@database CD남VIEW.guide @$ver CD남View1.03 @node main "CD남VIEW, Vol. 1, No. 3 - May 1, 1994" C D 3 2 V I E W ---------------------------- The MONTHLY information source for the Amiga CD남 ---------------------------- Vol. 1, Issue 3 - May 1, 1994 Table of Contents: @{" The Front Page "link front} @{" New CD남 Reviews "link reviews} @{" Amiga News/Stuff "link anews} @{" The Back Page "link back} ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This issue: Commodore: Out of business! Commodore Stockholder Movement Speaks! Insight: Technology, Summer Olympix, Chaos Engine, Frontier: Elite II, Dangerous Streets and Brutal Football reviewed! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CD남View (c) 1994 Sean Caszatt All Rights Reserved Although freely distributable, no part of this electronic publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the copyright holder. @ENDNODE @NODE FRONT "Welcome!" The Front Page @{" Editorial Column " link edit} - What a month! @{" The Serial Port " link mail} - Mail from the Readers! @{" The Bulletin Board " link corr} - Corrections/Comments @{" How to Reach Us " link addr} - How to contact CD남View @ENDNODE @NODE edit "Editorial Page" Wow! What a month April was! First, Commodore started the month off with a whimper and then followed with silence. No one knows what's going on, until the last day of the month, when they announce that they're going out of business. Details are sketchy as I write this, but a full report is in the news section. I had to sell my Amiga 4000/030. Yuck! I hated doing it, but I had to. (School tuition) Packing my machine up was one of the hardest things I've had to do. I was proud of it for six months, but I guess all good things must end. As a result, I'm having a hard time getting good quality screen shots for the magazine. The Microcosm screenshots we ran last issue were captured on a Video Toaster and then JPEG'd (By someone else, not me.) I then converted them to GIF files and loaded them as brushes into Personal Paint. Without an AGA machine, I can't make good 256 color pics. I'll see what I can come up with for the next issue. This month's pic, a shot of the Insight: Technology package, was done on a Migraph MS-1200 flatbed scanner. If you take a look in the Serial Port this month, you'll see a letter I received over the Internet about the magazine being too small and too infrequent (only monthly). Well, I tried to increase the number of reviews in this issue. There's no way I can go to a biweekly magazine, due to lack of actual material (CD남 games don't get released THAT often) and the fact that I just do not have the time. Remember, you can contribute reviews if you've got them! Help me out! Also, starting with this issue, I'm no longer including the Amiga Viewtek program to view the pictures. You should already have it from the first two issues. (If not, you can call my BBS and download the program or the first two issues of CD남View!) Make sure the program is either in the directory you put this magazine or in your command path. If not, it's no big deal, you just won't be able to view the pictures from inside the newsletter. If you have a GIF viewer of any kind, you can still view the pictures manually. (If you don't have an Amiga, don't worry, this doesn't apply to you. Non-Amiga owners HAVE to view the GIFs manually.) I apologize for this issue being a little late. Due to the scheduled conference on Compuserve concerning the Commodore Stockholders Movement, I decided to delay the release of the magazine until after the conference so as to be able to report what's going on and what happened. Sean Caszatt, editor & founder of CD남View Click here for @{"electronic addresses." link ADDR} @ENDNODE @NODE MAIL "The Serial Port - Mail from our readers!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: SIMON SIMPLETON Dear folks at CD32View, I recently downloaded issue 2 of your magazine and was quite impressed by it! Good job! I only have two regrets: 1> Another month is too long to wait! (I already downloaded and read last month's...) 2> One picture isn't enough! I am very impressed with the philosophy of your magazine (no bickering about which system's better; focus on software). So here are my minor requests: 1> More pictures? one just isn't enough. It would be nice to see a picture for every game reviewed. True, this would increase file size dramatically, but I don't mind longer downloads if it's worth it. I was especially disappointed that Labyrinth of Time didn't have an accompanying screenshot. 2> More on downward/upward compatibilty. I'd very much like a CD32, but I'm not sure if my old CDTV CD's will run on it. Also, I think every CD32 game reviewed should have a note as to whether the game will run on a CDTV or A570. 3> Distribute CD32View so that it opens in its own directory; i.e., it doesn't clutter the directory it's dearchived into. Thanks, and I look forward to more of your magazine! -John E> Perry, /// jep@nauvax.ucc.nau.edu [ CD남View Replies: Thanks for the comments, John. I'd love to increase the frequency of the magazine, but right now there's no way to do that with the time I have available. As for the pictures, I hope to have more pictures in the next issue. (See the editorial column for the reasons.) As for the CDTV issue, I have tried to provide that information. See the column in this issue. I'd love to have CD남View open in it's own directory but, remember, this isn't a magazine for the Amiga only. I try to accomodate any other platform by also including the ASCII version of the magazine. Not being familiar with any other platforms other than the IBM and Amiga, I'm not sure how, say, a Mac would react to that. It's not too hard to use a directory utility or the Amiga's CLI to create a directory before dearchiving the magazine, is it? ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ @ENDNODE @NODE ADDR "How to Contact CD남View" CD남VIEW can be contacted via the following means: FIDONet Netmail: 1:2601/512 (Sean Caszatt) BBS Number: (412) 962-1590 Internet: Sean.Caszatt@f512.n2601.z1.fidonet.org 72143.521@compuserve.com CASZATT@DELPHI.COM (preferred address) Compuserve: 72143,521 Or good old Snail Mail: 2978 Ford Avenue Sharpsville, PA 16150 @ENDNODE @NODE CORR "The Bulletin Board" The Bulletin Board ------------------ @{" Thank You! " link thanks} - Our way of saying thanks! @{" Whoops!!! " link errors} - The board of corrections. @{" Credits " link credits} - Informational stuff @ENDNODE @NODE THANKS "Thanks and Kudos!" This month, I'd like to thank Lars Bjarby for our new Amiga workbench icon. Thanks, Lars! @ENDNODE @NODE ERRORS "Whoops! We goofed." MPEG Report Delayed Yet Again ----------------------------- Commodore's MPEG module hasn't been seen for over two months now. We should have reviewed it when we had the chance in February. We will make sure it gets reviewed as soon as we get our hands on one. We also had to delay our reviews of DEFENDER OF THE CROWN II and the GROLIER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA due to lack of product availability. Now that Commodore's gone though, it doesn't look like the chances are good that we'll see any of these anytime soon. @ENDNODE @NODE CREDITS "CD남View Credits" This newsletter is created on Amiga computers. It is worked on in various stages using an Amiga 2500 or an Amiga 3000T. It all depends on where I am sitting at the time I'm typing...and I'm always carrying a disk in my jacket with the most current version. Software used: MEmacs, the editor supplied with every Amiga. It's SIMPLY the best. I've tried others, but only MEmacs works for me. Hey, at least I don't use ED! Guide2Doc, by Bernd Koesling, is used to produce the ASCII/ANSI version of the newsletter. Thanks Koessi! BadLinks, by Roger Nedel, is used to test the links in the Amigaguide version of the newsletter. Thanks, Roger! @ENDNODE @NODE REVIEWS "CD남 REVIEWS" CD남 REVIEWS @{" The Chaos Engine " link GAME1} - Sega's Game of the Year! @{" Summer Olympix " link GAME2} - Sports of sorts. @{" Insight: Technology " link GAME3} - Educational title! Kinda. @{" Frontier: Elite II " link GAME4} - Dave Braben strikes again. @{" Dangerous Streets " link GAME5} - Award winning beat-em up! @{" Brutal Football " link GAME6} - Rip off some heads! @{" Previously Reviewed... " link PREV} - Previous Reviews @{" Rating Explanation " link RATINGS} - How we rate the games. @ENDNODE @NODE GAME1 "The Chaos Engine Review" Ahhh! A game that can take on the big guys: Sega and Nintendo. Sega and SNES owners can already play this game under the name SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE. It was even picked by Sega as their third-party game of the year for the Genesis machine. This is a shoot-'em-up, plain and simple. It's a great one too, with tons of power-ups, hidden levels and lots of enemies to blast. The game revolves around the idea of a machine called The Chaos Engine that has unleashed a "cloud of Chaos" upon the world. Animals and men have been mutated into horrible beasts as a result. Six soldiers of fortune (Thug, Mercenary, Preacher, Gentleman, Navvie and Brigand) are called in to disable the Chaos Engine and make things as they once were. The player (or players, as this can be played by two at one time) picks the soldier of fortune to control. Each has his own special weapons and abilities. Basically, the object is to blast through each of the 16 levels collecting power-ups and activating nodes which allow passage to the next level. The game is pretty much a straight port of the Amiga AGA version, but in this case that's not too much of a liability. The original was good and this is a console type game. The graphics, while sparse, are