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OFFICIAL RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT 980419
ANNOUNCING DIGITAL UNIVERSE V1.03 AVAILABLE ON CD-ROM FOR HALF PRICE


What is "The Digital Universe"?
-------------------------------
"The Digital Universe" is an award-winning astronomical simulator package for
the Amiga computer.  Since release, it has become the standard software
package for the amateur and professional astronomer.  With our new lower
price, we expect the software to become more accessible to the casual
astronomy enthusiast, and to those interested in generally learning more about
astronomy.

For more information on the capabilities of "The Digital Universe", please
refer to http://www.syz.com/DU/amigacd.html on the web.


The New CD-ROM Distribution
---------------------------
The original distribution of "The Digital Universe" consisted of 14 floppy
disks and a printed user manual, all enclosed within a binder.  Since more and
more Amiga owners now have CD-ROM drives, we have decided that a CD
distribution of "The Digital Universe" is now more practical than it would
have been a few years ago.

In addition, the entire printed user manual is available online as a context-
sensitive help system.  We had many comments from individuals who said that
with the online help and the general user-friendly nature of the package, they
have never needed to consult the printed manual.

With these factors in mind, and to keep costs down, the new CD-ROM
distribution consists of single shrink wrapped CD-R, with no printed
documentation, box, or user manual.  Online documentation is provided to
explain how to install the software, start the program, and access the online
help.  For most people, this is all that is required.

The software and databases included on the CD are the complete functional
version of Digital Universe V1.03 that was being shipped on floppy disk until
now.  For this reason, existing owners of the original V1.03 distribution have
no reason to upgrade to the new CD distribution.


Cost of the V1.03 CD Version of "Digital Universe"
--------------------------------------------------
With the original floppy-based distribution of "Digital Universe", we had a
complicated price structure reflecting the widely varying costs of shipping
the package around the world.  The new CD distribution is much smaller and
lighter, and thus shipping charges do not vary as much.  Therefore, we are
happy to be able to offer a single price of $75 Canadian for the package,
which includes shipment via air mail to anywhere in the world.

The lower cost of shipping means that international customers will be able to
obtain "The Digital Universe" for even less than half of its original cost.

As a rough guideline, you can use the following table to estimate the
equivalent cost in your own currency.  The amounts quoted below were obtained
from the interbank rates on April 11, 1998 based on $75 Canadian, and will
naturally fluctuate:

United States: 52.62 USD
Germany:       95.84 DEM
UK:            31.44 GBP
France:       321.53 FRF
Switzerland:   79.62 CHF
Italy:         94860 ITL
Finland:      291.20 FIM
Sweden:       414.06 SEK
Australia:     79.82 AUD

Canadian residents must add 7% GST.  Keep in mind that your country may charge
duty or import taxes on software sent from Canada (some countries charge as
high as 25%), which would be payable to your country's customs office when the
package arrives.


Bulk Orders
-----------
If a large group is interested in obtaining several copies of the software in
a single order, you may be eligible for a "bulk order" rate of $65 Canadian
per copy (a discount of $10).  The bulk rate will be given if either:

A)  A group makes a single order of 5 copies or more, which are to be sent in
one batch to a single address
B)  A group makes a single order of 10 copies or more, whch are to be sent to
individual addresses.


What about a Version 2.0 for the Amiga?
---------------------------------------
Some of you may be aware of the decision-making process we have been going
through as to whether or not to develop a V2.0 of DU for the Amiga.  So far,
we have had a rather encouraging response from our online survey available on
the web at http://www.syz.com/DU/amiga2.html - if you haven't already filled
it out, we encourage you to do so.  At any rate, we are planning on using a
combination of the results from this survey and the sales of this CDROM V1.03
to help us decide whether or not to develop a V2.0.

If V2.0 is developed, it will sell for our "regular" Digital Universe price of
$150 Canadian.


What about PPC support?
-----------------------
A beta version of a patch to allow the SAS/C compiler to create code for PPC
machines is currently available.  In the next little while, we will be looking
at porting "The Digital Universe" to PPC.  If you own a PPC board, are a
registered owner of "Digital Universe", and may be interested in beta testing
Digital Universe V1.03 for the PPC, please let us know.  If the PPC version is
relatively easy to complete, we hope to offer it as a free upgrade (via email)
to anyone who purchased V1.03, either on floppy or CDROM.



If you already own the previous floppy-based Digital Universe V1.03, how
are you affected by this release?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Since the software and data files of the CDROM distribution are exactly the
same as what you already own, you have no reason to obtain the V1.03 CDROM
yourself.  But since sales of this CDROM will have a large impact on our
decision of whether or not to develop V2.0, you may want to encourage other
Amiga owners to think about purchasing the CD.  See "Referral Program" below
for more details.


