, a technician will visit your home to service or replace your computer, normally within four working days.. .FREE! 'It is Important to note that the sidecar expansion bus & RAM expansion slot are different from those found on the original Amiga ASOO and the current Amiga 4500* computers. Existing Amiga owners who have peripherals which connect in these ways who wish to upgrade computers, should consider whether the new A6O0 or its recently launched partner in the Amiga range, the A500*, is the most appropriate tor their needs. A570 & A670 CO ROM DRIVES ► ► ThtM fantastic CD ROM Dnves wM alow you to access the gro*.ng range of Interactive CDTV Titles lor around £299* and also play your audio CD collection through your stereo! Simply plugs into your Amiga 500+ or A600 for immediate use. [ 'flflP, compatibility and release details yet to be confirmed by Commodore UK' - Please telephone tor further information] ft mtri * •:• • SWOT | ■ hf0r ■ The Closer you look, The Better we look Apple™ in Alfreton... For the professional user, Gordon Harwood provides ihe outstanding Apple™ Macintosh™ range of most user friendly yet powerful Personal Computers, at prices which compare favourably with Amigas. Sysen»*inat|usi69995fbra4<ftfo Dnvc Madwoh^Oaa*: 11 '. wA Monochrwne Mixwor ami 4Mb iuLM. O)iour systems are now available at a lower cost than the equhiirnt Amiga 1500 or 2000. but w*h much more useable power. The Laser-Quality Sryie Writer"" Ink-Jet pnntcr with automatic sheet feeder is just U9995 to complete the whole package. Macintosh™ is the industry standard system for DTP and presentation, it can abo exchange files with MSDOS PCs and even run MSDOS programs (with SoftPC™. a standard utility package available separately! As an Apple Authorised Resetter, systems are amiable through our showroom only Please visit us for your persc^mm^luaiontorj^acep^ Authorised Reseller Gordon Harwooil Computers 1 kitf V<*» 'WfHUij !u> Ul ■■:■■'. K/ i A C | HARWOODS POWERPLAY PACK 1 COMES OF AGE WITH 31* GREAT GAMES & A 1Mb AMIGA A500 PLUS CARTOON CLASSICS WITH THE SIMPSONS, LEMMINGS AND CAPTAIN PLANET PLUS 28* EXTRA GAMES ONLY FROM HARWOODS!!! ALL OUR AMIGAS ARE UNITED KINGDOM SPECIFICATION AND INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING... 1 Mb. Disk Drive 1Mb Ram Memory TV Modulator 4096 Colours Multi Tasking Speech Synthesis 4 Channel Digital Stereo Sound Amiga Mouse Operation Manuals Workbench 2 Disks ALL Connecting Cables PLUS... All OUR Amigas are backed by Harwoods Great Service [Please see full details in our Ordering Made Easy' panel final page] THAT'S RIGHT HARWOODS HAVE PUT TOGETHER THE ULTIMATE AMIGA PACKS YET AGAIN... STARTING WITH POWERPLAY PACK 1 WHICH INCLUDES 31* GREAT GAMES! * owl Games NOT ww AW titles Just look at what you get NOW... •AMIGA A500 PLUS COMPUTER WITH A FULL 1Mb. OF MEMORY! •THE SIMPSONS, BART vs THE SPACE MUTANTS - Thats right man! you can play the computer version of this popular TV cartoon. By Ocean. •CAPTAIN PLANET • created from the award winning TV show, now's your chance to save the earths environment with this ultimate adventure... your Eco-Copter is waiting. By Mindscape. •LEMMINGS - Are you as smart as Lemmings are stupid, match your intelligence against their lack of it as you play the 140 levels of the most original game of '91 (European Computer Leisure Awards Winner). By Psygnosis. •EDUCATIONAL BASIC LANGUAGE FOR CREATING YOUR OWN PROGRAMS •DELUXE PAINT III GRAPHICS PACKAGE WITH ANIMATION •TAILORED DUST COVER AND MOUSE MAT •AND A SUPERB HIGH QUALITY MICROSWITCHED JOYSTICK, •PLUS.... 18 MORE GREAT GAMES, THERE'S SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE... BLOODWYCH - Fantasy role-playing game, great interaction with your computer created environment BUBBLE* - Help the dawdling ghost and the soap bubble, escape from the old deserted manor house CAPTAIN BLOOD * Astonishing creatures and animated 3D graphics, this is a game you just have to play ELIMINATOR - A progressive multi stage flying shoot 'em up, on a long winding course, survive if you can! HOSTAGES - You must get your team and hostages out of the terrorist overrun embassy, without loss ol lite JUMPING JACKSON - In a deluge of colour and sound save, the earth irom sadness and meiacholy music KRYPTON EGG - A classic Breakout game, 60 screens, separated by 6 combat sequences LANCASTER - Your mission is to fly the classic WWII bomber on its dangerous raids over enemy territory LOMBARD RAC RALLY - You drive your 300 bhp Sierra Cosworth through demanding stages of the rally PURPLE SATURN DAY - Four arcade games, an exciting high speed trip into total cosmic 3D space SAFARI GUNS - Live the African experience in an animal sanctuary, track the poachers & ivory traffickers STIR CRAZY (Featuring BoboJ - Bobo & his inmates are planning a stunning trampoline jump prison escape SKYCHASE - Airborne combat for every simulation fan. In this one or two player game, battle against your MIG flying adversary in your F-16 Falcon. SKYFOX II - Skyfox II, the only ship fast enough to carry on the Skyfox legend. Fight to blow your federation enemies from the Galaxy, at speeds of 9000 kilometres/second! STRIKE FORCE HARRIER - Puts you in the cockpit of one of Britams most exiting fighter aircraft. Multiple skill levels let you progress to become an ace pilot TINTIN ON THE MOON - We've been captured by Colonel Jorgen and he's tring to scupper the moon mission. Come on Tintin, you're the only one who can save us. and be the first on the moon TV SPORTS FOOTBALL - Strap on your helmet for American football simulation that looks like the real thing. XENON 2 MEGABLAST - This time it's war! The Xenltes are back and have thrown time itself into turmoil. We reserve me right to substitute individual software titles or pack items should the need arise. V^ * OUR POWERPLAY PACK 1 PREVIOUSLY CONTAINED 21 GREAT GAMES BUT, NOW WE'RE INCLUDING THESE 10 FANTASTIC BONUS GAMES... ...BUT ONLY WHILST STOCKS LASTI OATASTORM - The fastest shoot 'em up of all time! Defender with a vengencelM DUNGEON QUEST - Ultimate in multisensory gaming! The BEST graphic mysteries! E-M0TI0N- 50 levels of multi-coloured puzzles. A challenging emotional experience. GRAND MONSTER SLAM - Elves. Trolls. Goblins, Ores, Dragons & Knights do battle! R VF HONDA - Formula 1 motorbike racing at 1 70mph on a Honda RC30 racing bike! DRIVIN' FORCE * For driving maniacs! 12 competitions day or night with 6 vehicles! PIPEMANIA - Classic puzzle arcade game. So addictive you won t want to put it down! ROCK 'N' ROLL - Crazy action game accompanied b^ fantastic Rock n Roll sounds! SKWEEK- Paint the town PINK, kill Schnoreuts and dominate 99 levels of Skweezland TOWER OF BABEL - Intricate 3D strategy game. Fantastic lighting & shading effects! ...AND HARWOODS ALSO GIVE YOU A SUPERB BROCHURE OFFERING UP T0 16 NIGHTS FREE HOTEL ACCOMODATION IN AN EXTENSIVE SELECTION OF 400 HOTELS AROUND THE UK PLUS NOW A SPECIAL BUDGET FRANCE SUPPLEMENT IS INCLUDED TOO luidih. f terms OH' flWlklN? fsnhl«1 lo ittltifttfiirmutitimxlik'tt tttvux'sei'titit unhiiii^f Han't ut the cmtirf this utttvri for/utl <kltitti> • Amiga A500 Plus. 11 J. Imigas may si til be available to special onler, please enquire.) HARWOOD'S BRILLIANT 1Mb AMIGA 500 PLUS 'MEGA 31" GAMES PACK 2 That's right you get the fantastic Amiga & ALL THE EXTRAS detailed in Harwoods "Mega 31* Pack 1 AND you also get... THE PHILIPS CM8833/II STEREO COLOUR MONITOR CV montor secton on pap* 6 pm tut daBb tor your tfwt of Phta$ Moneys J Uantor 7V» "IT'S THE- BUSINESS" A TRULY PROFESSIONAL PACKAGE SPECIFICALLY FOR THE BUSINESS MINDED AMIGA USER. THIS ONE SHOULD FULFILL EVERY AREA OF HOME BUSINESS YOU'RE UKELY TO NEED! HARWOOD'S GREAT 1Mb AMIGA 500 PLUS 'MEGA 31' 'PACK 3 Thats right you got the fantastic Amiga & AIL THE EXTRAS detailed m Harwoods 'Mega 31- Games Pack l (far left) AND... then you also get.. THE SUPERB PHILIPS CM88SVU STEREOCOLOUR MONITOR Our montor Mdton onp0Q$$gfm ft* dattfti tor your tfoixofPHtoi MonftttJ Montfor TVs *£>< Ht... AlWMMOSfTOftTV ACOSti ,*-"* MUM A SPECIAL PACK FROM HARWOOD S YOU SEE AND HEAR THOSE GAMES WITH SUPERB CLARfTY £599?? POWERPRO PROFESSIONAL PROFESSIONAL THE BUSINESS PACK FROM HARWOODS INCLUDES ALL THE FOLLOWING... AMIGA 500 PLUS WITH 1Mb. MEMORY + PHILIPS CM 8833/1I STEREO COLOUR MONITOR S~ Monitor Pm* on 9»f 6 for taint STAR LC200 9 PIN N] FULL COLOUR PRII St* Primer Panel on Pagt 5 lor tailli A HOST OF BUSINESS SOFTWARE 1 «CCE8S0rWS PEN PAL V1.3 (Word Processor).. .1 Mb. SUPERBASE II PERSONAL (Database) SUPERPLAN (Spreadsheet)...! Mb. A GREAT TEN GAMES PACKAGE Hi... ■TJI o "•'ill! •in!!!; Il'irii ■■■•■■■I ;:i;:u o OR. YOU CAN CHOOSE , A PHILIPS MONITOR TV | AT NO EXTRA COST 1 See page 6 tor FULL detotte of m<s remarkable . I Monitor TV I .OMn'Fow.PipiMwt. Dungeon Que* RockW-fl* E4fc*r Tow tf EVM. SM»*. RVf HondL MGnnlMrraarSkm. A THESNPSONS .. CAPTAIN PLANET I LEMMINGS . DELUXE PAINT III Now wffi ANIMATION > MKfiOSWTCHED JOYSTICK ft 10 BLANK 3 5' DISKS A DISK UBRARY CASE • MOUSEMAT A 3 TALOflES DUST COVERS ADO A CUMANA CAX 354 SECOND DRlVfc f Ofl JUST £50 TO HELP RUN THOSE BUSINESS PACKS MORE EFFICIENTLY WE MEAN BUSINESS AT A GREAT PACKAGE PRICE OF JUST... l£869t 5 THE SUPER STA LC 200 COLOUR PRINTER... PAOtTHREE OR .YOU CAN CHOOSE •1 APHIUPSUONTTORTV AT NO EXTRA COST! Sec page 6 lor FULL detail* of this nama/ajDte Fast Ten Monitor TV ■ . FMluring.., £/ ISSMOCMjFull Colour 9 Pin NLO Dot Majrtt r w«h a FREE Dual Cow srxj caMe lo your Amoa. 'S*-onntmp«*tkx<toaMi 1 as^Ssr OQLOl* ■*#*•»*» «**»i?£E2. |S7»fr»»| EDUCATION HARWOODS LEARN & PLAY PRIMARY I JUNIOR PACK A (^yourcnilrJrinfytlothingM ramoumg start **r> Bw software HH and ptty Compjnaum 6 pack.. IIO»rYK «ATWR«41CM« CAlfHOA* Ml WOROSIWMHRS. SAW UU NATCH. WHAT IS IT » WHf RE 16 IT? Acta retiring ywamaiwHiiMtrtilw C* tnete W wirainuig M Muutnnil Uttti Your cftfn proMMf «oni «<n rMla M Mr 'hum' nm Mgonrli NOMflASf ■Ml tern styioi M»m <mg toatfiMl fea ncett k Ear ■ m W Man* oaneai NaMMT aUTHUOUftlf REA0M6 I WftHMC C0UHK M rroMi own Tatdaaa van to tseaaar m boon to •ari) arm i n o>«euc MOCA IITII ■ III i II 9i iimijl WHIM o •tlHIfl- Mflllll A GREAT EDUCTIONAL PACK FOR VOUR CHILDREN AT A FRACTION OF THE NORMAL COST £69 ,95 St 1 HARWOODS LEARN & PLAY GCSEYO' LEVEL PACK B GCS£examriiBoflli^stut3«onyour Amip computet ttiat stun 1 MICRO ENGLISH MICRO FRENCH AND MICRO MAtHe* A Ml d Dtm compMt MV-luMhOn COHU1 to liCSt rt<r can Wo w cud •» iwiof «yt *l t/oojnno adheri S IN Nattonal Cgrnodum and atn JtupM and WW w KftoW By irWa w c Hero Fnart raudai 'tbi vaadi* la -WAl-laiBAwlWwl A Htaak nrt anowr m M la M> ft i k OMt atJBha aftP aoit MM tar i arBMekK ortarnapftaiMBn Tad«M aAMlotr «•# oiaHa mt< m fx tto* 1 Madwilift ■ iiftl«i>dfawilAw|r HOIKIAIi wacaK a h (few rnlvmiaon swa* p-oarm lor t^r^llla^o^ll^r<alW.ll^Jdl«•x)m.»nflc^«Ot^^^ •duaOaW proWB Inc ciwiy MMbd "pgtl twtton" GOMroe ind cWr conwiMniM mftytnea manuatt A GREAT EDUCTIONAL PACK FOR YOUR CHILDREN ATA FRACTION Of THE NORMAL COST o llimii ICli ii ^ 3 -~ ; 73 : > = <l V^ - 1^ = ^ J - U-c i>- LiH^ • i ;s ALFRETON DERBYSHIRE Hj^ Closer you look, Tlie Better we look. HiiimuMWyiiri'iihiihiiili'iuiiih' nm-ui ktii Vi;,/ illMiih SOUND A m%®°" IMAGINE, IF YOU CAN, THE CONCEPT OF A NEW, MORE POWERFUL AMIGA... ...WITH 1 MEGABYTE OF MEMORY, AND A COMPACT DISK DRIVE OF ALMOST INFINITE SIZE. A DISK DRIVE SO VAST, IT CAN STORE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DIGITS OF DATA. THIS DATA COULD BE, SPEECH, ANIMATED PICTURES, DIGITISED STEREO SOUND, COMPUTER IMAGES OR WHOLE ENCYCLOPAEDIAS.... AND MORE. IMAGINE THIS. AND YOU CAN START TO GRASP THE CONCEPT OF CDTV. THE INTEGRAL COMPACT DISK DRIVE. IS THE KEY TO THE POWER OF COTV ITS STORAGE CAPACITY IS EQUIVALENT TO AROUND A QUARTER OF A MILUON RJU PAGES OF TEXT. THIS WHEN INTEGRATED WITH THE 1 MB OF INTERNAL AMIGA ORCUfTRY. CREATES A SYSTEM, WWCH FROM A CO DISK. CAN GIVE YOU ACCESS TO AN UNIMAGINABLE SPECTRUM OF REAL WORLD IMAGES NEVER S§EN COMBINE) BEFORE THESE VIVID IMAGES. WITH WOROS AM) SOUNDS, GIVE YOU A WHOLE NEW DIMENSION IN HOME EDUCATION. ENTERTAINMENT & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. AND DON! FORGET. THAT COTV CAN PLAY IN SUPERB QUAUTY. ANY NORMAL AUDIO MUSIC CO. AND R" CAN ALSO PLAY THE NEW CO»G DISKS. WHICH GIVE DIGITAL SOUND AND ON SCREEN GRAPHICS ON CO DISKS NOW AVAILABLE. THERE ARE EDUCATIONAL PACKAGES, ENCYCLOPAEDIAS PACKED WTTH REFERENCE INFORMATION. STUNNING GAMES, MUSC SYSTEMS AND MANY OTHER NEW ANO VARIED SUBJECTS. INCLUDING WHOLE WORLD ATLASES OR EVEN THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE. EACH ON ONE CD DISK!! 1 CDTV - NOTHING LESS THAN REVOLUTIONARY FREE CDTV STARTER PACK!!! WHEN YOU CHOOSE YOUR CDTV FROM GORDON HARWOOD, NOT ONLY DO YOU GET OUR LEGENDARY SERVICE, BUT WE GIVE YOU A CDTV STARTER PACK, TO GET YOU EXPLORING YOUR NEW WORLD • STRAIGHTAWAY. THIS INCLUDES A SUPERB SELECTION OF CD DISK TITLES INCLUDING THE WELCOME TUTORIAL & HUTCHINSONS ENCYCLOPAEDIA, PLUS ... FIVE GAMES, SHERLOCK HOLMES & THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, SIM CITY, CHAOS IN ANDROMEDA, A TOWN WITH NO NAME, AND THE ACCLAIMED LEMMINGS, WORTH IN TOTAL ALMOST £200.00. IN ADDITION IS THE INFRARED REMOTE CONTROLLER, AND ALL THE HARDWARE NEEDED TO GET YOU CONNECTED. ALL THIS FOR JUST £499.95 CDTV IS THE SAME SIZE AND STYLE AS MOST VIDEO RECORDERS, SO IT CAN SIT UNOBTRUSIVELY ABOVE OR BELOW YOUR HOME TV AND/OR HI-FI. ANO WITH ITS INFRARED REMOTE CONTROLLER. IT CAN BE OPERATED FROM YOUR ARMCHAIR BUT PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANTLY. IF YOU ARE A COMPUTER ENTHUSIAST. REMEMBER THAT INSIDE EVERY CDTV. IS AN AMIGA. JUST WAITING TO BE USED. SO LATER ON, YOUU BE ABLE TO BUY THE OPTIONAL KEYBOARD AND DISK DRIVE, TO GET INTO THE WORLD OF AMIGA COMPUTING PRINTERS, DlGfTISERS, GENLOCKS AND OTHER ACCESSORIES, CAN AIL BE CONNECTED TO GIVE ACCESS TO MANY OTHER EXCITING FACILITIES, AND ALSO MANY OF THE EXISTING SOFTWARE PACKAGES AVAILABLE FOR THE AMIGA COMPUTER. NEVER BEFORE HAS THERE BEEN SO MUCH POTENTIAL FROM ONE NEW STUNNING SYSTEM, PACKED WITH TODAYS TECHNOLOGY.! CALL IN AND SEE US FOR YOUR PERSONAL DEMONSTRATION, OR PHONE US FOR YOUR FREE DETAILED CDTV INFORMATION PACK. CDTV ACCESSORIES "— * WKr*Mft£*y CO 1220 KEYBOARD CD 12S2 MOUSE CO 1200 TRACKBALL CO 1400 CADDY CD 1401 MEMORY CARD AN 89 KEY QWERTY KEYBOARD C 49.95 INFRARED MOUSE WITH BATTERY SAVER C49.95 INFRARED TRACKBALL. WITH THE OPTION £79.95 OF DIRECT CONNECTION TO EXTEND BATTERY UFE DUPLICATES FUNCTIONS OF 2 BUTTON MOUSE & INCLUDES TWO 9 PIN PORTS FOR STD. JOYSTICKS FOR HOLDING CD WITHIN DRIVE £9.95 PERSONAL RAM CARD CONTAINING £79 95 64K OF MEMORY FOR STORING DATA OR AS A BOOKMARK FACIUTY WITHIN CDTV CO 1405 MEMORY CARO A LARGER PERSONAL RAM CARD £24995 CONTAINING 512K OF MEMORY FOR STOWNG DATA OR AS A BOOKMARK FACIUTY WTTHN COTV 35' FLOPPY DRIVE WITH B80K CAPACITY £** 95 MATCHING BLACK FINISH SUPPLIED WITH AMIGA WORKBENCH DlSKSWANUALS «c PAL BASED VIDEO INTERFACE CARO FOR £1 49.95 SUPERIMPOSING CDTV IMAGES OVER A VOEO SIGNAL PROVIDED BY ANY STANDARD VIDEO SOURCE COTV COMPATIBLE AND STYLED IN 169.95 MATCHING BLACK. Many Amiga Accessories & Penpnerals (e.g. Printers, Disk Dnvoc, Software etc ) are compatible with COTV Please phone us lor compataWlity information C8M FLOPPY DRIVE C0 1301 GENLOCK WTEX5" DRIVE H ARWOODS AMIGA NEW LOWER PRICE Pan rvpuf^j PRO-GEN Amiga Genlock The Proven AMIGA Genlock atom you Id ma you Amga daptay •» any PAL wleo •gnat whether i « from a VCR. Laeerdk* pea/er or a Cancorc* intactanyftamof video etwpment wfcch outputs a PAL comport* «cto sgr« ComMd «* fv Angt computer the Pro-Gen owes you the fac iaaas of a spec* aflects I video »ng suae Take your own tikns A grve them a prole—or* look by OVERLAYING TITUS or by SUPER IMPOSING YOUR OWN GRAPHICS creased ft packages fte Photon Part 20 or Deluxe Pamt Pro-Gen a suppled with rrwro Iusots superb Photon Pan! 2 Deduce FREE Photon Paint 2.0 Software A powerful Lo-and-Hi resolution hold and meaty (HAM) pert program, wci overecen (NTSC/PAL) and special effects for your Amiga Computer ndudng el the foBowng... Contour Mapping: drapes a brush over a 3D landscape" Pm intensity values decide the peaks and valleys, while a specially developed ray-traong algorithm maps the vnagc precisely Surface Mapping: around 3D objects, both geometric and tree hand drawn. Luminance: sets the light source and intensity. Shadowing automatca&y with control of sue and offset Brush Control: twist, tit resize, ftp. rotate, bend, adjustable transparency. stretch etc etc PLUS LOTS MORE 1 A g/eai program a*cwfigueeor'<(»6 colours Ox* of hortz/vert page print negatives, anti s t un g, dahered pnrt, arfaiaft brftejtoe es etc How It works: 1 i — i I STOP PRESS va&ru mxti commit vac ~ j£«c:o naaEH >*i ■ thi mom "*H» to ac us© $Twr>- iw> *tm wjt »cnu* VttO EOFMRT mw T* ltB td mr xm t* co*kt cow ub to coeccr « or>e ways aaWOVjaai » «T TO $T*T TOU OFKBflHT HOl n* HOktyr vou cew t* toor NEW LOWER PRICE SERF*. ONLY £99.95 Mode Switch-box for Genlocks Features Include •Compatible With The Pro- Gen And Rendafc 8802 -Supplied With Genlock Extender Cable Worth ES 95 -Switch-box Switches Between Foreground. Back- ground, Video And Computer Modes £29.95 I'imiih ru-tih* tirvfliwlabfciwihjcct to siuhh* f**r wad frhnhti f* / ■ \lHim4itl ftVtUf/'V thi* tufa t AMIGA DRIVES & MEMORY Cumana CAX354 3.5 IWfliHMlT-littSIi. ;. Foaturos Include x Long connecting cawe i 1 Mb. (880K Formatted) Capacity > Enable Disable Switch, -V Throughport .1 Access Light i Compatible with AmigaSOai 000 1500/2000/3000 and CDTV NOW SUPPl IFD WITH A CRFF 3.5* Oitk Htad Ckwnef to maintain your n#* Otto* In lip-lop' « £57.95 I Capacities of 52 to420Mb J> Connects to sidecar bus on \JH Side of A500 A500 Plus -j Autobcots with Kckstan 1 1"2 0. boot enabis/otoble swtah ft Sockets tor up to B Mb of RAM ft SCSI Port allows up to 7 other devices to be connected .V Supplied with easy to use software > 2 Year Warranty > Dedicated PSU ft Mini slot for future expansion j PC-AT Emulator planned to be available for 1992 I GVP AMIGA A500 HARD DRIVES I |_f GVP AMIGA 1500/2000 HARD DRIVES i . CAPACITY I RAM I CAPACITY SIZE 52Mb. 120Mb. I 240Mb. J SIZE 52Mb. 1 20Mb. ; 240Mb. I 420Mb. OMD. . ..:. ^ £459 95 £729 95 2Mb. S419 95 £529 95 £799 95 4Mb. £489 95 £599.95 £869.95 8Mb. £629.95 £739.95 £999.95 OMb. I £289.95i £409.95 1 £639.95 £1169.95 2Mb, 4Mb. SMU £359.95 £479.95 £709.95 £1239 £429.95 £549.95 £779.95 £1309.95 £559.95 £679.95 £899.95 £1429.95 >-u_uj Sr'i ml CCuj£ Oq5S: All our packs contain the new Amiga A5O0 Pius. i IJAmii>(is may still be available to special order, please enquire. ) • * n - <i r -/D i; Zj - EDUCATION SOFTWARE DONT JUST PLAY GAMES WHEN YOU CAN LEARN WITH YOUR AMIGA TOO! IKBOIUT>«-24easytoi^DcograrmtoGCSErOlJrtO £18.95 revision or Mi MaQn MEGA MATHS • A 9 lev* stec Dy step tufSon courw fo mature £20.95 beginners. A Level siuiMs & Micro Maths users MICRO FRENCH - GCSE French tufton or rewon coune. Coveri £16.95 both spoken & written French MICRO ENGLISH • Complete ssfMuton programe to GCSEIevW £18.95 PRIMARYMATHS • Ages3to 12. Complete 24 Prog Courw -18.95 SPELLBOOK Apes4to8,Devek)peawlhtr*r«lpo'aPrlmarv £17.95 School Heafl Teacher to art seeing skjita HOMEBASE Home storage prog . ideal tor those nousehort lists. £19.95 eNdrens educational proiecB, student notes etc Easy to use 'Push Burton' controls and a extensive refe re nc e manual COMPENWUMStt PACK- 6 GnWEajcasor*l Progs kxchttren £29.95 aged *• 1 2years of age. Each « cteaigned to keep your chstt interest wh* they leamKIOS TYPE -_arge characters 4 cokflui grapho helps crtatlon ofstones WEATHER WATCHER - Coiect & anaryw data ueng grapns etc even arvnate your o*n Metier map' CALENDAR C4JQ - Quo Deseo leemng of Bme rettM evens WORDS AW NUMBERS • Put words & scereancH ft t» correct order or group numbers GAME. SET 1 MATCH Early tonwig of shapes colours, nrtfcrs. corn seouences and rcfcrtfig a 'rtertxri firr** lllrWTtsn^WHEREisrn^earriamejftocatt^ H ARWOODS AMIGA 1Mb PRO-RAM PLUS ADD MORE POWER TO YOUR AMIGA 500 PLUS WITH A FULL 1Mb. MEMORY UPGRADE!!! 1Mb. 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PHILIPS CM8833/II s *SKir on The swpooulvU-inchPhiipiCM 8633 MMI « verstfftty means you not orty cornpuWrs tuiwhenconnededtoBVCR.yajQetinemeangSOOpiiraiTV pours With He 8633 Mk M . Harwoods grvo you the complete set up. to get you gong straight awey Monitor, RGB pcture end Stereo Aud« CtfMe, T*toredoueiwvr.tn(jaJui 1 2 htonrnt en Mle terra warranty. -. SG&AD.TTL. Compoefte V-deo & stereo audio -noma :* Can be used as a TV wflhVCRorTur*iAeoMaVk»eoCamerad«playmonflof ^ Retractable stand "a m Stereo Speakers ;. Headphone Jack Socke! iFPEEIeedtof your computer \FREE 1? Month on lite service warranty THE MOST VERSATILE STEREO COLOUR MONITOR AVAILABLE £234.95 10*4$ STEREO COLOUR MONITOR. Commodores Own Stereo High Resolution Colour Monitor wr I RGB akttl. Composite Video/Awd* Inputs :« Can be used as TV with VCR or tuner. > Twin Speakers tor stereo output ;< Supplied with cables for A500, CGA PC.\C 16-64- 128 £269.95 It's important to remember that most TV Monitors, are still first and foremost televisions, meaning that their average 400 pixel tube display 50% lower resolution than a monitor) cannot be guaranteed to display 80 column text clearly without nsklng eye strain If choosing a Television Monitor ensure tt has the latest 2000 character tube capability, meaning it can handle the Amigas' 80 characters, by 25 line output clearly. 7* :«*J'M,V^l\VVi f< 7^n BRAND NFW SUPERB DEFINITION PHILIPS MONITOR TV. IDEAL FOR AMIGA OR CDTV USERS GIVING FOR THE FIRST TIME TRUE MONITOR QUALITY FROM A FULL FEATURE TELETEXT TV AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE!" JUST LOOK AT THE FEATURES >D*ect Scart Connector for Amiga. CDTV, VCR OR SATELLITE RECEIVER :. RGB/AD, Composite Video & audio inputs i FULL TELETEXT FACILITIES (FOR THIS FACILITY EXTERNAL AERIAL SHOULD BE USED) I Headphone Jack Socket \ FULL TWO YEAR GUARANTEE .