Table Of ContentTTHHEE FFUUTTUURREE OOFF AAMMIIGGAA CCOOMMPPUUTTIINNGG
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ISSUE JANUARY 2000 £ 4.95
SPECIAL PRICE
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WWIITTHHOOUUTT TTEEAARRSS
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CCOOMMDDEEXX FFAALLLL
Digital Almanac
P l u s
Developer CD 2.1
Heretic 2 Preview
OS 3.5 Masterclass
POWER COMPUTING LTD. POWER COMPUTING LTD.
Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]
www.powerc.com www.powerc.com
Tel: 01234 851500 Tel: 01234 851500
02 AMIGACTIVE ISSUE4 ISSUE4 AMIGACTIVE 03
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A A
MIGACTIVE ISSUE 4 CONTENTS
RReegguullaarrss RReevviieewwss FFeeaattuurreess AAAACCDD 0044
6 News 24 Pagestream 4 16 Digital Convergence This month's CD, like its older
from the Amiga community The latest version of Just what might the future brothers, is chock full of useful
and elsewhere. Softlogik’s DTP program hold for the home computing and fun material. Here are
gets a hands-on preview environment, and what does some selected highlights, but
9 Editorial it have to do with the Amiga? don’t stop here, check out the
Marketing, marketing, rest of the CD yourself.
marketing! 26 Digital Almanac
A new CD version of the • Digital Almanac:Read the
10 Rants & Raves stargazer’s best companion. review this issue and try out the
Product availability and program for yourself. As well as the
gaming in cyberspace. Home Electronics World 1999 Pagestream 4: Hands-on preview! 34 OS3.5 Masterclass Digital Convergence explained demo version of this stargazing Digital Almanac. You are, er, well...
It’s more than just a bundle program, we have extra information
12 Show Reports 28 GoldEd Studio 6 of pretty icons, sweet looking and updated data files for the full program.
Home Electronics World ‘99 Dietmar Eilert’s multi- backdrops and boing-ball
and Comdex Fall. talented editor. samples, y’know. • AmigaOS 3.5: All of the program mentioned in the OS 3.5
Masterclass and some more usefuladdons besides. The Websites
20 On Trial section of the CD also contains postings to the OS 3.5mailing list,
The cow-shaped company read what others are doing to make the most of their upgrade.
stands in the dock this month. 30 Developer CD 2.1
Following hot on the heels • Commercial updates: Whenever possible, we bring you
48 Active Gamer of OS 3.5. 42 Samba Masterclass updates for commercial as well asshareware software. This month
Previews of, among others, Learning to use the tree- we have updates for PFS3, Directory Opus, CyberGraphX,IOBlix
Simon the Sorceror 2. hugging UNIX programmer and the new version of Picasso96.
type networking protocol to
54 Interactive 32 Top Gear really link your Amiga to a • Demos, mods, anims and pictures: As always, we bring you a
Your letters answered by The cow-shaped company on trial Small balls and flat Real Panel, real flat, real sound? network. Step by step. Amiga OS 3.5 Masterclass. Boing! selection of visual andaudio treats.
the erstwhile Editor. speakers.
• Readers: We didn't receive enough submissions to warrant a
57 Subscriptions separate drawer this month.If you have a program, demo, mod or
...and back issues. Don’t anything else you would like to share with the restof our readers,
go out, stay in! We deliver! 40 Active Shareware 50 Heretic II Preview see the CDsubmissions file in the Magazine drawer for details of
Including a more in-depth Not stricly a feature in the how tosend it to us.
58 Ask The Guru look at KingCon. same sense as those
...and he’ll happily answer all above, but a nice couple of This is really only scratching the surface. double-click
of your questions. Ah, bliss. pages that we thought you the Welcome icon and have agood browse around the CD
might like to know about. for yourself, and don't forget there's an easy-to-use
60 Online 52 Max Rally Search program if you're looking for something in
Make the web work for you Not entirely like a rally, but particular. If you have any comments about the CD, don’t
instead of against you. a racing game nonetheless. forget to let us know. E-mail [email protected] or
write to:AACD 4, Amiga Active magazine, Systems House,
63 Retroactive Bluey vigilantly monitors our post KingCon: King for a day, or a month Heretic II is coming to the Amiga... 3-11 Spring Road, Bournemouth BH1 4PZ.
Remember all those 3D
packages that grew on trees?
04 AMIGACTIVE ISSUE4 ISSUE4 AMIGACTIVE 05
NNEEWWSS
A A
MIGACTIVE ACTIVE NEWS
NNeewwss BBiitteess
Unmeter ed
Internet calls
from BT
...and plans for
Apple Bitten
℡ ADSL
British Telecom have unlimited access at anytime, despite the news coming a lot rate scheme would mean an end Following the Microsoft anti-trust ruling reported last
announced new day, evening and night-time, later than hoped. to this source of income, but issue, Apple has been suspected of violating anti-
packages for “unlimited and weekends, plus any Freeserve, who in September trust laws in Japan. The Fair Trade Commission made
Internet access.”These would applicable ISP subscription The Good, The Bad announced they were making an inspection of Apple Computer Japan’s headquarters
appear to be in addition to charge. The main benefits of unmetered more money from e-commerce on December 7.
their previously announced Internet access, at the right and advertising than they were Reports have suggested that Apple Japan pressured retailers
Service Provider Tariff. BT ‘Pay-as-you-go’ Internet option monthly charge, will be seen in from call revenue, remain BT have claimed the prices are into not selling its iMac desktop and iBook computers below retail
Surftime will offer several - Internet calls charge at one the areas of e-commerce and confident that they will not be “highly competitive,”and list prices by threatening to suspend shipments.
packages, each offering penny per minute evening, online gaming. UK businesses are adversely affected by the scheme, anticipates a huge demand for
“unlimited usage”at night-time and weekend as well now expected to quickly adopt e- although they couldn’t confirm ADSL. ”If the market grows as we
different times of the day or as two pence per minute during commerce in the face of growing whether or not they would adopt expect it to, we will cover 70 He won at iwon
week. The packages are as the day, plus any applicable ISP competition from the rest of the new model. percent of UK homes by the end
follows: subscription charge. Europe. UK e-Minister Patricia of 2001,” said Bill Cockburn,
The Ugly?
