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SOUND BLASTER DIGEST Number 14 January 1992 Edition. A newsletter for Sound Blaster Enthusiasts. Edited and Published by Brad Barclay. Assistant Editors: Todd Clayton and Karen O'Hearn /\ ____________________________ / \/\ \ / \ ________________________________ \ / \ / \/ \ / \/ TABLE OF CONTENTS ================= Title: Page: ----- ---- From the Desk of the Editor...............1 Subscriptions.............................2 From the Desk of the Assistant Editor.....3 NEW! Reader's Column.....................4 From the Readers..........................5 COMMERCIAL REVIEW: Sim Earth.............8 Advertisements...........................12 PD REVIEW: Digital Noise Reduction......12 Included Files...........................14 Rate Changes.............................15 Wrapping it Up...........................16 FORMS ===== Subscription Form........................17 Advertisement Order Form.................18 SBD Demo Tape Order Form.................19 SBD Regestered BBS Form..................20 The Sound Blaster Digest (SBD) Copyright (c) 1992 Brad Barclay. You may freely distribute this file, and all included files, to whomever you wish, so long that it is not for profit, and that all files are kept together. The use of the SBD, in whole or in part, for any other purpose is a criminal offence, and is punishable by law. This is not Public Domain text, nor is it Shareware. The SBD is a free publication, distributed monthly. If you have any questions or comments about our Copyright, or any part of the SBD, please feel free to write to us at the address listed near the end of this text. Page 1 FROM THE DESK OF THE EDITOR =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Well, it's a whole new year for us here at the SBD! Last year was pretty exciting in the SB world with the introduction of the Pro card and all kinds of great new software. But if you thought that 1991 was a good year, just wait until you see what's coming up in 1992! Out first big change will be somewhere in the middle of January, when we here at the offices of the SBD will upgrade our 1 computer used for putting the SBD together, testing new software for reviews, composing included music, etc., from an 8Mhz XT to a beautiful new AT system. I have been running off of this XT system for nearly 5 years now, and it's time for a change. Sadly, as we cannot afford an entirely new computer (386 with VGA would be nice...), we are just going to upgrade our main motherboard, controller card, memory, and hard disk capacity. What does this mean to you, the reader? Probably more then you think. This upgrade will allow us to start to review and use better software, and better implement our existing software. Did you know that we cannot play our .CMF files in stereo on our old XT because it's too slow? Or that to equalize a 2 second sample recorded at 22.05Khz using Recording Studio Professional can take up to 20 minutes? Or that we are unable to use such programs as TrakBlaster and ScreamTracker, because they play back much too slowly? Also, due to this upgrade, some of our services may not be running for a few days. This does not include our support BBS, as this is run from a separate location. But this does include possible late distribution of our February issue. Also, you'll notice some changes. We no longer have our Survey form included. The Survey has been completed for 1991. You will be able to read our results in next month's issue, along with the names of our contest winners. We will begin a new Survey sometime around August of this year, so be on the lookout for it then. You will also notice that the Best of the SBD is no longer being offered. This is due to very poor sales: in fact, we only have two orders so far! Any orders which may arise in the future will be filled, but we are not officially offering it anymore this year. Page 2 Also, we have discontinued our Want-Ads section. The form was only taking up space in the magazine, and in the nearly half year we offered the service, only 1 person ever bought one of our $1/Month Want-Ads. We here at the SBD realize that we limited them to only users wishing to speak with other users around the world: we thought there would be a bigger market for this sort of thing. Obviously we were wrong: not the first time, and surely not the last. Lastly, before we get on to this month's issue, check out our included file, WHITERM2.CMF. This is our re-worked version of our most requested song we have ever put out in the SBD. It seems that many people really love the song so much, that they have wanted more! Many have wrote and called me, all telling me how the original has to be one of their favourite .CMF files ever. I was both surprised and honoured by all of you, as it is one of my personal favourites. So start playing it in the background as you read this month's issue with your favourite text viewer/editor! Enjoy the issue! -------------------- ░░░▒▒▒▓▓▓ COMPUTER CONNECTION BBS ▓▓▓▒▒▒░░░ ╔════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗ ║ Please feel free to call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week ║ ║ for one of the largest ranges of Sound Blaster files ║ ║ in Australia ║ ║ Call Australia 08 326 2388 ║ ║ 9600 V32/2400/1200/300 baud ║ ║ GIVE VICKI CRAWFORD A CALL NOW ║ ╚════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝ -------------------- SUBSCRIPTIONS: =-=-=-=-=-=-= Having a hard time finding the newest copy of the SBD on your favourite local BBS? Why not consider a SBD subscription? A subscription entitles you to 12 great issues, one a month, packed full of SB and SB Pro news and reviews. Subscribers also get special bonus files not available anywhere else, plus special offers on software and support! Nowhere else can you find this sort of deal for your Sound Blaster needs. And now even better value! Add $5 to your yearly subscription fee, and receive free special high-level access for a year to the SBD Support BBS! Just check off the box on the form! Simply fill out the attached form, and enclose the required amount...it's that easy! Page 3 FROM THE DESK OF THE ASSISTANT EDITOR: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= By Todd Clayton. Well, it's been a busy month in the world of the SBD for me this month. After selling several dozen Sound Blasters and SB Pro cards at the store, I've had an awfully busy month with the board. You'll be happy to know that we're up to 135 users, with a large file base and a decent message section. Quite a few readers have called, and expressed their feelings and opinions about the SBD. But, of course, as with American Express, membership has its privileges. For an extra $5 on your SBD subscription, you will receive "Gold" level on the system. You will receive a startup file credit, as well as more time and access than the normal user. This is just our way of supporting and supplementing Sound Blaster support. The board is also a good way for amateur programmers to get info on accessing the card as well as distributing your software right to the people who use it the most. It doesn't matter how big or small what you write is, it's just the fact that you're out there making life easier for some poor soul that I commend you upon. So give us a call! THE SOUNDBLASTER DIGEST SUPPORT BBS. 12-2400,8,n,1. 24hours a day (416) 840-2485 -------------------- ■■■ Welcome the the SuperSONIC Sound System ■■■ ┌─────┬───────────────────────────────────────────────────┬─────┐ │░▒▓█░│ ░░░▒▒▒▓▓▓█████ Premiere Sound Base █████▓▓▓▒▒▒░░░ │░█▓▒░│ │░▒▓█░│ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄ │░█▓▒░│ │░▒▓█░│ █▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █▄▄▄▄▄█ █▀ ▀ │░█▓▒░│ │░▒▓█░│ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█ █▄▄▄▄▄▄█ █▄▄▄▄▄▄█ █▄▄▄▄▄▄ █▐▐▐▐ █▌▌▌▌███ │░█▓▒░│ │░▒▓█░│ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄ ████████ │░█▓▒░│ │░▒▓█░│ █▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █ █ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █ █ ████ ▄▄▄ │░█▓▒░│ │░▒▓█░│ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█ █▄▄▄▄▄▄█ █ █ ▄▄█▄▄▄▄ █▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ █ ███ │░█▓▒░│ │░▒▓█░│ Sound and Optics Net for IBM Computers. Wave Zone │░█▓▒░│ │░▒▓█░│ ░░░▒▒▒▓▓▓█████ 416-225-8942 Tor.ON █████▓▓▓▒▒▒░░░ │░█▓▒░│ │░▒▓█░├───────────────────────────────────────────────────┤░█▓▒░│ │░▒▓█░│ SuperSONIC BBS. SysOp: Brian & Brent Bourne. S │░█▓▒░│ │░▒▓█░│ SoundBlaster Digest Distribution Site. O │░█▓▒░│ │░▒▓█░│ Technical and Other support for the SB/ADLIB. N │░█▓▒░│ │░▒▓█░│ Fido Net: 1:250/722 Home of the SONIC NET. I │░█▓▒░│ │░▒▓█░│ 700+ ROL Songs. Online RPGS. C │░█▓▒░│ │░▒▓█░│ Growing selection of MOD/STM files. . │░█▓▒░│ ├─────┼───────────────────────────────────────────────────┤─────┤ │░▒▓██│ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▄ ▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │██▓▒░│ │░▒▓██│ █ █ █ █▄▄▄▄▄▄▄█ █ █ █▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ │██▓▒░│ │░▒▓██│ █▄▄▄█▄▄▄█ █ █ █▄▄▄▄▄▄▀ █▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ Z O N E. │██▓▒░│ └─────┴───────────────────────────────────────────────────┴─────┘ Link your Modem Tracks with us and Hear the Superior Sound Page 4 NEW! READERS COLUMN: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Yes, we're going to try and bring back our letters section, bigger and better this time. If you remember back in issue #2, we printed our first letter we ever received from Edward Fenton of Kansas. Ever since then we have been drenched in mail from people in 16 countries around the world, nearly all with questions or comments of some sort, and we love them! We try to personally reply to all pressing questions and problems, but we can't reply to everything. So starting around issue #4 we began to run the names of everyone who wrote us a letter in the past month. We stopped this practice after one month we had more mail then would fit on a page! We could have started the "SBD MAIL MAGAZINE" shortly after that. So we tried to answer small questions in our Mailroom section that seemed