Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!watdragon!rose!ehoogerbeets
From: ehoogerbeets@rose.waterloo.edu (Edwin Hoogerbeets)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Introduction to comp.sys.amiga
Message-ID: <16223@watdragon.waterloo.edu>
Date: 1 Sep 89 04:03:52 GMT
Expires: Oct  1 00:02:52 EDT 1989
Sender: daemon@watdragon.waterloo.edu
Reply-To: ehoogerbeets@rose.waterloo.edu (Edwin Hoogerbeets)
Organization: U. of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 1492


[please note: my new address will be w-edwinh@microsoft.uucp. Please do
not reply to this account as it is dying soon. -ed]

This is an introductory posting to comp.sys.amiga. If you are a new
reader of this group or even if you just want Amiga/Usenet information,
please read the following articles.

This posting last changed:  Aug 31, 1989

Changes this month:
  Added:   Questions [and answers] about AT Bridgeboard

It is recommended that you save this article for future reference.
Please refer to this article first before posting to the net.  This
will help keep the comp.sys.amiga* groups uncluttered with topics that
have already been discussed. Previously deleted topics are still
availble from the editor via email.

*
* There is an analogous posting in comp.sys.amiga.tech.
*

To save this posting when you are using
rn or vn: s newuser to save in the file News/newuser.
notes: snewuser to save this article in the file ./newuser.

To read any of the following topics after this page, type 'g' for 'go
to' and the three letter index identifier in capitals that is listed on
the left. This article contains the following topics:

,NET   The Etiquette of the net. (netiquette) Please read this article
       before posting anything.
         edwin@hcr.UUCP
,MOD   How to receive and post Amiga programs from/to the moderated Amiga
       newsgroups.
         page@Sun.COM (Bob Page)
         ain@mace.cc.purdue.edu
,FNF   The Fish Public Domain software library. How to get Fish disks
       and how to submit programs.
         fnf@fishpond.UUCP
,PIC   How to get and send Amiga graphic pictures and related 'show'
       programs.
         joe@dayton.UUCP
,ARC   How to use the kilowatt archive server
         raz@sun.COM (Steve -Raz- Berry)
,BUY   Which machine to buy? (500 or 2000 Amiga, Atari, Mac?)
         uunet!Sun.COM!cmcmanis (Chuck McManis)
         geoffs@smoke.UUCP
         AmigaIan@cup.portal.com.UUCP
,LED   What does flashing caps lock LED mean?
         bjc@pollux.UUCP
,CLI   Closing the initial CLI
         hcr!edwin
,KIK   Crashing all the way to Kickstart 1.3 (*the solution*)
         bryce@cbmvax
,HAR   Hard drives for Amiga (especially the 2000)
         Witting@topaz.rutgers.edu
,COL   All dem [screen] colors during boot
         hah@mipon3.intel.com (Hans Hansen)
,HED   The 2090(a) and SCSI drives
         jesup@cbmvax
,ECS   How to get RAD: to recover with the new Agnus
         adam@cbmvax.UUCP (Adam Levin - CATS)
       New Agnus for older B2000s
         daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie)
,2500  Can I get a 2500 UX?
         papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa)
,SUP   Supra Controllers and SCSI ID's
         thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan)
,MIN   Minix for the Amiga ???
         ast@cs.vu.nl (Andy Tanenbaum)
         amiga@cs.vu.nl (Commodore Amiga)
,010   Need information about 68010.
         scott@ssgp32.UU.NET (Scott Evernden)
,HAM   What is HAM?
         Tom Limoncelli 
,EXE   Execute script errors
         Tom Limoncelli 
,AT    Questions [and answers] on AT Bridgeboard
         higgin@cbmvax.UUCP (Paul Higginbottom)


Send questions, comments to:

Edwin
ehoogerbeets@rose.waterloo.edu
(or as of September: w-edwinh@microsoft.uucp)
*************************************************************************
,NET
From: edwin@hcr.UUCP (Edwin Hoogerbeets)
Subject: Netiquette

Behaviour on the net:
  Behaviour on the net should be based on respect for other readers. If
  you follow this guideline, the net can be a very powerful tool for
  useful information.

  Try to reduce the amount of material posted and keep your articles
  short. This helps to save on phone bills throughout the entire
  Usenet community and saves time when reading the voluminous Amiga
  news groups.

  Try to avoid posting your view on an issue that has no "correct"
  answer. An example of this is the "my machine is better than your
  machine" discussion that often flares up in the microcomputer
  newsgroups. If you must express your point of view, please indicate
  that you would like to continue the discussion via mail, so as not to
  harass other readers that are not interested in the subject.

  Please do not make derogatory postings (aka. flames).  Do not subject
  other readers to these childish tit for tat postings.  Have fun via
  mail.

Newsgroups:
  There are currently four official groups dedicated to the Amiga. Here
  is a brief description of each of them and what kind of articles they
  should contain:

  comp.sys.amiga - This newsgroup is for general discussion of Amiga
    related news, software and hardware.

  comp.sys.amiga.tech - This newsgroup is for the technical discussions
    about programming the hardware and software of the Amiga.

  comp.sources.amiga - This newsgroup contains the sources to freely
    redistributable programs posted exclusively by the moderators.

  comp.binaries.amiga - This newsgroup contains the binaries related to
    the programs in the sources group. This group can also only be
    posted to by the moderators.

  Please adhere to these classifications and post your news to the
  appropriate group. See the MOD section (enter g MOD) in this posting
  on how to post to and receive from the moderated groups.

Mail:
  If you would like to reply to an article posted by someone else and
  you do not think your reply is of value to others on the net, then
  please send mail to the poster instead of posting a reply. This
  helps reduce the amount of news sent each day and improves the ratio
  of signal to noise in the newsgroup. When in rn type 'r' to reply via
  mail. Type 'R' to include a copy of the poster's article.

Following up:
  If you do feel the reply is important enough for everyone on the net,
  then please keep your posting small. In rn, type 'f' to follow up,
  and 'F' to include a copy of the poster's original article. Please
  trim the included article down to only the relevant parts, so that
  people are reminded of the gist of the original without having to
  re-read the entire text.

Posting original material:
  Original material is preferred, as it offers something new for the
  readers. However, if you post a request for information or software,
  please include a request for mail instead of a news followup.  Again,
  this is to help reduce the amount the reader must go through each day.

Cross posting:
  Cross posting to many newsgroups takes no more room or time than
  posting to one newsgroup. However, many more people see your article,
  and the above rules become more critical. If you do cross post,
  please realize that people from any of the groups may followup to
  your article. By default, most news programs post to all the original
  newsgroups. If you think the replies to your article will only be
  relevant to one group, please use the Followup-To line to indicate
  that the named news group should be used for replies. Also, if you
  are replying to someone else's cross-posted article, please edit the
  Newsgroups line to indicate only the groups to which your reply is
  relevant.

Remember to have respect for your fellow netters and you will gain the
most from Usenet.

Edwin
uunet!utai!utcsri!hcr!edwin
*************************************************************************
,MOD
From: page@Sun.COM (Bob Page)
Subject: how to retrieve programs from the moderated groups


How To Use The Comp.Binaries.Amiga Postings

Every comp.binaries.amiga submission is archived with the ZOO archive
program, which does a fair amount of data compression and retains the
original names, dates and directory structure within the archive.