> 2000 CHARACTER HIGH DEFINITION FST TUBE ; f SUPPLIED WITH LOOP AERIAL /! REMOTE °^ Y ' CONTROL ft FREE lead for YOUR computer {IF YOU WOULD LIKE THE MONITOR TV IN OUR PACKS 2,3 AND £259 95 POWERPRO. AT NO EXTRA COST, TO REPLACE THE 8833,11. SIMPLY ADVISE US AT THE TIME OP ORDERING) *- fc ^^'^^ AMIGA ACCESSORIES KCS POWERBOARD IBM PC EMULATOR -Allows you to run many popular IBM PC compatible software - £21 9.95 titles on your Anrga or Amiga A500 Pks > Hercules. CGA A Monochrome Video Support. > Supports Both 3 5 Inch & 5 25 Inch Diskettes - ts into A501 RAM Slot, 8068 XT Processor. : ; CiocK Calendar Included, :rActs As 5'2K RAM Exp When In Amiga Mode. Xndudes MS-DOS 4 01 , Shea" & GW-BASlC, DOS-Hetp. & On-Board Memory ^Supports A590 Hard Drrve Mouse Driver Software Included WHEN ORDERING PLEASE SPECIFY WHETHER YOUR AMIGA IS A l 3 OR PLUS VERSION KCS POWERBOARD AS ABOVE BUT WITHOUT MSDos 4.01, GW-Basic. She! £189.95 -£99.95 POWER MONO SCANNER COMPLETE WITH POWER SCAN SOFTWARE 1 00dpi TO 400dpi Supports up to 64 grey shades . Throughport for pnnter etc Supplied with Power Scan software, allows full screen mage editing interlace mode on or off. edit true grey scale and even colour images SUPRARAM RX 500 (2Mb. to 8Mb. RAM Expansion) The RAM expansion owing massive memory WITHOUT dtsmmflng your Amiga, thus avoiding the po$stb4*y of invalidating your warranty Easily connects to sidecar with bus pass- through' tor HD's etc. 2Mb. RAM Version CI 99.95 4Mb. RAM Version C329.9S 8Mb. RAM Version CS49 95 NAKSHA MICROSWITCHED MOUSE £24.95 HIGH QUALITY OPTICAL MOUSE £32.95 COMPETITION PRO JOYSTICK 5000 Black £7.95 ZIPSTICK JOYSTICK £12-95 COMPETITION PRO STAR JOYSTICK £14.95 The ONLY joystick to ootain a 100% rating from a magazine review 1 3.5° DISK HEAD CLEANER £2.99 BLANK DISKS with labels 10 Genuine SONY 3 5' branded Only £9.95 50 Genuine SONY 3 5" branded Only £39.95 10 Unbranded with library case 3.5' certified 200 Unbranded 35' certified Only £7.95 Only £84.95 MIRACLE PIANO TEACHING SYSTEM - Music Keyboard to connect to your Amiga £299.95 I Miracle is the first Piano to teach you how to play it. Whether you want help finding Middle C, or [ want to learn how to play Mozart, Miracles stunning Amiga Software and Midi Keyboard turns i learning into FUN. Study Classical, Rock and even Jazz. I n 128 Built in Sounds 1 Full sized Touch Sensitive keyboard keys 3 Stereo Sound [ "I Get even more from your Amiga 1 Miracle even gives you a recording studio [ g Versions for other computers available too, please ask for details [ POSSO STORAGE BOXES £19.95 y . NY MAN y MORE A 00 ^ 5 ?^^ iapMttTO3.5-M.ttvM NUMEROUS™ LIST ARE A ARW000S . BANX STORAGE BOXES £1 1.95 AVAILABLE F«?*^~ uS and asK 80 p*ce tocfcaWe 35* dish storage boxes BeJore you choose from whom to ^hase please phone us Wearealwaye riappy to discuss voir requirements, and answer any queries you may have "* PhDneotfOstorMaSnewtn your Access, V«e. Mastercard NASCR and othe* store' cards are Lombard uncharge and are accepted try . m^-yt Mate cheque* bankers buMng sooety dials or potlft? wdwc 1XI 1 P*V*tt> t> GORDON HWftVOOO COMPUTERS. ifcsofaltwsne» c**-|u« Ufce send Name. 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OR Addib^pOTrru^efrntorrMworfc^o^yOoevary UK tovtod mast reams Most emaraeveestfeatTAXFTCEPRkCeSiorwU* reariontt when m«ng «ioort snpmort Pfcase contact us to orders rtorrrul^i I RET AFTER* You w* be o/ven uui Extfcisw Technical Support Prtor* N»imbi.i 10 , o in -jiouV) yuu require any help or advice on any aspect of the system you have purchased ■ems ptowio tauky w*fcr> 30 days ol purcfae* are replaced wrfh r*W UNi IS um«$ olherwse sUktO ForVMirimtauuaranleepenod wananty &erwce s* t* complete* FREE OF CHARGE Ar* compute* rw** o* prm** >eo>»ig warranty aervxo tan be ootecled horn your nonw FREE OF CHARGE dumg t» euararaee pertf (UK Ua«<jntf wM and a FAST lumaround -s GUARANTEED by our OHH ENGINEERS' Aiunvuimare leeied pnor io despatch and at earns are uppked *rfh mans plug and teads » reojund - ju« omeclupanduiestraighiawey All listed prices are what YOU PAY, and then are NO HIDDEN EXTRAS VA T and postage are included, and prices are correct at time of going to press (Pack details may vary from time to time). Offers are subject to availability and to being the latest advertised packs and prices Our offers anN OT supplied on a trial basis. EtOE. ueortd to »u4 your neadt Written date* on request Gordon Haraood Computers ofler f*c***s to purchase using our budget account Khenw APR 36 8\ (Vana6te». Available lo most aduNt of eighteen years or over subject to status SMipfy phone or mile and we will send you written details along with an appli c ation form Applications, required in advance, available to lull lime U K mainland residents and overseas British forces personnel. Showroom visitors please ask lor details ol our m- store Instant Account' Written quotations on request ll you are already the holder of a Lombard Credit Charge Card you M can use this to purchase from us (subject to your personal card limit) Please pay us a visit where our full range of advertised products, at the SAME COMPETITIVE PRICES. & MORE, is on sale. ALL UNDER ONE ROOF . in pleasant surroundings at our purpose built showroom (Set note bekm map). There's plenty of FREE parking close by 9.00 until $.00 Monday to Saturday 9.00 until 1.00 Wednesday, Closed on Sundays GORDON MAC V — I^s, P*one ams JARGON BUSTING Basic - Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code is a high-level programming language, much favoured by micro-computer users. It combines a fair amount of power with ease-of-use. C - A compiled language designed primarily for systems programming. It was used to write much of the Amiga's operating system, and is used in the writing of many Amiga applications. Format - A process of preparing a floppy disk so that it can be used by the Amiga. With Workbench 2, floppies can be formatted with the Fast Filing System to make them operate quicker, but with more likelihood of errors. Partition - Part of a hard drive separated off from the rest. As far as Workbench, AmigaDOS and the rest of the world is concerned, a partition is a disk in its own right. Problems do come to the fore when you try to copy data between two partitions on the same drive. Prlntf - A standard function supplied with C which enables programmers to send output to the screen. Trancendental function - A mathematical function associated with logarithms. Each transcendental function has its opposite, such that if the log of a number Is taken, and the anti-log taken of the result, the final number will be the same as the initial one. (ontinued from poqe 54 mathffp.h file I can only assume that the mathtrans SPPow() Is being used as the disk with the libraries on Is called for when the program Is first run. According to the documentation supplied the mathtrans library Is opened when one of Its functions Is used and so manual opening Is * unnecessary. I have done this to use the SPPow() function directly but there Is no difference In the solution. Is my problem unique or Is the mathtrans SPExp() library function really that bad? David McKone Chester-Le-Street County Durham The ffp (fast floating point) libraries are based on a Motorola format which uses 24 bits for the mantissa. Ignoring the accuracy of the algorithms used to compute the FINDING THE BOOK Amiga Shopper recently mentioned a book called HISott Basic but I've not been able to find It In any bookshop. Can you please tell me where I can get a copy from? HS Sherglll Uttleover Derby I think the simplest thing to do is write directly to HiSoft. Its address is HiSoft, The Old School, Greenfield, Bedford MK45 5DE. The book, incidentally, costs £14.95. PAO . various transcendental functions, the representation error will be 1 in 24 bits, ie about one part in 'two times ten to the power seven'! You would therefore expect errors from around the eighth significant figure onwards. This is much better than you have found and your problem lies not with the accuracy of the ffp routines but with your use of the NorthC printf() function. If, for example, you try to print the value of e/100 using the following program: ttinclude <atdio.h> #include (math.h> main() { double x; x-1; printf("%f \n",exp(x)/100.0); > you will get a result with six decimal places, 0.027183, where only the first five are correct. If however you try to calculate a value that is one hundred times greater than e, using this modified program: #include <stdio.h> #include (math.h> malnO < double x; x-1; printf("%f \n",100*exp(x))/ > you will get a result of 271.828188 which, as you'll doubtless know, gives a value of 100 times e correct to eight significant figures. These results suggest that, like most other printf() implementations, the NorthC version defaults to floating point number display containing six decimal places with the last figure rounded. The NorthC documentation suggests that floating point formatting has not been implemented but a few experiments along the lines of the above pieces of code showed quite clearly that it is. If, for instance you modify my first example so that it uses a ten digit floating point format string, ie use "%10.10f \n" rather than "%f \n", you'll find that instead of 0.027183 you'll get a result of 0.0271828184 which is 'significantly' better (sorry, couldn't resist that one) than the results of the first program would lead you to believe. The bottom line then is that when using printfO to display these ffp values you just need to modify your format strings so that the appropriate number of digits are printed. PAO FRAME RATE FIX To help me work out I the number of pre- and post-roll frames of my video gear I made up an animation using DPalnt4 on my Amiga 500. I produced a sequence of -100 to to +100 pages, twice, and Interspersed It with 200 blank frames. Transferring this anlm at 25 frames per second resulted In every 5th frame doubling up. Only by running at 30 FPS could I achieve a 25 FPS video run correctly. I wonder whether my A500 Is running slow or are all A500s the same due to some bug In the NTSC to PAL system. Secondly, when I attempt to transfer a sound sample captured on my Mastersound sampler to DVIdeo3 or Disney Animation Studio I get a "Not an SMUS file" error. If all programs are IFF, what's going on? Fred Wells Leeds W Yorks I'm fairly sure that this is no bug. What you're seeing is either the product of your Amiga just not being able to push data through fast enough, or (and this is my favourite theory) that the maximum 30 FPS in DPaint4 is a hangover from the NTSC version. As you know. NTSC frame rate is 30 FPS, and the software is American. Port it over to PAL. and 30 FPS probably equates to 25 FPS in reality - as you have discovered. You should also be aware that the larger screen formats, especially hi-res overscan in 16 colours, will run increasingly more slowly as they are more memory intensive. For your information, SMUS is an oldish IFF format developed for musical scores. It never really became widespread, but programs such as DeiuxeMusic and Music-X can save, though not load, in this format. DeluxeVideo can play back SMUS files, which is where your problem originates. However, the sound samples which Mastersound saves, though still in an IFF format (either *SVX or RAW. I think) are not in SMUS format. IFF (Interchange File Format) is more a philosophy than a format, as graphics are also saved in IFF ILBM format, but you can't load these into most music software, for instance. My reading of your trouble is that you are trying to load a sound sample (as produced by Mastersound) as a Tune Track in DVideo, which only accepts SMUS files - hence the error message. What you should be doing is Playing the sample as part of a Scene. I suggest you try opening a scene, adding a new track, then defining it as sound, loading one of your samples and then playing back the scene. All should now be well. GW HARD UPGRADE My QVP hard drive came supplied with a single partition configured for use with Workbench 1.3. I have since replaced the machine with an A500 Plus and would like to re-configure the drive with two partitions and Workbench 2. 1 do not have anything Important stored on the drive, but since the thing cost over £400 I do not want to blunder about on my own. JL Jones Birkinhead Merseyside The first stage of the process is to reformat the drive using the Faastprep utility supplied by GVP. This will allow you to set up the number and size of partitions: two equal-sized ones are a good start. The formatting procedure is quite painless and you should have no problems following GVP's excellent manual. You can manually copy all the Workbench 2 disks from the Shell using the following command on each: copy from dfO: to dhO: all If all else fails ask your local specialist dealer. NASCR (National Association of Specialist Computer Retailers) members in particular, are specialists in this sort of area and should be able to get you going for a minimal fee. MS 62 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 mm. HARD DISK HARD TIME HI have recently been given a Rodime 40Mb hard disk Oust the drive and no other circuits) and I would like to know If It would bo possible to connect this to my A boo. If so, could you give mo details of how this could be dor.o? Would I require a HD controller or would I be able to make an Interface for the hard disk myself? A Gosling Wythenshawe Manchester Without hnowing more details on the Rodime drive (Rodime went out of business last year, so the company won't be able to help you) it's difficult to say what type of drive it is or how to connect it. If it's a SCSI drive you can link it up to almost any Amiga SCSI controller (such as the Amiga A590 hard drive). If it's any other type, you're probably better off losing it somewhere. JR CASE FOR CONVERSION? HI have a 2Mb ASOO Plus and I am thinking about upgrading the machine with a GVP hard drive for the Amiga 2000 using a Checkmate expansion case as the price seems to Just about balance out against the A500 GVP drive. Do you think that this Is wise? Is the Checkmate 1500 system compatible with most A2000 cards? Can I mount the new A690 CD-ROM drive Inside the 1500 case? Does the A690 have a SCSI interface? I believe that I can also use A500 cards Inside the 1500. Is this correct? Martin Remlng Paisley Scotland I'm afraid, Martin, that your calculations may be a little incorrect. The Checkmate Digital 1500 is still being sold for around £200 and the A2000 GVP hard drive controller with 52Mb drive is £300. However, the price of the A500 GVP drive {which can be connected directly to the A500 without any extra hardware) is just £380. Add the price of the GVP A2000 drive to the Checkmate drive and you'll actually end up spending £120 more for a system that is no more capable than the standard A500 GVP system. Even if the prices did balance out, I think you'd be unwise to go for the Checkmate 1500. Having owned one myself for a couple of years now. I have never been particularly impressed. The overall quality of construction is rather low to say the least, with many of the parts failing to connect altogether. If you really do want a replacement casing, then why not check out Checkmate's HiQ Tower system, a much better (and better built) replacement casing for the A500 based around a PC compatible tower system casing. Failing that, sell your A500 and buy an A1500 instead (you should be able to pick them up for about £500 these days). The bog standard Checkmate 1500 system isn't compatible with any A2000 cards - this is an optional extra which adds to the price of the whole system. As it stands, the 1500 can handle a single A2000 card which can be either a standard Zorro II card or a video card (a genlock, for example). If you want to add extra A2000 cards, then you're stuck. Checkmate had planned to produce an 'OverRider* box which allowed a few more A2000 cards to be used, but this never actually arrived (it became vapourware. as the techies say). Although the 1500 can handle the A590 hard drive, it cannot handle the A690 CD-ROM drive simply because you need to be able to remove the CD-ROM caddie' every time you wish to load a new piece of CD-ROM software. Because of its age. the 1500 has not been designed to handle any device that uses removable media other than the standard Amiga floppy drives. I'm sure Checkmate will build this facility into the HiQ tower, however. JH FATHER AND SON Son writes: I have acquired a Mlcrovrtec Cub monitor and Mlcrollne 80 printer. Which cables would I need to connect to my Amiga 500 Plus and are they available? Colin Swift, age 11 and... Father writes: In Amiga Shopper dated December 1991 you state that the Mlcrovltec Cub can be used with the Amiga 500 Plus. My son's queries regarding the use of the monitor and printer stem from the fact that I am unable to obtain any Information regarding their compatibility. Can you help? L Swift (no age given) Nottingham As long as the Cub you have has a TTL input (6-pln DIN : l=Red. 2=Green, 3=Blue, 4=Composite sync. 5=Ground and 6=Not connected) connection you'll be OK. Then you'll need to get hold of a copy of Amiga Shopper 3 (page 113) where electro-doctor; Smiddy takes you step by step through fixing your TALLY MAN BLUES P^^IB My Mannesman Tally MT81 printer keeps double spacing. I L ^J^ "**• M *d a " tne drivers on the Extras disk, with various m ^^^j setting of the dip switches - IBM/Epson emulation. _^^*H linefeeds on/off for example - all to no avail. I rang Mannesman Tally but the person I spoke to wasn't very Interested. The girl said the printer has to be In IBM mode. Help. Nell Croft Herringthorpe SYorfcs With dip switch SW1-1 switched on (that's block 1, switch 1) the MT81 emulates an Epson FX-85. and so it should work with either the EpsonXOid or EpsonX[CBMJv1PS-1250] drivers. The double linefeed is being caused by the Amiga sending a linefeed and the MT81 providing its own linefeed, so SW1-2 should be off to prevent this. After changing dip switches you must switch the printer off and on again for the changes to be recognised. JW Amiga to a TTL-equipped Cub. This involves a small amount of internal tinkering to make the Cub work with the Amiga's 4096 colours, rather than TTL's eight, but this should be easy enough for most folks. If you don't fancy making the lead yourself you should contact Meedmore Ltd • 051 521 2202, which supplies both kits and the ready-made article, along with additional notes - in case you cant contact the Amiga Shopper's back issues department ■ 0458 74011. Before you can decide what connector you need for the Microline 80, an oldish 9-pin printer made by Oki. you'll have to establish whether it is configured as a parallel or serial printer, since it was originally available in both formats. Next you'll need to select a printer driver to control it. but I'm not sure that there is a specific driver available for the 80. As I was told, this printer doesn't have any facilities for emulating Epson or IBM printers, as most modem printers do, so it isn't possible to use a standard EpsonX-type driver. However, there should be a printer driver called 0kidata_92 in Devs/Printers on your Workbench Extras disk which you need to copy into the Devs/Printers drawer of your boot disk. After you've done this open Preferences/Printers and select 0kidata_92 from the Printer Drivers list and Parallel (or Serial) for the Printer Port setting. If the printer is using a serial port you may also need to make some adjustments to the Preferences/Serial settings. You should find the required settings in the manual (if you have one). If not. a call to Oki technical support « 07535 31292 may be necessary. You will probably have to make other adjustments to get everything exactly right but you should now at least be able to get started. GW EXPONENTIAL DECAY Having written a simple ARexx script to generate a data file with x and y co- ordinates I need to calculate fractional exponents. All ARexx returns Is Error: 48 (severity 10). This basically Is telling me that I cannot perform an exponential to a fractional Index. Is there any way around this? I know that in the mathsieeedoubtrans. library there Is a function called IEEEDPEXP, but I do not know how to access external libraries from ARexx. Can you help? Andrew Porter Rotherham, South Yorkshire You'll find all the technical details of external library ARexx interfacing in the ARexx User's Reference Manual. This can be obtained from the Amiga Centre Scotland (tr 031 5574242) but there is incidentally a RexxMathLib library on Fish disk 227 which has been designed to make various high-level math functions such as sin, tangent, log. exp etc, easily available from ARexx. PAO FAST FORMAT a) I am considering | ' getting an expansion based RAM pack such as the Supra 500RX, but I am worried about compatibility problems. Can this sort of RAM be switched off? b) How long will It be before Plus owners can buy programs confident they will work? c) Are there any PD DTP programs for the A500 Plus? I'm having a lot of trouble finding PD that works on the Plus and I'd be grateful If you could mention this. d) How can I format my disks using the Fast Filing system? Stephen Richards Bamsley S Yorks AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST • 1992 63 a) This is a case of horses for courses. Some external expansions such as the 500RX have disable switches, others don't. Generally speaking such things are an unnecessary gimmick because all software should support expanded RAM and the vast majority does. b) How long is a piece of string? Every enhancement brings with it change and incompatibility. Time and time again, Commodore insists that developers follow strict rules to maintain upward compatibility; time and time again, programmers ignore the rules and problems arise. This should never happen; it does though. One exception affects the CDTV since the 1.3 Kickstart (which used to be considered sacrosanct insofar as the CDTV was concerned) is gradually being replaced by 2.x. c) There is one called Tex, but this is very difficult to use. A much better system (Gold Disk's PageSetter) was given away with issue 34 of our sister magazine. Amiga Format Don't leave it too long though - back issues are in short supply. You may like to know, our PD columnist, Ian Wrigley also uses an A500 Plus so anything which runs on his machine should be work fine on yours. d) You can do this from Shell using the following command to format a disk in the internal drive: format drive df : name J empty fffl Even so, fast filing system is not recommended for use on floppy disks because of its inherently lower redundancy. MS DTP STILL IN BITS I wrote to you recently concerning B^ missing lines of graphics during output to my Star LC24-200 using PageStream 2.1. Your reply suggested a memory Insufficiency, and to confirm this by printing at a lower density. JARGON BUSTING • JARGON BUSTING Bit - A binary digit, with a possible value of zero or one. Byte - A collection of eight bits. A byte is the smallest unit of memory that a computer's processor can access. Kickstart - The most basic and central part of the Amiga's operating system. These days it is held in ROM. so that it is immediately present when the machine is switched on. AlOOOs have Kickstart on a floppy disk meaning that on power up this disk must be inserted before the Workbench disk. ROM - Read Only Memory is used to store essential programs, such as Kickstart and many of the library routines. These do not have to be re- loaded each time the Amiga is switched on because ROM retains its contents without power. No new information can be written to ROM, hence the name Read Only. Startup-sequence - A program which is executed every time the Amiga is switched on and after every reset. It sets up the system so that it is usable from Workbench, and may be customised by those who have unusual hard or software requirements. This I did, and the output was OK. So I put It down to the above. However I do require the higher density output so I bought a QVP HD8 hard drive plus 4Mb of memory. This has not solved my problem - only one page has been created and it Is not that large <A4), with little print on It. I have printed out on maximum density to a Citizen 9-pln with no problems, so I surmise a printer RAM buffer problem. However I don't have problems with Deluxe Paint III or other applications. Could I have an on-board RAM problem? Peter Clark Wlgan Lanes 1 don't understand what you mean by "only one page has been created", but let's take this opportunity to learn a bit more about how DTP programs print pages to monochrome dot-matrix printers. Keeping it as simple as possible, what they do is print a graphics dump of an enormous bitmap, which has to be created in memory first, DO, DO RUN ROM |||V ^n lf nave f,tted my Aml 6 a with a R0M 5witcher to enable me to ^B ^J use both 1.3 and 2.x Kickstarts. However, although the ^^ ^H machine works fine under 1.3, It refuses to autoboot my yF !