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Kickflash
For all Amiga models with Kickstart-Rom. (Amiga 1000 on demand)
Be prepared for Kickstart V3.5!
Kickflash is a special kind of Rom-Swapper for the kickstart-rom(s) of your Amiga. Being different from regular Rom-Swappers, Kickflash doesn't have room for a second or third rom chip. Instead, it has got flash memory that can hold a kickstart rom image. You can write any version of kickstart into that memory and have it available after the next reboot. Flash memory is non-volatile, that means, it doesn't loose it's contents when power is switched off. On the other hand, it's electrically erasable. As soon as the new Kickstart V3.5 is available, you're the first one to have it as a rom. It has already been announced that nobody will produce mask roms of Kick 3.5, so Kickflash is your only chance to get rid of the inconvenient reboot for re-kicking the new rom. Besides, re-kicking uses memory, and Kickflash does not, so you can use your fastmem for more important things.
You can also use Kickflash to make your computer compatible with old software by programming Kickstart V1.3 or 2.0 into the flash - it's up to you, there's no limits.
If something should go wrong while "flashing" a new version (power failure, computer crashes), don't panic! Just switch back to your rom, and the computer will start normally. Even when the switch is set to "rom" instead of "flash", the flash can be written and verified. The operation just takes a few seconds. For protection against viruses, the flash memory can be write-protected.
As with all our products, the installation is very easy: Remove the kickstart roms, place Kickflash into the empty sockets, and insert the roms into the sockets on the Kickflash. Additional connections are not necessary!
Update November 2000: Kickflash will not be sold until official Kickstart-ROMs have been released by Amiga inc. The A500/A1000 version will support developing these ROMs without influencing their market. If an official ROM is available it will be licensed, and sold together with Kickflash. If Amiga inc. decides not to release a new ROM, Kickflash will be released as well, because the market will not be harmed in that case.
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