to be on the minds of many people. This didn't work very well, as for many people the questions they asked had been answered in a previous issue of the Digest. We soon dropped this section too. But it's back again, and as always, it's different yet again. This section will try and feature one letter every month or two from someone who doesn't have a question, but instead wanted to comment on something in the Sound Blaster world, such as disagreeing with something we said, or perhaps how a hardware or software company gave them help or hassles when it came to their Sound Blaster or compatible equipment. This month's "FROM THE READERS" column will be longer then normal, thanks to this lengthy explanation of its purpose. Hopefully in the future it will be shorter. If you have something you would like to comment on for this section, please mail it on disk or paper to the SBD's address as found below, to the attention of the "FROM THE READERS" department, or upload it to our Support BBS, again to the attention of the "FROM THE READERS" department. We reserve the right to edit any material sent to us for space reasons. And now, on with this month's "FROM THE READERS" section: Page 5 FROM THE READERS: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= By Dick Campbell. I object to the statement you made in SBD#12 when you said that the CMS Chips do not have any value anymore. I feel very strongly that the CMS should continue to be supported. I know that Creative Labs made the decision to stop including the CMS in the SB three years ago. This is fine except I bought my Sound Blaster in December 1990 and it had the CMS Chips installed. Also it had an order form for other CMS Software which included the CMS Composer. After searching for other software in which I could digitalize music and coming up empty with good software, I decided to get the CMS Composer. I have found that it is fairly easy to enter music scores from the keyboard. I have tried Musician I software which I found very difficult to use. Besides the fact that it created its own format. I tried to find a CMF Composer without any luck and I even tried to find Converters from CMS to CMF to ROL, but came up empty. There should be converters to do this. There are converters for ROL to CMF and MID to CMF. Also I do not see any reason there is not a CMF Composer which is just as easy as the CMS Composer. Getting back to the CMS question I must say that there are still CMS users out there. I can see this by the number of accesses for the files that I placed on CompuServe. The last time I checked one of the more popular files had 88 accesses. That is just from late September 1991 when I first placed it there. Lastly I think the Sound Blaster Digest is obligated to give support through articles for CMS. After all CMS is part of the Sound Blaster family even though the new boards do not support that feature. I believe that there are some 50 000 SB's with the CMS support already on the board, plus another undetermined number of SB's with two empty sockets for the addition of the CMS Chips. Also I think that Creative Labs is wrong for not providing Tech Support for the CMS Software which they are still selling. I would appreciate knowing of a CMF Composer and a CMF Player which work just like the Composer and Player for CMS. I really do not see any reason this can not be done. I also would like to know of any converters available from CMS to CMF to ROL. Page 6 Dick: Although both Creative Labs and Brown-Wagh have denied it, there is a piece of software from Creative Labs called FM Composer which is a direct predecessor from the C/MS composer. Besides some differences in entering voice number and instruments, they are nearly identical. In fact, as I will explain below, this is the closest possible way for converting .CMS to .CMF files, which I will try and explain below, after I explain why a conversion program wouldn't really be possible or desirable. First off, there is a problem in conversion in the number of voices. C/MS has 12 voices, where regular FM only has 11 (although the Pro card has 22, all .CMF files are downward compatible, and thus a conversion for the Pro still wouldn't work: you couldn't get it to conform to the CMF standard). Secondly, C/MS uses AM waveform technology, which generates sounds by Amplitude Modulation (where the amplitude of the sound waves are modified to generate sounds). FM uses Frequency Modulation, where the number of cycles per second (in units of Hertz [Hz]) is modified by using two simple waveforms: the carrier and the modulator. The technology is different enough to cause some conversion problems. You would have to convert by specifying what .SBI instruments to take place of the instrument numbers as supplied by the C/MS file. True, you already have to do this in converting most .MID files with SMF2CMF (Standard MIDI File to Creative Music Format conversion utility), but it can be a pain if you don't know which instruments map where. Next, because of the way C/MS files work, allowing you to specify your