ali@polya.Stanford.EDU (Ali T. Ozer) (12/16/88)
--- On page 26 of the Nov/Dec 88 issue of "Presentation Products Magazine" is an article entitled "Martin-Marietta Uses Amiga for Video Graphics." I don't normally read this magazine or anything, so I have no idea what kind of bias they normally have. Ali Ozer [Excerpts without permission] ------------------------>8------------------------------------------------ When Mike Wells, manager of media services at Martin-Marietta, looked for a computer to augment the graphics capabilities of the company's $4 million video system, you would think he'd require the power of a mainframe. At least a minicomputer. However, he chose a computer with a base configuration priced in the hundreds of dollars, not hundreds of thousands ---- a Commodore Amiga. ... The Amiga is commonly used for animation of products, showing their function and applications, and for the creation of fancy screen titles, like lipstick-type scrawls. Before the Amiga appeared, Martin-Marietta's graphics department would produce these on art boards, requiring an entire day to complete. Using the Amiga, they are now completed in about an hour. ... The Amiga played a vital role in Martin Marietta's presentation to the federal government in response to what Wells claims was the largest government contract ever put to bid --- the FTS 2000 federal government telephone system. Martin-Marietta used the Amiga to produce visual aids to demonstrate the flows of a telephone network --- creating an on-screen slide show rather than 35mm color slides. With a staff of about 20 people, the project took six weeks to complete. Two full-time shifts kept six Amiga graphics stations busy producing 1,800 slide equivalents. ... To staff up for the project, Wells hired graphics professionals, who had on the whole more experience working with the Macintosh. However, the staff quickly adapted to the Amiga, and by the end of the project, most actually preferred the Amiga. When completed, the presentation was made in a room specifically designed for the project, featuring Barco HR video machines prejecting onto two, 10-foot diagonal screens ... The presentation was received so positively that Martin-Marietta is considering using the Amiga in other presentations.