Welcome to the
____
/ ___) *StarShip* 5-MINUTE Weekend Newscast
/ (_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ ___)
/ (__ very weekend the *StarShip* on GEnie presents a new 5-MINUTE Weekend
(_____) Newscast in Communications Room 10 in the Real-Time Conference Area.
Featuring late-breaking stories from the Amiga community, these dynamic,
scrolling newscasts cycle every 5 minutes, so you can stop by between 6PM and
3AM Eastern time on Friday, or 3PM and 3AM Eastern time on Saturday or Sunday
and learn everything that happened during the preceding week. Industry news,
product announcements, upgrades, rumors, special *StarShip* activities, trade
show reports, GEnie usage tips, humor, recommended files to download...
... the works -- and it ONLY takes 5 minutes!
Each 5-MINUTE Weekend Newscast is available on *StarShip* Menu #10 during the
following week. Periodically, newscasts are combined and made available for
downloading from the *StarShip* Library.
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|| As long as individual stories are kept intact and credit |
|| is given, this material may be reproduced in ALL or PART |
|| on a privately owned BBS or in a user group newsletter. |
|| See wording for proper credit at the end of this Newscast. |
\\____________________________________________________________/
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Thanks to Denny Atkin, Editor,
COMPUTE's Amiga Resource,
for his generous input.
DateLine: April 9, 1993
This 5-MINUTE Newscast presents the following stories:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Migraph ColorBurst Color Hand Scanner
2. ToasterFX Framestore Operators for GVP's ImageFX Software
3. Soft-Logik's PageStream V3.0 Features
5. RSCARDS Club Spring/Summer Sale
6. Children's Television Workshop Inks Deal with Electronic Arts
7. R.A.W. Entertainment Goes Direct!
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
1st of 8 Stories
Migraph ColorBurst Color Hand Scanner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Worth its weight in gold and 262,143 other colors!
_
/ \ Federal Way, WA -- March 1993
/ - \
/ ___ \
(_/ \_)t last, a color hand scanner for Amiga Systems that's fast and
accurate and affordable. With the Migraph ColorBurst(tm) you can now produce
crisp, clear, vivid color images for all your video and multimedia projects,
on-screen presentations, and desktop publications. And have a lot of fun doing
it.
Speedy scanning. Great detail.
The ColorBurst's large scanning window -- more than fourinches wide -- provides
fast, single-pass scanning. Six scannng resolutions from 50 to 400 dots per
inch (dpi) let you scan images at the resolution best suited to your chosen
output device.
And five scanning modes give you the flexibility to work with color, grayscale
and black-&-white images, all with one scanner.
So you can produce exactly the image you need for the output option of your
choice: on-screen display, laser and Linotronic printouts, or slides.
Non-nonsense software.
The Migraph ColorBurst comes with easy-to-use imaging software for accurate,
efficient scanning. It picks up 262,144 brilliant colors in a single pass (or
4,096 colors if you're working on a lower-memory system).
The same software lets you quickly and easily save your image in a variety of
standard file formats, ready for direct export to video, graphics, and desktop
publishing applications.
So you can export images for use with the Toaster, for enhancement in a program
like Deluxe Paint, or for printing in publishing programs like PageStream and
Professional Page.
______________________________________________________________________
/ \
| Migraph ColorBurst: A Scanning Mode for Every Need |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Super Color Color Gray-scale Monochrome |
| |
| Output options 262,144 4,096 64 levels Black and |
| colors colors of grey White |
| |
| Bits per pixel 18-bit 12-bit 6-bit 1-bit |
| |
| Resolution settings 50, 100, 50, 100, 100, 200 100, 200, |
| (dpi) 150, 200 150, 200 300, 400 300, 400 |
\______________________________________________________________________/
A Three-in-One Scanning Solution
Versatility is the ColorBurst's specialty. If the image you're after is smaller
than a full page -- whether it's a photo, ilustration, drawing, or cartoon (or
business card, postcard, Christmas card, or photo identity card) -- you can
scan it with the Migraph ColorBurst.
It's a color scanner when you need eye-catching color graphics. A grayscale
scanner when you need full-size, true-64-level grayscale images for
hassle-free, high-resolution printouts. And it's a monochrome scanner when you
need crisp, clear scans of line art or text for OCR processing.
With the Migraph ColorBurst, capturing high-resolution color (and grayscale and
monochrome) images has never been easier. Or more fun.
