Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    I don't know of any, and I think such a thing would be very hard to
    produce.  The small IBM PCs are limited to 640K, whereas a respectable
    Amiga starts at 1MB (mine is 5MB).  The small PCs lack the flexible
    video output hardware of the Amiga, and it is this hardware that has
    made the Amiga attractive to artists.
    
    Also, the Amiga has a multi-tasking operating system.  This would be
    hard to emulate under MS-DOS, though not impossible.
    
    In addition, the Amiga uses the 68000 family of processors, whereas the
    PC uses the 8086 family.  Thus, Amiga emulation on an IBM PC or clone
    would require software interpretation of each instruction, which would
    make the system a factor of 10 to 20 slower than a real Amiga.  The
    result would very likely be unuseable.
    
    The Amiga has some nifty graphics hardware, which makes it run fast.
    An emulator would also have to emulate that, which would slow it down
    even more.
    
    In short, it can't be done in a reasonable way.
    
    Why do you want to do this?  It would be simpler to just pick up an
    Amiga 500 at your local Commodore dealer.  Ask for a demo: if you're
    used only to the small IBM PCs and their clones, it will blow your
    socks off.
        John Sauter

    I think since DEC is sponsoring the event, they want to have some
    DEC hardware on display...  For stills you might want to check the
    NAC::IBMPC notesfile.  I believe there is an IFF to GIF converter
    there somewhere.  Then you could use an IBM GIF display program
    to draw the pic on the PC.  You'll want to have EGA or VGA to do
    the picture justice though.  You could always put an Amiga under
    the table :-).
    
    - steve

RE: .1 "Why"

I think he wants to show some DEC personal computers doing what the Amiga
can do.

 >>We 
>>want to use some of our products in this presentation.

>I need to know if there are any product in the market 
>that can be used in a VAXMATE or DECstation 320 to emulate the AMIGA software.

RE .0:  

I think you'll have to ask in the PC conference for ways to turbocharge
PCs. Probably the most famous Amiga Paint program is Deluxe Paint which
I think Electronic Arts produces for the PC. If the Amiga is not in the same 
room with the PC, you can create and show some art with that. ;-}

DR

    re: the quest
    
    I think on Fish Disk #164 (which I'm still hunting for...) there
    is a program that will display IFF pictures on an ibmpc EGA.  Anybody
    care to upload it?
    
    Deluxe Paint on the ibmpc I think can input Amiga IFF pictures.
    I got VPIC14.ARC from the CSCMAS:: files, it has claims to be able
    to save in Deluxe Paint EGA and VGA format.  I'll let you know if
    that means IFF or not (VPIC is a GIF file viewer)
    
    On a related subject, has there been any news/updates on the
    development of GIF viewers for the Amiga?  I remember somebody was
    trying to do a great HAM mode GIF viewer.
    
    -Dave

    
    one other possiblility is to show how well the Amiga works with
    DEC's networking.  There is a company in Wilmington, Mass that
    is porting TSSnet's DECnet to the Amiga.  It was supposed to be
    in beta test a while ago, don't know what the current status is.
    I believe that would let you hook the Amiga over thinwire ethernet
    to the DECstation or VAXmate.  Then just put DECnet-DOS on the
    pc clones and run FAL.  Should make an interesting file server
    for the Amiga (assuming the pc clones have a reasonable size
    harddisks).
    
    -Dave
    p.s. or network them using kermit over a null modem connection
    
    

    While I have no ideas on system hardware,you could use a LA252 to
    get hardcopy.It puts out a nice print,and this may be a real crowd
    pleaser.Of course if the artist wants to run a slide show then I
    guess DEC had better accept the Idea of an amiga.It was not the
    artist who came up with IBM boxs for messy dos support.NOW if dec
    could have saw the value in an Amiga w/bridgeboard,ethernet,and
    windows naw....
    								bill

    [This is reply .6, rethought a bit.]
    
    Other replies in this note will give technically oriented answers
    to the request in the base note.  I'd like to approach this from
    a different direction.
    
    Technically, it is possible with enough persistence to transfer
    graphic images from an Amiga to a PC.  For that matter, it is possible
    to get Amiga images onto a VAX workstation screen.  VGA hardware
    has roughly the same capability as Amiga hardware, and VAXstations
    have better capability.
    
    But technical parity or superiority does not mean that images will
    look the same on different hardware.  I would bet that the artist
    in question created his images knowing the strengths and weaknesses
    of Amiga.  The images will lose something in translation, much like
    the difference between a photographic print and a magazine
    reproduction.
    
    Will the artist be satisfied with the look of his images on different
    hardware?
    
    If the writer in .0 is serious about displaying images on DEC hardware,
    I suggest he make it possible for the artist to _create_ images
    on DEC hardware.  The issue here is not merely technical.
    
    Wes Plouff

    		When and where is the exhibition ??
    
    	If you want to try, Johnny Perez in DEC's Aguadilla plant has
    an AMIGA 500. (At least six months ago). You can find him in the
    training department. He can also put you in contact with a non-DEC
    person who has lots of good stuff for the AMIGA and is also
    knowledgeable in IBM PC's. (Ask him for Aleco).
    
    Miguel A. Alvarez (from AGO, but in Ireland for two more months).  

SOME MORE DETAIL ON THE REQUEST .0


We need some AMIGA-DEC expertise to convert AMIGA graphics and 
animation created on a 2.5MB AMIGA-DOS system using DeluxePaint and 
VideoEscape 3-D/AEGIS  to a Digital based system.  This is for an 
important exhibition which we will be having in late May and we need 
to convert the AMIGA based pictures into DIGITAL machines.
                                                             
What we want is to use a DEC machine for the exhibiton, so that the artist
can do demos, and probably for hands on for visitors.  A partial solution,
    such as having the DEC system displaying picture files, is acceptable.

We have been looking into the DECstations (TANDY machines) that were 
announced recently, since they are MS-DOS and there is a DeluxePaint 
version for it.  Is there anybody who has done this already? 

Armando Irizarry

    re: .10
    
    I looked at the files that VPIC14 saved in "DeluxePaint" format
    on the ibmpc.  They are indeed IFF format.  The problem is that
    difference between VGA graphics modes and Amiga graphics modes.
    I was able to use PLOP to view the 16 color pics on my Amiga,
    all of my picture viewers choked on the 320x200x256 color pictures.
    (View complained about a malformed FORM for the 16 color pics)
    
    In particular:
    
    1. The popular Amiga graphics modes are 320x200x32 colors
                                            320x400x32 colors
                                            640x200x16 colors
                                            640x400x16 colors
                                            320x200x4096 colors 
                                            320x400x4096 colors
       Note that you can use less colors, but usually that is only found
    for pictures ported from some "other" computer.
        
    2. My Paradise VGA Plus card offers 320x200x16 colors
                                        640x350x16 colors
                                        640x480x16 colors
                                        320x200x256 colors
       It has lots of other graphics modes but those are the closest
     I could find to the amiga graphics modes.
                                                        
    -dave

    	Note 1933 describes a converter and view program for viewing
    AMIGA IFF files in a GPX workstation. Maybe this could help.
    
    	Anybody tried it ?
    
    	Miguel A. Alvarez

Except it only works under UIS. They should be using DECwindows for 
presentations!


John