PsL Monthly 1994 July/PSL Monthly Shareware CD-ROM (Public Software Library) (July 1994).iso/pastnews/news9403.vws

Text File | 1994-02-10 | 25KB | 607 lines

=====News & Views <psl_logo.pcx>

Contents:

-----Software for the Home
-----Windows Book Bundles CD-ROM
-----CD-ROM Drive for $75/Month
-----New Retail Products
-----Letters
-----Starlite Acquires PC-Write
-----Does Not Compute...

==========================

-----Software for the Home

This month we have included all the home-related applications
(excluding games, which were on the January CD) for DOS and Windows
from our disk-based library on the PsL Monthly CD, so we will use this
opportunity to discuss these programs. For the benefit of non-CD
users, we have included the disk numbers for programs mentioned.

The categories included under Home include home accounting, investing,
financial analysis (mortgages, etc.), education, astrology and the
occult, collecting, diet & nutrition & health, food & drinks,
genealogy, home management, cataloging movies & music & books,
science, weather, maps, vehicle management, and other miscellaneous
programs.

---Home Accounting:

There are countless high-quality, effective home accounting programs
which range from bare-bones checkbook balancing to powerful accounting
programs as good as or better than those available in the retail
market.

Disk #1010 contains several simple checkbook balancing programs, like
Bank Statement Tamer, which don't require you to record checks and
deposits.

MegaDisk Set #20076 contains two of the most powerful, yet easy and
efficient to use programs for home accounting, Cash Control and Tree
Based. The latter has a unique interface which is a combination of a
spreadsheet, an outliner, and a checkbook.

MegaDisk Set #27011 has four other very popular, high-quality home
accounting programs: Checkmate, Cheque-It-Out, FastBucks, and
Ultra-Check.

Accounting-101 (#1296) is a home accounting program which supports
subaccounts, making it suitable for business as well as home. For
example, you might have an account for "Auto Expense" and subaccounts
for each individual car. This lets you see expenses by car as well as
in total.

Bankbook and PC Allowance (#20298) are accounting programs for kids to
use in keeping track of their allowances and to learn financial
responsibility. PC Allowance works like an ATM.

CCI Home Budget, Personal Budget Tools, and Personal Budget (MegaDisk
Set #27354) are home accounting programs with an emphasis on
budgeting. (Many of the other programs mentioned in previous
paragraphs also offer budgeting.)

---Financial Analysis:

This category includes numerous programs for comparing and analyzing
mortgages (Homebuying and Refinancing, #27108), planning for
retirement or for college (#27339), and other financial analysis such
as present value, depreciation, etc. (#27110).

MegaDisk Set #27110 contains very sophisticated mortgage analysis
programs which support different types of loans and repayment
schedules, as well as showing the results of periodic prepayments
(additional payments towards principle).

---Income Tax Software:

MegaDisk Set #27596 is a collection of income tax return programs for
the latest tax year, 1993. The form-on-screen approach makes entering
data as easy as writing it on a printed form, and the automatic
calculations make the programs faster and more reliable than doing a
return by hand. (But we recommend entering your data into two
different programs and comparing the results to guard against possible
errors in the software.)

---Investment:

We have a great many programs for keeping track of and analyzing
stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, and other investments. PFROI
(on #27043) is a highly regarded program for analyzing the return on
investment for a portfolio. Stock Portfolio Record Manager, Portworth,
StockTrack, and StockTrax (all on #27202) keep track of and chart the
performance of your stocks.

---Education:

The education category in PsL is quite extensive. In the area of
computer education, there are programs for learning to use the PC,
DOS, and Windows.

Tutor.Com (in set #27032) is one of the most popular computer training
programs. Other programs in that set let you practice DOS commands in
a controlled environment so that a novice does not put the contents of
a hard disk at risk while practicing.

Other categories in Education include government & geography, history,
languages (Asian, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Spanish and
others), literature (eg: the text of some of Shakespeare's plays is on
#27457 and #27552), math for grade school (#27655: Math for Kids) to
college (#27654), reading & spelling & vocabulary, science,
pre-school, and other.

We also have a large collection of programs to aid teachers in keeping
class rosters, seating assignments, and test scores, as well as to aid
in generating tests of different types.

