Issue 16, Autumn 2003 £4.00 8.00Euro

Find out all about this feature-packed Zorro card inside. AmigaOne-XE G4 We preview the fastest PowerPC motherboard in Eyetech’s range.

Improve your digital photos and scans with our image enhancement tutorial. Contents News PageStream Issue 16 EditorialChandler’s Amiga OS 4 Update for Amiga OS 4 Autumn 2003 elcome to another on page 10. This time he Grasshopper LLC has display. Hopefully this feature Wbumper 52-page edition reports some interesting announced that they will may be added to the new of Total Amiga! As I write this developments relating to support AmigaOS 4 with a new Amiga version too. The Contents the production of this issue has developing programs for OS 4 version of their professional standard retail price of the full gone very smoothly and it and some changes in priority DTP package, PageStream 4. version of PageStream has looks like it will be out on time. that should mean the As regular readers will know, been reduced to just $99 News This has largely been made AmigaOne version is available Editorial ...... 2 PageStream is a powerful (approximately £65) making it possible by all the people who earlier than would otherwise finding software currently in program and, I think most much more affordable. There is News Items ...... 3 contributed to this issue, as have been possible. This development so we thought it people will agree, one of best also a new professional edition Amiga OS 4 Update...... 10 you will see there are several should please Mick and would be worth reviewing. Find Amiga applications currently in which costs $149 (£97), this different authors and a wide AmigaOne owners everywhere! out what Mick Sutton thought development. Apparently edition is based on the same The Linux version of PageStream sports this slick anti-aliased Features variety of subject matter. After our review in issue 15 of the latest version in his PageStream is running on a program but includes the display; hopefully Grasshopper will implement it for Amiga OS 4. Alan Redhouse Column.....8 Dave Pitcher’s “tag">C” article on Genesi released a major review on page 22. beta version of OS 4 already TextFX, Gary’s Effects and Fleecy Moss Column ...... 9 page 46 is the first upgrade to their MorphOS and the developers will Borders1 & 2 plug-ins plus An upgrade from Amiga supplied immediately with a AmigaOne XE G4 Preview programming tutorial we’ve operating system (which We have a winner continue to update it to take Paper Direct and Home & PageStream 4.1 to the OS 4.0 free upgrade when the new OS ...... 12 had in the magazine. Dave has features wide compatibility with advantage of new OS features. Office templates which were version costs $40 (£26) and is available. In issue 15 we gave you the chosen to start with the basics 68k and PPC Amiga previously available as extras. the full AmigaOS 4.0 package Divided Loyalties, Historical chance to win a copy of Other recent PageStream For more information and to and plans to build up to more programs). Version 1.4 fixes An upgrade to the pro version costs $99 (£65) as mentioned Similarities...... 16 Hyperion’s Quake 2 for the news has included the release order on-line visit the complex topics in future many of the issues pointed out is available for $50 (£33). above. If you buy PageStream Amiga by answering three of a Linux version that sports a Grasshopper site at: instalments. Thanks to Dave in our earlier review and for OS 4 before it is released Reviews simple questions. The beautiful anti-aliased text www.grasshopperllc.com for having the courage to start incorporates “Trance”, the new the 68k Amiga version will be MorphOS 1.4...... 18 competition has now been work on such a big subject. JIT 68k emulator so we set AmiAtlas 6...... 22 drawn from all the correct Sam Byford to work on an Hollywood 1.5 ...... 26 AmigaOne-XE G4 entries and the lucky winner is update. The result is a motherboards started to arrive Paul Mellor of Northumberland Algor USB ...... 29 detailed, and to my mind very Perfect Paint 2.93 ...... 30 earlier in the year but it took in the UK who will have his AWeb and KHTML balanced, look at the new Little visible progress has been they are considering the the Document Eyetech a while to clear the prize by the time you read this. MAS-Player...... 33 version on page 18. made on AWeb since the KHTML engine developed for Object Model. By backlog of orders. Mick Sutton Our thanks go to Hyperion and PD Paradise...... 34 original developer, Yvon Rozijn, KDE’s Konqurer browser on using just the received his board just after Another program that has Forematt Home Computing released the source code in Linux. KHTML was recently HTML rendering Mediator and SuperTV.... 36 issue 15 went to press and recently received a big upgrade who donated the prize. 2002. Plans are afoot, selected by Apple to form the engine it should be ScummVM ...... 38 now brings us a preview of the is Hollywood. Vversion 1.5 however, to kick-start the core of their Safari browser for possible to retain board. Although it currently adds even more flexibility, but As usual I’m looking forward to development by adopting an MacOS X so the AWeb team an Amiga look and Support only runs Linux, Mick has been not a content creation GUI, to reading your comments on this alternative HTML rendering are keeping good company feel without porting Tales of Tamar...... 39 able to talk about his choice of an already impressive issue and any suggestions you engine. This approach should with their choice. a complex user Image Enhancement the board itself and application. I summarise the might have for the future. Don’t help overcome the problems interface from Tutorial...... 42 components with an eye enhancements and give my hesitate to email me at the Unlike the current version of small development teams tend another platform. “C” Programming Tutorial 46 toward future OS 4 verdict on the new version in address below. AWeb, and indeed the other to have in keeping up with the compatibility. the review on page 26. Amiga browsers, KHTML is To read more and Enjoy the magazine, latest web technologies. In a fully HTML 4 and XML to find out how to Mailing Lists ...... 51 On that note, our Amiga OS 4 While AmiAtlas is not a new Robert Williams recent announcement the KDE’s Konqueror browser compliant and supports contribute to the development Next Issue ...... 51 coverage continues with John application it is the only route [email protected] AWeb open source team say uses the KHTML engine. Cascading Style Sheets and effort visit: aweb.sunsite.dk Colour Screenshots etc. . 52 About Total Amiga Legalese Total Amiga is published quarterly Contact Us Only Amiga Software Photogenics 5 by Paul Nolan Fonts The views expressed in this If you wish to contact a contributor by South Essex Amiga Link. Final Writer 5 by Softwood magazine are those of the author send your message to one of the If you have any queries Made it Possible The body text of Total Amiga is set Ghostscript 8.00 from artofcode of each piece, they do not addresses in this section. Editor: Robert Williams suggestions or want to contact us in Triumvirate Normal as supplied Total Amiga is designed and laid ported to AmigaOS by necessarily reflect the views of Design: Robert Williams for any reason please use one of with PageStream, the heading Amiga is a registered trademark out using: Whoosh777. the editor, other contributors or Contributors: Sam Byford the following: typeface is Forgotten Futurist by and the Amiga logo, the “Boing Hardware: SEAL. Markus Castro There are also some essential Ray Larabie. Take a look at Ray’s Ball” device, AmigaDOS, Amiga EMail: [email protected] Home built x86 PC John Chandler utilities we couldn’t live without: huge range of freeware fonts at Please Note: Total Amiga is Kickstart, Amiga Workbench, WWW: http://www.totalamiga.org/ AMD Athlon XP 2000+ Peter Gordon Directory Opus 5, SGrab, MCP, http://www.larabiefonts.com and produced by the editor and Autoconfig, Bridgeboard, and Advertisers nVidia gForce 2 MX400 Jonathan Haddock Post: Total Amiga, Turbo Print 7, MakeCD. his commercial foundry at contributors in their spare time. Powered by Amiga are Amiga...... 15 256Mb RAM, 40Gb HDD. Fleecy Moss 26 Wincoat Drive, Our thanks to the creators of this http://www.typodermic.com. While we always strive to produce trademarks of AMIGA Inc. Amigaworld.net ...... 37 David Pitcher BENFLEET, Software: and all the other great Amiga the magazine on time and include “Amigan” is copyright by Bob Eyetech ...... 24 and 25 Alan Redhouse Essex, SS7 5AH, Amithlon by Bernie Meyer et. al. software out there. all the advertised contents this is Scharp and used with his Kelvin Shirley UK. not always possible due to other Fore-matt Home Computing Amiga OS 3.9 by Amiga Total Amiga is entirely created permission. Mick Sutton commitments. The price you pay Telephone: +44 (0) 1268 569937 PageStream 4.1 by Softlogik using Amiga software, no other All other trademarks mentioned ...... 17 for Total Amiga covers our costs Proofreading: Sean Courtney (19:00 - 22:00 ImageFX 4.5 by Nova Design platforms are used at any stage of are the property of their Kicksoft ...... 14 and 41 and nothing more, we don’t make Sam Byford UK time only please) Perfect Paint 2.93 the design or layout process. respective owners. Sharon Sutton by Georges Halvadjian a profit from it. 2 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 3 News News Bytes... IBrowse gets Bytes... Video Amphibians Keyboards for The latest version of Frogger, Goodbye, Documented the movie player for AmigaOS, CatWeasel PowerUp, WarpUP and Since our review in issue 15, obvious features Individual computer’s CatWeasel MorphOS by Sebastian Mk III flipper interface card has a Petra, we’ll Dave Fisher has completed of the program Jedruszkiewicz, adds more socket for an Amiga 4000 comprehensive documentation are pointed out, features and support for more The Toad GUI (above) and snapshot window (below). keyboard (or an A2000/3000 miss you! for the new release of IBrowse. as are potential video codecs. The key keyboard using a standard After five years at the helm Petra Unsurprisingly the pit-falls. The changes in the new version The improved AREXX support Crawford has written Toad in adapter), as the card uses a PCI Struck has decided to leave the documentation is presented in documentation include: in FroggerNG has lead to a ARexx using rxMUI; its slot this is a handy way to use a excellent German Amiga news HTML format and includes covers complex new GUI called Toad being interface can be customised classic Amiga keyboard on a web site amiga-news.de (which plenty of illustrations. I have to topics such as • Support for ASV1, ATI VCR1 released for the program. using graphical skins. The computer with PCI slots. Chris also has a good English say that this is the best Postscript and ATI VCR2 video codecs. Hodges (of Poseidon fame) has Unlike earlier interfaces, which latest release (1.2a) also released a driver for this translation). To help fill her shoes documentation I have seen for printing and fonts • More settings can now be Complex topics such as printing are covered just provided a comfortable includes a utility called CatWeasel port that uses the the site are looking for two news any Amiga product in a long in a detailed and saved in the preferences file editors and other assistants. On way of setting command line “Frogger Snap” enabling still OpenPCI library. This means the time. It covers all the program’s understandable in the new documentation. (so they don’t have to be set parameters, Toad provides frames from a movie to be driver can be used with all PCI a personal note I’d like to thank The IBrowse documentation is Petra and the Amiga-news.de features and has a good way. Oh, and it has a quote on the command line). VCR-like buttons that can be captured. systems supported by OpenPCI, a free download from: team for their dedicated work on balance of reference material from the Total Amiga review on • New AREXX commands used to control a movie as it is that is: Amithlon, MorphOS, Frogger is shareware and the web site and in particular with short tutorials and step-by- the front page! www.iospirit.de enabling more powerful GUIs playing. Dave “Targhan” Prometheus and GRex. The their excellent show coverage. step instructions. Many less to be created. costs 15USD to register. On- driver also works on Amiga line registration is available systems with the CatWeasel The announcement (in German) • Seeking in ASF, WMV and WMA files has been added. from the program web site via flipper connected to a Zorro slot. is at: This option is mainly useful for • Improved subtitle-rendering RegNet. Both Frogger and www.amiga-news.de/de/news/ MPlayer A1200 systems with a Zorro bus Toad can be downloaded from: AN-2003-09-00035-DE.html Pegasos II engine. board since all Amigas with Zorro frogger.rules.pl • Problems with AVI audio slots as standard already have a for synchronisation fixed. keyboard socket. • MPEG 4 decoder optimised. The driver is freeware and can Plans Emerge be downloaded from: GhostScript 8 Genesi have released some reseller will incur a reduced MorphOS www.platon42.de/ further information regarding handling charge of 10Euro. download.html#tools A port of GhostScript 8.0 to the “DET Nicolas” has ported the Amiga has recently been the release of their forthcoming More information on the Pegasos II boards with either a popular open source media Duke Nukem: completed by someone going Pegasos II motherboard. There CatWeasel can be found at: G3 or G4 processor will be under the moniker of will be an initial production run player, MPlayer, to MorphOS. www.ami.ga available through resellers and “whoosh777". This is a of 600 boards followed by a The player supports many the PegasosPPC web site at considerable improvement over run of 5000 boards when the audio and video formats prices of 299Euro and 499Euro the previous 6.50 release where boards and MorphOS are including MPEG4 (DiVX), DVD Bring It On! Amithlon Amiga development seemed to respectively, not including local considered to be ready for a and SVCD. Both types of video have stalled. The other important taxes. Detailed specifications 3D Realms recently released Los Angeles that has been This handy GUI set-up utility wider market. 100 G4 Pegasos disc can be played directly factor is that “whoosh” has of the Pegasos II such as the source code to their classic invaded by aliens which, of Update IIs will be available for from a DVD (or CD-ROM in the is supplied with the port. incorporated support for processor speeds and built-in 3rd person shooter Duke course, have to be blasted to Bernie Meyer, the main TurboPrint which was missing Pegasos I owners wanting to case of SVCD) drive. fairly adult nature) throughout features had not been released Nukem 3D and, as with Quake smithereens. Unlike many developer of Amithlon, has made from the 6.50 port. Ghostscript is upgrade, the cost will be the game. when we went to press, nor The port has received many before it, it wasn’t long before games in this genre Duke, the available a new upgrade that an open source utility for dealing 200Euro plus a 35Euro had a release date. For the optimisations for use with ports to the Amiga appeared. player’s character, has a strong The port, by Dante and allows many more sound and with Postscript files and the handling charge which includes network cards (and also those latest details visit: MorphOS including: For those that don’t know, personality and there is a great Oxyron, has been extensively formats based on Postscript the return of the Pegasos I. built-in to a motherboard) to be including EPS and PDF. www.morphos-news.de Duke Nukem is set in a future deal of humour (some of it of a optimised for the Amiga and Upgrades made through a • Use of the asyncio.library used by accessing them through GhostScript can convert between • Native AHI sound driver supports graphics cards and Linux kernel drivers. The formats, display files on screen, • Native CyberGraphX driver audio via AHI. A native package includes a new utility to print them or generate a bitmap MorphOS port is also available. load Linux kernel modules while image. As an example here at (can use overlay, direct Subway Review Update Both versions have a GUI to Amithlon is running based on the Total Amiga we use Ghostscript Johnathan Haddock contacted now died completely. This was vmem access or WPA). set-up the game. To run Duke hardware it finds in the host PC. to convert PostScript output from us with some additional not a problem caused by • Native timing routine you need AmigaOS 3.x or A selection of kernel modules for PageStream into a PDF file that information relating to his Poseidon just by my dodgy • Optimised and fixed YUV -> popular sound and network cards we can check on screen and give MorphOS, 32Mb RAM and an review of e3b’s Subway USB hardware.” RGB routine are supplied. When the modules to our printers. installed version of Duke card for Total Amiga: • Optimised and fixed (when are loaded network cards can be Download the 8.0 port from: E3B have also announced that, possible) OSD routine Nukem Atomic edition. The accessed via a SANA II device, www.whoosh777.pwp. “I’m pleased to report that the after selling out the first batch, • Patched input routine original game is available from compatible with most networking blueyonder.co.uk/atlast.html problems I mentioned in my another production run of 3D Realms; you may also be programs. An AHI driver is Subway Review (TA15, page Subway cards have been The MPlayer port requires able to find it on a budget label supplied for sound cards. 36) have been overcome. produced. So if you are MorphOS 1.4 (take a look at or second hand. The upgrade is particularly useful IBrowse now recognises interested it would be a good our review on page 18 for more Download the Amiga and for users with laptops that do not mouse clicks properly; this was idea to order one as soon as have slots to which compatible details), a ready-to-run binary MorphOS ports from: solved by installing the new possible before they sell out network and sound cards could and its source code are www.neoscientists.org/~dante/ input.device as described in again. available in the download be added. The new package of the documentation. The reason More information on the game drivers, known as contrib3b, can The E3B web site has full section of MorphZone: be downloaded from: for my Keyboard problems is can be found at: details of all their products: www.morphzone.org www.amithlon.net/en/ that, unfortunately, my www.3drealms.com/ www.e3b.de The graphics may be dated but Duke Nukem is still worth amithlon_updates.shtml keyboard was dying and has duke3d/index.html playing for its humour and mindless violence! 4 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 5 News News Bytes... Simple Mail Fights SPAM Web Bytes... The open source (under the the toolbar, one which analyses addresses that always send Out of the Burner Poseidon GPL) mailer, Simple Mail, has the messages in your In box you spam and a white list of added yet more strings to its and marks those that look like your genuine contacts. Spider bow with the latest 0.20 spam and another that moves Because you train Simple Mail release. The major additions in the marked messages to a new with your own messages in into the Fryer? Support Ends this release are preliminary spam folder. If Simple Mail theory it should be much more FryingPan is a new shareware http://ada.planet-d.net/ Chris Hodges, the developer of support for downloading from misses any messages or effective in blocking spam than CD writing application; early The Demo Scene has always the Poseidon USB stack, is no IMAP mail servers and, most marks a genuine message as list-based methods. versions have been around for been an important part of Amiga longer accepting registrations interestingly, a statistical spam spam you can correct it; this “culture”. The Amiga Demo Download the latest version a while but version 0.3, a from buyers of Elbox’s Spider filter. As usual there have also improves the accuracy of the Scene Archive aims to collect from: complete re-write, seems to be USB PCI cards. This means that been a raft of minor bug fixes spam detection next time. together some of the best demos a newly purchased Spider cannot simplemail.sourceforge.net the first really usable release. along with information about their and enhancements. Further anti-spam options allow Frying Pan has been designed be used legally outside the short you to set a black list of release and what awards they trial period of Poseidon or until Many people’s email boxes are to be logical to use with each won. As many Amiga users (or Elbox supply alternative USB bombarded with unsolicited of the steps required to burn a ex-Amigans) no longer have software. Chris cites differences commercial email, commonly CD represented by a button hardware compatible with some of opinion with Elbox as the known as spam, often of an along the top of the single or all demos (particularly the reason for his move and has older and, ironically, the newer unpleasant or offensive nature, program window. These stages published a long history of his include selecting files for a PPC demos can be problematic) communications with them on his so Simple Mail’s new spam ADSA also holds screenshots of web site: filter is a welcome addition. data disc, organising the tracks most demos. Some even have Rather than working on a set on the CD, settings such as the movie files so you can view the www.platon42.de/index2.html list of keywords or addresses writing device and speed and Frying Pan’s ISO builder lets you add files from any drive on whole demo on any computer of known spammers; Simple finally writing the disc itself. capable of playing back a video. Mail analyses messages you FryingPan can build both audio For each demo you have the have marked as spam and and data CDs; it is able to read feature is not found in Makeyour system supported. to a CD. Data can be written opportunity to submit a comment and read comments left by other those that you mark as ham tracks from an existing CD CD; the Amiga’s only other CD on-the-fly, if your system is fast Web Bytes... enabling you to make writing software currently in enough, or you can create an users. The ADSA site is very (genuine messages). From attractive to look at with a dark development. ISO image on disk and then those messages it builds a list compilations. When making a understated tone that reflects data CD, Frying Pan has an burn it later. Burn Proof and of words that characterise FryingPan should work with some of the best demo “ISO Builder” feature; this similar technologies can be spam and another list that After training with only a few messages the spam filter was most reasonably modern CD productions. enables you to add files to the used on those CD writers that characterises ham. Two new surprisingly effective on my heavily spammed account. recorders and offers a full ADSA is a very impressive site, (The spam subjects have been hidden to protect the innocent!) CD from your hard drive support them. buttons have been added to range of speed settings. Track it’ll have you pulling that A500 without creating the directory at once, session at once and Registration is on a per CD- out of the loft in no time! structure on disk. This powerful http://www.genesi.lu disc at once writing are all writer basis. The initial http://www.pegasosppc.com registration, including one http://www.morphos.net Warp Datatypes drive, costs 10Euro and each Up until recently Genesi, with Oliver Roberts has expanded support, fast decoding, and As with all his datatypes, Oliver additional CD writer you wish their Pegasos and MorphOS his range of “Warp” datatypes configuration via a preferences supplies native versions of the to use costs another 6Euro. products, had rather a mish- to support six file formats: program. PCX datatype for 68K Amigas Currently there is no on-line mash of web sites, each with its BMP, JPEG, PNG, PSD (and emulators), WarpOS PPC registration, you must contact http://www.swaug.org.uk own style. Now all the sites have PCX is a bitmap format that (Photoshop), TIFF and the and MorphOS. A version for the author to arrange payment. been given a make-over in the originated with PCPaintBrush The South Wales Amiga User latest addition, PCX. Datatypes AmigaOS 4.0 is planned when Further details and step-by- Group site is very useful even if same consistent style which by ZSoft and is quite common looks clean and modern (my only were one of the most the new OS is released. step instructions on writing you will never be able to visit the on Windows. The new complaint would be that there is innovative features introduced CDs with FryingPan can be group. In their support section WarpPCX datatype supports After several years as freeware quite a lot of text in graphics). with AmigaOS 3, enabling found on the web site: they have tutorials on several standard PCX files and the Oliver has now made the Warp Genesi.lu contains the corporate applications to load file formats www.tbs-software.com subjects and a version watch more unusual formats that can datatypes package shareware. Frying Pan should work with most CD writers. panel to keep you up to date with information such as strategy and that didn’t even exist when the marketing along with an overview be exported from Personal There is a single fee which the latest versions of popular application was designed. In of Genesi’s products. Paint on the Amiga. The covers all the datatypes and, software. recent years Oliver’s datatypes PegasosPPC.com has the full datatype can decode 1 to 24bit currently, any added to the have proven to be among the The star of the show is the specifications of the Pegasos colour and RLE compression. range in the future (users reviews section which is updated motherboard, details of the best offering wide format A New Look for YAM already registered got the PCX Is your YAM looking a bit drab regularly. Sometimes SWAUG operating systems it supports members review Amiga specific and the software with which it is datatype when it was released or are you just fed up with your for example). One registration hardware but their speciality is supplied. There is also a useful current icon set? If so then covering the use of standard covers all the CPU/OS help section and a list of Lorraine Design have a treat hardware on the Amiga. They resellers around the world. versions too. The datatypes for your classic Amiga mailer. have covered products as Finally MorphOS.net goes into run with no restrictions for a Their “New YAM” package diverse as digital cameras, CD- detail about Genesi’s operating thirty day evaluation period so includes new toolbar icons, writers and USB pen drives. One system and has a section called you can try them out, giving interesting review covers a D- the “MorphOS Developer MUI graphics and a suggested you plenty of time to register if Link DWL 810 wireless bridge Connection” for developers. MUI configuration to give YAM you like them. Registration a complete makeover. The end that can be used to connect any Genesi’s new sites are a big costs £15 and can be carried Amiga with an Ethernet card to a result is a clean modern look in wireless network. improvement and well worth a out on-line on the new WarpDT visit if you are interested in the blue-grey shades, a nice web site: SWAUG’s site should definitely Pegasos and/or MorphOS. change from GlowIcons. www.warpdt.co.uk be in your hot list. The preferences program gives you control over each datatype. www.lorraine-design.8m.net 6 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 7 Features Features unlikely to be under ukp6-700 Changes at Eyetech However, in bringing the course satisfy existing orders plus VAT. If there is enough AmigaOne hardware to market and handle warranty etc. demand (i.e. a minimum of 200 As many Total Amiga readers we have – in the UK – issues from past sales). units) we will put these may know we fell into this undertaken a dual, and modules into production Amiga business, several years increasingly conflicting role: I am delighted, however, to be around December. Please ago, almost by accident. Our that of wholesale supplier and able to announce that from 1st email us at [email protected] main expertise was, and still is, retailer of the AmigaOne. With October retail sales in the UK AmigaOne Update if you are interested. in providing cost-effective, IT the increasing sales of the will be handled by Stellar Once again we drag Alan Redhouse, MD of Eyetech, away from international commitments solutions into specialist AmigaOne this is no longer a Dreams. Stellar Dreams is to bring us up-to-date on the AmigaOne. OS4 Betatesters Offer commercial and industrial practical proposition – our best Sven Harvey’s (author of the markets. In the early 1990’s added value to the future of the Amiga column in the UK’s live, on-screen demonstration AmigaOne Status purchasers is that the We have reached agreement some of the presentation Amiga is to ensure new models Micromart magazine and well ooking back at my column to an audience of several AmigaOne is a rock-solid with Hyperion and most systems we supplied were are brought on, dealers and known Amiga enthusiast) in the last Total Amiga (to hundred delegates of the I am pleased to say that we platform and that the nay- dealers to make AmigaOne based on the Amiga platform. user groups are properly company, they have a web site L at www.stellardreams.co.uk. make sure I’m not repeating – multitasking capabilities of have finally just about caught sayers and rumour mongers Earlybird boards available to Then Commodore went under supported and peripheral or, worse, contradicting – OS3.1 running on a CD32 with up with the backlog of who insisted otherwise before registered OS4 beta testers at and we started a retail opportunities - such as the Sven is a long-time and ardent myself!) I notice that I wrote it SX32, 4Mb of memory, 170MB AmigaOne orders and are on its widespread release now a 10% discount. If you are operation whilst the Amiga Beijing Forum - are fully Amiga supporter, and is in my just after the IBM PPC hard drive, and an ‘020 CPU at the point of being able to have huge facial omelettes to eligible and wish to take up this operation was sorted out. Its exploited. The upshot is that view ideally placed to make a Technology Forum in Boston. 14MHz. It worked, it deliver to dealers ex-stock. try and remove. offer please contact an official taken nearly 10 years – and a from the end of September great success in the UK of the I’m writing this just before I set impressed, and the technical This means that board orders AmigaOne dealer – see the lot more involvement than I 2003 we will be concentrating Amiga’s coming global rebirth. off to speak at the next one. audience were able to should be able to be delivered, AmigaOne-Lite following page for contact ever expected – but the our efforts on industrial Please give Sven and Stellar This time it’s in Beijing on 24th translate, in their own minds, Worldwide, within 2 weeks of details: resurrection of the Amiga, markets and dealer suport and Dreams your full support. September to an audience of the performance they saw on ordering and bespoke systems The pre-production AmigaOne- www.eyetech.co.uk/ hardware and OS, is now all will no longer handle retail Until next issue, movers and shakers in the this minimalist hardware to the in less than 4 weeks. However Lite is now up and running and amigaone/dealers.php but complete. sales of Amiga products to end Alan Chinese IT sector. The expected performance of OS 4 I am still surprised how strong we will be sending samples out users directly. (We will of audience comprises on AmigaOne hardware. the market for Earlybird to selected developers to representatives of CNITSEC Suffice to say that as a result systems continues to be – I port/test drivers for the new (the Chinese government’s of that presentation there are guess the reason is that now it hardware (RAID, gigabit Amiga’s CTO tells us why he ‘China Information Technology now several significant is quite widely known that OS4 Ethernet, IEEE1394 etc.) in has a positive outlook on Security Certification Centre’ – Taiwanese companies – plus is booting on the AmigaOne early October. If you wish to the lauch of Amiga OS 4. catchy isn’t it?); the Chinese IBM – who are anxious to many people are keen to participate in this program Fleecy Speaks Academy of Sciences and evaluate OS4 for commercial secure the Earlybird offer (with please email us at pure PPC and that percentage Frank Wille’s VBCC present at the beginning of the around 75 major Chinese IT applications as soon as it and OS4 for free) whilst the offer [email protected]. Sort the lthough all issues of Total is rising almost every day. development environment and new era of the Amiga. This is manufacturers. So it’s another its SDK are ready. In Beijing – still lasts (it stops when the driver and keep the board! AAmiga are special, this Indeed it is so usable now that the GDB debugger, which being planned to happen in sweat to get the column out on fingers (and other more release date for OS4 is one may be more special than even the brave and hardy allows for breakpoint, register 2003, although again, if an time – Robert certainly sensitive parts of my anatomy) announced by Hyperion). High Performance most because, unless we hit editor of Total Amiga has and memory analysis, source errant asteroid hits the homes chooses his deadlines well! crossed – I hope to an unforeseen pot hole in the decided to step out from the step through and a lot more. of some of the key developers, demonstrate OS4 booting and At the time of writing there are CPU Modules So what’s all this got to do with road, it should be the last one dark dungeon of his editing The Guru even has a new it might be pushed back. running on a real AmigaOne. still some Linux driver – and of the 68k AmigaOS period. I room and join the ranks, to see friend, culled almost straight the price of peas, I hear you The 1.3GHz G4 CPUs are It has been a long time since a VIA south bridge initialisation – say ‘should’ because the last ask. Well China is now The forum will largely focus on expensive, and unsurprisingly new version of the AmigaOS issues to sort out, but the three years of being the CTO embarking on the next stage of Linux-PPC as an alternative to dual cpus are twice as much. “I hope that the next time you read this was released. It has been a objective opinion of the vast at Amiga has taught me that its IT industrialisation program, Windows – the Chinese have Exact prices will depend on long time since we said majority of Earlybird nothing is ever certain, which (column), you will be next to YOUR and – surprise, surprise – they at least heard of Linux – but I volumes, exchange rates etc. AmigaOS 4.0 would be has led to our announcement aren’t too keen to pour a will be doing my best to ensure but the price of dual 1.3GHz released. Many have given up policy that we will not officially AmigaOS4.0.” significant proportion of their that the compact, near- G4 cpu modules is and left the platform, others announce a launch date for GDP into Mr. Gates’ pockets. realtime, ROM-able nature of for himself (and hopefully tell from the Discworld, the Grim have jumped in to spread AmigaOS4.0 until we have the They are actively looking for OS4 comes over as a very all you readers) [I’m currently Reaper (cue bass voice and rumours and push their own gold master in our hands. viable alternatives to the Wintel cost-effective alternative for organsing the loan of the ominous drumbeat) which agendas. However, we at platform. The PPC is such an the industrial, embedded However, as I look around in CyberStorm PPC to take intercepts and captures Amiga, those in the AmigaOS alternative, and given the and STB markets. In the bottom of tea cups (damn Fleecy up on his offer, Ed.] miscreant applications, 4.0 team, developers, dealers, relative success of the parallel IBM will be those athiest teabags) and shift exactly what is going on. providing the user with a journalists and the users and ‘Earlybird’ Linux-based doing their level best variety of options. through the entrails (digital) of 2. AmigaOS4.0 running on an user groups have never given AmigaOne, I’ve been asked to (to a very receptive old computers, the portents AmigaOne will be shown 4. A new third party developer up. Looking back is a baffle the Chinese at this audience it has to be indeed look good for the privately to a very important set forum has been created, wonderful thing but looking conference, after apparently said) to show that launch of at least the CSPPC of potential OEM customers allowing for developers new forwards has suddenly gotten a successfully baffling the PPC is a better version of AmigaOS4.0 before the end of September, and old to have access to the lot better. Taiwanese audience with my technology than between this issue and the to be followed by its public development environment, to presentation at the first PPC x86 for a new I hope that the next time I can next issue of Total Amiga, with debut at various events from ask questions of the forum in Taipei last February. industry with write this column, it will be the long awaited AmigaOne October onwards. AmigaOS4.0 team and to begin little Wintel written on AmigaOS4.0. I hope At the Taipei Forum I took my version itself following not too both creating AmigaOS4.0 only legacy 3. Internal and third party that the next time Robert (The life in my hands and gave a far behind. Can I share these versions of their products and baggage. And application developers now Editor to you) builds Total portents with you? Absolutely. to start developing brand new more PPC have a powerful selection of Amiga, it will be on applications. acceptance = 1. the AmigaOS4.0 CSPPC development tools available to AmigaOS4.0. Most of all, I Buzz Word... more OS4 opportunities = the beta testing team has been them in one single SDK, 5. Plans are well under way for hope that the next time you Our under-cover agent is best chance for the rebirth of working around the clock including an AmigaOS4.0 the launch event for read this, you will be next to currently busy on a case, he the Amiga in mass markets. testing an AmigaOS4.0 build native compiler and Linux x86 AmigaOS4.0, to which I hope YOUR AmigaOS4.0. will return in a future issue! A pre-production that is now more than 50% Wish me luck in Beijing! AmigaOne-Lite (without CPU card). and MacOS cross compilers, many of you will come, to be 8 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 9 Features Features Some recent screenshots have shown OS 4 running 68k Amiga programs under emulation. Here we see MakeCD; notice how its Triton based GUI has inherited Amiga OS 4 Gadtool’s new look. John Chandler is back with all the latest news on the OS everyone is waiting for.

