PsL Monthly 1994 July/PSL Monthly Shareware CD-ROM (Public Software Library) (July 1994).iso/pastnews/news9405.vws

Text File | 1994-04-19 | 22KB | 534 lines

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


-----A Library At Your Fingertips - in six months, get the entire PsL
-----New CD Features - changes coming in the Monthly CD
-----Words & Graphics - highlights of this months CD bonus files section
-----Shareware Vendor Upheaval - major distributors fold
-----Upgrading A Motherboard - get a 486 for under $200
-----Bypassing Boot Sector Viruses
-----Does Not Compute... - bug reports, missing authors
-----Selected Retail Products

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

-----A Library At Your Fingertips

The author of a program reviewed this month said:

"I wrote the program when I needed a way to test for a direc-
tory within a batch file..."

The fact is, there are about a half-dozen utilities in PsL alone
that can do what the programmer wanted.

If you need a program to do a specific task and can't find one
or don't know where to look, you'll be happy if you have the com-
plete PsL library of over 10,000 programs arranged by category
and with complete descriptions.

With the May PsL CD-ROM, we have completed the process
of copying all of the programs in PsL to CD-ROM. Now we will
continue to repeat the six-month cycle of putting part of the
library on CD each month, updating the section for the thousands
of new and updated programs which have come during the prior
six months.

For example, we started this process in December 1993 with
Programming. Since we completed the first cycle with the May
CD, Programming will be on the June 1994 CD, but updated for
the programs received between December and June.

Please remember that these sections are free bonuses. We
started and priced the Monthly CD as a way of getting the hun-
dreds of NEW programs each month (900+ this month) to users
at a low price. Even if you are not interested in a particular cate-
gory being featured on one month's CD-ROM, there are sure to
be lots of programs for every taste and need in the New Programs
sections.


-----New CD Features

Converting the 10,000+ files from 7000+ floppies onto CD-
ROMs over the last six months has been a monumental task. Sim-
ply dumping the files to CD would have been a lot of work by
itself, but much more was involved.

We had to run many of the programs (especially in Utilities)
to make sure that they were still up-to-date. We had to re-read
each review (and edit many of them) and come up with more
refined classifications.

Now that the mountain (of software) has been scaled, we can
stop and enjoy the view, but there are still greater heights to scale.
Updating the section of the month on each month's CD was no
small chore.

We will be refining the CD-ROM access software for DOS
and Windows to access these sections. (The software presently
only accesses the new program sections.)

We are overhauling our tech department database in which is
stored the name, size, version and description of each program
along with the author's name and address. We will add that data-
base to future CDs along with software to access it.

To the best of our knowledge, this will be the first extensive
(well over 10,000 programs) public database of pd/shareware
software with author's names and addresses. At an expected size
of over 20MB, we will only distribute it on CD-ROM.


-----Words & Graphics

This month's CD-ROM contains all the programs in PsL
which are related to word processing, desktop publishing, print-
ing, drawing programs, clip art, pictures, and multimedia, which
includes sounds and music as well. Both DOS and Windows will
be represented.

Here are the highlights, starting with DOS first. (Disk num-
bers are shown for the benefit of those without CD-ROM drives,
but see the front, inside cover for information about low-cost CD
drives.)

---Word Processing:

PC-Write (#27070) was one of the pioneering programs of
shareware. It is still a powerful, yet easy-to-use word processing
program, packed with many professional features.

There are a great many popular and powerful text editors,
such as Boxer (#3266), E88 (#1187), VDE (#1933), and Qedit
(#1006).

Bedit (#3118) is a text editor which uses large characters for
the benefit of the vision impaired. H-Key (#0625) is an editor
which allows movement-impaired individuals enter all keyboard
characters with just the cursor keys and a keypress.

---Hypertext:

Hypertext programs let you create and view files which can
be read on the computer in a non-linear way. This means that as
you read, you can branch off to read more about things men-
tioned in the text.

Some programs, such as HyperShell (#27399) let you mix
text and graphics. The pictures can have hot zones for hyper-
jumping to new subjects by clicking on the selected area with the
mouse.

---Writing Tools:

Whether you are in school or in the business world, you can
produce perfect documents with tools from this section. Cross
Check (#27074) is an excellent spelling checker.

Theaur Plus (#1804), Multiword (#2908), and PopSaurus
(#27819) all pop up to give you word substitution suggestions.
JORJ (#7372) is a dictionary on disk.

Critic (#1861) is one of the best writing analyzers we have
seen. Buddy (#12077) teaches writing, spelling, and punctuation.
PC-Proof (#20343) is an excellent grammar checker which can
read the files of many popular word processors.

Outliners help you organize your thoughts and then let you
import your outline into a word processor. Outliners used to be a
hot software category, but we don't hear much about them any
more. We still think they are useful tools. MegaDisk Set #27073
has four outliner disks in it: Idea Tree, Kamas, PC-Outline, and
Ravitz Editor.