Because Usenet data paths are not 8-bit, these archives must be
encoded to "regular ASCII" which is 7-bit.  The encoding is done with
a program called 'uuencode'.  The version used adds a checksum at the
end of each line, and includes the file size at the end of the
encoding.

Sometimes the files are too large for one posting (Usenet postings
should generally be less than 64k bytes but you can sometimes get away
with longer postings).  If this uuencoded zoo archive is too large, it
gets split into pieces, roughly 64k in length.

Finally, the (possibly split) .zuu files are enclosed by some simple
UNIX commands.  This 'shell archive' is commonly known as a 'shar'.

There is a more-or-less standard set of file extensions used to show
the file type.  The file extension is the set of characters after the
dot (or period) in the name.  The set of file extensions used is:

  .zoo  An archive file in ZOO format
  .zuu  A .zoo file that's been uuencoded
  .zu1  The first file in a split .zuu file
  .zu9  The ninth file in a split .zuu file
  .zu10  The tenth file in a split .zuu file
  .uu1  The first shar file in a (possibly split) .zuu
  .uu9  The ninth shar file in a (possibly split) .zuu
  .uu10  The tenth shar file in a (possibly split) .zuu

To get all this back into a usable form, you need to:

1. Unpack the files from the shar format (the verb is usually called
'unshar').  You can either use a standard text editor to remove the
info, or the unix 'sh' (Bourne Shell), or a publicly available tool to
do it for you.  With some tools (like 'sh'), you are required to
remove the Usenet header information first; other unshar tools will
remove it for you.  Once you unshar a .uu? file, you'll have a .zu?
file.

2. Combine all the .zu? pieces into a large .zuu file.  You should use
something like 'cat' under UNIX or 'join' under AmigaDOS.  It is
important that you combine the pieces in numerical order.  Be aware
that the single digit pieces do not have a leading zero, so a wildcard
sort will probably not do what you want.  Instead, you should specify
the files in this way: zu? zu??, which will do the single digit files
first, then the double digits.  You can rest assured there will not be
any triple-digit postings.

3. Convert the .zuu file to a .zoo file with the 'uudecode' program.
If you have a version of uudecode that understands the checksum and
file size information, you should use it.  If you don't, you can still
use the old uudecode program, but you will not know if the file has
somehow become corrupt.

4. You now have a .zoo file.  To extract the files into a directory,
you need a program called 'zoo'.  After "un-zoo'ing", most submissions
will have some documentation to tell how to set up and run the
software on your Amiga.

---------

Of course you need to get the program(s) to your Amiga to run them.
Usually this means downloading the software to your Amiga through a
terminal program.  If you want to download the files as quickly as
possible to your Amiga, you should do steps 1-3 above on your UNIX
machine and download the .zoo file to your Amiga, since the .zoo file
is the smallest of the files.  It's also usually faster and easier to
do steps 1-3 on the UNIX machine because you have less worry about
disk and memory limitations.

However, some terminal emulators available for the Amiga do not handle
binary downloads well.  Experiment with yours and see.  If you have
trouble, you might try a different protocol or different terminal
program.  If all else fails, you can download the .zuu file, which is
an ascii file, and do the uudecode on your Amiga.

The mechanics of terminal programs, protocols and downloading are
beyond the scope of this document.  Most terminal programs should have
a manual section describing how to log in and do remote downloads.

---------

Here are the tools you need, under UNIX, AmigaDOS, or both.  All are
publicly available; you do not need to purchase anything to make use
of the software that comes across in comp.binaries.amiga.

shar, sh, unshar - a tool to unpack the shell archives, or use an editor
cat or join  - to append the split .zu? files to one .zuu file
uudecode  - to decode the .zuu file to a .zoo file
zoo    - to unpack the ZOO archive.

--------------------------
From: mace.cc.purdue.edu!ain (Patrick White)
Subject: How to post to comp.[sources|binaries].amiga

   I'll give you a quick rundown of the various ways to make submissions in
preferred order..

   1) make up some postings and post them to the proper groups -- since these
      groups are moderated, the posting will get sent via mail to the
      moderator(s).  Preferred.  Helps us a bit if we forward the submission
      to a different machine.
   2) send mail to the mail aliases amiga-sources-request or
      amiga-binaries-request.  Next best -- but be sure the size of the file
      will go through mail unscathed (100K or less is usually ok).  (BTW, the
      aliases are always directed to the right person to receive the
      submissions)
   3) send mail directly to the moderators.  Same warnings as above, but also
      be sure to send it to the right person -- if you get it wrong, your mail
      might never be heard from again.

   Since all these ways use mail, the data transmission is equally reliable
between them.  The main difference is ease of submission, and what happens
at our end.

   The current moderators are:
     Bob Page - page@Sun.COM
              - uunet!sun!page
*************************************************************************
,FNF
From: fnf@fishpond.UUCP
Subject: How to get Fish disks.


WHAT'S AVAILABLE
----------------

There are "do-nothing-useful" examples of various capabilities of the
AMIGA, real development tools, editors, languages, games, and other
odds & ends.  Also included are machine readable form of many of the
examples (received directly from C-A sources) out of the official
AMIGA manuals, including the ROM Kernel Manual.


HOW TO OBTAIN DISKS
-------

First, check with your local dealers and user groups.  Many already have
the earlier disks.  Since these disks can be copied freely, and widespread
distribution is encouraged, they propagate out to central distribution
points fairly quickly.

If you just can't wait, or can't find copies locally, I am willing to
make these disks available for the cost of media, mailing materials,
postage, and miscellaneous expenses (like wear and tear on my drives).
My goal is to get as much software as possible into the hands of people
that can use and enhance it, and make the AMIGA the success it deserves
to be.

Generally, each disk contains all source necessary to recreate the
executables provided.  All programs are currently compiled with the
latest Lattice C and/or Manx C compiler available at the time of release.
In a very few cases (noted in the description) the code will not compile
or run for some reason, but was considered interesting enough to include
anyway.  Almost all executables are known to run on the latest
kickstart/workbench combination available at time of release.

Disks are typically 85 to 95 percent full.

HOW TO ORDER
------------
To order, send a list of the disks you want, and $6 per disk ($5 per disk
for 10 or more disks), in U.S. funds, to:

  Fred Fish
  1835 East Belmont Drive
  Tempe, Arizona  85284
  USA

Price includes cost of media, mailing materials, and first class domestic
postage.  Overseas orders add $5 per order for Air Mail.  Time and other
jobs permitting, all disks will be mailed within 3 days of receipt of order.

Feel free to order more the the current number of disks available.  Excess
funds will be placed "in escrow" (refundable at any time) and drawn against
for automatic mailings of future disks as they become available.  I hope
to add at least two to four disks per month to the library.  Given that I
have a database of about 300Mb of freely distributable software to
draw upon, that should be a fairly easy goal to accomplish.

DISK CATALOG
------------

A disk based catalog is available directly from me at no charge (as long as
you supply disks and postage).  The catalog has been split into two disks
(disk 0A and disk 0B).  To get a copy send two disks and $0.65 postage to
the above address.