own custom instruments, and special custom repeating "beats", conversion would be another hassle, in that the beats would have to be recognised by the converter, and repeated while it's creating the new songfile. Now, as explained above, you can convert with a little trouble from C/MS to FM. You need to keep your uncompiled text files from your C/MS songs, and modify them so they will conform to the differences in requesting instruments and assigning voices, and then re-compile them with the FM Composer. We here at the SBD will continue to support the .CMS filespec, although due to its demand, we don't expect to be able to run any new articles on .CMS in the near future. As our main system uses a Pro card, we don't have .CMS support. The only place we have .CMS capability is on the SBD Support BBS's original Sound Blaster card. Thanks for your comments! -Brad Page 7 \ / ___\/___ Live and on the Experience the difference of: || air from Toronto! /||\ 3,500 megs (yes, three thousand || The Musical Chair megs) of files, including a large ==== 6 lines at (416) (1300 meg) adult .GIF collection. ====== 724-6014 & 724-6018 ==== 1000's of Adlib/SB music files || _______ 50 gaming doors online || | | 6 HST Duals! 7 mail nets, 1200 conferences || | | _____ 1 crazy and caring sysop ______|| | | | | ||\ | |___| | Around the clock..... Sky || \ | | | | Around the world..... Dome || \| | | | Around the bend..... |||| | | | | |||||| | | | | The M sical Chai ...724-6018 ||||||||| | | | |||||||||| | | | What's missing? U R! ANNOUNCING the COMPLEAT Musical Chair discography on CD-ROM! Through special arrangement, a limited pressing of 75 discs is being made of EVERY file in our world-renowned SOUND BLASTER collection! For a mere $99, you can have EVERY SB, Adlib, Midi, .MOD, .STM and music utility file you will find on The Musical Chair, on permanent CD-ROM! Also included are 350 megs of the absolute latest and greatest in shareware! Windows apps, games, utils, and much much more! Totals for the Musical Chair CD-ROM 10,056 656,245,748 The Musical Chair also sells CD-ROM players at very competitive rates! Contact The Musical Chair's DJ, Jeff Woods, at: 416-724-6014 via modem, 416-284-4614 evenings, or 416-289-4645 fax for more details! This disc is now shipping, and about 1/3 sold out already! This is a limited run of 75 discs to be stocked! Reserve yours TODAY! The file ADLIB-CD on TMC has the complete listing of all files, as well as an order form and address, which is: Jeff Woods, PO Box 130, West Hill, Ont, Canada M1E 4R4 Thanks for your support of The Musical Chair! Page 8 COMMERCIAL REVIEW: SIM EARTH =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Published by Maxis Software. Reviewed by Brad Barclay. A few months ago we published a short review of Sim Earth that was donated by one of our readers, whose overall review of that game was pretty bad. But we here at the SBD believe in giving software and hardware a second chance. Please remember that in any review, the ratings are based on the feelings of the person reviewing the software, and can thus differ from person to person. I hope to be able to share with you my views, and my reasons for these views, to help you better judge this software for yourself before you buy: something every good reviewer should try and do. I received Sim Earth as a Christmas present from my girlfriend Karen, and I couldn't wait to install it into my machine. I had played it once after we published our original review on a Macintosh LC, and although I like the concept, I had some problems with the implementation of the game. I was very excited to discover that some of the original shortcomings of the Mac version I played were not present in Sim Earth for the IBM compatible machine. If you're the kind of game player who likes quick to learn shoot 'em up games, then this game is probably not for you. Also, if you're the kind who prefers games with a definite win/lose situation, Sim Earth is also probably not for you. But if you like a challenge, and you don't care about a score rating, or a definite win or loss, and you have an interest in this planet we live on, how it formed, and how life evolved, then this game is something you should check out. To state it simply, Sim Earth is just what the name implies: a planetary simulation. You are the caretaker of a planet which you have certain control over, and you must watch over. You control your geologic formation, your atmosphere, your lifeforms (be they plant, animal or both), your civilizations, and many other lesser details of your planet. Page 9 You may think this to be too easy: just change what you want until you find a good setting, and sit there and watch until you bore yourself, right? Wrong. In the first place, in game mode you have limited energy, and nearly everything you do costs energy, from planting life, to doing close-up views of small areas of your planet, to extra-terrestrial interference with evolution (with some help of the Monolith, as borrowed from Arthur C. Clarke's book 2001: A Space Odyssey). You must