---Astrology & Occult:

Astrology programs have always been popular disks with PsL's
customers. Set #27045 contains several such programs: Astro,
Astrology, and AstroMart.

Rosemary West is the Queen of Occult Software. Her programs include
Wynter Stone's I Ching, By the Numbers (numerology), Crystal Ball,
Fortune Teller, Geomancy, Personal Tarot, Webster's Aura Reading and
Quick Numerology, and Your ESP Test.

---Collecting:

For those of you who like to collect things, we have programs for
managing collections of stamps (#27810), coins (#27595), books (#27281
- these are programs more for libraries, not individuals), movies
(#27837 - these are movie information databases), tapes & records
(#27222), trading cards (#27563), video tapes (#27223), and
miscellaneous items (#4183).

---Diet, Nutrition, and Health:

The 6-Step Stress Manager (#2534), Depression-Free (#2361), and
Headache-Free (#2287) have been hot sellers (which worries us a
little).

Set #27215 has five disks of programs for managing your diet,
including a dietary analysis of the offerings of fast food chains.

This section also contains programs for keeping track of miles run,
walked, biked, etc.

---Food & Drinks:

Meal Master (in set #27218) is something of a standard for recipe
programs. Set #27219 contains five disks of programs for planning
trips to the grocery store. Set #27365 keeps track of coupons. Set
#27217 has Home Bartender's Guide and Vino:File Cellar Master for
serious wine imbibers.

---Genealogy:

Keeping track of family trees is a job for which computers are ideally
suited. Family members and relations can easily be entered and printed
out for others or viewed and searched on-screen. Family History System
(three disks in set #27220) and Brother's Keeper (four disks in
#27046) are two popular genealogy programs.

---Home Management:

MegaDisk Set #27360 contains four disks of home inventory type
programs which can be of great assistance for police or insurance
purposes should fire, flood, hurricane, thieves, or other disasters
befall your home.

Other programs in this section include home remote control software
(for X10 type controllers), home maintenance, home insulation
calculators, and more.

---Science, Weather & Maps:

Most of the Science programs are related to astronomy. Programs like
Starside, Starware, and Our Cosmohood, (in Set #27731) and SkyGlobe
(set #27227) let you view the stars on screen as they would appear
from various points and times on earth.

Weather prediction and tracking can be done with the programs in set
#27228. Hurricane tracking programs on set #27226 include Tracker,
Storm, and World29, the latter of which also serves as a general
purpose world globe.

---Other:

Vehicle Management programs for one or more cars let you keep track of
expenses by car and plan scheduled maintenance.

Gardeners will want MegaDisk Set #20035, which help plan and maintain
gardens.

Specialty programs are also included in this section for learning
speed reading (#3746), resume writing & job hunting (#27722), fishing
and boating (#27358), organizing weddings (#27524), analyzing
handwriting (#1538), designing knitting patterns (#4186), Origami
(#0583), HAM radio (#27357), Cub and Boy Scouts (#27702), and more.


-----Windows Book Bundles CD-ROM

A massive (over 1000 pages) new book about Windows, CD-MOM from
Addison Wesley Publishing, was written by two well-known figures in
shareware, Woody Leonhard who also writes for PC/Computing and Barry
Simon who writes for PC Magazine and Windows Sources.

The book lists for $49.95 at your local bookstore, which includes a
CD-ROM disc with the latest Windows printer and video drivers, video
clips, fonts, icons, and lots of Windows shareware.

The book has a cartoonish style, but it is not for absolute beginners
nor super-advanced users. For the large majority of users in between
the two extremes, it tells you everything about Windows you could want
to know.


-----CD-ROM Drive for $75/Month

If you have a friend who is not benefitting from PsL's low-cost
Monthly CD-ROM because he or she does not have a CD-ROM drive, be sure
to tell them about this special PsL offer: a CD-ROM drive for just
three monthly payments of $75 (plus $7 shipping), and we will throw in
your first three months of the PsL Monthly CD for free.

We are now offering the OmniCD Drive from Creative Labs (makers of the
Sound Blaster card). It has double-speed data transfer, 320ms access
time, MPC2 compatibility for playing full-motion video and multimedia
games, and is multi-session photo CD compatible. No CD caddies are
required.