quite effective. Anything else really would have been overkill. This is a great game to sit down and just blast away with. The manual has the following line: "Sure, I'd waste anything I saw and I wouldn't think twice about it either." How appropriate! @{"Ratings:" link RATINGS} Graphics: 80% Manufacturer: Sound: 95% Renegade Gameplay: 95% C1 Metropolitan Wharf Control: 90% Wapping Wall, London, England E1 9SS OVERALL RATING: 90% PICK HIT! Video Mode: NTSC @ENDNODE @NODE GAME2 "Summer Olympix Review" Billed as a humorous sports simulation, SUMMER OLYMPIX allows gamers to compete in eight events: Boxing, Long Jump, Swimming, Javelin, Kayaking, Skeet Shooting, Archery, and the 100 Meter Sprint. Each player (up to four can play) begins the game by entering their name and picking a country to represent. The events can be played in a constant order (the same every game) or can be shuffled so as to keep the players on their toes. The archery event is one of the best parts of the game. The player must press the red button on the CD남's controller to stop the archer's arm when the bow is drawn to the desired power setting. The shot must then be aimed to compensate for wind direction. By "one of the best parts," I'm saying it's one of the events that's actually fun to play. Some are not. One of those is the swimming event. The 200 meter dash requires the player to tap the top left and right buttons as fast as possible while trying to keep the onscreen swimmer oxygenated by pressing the red button when required. Sound confusing? It's not that hard to do, it's just very hard to do it well enough to qualify. The game has very high difficulty levels and no way to set them lower for new players to get the hang of each event. The javelin event is another that requires the tapping of the top left and right buttons. While doing that, you must also hold the red button until the onscreen graph shows the desired angle of your throw. Releasing the button is supposed to make you throw the javelin. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't. It's actually possible to qualify in this event, just not consistently. The long jump is quite similar to the javelin event. This time you pick the angle of your jump. It's even less consistent and much more frustrating. The kayaking event requires you to manuever your kayak through 10 marker buoys while trying to beat the clock. You view this from an overhead perspective. There's not a whole lot to do in this event except to steer the kayak in the right direction. Pressing up on the directional pad makes you speed up, pressing down makes you go slower. This one takes some practice and isn't aggrivating. The 100 meter sprint is another left/right button smacking contest. Just hit the buttons as fast as possible and you've got the hang of it. It's possible to qualify at this event too. Boxing is the absolute worst event in the whole bunch. The instructions tell you to watch for your opponent's reach or your chances of victory could be slim. This, roughly translated, means the computer can beat the hell out of you, but you can't hit him. You'll get knocked out in less than thirty seconds. Skeet shooting is the second most frustrating event. The clay targets fly toward the horizon while the player must aim the cursor to blast them. Since only one shot is allocated for each target and the control is hampered by really shoddy programming, this event is likely to be hazardous to any gamers with high blood pressure. If some effort had been put into this game, it could have been a lot of fun. Some of the best times I ever had while playing videogames was playing the Epyx SUMMER GAMES series on the old Commodore 64. This game has some (but not much) of the chemistry from that series of games. The archery event is a joy to play. It's fun and funny. (Miss the target once, if you get a chance to play it.) Unfortunately, much of the game is too hard to control. That's partly the fault of bad programming and partly because of the CD남's controller not being built to be held in a position to be slammed on. An example of the bad programming is the slowdown that occurs when a second clay target appears during the skeet shooting. It's only one additional object on the screen! It can't possibly slow the cursor movement down like that for any other reason but poor programming. Also, at several times during different events, the screen would slowly start to break up. It never caused the game to fail, but it was annoying and shouldn't happen in the first place. SUMMER OLYMPIX is a game that had the potential to be a great game, but fell on it's face. @{"Ratings:" link RATINGS} Graphics: 70% Manufacturer: Sound: 70% Flair Software Gameplay: 45% Meadowfield House Control: 30% Ponteland, Newcastle, England NE20 95D OVERALL RATING: 54% Video Mode: NTSC @ENDNODE @NODE GAME3 "Insight: Technology Review" Ever wondered how it is that an aqualung allows scuba-divers to breathe underwater? Ever wondered how a modem works? Well, if so, this title may be just the right thing for you to pick up for your CD남. INSIGHT: TECHNOLOGY shows how things work by using diagrams, animations, full-motion video clips and sound. This is one of the first multimedia titles for the CD남 that actually carry the CD남 logo. (The only other current CD남 multimedia title is the new GROLIER'S ENCYCLOPEDIA and, just like that title, INSIGHT:TECHNOLOGY works just fine on the CDTV as well.) Popping the disc into the CD남 unit and booting up starts a demo. Press any button on the controller and the main menu appears. The main menu is made up of five options: TOPICS, BROWSE, INDEX, HELPTOUR and CREDITS. Selecting TOPICS brings up an A to Z list of available topics that can be scrolled through using the CD남's controller. (Pretty logical, huh?) To the right of some topics is a filmstrip symbol, which indicates that topic includes a filmed video sequence. Select a topic and a screen divided into three sections appears. A title bar at the top of the screen allows the user to flip through the topics in alphabetical order. On the left side of the screen is a text description of the topic. On the right side are two pictures. Selecting the top picture with the controller presents a diagram with labels on all the parts and starts an audio explanation of the diagram. Selecting the bottom picture starts a slideshow showing the selected item in action and also starts a different audio narration. This concludes with a filmed video sequence if that topic includes one. Hitting the blue botton on the controller will take you to the previous menu at any time. Selecting BROWSE will randomly select a topic for the user to read. It bypasses the topic menu completely. If the controller is not touched for a few seconds, another topic will be selected. Selecting INDEX will present the user with a list of over 2000 keywords. Selecting one of the keywords will present the user with a list of the topics that word is found in. You can the select the topic and it will be presented in the same way as simply selecting it from the TOPICS menu, except that the keyword will be highlighted everytime it is used. For example, I found the word "Amiga" was used in two articles ("CDTV Multimedia Player" and "computer"). I selected "computer" and was told that the Amiga is one of the currently popular models along with the Atari ST. (Hmmmm...I wonder if the skies are blue in their world. ) The HELPTOUR is merely a guided tour of the INSIGHT:TECHNOLOGY options. It explains everything I just mentioned. The CREDITS are exactly what it sounds like. It simply gives you the names of the people responsible for the program. As one of the first educational titles of the CD남, this title has a high profile whether it warrants one or not. It's a very solid program, but one of limited scope and usefulness. If you have inquisitive children, this would make a fine toy for them to play with. I would not, however, recommend this program as a primary teaching tool. Some of the information seems dated even though the program has a 1993 copyright date. The CDTV is included as a topic and a keyword, but the CD남 is not. Also, because of the British origin of the program, the spelling of some words (like colour instead of color, for example) may confuse younger children. @{"Ratings:" link ratings} Graphics: 80% Manufacturer: Sound: 80% Commodore Electronics, Ltd. Gameplay: N/A 1200 Wilson Drive Control: N/A West Chester, PA 19380 USA OVERALL RATING: 80% Video Mode: NTSC @{"Click here to see the package" system "vt insight1.gif"} @ENDNODE @NODE GAME4 "Frontier: Elite II Review" FRONTIER:ELITE II was one of the most anticipated games on both the Amiga and PC platforms. When it finally arrived last year, many marveled at how large the game was compared to how small the actual program was. The entire FRONTIER universe was contained on a single disk. The game itself is hard to describe. It's a combination strategy/action/simulation game. You are given a ship and a small amount of cash and it's up to you to choose what you do with it. You can join the military, become a smuggler, run a small trade route, become a pirate, or whatever other niche you'd like to inhabit. When it was announced that a CD남 version was in the works, gamers drooled at the thought that the game would be enhanced to take advantage of the massive storage capacity of the CD-ROM format. The game could receive the texture mapping present in the PC version. The sound could be improved. The game was already great, any changes made would be the icing on the cake. Forget it. The CD남 version of FRONTIER: ELITE II is a straight port of the Amiga version with the only modifications being to the control