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                             THUMBS UP/THUMBS DOWN 
                AWARDS AND OTHERWISE TO SHAREWARE DISTRIBUTORS 

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       Once in a while you spot a shareware distributor who adds a 
       little twist of value, education or just plain old fashioned 
       service and want to pass along an "attaboy" for a job well done. 
       Other times you might want to turn thumbs down.  Do you have a 
       favorite (or not so favorite) disk vendor? Drop us a line!
       
       This issue we offer two thumbs up awards and one thumbs down:

       Our first thumbs up to THE SOFTWARE LABS, 3767 Overland Ave -
       #112-115, Los Angeles, CA 90034. 800/359-9998. Several shareware 
       authors have written me to confirm my own suspicions. This 
       shareware vendor is a POWERHOUSE! Authors, for some reason 
       are reporting MORE REGISTRATIONS from this source than any 
       others. I am seeing the same thing myself in an emerging pattern. 
       They are doing something different, better and magical. A thumbs 
       up is in order.

       Our second thumbs up to Public Brand Software, POB 51315, 
       Indianapolis, IN 46251. 317/856-7571. I could award the thumbs 
       up for their consistently high quality catalog, superb selection 
       of software, world class BBS or eagle-eye reviewer Marcia Meier,
       but no, the award is for one simple fact: their sponsorship of 
       the 1991 Summer Shareware Seminar (June 21-23 in Indianapolis).
       This is a vendor who looks into the future and is willing to put 
       something back into the industry. Thumbs up well deserved!

       A mild thumbs down this issue goes to Gemini Marketing, POB 
       640, Duvall, WA 98019-0640. 800/346-0139. Gemini is a solid 
       vendor with good catalogs, prompt service and an aggressive 
       advertising campaign in national magazines, most notably 
       Computer Shopper. My concern is that they seem to be falling 
       behind the pack in maintaining current versions of shareware and 
       offering the latest and best which other vendors seem to locate 
       and list quickly. Perhaps their plunge into shareware for the 
       Macintosh, Atari, Commodore and Apple plus a plethora of newly 
       opened retail outlets in major cities has them spread a little 
       thin at the moment. Their next day delivery (at no extra charge)
       system is to be commended but one wonders if their main 
       collection of shareware is about 6 months behind other industry
       vendors . . .