• NEW: Removes non-printables from the misc-field.
• NEW: New-button added to the requester. Press it to do a new version search.
• BUGFIX: It didn't recognized packed files that cannot be loaded with LoadSeg(). Now it shall recognize all crunch algorithms that xfdmaster.library can handle, including XPK.
• BUGFIX: There was a space too much between the version number and the date.
• BUGFIX: Only the name and the version number without any letters shall be printed if LIKECVER is set. Should be compatible with standard C:version now.
• BUGFIX: If FULL was set together with LIKECVER the output was not fully compatible with original C:version.
• BUGFIX: If LIKECVER was set in the VERSIONWB_PARAM but the argument TEXT was given then only one line was printed.

VowaData.lha         biz/dbase   93K+Datafile (V1.37) for VorwahlenGUI
STFax4Demo.lha       biz/demo   1.3M+STFax 4 Demo (Fax/Voice package)
xtm-bacteria.lha     biz/dkg     60K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-bluerings.lha    biz/dkg     65K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-bluewall.lha     biz/dkg     59K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-brownbump.lha    biz/dkg     46K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-carnival.lha     biz/dkg     62K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-darkroots.lha    biz/dkg     60K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-funkyblue.lha    biz/dkg     61K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-galaxy.lha       biz/dkg     65K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-greenherb.lha    biz/dkg     60K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-greensand.lha    biz/dkg     58K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-greenvege.lha    biz/dkg     59K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-hellsharp.lha    biz/dkg     74K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-huegreen.lha     biz/dkg     77K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-leafzoom.lha     biz/dkg     40K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-life.lha         biz/dkg     65K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-merlets.lha      biz/dkg     63K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-munkplasma.lha   biz/dkg     61K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-nightmare.lha    biz/dkg     76K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-pavon.lha        biz/dkg     63K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-plasmadark.lha   biz/dkg     57K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-plasmashet.lha   biz/dkg     68K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-purplebump.lha   biz/dkg     65K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-purplehole.lha   biz/dkg     65K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-purplelava.lha   biz/dkg     68K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-purpleplsm.lha   biz/dkg     64K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-purplerel2.lha   biz/dkg     61K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-purplerelf.lha   biz/dkg    105K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-redbfly.lha      biz/dkg     56K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-redplasma.lha    biz/dkg     61K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-scratchbmp.lha   biz/dkg     63K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-spikewall.lha    biz/dkg     62K+Additional texture for Extreme
xtm-yellowdrm.lha    biz/dkg     60K+Additional texture for Extreme
GDTrash.lha          biz/dopus   56K+Win95 recycle bin for Dopus5 MagII V1.1
Super_DO58upd.lha    biz/dopus    2K+Update to ppaint.dopus5 in Super_Dopus58
Super_DOpus58u.lha   biz/dopus    2K+Update to ppaint.dopus5 in Super_Dopus58
VideoCodec_FTs.lha   biz/dopus   24K+Update to AVI and QT filetypes
FondsCalc.lha        biz/misc    33K+Calculation for money makers