Hewitt welcomes the move as part group managing director of
Weekend Internet option - a BT Surftime will also be of the Government’s plan to Of further concern is the effect of BTUK, going on to claim that “no
£6.99 per month charge for available to customers on Home make the UK the best place for e- the announcement on the other country has such an Not to be confused with Iwin, Iwon.com - an
unlimited access at the Highway and ISDN lines. All commerce by 2002. Meanwhile, introduction of ADSL (Asymmetric aggressive roll-out programme.” American Internet portal backed by CBS - has
weekend plus any applicable prices include VAT. for those less interested in the Digital Subscriber Line) to the Earlier, BT Chairman Sir Iain given away one million dollars in its second
ISP subscription charge. On Whilst the announcement has success of e-commerce, it is whole of the UK. BT has been Vallance admitted to losing the monthly giveaway.
weekdays, customers will be confirmed the view that US-style predicted that long stints of online trialling a scheme in North war of words on on the on-line Dan Barclay, father of six from Babylon, New York, was
charged at only one penny per flat-rate Internet access is an gaming should finally become a London for the past year, and revolution, but said it was time to awarded the prize on December 12.
minute evening and night-time inevitable pathway for the UK, reality - good news for Amiga recently announced that from the look at the economic realities of Iwon.com are giving away $10,000 each day, $1 million once a
and two pence per minute industry leaders have responded owners awaiting Hyperion’s port Spring of 2000, UK ISPs will be broadband communications and month and a whopping $10 million once a year. Users are
during the day. angrily to the announcement, of Heretic 2 (see our preview this able to buy ADSL services for a internet pricing. Speaking at the entered into the daily, monthly and yearly draws for free, just for
claiming the charge of £34.99 for issue starting on page 50), and one-off connection charge of Telecommunications Managers using the site to search the web or check their e-mail.
Evening and night-time Internet BT’s most comprehensive option therefore for BT as well, who £150 and a monthly fee of £35. Association conference in The catch? You must be a resident of America aged over 18 to
option - a £6.99 per month is too expensive for mass should expect to benefit from the The cost to end users is estimated Brighton at the end of November, be eligible for the sweepstake. D’oh!
charge for unlimited access adoption. addition to many homes of a to emerge at around £50 per Sir Iain tackled the subject of
during the evening and night- According to America Online’s second phone line. month. mass deployment of broadband
time, Monday to Friday, plus (AOL) CEO Andreas Schmidt, UK Main concerns surround the BT is due to install ADSL into technology:
any applicable ISP subscription consumers will be paying nearly effect of the announcement on 400 exchanges around the “Isimply don’t buy the idea that Sex, Chips,
charge. At weekends, twice as much per month free ISPs and the actual financial country in the Spring, bringing the (...) knowledge is all and
customers will be charged at compared to America. The benefits to individual users. At service to around 6 million experience counts for nothing.
only one penny per minute and Campaign for Unmetered £34.99 a month, individuals households, although the Everyone, no matter how
two pence per minute on Telecommunications (CUT) would have to work out just how telecommunications provider has inexperienced, claims to know
weekdays. welcomed the news from BT, but much they currently spend on come under fire for planning to better than BT.” or sausage roll?
warned that their job was far Internet calls to find out if the provide a slower service at higher Whether or not BT’s
Daytime Internet option - a from over, also claiming that the charges would benefit them in the cost than was originally intended. “aggressive”ADSL plan will be
£26.99 per month charge for proposed prices were too high long run. The first phase of the North dampened by the response to
unlimited access during the and that a price of £20 per Concern of the effect on other London trial saw users being their unmetered Internet call tariff
day, Monday to Friday, plus any month would be far more Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offered 2Mbit/s access speeds for remains to be seen - although According to a recent survey, one in five Brits prefer
applicable ISP subscription reasonable compared to the rest was realised the day after BT’s £30 per month. For phase two, even if everything goes according eating chips to using their computer, and a quarter
charge. Outside this period of Europe. announcement as Freeserve’s BT changed the scheme to a to plan, 30 percent of the UK would rather be using their hard drive than their
customers will be charged at Consumers, meanwhile, have stock price fell sharply. Free ISPs more “realistic”512kbits/s at a population will still be waiting for sex drive.
only one penny per minute. shown a mixed response to the do not charge a subscription fee, cost of £50 per month - a quarter high-speed ADSL Internet The survey was carried out by Microsoft, so we assume the
announcement, claiming that it getting their revenue instead from the speed for nearly twice the connections in two years’ time. computer implied was a Wintel box, which would make the results
Anytime Internet option - a marks a turn for the better for the a percentage of local phone call price. In France, users enjoy ADSL But until then, unmetered internet even more shocking. (cid:2)
£34.99 per month charge for UK’s take-up of the Internet - charges. Adopting BT’s new flat- services for half that price. access may just suffice.
Got some news? E-mail the Amiga Active news desk at: [email protected] or write to: Amiga Active magazine, 3-11 Spring Road, Bournemouth BH1 4PZ
06 AMIGACTIVE ISSUE4 ISSUE4 AMIGACTIVE 07
NNEEWWSS
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MIGACTIVE ACTIVE NEWS
10MBit Ethernet
Two Million
latest news from
EEddiittoorriiaall
Eyetech for A1200
Times Faster! Marketing, Marketing,
Marketing!
IBM have announced a
$100 million research Eyetech are pressing on with the development of their
initiative to build the EZTower system with the release of the Mk5, now sporting ...now that’s innovative!
world’s fastest a built in DF0 faceplate, a total of nine drive bays and
supercomputer, estimated ATXPC motherboard compatibility for conversion into a joint Oddly enough, despite the recent Cologne show, we
to be 500 times more Amiga/PC EZPC-Tower system. didn’t have that many products to review this month.
powerful than those Now appointed the exclusive UK distributor of Active Technologies’ It’s not much of a problem for us, really. When we
currently available. Amiga products, Eyetech are the place to go if you’re looking for Innovative of Germany have announced the availability of worked out the basic design and layout of the magazine,
The supercomputer will be products such as the award-winning Netconnect 3 (reviewed last issue) their 10Mbit ethernet PCMCIA card for A1200 and A600 one important innovation was the flexible section format.
1,000 times more powerful and STFax (reviewed in issue two) software. New Netconnect 3 bundles owners. The required SANA-II networking drivers are Rather than waste your time by giving long reviews to any old
than Deep Blue (the have just been launched - now you can get everything you need to included, as are instructions on setting up a connection rubbish we find just to fill pages, we write about something useful
supercomputer that famously connect to the ‘net in one package - see Eyetech’s advert this issue for between your Amiga and a PC. and interesting. Even if there aren’t many new products to talk
defeated Gary Kasparov in a game of chess in 1997) and an estimated details. In other news, an enhancement kit for fxPaint (which we reviewed last about, there are older products to do Masterclasses on,
two million times faster than today’s fastest Desktop Pcs. It will allow The bargains don’t stop there - not content with their online bundles, issue) has been released. Boasting several speed enhancements over the technologies to discuss and tutorials to run. There’s no shortage of
scientists to model the folding of human they are now offering new low-cost scanner bundles too. Get your hands original version, the enhancement kit also provides direct support for things to write about - if I had enough writers and a big enough
proteins and give researchers a better on a Mustek 600 DPI (dots per inch) parallel scanner together with the Picasso96. An fxPaint FAQ has also been made available on Innovative’s budget we could come up with enough article ideas to fill a
understanding of human diseases and IOBlix parallel port for the A1200 and ScanQuix4 award winning web site. magazine twice this size easily.
