Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!usc!apple!vsi1!teraida!zehntel!donw
From: donw@zehntel.zehntel.com (Don White)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Black BElt Video
Message-ID: <3057@zehntel.UUCP>
Date: 6 Jan 90 00:39:34 GMT
References: <973@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca>
Sender: usenet@zehntel.UUCP
Reply-To: donw@zehntel.UUCP (Don White)
Organization: Zehntel, Inc. Walnut Creek, CA
Lines: 47

In article <973@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca> lphillips@lpami.wimsey.bc.ca (Larry Phillips) writes:
>In <25a12198:3611comp.sys.amiga@tronsbox.UUCP>, tron1@tronsbox.UUCP (HIM) writes:
>>There has been some talk on the net about an expanded Video adapter from
>>BLACK BELT. Well, I gave them a call today and they are for real. developer
>>units are hoped for in January , and the commercial right after (the FCC).
>>
>> [ lengthy specs deleted ... ]
>>
>>Currently, we have talked to Impulse (Silver), NewTek (Digipaint),
>>MicroIllusions (Photon Paint II), Electronic Arts (DPaint, Deluxe Photo
>>Lab) and ASDG (Professional ScanLab, ScanLab 100) about the HAM-E. All
>>were enthusiastic and interested, and all have already ordered units
>>from the developer run. Support has been promised for format conversion
>>for the various 24 bit file formats that are out there, and we have
>>barely scratched the surface as of yet.
>
>Ben Williams, designer of the HAM-E board, and VP/Engineering of Black Belt,
>has posted a correction to the above on Compuserve. I asked him if he'd like
>to have the posting here corrected, and he said yes, so here it is.
>
>NewTek has changed their mind about supporting the HAM-E product, giving the
>reason as (paraphrased) "we have been working on a similar board for some time
>now".  This change of heart came about two weeks after they received the specs
>on HAM-E and expressed interest in supporting the Black Belt product.
>

     This is interesting. About two years ago, I had a talk with Tim Jennison.
  I had a HAM paint program started. Since NewTek only had Digi-View and no
  hint of a paint program, I decided to run it by Mr. Jennison. In our 
  conversation, I said that I had this program that would be an excellent
  complement to thier only current product. (i.e. Digi-View). All I needed
  was information about the format of their pictures both the old format 
  which was just a bitmap dump and the newer IFF stuff. Tims' response
  was that HAM was far too slow for a paint program and if I wanted to
  pursue it I should bug Electronic Arts. It's a heck of a coincidence that
  about seven months later they came out with Digi-Paint. Hmmmm.

     Now, it appears that they were given specs and came across with positive
  statements about HAM-E then two weeks later announced that they had 'been
  working on a simialar board for some time now'?

     I may not understand the situation clearly, but it sounds prudent not
  to include Mr Jennison in conversations about new products.

     Don White
     Box 271177 Concord, CA. 94527-1177
     zehntel!donw