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Big Blue Disk 10
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DISKOVER.TXT
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1987-05-21
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4KB
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52 lines
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^CBy Daniel Tobias
As ~3|9Big Blue Disk^0 moves into double-digit issue numbers, we are also in the
process of moving in a more literal sense: to a new, larger location in
beautiful downtown Shreveport. Our new building is located in the lone
triangular block in an area otherwise composed of squares; but that is not
the only unusual feature it has. In fact, this building is invisible from one
side. Due to its construction on a hill, it is a single-story structure on one
side, but is completely underground, beneath a parking lot, on the other. What
caused us some problems is the fact that, until recently, the official street
address of the building was the side from which it is invisible; this caused
our public servants in the U.S. Postal Service to return some of our mail to
its senders on the grounds of "No Such Address"; any fool could see that there
was nothing resembling a building over there. We just had the address legally
changed to one of the other surrounding streets from which the entrance is
visible, and this was sufficient to finally convince the mailmen that we exist.
Now is the point at which I'm supposed to somehow tie the above anecdote
into the contents of this issue, to make it a clever opening rather than just
some random rambling. Hmmm... let me think... Okay, I think I've got it. For
a computer novice, moving around through subdirectories and into and out of
applications programs may be a tricky task. A program may be as hard to find
and enter as our building is for somebody approaching it from its "invisible"
side. The hackers out there probably won't mind typing a whole series of
cryptic DOS commands to navigate around a system, but less technically-minded
people would prefer to have a series of menus to let them get into whatever
programs they wish to use. This is how our own ~3|9Big Blue Disk^N menu system
works; you needn't know arcane stuff like filenames to run any of our programs
from our menu.
You've probably wished you could create your own menus like we do. Maybe
you want to let your employees access word processing, accounting, and
spreadsheet software; or perhaps you'd like to set up a games disk for your
kids. In these cases you'd like to create a friendly menu allowing access to
the programs you want to make accessible, and nothing else. (No chance of the
user accidentally reformatting your hard disk, for example.) This is just what
our special program, ^1Automenu^0, does. Use it to turn your PC into a friendly
environment for non-techies; you can also provide password protection for
programs you don't wish just anybody to run. ^1Automenu^0 is the latest in a
series of "shareware" programs we have been featuring; its publisher has allowed
us to distribute it in the hopes that satisfied users will send a contribution.
See the documentation of ^1Automenu^0 for details.
In addition to our feature, we have the usual assortment of things in this
issue. ^1Rainbow^0 is a new twist on the old Tic-Tac-Toe. ^1Family Tree^0 lets you
chart your ancestors. There is also a character-set customizer of use to
programmers, and several other features. Well, what are you waiting for?
Check it out!