HomeBank_Dt.lha      biz/misc     8K+German catalog for HomeBank v1.3
hardchecker1_8.lha   comm/bbs   390K+Uploadchecker for  PMBS (German only)
systeminfo1_2.lha    comm/bbs    14K+Infoprg for PMBS (German Only)
warwall1_2.lha       comm/bbs    42K+A wall for PMBS (German Only)
cybershiela.lha      comm/irc    97K+An IRC Script Bot with Interactive conve
DalHelper.lha        comm/irc    35K+Interface to Dalnet Services: (Chan/Memo
nickalert.lha        comm/irc     3K+Notifies you if your nick is mentioned i
popupmagic.lha       comm/irc   318K+POpUp MaGiC v.5 Beta pOpuP System contai
wordalert.lha        comm/irc     9K+Notifies you if a specific word is menti
POP3send.lha         comm/mail    9K+Send mail using POP3 protocol and YAM
Life1_2.lha          comm/maxs   13K+Uncrashes Maxs/Paragon BBS Doors
Amiganet.txt         comm/misc    2K+Information on how to access FIDONET via
SnoopTAT.lha         comm/misc   22K+Internet Phone Cost V 1.0 By 41 (Italian
nc_update.lha        comm/news  110K+Offline Newsreader Version 1.18 (MUI)
newscoaster.lha      comm/news  256K+Offline Newsreader Version 1.18 (MUI)
YamNews.lha          comm/news    6K+Offline news script for YAM 2
SimpleFTP.lha        comm/tcp    86K+SimpleFTP v1.75 - Easy to use FTP client
TView.lha            comm/tcp    61K+List TV-programs in Europe. (V1.0)
GMAutoWrite.lha      comm/thor    9K+Automatically post messages with Thor, v
GMSignature.lha      comm/thor    7K+Enhances Signature system in Thor, v0.2
autoindex2h.lha      comm/www    77K+Generates html doc to view pictures with
a8s-kdv2.lha         demo/euro   17M+"Kassadamo" by After Eights - TG98 wild 
lamebomb.lha         demo/euro  3.2M+LAMEBOMB by LAMERS - FIRST PLACE ON XENI
MWI-EclipseFix.lha   demo/intro  64K+"eclipse fixed" by madwizards - xenium`9
MWI-SDV21.lha        demo/mag   1.2M+SAVE DA VINYL #21 - packmag by Madwizard
ACE_ByteRun.lha      dev/basic    3K+Fast ByteRun De/Compression for ACE Basi
hookfunc.lha         dev/basic    4K+[Blitz2] Working example of hooks
IFFsave.lha          dev/basic    3K+Correctly save an IFF/ILBM picture    
PMM.lha              dev/c      2.8M+Project-Make-Manager (PMM) for vbcc
stormamigalib.lha    dev/c       80K+Small and fast linker lib for StormC (de
2b_CreativE.lha      dev/e       73K+AmigaE compiler
Python152.lha        dev/lang   1.0M+Python language 1.5.2 (bin+lib)
Python152_Src.lha    dev/lang   744K+Python language 1.5.2 (source)
Devices.lha          dev/misc     4K+Tiny tool to get all infos about DOS dev
icqsocket.lha        dev/misc    50K+ICQSocket.library V1.0
WHDLoad_dev.lha      dev/misc   314K+HD-Installer for OS-Killer
WHDLoad_usr.lha      dev/misc   115K+HD-Installer for OS-Killer
HunkFunc.lha         dev/moni    14K+V1.8 display executable file structure
MCDP_AKPanels.lha    disk/cdrom  39K+Some 8-col. MWB style panels for MCDPlay
adosguide.lha        docs/help  284K+Detailed AmigaDOS Ref Guide. V2.6
amiuserlist.lha      docs/lists  45K+AmigaUserList V6.94 of Germany, Switzerl
CHTM1099.lha         docs/lists 105K+CoNnEcTiOnS: October 1999 - UK BBS Scene
CNCT1099.lha         docs/lists  54K+CoNnEcTiOnS: October 1999 - UK BBS Scene
ACNews_15.lha        docs/mags   27K+E-zine focused on Amiga News: #15-Octobr
AFD-Files1-13.lha    docs/misc  121K+Standard Copyright Note in 13 languages
MaP_Music3.lha       game/data  1.1M+New cardset for MarryAmPic
MRP_Guignols98.lha   game/data  2.0M+CardSet for Marryampic
AmberMoon-It.lha     game/hint    9K+Translation > Italian Language of the Ex
buzzyneervoort.lha   game/jump  154K+New Level for the Game Buzzy !
SaveEd.lha           game/misc   82K+Universal save game editor
AF1upgrI.lha         game/patch  55K+Utilities, new car objects and FAQ for V
WHDIDemos.lzh        game/patch 567K+Harddisk Installs using WHDLoad
WHDIGamesA-B.lzh     game/patch 740K+Harddisk Installs using WHDLoad
WHDIGamesC-D.lzh     game/patch 870K+Harddisk Installs using WHDLoad
