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1993-02-01
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SOFTWARE CREATIONS: SHAREWARE REVIEWS
SOFTWARE CREATIONS BBS
(508) 365-2359
(8,1, N)
February 1993
Welcome to SHAREWARE REVIEWS, a new, innovative, electronic newsletter
that will review the best of the latest uploaded shareware in all areas. Our
objective is to help you select the software that will best fulfill your
needs from among the many hundreds which are published each month. We are
truly in the midst of a creative explosion by many fine shareware authors
but the quantity is overwhelming. How can you select the very best from
among a bewildering variety of publications? Let SHAREWARE REVIEWS help you
by selecting only the very best and providing you with brief, yet information
packed, reviews to help you decide what is worth your downloading dollars
and valuable time. We have vast experience to bring to bear upon this
endeavor having had years of professional experience in academia, advanced
scientific and humanities research, technical and journal publication, public
school education, and entrepreneurial private business. Furthermore, we are
consultants in applied statistics and shareware authors ourselves.
What is shareware? Shareware is computer software created by small
companies, often a single person operation, that is marketed on a 'try before
you buy' basis. An informed decison by any consumer should be based upon
maximum knowledge. As a sales approach, which is remarkable for its
generosity to potential customers, shareware authors create and distribute
their work in a format which has at least partial, and often complete
functionality. Distribution is via mail order companies which specialize in
selling shareware on disk and Bulletin Board Systems, such as SOFTWARE
CREATIONS, whose sysops are committed to the promotion of shareware. By not
investing in expensive brochures or the usual sort of advertising, shareware
authors are determined to hold down costs, and thereby the retail prices, of
their products.
Successful shareware benefits everyone because the retail price is
as low as possible which places the least stress on a user's wallet.
Hopefully, a large selling volume will increase the income of the
author/publisher. Shareware authors are unusually generous and trusting.
If their product is fully functional in the shareware version, which is
often the case, users must feel honor bound to purchase it after the fact.
Purchase is termed registration and is by mail order via forms provided
within the shareware package. We urge you to register any and all shareware
you try out, like and decide to use. If the shareware does not fulfill your
needs, pass it on to someone who might be interested, thereby giving the
shareware more exposure.
Unlike browsing in a book store where there is no possibility of
keeping the book without payment (short of theft), all of us could 'steal' our
favorite shareware if so inclined. If we are not honorable, this generous
marketing approach is in danger of disappearing. Furthermore, many shareware
authors are highly creative and innovative while exploring areas still
untouched by major corporations. Often their products are as full featured
and 'deep' as any offered in the mainstream, highly advertised, marketplace
and may, in fact, incorporate an approach that cannot be found anywhere else.
SHAREWARE REVIEWS will be available only through SOFTWARE CREATIONS
which is an extraordinary Bulletin Board System. The founder and sysop is
Dan Linton who is perhaps the most aggressive promoter of shareware in the
country. He is also a very successful software author and publisher in his
own right. SOFTWARE CREATIONS is huge, yet user friendly, as I'm certain
you've already discovered if you downloaded SHAREWARE REVIEWS. Personally, I
have never seen a board whose menus and screens are this attractive! As of
this date, Dan has over 8GB of files in well organized directories, 65 phone
lines and provides many other interesting and valuable services. Everything
reviewed in SHAREWARE REVIEWS may be found at SOFTWARE CREATIONS which you
can consider your one stop shareware warehouse. I urge you to subscribe;
Dan's system is well worth the $45/year and is perhaps the lowest
subscription fee for any board of this size in the U.S. SOFTWARE
CREATIONS, 26 Harris St., Clinton MA 01510. Phone lines are BBS (2400)
508 365-2359, BBS (9600) 508 368-7036 and voice 508 368-8654.
