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|Aｺ ^0Diskussion |Aｺﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍ ^1Blue Notes |Aﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍﾍｺ ^0Diskussion |Aｺ
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 Dear BBD,  

    After reading the Blue Notes in Issue #39, I was surprised when you 
 mentioned that it is alright to leave your computer on all day without 
 causing any problems.

    I have read, somewhere else, that if you have a hard disk, it is best to 
 shut the computer off when not in use, because if you leave the computer on, 
 the hard disk is always working, therefore it will have a shorter life span.  
 A hard disk is usually good for a certain amount of working hours.  Is this 
 true??  Now I am confused.  I am still a novice in this field, and I am trying 
 to learn the correct procedures.  Please let me know if you agree with the 
 statement I made above. 

    I hope to hear from you this time.  I have written to you before asking for 
 certain information . . .  it was never answered.

 Louis Caselli
 Caguas, Puerto Rico

 ^1>  If you are in a work environment, like was mentioned in the Blue Notes 
 ^1>letter of issue #39, it is probably not possible to predict when you might 
 ^1>need your computer.  I have heard that a hard drive goes through more stress 
 ^1>and strain during startup than during normal operation.  I can only speak from 
 ^1>personal experience, but we run the computers here all day and we have not 
 ^1>had a high degree of hard disk failure.  If you feel uncomfortable leaving 
 ^1>your computer system on, by all means don't.  I recommend that you speak to 
 ^1>the technical support department of your computer manufacturer.  They should 
 ^1>be able to provide you with the most accurate answer. 

 ^1>  I must apologize for not responding to your letter.  In many cases I 
 ^1>don't even see letters directed to Big Blue Disk.  We receive a great deal of 
 ^1>mail each day.  Many of the letters are handled by our technical support 
 ^1>and circulation departments.  If you sent the letter just recently, please 
 ^1>give us a little more time to respond.  

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 Dear Big Blue Disk,

    I am the owner of an IBM-Compatible 286 computer.  Although the system is 
 used mainly for spreadsheet and data analysis, I do occasionally indulge in a 
 computer game or two.  Unfortunately, my system has a clock speed of 12 MHz 
 and as a result of this,  even the easiest of flight simulators or the 
 simplest pursuit games are impossible to master.  Is there any software 
 program that will slowdown my system enough to give me a fighting chance?

    Thank you for your time.

 Edwin A. Davison, Jr.
 Albany, New York

 ^1>  We published a memory-resident utility called SpeedBrake in BBD #41.  
 ^1>This program allows you to slow down your computer system so that the style of 
 ^1>games that you mention become more playable.  The program should work fine 
 ^1>with all the software we publish as well as some commercial software products.
 ^1>However, many programs take control of the computer so thoroughly that 
 ^1>SpeedBrake cannot do its job. 

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 Dear Big Blue Disk:

    Being a recent user of Big Blue, I thoroughly enjoy every months new 
 edition.  I started collecting Big Blue at edition #27 and will for certain 
 continue as long as you continue to produce such great material found on your 
 disks. 

    There is only one problem I find with your programs and that is because I 
 live in Canada some of your programs are not usable.  In particular the ones 
 that use State or Zip Codes as a function of the program.  Mail Master, 
 Resumaker are ones that come to mind at the moment.  Is there any way that I 
 can change those statements to read province and postal code with more room 
 especially for Province. 

    Keep up the good work.  You have an excellent product.  Looking forward 
 to hearing from you on this matter. 

 HAROLD FRANCIS
 Gloucester, Ontario

 ^1>  Unfortunately, there is no way that you can change the program at 
 ^1>this point.  It hasn't been until recently that I have become aware of the 
 ^1>problems you describe.  Big Blue Disk has been in existence for almost four 
 ^1>years now, but only in the past year have we really had an increase in the 
 ^1>number of foreign subscribers.  I am afraid we are a bit guilty of having 
 ^1>blinders on when it comes to designing software that is more usable in the 
 ^1>foreign markets.

 ^1>  I can do something about this problem with your help, but I need 
 ^1>more information about the types of data our software should handle.  You 
 ^1>mentioned several programs that we have published.  If you would outline for 
 ^1>me the fields in each of these programs that we should have included as well 
 ^1>as the ones that are to "Americanized" to be usable, we will attempt to design 
 ^1>the software with these things in mind.  I believe we should be able to 
 ^1>provide a solution that will be compatible with all markets.
 
 ^1>  The previous paragraph represents an open invitation to all foreign 
 ^1>subscribers.  Big Blue Disk software is designed the way it is because we 
 ^1>don't have the information to do the job any other way.  With your help and 
 ^1>patience, we will work on providing a solution that everybody will find 
 ^1>agreeable.