the Amiga community, but he is Priority would still be for partly due to the lack of OS 4 version of MooVid is t’s been an interesting time a strong Amiga fan as well asUpdate a Cyberstorm PPC and improvements seen over the under development to fulfil the Isince the last update. professor of Computer Science AmigaOne versions, but the years, but one that will be need for a modern, native AmigaOS 4 has now made at California State University. Blizzard port could certainly handled during September. media layer. Meanwhile, the many public appearances The presentations were well- happen - as long as the project excellent ATO are continuing across Europe and North received and formed an doesn’t take considerable time As system modules have made with the essential localisation America. The tour organisers extension to the OS 4 on Tour and resources away from their way over to being support for the OS. and Hyperion have received events that have already made further development of OS 4 PowerPC native, migration numerous requests from a valuable impression on for the main platforms. For work has shifted towards the Swings and people about arranging similar Amiga users across Europe. those who have invested less-critical components such tour demos around the world. heavily in their A1200s and as the Roadshow TCP/IP Roundabouts The response has been Ben’s OS 4 presentation was aren’t quite ready to make the stack, AmiGS and AmiPDF also well-received, with plenty (Postscript and PDF support The order of release was positive and strong, and no jump to the AmigaOne, this will expected to be for Cyberstorm doubt has contributed to of positive feedback on clarity prove a valuable bridge. respectively), and the disk of presentation and good tools Partition Wizard and PPC first and AmigaOne continued demand for the second. There’s nothing to AmigaOne EarlyBird systems. technical knowledge. The Media Toolbox. slides are available from the Module Migration suggest that this won’t still be incorporated, thanks to the Amiga community. Support for the case, but it seems Still, the official release of official OS 4 website The migration of modules from Font Support The Grim Reaper implementation of ELF binary development on non-AmigaOS Eyetech’s partner Mai has AmigaOS 4 is still very much (http://os.amiga.com/) as a 68k to PowerPC binaries loading as a shared library, platforms has also been noted, As mentioned in the previous been giving a few nudges to “when it’s ready”, with PDF and well worth a look. continues briskly now that code One of the big things to be giving debuggers the ability to with complete OS 4 cross- issue of Total Amiga, anti- the development team to bring Hyperion keen to stress that is fully portable and tools are announced recently is the rapidly pinpoint the source of compiler packages now alised support was publicly the release date of the after all the time and effort put sufficiently mature. The bulk of comprehensive debugging An Amber Light For crashes. This is just the first available for Windows as well unveiled on the OS 4 tour. Font AmigaOne version forward. into it so far, to rush the last the remaining work lies with the support included with the OS. step towards full integration of as Linux and even MacOS X. support in OS 4 is via Hyperion are anticipating an few stages would be foolish. Blizzard PPC graphics.library and Picasso96. While the functionality will be of the GDB debugger, arguably TypeManager, itself based on AmigaOne to be booting into However, the public At the start of August, these benefit to the everyday user, In the last issue, mention was the most powerful debugging the latest version of FreeType. Workbench by either the end of demonstrations have gone a were due to have some AmigaOS 4 is shaping up to 68k Emulation made that Hyperion were tool in use today. GDB allows TypeManager is fully integrated September or early October – long way towards quashing the remaining 68k assembler code provide developers with a attempting to gauge interest in developers a great degree of As many are already aware, with the OS, and thus though that offers no rumours and speculations of converted to either PowerPC powerful development a port of OS 4 for the Blizzard control when launching code, AmigaOS 4 includes two compatible with all conclusive indication of when a what state OS 4 is in, and assembler or C as appropriate, platform. No doubt the beta- PPC. It comes as no surprise stopping code in mid- systems for handling 680x0 applications, and offers support public release is likely. whether the whole project will to allow most, if not all, of the testers have already enjoyed to find that the response has execution, examining program legacy code. The ExecSG for a rich variety of font ever see itself installed on the graphics system to be made putting this feature through its been good and Ben Hermans state and making changes for kernel provides interpretive systems such as Postscript, The attention the AmigaOne hard drives of more than the fully PowerPC native. Later paces. confirmed in a recent interview test and experimentation 68040 emulation, including CID, TrueType / OpenType, and OS 4 has had from a hundred or so developers and comments suggest the with Amiga.org that the port Segtracker-like capabilities purposes. FPU support but missing the PFR / TrueDoc, BDF, PCF and variety of big names, testers around the world. graphics system is proving to would appear to have a have already been MMU, offering an emulated Windows fonts. Unicode particularly in the Far East be a significant headache, reasonably viable market. The familiar Guru Meditation environment equivalent to a 33 support, which has actually thanks to the tireless work of AmiWest 2003 requester has been replaced MHz 68040 on a PowerPC been tucked away in AmigaOS Alan Redhouse, would seem to Of course, the big American by the Grim Reaper, which 604e@233MHz. The emulation for some time, is also prevalent suggest some big names are event at the end of July was allows crashed tasks to be sacrifices speed for a high - a must for any modern OS. anxious to see OS 4 available the AmiWest 2003 show. suspended, killed or debugged. degree of compatibility, and – which can only be a good Disappointment was initially Through the Reaper, GDB can seems geared towards system What’s Missing? thing for the Amiga community. high due to the news that Bill be attached and the task modules that have not yet been Of course, with limited McEwen would be unable to restarted with the benefit of a migrated to PPC. The Petunia For the Amiwest presentation, resources something has to attend, but the situation was full debugging environment. JIT emulation system opts for Ben Hermans pointed out what give and that would indicate a more than made up for with the Screenshots of the Reaper and faster emulation at the expense functionality was originally later release of the Cyberstorm surprise news that Ben its Reaction-based UI have of some compatibility - roughly scheduled for AmigaOS 4, but version. Good news for Hermans of Hyperion would be already been circulated around 50 MHz 68060 performance on which is still absent. The list is AmigaOne owners, but available to discuss AmigaOS the Amiga community. a 604e @ 233 MHz. fairly small and, with the perhaps not as welcome for 4, as he was in the USA for exception of some ExecSG those with the Cyberstorm. business meetings with Mai. Compilers Galore Hyperion chose to base the functions that are currently emulation around tasks, rather unimportant, primarily With no release dates known, As well as the Hyperion The official port of the than the more popular idea of concerned with high-level it’s all relative anyway – as presence, AmigaOS 4 was well ubiquitous GCC compiler has sandbox emulation. Initially aspects. The much-anticipated ever, we’ll just have to remain presented through the hard recently been supplemented by considered a risky venture, the 3D API, based around patient. work of both Mr. Hardware and the addition of VBCC, a decision has paid off and older OpenGL, is undergoing Dr. Ray Zarling. Ray’s name is compiler that has already applications gain transparent finalisation with a Warp3D probably unfamiliar to many in received much praise from the use of ExecSG functionality. wrapper under evaluation. An Grim Reaper, with its attractive Reaction GUI, should be a great help to developers. 10 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 11 Features Features “screwdriver-free” for mounting will have to wait for Amiga OS devices, a Maxtor 80 Gb hard 4). A screen appears prompting drive, a Plextor CDRW, an NEC you to login either as root or DVD-ROM, and a DABS value another user named by yourself AmigaOne-XE G4 Preview range floppy drive and PS2 (a user profile); do this and the keyboard. I managed to get a machine loads up the KDE (or Mick Sutton gives us some first impressions of his AmigaOne and explains how he built up his system. second-hand (although unused) whatever option you chose) about what other items were Voodoo 3 AGP graphics card desktop environment. I am not have just recently received my required to build myself a decent (more on this later) and a going into detail about how Linux AmigaOne G4 800MHz system: some memory, a good Soundblaster Live sound card for and associated programs work, I £15 in total. I chose the Voodoo but it looks quite nice (skin deep motherboard. The reason I size hard drive, a floppy drive, a chose this over any other system DVD-ROM, CDRW, graphics 3 graphics card because both 2D anyways), and programs run goes back a long way... let me card, sound card, and a decent and 3D drivers are available for it nice and fast on it on my 800 explain! computer case with sufficient on current Amigas (via the MHz machine. One major power supply were all on my Prometheus PCI board and problem I did have, though, was Back in 1991 when I was l shopping list. There was a lot of Picasso96) and therefore I know having major graphics corruption looking for my first ever “proper” AmigaOne-XE connectors, from left to right: PS/2 keyboard and discussion about RAM being they will be ready when OS 4 after only a few minutes use – computer, I was faced with the mouse, USB & Ethernet, parallel & serial, game port, audio I/O. “picky” with AmigaOne ships. Support within AHI for the when I moved windows or choices of an Atari ST (very but I found the Mac OS rather and developers. Even if the motherboards, so I decided not Soundblaster has also already opened multiple windows the similar to our beloved Amiga), an frustrating to use with its oh-so- unthinkable happened (no OS4), to take any risks and ordered my been announced. GUI disappeared, and all the text Amiga 500 plus, a PC (a 386, if I useful “it’s not my fault” I would still be able to use the 512Mb of RAM from Eyetech. I looked as though it was smeared remember correctly), or the Like a lot of people, I ordered my messages when things go hardware with Linux, although then discovered that a CPU fan wherever I moved a window. dreaded Amstrad PCW. The AmigaOne motherboard many wrong. My wife now has a that would, in my opinion, be the was needed on the 800 MHz G4 The AmigaOne, in my Suntek tower case, at a SEAL meeting. Amstrad didn’t strike me as an months before I received it, After powering down my 2.4GHz laptop running XP worst case scenario and very (it isn’t required on the G3) and “all rounder” machine, and there which gave me plenty of time to module is correctly seated. Once and files will be stored. Once all machine and making sure my Professional (which is an unlikely to happen. also added that to my order to be get all the other items on my list. graphics card was seated also seemed to be more Amiga inappropriately named OS, I can all the hardware is put together this is done, it is time to So there you are, I shall stay dispatched at the same time. Once I received my case, I correctly, I was at odds as to software on the shelves than tell you!) that looks very nice but correctly, it is time to switch on configure your kernel and driver with the Amiga, thank you very decided to assemble as much of what the problem could be. I Atari, so I decided it was down to is also frustrating to use as the The AmigaOne motherboard the computer and follow modules – this is when you tell much, which means that an my system as I could, which tried reinstalling and double- either a PC or an Amiga. computer seems to decide for itself is an ATX form factor sized Eyetech’s instructions to install a your machine what hardware you AmigaOne was on the top of my board with standard power gave me something to do whilst basic Linux system. have installed such as graphics checking my settings within the I remember looking at a PC that you what’s best rather than you shopping list. I saw that Eyetech connections that can be waiting for my motherboard. The card, sound card, network card, kernel for graphics card settings, cost about £1100 and an Amiga telling it. Also, I can’t understand The first step is to configure U- were offering pre-built “power” mounted in any standard hard drive, DVD-ROM, and etc. During this process you can but they were correct. I asked for costing about £500. The PC had how a giant company like Boot (the AmigaOne’s firmware, systems with a very good “fully computer case. The main board CDRW were all mounted, and I also set your computer’s network help on the A1g3dev mailing list a 14” monitor (although I can’t Microsoft with all its millions of the basic software that initially loaded” spec, but I decided that I of the XE G4 system has a threw in an old PC motherboard address, tell it what type of and found many people with remember whether it was dollars can create operating starts the computer and begins could build myself a machine socket for a card fitted with a at a SEAL meeting to test them mouse and keyboard you have, Voodoo 3 graphics cards were included in the price) and 20Mb systems with so many security booting the selected operating with the same specifications for Motorola 7451 PPC CPU. The out... sad indeed! and whether you have a experiencing the same problem hard drive, but I reasoned that holes and bugs! It’s not like it is system). The configuration less cost, and of course building motherboard has built-in Postscript printer. There are – unless the screen resolution the Amiga could be used with a short of development funds, is it? My AmigaOne motherboard includes setting the date and your own system also makes it a Ethernet (via 3COM 920C chip), other elements that are was set to 800 x 600, that is! I TV until I could afford a monitor. eventually arrived from Eyetech, time, choosing a boot device, So I asked myself, “what if the unique machine, which I think is on-board USB (two on back configured during the process, set up my system to run at this The decision to buy the Amiga complete with the CPU module and setting a boot delay so you software on my current system what most people want. plate and two headers on the one of the important ones for me setting, and yes, it did stop the rather than a PC was not all plugged in and fitted with a can access U-Boot again if was running on a processor with motherboard), one AGP slot (2x was the monitor settings. I have graphical glitches happening. down to cost factors, though to I decided whatever AmigaOne cooling fan; the memory DIMM needed. To boot Linux you must many times more processing speed) probably best suited to a a TFT monitor, so I selected that But I couldn’t stand running my date I wouldn’t like to count the motherboard I bought, it had to was wrapped up within the set a kernel command line; power? That would be very nice, graphics card, and four PCI slots amount of money I have spent have a plug-in CPU so that I packaging. The board itself looks thankfully, several examples are wouldn’t it?” My way of thinking that can be used for a multitude on my Amiga; it was more down would be able to upgrade later a good build quality with no signs given depending on the graphics “Linux is okay to mess around with... but is that a new, more powerful, of devices such as sound cards to the fact that the Amiga on if required, and as the 800 of poor quality soldering or bad card you have chosen. All these machine complete with a new and the like. The board has two Workbench looked like a MHz G4 wasn’t drastically more tracks, and I can tell you I never settings are saved into bring on Amiga OS4 and let’s have some fun!“ (but very familiar) OS, with more IDE channels that are supposed friendlier environment, and the expensive than the 600 MHz G3, knew someone could get so nonvolatile memory so they don’t features, may very well attract to run at ATA100 speed (as long option and had to go into machine at this resolution, so Amiga user interface was a I thought I would go for that spec exited holding and looking at a have to be entered every time many new users to the platform, as you use the correct 80-way advanced settings to configure decided to get myself a different sheer joy after seeing the DOS machine. Now I had to think board with a load of electronic you boot the machine. and therefore also more coders cables), one parallel port, one the kernel. The advanced graphics card. After consulting prompt... choice made! I have components soldered onto it! serial port, and two PS2 sockets Now it is time to install Linux (if settings allow you to set scan with people on the mailing list, I used Amigas ever since and for your mouse and keyboard. Now I had the object of desire in you must), which first involves rates (a TFT monitor works on a decided the best value for never felt the desire to “jump With regards to AmigaOne my hot hands (don’t even go telling the AmigaOne to boot different principle), screen money (cost of £27) card was ship” to a different computer as it memory requirements, it has two there), I was at last able to from the CD-ROM, as detailed resolutions you will be using (my the AGP Radeon 7000, which is still does almost everything I memory slots that take 133MHz mount it in my case and plug in within Eyetech’s documentation. 15” TFT can only go up to a more powerful card than the want it to do. SDRAM DIMMs (registered RAM all my devices. Eyetech supply Once this is done, the supplied 1024x768), and bit depth. The Voodoo 3 and has 64Mb of RAM As the years have gone by, other being recommended especially if documentation comprising of 5 Debian CD (3.0r1 official PPC process doesn’t take too long, on board. I had to reconfigure systems have gotten faster and you intend on having multiple A4 sheets with instructions on binary) takes you through a particularly if you have a friend to my Linux kernel to reflect the prettier operating systems DIMMs) for up to a maximum of how to install the motherboard range of options based on what read out the documentation change of graphics card and, of installed on them, but they still 2Gb. (I remember the days when and where everything plugs in. elements within Linux you want whilst you operate the keyboard course, U-Boot had to be lack that certain something that 512Kb upgrades were Although 5 sheets of A4 to run. I won’t go into great detail (recommended if you don’t want reconfigured as well. With all the the Amiga has. The Amiga may considered showing off.) As you documentation doesn’t sound but will try to remember the main to make mistakes). Once you changes made I booted into KDE be lacking in the wealth of can see, this is all standard off- like much in the way of a parts that have to be installed have finished selecting all your and all worked well, no graphical software that the likes of PC’s the-shelf memory that can be manual, it is quite detailed and is and configured. options, the Debian components glitches or screen corruption. My and Apple Macs have, but to me upgraded at a later date without enough to get your AmigaOne you have chosen are all installed system seems very stable. First and foremost is the it is a far better machine to use costing you a fortune. up and running with Linux (which on your system. Once all this is partitioning and setting up of the With the graphics problem sorted even today despite the fact that is the OS you will have to suffer, done, it is time to log out of the With the motherboard ordered hard drive. This consists of I’m pleased with my AmigaOne. most of the software running on and I do mean suffer, with until machine and shut it down. and awaiting delivery, I ordered selecting your primary master Linux is okay to mess around it is using a 50 MHz (060) Amiga OS 4 is released). The all my other components (from IDE drive and making a PPC The time you have been waiting with for the time being, but bring processor compared to, say, a documentation tells you where DABS) at the same time: a PReP Boot partition, a Linux for has arrived: it is time to on Amiga OS4 and let’s have 2.4 GHz Athlon. I use PC’s on a everything should be connected, rather nice (in my opinion) Swap partition, and the main switch on your machine and boot some fun! daily basis at work and am not what jumper settings to make, Suntek computer case that is partition where all your programs into your Linux OS (shame we impressed. My wife had an iMac, My AmigaOne-XE motherboard with G4 CPU module. and how to check the CPU 12 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 13 If you don’t see what you want, just ask! Kicksoft Our range is always growing! Players Graphics Moovid PPC Drawstudio PPC version with both WARPUP and POWERUP versions. Comes on CD This excellent Graphics package avaliable one again!! Comes on CD and £18.00 includes Texture Studio & Image Studio. Moovid £35.00 Play AVI, Mov and QT files on your Amiga©. Comes on CD. Photogenics 5 £12.00 This excellent Graphics package by Paul Nolan. Comes on CD. Frogger PPC £70.00 PPC MPEG player. Comes on CDwith example MPEGs. Image Engineer £18.00 Great Image manipulation program. Add effects to images such as Jigsaw. Frogger £25.00 68k MPEG player. Comes on CD with example MPEGs. Candy Factory Pro £12.00 Create 3D Text from any standard font and use them on web pages etc. Riva £35.00 The fastest 68k MPEG player on the Amiga! Comes on CD with MPEGs. Art Effect 4 £9.00 Billed as “Photoshop® on the Amiga”. Excellent graphic package. Comes on SoftCinema CD. PPC AVI, QT and Mov player. On CD with example Movies. £39.99 £9.00 FxPaint NEW With over 70 effects this is a superb addition to any software collection. AMP 2 NEW PPC Mpeg, CD-i and DVD player. The only way to play DVDs on the AMIGA. £60.00 £18.00 Image FX4 NEW THE image manipulation package !! 100s of effects.

