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|Aº ^0First Things First |Aº             ^1 Diskovery |A            º ^0First Things First |Aº
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^Cby
^CSue Knighten

     I hope all of you who received BBD #49 also received our postcard about
 the KillDir program.  Even though POSSIBLE damage occurs ONLY if the program
 is not used correctly, we at Big Blue Disk feel strongly that our readers
 should be informed of all possible problems.

     We will not publish a "corrected" version.  We could check for the errors
 our users reported as allowing them to destroy data, but feel it is better not
 to republish a program which might be viewed as "suspect" by our readership.

     I would like to assure you we did not "skimp" on the testing or
 verification of this program.  It went through our testing program, including
 outside beta testers, with absolutely no indication that syntax errors could
 cause damage.  We are, of course, extremely concerned about the reliability
 and reputation of all the software we publish.  Some of you, due to the
 parcel/postal services involved, received the postcard before the publication.
 I am glad that was true, but I want you to know we mailed NO copies of this
 program after the difficulty was reported.

     Big Blue Disk has taken steps to insure a similar condition will not crop
 up again.  One, we will not publish any command-line utilities which are
 primarily "destructive" in nature, such as this "delete directories" utility.
 This program worked correctly when used correctly, but it was mathematically
 impossible to test all possible combinations of errors which a reader might
 make when typing the command.  Two, we will provide twice the testing for ANY
 future command-line utility, even if we perceive no logical way it could be
 destructive.  Our "outside-BBD" testers (called beta testers) will be asked to
 spend extra time on these.  Our testing process was strong, now it will be
 even stronger.

     Again, we urge our readers not to use the program.  Further, we urge you
 to delete all copies which you may have.  If you ran it and experienced no
 problems, you used it correctly.  However, on the off-chance that you, or a
 friend, may slip and make the error reported by a few of our readers, we
 strongly recommend it not be used.

     Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience you may have
 experienced.

     Big Blue Disk has an interesting lineup of programs on Issue #51.  The
 Note Cards program is a special favorite of mine.  I keep saving magazines
 in order to refer back to a specific article or recipe, but by the time I need
 the reference I cannot remember which magazine.  I plan to use Note Cards
 extensively as an index to the magazines.  I may actually try some of those
 intriguing recipes; if I like one, then I will copy the details of the recipe
 from the magazine.

     Two of the programs, Catt and Schedule, are of the type not executed from
 the BBD Menu.  DOS commands, like Catt, are executed from the DOS command
 line, at the C: or A: prompt.  See the examples in the "Read It" text file for
 Catt.  From the menu, the reader only accesses a "HELP" screen about Catt.

     The Schedule program is designed to be used in a batch file, specifically
 in your "autoexec.bat" file.  The "autoexec.bat" is executed automatically by
 DOS each time you start up your computer.  See the examples in the "Read It"
 text file for Schedule.

       Take care and have a great month!
                                                        Sue