WHDIGamesE-F.lzh     game/patch 507K+Harddisk Installs using WHDLoad
WHDIGamesG-I.lzh     game/patch 797K+Harddisk Installs using WHDLoad
WHDIGamesJ-M.lzh     game/patch 762K+Harddisk Installs using WHDLoad
WHDIGamesN-R.lzh     game/patch 892K+Harddisk Installs using WHDLoad
WHDIGamesS-T.lzh     game/patch 987K+Harddisk Installs using WHDLoad
WHDIGamesU-Z.lzh     game/patch 515K+Harddisk Installs using WHDLoad
KC0.6.1.lha          game/role   86K+Create your hero for RPG Krysztaly Czasu
SameGame.lha         game/think  10K+Addictive puzzle game with colored balls
VSV_src.lha          gfx/3d      43K+Unready Videoscape3D-Viewer with source
maxsampler.lha       hard/hack   63K+Audio sampler (MONO) for Amiga with Maxi
TP3.lha              hard/hack  275K+A SAVE TriplePlay MIDI-Interface for Bar
AmiMasterGear.lha    misc/emu    55K+Master System and Game Gear Emulator
ASpEmu.lha           misc/emu    16K+V064. ZXSpectrum48K emulator. AGA only.
Electrostatic.lha    misc/emu   103K+Atari 2600 emulator/translator. V2.2
Mac_Troub3_PDF.lha   misc/emu   1.2M+Macintosh Troubleshooter v3.0 PDF
actors.lha           misc/imdb   21M+Actors.list (29.10.1999)
actresses.lha        misc/imdb   11M+Actresses.list (29.10.1999)
aka-names.lha        misc/imdb  488K+Aka-names.list (29.10.1999)
aka-titles.lha       misc/imdb  1.8M+Aka-titles.list (29.10.1999)
alternate-vers.lha   misc/imdb  277K+Alternate-versions.list (29.10.1999)
biographies.lha      misc/imdb   14M+Biographies.list (29.10.1999)
business.lha         misc/imdb  698K+Business.list (29.10.1999)
certificates.lha     misc/imdb  502K+Certificates.list (29.10.1999)
cinematographr.lha   misc/imdb  1.3M+Cinematographers.list (29.10.1999)
color-info.lha       misc/imdb  1.5M+Color-info.list (29.10.1999)
complete-cast.lha    misc/imdb  296K+Complete-cast.list (29.10.1999)
complete-crew.lha    misc/imdb   91K+Complete-crew.list (29.10.1999)
composers.lha        misc/imdb  1.2M+Composers.list (29.10.1999)
costume-design.lha   misc/imdb  409K+Costume-designers.list (29.10.1999)
countries.lha        misc/imdb  2.0M+Countries.list (29.10.1999)
crazy-credits.lha    misc/imdb   89K+Crazy-credits.list (29.10.1999)
directors.lha        misc/imdb  2.7M+Directors.list (29.10.1999)
distributors.lha     misc/imdb  1.0M+Distributors.list (29.10.1999)
editors.lha          misc/imdb  975K+Editors.list (29.10.1999)
genres.lha           misc/imdb  1.4M+Genres.list (29.10.1999)
german-aka-tit.lha   misc/imdb  354K+German-aka-titles.list (29.10.1999)
goofs.lha            misc/imdb  290K+Goofs.list (29.10.1999)
imdbDiff991022.lha   misc/imdb  1.8M+Diffs for the Internet MovieDatabase
iso-aka-titles.lha   misc/imdb   22K+Iso-aka-titles.list (29.10.1999)
italian-aka-ti.lha   misc/imdb  423K+Italian-aka-titles.list (29.10.1999)
keywords.lha         misc/imdb  1.7M+Keywords.list (29.10.1999)
language.lha         misc/imdb  1.5M+Language.list (29.10.1999)
laserdisc.lha        misc/imdb  910K+Laserdisc.list (29.10.1999)
literature.lha       misc/imdb  895K+Literature.list (29.10.1999)
locations.lha        misc/imdb  675K+Locations.list (29.10.1999)
misc-companies.lha   misc/imdb  303K+Miscellaneous-companies.list (29.10.1999
miscellaneous.lha    misc/imdb  7.1M+Miscellaneous.list (29.10.1999)
movie-links.lha      misc/imdb  1.8M+Movie-links.list (29.10.1999)
movies.lha           misc/imdb  2.4M+Movies.list (29.10.1999)
mpaa-ratings-r.lha   misc/imdb   62K+Mpaa-ratings-reasons.list (29.10.1999)
plot.lha             misc/imdb  7.0M+Plot.list (29.10.1999)
producers.lha        misc/imdb  2.0M+Producers.list (29.10.1999)
production-com.lha   misc/imdb  2.2M+Production-companies.list (29.10.1999)
production-des.lha   misc/imdb  438K+Production-designers.list (29.10.1999)
quotes.lha           misc/imdb  1.8M+Quotes.list (29.10.1999)
ratings.lha          misc/imdb  551K+Ratings.list (29.10.1999)
release-dates.lha    misc/imdb  1.5M+Release-dates.list (29.10.1999)
running-times.lha    misc/imdb  1.0M+Running-times.list (29.10.1999)