Internet Inet Dial Home server on your Amiga©., includes Apache and Geek Gadgets. Games NEW £40.00 AWeb Upgrade Excellent web Browser. Upgrade from OS 3.5 or OS 3.9. Comes on Floppy. PayBack £35.00 £30.00 Utilities Freespace £35.00 PFS 3 The fastest and safest file system avaliable, up to 300 times faster than FFS. £35.00 Metaview The Feeble Files £35.00 The best Clipart viewer on the Amiga©. Comes on CD with clip art images. £18.00 Diavolo The best backup program on the Amiga©. Comes on Floppy disk. £50.00 PhotoFolio V2 NEW Misc The professional way to view, catolouge and manipulate your images. TaskiSMS £30.00 Send Text Messages to mobile phones from your Amiga! Comes on CD. GoldEd £12.00 The best Editor, Program Editor, HTML Generator on the Amiga. FxScan NEW £30.00 The only Scanner software that offers OCR on the Amiga today!! Turboprint 7.21 NEW £30.00 Use modern printers with 24 bit output!! The quality is astounding. OS 3.9 NEW Latest operating system for the Amiga. Comes on CD. Full £40.00 Upgrade £25.00 £30.00 Aminet NEW Make CD (DAO version) NEW Latest Aminet disk or the latest series. Gigabytes of Amiga Software. CD writing software.Compatibale with most CD writers/rewriters. Single £14.99 Series £29.99 £50.00 VHI STUDIO Spitfire 2 Connect digital Cameras to your Amiga and so much more If you have a 3com Palm© or compatible then you need this program! Comes on CD. !£30.00 £25.00 Amiga Forever 5 NEW Emulate a AGA based amiga on your PC. Mediapoint NEW Full Version £40.00 Upgrade £25.00 multimedia presentation tool on your Amiga. £40.00

Kicksoft Ltd., 30 Whitegate Way, www.kicksoft.co.uk Tadworth, Add £1.00 UK postage per item. Make cheques payable to Kicksoft Ltd. Surrey, KT20 5NS Tel/Fax (01737) 219280 We accept Solo, Switch, Mastercard & Visa [email protected] Features Features and not an AmigaOne I was When a user stirs up trouble on a Sam Byford puts into shouted at, abused and then forum by posting insinuations, when I refused to back down and lies or slander what should the Divided Loyalties, perspective the arguments simply stood my ground (without company concerned do? There between MorphOS and being at all aggressive myself) I are two options: stay silent and Amiga supporters. was ignored and soon after the run the risk of the lie taking hold Historial Similarities user left the channel for a long or hope that it is proved wrong with PUP because a lot of and USB, Firewire and digital that all-needed WOW feature will time, presumably to sulk. Such a and to only speak when an uch like the Shakespearian programmers still preferred it, sound. Some of these have to come later when the reaction was not called for and official announcement is made; Mtragedy, Romeo & Juliet, causing a rift in the user base innovations have still been PPC native OS’s come into many users not as hard-shelled or they can stay in the public the Amiga household is split into and helping to put the entire PPC added to the boards themselves being. For MorphOS this will as me would have left soon after forums and confirm and deny all remnants two. On one side there lies the evolution to an early grave. PPC but each is up-gradable. While appear in the form of the Q Box the abuse started. rumours that abound. As you’ve two brother AmigaOne users and on the did not take off as it was thought these items may have been and the AmigaOS will become already guessed Amiga Inc. systems have other the Pegasos users. Both it would, and today the few pioneered by the PC industry the AmigaDE. At the moment I want to make one thing clear have gone for the former sprung up both with have fundamental differences boards that are still around tend both systems have taken them both are aiming to make the OS here - I am NOT singling out the approach while Genesi have similarities and with but at heart both are stunningly fully PPC native and will run 68k AmigaOne users here. There are gone for the latter. Each has differences. Each side has its similar (I shall explain my programs in emulation. The plenty of Pegasos users out drawbacks, for example Amiga “...born of the same lineage, with the same there who are just as bad and if normal followers and its devout reasoning behind that comment future will bring divergence and gets an ear bashing for their long is. Who knows, in some respects anything these guys are actually zealots and it is these individuals later). That which separates the mother and father...” programs native to those OS’s, silences whereas Genesi get you may even have to admit they slightly louder in their ravings. that need to learn that other two sides are its users, and for but until then they are not so bashed for responding to far too have a point. If people do not Both sides have their zealots people have rights and that their the most part these people are to be under-used, in bad repair under their wings and made different. many threads and being too free stop abusing the other users and in both cases these few rights entitle them to free thought content to let the other side be or broken. The ironic thing is that them their own, but each in with their time. One thing is then we will soon have two very The thing which disturbs me is individuals are making life very and that includes what computer what they want to be without the two systems we are now slightly different ways. So certain both companies harbour different systems with their the massive split this is all hard for both companies to work. system they use and what OS. interference. However, there are fighting over are actually both although both boards may use their own zealots and both sides individual user bases and neither causing in the Amiga user base. To be brutally honest I think that What right do you have to shout those who appear to like making derived from the same PPC different manufacturers and need to stop telling lies, or is likely to prosper and succeed. both companies are actually at someone for using a different war, and who take every source which has been a long- different chipsets as the initial spreading rumours about the As long as we can live together Naturally each system is headed up by very strong OS? Thats like owning a BMW opportunity to name-call, belittle standing PPC standard. on-board systems and both run other company. It is not at all as one (we are brothers don’t somewhat different and therefore personalities and because of this and screaming at someone just and generally drag the other side different OS’s they are effectively beneficial to either side and forget!) then the user base stays I have been informed that if you not totally compatible with the cooperation between the two because they own a Ferrari. By down. One thing is for certain: its brothers (and not an Amiga at all simply puts back development strong and we can once more look into the first 4 bytes of any other but in reality the two sides is made all the more all means politely, kindly and gradually killing the entire in some peoples minds). time on their respective work. emerge as a powerful computer PPC code you would find the text systems are remarkably similar difficult as neither side likes to quietly point out what the benefit platform. system in the world. “.elf” which, as any Pegasos Most people out there think of and as such the effort needed to stand down on any given The moral of my rant is that the of your BMW is but do not be Over the years battles have owner or coder (and possibly AmigaOS4 and MorphOS1.# as make a program run on both subject! Amiga as we knew it is dead (or surprised if they then tell you raged between various OS4 coder?) would know is an two entirely different beasts. I machines would be quite a small as good as), and from its what the benefits of their Ferrari companies; Picasso96 vs attribute of a PPC native code disagree - they are born of the one, with programs developed CyberGFX; WarpUP vs piece. same lineage, with the same for OS4 able to be re-compiled P&P Rates: PowerUP; PC vs Mac, and each mother and father but both have to run on MOS within a fairly UK...... £1.50 (1 item) UK...... £1 per item (2+) FORE-MATT Home Computing has had positive and negative A Shared Heritage grown up in totally different small time span (and vice versa). EU...... £2 per item impacts on both parties. situations and surroundings and Now normally this slight RoW...... £3 per item (07792) 416254 • Dept. TA, PO Box 835, Wootton Bassett, Swindon, SN4 8RXWe also accept PayPal Competition is healthy, it forces As they stand at the moment the have therefore diverged. Neither incompatibility would not be a each side to better itself, to strive AmigaOne with Amiga OS4 is system is as the “Classic” Amiga problem, each side would get on to outdo its opponents and not all that much different to the was but both have their roots with what they are doing, therefore gain the upper hand. Pegasos with MorphOS1.4. firmly embedded in it. As they watching what the opposition is More often than not though the People are now screaming at me stand at the current time each is doing and trying to be one step negative impacts drive and saying that I’m talking purely a cameleon OS, and by ahead of their game and maybe Quake £10Quake 2 £30 Napalm £10 Freespace £25 VHI Studio 5.7 £28 Hyperion Bundle £47 themselves to the fore and are rubbish, but hear me out: both that I mean that the authors are even playing both sides. what stick in peoples minds. We hardware systems have evolved aiming to get the OS to such a However in the Amiga world we tend to more easily remember beyond what we classify as a level that any and all old Amiga seem to have some of the most the bad experiences we have “Classic Amiga”. They have programs will run on their OS. outspoken, stubborn and rather than the good ones, which removed the need for Each side is, of course, trying to opinionated people I’ve ever by far out weigh the bad. These dependency on chipsets (Alice, out-do the other by adding in seen (Linux users comes a close Simon Sorcerer 2 £35 T-Zero £15 Nightlong £25S/W Tycoon £30 FXScan 4 £35 FXPaint 2 £60 (upg £25) negative aspects tend to Budgie etc) and instead use second with PC users just kind CDROM GAMES CDROM GAMES CDROM GAMES UTILITIES UTILITIES UTILITIES new features such as anti- Adventurers Lair...... £15Goal! 2000...... £10Spherical Worlds ...... 3DCD-1 £10 Objects...... £5GFA Basic Interpreter ...... £5Sounds Terrific 2...... £10 influence us in future life and generic PCI or AGP cards for aliased fonts, skins (MorphOS), of rolling along on the back of Alfred Chicken CD32...... £10Gremlin Classix...... £10Sports Mad ...... 17 £20 Bit Level 6 ...... £10GlowIcons...... £10Source Code Gold...... £10 Amiga Classix...... £10Guardian CD32 ...... £5Street Racer CD ...... 100%AMIGA £10 Magazine ...... £5GlowIcons 2 ...... £15STFax 4.5 ...... £40 decisions. things like graphics, 16bit audio a new library model (OS4) and the wave) and because of this Amiga Classix 2...... £10Hell Squad...... £25Strip Pot CD32...... 100% £5 Colour Clips...... £10Graphic Sensations ...... £10Texture Heaven 1&2...... £10 they are blindly sticking to one Amiga Classix 3...... £20Imperator CD ...... £15Superfrog ...... 100% £10 Mono Clips...... £10Guinness Records v2 ...... £10Turbo Calc 5...... £55 As an example the WarpUP enhanced Exec (OS4) to name Aminet Games...... £15Islona Collection ...... £20Super Methane Bros...... 10,000 £10 Amiga Cheats...... £10Hisoft Extend...... £10Turbo Print 7.x ...... £40 but a few. The real platform over the other. Aqua...... £10Labyrinth Of Time ...... £10Syndicate CD32...... A-Z £10 of Amiga Games...... £15Image Link...... £10Utilities Experience...... £10 verses PowerUP PPC “war” - Arcade Classix Mk 2 ...... £10Mad About Mahjong...... £10Testament CD...... Amiga £10 Forever 5 ...... £40In To The Net (2CD)...... £10 innovations, new Blade...... £10Mad About Marbles...... £10Theme Park CD...... Amiga £10 Repair Kit...... £35Junior Typist ...... £8 two different software solutions Bubba N Stix CD32 ...... £10Megaball Deluxe ...... £10The Games Room ...... Amiga £15 Writer 2 ...... £35Key To Driving theory...... £15PERIPHERALS features and Bubble Heroes...... Moonbases £8 ...... £5The Strangers...... Aminet £10 Set 4,5 7 - 11 ea...... £25Learning Curve ...... £20A500 Internal Disk Drive ...... £10 both designed to run on the The few spoil it for the C64 Classix ...... £10Myst...... £25Time of Reckoning ...... Amos £5 PDCD2...... £20LSD Compendium 2...... £15Ami-PC Link (inc s/w)...... £15 CDS Collection ...... £15Myst (German) ...... £10Total Carnage CD32...... Animatic £5 ...... £5Mods Explosion...... £10Amiga disk/cc wallet...... £2 hardware designed by Phase5, Cedric ...... £10Pacman Attack...... £10Trivial Pursuit ...... Art £10 Effect 4 ...... £40Multimedia Backdrop ...... £15Amiga Sew-On Patch ...... £1 one created by Phase5 many. On both sides! Chess 2k...... £15Payback...... £35Turbo Racer 3D ...... Art £8Studio Pro ...... £35Multimedia Experience ...... £15Amiga RF TV Cable ...... £3 Chuck Rock 2 CD32...... £10Phoenix Fighters...... £10Ultimate Gloom...... Artworx £10 ...... £10Multimedia Toolkit ...... £10Amiga-TV Scart Lead...... £13 themselves (PowerUP) and the While most of us are content to Civilization AGA/ECS...... £10Pictris...... £15Ult. Super Skidmarks ...... Blitz £10 Basic 2.1 (ult.)...... £10NcodeR ...... £30Amiga White Mouse ...... £10 Earth 2140 Mission Pack ...... £15Pure Doom ...... £5Uropa 2 ...... Converters £10 Suite...... £10Network CD...... £10Boing Ball Mouse Mat ...... £5 other created later by Haage & choose our platform or OS and Eat The Whistle ...... £10Red Mars...... £15Virtual Ball Fighters...... Cross £15 Dos 7 Gold ...... £40Network CD 2...... £15Clockport Cable...... £5 European Superleague ...... £10Retro Gold...... £10Virtual Grand Prix...... Desktop £20 Video Vault ...... £10Pagestream Addons ...... £10MouseIT ser. PC Adaptor...... £5 Partner. Initially PUP was the to let others have the same Fightin Spirit ...... £10Seaside ...... £20Virtual Karting 2...... Digital £10 Makeup ...... £15Patchez HD Installers ...... £10Scanner Targets IT8.7/2...... £10 only PPC software layer Final Odyssey...... £10Sensible Soccer CD32 ...... £15Vital Light...... Emulators £10 Unlimited ...... £10PFS3...... £35Serial Link...... £15 rights there are those out there Foundation Und.Land...... £15Simon the Sorcerer...... £10Wasted Dreams...... Fractal £10 Pro Image Lib...... £5Photon Paint 2 ...... £5 available so programs were that think all those people who Games Attack...... £10Sixth Sense Invest’ns ...... £10Whales Voyage 2...... fxPaint £15 v2 upgrade...... £30Red Hat Linux ...... £15 Giana Sisters Trilogy ...... £10Speccy Classix...... £10Word Games...... Gateway £10 v1 (netBSD)...... £10Science CD ...... £10 made to run that, but then WUP disagree with them are scum, HARDWARE (£12 UK p&p) came along. This soon became A1200HD ...... £100 should be beaten up and thrown A1200HD (1GB) ...... £120 very popular and (some would into a dank, dark dungeon RGB Monitor...... £60 (all H/W items pre-owned) argue) became the more popular The Amiga One XE/G4 somewhere to rot. I use a software solution, especially motherboard and the Pegasos I Pegasos and recently went into “The Amiga Online Superstore” - Visit our new 128 bit secure online shop at www.forematt.co.uk amongst commercial developers. (opposite right). Similar hardware and an IRC channel where when it both intended to run Amiga-like operating Amiga Retro Classics Site: www.forematt.free-online.co.uk EMail: [email protected] Yet some software houses stuck was found that I use a Pegasos systems and yet the centre of so much acrimony. 16 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 17 Reviews Reviews My MorphOS desktop showing a mixture of native and emulated applications. There’s Kaya, the new native music player, a real- time zoom window and several Ambient panels. MorphOS 1.4 Among the emulated programs Sam Byford loads the latest version are Mystic View and AmIRC. All MUI programs benefit from the of MorphOS on to his Pegasos to give gradient features. us the low-down on the changes and enhancements. Superbundle boot into the CD rather than the AmiTCP should be available in machine up or throw out a blank ast issue I gave my review of MOS that is on your hard drive. the next MOS upgrade! piece of paper. This really does New Features & LMorphOS based on version You then have two options: you need to be fixed and as soon as Bug Fixes 1.3 and it got a favourable score. can either perform an update possible. The preferences for Integration. In late July version 1.4 was using& the provided install script TurboPrint have been added into MOS1.4 now supports DVI and released along with the which does everything for you Some of the core components of the System prefs and it looks Overlay for the Radeon series of “Superbundle”, a collection of and is quite easy to follow, or you any OS have now been rather nice (see screenshot) as GFX cards (except 8500) and 3D software made available for free can do a fresh install. The later is integrated into MorphOS. The well as being quite easy to for the Voodoo3/4 series. by various companies and preferable as it means that you most noticeable of these navigate. A lack of Support for graphics tablets has individuals. So how does don’t have any unwanted programs are JIT, TurboPrint and documentation might prove a been introduced as has the MOS1.4 compare to 1.3? Well, it libraries or conflicting files on USB support but there are also hindrance to some users not ability to reboot the machine via nudges the entire look and feel your system. Its fairly obvious, smaller integrations which used to dealing with TurboPrint. keyboard. I find this does not of the OS up by several notches but make a backup of the 1.3 deserve a mention a bit further Any extra printer drivers that work if a program has hung the but it still remains that it has a system first! into the review. Ireesoft bring out (I had to machine already, and the Reboot long way to go before the manually copy my Epson C40UX option in the RMB menu works Once you have backed 1.3 up, outside world would be willing to Having TurboPrint integrated driver over from my own copy of only half of the time so you will delete it from the boot partition take it on as a replacement to directly into the OS is a big TurboPrint) go into the draw at Poseidon’s preferences and log using the 68000 version could fact!) proving that having JIT still need to reboot via the Tower then install 1.4 by copying the the dominating might that is bonus as it means that over 200 MOSSYS:TP/Printers/ and are into the System prefs window is improve the JIT emulation. turned on effected the procedure Case’s reset button! One very CDs contents to hard drive Windows. different printers (both parallel immediately available for use. that it is not immediately due to it storing the code and re- good change in 1.4 is that it is no (which, compared to other OS’s and USB) are supported available via hotkey for me to In issue 15 to test the difference using it to perform the action the longer a requirement to have a Installation of MOS 1.4 could not is still a stunningly small amount internally. Currently however By now everyone in the Amiga play with. It may only be two between my 060 Amiga4000 and second time. PS/2 mouse plugged into the be any simpler. Once you have of data) and then over the next TurboPrint does not work on the sphere will have heard of and mouse presses away (RMB my G3 Pegasos I ran ArtEffect Pegasos on bootup. Until now if downloaded the new ISO, un- few weeks put back any files and majority of systems! The amount possibly even used Poseidon by menu, Prefs then the USB list and did 4 identical procedures on The interesting thing is that it can there was no PS/2 mouse archived it (it comes in .tar.gz libraries that programs require, of emails to the MOS mailing list Chris Hodges. This marvellous member) but I like the ability to both machines, with both set of sometimes take a while for JIT to plugged in bootup would be format) and burnt it to CD you using SnoopDos if necessary, to regarding TP not working has bit of USB software has now have it show up on Ambient as a test results having similar kick in. I also ran AmiGod2 and delayed by up to 40 seconds, work out what is missing. been phenomenal, although in been successfully added into the separate entity with just a press figures. That proved that the the results were almost identical. this “lag” has now been 1.3 had a few fairly major some cases people have heart of MOS. of a key. basic 68k emulator ran at Another user has informed me eliminated leaving us free to use drawbacks, the most noticeable managed to get programs such roughly the same speed as an that if I had bothered to run the USB mice only. Nothing (except a few minor of which was the lack of a few as WordWorth and FinalWriter to Up until this release of MOS all 68060/50. Unfortunately same tests five or six times with additions) has changed so Several new programs have basic programs - that of a text print. I myself can print from 68k programs have been running ArtEffect does not run correctly JIT enabled then the results setting up the preferences based been introduced to 1.4 including editor and a TCP stack. 1.4 WordWorth just fine, albiet very on a standard emulation layer. under MOS1.4 (more on that would have sped up dramatically. on your old settings should be a calculator (with Advanced or introduces MorphED, a re- slowly, but no other program will With 1.4, JIT (Just-In-Time) later in the article) so I could not The reason why AmiGod does .info yield results, they either lock the quite a quick process. My only emulation has been introduced re-do the same test with JIT. not initially show any differences Basic setup) and a zoom tool implementation of GoldED Developer gripe when it comes to putting which is a sizeable window that written specifically for MOS. It by way of Trance. My knowledge Instead I used the next best thing is that it only runs each code one Genesi magnifies whatever is was initially intended as a of JIT is limited but from what I to ArtEffect: ImageEngineer, time, meaning that JIT does not www.genesi.lu underneath the cursor at the developer tool and has understand, as 68k code is run it easily my second favourite GFX alter the results. Run the same time. It has a variety of zoom highlighting for most of the is replaced with PPC native code manipulation package. test four times and JIT will have levels and will prove useful for Distributor developer languages but it soon “on the fly” which it then caches cached the test procedure and I ran three tests, each one using demonstrations to a large group www.pegasos-uk.com became clear it would be ideal for future use. This means the will improve the feedback, run it the same picture, the same where being able to see exactly as the default text editor for first time you run a specific bit of five or even six times and the convolves and the exact same what the demonstrator is doing is MOS. With this now part of the code there may not be any results speed up even more. Price variables in each case. The table a necessity. A music player Superbundle it means that users noticeable increase in speed, as Pegasos I motherboard with in the “JIT Speed” box-out shows have a means of editing the Trance is having to re-write it as MorphOS and Linux ....£377 the exact times for each user-startup file and other scripts the program wants it. With each Discounts may be available operation but I shall focus on the (as well as C code and HTML subsequent use of that same for developers. second process I performed: pages etc). code Trance can just recall the Also Available from new version and execute that, Oilpaint. I used a fairly high A TCP stack is still missing from speeding up the entire process. value with which to make IE Kicksoft on CD at £18 1.4 which means initially setting So performing actions on oilpaint my photograph, this www.kicksoft.co.uk up your computer to access the individual pixels and meant that it actually performed Test System outside world or your internal mathematical operations would two individual oilpaint processes, networks is still as much a one after the other to produce an Pegasos I with April 2 get markedly quicker with the hassle as it was under 1.3. The second use, for example. As with accumulative effect. With both PPC G3 CPU @ 600MHz good news is that AmiTCP is other 68K emulations, basic JIT and basic 68k emulation the 512Mb RAM currently being rewritten for PPC 68000 or 040 code is much initial oilpaint took roughly 20 ATi Radeon 7000LE AGP and has had a complete GUI Utilities familiar to many Amiga users, TurboPrint and Poseidon easier and quicker to translate seconds. The second process ATX Tower Case overhaul, and the news on the than 060 code (which contain (which is also the heavier of the grapevine is that the transition is have been integrated in to MorphOS 1.4. two) took substantially longer This screen-shot shows how the preferences editors have been instructions only used on 060s) Skins can now be applied easily from within the preferences MorphOS 1.4 almost complete. Therefore without JIT, (10 times as long in so reinstalling programs and program. A different skin can be defined for each screen. 18 integrated intoTOTAL one central application.AMIGA Autumn 2003 19 Reviews Reviews called Kaya has also been For those of you who read my properly and mean programs then a file selector window and brush around a picture or introduced that plays most types report on 1.3 you will remember such as SGrab and SoundProbe then close the program each performing effects. Trance is the of song files including MP3 and there were several bugs inherent are at last properly usable. JIT Speed window will cleanly shut down. new JIT 68K This problem may well affect OGG. Kaya is skinnable so the in the icon system: icon names I conducted some speed tests With 1.4 you can expect the emulator. look of the GUI can be changed overlapping; lack of lasso; drag Many Amiga users have gotten machine to hang if you do that! other programs too as I can not used to button banks over the using Image Engineer (an see how only these two would be The zoom to your own style. and drop errors; snapshotting of image processor currently Close the requestor down first, icons not always working. These years with many different then the prefs, then the program adversely affected. window While on the subject of Skins it is packages available to provide only available as a 68k (below) works have now been solved - with the version) to see the difference and you should be alright. now a major plus for MOS that exception of snapshotting, which this feature. In 1.4 a system has The Superbundle in real-time. the skins idea has been been introduced called Panel between the static emulation As with 1.3, performing a still has problems. Icons jump and the JIT emulation integrated into the System when “Snapshot All” is selected that allows simple drag and “snapshot all” action will cause For many people the preferences under the dropping of icons onto each bar. (Trance) introduced in all icons in parent directories to Superbundle is a godsend. At Each of these icons acts exactly MorphOS 1.4. Note, times are refresh, not just the ones you the moment there is only a “...the upgrade from 1.3 to 1.4 is quite a big one the same as if you had opened shown in minutes and snapshotted. When playing limited amount of programs its directory up and double seconds. music and scrolling another available in the package but that with many, much needed, new features.” clicked it. Preferences for each JIT Static program sound clicks can still be number is set to grow. The list at Panel are separate from the heard and the GFX refresh bug the moment is as follows: screenmode attribute. Multiple and the scrollbar still reports others so no two need be the Visual Border; Scratch is still present. If anything this is screenmodes can now be icons where no icons exists. same. Panels can be Zipped 0:10 0:35 actually worse than in 1.3 but ProStation Audio Titanium defined, similar to MUI, each Multiple selection via lasso now (folded down to a simple bar), Oilpaint (30) that could be because programs (Sound/Music Mixer); MorphED with a different name, mode and works, as does multiple delete, the speed of this zipping set in 01:07 10:37 are still trying to use Smart (Text Editor); fxPaint Lite (GFX skin for each item and automatic though annoyingly it asks for the “Ambient Settings:Panels” Refresh (more on this in a Program); fxScan Lite (Scanning scrolling can be switched on or permission to delete every single menu item, or fixed in place. Bleed; All (10) minute). Open a program such Program); VHI Studio Lite off. A real-time preview of the item and not a generic “are you Pictures, colours and MUI 0:11 0:48 as YAM or Simplemail, have the (TVCard and Webcam Program); chosen skin is also now possible sure you want to delete 30 gradients can be set as mail-get feature fetch your mails BirdieShoot (Fun Shooting and no reboot is required; the files?”. Someone on the MOS graphical bar at the bottom of the Game); Feeble Files (Point and backgrounds for each panel as and try to scroll one of the Firstly the release dates and backlog on downloading the change happens instantly. development team has also window. Five columns are Click Graphical Game); Software can the size of the icons. About windows behind that last times. The world consists of Superbundle and 1.4 update was taken it into their head to make provided showing the Program Tycoon (Business Emulation the only limitation I can see is window. The text in the window numerous timezones and saying immense. We need mirror sites Icon handling has been one of all long named files display their ID, its name, priority and the Game); MorphOS SDK (Official that multiple columns/rows can you scroll will become corrupted that the release will be at such and, please guys, hassle your most peoples bug-bears with names on multiple lines. There CPU time and usage. By clicking Software Development Kit for not be used. until the front-most window and such a time could mean any ISPs for more bandwidth! MOS. Happily several needs to be a preference setting on the column headers the items MorphOS). disappears and then everything time almost a full day either side enhancements have been for this so the user can choose MUI now has the ability to make can be sorted according to each refreshes correctly again. For me of when they actually mean! introduced into 1.4 but there’s between single line display or colour gradients. It uses any two of these attributes (e.g. largest To get access to the Conclusion this is the biggest problem that They need to specify GMT, CET still a long way to go before multiple line display. colours that you choose on a CPU usage at the top of the list). Superbundle you have to register MorphOS currently has, it stops or whichever zone they intend to As you can see, the update from things are to the same standard colourwheel and these can be If a program becomes locked on www.morphos.net then wait me wanting to show the system use and a specific time. Strange 1.3 to 1.4 is quite a big one with as other operating systems. The When multiple icons are selected set to blend horizontally or and you do not have a utility for your password which will off to friends as I know exactly as it may seem some users took many new, much needed, need for a .backdrop file in the only one menu item is displayed: vertically. I think this is probably such as Xopa or Scout on your allow you to access the files via what their reaction would be. a day off work just so they could features. base of partitions has been Delete. If it is a partition icon you my favourite of all the MUI system then it is possible to browser or FTP. The Lite eliminated, icons can now be left have selected this tends to be a locate the PID of that task and versions have certain restrictions download 1.4 first, but were enhancements that have been Any coders who use MUI as their New bugs show themselves, but out properly by a simple drag nasty thing to select! More menu use Shell to “Break {PID}” - this but will be able to be upgraded in disappointed when it did not made since 3.8. It certainly adds GUI base should now beware: that is the way of things with and drop action. Icon scaling has items need to be added (copy, is especially handy if you wish to the near future. come out until the next day in a sophisticated look to my Smart Refresh has been software and Genesi will be bug- also been introduced with the cut, snapshot, rename etc) and turn Trance off for test purposes their area! Ambient desktop (as long as the removed from MUI leaving only hunting for eternity, the same as preferences for the sizes of icons protection for partitions needs or for a program that does not Although not actually part of the colours chosen are not too bright Simple Refresh. According to the Then there are the updates. A lot Microsoft. But they love it, and it in the Ambient prefs menu. Five implementing. run correctly using Trance. Superbundle I feel I should give or overpowering). powers that be this is because of the bugs reported on the email would seem the users like different sizes are now available mention to MPlayer, a DVD and Smart Refresh is a nasty hack list are minor and are reported as nothing better than to point out for displaying icons, ranging from Inclusion of more fonts into the Ironically one of the more movie player newly released by Opening the Way for and any programs that are being fixed almost immediately. what’s wrong and what can be Micro up to Huge. My system package also means a greater important new programs added DET Nicolas and available at the coded correctly should never Why then is that fix not improved. With the introduction runs on a 1120x832 screenmode choice of system fonts and styles into MOS 1.4 gets left till last: downloads section of New Bugs have any problems with Simple distributed via the FTP? We have of JIT almost everything flies and I find that the jump between and the bug I reported in Issue that is the Task Manager. A MorphZone. Able to play near Refresh. Naturally though this to wait until the next full update and, as time goes on, more and most of the sizes is acceptable, 15 regarding font requesters not rather nifty little program, it As with any new release a enough all DVDs and MPGs, has introduced problems, (1.5) is out which is usually 4 or more of the system becomes except for Medium to Large, automatically highlighting the last shows a constantly updating list surprisingly large number of new AVIs and MOVs this really is a especially with older programs 5 months down the line. The PPC native and that much nicer which could really do with an chosen font and size has been of all tasks and programs problems are bound to show wonderful program. I did a test that used Smart Refresh and are complete new update would of to use. All I ask now (and I intermediate size somewhere fixed. Also fixed in 1.4 are running on the system. It also themselves. using one of my MPG movies in now no longer worked on. course take those bugfixes under mentioned this in the previous between the two. gadgets, which now display displays the CPU usage in a both Frogger and MPlayer: Considering the fact that 1.4 was its wings but why should we article) is that someone writes a Also quite disturbing is the major Frogger maxed out at 100% held back for several weeks in need to wait 5 months just to new Installer program than can slowdown of a couple of CPU usage while MPlayer order to squash bugs that the have the calculator work handle +4Gb and works around programs – ArtEffect and cruised along at 48%-50% testers found its remarkable just flawlessly when the fix was done old programs that refuse to see SoundProbe. Both of these now useage. On a G3. On the higher how many basic problems are 2 days after 1.4 was released? that there is actually enough crawl at performing some end G4s or G5s this program will instantly obvious upon release. It hard drive space for installation. functions but it does not appear really come into its own. Well just proves that every system is Lastly, the bandwidth given over to be as a result of the done DET Nicolas! different and not everything can to the website/ftp is tiny. The introduction of JIT. Initially I be checked in one go. assumed that it was, but I Future Advice Pros disabled Trance and the The monitor preferences for + Printing and USB problems remained which means The feeling amongst the majority Brightness/Contrast/Gamma integration. that something in MOS1.4 has of the MOS users is that 1.4 is a refuse to keep their settings + MUI Gradients. broken these two programs. It big step in the right direction. when you click Save or Use and + Ambient improvements. Pretty makes SoundProbe almost MUI has introduced a rather It may still be a beta OS but the + Bug fixes. impossible to use as the nasty bug which will lock the foundations are solid. There is Waveforms take forever to Cons system up if you close its one thing almost everyone display. ArtEffect suffers but it is windows and requesters down in agrees on however: Genesi need - Printing barely works. a bearable delay, most - GFX refresh problems. Good! For version 1.4 Ambient gains a handy panel for launching programs. the wrong order! Normally if you to co-ordinate themselves more open a programs preferences, noticeable when moving a large - Still no TCP/IP stack. The right-hand window is an example of MUI’s new gradient options. when it comes to updates. Results 20 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 21 Once AmiAtlas has planned Reviews the route it can be displayed Reviews on the map. Notice the plain (green) flag at the start town and the chequered flag at the

