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Editor's Notes

Look Into the Future...

Well, we finally got around to putting together the Anniversary Issue. This month, you can find retrospectives (and in some ways, introspectives) from both Anthony Becker and me. We started our second year of publication in August, but have only had the time more recently to actually put these thoughts together.

And if I haven't said it already, it's hard to believe it's been such a long time! AM got started in the middle of 1996; that year is now a memory, and its successor, 1997, is nearing its end as well. There is little doubt a great deal has happened since then.

On the other hand, in some ways, not so much has happened. In other words, we haven't heard much about the Amiga's future lately. Now, to be fair, I dislike empty promises as much as any of us, and we were subjected to far too many of them over the years. Under Gateway 2000's ownership, we have not borne witness to such deception, fortunately. But, some big Amiga events and shows have been occurring lately, and expected announcements were not made.

The last thing I want to do is to try to rush Amiga International into making hasty announcements. My fear, however, is that with no word forthcoming, some users and developers might mistake the platform for dead, and leave. Granted, AI should by all means wait until they have a good, concrete basis for making an announcement before actually doing so; the point, however, is that the Amiga community should not be misled, directly or indirectly, into expecting major news. I did not attend the Midwest Amiga Exposition, and I did not travel to Cologne, but the general consensus among those who did seems to be that this did occur.

But let's not get paranoid. We may have developed such a tendency, along with the doubt, pessimism, skepticism, cynicism, etc., over the years, and worrying too much won't help either. The important thing is that no such "uncertainty trend" develops. Overall, I would commend Amiga International for most of their handling of the situation so far. It's good to keep projects under wraps until they are ready to be publicized. Well, I'm assuming there are projects...

Michael Webb
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 3-4, OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 1997

NEWS AND EDITORIAL

The Amiga Monitor, One Year Later
By Michael Webb
The Editor looks back through the year in which AM was created and took form, and recalls how everything got started, and what has occurred since then. Also, a tribute to all AM staffers, and a rededication for the future.

The Sam Report: Calendar Circling is Back
By Sam Ormes
Just when you thought we could relax for a while, another series of important Amiga dates passes - during which, however, little seems to come to pass.

The Midwest Amiga Exposition
By Beth Wise
Beth gives her report on this significant annual Amiga gathering. It's always a big event, but unfortunately, she and many other attendees of this year's show had to wonder if, considering corporate Amiga's actions there, the show was really able to live up to its billing.

Loss of News
By Michael Webb
One can't help but notice a change in the availability of Amiga information these days -- if not in content, at least in form.

Australian Amiga Gathering 1997 Report
By Guy Nathan
It's been several months since the Australian Amiga Gathering 1997, but due to some confusion and uncertainty, and in order to avoid misconceptions, we are publishing a different account of the same event. You need not disregard the previous report, but rather, consider both.

FEATURES

Once Bytten
By Kyle Webb
A powerful short story illustrating love's timeless endurance, and how it can be strained in the modern technological world, but never broken. Kyle Webb contributed her own original work of science fiction, a short story, to this issue of The Amiga Monitor.

REVIEWS

Using the Fargo Primera Pro Printer with the Amiga
By Bill Graham
Nucmong tells of his experiences with the ultra-high-quality output world of dye sublimation printing, and the Amiga.

SPOTLIGHT ON GAMES AND ENTERTAINMENT

Alien Breed 3D2: The Killing Grounds
By Steve Duff
Steve Duff takes a look at a game with a very familiar name, a pioneering one with a great deal of potential, but potential that was never truly realized. It also raises questions about standards, not only for the quality and system/user-friendliness of, but also for our frame of mind in evaluating, game software.

DEPARTMENTS

The Lost Tone Byte, including an Amiga Monitor retrospective
By Anthony Becker
Editor's Note: Oops! Due to an error, this Tone Byte was not included in the previous issue of The Amiga Monitor. It is still quite worthy of publication, but please bear with us if any of the information seems less timely than usual. Apologies to Tone for leaving this out last time.

The Tone Byte
By Anthony Becker
Tone takes a quick looks at a number of current Amiga products and issues.

Lame Humor Department
By Kyle Webb
A satirical, sarcastic, sardonic, and sometimes downright silly look at affairs in the Amiga community, and life in general...also known as The Amiga Monitor's comic page.

The Amiga Monitor: 1996-1997, Excelsior Digital Publishing
The Amiga Monitor's home site is at the URL's
http://mrw11.resnet.cornell.edu/monitor/index.html
and
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/HomePages/MikeWebb