ANNOUNCING A BRAND NEW “AGA” FOR 2023 AMIGA GLOBAL ALLIANCE

Creating a central hub welcoming Commodore (all model) computers and Amiga fans and providers from around the globe to collaborate

BACK THIS PROJECT HERE!

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A big hello to all Commodore and Amiga fans wherever you live in the world: The time has come to stand up and be counted – subscribe to AGA (Amiga Global Alliance) and between us let’s build the best Retro Computing Community on the planet!

We’re excited to announce that we’ve secured the domain name “AGA.Directory” as the cornerstone of a groundbreaking new website. 

Our mission is to construct the most all-inclusive platform that fully embodies the rich diversity and exceptional talent that our global community has to offer. This platform is set to become a thorough resource, featuring listings and URL links to any individual or company providing services to our community, no matter where in the world they’re located.

For the first time ever, we’re rallying Amiga enthusiasts, Commodore/Amiga clubs, developers, animators, repairers, wholesalers, shops, magazines, authors, component suppliers, webmasters, musicians, 3D artists, and more, from every corner of the globe, to collaborate together.

The Site

Here’s a sneak peek into the features you can expect from AGA.Directory:

• Open Forum: A space for both group and individual discussions.
• Market Place: A portal to buy and sell new and used items.
• CATS (Commodore Amiga Technical Support): Dedicated technical support for all your Commodore and Amiga needs.
• Calendar: A global events diary keeping you updated on upcoming events.
• Jobs: A platform for freelance services, whether you’re offering or seeking, full time or part time.
• Archive/Library: A long-term storage space that’s always accessible.
• Goodies: A section filled with treasures donated by fellow AGA subscribers.
• Database/Directory: An extensive list of contacts via URL/email/phone.

Plus, anything else our valuable subscribers suggest.

We’re eager to list all clubs and groups who subscribe. We warmly welcome every single Commodore/Amiga fan, regardless of nationality, language, ethnicity, or religious belief, to join this thriving community. As a participant, you’ll be contributing to the welfare and health of the most robust and powerful retro community ever!

Once you join, every club and group, wherever you’re located, will be listed with links to your sites. Whenever you’re hosting meetings or special events, you’ll have the opportunity to advertise on a truly global scale.

Before we delve into the other benefits this project offers to all the creative designers and technical wizards in our community, let’s touch on how we’re constructing AGA.Directory.

The Team

We’ve brought on board a team of highly qualified website and IT professionals to build our platform. They are committed to bringing our vision to life, ensuring that AGA.Directory becomes the go-to resource for the global Amiga community.

Lead Webmaster – Paolo D’urso – Founder/Publisher of Amiga Passione magazine and behind IT company https://lightage.it

Webmaster – Steve Moorehouse – Manazing Director of Albany Computer Services, UK.

Derek Knaggs BSc (Hons) Computing (First Class) – Joint Founder https://flamelily.it UK

Justin Mitchell – Founder of Breadbox and Commodore Computer Museum Youtuber – New Zealand.

Elliot Christensen – Podcaster, Marketer, Futurist – USA

Dave Kirkwood – Bachelor of Computing Science and PhD in Simulation

What We Will Do With The Money Raised:

• Website Construction and Maintenance
• Operational Expenses and Administration
• Governance

At present, we’ve pledged to reinvest 65% of all incoming revenue back into our community. This reinvestment will be utilized to:

Provide seed funding for the development of new software, including productivity tools, apps, and games.

Foster innovation in hardware development of all kinds.

Support advertising, promotional activities, and assistance with social media campaigns.

Facilitate magazine publishing (both print and online), product launches, club activities, and events.

To ensure we meet these objectives and safeguard against errors or poor judgment, we’ve assembled an “Advisory Board” comprising esteemed industry figures with a wealth of experience. Their role will be to guide us in making wise decisions about reinvesting funds back into the community.

Advisers and Technical Team

For technical evaluation and approval, we have so far elisted the help of the following individuals:

Mike Nurney – UK, Tomasz Marcinowski – Poland, Paul Rezendes – USA

Marvin Droogsma – The Netherlands, Frank Linhares – Canada, Dave Haynie – USA

Community Help

We also have some dedicated Amiga fans from the community who have kindly offered to lend their knowledge and assistance on  community liason and promotion, including:

“Amiga Bill” Bill Winters – USA,  Andy C Spencer – UK, Paul Kitching – Global

Dave McMurtrie – USA, Bartek Dramczyk – Poland, Paolo D’Urso – Italy

Joerg Droege – Germany, Dan Wood – UK, Claudio De Castro – Argentina

Launch Date

We are thrilled to announce the anticipated launch date for our website, “Aga.Directory” for August 1st, 2023.  (This date is subject to change, however your 1 year membership will commence from the ACTUAL DATE the website Aga.Directory goes live).