Along the top of desination.the window you can see the tool bar which .info gives quick access to many Developer The AmiAtlas Team program functions. http://www.amiatlas.net Price AmiAtlas Mick Sutton plots a course through the Amiga’s only route planning Full version on CD-ROM ...... E39.95 application and dreams of finding his own private island. Download version (without disk space. The first time you missing roads are a problem! wish to start your journey from. travel guides for Germany, henever you plan a run AmiAtlas it will load the Fortunately it is possible to edit Then select the destination Austria and Switzerland) journey to an unfamiliar German map, if you have it the map and add your own town and, if needed, any towns ...... E19.95 W destination it’s usually best to installed, if not a file requester roads (just like the Romans), you wish to pass through on Update from an earlier plan your route. Wouldn’t it be opens for you to select one of assuming of course you know your journey in the same version (on CD-ROM) nice to have some software to the maps you have installed (a where they should be. The manner. Clicking the ...... E29.95 do it for you? AmiAtlas is the .country file). Within the authors of AmiAtlas request “calculate” icon opens a Requires only route planning software program you can save this as6 that you send in any updates window that shows your AmigaOS 3.1 currently available for the your default map. so the maps can be improved. chosen towns, you can also 8Mb free RAM Amiga since the demise of GB select the type of route you 20Mb hard disk space Route in the early nineties. Maps Planning a Route want to calculate (fastest, properly formatted and choosing a different route type with most information on the This software has a graphical shortest, cheapest and therefore unusable! Strangely or adding another waypoint, German maps. Recommended map display and is supplied The AmiAtlas window opens Before you start planning any pleasant!), the car you wish to on Roberts Amithlon system you have to calculate the trip Graphics card with maps of several European showing a map of the whole routes it is a good idea to use and the start and arrival with the same Turboprint again, there is no way to edit country, in our case the UK and configure AmiAtlas to suit your Conclusion Test Systems countries including the UK. In times. Once you are happy version but a HP Deskjet settings on the fly. However this review I will concentrate on Republic of Ireland. At this preferences. Depending where with your selections click on 1120C the printout was fine. I you will find the towns you The basic route-finding engine A1200 the UK map but will also try to scale only county borders, you live (or drive) you will need the “calculate” button which could work around the problem have previously used on routes at the heart of AmiAtlas works Blizzard PPC/060 give you an idea of what to motorways and a few cities are to set your prefered currency, opens the route description by saving the route and printing in this session are listed in well and is flexible with the BVision PPC expect from the other maps. window. In this window each it from another program. drop-down menus for the start different route types, however 256Mb RAM stage of the journey is listed and destination town gadgets for UK users the limitations of A route can be defined by “...for UK users the limitations of our map From the route description selecting towns on the map or with town, road junction and in the calculation window. This our map really lets it down. It’s Amithlon Installation window you can show the route by entering them directly into really let it down.” distance. AmiAtlas also makes setting up another hard to trust the route selected Athlon 2000+ AmiAtlas comes packaged in a on the map display by clicking when your not confident all the shown. Along the top of the distance measurement unit calculates the journey time, similar journey much quicker. this256Mb requester. RAM DVD case with a professionally the “show” button. The roads roads are there. Although we window is a toolbar made up of (kilometers or miles), and the overall distance, fuel You can show the route printed cover and the CD itself on the route are highlighted in can’t judge the quality of the Supplied by icons for the major functions speed limit on different types of consumption (based on the description window for any of is also colour printed. You can a colour representing the route other maps many look much The AmiAtlas Team within the program. These road. If you want to calculate information you set in the routes you have planned run the program from the CD type (purple for fastest etc.). more detailed than the UK one. include zoom buttons to your journey costs you need to preferences) and fuel costs. All this session and any route can or install it to your hard drive The display is zoomed to show Hopefully users will help the magnify the map centred on set the fuel consumption of this information can be printed be displayed on the map. It is using the standard installer. the entire route without the developers improve the less the middle of the window. The your cars on each road type. or saved to a text file. On my possible to have multiple During installation you select need to scroll the window. If, detailed maps. Altogether view can then be scrolled using system with an Epson Stylus routes on the map at once so what country maps you would Lets plan a route then! You after seeing the route, you wish AmiAtlas shows a lot of the scroll bars or cursor keys. Photo 790 and Turboprint 7.2X you can compare them. like to install. The program and click the “start town” icon at the to change any options, such as promise but there are still You can also zoom in by I found the print output was not the UK map needs about 10 top of the window, then click on rough edges to iron out. dragging a box over the area Mb, but if you want to install all a point on the map where you Editing you want to examine, as you the maps and data provided Every aspect of an AmiAtlas zoom in more detail is you will need nearly 600 Mb of map can be edited or created revealed, including “B” roads Amithlon from scratch within the Results and smaller towns. The UK program, this includes adding map does not include street- We found AmiAtlas to be new roads, towns, parks and Pros level mapping of towns and quite unstable on our hotels. It is also possible to edit + Flexible route finding. cities. All the roads are shown Amithlon test system; the or add land borders, county + Easy to navigate around as straight lines between program would often hang borders, rivers and many other maps. towns, some motorways are the computer, usually during geographical features. If you Cons constructed from straight a zoom operation. own your own island you can - Limited UK map. sections to give an We asked the author about even create a new map in - Refining an existing route approximation of their route. All this problem and he AmiAtlas! Information can be is long-winded. the towns are in the correct responded that other added to the map as notices or positions and the roads linking Amithlon users had reported entries in a city guide. These them are mostly accurate, similar issues. AmiAtlas ran are linked to external files that unfortunately we did find some flawlessly on our “real” are loaded when you click on major roads missing in our Amiga and, apparently, runs their location. No notices, area! While the lack of road Okay well on UAE so this seems parks, hotels, or city guides are detail doesn’t inhibit the route to be a problem within the supplied for the UK, other planning ability of AmiAtlas the This window shows all the stages of the planned route and some Amithlon emulation. countries are better supported statistics. The information can be printed or saved to a text file. 22 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 23