If you would like to word process but don't know how to type,
get a typing tutor like PC-Fastype on #4522. If you want to type
in a different language, get set #27764, which translates English
to/from German, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese.

---Forms Managers:

If you keep a filing cabinet full of forms of different types
(eg: purchase orders, employment applications, insurance claims,
etc.), you can clear out the file cabinet and save time to boot by
keeping forms on the computer with programs such as EZ-Forms
Executive (#1499) and FormGen (#0645).

These programs not only let you fill them in on-screen, but
they keep track of form numbers, sum up columns and rows, per-
form calculations such as for sales tax, and more.

---Desktop Publishing:

The award winning EnVision Publisher (#20045) is the clear
winner in DOS-based shareware desktop publishing.

If you are already sold on Ventura, you'll find a number of
time savers such as those on the 5-disk MegaDisk Set #27698:
Decoder!, Swap!, Filer!, Index!, and Tag!. Code to Code (#2335)
helps with any files containing typesetting codes.

Image processors let you modify graphics, primarily for use
with DTP programs. Graphic Workshop (#20274) and Image
Alchemy (#27636) let you convert between graphic file formats,
rotate, scale, halftone, and more.

---Clip Art & Picture Files

The library has far too many types of clip art to summarize
here.

PCX is something of a standard format, but with programs
such as those mentioned above, if the files you want are not of a
type you can use, you can easily convert them to the needed
types.

Most clip art files are line drawings. We also have a large
number of picture files which can be used in documents. They
can also just be viewed for enjoyment or converted to BMP for-
mat for use as Windows wallpaper.

---Drawing Programs:

MegaDisk Set #27683 has several powerful drawing pro-
grams such as Desktop Paint which support high resolution 256-
color images in PCX, GIF and other formats.

Wire-frame CAD programs, like DanCad3D (#27188), have
many features for ease and efficiency in designing and drawing
houses, cars, and other objects. We also have a large number of
utilities for use with AutoCAD

While most drawing programs use bit-mapped graphics
(dots), programs like Draft Choice (#1630) and Picture This
(#27080) use vector graphics which can be rotated and resized
with no loss of resolution.

HomePlan (#4489) is optimized for drawing floor plans. Lay-
out (#3489) is also ideal for floor plans, circuit boards, maps and
other spaces of known dimensions.

Set #27193 has several outstanding programs for drawing
charts and graphs: ExpressGraph, Grapher2, and KwikGraf.

DOCA (#1654), Charts Unlimited (#27192), and FloDraw
(also on #27192) draw organization charts and flow charts.

---Sounds & Music:

It is hard to believe that just a few years ago, all we had for
sound effects and music on the PC was a two-cent speaker. Ad
Lib came out with the first popular sound cards for the PC, using
FM synthesizer chips for playing music.

The Sound Blaster came along soon after, adding DAC chips
to the FM chips. Unlike the FM chips, which could only synthe-
size sounds, DAC chips could actually record and play back
sounds, for much higher fidelity. Media Vision was the next big
player to come along, producing a sound card compatible with
the Sound Blaster, but of much higher quality, and with a SCSI
port for attaching a CD-ROM drive.

PsL was one of the first companies to sell first the Ad Lib
cards, then the Sound Blaster and Media Vision cards and multi-
media kits. Although we don't hear as much about the FM music
files anymore, we still have a large number of them.

Files with ROL extensions are FM music files for Ad Lib
cards. CMF files are for Sound Blaster cards, although files can
be played on either card with the right software. VOC are digi-
tized files for the Sound Blaster.

WAV files, popularized by Windows 3.1, are recorded sounds
which are played by the DAC chips. We have a large collection
of sound clips on the May CD-ROM.

---Windows Word Processing:

Shareware programmers have not tried to compete yet with
the full-blown word processing programs for Windows. There
are, however, a lot of macros, such as WOPR (#27527) and utili-
ties for use with Word For Windows and others.

WinSpell (#27796) is a spelling checker that will check
everything you type in Windows. WinProof (#12154) is an out-
standing grammar checker.

Until this month, there were no shareware desktop publishing
programs for Windows, but that niche has been filled in a big
way. See the Windows section for a write-up of this and other
new Windows Words & Graphics programs this month.

---Windows Graphics:

Graphics is what Windows 3 is all about. Any BMP file can
be used as wallpaper (background screen) for Windows, and we
have a lot full-color, photo-quality BMPs on the CD.

For converting files to BMP format (and many other formats),
as well as for enhancing pictures for use with desktop publishing
and other needs, it is hard to beat Paint Shop Pro (#20265).