■ Vortex hard disk when I switch to Kickstart 2. Could this be a problem with the personality module which was released before Kickstart 2? A Mackeriil Swansea South Wales The Vortex system is getting a bit old now. but It should (theoretically) automount and autoboot under Kickstart 2 if It works OK with Kickstart 1.3. 1 have only come across this once before with an ancient A590 which showed a similar malady on the A500 Plus. You could try contacting Vortex Systemas. GmbH, at Falterstrasse 51-53. D7101. Rein Germany, to see if rt has a more recent version of the ROMs. MS either all in one go or in smaller strips if memory is tight. If you are printing an A4 page at 360 by 360 dots per inch, the full bitmap will be (8.27in * 360) dots wide by (11.69in * 360) dots high, which is 2,977 dots by 4,208 dots. Now, if each dot on the page requires one bit of memory, this means we need 2,977 by 4,208 bits of memory to hold the complete page in memory - which works out at 12,527,216 bits; and as there are eight bits to a byte, this calculates to 1,565,902 bytes; and as there are 1,024 bytes to one kilobyte this works out to be 1.529K (about 1.5Mb). If we were printing at 'half that resolution, 180 by 180 dots per inch, that same page requires 1489 * 2104 dots = 3,132,856 bits = 391,607 bytes = 382k. Your 9-pin Citizen, which has a top resolution of 240 by 216 dots per inch, requires 1984 * 2525 dots = 5.009.600 bits = 626,200 bytes = 612K. Now I'm not saying that the above description is exactly how PageStream prints its pages - only the developers will know that - but it serves as an example of how doubling the output resolution requires four times the memory, not twice the memory. It doesn't matter what's on the page, by the way, a completely blank A4 page requires the same amount of memory as one covered in text and graphics. The blank page is just a bitmap composed of lots of 'white* dots. 5Mb of memory should be plenty for PageStream to render a full A4 page at 360 by 360 dots per inch, unless there is something else using up that memory. Compugraphic fonts eat memory, the larger the font the more memory required, and because of the way PageStream works, bitmap (IFF ILBM) pictures take up a lot of memory as well. If your document has many pages with text and graphics on, all these pages are taking up memory even though you can't currently see them. I'd guess that you'd start having output problems if your document had four pages filled with Compugraphic fonts, and a couple of coloured bitmaps on each page. The other problem is that the memory required for printing almost certainly needs to be all in one contiguous lump. As you work, importing things and moving around your document laying things out, the Amiga will allocate blocks of memory here and there as required, and when it comes to printing the page perhaps memory has become so fragmented that there isn't a large enough contiguous chunk left to render the page properly. The answer might be to save your document, reset the Amiga to de-fragment memory, and load and print your document. This tip certainly works with Professional Page when the 'bits missing' output problem happens. You could also try splitting your document, saving it as separate pages, then loading and printing each page one at a time. In my experience - and believe me I'm not just saying this because you have 5Mb of memory - in my experience I've found that almost all the DTP problems disappear once you get to 7Mb. This really is one problem that can be solved by throwing money at it. JW SOUNDING OFF I recently bought the ISBS1 Omega Projects Sound Enhancer which is supposed to work at its best when the Internal audio filter Inside the Amiga Is turned off. How do I do this? Programs like OctaMED allow you to turn It off from within the program but Sequencer One Plus does not seem to have such a facility. Because of this limitation have have been forced to run both OctaMED and Sequencer One concurrently just so that I can use Sequencer One with the Sound Enhancer. Is there a better way of getting around this problem? John Griffiths Hodderdon Herts The Amiga's audio filter is actually controlled through one of the peripheral control bytes in the Amiga CIAs which are located at HEX BFE001 (Decimal 12574721). If you have a copy of AmigaBasic then you can write a small program which could be placed in the startup- 64 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 sequence of your hard drive to automatically turn off the audio filter during boot up. Here's the code that will do the job: A - PEEKBU2574721) XOR 2 POKEB 12574721, A If you have access to an assembler, then the code is even simpler. All you neod lo o single line: BORZ.B #2,$BrE001. This register actually toggles the audio filter on and off so all you need to do to turn the audio filter back on again is to run the code above a second time. JH B J-130 D RIVER I^^^B I have recently bought L J^ a Canon BJ-130 Wt^^^jj^ printer and I am * having all sorts of problems with printer drivers. The BJ-130 driver In PageStream 2.1 produces garbage, however the Epson 9-pln works perfectly. Also, the Workbench EpsonX|CBM MPS- 1250| driver works fine with Notepad and Graphlcdump. But nothing that conies with Pen Pal or PageStream II works, nor any other program I have tried. I would appreciate It If you could tell me where to get a suitable driver. Peter Okleford Mt Albert New Zealand You're right, the BJ-130 driver supplied with PageStream does not work with the BJ-130. 1 told Soft- Logik about this almost two years ago. Plainly the company didn't believe me. What you need is the proper Workbench CanonBJ130 driver, which is on Jamdisk 2 and will cost you £5 air mail from: JAM, 75 Greatfields Drive, Uxbridge, UB8 3QN, United Kingdom. To use it with PageStream you should select PageStream's 'Preferences' driver. JW PROTEXT LC-200 DRIVER I've created a really good printer driver for the Star LC-200 printer for use with Protext which makes use of all possible fonts, colours, sizes and pitches. Am I allowed to distribute rt, or will Amor get annoyed? Adam 5 Pearson Gateshead Tyne & Wear If your Protext Star LC-200 driver is bug-free and as good as you say it is, I should think that Arnor would probably be interested in including it on the Protext Printer Drivers distribution disk. If you play your cards right you might even be able to wangle a free copy of Prodata In return. In the meantime, if anyone wants Adam's Star LC-200 driver - and remember, it's not a Workbench printer driver, it's only for use with Protext 5.0 and later - then send a blank formatted disk and stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Adam S Pearson, 19 Camborne Grove. Gateshead. Tyne & Wear NE8 4EX. (And Adam, speak to Amor about your clock problem while you're at it. Ask for a free upgrade to the latest version, only don't tell them I told you to). JW MACHINE CHOICE JJSB I am writing for some r advice on buying an t^J^ Amiga. When the A500 first came out I bought one and was very pleased with It. I had It for quite some time before having to reluctantly sell It. Having lost touch with the Amiga scene I am not entirely familiar with the Amiga 1500, 2000 or 3000 ranges or their capabilities and I would be very grateful If you could tell me a Httle about all the machines currently available Including the A 500. A500 Plus and the new A600. I have a wide range of computing Interests (not Just games!) so I'd be very grateful If you could advise me on which model I should buy. M Milne Tankerness Orkney Which machine you buy depends entirely upon how much you wish to spend and what you want to do with your Amiga. Unless you are intending to use the Amiga for professional 24- bit graphics, then you don't really need one of the new high-end A3000 machines. If you intend to expand your machine quite substantially then an A1500 is for you. But if your needs are fairly minimal then go for an A500 Plus. Anyway, here's a quick rundown of the Amiga range as it currently stands. I've tried to highlight which machines are good for which applications. • A500 Plus - The replacement machine for the classic A500, the A500 Plus boasts 1 Mb RAM as standard and comes complete with Workbench 2 and the new Enhanced Chip Set which gives more screen modes, more chip RAM and a more capable blitter. The A500 Plus is ideal for games, small business use and amateur video, DTP, music and graphics work. A good all-rounder for home users. L UNSUCCESSFUL SID I have just upgraded my revision 6.2 B2000 to Workbench 2. I have also Installed the new Denlse chip. I seem to be having a problem. Every now and again my monitor screen goes one colour with lines In another colour going up from the bottom of the screen to the top. When this happens my computer crashes. This problem happens at random and 95% of the time while I'm running SID 1.06. Is this a problem with SID or Is It possible that one of my new upgrade chips Is damaged? Robert Hart Roehampton London Not being a great fan of SID (until version 2 anyway), I haven't seen this problem before, tt sounds like a software crash (the vertical lines are sprites gone mad), but this could be caused by a hardware problem - I'd need much more Information to diagnose this problem. JR • A600 - The new A600 machine boasts a similar spec to the A500 Plus but is rather limited in its expansion capabilities. It can only be expanded to 4Mb RAM and cannot uso A500 hard drives and RAM expansions that connect to the machine through the bus connector. It features an all-new ROM Card facility which enables software to be used which is stored on credit card sized ROM cards. Currently though, virtually no ROM card software actually exists. The A600 is good for absolutely nothing. Take my advice - don't even think about buying an A600, at least for the moment! • A1500/B2000 - Both are virtually the same machine apart from an extra floppy drive which is fitted to the A1500 (which just happens to be the cheaper machine). Comes with 1Mb RAM (expandable to 9Mb), Workbench 2 and the new Enhanced Chip Set. Both machines are very expandable and feature separate keyboards. An excellent choice for both home and professional use. • A3000 - Available in a number of different specifications, the A3000 is the flagship of the Amiga range. Based around the high speed 32-bit 68030 processor, the A3000 is available in both 16 and 25 MHz versions with either 50 or 100Mb hard drives as standard. Comes as standard with 2Mb Chip RAM expandable to 16Mb on board. Because of its price however, the A3000 is strictly for professional use only. JH C REQUESTER Using Intuition from C, I want to display a requester using four string gadgets, all of which the user will usually complete. I'm OK so far but would like to save the user swapping between mouse and keyboard so that when the requester appears the cursor Is already In the first gadget.. When the user presses [Return] I would like the cursor to move to the next gadget and so on. Pagesetter II does this - how is It achieved? J Flynn Yate Avon There is an Intuition library function that has been specially designed for this type of string gadget situation. It's called ActivateGadgetO and the usage details are as follows: ActivateGadget (gadget_p, J window_p, requester^?) gadget_p is a pointer J to the gadget. window_p is a pointer J to the window containing J the gadget. re<2ueBter_p. . . ia a pointer J to the requester structure. The window and the requester must be active before the routine can be used with success. PAO MORE POWER Ha) Since buying my Power Computing 1.5Mb expansion and converting to 1Mb Chip memory, RAD: has stopped working! When I do a warm boot everything gets lost - what can I do? b) My machine has started crashing occasionally. Nothing too spectacular - the screen Just goes grey. Is this due to a lack of power? If it Is due to a lack of power, should I rig a separate PSU to my PC880A external drive? c) My floppies have a habit of taking an extra five minute to boot load - producing a strange grinding noise from the drive. I can sometimes get round this by booting Workbench with the dodgy disk In DF1:. Why Is this? Jeremy Sharp Newbury Berkshire AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 65 SCART AND SWEET Please could you tell me if I connect my Amiga to a video with a SCART socket will it make any difference to the picture? Andrew Barham Dagenham Essex Yes, if the SCART accepts analog red, green and blue signals, as most do. But do you mean video (ie VCR)? Or do you mean monitor? If you connect to a SCART VCR make sure that it Is correctly connected to a SCART TV with a suitable SCART cable, not an RF (aerial) cable. The picture will probably get worse otherwise! QW a) RAD in the 1.3 Kickstart was not designed to function with 1Mb Chip RAM which is why the device gets confused and loses data. You can fix this bug by appending -R to the SETPATCH command in the startup- sequence, like this: setpatch >nil: -r b) This could be a virus, but it's more likely to be "one of those things". Computers crash like this from time to time - it's just life. It is very difficult to give a precise diagnosis unless this happens with certain pieces of software. c) That grinding noise is a task conflict. Two tasks are trying to access the disk at the same time and the disk head is constantly thrashing between two separate points on the disk. This is usually caused by poorly written startup- sequences but in your case I suspect the culprit is something called the "disk validator". It goes something like this: every time you insert a disk the validator ensures the structure is secure; this process normally takes a second or so. If a file has only be partially written the validator has to update certain structures on the disk - since this is being done while AmigaDOS attempts to run the startup- sequence, the disk head ends up flailing all over the disk. That's what all the thrashing noise is. Curiously, you can make this worse by write- protecting the disk! The solution is simple. Boot a Workbench and place all the suspect disks in your external drive and wait for the drive light to go out. Watch carefully, it goes out for about a second and comes back on again for an instant - that's the validator. This happens every time you write something to the disk and you must let it complete before re-booting the machine. If you remove a disk before it validates you will get a message like "You must replace volume XYZ: in DFO:" MS CONFLICT OF CLOCKS HA few months ago I upgraded from a standard A5O0 to an A500 Plus. To ensure 100% software compatibility I fitted a Phoenix ROM Sharer and 1.3 JARGON BUSTING • JARGON BUSTING Binary - A special number format, consisting of only two numerals - and 1. It is used by computers to store all information. Database - An applications program that enables information to be stored and retrieved in a structured manner. Information can be categorised according to a user's preference, and searched for according to user- specified criteria. Directory - An organisational method of storing files on a disk in a heirarchy. A directory is a sub-section of a disk which may contain files and/or further directories. In this way. simitar files can be grouped together. Flicker fixer - A card that removes the flicker from the Amiga's interlace mode and the visible scan lines in the non-interlace mode. Interlace mode is the Amiga's way of doubling the vertical screen resolution, but normally by effectively halving the screen update rate and creating flicker. Font - The group of letters, numbers and special characters that comprise on variation of typeface, eg: 12pt Times. 12pt Times Bold. 12pt Times Italic. Sometimes (mistakenly) used in desktop publishing to refer to a type family. Task - A program running in memory. Under multi-tasking, each task appears to have its own 68000 processor, without having to worry much about other tasks interrupting it. Kickstart chip. Since then I bought a standard 0.5Mb memory expansion, but as the A500 Plus already has an internal clock I just ordered the version without a clock. However, when fitted, whether switched on or not, the 0.5Mb expansion disables the clock (ie messages of "Battery backed-up clock not found" displayed) I cannot imagine that the ROM sharer is to blame as this problem occurs In either 1.3 or 2.x mode. Also, according to many sources the 0.5Mb expansions are supposed to work perfectly well on the A500 Plus, and I have yet to see any advertisement indicating otherwise. What's going on? If the ROM sharer is to blame what Is the remedy? This Is not an isolated Incident. Two of my friends carried out exactly the same procedure with the same results. I Cameron Sacrlston Durham With an A501 type card fitted, the internal clock is disabled and the clock on the card replaces the one on the motherboard. Commodore only recommends A501-type cards (with clocks) for use with the A500 Plus. While it should be possible to prevent such a card disabling the clock, I'm not sure how this is done. JR ANIMATIO N STATION Y~T ~*yk Can you please tell /i me what software I would need (If it Is possible) to run my 'saved' game animations. I have Deluxe Paint 4 and use a separate disk to store my animations, is It possible to run my animations from this separate disk without having to load DPalnt 4 first? Is it possible to make an Icon so that the animation can be run from Workbench or will I need a programming language like AMOS? Markus Wltcomb Telford Shropshire All you need is the Animation Player program which is on your DPaint Animations disk. This will allow you to run animations from the Workbench without having to load DPaint first. JH DATABASE DILEMMA I am trying to write a database program which will use random access files to record the different counties contacted via Amateur Radio. The file will have 373 records each of 138 characters (flag 1 byte.country- name 27 bytes, prefix 10 bytes. status 9 times 1 byte, confirmation 10 times 9 bytes) and a hashing algorithm will be used to convert country-name to a record number. I've written a test module to set up blank records, write data to them, and then read the data back and this works OK. A similar program to amend a record however Just deletes the existing data and writes the new data as the first record. I've enclosed listings of the test modules - can you please advise me on what Is wrong. GR Gauntlett Sprottbrough Doncaster Before I try and give you an answer can I make a general plea to everyone thinking of sending in program listings: don't bother. We are more than happy to help you with programming problems, to offer advice and general guidelines. We are not interested in trawling through pages and pages of listings to find your bugs. If you want to write programs, then you must also learn the necessary patience to debug your own programs. Anyway, just this once... As far as your second module is concerned I can see one thing that is obviously wrong - the file has not been opened for appending data. It has been opened for writing new data whilst discarding the previous contents. In short you've written... output=fopen(f ilename, "wb") when you should be using... output-f open ( filename , "ab" ) if you are just writing, or... output=f open ( filename/ "a+b" ) if you want to read and write. PAO PC MONITORS My question Involves the use of a PC monitor with my Amiga 1500, which I bought after I became frustrated with the lack of flexibility of my ex- work 3270 PC system. I thought, however, that I would be able to use the PC's monitor with my Amiga, but this Is where my problems started. The monitor, labelled IBM 5272 colour display, Is connected to the outside world with a 9-pin D-type connector. I looked up the pin assignments In the manual and made a lead to connect my Amiga to the monitor, linking what I thought were the correct pins. But although the monitor seems to display the correct colours the picture is continually rolling and breaking up. The monitor pins are as follows: 1 to 4 Not connected 5 Green 6 Blue/Intensity 66 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 7 Red/Video 8 Horizontal Sync 9 vortical Sync I know tho 3270 computer do«s not uso the standard CGA graphics card but contains both an APA (All Points Addressable) display adaptor and a PS (Programmed Symbols) card, which I believe are to do with its use as a mainframe terminal •muUior. Do»» this have any bearing on the type of monitor It uses? Can I use this monitor with my Amiga or will I have to purchase a new one? My eyes are going funny trying to uso my TV1 Brian Parker Hemel Hempstead Herts The 3270 PC is an old type of AT computer, and a search through documentation archives by IBM's Enquiries department (» 081 747 0747) came up with nothing of use regarding the 5272 monitor, though there were mentions of it. I suspect this lack of information is to do with the fact that the monitor in question is mid-1980's vintage. The gentleman at IBM enquiries suggested I try a couple of its dealers which had (possibly) sold these items in the past, but again I drew a puzzled blank. Perhaps if there is anyone out there who can shed some light on Mr Parker's problem they might like to contact Amiga Shopper. QW LOCK ON H Occasionally, the Caps Lock key flashes on and off and the keyboard locks. Is there something wrong with the keyboard wiring and what should I do? Aftab Khan Shepherds Bush London It's difficult to say exactly what is wrong with your machine but the indications point to a spurious hardware fault in the keyboard processor. The only recourse for this sort of thing is to get the machine serviced by a recognised repair outfit such as FMG or WTS Electronics. MS GOOD CITIZEN I recently received my free copy of Citizen Print Manager, read the Instruction leaflet and the ReadMe file, together with your more In-depth article on TurboPrint Professional In the April edition, which I found