омммммммноммммммноммммммн Arsenal Computer оллн оллноллн оллн олллнолллноллн оллллллн Special Thanks Section оппн оппноппн оппн оммн оммноммммммноммммммн (Mostly Dave's Editorial) First of all, I want to tell you that this disc, and all of the others that you will see come from us in the future, is directly the child of a rather interesting event that Arsenal Computer attended in the Summer of 1995. That event was the Cyber.Xpo.95 show, sponsored by Alan R. Bechtold of the SysOp News... and Cyberworld Report Trade Newspaper. Alan Brought together a large group of BBS industry people under one roof, in an atmosphere that was guaranteed to allow people to talk to each other, rather than elbow through the crowd trying to get from here to there to see everything. The show was purposefully designed to allow not only the attendees, but the exhibitors time to meet, to learn, and to share. And boy, am I glad he did. Up until this point, we here at the Arsenal put together each and every shareware disc in a very time consuming and painstaking manner. This worked for us, until one of my best teammates had to leave our employ. At that point, I knew that our old method of putting discs together would be too great of a burden for us... so it was time to do something different. Enter Cyber.Xpo.95. In addition to talking to people about what we did for a living, we got to talk to people about what THEY did.. and by the end of the show, it was quite obvious that several of them had things that could make our lives a LOT simpler. Conversations ensued, and deals were worked on. By the end of the show, everyone went back tired... but full of hope for the future. Not only did we get to see just what our customer were wanting from us, but we got to work with many of the better minds in this industry, and I really believe that everyone profited from the experience. There are two attendees from Cyber.Xpo.95 that I want to specifically thank here: Mark Williamson of Omega Software, and David Terry of Clark Development. Both provided material that will forever change the shape of Arsenal Shareware CD-ROMs. Thanks, Guys! The only real sad note about this show came several months after Cyber.Xpo.95... in the fact that there would be no Cyber.Xpo.96. Things just didn't work out for the show, and because of various problems, the show ended up cancelled. It's too bad, because I wonder what we would have accomplished this time around! :) Something that I _would_ like to see, however, is a less formal meeting of the minds. Trade shows are nice, but they are also incredibily expensive, and who says only people with money have brains? Perhaps a show more on the order of the various Science Fiction/Fandom conventions might be more in order... something that would allow a broader spectrum of people to participate in it. THAT would be quite an exciting event, don't you think? By the way, if you would like to get more information on Alan's excellent Trade Magazine, SysOp News and CyberWorld Report, or just find out more about the Cyber.Xpo show, give our BBS a call and we can get all the current information to you. ----- I want to take one moment out here for a little reproachment, as well as my kudos. That reproachment is for a VERY small minority of shareware/freeware authors out there. Most shareware and freeware authors are what I consider the cream of the industry... people that want to not only help their fellow man, and perhaps to further the American Dream a little by helping out their families with the rewards of their work. These people deserve our undying support, no matter how you cut it. Always, ALWAYS register the shareware that you use, it's as simple as that! The ones that I want to take issue with are those authors that seem to think that shareware CD-ROM publishers are some sort of antichrist who exists only to "defraud" them in some manner, and put in things into their programs like "you can pass this out free whereever and whenever you want, but not on a CD-ROM" or something similarly dumb. Lets take a little reality check here: There are two groups here that are symbiotic here: On one hand, you have the shareware and freeware authors that are thirsting to have their handiwork seen by as many people as possible. On the other hand, you have BBS SysOps, Shareware vendors and CD-ROM publishers that help to get those same programs out to the public that is eager to see them. Without one, you can't have the other. Without new programs, there is nothing for the distributors to distribute, and without distributors, there is no way for the authors to get the recogition (and registration fees) that they deserve. Our CD-ROMs are put together mostly for BBS usage. Our intention is to get the programs on this disc out there for dissemination by the public, which directly benefits the authors involved. We do NOT in any way, shape or form benefit from any particular program on this disc. NO ONE is going to buy this disc simply because program XZY is on it. If we left out one particular program, no one is really going to notice it, are they? I didn't think so. So please, when you start to think of CD-ROM distributors as the "enemy", please think again. Most SysOps are getting the bulk of their files from CD-ROMs nowadays, and if you persist on tying the hands of the BEST means of distribution for your product, then you might as well forget about your product becoming popular. I hate going on a soapbox about this, but really, isn't it time for a reality check out there regarding this? ----- Now, on to the family: If you have been in business for yourself, you know one thing: Whoever the b**tard that wrote that silly TV commercial that states that you can "work for yourself" and have tons of time for your leisure and family should be drug out into the street and shot. Repeatedly. When you work for yourself, you are the worst Boss that you can ever have: demanding, nonstop, and you never get a day off unless someone clobbers you over the head and drags you off. Well, I want to thank my family, and most of all my Wife, Korene, for not only putting up with me all the time, but even putting up with me during those times when I'm finishing up a disc and REALLY get surly, and especially for those times when she sneaks up behind me with that famous rubber mallet and forces me to take a break. ----- And Now, why don't you sit back and take in what we here at the Arsenal believe to be the BEST in BBS ready shareware! Enjoy!