sound-mix.lha        misc/imdb  763K+Sound-mix.list (29.10.1999)
soundtracks.lha      misc/imdb  1.3M+Soundtracks.list (29.10.1999)
special-fx-com.lha   misc/imdb   59K+Special-effects-companies.list (29.10.19
taglines.lha         misc/imdb  354K+Taglines.list (29.10.1999)
technical.lha        misc/imdb  1.1M+Technical.list (29.10.1999)
trivia.lha           misc/imdb  661K+Trivia.list (29.10.1999)
writers.lha          misc/imdb  2.9M+Writers.list (29.10.1999)
Lotto.lha            misc/misc  771K+Play (Ger) Lotto! Print forms. (V1.33)
SpaTra05.lha         misc/misc  147K+Spanish Translations Pack 05 v0.6
sbf_bopt.lha         mods/chip    4K+Back on PT - PT mod - sbf/phx (Slarti)
sbf_matl.lha         mods/chip    7K+Mat Lead - PT mod - sbf/phx (slarti)
pie_curse.lha        mods/hardc 562K+Hardcore by Dj Pie / Lunatic 99
pie_fkit.lha         mods/hardc 409K+Hardcore by Dj Pie / Lunatic 99
pie_hallwn.lha       mods/hardc 1.1M+Halloween HC. by Dj Pie / Lunatic 99
pie_killer.lha       mods/hardc 1.2M+Hardcore by Dj Pie / Lunatic 99
pie_killu.lha        mods/hardc 527K+Hardcore by Dj Pie / Lunatic 99
pie_ruff.lha         mods/hardc 245K+Hardcore by Dj Pie / Lunatic 99
pie_tedge.lha        mods/hardc 418K+Hardcore by Dj Pie / Lunatic 99
rNO-L009.lha         mods/misc  177K+Rno-label release no.9 by roz (house)
sbf_bkrx.lha         mods/misc  256K+Biond my Kontrol Remix - XM - sbf/phx
sbf_dawa.lha         mods/misc   33K+Dark Water - XM - sbf/phx (Slarti)
sbf_ncrx.lha         mods/misc  214K+No Chance REMIX - XM - sbf/phx (slarti)
sbf_waar.lha         mods/misc  115K+Wall around - XM - sbf/phx (slarti)
CIE-Forward.mpg      mods/mpg   4.8M+Rno-label release no.10 by cie (detroit)
DarkNight.mpg        mods/mpg   5.5M+Dark Night by DanDude  Halloween tune
IntoTheLight.mpg     mods/mpg   1.6M+Into The Light MP3 by Cooksey's Band v2
LNM.mpg              mods/mpg   2.3M+Happy Hardcore/Breakbeat tune by NoctReX
mosquito_gigue.mpg   mods/mpg   1.0M+A weird tune for weird folks.
rondo.mpg            mods/mpg   2.6M+Piano tune in a late classical/early rom
synth_quartet.mpg    mods/mpg   5.5M+"Synth Quartet" in a late classical/earl
sbf_2m4y.lha         mods/pro   402K+2 Mad 4 you - PT mod - sbf/phx (slarti)
AutoMapper.lha       mus/midi    19K+TX16W utility; if you own this box get v
DelfMPEG.lha         mus/play    49K+MPEG audio player for Delfina DSP
povo.lha             pix/anim   143K+Very elite anim i made... bla gamm
raider_moa.mpg       pix/anim   209K+MPG-Animation with Babylon5 Raider Objec
Earthfx.jpg          pix/art     43K+Example of pyro-plugins in fxPaint
Harakiri-Flip.lha    pix/art    170K+Pics from unreleased Harakiri Slideshow
Harakiri-Not.lha     pix/art    434K+Pics from unreleased Harakiri Slideshow
MagicaRoma_Wb.lha    pix/back    79K+Magica Roma WB Backgrounds
Faster.jpg           pix/trace  225K+"Faster" trace picture 800x600x24
bondshot.lha         pix/wb      99K+WB snapshot (1024x768x16)
FontCache.lha        text/font   27K+Disk cache of available fonts, faster re
prtman39.lha         text/print 161K+Printmanager for AmigaOS3 (39.29a)
Zoom.lha             util/app   199K+The "do everything" appicon (FREEWARE)
pwdgen.lha           util/cli     7K+Generates random password
VersCheck.lha        util/cli   527K+Check your libs,MUI,devs,dtypes,classes,
DateLib.lha          util/libs  218K+Library to help you calculate dates
loto99.lha           util/misc  105K+National Lottery & *Thunderball* checker
MultiRen.lha         util/misc   44K+Powerful multi-file renaming tool
WOSprefs.lha         util/misc   32K+WarpOS/StormMESA/Warp3D prefs program
PatchMore.lha        util/sys     1K+Patch 'More' 44.3 to use 800x400 window
PoolMem.lha          util/sys    70K+Memory defragmentizer/AllocP superset
Sort_44.2.lha        util/sys     4K+Sort V44.2
DRemind.lha          util/time   90K+Reminds you whenever you want.. v1.5!
DMAmon.lha           util/wb     19K+Workbench monitor for floppies and sound

