AmiS 2003

Interview mit AmiS

(eNote, Visual Guide)

Hello, please Introduce yourself for the Readers!

I am a russian programmer.

I am known as AmiS in community.

I live and work in Moscow (Russia)

Since did you start to work with the Amiga?

I work with Amiga since 1995.

What Amiga Modell do you own?

The configuration of my Amiga is:

- A1200 Tower (self-made)

- Blizzard 1260/60 + SCSI kit

- 40 Mb of Fast RAM

- CDRW Yamaha 8824s SCSI

- 60 Gb IBM HDD

- Iomega JAZ SCSI 1 Gb

- BlackOut Buster UPS

- Viewsonic 15 GA monitor

I plan to buy a Pegasos I in the nearest future

and then change it on Pegasos II Dual G4.

What Version of the OS is running on your Computer?

AmigaOS 3.9, exec v.44.1 by Harry "Piru" Sintonen

Can you please, tell us what your software is about?

My most known works on Amiga are 3 programs

made in the period since 1997 till 2002:

eNote (AFD-Cardware) - electronical notebook.

This programm is an electronic notebook.

Probably everyone knows the situation - you need to write something quickly (phone, address, filename,URL, etc.)

and your table starts looking like a paper bin, and there is a trash can in your paper notebook.

After some time you cannot find something in there.

Finally, according to Murphy's law, you lose the most necessary piece of paper, and thieves take your notebook from your pocket.

There are many ways you can solve this problem, but all of them are usually reduced to a DOpus5 menu/button or a hot key text editor.

But a text editor doesn't usually load very quickly.

Besides, this method has some shortcomings.

For example: you loaded the editor for some file, then forgot about it, and load it again, then changed something and saved the result.

Then you found ( :) ) the previously-started copy, changed something again and saved the result - you have successfully killed your previously-made changes.

Besides, things like colour marking, various styles (italics, underline,bold), various types of formatting etc.

are provided only in pretty powerful packages like FinalWriter or WordWorth, which are not very suitable as a notebook.

The program eNote has none of the above shortcomings.

Features:

- Comfortable MUI interface.

- Capability to configure the external appearance.

- Ability to handle xpk files.

- Localization.

- ARexx port.

- Capability of orthographic checking.

- Password protection of data.

- Comfortable text searching.

- Automatic data saving.

- Ability to save/read documents in various formats.

- Text design (styles, decorative separation).

- RESIDENT mode for quick opening.

- Ability to switch between screens.

- OpenURL handling.

- eNote is a full Commodity programm.

- Drag&Drop handling.

- Context Menu.

- NewMouse Support.

( Available on Aminet: text/misc/eNote.lha )

VisualGuide (AFD-Freeware) - Make filelist in AmigaGuide format.

Makes file-list in AmigaGuide® format from your directories.

Include: Name, Lenght, Version, Date, Time, Comment, Access.

Features

- Executable from CLI and WB.

- Hard and Soft links support.

- PFS Rollover File is support.

- Version recognizing.

- MUI interface.

( Available on Aminet: util/misc/VisualGuide.lha )

lzxRepacker (AFD-Freeware) - Repack LHA/ARJ/ZIP/RAR/... to LZX

LZXRepacker repacks different archive types to LZX with corrupt checking,

variable compression rate (intelligent BEST MODE - if LZX archive is bigger

than the previous one then the old archive will be the one that remains).

The program removes uncorrect symbols like "( ) [ ] |" from directory names and replaces them by "underscore", because LZX does not support these symbols and does not pack them.

LZXRepacker has priority options for background repacking.

Features

Supported archive types: LZX, LHA, ARJ, ZIP, RAR, HA, TAR, TGZ, SHR, ZOO.

All archives are recognized by contents (they do not need a proper extension) except for TAR, TGZ.

Also Supported Self-extracting archives RAR, ZIP and ARJ.

To work, LZXRepacker calls external programs from C: directory, they are:

LZX (1.21), LHA (1.62), UnZIP (5.4), UnARJ (AmigaPort 1.04 of UnARJ 2.41),

UnRAR (2.02), HA (0.999b), UnTAR (37.1), UnTGZ (1.5), Shrink (1.1), ZOO (2.1), and all XAD archives support.

Program versions are the versions we use and the ones we recommend.