manage your energy wisely: use it all too quickly, and you may be waiting a long time for enough to naturally build up for you to perform necessary actions. Numerous were the times in my first few games when I spent energy in a wasteful manner, and then discovered that I suddenly needed energy to correct bad problems, when I had no energy to spend. The game has 4 time scales to follow. In the Geologic period, when time moves at a rate of 10 million years per simulation cycle, you must form your continents and oceans, and begin single-celled life. By helping your single-celled lifeforms evolve to multiple celled lifeforms, you are transferred to the Evolution time scale. This time scale moves at a slower rate of 500 thousand years per simulation cycle. You continue to control all the factors as in the Geologic period, but you have an added responsibility: to help your multi-celled lifeforms evolve to higher lifeforms and species, and help one of them achieve sentience (or human like intelligence). It is interesting to note here that mammals do not have to become the sentient species as they did here on earth: in fact, any multi- celled animal can achieve sentience, and even in rare instances, plants can also! There are varying degrees of difficulty in making certain species achieve sentience, but anything is possible. In one of my first games dinosaurs became sentient! Next is the Civilization time scale. This time scale moves at a modest 10 years per simulation cycle, and starts off with your sentient species creating stone age cities, and spreading. Here you must watch all factors that you needed to watch earlier, plus your sentient species energy uses, along with how much work they will put into developing certain energies. Many factors can make this a problem: plague, wars, various natural disasters, atmospheric conditions, and bad use of energy, to name but a few. Page 10 If you can carry them far enough that they get to the Industrial age, where they start making factories and are able to use better technologies, you will step into the next time scale. This scale moves at 1 year per simulation cycle. You must carry your species far enough into technology (probably farther into the future than any of us will be alive for on our own little world) to a stage where all cities have a mass Exodus, and leave the planet for interplanetary colonization. At this point if you have other lifeforms, you will be flung back into the Evolution timescale to try and start over again. If you don't have any other lifeforms, you will be flung back into the Geologic timescale. And best of all: you only have 10 billion years to do all of this before you planet is destroyed by your dying sun, which engulfs your planet, totally destroying it. There are numerous scenarios to this game. You can start a random planet at any one of the various timescales, and try and cope with the problems encountered there. There are also numerous pre-programmed scenarios. One has a world with no land, but lots of sea life, something which totally halts the evolution of your species. Another has you playing out the history of our own Earth from when it was nearly one continent. The game authors added a very good piece of history with this one: the continents drift exactly as they really did form millions of years ago until today. Another allows you to deal with the Earth of today, and its vast problems. Two others allow you to terraform Mars and Venus, making it suitable for human life. And lastly, there is a very interesting and special scenario called Daisyworld, which shows the basic principals of the Gaia Hypothesis: that everything in the world effects everything else. I have heard that there are 'cracked' copies of this game out there for illegal distribution, as with practically every piece of commercial software in existence (and many Shareware programs also). If you are someone who is considering getting an illegal copy from someone, don't waste your time. Without the manual, the game isn't much fun. This has nothing to do with having to look up the answer to a question in the manual to play: you do need to do that at the beginning of the real version, but only at the beginning of that game. But without the excellent information on world management on Sim Earth and the introduction to Earth Science contained in the manual, you lose a lot of the fun. Yes, it's a game where you have to read the manual (which contains 220 pages, making it the longest game manual I have ever seen), but you'll be glad for it. Page 11 Sim Earth is definitely the best 'game' (if you can call it that) I have ever played. Not only is the game excellent, but the sound and graphics that go with it are something to behold. The Sound Blaster support in this game is very unique, and not what you may first expect. The sounds it uses are nearly entirely for audio information monitoring. Interested in how your life forms are spreading, but needing to watch your air sample graphs? No problem: set your Tone Monitor to Life, and hear your information, which