If you were planning on waiting for a V2.0 release of DU, how are you
affected?
---------------------------------------------------------------------
If you are in this situation, you are the perfect candidate to obtain V1.03 on
CDROM now.  Since purchasing V1.03 on CD now will entitle you, as a registered
owner, to obtain future upgrades for half of the regular price, you will be
able to obtain V2.0 when and if released, for $75 (half of the planned $150
price).  The net result is that you pay the same amount to obtain V1.03 now
and upgrade to V2.0 later as you would to buy V2.0 directly.  Plus, you have
the added benefits of being able to use Digital Universe now, as well as
helping us obtain the resources required to develop V2.0.


What if the regular cost of DU ($150) has always seemed a bit expensive
for you?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
If we develop V2.0 for the Amiga, we would expect to sell it for $150 - the
same as what the original floppy-based V1.03 sold for.  If you are only
casually interested in astronomy, and the $150 price seems a bit expensive, we
strongly encourage you to consider the purchase of the CDROM Version 1.03 now
for $75.  We may discontinue the CD-based V1.03 if a CD-based V2.0 is
developed, and if this happens, you will no longer be able to obtain Digital
Universe for $75.


Referral Program
----------------
In an effort to reward those "Digital Universe" owners who help to promote our
software, we'd like to announce our referral program.  If you are a registered
owner of "Digital Universe", tell someone about our software, and they
consequently purchase V1.03 of DU on CDROM from us, we'll give you a $10
discount on your upgrade to V2.0 if and when it is released.  You can
accumulate discounts for each referral made, up to the point at which you get
a free upgrade.  Note that this must be a "personal" referral (ie: just
linking to our web page won't count), and that the person ordering the package
must provide us with your name when letting us know where they heard about
"The Digital Universe".


How can you try out Digital Universe first, before purchasing it?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A demo version of "The Digital Universe" is available on Aminet, named
Dig_Universe.lha and located in the biz/demo directory.  It lets you try out
all the features of "Digital Universe", with the following restrictions:

- only a small subset of the hypertext encyclopedia is included
- it doesn't let you simulate the night sky's appearance after June 1, 1998
- it only shows objects for a region of the sky in the vicinity of Orion.

Nevertheless, it should give you a good indication of whether or not "Digital
Universe" is for you.


How can you get a copy of V1.03 on CDROM?
----------------------------------------
If you would like to purchase a copy of Digital Universe, you can do so either
directly from us or from one of our distributors.  If you want to contact a
distributor, let us know your location and we'll be able to tell you who might
be able to get a copy to you the quickest.  Keep in mind that all prices
quoted in this messages are our "suggested retail prices" and that
distributors may sell for more or less.

We are also always on the lookout for new distributors of "The Digital
Universe".  If you think you may be interested in distributing our software in
your region, give us a rough estimate of the volume you might expect to deal
with and we'll send you out more information about our requirements of
distributors and the benefits you'll receive.  Please note that we do not
accept exclusive distributorship arrangements.

If you'd like to order your copy of the V1.03 CD directly from us, or have any
questions about the package, you can contact us at:

   Before June 26, 1998
   --------------------
   Syzygy Research & Technology Ltd.
   B 1204-17a St. N.E.
   Calgary, AB
   T2E 4V5
   Canada

   Phone: 403-276-1250
   email: sales@syz.com
   WWW:   http://www.syz.com/DU/amigacd.html


   After June 26, 1998
   -------------------
   Syzygy Research & Technology Ltd.
   Box 83
   Legal, AB
   T0G 1L0
   Canada

   Phone: 403-961-2213
   email: sales@syz.com
   WWW:   http://www.syz.com/DU/amigacd.html

We can accept payment by Visa, Mastercard, or cheque in Canadian, US, or UK
funds.  If you wish to order your package online via credit card on our secure
server, you can do so by clicking on the "Ordering via credit card" link on
our web page at http://www.syz.com/DU/amigacd.html


Redistribution of this message
------------------------------
We would appreciate the redistribution of this release announcement whereever
possible (ie: Amiga-related mailing lists, BBSes, newsgroups, word of mouth,
etc).  The more copies of the DU V1.03 CD that are sold, the more likely we
will continue to improve and upgrade the package.


Thank you for your support.  If you have any questions at all, please feel
free to contact us.

Dan Charrois
President, Syzygy Research & Technology Ltd.

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