Features
Speed: Fast, single-pass scanning
Size: Half-page scanning window - 4.13 inches wide
Adjustable Resolution: Six settings from 50 to 400 dpi
Five Scanning Modes: Super color, color, grayscale, dithered halftone
(color), and line art (monochrome)
Sensitive Color Scanning: Scan and save 262,144 vibrant colors (or 4,096
colors on low-memory systems)
Grayscale Scanning: True 64-level grayscale scans at 40 dpi
Monochrome Scanning: Scan line art for graphics projects or text for OCR
processing
Scan-and-Save Utility: Quick, accurate scanning and easy saving for direct
export
Versatile File Formats: Save scans in a variety of standard file formats
Compact Design: Comes comlete with parallel interface and cable for easy
installation
System Requirements: For Amiga systems (except the 1000 model) with 2MB of
memory. Note that 4MB of memory and a hard disk are recommended.
For more information about the Migraph ColorBurst scanner, contact Migraph,
Inc., 32700 Pacific Highway South, #14, Federal Way, WA 98003, telephone
206/838-4677 or toll free 800/223-3729 (10 to 4 Pacific time).
[*StarShip* News Note: Migraph has released an upgrade to their Scanner
Touch-Up Software (V3.1). Registered owners should contact the company.]
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
2nd of 8 Stories
ToasterFX Framestore Operators for GVP's ImageFX Software
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ToasterFX for your Video Toaster
______
(__ __) Austin, TX -- March, 1993
/ /
/ /
(_/ he ToasterFX framestore load, saver and render modules, and GVP's ImageFX
software are a complete paint and image processing package for NewTek's Video
Toaster.
Replacing ToasterPaint, GVP's ImageFX offers complete 24 bit painting tools
with an 8 bit alpha channel, airbrush tools, color balancing, composition
controls, special effects filters (oil paint, ripple, disperse, distort...),
morphing and more.
The ToasterFX LOAD module allows DIRECT loading of framestore files into
ImageFX as 24 bit images. View the ENTIRE image on screen while painting, or
choose any zoom level for detail work.
The ToasterFX SAVE module saves any image loader or created in ImageFX directly
to NewTek's framestore format.
Convert Video Toaster framestores DIRECTLY to and from Amiga IFF24, JPEG,
Targa, TIFF, GIF, Alias formats and more.
The RENDER module can directly display to the Video Toaster's framebuffers
without leaving the ImageFX interface. (choose between DV1 or DV2).
ToasterFX competely integrates the operation of ImageFX with the Video Toaster,
allowing direct access from the Toaster's switcher screen.
ToasterFX also includes stand-alone utilities for:
o Converting Framestores to IFF24 images
o Converting IFF24 images to Framestores
o Displaying any Amiga screen directly to a Toaster framebuffer
ToasterFX requires GVP's ImageFX for painting and image processing functions.
Painting and image processing can be acomplished on any Amiga computer.
NewTek's Video Toaster is required only for direct displaying of framestores to
the Toaster's framebuffers.
ToasterFX is available at your Video Toaster and Amiga Dealer, or directly
from: Byrd's Eye Software, 9001 Northgate Blvd, #135, Austin, TX 78758 (512)
835-4811.
Video Toaster and ToasterPaint are registered trademarks of NewTek, Inc.,
ImageFX is a trademark of Great Valley Products, Inc.
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
3rd of 8 Stories
Soft-Logik's PageStream V3.0 Features
_ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ ) World of Commodore Show -- April 2, 1993
/ /
/ (_
(____)ast week, the *StarShip* 5-MINUTE News ran Soft-Logik's announcement
about PageStream V3.0 which was released at the World of Commodore Show in New
York City. Due to space considerations, we saved this impressive Features List
for this week. According to several journalists who attended the show and saw a
functional demonstration, this upcoming version of PageStream V3.0 promises to
be the most powerful and full-featured, easiest to use desktop pulbishing
software ever developed.