As an AGA member, you’ll enjoy a wealth of benefits, including:

• Early Access: Get a head start with advance notice of and access to new products.
• Member Discounts: Enjoy exclusive member-to-member discounts, which we negotiate on your behalf and will vary by product.
• Membership Certificate: As a token of our appreciation, every member will receive a signed certificate.

Competition – Win a MiniMig

Like all my Kickstarter campaigns, I’m offering an exciting prize to one lucky backer. This includes those who’ve already committed to the Amiga Global Alliance. This time around, we’re delighted to offer the impressive MiniMig v1.97itx 6MB (Black ENIG), CPU MC68SEC000.

This is the new 2023 REV 97itx of the MiniMig board. It boasts major improvements including a 6-layer ENIG, resettable fuse, +5V voltage regulation, super coupling, support for 60MHz MC68SEC000, a new OCS/ECS MIA chip, support for TF030 @ 50MHz, and support for PiStorm kick.rom caching. LED indicators for +3.3, +1.25, +2.5. +5V, fast CBTD shifters, a MiniITX form factor, and 6MB of RAM are other highlights of this revision.

This fantastic prize will be delivered in a stylish crystal case. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of something groundbreaking, and get a chance to win this incredible prize!

Rewards

We’re thrilled to offer a Special Introductory Launch Bonus Bundle as an extra reward for our backers. This bumper bundle is packed with a wealth of digital goodies:

1. “Commodore: The Inside Story” (E-book or Audiobook Download): Delve into the intriguing history of how a billion-dollar company went bankrupt.

1. “From Vultures to Vampires Volume 1: 1995 – 2005” (E-book Download): A riveting account of the battles for Commodore/Amiga Trademarks, IPs, Logos, Patents, and the technology that was being developed by various companies. An essential read for any enthusiast.
2. “From Vultures to Vampires Volume 2: 2005 -2010” (E-book Download): The saga continues in this brand-new release (May 2023), charting the next phase of the Commodore/Amiga journey.

1. “Amiga Live and Kicking” Video (Download): Produced by Wavem Studios, this video provides an inside look at the Amiga journey, featuring compelling interviews.

1. “Cosmic Force” New C64 Game (Download): A highly addictive “Shoot ’em up” action game developed and released by Wavem Studios.

• Commodore Alive and Kicking (Download): Another production by Wavem Studios, continuing the narrative of the Commodore’s enduring legacy.

1. “Everybody’s Girlfriend” Music Album (Download): A musical celebration of 10 years of the Amiga, featuring a mix of genres and styles. This album, recorded by Tangent Music Design, features live performers, including the homage to Jay Miner, “Para mi Amiga”, composed and performed by David John Pleasance.

1. “Rising Sun” Debut Album by Satya (Download): Enjoy the debut album from the Peterborough-based 8-piece Reggae Dub band, “Satya”, featuring Marcel & Emile Pleasance, David’s sons. This album includes 15 tracks, from “Sunrise” to “Sunset”, plus 2 bonus tracks. 

1) Rising Sun

2) Eternal Love

3) Take a Shot

4) Only We

5) In The Sun

6) Bones

7) Change Our Way

8) Dimensions

9) Punarbahva

10) Sometimes 

11) Take me as I am

12) Aquarius

13) Move On

14) The Uprising

15) Sunset

TWO BONUS TRACKS

Like Water 

True to You 

Be part of our journey and enjoy these exclusive rewards!

Testimonials

Thanks to the following members of the Amiga community for showing their support and belief in the idea of the Amiga Global Alliance:

Events

Look out for AGA at Amiga 38 in Germany this October.

Risks and challenges

While we have put in extensive effort and planning into this project, as with any endeavor, there are inherent risks and challenges involved. Here are the potential hurdles we foresee: Project Timeline: The most significant risk involves our project timeline. While we have an anticipated launch date set for August, 2023, unforeseen circumstances could potentially cause delays. These could include technical issues with website development, unexpected setbacks in our operations, or other external factors beyond our control. We assure you that we have a dedicated team working diligently to ensure we meet our target date and, should any delays arise, we will communicate openly and promptly with our backers about any changes to our schedule. To mitigate these risks, we have established a strong plan and team, complete with contingency measures. We remain committed to transparency and will keep our backers informed about our progress, challenges, and successes every step of the way. Thank you for your understanding and support.Learn about accountability on Kickstarter

Questions about this project? Check out the FAQ

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Back at it Again with the A3000

At it again but with the A3000 plastic face. Like the 4000 ones I had done this is in high resolution printed resin. Its very stiff and not brittle at all. I did this in preparation of my upcoming AA3000+ build. Come join us in the Discord server! https://discord.gg/xBrgrFneqt

RIP Taylor Calk

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1722304768?tt_medium=mobile_web_share&tt_content=vod

It’s not ever easy saying goodbye to a fellow member in our community and especially one like Taylor. Please take the time to celebrate and remember him through this great replay Amiga Bill did on Twitch. Taylor was part of the Pintz & Amiga show and will be greatly missed.