WinPlot (#12628) does data graphing and analysis. Chartist
(#4205) does flowcharts and organization charts, as does Tree-
Chart (#20403). Steve's GraphMaster (#27816) lets you choose
from among nine different types of graphs, and ChartTamer
(#20250) is another excellent data graphing program.

For those who like fractal graphics, WinFract (#27626) and
Mandelbrot Set (#12409) are incredible fractal graphic genera-
tors, in addition to several smaller fractal programs and wallpaper
files.

CAD Vantage (#4736) is a CAD program for doing wire-
frame drawings. DAUB Brush (#12745) is a vector graphics
drawing program.

---Icons and Fonts:

There are thousands and thousands of icons on the CD (over
4000 from MegaDisk Set #27773 alone), as well as many pro-
grams for creating, managing and installing icons.

We also have tons of ATM fonts. For those without a CD-
ROM drive, you can get nine 1.44MB 3.5" disks (the equivalent
of thirty-six 360k disks) for just $27 total (#27710).


-----Shareware Vendor Upheaval

More confusion and closures are occurring among major
shareware vendors. We have heard of a couple of large vendors
going out of business, as well as a lot of confusion about a major
vendor by the name of PC-SIG.

For many months, subscribers have been complaining about
not getting the PC-SIG magazine. Writers have been complaining
about not getting paid for previous issues. It was reported on the
SHAREWARE forum on Compuserve that the PC-SIG magazine
has been sold to PC-World and would resume publication, but
other sources say that the deal fell through.

-----Upgrading A Motherboard

When testing utilities for last month's CD-ROM, one utility
by the name of SIEVE said that our computer is over 220 times
faster than an old 8088 PC/XT.

That means that a computation that takes 1 minute on a 486
computer would take over THREE HOURS AND FORTY MIN-
UTES on an 8088. Even on a 286 that is three or four times faster
than an 8088, the difference in the time it takes to perform a task
is enormous.

With 486SX-33 motherboards going for $169, there is little
reason to limp along with an old 8088 PC or even a 286 or 386.
Changing a motherboard is not difficult, unless you know your-
self to be totally inept with a screwdriver.

One nice thing about upgrading your motherboard is that you
can still use the other components in your PC, with the possible
exception of memory. Today's motherboards use SIMMs, which
are tiny printed circuit cards of about 3.5" by .75" with RAM
chips on them and with edge connectors (i.e.: not pins) on the
SIMMs which plug into the motherboard. SIMMs plug perpen-
dicularly into the motherboard, just like the interface cards do. If
you see a set of four little cards of this size plugged closely
together into your present motherboard, you already have SIMMs
which can be used in your new motherboard.

If you have a 286 or older, you may not have SIMMs and will
have to buy new RAM. The good news is that RAM is relatively
cheap at about $40 per megabyte. You should plan on getting
4MB if you intend to run Windows. If you are sticking with DOS
to the bitter end (which may not be that far off) and already have
1MB in the form of four 256k SIMMs (you normally must use
four SIMMs of some size), you can get by without buying more
RAM at the present.

While looking at the RAM on your motherboard, check out
the motherboard itself. Some "name" clones like old Epson,
Packard Bell, and Radio Shack/Tandy computers have custom-
made motherboards and cannot be easily replaced with new ones.
A standard motherboard should be in one piece with only the
interface cards (video, hard disk controller, etc.) plugged into
standard slots on the motherboard.

Trace the flat data cables going from your disk drives to see if
they go into a card which is in a slot on the motherboard, or if
they go straight into the motherboard itself. If the latter, you will
have to buy a new drive controller too. Fortunately, controllers
don't cost much.

If your motherboard doesn't look like that, or if the informa-
tion in our instruction file doesn't look like it applies to your
motherboard, or if your computer is really old and doesn't have
buttons and lights on the front, you will also need to buy a new
case to put your system in. Cases only cost about $50.

We believe that upgrading to a 486SX-33 from a slower CPU
for $169 gives the most bang for the buck, but if you want to go
for the maximum power that you can still get at a reasonable
price, the 486DX-66 motherboard for $499 fits the bill. Unlike
the 486SX-33, the DX chip has a math processor built in, so it is
several times faster than the 486SX-33, not just twice as fast as
the 33 vs. 66 mhz rating would indicate. It also has a local bus for
faster video and hard drive options.

If you presently have a 286 or older with a small hard disk
and non-VGA and can spare $1000-$1500, go buy a new 486
with a big hard disk and VGA. There is little sense in trying to
piece together such a system yourself as you would probably
spend more and still have to do all the work.

If you have at least a 150MB hard disk and VGA and just
need to upgrade your motherboard or if you have an older
machine and are happy to upgrade parts of your computer now
and other parts later as money becomes available, then upgrading
your motherboard is a good first step.