potential cures. software all for under £150. http://www.innovative-web.de Now I’m sure that part of the reason why there was so little sent
Dubbed “Blue Gene,”the computer heralds There’s more - Amiga-Amiga and Amiga-PC networking packages are in for review this month is that the market is a bit depressed after
“the first major revolution in how computers also available. An ethernet card, with the required drivers, will set you the announcement from Amiga that they have scrapped the MCC.
are built since the mid-1980s,”said Dr. Ambuj back £44.95, whereas two cards and a connecting cable will cost you However, the truth is that there were actually more products
Goyal, IBM Research’s vice president of slightly more at £89.95. Both packages include PC drivers for connecting £££££££££££ released this month, we just haven’t reviewed them all. In a couple
computer science. “We call this new approach to a notebook. Meanwhile, an Amiga PCMCIA card and a PCI ethernet of cases this is because they are products which require long review
to computer architecture SMASH, which stands card for your PC (with a cable to connect them both) costs £69.95. periods, but in some other cases it is because we don’t have them
for Simple, Many and Self-Healing.” All packages include Amiga-Amiga and Amiga-PC networking software. yet. It’s not uncommon for people to ring, e-mail or write to a
Blue Gene will be made up from over one Finally, as it’s the Millennium, Eyetech have five limited special offers magazine asking why a particular product hasn’t been reviewed yet.
million processors, each capable of one on Apollo accelerators. Prices are as follows: Of course we want to review exciting new products, but we can’t
billion operations per second (1 gigaflop). Above: Dr. Ambuj Goyal review things we don’t have. Often this is caused by missed release
With 32 of these processors on a single chip and Dr. Paul Horn of IBM. 1230/40 8 Mips . . . . . . . . . . . .£59.95 (includes 4MB RAM) Discount dates, but just as frequently, it’s because we haven’t been able to
It’s the
and 64 such chips on a board, a single Top left:From individual 1240/28 21 Mips . . . . . . . . . . .£99.95 get a review sample yet.
two-foot square circuit board will be capable processors to a super- 1240/40 30 Mips . . . . . . . . . . .£149.95
Free publicity
of two teraflops. 64 racks, each consisting of computer: how Blue Gene 1260/75LC 59Mips . . . . . . . . . . . .£199.95
eight such boards will be linked together to will be put together. Now speaking personally, I find this utterly bizarre. If I was releasing
form a machine less than 2,000 square feet For more information on any of the above offers, give Eyetech a call a piece of software or hardware (especially in a small market like
in size and capable of one petaflop (one million billion op/second). on (01642) 713185 or visit their web site at: that Counts the Amiga market), the first thing I’d think about was marketing it -
http://www.ibm.com/news/1999/12/06.phtml http://www.eyetech.co.uk making people aware that it existed and was available to buy. The
easiest and cheapest way of doing that is to send out review copies
3dfx
to magazines. Why is it that we have to chase these things up
Epic ourselves more often than not? More to the point, why is it often so
Glides open difficult to persuade companies to get around to shipping a review
sample even when we have gone to them and asked for one? OK, I
to let you do your own
can understand that a company shipping a product that they know
After a long delay, AmigaSoc have announced the return is bad might not want their product reviewed, but if you believe in
of their User Group Discount Scheme. your creation, then surely you would jump at the chance of getting
Marketing?
3dfx Interactive, Inc. have announced that their Glide API thousands of people reading about this wonderful new release?
(Application Programmers Interface) is to go Open User group members in the UK are now entitled to a discount of Normally, companies in any publishing or manufacturing field put
Source. The hardware specs for all its currently shipping between five and 25 percent off selected items from a number of Amiga a lot of thought and effort into ensuring good publicity for their
3D accelerators will also be made available to the public. companies, including Amiga Survivor, Blittersoft, Epic Marketing, Eyetech, products, and there are certainly some Amiga companies who that
The California based company, manufacturer of the Voodoo range of As we were going to press, Epic Marketing revealed plans Fore-Matt Home Computing, HiSoft Systems, Paul Nolan, Power applies to - but it amazes me how often we have to chase
3D graphics chips hopes that both software developers and members of for a new software publishing system which will allow Computing and White Knight. All orders must be placed through your companies up repeatedly in an attempt to give their new releases
the Open Source community will now be able to better develop, support anyone to publish their creations and have end users user group representative in order to qualify for the discount scheme. free publicity. What’s the point of having a great product if no one
and maintain drivers for 3dfx products. 3dfx will now focus its internal buy via credit card direct from Epic. If you aren’t already a user group member, there’s never been a knows about it? I can almost understand why there is so little
efforts on developing Direct3D and OpenGL hardware. Programmers will upload demos of their software to a space on Epic’s better time to join. AmigaSoc’s web site contains a user group section, generic product advertising in the Amiga market despite how cheap
Glide was originally developed in 1996 to allow developers to take web site and fill in information about their program which will then be where you will be able to locate the user group nearest you and find adverts in UK Amiga mags have traditionally been, but this one is a
advantage of Voodoo’s custom 3D features. viewable by other visitors to the site. The full version of the software can out how to join. real puzzle to me. It seems that the bad marketing of the Amiga
The move increases 3dfx’s potential to become a leading standard then be purchased online, via credit card and will be shipped to the AmigaSoc expect to sign more dealers to the scheme over the market that many blame for the downfall of Commodore continues
for cross-platform 3D hardware and has been welcomed by Linus purchaser direct from Epic. Full details of the scheme should be coming months. For more details about the scheme, keep an eye on to work its curse long after that company has gone.
Torvalds, founder of the Linux Operating System. available on Epic’s web site by the time you read this. AmigaSoc’s web site. Andrew Korn A .
http://www.3dfx.com http://www.epicmarketing.ltd.net http://uk.amigasoc.org/usergroups
08 AMIGACTIVE ISSUE4 ISSUE4 AMIGACTIVE 09
OOPPIINNIIOONN
A A
MIGACTIVE OPINION
Rants Raves Rants Raves
and Below right:Online gaming, take 1: Everquest. and
Below:Online gaming, take 2: Quake.
dying
Gaming in
There’s something big happening in the world
Read all about it!
of games. Isn’t it time we got on board?
cyberspace
(If you can find it...)
