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PsL Monthly 1994 August
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PSL Monthly Shareware CD-ROM (August 1994).ISO
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1994-07-21
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August 1994 PsL CD-ROM
Big Changes at PsL
==================
The August PsL CD-ROM is late to subscribers this month because of big
changes made recently at PsL.
The changes were forced upon us suddenly last month because of the huge
increase in the number of programs received and reviewed (over 1200
compared to 800-900 per month ususally received in the past).
We had to write from scratch two new access programs for the CD-ROM, one
for Windows and one for DOS. We had to convert text-file based reviews and
catalog entries to the new database structure we created. We expanded our
software category classifications from a few dozen to over a thousand. We
increased the amount of information saved about program authors which the
access software now displays. And we had to rewrite the software used by
Review Department to review, search for, and categorize programs and to
record author information.
Advantages of the New Access Software:
-------------------------------------
Some people have commented that they prefer the old CD-ROM access software
over the new programs. We preferred them too, but in the first place, we
had no choice about making the change and in the second place, the new
format *does* have many advantages.
It provides access to the Section-Of-The-Month, as well as to the
new/updated programs, which is something the old program did not do.
It provides easy access to write-ups of the whole library (or it will when
we complete the updating of the new database files).
It is much easier and faster when searching for a particular program or a
specific author or type of program. It allows you to page through all the
programs by a particular author or by types of programs or by program
names, etc., which could not be done before.
The database format is much more reliable. Each program by the same author
is referenced by number to a single author entry, which saves space. In the
old format, it was difficult to insure that a change in author info was
made for all of the author's programs. Much more information is provided
for contacting the author. In some cases, our database may be more reliable
than the author information in an old program's documentation file.
The Reviews Disks:
-----------------
PsL customers may have noticed that the text-based Reviews disks have not
been updated recently. That is because the text-based Reviews files are
being replaced with the new database format which makes it infinitely easy
to find programs by subject, by program name, by file name, by author name
or company name, and by CD-ROM date.
We are still in the process of converting the text-based reviews (for over
15,000 programs) to the new format. The July CD was the first to use the
new format and the Games section on that CD, which contains all the games
in PsL for DOS and Windows, have been completely converted.
This month's CD features over 1200 new and updated programs (again!) plus
all the programs from the Business-related sections of PsL, and all of
those program reviews have been converted over to the new database.
Because the program reviews in our old Reviews files did not have author's
addresses, phone numbers, email numbers, etc., many author entries in the
database do not have that information, but as we add new and updated
programs each month, some by the same authors already in the database,
those entries will eventually be completed.
As the database becomes more complete in the not-too-distant future, we
think the PsL PD/Shareware Database will be the ultimate guide to
pd/shareware programs and authors. At that time, we will also make the
database available on floppies for those who do not have CDs (although a
hard disk will be required to hold the files).
Slow Access:
-----------
As mentioned above, we were forced to develop the new CD-ROM access
programs in a very limited amount of time in order to get out the July
CD-ROM on time.
Given the fact that there is no such thing as bug-free software, we were
pretty happy with how well the software ran when the CDs came back from the
manufacturer. However, having written and tested the software on hard
disks, we were not expecting the sometimes painfully slow response time on
the CD.
The sluggishness was due to a couple of design factors which were easily
changed, and you should find the access software on the new CD to be much
more responsive.
To speed up access on the July CD, you can create a PSL_NEWS directory on
your hard disk and copy the contents of the PSL_NEWS directory on your
CD-ROM to it. Also copy PSL_SHRD.EXE and SECTION.MO from the root directory
of the CD to the root directory of the same hard disk. Then change to your
hard disk and run PSL_SHRD.EXE.
Letters:
=======
CD-ROM Packaging
----------------
Steve Matthews:
It never fails to blow me away - you folks just keep coming up with new stuff.
This time it's the packaging for the CD-ROM. I immediately knew that it was an
attept to reduce packaging costs, but it is superior...
The insert in the front of the old jewel box some times falls out, which is no
longer a problem. Your new packaging is much easier to open. Little things,
really, but you managed to include them while driving down costs (which means
to me that it will be a little longer before you have to raise prices).
I often wonder how your competition stays in business.
PsL:
---
Our competition stays in business, in part, because not everyone knows
about us. Be sure to tell your friends!
We are surprised that people think the new packaging is cheaper than the old
jewel box with inserts when in fact, the new packaging costs us more per unit.
Personally, we think it looks a lot better, too. Instead of just four-color
art on the front of the old box, we also have it on the inside and on the
back of the new box.
The new packaging lets us put a lot more information on it, including putting
the date and the name of the Section of the Month on the spine, which we
were not able to do with the jewel box.
But the reason we made the change is that despite experimenting with different
types of mailers (cardboard boxes, bubble envelopes, etc.), we could not find
any that eliminated jewel box breakage. Users were unhappy about getting
smashed jewel boxes and we were unhappy about the additional time and cost of
sending them replacements. The new packaging should eliminate such problems.
In addition, the packaging (down to the inks used) are substantially more
envrionment friendly than the old jewel boxes.
Finally, as you pointed out, the new packaging is much easier to handle than
the old jewel boxes. What's not to love?!?