From        Marko Seppänen marko.seppanen@wwnet.fi
To          petra.struck@online-club.de
Date        Fri, 29 Oct 1999 21:26:29 +0200
Subject     News

Here's something to think about for customers, who are planning to buy an
image manipulation program..

Image Engineer
Visual Engineering

Once upon time..


On the shelf of the computer store were 3 image manipulation programs.
Customer was wondering, which one should he buy. One of the programs told
him to by it, because it's best image processing software for Amiga. Another
proclaim itself best program in the whole world. Customer ask from third one
the same question. Third one answered with a grin on his face; "I'm not as
well known as those others. I'm only best on this shelf.."

"And what's is your name", customer asked smiling.

"Image Engineer", program answered.

"And why would I buy you", customer wondered.

"Please, take a seat. This might take a minute."


"Like everyone seems used to say, me either aren't like the others. I'd say
I'm something brand-new, if this was the case, but I'm the same program than
2 years ago. Even then I was unusual program. I could do hundreds of things
that couldn't be possible with others. Someone might say they aren't needed
or they could be better, but that's just lies. Other programs have Big
Effects, you are forced to use, but I'm build of small effects. By combining
them together, you can build these big effects (if you wish) or create your
own ones. As I always open new window after an effect, you always see all
the material on my screen at once. With tutorials included with me and
tutorials at my website, you'll get the idea. Sometimes you ofcourse just
want to load an image and press "Go". A good friend of mine has combined
these small effects together, so (for example) all you need to do for
creating a puzzle from image, you just press a mouse button.. well, twice.."

"Did this thing have a name", customer asks.

"Under name, Visual Engineering, there's many add-ons to be used with me.
They are separate products, but their power can also be combined together.
My friend is a nice guy, he gives most of them for free. Some of them are
very complex (but still user friendly) and have been so time consuming, that
it is just fair to ask a small registration fee from them.."

"There's one thing, that bothers me..", customer starts and continues then:
"If there's many small effects for you to calculate, then can you really
handle it all in reasonable time?"

"Sure. I've always been fast, whatever I do. Question you should ask is, can
these other programs calculate big resolution images with all the multiple
layers, alphachannels and their heavy effects, in reasonable time. I hope
they aren't telling you they could do it in realtime with reasonable
headache."

