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Text File
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1989-09-30
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4KB
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79 lines
SHAREWARE REVIEW
PROGRAM: Time Boot - Boot Computer At Set Time (TSR) Version 1.0
AUTHOR: Jon Williams
REGISTRATION: $10.00
WHERE FOUND: Executive Computer Network (914) 667-4651
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
RATING: 8.0
There is a mega popular BBS I frequent that has an awful temper tantrum
about the 40th hour it's up: It acts like it is logging itself on. Woe be
the person that is on-line when that happens; stuff flys past your screen
at a mind tuning pace. Pretty soon you're singing the Pee Wee Herman theme
song in ten different languages!
The Sysop says somehow his computer memory overflows after being on so
long. Trying to turn it off every 24 hours helps, but sometimes he misses a
day or two, and BINGO the computer wants to be a new user.
Understanding that this particular Sysop updates the logon news about once
a year, you get the feeling that he needs help keeping his memory in shape.
But what do you do? Hire someone to turn the computer on and off everyday?
Too expensive, and even they might forget. Buy another computer? Too much
of a hassle. Change BBS software? What, lose all those great users? The
answer lies within the problem. The computer.
Why not make the computer "power down" itself every evening? Automate a
task. What an idea! It could then start the BBS automatically after
booting. What do you use though? TIMEBOOT!
USE: TIMEBOOT is a tiny, 600 byte, TSR that allows you to set a time for
your computer to power down through a cold boot. The main feature of
TIMEBOOT is its accuracy. It will pinpoint a time then boot: No
fudging or hedging.
Through a command line you can access the four options available to
you through TIMEBOOT. They are:
/B: This sets the time to boot your computer.
/C: This changes the time you set with /B.
/S: Just a Status of what is going on with TIMEBOOT.
/X: Cancel a boot.
When setting the program for the fist time, you must enter:
TIMEBOOT /B#### <=- Where the #s equal a time
The main problem is you must enter military time. A great convenience
would have been to provide the ability to enter "layman" time in AM or
PM.
An extraneous but "nice to have" feature would be a little message
that pops up and says "One minute till boot" or any other user defined
warning time. Of course this could be determined by the user in the
command line.
The greatest detriment the program carries is the lack of a a
calculated boot. Maybe a user would like the program to boot every
five hours from the time it is turned on, or maybe the user wants a
person to have only a certain amount of time on the PC. It doesn't
matter what the purpose, there should be a feature that allows a user
to say: TIMEBOOT /B+5.0 (Where +5.0 would mean add five hours to the
current time then boot)
SUMMARY: GOOD POINTS BAD POINTS
----------- ----------
√ Size ≈ Missing Calculated Boot
√ Documentation
√ Accuracy
√ Innovative Idea
RATING FOR TIMEBOOT.ZIP:
1----------5---------10:
███████████████████
TIMEBOOT is a must for those that keep computers on for more than 24 hours.
A memory refresh is always "refreshing." (You're a captive audience, what can
I say) The lack of a calculated boot harmed the rating, though the
documentation, especially the authors bio, kept it in the above average
column.
(C) 1989 Patrick Grote