In all my time of owning, what you need to know. All that Then there’s advertising. It’s great that we are a significant advantage to players characters are frequently put up Amigas would be up to the task,
We all know the
using and writing about added last minute work dealing Products like NetConnect 3, seeing some really good with better framerates. There is for auction and sold for scary let alone G3/G4 machines.
the Amiga, there’s one with promised - but not delivered - Apollo’s Z4 board, WipEout 2097 multi-platform titles being another, newer trend that might amounts of very real money. At However, Everquest isn’t really
Amiga market isn’t as
thing that has consistently review products doesn’t help. and Pagestream 4 would, in an ported to the Amiga still. Just be worth taking a close look at. time of writing there are over the right choice as it has been
frustrated me: the gradual The end result is, predictably, ideal world, be promoted with at last month we had WipEout Games developer Verant, in 5000 Everquest items on sale at running a while now, and the
big as it used to be,
decrease in the amount of fewer sales. If a piece of least a couple of full-page adverts 2097, and we should be conjunction with Sony, have been www.ebay.com, and there are developers operate a system of
thought, planning and hardware or software receives a in the mainstream Amiga press getting Heretic 2 in a month running a quiet phenomenon for currently 21 bids in for a couple continual upgrade patches which
but does that excuse
presentation that has been less-than-glowing review, it won’t upon their release. Instead, or two, with more to come. a little while now. Their Internet of powerful characters at $4,050 would have to be directly cross-
going into Amiga products. sell as well as it might. When this promotion is left solely to These are games for the only PC game, Everquest, is a (there’s even one bid in at compilable for an Amiga version
people from making
In this month’s Editorial (turn happens, companies appear to distributors who, more often than more dedicated Amiga “massively multiplayer” 3D RPG, $1,000,000, but that must be a to be feasible. Maybe Verant’s
back a page), Andrew touches on take it as a sign that the Amiga not, relegate the product to a gamer, requiring modern closely modelled on Dungeons mistake, surely?) rumoured upcoming massively
an effort nowadays?
the subject of review samples market is dying (again), and thumbnail-sized spot in the hardware to run, and and Dragons, which lets your multiplayer game set in the Star
Right for the Amiga?
and the effort we have to put in to resign themselves to the fact bottom corner of their full-page pushing the Amiga envelope, avatar interact in a complex Wars universe would be a better
chasing them. This is a bad thing - that they needn’t make the effort ad. Never mind, people will get which is good. What’s more, fantasy world populated by Porting a game of this type might choice. Alternatively, perhaps
but not just for companies who next time. to hear about the product through they are truly excellent somewhere averaging between be more valuable to an Amiga something Amiga native could
want to survive in the Amiga the rave reviews in the Amiga games. Shame they’re so late. 1000 and 1500 other gamers at developer than other types of go the other way? Explorer 2260
Second Nietzsche
market today. The more time a press, right? With a suppressed I think that rather than porting any one time. Demand is so high game. When dealing with a niche seems to be aiming at a design
magazine spends chasing a When Friedrich Nietzsche coined sigh, I refer you back to the tried and tested favourites, games that they run separate worlds on market like this, the added very appropriate to this model.
product, the harder it is to give it the phrase “That which does not beginning of this article. companies should be looking at almost two dozen servers to keep attraction of a share of the Once The World Foundry have
a full, thorough review - and kill me, makes me stronger,” he In a way, such inadequacies jumping onto upcoming trends. up. With sales at around 150,000 monthly subscription fee could be something really tangible to
because you would rightly write in obviously wasn’t thinking of the are understandable; in a small The necessity of aiming modern it isn’t exactly the biggest selling a tempting possibility. On top of show, maybe Sony would like to
Below:In an ideal world, games like and complain if we skated over Amiga market, which appears to market, publishers are keen to games at the higher end of game on the planet, but it has that, this sort of game is time / port that from the Amiga, and
WipEout 2097 would be promoted something, we have to work follow the little-known: “That launch a product as quickly as Amigas has a significant impact - incredibly dedicated players who turn based, and therefore slower get a couple of dozen E2260
with full-page ads in the Amiga press. through nights as deadline which does not kill us just makes possible after it is complete, and almost all potential purchasers spend many hours a week in the hardware is no real disadvantage. servers running?
If only it were an ideal world... approaches in order to tell you us a bit weaker, but there you go, as a result they tend to neglect will be high end users, and alternative universe, and pay Current PPC / Warp3D equipped Andrew Korn A .
what can you do?” variation. a few of the niceties. The problem probably keen Internet users. It Verant $10 a month for the
The result of this attitude is that is that not many companies in might be worth an Amiga games privilege (on top of the £34.95
Amiga releases these days tend the Amiga market know the company taking a bit of a gamble price of the game).
to fall into one of the following difference between niceties and on Internet gaming. The immersive nature of
categories, neither of which are necessities, and proper marketing Everquest is the key to its success.
What the frag...!?
ideal: is a necessity. If they don’t get Quake’s interactivity is limited in
this right, they are cutting their It is already possible to join in comparison. Sure you do a lot of
1) A product that turns out to be own throats. Internet games with the Amiga, fighting in both, but Quake never
great, but no-one (remember David Stroud A . just so long as it’s Quake. Soon gives you the opportunity to go to
I’m not just talking about the we will have Heretic 2 as well. the pub with your virtual friends
online Amiga community interact ! However, these don’t strike me as and get drunk, go on complex,
here) hears about it until the being the right place to start. The globe-spanning quests, develop
last minute (Pagestream 4, culture of on-line FPS (First Person an online romance, or ruin the
So, what do you think?
WipEout 2097...) Shooter) games isn’t a universally local economy by flooding it with
We don’t just want to share our accessible one. A lot of people cheap imports. Because Everquest
2) A product that receives plenty views with you, we want to hear simply aren’t too interested in engages on a more personal level
your own personal opinions. If
of hype but either a) never getting into a frag-fest with a than Quake, it engages people
anything you’ve read here has made
materialises or b) is you think, write in to the address on bunch of l33t gamez d00dz. more deeply. The best evidence of
consistently postponed until page 54, or e-mail us and let us know! What’s more, the hardcore are all this can be found on various on-
everyone forgets it ever [email protected] playing on £3000 ninja PCs, and line auction sites, where rare
existed. (AmozillaX, BoXeR...) by their nature these games give virtual Everquest goods and
10 AMIGACTIVE ISSUE4 ISSUE4 AMIGACTIVE 11
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MIGACTIVE SHOW REPORT
99
New PPC Amigas? board and have begun work on 200MHz CyberStormPPC
porting AmigaOS to native (604e), but emulation on the
Show Report
PowerPC. They are negotiating PowerUP cards is seriously
with Amiga to release a PPC hampered by the lack of a
Haage & Partner are planning version of AmigaOS for use on level 2 (L2) cache. Running
to port AmigaOS to run on these machines and already on a 400MHz G4 with full L2
PowerPC. The new PowerPC have the support of Petro cache would give a speed
reference motherboard from Tyschtschenko. In addition to closer to that of current
Home Electronics World
IBM, known as the POP board, porting AmigaOS, they have to 68060 processors, possibly
is set to create a standard write PPC drivers and even faster.