far more educational and recommend to anyone with Citizen Print Manager. As you state, the new printer drivers are a vast improvement over the Workbench ones, especially for DARK SIDE OF THE DJ Whenever I try to print IFF Images from PageStream to my DeskJet 500 they always come out too dark. Is there a simple solution to this? Would I get better quality If I converted to halftone and, If so. which Is the cheapest way to do this? (PageStream can do this but the quality Is no better.) Alan Hargreaves Stoke-on-Trent Not quite sure what you mean by "convert to halftone'. Of course PageStream does this, that's how it manages to print coloured pictures on a black-and-white printer. What I think you mean is would you get better quality if you first converted your coloured picture to 16 levels of grey? And the answer is yes, probably, but then you'd need to lighten the darker shades of grey. What you really need is The Art Department - not necessarily the Professional version, the cheaper, cut-down version will do. This package will convert to grey for you and then allow you to play with the brightness, contrast and gamma levels of the picture, as well as apply a number of dithers which will further enhance the output. If you're waiting for me to tell you how to do it for next to nothing, then you'll be waiting a long time. Good software tends to cost money. JW graphics. I use an Installed copy on a separate floppy disk, but to really appreciate the software I would like to Install It on various program disks. However I And that Citizen Print Manager takes up a lot more disk space than Citizen claims. Would It therefore be possible to pare down a working copy of Citizen Print Manager, to make It a lot smaller? If so, what gets deleted? I, for Instance, am only Interested In the Swift 24 driver. Terry Birch Castle Donlngton Derby It's easier if I say which files you need, rather than which you should delete. OK, let's start with a blank disk, which we'll call the Swift24 disk for the purposes of this example. You need PMPrefs* and 'PMPrefs.info'. You only need 'NoPM' and 'NoPM.info' if you have the need to remove Print Manager from memory. So copy both these files to the root directory of the Swift24 disk. You need the whole CONFIGS directory (there's only one small file in there), so copy that CONFIGS directory from the Print Manager disk into the root directory of the Swift24 disk. Next create two directories in the root directory of the Swift24 disk, called PM and PRINTERS. Into the PM directory copy the files called tde'. "ttO' and 'ttl' from the PM directory on the Print Manager disk - that's Tee Dee Eee, Tee Tee Zero and Tee Tee One, just in case of confusion. The other 'tt' files are for when you select another language from the Print Manager front panel. Into the PRINTERS directory on tho Swift24 disk copy the •Swift24.m' file from the PRINTERS directory on the Print Manager disk. And that's it. Comes to about 120,000 bytes all told. Now copy the entire contents of the Swlft24 disk on to any of the program disks you want Citizen Print Manager to be on. If you haven't got 120,000 free bytes on a program disk. Citizen Print Manager won't fit unless you 'crunch' the PMPrefs program with something like PowerPacker Professional, which will probably give you another 40,000 bytes or so of room. JW KICK IT INI Whilst using Demollshers Utilities which I obtained from United PD (Disk PU040) I came across a utility which claims to be able to load a Klckstart from disk Into RAM. Once loaded, the system then treats this as ROM and reboots the machine under this new Klckstart version. Where can I get my hands on copies of Klckstart disks 1.3 and 2.04 and how much would they cost? Morvyn Myies Perth I presume the PD program that you are referring to is either ZKick or Ktcklt; two utilities which were written to enable developers to install pre- release Kickstarts (held on disk as binary files) to be loaded into RAM and then used as if they were 'real' Kickstart chips. Unfortunately, although the programs themselves are PD. the Kickstart files that they feed upon are strictly copyright of Commodore UK. Unless you are a registered developer, it is very unlikely indeed that you will be able to obtain Kickstart 2.04 as a binary file (1.3 is not available in this format). If you do manage to get a copy of a Kickstart file, then trash it immediately unless you want a letter from Commodore's solicitors to drop on your door mat. If you really need to be able to switch between Kickstart versions, then a Kickstart ROM sharer board is probably your best bet. These boards enable you to switch between two different Kickstart chips. The one I use (and recommend) is the Change Kickstart board from Cortex. It costs £30 and is available from Cortex w 051 236 0480. JH FOUNTAIN OF TROUBLE I have attempted to use Fountain as // supplied with // ■ workbench 2.04. 1 have followed the Instructions given In the manual to add the ASSIGN statement to the User-startup file but when I double click on Fountain I get the message "cannot open dlskfont. library V37 ". Can you help me get Fountain running? I did try FIXING THE FLICKER I own an Amiga 1500, recently upgraded to WB 2.04, Including the Super Denlse. My problem Is that when I try and select 'productivity mode' the picture completely crashes, (going white and flashing) forcing me to soft boot. But If I use any of the other screen resolutions it's perfect (and flicker free). Is this because I am trying to put the signal through the equivalent of two flicker fixers (ie Super Denise and the ICD flicker fixer), or because I had to make the connecting cable from the ICD board to the monitor myseff? Nigel Bates Nuneaton Warwickshire It could be your lead causing this problem, as I'm not aware of any compatability problem with the ICD Flicker Free Video and the Super Denise chip. I wouldn't get too worried about it: productivity mode ts about as useful as a chocolate teapot if you've already got a flicker fixer. JR AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 AUGUST • 1992 67 writing to Commodore - but have received no reply as yet. JDavtM Forest HIM London Ono possible answer ic to re-assign the LIBS: assignment io the fonts disU which contains the new version of diskfont.library. A typical example might read; assign libs: J f one s2 . 04 : libs : defer My personal preference is to throw away diskfont.library V36 (on the Workbench disk) and replace it with V37 from the fonts disk. You can do this as follows; a) Use Workbench's Show... All files on the Workbench and Fonts disks. This will reveal the two "Libs" drawers. b) Open the "Libs" drawer on the ■Fonte" dick and locate the diskfont.library. c) Now drag the diskfont.library icon from the Fonts disk to the "Libs" drawer on the Workbench disk. MS BRIDGEBOARD WORRIES Ml have an Amiga 2000 (Workbench 1.3), two floppy drives, 5Mb memory (Golden Image card), an XT Brldgeboard with 5.25' drive, and a 20Mb hard drive. I have a few questions: a) I can't boot the Brldgeboard with my Amiga memory expansion card plugged In (Brldgeboard hard disk works fine without the card). After booting It will ask me to Insert JHD or It will Just crash. b) My Internal and external disk driv*« ••*m« to b* Incompatible. (files saved on one drive can't be read by the other; but new software can be read by both drives) c) If I upgrade to the new ECS chip, will my 1Mb In the A2000 be converted to Chip RAM? Michael Thlen Wei Seng Singapore Dealing with your Questions one by one: a) It sounds like your memory board is incompatible with the Bndgeboard. Try to replace it with a different board (the Commodore, Microbotics and ICD cards all work with the Bndgeboard). b) One (or both) of your drives need to be looked at professionally. It is not an easy task to re-align the heads on Amiga floppy drives, so let the experts at an Amiga repair centre look at them. c) As long as you have a B2000 (with the composite video output at the back next to the sound outputs), you should have no problem converting to 1Mb Chip RAM. Earlier A2000s (without the composite video output) used the same chips as the Amiga 1000, and are not upgradeable. JR SERIAL MURDER I have been trying for ages to get a Brother HR 15 dolsywhool printer to print from my Amiga 500. The problem Is that I don't know th» right questions to ask, so the only advice I got from Brother technical support was that It Is a serial printer. Is my printer compatible with my Amiga? There Is a driver on the Extras disk called Brother HR-.15XL. Is this close enough to work? As I do not have a manual for my printer, can you tell me which cable I need? Could you give me the plnouts so that I can make one myself. JE Gould Waltham Abbey Yes. the Brother_HR-15XL driver should work perfectly. To make a cable for the printer you'll need details of the Amiga's serial port and the printer's serial port - look in the Amiga manual for the former, and speak to Brother about the latter. Ask if it can send or sell you a manual, or at the very least a wiring diagram for the HR-15's serial port, plus details of the dip switch settings. I warn you though, wire the cable wrongly and you'll blow up the Amiga's serial port. Unless you are experienced at this sort of thing I suggest you gather all the required details and give them to someone who knows what they are doing. JW MAC AND ME In Issue 13 of Amiga Shopper {page 154) a you printed a review of Messy SID 2 In which you stated that the above program could be used to transfer Amiga flies to and from the Macintosh. I bought the program but have since found that the claims thai you make In the review are simply not true. Am I doing something wrong? If so. could you please tell me how to transfer files between the Amiga and Mac using AfessyS/0. Evangekw Michallldls Fallowfield Manchester I'm afraid you've got the wrong end of the stick, Evangelos. As it currently stands. MessySID cannot directly read and write Macintosh formal diskettes - it can only handle Amiga and MSDOS-format disks. To transfer a file from the Amiga to the Mac using MessySID you need a Macintosh that has a high density disk drive and a copy of the Mac program Apple File Exchange (this is given away with Mac Finder). This program allows the Macintosh to read and write standard 720k MSDOS disks (like those produced by MessySID). As you can see. the whole process of transferring files to the Mac using MessySID relies entirely upon the Mac's ability to access MSDOS disks. If your Mac doesn't have a high density drive, then MessySID cannot be used for this purpose. If you really need to transfer files to and from the Mac, then there are two options available to you. The cheapest is to treat yourself to a Mac to Amiga null modem cable and then use communications software running on both machines (something like NCocnm on the Amiga and Red Ryder on the Mac) to transfer the files down the null modem cable. This can be a rather slow process when you're transferring larger files (IFF images, for example), but it's very cheap. If money is no object then treat yourself to a copy of Central Coast's Mac2D0S. This hardware and software combination will allow you to connect a Macintosh 800k disk drive to the Amiga and read and write files to Macintosh format diskettes with ease. Expect to pay around £300 for the privilege though! Mac2D0S is available from HB Marketing *■ 0753 686000. JH NOT MY PAL r~| ^ Every now and then /i my computer seems to switch Into NSTC mode after a guru or when I perform a soft reset. I have been told by a friend that I may have an American processor which could result In the machine coming up In NTSC Instsad of PAL. Is there anyway of stopping this? Also, is there any way to tell ff another disk drive Is present during the startup-sequence? Finally, my clock has reset back to 1978. Has this been caused by a virus? Calum Metcalfe Middlesbrough Cleveland NTSC on reset is a common and well known bug in the 1.3 Kickstart ROM - even the CDTV suffers from it! You can get round it using a little PD program (available from all good PD libraries) called NoPaiReset You just insert NoPaiReset in the startup-sequence and if the machine tries to boot in NTSC. NoPaiReset then resets the machine (and will keep on doing so) until it boots in PAL. It is possible to check for the presence of another disk drive during startup. With your 1.3 Kickstart and AmigaDOS, it is not very practical since the command causes a requester to appear. Your clock could have lost its time for two reasons: first, the battery may have run down; second it might have been affected by a rogue program running riot through the machine. You can charge the battery by leaving the machine (not the monitor) switched on for 24 hours and reset the clock using the following command: setclock reset That should fix any problems that may have been caused by a rogue - not necessarily a virus. MS JARGON BUSTING • JARGON BUSTING - Extended Chip Set is the name given to the new versions of the Amiga's custom chips that handle graphic, sound, memory and so on. - The Amiga has many special features, and programs are already present in the operating system to make use of these features. These programs, or library functions, may (and should) be used by applications programs, obviating the need for each programmer to write a similar set of routines. NTSC - National Television Standards Committee. This is the name for the TV colour coding system used in the USA and other countries. It has 525 lines, running at 60 fields aand 30 frames/second. It is often, and perhaps unfairly, japed at as Never Twice the Same Colour by PAL standard users. PAL - One of the main TV colour coding system (with the exception of France's SECAM system), which is in use around the world and was developed in Britain. PAL refers to Phase Alteration Line. In fact, there are several hybrid PAL systems in use, all of which are slightly different Serial port - An interface port at the back of the Amiga, used for connecting to a modem. Sometimes used for printers. 68 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 AMIGA 600 RANGE... The net* addition '- Puls right the Amipa Family has just grown' Not mil. . u you purchase the A500 Ru* Cartoon Classics Pack, hut no* . you have a choice ol two innovative Amiga olK) model* too *ith in with- out a Hard Disk Drive huili in' Both iiuhIcK carry I nmmoJorcs aimprcbenwc new 'In-Home' Warranty Plan, unrivalled by any other home COOpM I bffl Telephone Help I ine lo assist you with look minor problems, and on the rare occasion of something more serious, you'll be pleased to know that an engineer will nuke a call to your tame to affect a vpeedy rTfan nc even replace (he uafl coopkfcty! Hows thai for your total peace of mind ? XS' floppy Did Drift t J J thff, /w /*», .% Free AftMM JN/A Hani Drift. Beams* iA.* MO roittfv ii *.! *ru ike details en*n U- <i// tw H V JShujq/ c<a»y*V ti / 1 ffi Ac urn tfcu wwcm? u on vile m ore l&rtv to be ut the ponnom of confirming * itft mo*r Jria J tycu/iMiu<au u.) *e W* ai die line of^uinj; fc' /» Ht* CmRKI Dag* Afc-ajwrr'HWHwA ? 05, .' s " /nienwl > Floppy l>t\i I'm,: Hutlt -in TV Modulator, $Mb Hard link Dm,-, fined to At<00-IH) modri mhj, 1Mb RAM as standard with an option to upgrade \rn \mph to 2Mb with RAM expansion m 'ini/n/V* n 2 lay ■ iwiMouse putty hull ( olour Composite \ imev •.mtput. Smart* slot (allotm gama on ROM lobe loaded instanih no mure »ui And.. poisMe /hive upgrade port {eg. RAM curds eh I. *«r> Colours. StereoSound. Standard Parallel and Serial poets feu pruuei GIVE IS A CALL NOW FOK \ GREAT NEW DEAL ON A GREAT NEW AMIGA! A670 CD-ROM DRIVE... \\aihihle Soon, > Allows vou lo load and piay IDTV software on the new Amip Mil and MlO-HDiiwnpwtcis Nc* tnteracmr. Multimedia onyinit new Amiga!!! 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P*3ggi •NIK f tHRitii, niemal (•— »• wpplv " mrJpg, Ht f ^i mis isr'iM ol nu ;u ks' N<M l/IT JJ- Ml* IMilVt, I I.TX* M JM A .... .... hwi m mm h ..«.( \mi M CDTV .."iic-ui'i. i lOMUiilMiKI lailll'lMDRIVI- E79.99 UHVS\jj'CAX3MDRJVE \<W ta*m/Vmt*e tcucIl TWowteon run iim$ra*» -\IIKI INSOR( ERORSPAI Ks - u-ii..i W .-,,i,iww,..n- tlV.VV tA^fa-r.-JOOftirtoi EU««UCJ^ 124. W t BVFHoafcVarfkNar* •«rf«4To««<4Ma AMH-\i'<.\Misr\«k ,-ia r*a\ Wi a Omnia, aoODD La^K) wd Trf* Ttw Ftf4.IIfwoU.klkknKjikr^.(akid>(M(. XiV.VV Wmkn W«kir, Wo*di A Noabcrv Gmk Sh R Makft «d Wiai-a'aVitP..' i .' ■' •**■ fi»l : -. 4D-IKI MlttlN IXP^ESS LIMITED om. am , unci a, trxwauc rwxjsnHAL aMM. STAtlOf* ROAD. KKIkTON. MMYSHIRL Df.* JHR, DO 6 2 «Mg®_ LISTINGS We're on the lookout for programs In any language which Is supported on the Amiga, and we'll pay £20 for any that we publish. Programs of any type are admissable: serious and useful, wild and wacky, or stunningly creative. Just remember that we can't print listings that rely on binary files for sprites, samples and so on. All you have to do is pop your program on an AmigaDOS disk (along with source code if it is compiled or assembled) and send it to us at the following address: We want your listings! Display your programming prowess before your fellow Amiga ns and earn fame, fortune and everything that goes with it (well, £20 anyway...) Listings Amiga Shopper Future Publishing 30 Monmouth Street Bath BA1 2BW Don't forget to include a stamped addressed envelope if you want your disk returning. Some form of printed documentation would be nice. too. This month we've got two listings from Fu Sang Li of Hackney in London, who'll be receiving £20. They're both written in C. and complied with the PD package NorthC. The first, handily named SR, is a text search and replace utility run from the Shell. Type sr, followed by the text filename, then the text to be searched for and the text with which it is to be replaced. Two switches are permitted: '/c* instructs the program to be case sensitive: '/p' asks it to prompt you before making any changes. The second program, TS. is a text search program. It will accept the 'ft case sensitive switch, and list occurrences of the matched string in the text file. Remember: give us your listings! LISTING 1 /* Search-and-Replace utility by Fu Sang Li •/ #include<stdio.h> #define OFF #define ON !OFF •define BACKUP_FILE "backup" void check_ case ( ) ; main(argc, argv) int argc; char *axgv [ ] ; ( FILE *arc_£p, *dee_fp; char word buff [256] , line buff [512] , case sens=OFF, prompt=0FP, eh, ch2, writ#_«rr-FALSK; int i, j, k; long line._no«0, exchanges- 0; if (argc<4) print f ("\nOsage: SR <Filename> < Search-Text > <Replace- :> t/c] I7p]\n\n"); else < •(arcrV[i]4.1)-tolc*a»r(*(arov[4]+l)); *(axgv[5]+l)-tolcaa»r(*(aryv[5]+l))| if<!strcmp(axgv[4], W /C) II l»tranp(aryv[5) , */C)) c a a e a ens = ON ; if (!Btrcmp<axyv[4], *7p") II lBtrcmp(arcjv[5] , "/p")> prompt *ON; if (Brc_fp-fopen(aryv[l), "r")) { if (dea_fp-fopen(BACKUP_FILE, "W)> do { ch-fgetc(Brc_fp) ; ifOfaof (arc_fp>) if(fputG<ca, doa ip)- -EOF) write_err«TRUE; ) while (Ifeof <Brc_fp) kk !writ«_«xr); line no, line buff); Skip: "); fclose(src fp) ; f close (doa. fp) ; if (lwrita_#rr) { ■rc_fp-fopen(BACKt7P_FILE, *r~) ; cWs_fp-fopen<axyv[l] , *W); while* Ifeof (arc fp) ) ( foet«(line_fauff, 512, src_fp); lina_no**; i-0; J-0; whilelline buff [i] ) « ch-line_buff [i]; ch2-M*rgrv[2]+j>; check case (ca.se sens, fcch, &ch2); if(ch— ch2) { while <ch««ch2) ( wordjauf f [ j++] «line_buf f [i++] ; ch-line_buff [i]; ch2«Maryv[2]+j); check case ( caae sens , fcch , &ch2 ) ; > if ( j--strl«n(aryv[2] ) ) c if (pronpt) { char a(2J; printf CNnLine ^ld:\n\s", print f ("<CR >- Exchange, S*<CR>- if<!«tro»p<s, -- )) < fputs(argv[3], des_fp) ; exchangee** ; > 70 AMIOA SHOPPER • ISSUi 16 • AUOUST 1992 LISTINGS else fputs(argv[2], dee_fp); ) alee fpute(argv[3] , des fp>; ) > else ( word_buff [j]-'\0' ; tputs (word tuff, des_fp); ) j=0; > fputc<line_buff [i++], des_fp); ) ) prlntf C\nDonel Exchangefs): \ld m . •xchan^si ) ; printf ("(Orginal file backed up in ' backup '.)\n\n"); fclose<src_fp); fcloseldes fp) ; > else printf ("\nNot enough disk apace for backup file!\n\n"); > else < printf ("\nError opening backup file!\n\n") ; f close <src_fp); > ) else printf ("VnError opening %s!\n\n", argv[l]); ) void check case (case sens, ch_p» ch2_p) char case sens, *ch_p, *ch2_p; i *ch_p-case_8ena?*ch_p:touppex<*ch_p) ; *ch2j>«case_Benfl? # ch2_p:toupper(*ch2 _p) ; ) LISTING 2 /* Text Search utility by Fu Sang Li - 13 May 1991 */ #include<atdio.h> #define OFF •Celine on ioff void check_case ( ) ; void main(argc f argv) int argc; cha r *argv[]; { FILE *fp; char line Jxiff [5121, case sens -OFF, ch, ch2; int i, J- if(argc<3) printf C\nUsage: TS <Filename> <Search-Text> £/c]\n\n"); else { ifi<!strcmp<argv[31, "/c") I I lstrcsu<argv[3] , -/C)) case sens =CW, • if <fp«fopen<argv[l], -r-)) { whileOfeof (fp)) { fgets(line_buff, 512, fp); line_no++; i-0; j»0; freq=0; while (line buff [il> f ebOiMLiniecili ch2-*(axyv[2]+j); check_case(case_sens, fcch, fcch2); if (ch--ch2) < while(ch~ch2> i i~; ch-llne_buff [ij; ch2-*(axgv[2)+j); check„case< case. sens, fcch, &ch2); if ( j«-strlen(argv[2] ) ) { freq++; count ++; 1 j=0; ) else i++; ) if (freq>0) printf ( f req, line, no; ; > "VJ occurrence ( 8 ) in line \ld.\n", long line no=0, count »0, • if (count>0) printf ("\n'\e' contains Xld occurrence ( s) .\n\n", argv(l), count); else printf ("\nNo occurrences of '\a' found in '\e'.\n\n", argv[2], argv[l]); ) else printf C\nError opening '\s'!\n\n*\ argv[l]); > ) void check, case (caae_sena. ch_p, ch2_p) char caae.sene, *ch_p, •ch2_p; ( * ch p-caee_ oeno ? *ch p : toupper ( •ch_p) ; •ch2_p=case_sens? , ch2_p:toupper(*ch2_p) ; ) AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 W I Just PROGRESSIVE 040 S ZEUS For 2000/ 1 500 28 Mhz With 4 Meg And Scii £ 1599 if ordered »i the time of purchase you can eel a further 16 megi of 80 nanosec ram for juat £375 or even faster 60 nanoaec ram for 1450 \fERCt'RY2« Mhz 040 zero K For A30O0/A30O0T £1150 PRORAM 64 Meg 32 Bit Dram for A3000/A3000T. 4 meg £349 16 meg £850 THE NEW 28 MHZ 040 FOR 500/500P With 4 mc-gs £895 8 meg would be £1025 works with existing ram so your machine can expand to 17 megs!! Works with 1 J & 2.04 with 2.04 mounted on board, 68000 fall-back mode works ALL hard drives. The ultimate accelerator. 