PsL Monthly 1995 May/PSL Monthly Shareware CD-ROM Volume 3 Number 5 (PSL).ISO/readme

Text File | 1995-04-06 | 14KB | 313 lines

                              PsL Monthly CD

> To view this file, use the PgUp and PgDn and cursor keys.
> When done, press ESC to exit this file.
> Then PSL_SHRD will run. That is the program that lets you browse
> through the descriptions of the programs on this CD.
> Next time, you can just run PSL_SHRD to skip seeing this file.

> PSL_SHRD is a DOS-based program. To access the CD from Windows,
> run PSL_SHRW.EXE by using File-Run from Program Manager's menu bar.
> PSL_SHRW will let you search the database of ALL programs on ALL
> CDs, in addition to browsing the descriptions for the current month.
> Run SETUP.BAT from the DOS prompt before running the Windows version.
> Run COPYFILE.BAT to copy a file from the DOS command line.

Welcome to the PsL May 1995 CD. This month's CD contains over 1300 new
programs (over 300MB) received by PsL in the last 30 days. In addition,
this month's CD includes over 2000 files (over 350MB) from the Windows
and DOS "Words & Graphics" sections of PsL, which includes Graphics,
Animations, Clip Art, Desktop Publishing, Printer Apps & Utilties,
Fonts, Word Processors, Text Editors, and word processing tools such
as spelling checkers, grammar checkers, etc.


PAST CD's SECTIONS-OF-THE-MONTH:

Each time a section of PsL's library is featured on the Monthly CD, we
start with what was on the CD the last time the section was featured
and add all the new and updated programs which have come along in the
subsequent months.

Following is a list of the sections from the most recent CDs. By getting
all of these CDs, you would have every program/file in PsL's collection.
Programs for both DOS and Windows are included in each group.

Vol. Num.
 3    4    Utilities for DOS & Windows and All files in PsL for OS/2
 3    3    Home Applications
 3    2    Business (accounting, finance, general business, time managers,
                  general business, database, spreadsheet, mailing list
                  managers, and more.)
 3    1    Games (arcade, adventure, board games, card games, casino games,
                  sports games, puzzles, word games, and more.)
 2   12    Programming (assembler, Basic, C, Cobol, Fortran, Pascal, Modula,
                  Visual Basic, general tools, and more.)
 2   11    Words & Graphics (word processing, drawing program, clip art,
                  desktop publishing, spelling/grammar checkers, hypertext,
                  fonts, printer utilities, and more.)
 2    9    Education (reading, writing, math, science, languages, and more.)
 2    8    Communications & Network (comm programs and utilities, BBS systems,
                  programs for FAX cards, pagers, etc., plus networking pgms.)


FUTURE CD's:

Following is the schedule for the section-of-the-month for coming CDs:

Vol. Num.
 3    6    Education
 3    7    Communications
 3    8    Programming
 3    9    Games
 3   10    Business


1. License & Warranty:

Run PSL_SHRD's start-up screens or PSL_SHRW's HELP menu to read the CD-ROM
usage license and warranty.


2. File Format:

All programs are in ZIP format. All of the new ZIPs have FILE_ID.DIZ
files for easier BBS use; however, some older files in the Section of
the Month do not have FILE_ID.DIZ files.

Some programs have installation programs which must be run after using
PsL's programs to un-ZIP the files to your hard disk. After un-ZIPping
a program, look for README and *.DOC text files, as well as for
INSTALL.* and SETUP.* programs, for information about installing and
using the individual programs.


3. Directory Structure of CD:

See the file DIRECTRY.TXT in the root directory of the CD.


4. FILES.BBS files:

For BBS use, we have added FILES.BBS files listing the contents of each ZIP
file directory. We have been told a dozen different formats to use, but the
format we used was the one most common to the various formats mentioned:

FILENAME.EXT --SIZE--  --DATE--  Description----------------------------------
^1                21^  ^24     | description continued.-----------------------
                               ^32

The FILES.BBS files are in the directory FILESBBS.
You can generate custom FILES.BBS files by running PSL_SHRW (in the PSL_NEWS
directory) and looking in the Files menu. (Requires Windows.)