system to allow the use of the CD32 controller. The game itself remains great. Unfortunately, this IS a computer game. I strongly recommend that, if you choose to purchase this game, you get a keyboard and a mouse for the CD남. The CD남's controller pads are not made to control a game like this. Moving the ship around requires a large dose of finesse control. The odd button combinations required to get something done prohibit you from being anything but clumsy. (Example: To fire your laser, you must press the top left button and the red button. Not too bad, but try doing it while tracking an enemy ship. You have to press the top left button, move the directional pad and press the red button all at the same time.) At the least, get a mouse and a joystick to control the game if you plan to buy it. This is a game that cannot be recommended to just any CD남 owner. To get any enjoyment out of the game, you must be able to save your progress and control your movements a lot better than the standard setup will allow. If you're planning on expanding your CD남 with the coming SX-1 module or something similar, you might want to even consider buying the hard drive installable Amiga version of the game. You wouldn't be missing anything and it's currently cheaper than the CD남 version. The SX-1 would allow you to connect a floppy drive to the CD남, allowing you to save more than one game at a time. Currently, the CD남 is only capable of saving one FRONTIER game at a time in it's memory. No matter how you slice it, the CD남 alone isn't the ideal platform to play this game on. Some type of accessory or another is required to really enjoy the game. It's a shame that more enhancements weren't added. This is a game that could have really shined on the CD남. It's a shame that you have to expand your CD남 into a computer to get the full enjoyment out it. Once you do expand your CD남 into a computer, why not just get the computer version anyway? It's cheaper. @{"Ratings:" link ratings} Graphics: 70% Manufacturer: Sound: 50% GameTek Gameplay: 50% 5 Bath Road Control: 30% Slough, Berks SL1 3UA UK OVERALL RATING: 45% Video Mode: NTSC @ENDNODE @NODE GAME5 "Dangerous Streets Review" When a game has the loading instructions on the bootup screen, one tends to question the amount of thought put into it. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail on this game other than to say that it is, by far, the worst game EVER released for the CD남 and is in the running for worst game in videogaming history. To say this game is a disappointment would be a tremendous understatement. The advance screenshots looked wonderful. Granted, the graphics aren't bad at all...when they're not moving. What the screenshots couldn't convey, however, was the quality of the gameplay, which is horrible... absolutely horrible. This is supposed to be a beat-em-up game like Street Fighter 2 or Mortal Kombat. Take out the personality, gameplay and fun and you have Dangerous Streets. What makes this game so bad? The control is horrible. The graphics are very poor in showing what is actually happening. (They look quite interesting when nothing is happening, but the animation is so bad you cannot tell if you're hitting your opponent or not.) This is a beat-em-up where you can't get your fighter to move and then can't tell if you've hit anything when it does move. Not the stuff a good game is made of. Please, unless you like unpleasantness, avoid this game. If you NEED a beat-em-up for your CD남, you can get International Karate +. I realize that we tore that game apart last issue but, compared to Dangerous Streets, it's light years ahead of this game in the fun department. @{"Ratings:" link ratings} Graphics: 10% Manufacturer: Sound: 60% Flair Software Gameplay: 0% Meadowfield House Control: 0% Ponteland, Newcastle, England NE20 9SD OVERALL RATING: 17.5% Video Mode: NTSC @ENDNODE @NODE GAME6 "Brutal Football Review" As a football fan, I really wasn't too keen on the idea of a football game that wasn't really a football game. That is, I felt that way until I played BRUTAL FOOTBALL. BRUTAL FOOTBALL is a knock down, beat-em-up, rip-their-heads-off combination of soccer, rugby and American football. One or two players can face each other or play the computer in leagues or a tournament mode. The basic premise is simple: Put the ball into the goal at one end of the field while preventing your opponent from doing so to the goal at the opposite end. Unlike most other sports, their are no rules on the field. An opponent can tackle you, stab you, stomp on you, or rip your head off and, likewise, you can do the same to him. Various powerups can help or hinder you as you try to rack up the score (and the head count.) The graphics are adequate. Sometimes, the field is so cluttered with heads, players, powerups and the actual field markings, that it is hard to see where the ball actually is. The soundtrack is provided by a CD audio track of an Eddie Van Halen-type guitar riff that gets annoying after a few games. Unfortunately, the "music off" option that is provided didn't seem to work for very long. Sometimes it didn't work at all. This is a game that cries out to be played by two players. It tends to get a little boring playing against the computer. The computer is either hot or cold. It will play like it's brain dead one game and then play like it's on speed the next. Close games with the computer as an opponent are likely to be few and far between. Against a human opponent, however, this game is classic videogaming. It's a blast to watch your friend's face as your rip one of his team member's heads off. Highly recommended for those that can stomach it. As the heavy metal band Exodus used to sing, "Good violent friendly fun in store for all." @{"Ratings:" link ratings} Graphics: 85% Manufacturer: Sound: 80% Millenium Interactive, Ltd. Gameplay: 95% Queen House, Mill Court Control: 90% Great Shelford, Cambridge CB2 5LD, UK OVERALL RATING: 87.5% Video Mode: NTSC @ENDNODE @NODE prev "Previous CD남View Reviews" Here are the ratings of the games previously reviewed by CD남View. Title Overall Rating Issue Date ----- -------------- ---------- AMIGA CD FOOTBALL 79% 4/1/94 ARABIAN NIGHTS 60% 3/1/94� CASTLES II 50% 3/1/94� D/GENERATION 65% 3/1/94� DEEP CORE 80% 3/1/94� INTERNATIONAL KARATE + 45% 4/1/94 JOHN BARNES EUROPEAN FOOTBALL 46% 4/1/94 LABYRINTH OF TIME 79% 3/1/94 LIBERATION 90% 3/1/94� MEAN ARENAS 75% 3/1/94 MICROCOSM 91% 4/1/94 NIGEL MANSEL CHAMPIONSHIP RACING 85% 3/1/94� OSCAR 80% 3/1/94� PINBALL FANTASIES 90% 3/1/94� PIRATES! GOLD 87.5% 3/1/94 ROBOCOD: JAMES POND 2 80% 3/1/94� SLEEPWALKER 20% 3/1/94� TROLLS 75% 3/1/94� WHALE'S VOYAGE 3% 3/1/94� ZOOL 80% 3/1/94� � - Games were not originally reviewed in CD남View and the rating given is translated from a different rating method. @ENDNODE @NODE RATINGS "The Ratings - Explained" We judge the games we review in four different categories: Graphics -------- This is pretty self explanatory. The higher the percentile, the better the graphics are. Sound ----- Another no-brainer. The higher the percentile, the better the sound. Although, this also relates to it's coordination with the gameplay. If the sound seems inappropriate for the type of game it is, the game will score lower in the Sound category even if the sounds are technically well done. Gameplay -------- The gameplay refers to the addictive quality of the game as well as the way the game plays. If you find your self sitting and watching rather than interacting with the game, the game will score lower than one that actually involves you. Control ------- This refers to how easy the game is to control given the standard CD남 controller. A game requiring a special controller that is not specified or not included will be penalized. A game that comes with a special controller or one that recommends that, say, an Amiga mouse might work better than the standard CD남 controller will not be penalized. @ENDNODE @NODE ANEWS "Amiga/CD남 News & Stuff" Amiga & CD남 News @{" Commodore:Out of Business " link NEWS1} - The first report @{" Rumors/Rumors/Rumors " link NEWS2} - What's buzzing around. @{" News from Europe " link NEWS3} - European news @{" CSM Speaks - A Conference " link NEWS4} - What's really going on? Columns @{" CD남 Titles on the Amiga " link COL1} - What CDs work on Amigas? @{" Hints & Tips " link COL2} - Stuck or out of luck? @ENDNODE @NODE NEWS1 "Commodore:Out of Business" WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) -- Commodore International Ltd., a pioneer in the personal computer industry, said late Friday it is going out of business. The company plans to transfer its assets to unidentified trustees "for the benefit of its creditors" and has placed its major subsidiary, Commodore Electronics Ltd., into voluntary liquidation. "This is the initial phase of an orderly voluntary liquidation of both companies," Commodore said in a brief statement. Company executives could not immediately be reached Friday evening. The company last month reported an $8.2 million loss for the quarter ending Dec. 31 on sales of $70.1 million. A year earlier, Commodore lost $77.2 million on sales of $237.7 million in the same period. In the latest report, Commodore said financial limits had thwarted its ability to supply products, leading to weakened sales. One of its new products, the Amiga CD32 video game, had sold poorly in Europe, where the company did most of its business. The company's net worth turned negative in the fiscal year ended last June 30. Its stock, which had traded at around $3 per share before the quarterly results were announced last month, closed unchanged at 87 1/2 cents per share on the New York Stock Exchange Friday. "This is