is portrayed using higher and lower tones to signify levels of achievement. The tone will play every few cycles (time depends on machine speed, and what speed you have the simulation set for), giving you up-to-date information on how you're selected monitor is changing. You can also listen to what is called the 'Data Song'. This feature takes the average of 32 longitudinal areas from north to south, assigns a tone to each showing levels of difference as you approach, land on, and then move away from the equator. This is very useful for finding differences in various settings according to longitude. The game isn't entirely devoid of music. When special events happen, such as moving up/down in the timescales, or evolution of your species, the destruction of your planet, or the beginning of nuclear war, music will play for about 30 seconds, or when you stop it, whichever comes first. The music goes with the mood of the action accompanying it. The music won't win any awards, but it's suitable and adequate. After intense searching through the game for this review, I was only able to find one fault with this game: although playable without a mouse, without one the game is not much fun: it can be slow and tedious. It was written to use it's own GUI (Graphical Users Interface), with pulldown menus and the lot. So if you're interested in this game, but don't have a mouse, consider buying one when you go to buy the game: you can get decent mice for the cost of a decent meal out these days. So all in all, if you enjoy sitting down at your computer, and playing something that is both challenging, fun, and that will keep you coming back for more (or not leaving at all in the first place), then Sim Earth should definitely be number 1 on your software shopping list. Page 12 ADVERTISEMENTS: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Do you run a BBS? Have you written a piece of software? Do you write custom music? If so, you may be interested in an advertisement in the SBD. Thousands of SOUND BLASTER users read the SBD every month, and many even have it delivered right to their door. So if you give some sort of special support to those people who use the SOUND BLASTER, advertising in the SBD would be the logical choice! Here's a list of our rates, effective January 1st 1992: Number of lines: Cost: --------------- ---- 0 - 10 $3 / Month 11 - 30 $5 / Month 31 - 40 $10 / Month 41 - 50 $15 / Month Lines are limited to a maximum of 80 columns. All costs are in Canadian dollars. -------------------- PD REVIEW: DIGITAL NOISE REDUCTION Ver 1.0: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Programmed by Andy Hakim Written by Brad Barclay Every so often I am sent a Shareware or Public Domain utility that I use once, and suddenly can't live without. And this happens to be one of these utilities. As the name suggests, this simple little utility quickly and easily filters background noise out of digitized samples, and saves it as a new file. This is especially useful in digitized speech samples, where small pauses between words can end up sounding like there is a background hiss. Background hiss can be especially annoying in MultiMedia presentations, when you are trying to impress someone with your sound and graphics. No matter how good your graphics are, your sound is what catches a person's interest first. And with background hiss, well, the effect is less then pleasing. Page 13 This utility can help fix that. Now I have many much more expensive utilities that can do this sort of thing also: probably the biggest being Recording Studio Professional from Turtle Beach Systems, with it's Digital Graphic Equalizers. But even here it's hard to discard just hiss, and sometimes you accidentally remove some frequencies that were a part of the sample. RSP also takes a lot longer to go through its Equalizer function. DNR is much more specialized, and thus can't be used as an equalizer very well. But it can decrease your noise levels, increasing your signal to noise ratio in digitized speech samples. It has a very easy to use interface, and even has the option to play your .VOC files (including playing a 'before and after' version when using the DNR feature). DNR uses the DOS command line for inputting your own values for such items as range, noise reduction ration, maximum and minimum hiss levels, etc. Its display is nice in that it does not destroy what you have on screen, but instead takes the first 10 lines of your display for itself and gives you a status report. In EGA and VGA modes, it uses graphics in text mode, along with multiple fonts for a very interesting display. The author begged me in his letter to use the software on a VGA system: sadly, I only have access to EGA at best. According to the documentation he sent, there should be no difference between EGA and VGA. One problem I have with DNR is not in the program itself, but with how it's distributed. In the manual, the author states that the program "is released into the Public Domain, but with these restrictions...". Public Domain means that you