Reviews Reviews .info Hollywood Developer Hollywood Version 1.0 was the star of issue 14. What will our critic, Andreas Falkenhahn Robert Williams, think of the sequel? Distributor program currently supports system. If you enable layers in Hollywood’s layer functions to Airsoft Softwair ollywood was already an AmigaOS 3.x and MorphOS; it 1.5 your script using the manipulate the layers and their impressive program when also runs well on Amithlon and, “EnableLayers()” function, associated objects. All these www.airsoftsoftwair.com H The aquarium example script I reviewed version 1.0 in issue I am told, other Amiga every new object (such as an commands can be used on a shows off the new animation Price 14. It also fills an important gap emulators. Along with the new image or brush, piece of text, single layer without affecting and layer features. Each fish Full version on CD..$55.00 in the Amiga’s software library; features, version 1.5 introduces or animation) created will have any of the others. Layers can ...... (approx £35.00) it is the only multimedia some changes to the scripting its own layer,moves independent simultaneously of beand moved to a new position independently from the others. Upgrade from 1.0 ...$22.00 program that works properly on language, which may mean all other objects. Unlike in inside or outside the display...... (approx £14.00) a graphics card. An important that existing scripts are not some graphics programs, a Layers have to be moved using Malibu Plug-in...... $29.00 point is that Hollywood does fully compatible. A document Hollywood layer can only Hollywood 1.5’s new numbers; you can’t give them 256 levels of transparency, so ...... (approx £18.50) not have a user interface for included in the package names that are easier to you can vary the level. The designing presentations or describes the changes “if you’ve programmed at all in BASIC or ARexx remember and therefore make transparency command can be Requirements multimedia applications – you necessary to upgrade an the script more readable. The used during a move to fade an AmigaOS 3.0/MorphOS 1.3 must write a script with a text existing script. you’ll soon get the hang of it” layer numbers always reflect object in or out. Transparency 68020, 16Mb RAM editor. Hollywood will then use The new settings window lets the order of the layers, starting can be an easy way of making contain one object – you can’t “DoMove()” method, which I’ll the script to play a presentation end users configure even with layer 1 at the bottom a presentation look more Recommended New GUI add several objects to a layer discuss later. If you find it (”closest” to the background). If interesting; for example, you Graphics card in a Workbench window or on a compiled scripts. and manipulate them together. necessary, you can move you move a layer in the stack, can use a simple semi- 68040+ separate screen. The scripting Hollywood does have a user CPU-intensive effects to be In version 1.0 if an object was several layers (and, therefore, the layers will be renumbered transparent coloured box to MUI 3.8 for GUI language is unique to interface, but it is only used for precalculated so that they are placed over another object and objects) together so that it to take into account their new make a tinted area inthe Hollywood and not based on running and compiling scripts displayed more smoothly. At then moved, the lower object looks like they are grouped to positions. With a complex background. The Test Systems an existing language; however, and making some settings, not the other end of the scale, if would be replaced with the form a single object. You can script with lots of layers, I can “SetLayerLight()” command A3000 if you’ve programmed at all in for generating the script itself. you find that a script plays too background, which doesn’t also change the order in which see this getting confusing enables you to tint a layer with CyberStorm PPC/060 BASIC or ARexx, you’ll soon For version 1.5 the interface fast on your system, you can happen with layers enabled. a layer is displayed. For because you’d have to keep a colour. The colour and 128Mb RAM get the hang of it. The has been completely revamped limit the playback speed to a example, moving a layer down track of the each layer’s intensity of the tint are CyberVision PPC language includes commands and now uses MUI. If you don’t specified number of frames per The size of the script display is in the stack would make other contents. In a future version of adjustable, so anything from to display images and text and want to use MUI, you can run second. Both of these options defined by its background objects appear in front of it and Hollywood, I’d like to see the slight colour cast or correction Amithlon to play back sound. There are Hollywood from the command were available before, but only image or background vice versa. Layers can be facility to refer to all objects by to full re-colouring is possible. AMD Athlon 2000+ also functions that enable line. The new GUI has a to the script author; now the parameters. Each background hidden at any time and then user-defined names. The transparency and layer 256MB RAM users to interact with your settings window that gives you user can modify them to suit can have its own set of layers. shown again without recreating light effects are processor- program, as well as many control over how a script will his or her system. Hollywood remembers each their objects. When you have Other layer functions make the Pegasos G3 600Mhz other features. If you would like play. You can choose for the intensive, however, so they set of layers even when a finished with a layer, you can system even more powerful 512Mb RAM a more detailed overview of script to run on Workbench or The main Hollywood program might slow your presentation background is not visible. This remove it to free up memory; and enable some special MorphOS 1.4 Hollywood, take a look at my on its own screen in a user- is commercial software and down on slower Amigas means that you can set up a there is also a command to effects to be generated. Layers review in issue 14 and tutorial defined resolution. If the script therefore cannot be distributed. (68040 and below). complex display using several free all layers. can have a transparency set so in issue 15. In this review I will runs on Workbench its window However, if you want to share objects on one background; the background and any cover the major changes in can be normal or borderless. your work, you can compile it move to another display with a Like many other objects in objects below can show Get Moving version 1.5. Sound options enable the into an executable file that different background, and then Hollywood, layers are assigned through the object. There are overall volume to be adjusted should work on any Amiga. In version 1.0, Hollywood had come back to the first display, Hollywood is supplied on CD or for sound to be disabled The script can be written so a simple but limited system for Hollywood’s GUI has been and all the layers will still be in and installs easily with a altogether. The final set of that all the images and sounds moving objects within the re-vamped and now uses MUI. place. Through the use of standard installer. Version 1.5 options can tailor the speed of used are included in the Malibu Plug-in display. You could specify a As before the GUI is used to layers, objects can be placed is a paid upgrade for users of playback on your system. On compiled file for easy start point, a finish point, and outside the viewable area. This Hollywood 1.5 supports plug-ins that enable it to load configure the program and version 1.0, and it can be slower systems you can set all distribution. New in 1.5 is the the movement speed. Then feature can be used to set up a presentations from other multimedia programs. At the time of received via e-mail. The ability to compile a native Hollywood would move the play scripts. display consisting of a number writing, the first of these plug-ins, Malibu, has been released. MorphOS executable on a 68k object smoothly between the of objects and then having Malibu enables Hollywood to load and play presentations from Amiga and vice versa. There is points. This is easy to do, but them all appear in one step Scala, probably the most popular multimedia program on the also a stand-alone settings tool only one object can be moved rather than individually. Using Amiga. Malibu supports all versions of Scala up to Info that can be distributed with at a time, and no other effects the “SelectBGPic()” function it Channel 500, most of the Scala command set has been compiled scripts, enabling can be applied to the object is possible to add layers to a emulated. Unlike Scala itself, Hollywood can display the users to change the graphics, while it moves. Although you background that is not presentation on graphics card screens and play the audio via sound, and speed settings can still use the old method in currently displayed enabling a AHI. If you display on a 16- or 24-bit screen, images can be without needing a full copy of 1.5, a new and much more new display to be prepared displayed at better quality than the originals because they Hollywood on hand. powerful system has been while another is being shown. don’t have to be dithered down to a 256-colour palette. Scala added with the “DoMove()” presentations can be compiled like any Hollywood function. Laying the Foundations Layer Features presentation and then played back on any AmigaOS or MorphOS computer. With DoMove you can add a Probably the biggest and most Once you have a number of number of move commands to complex feature added to Please note that we have not had a copy of Malibu to review, layers, you can use what’s called the “move Hollywood 1.5 is its layers so the above is based on information from AirsoftSoftwair. 26 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 27 Reviews Reviews queue.” You can use these Text scale. The “RotateBrush()” been dropped; modules must commands to move several function enables you to spin a now be in the ProTracker objects if you wish. When you While there have been no brush on the display; however, format. Hollywood now has a add all the moves you want to major changes to Hollywood’s to do this you must generate master volume control that the queue, you can then call text handling, the addition of each frame of the rotation enables the user to adjust the DoMove, and all the moves will layers has had some positive using RotateBrush and then overall volume independent of Algor be executed at once. However, and negative effects on the display each frame in turn. In the script being played. each move you add to the “Print()” function. Print enables the same way that you can add Peter Gordon takes a look at E3B’s latest addition to their USB queue can only move the you to display blocks of text layers to an alternative Leading by Example object from one point to between user-defined margins, background picture using the range. The Algor also features a flash ROM for quicker another; it is not animated like complete with automatic word “SelectBGPic()” function, you Version 1.5 adds to loading of OS-residentUSB modules. the old Move commands. To Hollywood’s already extensive smoothly scroll an object from “the scale of the improvements easily range of example scripts. The drivers, and a registration card. flash ROMs in mind. This one point to another you must existing examples have been he Algor is E3B’s followup The Algor is not shipped with allows you to download the add a loop to your code that justifies the modestly priced upgrade” adjusted to be 1.5-compatible Tto their successful Highway any disks. This is because the stack with your preferences to adds moves to the queue and and to take advantage of the USB card. Like the Highway, it onboard flash ROM contains all the Algor, and have USB wrap and justification. Another can also draw objects on to a executes DoMove for each new features. Many of the is a Zorro II card that allows the software you need to get keyboards, mice and mass advantage was that the text brush using “SelectBrush();” step of the way. Because you examples are very impressive Amiga users to take advantage the card running. Once your storage devices available from was antialaised if a TrueType however, a brush does not have your own loop generating and show just what can be of a wide array of USB Amiga boots with the Algor cold boot, so you can boot from .info font was selected. In version have layers, so all changes are the moves, it is also possible to achieved with a bit of thought. hardware devices, such as attached, a disk appears on RDB partitioned USB disks, or Developer 1.0, text made with the Print permanent. add other effects, such as Some that caught my eye are scanners, printers, digital workbench that you can copy use a USB mouse in the early E3B function could not be moved or “Aquarium,” which has several cameras, webcams, and to a real floppy for backup boot menu. Unfortunately I http://www.e3b.de altering transparency, to the If you need to use the same deleted from the display. With randomly moving fish really storage devices. Unlike the purposes. didn’t have an RDB partitioned objects while they are moving. brush several times in your Price the addition of layers the print showing off the DoMove Highway, it has only three built- USB disk or USB input device This system has been Hollywood project, the new I had a little bit of trouble 115Euro (80UKP approx.) function now places text onto a system; “Lens,” which maps in USB ports instead of four, to test this with. implemented in such a way brush link feature is very installing the Algor in my Amiga layer, meaning move, delete mouse movement to a but it has a slightly faster USB that the objects move without handy. This creates a read-only 4000; with the card installed The first thing I tried with my Requires and other layer functions are magnified image; and chipset and an onboard 512Kb flicker, and the result is smooth copy of a brush that can be the Amiga would just display a newly installed Algor was a Amiga with Zorro II slot. available. However, the author “WBSwatch,” which flash ROM. and flicker-free on all the used independently of the blue screen and refuse to boot. USB2.0 128Mb memory stick. AmigaOS 3.1+ of Hollywood has had to demonstrates a non- systems we tried. original. The only limitation is The Algor allows you to use In my A1500, the card worked For comparison I also tried it 68030+ remove antialaising support rectangular window. that any changes to the original both USB1.1 and 2.0 devices, first time, and showed a cool on Windows 98, and Windows The DoMove function does add due to performance issues with brush will be reflected in the although it doesn’t support the “Algor” intro with scrolling 2000. With the Amiga, I simply a great deal of flexibility to overlapping objects, which is a linked copies. Brush link can Conclusion high-speed mode of USB2.0. starfield and sound effects plugged in the drive and an Hollywood’s object movement. shame. He hopes to bring it also be used to create a linked Software support is provided before the computer booted. It icon instantly appeared on However, it may require quite a back in a later version. If Hollywood 1.0 put you off copy of a single frame of an by Chris Hodges’ excellent seems the A4000 problem was workbench. Windows 2000 lot of thought to code complex because it was script-based, 1300 digital camera. At first the animation, the background Poseidon stack. Poseidon has to do with an incompatibility detected the drive immediately, movements, especially if you then 1.5 isn’t going to do camera was recognised, but I New Transitions picture (handy if you want been covered in detail in with this intro, but a couple of and then had to spend a have several objects moving at anything to change your mind. couldn’t access the memory multiple displays with separate previous issues of Total Amiga, e-mails to E3B later and the minute or two configuring once on different trajectories No update of a presentation If anything, some of the new card in it. I had to tweak some layer sets but the same so I won’t go into too much problem was sorted. Hopefully drivers before the disk became and at different speeds. Some program would be complete features are more complex to settings in Trident (Poseidons background image), or a detail there. Suffice to say, this problem has since been available, and with Windows sort of hybrid system that could without the addition of some script. However, if you already configuration tool) and particular layer. Poseidon is simple to install sorted out by E3B, but if you 98, it failed to find any drivers, move several objects at once new display transitions. have 1.0 or are willing to put eventually I got it to appear as with the provided installer have any problems they are and I had to download some just by specifying start and end Hollywood 1.5 does not some effort into learning its a disk on workbench, and was script, and provides support for very quick to respond to e- from the manufacturers points and speed would come disappoint in this area. There Pump up the Volume language, the new features do able to transfer pictures off are more than fifty new add a great deal of flexibility to USB mass storage devices, mails, and very helpful. website, so all in all the Amiga without trouble. in handy. Hollywood is the first and so far transitions in twelve categories. Hollywood. It is getting to the mice, and keyboards out of the was the quickest and easiest to only Amiga presentation The flash ROM is managed by All in all, the Algor is a well Many mimic classic Scala point where you could program box. Some digitial cameras get going with the memory program to really support more a piece of software called made piece of hardware, and transitions and were added to quite complex multimedia- and most printers require, or stick. recent Amiga hardware such “Luciferin”, which is named has proven reliable and useful. support the Malibu plug-in (see oriented applications as benefit from additional software as graphics cards. It’s nice to after a chemical substrate, and E3B report speeds of up to The flash ROM feature is a box-out). Some of the more Hollywood scripts. I would say such as VHI studio or see that version 1.5 extends not the devil, according the 926kB/s when accessing a nice touch, getting rid of the interesting new transitions the scale of the improvements Turboprint, which are available this support to sound cards too. guide. Luciferin allows you to LaCie card reader, however two reboots I used to have to include flows from top, bottom, easily justifies the modestly seperately. All sound, including playback of wipe the flash ROM, and put with my USB memory stick, endure when powering up my left or right; opening or closing priced upgrade. Andreas says samples and music modules, is The Algor is shipped with 2 boot modules onto it. The copying an MP3 from RAM system. If you’re really not that gates; a random puzzle effect; he is working on a script now passed through AHI, so it backplates providing the 3 software is fairly achieved only 505kB/s, so your bothered about the lack of and wallpaper that rolls the top creation GUI for version 2.0, so should work with any sound USB ports, a very high quality straightforward, and within mileage may vary depending USB2.0 high speed, I image down the screen. hopefully many more users will card that has an AHI driver. In printed manual, a leaflet minutes i’d removed the driver on the device used. wholeheartedly recommend be able to join the Hollywood explaining how to install the disk, and intro modules, and version 1.5, support for some The second device I used with the Algor. Let’s Get Graphical club then. downloaded my OS3.9 and music module formats has the Algor was a Fuji Finepix blizkick modules. My computer Some of the layer functions I’ve now boots directly into a already mentioned, such as Pros Pros blizkick module enhanced layer light and transparency, + Powerful layers. + Onboard flash ROM. OS3.9 without ANY reboots at enable you to perform some + Image manipulation. + Good quality manual. all from cold! nice effects on images (called + Flexible new animation + Excellent tech. brushes in Hollywood). In system. Pretty Poseidon stores its support. Pretty addition to those options, some Cons preferences in an executable Cons new brush-specific options - More complex scripting file called “PsdStackLoader”, - No USB 2.0 have been added. There are now required. which may seem an odd thing highspeed mode. new functions to flip a brush, Good! to do, but it is because it has Good! This example script shows the - No anti-aliased text. - Teething troubles. rotate it, or convert it to grey always been designed with transparent window option. Results Results 28 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 29 Reviews Reviews Perfect Paint .info With so many updates recently we thought it Developer would be worth revisiting this free graphics Georges Halvadjian package. Robert Williams finds out if perfection http://gothic.fr.free.fr/amiga/ can be improved upon! License Freeware features have been2.93 added that or no effort. With Magic Spray mouse movements. When you hen I last reviewed bring it closer to an image you can paint on a variety of Katalysator createsspray thumbnail on, Magic Spray takes Requirements WPerfect Paint (Total processor. In addition to the brushes following a particular galleries of all theinto images account in aany transparent 68030+ with FPU Amiga issue 10), it was at basic painting functions, theme so, for example, your selected directory.areas Here, of the the brush, and it is AmigaOS 3.0+ version 2.8, so you might be PerfectPaint has a range of canvas could quickly be end result is shownalso in possible IBrowse. to vary the Graphics card asking, “Why another review?” image processing effects, covered in bright flowers, overall transparency, although The preferences window and Test Systems However, since the last review, painting styles, and animation iridescent bubbles, or realistic this is not a variable parameter. Georges Halvadjian has made support. There are several rocks. Magic Spray can use up HTML templatesThere control is also thea shadow option A1200 no fewer than nine upgrade look of thethat resulting adds apages. user-definable Blizzard PPC/060 releases, many of which shadow to each brush as it is BVision “...your canvas could quickly be covered in contain major feature sprayed on. 256Mb RAM available for download from the you can probably guess from enhancements. In fact, many bright flowers, iridescent bubbles, or Making It Easier AmigaOS 3.9 program’s web site. All the the names, both give your of PerfectPaint’s point releases The Magic Spray feature uses CyberGraphX 4 realistic rocks.” Magic Projects so you can samples are of very good string a liquid look. Perfect Paint has several would have been considered a quality and produce excellent features designed to help major upgrade to some easily load and save different Amithlon tools to help the less artistically to ten different brushes and results. Despite all the make more complex effects programs on not only the styles. Each project consists of New Effects and Athlon 2000+ inclined, including automatic numerous randomised processing going on behind the easier to achieve. These Amiga but also other platforms. two files: a project that holds 256Mb RAM text effects and “Alchemy,” parameters to give a unique the Magic Spray settings, and scenes, Magic Spray worked Density Mapping features are common in which applies combinations of look each time it is used. graphics packages on other AmigaOS 3.9 As this is a review of the a Magic Album that contains smoothly on all the machines The recent upgrades have image processing operators to Because you spray on the platforms but aren’t as Picasso 96 updated version, I won’t dive the brushes used. Several on which we tested it. added only a few new image achieve certain effects. Later effect, you can cover only common on the Amiga. While into too much detail about the projects can use the same processing effects to Perfect you’ll see that the range of certain areas of an image, it’s great to have powerful tools basics of PerfectPaint. If you’re album of brushes, allowing you A Way with Words Paint’s armoury, including “automatic” tools has been making it great for borders that give you full creative new to the program, why not to save different settings for “Simple Mosaic” and “TV expanded since the last review. around photos and the like. Native TrueType font support freedom, sometimes you just The toolbox (left of image) take a look at my original different looks. The Magic Interlacing.” “FastPaint” is a review in issue 10 (which is still means that Perfect Paint can need some fancy text or a nice gives access to most of Spray tool itself uses little like the oilpaint effect you available as a back issue by In the Magic Spray preferences now use the thousands of fonts image processing effect. In Perfect Paint’s functionality. Magic Spray window, various parameters antialiasing so the manipulated the way)? PerfectPaint started brushes still look good. those cases, automated tools For those of us who don’t have can be set that will be varied The new Magic Spray tool life as a freeware paint Creating your own album is “...sometimes you just need some fancy text are very handy. New since our an artistic bent, it is great to as each brush is sprayed on to (right) creates great results program in the mould of also easy: just cut each brush last review are the border tool come across a tool that creates your image. The size and or a nice image processing effect.” instantly and has plenty of Deluxe Paint and Personal from an image into one of and an HTML catalogue an impressive effect with little rotation of each brush can vary generator. The border tool, as Paint. Over the years, many PerfectPaint’s brush buffers, you find on the Internet without see in many packages but is options too. as can each colour channel the name suggests, will place a then save as a Magic Album. mucking about and without very quick to apply and gives a (RGB), the brightness, and the defined border of any shape installing any additional more stippled result. An colour intensity. Each and size around an image. The If you don’t want to spend time software. PerfectPaint important addition to the parameter has a check box borders are of a single colour making your own Magic Project implements TrueType support effects engine is a density that defines whether it will be with multiple brushes, Magic and can use the current changed and two sliders that using Grzegorz Kraszewski’s mapping option. This allows Spray can still be used with a ttengine.library. Apart from the power of the effect to be define the range. For example, single brush. All the random you could set the size to vary availability, another advantage varied, such as starting variations can make the same of using TrueType fonts is that strongly in the centre and from 50% to 125% of the brush look quite different. original. By default, each Perfect Paint antialiases them fading toward the edges or Another option is to set the beautifully, giving excellent varying from left to right. In parameter will be moved “Color” mode; this uses the gradually as you paint, so in quality at both small and large earlier versions, density outline of the brush filled with sizes. You can select fonts mapping could only be used for this example the first brush the selected colour rather than painted would be at 50% and from any directory, and Perfect composing brushes. (Take a the brush image itself. Magic Paint keeps a list of the last ten look at my Perfect Paint tutorial the size would gradually Spray can then vary the colour increase. For a more varied directories you chose for easy in issue 11 for an example.) based on the colours in your access. Another new feature in The density mapping requester effect, you can also set a palette or a range of colours random option for each the “Make Text” window is the has a number of presets, or you have selected. I have “Select Character” button, you can create and save your parameter; this picks a setting found that the “Color” option at random within the range you which opens a window that own maps. The usability of the works particularly well with a shows all the characters in the density mapping requester has define with the sliders. The text brush to create quick rotation parameter has an selected font for quick been greatly improved over backgrounds; the shadow selection of unusual previous versions. Minor option to vary with the setting helps to add depth. movement on the “Y” axis that characters. Two new text changes have been made to The density mapping window PerfectPaint is supplied with a effects have been added to many of the program’s can be used to create subtle has the effect of the brush few example Magic Projects, orientation following your Perfect Paint’s already-wide requesters, generally making composits and effects without and another twenty are range: “Water” and “River.” As them more user-friendly. complex masking. 30 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 31 Reviews Reviews The improved “Make Text” window showing an anti- The powerfull aliased TrueType font. Perfect software runs Paint remembers recently used on ALL Amigas. font paths for easy selection. MAS-Player then passed to a DAC (Digital to “ABOUT” tab and This window also ow many people have tried to Analogue Converter) which contains general demonstrates some of the GUI Hplay MP3s on their Amiga converts the 18-bit digital data into information about improvements including the using Amplifier? How many were a stereo analogue output ready for the program. information (“i”) button and less then impressed with the an amplifier. Also at 59.95 Euro it Probably the first graphical gadget labels. playback quality? The problem is a lot cheaper then a PPC and tab you will use with Amplifier is not with the sound card! will be the program, it is the Amiga hardware, “PLAYLIST” tab. between Perfect Paint sessions means you can’t go back and it just isn’t up to the job of In the box Here you can so you can quickly load images alter one part of a composition decoding an MP3 stream. The access the files you were working on earlier. without undoing (made easier minimum needed to decode an After ordering the MAS-Player from on you hard drive by the new undo/redo window) MP3 at full quality is an ‘060 and KDH, a package dropped onto my and add or remove them to the For all those people using some Perfect Paint can now show a and then redoing a lot of work. that doesn’t leave much time for door mat a few days later. Upon playlist. There is also a search form of RTG display, NewMode is ruler on the top and left sides However, I find Perfect Paint the processor to do anything else. opening the plain brown box, there function to help you find a certain included to allow the promotion of was lots of bubble wrap (yippee! of the image window calibrated ideal for simpler jobs; for Then there is the Amiga audio music file on your hard drive. This the Mas-Player software to an more fun later) that protected the in centimetres, pixels or example, if you want to create hardware, Paula. “Back in the day” means you don’t have to search RTG screen. Remember that the inches. The measurements in when Commodore first released contents from damage. Under the through hundreds of files to find MAS-Player uses an overscan drawing colour if you wish. The interface. It is often hard to find a quick card or flyer, its bubble wrap were the two D-type centimetres and inches are the Amiga it had a great sound the one you want. screen, so won’t fit into many of border can be translucent and what features are available. automated features such as system, but by today’s standards connectors of the MAS-Player, an the lower resolutions. based on the output resolution The “CONTROL” tab gives you can also have a shadow. Even when you know a feature text effects and borders make 8-bit just doesn’t cut-it. Even with a unlabeled floppy disk and an A4 information on the MP3, showing I would also suggest that SFS is Nearly thirty border styles are exists, it may be hidden in a that can easily be adjusted. If achieving an attractive result a bit of software jiggery pokery you installation sheet. One little the ID3 tag information as well as used instead of FFS, as it allows supplied, ranging from simple cryptic menu accessed by you intend an image for print, breeze. can get Paula to do 14-bit at about problem I noticed is that the floppy bit rate and sample rate. Other the use of long file names. I this can help you visualise the 22KHz, but that’s still a far cry from is a high density type formatted to lines to quite complex water right-clicking on an icon. controls include the standard noticed that when I told MAS- final output. CD quality. You could go for a PPC 880K. This is not the most reliable and wood effects. Although the fundamental playback controls: play; Player to only display files with the Conclusion card and a sound card, but these way of formatting a disk, and as interface concept has not previous/next track; pause etc. extension of *.MPx most of my files Many of Perfect Paint’s more are expensive just to play MP3s, such I made an immediate backup Perfect Paint’s HTML album changed in any recent Perfect Paint has an excellent Interestingly there is also a bass disappeared. This was due to the complex requesters now have heck you could buy a second hand on to a DD disk. Small gripes but creator revels in the name range of features, most of and treble control along with a truncation of the file names when releases, a number of features an information (”i”) button. This PC for the same amount (but who annoying as they could be so “Katalysator.” Its task is to which are very well volume control, which is great to using FFS. As soon as I updated have been added that make button brings up a requester would want to though?!). easily rectified. The A4 sheet does create HTML pages containing adjust the music output to reduce to SFS the problem disappeared. Perfect Paint much more with a short summary of the implemented. Magic Spray is an adequate job of explaining the thumbnails of the images in a Enter the MAS-Player by Dirk installation processes. clipping or enhance bass/treble pleasant to use. requester’s function as well as fantastic, great fun to play with, directory you select; each and genuinely useful too. The Conrad. This is a small bit of response. All this is done with the Performance some tips on usage. Again, hardware based around the MAS3507 chip so no processing thumbnail is then linked to a The new undo/redo window many other new features in the Installing Perfect Paint has many MAS3507 MP3 decoder chip that time is taken away from the Amiga. Using the test Amiga A1200 with full-size image. You can set the lists each action you take as recent releases are also very sits on any Amiga’s built-in parallel The hardware installs easily, an 030@50MHz the playback was “hidden” features, so it is well At first I didn’t understand the size of the thumbnails and the you modify an image. This welcome, giving more features port. The MP3 data is then sent to attaching to the parallel and serial flawless, even at high 320KBps worth taking a look at these purpose of the “CUE EDIT” tab! “full” size images in the Kat action could be drawing, to play with and, importantly, the chip which does all the hard ports. The serial port is used to get data rates. It can also handle requesters when they are However what you can do with it is requester; the scaling keeps applying an effect, or running improving the user experience. work of decoding the signal into a the 5V supply it needs. If you need Variable Bit Rates (VBR) too, available. For example, the info split up large MP3s, say a talking 18-bit stereo data stream. This is your serial port, then it may be meaning you can get the highest the images in proportion, so an ARexx script. At any point Perfect Paint is so powerful book, into chapters that you can window for the image palette possible to connect it to the disk quality encodings played back. the sizes you set are you can click on a step and and regularly upgraded that it then load back and play as if it (at the bottom of the screen) drive or joystick port, or, for the Even after removing the maximums. Images can be PerfectPaint will instantly is hard to believe that the were separate MP3 tracks. informs you that if you hold more adventurous, to construct a accelerator, it was able to play high rotated (although the same return the image to the state it program is free and largely down the shift key, image icons pass-through adapter. The Lastly there is the “PREFS” tab. As bit rates, although it did drop out rotation applies to all images), was in after that action. If you can be dragged and dropped to developed by one coder. hardware must be connected to its name suggests it controls all the on the 320KBps test file. and a smooth border can also don’t perform another action, perform various operations. the motherboard’s parallel port not general preferences. be applied. The “Insert Brush” you can redo all your later Download it now and spend a one on an expansion card, as the Overall You’re unlikely to find out that .info One thing I noticed is that if you feature allows you to steps simply by clicking the last little time getting to grips with software directly hits the CIA chips useful feature by chance. Developer swap between the device list and Aside from the small niggles with automatically add a copyright action. The number of undo the interface – you’ll be glad to get maximum speed. This Dirk Conrad play list (on the “PLAY LIST” tab), the floppy disk and the sound that you did. means that Draco owners can’t statement, logo, or any other steps set in your preferences when you switch back to the play is played when the player starts http://home.sanfu.de/dcr use it at all. Then all that is left is brush to each image; you can limits the number of actions Layerless list the program will continue to up, this is a good product. It is mpeg_hardware.html to connect your speakers or select where to position it on you can undo in this way. play the current song, but stop at easy to navigate around and the The big difference between amplifier to the standard 3.5mm the image. In the separate the end of it rather then continuing play-back quality is equal to that of Perfect Paint and the Amiga’s stereo jack on the back of the unit. The history window holds a list Distributor on to the next song. any MP3 player I have listened to. HTML configuration window, It would have been nice if a lead of recently loaded images so commercial image processing KDH Datentechnik When you add the fact that the the number of thumbnails in had been provided. Some things I would like to see programs is its lack of layers http://www.kdh-shop24.de Amiga is silent the combination of each row and column can be you can quickly load a recently added would be a random feature support. While you can achieve an old Amiga and MAS-Player defined; Kat will then make used image without searching Software for playback, rather then just many complex effects in Price makes a great MP3 jukebox. multiple pages of thumbnails if for it in a file requester. This playing a playlist in order. Also Perfect Paint, its lack of layers E59.95 (approx £40) The software comes on a bootable necessary. Templates are used window is a godsend if you’re some way to save the playlist to By Kelvin Shirley working on a project consisting disk that will boot you straight into allow for quick reloading of your for the HTML of the thumbnail Requirements Dirk Conrad’s Amiga MAS-Player. of several images. It can also Pros favourite tunes. and individual image pages so Any Amiga When the player software starts up Result you can customise the help to save memory because + Magic Spray is great. 1Mb RAM it plays an irritating little intro Other software included on the catalogue pages to fit in with you don’t need to keep several + Improved interface. Hard disk sound that you can’t stop and have floppy is the MASMpeg.device, by an existing website. images open to have them on + Free! to wait for it to finish before you Chris Hodges, which is a standard Top Test System Commodore device allowing hand. Buttons in the history can play your music. It opens up Pretty window let you show the A1200 on a 32 colour 352x272 overscan programs like Amplifier or Frogger to use the hardware for decoding. Interface Improvements images as thumbnails and Cons 68030@50MHz screen. All Amiga’s can display this screen and it is ideal to be There is also an MHI driver, by Perfect Paint’s main downfall, remove images from the list - No layers. Amiga OS 3.0 used on a TV. The screen is split Paul Qureshi and Thomas Wenzel, Good! - Interface is still quirky. Notch! 4Mb Fast RAM that no longer exist on disk. in my opinion, is its non- into five tabs. The first you see on so AmigaAMP can take advantage standard and rather confusing The history list is saved 2Gb 2.5” hard disk (SFS) of the hardware.