22mips VIDEO VIDEO BLENDER the ultimate desktop video with genlock, unlimited video effects, multitasking, stereo mixing.luma keying, wiping, black burst, loop tnroug, mixing and many many more, works all Amiga's, VHSS. HI8 RGB etc £999 KRAMEGRABBER £499 RAM BRANDT the much talked about 24 bit card now being shipped at £2499 G. V.P. 030 40Mhz With 4 Meg And Scsi £899 Full GVP Range of drives, 030's etc CALL for prices. A530 030 40 Mhz With 52 Quantum £699 With 105 Drive £850 Mease note CSA 030 a arc no longer stocked due to hard drive incompatibilities and their slow speed. The Progressive 040 is now recommended. FAST 24 BIT CARDS vi**** 24 bu super Graphics Card With 40 Nansec Video Ram 2000/1500/3000 X5 mhz with 2 or 4 meg ram start £1599 or £1999 110 mhz with 2 or 4 meg ram start £1999 or £2599 135 mhz with 2 or 4 meg ram start £2399 or £3250 Multi-sync 17" or 21 M up to 2048 x 1536 resolution from £999 24 bit video digitiser and software £599 400 dpi colour scanner with software £1799 or 600 dpi at £1999 A500/500P 2 MEG RAM £99 Everything On One Board Up To 8 Meg* Ram A Co-Pro Socket And Sen Interfscc- TAPE STREAMER i$o meg scsi ext case psu a and cable on ACCELERATORS UNLIMITED P.O.BOX87,LYTHAMStANNES,LANCS,FY8 5SP .... TEL 0253 7957% FAX 0253 736035 f No Credit^ OPEN 10AM TO 5PM MONDAY THRU 4 THURSDA Csrd . Mail Order OnJy-OverscM Welcome Surcharges , Registered post or courier extra, Pncea include VAT V . . . . J Fluctuation exchange rate* mean prices may vary-cneck first Electronic Phone Mail Box available when we are not ^"^ Professional Video Captioning # Amiga 1500 # 52MB hard drive # 4MB ram # Broadcast Titler software # VideoCenter VCI genlock # Assembled & tested £1850 + VAT 5 Mead Lane, Farnham Surrey GU9 7DY Tel: 0252 737151 Fax: 0252 737147 THE SURVIVAL GAME WA It N I X ii ! This interactive programme could save the lives of yourself and your family or friends Our Huge 12-disc programme includes hundreds ot illustrations, animations and sounds written, compiled and drawn by ex-Special Service Personnel IT CAN HAPPEN TO YQU. Fear and intimidation can come to anyone anywhere in the world ' Would you know what to do to protect yourself? " Do you really have the expertises are you fooling yourself? * Would you make the obvious mistakes like everyone else? IPE IF INNOCENTLY CAUGHT UP IN THESE SITUATIONS? • Burning buildings? • Terrorist activity? • Rape.anfl other sexual devancy? • Encountering burglars and con-men? • Storms and riurncanes? •Car crashes? • Riots and bar brawls? •Airland and sea disasters? •Encountering savage dogs? Our comprehensive programme will give you the knowledge to survive these.and many more situations in a way that you would never get from a book. OUR PROGRAMME INCLUDES:- * On screen animated self-defence course. * Rescue from personal dangers and facing up to disasters. * First aid and natural medication. * Acquiring 1ood.water.ttre and shelter. " Identification of poisonous plants and dangerous animals. ' Interactive emergency communications , * Direction-finding (SUN MOON STARS). * Survival psychology. INCREASE YOUR SURVIVAl CAPABILITIES NOW YOU MAY NEVER GET ANOTHER CHANCE CHEQUES AND POSTAL ORDERS FOR f ?9 95 ♦ i2 50 p+i PAYABLE TO INTRACOM APPLICATIONS UNION BUSINESS CENTRE 288 HARROGATE ROAO BRA0E0R0 WEST YORKSHIRE •o? 3Sf . PHONE 0274 6281 74 FAX (SWITCH | 1 ACCESS/VISA CO AND PC VERSIONS OUT SOON' VIDEO Ince the first Amlgas were released In 1985 It has been acknowledged that one of their outstanding applications Is for adding graphics and titles to video Images. Judging by the number of different genlocks on tho markot and the range of titling and painting programs available, this fact hasn't escaped tho manufacturers and retailers either. No surprise since many Amiga owners have access to at least one VCR or camcorder, and a lot of vldoo owners will have access to an Amiga, by rental, purchase or through friends and relatives. The cost of video production equipment has reached the point where across is potentially available to millions of people, at many levels. The quality and specifications are increasing, while prices continue to fall and equipment which was available only to specialised video companies 10 years ago has become more affordable and increasingly popular. A desire to emulate the professionals, or even become one, is a logical step forward for many Amiga video users. Bearing all this in mind, and knowing that many of the Amigas in 'serious' use are employed in video and graphics production. I thought that it might be worthwhile giving you a few hints and tips to help you to improve your own titling efforts. GETTING STARTED To use your Amiga for video titles and graphics, there is a minimum amount of equipment required. At the very least you'll need an Amiga (with suitable software, of course!), a modulator, a VCR or camcorder and a TV set. I'd recommend that the Amiga has at least 1Mb Chip RAM and not less than 1Mb Fast RAM. Some programs will require a lot more than this to produce their best, and the power of programs such as DeluxePaint can be greatly increased by adding another megabyte or two of RAM. If you are thinking of buying an Amiga for video use, please don't be fooled into thinking that a brand new, straight-out-of-the-box Amiga is all you need to get instant TV-quality graphics and special effects. It isn't accelerator card, should be considered too. The same points apply about video equipment, and the amounts and costs usually increase in proportion to the quality you require and the format you wish to use. It's possible to buy anything from purely domestic VHS quality equipment to full broadcast specification gear. While a simple domestic quality VHS rig might cost less than £1000 in total, a top end digital setup could cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, when you take into account all the video recorders, monitors, high quality genlocks and other hardware needed at this level. An average setup would probably include a genlock, maybe a video camera, second VCR and extra monitor/s. But the cost and amount of equipment is not what concerns me here, because whatever level you are working at. and whatever your titling needs, you may be interested to know that there are a number of simple things which can be done to effectively improve your image. Gary Whiteley makes the headlines with some terrific titling tips, and shows you how to win friends and influence people with the new Smooth Talker and Hama genloc snlock nEADl r Much more prominence can be given to words by outlining or drop- shadowing them, as you can see in the above examples CARE WITH COLOUR One of the simplest, and most important, ways of getting a better looking picture involves choosing appropriate colours to work with. You should always try to avoid using heavily saturated colours such as deep reds and blues, as these tend to 'bleed' on video, and therefore signal) which is usually sharp and high quality, and a colour part, which is where the problems start. In simple terms, adding colour (the chrominance element) reduces the picture quality and smearing starts to set in. Because this smearing (or chroma crawl) is worse with highly saturated colours, the degradation becomes more noticeable when deep reds and blues are used. If you have no choice but to use such colours, you could try putting a dark outline around lettering and logos, rather like the outlines on cartoon characters. You'll find that the text becomes more readable JARGON BUSTING • JARGON BUSTING Modulator - An electronic gadget used to convert the RGB output from the Amiga into a video signal acceptable by a standard TV set aenal socket; other outputs such as composite video and audio may be included. - it's only a start. You'll need to add more to it, such as memory, extra disk drives, maybe a hard drive. If you're short of the folding stuff then extra memory is definitely more important than a second disk drive. And if you re really serious about graphics a hard disk, and even an don't usually look too good at all. Light colours and pastel shades tend to work best, especially for lettering. There are technical reasons for this which revolve around the fact that a colour television picture is composed of two parts - a monochrome video image {the luminance part of the Interesting backgrounds can be added to Improve otherwise dull test. In this case it's a treated digitised image, but it could be live video Instead. Be careful not to obscure the text though! , AMIGA SHOPPE R 16 •AUGUST 1992 73 VIDEO 'CROWDINGSMA'PLTEXT'O'NTCy IDERSTADIDWMAZy-OU A RE* *gfc if 9 00 10 0-00 000000 00 0-0 0.0\ 00000 0000 00*00000 0*00 With enough memory, a good collection of artwork (In this Don't make the mistake of putting too much text on a page! case a Scala background and a PO world map) and Some backgrounds are unsuitable and can distract from the typefaces you can create some great Images on the Amiga headline. (Just as well when there's a typo!) Because the edges are less smeary. Text can be made smaller if need be. If you have enough memory available use the highest screen resolution your software permits. This will help to reduce the jaggies, db yuu'll ue using smaller pixels to draw with, and your graphics will look sharper. Remember that it's not always necessary to have 32, or even 16, colours on screen, so even 1Mb Amigas have a chance of producing something good. I only use HAM for text if I really have to, as the fringing effects this mode produces can sometimes make the whole thing look messy, and its highest resolution is Interlace. You should always use an Overscan screen size if you can. then you won't risk the possibility of cutting your graphics off at the edges of the screen. Unlike the Amiga's 'standard' screen sizes (eg 320 x 256, 640 x 512 etc) which do not cover the whole of a normal TV screen, overscan screen sizes (eg 352 x 290. 704 x 580) stretch beyond the edges of the average TV screen and so really are full screen. This is important, especially where information moves on and off the screen, for instance with scrolling or crawling text, otherwise unacceptable cropping could occur. LOW STEPPING Anti-aliasing can also be a great help in improving the look of your presentations. Instead of the usual jaggy edges which plain non- horizontal or vertical lines take on, a degree of smoothing can be achieved by using intermediate tones to visually soften the staircase effect. If you have ever used DeluxePaint /Vs anti-aliasing functions you will be aware lust what improvements can be made. But even if you don't have DPaint IV and have to make the adjustments by hand you should still find the extra work worthwhile because the end result is usually immensely improved. Smoothing text can be a more difficult proposition altogether, as DeluxePaint IV cannot do this directly while adding type to a picture, which is a pain. Even 24-bit paint programs leave something to be desired here, so the best option is to use pre- processed fonts, either as Colorfonts (which are special multicoloured bitmap fonts) or proprietary fonts such as those provided with programs like Broadcast Titler 2. Colorfonts will often be more flexible as they can be used with many Amiga paint programs, and you can use a utility such as Anti-A or Calligrapher to make them from normal bitmap fonts. The drawback with using such multicoloured typefaces is that they use up colours from the palette, so you must make allowances when designing your images. You should be aware that some of the more expensive titling programs, most notably Scala and Broadcast Titler 2. can perform anti- aliasing on typefaces directly, which is often a great aid to producing quality results. PLANNING It might seem an obvious tip to give, but planning your titles and graphic sequences really is important and can save a lot of time later on when you find that all your work has to be changed because you have to use less colours, or a different resolution, or some other problem has arisen that you did not foresee. If you make a serious mistake at the planning stage you should be able to fix it quickly. If you are half way through your graphics sequence you • Colour choice - Avoid saturated colours, especially reds and blues. Choose lighter colours wherever possible. • Screen size - Use overscan formats whenever possible, then graphics won't be cut off before the edges of the screen. • Graphic size - Avoid small graphics and typefaces - they can be difficult to read and transfer badly to video. Avoid lines less than 2 pixels wide. • Layouts - Lay out graphics so that they are balanced and well spaced. Don't overcrowd them. If they are easy to read the message will get across. • Timing - If you have something to communicate at least give the viewer time to read it fully. • Typefaces - Whole books have been written about typeface usage. Basically, use a typeface to reflect the content of your title. Design your own if necessary. But don't be afraid to mix it up a bit. • Backdrops - Under the right circumstances a well chosen backdrop can greatly improve a title. • Anti-aliasing - Smoothing out the jaggies will often improve the look of your graphics enormously. • Be appropriate - Stick to the subject. Keep it snappy. Make it stick. And don't add extras that aren't necessary! • Viewing distance * Remember to step back from the Amiga monitor from time to time and check your work from a more realistic viewing distance. Nobody watches TV at the distance a computer monitor is viewed from. And don't forget the planning! might just have to start over. There are many aspects of graphics and titling which require at least some degree of planning. Colour choices, for instance. How many colours do you really need? Will you be using ColorText? Will different pages need different palettes? Do some colours need to be reserved for a logo? What colours will be needed for the text? This is just the start. But don't worry, many of the choices you have to make will be based upon need. Certain colours and typefaces will have to be used. Layouts often become obvious because of the nature of the work. CREDIT SEQUENCES As for the content of the images, a lot of this can be pre-planned too. If you are prepanng a credit list for a video it makes sense to get a list of all the names which have to be included, (making sure that you spelt them all correctly!), ensure that you know what everyone's role was and in which order (and what relative type sizes) they appear in. You may be provided with a brief for this from the director, but more likely than not you'll have to sort most of this out yourself - especially if you are the director. Once you have all the information to hand you can start designing the credit sequence. If you don't have a brief you will probably have to make some choices - will the sequence be scrolling up the screen, or appear page by page, or crawl along the bottom of the page? Will there be transition effects which need adding, such as wipes? If you are animating a flying logo with DPaint you may find that drawing up a storyboard will help you visualise the sequence you want. Even quick notes and sketches can help and jog your memory when the going gets rough. And believe me, it does get rough. Planning can save your bacon. Because anything that can go wrong will. It always does. You will inevitably have to make some compromises to accommodate your software and computer setup, but try to follow the plan as closely as possible. If you are doing the work for someone else check with them first and explain the problems. Usually changes can be mutually agreed and everyone stays happy. Even if you're just titling your home video there's no need to be short of ideas. Watch TV and learn techniques from what you see there. Notice which typefaces are used, which sizes and which colours. Decide what works for you and what doesn't. Experiment with your Amiga. Play and practise. Accept that you will have failures, but make sure that you learn from them so that you can get it nght the next time. 74 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 VIDEO * The easy way to make friends in the TV studio GARY TO READER Cuel Have you ever wondered why a newscaster often seems to be shiftily glancing about while he talks? Or how a studio presenter appears to have a wonderful grasp of even the most obscure of subjects? Cue 2 Mfiptf, / can now reveal that it's all done with mirrors. And computers, video monitors and bits of wire. Have I lost you? OK. let's go back to the second cue and start again. Cue 2 well, l can now reveal that it's all done with mirrors. And computers, video monitors and bits of wire. Got it yet? I'm talking about autocue machines, or teleprompters; feeding scripts to talking heads while they smile at the camera and demonstrate how knowledgeable they are. I'm talking about Smooth Talker, a newcomer to the illustrious (and hitherto unspoken) history of teleprompters and. as far as I know, the first fully- fledged prompter to use the Amiga as its host computer. You might wonder about the mass appeal of a product like Smooth Talker. I mean, how many of you read the news for a living? Nevertheless. I'm going to tell you about Smooth Talker anyway, because I like it. It's easy to use. and it gets the job done. And it's a heck of a sight cheaper than some of the systems on the market, if you've already got the Amiga to run it on. TELEPROMPTING What does Smooth Talker do? Well, being a teleprompter. it displays text for a presenter to read. The text, controlled by the presenter or a teleprompt controller, rolls up the screen at a readable speed, and is then read out loud. If the presenter is talking directly to camera an arrangement similar to Figure 1 is likely to be used, where a monitor displaying the rolling text is reflected on glass mounted in front of the camera. A primitive arrangement, but It's all that's needed. If someone is speaking to an audience at a conference, for instance, those odd transparent rectangles which so often flank the rostrum will invariably be used. They serve the same purpose as the monitor - to reflect the words so that the speaker can see them easily without continuously referring to written notes. A teleprompter makes the whole affair seem that much slicker. With Smooth Talker you get a software disk and a small black box with a knob and a switch on it. The disk is self-explanatory - it contains the Smooth Talker program and associated files, while the black box (which plugs into the parallel port) is a hand-held remote control for the prompting system, with the switch being used to go back and forth between preset cue points and the rotary knob for setting the forward or reverse speed of the text roll. KACKtWtTC MONTTOR *«VERSH>TtXT - By reading text reflected off a glass screen In front of a camera, a TV presenter can give the Impression of great skill and knowledge HOW IT WORKS There are two parts to the software - the main menu screen, where access to all of Smooth Talker's functions is made, and the text display itself. The program is flexible in that scripts can be prepared within Smooth Talker's main screen, from the prompting screen itself, or ASCII files can be imported and exported for simple modification. Prompting scripts can be saved for later use. Any available Amiga bitmap font up to 50 point size can be used, though as there are always four or five lines displayed on screen a size between 24 and 45 is advisable. A couple of suitable fonts are provided on the disk and there's an unusual feature that 1 should explain to you. Look at Figure 1 again. Then think which way round the text would have to be on the monitor screen for it to appear correctly to the presenter. That's right - it would have to be reversed. This can be achieved by reversing the scan coils of the teleprompting monitor, creating a reversed screen display but Smooth Talker uses a novel method so that a normal monitor can be used instead. How? By providing a backwards typeface! All that's then required is to link the monochrome output to a suitable monitor, rig up a glass system and you're in business. FLEXIBILITY Fonts can be changed at anytime, and the text will reformat automat- ically to take account of this. Screen colours can be either black text on white background or vice versa. There's no need for multicolour here. Cue points can be marked in the text to save having to scroll back to a certain line if a retake is required. A marker is all that is required is to click the switch on the remote control and the display jumps back or forward to the next marker. An inverse line facility is Included to allow text to be highlighted (such as instructions to the presenter which aren't meant to be read aloud). And. if required, all the text can be toggled to upper case - though this can't be undone. Changes to the text on display can be made through function key selections and the keyboard and, if you have a serial printer or don't have the remote connected at the time, the results can be output to a printer for hard copy. Scrolling speed can be smoothly varied by using the rotary control on the remote handset, allowing continuous adjustment to keep pace with the presenters' requirements. Additionally, the handset cable can be extended to 30 metres or more. Smooth Talker will run on any 512K or greater Amiga running Figure 1 Product shot digitised by GW AmigaDOS 1.2 or higher. It is self- booting and multitasking. If you are contemplating buying a teleprompter. I'd recommend you contact ZEN Computer Services for more info. For those who aren't sure, a demo tape is available for £2.00 which shows Smooth Talker in use. E-Mail me on CIX as drgaz. OCXXJOOOOO SHOPPING LIST £141 I *********************** Smooth Tolker from ZEN Computer Services 2 Silver Birch Grove, < Swinton Manchester M27 1 FS * 061 793 1931 ECKOUT Smooth Talker Quality • • • • O Fulfils its objectives. Features • • • • O Well thought out, everything you need to generate teleprompting screens. Documentation • • • Compact but comprehensive. Price Value • • • • O No competition in the Amiga world. Hardware • • • O Slightly quirky, but easily usable. Overall rating • • • • Nice to see ZEN coming up with another innovative and well-produced (if limited appeal) product. AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 T C VIDEO he 290 genlock, from Hama, Is the latest genlock from one of the well Known names In the photographic and domestic/semi pro video markets. How does this new product measure up? GOOD LOOKING The 290 has plenty of knobs and switches, a couple ot stubby fader levers, input and output connections for S-VHS, composite video, and Amiga ROB and a uuilMn RGB splitter for use with digitisers capable of automated operation, such as New Tek's Digi-View Gold. A power supply is included for those situations where the host Amiga (such as some A500s). is unable to supply enough juice to power the genlock, or the unit Is being used solo to convert S- VHS to composite or RGB outputs. UP AND RUNNING Connection is easy. There's a longish ribbon connector built in to the 290 which connects to the Amiga RGB port. The RGB output can then be taken from the genlock's 23-pin D connector to an RGB monitor. Video connectors are quickly accessed on the upper rear of the unit and consist of phono connectors for composite video and standard Hosiden {Mini- DIN) connectors for S-VHS. The single phono for the digitlser output is also on the top. Operation is equally straight- forward. Through switches and faders it is possible to cross fade between combinations of Amiga. black, video and key signals. Keying is via the usual Amiga colour zero removal, but it's also possible to reverse the key to produce a 'keyhole' effect where everything except colour zero is transparent to the video input. The Amiga can be switched out entirely by using the Bypass switch, letting the video input pass through unaffected, and the display on the Amiga can be switched between Amiga only or genlock output signal, which is handy for coding what you are doing when placing graphics over video images. The only problem | hod with the controls was that the fade to black lever had an effective range of only a In the sleek, dark grey case which Is the Hama house style, the 290 Is around the size of a large hardback of the coffee table variety quarter of its travel, resulting in a very abrupt fade to black. There are also some controls for tweaking the video input, allowing some degree of colour, contrast and brightness adjustment, as well for its red. green and blue levels. These will be useful where some corrections need to be made, but unfortunately I thought that the range of RGB variation wasn't quite as wide as it ought to be for full effectiveness. Overall the output is reasonable, though there is some bleed through of live video into the Amiga image which could be very annoying. There is also an electronic problem in the unit causing two narrow vertical lines to appear in the processed image. Additionally, the video output shows noticeable faults when viewed on test equipment, the most noticeable being an unstable black level. Lastly, in order to work correctly, the 290 requires a continuous video feed, or no video feed at all. In a situation where a tape has run out of picture but is still playing back, the system will fall over until video is restored or input is disconnected. THE BIG 3 PLUSES: 1. The inclusion ot user controls for video colour, contrast, brightness and RGB adjustment. 