waive any and all rights or restrictions to whatever you are releasing, be it software, a book, or a hardware design. Some people mistake the SBD as Public Domain: it is not. Nor is it Shareware. See our copyright info on our table of contents for more information. My point is that if the author wishes to retain rights to his program, then don't make it Public Domain. This was the only problem I had with the DNR package sent to me. The file will be made available this month on the SBD Support BBS this month as NOHISS11.ZIP for those of you interested in this fine piece of software. Page 14 ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ You Are Invited To Call: STAR-LINK NETWORK BBS - (718) 972-6099 │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Multi-Line Access (9 Access Lines - 15 Coming Soon) │ │ 3/12/24/9600/14.4K Baud Support (V32/V42/MNP5/HST/HAYES) │ │ 3.0 Gigabytes of On-line Storage (3000 Megabytes) │ │ More then 80,000 Files for Your PC, AT, PS/1 & PS/2 to Download │ │ On-Line CD-ROM w/Complete PC-SIG Program Library (1400 Disks Worth) │ │ 129 Active Conferences Areas - Member of ILink International Echo │ │ On-line Edition of USA TODAY Newspaper - CB Simulator - 24 Hour FAX │ │ 60 On-line Doors - Running On FAST LAN - PC Pursuit - Subscriptions │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ STAR-LINK NETWORK BBS has been featured in such publications as │ │ Personal Computing, Computer Shopper, PC Computing and PC Magazine. │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ████████████████████ Dial (718) 972-6099 █████████████████████ -------------------- INCLUDED FILES: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This month's included files are: WHITERM2.CMF --> White Room, by Cream. Our most requested song ever! New and improved! SBDBBS.TXT --> The newest list of the BBS's around the world that have regestered with the SBD. DNR10.ZIP --> .ZIP file containing the Digital Noise Reduction program, version 1.0, as reviewed in this edition of the Digest. (Subscribers Only). Page 15 RATE CHANGES FOR THE NEW YEAR: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= You may have noticed that in this issue, many of the prices of our services have either been raised or lowered. Some of our services, we feel, were overpriced, such as our advertising rates. Others, such as our subscription rates, have been losing us money for nearly a year now. So, as of January 1st 1991, the rates in this issue are effective. Any payments postmarked after this date will be returned to the sender for changing of payment (either raising or lowering). We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank-you. ------------------- CONTACTING US: =-=-=-=-=-=-= If you wish to contact us, please feel free to write us at the following address: SOUND BLASTER DIGEST 36 Sutter Ave. Brampton, Ontario CANADA L6Z 1G7 Or phone between 17:30 and 22:00 Eastern Standard Time at: (416) 846-5599 Three BBS systems have special support of SBD Readers. You can contact us at any of the following BBS's (See the enclosed BBS list for telephone numbers): The Musical Chair (Conference 23) SUPER SONIC BBS. The SBD Support BBS Also, The Musical Chair and SUPER SONIC have special passwords for SBD readers to quickly download the SBD. These are: The Musical Chair: SUPER SONIC: Name: SB DIGEST Name: SB DIGEST Password: MUSICAL Password: SONIC We hope to hear from you soon! Page 16 WRAPPING IT UP: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Well, that's it for another edition of the Sound Blaster Digest. Is it just me, or do I now say that just about every time we reach this article? Perhaps it's time for me to chose another tact in this section? It's interesting to note in our preliminary results from our Survey (the official results will be published next month) that this column was not voted for by anyone as being one of their favourites. Does this mean that nobody reads this section? This is too bad, because they'll have to miss the following paragraph. We here at the SBD have in the works another contest to begin fairly soon. And this time the prizes will be much more valuable! We're dealing with a couple of major Sound Blaster related companies, of which at least one has already expressed interest in donating some rather expensive software for our contest. But more on this when the final details are worked out by myself and the companies involved. Thanks to the following for their help this past month: Andy Hakim for sending his Public Domain utility DNR for review, Bill Gallagher for asking lots of questions, Jeff Woods and Brian Bourne for all their help with distribution and BBS support, and everyone else who wrote, called, or was just there. And as always, I would personally like to thank Karen O'Hearn, for being there when I needed her most. I realize that this month's dedication to you isn't as long as it usually is, but I would prefer to tell you the rest in person. Thanks for reading this month's Digest! -------------------- If you write or publish any software package that