SHAREWARE REVIEWS is published monthly by SOFTWARE CREATIONS and will
be provided in several versions. In each, the reviews will be in 'plain
vanilla' ASCII format so that any DOS based, generic file viewer can be used
to view and print them. An electronic newsletter of brief one paragraph
reviews, of which you now have a copy, will be distributed around the first
of each month and uploaded only to SOFTWARE CREATIONS. It is available to
all callers, ever new users, as freeware. A second version which contains
in-depth longer reviews of each program with many more specifics and
installation hints will be distributed by first class USPS on disk and will
be available only by subscription at $30/year (12 issues). For $75/year,
you can receive the long format reviews along with each shareware program
in an archived (usually ZIP) format. That comes to 12 monthly issues with
a yearly total of approximately 180 programs at cost of only $0.42 or
less per program. Unless you live within SOFTWARE CREATIONS area code, your
phone bill to download this many programs would exceed the subscription
price. Single back issues of each month's shareware files are available at
$12/monthly set of disks. These prices includes all costs: disks, shipping
and handling.
We hope to set an industry standard for shareware reviews. Glitzy no;
valuable reviews, yes. If you find only one program each year that
dramatically increases either your business productivity, education, or
enjoyment of life, the subscription cost will be well worth it. Each
newsletter will contain a minimum of 15 reviews in both the short and long
versions.
You can SUBSCRIBE ON LINE AT SOFTWARE CREATIONS with your credit
card. At the Main Menu, type 'DOOR' <E> and the Door Menu will give you
access to an on-line subscription script with the various options described
above. If you wish, you may subscribe by mail using the form provided below.
We welcome feedback, comments and suggestions for new shareware to
review. You may write to me, Ben Blumenberg, the writer of SHAREWARE REVIEWS
at REALITY SOFTWARE, PO Box 105, Waldoboro, ME 04572 or leave e-mail at
SOFTWARE CREATIONS. For those of you who may have acquired SHAREWARE REVIEWS
from a colleague, and not from SOFTWARE CREATIONS, my other e-mail addresses
are: America On Line benb12; Compuserve 71044,1645; and via Internet at
benb12@aol.com or 71044.1645@compuserve.com (notice comma must be replaced by
a period). An interesting article which you might enjoy that looks at the
problems in designing a user friendly interface for Windows applications is
Moss, D. 1993. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". WINDOWS USER Vol. 2, No. 1,
pp 136-140.
Reality Software is also a creator and publisher of shareware and
our products can be found at SOFTWARE CREATIONS. We specialize in historical
timelines and history of religion and mythology. Our studies are scholarly
and for serious, thinking adults. They are not high school level programs nor
filled with New Age nonsense. We will mail a catalog on disk of our
software for a $1.50 fee to cover costs and shipping. Please note that
requests for this catalog must go directly to Reality Software, PO Box 105,
Waldoboro, ME 04572, NOT Software Creations.
We hope you enjoy SHAREWARE REVIEWS and find it a valuable tool for
selecting the very best of the newest shareware available.
Ben and Leslie Blumenberg
SOFTWARE CREATIONS is a division of Linton Enterprises, Inc.
.___________________________________________________________________________
MAIL IN SUBSCRIPTION FORM for SHAREWARE REVIEWS DATE ______________ DATE ___________________
NAME _____________________________ COMPANY _______________________________
ADDRESS ___________________________________________________________________
TOWN OR CITY ______________________________ STATE __________ ZIP _________
Subscriptions to SR Long Reviews only ($30/yr) _____ Total ________________
Subscriptions to SR Long Reviews plus shareware ($75/yr)_____ Total________
BACK ISSUES of monthly collections of shareware at $12/each:
(All disks will be high density 5 1/4".)
Indicate month/yr ________________________________ No. ______ Total _______
Method of Payment (circle):
Check Money Order Credit Card (Visa, Master Card)
Credit Card # __________________________________ Exp. Date ________________
Signature on Card ___________________________________________________
If we distribute our mailing list to other vendors, would you prefer your
name be deleted? Y ___ N ___
MAIL TO: SHAREWARE REVIEWS
SOFTWARE CREATIONS
26 Harris St.
Clinton, MA 01510
Be certain to notify SOFTWARE CREATIONS if you move and your mailing address
changes.