DISTRIBUTION CRITERIA
---------

To the best of my knowledge, materials in this library are freely
redistributable.  This means that they have met one or more of the
following conditions:

(1)  The materials contains explicit copyright notices permitting
  redistribution.

(2)  The materials were posted to a publically accessible electronic
  bulletin board and did not contain any copyright notice.
  (Such materials will be removed if it is subsequently shown
  that copyright notices were illegally removed.)

(3)  The materials were posted to a widely disseminated electronic
  network (such as usenet), thus implying that their author/poster
  intended them to be freely distributed.  This applies only if
  they contain no notice limiting distribution.

(4)  The materials contain an explicit notice placing them in the
  public domain.  This is not the same as condition (1).

One last note; I get frustrated when I get email from people and then
can't get a message back to them because of some sort of braindamage
in the return path.  Please don't assume that just because you never
saw a bounced message, that it actually got through to me, or even if
it did, that I ignored it.  I DO RESPOND TO ALL MY MAIL.  I don't
spend ANY time trying to figure out how to work around bad paths if
my response gets bounced back.  For best results, include your
phone number in case the email route fails completely.  Also note that
my preferred usenet address has changed recently to this machine
(fishpond!fnf), rather than mcdsun!fnf.

[Note: fish disks are available via anonymous ftp at
uxe.cso.uiuc.edu  (128.174.5.54)     for fish 1-188
uihub.cs.uiuc.edu (128.174.252.27)   for fish 189-222
- ed]
*************************************************************************
,PIC
>From: joe@dayton.UUCP
Subject: Re: Picture swap (was Re: clite demo)

So I am hereby officially becoming a picture collector.  If you have
pictures, drop me a disk.  For every disk of pics I get, I'll send it
back with what I may have found by that point.

A few notes:

  1. If you send ray-traced, sending the input to the ray tracer would
    be appreciated.  That's up to you.

  2. If the picture can not be displayed with DPaintII or the DISPLAY
    program that comes with DBW_Render, please provide a display
    program somewhere on the disk or at least give me some clues as
    to how I should display it.

  3. Make *sure* you give me full mailing info and such.

  4. Anything you send me should be freely redistributable.  This means
    that I'd love to get digitized pictures out of your favorite
    magazine, but that's not legal.....

  5. If you DO violate note 4, at least tell me you did so I don't get
    into trouble with someone Official.

  6. Keep copies and insure yourself if you send more disks than you're
    willing to lose in the mail.

If I start to get some collections together, I'll do a followup and tell
people what they can do to get some pictures from me without sending
submissions.  I'm also willing to accept pictures over the phones if I
don't have to make long long-distance phone calls to do it.  If you have
DBW_Render pictures, you can just email those to me....

My mailing address is NOT my work address, however.  Send disks, etc to:

Joe Larson
6121 St. Croix Ave. N.
Golden Valley, Minnesota 55422

Disks sent to me at work will get here, but home would be better....
--
UUCP: rutgers!dayton!joe                Dayton Hudson Department Store Company
ATT : (612) 375-3537                    Joe Larson/MIS 1060
(standard disclaimer...)                700 on the Mall      Mpls, Mn. 55402
*************************************************************************
,BUY
From: uunet!Sun.COM!cmcmanis (Chuck McManis)
Subject: a comparison of PC's... which one to buy

This posting is an effort on my part to demonstrate why
these arguments are pointless. I try to show that the Amiga 500 and
the 1040 ST are essentially the same design with different compromises.
When all is said and done they are the same computer. You as a reader
look at the two machines, look at the way the designers compromised,
and pick the one that *you* like better. Also be aware that your
choice is only the better choice from your perspective, others will
disagree and they are also correct from *their* perspective.

Take the following comments from Peter as an example :
In article <11767@cup.portal.com> (Peter Ted Szymonik) writes:
>                                   ...I'd say Atari will have no
> problem reaching the million mark next year if it hasn't already
> done so! ...

Given the "magicalness" of a million machines (see the PS/2, Apple Mac
announcements when they broke a million) it is clear that Atari (or
Commodore for that matter) will be shouting to everyone that can read
(especially developers) to let them in on the good news. Witness
Commodore's hyper sensitivity as they get closer to that number.

>  Also, I'm sure that a good chunk of those Amiga sales
> were the 500 which was probably bought primarily as a game machine
> while the majority of STs out there are 1040's which have much
> greater utility.

This is an especially wonderful example of why debating machine merits
is a waste of time. Here is a guy who obviously is very proud of his
computer ownership attempting to slander the "competition" with absolutely
no facts at all. If he understood the Amiga computer line he would realize
that the Amiga 500 *is* the Atari 1040 ST competition. Line up the features
side by side and even a third grader could tell you they were the same
machine, to wit :
                         1040 ST           Amiga 500
                        ----------        ----------
Processor                68000             68000
"Main" Memory            1 Meg             1 Meg
Screen Resolution        320 X 200         350 X 200
  various #'s of         640 X 200         700 X 200
  colors.                640 X 480         700 X 440
Disk Drive               720K              880K
Serial Port              Yes               Yes
Parallel Port            Yes               Yes
MIDI Port                Yes               No
DMA Port                 Yes               No
Expansion Bus            No                Yes
Hard Disk Available      Yes               Yes
Memory Expansion Avail   Yes               Yes
Max Memory               4 MB              9 Mb
Blitter                  No*               Yes
Audio                    Yes               Yes
-----
* Blitter optional according to some things I have seen

And the astute readers will note that a.) Prices are different, b.)
Implementations are different, and c.) Neither machine is the "better"
machine to everyone. In terms of hardware capabilities they offer
the same functions.

The question you ask are "What are the decisions the designers made?"
Take MIDI for example. The Amiga does not have a MIDI port, the designers
did not decide to include one. It is easy to turn the Amiga serial port into
a MIDI port but it will cost you the user extra cash. *You* decide which
decision is better for *you*. Same thing with a hard disk. Atari builds
in a DMA port that makes connecting a SCSI device easier, Commodore provides
and expansion bus that you can connect a hard disk controller to. Here
the Atari designer may have said "Well, either we offer a hard disk
interface or an expansion interface, which will it be? Gee most of
our users will just want a hard disk so lets offer that." Whereas the
Amiga designer might have said "Lets offer an expansion port so that
other things beside a hard disk can be easily connected here." The
Atari decision makes for cheaper hard disks, the Commodore decision
makes for greater flexibility. Which do *you* prefer? *You* decide and
that makes that machine best for you. When one evaluates both machines
you will notice that the Commodore decisions tended to flexibility even
when it raised the cost, whereas Atari's leaned toward keeping the
price down at the cost of flexibility. None of these decisions make
one computer "better" than the other, they just make the computers
different.