a company that briefly captured the attention of the American market and didn't go where the market was going," said David Coursey, editor of the newsletter P.C. Letter in San Mateo, Calif. "They just never managed to change with the marketplace." While grabbing some market share and attention in the late 1970s, Commodore's products were something between PCs and game machines "and never quite became either," Coursey said. Commodore started 40 years ago as a typewriter repair company in the Bronx. Its extension to the adding machine business paved the way for it to make calculators and then personal computers by the mid-1970s. Commodore competed with Radio Shack for the first computers sold to homes and co-founder Jack Tramiel became a highly-regarded figure in the fledgling PC industry. By the early 1980s, it was overshadowed in the PC business by Apple Computer Inc. and IBM. Software manufacturers didn't create as much software for Commodore's Amiga line as it did for Apple and IBM-compatible machines. In recent years, most of Commodore's business was in Europe. NewTek Inc. of Topeka, Kan., created a product called Video Toaster that converted Commodore's Amiga to a video-editing system. The $2,500 product was popular with small advertising agencies and home hobbyists. The company's phones were busy Friday night. @ENDNODE @NODE NEWS2 "Rumors/Rumors/Rumors" Rumors...oh, those nasty rumors: @{" Commodore: Dead? " link RUM1} - Is this the end? @{" The SX-1 Module " link RUM2} - What's it's fate now? Please remember that all information found in this section is based on information from sources that may or may not know what's really going on. Rumors make for interesting conversation. Rumors make for active imaginations. Don't base purchasing decisions on anything other than something you've seen or know is true. @ENDNODE @NODE NEWS4 "CSM Speaks - The Compuserve Conference" On May 1, 1994, Mike Levin of the Commodore Stockholder's Movement appeared on Compuserve to address the future of Commodore and the Amiga. What follows is a raw transcript of the conference. ------------------------------- cut -------------------------------------- (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Ok... let me start with the formal stuff, I have a comment and then (1-23,Greg Knapp) start! (1-52,Chris Lester) Since I call LD for a hook-up... I triple that. (1-20,MarkM/MOD) I'll ask for a opening statement. (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Welcome one and all! (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Please welcome our guest Mike Levin, the spokesman for the Commodore (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Shareholders Movement (CSM). He is here to answer questions in regards (1-20,MarkM/MOD) to the current Commodore situation as he understands it. As well as talk (1-20,MarkM/MOD) a little about the past events. (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Please welcome Mike, this is his first public conference. (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Remember that this is a formal conference and that all questions should (1-20,MarkM/MOD) be presented to the moderator (me!) with a ? and wait to be recognized. (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Mike, do you have an opening statement? (1-29,Mike Levin) yes (1-29,Mike Levin) I will be typing it in real time so bear with me... (1-29,Mike Levin) There will be no doom and gloom here tonight... (1-29,Mike Levin) Two of us will be answering questions- Marc Rifkin and muself... (1-29,Mike Levin) We are long-time CSMers and have dedicated a great deal of time in trying (1-29,Mike Levin) to effect Commodore's course. Tonight we can speak on those activities... (1-29,Mike Levin) and the activiteis we will continue to do... (1-29,Mike Levin) We can not speak for Commodore and can not anwer questions on sales (1-29,Mike Levin) figures and performance. (1-29,Mike Levin) With that out of the way, let's start. (1-20,MarkM/MOD) I am opening the floor for questions. (1-8,Karl Kugel) ? (1-87,Michael Shea) ? (1-18,John Horton) ? (1-46,John Gager) ? (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Karl go ahead (1-6,Carl Hansen) ? (1-3,Don Suhr) ? (1-57,Mike Richard) ? (1-75,Endre R Bujtas) ? (1-86,BRIAN MORRIS) ? (1-36,Paul Idol) ? (1-30,Ezra Palmer-Persen) ? (1-8,Karl Kugel) I thought it was interesting that the liquidation only covered the U.S. and (1-8,Karl Kugel) parent companies, but seemed to leave the profitably European part alone. (1-8,Karl Kugel) Any comments? (1-44,Joe Clasen) ? Who can buy the Amiga Chipset from the liquidators? The Highest Bidder? (1-29,Mike Levin) It is so early. Commodore is a big company with many divisions... (1-29,Mike Levin) but the parts which are closing down are important parts... (1-29,Mike Levin) including the factories. When the supply runs out, even the European... (1-29,Mike Levin) companies will not have Amigas to sell, but I don't think that that will (1-29,Mike Levin) be for several months, at least. GA (1-25,Tim - GVP, Inc.) ? (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Micheal Shea... Go ahead. (1-87,Michael Shea) What ever happened with regards to the meeting CSM had with CBM creditors? (1-71,Gene Holmerud) ? (1-95,Curtis Hendricks) ? (1-29,Mike Levin) I met with them the beginning of April... (1-29,Mike Levin) But, their official position was that as a lender, they only had certain (1-22,stephen provost) ? (1-29,Mike Levin) leagal remedies. There was not much they could do. (1-29,Mike Levin) I told them the things about Commodore which they did not know... (1-29,Mike Levin) including the size of Commodore's market, their strengths in Europe... (1-100,Lathal Ponder) [/q (1-29,Mike Levin) and the potential of the technology, especially if Commdore were to... (1-100,Lathal Ponder) [/q (1-29,Mike Levin) take the critical step to license. They were very interested in what... (1-29,Mike Levin) I had to say, but they could not supply me with any new informantion... (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) John Horton.. Go ahead. (1-18,John Horton) Will the Amiga line continue...by who(is anyone going to pick it up)? (1-29,Mike Levin) That is the most important question. There are several possibilities... (1-29,Mike Levin) which most of you are already aware of. It is my belief... (1-29,Mike Levin) that no one will continue to make the Amigas which we are familiar with... (1-29,Mike Levin) beyond what the existing supply of chips (Paulas, 8520's) will allow... (1-29,Mike Levin) but instead, someone will pick up the technology and license it out to... (1-33,Ottmar Roehrig) ?? (1-29,Mike Levin) anyone who wants it, and you will see an array of Amiga-ish products... (1-29,Mike Levin) including cable boxes, game machines, and an Amiga-on-a-card for PCs. GA (1-24, Sean - CD32View) ? (1-111,Jay Goodwin) ? (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Carl Hanson.. go ahead (1-6,Carl Hansen) Welcome Mike and thanks for all your work in the past. What will a share of C= be worth tomorrow and then next week...? GA (1-29,Mike Levin) Friday's news is definately bad for shareholders... (1-29,Mike Levin) First the large creditors will be paid back, then the smaller ones... (1-29,Mike Levin) then the shareholders. We probably won't see much at all when it's done. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Don .. go ahead. (1-3,Don Suhr) How much of C= is dead, and what remains? GA (1-86,BRIAN MORRIS) I've always liked the Amiga and am not going to jump on the PC band wagon (1-29,Mike Levin) Commodore consists of over 30 companies... (1-29,Mike Levin) The big parts are gone including Commodore International, Commodore (1-85,michael biddle) Is there an existing stock of Amiga products that can still be purchased? (1-29,Mike Levin) Business Machines, and Commdore Electronics Limited... (1-29,Mike Levin) The rest are sales companies in the respective countries. I haven't (1-29,Mike Levin) heard much news over the weekend beyond the ones that have already closed. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Mike Richard.. Go ahead. (1-18,John Horton) ? (1-54,Trent Hawkins) ? (1-57,Mike Richard) What do you think that this will all mean in the short-term for those of us... (1-20,MarkM/MOD) I have 10 questions in the Queue .. make that 11.. let me put a hold on more questions for now. (1-29,Mike Levin) In the short term, there will definately be a dry period, BUT... (1-91,William Cooper) +++ (1-29,Mike Levin) continue to buy 3rd party products from GVP, Macrosystems, Scala, etc... (1-91,William Cooper) ATH0 (1-29,Mike Levin) so that when potential purchasers of the Amiga technology look at the... (1-29,Mike Levin) market, they will see something good. Above all else, the market must not... (1-29,Mike Levin) be allowed to go away. