*Amiga Universe announce new, improved website and services*

http://www.amigauni.u-net.com/
http://www.amigauni.ukshells.co.uk/
http://amigauniverse.irrelevant.org/
http://start.at/us.amigauni/

The popular and "cool Amiga web-based resource" (quote from Amiga Informer)
Amiga Universe has been running for over a year now, in which time we've
amassed over 25000 hits with our unique mix of news, views, reviews and
reader contributions. We started as a small site, but we've since grown
into something even bigger than we ourselves had imagined.

In 1999, Amiga Universe went one step further. Having surpassed our 10000
hits target two months early, we went back to the drawing board for Amiga
Universe 1999. We added new columnists ("Screens" developer Lennart Friden
and dedicated Amigan Fleecy Moss), we added tutorials, and we made the site
a lot nicer to look at and get around.

Now, in April, we've done it again. This is *no* April Fools Joke, but on
April 1 1999, we will be launching yet more new services, both on the web
and off it. Are we off it? The answer is yes!

*Changes - on the web*
/Refined interface/
Several small cosmetic changes have been made, with gradient fills on news
articles, and a redesign of the link bar and change summary on the index
page. You'll already have seen the new look news index. We think the site
looks better for all the changes we've made.

/Search engine/
With our newfound ability to use CGI services, we've hunted down the best
Perl scripts we could find, and just one of the new features on the AU
index is the search form. Type something in there and watch as it goes
running around the whole site, EVERY page, searching for the keyword.

/Other CGI Scripts/
  /Chat forum/
  The "Discus" message board allows our users to hold conversations online
in
  a similar way to mailing lists and bulletin boards. You can participate in
  existing conversations, or you can create your own, with the ability to
post
  anonymously.

  /Hangman/
  No, seriously. Had a bad day? Come to Amiga Universe and have a go at our
new
  hangman game. The computer selects one of 100 random Amiga related
programs,
  celebrities or websites, and it's up to YOU to guess what it's chosen. Can
you
  defeat the script, or will you be well hung?

  /Voting booth/
  Not satisfied with having a new monthly voting form on the very front page
of
  AU, we've gone ahead and added the ability to create your own votes and
  vote in other polls other than the one on the front page. All the results
are
  held on the website instead of mailed to us, and you can close the polls
when
  you like.

  /Self-building links page/
  So, you've come looking for a link to your page, but it isn't there? No
  worries! Our new links page allows you to search for links on it, or add
your
  own.

/Monthly vote/
After the response to our front-page based monthly vote, we've decided to
keep it going every month. This particular month, you can vote on Napalm.
Is it as good
as the hype suggested?

/New US mirror - now works!/
The US mirror had some teething problems, but we finally got it working. It
can be found at http://start.at/us.amigauni/ or
http://linux.tc3net.com/tecno/

/New UK mirror/
The CGI scripts had to be held somewhere, and we have a third UK mirror
located at http://www.amigauni.ukshells.co.uk/

/New easy interface to Majordomo/
Majordomo powers the Amiga Universe Mailing List. Once upon a time you had
to fire up an e-mail and follow instructions on the website. Now, using the
new AUML page at http://www.amigauni.u-net.com/auml.html you can subscribe,
unsubscribe, get the welcome message and the list info via a simple input
form. You could subscribe to AUML without sending an e-mail!

*Changes - off the web*
/New IRC Channel/
ARCNet is the safe, friendly network. It's free of takeovers and the
chanserv ensures the smooth running of channels day in, and day out. ARCNet
operators care about what goes on with their network.

ARCNet slowly became the obvious choice for hosting the new dedicated Amiga
Universe IRC Channel. We've moved out of #amiga and #amigacafe to host our
own channel in #amigaUni. Two bots and the chanserv sit protecting the
channel to try and make you as at home as possible. A server list for
ARCNet can be found on our site by following the IRC Channel link from the
front page. Instructions for those new to IRC can also be found there soon.

Regular meetings will be held there during weekend evenings (British time)
so we hope to see a good turnout for the first official night on the 3rd
April.
++
All in all, something big has happened to Amiga Universe - it really doesn't
get any better than we do. Couple all this with our world exclusive on the
new Amiga, and you can quite clearly see that you want to go to Amiga
Universe. It's A Good Thing. [TM]
++
Again, please spread the word on this as far and wide as possible. Print
magazines, newsgroups, mailing lists. Our readers make us a success, and
together, we can be a success!

Best Regards
--
Peter Price - Webmaster - Amiga Universe - http://www.amigauni.u-net.com/
The site that gives you everything. Mirrors. IRC Channel. Mailing List.
Administrator - ARCNet, #amigacafe and #amigaUni