hardware base for PPC based subsystems for graphic and With the Amiga’s system
computers. Several companies sound cards, SCSI controllers libraries running on native
in the Far East have already and the various other bits and PowerPC code, applications
expressed an interest in pieces that make up a will run faster than on a
building machines based on complete computer system. 680x0 machine of the same
We take a look at the goings on at the year’s largest show for Amiga companies.
this design, mainly for use with The PPC AmigaOS will also equivalent CPU speed. The
Linux. News of the POP boards run on Amigas equipped with alternative is a full Classic
was announced in issue two of existing PowerUP cards, now Amiga emulator based on
This year’s Cologne show add-on. Prices start at around Amiga Active, although it now that Haage & Partner have all UAE. It seems likely that a
saw a change of name, £80 for the 10Mb/s card and Above: Haage & Partner’s appears that IBM will be of the documentation relating combination of the two
from “Computer ‘99” to £120 for the 100Mb/s version, development PowerPC making the boards themselves, to these cards, and it is approaches would yield the
“Home Electronics World ‘99.” both including the Twister. motherboard. The white square as well as supplying expected that the forthcoming best results, with some
If this name change was Amiga Active’s stand was on the left, just above the PCI schematics to third party G3 and G4 cards from various software running better on
supposed to indicate a step busy, selling magazines, CDs and slots, is a G3 PowerPC processor. manufacturers. Haage & Partner hardware developers will be UAE while other programs
towards Digital Convergence, subscriptions. Issue two was sold already have a development able to run it as well. would benefit more from
there was little evidence of it out by the middle of Saturday The IBM POP design only 680x0 emulation.
“Haage & Partner (...) are
inside the exhibition hall. afternoon, with almost all copies has a PPC CPU, so older
The layout and content of the of Issue one selling by the end of software will need some form
show was similar to the the show. Most people were of 680x0 emulation. There are
negotiating with Amiga to release
previous year, although buying both issues, but we had two possible approaches here:
somewhat smaller. The show more copies of the first issue to Haage & Partner already have
ran for a total of three days, start with. We regretted only a working 680x0 emulator
a PPC version of AmigaOS.”
from Friday 12th to Sunday taking a thousand copies of the which currently runs at around
14th November. magazine with us! Although we 20MHz 68040 speed on a
This was the first major Amiga were the only UK Amiga
show in three years where there magazine in attendance, German
was no announcement or titles Amiga Plus and Amiga OS WipEout2097, and were also
conference from Amiga Above:Those damn penguins get everywhere! This A4000 PowerPC system were also there, as were the selling NetConnect 3 and STFax
themselves. As a result, there is had Linux installed on it, showing just how fast a PPC Amiga can go when normal collection of journalists 4. The Haage & Partner stand
no one piece of “official” news on running a fully PPC-native operating system. from around the world. was generally one of the busiest
which to focus. There were several Schatztruhe were busy selling at the show - PageStream updates
Next Big Things, of various types and organisations. The theme of The Amiga stand had half a of their wide range of CD had sold out by Saturday
and from various sources, that the stand was “History of the dozen A1200s connected to the products, including their Aminet afternoon and the other products
were not quite ready to be Amiga” - various models were on Internet where anyone could take CD and new products like Digital were also selling well. Titan were
announced. Similarly, some things display in glass cases around the part in the various IRC (Internet Almanac, Unix Compendium, the only company to tell us that
we would have liked to see, such stand, ranging from the venerable Relay Chat) discussions or simply SuperView IV and the new OS3.5 they were disappointed with
as a fully functioning AmiJoe A1000 to the infamous Walker browse the web. Petro spent some Developer CD (turn to page 30 sales, but they didn’t have
card, were absent. However, that prototype. However, the Walker time answering questions from to read our review). Schatztruhe Heretic II available as they
doesn’t mean nothing happened. wasn’t the final model in the those that were unable to attend were also showing off a rather had hoped.
Several companies had new display - there was a further the show and keept people up to snazzy customised A4000 tower,
The far side
products and the overall mood of machine indicating the potential date on what was happening. complete with spinning Boing ball
the show was much better than future of Amiga. This was a Kato Developments showed logo. Greg Perry of GP Software That pretty much
many expected after the recent PowerPC machine containing the their Unity-Net network cards, due was on hand to demonstrate Above:ProDad, enjoying a well earned rest as the show drew to a close. covers all the
statements from Gateway. It was PPC reference motherboard from for release in early January 2000. Directory Opus, answer questions Amiga goodies at
clear that the Amiga companies IBM, containing a G3 processor, These are 10Mb/s and 100Mb/s and hand out the latest upgrade. expectations” during the show - cards wasn’t quite finished. They the show, but what
present are still committed to the although by the time the board (Megabits per second) Zorro II Schatztruhe’s Stefan Ossowski not as good as a few years ago expect to have the completed else was there? As
Amiga market. The closest to any goes into production in the spring cards using an innovative said that “sales exceeded their but they were happy with the product available by the time you the show title
form of official announcement of 2000 it will most likely use a approach. They are combination turnout and response from Amiga read this. RBM told us that the implies, it was all
was Haage & Partner’s briefing G4. See the boxout for more of a Zorro card and a 10 or users. Sales of OS 3.5 from their show was “fantastic, great,” and, about home Left:No Petro Party this
for AmigaOS 3.5 beta testers information on how this could 100Mb/s PCMCIA Ethernet card. stand were lower than expected, “better than last year.” They sold electronics, which year, but we think he
where they outlined their vision form the basis of a new Amiga. Although Zorro II is nowhere near mainly because many people just about everything they had. inevitably covers deserves a raise all
for AmigaOS and made it clear Nearby, there was a motherboard fast enough to allow full 100Mb/s were buying the latest OS from Haage & Partner had several other platforms the same...
that version 3.5 will not be the and accelerator proudly bearing throughput, it should be a lot Haage & Partner. Pre-sales of 3.5 new products on sale at the show. besides the Amiga -
end of the line for them. the legend “A500 PPC,” although faster than a standard 10Mb/s were good, however. OS 3.5 sold extremely well (they not such a bad thing.
“OS 3.5 sold
it looked suspiciously like an card. The cards also contain a RBM were showing their range only had two copies left late on Undoubtedly the biggest
Past and future history
A500 motherboard joined to a Twister high speed serial port and of tower conversions, expansion Sunday afternoon). They also presence was
Amiga had a large stand, Blizzard PowerPC accelerator with have a clock port connector for cards and software. New products launched PageStream 4.0 (turn to dedicated to the PC,
extremely well”
making space available to a superglue than the future direction an optional Melody sound card, Below:People were impressed by included ScanQuix 5, although page 24to read our hands-on and all of the cheap
number of Amiga companies of the Amiga. or any other A1200 clock port Macro Systems’ latest video hardware. the Ethernet module for the IOBlix preview), Tornado3D 3.0 and bargains associated (cid:2)
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Show report
Comdex
Above:A Commodore PET, one of Above: The future that never was and
the first personal computers, and an the future that may yet be. A Walker
SX-64, the C64 luggable. and PPC reference machine. Above:An Eyetech A1200 special.