Results starting the program is the 32 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 33 Reviews Reviews

Developer: Stefan Blixth License: Freeware From: http://www.onyxsoft.nu GummiSurf 1.2 Reqirements: MUI 3.8, Download utility: Charon, IBrowse, Voyager or AWeb

lbums of photographs and Aother images are becom- ing a very popular feature on PD Paradise web sites of all types. In the Amiga world, common ex- Developer: T. Pierron License: Free software under the GPL amples of such albums are im- From: Aminet, text/font/CharMap.lha Reqirements: AmigaOS 2.0+ CharMap 2.0 ages accompanying show reports, product reviews, and Amiga set, which has 192 char- announcements. If you want to casionally we all need to acters. The Amiga character download the images, you Otype special characters set should be available in all need to manually download unavailable on a standard key- Amiga fonts. If you wish, you each one and possibly having board. Perhaps you want an can select a different font and to visit a separate page for accented character that size, using a standard ASL font each image. If the images form doesn’t appear in your lan- requester, for the display so a numbered series, then guage, a scientific symbol, or that CharMap can match the GummiSurf can be used to even the copyright sign. While font in the program you’re make downloading all the im- every printable character in the using. When you choose a new ages, or any other file type for Amiga character set can be font, CharMap adds it to the that matter, much easier. typed using a standard key- “Font” cycle gadget so you can In the GummiSurf window you board, it can be hard to easily use it again. You can enter the URL of the directory remember the key com- also save the program’s set- To launch CharMap from a hotkey you’ll need a utility such as containing the files you want to binations, especially for tings so it remembers your list download. Then you can enter symbols that you don’t often of fonts and the default font the the filename in two separate use. I regularly find myself next time you open CharMap. into a string gadget at MCPthe top (above) need or FKey. to use a separate pro- gadgets – one for the name up GummiSurf makes downloading whole sets of files, like these images, easy. trying several combinations Clicking on a character in the of the window. If you like, you gram to launch CharMap with a to the series number and one before I get the right one by With the parameters set, a list queue. IBrowse and Voyager be for it to pick up the URL grid or selecting one using the can manually type into the key press. I used the HotKey for any extension (which can chance. of files to download can be do not support the setting of from a web browser and auto- cursor keys displays some string gadget too, so it is possi- function of MCP, but there are contain more than just the file generated in a number of the download directory via matically parse the URL work- CharMap is a free utility that related information at the ble to quickly build up a com- plenty of other options, such as extension if the number is ways. GummiSurf can send the ARexx, so that feature only ing out the series number and gives you easy access to all bottom of the window. On the plete word or sentence with the HotKeys option in Directory embedded in the filename). list to the excellent shareware works with AWeb and Charon. number of digits. The author the characters in any font in- left is the ASCII value of the several special characters with- Opus 5.x or even the FKey You then enter the range of download manager Charon plans improvements along stalled on your system. The character in decimal, out jumping in and out of commodity supplied with numbers you want to download If you don’t want to start down- (reviewed in Total Amiga issue these lines for a future version. program can be launched from hexadecimal, and octal nota- CharMap. When you’re happy AmigaOS. and the number of digits loading straight away, with your string, you can click 11), provided it is running. In In the mean time I have written its Workbench icon or from the tion (handy for programmers). There are several other utilities required. If you enter a number GummiSurf can save the list of the “Copy” button or press Ctrl this case, the required files are an ARexx script that runs from shell. Whichever way you start On the right is the keystroke that do a similar job to of digits, GummiSurf will pad downloads to a file in one of + C to copy the text into the added automatically to a browser; it then runs CharMap, it opens a window needed to enter the selected CharMap, but in my opinion the generated series number three formats: a list to be clipboard. Of course, it can Charon’s download list. If you GummiSurf with the appro- on the current public screen so character on the Amiga key- none have the same number of with leading zeroes, like loaded into Charon, an HTML then be pasted back into your have a web browser running priate parameters. I will make it will open on the public screen board. This is very handy, as it features. Also, the author has “0003.” Finally, you can set the list that can be viewed in any application. There is also a (IBrowse, AWeb and Voyager the script available for down- of an application if you have helps you learn the required obviously spent time making directory into which you would browser, or a plain text file. paste option, which is used to are supported), GummiSurf load from the issue 16 page of one loaded. The bulk of the keystrokes for certain symbols. the program really easy to use like the downloaded files to be paste the contents of the clip- can add the downloads directly GummiSurf is useful as it is, the Total Amiga site. CharMap window is filled with Keystrokes are shown for with either the mouse or the saved. board into the string gadget. into the browser’s download but a big improvement would a grid of buttons, one for each accented characters that are keyboard. The author has By Robert Williams You can use this option to copy character in the current screen entered in two stages. For ex- specifically decided not to text from your application, use font. You can choose to show ample, “ë” is entered by press- make the program a com- CharMap to add characters, all 256 ASCII characters (some ing Alt + K and then pressing modity (so it doesn’t use Developer: Peter Gordon License: Freeware and then paste it back. of which are unprintable control E. As you click characters, or resources when it’s not in use), Tiny Invaders From: http://www.petergordon.org.uk characters), the 224 ISO Latin select them and press the As well as selecting characters which means you must arrange 1 characters, or the standard space bar, they are entered using the cursor keys and your own method of starting it screen displays your hi-score the aliens but then another space bar, all the other on demand. Once you’ve done his little PD game has got and in order to reach the game wave arrives and it all starts CharMap functions can be con- so, CharMap integrates as to be the most amusing all you have to do is press again. The game only ends trolled from the keyboard. If cleanly as possible with any T I’ve ever found, a miniature space. You are in control of the when you loose all of your lives you’re working in a text appli- application that supports the game of Space Invaders; the green “blob” at the bottom of or the aliens reach the bottom. cation, with a bit of practice AmigaOS clipboard. It’s an aim, as usual, to clear the the “screen” and move by use The sound effects are you can select a character, essential utility for anyone who skies of the horrible little of the left and right cursor keys authentic to the arcade game copy it, and paste it into your works with text. beasties trying to conquer and shoot by pressing the but are somewhat annoying so text without missing a beat. They really are tiny! By Robert Williams Earth’s cities. When you space bar. The red bunkers you may wish to turn off your Although CharMap looks like a double click on the icon Tiny provide shelter but are slowly screen then that’s it, you’ve speakers. Overall, I’d say this commodity (it even has a “CX” Invaders boldly appears destroyed by the aliens who failed and the world becomes a game was good fun for the symbol on its icon), which prepared to take you where are only too pleased to return sorry place under the rule of arcade addict! would run in the background such a small space has never fire at will (poor guy!). Once the white pixels. You can of course and be popped up by a hot key, By Jonathan Haddock CharMap can use any font you have installed. Notice the taken you before! The title aliens reach the bottom of the prevent this by destroying all of it is not. This means you will standard keypress is shown at the bottom of the window. 34 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 35 Reviews Mediator TV Card Johnathan Haddock gets a TV card for his Mediator and finds an alternative to the Elbox software. madewith by Elbox and SuperTV SuperTV TV card is a piece of which is still being developed Ahardware capable of by Peter Gordon. Both receiving and showing (with packages allow for the use of the use of TV Software) TV my card and support the RF channels. The TV card I am and composite inputs which using is the WinTV Go made are both of importance to me by Hauppague. This is a PCI as I wish to be able to watch card that is compatible with the TV and view the output from Mediator 1200 (and in theory my CDTV which I connect to all other Mediator models but I the composite input. haven’t tested it on them). Using the TV card you can TV With SuperTV you can configure your channels using this watch TV on your Amiga or easy MUI interface. It also includes ARexx support. connect other devices (video TV is the software Elbox supply every channel (as you have to to open the Prefs program players, DVD players etc.) via to control the TV card and can for the Elbox program). again. The viewing area can be the RF (aerial) or composite be launched from the provided SuperTV is launched from the resized using the resize gadget (phono) connections. channel icons or by command Workbench and presents you but does not resize line parameters, something with a window (40-100%) on proportionally so I would The inputs on the back of my that is a bit long winded in my card are minimal, RF (for the any public screen you like (that advise use of the Size gadget opinion! To configure TV you is available at the time) and in the GUI. aerial) and composite for any must first alter (or copy and devices equipped with a first displays the last channel alter) one of the standard you were viewing. Set up is suitable output (most these channel icons. Altering them is Conclusion days). There is also a sound easy, especially if you know the easy and can be done with a channel number for each I would highly recommend this out 3.5mm jack which is text editor, as explained below. plugged into my SoundBlaster station in your area, and is card but if you have more money then you could buy the and provides the sound for the First chose an icon (I have performed by use of the GUI. TV/FM tuner version or the TV programme you are chosen CH1) and rename it to Channels are setup by clicking TV/FM tuner version with viewing. Some TV cards also something more appropriate “add” and by providing remote which Sam Byford tells come with a radio tuner such (e.g. BBC1); bring up a text SuperTV with the relevant me works with the Amiga. On as the more expensive WinTV editor (for example Editpad) information for that channel the software side both Primio FM card. and open the file for editing (in (Name, PLL number, input programs can display from Editpad you can just use drag source, format). The input every input on my card and at and drop to open the file). You What programs source for the picture my local Amiga club (AmiSEK) need to add the relevant corresponds to the input on the we found that the card and the use the TV card? switches, such as: back of the card, in my case 0 software worked faultlessly on The only programs that I have PLL: This is the number for the being aerial (RF) and 3 being my setup. I prefer SuperTV as come across are TV which is channel. my composite in. Once you it is much easier to configure Contrast: The contrast setting, have setup the channels in and has ARexx support; I use 100. SuperTV, double clicking them however, as TV is supplied Bright: The brightness setting, I in the prefs window displays with the Elbox Mediator use about 160. them (and their properties). multimedia CD needed to use video_src: the input on your Once the picture is up you can, the card and SuperTV is free card. On mine 0 is RF and 3 is however, press a number on you give them both a spin! .info composite. your keyboard to choose a Mediator channel and this saves having www.elbox.com So for my area, to view BBC1 I TV card requires Mediator use the following parameters: PCI bus board and c:tv pll=13307 video_src=0 multimedia CD. birght=164 contrast=101 TV Card SuperTV www.hauppauge.com SuperTV provides a nice GUI SuperTV for setting up and viewing TV By Peter Gordon and this is a very useful utility Freeware as I hated having to double www.petergordon.org.uk click on a different icon for This is my WinTV card. Many other 36 TOTAL AMIGA models are available. Reviews Reviews Tales Tamar ...UPDATE...UPDATE...UPDATE...of ScummVMMarkus Castro finds a great way to relive classic adventure games on Amiga OS and Morph OS. on eBay every now and then. In the final part of this series Sam Byford starts ack in the days, Lucas Arts Unfortunately, there is one game producing some luxury goods. Bwas one of the most famous that can’t be purchased. The 256 creators of graphical adventures colours version of Zak produce them, but every player on the Amiga. Monkey Island is McKracken was only released his is now the fourth update needs them. Your population still one of my all-time favourites. for a Japanese console called to my original Tales of Tamar needs certain items in order to Unfortunately, like most of the FMTowns, to the best of my T article, and the last. If you have survive such as grain and The MorphOS port of ScummVM playing “Indiana Jones other companies, they left the knowledge it never made it to the been playing the game, even for weapons. Anything which they Amiga market when things got PC market. To get these data and the Last Crusade” on the Ambient desktop. only a few months, then you will don’t necessarily need, but bad and went for the PC. Top files you might need to use for Tooltypes STORY and mode. For more information on be quite well versed on the which make life easier and more titles like Sam&Max or “Day of example a P2P Client like Kazaa DATAPATH according to the the hot-keys and Command Line whole thing by now, especially if pleasant are classified as LGs, the Tentacle” therefore never got on Windows. specific game. There are some options you might want to read you have been following my such as oil, silk, jewellery and released on the Amiga. A nice Glowicons and PNG Icons the provided PDF manual. guides. For those of you not furs. LGs can be handy for when There are different ways to get Macintosh emulation was the available for this purpose. playing ToT then these updates the popularity bar starts to drop ScummVM up and running. After only way to play them for a long will be meaningless to you, for some reason (famine, war, unpacking your favourite port How’s it looking? time, but then about one and a Once everything is set up, you therefore I think the time has loosing a town), as giving the you can simply start it in a shell half years ago someone ported The built-in GUI lets you configure each game. can start ScummVM and enjoy it. Most of the supported games run come to hand this space over to people items like jewellery can and use the provided GUI to add ScummVM to the Amiga. If you are experiencing speed without problems. The only some other worthy article. For boost the confidence back up years ago as an open source ports rely on its source code and the games you have on your problems however, you might game that crashed every once in now though I aim to guide you and stop a riot. project to revive classic therefore are updated a bit later. hard drive to the list. You can need to deactivate the anti- a while during our tests was The through a daunting new inclusion Scumm? adventure games on modern You can download the latest then specify some options for aliasing. Since most of the Dig, but this will certainly be into the world that is Tamar: hardware. Since it is released version for your system on the each game, i.e. if it should open The Trade Registry Scumm is the name of the original Adventures were played fixed in future versions. Speech Luxury Goods (LGs). under GPL, Amiga users can Amiga ScummVM Page at Sebel in full-screen or as a Workbench scripting engine that Lucas Arts in resolutions of about 320x240, is of course supported, as well To find out which luxury goods also benefit from the great work Interactive. window. Unfortunately, the GUI used for most of their adventure the graphics look rather blocky as the playback of a CD your population would like go to of the ScummVM Team. seems to have problems with games. It stands for “Script on big screens. That’s why Soundtrack. Its really fun to play Luxury Goods the Town screen in ToT and click directories that include lots of Creation Utility for Maniac Getting Started ScummVM has an option to some of the old games like Indy When a new player starts on on the Trade Registry (you have Since ScummVM has been in files, so if you’re unlucky, Mansion” and was originally scale it to 640x480 and 4 in full 256 colours, since Lucas Tamar land and therefore growth to have built this first!). You will development for quite some time To try out ScummVM you need choosing the paths to the games created in 1987 for the use in interpolate the missing pixels. Arts never made AGA versions is often limited due to the see a page split into three parts: now, it has evolved into a very some data files of the original might not work for you. But there that game and later Zak This looks pretty good, but of the games. Note that you can proximity of other Lords. This a resource meter (top right), usable, stable and compatible games or demos. If you have is always the second possibility, McKracken. Over the years it unfortunately it eats up a lot of also play the games “Simon the makes them disadvantaged showing your stocks of animal, running ScummVM directly from advanced into more mature CPU power on slower machines. Sorcerer 1+2” and “Beneath a compared to the larger land- plant and mineral; a set of three shell. All you need to specify is versions and was used in more “...it is a very nice tool to drive away the Because of this, there are steel sky” with ScummVM, it isn’t owners. The more land you own tick boxes (right), and the main the name of the game you want modern games like Monkey different scalers available, to limited to Scumm games any the more food you can produce, list showing the 16 available LGs to start and its path. If you’re Island 3. ScummVM is a virtual boredom of modern 3D shooters...” give best performance on every more. BASS can even be the more people you can have and the 3 resources. Next to the unsure about the name, invoke machine, capable of running machine. You can select the downloaded for free. and the wealthier you become. names of the LGs are three state already. Most of the none of the supported games at ScummVM with the argument ‘-z’ most of the games created with different scalers by pressing When your size is limited so is columns, the first shows how supported games are fully hand, you can download some and it’ll give you a list of the Scumm. It was started about two Alt+[0-4], where -0 gives you Sadly the 68k port of ScummVM everything else. If you have much of each item you have, the playable without any bugs and demos from the official currently supported games. A unchanged 1x1 pixel size is somewhat slow, maybe wealth however you can buy second shows a target figure and there are still new games added ScummVM Website. call of ScummVM to start Indiana display, and 4 gives you the best because it uses SDL (Simple food, weapons and other items the price your population would to the compatibility list as the Jones IV might look like this: available anti-aliasing algorithm. Direct media Layer). While Day work progresses. Some of the supported games and expand past your original charge to make that item, and of the Tentacle was perfectly confines. the third shows your allocation are also cheaply available at “ScummVM atlantis» The following hot-keys are also There are different flavours of certain PC dealers. For exampleDATAPATH=Games:Indy4/” playable on a 040 with figures for the item. handy: Shift-[0-9] quick-saves Shapeshifter, its slow as hell with Luxury goods (LGs) were ScummVM available for our the collection “10 Adventures”, the game in slot 0-9, Ctrl-[0-9] Luckily this can be simplified by ScummVM on a ‘060. Overall it brought in for just this reason. Let’s assume you are a large machines, supporting 68k, consisting of Monkey Island 1+2, quick-loads the game in slot 0-9, WarpUP and MorphOS. The Sam&Max and several others, using tooltypes. You just need to is a very nice Tool to drive away Only small land-owners can land owner and do not produce .info Space pauses the game, F5 the boredom of modern 3D take a project icon, assign any LGs yourself, you have to Developer faster your Amiga the better. works just fine with ScummVM pops up the save game You’ll also need a graphics Card and is available for little money ScummVM to it and set the shooters, but you’ll need a fast buy them from other players. You The ScummVM Team requester and Alt-Return toggles machine to enjoy it. would visit this screen, both the www.scummvm.org for the recent ports, as AGA is between window and full-screen Introduction no longer supported due to its first and third columns would Amiga OS ports by lack of speed. Tales of Tamar is a turn read 0 down the board. Ignore Virtual Machine Pros the top three rows which are for Uwe Ryssel based strategy game which A Pegasos is about the best + Many games the raw materials. The www.sebelinteractive.de/ Don’t confuse a Virtual Machine with an Emulator. An Emulator is played on-line via EMail choice, not only because it’s fast, supported. target/price column will have simulates a specific piece of Hardware, on which the code for this scummvm but also because the MorphOS + Ports for 68K, WarpUp (although the workings are figures such as 242/121 or machine can then be run. A Virtual Machine, on the other hand, version of ScummVM is actively and MorphOS. Pretty hidden by a beautiful hand- 91/110 in it. Your population is MorphOS port by can be thought of as a computer implemented in software. maintained by Ruediger Hanke drawn interface). For full demanding 242 units of a certain Rüdiger Hanke ScummVM doesn’t need the original executeables of the games, and mostly up-to-date with the details take a look at Sam’s LG. You would then buy this LG www.butterflyvale.de just the corresponding data files. These are interpreted in much PC version of ScummVM, in Cons review in Total Amiga issue at a reasonable price. To provide the same way as the original games handled them, no single line License some areas its even more - Slow on 68K. Good! 13 or visit the game’s web the people with that item of code needs to be emulated. This distinguishes ScummVM from advanced. Most of the other site at www.tamar.net. highlight it in the list, then in the GNU Public License emulators such as MAME. Results 38 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 39 Support If you don’t see what you want, just ask! box at the bottom of the screen appears in the Trade List the Our range is always growing! type in how many units you wish same as all other items so can to give the people next season. If be sold as with all other goods. I had 500 units in storage and Kicksoft they wanted 250 units then I Note that the type of land you Up to 30 times faster! could give them 250 which would own will determine what keep them content or I could resources you produce. On the give them anywhere up to 500 map screen turn on raw making them very happy indeed materials to show three bars for (you are giving more than they every land hex you own. You want to have as much land Amiga Forever 5 requested). You need to check this screen every turn as the producing the raw material you allocated amount will be given require as possible. You can of Fast Amiga Emulator and every turn until you either run out course buy raw materials on the or you set a LG back to zero. open market, at a price, and Connectivity Package for Windows usually that price is high! Your people will want more of one type of LG than another So, whether you produce or buy • Fast JIT emulation, up to 30 times faster than previous (depending on different factors). luxuries they will soon become a versions of Amiga Forever. If you are smart you will buy way of life and a necessary part • Amiga runs in a window or in full screen mode. Make sure you choose wisely which luxury good you will produce! plenty of stock of all items of life on Tamar. Make choices • Amiga Explorer for Amiga connectivity. because giving the people While making your choice you can admire the beautiful graphics. wisely and your people will become very content, choose • Fully licensed Picasso96 software. luxuries will boost confidence modifications are properly obvious as to which are needed badly and you might lose your • All Amiga ROMs up to version 3.1. and popularity, therefore giving introduced confidence levels will (ivory requires lots of animal Lordship faster than you can say • Includes: Personal Paint 7.1b Directory Opus 5.5 them twice as many units of an raise and fall much more resources) so chose based on “overthrown”. item they do not want too many dramatically and LGs will have your lands production levels. In (courtesy of GPSoftware), TurboText of makes more sense both more effect. Small land owners the Trade Registry screen the top That brings to a conclusion my • MPEG-1 videos: The Deathbed Vigil and Jay Miner financially and economically. For need to decide whether to stay section shows the amount of raw tutorials on Tamar, I know that Speech included on the CD. example: my people need furs small and produce luxuries, or try materials you have. To produce there are people out there who • Plus much more. as winters are harsh but they to grow bigger but lose the ability weapons and armour instead of have not read the first few care little for gems or myrrh. Fur to make luxuries. keeping the raw materials set the articles I wrote so I am going to Version 5 Upgrade from V. 4 traders are hard to find, and tick-box on the right, labeled ask Rob (the editor) if it is expensive but gems are plentiful Raw Materials, to a cross. All possible for him to join all of £40.00 £25.00 and cheap. If I needed a Producing the goods resources will go to the these articles into a PDF file for confidence boost I could give my If you are small enough to make blacksmiths and used by him. distribution on the Total Amiga people twice the amount of gems LGs (you must have only one website which should make any that they request and at little The price figure in the town to start making LGs though future new player’s lives a fair bit cost. They still need furs but at target/price column tells you how once started you can have more) easier. It has been a pleasure some point in the future the price much it will cost to buy a unit of you will be presented with a guiding people through the Tales will drop and I can buy as many the luxury once it is made and Bardstale with a story therein. A and if anyone needs any help in units of fur as I need. you should charge this as a wanderer offers you knowledge the future then I am still available PageStream 4.1 PageStream Extras of how to produce a LG (only minimum on the market to break Luxury goods have been via email, IRC or the ToT forums. one), you then have to chose even. You must produce a The Premier DTP program on the Amiga. introduced slowly and carefully, Enjoy yourselves and prosper! which luxury you wish to quantity of your luxury every currently they do not have as big Mac & PC version also avaliable. produce. Chose wisely as the season of a year (not just one in Yours in the Tales, an impact on events as they will only way to change that item is four for example) but you do not Baron Deverry later as there are not enough to expand to such an extent that have to buy the goods from your (Knight of the Round Table) £199.00 Lords producing the full range of you can no longer produce that people (at the price set) unless goods that are required. LG, then shrink again and hope you wish to. You buy the luxury Confidence modification is set to get the Bardstale a second as you would weapons, from the Warp and bend any text into any shape you want !! low and luxuries are not needed PageStream Upgrade time. Each LG requires different market screen (left hand box). as often but when the raw materials, most are fairly Each luxury you have in storage Text effect 2 £50.00 From pagestream 2.xx to 4.1 £95 From pagestream 3.xx to 4.1 £79 From Pagestream 4 to 4.1 £39

