By Kyle Webb, Assistant Editor, See staff list for e-mail address
Welcome to what I hope will become a regular feature in The Amiga Monitor. My editor forwarded a press release to me a few weeks ago; I decided to expand a bit on the "print-it-verbatim" approach. It didn't take long to discover that even minor research sent a sizable amount of my time into The Black Hole that is The World Wide Web (or, World Wide Wait, if you prefer). Rather reminds me of spelunking; untold numbers of passageways, some of which lead into huge caverns; some leads that look promising can suddenly dead-end, and you can very easily get lost.
The following announcement regarding AmiWest '98 (by far not the only Amiga community gathering) was received in my office the day we went to press with our previous issue. Being a monthly publication (yes, we had some hiccups late 1997) *does* mean select items we print will be dated. Which leads me to my next exposition...
I'd felt that giving "detailed" attention to AmiWest without reviewing the upcoming International Amiga '98, May 29 and 30, in Toronto would be "rude." I discovered that "daunting" was the appropriate descriptive term for attempting to examine and scrutinize what has been thoroughly covered elsewhere... (http://www.cucug.org/amiga.html)
Additionally, that release came out quite some time ago, and as such, the preliminaries for International Amiga 98 are well under way. I feel like I showed up at a party when the guests are getting ready to leave. So:
If you'll forgive me, I should like to begin this series with my most recent acquisition, and go on to feature different shows as they are announced. I appeal to the readers to help me stay current on this project; if you see a press release or a link to an upcoming show, there's no guarantee that I will have seen it. As is the nature of the Amiga Community, the sharing of information is the foundation of our existence. Feel free to e-mail me with any applicable links or URL's. That being said, on to the featured selection:
We are proud to announce The Amiga West Coast show, AmiWest98.
Join us at the Ramada Inn in Sacramento, California on July 11th and 12th, 1998. This showcase of Amiga talent is being jointly sponsored by the Sacramento Amiga Computer Club, the Redwood Empire Amiga Users Group, and other West Coast user groups and is officially sanctioned by Amiga, Inc. and the Industry Council Open Amiga (ICOA).
AmiWest98 is the first Amiga show to be produced on the West Coast in over four years. We expect attendance from all over the Western United States with special guests from throughout the world. Come see the newest in Amiga improvements; see and speak with the developers during two full days of show exhibits from major Amiga companies.
ICOA, the official developer arm for the Amiga, will also be hosting a four day Developer's Conference at the show. The main events will be held on July 11th and 12th with seminars and developer sessions spanning the four days between Friday, July 10th and Monday, July 13th.
Space is available for rent to companies, clubs, organizations, and individuals producing Amiga related products and services. This four day weekend event will showcase the progress that IS the Amiga Community.
Booth pricing is available on our web page:
http://www.sacc.org/amiwest/
Admission to the event is as follows:
$8 (One day Pass - Paid by July 1, 1998)
$10 (One day Pass - Paid at the door)
$12 (Two day pass - Paid by July 1, 1998)
$15 (Two day pass - Paid at the door)
There will also be a banquet on Saturday evening, July 11th, with guest speaker to be announced. Banquet tickets are $25 per plate and MUST be paid in advance. Seating is limited and tickets for the banquet are available on a first come, first served basis.
For more information contact either Alan Crandall at alanwall@sonic.net or John Zacharias at jzachar@calweb.com or write to us at:
AmiWest98 c/o Sacramento Amiga Computer Club P.O. Box 19784 Sacramento, CA 95819-0784
Come visit us at our web site!
Alan Crandall
alanwall@sonic.net
John Zacharias
jzachar@calweb.com
"1998 is going to be a fun ride!" AmiWest98, get in, strap in, hang on!
As of this writing, there are seven companies listed for participation in AmiWest '98; three, A+ Productions, Hamimations, and AEMail, are described, or have been described through inquiries, as businesses operated by members of two featured User Group sponsors of AmiWest '98: respectively, Redwood Empire Amiga Users Group, and the Sacramento Amiga Computer Club.
A+ PRODUCTIONS: Alan Crandall, Librarian and Newsletter Editor for the Redwood Empire Amiga Users Group, is marketing through his web page a line of CD's for the Amiga featuring images in IFF/PNG/JPEG format. Additionally, he provides a text/HTML language translation service. He has been very gracious and prompt in handling my inquiries and requests pertinent to the show. Many thanks, Alan. :)
AEMAIL: John Zacharias, "AmigaZette" Editor for the Sacramento Amiga Computer Club, and author of AEMail (an Internet E-Mail Client/Mail User Agent; a demo version can be downloaded from his site; registered version available) created the AmiWest '98 site. It is simple and logical, and *near* error-free, as an informational site *should* be; additionally, the links are relevant to the show, and to the contiguous service businesses and geographical location.
AMIGAZONE: Founded in 1985; Harv Laser, Sysop/Moderator, runs a fee-based web site, an "...online resource, community and oasis for Amiga computer owners, users, and lovers." Rather than describe the contents and their availability, why not open a FREE 2-WEEK (limited, of course) TRIAL ACCOUNT? - through their adjunct site, by way of the AmiWest '98 site.
HAMIMATIONS: Gene Hamm, President of Redwood Empire Amiga Users group, is "...a long-time Amiga animator with videos on doing painting/animations on the Amiga and has worked for George Lucas."
NOVA DESIGN, INC.: If you've managed to miss the regular run of full-color glossy ads for ImageFX, or Aladdin 4D, allow me to wake you up. :) "ImageFX is the Amiga's top-rated image editing and special effects package." Aladdin is "...a full-featured 3D package." 'Nuff said. (I should think :)
VISIONSOFT: "An authorized Amiga dealer since 1990...specializing in memory modules, hardware, and software for the Amiga platform." While glancing over their site, I bookmarked their "Books, Manuals and Magazines" page, as we have quite a collection of antique Amiga products. (What are closets for? :)
WONDER COMPUTERS: "Canada's Home of Amiga," a full-service retailer of Amiga software and hardware, offers an ISP Service (to Canada's Capital Region). Their site also features news and update links (Amiga.org), including the now-infamous "War of The Worlds" style postings/web sites for clickBOOM; additionally, it is the home for Amici Amiga Club, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
A footnote: I contacted television station KXTV, channel 10, Sacramento (an ABC satellite), with an inquiry regarding their intent to cover the event. Who knows, maybe we'll have some footage for you in the future. What's the worst that can happen, they'll "just say no..?"
I'll bring the popcorn.