At leisure - answers to frequently asked questions about your Amiga.

Music by Andrew Fer



    RESPONDS TO THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS!


     -WILL AMIGO releasing?


     -At the present time are made:


    1. Amiga International Firm in Europe
and QuikPak in USA:


    A1200 Magic (details, below) A1200
Surfer A4000T/040 A4000T/060 (A6000)


    2. The German firm Eagle Computer
produces the model:


    Eagle 1200TE, Eagle 1200TE/040 Eagle
1200TE (Eagle 1200TE + Blizzard 1230/IV)
Eagle 1200TE (Eagle 1200TE + Blizzard 1260)
Eagle 4000TE, as well as kits for the upgrade
A1200 in the A1200T (Shuttle Boards)


    3.Nemetskaya Micronik company produces:


    A1300 (A1200T/ZorroII)
A1500 (A1200T/ZorroIII), as well as kits for
upgrades in A1200T A1200


    4. Firm Silent Paw Productions
produced models Amiga-Laptop:


    PAWS1200 PAWS4000


    5. Several firms in Velikobretanii
also received a license to manufacture
Clone Amigo.


    In the second quarter of 1998, German
firm Phase 5 digital products planned
start your computer the next generation - A / BOX. Sample 
characteristics: 


    all computer components "protection" in
single chip, 128-bit internal
bus, PowerPC processor at up to
500Mhz, separate video memory for windows
two video outputs, two video inputs, 4 physical channel 16-bit 
audio. 



    -What is the difference from the AMIGA AMIGA Surfer
Magic?


     -A1200 Surfer = A1200Magic +2 "270Mb HDD +
Modem 14400 external + suite
Internet +100 free hours in the
ibm.net.



    -What are the characteristics A1200?


    1.AGA-chip having sleuyuschie
Features:

. schedule 1 to 8 bits per pixel,
. mode HAM8 (16 million colors)
. hardware sprites and 16 colors with a transparent color and a 
resolution that does not depend on the screen resolution,

. Hardware implementation of block persylok,
vector graphics and shading of polygons.
sanctioned and independent scrolling of two
screens - dual playfield,
. RISC-processor (Copper), which monitors
moving the beam across the screen and allowing
change the graphics mode on the fly,
. arbitrary control frequencies of developable
weave,
. the ability to synchronize from an external
vieosignala,
. 14-bit stereo


    2.Dvunapravleeny parallel port
(Centronics)

    3.Video output RGB (digital TTL 4-bit
and analog)

    4.Nizkochastotny PAL (NTSC) video output

    5.Vysokochastotny PAL (NTSC) output
(For antenna TV input)

    6.Skorostnoy serial port RS232C

    7.Stereo audio output is automatically
switched to mono when you connect
only one channel

    8.Interfeys for external
drive (up to three devices)

    9.Dva size sockets controller (similar to
SEGA) and mouse (Bus Mouse)

   10.IDE ATA interface (for 2.5 "and 3.5"
drives)

   11.PC-CARD (PCMCIA) interface (for example, Ethernet-cards)

   12.Vstroennaya membrane keypad (
()

   13.Diskovod 3.5 "880Kb 14.Intereys processor bus 
(Trapdoor-slot) to connect the accelerator to the processor 
68030/040/060/PowerPc, fast-memory, clock Real-Time and Fast 
SCSI-2 controller. 


    AMIGA 4000T incorporates:


    1.Protsessor Motorola 68040 25 Mhz
2.Kontroller fast-memory 3.Fast SCSI-2
controller


    2.Diskovod 3.5 "1.76Mb 5.Sloty ZorroIII-32-bit asynchronous 
bus avtokonfiguriruemaya 


    Everything else is similar to that
for A1200, except the absence of pal
(Ntsc) encoder and videomodulyatora. Instead of
Trapdoor-slot installed CPU-slot into which you installed 
motherboard with the processor. AMIGA 4000T/060 instead of the 
board 68040/25 equipped 68060/50.




    -WHAT IS GENLOCK?