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Endre... go ahead. (1-105,Endre R Bujtas) What is the possibility of a class-action suit in behalf of the stockholders agaist M. A;li and the gang (1-29,Mike Levin) A good one... (1-29,Mike Levin) What is needed is a shareholder with enough of an investment in the... (1-29,Mike Levin) company and enough money to bring a class-action suit, and a top-notch (1-29,Mike Levin) class-action lawyer who can prove that Commodore stock shoul be worth... (1-29,Mike Levin) around $20 per share now if not for (I don't want to be liable here)... (1-29,Mike Levin) the inappropriate management. GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Paul Idol.. go ahead. (1-36,Paul Idol) What are CSM's plans and with whom are you working to put them into (1-36,Paul Idol) effect? In Mark's announcement of this CO he suggested that this (1-57,Mike Richard) ? (1-36,Paul Idol) (the liquidation) might be the best thing ever to happen for the (1-36,Paul Idol) Amiga. This implies concrete knowledge. My dealer things (1-36,Paul Idol) thinks that CEI might be trying to take up the reins, but this is (1-36,Paul Idol) just a rumour. What is fact? GA (1-100,Scott Horn) send (1-29,Mike Levin) Everything is rumor... (1-29,Mike Levin) The technogy will go to the highest bidder. Now that Commodore management... (1-29,Mike Levin) is gone, the horse has ben unhobbled. This is what Mark is referring to, (1-29,Mike Levin) but it is like rolling dice. My plans are to talk to the people necessary... (1-29,Mike Levin) so that the dice come up ACES for the users and developers... (1-118,Amran Vance) send lxv hi (1-29,Mike Levin) I think CEI might be able to get the factories running to make as many (1-100,Scott Horn) ustatus (1-29,Mike Levin) more Amigas as possible if they get a technology license, but it is not... (1-29,Mike Levin) the most profittable venture in the world. The best thing that can be done... (1-29,Mike Levin) is to demonstrate demand by writing CEI with letters saying that you are (1-29,Mike Levin) ready to buy more Amigas if they are able to build them. This is something (1-29,Mike Levin) which they could "take to the bank." Actual orders would be even better. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Tim from GVP go ahead... (1-25,Tim - GVP, Inc.) I have heard that one of the "final straws" on Commodore, was that they recently lost a (1-25,Tim - GVP, Inc.) patent infringement suit based on Multiple-screen technology, one of the strong points of the (1-25,Tim - GVP, Inc.) Amiga. Is this true, and if so what kind of problems would it cause to a potential buyer of the (1-25,Tim - GVP, Inc.) Amiga chip set? (1-29,Mike Levin) From my understanding, the people with the injunction... (1-71,Gene Holmerud) pass (1-29,Mike Levin) wanted a one-time payment which other companies have been able to pay... (1-29,Mike Levin) and get on with business as usual. If someone wants the Amiga technology, (1-29,Mike Levin) this is just another expense which is part of the investment they must make. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-74,Mike Smith) ? (1-22,stephen provost) ? (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Isn't injunction based on cursor ? (1-29,Mike Levin) I don't know the particular nature of the patent. I heard it might be the.. (1-29,Mike Levin) cursor. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Gene .. go ahead. (1-114,Andrew Farrell) ? (1-64,Russ Finley) u (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Curtis... go ahead. (1-44,Joe Clasen) ? (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Stephen Pro.. go ahead. (1-22,stephen provost) what is scala's positiion now? (1-29,Mike Levin) I can't speak for Scala. Sorry. GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Ottmar.. go ahead. (1-33,Ottmar Roehrig) Don't you think that the professional Amiga-market will discontinue to... (1-33,Ottmar Roehrig) exist _immediatly_? Which company will buy machines which are not being... (1-33,Ottmar Roehrig) produced and repaired anymore by its maker? Have you heard any opinion from... (1-33,Ottmar Roehrig) third-parties like GVP, Scala, NewTek, ASDG etc.? GA (1-33,Ottmar Roehrig) Don't you think that the professional Amiga-market will discontinue to... (1-33,Ottmar Roehrig) exist _immediatly_? Which company will buy machines which are not being... (1-33,Ottmar Roehrig) produced and repaired anymore by its maker? Have you heard any opinion from... (1-33,Ottmar Roehrig) third-parties like GVP, Scala, NewTek, ASDG etc.? GA (1-29,Mike Levin) Unfortuantely, it is a confidence issue... (1-29,Mike Levin) Sure, there are customers who will not buy computers made by a dissolved... (1-29,Mike Levin) company, but there are also people who care about solutions more than... (1-29,Mike Levin) support, so keep buying those A4000's which are in the channels... (1-105,Endre R Bujtas) ? (1-29,Mike Levin) And better than that,, write every magazine you know to tell them you... (1-29,Mike Levin) are still buying Amigas, and that you will buy from whoever picks up... (1-29,Mike Levin) the Amiga and that you look forward to the next generation Amiga, (1-29,Mike Levin) especially now that it has been liberated from management... (1-25,Tim - GVP, Inc.) ? (1-29,Mike Levin) this might be optimistic, but it will get some attention from potential... (1-29,Mike Levin) technology investors. The more optimistic and vocal you are, (1-29,Mike Levin) the better your chances for the next generation Amiga, which might still (1-29,Mike Levin) be something very special. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) I am going to re-open the queue for questions.. send a ? if you want to ask Mikea question. (1-22,stephen provost) ? (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Sean.. go ahead.. (1-24, Sean - CD32View) Is the CD32 able to be sold off or would that also require the whole chipset to be licensed? (1-105,Endre R Bujtas) ? (1-114,Andrew Farrell) ? (1-111,Jay Goodwin) ? (1-54,Trent Hawkins) ? (1-44,Joe Clasen) ? (1-74,Mike Smith) ? (1-85,michael biddle) ?? (1-36,Paul Idol) ? (1-8,Karl Kugel) ? (1-57,Mike Richard) ? (1-85,michael biddle) ?? (1-124,Steve Thompson) what, if anything has Newtek said? (1-9,Mike Kennedy) b (1-29,Mike Levin) In answer to Steve... (1-29,Mike Levin) I have not talked to anyone from NewTek in months... (1-20,MarkM/MOD) That is all the questions I can take... (1-108,Andrew Olsen) go weather (1-29,Mike Levin) But if I were them, I would do everything I could to ensure that a (1-4,Dale Luketich) \ (1-29,Mike Levin) friendly and open party gets the Amiga technology who is open to (1-108,Andrew Olsen) ? (1-91,John Brozycki) ? (1-29,Mike Levin) licensing. I think that CD32s will only continue to be made if some (1-29,Mike Levin) company sees it as profitable to do so. It is a long-shot... (1-108,Andrew Olsen) exit (1-29,Mike Levin) Instead, you might see a cable-box which is CD32-ish. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Jay Goodwin.. go ahead. (1-111,Jay Goodwin) I'm concerned about buyer for AmigaOS, the HW has been iffy... (1-111,Jay Goodwin) but the OS is what I really want to see live on. (1-111,Jay Goodwin) GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) What is your question--this sounds like a comment. (1-111,Jay Goodwin) I would like to know if someone is interested in the OS. (1-85,michael biddle) S>5< (1-90,Donald Gross) T/exit (1-29,Mike Levin) Hopefully, someone gets the technology who can take it from where... (1-108,Andrew Olsen) +++ATH0 (1-29,Mike Levin) Commodore left off. The Hardware and Software, I expect will be... (1-29,Mike Levin) a package deal (but not necessarily). (1-29,Mike Levin) I hope it is. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-131,Bob Supak) ? (1-20,MarkM/MOD) john horton.. go ahead.. (1-18,John Horton) What can be done to keep the Amiga line going? Impossible? (lets buy it!?) (1-18,John Horton) Follow up ? (1-29,Mike Levin) The only way the Amiga line as we know it will continue is if it is (1-29,Mike Levin) profittable for a company to do so. There will be studies of Commodore's (1-29,Mike Levin) operations and profits. The picture will look grim... (1-29,Mike Levin) your job is to counter that effect. Create demand. Write letters... (1-29,Mike Levin) to everyone you can think of who needs to know that you want Amigas! (1-29,Mike Levin) This includes magazines. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-18,John Horton) Can the GVP rep here make a comment. Mike It was CBMs marketing that ...... (1-18,John Horton) killed the machine (or lack of it) (1-20,MarkM/MOD) GvP can make a comment in the open forum... (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Let me continue with the conference.. (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Trent.. go ahead. (1-54,Trent Hawkins) What parts of C= are dead? Specifically is C= Canada dead? or C= UK or C= (1-54,Trent Hawkins) Germany? GA (1-29,Mike Levin) I was already asked that question. It's too soon to tell. Only Friday's (1-29,Mike Levin) news about CIL, CBM and C=Elec.Ltd. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-38,Steve Setzer) ? (1-20,MarkM/MOD) It is my understanding if CIL (Commodore International) is gone.. all is gone. (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Andrew.. go ahead. (1-130,Bob Eller) Yep (1-29,Mike Levin) Probably true. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-114,Andrew Farrell) Who are the mystery 'trustees' of Commodore's assets? According to CEI, Commdore (1-114,Andrew Farrell) subs. are all okay - inc. the very profitable Commodore U.K... Also, d the assets include (1-114,Andrew Farrell) the factry n the Philipines? (1-41,RalphR) / (1-41,RalphR) ? (1-29,Mike Levin) The factory in the Philipines has not produced since March... (1-29,Mike Levin) I don't know who the trustees are going to be yet, but I certainly... (1-41,RalphR) When will the bidding on technology begin and do you know of ANY prospective (1-29,Mike Levin) plan on finding out and talking to them to make sure they understand (1-29,Mike Levin) the market and the investment opportunities. It is an exciting and (1-44,Joe Clasen) If Hayne went to work for Newtek, you think others would support A5000toast? (1-29,Mike Levin) potentially lucrative alternative computer technology or core for (1-29,Mike Levin) a game machine. It should go into the hands of someone... (1-36,Paul Idol) ! (1-29,Mike Levin) who will want to maximize the investment. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Paul.. a comment? (1-93,tony butterfield) gogo basic (1-36,Paul Idol) Yes, I just think that there is the distinct possibility that by the time (1-36,Paul Idol) all the liscensing issues and investigations and so on are completed the (1-93,tony butterfield) +++ATH0 (1-36,Paul Idol) Amiga technology will have fallen far enough behind the state of things that (1-36,Paul Idol) potential investors will be less interested in getting on board than we (1-36,Paul Idol) might think or hope. So things should happen FAST. GA (1-43,Willie Schreurs) .sta (1-114,Andrew Farrell) CEI indicated in their dealer newsletter they expected manufacturing to resume soon. (1-114,Andrew Farrell) Do they know something we don't? (The newsletter was faxed on Saturday) BTW, The (1-114,Andrew Farrell) level of inventry in the U.K. warehouses will be critical to Paul's issue. (1-29,Mike Levin) These proceedings don't happen fast, unfortunately. (1-29,Mike Levin) The Amiga already has fallen behind in certain areas. The value of the (1-29,Mike Levin) Amiga technolgy is not in going up against clones, but in... (1-29,Mike Levin) the kind of inexpensive boxes and devices you can make out of it for (1-29,Mike Levin) running applications such as the Toaster and Scala... (1-29,Mike Levin) This should be enough to attract companies interested in making money (1-109,Nancy Rose) ? (1-29,Mike Levin) by licensing the technology. Don't forget the minimal amount of RAM (1-131,Bob Supak) ! (1-29,Mike Levin) Amigas require compared to DOS machines. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Joe.. go ahead. (1-44,Joe Clasen) Are the big players talking or will they jump ship like Golddisk? (1-66,larry julien) quit (1-29,Mike Levin) What big players? Amiga developers or large companies? (1-66,larry julien) ? (1-118,Amran Vance) [A (1-44,Joe Clasen) Newtek or will phillips squash the whole thing? (1-74,Mike Smith) I appreciate all your work Mike, you sound more than competent- I'm still (1-66,larry julien) off (1-29,Mike Levin) Good question! (1-124,Steve Thompson) larry, try /x (1-29,Mike Levin) I think NewTek will look for ways to get the technology. How could they not? (1-29,Mike Levin) more... (1-29,Mike Levin) I hope Phillips does not try to squash it, but it is a possibility. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-34,Troy Barlow) Philips (1-34,Troy Barlow) send 23 "I meant that" (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Mike Smith.. go ahead. (1-74,Mike Smith) Thanks for your efforts Mike- I'm still bummed and NOT hopeful. (1-29,Mike Levin) Question? (1-74,Mike Smith) pass (1-52,michael biddle) ? (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Michael Bi.. go ahead. (1-29,Mike Levin) Ok. Thanks for the appreciate. (1-71,Gene Holmerud) ? (1-52,michael biddle) What about inventory? Are Amiga products available anywhere? (1-38,Steve Setzer) Mike what are your personel feelings about the future of C=? And what kind (1-91,John Brozycki) ? (1-29,Mike Levin) Yes. I can't answer much, but I am led to believe that the UK distributors (1-29,Mike Levin) have stockpiled. (1-114,Andrew Farrell) ! (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Andrew.. go ahed with your comment.. ? (1-114,Andrew Farrell) According to the CEI newsletter, they have plenty of stock (current Saturday) (1-29,Mike Levin) I hope that they do. The people at CEI are resourceful. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Paul Idol.. go ahead. (1-3,Don Suhr) ? (1-36,Paul Idol) I understand your hope that we all buy Amiga products and announce (1-67,John) con:1 (1-36,Paul Idol) that we WILL buy them and so on, but how do you answer questions in the (1-36,Paul Idol) minds of buyers to the effect of "Where will we get parts and repairs?" (1-29,Mike Levin) Good question... (1-36,Paul Idol) and "Why buy something that won't be upgraded?" and so on? GA (1-29,Mike Levin) It depends on the supply of parts. I can only guess that part of the... (1-60,Dean/DKB) ! (1-39,James Scott) ! (1-29,Mike Levin) responsibility of the trustees is to maintain the value of the products... (1-124,Steve Thompson) ! (1-29,Mike Levin) and the market. This is a hope, but responsible trustees should do (1-29,Mike Levin) what they can to supply whatever parts might still be in warehouses. (1-29,Mike Levin) Again, I admit that there will be a dry period and that an Amiga (1-124,Steve Thompson) The part situation in th US can't be to good, I've been waiting 9 monts for (1-124,Steve Thompson) my HD. (1-29,Mike Levin) purchase now is only for the brave, but we all eat off of the same plate, (1-23,Greg Knapp) << have a comment on the part/repairs thing (1-29,Mike Levin) and only that kind of letter will do any good now. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Dean, your comment? (1-131,Bob Supak) ? (1-60,Dean/DKB) When has Commodore ever supplied upgrades to the Amiga other than... (1-36,Paul Idol) ! (1-22,stephen provost) ? (1-60,Dean/DKB) requiring you to buy a new machine? The third party companys have done... (1-103,Raymond R. Fortier) ? (1-60,Dean/DKB) more in that respect than Commodore. As for parts, they have always been... (1-60,Dean/DKB) available through the gray market if you know where to look! (1-29,Mike Levin) I agree. I see opportunity where others see danger. That is the only way (1-65,John Britton) w3/who (1-29,Mike Levin) good will come of this. Commdore has been unhobbled the hard way. (1-29,Mike Levin) Third-party developers must pick up where Commodore left off. (1-29,Mike Levin) And, they haven't actually been liquidated yet. (1-18,John Horton) ! (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-112,bill arnold) ? (1-20,MarkM/MOD) We are about to go open conference.. let me get Karl's question out of the way. Then we can talk freely. (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Karl.. go ahead.. (1-8,Karl Kugel) Is there anything left at Westchester, and do you think work can be resumed on AA (1-8,Karl Kugel) A? (1-29,Mike Levin) Only 22 people (I'm told). They are only likely to be there for a (1-29,Mike Levin) short while/. (1-29,Mike Levin) more... (1-29,Mike Levin) It is so hard to say about AAA, but I am as close to the heartbeat as (1-29,Mike Levin) any outsider... (1-124,Steve Thompson) Let's hope. Thanks, Mike, gotta go. $$$ ;) (1-12,IAM-Dale) ! (1-29,Mike Levin) I guess it is in the hands of whover buys the technology... (1-29,Mike Levin) This won't be for several months and no kind of manufacturing will be (1-29,Mike Levin) able to begin for months after that... (1-131,Bob Supak) !? (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Dale Larson.. you have the last comment.. then a closing statement from Mike. (1-12,IAM-Dale) Hey, don't people doing COs have to give something away? (1-20,MarkM/MOD) and one from me. (1-12,IAM-Dale) What is Levin giving away? Useless stock? :-) (1-12,IAM-Dale) ga (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Thanks Dale. :-) (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Mike, closing comments? (1-29,Mike Levin) Yes... (1-23,Greg Knapp) !!! (1-29,Mike Levin) The tradition of Commodore computers will only continue based on your (1-29,Mike Levin) activities and letters and outcry in the coming weeks. (1-29,Mike Levin) Let people know this market exist and wants to continue to exist... (1-29,Mike Levin) Where there are customers, there are people who want to profit off of them. (1-29,Mike Levin) Say things like "I would buy an Amiga even if it was more expensive" (1-29,Mike Levin) Dollars talk. Talk dollars. (1-29,Mike Levin) Write AmigaWorld and Amazing and your newspaper and Forbes and Time and the Wall Street Journal. (1-29,Mike Levin) Make a story out of this. (1-29,Mike Levin) Be resourceful in figuring out who to write. (1-29,Mike Levin) Don't hope for me to pull of some magical stunt. (1-29,Mike Levin) All I can do is reinforce your message. (1-29,Mike Levin) That's all. (1-29,Mike Levin) GA (1-44,Joe Clasen) Yeah,right.Who will make the Amiga Card Box for the IBM/MAC? AMIGA=OSBORNE! (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Ok.. I am going to open the floor for those developers who are represented here... (1-20,MarkM/MOD) who may have a comment. (1-39,James Scott) ! (1-20,MarkM/MOD) The first comment I have is from Jim Drew/ from Utilities Unlimited. (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Go Jim. (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) Nobody freak... but I am willing to put up as much money as necessary to obtain the rights to the Amiga. The Amiga market has been good (1-29,Mike Levin) There is value in an Amiga Card. (1-34,Troy Barlow) Joe, better change your password (1-20,MarkM/MOD) This is still a formal co folks. Hang in there a sec longer. (1-50,Jim Menix) /ust (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) Ahh... woops (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Jim, your line was cut.. re-enter it please.. hit return every 60 chars or so. (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) sorry about the length.. (1-29,Mike Levin) Hey Jim, attract investors! Assemble a consortium of Amiga developers. (1-29,Mike Levin) I could think of no better scenario. (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) Ok.. well, basically I have a staff of attorneys waiting for tomorrow (1-39,James Scott) ! (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) to roll around and see how much it is going to cost me... (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) I will be damned if they (HP, Sony, take your pick) are going to 'rape' (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) my 'baby' (aka Amiga). The