2. Ability to convert S-VHS to RGB and composite outputs. 3. RGB to Amiga connector and Amiga/genlock output switching. AND THE 7 MINUS POINTS: 1. Phonos for composite video connection. I'd expect BNCs for this price. 2. Hosiden (Mim-DINJ sockets for S-VHS were slightly loose. 3. Video signals were not up to spec, black levels were incorrectly clamped, output was noisy (producing 2 vertical tines) and there was slight bleed through on to the Amiga image from video input. 4. Not enough range on colour correction controls to bring some average colour problems into line. 5. Too short a travel on the Video/Black fader, resulting in unsubtle fading. 6. No manual switching for splitter component output selection. 7. Direct cutting between genlock and video signals was poor. Gary Whiteley welcomes you back to Genlock Corner WOT, NO DIGITISING? I tried to use the built-in RGB splitter wrth my Digi-View. but after some enquiries to Hama I found that the cable required to connect the genlock to the Amiga joystick port for automatic splitting under software control was not yet available. Even though I built a cable myself. I was unable to get the splitter working automatically. Because there is no way of selecting between the R. G or B components I couldn't assess any output other than the default tgreen). This lack of manual switching is serious and will preclude owners of other monochrome digitisers from using the splitter output. One final word. I suspected that this product was made by a third party, boxed and badged by or for Hama. My suspicions were aroused when I found the manual for the 290 genlock was almost identical to the manual for the Electronic Design genlocks I reviewed in AS 9. 1 discovered that Hama also sells an Electronic Design genlock under the name Hama 590! Hama confirmed that the units are badged. but couldn't say who makes them. © ooooooooo SHOPPING LIST Home 290 Genlock h(PSl) by Homo PVAC Ltd, Unit 4 Cherrywood, Chinehom Business Park, Basingstoke, Hants RG24 OWF tt 0256 7081 10 £749 CHECKOUT Hama 290 Genlock Documentation • • i Good, comprehensive and clear. Features • • « Well stocked. O Quality ••tOO Output and control problems mac performance. Price Value • • • • J Overpriced, considering its problems. Overall rating O I would have expected much higher quality for this pnee tag. True, there are a number of potentially useful features, but an overall improvement is needed to make this unit a worthwhile buy. WA AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 You deserve the best ! Now you can get the best... with PEN PAL! A superb package, with immense power, to fulfil all your word processing requirements anil... it includes a Database! It's all so easy to use, you proliabry won't need to refer to the extensive 250 page manual too often. Whilst working, you can open up to four documents simultaneously (memory permitting), search and replace; cut, copy and paste; check your spelling with a 100,000+ word dictionary. You can import your favourite IFF/HAM graphics, from programs such as DPaint 11 or Clip Art files V« v in various sizes and colours. You can auto- matically flow text around graphics in any Workbench compatible font (there are over 200 available styles), in different sizes and colours to suit your design... even as you type. All this from a word processor and... Much, Much, More! ft n FUI l* As you can see, this is not just any ordinary word processor! Full Page View with position, edit and creation of graphic objects. Mail Merge using the built in database and forms designer. Creation of templates for complex reports, into which the database can be merged. Operating with 32 fields per record, and 32,000 records # pcr database with a fast sort of 1000 records in less . than 5 seconds this is a real database. Pen Pal reqiures an Amiga 500/1500/2000 or 3fJOO \\i(/i a mini/man of I megabyte of available memory. \» % % Pen Pal When.. .you deserve the best! £79.95 * 4> 5s ."...its handling of graphics is unsurpassed: Pen Pal is the only program I tested that will automatically wrap text around graphics..." imtge Worid..JuL '90 ."..without beating around the hush Pen Pal is very special.." - "Thert is little 10 fault Pen Pal and it deserves to do well." I mlga I t>rwat..Jh( 90 "...I am extremely pleased with your product especially the Graphic Capabilities within the Word Processor. Having the Databxsc on the same disk has made PEN PAL the best program I have...* D.SM., I'lumsUad, LONDOS "...Please let me tell you how amazed I am at how EASY IT IS TO USE PEN PAL The manuals supplied are very informative and very clear..." /* VY, ( lifton, NOTTINGHA M ".. .A most excellent piece of vrftware..." / /'.//.. Strathcluh, SCOTLAND Trade Distributors... Precision Sofh* arc dTforr CJ[DC] HBMARKET|NG Pen Pal is suppued into the UK through... Gunkxi Harwuod Computers New Street AJ&eton Derbyshire DE5 7BP Telephone: 0773 K36781 Facsimile: 0773 831O10 HARWOOD HARWOOD EDUCATIO 9-j T 8- i H E S E C S. 6- 1 5 4. 3. 2. 1-1 nTTTiirnriTmni niLES PER HOUR The acceleration of a vehicle wrth more oomph than a Skoda - line graphs illustrate relationships between speed and time In a clear format This month Wilf Rees looks at presenting data, graphs and statistics and how Spellbound! can develop your memory, logic and spelling skills ne of the surest ways of getting your point across It to present your Ideas or findings In the clearest way possible. The same applies In school projects or In the business world. The more clearly you present your work, the more professional and worthy of acclaim It Is. This month I'm focusing on neat ways of displaying statistical Information In various graphs, all with a llttl* h*lp from the Amiga. BE CONVENTIONAL! When any data has been collected from any source, there are accepted norms of graphical presentation. These norms follow obvious rules, the principal one being, that the whole premise of presenting statistical information in a graphic format, is that it should provide visual comparison, and enhanced understanding of the data, not obvious in pure data form. There are basically four conventions for presenting data: graphs, column and bar charts, histograms and pictographs and percentage charts. Each convention has a specific application for which it Is most suited and whilst these sometimes overlap, you should try to get the correct application. Primarily I want to deal with how to actually produce the images. You could go out and spend your hard earned loot on dedicated software, which can do a lot of the donkey- work for you, but personally, I always use good old DPaint, some of the features of which you can adapt to enhance your outcomes. KISS! No. I'm not being overtly familiar, but the acronym also stands, for Keep it Simple. Stupid! and that really is the key to all graphical presentation. Above all else the purpose of the exercise is to make it obvious what we are trying to communicate, the more simply the better! FOOD LEISURE/ SfiUIN&S SERVICES/ FUELS MORTGflGE/RENT ' CLOTH IN&/ § msc. PERCENTAGE UEEKLV PERCENTAGE EXPENDITURE OF AVERAGE FfiHILV 2 RDULTS, 2 CHILDREN <12 VRS, U.K. 1991 A pie chart showing expenditures of an average family. Did you know a pie chart Is so called as It was named after rts Inventor Professor Helmut Pie? JARGON BUSTING • JARGON BUSTING Graphs - A graph is used to demonstrate the relationship between two parameters, where one is dependent on the other. The presentation can be in the form of a series of interconnecting straight lines, or as a curve. In the example I have shown, top right, the curve showing acceleration is a direct function of the interrelationship of time and speed. Columns and bar charts - Used to demonstrate comparisons, where the performance of each process or item can be measured against each other. A bar chart is drawn horizontally, a column chart vertically. In both cases the bars or columns should be of equal thickness and spaced equally apart. Each item should be labelled, with words or an illustration. Often column charts are drawn as 3-dimensional columns to give enhanced visual appeal. Histograms and plctograms - A histogram is used where both axes vary numerically. The columns are stacked against each other and plot out a rough curve along the top. Percentage charts - Produced in two formats, as a bar chart, or as a pie chart. In both cases, an area is filled with a colour or pattern which reflects the ratios of each item. In the above example. I have presented the data as a pie chart with simple patterns to give the chart more visual appeal. GROUND RULES When you start thinking about how you might present your information, there are a few simple ground rules to help you achieve optimum results. Try looking at your finished results to see if they conform to some simple guidelines... 1 Ensure you give your image a title saying exactly what it shows. 2 When deciding on the axes of the image, determine their ratios within FUNNY FORMAT I was sent two disks with the following Information on: "ADI Maths samples Maths screen shots, box top etc. Europress Software." Sorry, but the discs were unreadable. If they are yours, please contact us here at Amiga Shopper. 78 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 EDUCATIO sensible parameters to reflect what it is you are showing. 3 Always label the axes clearly, indicating scale. 4 Always provide a 'Key' to describe the different elements. 5 Select the most appropriate form of presentation for your data. 6 Make the data clear and readable If the answer is affirmative to these criteria, then your data should be presented correctly, and in a easily interpreted fashion. MAKE THE SOFTWARE DO THE WORK! Let's start looking in detail at how we can use the features of DPaint to make the preparation and recording of your information quicker. There are several of the tools which facilitate short-cuts, and none more useful than the 'Grid' tool. Clicking on the icon with tho right mouse button gives us a requester, which asks for information on the 'X' and *Y' axes. This is a facility which you may not have used before much, but now it comes into its own. The default settings are both at '8'. Changing these will cause the screen pixel to default to a determined location at regular intervals, ideal for spacing your axis calibrations! An additional item on the requester is labelled 'Adjust'. Try clicking on this, then returning to the screen. You will see that by holding down the left mouse button, you can drag a grid across the screen to whatever format you require. The 'Line' tool also has an important role. Obviously you use it to set up the axes, but similar to the Grid tool, if you point at the tool and press the right hand mouse button a requester comes up to ask about spacing. Using this facility enables you to generate dotted lines of Infinite variety. These are so useful for indicating major calibration points on your axes, and leading the lines vertically and horizontally to meet at strategic points you might want to emphasise. The rectangle and circle tools are going to be useful in the construction of boxes to demonstrate 'bars' and 'pie' charts. It is important though that you ensure all columns or bars are the same width, and equally spaced. The obvious way to do this is to use the brush. GOOD OLD BRUSH Probably, the brush tool will come in for more use than any other. Get into the habit of using it for more than just duplicating images and reducing 1 FiiTwi 1 Solid 1 Brush 1 Wrap 1 ISjJ P*H«nn| 1 R«n0« : !■ *■*! _il B1 l 1 Z" 1 Line Shsp Cm <:..,. Dllher: Randon Cancel Ofc The flli requester Is one of the keys to making your graphs look professional - DPaint 4 gives a range of possibilities or enlarging them. It makes a brilliant rubber by holding down the right mouse button. You can grab any nonsense on the screen and use it as a rubber , but try grabbing a shape similar to the one you want to erase. Double clicking on the 'Brush' Gnidding * Y-spacingft Adjust Ca ncel The Griddlng tool* enables you to highlight the X and Y co-ordinates of your graph and change them to suit the particular calibration you require for your grid Spacing really does save a lot of frustration and repetitive tasks. GOING FOR BUST Finally adding the little touches which make an ordinary graph into something a little more professional. Obviously if your graph is going to be printed you are limited to your printer's facilities. OK, it's nice if you can print them out in colour, but it's not essential, after all, we don't use colour at Amiga Shopper, but it's still the first mag everyone looks for each month! You can generate patterns to use as fills, or. use gndded lines as I have on the pie chart. Remember when all your friends swagger on about their colour-kits or ink-jets, the best photographs, and those taken by the pros, are still black and white. If you do have colour printing facilities, don't gild the lily by overdoing the assortment of colours. Stay within a range of tones if the subject matter is related. I have purposely made my examplos as simple as possible, because their intention was to convey the different types. You can however spend more time, for example on the text, using shadowed _^-_ ^__ fonts. N Total li Every Nth dot Airbrush Continuous icon gives the OPalnfs Une tool Is useful for Indicating option of calibration points along the length of your selecting a graph to highlight points of Interest Alternatively you could use the perspective facility to make 3D column charts. Electronic Arts has added some interesting additions to DPaint 4 in the fill facilities, and several of the icons allow fill possibilities, again by pointing polygon based brush. This is even better, in that you can draw around an area with a mistake, superimpose the brush on the original, right hand mouse button, and it's gone! Alternatively, move it to the spare screen (pressing 'J' on the keyboard) carry out repairs, then redraw and bring it back to replace the original. When making pictographs. the brush is ideal. Draw your image, grab ft, then duplicate it by placing the brush image alongside. Another tip here, don't try to keep aligning further brush images, just redraw the two images as a brush and double the number of images each time! It and clicking with the right mouse button. These can add a variety of patterns and textures to what would be ordinary blank spaces. {See example of fills on the pie chart). You could of course just use your graphs as part of a visual presentation, intended to be shown on a monitor, in which case, the June issue of Amiga Shopper contains a presentation routine in the Education column. Combining your written information and supporting graphical statistics in a self-contained presentation format will give your work professionalism, and score top marks! CD GIVE US YOUR BEST SHOT Don't be shy about sending in your work. We're looking for good examples of work on the Amiga to use in this column. If you are developing your studies and arc pleased with the result, then share it with us. Remember there are some nice goodies waiting as rewards, and one of them could have your name on it! Mark for Wlrf Rees' attention at the Amiga Shopper address. Having been presented wrth a word, off we go through each level shooting up the assorted nasties to collect the letters A very appropriate title! I must confess I was somewhat spellbound by this program. Spellboundt is a superb piece of software, which is frustrating, entertaining, compulsive and educational. Morgana's wand has been locked in a dungeon by the mad Professor Grime, and the task is to collect the five keys which open the dungeon door. Travelling by assorted airborne and seaborne vehicles, you must shoot all manner of nasty creatures and obstacles. All very familiar, but the difference is, that each object once shot, releases a letter. The letters must be collected in the correct order to spell a previously requested word. Now as you know most software has hidden cheat codes, and for us reviewers it saves hours of strife to be able to move quickly to different levels to see the program. This is one of the few where I have ignored cheating! A great feature is the ability to change all of the parameters of the game, including extending or altering the words which could even be foreign language spellings, increasing the number of lives, having the walls safe or fatal etc. In other words, a parent, teacher, or yourself, could tailor the difficulty to match ability. The levels take you through an assortment of environments, starting with a dungeon, then moving on to an undersea scene, a Manhattan sky-line, the Alaskan wastes, and finally a wild space scene. A high score table and zany sound effects all contribute towards the overall enjoyment of this product, which is supported by a well written and informative manual. Spellbound! has succeeded in combining the excitement of an arcade game with an addictive, enjoyable education product, ft deserves a place in every school. Spellbound! Is available from Lander Software, 74 Victoria Crescent Road, Glasgow 012 9JN » 041 3S7 1659, and costs £25.99 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 1 6 • AUGUST 1 992 79 rF I COMMODORE i 1 1084S or 5 STEREO ' i i i i i L MONITOR Including FREE lead ONLY £209.00 i i i i i j 1 PHILIPS 8833 MK II j i STEREO MONITOR ■ ! Including Free Lead ! j ONLY £209.00 | L I r i i i i i i i L KCS POWERBOARD PC Emulator For Amiga A500 ONLY £179.00 i i i i i i i j ^ i i i i i L HARD DRIVES Open Monday to Saturday 9am -6pm Callers and Mail Order welcome Easy parking A600 Now In £360. A600 Classics £375. A600MD £465, A600HD Classics £480 - |" at once amiga"{ I PC 286 AT EMULATOR l I FOR A500 j 1 ONLY £159.00 ' i GVP SERIES n 1500/2000 52Mb Quantum Space lor 8Mb RAM f.275.00 GVP SERIES H 1500/2000 105Mb Quantum Space for 8Mb RAM £389.00 GVP SERIES n 1500/2000 120Mb Quantum Space for 8Mb RAM £409.00 GVP SERIES n A500 52Mb Quantum Space for 8Mb RAM £349.00 GVP SERIES II A500 105Mb Quantum Space for 8Mb RAM £449.00 GVP SERIES n A500 120Mb Quantum Space for 8Mb RAM £499.00 i J T H I I I I I AMIGA ASOO FUN PACK f ~n Amiga A500 Plus, Mouse. Modulator. Manuals, Workbench, Joystick, Disk Box. 10 Disks. Dust Cover. Dpaint III. 1Mb RAM. PLUS 13 GAMES Lemmings. Simpsons. Captain Planet. Safan Guns. Bubble Ghost. Tin Tin. Purple Saturn Day. Jumping Jackson. Hostages, Bobo. Krypton Egg. Shuffle Puck Cafe, ONLY £399.00 inc VAT KICK OFF 2 £950 HOME ACCOUNTS £9.95 QUANTUM SCSI DRIVE 52 Meg £199 00 105 Meg £289.00 120 Meg £329.00 A500 CARTOON CLASSICS Only E319.00 SOFTWARE -I HARDWARE \ DELUXE PAINT II £4 35 AMOS * EXTRAS DISK £32 00 BROADCAST TITLER II £139.00 ULTIMATE DEMO MAKER £99 00 DIGIVTEW MEDIASTATION £11900 LATTICE C V5.10. £149.00 PAGESETTERV2 £42 00 PAGESTREAM V2.2 £127 00 PIXEL 3D V2 £79 QUARTERBACK £39 PRO WRITE V3.2 £69 X CAD 3D £159 PHOTON PAINT 2 £25 FINAL COPY £45 VIDEO EFFECTS 3D £99 DOS 2 DOS E2B PAGESTREAM FONTS PACK £49 00 Q/BACK TOOLS £42 TV TEXT PRO £79.00 WORDWORTH £72 CROSS-DOS £19 00 SUPERJAM £85 SCENERY ANIMATOR £53.00 REAL 3D BEGINNERS £99 HITACHI VIDEO CAMERA Ideal for use with DigiView £199 PEN PAL, Excellent easy to use word processor £53 IMAGINE 3D V2.0 Animations & ray-tracing £179 ART DEPARTMENT PROFESSIONAL V2 05 £119 DIRECTORY OPUS BH VIDEO EASE, Video titling package £35 BARS * PIPES PROFESSIONAL £189 AMOS COMPILER. Compile your Amos programs £23 THE WORKS PLATINUM Integrated package £45 PRESENTATION MASTER £159 VISIONARY Adventure creation language £53 WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIO £62 REAL 3D TURBO/PROFESSIONAL £269 PROFESSIONAL PAGE V2.1 With tutorial Video £115 PROFESSIONAL PAGE V3.0 New Version £139 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 .00 00 00 00 00 .00 .00 .00 00 95 00 00 00 .00 .00 .00 00 .00 .00 00 I ! 386/20 AT BndgebOM 1500/2000 I ROM V2 04 AND ECS DENISE NOW IN STOCK | ROM V2 04 Upgrade Kit ■ DCTV 24 bit colour graphics 1 ROCGEN PLUS GENLOCK I COMMODORE FUCKER FIXER ■ AMIGA COMPATIBLE DISK DRIVE cCorf h through port J OTEC MOUSE rugh quality replacement mouse I TARGET Mono sound sampling hudwue/ioftwu* | NAKSHA SCANNEH Excellent scannmo quality , TV TUNER for Philips and Commodore monitors ■ * ■ £425 00 •ach£34 00 £89 00 £419 00 £12500 £229 00 £57 50 £22 50 £19 00 £105 00 £79 00 1 I I I I I I I I I PRINTERS . STAR LC-24/200 COLOUR inc free lead £269 1 STAR LC200 9 pin colour inc. free lead £189 I STAR LASER 4 high quality laser printer inc. free lead £679 I CITIZEN SWIFT 24E 24 pin colour printer inc free lead £269 ■ CITIZEN 224 COLOUR 24 pin colour printer inc free lead £239 J CITIZEN SWIFT 9 COLOUR 9 pin colour printer inc free lead £189 ■ CANON BJ10 EX bubble jet printer inc free lead £239 I STARJET SJ48 bubble jet printer inc free lead £225 I HP DESKJET 500 Inkjet inc free lead £349 J HP DESKJET 500 COLOUR Inkjet inc free lead £539 J CITIZEN 224 MONO 24 pin mono printer inc free lead £209 "I I 00 00 ■ 00 I 00 I 00 00 00 I 00 I 00 i 00 , 00 I I I I L --1 AMIGA A1500 1 MEMORY The A1500 inc Philips or CBM 1084s or 5 monitor. Twin drives. Dpaintf, The Works Platinum. Home Accounts, 3 Games ♦ Joystick ONLY £739.00 AMIGA A500 part exchange available - please phone I J ACCELERATORS I SUPRA RX500. 