#VTU EXPO
Hi Dale,
I was able to get to see the exhibits at VT Expo for 2 1/2 hrs on the last
day. Even though this isn't near enough time to check everything out, I got a
'decent' overview of several products.
Brute beasts of render were in evidence everywhere. Several models of the
Raptors were being shown by DevWare Video. The ShaBLAMM, a RISC based board for
VESA VL-BUS PC's looked like a very cost-effective solution if you have the PC.
A couple of companies were selling workstations based on the Alpha AXP CPU. My
favorite was Carrera Computers Inc. 275MHz Cobra. This machine operates Windows
NT and comes with ScreamerNET and an Ethernet Card for a net link with an
Amiga. This thing was 'chewing' up LW scences at a clip that would make ANY
animator/renderer drool in public. I did <g>!
The brief glimpses I had of Flyer demos at the NewTek booth looked very good.
NewTek is offering LightWave 3D for PC and SGI as well as Amiga. List price is
$995.
Probably the best news for Amigans is the announcement by MacroSystems of a
"new" Computer. it's called 'DraCo' of all things. It is not an Amiga. But you
can run most Amiga hardware and software with "dramatic results". DraCo is an
Amiga OS computer that DOESN'T use the custom chips. These chips have been
replaced with powerful software and hardware combinations. (eg. blitter
replaced by NCR 53C720, also used in the WARP engine)
Following are some technical data:
CPU: 68060
Operating System: Amiga OS and UNIX
Case: Full Tower
I/O: SCSI II; 2 Parallel Ports
Slots: 2-DraCo direct 32 interfaces to Retina BLT and VLab Motion
5-ZorroII
CDROM: Triple Speed- Standard
Graphics: DraCo Retina BLT with 120 Mhz pixel freq and data rate of 180/Sec
in 24bit.
Memory: 4-128MB
Software Compatability: All system compatible programs will work. Software
that runs on graphics cards will work.
Hardware Compatability: All that are custom chipset independant.
Public presentation in the Spring of '95 and delivery by mid-year. No Proto was
on display. This info was contained in a flyer.
**********************************
Well at least 'somebody' will be making new machines.<g> I chose to take this
as a sign that there still is hope for new energy to infuse the Amiga market.
Heavy-weight hardware was the dominant force at the VT EXPO but there still was
a 'healthy' presence of the Amiga.
The highlight of the show for me came when, I was casually browsing for
software at the Anti-Gravity booth. I had a man standing next to me also
looking at software. I glanced up at him and to my surprise I "knew" him in an
instance. No it wasn't St. Nick! <g> It was actor Dick Van Dyke!! I did the
'Amiga thing' and introduced myself and struck up a conversation based on my
hope that he was a Video Toaster user. I was right. He has a small home
video/audio studio based around the Toaster. He is very aware that the Amiga is
the machine behind the Toaster and that its status is unclear. He was so easy
to chat with and even consented to an autograph. My first meeting with a 'star'
and he's an Amiga user. Too Cool!
Hopefully there will be a show next year. I plan to be able take in a lot more
of the exhibits.
………………from 3D Amiga space…………..
Thomas Barker