This 19” rack mount is intended for
multimedia presentations. There is
“Some ex-Amiga names were
also a version that uses a small ROM
in place of the floppy drive to enable Above:Elsewhere, futuristic TVs and
it to boot from a CD-ROM. videos were the order of the day.
also in attendance exhibiting
The same week as the Cologne show and half way around the world
some very impressive software and hardware combinations...”
from Cologne, the world’s biggest computer show was happening...
(cid:2)with it. Items such as budget ProDad and Macro Systems put Germany next year, it’s likely to Over 200,000 people other embedded systems. develop applications with support
priced CD-ROM drives and on an impressive display, while be held elsewhere. Although busy descended on the Bluetooth is a new standard for for industry-standards and mass-
scanners, albeit parallel port giving visitors a chance to try out at times, even the PC gambling Mecca of Las short-range wireless networking market file formats.
ones, were on sale at prices as the new non-linear suite. standholders seemed very Vegas in the Nevada desert between devices, and Ericsson and
Storage Wars
low as 15DM and 75DM One of the great focal points disappointed in the eventual for this year’s Comdex Fall Nokia were among the first to
(approximately £5 and £25) of the show had to be Mercedes’ turnout. The few stalls selling computer convention. This show off new devices to take One of the more interesting
respectively. Budget software and manufactured concept vehicle small components, adapters and number was down on last advantage of this. Ericsson technology squabbles this year
games also featured heavily in brought along by TechniSat-TV to leads seemed to fare better than year by nearly 25 per cent, unveiled a new wireless hands- came in the form of the DVD
the discount line-ups. promote their new range of the bigger exhibitors, but they still as show-goers opted against free kit for its mobile phones, writer war brewing between
The Sennheiser stand caught exciting and conceptual TV, video voiced concern about the lower attending due to the lack of while Nokia had a number of Panasonic and Pioneer. Both
the attention of many show-goers, and satellite systems, which turnout. There’s no doubt the show major new products from the concepts on show, including a currently have a DVD writable
as they exhibited their new attracted plenty of visitors to the was not as much of a success as major manufacturers and phone/PDA that would sync with drive on sale, but due the lack of
Above:One of the busiest at the show, gaming experience, a pair of stand. With so much interest, they it was last year, but we enjoyed software developers. your desktop PC on you entering any ratified standards in this area,
Haage & Partner’s stand was like this multimedia speakers mounted in just couldn’t help themselves ourselves nonetheless. Amiga’s parent company Gateway the room. The other big wireless both systems are incompatible
much of the time - little wonder they a moulded box worn around the showing it off to a greater extent Neil Bothwick & . was in attendance, with a huge technology on show was WAP - with each other.
were selling out of products fast! neck. It sounds cumbersome, but by letting people up into its Simon Archer A . stand pushing its PC wares, but no the Wireless Application Protocol, Both drives are SCSI-2 based,
in use they bring the action of the futuristic cockpit, complete with sign of Amiga themselves. When a standard for network with the DVD-RAM drive currently
game right home (where is it circular wiper arrangement, to Below left:This custom A4000 we asked why Amiga had not put applications on mobile devices - selling in the UK for around
New games
usually? -desk ed.), and heighten experience the view themselves. tower conversion with rotating Boing in the appearance originally such as phones. Nokia is £450. In stark contrast, the
the experience no end, so much Home Electronics World 99 ball logo was on the Schatztruhe. The planned under Jim Collas, a launching the first WAP mobile DVD-R drive from Pioneer (faster,
coming? so that many visitors just couldn’t may have been the last such show reported cost of the tower conversion, spokesman replied: “Amiga phone for the Orange network in higher capacity, and the preferred
resist a quick try. to be held in Cologne. This isn’t a including the custom airbrushed decided to pull out due to January. With it, you will be able choice of Hollywood studios and
Some ex-Amiga names were representation of the state of the design, was 2,000DM - almost £700. negotiations currently taking place to surf the web and access custom the porn industry) has just gone
A well-known software also in attendance exhibiting Amiga market - the general show with potential partners”. In information servers over the on general sale in Japan priced
publisher and distributor some very impressive software attendance, both by exhibitors Below right:Russ and Mark take English, this means they are Internet, with content delivered at roughly £1,800, and is
told us of their negotiations and hardware combinations and visitors, was less than in time out to relax. This was one of the allegedly talking to either a straight to the phone and expected to arrive in the UK next
with a major PC games designed for high-end video previous years. Whilst we expect few times the Amiga Activestand technology licensee, a hardware displayed on the screen. It’s not summer, rather than in two years
company. They are close to editing. In true Amiga style both there to be a major show in was clear enough to photograph (yes). manufacturer to handle the ideal for browsing graphical sites, time, as was claimed by some
signing a deal to port a high electronics side of the business, or but is ideal for short email and newspapers.
profile game to the Amiga, a buyer for the firm. services such as travel More amusingly Iomega was
with options to produce information. touting its latest CD rewriter
Stiff competition
Amiga versions of other Sun CEO Scott McNealy offering, the ZipCD. Iomega
titles from them. They were If current Amiga President Thomas delivered what must be the most launched an internal IDE CD-RW
not prepared to make any Schmidt’s last communication is positive news for both current and drive a few months ago, which
details public before the anything to go by, his plan to future Amiga owners. During his raised few eyebrows and offered
deal is signed, but they are target the Internet Appliance keynote speech he talked long nothing different to any other CD-
not that far from finalising market is already facing stiff and hard about making all of RW drive on the market. Its new
the agreement. You can be competition. National Sun’s software technologies open- offering is external, built much
sure the news will be Semiconductor subsidiary Cyrix source, with the only stipulation like its classic and multi-million
welcomed once they are was eagerly touting its Webpad being that: “If you take our code, selling Zip drive, coated in thick
able to go public with it, and technology with a selection of make something out of it and then blue Fisher-Price toy plastic,
you can be sure that we’ll be machines running QNX, Linux, make a profit from it - then we boasts 4x write, 4x rewrite and
previewing the games Windows CE and embedded NT. naturally want a piece of that.” 24x read. The ZipCD External
involved as soon as we are Psion were showing off the soon- If Sun holds true to this then the will come in the same three
allowed to! to-be-released Psion 7, a sub- elusive source code for the likes connection forms - Parallel, SCSI
notebook version of the Psion 5, of Java and its application suite and USB. No actual UK price
Right:Alan Redhouse from Eyetech while HP, Sharp, LG, Fujitsu and StarOffice will be freely available has been set but a quick
had some interesting A1200-based NEC were also there to Amiga developers to port or conversion of the US figures puts
industrial hardware on display, and demonstrating a glut of PDAs, web incorporate into other it at about £199.