Interface
Maximum number of open documents unlimited
Max number of document views unlimited
Reveal/Hide document views Yes
Moveable document view windows Yes
Save program defaults Yes
Load program defaults Yes
Pasteboard/bleed area Yes
User-specified pasteboard dimensions Yes
Toolbox (move and change orientation) Yes
Edit Toolbox Yes
Number of operation/selection panels 6
Measurement system options 11
Set ruler zero point and offset Yes
User-specified view magnification Yes
Number of view magnifications 13
View magnification zoom Yes
Show/Hide invisible characters Yes
Undo levels unlimited
Online context sensitive help Yes
Document Construction
Number of pre-defined page sizes 9
Maximum page size (in inches) 2330"x2330"
Different page sizes in a document Yes
Change page size at any time Yes
Maximum document size (in pages) unlimited
Single and double sided documents Yes
Page spreads Yes
Maximum number of master pages unlimited
Hide master page objects Yes
Visual page arrangement Yes
Divide documents into sections Yes
Divide sections into chapters Yes
Automatic page numbering Yes
Link and unlink columns Yes
Word Processing
Cut, copy and paste text Yes
standard keyboard shortcuts Yes
Multiple Style sheets for text formatting Yes
Load and save style sheets Yes
Find and replace text and text attributes Yes
Find and replace style sheets Yes
Spelling checker Yes
Import/Export formats 7/7
auto conversion of quotes,
commas and dashes Yes
Maximum number of tabs unlimited
number of alignment options 4
place numerically or manually Yes
right indent tab Yes
User-definable tab leaders Yes
List all articles used in a document Yes
Typography
Number of outline font systems 3
Font sizes 1 to 50,000
increments 0.01 points
horizontally scale text Yes
Align text vertically Yes
Indents and outdents Yes
Auto/Manual hyphenation Yes
hyphenation controls Yes
Auto/Manual kerning Yes
edit kerning pairs Yes
Auto/Manual tracking Yes
Absolute and relative leading
(line spacing) Yes
increments 0.01 points
Frameless text Yes
Convert shapes to text columns Yes
Apply color and fill styles to text Yes
Automatic drop caps Yes
Automatic bulleted paragraphs Yes
Graphics
Import Bitmapped Pictures Yes
number of formats 6
set line frequency, angle and pattern Yes
contrast and posting control Yes
bitmap fencing for text runaround Yes
display bitmaps in color Yes
externally linked bitmaps Yes
Import Structured Drawings Yes
number of formats 5
dissolve drawings into paths and shapes Yes
Import Encapsulated PostScript
Illustrations Yes
number of formats which can be
interpreted 2
show bitmapped headers (TIFF and PICT) Yes
Save/Export/Print pages as EPS files Yes
List all imported graphics in a document Yes
Color
Number of color modes 5
24 bit color support Yes
Create process and spot colors Yes
Shade increments 0.01%
Automatic and user-definable trapping Yes
specifications (choke, spread,
knockout, overprint) Yes
specify trapping values for each
process plate Yes
Specify angles, frequencies for
individual spot colors Yes
Drawing and Object Editing Features
Drawing tools (shape and path) Yes
Select multiple objects Yes
add/remove from selection Yes
select behind Yes
Bring/Send to Front, Back, Forward,
Backward Yes
Cut, copy and paste objects between
documents Yes
Move and nudge objects Yes
Step and repeat duplication Yes
Rotate and skew objects Yes
rotation increments 0.001 deg
Group/Ungroup objects Yes
Lock/Unlock objects Yes
Distribute objects Yes
Apply color and line/fill styles to
objects Yes
Bitmap fills Yes
Gradient fills Yes
Object fills Yes
Text runaround objects Yes
Extend objects across page spreads Yes
Page Layout
Margin and column guides Yes
Object guides Yes
snap-to-guides, snap-to distance Yes
Grid Yes
snap-to-grid Yes
Printing
Current page, page range,
even/odd, printer spreads Yes
Print CMYK and mechanical separations Yes
Plate control Yes
Tiling, thumbnails, crop and registration Yes
Print to disk, to IFF ILBM picture Yes
Custom PostScript, HP and Epson drivers Yes
Interface
Open program architecture
(for adding extensions) Yes
Text (article) editor Yes
Picture (bitmap) editor Yes
HotLinks compatible Yes
ARexx compatible Yes
ARexx record Yes
AGA compatible Yes
Workbench 2.x/3.0 compliant Yes
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
5th of 8 Stories
Announcing...
______ RSCARDS Club Spring/Summer Sale
(__ __) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ /
/ /
(_/hat's right, SALE! For the next five months (April through August),
membership fees for the RSCARDS Club will be SLASHED an amazing 60%!
As before, membership in the RSCARDS Club entitles you to play all
six RSCARDS Multiplayer Games (Blackjack, Backgammon, Checkers,
Poker, Reversi, and Chess) at HALF of the normal connect rates.
But, for the next FIVE months, we're hacking that monthly membership
fee for the Club down to only $12! ($16/month in Canada). That means
that a player who plays as little as FOUR HOURS A MONTH in RSCARDS
can now save money every single month, simply by joining the Club!
For complete rates, rules & info, type "M875;5" from any menu prompt
To join the RSCARDS Club and start your savings today, type "M875;6"
(Note to existing Club members: your current Club membership will be
billed at the Sale price for the duration of the sale - you do not
need to quit & rejoin, or take any other action to get the savings.)
RSCARDS is a point and click interface to some of the most classic and fun
games of all time. Use the Amiga interface in File #18115 in the *StarShip*
Library to face down other opponents from all over the country in this GEnie
multiplayer game. The first Monday of each month is our special *StarShip*
Poker night.