See READ.ME in the FILESBBS directory for more information.


5. The \SCREENS Directory

The Screens directory contains screen shots of some programs on this CD.
The screen shots can only be viewed by the Windows program PSL_SHRW, not the
DOS program PSL_SHRD.


6. RUNTIMES

The RUNTIMES directory contains run-time files required by some other
programs.


7. Problems

All the programs on this CD have been tested and should run. If you have
difficulties, write or call PsL's Tech Support department. Most difficulties
can be cleared up over the phone in a couple of minutes. There is normally no
waiting to talk to a technician.

(1.) "My machine locks up or reboots when I try to install a program
      using the PSL_NEWS program."

You have one of the small percentage of systems with a CD-ROM driver that is
incompatible with PKUNZIP. To get around that problem, we have placed a public
domain unzip program on the CD. To invoke it with the DOS-based program,
run it using the syntax: "PSL_SHRD /U" (without the quotes). In the Windows
based program, select UNZIP in the window that appears after pushing the
Install button.

We have recently heard from a couple of people who "upgraded" to DOS 6.2
only to find that our Windows access program would not work any more. Because
the program is written in a "high-level" language (Visual Basic), there is
nothing we can do on that level to either cause such a problem or to solve
it. All we have been able to suggest is booting up with a floppy that has
an earlier version of DOS on it when you want to access the CD. We know this
is not a very satisfactory solution, but we did not write the operating
system, Windows, nor Visual Basic.

(2.) "PKUNZIP tells me to insert another disk when I try to unzip the
      file from the CD."

The programmer used a PKZIP flag that he shouldn't have when zipping
the program. To get around this, copy the ZIP file from the CD to your
hard disk and use PKUNZIP to unzip it to the same directory on your
hard disk as the ZIP file.

(3.) "There are no files on the CD."
     "There are no files in one of the directories."
     "I get an error trying to copy a file from the CD."

We have only had a few such complaints, but in all cases, there was nothing
wrong with the CD. Some of the users who made the complaints were able to
read the CDs without error on other machines or even when trying later on
the same machine.

We suspect that the problem is with dust or dirt in the drive or, more
specifically, on the laser lens, or on the CD-ROM disc itself. If you do not
have a CD lens cleaner, get one from your dealer. Also inspect the non-printed
side of the CD for dust or debris.

One caller took the CD out, wiped it off, put it back in, and it worked.
Maybe it was dirty or maybe just re-seating it helped.

(4.) "When I install from the Windows access program, it tells me
      FILE NOT FOUND."

Some combination of flukes in Windows/DOS cause some systems not to be
able to find PKUNZIP.EXE on the CD-ROM drive. The solution is to copy
PKUNZIP.EXE into your WINDOWS directory on your hard disk.


SOUND BLASTER PRO OWNERS:

On the January 1995 CD-ROM, we went over 600MB on the CD for the first
time and some people with Sound Blaster Pro cards and CD drives were
unable to get a directory on the CD.

If you have a Sound Blaster Pro and have this problem on a future
CD-ROM, ask Creative Labs for a new CD-ROM driver.


8. Frequently Asked Questions:

(1.) "Why don't you install the programs on the CD ready to run instead of in
      ZIP format?"

There are many reasons:
 - Many programs try to write back to the directory that they
   are installed in, which cannot be done on a CD.

 - Many programmers require that their programs be distributed
   in archived format.

 - Some installation programs configure the software to the system they
   are installed on, so that a program installed on our system may not
   work on yours.

 - Because we add a section of PsL's disk-based library to the CD each
   month, there is not room to have all the programs dearchived.

 - For use of the CDs on BBSs, files must be in archive format.