Of course none of this means anything to someone who's ego is tied up
in the computer they own. That type of person will get just as hyper
about whether or not a BMW is better than a Mercedes or a Ford is better
than a Mercury. The important point to remember is that when you read
an article from someone who really likes their computer and thinks anyone
who doesn't like their computer obviously has a learning disability, you
have to understand that they are *correct*. This is how they think from
*their* perspective. There is no need to point out how their perspective
disagrees strongly with *your* perspective. That is because both of your
perspectives will disagree with everyone elses perspective. The end result
is a couple of thousand articles describing the authors perspective and
views. If you could condense them into a single survey message you might
et the Signal to Noise ratio up above .5 but I doubt it.

Well thats *my* perspective,

--
--Chuck McManis
uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis   BIX: cmcmanis  ARPAnet: cmcmanis@sun.com
These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.
----------------
>From: geoffs@smoke.UUCP
Subject: Re: Atari vs. Amiga: what to buy?

ATARI VS. AMIGA: WHAT TO BUY?

  * the bottom line is -- whatever you like best. *
  but here are some thoughts:

WORK/SCHOOL OS features:
========================

  What kind of environment are you using at work/school? It is
  Likely Multi-tasking. (VAX VMS, UNIX, ?)

  - (AMIGA & ST) If VMS, I don't know of any VMS look-alikes for
    either machine. there is a PD editor (TVX) that can be configured
    to look like the VMS EDT editor I think... I know it can be made
    to look like VI and emacs/jove/uemacs... (unix).

  - (AMIGA) If unix at work,... unix editor PD look-a-likes "vi" and
    "emacs" are available. (They are also available on the ST).

  - (ST) If unix at work, then note that an ST version of MINIX
    has gone to Prentice Hall for distribution (out in Sept? - check
    comp.os.minix on when). You are familiar with MINIX? It is Version
    7 unix look alike muli-tasking OS, comes with compiler and
    unix-behaving tools.

  - (AMIGA) As you know the Amiga has multi-tasking built in, so it you
    can handle a different interface from the one at work, but are
    used to multi-tasking, you are already set.

  - (ST) UNIX? Today *now* there is a nice PD shell on the  ST (gulam)
    that looks a lot like the unix shell with many of the
    commands. The editor is emacs-like, and you can pause the
    editor, escape to the shell, compile a program, then bring
    the editor back to the fore ground (via "fg" a-la unix). Not
    multi-tasking. Context switching, but it is the unix look and feel.

  - Note: Amiga and ST can run MSDOS stuff with appropriate add-on's.
    ST cam also run MAC stuff with appropriate add-on's.

MIDI:
=====

  The ST came with midi's built in and this has generated a lot of
ST midi software.  Buy a copy of STart magazine.  There are always adds
in that artist-oriented magazine for music editors, and multiple other midi
programs.  I do not know what midi stuff is available on the AMIGA.  I
think there is a large library of midi software on the PC market.  You
may wish to look here too...

Final suggestions:
  1. Get several machine specific magazines on both computers.
Try to stay away from those published by the machine manufacture; they
tend to be censored and over-hyped: "See how great we are!!!!!!!!".

  2. Please try before you buy. - you may hate the feel of the
     keyboard.

*BOTH* good computers, you probably can't go wrong what ever you
choose.  To be fair, I do not own an Amiga. I own 2 Commodors (the
VIC-20 & C64) am the happy owner of 1 Atari (the ST).

I will not suggest either computer over the other.  That is a personal
preference.  A choice only you can make.  My experience with both
companys is about the same.  They are probably on a par with the rest of
the retail computer industry.
--
---> geoffs@brl.arpa
--
----------------
>From: AmigaIan@cup.portal.com.UUCP
Subject: Re: 500 or 2000 ?

>My next question is this:
>should I buy an amiga 500 or an amiga 2000?
>Can someone give me the pro's and con's of the two machines?

Ok, let me give it a try,  The 2000 comes with 512K more than the 500 but
I have seen 512K expansion for the 500 priced under $150.
You can have IBM compatibility with the 2000 but not with the 500.
The 2000 costs more $$$ but it is a little less expensive to expand.
The 2000 is bigger than the 500.
If you expand with the 500 you need alot of space.
The 500 is about $700 cheaper if you get a 1 meg 500.
The 2000 is now selling for $1499.
The 500 is now selling for $649.

Did I miss anything? I believe those are all the diffrences.  Hope I made
things easier rather than harder.

Ian_Matthew_Smith@cup.portal.com
*************************************************************************
,LED
>From: bjc@pollux.UUCP
Subject: Re: What does flashing caps lock LED mean?

In article <1200@tellab5.tellabs.CHI.IL.US> grj@tellab5.UUCP () writes:
>sometimes when I power on my A2000,
>the caps lock LED flashes at about a 1 or 2 Hz rate. The keyboard is then
>useless and nothing typed gets recognized.

Look on page 3 of Appendix H to the Hardware Reference manual.
Briefly, though, it says:

   One blink      Keyboard ROM test failed
   Two blinks     Keyboard RAM test failed
   Three blinks   Watchdog timer test failed
   Four blinks    A short exists between two row lines
                  or one of the seven special control keys.

It also says that you probably would not have been able to type anything
before this sequence would be completed, but if so, the key codes
would be sent to the computer and then a "terminate key stream" code
would be sent.  There is more information in that appendix.

Betty
*************************************************************************
,CLI
From: hcr!edwin
Subject: Closing the initial CLI

% "I can't get my initial CLI window to close" seems to be a commonly
% asked question.  It would be good to explain "run" vs. "runback"

Okay, a CLI will not close if a program has been "run" from it. (Check
your startup-sequence) This is because the program that has been "run"
needs someplace to get and put its I/O. If your program does not need
to do I/O to the CLI, you should use the RunBack program from Fish 152
(earlier version on Fish 65), or RunBackGround on Fish 73.  These
programs will totally detach your program from the CLI and allow you to
close it normally with endcli.

Edwin
*************************************************************************
,KIK
From: bryce@cbmvax
Subject: Re: Crashing all the way to Kickstart (*the solution*)

In several articles <> several.net.posters wrote:
> [Since installing V1.3 I have noticed something strange.  If the
>  machine ever crashes, it sometimes goes back to the Kickstart hand
>  instead of the Workbench hand.]

Thank you all for noting and reporting this bug.  I have located the
cause; a code mistake causes the Kickstart protected memory to be
left open open for writing during some types of system Alert.  This
problem will be addressed in the next version of "SetPatch" (no
date or distribution details are available at this time).
*************************************************************************
,HAR
From: Witting@topaz.rutgers.edu
Subject: Hard drives for Amiga (especially the 2000)

NOTE:  The following is a summary of replies concerning my future
purchase of an Amiga 2000.  I want a Hard Disk, and was inquireing
into advantages/disadvantages of the different cards, esp in ref to
the new Amiga 2000HD, which came with a CBM 2090A cantroller and HD
The 2000HD will sell about $100 less than a system built with
third party components.  Of course, shop around to find the price
diff you will actually be working with.

BTW, tech note.  SCSI interface transmits 1 byte at a time, ST506
1 bit at a time.  ST506 is the IBM standard, SCSI looks to be the
new standard.

2000HD-  Basic a 2000 with a CBM 2090A Hard Disk Controller and a
40meg HD connected through a ST506 interface, leaving one more ST506
and 6 SCSI connectors open.  The 2090A uses a DMA to controll the
hard disk, leaving the processor free to do other things.

