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From: seanc@pro-party.cts.com (Sean Cunningham)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Commodore at FCC
Message-ID: <4621@crash.cts.com>
Date: 24 Sep 90 06:16:02 GMT
Sender: root@crash.cts.com
Lines: 100

In-Reply-To: message from rehrauer@apollo.HP.COM

 
Since multimedia came up in the last post, and there was a question of which
platform would look better to developers, your $1K figure for the NeXT
application was abit optimistic.
 
I've got an information packet on MEDIASTATION from Imagine, Inc. for the
NeXT.  Here's what you get:

ARCHIVAL FEATURES:

Format Mode
...Design of entries with fields and buttons
...Button types:
     Sound buttons
     Image buttons
     Movie buttons
           (frame by frame animation)
...Field types:
     Non-srolling text fields
     Scrolling text fields

Enter Mode
...Edit and store text, images, sounds, and animation
...Import text, graphics, and sound from other applications
...Organize archives into multiple tables

Browse Mode
...Sophisticated searching
...Simultaneous view of entries and tables
...View multiple entries and images
...Play back animations and sounds

Presentation Mode
...Turn archives into desktop presentations
...Automatically scroll selected text
...create electronic storyboards

IMAGE CAPTURE FEATURES

...Direct interface to scanners
...store up to 32bit color
...TIFF file reader and writer
       (supports NeXT, Macintosh, and PC formats)
...Load images from disk

SOUND CAPTURE FEATURES

...Direct sampling of voice-quality audio
       (8kHz, 8bits)
...Direct sampling of CD-quality audio
       (44.1kHz, 16bits; 22kHz, 16bits)
...Load sounds from disk

EDITING FEATURES

...Image processing tools
...sound editing tools
...word processing tools

OTHER FEATURES

...Easy to use GUI
...Organize the cataloging of images and sounds on optical disks
...Export images to desktop publishing software
...Full networking capabilities
...Multiuser
...Password protection

Hmmm...anything we really haven't seen before?  Anything really revolutionary?
I'll admit that those last three features are neat...but everything else is
available, and more for the Amiga, and I don't remember seeing features like a
relational database, videodisc and Sony U-Matic (3/4") support, conventional
programming functions, or music capabilities included.  All these and more
come with AmigaVision which comes free with every new Amiga (excluding the
A500c).
 
Anyone care to take a guess how much MEDIASTATION will cost a NeXT user??? 
How about $2,500?  While it does have the image capture and sound capture
features, even if you had to pay $150 for AmigaVision you could get either an
A.M.A.S. (and then you'd have MIDI capabilities as well), or Perfect Sound,
and The Art Deparment, and you wouldn't have even spent 1/3 of what
MEDIASTATION costs.  And you would have a more flexable system.  And you'd be
able to distribute your presentations on a format that almost everyone has
access to...VIDEO.
 
This might be taken as a flame...but it's really just an observation.
 
Sean
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