8Mb board for A500 with 1Mb £92 J SUPRA RXoOO. 8Mb board for A500 with 2Mb £117 1 SUPRA RX500, 8Mb board for A500 with 4Mb £185 I SUPRA RXS00, 8Mb board for A500 with 8Mb £285 I MICROBOTICS 8Mb Ram Board for A15O0/B20O0 with 2Mb £155 EXTRA 2 Mb OF RAM FOR MICROBOTICS £75 A500 512K RAM WITH CLOCK AND SWITCH £29 A500 PLUS 1MB RAM UPGRADE £39 ROM 1 3/2 Sharer With Switch (Rom 1 3 £22 00) £12 ROM ISA' 2 Sharer by Keyboard reset (Rom 1.3 £22.00) £22 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 Microbotics Accelerator VXL-30. 25MHz £222.00 Microbotics Accelerator VXL-30, 40MHz £351.00 Speed Merchant Doubles Amiga Speed £149.00 68882 Floating Point Co-processor for VXL-30 £132.00 GVP 68030 25MHZ WITH 1 MEG RAM £545.00 GVP 68030 4GMHZ WITH 4 MEGS RAM £869.00 GVP bHQJO 50MHZ WITH 4 MEGS RAM £127900 I n 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 j . B/Bandit 2400 Modem. V21.V22Bis& MNP 5 (speeds up to 4800) £105.00 I Supra 2400 Plus, MNP5 & V42 Bis (speeds up to 9600) £129.00 I Supra 9600 Fax Modem. Speeds up to 38000 £399.00 Supra 2400 Plus Internal Modem for A15OO/B2OO0 £159.00 I Tornado 14400 HST Fax Modem (Speeds up to 57000) New in. £499.00 I I I J HOW TO ORDER: Either call our number below with your credit card details, or send cheque/PO or credit cord details to our address. Cheques made payable to THE 16 BIT CENTRE Prirea auhfrrl to rhangr without notification. All prices include VAT and Courier Service 16 BIT CENTRE Units 15-17, Lancashire Fittings Science Village Claro Road, Harrogate HGl 4AF Tel (0423) 531822/526322 EXTENDED WARRANTY AND MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS AVAILABLE ON ALL ITEMS. PLEASE CALL FOR FURTHER DETAILS Jeff Walker takes a look at HotLinks, the nevt data exchange system for PageStream and reviews Shades, the latest gradient fill package wo of the criticisms I've made of Sott-tojpk's PmgaStrmam desktop publishing program are that tt is difficult to use the Picture Window feature to crop bitmap graphics accurately, and that It Is Impossible to prepare text beforehand In a word processor using typesetting or style commands so that you don't have to do It the slow way within PageStream Itself. I was criticised myself for making these remarks, by PageStream owners mainly who told me that they didn't require these features and that I was giving these shortcomings too much importance. I mention this piece of history because Soft-Logik's latest releases happen to oe QME, a bitmap editor for cropping and retouching graphics, and PageLiner, a text editor that supports PageStream style tags. These two applications, plus the version 2.2 release of PageStream, are the first three programs to employ Soft-Logik's new HotLinks Inter-program communication system, and before we get on to looking at BME and PageLiner themselves we need to learn all about HotLinks. SIMPLE CONCEPT The HotLinks concept is simple to understand. In desktop publishing there are several distinct jobs, like writing the copy, creating the artwork, and laying out or 'making up' the pages, to give just three examples. A single program that was an expert at every Job would be massive, and probably very difficult to learn how to use, so the answer is to use a word processor for writing the copy, art programs for messing about with the artwork, and a desktop publisher for making up the pages. Now the beauty of the Amiga is that with enough memory you are able to have more than one application running at the same time. so you don't have to keep quitting from one program in order to load and use another. But wouldn't it be great if instead of having to save data to disk and then import it into one of the other applications you could send the text from the word processor and the artwork from the art program directly to the desktop publishing program and vice versa? That is what HotLinks is all about. THE INVISIBLE PROGRAM Experienced Amiga users will be screaming "What about ARexx?" at this point, Out Dear with me and I think you'll see why Soft-Logik has decided to re-invent a wheel. HotLinks is one of those 'invisible' Amiga programs; when you double click its icon nothing appears to happen. But it has. After running HotLinks any program that supports the system will make its HotLinks features available. There are four features - Subscribe. Publish. Update and Information. The first job will be to 'publish' something. From PageLiner you would publish text, from BME it would be a graphic, from PageStream it could be either. Once some data has been published, another program that supports HotLinks can 'subscribe' to it. PageLiner can subscribe only to text, BME only to graphics, PageStream to either. In effect, publishing and subscribing is almost exactly the same as saving and loading data. The difference is that you don't supply a filename. You have to give it a name, of course, otherwise you'd never remember what on earth it was you'd published, and this name can be anything you like, but it isn't an actual file name, it's more like the filenotes you can create with the AmigaDOS Filenote command. JARGON BUSTING • JARGON BUSTING Bitmap graphics - See IFF ILBM. Copy - A term used by writers and publishers for the words that form a complete piece of writing. GIF - A bitmap graphics file format that can contain up to 256 colours or grey scales. IFF - Stands for Interchange File Format. Many people call Amiga graphics IFFs when they really mean IFF ILBM - the ILBM stands for InterLeaved BitMap. IFF is the general file format, ILBM is the 'type' of IFF that is a graphic. Retouching - The act of repairing or cleaning up a damaged or dirty part of a graphic. TIFF - A bitmap graphics file format that can contain up to 256 colours or greyscales. Typically you'd call some data a name like 'Figure 2 graphic for Chapter 1' or 'Body text for Chapter 2". Along with this name you can jot down some information about the data in a small notes area, and this is what the HotLinks Information facility presents you with when it Is selected - it's an 'About' requester about a data file, written by yourself. The data itself is saved to disk using a HotL/nte-specific file format and file naming system that you don't need to worry about. Once something is published It Is known as an 'edition'. I hope you're remembering these HotLinks terms because you may become confused while reading the rest of this article otherwise. To recap: 'publishing' is like saving the data, 'subscribing' is like loading it. and the things (files, if you like) you publish and subscribe to are called 'editions'. REVISING EDITIONS So far there's not much advantage to using HotLinks over the normal 'save and load' way of working. Which is where the Update feature comes In. If you subscribe to an edition and then change it in some way - alter the wording of some text for example - then you need to record those changes. Now. you could publish it again and then subscribe to the new version, but that's no better than 'save and load'. Instead you 'update' the edition. Updating an edition means that any application which supports HotLinks and uses that edition will automatically change to reflect the alterations the next time it is used. So to give a simple practical example. You've laid out the same leaflet three times in three different languages. Suddenly somebody AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AlinilsT 1992 111 DESKTOP PUBLISHING la • fF*F*ff*»ti*»aii2r*FA*rl*iftrr/Ir^t rni$«t«4.t * tah 1 I I p f oprt*t tin word proo t*xt *di t desktop p JUS,"* ttS* I' you ha* lutrjiton utrrs g lie. n*& fce Ih* changes, savt it bacfc to dt publithrr. With f*^f Liner. HotLink the tfKt Article fron rafrStrf«M j courlet* the chan*** in rueLmrr IkiIm 3lbi U_ After applying PageStream style tags to a section of text and 'publishing' It In PageUner, the copy automatically formats Itself when subscribed to by PageStream points out that there is a glitch in one of the bitmap graphics on the page. So you load the graphic into Deluxe Point (or whatever), clean it up. save it. load PageStream, load a leaflet, delete the old version of the graphic, import and position the new ono and save the leaflet; then you load the second leaflet and do the same; then you load the third leaflet and do it again. That took a little while. Probably an hour or more. GRAPHICS CLEAN-UP Now the same thing using HotLinks. You load the BME program, subscribe to the offending graphic edition, use BMFs art editing tools to clean up the graphic, then Update the edition. That's it. Took maybe 10 minutes. Next time you load any of the three leaflets that use this graphic (or subscribe to this edition, to use the HotLinks parlance) the altered version is what gets used. I've used a graphic as an example, but it's the same for text. Can you see the advantage of the HotLinks system now? The absolute beauty is that it is so simple - publish, subscribe, update, that's all you have to remember, and it's all done for you. The standard Amiga inter-program communication system is ARexx, and to achieve the same thing using programs that supported ARexx would require you (or someone else) to write ARexx programs for each of the separate applications involved. There is one more string to the HotLinks bow, real-time data transfer. If you have two HotLinks compatible programs running, the Update command will not only update the edition file on disk, but also any copies of that edition in any application that has a copy of that edition loaded. EASY STYLES Having discussed the theory of HotLinks. it's time to see how it works using BME and PageLiner. PageLiner is not a word processor* because it cannot print out text styles, only unstyled drafts. And it's not a 'text editor' because style and formatting commands can be incorporated within the text. So Soft-Logik has split the difference it understands PageStream's style tagging system, and will let you apply style tags to blocks of text so that they automatically format themselves when imported into PageStream (V2.2 and greater). Style tags are deeply wonderful things. You've all used word processing style features like bold and italics, now imagine extending that facility to include the font, point size, line spacing, tracking, paragraph indent... and a whole host of other things. For instance you could set up a style tag called 'Body Copy' and give it all the style attributes that you want your body copy to have, and set up another style tag called 'Subhead' and give it all the style attributes you want your sub- headings to have, and set up another style tag called 'Captions' and give it all the style attributes you want your picture captions to have... And you can keep on going until every piece of text in your document that has a different style has its own style tag. When preparing the text you would highlight sections of the text that you want n particular styles, and apply the relevant style tag. On screen the text doesn't change, except that bold. Although BME displays pictures In only 16 levels of grey, rt retains all the original colour Information and allows you to 'edit' the picture using the full palette In up to 32:1 magnification and called PageLiner a 'text processor'. It contains all the expected facilities of a simple text editor, like block cut/paste/copy, wordwrap, find and replace, plus it comes with a spelling checker and small dictionary to which you can add new words. For bashing out or editing words. PageLiner is an entirely adequate tool. The program's real power is that underline and italics are displayed, but along the bottom of the display is an information line that tells you which style tag has been applied to the piece of text at the current cursor position. After a bit of practice with style tags you should be able to do all the hard work in the quicker PageLiner program, rather than having to highlight blocks in the much slower PageStream program and select styles or apply tags. This way of doing things is a great aid to productivity - you'll be able to get more done in less time. The style tags themselves must be set up within PageStream, using its Text/Tag requester. You'd set up and 'Add' each style you require, then store the entire list of tags to disk using the 'Save' button. This is the file that PageUner can import, and rt can import any number of 'tags' files, appending any new style tags to the list, ignoring any duplicate style tag names. (Ah yes, now might be an appropriate time to mention that If you attempt to save a tags file from PageStream without giving it a filename. PageStream 2.2 hangs.) SPECTACULAR CRASHES Alas, this first version of PageLiner is not entirely stable. Or perhaps it is HotLinks, I don't know, but following through the tutorial on a WB1.3 Amiga 2000, and then on a WB2.04 Amiga 3000, both machines crashed at the same stage over and over again. I have managed to get the publish, subscribe and update system to work, but at different stages either PageStream or PageLiner eventually always crashes spectacularly. And while I'm confident that Soft-Logik will fix this problem, I'm disappointed that HotLinks has been released while it contains such a serious bug; I can't imagine how it wasn't spotted by the beta-testers. When the developers have got it working properly, however. I can see that PageLiner will be an enormous help to PageStream users. But if you buy it now, for heaven's sake send back the registration card to Soft- Logik so that you can follow the upgrade path. BETTER BME The HotLinks bitmap editor. BME. appears to be a lot more stable than PageLiner. What I mean to say is that rt has not yet crashed on me, and neither has PageStream when subscribing to, publishing and updating graphics. Now unless I'm missing something very obvious, there are only two uses for BME. The most obvious, to me at least, is for cropping. You see, the problem is that while PageStream can import bitmaps that contain up to 16.7 million colours, it will only display them in black and white. Sometimes you can see enough of the picture to be able to crop it fairly accurately, although most of the time there's not enough detail. OK, so if it's an IFF ILBM you could load the bitmap into Deluxe Paint, crop it and save it again. But what about the 16.7 million colour 82 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 DESKTOP PUBLISHING 24-bit ILBMs? And what about the 256<olour bitmap formats PageStream supports, like TIFF and GIF? Without a 24-0it graphics card and art software (or Art Department Professional and the relevant file format modules) you're stuck with trying to crop the black and white representation that PageStream provides. Unless you've got BME. The process goes like this: import the bitmap into PageStream, publish it, subscribe to it in BME, crop it. and then update it. BME creates an on-screen 16 levels of grey representation of the bitmap, which is plenty good enough to see most of the details in even 16.7 million colour pictures, making them easy to crop. BME itself supports only two bitmap file formats, IFF ILBM (but not HAM) and GIF. These can be loaded straight into BME (rather than subscribed to) and subsequently published if you like, but if you want to work on HAM, TIFF, or 24-bit ILBM bitmaps you have to import them into PageStream first, publish them, and then subscribe to them In BME. UNDOING DAMAGE It's important to realise that BME doesn't convert the bitmap to 16 levels of grey, it retains all the original colour information, the 16 greyscales are just for display purposes. Another use for BME is for cleaning up or 'retouching* a graphic. For instance you might have scanned an original photograph that was damaged in some way. and with PageStream and BME you could publish and subscribe to It ana then zoom in on the damaged part and paint over the damaged pixels with one of BMFs 10 types of brush. Because BME retains all the original colour information, you are able to choose which colours to paint with from the full 16.7 million colour patette. In the palette requester the program provides a rough on- screen colour approxi- mation, plus the actual RGB and CMYK values, although what gets displayed on screen is one of the 16 shades of grey. It can be a bit of a hit and miss operation, but it's an awful lot cheaper (and faster) than 24-bit hardware and software. As well as cropping and painting with brushes. BME will enable you to cut or copy rectangular sections from a picture and paste them down elsewhere on the same picture, or BME makes picture cropping for PageStream a more accurate affair. First you Import the picture Into PageStream (left), then Publish It and Subscribe to It In BME where you can drag out an area to be cropped (middle), the Update In BME and quit, and Anally Update In PageStream (right) an art package, more as a simple cropping and retouching extension to PageStream. As such, it does the job admirably. NETWORK SUPPORT In the near future (says Soft-Logik) there will be a version of HotUnks that supports networks. Put simply, a network would consist of a number of people, all at different Amiga workstations - in different offices in an office block for ir= j| BME allows as many pictures to be loaded as memory permits, after which you can copy bits from one picture Into another If you like, or create a 'new' window Into which parts of lots of pictures can be pasted, for Instance, to create a collage. into another one. You can even create an empty window and then copy bits from various other bitmaps into the empty one so you can make collages. In the same way that PageLiner is no replacement for a proper, fully- featured word processor. BME is no replacement for a dedicated art package. It mustn't be thought of as instance - all connected to one massive storage device, probably a hard drive with capacity measured in gigabytes (1.000 megabytes or more). While each workstation would run its own personal copy of HotUnks and applications software, they would all save and load their data from the communal hard drive. You can probably see the advantages of the HotUnks publishing, subscribing and updating system here - one person updates a text or graphic edition, and even/one else on the system automatically gets updated next time they access that edition. Obviously such a set-up would need a security system because the person in charge would want to restrict access of certain editions only to those people who need access to them, otherwise any Andy. Cliff or Diana could muck about with the data and deface or destroy important work. And although HotUnks doesn't yet support networking, the security system has been written and is included with the V1.0 release. SYSTEM MANAGEMENT It all revolves around the 'system manager'. This person has his or her own personal 'handle' (name) and password that gets his or her into HUMP, the HotUnks User Management Program. From here he or she can add new users to the network, and combine them into groups if need be; each user can have a password, initially provided by the system manager but which can be changed later by individuals, or there can be just one password for the entire group. With the network set up, and when the networking version of HotUnks is released, editions can be published with 'read/write' flags set so that only certain individuals, or groups of individuals, have access to them. You could ensure that nobody made any further changes to your edition by setting the Read Access to All, but the Write Access to fust Owner, provided you are the owner of the edition, of course. AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 83 DESKTOP PUBLISHING This security system isn't useful just in a networking situation, (t might come in handy if you have only one workstation used by many people. If you don't want others messing with your editions you could use the security password system and restrict access to only yourself or those who need access. But while this networking system is a good idea, one that is used widely out there in the professional "HotUnks improves Page Stream's chances of being used professionally." world. I'm not convinced that PageStream is a professional enough product to warrant the development of HotLinks In this direction. I can't see many home users setting up Amiga publishing networks, and In the seriously real world publishers use Macintosh computers and Quark Xpress software, period. I hate complaining about PageStream in public because people always accuse me of being biased against it, but if you'll allow me one quick demonstration of why PageStream could not be used to publish, for example, this magazine... I have 7Mb of memory in my Amiga 2000. 