Because most motherboards do not include full installation
instructions, we have put together a file with instructions for
removing your old motherboard and installing a new one.For
complete, step-by-step instructions for upgrading a motherboard,
along with a list of possible problems and solutions, get the file
MOTHERBD.ZIP from this month's CD-ROM or you  can get
the information printed out if you order a motherboard from PsL.


-----Bypassing Boot Sector Viruses

One type of computer virus is the Boot Sector Virus. In order
for this virus to spread to your system, you must boot or power
up your computer with the infected disk in the drive.

Normally, you would not do this, assuming that you want to
boot from your hard disk, but it is possible to overlook having a
disk in the A: drive when you reboot.

Many people are not aware that their system BIOS will let
them select to ignore the A: drive on bootup and go straight to the
hard disk. The next time you reboot, hit Del (or whatever key
gets you into Setup) and select Advanced Setup. Look for an
option to boot from C: before A: and select it. Your computer will
only boot from A: if C: fails (in which case a virus on A: is the
least of your problems).


-----Does Not Compute...

PsL welcomes letters and bug reports. Letters to PsL become
the property of PsL and may be edited for brevity or clarity.


---No Mouse Required

We reported in the February issue of the PsL News that Wed-
ding Arranger requires a mouse and 1.5mb of disk space. The
author contacted us to let us know that only 550K disk space is
required and there is no mouse support.

---Animated Clock (#12129)
   David Johnson, Nashville, TN

I cannot get the program to run without getting the error mes-
sage: "insufficient conventional memory to run".

PsL: We had some problems running it under Windows, but
after we shut it down the program ran fine. Try running the pro-
gram in DOS without any TSRs or Windows loaded into mem-
ory, it should work for you.

---Servant (#7300)
   James Hendrix, Uvalde, TX:

I cannot get the program to install without locking up.

PsL: This is another program that will not install from Win-
dows or if you have any TSRs loaded. You must have all of your
640K RAM available for installation. We did notice that during
the install from the B:\ it stops at one point and tries to read from
the A:\, if you just hit Enter, the program will continue the install
process from B:\ without problem.


-----Selected Retail Products

Multi-function Interface Card (#30052) $29.95
Simple jumper settings let you choose the ports you
need from the following: 1 parallel, 1 game, 2 serial,
2 floppy, 1 IDE hard drive.

486-33SX Motherboard (#30429) $169.00
Upgrade your present computer with a brand new 486
motherboard! Use the same drives, controllers, video,
and other interface cards in your present machine. Get
1 MB SIMMs for $45 if you need new/more RAM.

---Games:

Tristan Pinball (#30371) just like the real thing $34.95
Pinball for Windows (#30394)   ON SALE!!$19.95

---Games  on CD-ROM:

Hell Cab CD-ROM (#30425)$55
Chessmaster CD  (MPC) (#30242)$30
CD Game Pack #30186 (card, board & arcade games) $30
King's Quest V (MPC or DOS) (#30187)  SALE $20
Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe CD (#30322) $30
Spirit of Excalibur CD ( #30313) $30

---Other CDs:

Bible Library (#30191)$49
Microsoft Encarta (MPC) encyclopedia (#30379)$279
Toolworks Ref. Library (#30210) $55
Viva 2000 - Learn English from Spanish #30303 $49
Wild Places  (#30257) $29
Women of Venus (swimsuit models) (#30403) $30

---Other:

Name Tag Kit #30028  (for parties or conventions)$59.95
QuickToons for Windows (#30399)  $19.95
   These are real, full-motion cartoons from tv/movies.
PC Command (Game) Pad (#30414) $15.00
   This is a game pad (joystick replacement) just like on
   the most popular video games. Use with many arcade
   games in PsL.
CD Caddies  #3031510 for $50
   Protect your valuable CDs by having a caddy for each
   one. (S&H: $5)  Single unit price: $6.50 plus S&H.

NEVER PAY ANOTHER SHAREWARE DISK FEE!

Why pay up to $5 a disk to try a single program when you
can get thousands of programs for under $20. Get one of
these CD-ROM drives and start saving money today!

PsL Monthly CD-ROM (single issue price) $29.95
Subscribe for $19.95 per month plus $4 shipping,
charged monthly, cancel any time. Satisfaction
guaranteed -- return the CD for a full refund if not
completely pleased.

Get all the new/updated programs written up in
PsL News each month PLUS a different section of
our disk-based library each month, starting with
Programming in December (sold out), Games in
January (sold out), then Business (including Comm.,
Database, Engineering, Mailing List, Spreadsheets,
Statistics, and Church/Religion), Home (including
Education), Utilities (includes all OS/2 programs),
and then Words, Graphics & Sounds.

In six months, you will have all 10,000+ programs
in our extensive library, all arranged by subject.

A few back issues are still available for September -
March (excl. Dec., Jan.) @ $29.95 plus $4 shipping.