"Well, I've mostly been reading their feature lists..", customer confess.

"How about, if you try demoversion of Image Engineer and it's add-ons for
some time and then we'll get back to this?"

"That might be a good idea", customer says.

"Remember that I'm always there giving you personal help, if you need it."

"Great. I'll keep this in my mind. See you later."


DEMO version of Image Engineer is available at it's website:
http://www.amigaworld.com/support/imageengineer/

Visual Engineering (add-ons for Image Engineer) are available at:
http://wwnet.fi/users/smarko/visual/

Marko Seppänen
marko.seppanen@wwnet.fi

• Deutsche Übersetzung inkl. Schnellstart Kapitel sowie aller Kapitel (inkl. Browser und CineMorph) mit Ausnahme Kapitel 8
• Aktualisiert bis V. 4.0
• Alle Seiten farbig
• Neue Screenshots, neue Bilder
• Zusätzliche Shareware, Demo und Freeware Programme; Scripts (FX FORGE!)
• Im HTML Format mit beiliegendem Browser
• Im PageStream Format (V2.2) zum Selbstausdruck
• Inkl. PageStream 2.2SE (AMINET CD10) (unter Vorbehalt)
• Preis: DM 60,-, bei Vorbestellung DM 50,- inkl. Verpackung und Porto, bei Vorkasse oder Überweisung + 9,- DM für Nachnahme
• Ab Januar 2000 erhältlich bei: FoptiX, Gunnar Gertzen GbR, Leddinweg 21, 30627 Hannover, Tel 05 11 - 541 35 68

Date:     Wed, 27 Oct 1999 17:48:38 +0200
From:     Sven Drieling Sven_Drieling@welcome.north.de
Subject:  [TA] AmigaOS Open Source (was Re: savetheamiga petetion)
To:       redaktion@amiga-news.de (Redaktion)

* Forwarded from newsgroup "a Mail"
* Originally from: Olaf Barthel (olsen-ta@sourcery.han.de)
* Original date: Tue, 26 Oct 1999 18:38:30 +0100


On Oct 25 Nomad (Nomad of Norad (David C. Hall)) wrote:

> In a forwarded message, by "Steve Crietzman" president@savetheamiga.org.uk,
> which was written on 23 Oct 1999, was said:
>
> > I am considering creating a survey to collect some useful
> > numbers and statistics.  This should prove interesting either way,
> > but I am also considering making this into a petition, so that
> > those who would like to see AmigaOS open-sourced can give
> > their backing and support to the idea, and then have all
> > this information forwarding to Amiga President Tom Schmidt
> > - to help him in making his decision ;)
>
> Well, if we can get a huge enough group of people to go to the site and
> participate, then regardless of the answers we get, it might get GatesWay's
> attention simply from the numbers that show up.

   Before you start working on a petition, I'd like you to consider a few
things first. An open source AmigaOS is not going to cure all the problems we
are facing today. If you are going to ask for support, also ask why exactly you
want AmigaOS to go Open Source. What may come out of the equation might not be
what you are expecting. For example, AmigaOS is protected by a number of
patents of which the first may run out in the year 2003. Making the operating
system open source does not necessarily include the option that Gateway will
also hand over the patents. One such patent covers the way pull-down menus are
drawn on the Amiga. To avoid patent infringement, one would have to make major
changes to Intuition. Next thing, the name "Amiga" is a trademark, so is
"Kickstart", so is "Workbench", so is "AmigaGuide", so is "AmigaDOS" and a
number of other names. One would need to get permission to use these
trademarks, even for such innocent things as "amigaguide.library",
"workbench.library", etc. which concern the API. If you can't use those names,
you get into real trouble since the names are associated with the AmigaOS
programming interface. And don't forget that the material that ships on a
Workbench disk and the code and data you find in ROM is not exclusively owned
by Gateway. There is 3rd party material included which Commodore used to
license either in binary form or as a special kind of source code license
which did not allow for redistribution. This means for example, an open source
AmigaOS would not include ARexx, the Fountain/bullet.library font rasterizer,
CrossDOS, 68040.library, mathffp.library, the mathieee libraries, none of the
Adobe bitmap fonts, none of the AGFA CompuGraphic fonts, etc. Next comes the
question of build tools: a source code is dead material unless you can build a
working product from it. And AmigaOS is built using a variety of 3rd party
tools for which Commodore used to obtain licenses which did not allow for
redistribution either: part of the operating system is built using a `C'
compiler developed by Green Hills, Inc. You won't be able to use that compiler
without a license, and their products aren't cheap.