1 asked PageStream to import a 24-bit IFF picture whose file size was 2.5Mb. It imported OK as an Object, but when I tried to put that object on to the page I was told I was Out Of Memory. When I tried it again with a slightly smaller 24-bit picture, PageStream crashed unceremoniously. Now that's one, single, lonely. individual, sole, solitary 24-bit IFF picture. "You obviously need more memory!" I hear you scream. Well, if that's the case how come that with the same computer I recently used a rival DTP package to produce a full colour A4 leaflet that contained no less than six 24-bit colour pictures whose accumulative file size was about 16Mb, plus a 1.5Mb 8-bit greyscale picture, all viewable on- screen (albeit in four greyscales), plus a load of text? CONCLUDING THOUGHTS The point I'm trying to make is that perhaps Soft-Logik would be better advised to concentrate on improving PageStream' s performance so that it can be used truly professionally before developing a product that Is of use only to professional publishers? Having said that, I must say that HotLinks certainly improves PageStream' s chances of being used professionally, at least when they've got PageUner working property it will. But at the end of the day I'm left wondering what use the home desktop publisher will have for HotLinks. Home users will on the whole be using ordinary IFF or structured graphics, and there are better packages for working with both these formats. And if you really need to view and crop 24-bit or alien format bitmaps I suggest that, even though it costs a lot more and you need a lot of memory to use it, Art Department Professional is a much better investment. PageLiner, if the publishing and subscribing system worked properly, would be a good reason to buy HotLinks because of the time it would save applying styles to different blocks of text throughout a long document. In fact I'd go so far as to say that this feature alone may be worth the cost of the whole package. But at the moment it doesn't work. QJ fooooooooo SHOPPING LIST HetUaks £69.95 by Soft Logik Publishing Corporation 1 1 1 31 F Sooth Towne Square, St Louis, MO, 63123 USA • 0101800 829 8608 Distributed m UK by: HB Marketing, Unit 3, Poylc 14, Newlands Drive Colnbrook SL3 ODX tr 0753 686000 ECKOUT HOTUNKS Ease of Use • • • • O There's very little to remember, and the BME and PageUner programs do not have many features, so the system is not difficult to master. Features ttOOO When you write a list of what PageLiner and BME can actually do, it's surprising how short it Is. Documentation • • • • O The three manuals are excellent, and each provides easy-to-follow tutorials. Price Value • • O O O BME is underpowered. PageLiner doesn't work properly. HotLinks itself only works with these two programs and PageStream 2.2. Overall rating ooo In theory it's a good idea, in practice it sucks. Another curate's egg from Soft Logik. NOT SO COOL IN THE SHADE Check out Shades - a new product which supplies gradient fills for PageStream users One feature that PageStream and ProPage Ignore Is gradient fills, or fade textures. Fade textures blend an area from solid black to white In as smooth a gradient as possible. DPalnt has this feature, but the standard Amiga can display only 16 shades of grey, so the difference between each Is easily seen. Proper fade textures go from black to white in 256 steps, but this takes at least 8-bit colour to get 256 shades of grey. Expensive, memory munching and time consuming. Without many-bit colour the only other way to get smoother gradients is to use a structured drawing package that allows you to specify fill colours as percentages of red. green and blue, so achieving a fade from black to white in 100 steps or 200 steps by using half per cent jumps.This also involves the drawing of 100 or 200 shapes into which to put the fill colours, and accurate positioning. Not expensive, not as memory munching, but even more time consuming. Enter Shades, a diskful of ready-to-use 100-step gradient fills. NOT FOR PROPAGE The first thing to note is that Shades' gradient fills are for PageStream 2.1 and greater, so ProPage users can stop reading here. There are 27 shapes and styles, including circles, squares, rounded squares, triangles, polygons, stars, shooting stars, spheres and diagonals. Using them couldn't be simpler as they are saved as PageStream documents; all you do is Append the Shades file of your choice to the document you are working on and then cut-and-paste the clip to where you want it. Many hours have been spent creating Shades, and Source Graphics deserves credit for a job well done. However I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't point out a few things that the promotional blurb and manual fail to make clear. Dot-matrix printers - even high resolution ones like 300 dpi inkjets, laser printers and 360 dpi bubble jets - are unable to produce 100 grey shades. Because of the way dithering works, they can only produce patterns representing 16 levels of grey. So when you output a Shades gradient fill to a dot-matrix printer, what you get on the page looks very much like a greyscale gradient fill produced in DPaint- you can see each band of grey quite clearly, so the illusion of a smooth gradient goes straight out the window. To get printouts which contain smooth gradients you need to output to a PostScript device, or to non-PostScript printer via a PostScript interpreter. This is because PostScript uses 'halftoning', which is nothing like and nothing to do with, the Halftone dither option in Workbench Printer preferences. I explained about halftoning in the SaxonSchpt Professional review last month, so if you need more details I recommend you dig that out. This dithering problem doesn't mean that Shades is only useful to rich kids, the non-PostScript output is basically the same as a DPaint bitmap gradient but without jaggies, so there is one advantage for us poor kids too. CHECKOUT Shades Shade* la by Source Graphic*, costs £59.95 and la available In the UK from Maridlan Software. ISO Lubbletthorpe Road. Narborough Road South, Leicester LE3 2XF. tr 0533 896743/827102. The difference between bubble jet - 360 dpi (top right) . laserjet - 300 dpi (above left), and PostScript laser printer output - 360 dpi (bottom left) Ease of Use • • • • • Easy; simply Append. Cut and Paste. Documentation • • O O O Manual is skimpy, out of date, with grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Price Value ••OOO Lot of money for 27 clips: £2 plus each. Overall rating OOO Good idea, but a PostScript device Is needed to get the best from them. 84 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 e AUGUST 1992 V^LoM YOUR AMic! ' U FROM AMlGiV |J> TO 24 srr (i6.8 nujox COUtlUS) "IhlMIVin Itlk tUk4Jl 4VIII1II I»PALY1 " ASD MOST PAEVT PACKAGES SllfOKTED SIZED TO, M 18.00, A3 16.00 ; Kl •m> prlyts \* «i.oo, as «e.oo im.mnn mull et* KOAD GOJjaGMAM W«T MDE7 IPU MM S7MS8 THEMATIC CLIP ART Each dlek contains between 1 1 5 and 270 original, high quality, image* tor um wfth Amtga art and DTP programme - Deluxe Paint. Pro Page. Wordworth, Penpal, etc. Pets 2. Castles, cottages and churches 3. Trees 4. Signs and symbols 5. Wild Animals i.99 each Buy 3 or more for £6 each - Over 900 images lor only £30 Inclusive of 1 si class P&P - -* 1 1 'ik =»:•::;; is:!!:; r J ^ea» Pleas* make chequssPO s payable to ARTWORKS. uV^~A£ 1, Pond View, Woonon, Uloeby, S-Humberelde. DN90 6SF w 0460 5M196 *#* Orders normally dispatched wtthin 48hrs or Immediately after cheque clearance \P E.M. COMPUTERGRAPHIC Amiga Public Domain/Shareware DTP Packs W[- have imported most of the material on these disks directly from the U.S.A.. and have compiled these disks espeoaly lor Amiga DTP Users in mind II. We one* HEAL VALUE FOR MONEY SINCE ALL OUR DISKS ARE AT LEAST 00% FLILL II Note 2 1/2? and 30 Type 1 Forts can only be used wfh EMC Volume 1 - 5 Disks - £12.50 - Bitmapped CbpA/t Fuly sorted, ready lor FAST access and use, saved as brushes!! tMC Volume 2 - 6 Disks - £15.00 - PC CepArt gem structured cfipart and img clipart - a must lor P'Stream users!' EMC Volume 3 - 2 Disks - £ 5.00 - Pagestream Fonts 34 Pagestream format fonts, compatible with all versions. EMC Volume 4 - 5 Disks - £12.50 • Type 1 Fonts 67 Type 1 Fonts, all with IFF Previews, lor PPage/P' Sir earn users EMC Volume 5 - 5 Disks - £12.50 - Type 1 Fonts 63 Type 1 Fonts, all with IFF Previews, lor PPage/P 'Stream users. EMC Volume 6 - 5 Disks - £12.50 - Typel Fonts 83 Type 1 Fonts, all with IFF Previews, lor PPage/P 'Sir earn users. NEW EMC Volume 7 - 5 Disks - £12.50 - Typel Fonts 68 Type 1 Fonts, all with IFF Previews, lor PPage/P' Stream users. D \ O lOo9t E.M. COMPUTERGRAPHIC would like to Introduce the... M COMPUTER SAFARI range of Desktop Publishing Typefaces Available tor the FIRST time in the U.K. and compatible with Professional Page 3.0. Pagestream (all versions), and Windows applications unlcrMTIuilS PATRIOT Nervous CLASSIC TREK MYWOOiP bedding 'Cat ^c^rzz. £?rcujorhs Sticks BfotfrrCfcem* GRaZSf oaZQif ?*iht 2?u<6 HIRLOCN ,.ttsi ..,. For more information on EMC's PO/Shareware library and Computer Safari Fonts, including prices and printed typeface sheets PLEASE send us a S.A.E.H Attmn Mod»m U*mt% Log onto 01 FOR AMIGA and check out the EMC rile areas -90-04 Cheques Postal Orders to . E. M. COMPUTERGRAPHIC 8 Edith Road. Clacton. Essex COl5 1JU Tel : 0255 431389 Fax: 0255 428666 ************ * Price Busters!! ♦ Graphics & General Advantage 64.99 £ AntiA 24.99 Art Department Pro 2.... 139.99 .Baby 9.99 * Big Alternative Scroller ...34.99 Broadcast Titler 2 154.99 * Deluxe Paint IV 54.99 Expert Draw 49.99 * Expert 40 Jr 39.99 Font Grabber 29.99 Hot Links 49.99 Imagine 2.0 189.99 Mediastation 119.99 Personal Finance Manager 19.99 Personal Font Maker 34.99 Professional Calc 99.99 ProDraw2.0 89.99 * Real 3D Beginners 99.99 Scala 179.99 a|c Scala 500 64.99 Scenery Animator 49.99 4 Take 2 34.99 * Video Director 99.99 Video Fonts 39.99 * Vidi Amiga 84.99 Vidi Colour Solution 139.99 £ Vista Pro 2 49.99 Educational * Better Maths 14.99 Better Spelling 14.99 3|g Compendium 6 24.99 Distant Suns 4.1 39.99 Fun School 4 Series 15.99 GB Route Plus 54.99 Junior Typist 11.99 * Maths Mania 14.99 Micro Series 16.99 3|t Tekno Amiga 69.99 Three Bears 14.99 * Development & Utilities AMOS 29.99 * AMOS 3D 22.99 AMOS Compiler 19.99 3fe Easy AMOS 22.99 Anim Fonts 1 . 2 & 3 29.99 £ Blitz Basic 49.99 Can Do V1. 6 64.99 Dev Pac 3.0 49.99 Directory Opus 25.95 Diskmaster 32.99 HiSpeed Pascal 64.99 *FREEPOST * Home Accounts 2 36.95 Quarterback 5.0 39.99 Quarterback Tools 44.99 SASC 159.95 Turbo Print Pro 39.99 Hardware Boot Selector Switch 14.99 512K RAM with clock 29.99 1.5Mb RAM with clock ....82.99 Invision Plus/Live 499.99 Kickstart Switch 16.99 Naksha Mouse 22.99 Optical Mouse 29.99 RGB Splitter 59.99 RocGen Genlock 84.99 RocGenPlus 129.99 RocLite Drive 54.99 Podscat Graphics Tablet 189.99 Touch Screen for Amiga 229.99 3 Button Track Ball 34.99 Zydec Trackball 29.99 Zydec Amiga Drive 49.99 Zydec A500 1Mb RAM Card 44.99 Zydec Hand Scanner ....119.99 Music & Sound AD1012/Studio 16 Card 399.99 Audio Engineer Plus 2 ..149.99 Audition4 34.99 Deluxe Music Const. Set 49.99 Megamix Master 29.99 Perfect Sound 39.99 Pro Midi Interface 19.99 Sound Enhancer - NEWI.29.99 Stereo Master 29.99 * Techno Sound Turbo 29.99 DTP & Wordprocessing * Excellence 3.0 59.99 Gold Disk Type 29.99 * Page Setter 2 34.99 Page Stream 2.2 129.99 ^ Pen Pal 49.99 Pretext V5.5 99.99 Professional Page 3.0. ..129.99 * Quickwrite 29.99 Scribble 22.99 * Transwrite 29.99 Wordworth 1 .1 79.99 Works Platinum 49.99 or £5 Securicor * 48 hour despatch (cheques 7 days) . Cheques should be made payable to Softstore £ Access and VISA cards accepted ^ Softstore, 410 Bath Road, Slough SL1 6JA 0628 - 668320 * * CALLERS WELCOME * ************* COMMS ettlng up a BBS Is not a simple task. It takes quite a while and there are a lot of decisions to be taken. Amiga Shopper Is here to help, so we've come up with a guide to setting up your own BBS. We start off with what equipment you will need, how much it will cost and how to plan your board. Next month we'll take a look at the software that is available and examine how easy it is to use and This month our comms expert Phil Harris begins a look at how 7 to build your own BBS which features are provided. Finally we'll finish off with a look at some of the BBS utilities available and a look round an example board where the theory has been put into practice. SETTING UP As we examine the set-up process we'll be looking at the general features boards contain, which will be of interest to you even if you are not planning on setting up your own board. JARGON BUSTING • JARGON BUSTING BBS - A bulletin board system. A BBS is simply an electronic notlceboard. Callers to the system leave messages for other users to see. or can download and upload files for other people. Download - To transfer a file from a BBS to your own computer. Boards will usually limit the amount of time you have to spend downloading files, although many boards reward uploads with longer download times. Upload - To transfer a file from your computer to a BBS. Modem - A MODulator DEModulator. A modem is used to translate signals from your computer to and from audible signals that can be transmitted down a telephone line. Terminal - A software package which enables you to communicate with a modem. Having spent a few months wandering round the bulletin boards, many users get the urge to set up their own BBS. One of the reasons for this is money. Although setting up a board can cost a not inconsiderable amount of money, it does mean that files, messages and users come to you, saving you an awful lot of phone calls. SAVING MONEY One of the main reasons for wanting to set up a BBS is to save money, so the chances are that you will use your modem less. But if you want your board to become successful you will need to put effort into keeping it up to date, in particular by obtaining the latest and greatest files, so you will still need to use your modem. 8il i?. , «B.%K u s:*Tii.Ss?T !WS.'? r . 8 " $ •• '""'* "~ * »— » e " "" jtht us* i swk r4nif\. kod * lot annoying th» hind rtnsftn vi« Ihis tof tujrr if Still under dtutlopntnt so plot** ptfs on any buq rtoort* 104ns and groans to no or Qargrauarr* Thanks For your Co-Operation and Hop* to Chat Soon... fill n BESf for '9? D/--V ///ri ,f/s x£//> //>/ GvV "'"/// => Hit an«« K*y to continue 3fc tfn tf Weird names abound at the Big Bang Burger Bar, an excellent BBS with the custom software Rapport THE EQUIPMENT The first thing you need to decide before setting up a bulletin board system is what equipment you need, and more importantly, what you can afford. Obviously you will need a computer, a modem and a telephone line. If you're reading this the chances are you'll already have a computer, and it will be an Amiga so we'll assume that from now on. BAUD FOR THE BOARD You may already have a modem as well. If not. the minimum speed you need is really 2400 baud, with support for 300 and 1200 as well. You could go for a faster 9600 baud modem complete with data compression and the works, but it is better to stick with a slower and cheaper modem to begin wtth. You may well decide that you don't like running your own BBS after all and decide to pack it in, so the cheaper the modem the better when you're just starting out. You can usually reckon on the modem costing £50-£100. Whatever modem you have it must have an "auto-answer" facility to enable it to function with the BBS software. Most new modems have this; get a Hayes compatible model and you'll be OK. If you do already have a modem you will need to decide whether you still wish to use it for your own comms work, and if so how often you will use it. If you only have one modem the BBS will have to be taken off-line while you dial your favourite board and this will lead to frustration as your callers find your board continually down. If you do want to keep using the modem and not disturb the board too often you will need a second modem, and a computer to use it wtth. which, unless you are lucky enough to already have one spare, will be expensive. We'll assume you will be cutting down on your comms use and using it in the quiet moments for now though. THE TELEPHONE UNE The third requirement for a BBS is a telephone line. There are two options: use an existing line or get a new one installed. Using an existing line is obviously the cheapest and most preferable option. There are major disadvantages though. Obviously having a modem stuck on the end of the line all the time means that "normal" voice calls cannot be received without the caller being greeted with a high pitched whistle every time they call. There are ways around this. Limiting access to the board is the most obvious or you could try only allowing calls between certain times, when other callers won't be phoning. Late night is usually the best time for this, say between 9pm and 9am. The disadvantage with this is that you could lose callers who don't ordinarily have access to their modem at the time you are open. A night time board, for instance, would miss out on callers who use their modems from the office during the day. Inevitably people will forget that the board is not on-line during the 86 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 COMMS day and try to phone anyway. They'll be shocked when you answer the phone and you'll get an earful of modem. RINGBACK RIGMAROLE There is another way of combining voice and modem calls on one line, using "ring back' software. Ring back software waits for the telephone to ring and counts the number of times it does so. If the phone continues ringing beyond a set number of rings (usually three or four) the software ignores the call, allowing you to answer it. If the phone stops ringing before the limit is reached the software puts the modem into auto-answer mode and if another call comes in within the next minute or so it will be answered by the modem. That way voice callers can still get through, but modem users who follow the correct procedure de dial. wait for one or two rings, hang up, then dial again) get through to the BBS. As with the limited access method, people will forget and you will answer the phone to a modem occasionally but the board will be available for longer periods giving you more callers. GETTING A NEW UNE Obtaining a new line is the most satisfactory option, but also the most expensive. A new line from BT will cost you approximately £150. not the sort of thing to be taken lightly, and if there is any chance of you not wanting to run the BBS. you are better off using an existing line until you are certain you like the idea. A new line is by far the best option though; it gives full access to the board with the least hassle and you can still use the other line for your own calls. Even if you are sure that you will want a new line, it is best to leave it as late as possible, just in case. DRIVE DECISIONS The one thing that BBSs are always short of is space. No matter how much storage space you have, you'll always need more, particularly if you want to make lots of files available. You've got three options on the Amiga. FLOPPY DRAWBACKS It is possible to run a BBS from a single floppy drive but I wouldn't recommend it. By the time you've put the BBS software on the disk, plus the message base and any support files required, there will be no room for any files. Adding a couple of external disk drives (£50-£100 each) would give you an extra couple of megabytes of space for files. In an ideal world, though, that's still not really enough. Of course, you don't have to have files. It is possible to run a message-only BBS, particularly if you have some form of expertise which you can offer callers. However, floppies are pretty slow and callers will soon get frustrated with the long delays which are costing them money. But. it's files which attract would make using floppies much easier and quicker, although it's still far from ideal. HARD DRIVE This is by far the best method of storing the files required for running a BBS. Indeed, it is the only way for a serious BBS of any size. The Amiga does have a disadvantage compared to other An example of how to make your board Interesting - the Information screen from the Big Bang BBS callers, so although it is possible to run a BBS from floppies on a temporary basis it isn't really viable in the long term. RAM DRIVE If you have plenty of RAM you could conceivably run the BBS from RAM. You would, however, need to copy any data files to disk regularly to ensure that they weren't lost if the power went down. RAM does give you very fast access, but that's about all. The risk of losing the board at a moment's notice due to a power cut or something similar is really too great to allow its use. A RAM drive could be used in conjunction with a traditional floppy drive to give extra storage space, for the BBS software perhaps. This machines when it comes to hard drives in that they are quite expensive compared to drives for other machines, although, with a little shopping around, it is possible to get pretty large drives for a reasonable price nowadays. The minimum size for a hard drive-based system is really 30 megabytes although a 20 megabyte system would suffice for a while. Remember that if your board begins to get more successful in the future, you will probably want to upgrade to give yourself more room for files. WHICH SOFTWARE? Finally, you'll want some software. There are plenty of packages around to choose from, from freebie systems written in Basic to full-scale commercial packages which can The name you choose for your BBS Is important. A good name will attract callers. What constitutes a good name depends on your point of view, but It's still worth putting a little thought into this area... If you wish only to attract Amiga callers then putting Amiga in the title gets the message across immediately. 01 FOR AMIGA for instance is clearly an Amiga only board. Alternatively you could choose a name relating to the theme of your board, something which will make it stand out to other people interested in the subject matter. For instance, The Big Bang Burger Bar will immediately attract the attention of anyone interested in The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy, where the name comes from. Or you can choose an unusual name. People will always be attracted to the board because of the name. Pernicious Anaemia BBS fails into this category. Once you've chosen your name, it's a good idea to check to make sure that one does not already exist with the same name. It would be confusing and counter productive to have two boards with the same name and some sysops defend their names with vigour. s jQ cost several hundred pounds. It is best to plan the layout and feel of your board before you get the software. That way you can ensure that the software you get can do what you want it to. This enables you to create the board you want rather than what the software wants. We'll be taking a close look at the various packages available next month but before then we'll discuss how to design your bulletin board, and make it a success. ANATOMY OF A BBS A lot of thought must go into what your board is going to contain, and what »s going to make it stand out from the rest of the BBSs. A BBS is divided into several sections, we'll take a look at each one in turn giving a quick description of what you'll find there. 1 MAIN MENU The main menu is the first area callers see. From here it should be possible to get to most other areas on the board. It is also a good idea to include some general purpose options from here such as a help command for users to find out more about the layout of the board, and a "page sysop" option to allow users to chat to you. 2 BULLETINS The bulletins area is a selection of text files accessible from a menu. Exactly what is contained in the text files is up to you but common items include board news containing any important announcements you wish to make, information about the board such as its history, items you have for sale second-hand and the rules and regulations that apply to the board. Sysop specials Some sysops are also able to run special offers with the help of local shops and sell disks, software, hardware and sometimes public domain software. The bulletin area is the ideal place to advertise that sort of thing. Other boards Many bulletin boards supply lists of other recommended BBSs. Again, this is a good place to put a text file giving details of your own favourite board. Some bulletin board software has special support for a bulletin area which will ask users if they want to read any bulletins every time they call and inform them if any have changed since they last phoned the board. If you are planning on placing a great deal of emphasis on bulletins, it would be worth (Mtinwd on poft 89 AMIGA SHOPPER • ISSUE 16 • AUGUST 1992 87 OOKING FO LOOK NO REMEMBER ALL DISKS SOLD BV BCS ARE FULLY GUARANTEED ISKS & BOXES FURTHER DISKS! DISKS! DISKS! m% cnmntD uttot nut 3.5" DS/DD £22.50 3.5" DS/DD £37.00 3.5" DS/DD £52.50 3.5" DS/DD £69.00 3.5" DS/DD £138.00 <