The GVP HardCard is heavily recommended, clearly the best of the
established third Party cards.  It has been around a while, so all
the bugs are gone, but it supposedly relies upon the processor to do
a lot of the work.  The Quantum Drives are supposedly the Best on
the market, and is available in 28ms and 11ms types.  Expect it
to last twice as long as typical drives.  May require EEPROMS to
Autoboot.

The Microbotics card is impressive, claiming to transfer data at bus
speeds (as fast as the Amiga can handle it, not 65mph hiway, 15 mph
city ;) It uses a DMA to controll the drives, leaving the processor
free like the 2090A.  It is a half sized card, so it can used in
expansion boxes, has power hookups for a card mounted drive, and
several extra SCSI interfaces.

There are a few other points to consider:

   1.  The CBM card has its own processor, the GVP can bog the
processor down if you are working processor intensive tasks, otherwise
the GVP is faster.  The microbotic is like the CBM card in that it
doesnt harass the processor, and is the fastest and newest design of
the three.

  2.  The CBM comes pre-installed.  The cards should not be hard
install, but I understand dammage done by improperly installed cards
is not covered by warrantee.  But the 3rd party warrantees are
tiypically longer, CBM offers only a 90 dayer.  This does not apply if
you already own an Amiga, but having an authorize service rep install

it should keep warranty problems away.  It can also put you out another
60 or 70 bucks.

  3.  The CBM must boot to the old file system, not the newer
fast filing system.  While this only affects a small section of the
Disk (The rest can be configured fast filing) The others don't have
this weakness.  K1.3 was designed for autobooting to HD's but some GVP
cards may still require additional PROMS.

Personally, I'd like the microbotics with the Quantum 11ms, but 1st I
gotta check prices.  I also want to investigate the possible bug.  *I
have heard from a few people who own the microbotics, and so far they
are extremely happy with them*

          paul
--
"Run, Run, as fast as you can, you cant catch me, Im the gingerbread man"
"Lets do some crimes. Yeah, lets get sushi and not pay"
                                                           6  6
Witting@topaz.rutgers.edu                                  `--'
*************************************************************************
,COL
>From: hah@mipon3.intel.com (Hans Hansen)
Subject: All dem colors during boot

A M I G A ' S      I N I T I A L I Z A T I O N      C O L O R S

Dark gray     Ok Hardware
Light gray    Ok Software
Red           Bad ROM Checksum
Green         Bad RAM
Blue          Bad Custom Chips
Yellow        Exception


A M I G A ' S      I N I T I A L I Z A T I O N

Clear Chips
Disable DMA and Interrupts
Clear the Screen
Check the Hardware
Pass or fail the Hardware to the Screen
Checksum the ROMs
Pass or fail the ROMs to the Screen
System setup
Check the for RAM at $C00000
Move SYS_BASE to $C00000 if it exists
RAM Test
Pass or fail the RAM to the Screen
Check the Software
Pass or fail the Software to the Screen
Set up the RAM
Link the Libraries
Find External RAM and link it to the list
Set up Interrupts and DMA
Start default Task
Check for 68010, 68020, and 68881
Check for an Exception
System Reset

Hans
*************************************************************************
,HED
From: jesup@cbmvax
Subject: Re: 15 Head Hard drive and the A2090(a)

In article <1735@dciem.dciem.dnd.ca> kevin@dretor (Wallace B. Wallace) writes:
>I recently acquired a 15 head Hard Drive for my Amiga 2000 only to discover
>that the A2090(a) does not support >8 heads.  Has anyone figured out either

  The A2090 supports 8 heads for ST506 drives.  For SCSI, the number
of heads is not important, so it WILL support all of your drive.

--
Randell Jesup, Commodore Engineering {uunet|rutgers|allegra}!cbmvax!jesup
*************************************************************************
,ARC
From: raz%kilowatt.EBay@Sun.COM (Steve -Raz- Berry)
Subject: How to use the kilowatt archive server

  The following message is the reply that kilowatt (the archive
server) will mail to you if you ask it for help.

  Also, if anyone is interested in setting up their very own archive
server, contact me at the above address and I'll send you all information
and programs that you need to set one up.

  -Raz
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This message comes to you from the archive server at kilowatt@sun.com,
archive-server%kilowatt@sun.com.  It received a message from you asking
for help.

The archive server is a mail-response program. That means that you mail
it a request, and it mails back the response.

The archive server is a very dumb program.  It does not have much error
checking. If you don't send it the commands that it understands, it will
just answer "I don't understand you".

The archive server has 4 commands. Each command must be the first word
on a line. The archive server reads your entire message before it does
anything, so you can have several different commands in a single
message. The archive server treats the "Subject:" header line just like
any other line of the message. You can use any combination of upper and
lower case letters in the commands.

The archives are organized into a series of top-level directories.  The
top-level index gives you the index for each of the files in the archive.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you are bored with reading documentation and just want to try
something, then send the server a message containing the line

  send index

  When you get the index back, it will give you the names of all of the
files in the archive; send the server another message asking it to send you the
files that you want:

  send applications plplot.2 plplot.3

etc.  If you are using a mailer that understands "@" notation, send to
archive-server%kilowatt@sun.com. If your mailer deals in "!" notation,
try sending to {someplace}!kilowatt.sun.com!archive-server, e.g.
uunet!kilowatt.sun.com!archive-server. For other mailers, you're on your own.

  For BITNET mailers and those lazy typists out there, I have aliased
archive-server to archive and archive-management to manage. This means that
you can also use the net address of:

archive%kilowatt@sun.com    {}kilowatt.sun.com!archive
manage%kilowatt@sun.com      {}kilowatt.sun.com!manage
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The server has 4 commands:

"help" command: The command "help" or "send help" causes the server to
  send you the help file. You already know this, of course,
  because you are reading the help file. No other commands are
  honored in a message that asks for help (the server figures that
  you had better read the help message before you do anything else).

"index" command: if your message contains a line whose first word is
  "index", then the server will send you the index of
  the contents of the archive.
  For example, you can say

    index

  You can then send back another message to the archive server,
  using a "send" command (see below) to ask it to send you the
  files whose name you learned from that list.

  The index is updated nightly, to reflect the contents of the
  archive. So if you are getting messages that inform you that the
  file you requested does not exist, ask for the index again and
  double check the file name.

  If your message has an "index" or a "send index" command, then
  all other "send" commands will be ignored. This means that you
  cannot get an index and data in the same request. This is so
  that index requests can be given high priority.)

"send" command: if your message contains a line whose first word is
  "send", then the archive server will send you the item(s) named
  on the rest of the line. To name an item, you give its directory
  and its name. For example

    send workbench ptranim.uu2
  or
    send audio vclock.uu

  Once you have named a category, you can put as many names as you
  like on the rest of the line; they will all be taken from that
  category. For example:

    send exec xoper13.1 xoper13.2 xoper13.uu1

  Each "send" command can reference only one directory. If you
  would like to get files from more than one directory, you must use
  two "send" commands.

