CompuServe Messages

One of the C-A guys showed how to use a SuperBitMap window with hardware scrolling (like you could take a magnifying glass and run around over a map at very high speeds). You have to make all the right incantations, some of which are not exactly kosher Intuition but perfectly safe. A few of us got the *last* rev of IFF disk before it went to C-A (EA won't be able to give customer support on it, so if you want the "official" release, you have to contact Terry Ishida (I think) at C-A Los Gatos. The disk has the compiler-specific bugs worked out (different .h includes for Lattice vs Aztec) and some new thingies, like a program that takes a Dpaint picture and makes an icon out of it for you. (I'll probably upload that one if no one else has). There was a short demo of some guy's H.A.M. digitizer files; apparently, he has a simple picture (like 35mm slides?) digitizer and a GANGBUSTERS Hold-and-Modify software routine that makes 4096-color pictures. Even in 320 x 200 they look almost like broadcast video! No question about it, more colors improves the realism a LOT more than more resolution. Dunno what you can do with the pictures (other than show them in a slide show), since Dpaint &c can't hack the colors as far as I know. Bill Volk (Aegis) had some Aegis posters and brochures; supposedly he was gonna leave a disk or two of goodies in the library, but I didn't get a chance to see what that was. The meeting adjourned to the Oasis where C-A guys and the rest of us pondered the somewhat iffy future of the Amiga (WHERE IS THE BUSINESS AND MUSIC SOFTWARE???). That was about it. More or less the same sized crowd (80-100).