New US Layout Amiga keys Arrived!

It’s been a long wait but the first of the two sets of key caps I ordered many years ago from the kickstarter campaign have arrived. As reported other places I can confirm my set of US layout keys is missing the period. I’m told a replacement key will be sent out eventually, but no timeline on that has been announced. They otherwise look pretty great and I’m pleased with them.

Tank Mouse Goes Into Production!

Lukas Remis, the designer and founder of the awesome Kick Starter project for Tank Mouse has released a new update about the project today. Everything is on track and in production! I have posted his release below, or if you would like to go directly to the source it can be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lukas-remis/tank-mouse-your-new-amiga-mouse/posts/3681988?ref=ksr_email_backer_project_update_registered_users

Hello,

Sorry for a longer break since the last update. I’m happy to let you know that everything is going very well. I’ve been busy with organizational stuff, like signing shipping contracts. Unfortunately the shipment will not start before Christmas and I apologize for the delay.

Tank Mouse is now being manufactured and will be ready mid January. The delay was caused by technical problems regarding color of the beige version. The color was not exactly as I wanted and it couldn’t be achieved using the selected production method, so we had to do more tests to nail the color. But it’s been solved and this is the last phase of mouse production.

I’m also very happy to let you know that the USB-to-DB9 adapter is in production as well. Lotharek informed me that the firmware already supports touch scrolling on Amiga, and the adapter will also work with Atari and Commodore 64. He is still working on the firmware, adding mode selection for example, but hardware is being manufactured in the meantime.

Last but not least, AmigaBill was presenting Tank Mouse in his live-stream and he’s preparing a YouTube video about it. So if you can’t wait for your Tank Mouse you might get a sneak peek at: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1670688820

Away From the Workshop

I will be gone again and expect to return on the 18th of November. This trip I wont have the ability to reply to any emails for messages. Thanks for the continued support. All boards that have been completed recently are going out Monday the 31st. Everyone with work in should have been updated with information on your packages if they are going out in this shipment.

Away on a Short Notice Assignment

Hello and welcome to another long over due update! One day I will get better and start keeping things more up to date. So much has been happening in my full time job I can hardly take the time to catch a breath though!

So I just got called out on a no notice assignment for a couple weeks. I will be in Japan and out of contact for most of it. I will return on or about October 12th though. I hope to get all caught up and get the couple things I have here done and back to you all then. Thanks for understanding and we will see you all soon!!

-Paul

Service Updates and Current Work Status

Hello everyone and thanks for being here! Its time again I felt to post an update as to what’s been going on. Its been a difficult year and things are not where I would like them to be.

Things in my personal life have been a challenge. While I love the Amiga and love helping as many of you as I can, life just tends to get in the way more times than not it seems. With my family life being strained, full time job stress, health and the parts shortages from the pandemic I just cant keep up with it all. As a result I have decided to drastically cut back on services being offered. Things here will be completed as best as they can and if a repair looks like it is something I cant complete it will be returned, at my expense. I dont like to charge for things I take in and cant resolve as many of you know.

Fear not though! I am not going anywhere and we have plenty of people here in the US now that have stepped up and offer some great services! Many of them are members of the Discord Server we host, and its become a valuable place to get things resolved, have some gun and learn a lot! If you havent visited the server, I recommend you check it out! Here is the most current invite as of this post: https://discord.gg/xBrgrFneqt

Thanks for being understanding and please feel free to reach out any time! I will continue to post updates as things become more clear and as they change.

Pre-Order Amiga 3000 Original Case Screws *NEW*

I have contacted the original manufacturer of the case screws for the A3000 and arranged an order of 50 sets. There will be custom made to order and are brand new sets of 4 screws and the matching washers. If you are interested in a set please email me using the contact form here on the site and let me know your name, location and number of sets you would like. I expect them to be here in a few weeks.

1 set of 4 screws will be $8 plus shipping. 

UPDATE: The sets are sold out! I will arrange for a larger order after these come in next time. I had to raise the price to $8 a set due to the higher quote then expected when shipping to me is added. 

UPDATE #2: The screw sets have been paid for by myself and shipped to me on May 31st. Once they arrive and I sort them into sets I will contact those who reserved them for payment and shipping information. 

UPDATE #3: Screws are in!!! Sorting when I can and will be in touch soon. 

Sega Dreamcast V0 GDEMU Part 2

The final assembly of the Dreamcast is complete! Check out part 2 of my video below! Be sure to like and subscribe! Thanks to all who help me get this done and out.