  One of the most common mistakes that a new user makes when formatting
  a send command is to type something  that looks like:

    send dos/fs pthass.sh1 dos/fs pthass.sh2
    (This is incorrect... )

  This will not work for 2 reasons. One, simply because the archive will
  look for a directory called "dos/fs". All that you need to do is:

    send fs pthass.sh1 pthass.sh2
    (This is correct)

  The second reason that the previous send command would not work
  is that you may only specify one path per send command.

  You may put as many "send" commands as you like into one message
  to the server, but the more you ask for, the longer it will take
  to receive. See "FAIRNESS", below, for an explanation. Actually,
  it's not strictly true that you can put as many "send" commands
  as you want into one message. If the server must use uucp mail
  to send your files, then it cannot send more than 100K bytes
  in one message. If you ask for more than it can send, then it
  will send as much as it can and ignore the rest.  Since many
  files in the archive are around 60K, it's probably best to
  ask for one file at a time unless you know it's safe to do
  otherwise.

"path" command: The "path" command exists to help in case you do not
  get responses from the server when you mail to it.

  Sometimes the server is unable to return mail over the incoming
  path.  There are dozens of reasons why this might happen, and if
  you are a true wizard, you already know what those reasons are.
  If you are an apprentice wizard, you might not know all the
  reasons but you might know a way to circumvent them.

  If you put in a "path" command, then everything that the server
  mails to you will be mailed to that address, rather than to the
  return address on your mail. For example, if you say

      path decwrl!pyramid!rutgers!zakkaroo!jj@uunet.uu.net

  then all mail sent by the server will be sent to that address.
  If you use mixed-mode addresses (! and @), the archive-server
  will put precedence on '@' before '!'.

  You cannot expect the archive server to pick a uucp path to be
  determined for you.  If you can't determine a path yourself,
  make the path relative to a 'known' site, e.g.:

      path place!person@uunet.uu.net

  which will cause the archive-server to send to site uunet.uu.net
  with the instructions "send this to place!person".


EXAMPLES:

1) Find out the list of all of the Amiga files that are in the archive.
   Send this message:

  To: archive-server%kilowatt@sun.com
  Subject: hi there

  index

2) Get files from the archive (you have learned their
   file names from the list that was sent to you in step 1).

  To: archive-server%kilowatt@sun.com
  Subject: send digest 3.17

  send iff gif2iff.uu2 ifflib161.uu1
  send iff dplaz.uu1

  (it turns out these three files add up to less that 100k,
  so they can all be sent by return mail).

3) Get a file, and send it over the best path to my site:

  To: uunet.uu.net!mcvax!kilowatt.sun.com!archive-server

  path myname@site.uucp
  send iff iff2ps20.1
*************************************************************************
,ECS
>From: adam@cbmvax.UUCP (Adam Levin - CATS)
Subject: Re: RAD: won't

In article <4425@crash.cts.com> spierce@pnet01.cts.com (Stuart Pierce) writes:
>Unfortunately, RAD: loses everything now when I reboot the machine.  I added
>the R option to SetPatch in my startup-sequence, but that didn't help.  What
>am I missing?

Use a lower case 'R' as in

SetPatch >NIL: r

and your RAD: will reboot.  This could be considered a bug or a
documentation error; I will get it corrected.

Adam

--
     Adam Keith Levin  --  CATS   Commodore-Amiga Technical Support
     1200 Wilson Drive / West Chester, PA  19380     (215) 431-9180
     BIX: aklevin        UUCP: ...{amiga|rutgers|uunet}!cbmvax!adam
------------------------------------------
>From: daveh@cbmvax.UUCP (Dave Haynie)
Subject: Re: New Agnus for older B2000s

in article <274@vuecon.econ.vu.nl>, niesemc@econ.vu.nl (Marco Niese) says:
> could a reliable source at Commodore (best would be Dave Haynie) give a final
> statement here on the net about the New 1MB Agnus working in older (pre-rev.6)
> B2000s?

The 1 Meg Agnus works in all B2000s.  There are two or three jumpers to change
to install it correctly (J101 is moved, J500 is removed or cut depending on
how your board was assembled, and J102 is cut if you want to come up PAL
instead of NTSC).  The Rev 6 board _requires_ the 1 Meg Agnus for support of
refresh on it's 256K x 4 DRAMs, but it will work in every revision of the
B2000 ever shipped.

It will not work on the original A2000, which may be available in the
Netherlands as well as other parts of Europe.  The easiest way to identify
the type of motherboard in your system is to see how many RCA phono jacks
you have in the back of the machine: there are 2 on the "A" board, 3 on
the "B" board.

--
Dave Haynie Commodore-Amiga (Systems Engineering) "The Crew That Never Rests"
   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!daveh      PLINK: D-DAVE H     BIX: hazy
           Be careful what you wish for -- you just might get it
*************************************************************************
,2500
>From: papa@pollux.usc.edu (Marco Papa)
Subject: Re: 2500 UX

In article <[465]un.amiga@tronsbox.UUCP> tron1@tronsbox.UUCP (HIM) writes:
>Is the Amiga 2500 UX available???

Yes, ONLY to qualified commercial developers.

>If so, where can I get one ? (mail order I assume)

You can ONLY get directly from Commodore. You can contact:

Brenda Billings - CATS
1200 Wilson Drive
West Chester, PA 19380

>Does anyone have any idea how good the UNIX is???

It runs AMIX, a port of AT&T Unix System V, Release 3.1, and  provides the
AMIX proprietary Windowing Interface.

Price is *CONFIDENTIAL*. The original "technology announcement" of AMIX
posted a while back on Usenet and other nets (after the COMDEX show) included
the following disclaimer:

"PRELIMINARY INFORMATION -- SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE
      NOT PRESENTLY FOR SALE"

As far as I know, *ALL* THE ABOVE INFORMATION IS A MATTER OF PUBLIC RECORD.

-- Marco Papa 'Doc'
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
uucp:...!pollux!papa       BIX:papa       ARPAnet:pollux!papa@oberon.usc.edu
"There's Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Diga and Caligari!" -- Rick Unland
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
*************************************************************************
,SUP
>From: thad@cup.portal.com (Thad P Floryan)
Subject: Re: Supra Controllers and SCSI ID's

Re: Doug's questions about the Supra controller for the A1000 and SCSI IDs ...

Set the SCSI ID jumpers on the drive to something OTHER than 0.  Do NOT set
the ID to 7, because the Supra 4x4 for the A1000 has 7 as its ID.  The reason
to set the drive's ID to other-than-zero is to NOT usurp the first 6 or 7
cylinders for an autoboot partition.

Run the Supra Formatter (and you better be running at least version 5.1; 5.3
is preferable), specify the ID to which the drive has been set, and let it do
its thing.  Specify FORMAT but do NOT specify the MAP option, let the drive do
its own verification ... embedded SCSI drives are supposed to present a
perfect media to the host, and the surface checking performed by the drive's
built-in controller will do a far better job of checking and bad-block sparing
than the present host software.  This process will take about 20 minutes for
the 3280 (280MB) and about 30 minutes for the 3380 (380MB).

Reboot.

Re-run the Supra Formatter, respecify the ID to which the drive has been set,
and THIS time only do the partition info ... takes but 1 second or so.