If you use a different version, chances are you must adjust the s:LzxRepacker.config file.

( Available on Aminet: util/arc/LzxRepacker.lha )

Also I wrote several specific programs for Russian Amiga users. Like the text converter for example.

Here in Russia we have a problem with various codepages.

I am also trying to do my best in YAMos project.

Not long ago me and several other active amiga users made Russian software developement group on Amiga/MorphOS platforms.

Our first project is a keymap switcher with several additional features.

What created the idea in you to continue developing your software?

My willing to see more good programs on Amiga.

By the way all the programs I write I started to develop only because I see that they are required,

but all other similar programs are too far away of wanted.

Sometimes it is simplier to write your own program then to write your suggestions to other similar program's authors.

The same was story with LzxRepacker.

When it was required to repack the aminet archives to lzx first of all I asked all my friends about what they are using

and what they are missing in such a programs.

It is happened so that there were no such good program at all.

First of all I tried to modify the existing Rexx programs, but then I decided to refuse of this practice and to write my own program.

The same story was with eNote too.

How long took the development up to now?

I started to program on Amiga since 1995.

Gradually I had less and more less time on this.

At this moment I have almost no time for Amiga developement.

But sometimes I try to make a bit.

At the evenings when I have a propriate mood and powers I add new features and fix some errors in my products if they are.

What software are you using?

I use various software.

I use YAM for my e-mailing.

When developing I use SAS/C,GCC, PhxAss...

For what system are you developing?

I write programs for classic AmigaOS and for Linux.

I plan to write programs for MorphOS in future.

Would you support the "AmigaOS 4.0" or "MorphOS"?

I support MorphOS because I think that this is a real continuation of such a great consept which is called "Amiga".

Amiga is not a trademark - it is an IDEA!

MorphOS most completely fits this idea.

Speaking about AmigaOS4, we know almost nothing about it in our country.

Generally the closed politics of Amiga Inc. seems suspicious.

And some products of their partners are too big and buggy.

Are we having big improvements in AOS 3.5 in comparison to 3.1?

But where we lost those several disquettes?

The only thing I hope is that AmigaOS4 will work on Pegasos.

What can we expect from future versions?

Nowadays the developement of my programs had slowed down dramatically.

It is because my main work takes almost all of my time.

But I hope that all ideas which I had planned and all my projects I started or planned to start will be realized.

In the future versions of VisualGuide first of all I plan to insert the HTML support.

Probably it will be able to work with FTP so one could scan FTP server.

There are also several ideas for eNote but I don't want speak about them for now.

I could say that the existing alpha version of it has complete configuration.

But all depends on my users.

Don't you lose the fun and interest in developing

when you see the small amount of feedback you get from the small Amiga market?

Of course, because I got the impression that no one wants my work.

But I need to say that all of my programs first of all needed by me

and my friends who are my main users, betatesters and route all my powers.

And even if the community has a poor reaction on some of my projects I continue

to support them for me and all those people who need them.

Get you enough Feedback for you Software?

Nop.

I have too low response as a rule.

I was pleasingly surprized with several cards to eNote (AFD-Cardware).

Big thanks to those who supported me...

When did you use your Amiga for the last time?

I use it every day. :)

What software have you bought for your Amiga last time?

Last i bought was AmigaOS, AmIRC, Voyager.

But unfortunately it is too complicated to buy anything in our country because of low money incomes of Russians which do

ot allow them to buy expensive programs.

What software do you use till today?

CED, AmIRC, YAM, SAS/C and many other good products.

What soft/hardware are you planning to buy?

I plan to buy a Pegasos and of cource MorphOS.

Probably lately I will buy AmigaOS4, but only if it will work on Pegasos.

Do you believe in a comeback of Amiga?

I believe that MorphOS/Pegasos will replace Amiga to us and will do even more.

Your last words to our Readers?

I want to thank all those who are not indifferent to fate of Amiga CONCEPT.

Thank you for you not leaving our lines, that you are continuing to support this platform

and people who are making the beautiful programs for Amiga.

Try to believe that only one letter to the simple enthusiast who is making may be little but interesting programs for free for us weights much more and brings more joy than successes on the job bringing great income.

I call you to support Amiga developers because they are making Amiga like it is now.