Ok, so far I have only touched some of the issues involved, but there are
plenty more (such as involving quality: most open source projects suffer from
ineffective to inexistant quality control; once this happens to AmigaOS, you
can expect most of the commercial developers left in the market to abandon
ship). The general impression I got so far is that the people who ask for
making AmigaOS open source do not realize what it is they would be getting.
Worse, they don't even know exactly why they are asking for it. All by itself,
the source code won't help us. There's plenty more to take into consideration.

Take great care, as it may be possible that Gateway, unaware of the details,
may make the decision to turn the AmigaOS source code loose, but fail to
provide for the means to allow it to survive. Then AmigaOS will be really
dead, killed by legal restrictions.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Home: Olaf Barthel, Brabeckstrasse 35, D-30559 Hannover
 Net: olsen@sourcery.han.de (Home), olsen@logicalline.com (Work)

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Date:     Wed, 27 Oct 1999 17:51:37 +0200
From:     Sven Drieling Sven_Drieling@welcome.north.de
Subject:  Re: [TA] AmigaOS Open Source (was Re: savetheamiga petetion
To:       redaktion@amiga-news.de (Redaktion)

* Forwarded from newsgroup "a Mail"
* Originally from: Olaf Barthel (olsen-ta@sourcery.han.de)
* Original date: Wed, 27 Oct 1999 09:35:54 +0100


On Oct 27 wurzel (wurzel) wrote:

> Hiya, on Tue, 26 Oct 1999 18:38:30 +0100,
> Olaf Barthel wrote about *"[TA] AmigaOS Open Source (was Re: savetheamiga
petetion)".*
>
> >    Before you start working on a petition, I'd like you to consider a few
> > things first. An open source AmigaOS is not going to cure all the problems we
> > are facing today. If you are going to ask for support, also ask why exactly you
> > want AmigaOS to go Open Source. What may come out of the equation might not be
> > what you are expecting. For example, AmigaOS is protected by a number of
> > patents of which the first may run out in the year 2003. Making the operating
> > system open source does not necessarily include the option that Gateway will
> > also hand over the patents. One such patent covers the way pull-down menus are
> > drawn on the Amiga. To avoid patent infringement, one would have to make major
> > changes to Intuition. Next thing, the name "Amiga" is a trademark, so is
> > "Kickstart", so is "Workbench", so is "AmigaGuide", so is "AmigaDOS" and a
> > number of other names. One would need to get permission to use these
> > trademarks, even for such innocent things as "amigaguide.library",
> > "workbench.library", etc. which concern the API. If you can't use those names,
> > you get into real trouble since the names are associated with the AmigaOS
> > programming interface. And don't forget that the material that ships on a
>
> [Snip a whole load of well informed reasoning]
>
> Thanks, Olaf, for putting things straight!

   Credit where credit is due, the issue was originally raised by
Holger Kruse on a private mailing list. I have both abridged and
tried to add to his original argumentation (for example, the
term "open source" is very loosely defined today; one would have
to agree on a common definition).

> I am not a developer and do not jump onto the bandwagon "Make AmigaOS Open
> Source", because I did not know exactly what that meant. Now you have
> clearly shown what it entails and I agree with you that it is a bad idea.
> FWIW, IMHO etc.

   I tried to keep the message neutral. Making AmigaOS Open Source may
work out, but there are risks attached to such an attempt which may make
it impractical. Whether this makes it a good or a bad idea is a decision
that's up to the reader. I used to advocate making AmigaOS Open Source,
but Holger made me reconsider.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Home: Olaf Barthel, Brabeckstrasse 35, D-30559 Hannover
 Net: olsen@sourcery.han.de (Home), olsen@logicalline.com (Work)