supports the Sound Blaster or Sound Blaster Pro music card, we would gladly review your package in the Digest. Just send us a copy of your software (if crippled Shareware, please send an uncrippled version for reviewing purposes), and we'll let you, and the rest of the world, know what we think of your software. Also, if you write music in .CMF, .MOD or .NST formats, we would gladly include any music you have composed/transcribed in an upcoming issue of the Digest. If you own a copy of a good piece of software that you would personally like to review, simply send your review to us, and we'll consider it for publishing. Page 17 SOUND BLASTER DIGEST SUBSCRIPTION FORM ====================================== Please enclose a cheque or money order (sorry, I don't accept any major or minor credit cards) for $30 CDN for Canadian orders, or $30 US for American orders. Overseas enclose $40 Canadian funds, payable on a Canadian bank. Please fill out all the spaces provided (except where marked optional), and mail it to the address below. MAKE CHEQUE/MONEY ORDER PAYABLE TO BRAD BARCLAY! NAME:_____________________________ MAILING ADDRESS: Street address:_____________________________ City, Province/State:_______________________ Country, Postal/ZIP Code:___________________ PHONE NUMBER (don't forget the area code!):___________________ DISKETTE TYPE: (check one): _ _ [_] 5.25" [_] 3.5" BBS REGISTRATION: By adding $5 to your cheque or money order and checking this box, we will give you special upgraded access to the SBD Support BBS! _ [_] Please give me your "Gold" Access Level on the SBD Support BBS! Please make my password as follows: Password:__________________________________ COMMENTS: Please fill this out also! How would you rate THE SOUND BLASTER DIGEST (circle one): POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Please mail this form, along with any additional comments to: SOUND BLASTER DIGEST c/o Brad Barclay 36 Sutter ave. Brampton, Ontario CANADA. L6Z 1G7 Page 18 SOUND BLASTER DIGEST ADVERTISEMENT ORDER FORM ============================================= Please fill out this form, and mail it, along with a cheque for the required ammount, along with an ASCII only, typed copy of your ad, and mail it to the address below. PLEASE MAKE CHEQUE/MONEY ORDER PAYABLE TO BRAD BARCLAY! NAME:_____________________________ MAILING ADDRESS: Street address:_____________________________ City, Province/State:_______________________ Country, Postal/ZIP Code:___________________ PHONE NUMBER (don't forget the area code!):___________________ BEST TIMES AVAILABLE:_________________________________________ Please mail this form, along with your cheque and a copy of the ad as described above, along with any other comments to: SOUND BLASTER DIGEST c/o Brad Barclay 36 Sutter ave. Brampton, Ontario CANADA. L6Z 1G7 Page 19 ORDER FORM: THE SOUND BLASTER DIGEST DEMO TAPE =============================================== Please enclose a cheque or money order (sorry, I don't accept any major or minor credit cards) for $7.50 CDN for Canadian orders, or $7.50 US for American orders. Overseas enclose $10 Canadian funds, payable on a Canadian bank. Please fill out all the spaces provided (except where marked optional), and mail it to the address below. MAKE CHEQUE/MONEY ORDER PAYABLE TO BRAD BARCLAY! NAME:_____________________________ MAILING ADDRESS: Street address:_____________________________ City, Province/State:_______________________ Country, Postal/ZIP Code:___________________ PHONE NUMBER (don't forget the area code!):___________________ MUSIC FORMAT: In which Sound Blaster music file format are you the most interested? (Circle all of interest). .CMF .JMP .MID .MOD .NST .ORG .ROL .VOC Please mail this form, along with any additional comments to: SOUND BLASTER DIGEST c/o Brad Barclay 36 Sutter ave. Brampton, Ontario CANADA. L6Z 1G7 Page 20 SOUND BLASTER DIGEST BBS REGISTRATION ===================================== This is a free service of THE SOUND BLASTER DIGEST, intended to allow greater access to Sound Blaster files. Please fill out all blanks (except where marked optional), and send to the address below: LIST INFORMATION: Name of BBS:____________________________________________ Sysop's Name:___________________________________________ City, Province/State:___________________________________ Phone Number (remember the area code!):_________________ Min/Max Transmission speed:_____________________________ OTHER INFORMATION: Although not included in the BBS listing, this information is important for our records. How long has the BBS been running:_________________________ Do you have a Music/Sound Card conference, message area, or file area set aside?:______________________________________ Does your BBS support and have Sound Blaster files?:_______ Anything else you can think of to say that would show off your BBS, please write it down here: ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Mail this form, along with any extra comments to: SOUND BLASTER DIGEST c/o Brad Barclay 36 Sutter Ave. Brampton, Ontario CANADA. L6Z 1G7