    -This is a fee or a separate device
allows you to "impose" the image of
computer to video. With its
done by simply using the video montage:
imposition of titles on video, was implemented by the Box
computer generated imagery in film ... Total
working principle is: the screen is drawn
picture, one of the colors which is "transparent", ie instead 
of points this color will be seen vidiosignal.




  -Tell us briefly about OPPORTUNITIES Amigo.


    -Istorichski AMIGA was not devepoled
as a set of boards for self-assembly,
but as a single board is almost completely
completed computer. The essentials - video, audio, keyboard 
controllers, floppy drives, ports - has been integrated in the 
chipset (chipset), which is the "heart" of any Amiga. And in a 
Motherboard postovlyaetsya that usually unlikely whether the 
need for most polzoeateley: Capture Cards, NICs, etc.

The very first used in the Amiga OCS chipset
(Original ChipSet) - already in 1984
the very first Amiga he made available 14bitny stereo and 4096 
colors on the screen simultaneously with hardware compression 
(Mode HAM). In the next version - ECS (Enhanced) - added the 
possibility of arbitrary manipulated by the refresh rate (not 
only television frequencies) and new permission. And finally, a 
modern chipset (Actually it is quite old, released in 1992) - 
AGA (Advanced Graphics Architecture), formerly known as AA, 
completely removed all limits on color - Now in all modes 
available to 16 million colors. This whole line is maintained 
Software compatibility: the program is well written for older 
chipsets are fully functional in the new. 



    All currently manufactured are based on the Amiga
AGA chipset. On the other hand, the possibility
chipset does not limit the graphics capabilities of the 
machine: if you want to receive "Crazy" just to have a permit or

opportunity to connect more than one monitor, AMIGA easily 
extended graphics cards. Same goes for the sound - available 
multichannel audio card. 



    -WHAT IS THE MODE HAM8?



    Mode-HAM (Hold and Modify) - is
graphics mode with hardware compression. In the AGA-shnom mode 
HAM8 at eight physical bits per pixel in a video

gets 18-bit screen, that is, 262,144
colors simultaneously. This compression - so
called lossy compression, similar to a JPEG, a color point 
mode, HAM depends on the color dots to the left of

her. Using this mode reduces the
memory requirements for storing graphics and
demands for speed hard drive for
playing with his full-color animation
(For VHS-quality animation, missing two with
half megabytes per second). The disadvantage
HAM regime is a practical impossibility to change certain areas 
of the picture: to change the picture, as a rule, necessary to 
bring it all over again. 



    -What is Copper?



    -This is a RISC - the processor in the chipset. As befits a 
truly RISC - processor, it has only three operations, and

implements its program - copperlist. Copper is the task of 
tracking the position of the beam on and perform certain 
operations when the beam is at fixed points. Due to different 
Copper portions of the screen may have different vieorezhimy 
and located in different places videopamya TUE. Ability to 
"offset" screens AmigaOS - Copper is also a merit. However, as

many beautiful effects in demah and toys.



    -WHAT IS BLITTER?



    -This is another composes chipset.
Blitter designed to "transfer" and
overlay graphics, vector drawing, and
painting the planes without the participation of
CPU. Due to this
during blittera processor can
engage in "their affairs."



    , Which monitor will come to an AMIGO?



    -Almost any. The cheapest solution - the TV, it can be 
connected in three ways - at a high frequency (output RF 
modulator, the worst quality) to low frequency (output Comp) 
and RGB through SCART (best quality). Use any

video monitor from the old Soviet and of bourgeois art (BC, 
Spectrum, Agate, ATARI, COMMODORE, etc.). In this case, 
obtained permission from 320 (362) to 1448 pixels per line, and 
256-280 lines vertically. When using the so-called interlaced

scanner can produce up to 576 lines - but
and the image will flicker (this
mode is used in television). SVGA
Monitors from PC allow ispolzovat
permission type 640x480, and if there
Graphics Card - 800x600 or more (some instances can run at 
800x600 to VGA). Multisync - monitors (this is the

the best option for Amiga) allows
use the above modes (including
800x600) without a graphics card.