Also included is Aldus Photosytler software, a Windows-based photo
editing program for accessing photo CDs and for retouching and
enhancing photos.

We also still offer the SyDos Personal CD drive for $99/month for
three months (plus $7 shipping), including your first three months of
PsL's Monthly CD.

The SyDos is an external drive which connects to your parallel port,
so installation problems are non-existent and you can use it with
laptops as easily as with desktops. No CD caddies.


-----New Retail Products

---Star Wars Rebel Assault CD-ROM   (#30424 - $49)

This is an action-packed video arcade created exclusively for CD-ROM.
It features fantastic full-screen video from the Star Wars movies,
great 3D graphics, digitized speech and movie sound effects, a sound
track performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, over a dozen levels
of play, and detailed space and surface missions.

You can choose any of four Star Wars vehicles to use in your missions
while you fight against deadly TIE fighters, Imperial troops, giant
Walkers on the ice planet of Hoth, and more. This is an absolutely
incredible CD and a must for all Star Wars fans.


---Hell Cab CD-ROM   (#30425 - $55)

Take the cab ride from hell in which the object is for you just to
survive. You don't just cruise the deadly streets of New York. This
cab is equipped for time travel and the destinations are never
pleasant.

You will visit prehistoric times that make Jurassic Park look like a
picnic. You get to fight lions in ancient Rome. But the worse part may
be returning to New York...

Requires Windows and at least 4MB of RAM, SVGA, 386+, sound card, and
a CD-ROM drive.


-----Letters

---CD Suggestions
     Ted Parsons, Jupiter, FL:

"I own a BBS in Jupiter, FL. I am very pleased with your CD's quality
and content. I have many other shareware CDs and some of them are
horrible. The care that you put into yours shows.

"I know that you are always interested in ways to make your CD even
better, and I have a few suggestions:

"1. Please include a volume label on the CD."

PsL: The good news is that for the first time, we got the CD software
     to accept a volume label for the February CD-ROM. The bad news is
     that we entered "March".

"2. Due to limitations in my software, I only get the first line of
your descriptions, which is usually taken up by the author's name and
registration fee and the caller gets no idea what the program is
about. Could you move that information to the end of the description?"

PsL: Don't see why not. We will try it until/unless someone comes up
     with a good reason why we should not.

"3. If an author does not want his program distributed via BBS,
could you please just include a list of these files so that sysops can
remove them. It is almost impossible and certainly not practical to
search every archive and read every copyright notice."

PsL: We agree that it is unrealistic to expect the sysop running a
     small BBS in his spare time to read every doc file. It takes our
     full tech staff working their tails off to cover that ground.

     You are to be commended for caring about the copyrights. A
     number of sysops we have talked to are unconcerned about this
     issue and despite our warning notices about needing permission
     from authors, just dump the whole CD to their hard drives.

     We have been discussing this with some authors and sysops
     and one solution might be to rename ZIP files to different exten-
     sions. For example: ".PER" could indicate permission is required
     to redistribute; ".ASP" means permission is required, but that
     ASP member BBSs/vendors have blanket permission.

     This renaming would be transparent to our end-users, since
     our CD software installs the files automatically, and sysops
     could name the files they have permission to distribute back to
     *.ZIP.

     However, our concern is that authors may not like us renam-
     ing their files, even though it is for their benefit.


---Strip Poker
     A BBS Sysop writes:

"I would like to congratulate you guys for another fine CD-
ROM in January, but there is one thing I'm glad that I caught
before young callers to our BBS did -- the strip poker game. I
don't mind these games at all, but please either make a separate
directory for them or tell me ahead of time in the README file so
I can move them to a separate file library.

"Otherwise, I think your CD is great! Keep up the good work!"

PsL: We got a little flak over this game, which surprised us
     since there is no nudity. If this were a movie, it would at worse
     be rated PG-13 for language (which is suggestive but not
     obscene).

     We pointed out to a caller who complained of our corrupting
     his kids that it is no worse than what is on TV, but he said he con-
     trols everything his kids see on TV. (He controls what they see at
     friends' houses, what they see in magazines, what they hear at
     school, yet he can't control a CD-ROM?)