Cross upgrade Upgrade from Amiga version 4.0. to PC or Mac Complete collection of 120 scalable borders version. £89.00 Basic & Geo Borders £55.00

Kicksoft Ltd., 30 Whitegate Way, www.kicksoft.co.uk Tadworth, Add £1.00 UK postage per item. Make cheques payable to Kicksoft Ltd. Surrey, KT20 5NS Use the Trade Registry to find out which luxuries your people desire. A Bards Tale introduces you to the concept of luxury goods. Tel/Fax (01737) 219280 40 TOTAL AMIGA We accept Solo, Switch, Mastercard & Visa [email protected] Support Support try again with less aggressive settings. solved using camera settings but if you In some cases you may find it’s worth have an image like this which can’t be cutting off some tones to get more retaken there is still hope. contrast on the subject of the image. Remember the aim is to get a pleasing Image Enhancement image, there are no hard and fast rules. TIP:If you need to take a picture like this many cameras include a “fill in” Robert Williams describes an flash setting to illuminate the dark easy technique for improving TIP:In some images there really is no subject in the foreground. Another your digital images from either a Part One: Dynamic Range white or no black. For example a close- option is to use spot metering which will up of a brightly coloured object might make the camera set the exposure by digital camera or a scanner. have no white and a photo taken in the the brightness of the subject (or more snow might have no black. In these accurately the centre of the frame) With my photo the graph data stops cases this method is still useful, just set rather than the whole frame. hen you acquire an image, for TUTOTIALabout two thirds of the way along the X- the points away from the graph data, Wexample using a digital camera, axis, because there are no bright pixels experiment to get good results. ImageFX scanner or frame grabber there are in this image. If my image had been very often a number of steps you can take to bright the graph data would start some Other Applications In my example Image the sky is fairly improve the resulting image. Sometimes way from the left-hand side. bright and quite dramatic while the the content of the image needs editing click the “Realtime Update” check box, Perfect Paint - Right click the current figures are very dark in the foreground. and sometimes the quality of the image To set the black and white points we use this will generate a new preview each colours box in the centre of the main Let’s see whether we can use the isn’t up to scratch. While it isn’t always the markers underneath the graph. The time you adjust a setting. Click the “-” toolbox to open the palette pop-up “points” technique we used before to possible to resurrect a bad image you left-hand marker sets the black point button between the two previews until menu. Choose “Adjust Levels” from the correct this photo. Load the image into can often make big improvements. On and the right-hand marker the white you can see the whole image. Although “Effects” submenu to access the ImageFX and open the “Histogram the other hand, if you have an already point. Any shades to the left of the black this makes for a small preview, we’re equivalent of ImageFX’s “Histogram Equalization” window. You’ll notice that good image, some adjustments may be point will become black and those to the interested in the overall look not a Equalization” window. the graph is nearly full of data bars, able to make it even better. right of the white point will become detailed area. Now drag the Gamma because of the bright sky and dark white. The overall result is that moving slider to the right to brighten the mid- Photogenics 5 - This program does not ImageFX’s foreground this image already uses the In this tutorial I’m going to cover a the white point to the left makes the tones of the image, examine the preview have the direct equivalent of the Balance tool full dynamic range. As a comparison technique for improving the contrast of image lighter and moving the black point to see the result. I found a gamma The graph and then “stretch” the remaining image histogram window, you will need to use (above) let’s have a look at the range covered images. The main tutorial will cover to the right makes the image darker. setting of “85” brought out quite a lot (inset) shows data between the two points. This gives combinations of the traditional contains the by the two figures. Select “Box” from the ImageFX but at the end of each section more detail. When you’re happy apply us that this the image a broader range of shades brightness, contrast and gamma effects control for I’ll explain how similar results can be In this example we’re just concerned the gamma change by clicking the dim photo and therefore more contrast. If you have found in the “Adjust” paint mode. gamma along achieved in other Amiga packages with the white point since we have “Okay” button. Notice that the darkest including the freeware Perfect Paint. uses only an image that is washed out or dull this plenty of black in our image. Click on the with those for ArtEffect - While ArtEffect doesn’t have areas do not become washed out and just over halfsingle action can often have a quite white point marker and drag it to the left a histogram window if you have the using gamma ratherthe colourthan brightness the availablemagical effect. The best way to so its left edge is level with the edge of Setting the Black and White optional plug-ins collection (reviewed in preserves the lightchannels, details in the clouds. dynamic understand it is with an example, so the graph data. Click “Okay” and issue 9) there is an excellent AutoLevel brightness range. here we go: ImageFX will process the colours in the Points filter that performs a similar job (“V”) and image based on the new dynamic If you wish you can zoom in on the Any device that captures images has a automatically. As usual with automatic TIP: contrast. ImageFX range. The end result should be a preview at any time, just click the range of sensitivity called the dynamic tools this can be thrown out by some brighter image with much more contrast. “Preview” button to regenerate the range, this stretches from the darkest images and doesn’t give as much Load the image file you want to edit by preview at the selected zoom level. colour it can discern from black to the control as a histogram tool. clicking the “Open” button in the main If you now open the “Filters/Histogram brightest colour that is not white. In a toolbox. I’m using a photo I took of the Equalization” window again. You should 24bit-colour system there are 256 steps Other Applications sky over a Scottish loch while I was on find that the graph fills almost the whole Using Gamma Correction between these two points in each colour holiday. This photo was taken in the dynamic range, proving the job has Due to the component. Usually the device has With the dynamic range sorted out you Perfect Paint - Like the “Adjust Levels” selection cycle gadget above the “Color” evening and although the sky is quite been done. bright sky some method to ensure that the image might still feel a particular image is too feature Perfect Paint’s Gamma button in the toolbox. This will enable us dramatic the whole image came out being captured falls within the dynamic The interesting fact is that the end result dark or too light; to help correct this we Correction tool is found in the “Effects” the second to select a region of the image for rather dull due to the lack of light. range. If we take the example of a is much more like the real scene. My can use gamma correction. Gamma sub menu of the palette pop-up menu. image ImageFX to work on. In the image digital camera (or any camera for that eyes were able to pick out much more correction is a sophisticated brightness already fills window click and drag to draw a box Photogenics 5 - To correct the gamma matter) a short exposure and small colour detail then was captured by my control. With normal brightness all the the dynamicaround the figures, when you release As usual you can download all of an image in Photogenics 5 select the the mouse button notice the marching aperture letting in less light would be NOTE: digital camera (either due to its tones in the image are made brighter or range. the images used in this tutorial from the “Adjust” paint mode and fill your paint used on a bright subject whereas a limitations or the settings I used). In darker, using this will cause problems ants showing the perimeter of the issue 16 page of the Total Amiga web layer. Then change the Gamma Slider darker subject would need a large many cases this sort of editing is not with the dynamic range again because selection (see screen-shot on the next site: www.totalamiga.org/issue16.html. on the “Mode” tab of the toolbox; finally aperture and a longer exposure. “cheating” rather it is getting the best increasing brightness will make the page). Now open the histogram window I’ve chosen fairly severe examples so fix the change to the image. Remember However good these systems the result from the technology available. black parts of the image grey while again; the graph is now calculated for you can clearly see the results. This that, like any Photogenics paint mode, resulting image often does not Don’t be afraid to experiment with the darkening will make the white parts our region. Notice that the figures only technique can be used to improve even the “Adjust” effect can be painted on or use a tiny part of the range, no wonder completely fill the dynamic range. already well exposed images. Histogram Equalization settings. If you grey. Gamma has its strongest effect on find the end result too harsh undo and the mid-tones of an image and no effect off any area of the image using all the they’re so dark. To use a real world example if you take on the very lightest and darkest areas. painting tools. Now click on the “Filter” button in the Drag the right hand marker left to the a photo on a bright day the darkest Concentrating on the mid-tones tends to toolbox (if you can’t see it make sure ArtEffect - Gamma correction can be edge of the graph data, and then click colour in the image may be lighter than work on where the detail is in the image. you’re in the “Toolbox” section) then found in the “Color Correction” filter “Okay”. The change is applied to the black leading to a washed out look. On Here’s how to use gamma correction: choose “Histogram Equalization” in the accessed from the “Filter/Color” menu. boxed area and the figures now look the other hand on a dull day the lightest “Filter” palette that appears. After a few much better and more life-like. colour might be darker that white giving seconds processing, the “Histogram ImageFX a dull greyed result. Equalization” window opens; in the top More Complex Correction part of the window you’ll see a graph I’m going to stick with my loch image Because areas of this image To correct this problem many graphics Sometimes it is possible to have an NOTE: with two markers below it on the X-axis. because, although it is much improved, I are so dark with little contrast we’re programs allow you to set the black and image with problems only in one area, This graph is showing you the number think the hills still look rather dark. Click never going to make this into a great white points of an image. With this for example a dark object in the of pixels of each brightness in the image on the “Balance” button in the toolbox, photo. However hopefully we’ll be able procedure you make the brightest colour After the histogram equalisation has foreground and a bright background. from completely black at the left-hand this directly opens the “Colour Balance” to go from “should be deleted” to “worth in the image white and the darkest black been applied the colours in the image Often these problems could have been side to totally white at the right. are “streched” to fill the dynamic range. window. Before you do anything else keeping”. 42 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 43 Support Support the two distinct parts separately. First able to see the alpha channel slightly lets make the two layers. behind the image which looks strange.