Amiga market has been very (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) generous to us.. time to give some back. I will be talking to other (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) developers to see if a mutual public corporation would be in the (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) interest of the Amiga community. I think the developers (us peoples (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) that know the machine) could make this thing fly... that's all. I'm not (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) going to give up on you guys... and to make things more interesting.. (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) we have MAC products being introduced... and the revenue generated from this (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) is going directly into the Amiga community... we need this... GA (1-131,Bob Supak) ! (1-29,Mike Levin) Someone has to spearhead such an effort. (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Any other developer care to comment? (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) I would be happy to. (1-47,Garry Nelson) Do you think majo/send 105 Would you issue a bond for this endeavor? (1-29,Mike Levin) I think yo're the person to do it. (1-17,MikeTodd-UK) !!! (1-60,Dean/DKB) I'll have a quick say. (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Go for it dean.. (1-60,Dean/DKB) DKB has every intention of staying available in the Amiga marketplace. We... (1-60,Dean/DKB) have been working behind the scenes to try and obtain a supply of machines... (1-60,Dean/DKB) for the US market. We have not yet been succesfull, but if we can do it,... (1-60,Dean/DKB) we will. (1-60,Dean/DKB) GA (1-12,IAM-Dale) ! (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Dale? (1-12,IAM-Dale) Optimism has a valuable place sometimes. (1-12,IAM-Dale) Whether or not you are optimistic, in the worst case (1-12,IAM-Dale) the Amiga(s) that you already love/own/use will be (1-12,IAM-Dale) just as good after the sale of C= as before. (1-61,Jon Bojicic) ? (1-12,IAM-Dale) It will still be more cost effective for most people (1-12,IAM-Dale) to continue to use and upgrade those machines than (1-12,IAM-Dale) to immediately plunge into a new platform. (1-12,IAM-Dale) I anticipate a fairly strong market for continuing (1-12,IAM-Dale) support of the Amiga even in the worst case (1-12,IAM-Dale) scenario of no more Amigas whatsoever. Heck, (1-29,Mike Levin) Good comment! Let's give a boost to Amiga developers. It is exactly what is needed now. (1-12,IAM-Dale) look at how many people continue to use C64s and (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) :-) (1-131,Bob Supak) ! (1-12,IAM-Dale) to buy stuff for them. Admitedly, small stuff, (1-12,IAM-Dale) but those are small machines. (1-12,IAM-Dale) IAM plans to continue product development and (1-131,Bob Supak) no (1-12,IAM-Dale) to make neat new stuff available soon. (1-12,IAM-Dale) ga (1-20,MarkM/MOD) AT this point, I would like to thank Mike Levin for being our guest here (1-20,MarkM/MOD) at CompuServe. I want to apologize to Dean from DKB as he was next in the schedule.. (1-20,MarkM/MOD) but was bumped .. I will get him on next (soon). (1-20,MarkM/MOD) And let you know the date. (1-20,MarkM/MOD) Please, everyone thank Mike for taking the time to talk to us tonight. (1-36,Paul Idol) THANKS! (1-35,Cornel Ivanescu) thanx mike (1-9,Mike Kennedy) thanks!!!! (1-54,Trent Hawkins) Yeah, Tnx Mike (1-61,Jon Bojicic) Thanks Mike (1-131,Bob Supak) Thanks!!!!! !(1-60,Dean/DKB) THanks Mike! (1-110,David F. Cattell) Thank you, Mike. (1-15,Tom Barker) ThanksMike!!! (1-53,Ray Roberts) THANKS MIKE (1-32,Kent L.) THANKS Mike. (1-55,Clay Spence) Thanks Mike! (1-23,Greg Knapp) thanx mike (1-67,Doug Miller) thanks (1-74,Mike Smith) Thanks mike- god bless (1-45,Grover Helsley) Thanks! (1-14,Paul) Thanks, Mike! (1-114,Andrew Farrell) Thank you kindly! (1-39,James Scott) Thanks Mike (1-100,BRIAN MORRIS) thanks! (1-7,Charles Castleberry) thanks (1-82,Mel Greer) Thanks a lot Mike!! (1-43,Willie Schreurs) Thanks. (1-73,Hani Yakan) Thanks (1-109,Nancy Rose) thanks (1-12,IAM-Dale) Thanks Mike. (1-3,Don Suhr) Thanks much... (1-4,Dale Luketich) Thanks Mike!!!!!! (1-42,Shawn Clabough) :-> (1-83,mark tiramani) thanks!! (1-93,Mark Sterling) Tanks, Mike (1-91,John Brozycki) Thank Mike -give em 'ell! (1-25,Rusty Mills) thanks mike (1-105,Jim Drew/UUI) Thank you, Mr. Levin. :-) (1-5,Herman Stevens) Thanks ! (1-92,Steve Merzena) Thank you very much, Mike! (1-57,Mike Richard) Thanks loads, Mike...best of luck for you and ALL of us!!! (1-47,Garry Nelson) thanx (1-52,Tom Jones) bravo (1-38,Steve Setzer) Thanks Mike (1-118,Amran Vance) ta very much (1-103,Raymond R. Fortier) thanks (1-59,Rodney Wishart) Thanks (1-44,Joe Clasen) THANKS (1-46,Harri) Thanks Mike (1-51,Ezra Palmer-Persen) Thanks Mike, Your Inspiring! (1-94,EdV) Thanks Mike. (1-20,MarkM/MOD) We are no in open conference... Mike you are welcome to stay as long as your fingers will last. :-) (1-112,bill arnold) thanks (1-71,Gene Holmerud) Thank you & glad to hear of a future! ------------------------------- cut -------------------------------------- It's going to be an interesting next couple of months in the Amiga community and CD남View will be continuing to bring you the news as best we can. @ENDNODE @NODE RUM1 "Commodore: Dead?" ----------------8< cut here >8----------------------- C= posts its latest report (From AP news wire) From: Andrew Carol Date: 26 Mar 1994 02:06:30 GMT (4 screens) I just got this hot off the AP news wire and repeat it here unchanged. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- AP 03/25 19:16 EST V0155 Copyright 1994. The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. NEW YORK (AP) -- Commodore International Limited, a pioneer in home computers, painted a grim picture of its future Friday as it reported another quarterly loss. Commodore warned that, without additional financial help, it could be thrown into a reorganization or liquidation proceedings. It is trying to negotiate a restructuring with creditors. Commodore made the announcement late in the day after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Its stock was down 12 1/2 cents to $3 per share. The company's net worth turned negative during the fiscal year that ended last June 30 and it has since had two more quarters of losses. On Friday, it reported an $8.2 million loss, or 25 cents per share, for its second fiscal quarter, ending Dec. 31. Sales were $70.1 million. A year earlier, Commodore lost $77.2 million, or $2.33 per share, on sales of $237.7 million. The company said financial constraints hampered its ability to supply products, leading to weakened sales. Its Amiga CD32 video game machine sold poorly in Europe due to the bad economy. But the company said sales were stronger for its Amiga 1200 machine. For the six months ending Dec. 31, Commodore lost $17.9 million or 54 cents per share, compared to a loss of $96.0 million, or $2.90 per share, a year earlier. Sales for the six months were $152.7 million compared with $396.3 million in the year-ago period. Commodore began as a typewriter repair company in the Bronx borough of New York City 40 years ago. Its extension to the adding machine business paved the way for it to get make calculators and then personal computers by the mid-1970s. Commodore competed with Radio Shack for the first computers sold to homes and co-founder Jack Tramiel became a highly-regarded figure in the fledgling PC industry. But Commodore was pushed aside a few years later by the success of International Business Machines Corp. and Apple Computer Inc. Although Commodore was quick to adopt some of the popular graphical interfaces for its Amiga line, far fewer software developers created programs for its machines than for Apple or IBM-compatibles. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Period Sales Losses (In millions of dollars, US) ------ ----- ------ 2ndQ ending 31 Dec 70.1 8.2 (most recent report) 2ndQ year earlier 237.7 77.2 (last year, same time) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------8< cut here >8----------------------- This report came over USENET at the end of March. (I didn't read it until after the April issue of the magazine had already been released.) Commodore's been in dire financial straits before. When the news started to trickle in that they were on the rocks again, it went in one ear and out the other. The rumors didn't stop and the "good news" we usually hear from Commodore in the form of a press release or a new product shipment didn't come. I'm still waiting for the good news as I write this. What I've decided to do with this month's editorial is write a form of journal of developments and rumors heard throughout the month. If the news at press time is good this will serve as a diary of hope. If the news is bad, let it serve as a journal of the last days. (Hopefully, the situation will have a clear course by the end of the month.) Commodore News Journal for April: 4/1 - 4/4 --------- Rumors are flying around USENET, Delphi and Compuserve. No one knows for sure what is going on. The Commodore Stockholders Movement has an appointment with Commodore's creditors on April 4. 4/4 - 4/12 --------- Rumors continue to fly on all networks, but no one has any real information. A lawsuit from the 1980's takes effect and Commodore US is prevented from shipping new products. (Details are sketchy, but someone apparently sued Commodore, Apple and Microsoft over the blinking cursor. Apple and Microsoft paid $2,000,000 each in damages. Commodore refused to pay and is currently trying to have the decision overturned.) 