A
gladly propped up our boxout for us. pads, embedded servers and applications, making it easier to Chris Green
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Back for
Right:Mobile phone technologies will allow compact
computing systems such as this Wallet computer
concept from Ericsson, which need little power or
the Future storage built in: they can get both over the Internet.
Digital
Part Four: and separate high cost / high power smart device
(Amiga, PC, and to a lesser extent games console) to
a range of computerised, intercompatible devices.
The key to the convergence of media is the
development of high-speed digital pipelines -
methods of delivering large quantities of digital
Convergence information to consumers. The most widely discussed
method of transmission at the moment is ADSL, but
there will be other pipelines such as wireless
networking, IEE1394, USB2, cable television lines
and even good old Ethernet.
ADSL is about sufficient to transmit CD quality
audio signals, but that’s not terribly impressive. Audio
“The key to the convergence of media
is a relatively undemanding data stream compared to
video. However, data compression routines can
reduce the bandwidth problem significantly. MP3
is the development of high-speed
audio can sound almost as good as CD while taking
Time to cut to the chase: Just what is this Digital Convergence thing all
up a tiny fraction of the bandwidth of uncompressed
audio. Similarly, video can be compressed using a
about, and does it really mean a world dominated by Set-Top Boxes? digital pipelines...”
compression system such as MPEG-2. This is a
scaleable standard, designed to work at bit rates from
4Mb/s upwards, but it can generate a video signal
over a 2Mb/s connection that is almost as good as
“You could tell your TV Welcome to the new millennium*. VHS video. However we’ll need more like a 16Mb/s
Assuming the world hasn’t ended link for DVD quality video, and High Definition A bit too Taken a stage further, you can see
before you get a chance to read this, Television (HDTV) standards require up to 100Mb/s, that your computer could detect any
to keep an eye on the TV then welcome to the new era, too. We’re so we can expect much “fatter” pipes to be new hardware you bring into your
complex?
finally leaving the fusty old industrial appearing in the future. home and automatically configure
revolution behind for the Information Age. Nevertheless, the implication is that the same your network to use it - plug ‘n’ play
listings web sites, and
I know, you’ve heard this little speech pipeline we use to access the Internet can be used to without the bother of plugging.
before - it’s the one where I waffle on about broadcast music and video as well as the traditional Now, you might imagine that this Of course, there will be plenty of
pervasive computing and set-top boxes, and interactive text and graphic content. This immediately Digital Convergence malarky is just configuration problems and technical
ring you up if it sees
litter my sentences with the the words opens up the possibility of combining, for example, a going to lead to a lot of additional disasters, but Digital Convergence
“paradigm” and “Digital Convergence”, TV listings directory with the TV image itself. The complexity. Even assuming the can help out here as well. All these
the film coming.” right? All followed yet another idiotic concept recent Amiga patents developed by Ted Wugofski’s availability of simpler networking configurable components are
about replacing your personal computer with Over the Moon Productions (another Gateway systems than those we have today, networked, remember, so there’s no
a smart TV. Who am I kidding? subsidiary) dealt with this area. For example, you isn’t there going to be a lot of reason why you shouldn’t be able to
Forget it. Digital Convergence (DC) will could have a web page listing what is on TV, and configuration and setting up log onto the web site of the company
happen. However, there is no cause for when you pass the mouse over a program listing, required? Not really: much of the who makes your latest gizmo and
alarm - it doesn’t mean that ‘real’ computers a clip of that program plays in a small window. networking will be done for you. install it to your home or office
will cease to be, or even (necessarily) that our Taking this to its logical extension, this means that The Bluetooth wireless networking network via their web interface. This
toasters will spend the day e-mailing us offers you can set up your own listings pages to suit your technology already includes interface could even interrogate your
of toasted bread products. DC isn’t about the preferences, or use a search engine to find a automatic file synchronisation network to discover the correct
dumbing down of computers, it’s about the program that interests you. between devices. You could collect settings and make them itself. We
smarting up of digital appliances. your e-mail on the move with a could even expect to download third-
Into the Internet
So why can no-one ever explain it so that it mobile phone, and answer the party scripts that would add extra
sounds sensible? The real problem is that DC is So we appear to be back to the set-top box model important ones. When you get back functionality by utilising the features
more a process than a thing. We can see it then? Not at all, this is a very limited application of to your home or office computer, as of another hardware component in
coming, but it’s not as easy to see exactly how it Digital Convergence. The second part of the key is soon as it is switched on it will detect your network or tweaking the
will work or what the effects of it will be. Imagine a that there are many different types of data available the mobile phone and synchronise it. performance of the manufacturer’s
Mesolithic town dweller trying to explain to his cousin through a single interface - the Internet. What this Open your e-mail package and all software. Expect a shareware boom.
Right:One of Nokia’s concepts for in the caves what this new “civilisation” thing is all about. means is that we lose the traditional disassociation those less important e-mails you So what if the worst comes to the
an interconnected mobile of different appliances. Currently, your TV and your downloaded to your mobile phone are worst and some part of your system
Changing medium and message
communications device. Radio are two different devices - you need waiting for you on your computer. just stops working? Imagine how
Digital Convergence is the product of two separate but fundamentally different hardware to display a You could have been writing the much quicker a telephone helpline
fundamentally linked technological changes. The first is television signal than to play a radio signal. However, latest chapter of your novel on your would be if the operator could
the change of content delivery from multiple, if both are transmitted as digital information from the palmtop on the train, but when you summon up your computer desktop
incompatible media (print, Cinema, TV, radio, Internet, Internet, then any device that can talk to the Internet launch the word processor on your environment on his or her own
CD-ROM, vinyl record and so on) to compatible digital can have access to this data. A Digital Convergence computer, the file you edited on the computer and see what the problem
media. The second is the shift from the dumb, isolated television would include this Internet interface, and palmtop will already be up to date. is themselves?
*Yes, yes, we know. simple presentational appliance (TV set, stereo, etc.) would have a visual display (a screen) and audio (cid:2)
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“This is not something, despite their efforts
Right:The ultimate in digital convergence! This digital camera has
enough computing power to emulate classic arcade games,
via MAME. See http://members.aol.com/JWSurine
with Windows CE, that Microsoft offers.”
(cid:2) playback (a speaker). As the radio is a subset of this, static images, Shockwave/Flash animations and so tasks) than a modern desktop CPU. This is not
requiring just the Internet interface and audio on in a single interactive interface (the web), modern something, despite their efforts with Windows CE,
playback, your TV can do the job of the radio, too. interfaces are being developed to include wider types that Microsoft offers. Opportunity knocks.