     Anyway, we rarely get a program that is even PG-13. I doubt
     that we have more than a couple (versus dozens of religious pro-
     grams, by the way) in the more than 10,000 programs in our
     library, so this should not be an issue.

     The program was written up in the FILES.BBS and the
     PSL_NEWS files. And if sysops are fulfilling their legal obliga-
     tion to check the doc files of each program for terms of distribu-
     tion, they would catch such programs anyway (which takes us
     back to the previous letter).

     However, since we very rarely get such files and since we do
     want the CD to be usable by the entire family, we are probably
     not going to include such files in the future.


---Programs Try To Overwrite

Many of the programs on the PsL Monthly CD in the section of programs
from our existing library (as opposed to the new programs) are in
self-extracting archives.

To extract these files, change to the drive and directory to which you
would like the program installed and then run the self-extracting
program.

For example, if your CD-ROM drive is D: and you want to install
MYPROG.EXE to C:\MYPROG, change to C:, create MYPROG and change into
it, and then enter

D:PATH\MYPROG

where "PATH" is the path\directory that MYPROG.EXE is in.


---Likes PsL
     Harley C. Witham, Dayton, OH:

"Why in the world did it take me so long to find you? I just want you
to know how good it feels to have found somebody who is truly
dedicated to shareware and is disseminating meaningful and helpful
information together with a log of great CURRENT programs."


---PCX Files on CD
     Roger Versteeg, via Internet:

"On the December CD, you didn't mention the PCX file name in the
program descriptions. It thus made it difficult to associate the PCX
file with its programs. Having the PCX program screen shots is a good
idea in that one can see what a program looks like without having to
install it. This is a unique feature of the PsL Monthly CD and is a
very good one.

"The other question relates to a PCX file which had no corresponding
program, REVIEWS.PCX. That program seems interesting, but where is it?"

PsL: The PSL_NEWS files on the December CD do show the PCX file names.
     Maybe you were looking at some other file?

     The REVIEWS.PCX was an illustration for an article in the
     NEWS & VIEWS section. If you are using PSL_NEWS.EXE to
     access the CD, you will see that section as the first on the menu.


-----Starlite Acquires PC-Write

Starlite Software, publishers of the Galaxy line of word processing
programs, has acquired rights to the popular shareware word processing
program, PC-Write and its related products.

Gordon Wanner, president of Starlite, says that Bob Wallace, author of
PC-Write, will help Starlite develop enhanced versions of PC-Write.

Bob Wallace became one of the pioneers of shareware by releasing
PC-Write in 1983. Wallace sold his company in 1991 but stayed on to
develop software. In October 1993, the company closed its doors. Now
that a buyer has been found for the software, users will continue to
have a place to go for support and new versions.

For more information, call Starlite Software at 206-437-2650.


-----Does Not Compute...

PsL welcomes users' letters and bug reports. Letters to PsL become the
propert of PsL and may be edited for publication for brevity or
clarity without changing the intent.

Programs are tested for major bugs and for viruses. If a major bug
somehow gets by us or if a user convinces us that a program is not
good enough to rate being in our permanent library (see the Reviews
Disks), we will remove the program and give the user a two-disk
credit.


---Beware of Bad Backups

Jan McBreen was having bizarre problems with a Windows game which
requires VBRUN300.DLL. We advised her that the only time we have heard
of such weird problems was when VBRUN300.DLL had become corrupted. Her
reply:

"Thanks. I got a fresh copy of the VBRUN300.DLL file and discovered
that this was indeed the problem. Your tip also led me to discover
that the reason for the error is a faulty tape back-up unit. When I
restored from tape not too long ago, the files must have gotten
corrupted. I have had odd errors with other programs and thought my
system had a virus. I have now reinstalled those programs directly
from the manufacturer's disks and everything is fine.

PsL: We had a similar bad experience with tape backup many years ago
     which caused us to abandon tape backup and use Bernoulli
     removable cartridge drives instead. The problem with tape is
     that you usually don't know if your backup is bad until it is
     too late (after your hard disk has crashed).

     Because a Bernoulli drive acts like another hard disk to your
     system, you can access the files after backing them up to make
     sure they are good. We have never had a backup/restore problem
     after switching to Bernoulli cartridges. As a bonus, you can actu-
     ally use the Bernoulli as additional hard disk space when not
     backing up on it, unlike a tape backup drive.