Reboot, and assuming the SupraMount program is executed in the startup-sequence,
then the drive is automatically mounted and ready for use.

These procedures are for the Maxtor XT3280 or XT3380 drives, and work fine on
ALL my systems and the systems I've built and/or put together for others.

Thad Floryan [ thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ..!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad ]
*************************************************************************
,MIN
>From: ast@cs.vu.nl (Andy Tanenbaum)
Subject: Re: Minix for the Amiga ???

Two of my students did the port to the Amiga.  They seem to have done an
excellent job, and it is now being tested.  If and when there will be an
official release is another story.  Neither P-H nor Commodore is interested.
I am working on that one, however.

Andy Tanenbaum

>From: amiga@cs.vu.nl (Commodore Amiga)
Subject: AmigaMINIX, some answers

  Finally some answers about AmigaMINIX from the guys who ported it. We
hope that the following will clarify most of the darker areas around
AmigaMINIX.

  For those of you who don't know what AmigaMINIX is about: it's a UNIX
like operating system for you Amiga.  MINIX was originally written by
Andy Tanenbaum for the PC-family and later on ported to the Atari-ST by
Johan Stevenson and Jost Muller. Because the ST version is based on the
Motorola 68000 we decided to port this version to the Amiga.

  While porting MINIX to the Amiga we've tried to keep the main goal of
MINIX (education) in mind. This means we did not try to squeeze out every
bit of performance, especially not where this would harm the clarity of
the MINIX source code and/or structure. Another result of this goal is
that we decided not to use the usual Amiga disk format, but the PC (ST)
format instead. This way the AmigaMINIX and MINIX-ST file systems are 100%
compatible. Because MINIX doesn't use any dirty tricks, AmigaMINIX and
MINIX-ST binaries are also compatible; you can mount a MINIX-ST floppy on
AmigaMINIX and run all binaries. (Almost all, actually. Programs which do
use 'dirty tricks' as directly reading from /dev/ram to set the time-of-
day clock won't run properly of course!)

  Although we wanted to use the PC format for the AmigaMINIX floppies we
didn't want to fall asleep when loading mined for example. We tried to
optimize the floppy driver as much as we could be using a track cache for
each drive and only compute the CRCs (checksums) when necessary. (Computing
a CRC costs about 50 ms. This limits the transfer rate to 6.9 kb/sec. The
normal transfer rate under AmigaMINIX is 4 to 5 kb/sec) Since each track-
cache occupies about 14 kb of CHIPMEM, these buffers are dynamically
allocated for only those floppy drives that are actually connected.

  Apart from the PC format disks there's another remarkable 'thing' about
AmigaMINIX: it doesn't support hard disks. (sorry)  There are two main
reasons for this. In the first place there are several different hard
disks in use on Amiga's and we didn't want to write a driver for all of
them. Further, we didn't (and nobody in our neighborhood does) have a
hard disk to test our driver(s) on. If, however, hard disks are as common
in other places of the world as we're told, it shouldn't be long before
one of you will post a driver for your favorite hard disk.

  To sum up the most important specifications of AmigaMINIX:

  - AmigaMINIX boots from a normal AmigaDOS floppy (bootstrap) so
    it can easily steal (use) everything AmigaDOS knows about your
    Amiga. (Whether is's NTSC or PAL, how much memory do you have,
    what color the screen is, what keymap you use, etc.) After that
    it completely takes over your Amiga, and disables EXEC.

  - You can use ALL of the available RAM which is normally available
    under AmigaDOS, even if it's fragmented.

  - The floppy driver can read and write single and double sided 80-
    track floppies. (Also single sided for MINIX-ST compatibility.)
    Up to four drives can be connected.

  - The AmigaMINIX printer driver only supports the parallel (centro-
    nics) port.

  - The display driver use ANSI escape sequences and also provides
    limited access to the color registers.

  Some of you may wonder why we decided not to run AmigaMINIX under EXEC.
The main reason for this is that (at first) we thought that it wouldn't
run properly with the MINIX-ACK compiler. When we realized that this wasn't
such a big problem after all, the port was already half on its way. Another
reason is that we think that you should not run operating systems on top of
each other, if you want people to know what operating systems really is all
about. (Andy Tanenbaum once put it something like: "It's not writing a 15
page scheduler, but getting all the details right.")

  AmigaMINIX is currently being tested here on the VU and because we haven't
found a distributor yet and don't feel like posting 3 Mb (yet :-) it'll
probably be a while before you can use AmigaMINIX.

  -Steven Reiz & Raymond Michiels. (amiga@cs.vu.nl)
*************************************************************************
,010
>From: scott@ssgp32.UU.NET (Scott Evernden)
Subject: Re: Need information about 68010.

In article <1407@rivm05.UUCP>, ccemdd@rivm.UUCP (Marco Dedecker) writes:
> - Is swapping the chips all you need to do, or are there some other
>   ajustments you have to make ?

  Thats all you need to do.  I switched mine over 2 years ago
  with no ill effects.

> - Does all the software still work with the 68010 ?

  All current software (that I have anyways) works just fine. (The
  old pre-1.2 Calculator used to blow up on /0 errors).  Even A-Max
   works properly with the 68010 (w/ 128K ROMS of course).  There is
  a PD program called "decigel" available in various places which
  patches the trap vector for the 1 instruction which is incompatible.
  I can't remember the last time I used "decigel".

> - What are the advantages of the 68010 ?

  About 7% speed improvement as measured by Jez San's Amiga Speed
  Program (recently on BIX and elsewhere).  This number is about
  exactly what I have experienced up to now, and I think it agrees
  with Motorola's own figures.  I think the speedup is noticeable,
  but then I can also see infrared and hear to 25KHz ;-), so...

Should you replace your 68000 with a 68010?  Well, they don't cost $60
anymore (what like $12 or so??), so you can't really lose.  You can always
go back...

--
Scott Evernden            PRIME Computer Inc.
scott@ssgp32.Prime.COM    Commercial Systems Group
uunet!ssgp32!scott        Technology Drive
(508) 478-8600 x2984      Milford, MA 01757
*************************************************************************
,HAM
From: Tom Limoncelli 
Subject: What is HAM?

             What is HAM?  (A NON-technical description)

HAM (Hold And Modify) is a special graphics mode on the Amiga.  It
involves a special mode of the graphic chips that allow for all 4096
colors to be displayed at the same time; with some restrictions.

If you have Fish Disk #1, the program "colorful" will show what I
mean.  It displays all 4096 colors at the same time.

How is it done?  Each pixel on a normal screen has three components;
the red, the green and the blue (RGB).  These R-G-B values are
combined to make the color of that pixel.  In HAM, the first pixel on
each line can be any color.  Then, the next pixel is the same color as
the previous one, except the value of either R, G, or B has been
changed.  Only one component can change at any time from pixel to
pixel so you are restricted in displaying very different colors
directly next to each other.  There is facility for two adjacent
pixels to be exactly the same, i.e.  no change in either R, G, or B.

Using HAM many impressive graphic screens have been created.  Because
of its peculiar restrictions doing certain tasks are not well-suited
to HAM and HAM is usually used for non-moving graphics (though it's
good for ray-traced animation).  Digitized pictures look great in HAM.