And now do it for lots less than you could before!
-*-
*StarShip* NEWS *Flash*
6th of 8 Stories
Children's Television Workshop Inks Deal with Electronic Arts
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Electronic Arts to publish multi-platform
____ interactive media featuring Sesame Street characters
/ ___)
/ (_ San Mateo, CA -- April 1, 1993
/ ___)
/ (_
(____)lectronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS) and Children's Television Workshop, renowned
leaders in their respective industries, today announced a long-term exclusive
agreement to produce interactive media on a number of platforms including
computers, video game machines, CD-ROM and the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer(tm).
Under the agreement with CTW, Electronic Arts' new EA*KIDS(tm) division will
publish interactive media products for children featuring the Sesame Street(R)
characters.
"This is a powerful partnership," said Stewart Bonn, senior vice president of
the CD Group at Electronic Arts. "CTW practically invented the idea of
educating children through entertainment -- Sesame Street is the classic
example everyone would like to emulate," Bonn added.
"Electronic Arts has a successful track record in taking the 'high road' in
technology and is clearly a market leader for innovative media," said Rob
Madell, vice president for Interactive Technologies at CTW. "EA*KIDS shares
CTW's vision of creating interactive learning experiences for children all over
the world," added Madell.
"Electronic Arts and CTW have 35 years combined experience in producing media
and understanding kids," said Madell.
"CTW and Electronic Arts share a similar philosophy -- kids learn when they're
engaged, and engagement stems from open-ended discovery and creative
explorations. All of the products in this new Seasame Street line will reflect
this philosophy," added Bonn.
EA*KIDS is a division of Electronic Arts charged with creating enriching
software for kids ages 3 to 14 that captures the magic of childhood. Electronic
Arts has been a worldwide leader in developing and distributing entertainment
software for video game systems and computers for the past 10 years.
Children's Television Workshop was founded in 1968 to explore the use of
television to educate children. CTW has been producing entertaining,
educational software for the past 10 years. Today, CTW's mission extends over
television, print, outreach and software, and reaches children in over 80
countries. CTW is a not-for-profit organization with 501(c)3 tax exempt status.
-*-
*StarShip* Amiga *Flash*
7th of 8 Stories
___ ___ R.A.W. Entertainment Goes Direct!
(_ )( _) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
/ /_/ / Houston, TX -- March 26, 1993
/ __ /
_/ / / /
(___)(__)aving spent two years listening to thousands of customers asking, "Why
can't I find RAW titles?" RAW Entertainment are going direct. They are lowering
their current $59.95 title SPOILS OF WAR to $34.95. All current $49.95 titles
will be lowered to $29.95. The ACTION STATIONS! SCENARIO/ UTILITY DISK will be
lowered from $21.95 to $14.95. Both SPOILS OF WAR (PC and Amiga) and FIRETEAM
2200 (PC only) will continue to be shipped with free add-on disks.
RAW Entertainment, Inc., are in negotiation with other publishers, worldwide,
who may also join in on this new concept.
Products will only be available directly from RAW, credit card orders will be
accepted for the first time on their new 800 order-line: 1-800-323-7878.
RAW Entertainment will be the only publisher to stand by their titles by
offering a 30 day refund policy, which will include refunding their shipping &
handling charges! Given the quality of their current product range, they do not
worry greatly about massive returns!
RAW Entertainment believes their titles were good value for money before these
price reductions, but have lowered their prices in order to pass on their cost
savings to the customer, given these recessionary times (plus energy taxes, sin
taxes, increased corporation and income taxes!).
RAW Entertainment will now stand or fall on the quality of their products and
their customer service, both before and after the sale, rather than continuing
to wait for the retail/mail order sectors to provide the level of service RAW
Entertainment would like to.
It is believed that RAW Entertainment, Inc., are the only software house to
have STARTED by looking for retail distribution and ENDED UP going direct. Most
publishers seem to have operated the other way around. No one can say RAW
Entertainment are conventional! WATCH THIS SPACE..!
RAW "DIRECT" will go "LIVE" on May 1st 1993 with advertising commencing in
May/June. For more information contact R.A.W. Entertainmnet, Inc., 957 NASA
Road One, Suite 146, Houston, TX 77058-3098, telephone 713/386-2386.
Over a GIGABYTE of Amiga files in our Library!
Catch your limit of Fred FISH Disks from the *StarFish* Library.
If you are after a SINGLE PROGRAM on a Fish Disk, SEARCH for it
before downloading the disk. Most are available separately!
_______________________________________________________________
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