Where this starts to get interesting is when you of content, including higher quality video and audio Going back to the example of the image from the
take this functionality to its logical conclusion and streams, but going much further. Already, standards DVD player being displayed on the computer screen,
share the method of controlling the information. If exist for embedding 3D graphics rendered by the we can see how this extension into software starts to
your mobile phone, television and video can all talk to host system, two-way voice and video streams, work. The interface for your DVD player might be
the Internet, why not give them a way of talking to dynamic database structures and even software remote control with a touch sensitive LCD screen
each other? Imagine you desperately wanted to see a applications (through Java) into a web page. With displaying a simple button-based GUI. As the GUI
Below:Small, portable colour particular movie but couldn’t find it anywhere. You upcoming technologies such as MPEG-4, multimedia utilises a universal (probably Java based) interface
devices such as this one from could tell your TV to keep an eye on the TV listings streams themselves are becoming interactive, with standard, why not have a simple Java application on
Compaq will allow increasing web sites, and ring you up if it sees the film coming. editable sub-elements of an image or multimedia your computer that does the job of the remote
amounts of work (and play) to be If you aren’t going to get back home in time to see stream. This would allow the creation of an control? Your computer might exactly duplicate the
done on the move, thanks to it, you can ask your TV to put you through to your interactive, immersive 3D environment as a web site. GUI of the remote control, or it might have a more
wireless Internet connectivity. video recorder, and tell your video recorder to Principally what all this means is an all-purpose, visually sophisticated GUI. You could even mix
“...you could even add a button (...) that
record it for you. OS- and hardware-neutral multimedia API. This is elements of multiple GUIs, so that the one on your
This is where we get into the area of household very useful to appliance manufacturers, as it allows computer controls not only the DVD player but also
networking. Using local area networking interfaces them to standardise parts and interfaces. On the the volume knob on your stereo, for example. For the
connected to the web site of your local
such as wireless networking or IEE1394 (Firewire) hardware front, the development of powerful and low really dedicated couch potato, you could even add a
for video signals, we can connect all these devices cost custom processors makes this a very attractive button to the DVD remote control’s GUI that
together and share not only the information they proposition. The processing power in relatively simple connected your computer to the web site of your
pizza parlour and ordered you a deep pan
have, but the hardware, too. Your DVD player modern appliances is capable of running a web local pizza parlour and ordered you a deep pan
decodes the information on a disk and then sends it browser, so why not make it simple and do Quattro Formaggio with extra cheese.
to the display hardware - but why send it to its own everything that way?
So what about computers? Quattro Formaggio with extra cheese.”
screen? If you have another screen in the house, Of course you don’t actually want a DVD to have a
such as a computer monitor, there’s no reason why full install of Internet Explorer. You only require a OK, so after 1500 words I’m still talking about
you shouldn’t be able to use that. subset of these facilities, and you don’t want the watching TV (and eating pizzas! - Desk Ed.). No wonder
This degree of interaction applies to software massive hardware overheads involved in Microsoft’s people worry that this is nothing to do with what they that does, but there’s much more to it than that. As
as well as hardware components. This Internet browser and OS. This is where plans such as those think of as computers. This couldn’t, in fact, be any data element or hardware element is accessible
interface requires a standardised form of from QNX Software Systems Ltd, Amiga and Amino further from the truth. What’s happening here is that across the network, either locally or through your
structuring data. Just as the current HTML come into it. What you really need to underly all this all those household electronic devices are in effect Internet pipeline, all the functions of your computer
standard allows you to present text data, is an Operating System which can run on multiple becoming limited functionality computers, while your are in effect free floating network elements. You ask
hardware platforms, can be scaled and customised computer gains access to the facilities of all these for a TV decode facility, and the computer will find it
significantly to include only the necessary parts, and individual components. It will no longer matter to your wherever it is on the network and use it. Now let’s
which is efficient enough to run well on hardware that computer whether it has its own TV decoder just so look at that in a more computer oriented context. It’s
is often considerably less powerful (at least at many long as it can talk to another machine somewhere not just TV decoders - your computer won’t care (cid:2)
Core technologies &
BUZZWORDS
downstream with a slower (typically 128kb/s or devices communicating at speeds up to 400Mb/s. Java- A relatively simple, platform independent,
384kb/s) upstream rate. May eventually offer up An attractive solution for digital video, it has been object oriented programming language
to 8Mb/s. adopted as the standard for HAVi networks. developed by Sun that can be run on client or
Firewire is Apple’s name for the standard. Apple’s server side. As it is compiled at run time, the
DOCSIS- Data Over Cable Service Interface current interest in digital video for home users same source code will work on any computer
System, a standard for information sent over Cable may indicate a corporate trend towards some sort running a Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
Confused? You needn’t be... TV networks. Supports a 27Mb/s asymmetrical of HAVi computer.
downstream, but this is normally shared between a Jini- Sun’s Java based scheme for spontaneous
Bluetooth- Low cost short range wireless number of users to give performance comparable HAVi- The Home Audio Visual interoperability network interaction, Jini is an interface that
transceiver technology with automatic device to the top end of DSL solutions. standard from Grundig, Matsushita, Philips, Sharp, allows components in a network to recognise
sensing and data synchronisation. Uses a 2.4GHz Hitachi, Sony, Thompson and Toshiba offers an each other and offer their services to the
band, with a 10 meter range and a bandwidth of Encryption- New technologies bring new excellent solution for home appliance networking network. For example, you would only have to
approximately 1Mb/s. Currently being pushed into problems, and the biggie for ubiquitous invisible but doesn’t extend far enough into the digital plug a Jini based image setter into a network,
mobile phones and PDAs, it also promises the networking is security - who wants their telephone domain through computer and Internet and any computer on the network would be able
“wireless desktop.” to catch a virus? Data objects transferred locally connectivity (yet). to access it without needing software installation
or over the Internet will have to be secure, and or any other form of user intervention.
DSL- Digital Subscriber Lines, providing ‘always solutions will include trusted certificate validation Information Appliance- Any ‘smart’ device which
on’ high bandwidth communications over POTS and low level real-time public and private key is capable of processing digital information. MPEG 2/4/7- Multimedia standards from the
(Plain Old Telephone Service) networks. Although encryption of message passing. As well as set-top boxes, the umbrella term Motion Pictures Experts Groups. MPEG 2 is the
there are many variants, the most common is of “information appliance” includes everything video compression scheme used for DVD. MPEG
ADSL (Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line), Firewire / IEEE1394- High performance serial bus from Internet-aware microwave ovens to high-end 4 is an upcoming standard that allows elements
which offers anything from 256kb/s to 2.5Mb/s standard supporting up to 63 hot-pluggable computer workstations. in a multimedia environment to be treated as continued...
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