Distributing the programs in archive format makes for a much neater
package, making programs easier to find. Dearchiving a program to
hard disk only takes a few seconds and by using a temporary directory,
you can easily delete the files when done.

(2.) "Are the same programs repeated on each month's CD?"

No. The \DOS and \WIN directories contain only the new programs received
by PsL during the last 30 days. In addition, we put a different section
of our disk-based library on each month's CD. These sections do repeat
every six months, but they are updated for the thousands of new files
received during the previous six months.

(3.) "I'm not interested in the section of PsL being added to the CD this
      month. Why should I have to pay for a CD with a section I don't want
      in order to get the lower subscription price?"

For the same reason that a magazine purchased from a newsstand costs twice
as much as the same issue if you subscribe. The reason for the lower price in
a subscription is that you agree to take every issue.

In addition, focusing on the old programs, which we decided to add to the CD
as a free bonus, is ignoring the purpose of the CD.

The PsL Monthly CD was conceived (and priced) as a way to get the many
hundreds of new programs received at PsL each month out to the public
in an economical way.

The first CD was released in July 1993 with about 350 programs on it and sold
out in two weeks. We did not start adding sections of our library to the
CD until December 1993. By that time, the number of new programs on each
month's CD doubled to an average of over 700.

Even though it meant a back-breaking amount of work to get the additional 2000
to 3000+ files onto the CD each month, we did not raise the price of the CD a
penny. Yet some people who had happily paid $19.95 to get the 700 or so new
programs each month, suddenly focused only on the programs on the files
that they did NOT want - a particular section of our disk-based library.

That may be because for retail sales purposes, WE have had to emphasize the
library section on the cover of the CD, even though that is not the purpose of
the CD.

Please remember that there is no other source to get so many new programs on
such a timely basis for such a low price. If you do not have a need for a
particular section of our disk-based library, just ignore it and focus on the
new programs on the CD. You only have to use/enjoy a few programs, clip art
files, sound files, etc., per month out of the 800+ new programs each month to
more than offset the cost of the CD compared to disk fees and download fees.

(4.) "After the PSL_NEWS program installs a file, the program sometimes has to
      be installed again from those files. Why can't it just be installed
      once directly from the CD-ROM?"

Some shareware authors have custom installation programs which create
directories, put files in specific directories, configure the program to the
user's specific hardware, etc. We cannot have multiple INSTALL programs in the
same directory and it would be cumbersome to have a separate directory for
each program, so we are forced to archive such programs, resulting in their
having to be dearchived from the CD-ROM before they can be installed with the
author's installation program.


9. YOU Make This CD.

Your comments and suggestions are appreciated. We are striving to make this
the ideal CD for sysops and vendors, as well as for individual and users. We
will implement every possibly suggestion which will still allow us to produce
the CD in a timely manner and which will not degrade the CD is some other way.

If you are a programmer and want your program distributed on this CD, simply
send it on disk to the address below.



                         Public (software) Library
                               P.O.Box 35705
                          Houston, TX 77235-5705

                           Voice:   713-524-6394
                           FAX:     [phone]
                           CompuServe: 71355,470



Now press ESC and the PSL_SHRD.EXE program will run.

Once the program is running, you can press F1 for more instructions,
although the use of the program should be pretty obvious and simple.

In brief, you select a category, read about programs, and press I to
install one. The installation will leave you at the DOS prompt, ready
to read the documentation files and run the program.

PsL's installation simply un-ZIPs the files onto your hard disk.
Some programs may require you to perform a further installation.
After the files are put on your hard disk. Look for files like INSTALL
or files with README in the name or with extensions of .DOC or .TXT.
These files can be read with the VIEW program from the CD. If your CD
is drive D:, for example, type D:\VIEW READ.ME (assuming you are in
the installed program's drive and directory).

If you need assistance, call PsL's Tech Support at 713-524-6394.