Some programs store their graphics internally as 24-bit graphics (more
colors that the Amiga can display) for use with high-end graphics
equipment but permit the user to preview their graphics in HAM mode.
This is a real boon for high-end users because it enables them to
"estimate" results on their Amiga before they send them off to very
expensive printing services, etc.

HAM isn't perfect but it has its uses.  Users should be careful about
selecting when and when not to use it.
*************************************************************************
,EXE
From: Tom Limoncelli 
Subject: EXECUTE: No K Directive

A common question that comes up is "I just wrote a script and when I
EXECUTE it I get an error like 'EXECUTE: No K Directive.  What am I
doing wrong?"

Try making the first two lines ".bra {" and ".ket }".  This tells
EXECUTE how to interpret {'s and }'s.  A plain Amiga EXECUTE script
can do a heck of a lot more than most people know about.

This is documented in the AmigaDOS manual from Bantam which is still
the only C-A book that gives the CLI complete coverage.  I hope that
after 1.4 comes out we'll find much better documentation.
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,AT
From: higgin@cbmvax.UUCP (Paul Higginbottom)
Subject: Re: Questions on AT Bridgeboard

In article <30153@lll-winken.LLNL.GOV> frerking@grapenuts.llnl.gov (Chris Frerking) writes:
$I have recently had the misfortune of being told that I need to have a PC
$compatable computer. I currently own an A2500, and would like information
$on the AT Bridgeboard (I need a 286 or 386 machine). Specifically:
$
$1. Would it be cheaper to just buy an inexpensive AT clone? (I would
$prefer the Bridgeboard, as I haven't lots of desk space... but if the price
$difference were too great, I could find some space.)

It's tough to find an AT clone for less than the price of our Bridgeboard.
You MIGHT be able to, but generally the cheap clones are the large footprint
models (read `huge').

$2. Does the AT Bridgeboard cause any problems on the A2500? Is there certain
$software that won't run/hardware that won't work if the Bridgeboard is
$installed?

I have an A2500 with AT Bridgeboard installed here, and they work fine.  I
believe you cannot have more than 6Mb of Amiga RAM with the Bridgeboard
installed, which isn't a problem for most people.

$3. How AT compatable is the Bridgeboard? (I am new to PC compatables,
$and have been told that this is a question which needs to be asked) (can it
$run xenix? minix? microport unix? OS/2?)

The A2286 is an entire PC AT on a card, including processor, math coprocessor
socket, BIOS, video RAM, 1Mb system RAM, and of course, PC slots in the Amiga.
So in a word - it's very compatible.  The potential incompatibilities, which
relate to an interrrupt and a couple of memory locations that are used for
communication between AmigaDOS and MS-DOS are documented, and prevent (for
example) you having more than 1 serial card installed, and a parallel card
becomes LPT3: (I think), but I would think that with the mode command you
could make it act like an LPT1:.  I don't believe Commodore has tested OS/2
or XENIX at this time.  I see no reason why they shouldn't work, although
they may not if they want to share Amiga peripherals.

$4. Does the Bridgeboard provide any graphics capability - if so, what sort?
$CGA compatable? EGA compatable?

The Bridgeboard has RAM enough for MDA and CGA displays, which the Amiga
interprets and displays in a window or on a separate screen.  The emulation
is very good, but...

$- If not, can a CGA/EGA/VGA card be plugged into the PC slots, and run
$off of a separate monitor? What about using the same monitor?

...if you want other modes or a real MDA or CGA display, you can, yes, plug
in a video card and use that.  It may require a second monitor though.

$5. Does the Bridgeboard have its own memory, or does it use the Amiga's memory?

Yes, 1Mb, and no, although you could use Amiga's RAM disk as a DOS device.

$can it be expanded? Is extra memory added accessable to the amiga?

Yes, and no.

$6. Can the Bridgeboard use the Amiga harddrive?

Yes.  It can even boot of it.

$Can the Amiga access PC harddrives plugged into the PC slots?

Yes, you can create an Amiga partition on a PC hard drive.

In addition you can move files back and forth using supplied utilities.

$What about access to the Amiga's 3.5" drives?

Only as virtual drives, not transparently.

$Does the Bridgeboard come with a 5.25" disk drive?

Yes, high density with AT version, and low density with XT version.

$...can it be mounted externally

You might have to extend your power cable, but it's possible, yes.
Plus, you might want to get a case of some sort for the drive.

$7. Does the Bridgeboard provide its own serial/parallel ports, or does it share
$them with the Amiga?

No built in ports, but the Amiga's parallel port can be loaned to the
Bridgeboard.

$If it shares them, how compatable are they?

This is implemented at the BIOS level, so anything that goes through that
should work.  That is, software that tries to bang on hardware directly won't
work, which is why we don't allow sharing of the serial port, because no-one
goes through the BIOS to use it.

$Can I plug any piece of PC hardware into them without fear of harming the
$equipment?

Normal precautions apply.  If you want the real mccoy, just get a
multi-function card - they're cheap.

        Paul.
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>From: higgin@cbmvax.UUCP (Paul Higginbottom)
Subject: Re: Problems with BridgeBoard, Bad Virtual Dirs

In article <626@uranus.UUCP> esker@abaa.UUCP (Lawrence Esker) writes:
$...having persistent problems with data integrity on 'JLink' virtual
$drives in the IBM side of the bridgeboard. Does
$anyone share this problem.  Can anyone help?

Yes.  The JLINK software creates a virtual drive file that must grow
if new data added requires it (i.e., there's no more room with the file
at its current size).  When this occurs, the JANUS software has to open
the virtual drive file and append the new data.  THE FILE ONLY GETS CLOSED
IF YOU DO AN UNLINK!!!  The problem may therefore not exhibit itself if
new data was added but the virtual drive file didn't have to grow (there
was still room left in it due to your deleting some other stuff perhaps).

One fix: add tons of dummy stuff to the virtual drive, then delete it all
then unlink it.  From that point forth the virtual drive should not be
required to grow since it's already huge.

Another fix: using the new JANUS 2.0 software, you can create a [bootable]
DOS drive space on the Amiga hard drive that looks like, smells like [etc.]
a real PC hard drive as far as MS-DOS is concerned.  You even specify
cylinders, heads, etc. for the new MakeAB command that creates the space.
This solution does not require the first fix.

$... Why is a virtual drive on
$the ibm a single Amiga file.  A significant reliability issue IMHO.  A
$single problem can destroy a whole (ibm) disk and DiskDoctor can't help.

The manual recommends that you have a separate partition for the PC
data, to prevent accidental removal of the file, etc.  However, most people
have no problem with just allowing it to coexist with other stuff.

$Is there a way to force PCdisk to complete pending writes once the ibm has
$crashed, before rebooting it and remounting the virtual drives?  Maybe
$executing PCdisk a second time?

No - I recommend you use the new software.

$Other Possible Bugs:
$The command AREAD does not seem to transfer data between an Amiga file and a
$virtual drive.

Problems with AREAD/AWRITE have been fixed for the new 2.0 software (they
were re-written).

        I hope this helps,
        Paul.
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