4/12 ---- A report surfaces that Commodore is being forced to sell out to the company of their choice by Prudential, their main creditor. Four companies are said to be interested, but no one knows who they are. 4/14 ---- Another report indicates that Philips has purchased Commodore UK. Others believe that Sony is the new owner of Commodore. Nothing is released by either company, yet. 4/14 - 4/29 ----------- More rumors, less actual believable content. Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy are mentioned by some reliable sources. No one is releasing any information...yet. A special conference is called for May 1st on Compuserve by Mike Levin, leader of the Commodore Stockholder's Movement. I have delayed the release of the magazine until after the conference so as to be able to cover it here. 4/30 ---- CNN reports that Commodore is going out of business. All assets have been transferred to unidentified trustees for the benefit of creditors. A full report is in the news section of this newsletter. Hoepfully, more details will be unearthed in the conference tomorrow. @ENDNODE @NODE RUM2 "The SX-1 Module" As reported in our last two issues, Microbotics are readying a module that will expand the CD남 into a full computer. This module, called the SX-1, is expected to appear in late April or early May. It will be selling for $150-$175. We will hopefully have one to test for the next issue. The unit will add a floppy port, RGB port, parallel and serial ports to the CD남 as well as provide options for adding internal or external hard drives and a keyboard. Word is that the unit will not interfere with the MPEG module, so you'll still be able to watch the Video CD format movies too. No word on how the death of Commodore will affect this product as it looks like the CD남 is not going to be in production for some time, if at all. Without an expanding user base, this product may have a limited lifespan. We'll keep you updated. @ENDNODE @NODE NEWS3 "European News" No new European news to report. We would have liked to have had a report on the CeBit show, but we didn't get any submissions. C'mon, Euroreaders! @ENDNODE @NODE COL1 "CD남 Titles on the Amiga" Some of our readers own Amigas with CD-ROM drives. They may be wondering what CD32 titles will work with their Amiga. That's what this column will help them find out. We'll be testing titles every month to see if they'll work on any or both of these set-ups: An Amiga 4000/040 with a Texel DM-3028 and a CDTV (which is basically an Amiga 500 with a built in CD-ROM drive). It's quite possible none of them will work with the latter system. It lacks the AGA chipset that the CD32 contains. But, knowing that a lot of people own the older Amigas, we didn't want to ignore them. This month's games: SUMMER OLYMPIX, CHAOS ENGINE and FRONTIER: ELITE II SUMMER OLYMPIX -------------- It bombs out on the CDTV. It turns screen yellow on bootup and doesn't recognize the disc. When the CDTV is booted with a Workbench disk in an external drive, the disc is recognized but it has no icons to start the game. I did not try to start it with the shell, as I have no keyboard on my CDTV. On the 4000/040, the disc showed no icons. When using the SHOW ALL FILES option from the Workbench, icons appeared but none of them would successfully run the game. CHAOS ENGINE ------------ Forget the CDTV. The game uses the AGA chipset and will not work. And, apparently, forget the A4000/040 too. It doesn't have any icons and selecting the SHOW ALL FILES option from the Amiga's Workbench doesn't produce an icon capable of running the game. FRONTIER: ELITE II ------------------ When used with the CDTV, the disc does not boot the machine. It produces the yellow screen and then stops. The disc is recognized when the machine is booted with a Workbench disk, but clicking the icon does not run the program. You'll get an error message and that as far as it goes. On the 4000/040, the icon appears but doesn't appear to do anything when clicked. No error or any other message appears. @ENDNODE @NODE COL2 "Hints & Tips" ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This month's tips: MICROCOSM This tip sent to CD남View from the INTERNET by rwx031@btw6x1.oec.uni-bayreuth.de (Stefan Fischer) I just read the latest CD^32View, and because there seems to be a MICROCOSM close to every CD^32, I may have some usefull tips for this game. 1. There are two introduction sequences available, depending whether you hit the RED or GREEN button. 2. It seems that Psygnosis has put some music on the CD not used in MICROCOSM. Just try track 2 from the game CD on your audio CD player. 3. Sometimes you need to warp back to a junction because you took the wrong branch or because of an endless loop you are flying in. Just move to the map and place the outlined rectangle to the red mark you want to warp to (place it with the YELLOW or BLUE button). To actually warp press the GREEN button while you are on the map. 4. There is a nice and simple cheat, something similar to Senso. Press PAUSE after the game startet and try the 4 colored buttons. If you hear a higher tone you hit the first button in one of the following combinations, now press the remaining buttons. GREEN - BLUE - YELLOW - RED - YELLOW- DOWN - GREEN - RIGHT- RED - UP OR! RED - GREEN - BLUE - YELLOW - DOWN - DOWN - BLUE - DOWN - RIGHT - BLUE OR! YELLOW - RED - GREEN - BLUE - UP - LEFT OR! BLUE - YELLOW - RED - GREEN - BLUE - LEFT You will hear some sound and from now on your life never ends and you have access to the right brain with all weapons available, but all rendered sequences will appear grey shaded only. Stefan E. Fischer, Germany (rwx031@btw6x1.oec.uni-bayreuth.de) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you have a tip for a CD남 game that you'd like to share with us? Please send it to us via one of our E-Mail addresses. @ENDNODE @NODE back "The Back Page" CD남View's The Back Page @{" Amiga/CD남 Dealers " link dealers} @{" What's coming next month? " link next} @{"CD남View Distribution Sites" link sites} @ENDNODE @NODE DEALERS "Amiga/CD남 Dealer Directory" CD남View Dealer Directory @{" Dealer Listing " link DEALLIST} @{"HOW TO GET IN THE LISTING" link HOWTO} @ENDNODE @NODE DEALLIST "CD남View's Amiga/CD남 Dealer Listing" CD남View Dealer Listing: Amiga Crossing 176 Gray Road, Unit 5 Cumberland, ME 04021 Phone: (207) 829-3959 Fax: (207) 829-3522 Applied Computer Systems 6108 Watt Avenue North Highlands, CA 95660 Phone: (916) 338-2000 Fax: (916) 338-2004 BBS: (916) 338-2543 Computer Basics, Inc./Amigaman 1490 N. Hermitage Road Hermitage, PA 16148 Phone: (412) 962-0533 Fax: (412) 962-0279 BBS: (412) 962-0961 Moebius Computer Concepts Suite #101-306 Burnside Road West Victoria, BC V8Z 1M1 CANADA Phone: (604) 386-2667 Fax: (604) 380-3032 Video Computer Resources 1200 N. Battlefield Blvd, Suite 110 Chesapeake, VA 23320 Phone: (804) 436-9508 Fax: (804) 436-9508 Note: CD남View does not endorse the dealers listed here. They are listed for the convienence of our readers. No compensation is required to be listed. @ENDNODE @NODE HOWTO "How to get listed in the CD남View Dealer Listing" If you're an Amiga dealer or CD남 dealer, big or small, please send us your business' name, address, telephone number and fax number to be listed here. We'd like to provide our readership with a list of places where accessories and software can be found. We can be reached via the Internet, FIDONet Netmail or US Mail. Internet: Sean.Caszatt@f512.n2601.z1.fidonet.org 72143.521@compuserve.com CASZATT@DELPHI.COM (preferred address) Compuserve: 72143,521 FIDONet Netmail: Sean Caszatt at 1:2601/512.0 US Mail: Sean Caszatt 2978 Ford Avenue Sharpsville, PA 16150 @ENDNODE @NODE NEXT "What's coming next issue?" In the May, 1994 issue of CD남View, look for the following: o Reviews of the New Grolier Electronic Encyclopedia, Diggers and Defender of the Crown II o A look at the MPEG Full Motion Video Module featuring reviews of several CD-VIDEOs including STAR TREK VI and PLAYBOY'S COMPLETE MASSAGE o CDTV titles - What works and what doesn't work with the CD남? This is a tenative list. (I hope I can have these in next time!) @ENDNODE @NODE SITES "CD남View Distribution Sites" CD남View Distribution Sites --------------------------- The latest issue of CD남View can be file-requested (FREQ'd) at these BBS' under the magic name CD32VIEW. You can also download the magazine from these systems in the traditional way as well. (File-requests not available from non-FIDO sites.) United States Distribution Sites: Project Aurora Harbour Lights Sharpsville, PA Kennebunkport, ME (412)962-1590 (207)967-3719 FIDONet 1:2601/512 FIDONet 1:326/209 Sysop: Sean Caszatt Sysop: Rick Lembree Mike's Video House Applied Computer Systems Glendale, CA North Highlands, CA (818)240-5769 (916)338-2543 FIDONet 1:102/852 FIDONet 1:203/227 Sysop: Mike Moon Sysop: Jeff Hayer The Gateway BBS Pioneers BBS Biloxi, MS Edmonds, WA (601)374-2697 (206)775-7983 FIDONet 1:3604/60 FIDONet 1:343/54 Sysop: Stace Cunningham Sysops: Mike & Marthe Arends Glenn's World Amiga Haven Salem, OR Ellerbe, NC (503)581-6524 (910)562-2367 FIDONet 1:3406/32 FIDONet 1:3634/40 Sysop: Glenn Schworak Sysop: Tom Clayton International Distribution Sites: Guru Meditation BBS Continental Drift BBS Madrid, Spain Sydney, Australia +34-1-383-1317 +611 949 4256 FIDONet N/A FIDONet N/A Sysop: Javier Frias Sysops: M. Chaffer & A. Lackmann We're also looking for non-FIDONet sites as well, so if you run a BBS and would like to be a distribution site, don't hesitate to ask. To become an official distribution site, please leave netmail to Sean Caszatt at 1:2601/512 or call Project Aurora direct. More sites are needed!!!! @ENDNODE