---4DOS 5.0 versus 4Files
     Gray Hoffman, Houston:

"4DOS 5.0 does not support the 4Files description flush right feature.
This has been verified by the author of 4DOS who has said he will
check with the author of 4Files as to the best way to resolve the
problems."


---Finding Files on CD
     Laurie Drucker, Gaithersburg, MD:

"I cannot find SYSCHK on the November CD-ROM."

PsL: It is in the DOS\UTILS\ subdirectory; the file name is
     SYSCHK.ZIP. To access the CD-ROM, you should normally run
     PSL_NEWS.EXE, but you can also use a file viewing utility or
     text editor to view FILES.BBS in the root directory of the CD
     and do a text search to find the file you want, then page up to see
     what directory it is in. There is also a file named FILES in the
     \PSL_NEWS directory which list all the new and updated files
     with the file size and directory path for each file.


---"Painless..." Isn't
     Gojko Jovanovic, Solvenia, Europe:

"When I run Painless Payroll for Windows or DOS the first time
everything is ok. The second time I run the program I receive the
message 'counter file has been tampered with' and the program exits."

PsL: We ran both programs over the course of two days and did not
     receive the message you did; however, we will contact the author
     to see if he can offer any hints.


---Problems
     Jeffrey Edelmann, Franklin, PA:

"#12286 Phantom will not run despite all attempts on 3 different
computers."

PsL: We were able to get it to run without difficulty. If you call
     Tech Support at 713-524-6394, we may be able to walk you through it.

"#1148 File Catalog Programs, 3 of the archives will not extract:
What, XDIR and NEWDEX."

PsL: NEWDEX isn't a self-extracting file although indicated as such.
     The other two programs extracted fine for us in a re-test.

"#27016 TaskMaster will not run at all."

PsL: The program has been removed from the library as it does not work
     with newer versions of DOS. You will receive a two-disk credit
     for bringing this to our attention.


---Terrible GIF Files?

One user wrote about his displeasure with the "poor quality" of the
GIF files in PsL's GIF collection. The only file he thought looked
good had a resolution of 320x200 by 16 colors.

Since nearly all of the other files are 640x480 by 256 colors, which
are actually higher quality than the one file the user liked, this led
us to believe that the user does not have the proper hardware or
software needed to view 256-color 640x480 graphics.

For starters, you must have a VGA card with a minimum of 512k to be
able to properly view 640x480x256 graphics. Without such a card, the
graphics will look discolored and muddy.

If you are using Windows, you must be using a driver which supports
640x480x256-colors. The basic VGA driver for Windows only supports 16
colors. Normally, when you buy a video card, it comes with a disk of
drivers to install for higher resolutions and more colors from
Windows.

In DOS, you must have software for viewing graphics at 640x480x256.
Many drawing programs do not support 256 colors. Some GIF viewing
programs support 256 colors, but require you to load a special driver
included with the software.


---Missing Authors

The following authors can no longer be reached at the address listed
in their documentation.

ADV_IN_C (Joaquin Valentine),
WAV to ADPCM File Converter (Big Tech Propaganda),
Loan Analyzer (Juden Edward),
Super Barber (Christian Gotschim),
Bibliotech (CGSoft),
MakeFont (Dean McCrory),
Mighty Mail (Alex Pressman),
CODEGEN (Tri-Power Consultants),
Runway (Innovator Corporation),
inView (Integrasoft Corp.)


Important. Please Read:


System Requirements: Absent any notice to the contrary in the full
program descriptions, all programs should run on a system with at
least 384k of RAM, any type of video, and at least two drives (one
floppy and a hard disk or two floppies) and DOS 3.1 or later. However,
PsL does not warrant compatibility of programs with all systems.

Knowledge of basic DOS commands such as DIR, COPY, TYPE, MD and CD is
required. See Home - Education (ED-01) for DOS tutors.

"ASP" indicates that the author of the program is a member of and
abides by the programming and support standards of the Association of
Shareware Professionals. ASP programs are generally your best bet.

Prices shown in shareware program reviews are the cost, if any, of
licensing programs from the authors of the programs for continued use.
Do NOT send these amounts to PsL (unless the author indicates in the
documentation that PsL sells the licensed version).