Open the “Layer Manager” palette by If you can still see the join or it’s not in clicking on its icon in the top row of the quite the right place simply “Swap” back toolbox just to the left of the “RGB” to the alpha channel and re-draw your buttons. Click and hold on the button to gradient box. If necessary you can also the right of the filename in the “Layer draw on more white or black too. Doing Manager” palette to access the layer this it’s easy to see how flexible the pop-up menu, then choose “New Layer”. alpha channel system is. If you have an This is necessary before we can do The final image where an odd shaped area needs what we really want which is to clone to be processed rather than the neat image with the background. To do this click on the half-and-half scenario of this example the original “background” layer in the list to select it you can use any of ImageFX’s other inset. and choose “Clone Layer” from the pop- drawing tools to select the area on the up menu. Now you can delete the first alpha channel. new layer, click on “Layer 1” in the list then choose “Delete Layer” from the When you’re happy with the result you pop-up. can of course save the image. To save the image with layers intact for future You’ll notice that the cloned layer is editing simply click the “Save” button slightly offset from the background, to The completed alpha channel for the and select “INGF” from the list of image correct this double click on the layer (it “sky” layer. The black part will let the formats. If you want to save the image is called “ 2” in the list). In the “Layer bottom half of the lower layer show for use in another package, on a web Settings” requester that opens set the through. The gradient gives a site etc. then you need to flatten the “Name” to “Sky” for easier reference layers first. To do this just choose smooth transition. later. Then set both offsets to zero. As the whole background, we need to blend “Flatten Layers” from the “Layer” palette you change the offsets you should see the two layers together over the hills in pop-up menu. With that complete you Checking the the layer move in the image window. the middle of the image. We’ll use an can save as a standard image format Let’s see what applying that effect to the Click “Okay” to close the requester. such as a JPEG or an IFF24. whole image would do. Click “Undo” in dynamic alpha channel to make the bottom half the toolbox to get the image back to its range of an of the sky layer transparent. First we need to add an alpha channel to this Other Applications original state and change the selection area by In ImageFX (and many other NOTE: layer. Make sure “Sky” is the current cycle gadget to “Full” (effects will now selecing it Amiga programs) you must press layer then click the “Alpha” button in the Perfect Paint - While Perfect Paint be applied to the whole image again). with the Return or Tab after changing the text or main toolbox, in the “Alpha” palette click doesn’t have layers you can use its Now open the histogram window again, region tool.number in a gadget otherwise the “Create” and then “Matte”. masking feature to effect just part of an this time drag the right hand marker to setting may not be remembered when image, the density mapping option can approximately the same position as you you exit the requester. create the smooth transition for you too. had it for the figures, that’s roughly in Each layer in ImageFX can With our new layer in place let’s first set NOTE: To access this feature, right click on the the middle of the big dip. Click “Okay” to have an alpha channel that controls its the dynamic range of the background mask icon and choose “Density see the result: the bottom half of the transparency. The alpha channel is a image is much improved but, of course, layer that will eventually show the Mapping” from the pop-up menu. Select greyscale image the same size as the or make up a suitable density map and we’ve completely washed out the sky. layer. Areas of the layer image that Right: the then click “OK”. Notice that the area that Now you could crop off the sky and correspond to a black area of the alpha Click on the “Toolbox” button then keep the picture of the people but I want Layer will now be effected by the processing is channel are transparent while those that To draw the box without leaving double click on the filled rectangle tool shown in the image bar at the bottom of to keep both! So first click “Undo” to Settings TIP: correspond to white areas are solid. any borders resize the image window so (bottom right corner again). In the the screen. Now you can apply the remove that effect. window is Shades of grey correspond to various there is a border to the bottom and right “Drawing Options” window that appears “Adjust Levels” effect to just the area used to name of the image. Then start to draw the box set the “Fill” cycle gadget to “Vertical” What we’ll do now is split the picture levels of transparency. you want. and position outside of the image itself. and the “Range” to “R1”. Draw a box in into two layers; on the top layer we’ll layers. To see the alpha channel click on a strip covering the hills starting in the Photogenics 5 - Simply paint on the have the sky and on the bottom figures and ground. We can hide the sky “Alpha” again then choose “Swap”. If we leave it at that there will be an black and finishing well into the white, effect you require using any of (background) layer the ground and the layer to keep it out of the way by clicking ImageFX now shows the alpha channel obvious join between the two layers. To when you release the mouse button the Photogenics’ painting tools. A soft figures. Then we will be able to process on the eye icon beside the layer name in itself as an image. Ignore any black avoid this we need a gradual fade box should be filled with a smooth airbrush could be used to create a the “Layer Manager” palette. areas on the alpha channel because we between the layers; this can be gradient that will give a nice transition seamless transition. will be painting over them anyway. In the achieved with a gradient filled box over between the layers. Now click on the “background” layer to colour palette window click on a black the hill area. For this we’ll need a black ArtEffect - Use a method similar to that select it, then open the “Histogram swatch (normally in the top left hand to white gradient: Click the “Palette” described for ImageFX creating a Equalization” window as we did before. corner) then click on the filled box tool in button in the main toolbox, a new If your gradient looks odd make separate layer for the unprocessed As we’re not worried about washing out TIP: the main toolbox (click in the bottom toolbox page is shown. Use the cycle sure you have selected the right range portion of the image (the sky in this the sky, drag the white point marker to right hand corner to get a filled box). gadget above the “Range” button to number (R1 in our case) in the “Drawing case). Reveal the layer below using the the left as we did before so it is We’re going to draw a black box over select range “R1”. Make sure the black Options” palette, otherwise ImageFX will “Erase” tool positioned in the middle of the first dip in the bottom half of the alpha channel that swatch is selected in the colour palette use all the colours in the palette window. the graph. Click “Okay” and check the will make the bottom half of the sky then click the “Range” button, the result. The aim is to get the foreground To see the result choose “Light Table Conclusion layer transparent. So we don’t have to pointer shows a “TO” prompt, now click looking as good as possible, ignoring Alpha” from the “Alpha” palette again to guess where to draw click “Alpha” and on the white swatch immediately next to That’s all for this issue. Using those the sky. If you need to, “Undo” the effect turn off the light table and then click Left: Setting then “Light Table Alpha” and you should the black. Dots indicate that the colours simple methods (which are a lot harder and reapply until you get a good result. “Swap”, also in the “Alpha” palette. You the dynamic see the image showing through slightly. are part of the current range. Now I to describe than to do) I think almost all happen to know that this will make our should see the detailed bright sky Now werange want to replace the (washed Now click and drag to draw a box over photos and scans can be improved to gradient the wrong way round (black married fairly seamlessly with the out) skycorrectly with the for one from the original the bottom half of the alpha channel some degree especially if, like me, down to white) so click on the white significantly enhanced figures. photo. Tothe do figures this turn in the sky layer back roughly up to the river in the middle. you’re not a great photographer. I have swatch, then click the “Swap” button, plans for a second part of this tutorial for on by clickingthe fore- the right-hand end of its then click the “black” swatch to swap the next issue where I’ll cover editing line in theground layer manager so that the eye If you forget to turn off the light them over. TIP: the content of images. appears. washesNow the out sky layer is covering table before you swap back you will be the bright sky 44 completely. TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 45 Support Support coming to terms with a powerful language such as C. Mathematic Operators Part 1 • Storing Information Theory Operator Meaning Example • Variables, Symbols and Types Before starting with C, or programming at all + Add the number on the left-hand side to that 4+5 (comes to 9) • Arrays for that matter, it is important to understand a on the right-hand side. Part 2 few fundamentals about the architecture that is presented by modern operating systems to • Decision making - Subtract the number on the right-hand side 10-13 (comes to -3) the programmer. Sounds complex, but it isn’t Learn • Loops from that on the left-hand side. • Functions really. What you need to do is build in your mind a model of how the computer works / Devide the number on the left-hand side by 10/3 (comes to 3 as they are Part 3 when dealing with programs written in ‘C’. The Universal • Exec and DOS that on the right-hand side. both whole numbers (long)) This is a mix of convenient lies and, where 10.0/3.0 (comes to 3.333333r • Reaction we must, a dose of reality. These lies wil as they are both floating point • Game part 1 help you understand how to write good ‘C’ numbers) Language Part 4 and also more importantly help you understand what on earth went wrong when • AHI % Show the remainder left over when the 10%3 (comes to 1) your Amiga GURUd. This will be slower • Libraries in OS4 whole number on the left is devided by that In Total Amiga’s first major programming tutorial Dave Pitcher introduces going than you might ordinarily expect, • Game part 2 on the right. “C”, the most common progamming language on the Amiga. however it will pay off – I promise you. C * Multiply the number on the left by the one 10*3 (30) Programming, at the most basic level, involves the computer following a list of on the right. 10.0*3.12 (31.2) Download Examples instructions until it concludes. These Warning: has a special meaning. instructions all manipulate information stored convenient lie to help us here is that the memory then the base address is 65335 and ome say English is one of the most Download DCC from Aminet at this Some of the examples in this tutorial have in devices attached to the computer that deal maximum address value is the result of the the relative address is still 0. useful languages of the world, some say location: lines that are too long to fit in our with input/output such as memory modules, S columns. For those lines we use the hard drives, joysticks, cd-roms and many mathematical operation 2 to the power of bus French, some say Mandarin Chinese. None http://us.aminet.net/dev/c/dice-3.16.lha width. In an 8 bit addressability system the At address 21 we have the letter ‘l’. Now, are correct, the most useful language of the following symbol: more diverse hardware items. Install it ( installation instructions, we theoretical maximum is 2 to the power of 8 why did it take 24 addresses in our example world is “C”, and its descendants. Yes this » This first part is going to be tough going and minus 1 which is a maximum address of 255 to store a simple sentence? This is because tutorial is going to be a bit cheeky. Some of know people never follow the readme ). the best approach is probably to read just to (remember addresses start at 0 in the each address refers to a memory area of you will hate this tutorial for the slow to indicate that you should continue on because of the overhead of the computers’ the point that your head starts to spin or you computer). In a 32 bit addressability system exactly enough to store one character. Each methodical approach, in which case skip to the same line in your editor. processor having to read and translate the aren’t taking in the meaning of the words any the maximum address is 2 to the power of 32 character is encoded as a byte or 8 bits the example code and try to pick it up by The example source code is also instructions into a format the computer can more and then flip to a bit of code minus 1 which is? Anyone? Suffice to say (which gives us the possibility to differentiate playing with the code. available for download from the Total understand (the interpretation itself) whereas implementing and come back. this is a theoretical maximum which means between 2^8 or 256 combinations (0 .. 255)). Amiga website: C is used in many environments, from a compiled code is only compiled once. that it is dependent on a few factors such as http://www.totalamiga.org Why is it important to understand this? Well, lowly PDA running EPOC32 (trademark of Rest assured, that once you understand how the memory that is already in use and what When writing applications it is wise to start there is a difference between an address of Symbian) to enterprise code running in the language and the computer behaves you physical memory you have installed in the with a design and it is your task to get this something and the value of something and if commercial systems such as z/OS and 1. Executable file, this is something you can will understand, in time, what is going wrong system. In fact, most of what were commonly design written into a programming language, this is not clearly understood it is easy to get products such as CICS, DB2, IMS, “invoke” (run) from the command line and is when you have a problem. If you skimp this, termed “8 bit” systems actually had 16 bit in this case “C”. Once into this language the into a mess with C. WebSphere MQ (trademarks of IBM). More in a format that the operating system you will end up writing reams and reams of addressability. To access areas of memory compiler will take it to a format the processor pertinent to us: it is used and supported understands is an executable program. redundant code merely to avoid using a greater than the theoretical maximum a can use directly. The “base” address of the whole sentence is extensively for the Amiga operating system concept that could solve it in one line - or technique called “paging” can be used (like 2. Library, this is something that cannot be “1”, the value is “I am a cat called Felix” - it with the Amiga software development kits for During the compilation process the compiler worse cause the computer to fail and you turning the pages of a book). However that is run, but can be used by other programs. don’t have the knowledge to resolve it. occupies addresses 1 through 24. However Workbench and AmigaOS versions from 1.3 will give you feedback on errors (that you beyond the scope of this tutorial. the value of address 2 is ‘ ‘. Yes, the through to at least 4.0. must correct), warnings (that you sometimes In the pages of this serialised tutorial we will computer needs to store spaces too. need to correct) and other useful messages learn convenient abstractions (or lies) that Computers store data as a series of what is C is from the family of compiled languages. Storing Information (Types) that may or may not need your intervention. allow the program writer to not only write called “binary data”, that is it is represented Confused? Well perhaps – at this stage we These process data written in one format If all goes well it produces what is called an good code whilst understanding what they Information stored in a computer, regardless as 0s and 1s. Examples of addresses: have leapt onto what are termed “strings”; (the C language format - a text file) and “object” file. This is in a partially usable are doing, but understand the kind of errors of physical location, consists of what are that is a list of information pulled together to translate them into code that can be Computer form: format, and a program called a “linker” that can happen, and how to correct them. known as “addresses” and “values”. The have an alternate meaning. In our case we executed by the computer (so called 00000000 0000000 00000000 00000001 combines this object file with other “address” identifies a unique position in the have a list of characters that we have “machine code”). The other main family of To alleviate the dry parts of the tutorial, Abstraction: information (stored in what are called computer by an alias which fortunately you combined to get something meaningful: languages is that of interpreted languages examples for a freely downloadable C Address 1 libraries and other object files - linking them rarely see. If I store a sentence like “I am a and for many years BASIC was the most compiler called “DICE” will be provided. cat called Felix.” in the computer, it will [I]+[ ]+[a]+[m]+[ ]+[a]+[ ]+[c]+[a]+[t]+[ ]+[c]+ together like a chain) to produce one of two Computer form: famous of these. In modern times the Using and playing with ideas locks in occupy sufficient addresses to store the [a]+[l]+[l]+[e]+[d]+[ ]+[f]+[e]+[l]+[i]+[x]+[.] types of target. These are: 00000000 0000000 00000000 11111111 boundary between interpreted and compiled understanding and is a vital process of entire sentence, this includes addresses to is “I am a cat called Felix”. languages has been blurred with examples store the spaces between words. In one of Abstraction: such as Java Virtual Machine, Quake-C and our convenient lies we will assume that Address 255 However, whilst this is meaningful to the other interesting hybrids. For many years the human eye, it is meaningless to the these addresses have a numeric number, We will use the abstraction of this, that is the most relevant of these for Amiga users has Relative Addressing computer. If you asked the computer to from 0 to the maximum “addressable” numeric representation in the tutorial. been ARexx, which is a traditional interpreter address in the physical system. It is return the value at address 1 it would say Physical memory location where this is stored (1), also called the "base address". that reads the program line by line when it is important to recognise that it is not up to you In the “Relative Addressing” box-out each (rightly) ‘I’. To get it to recognise the entire run and turns the text into executable sentence as one logical entity meaning “I am Address to decide where memory gets stored, this is cell represents one address in the system, instructions. the job of the operating system. Each time normally the computer assigns the starting a cat called Felix” what is called a “data 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 type” has to be defined. Fortunately for What you will learn in these pages is that, for you run a program, its data might get stored address (in our case it has given us address I a m a c a t c a l l e d f e l i x . everyone most programming languages the purposes of writing application code, in a completely different location to where it ‘1’) through its memory allocation routines, define these for us, and it is left to us to whether the language is interpreted or Value was before! from free available memory. understand them. compiled makes absolutely no difference. Relative addresses are measured relative to the base address. Thus relative address 0 The addressability of the OS is dependent If the computer decides to store the Compiled language code will always execute Computers have to know how to store for this sentence is "0" (0 elements from the start of the sentence). on the underlying processor architecture. A sentence at position 65335 in physical faster than interpreted versions not least datatypes and how to read them. This 46 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 47 Support Support mechanism is best ignored but, what is worth Create a file called tutorial1.c and type the left hand side to the right, you know So we can find out the address at We know that “I am a cat called Felix.” is knowing, is the format by which datatypes above example into it. Now compile it into a instinctively where the end of the sentence stored as a sequence of characters. are encoded in memory. file called “tutorial1”: is, but pretend you only know it’s the end of which the computer stored our data? However if we used the “char” type on its Work:Programming/Tutorial> dcc» -o the sentence when you see the ‘\0’. own we could just store “I”. Instead we use A character type (char) is encoded as 8tutorial1 bits tutorial1.c Absolutely! This is done using a C operator the “pointer to char” type: of storage, a bit can be ‘0’ or ‘1’ which gives At this point, the literal amongst you will say ‘&’ meaning “address of”. The address is us all the combinations from 00000000 to Now run this: “why not just use the full stop(period) usually returned in a form that can be read char * sentence=”I am a cat »called 11111111 . This is exactly 256 combinations Work:Programming/Tutorial> tutorial1character ‘.’ for the end of the sentence”. numerically but be cautioned: This numberFelix”; is (or 2^8). The specific meanings of each Well what if you wanted to store a paragraph very platform dependent. On a 32 bit system binary word is defined by what are called Check the answers on a calculator, you of text in a string? Then human readable it is safe to use “long” as it is 32 bit, the This does not mean ‘multiply the type char “code pages” and the most widely used one never know! punctuation marks would appear several Amiga is currently a 32 bit platform so we by sentence which must be equal to the is ASCII (American Standard for Computer times and would damage the computer’s can use long without concern. string “I am a cat called Felix.”’. It is Information Interchange). In modern times Introducing Strings ability to return a paragraph to the user - important to throw away mathematical this has evolved into UNICODE (UTF-8) but better to use a special “machine readable” » long addressOfBalance = &balance; terminology when dealing with anything ,hiThereMum); this is beyond the scope of this article. Common user error 1: It is vital to character for the purpose – one that would other than numeric types in C. In fact, the } long a; This instruction says create a new symbol understand what is coming next as most C rarely be used by a human – these are char b; meaning of various short cuts such as “*” called “addressOfBalance” with type long Thus when a computer is told that the 8 bits bugs in the early stages are through failing to known as “escape” characters and ‘\0’ is the unsigned char fx; changes with the context of where it is used. Create a file called tutorial2.cfloat hiThereMum; and type the and store the address of another symbol of storage 01001001 is a character it looks it understand strings. most common of them. The instruction stores “I am a cat called example above into it. Now compile it into a called “balance” in it. up in the “code page” ASCII and finds out it a=123456; Felix” and the computer returns the base is a ‘H’ and this is what is displayed. So, we have a new datatype, let us call it file called “tutorial2”: b=’X’; address (in fact the address of “I”) as normal, So, to recap, “balance” the symbol when “string”. Instead of just returning a single Variables, Symbols and Types Work:Programming/Tutorial> fx=’X’; dcc» -o in this case our symbol “sentence” is a There are two main numeric types, the first is value when you request the value of the tutorial2 tutorial2.c hiThereMum=-20.44445;used will see the value of “balance”, using At this stage you may be thinking, in fear, pointer to something of type “char” (the “*” “long” (which stands for long integer). “long” address [1] it returns the entire sentence that the & operator it is possible to see the that in order to get hold of something you printf(”a==%d \n”,a); makes it a pointer). In this pointer is represents whole numbers, it occupies 4 [1] is the “base” address of. There is a Now run this: address of “balance”. store in the computer you need to specify the printf(”b==%c \n”,b); automatically stored the address of the “I” bytes of storage (or 8 bytes of storage on problem, how does it know where the Work:Programming/Tutorial> printf(”fx==%c tutorial2 \n”,fx); address to retrieve it. This is not the case. part of the sentence. some systems, some systems use “long sentence ends? printf(”hiThereMum==%f \n” Programming languages provide (and Strings and Characters long” for this - it is worth reading the However... encourage) the use of what are called But what happens? documentation that comes with your OS) Two solutions have grown up around us in Take a deep breath! Remember we talked “variables” which are symbols that you type and therefore has combinations from programming, one is called “null terminated The programming language behind the about C having a string type which uses the char sentence=”I am a cat called Felix”; in that have a meaning that makes sense to 00000000000000000000000000000000 to strings” (which is what C uses) and the other scenes is requesting storage of a certain null termination technique? This was a total you and the programming language handles ...would result in an error. because on the left 11111111111111111111111111111111 o r 2^32 or is called “length encoded strings” (which is length (the number of bytes it takes to store lie. Sorry. It has no string type. What it does translation into something that makes sense hand side of “=” we are defining the symbol 4294967296 combinations. However the what COBOL, Java and a few other the value) from the computer, the computer have is a series of functions (small to the computer at compile time. sentence to be tied to an address which whole number set includes negative languages use under the covers). then returns a “base address” (starting point) programs) that accept the address of the accepts values of type character, on the right numbers so by default “long” uses one bit of to the language and the language binds that start of a string (such as address 1 which is The easiest scheme is length encoded Variables are specified (in good hand side of “=” we are trying to assign to it the 32 to indicate if it is positive or negative starting address to the symbol. the start of “I am a cat called Felix.”) and will strings, this is where the number of programming languages) by defining them a different type - the string type which is and the remaining 31 for the actual numeric search themselves for the “null termination characters in the string is stored at the “base with their “type” and their “symbolic name”. In our case the symbol is defined as enclosed in quotation marks “”. For character value which gives + or - (2^31 - 1) for the character” (‘\0’) in order to find the end of the address” (starting address in our example 1) “balance”, the type is float which the assignment we need to use single quotation entire numeric range, or -2147483647 ... A, non-exhaustive, list of C built-in types is string. A variable containing the address of and the computer uses this number to find programming language knows takes 4 bytes marks ‘’: 2147483647. shown in the “Variable Types” box-out. something else (such as the start of “I am a out where it ends. (32 bits) of storage to hold the value – it asks cat called Felix”) is called a “pointer”. char sentence=’I’; The final type to introduce you to is the Let’s deconstruct an example to show the the computer for 4 bytes of storage, the Pointers point at other things. [24]+[I]+[ ]+[a]+[m]+[ ]+[a]+[ ]+[c]+[a]+[t]+[ ]+ computer allocates (and marks it as owned “float” type, or to give it its full name “floating type definition rules: There is a function called “printf” (see [c]+[a]+[l]+[l]+[e]+[d]+[ ]+[f]+[e]+[l]+[i]+[x]+[.] by that program for the duration it is running) A pointer is simply an address whose value point”. Floating point numbers are so called Tutorial 1 which illustrates it for the first time) float balance; the storage and returns the address. contains the address of something else. It is, because the decimal point ‘.’ moves position. You have told the computer you want the that expects a pointer to a char as an in fact, a built in type of C that is designed Examples are: -3.1415926536 or 97.2. The value of the string stored at address 1, it argument and will display the data stored in This is known as “declaration”. The programming language then stores the specifically for this purpose. Pointers refer encoding the computer uses for the float reads the number 24 and combines the next the computer from the address in that pointer value “-2.50” in an encoded format into the the computer to another address (like type is more complex to explain at this stage 24 characters together for you. The type is float, so the rules in C are if you to the next occurence of ‘\0’ on screen. storage at the address the computer saying, “for pension inquiries, call this so will remained unexplained until later in want to define a new variable you have to returned. Every time the program refers to number”). The sheer power of this will this series. It occupies four bytes of storage. There is a limitation here, the maximum first describe what type it is going to be, then However, we did not put a ‘\0’ in our the symbol “balance”, the language knows it become evident later on. number we can store in a byte is 255. If we give the variable a name. The ‘;’ character declaration – how does the computer know Take a look at the “Mathematic Operators” means the address the computer gave it! define the scheme the computer uses as so indicates to the programming language that when to stop? This is automatically inserted box-out for a list of the operators you can the first byte is the length of the string, then you have finished with this instruction and when using what are called “string literals” – use on numeric types. we are limited to sentences of 255 the next line will be a new instruction. such as “I am a cat called Felix.” – the ‘\0’ is characters long! We could increase this by implicitly appended by the programming Example 1: making it double byte (16 bit), then when we The computer requires a start value for the Variable Types language at compile time so that what really #include int main(void) reach this limit quadruple byte (32 bit) etc. declared name in the form of: gets stored is “I am a cat called Felix.\0”. { Type Description Example long x; Null terminated strings are more powerful for The format is: Therefore, in our program we have the float y; the simple reason that they do not require a symbol = value ; void Empty, nothing, this has no specified type. N/A (for now) following statements: x=10*2; length specifier. The end of the string type is e.g. char * sentence=”I am a cat »called y=12.0/16.5; a special character such that when the long 32 bit numeric, whole numbers called the long yCoord; Felix.”; printf(”x==%d and y==%d. \n”,x,y); balance = -2.50; computer has found this character it knows it “integer” set. From -2^31to 2^31. yCoord=1024; printf(sentence); } is at the end of the sentence, this is known This is known as “assignment”. as the NULL TERMINATOR or ‘\0’: char Character value, printable and unprintable char initial=’w’; Referring back to our original example, the characters with a numeric range of -2^7 to 2^7 Common user error 2: The ‘=’ character in computer stores the string literal “I am a cat [I]+[ ]+[a]+[m]+[ ]+[a]+[ ]+[c]+[a]+[t]+[ ]+[c]+ but normally represented as alphabetic Please do not try to understand the parts of C means “assignment” (the symbol “balance” called Felix.” at address 1 through 25 (for the [a]+[l]+[l]+[e]+[d]+[ ]+[f]+[e]+[l]+[i]+[x]+[.]+[\0] characters. code (in any of the examples) except those will take on the value of -2.50), for testing null terminator!). highlighted in bold; the rest will be explained So, we request the string stored at address 1 equality (equals) the character sequence ‘==’ float Floating point number, e.g. one with a “.” in it. float balance=-2.50; as the tutorials progress. A “long” number and it runs merrily along through “I am a is used instead. 20 21 22 23 34 25 was created called “x” and a floating point cat”... and gets to the ‘\0’ character and e l i x . \0 Example 2 : unsigned [type] Modifies the type so that it is unsigned, so, for unsigned long yCoord; number was created called “y”. “x” was given realises that is the end of the sentence. #include example, instead of character going from -2^7 unsigned char initial; It then allocates storage for the “sentence” the value of 10*2 and “y” was given the value Pretend you are the computer (no bleeping int main(void) to 2^7 it ranges from 0 to 2^8. unsigned float balance; symbol, which is of type “pointer to of 12.0/16.5. noises please) and run your finger from the { character”, in this example the Operating 48 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 49 Support Support System stores the “sentence” symbol at written? There are two ways to handle this, C known as a protection fault, an attempt to That is all well and good for a two address 28. Why? Because it wants to. provides an array type that allows you to write to an area of memory we do not own dimensional array, but what about a three implement the first method, dynamic but and the program will cause a guru error on dimensional array: Next Issue 28 bounded storage (fixed length): an Amiga. 1 char rubiksCube[3][3][6]; Coming up in Total Amiga issue 17: The format is: [p][i][c][t][u][r][e][8] + [\0] rubiksCube[0][0][0]=’r’; News Regulars So when address 28 gets passed to the []; rubiksCube[0][0][1]=’g’; “printf” function, it knows that this is a type Overrunning the end of storage allocated to • All the latest news on AmigaOS 4 and • PD Paradise pointer to character, the function has been char sentence[256]; your program can have two effects: OK, now for the final example of this the AmigaOne. • Top Tips implemented to deal with “null terminated long counter[14]; quarter’s episode: • Columns by Alan Redhouse and • Reader’s Letters 1. Protection violation (attempt to write strings” as implemented in C and so it reads Fleecy Moss. Plus much more! from the address referenced at address 28 You can define multiple dimensions to your memory you do not own) Example 5: All items in this contents list are subject to (which is address 1) until it finds the “null array (like a mathematics matrix or a table): Reviews 2. Instability (you own the storage but it #include change before the magazine goes to print. terminator” (’\0’) and displays the characters long enemyMap[256][256]; belongs to another variable and you int main(void) • Amiga OS 4 hands-on preview on screen in the sequence it encounters float percentages[20][4][200]; overwrite the contents of it unexpectedly). { (we hope!). Issue 17 is due in: them. int plank[2][2]; plank[0][0]=1; • FryingPan (CD mastering application). Explanation: Example 4: • January 2004 This principle of only passing the address of plank[1][0]=2; • MAS Player. plank[0][1]=3; • Note: Total Amiga is produced by volunteers data to be used by functions (sub programs) The definition for symbol “sentence” causes #include plank[1][1]=4; Support and this means sometimes issues run late. If is the key to understanding how C works. the computer to allocate 256 elements of int main(void) { printf(”Elements: [%d][%d][%d][%d]• “C” programming tutorial part 2. you’re concerned about the status of the next storage sufficient to store a character type. issue please take a look at Example 3: char sentence[12]; • Classic Mac emulation part 2. The “char” type is 1 byte in size, so that is » http://www.totalamiga.org or contact us by EMail strcpy(sentence,”This is a precious • Image enhancement tutorial part 2. #include 256 bytes used. \n”,plank[0][0],plank[1][0],plank[0][1]» or phone (details inside the front cover). int main(void) » ,plank[1][1]); { The definition for symbol “counter” causesdiamond, guard it well.”); } char sentence; the computer to allocate 14 elements of printf(sentence); sentence=”This is a precious storage sufficient to store a “long” type.} The » Create a file called tutorial5.c and type the “long” type is 4 bytes in size, so that is 14 Mailing Lists Web Site diamond, guard it well.”; example above into it. Now compile it into a multipled by 4 bytes (56 bytes) of storage The Total Amiga web site contains a whole Create a file called tutorial4.c and type the file called “tutorial5”: printf(sentence); used. eep up to date with our progress with host of features and regularly updated } example above into it. Now compile it into a new issues of Total Amiga and get news Work:Programming/Tutorial> dcc» -o K information about the magazine such as: The definition for symbol “enemyMap” file called “tutorial4”: tutorial5 tutorial5.c of website updates and previews of the causes the computer to allocate 256 bytes content of new issues by joining the Total • Regular updates on the status of the Create a file called tutorial3.c and type the Work:Programming/Tutorial> dcc» -o example above into it. Now compile it into a by 256 bytes of storage sufficient for thetutorial4 long tutorial4.c It will compile without error. Amiga announcements mailing list. This list current issue. file called “tutorial3”: type, which is 4 bytes of storage so that is is only posted to the editor so your mail box • On-line shop for subscriptions, renewals Work:Programming/Tutorial> tutorial5 256 by 256 by 4 which is 262114 bytes of It will compile without error. Now ensure that won’t be flooded. Expect a maximum of 4 or and back issues. Work:Programming/Tutorial> dcc» -o storage. you are not running anything important, 5 messages a month, as a minimum we post • Details of all the issues published so far tutorial3 tutorial3.c because your machine may crash! Next Issue a monthly update. including contents list and cover images. The definition for symbol “percentages” To join just send a blank EMail (no subject or • Out-of-print back issues for download in It will fail with a compilation error. Study it causes the computer to allocate 20 by 4 by Work:Programming/Tutorial> tutorial4 Next quarter we will talk about variable hard and correct the error. Once you have 200 elements of storage sufficient to store a length storage, looping, making decisions, body text is required) to: PDF format. eliminated the error run it like this: float type. The “float” type is 4 bytes in size, BANG! defining sub programs and what all the { } totalamiga-announce-subscribe • Behind the scenes section with details of so that is 20 by 4 by 200 by 4 which is 16000 “int main(void)” and “#include” gubbins is all @yahoogroups.com the magazine’s production. Work:Programming/Tutorial> tutorial3 OK now correct the error. To give you a hint, total bytes of storage used. about. We will build a re-usable function We also have an open discussion mailing list • Information for potential contributors and sentence has been defined with insufficient library and start to use our new found where you can chat to other readers and talk advertisers. To show the potential pitfalls we can get in space to store the memory. Fixed Length Storage knowledge to program a small game for the to members of the total Amiga team. The with fixed size allocation let’s look at the Amiga, don’t miss it! subscription address for this list is: So why not pay us a visit at: We have already discussed the theory of definition of an array of characters we will Addressing Elements of an Array totalamiga-subscribe how C interprets declarations (reminder: It give the symbolic name of “test” to: @yahoogroups.com http://www.totalamiga.org requests that the computer allocate enough The “Array” type is very useful, it can be storage for the type and uses the symbol as char test[8]; used for storing images, terrain maps and all an alias for the address ) with the format: sorts of weird applications. You know how to This takes 8 characters. To fill this array with define it... ; a string we use a function called “strcpy” (string copy) which has two arguments, the long enemyMap[256][256]; e.g. first being the destination string and the Subscribe to Total Amiga char * sentence; second being the source string: ...but you don’t know how to assign values! To subscribe to Total Amiga please complete this order form and send it with the appropriate payment to: long counter; (If you don’t want to cut your magazine a photocopy is acceptable or just include the details below on a piece of paper) float balance; strcpy(test,”Fido”); Each element is addressed through the Total Amiga, 26 Wincoat Drive, Benfleet, Essex, SS7 5AH. Payment can be by cheque or postal order (in pounds sterling made same means it is defined, so if we wanted to payable to South Essex Amiga Link) or in sterling cash (at your own risk). And we have discussed how assignment This is fine, it will copy the literal “Fido” into assign something at the first cell in the array works with what are called “literal” values - the 8 bytes like so: (0,0) we would need to do this: Full Name: Tel.: ones that C automatically allocates storage Street User [F][i][d][o][\0][ ][ ][ ] enemyMap[0][0]=124; to hold: Address: Group: Please tick what you require: How about when we want to store a longer = ; What about the 24th row down, position 0 A four issue subscription to: Back issues: string, like “picture8”: (0,24)? e.g. United Kingdom (£14) Total Amiga 13 (£2.50) strcpy(test,”picture8”); sentence = “I am a dog called Rover”; enemyMap[0][24]=888; counter = 14; Europe (£17) Total Amiga 10 (£2.50) balance = 5.01; This will fail, even though it is 8 characters What about right at the end (255,255) ? long and we have assigned space for 8 Rest of the World (£20) Clubbed 8 (£2.50) characters. It fails because we forgot that the enemyMap[255][255]=31; Post Code: However, what if the size of storage required null terminator that automatically gets added Start subscription from issue no. (and this is especially important with strings) Country: to the end of string literals by C also needs (Leave blank to receive the next issue) is not known at the time the program is to be stored. The failure causes what is EMail: I16 50 TOTAL AMIGA Autumn 2003 51 Image MorphOS 1.4 Enhancement Here are some digital photos illustrating our Image Enhancement tutorial on page 42: Dynamic Range

Above, the original image straight out of the digital camera. The sky is interesting but it’s too dark.

Sam Byford’s MorphOS 1.4 desktop (be sure to check out his review on page 18) running IBrowse under emulation, AmIRC and MPlayer (in the borderless window). Amiga OS 4.0 The screen-shots this issue show Amiga OS 4.0 running a The processed image after histogram variety of 68K Amiga software equalisation and a slight gamma adjustment; under emulation. this highlights the sky and reveals the detail in the foreground. In the shot on the left you can see Directory Opus 4.x and SnoopDOS under emulation along with the new OS Notepad and AmiDock utilities.

Below is the MUI based YAM emailer again on OS 4.

Above is the new Partition Wizard tool showing the A more complex image featuring an attractive unprocessed sky with a heavily brightened Reaction look foreground. present in the latest screen- You can download the images for this tutorial shots. from: http://www.totalamiga.org/issue16.html