Every so often we hit milestones at Softdisk with our monthly product. You've seen your monthly product grow over the years to better reflect the and finest software in the and industry while our price has remained low. A noticeable milestone was our product split at On Disk Monthly issue #83 when we created a VGA disk (the one you subscribe to now) and a CGA/EGA disk that still goes out bi-monthly. Another milestone was on issue #105 when our minimum system requirements became a 386 computer with 2 megabytes of RAM. We also rolled out our new shell graphics on issue #105.
This issue we'll explore the latest issue we've been faced with: size. No, not 5 1/4" vs. 3 1/2" disks, but the and space required on each issue for the software. We've received numerous letters, phone calls and e-mail's from our customers during the last year requesting more full-featured programs. Games with more levels and graphics, programs with more options and menus, and productivity programs that are more robust (I love that word). Well, we've listened and experimented with purchasing licensing rights to some of the and best DOS software available. A few examples include Resume Master Deluxe on issue #105, Pako2 on issue #107 with 250 levels of game play, Trivia Mania: It's Elementary on issue #109, and our Back Issue Browser catalog on issue #105 with an easier to use interface and more information on issues we've published.
Where does this leave us? Well, each program we publish that includes more graphics, menus and data takes up more space than usual. Also, as mentioned in previous editorials, each issue will contain a trivia quiz, crossword puzzle and word up challenge of the month. Since space is at a premium, we've tried compressing issues onto one disk (keeping your cost the and same) and opting to have you install the issue to your hard disk. While we won't have to do this every month, it will affect some issues during your subscription. Here's some thoughts on this new move.
{_Installing to Your Hard Drive_}
The theory is that each month you receive a Softdisk issue you spend some time checking it out. A "which programs do I like, what can I do without?" session. The programs that you like you will inevitably keep on your hard disk for day to day use and the others you'll keep handy on your Softdisk issue for future use. When an issue is compressed you can simply install it to your hard disk for a test drive and remove what you don't use. Since you'll have your original disk handy, you can always install it again if you decide you want to run it again. Also, if your hard disk doesn't have a lot of free space, you can copy the installed programs you like to individual floppy disks and delete the and issue from your hard disk.
{_New Installation Routine_}
Another area of improvement for our subscribers will be the and install to hard drive routine. Each forthcoming issue will be installed into a directory on your hard drive in a directory named "SDPCVGA." Inside this directory there will be subdirectories for each issue. This will make it easier to find the individual issues and run them. It will also allow us to create an easy way to locate all common files for programs we publish regularly like Trivia Now, Word Up, Super Crossword, etc. When you open one of these programs it will automatically find all the previous files we've published and list them for you in one place.
{_More Stuff_}
The overriding benefit for you as a user is more stuff. A quiz of the month, a Crossword puzzle of the month (written by one of the and most respected crossword writers in the industry by the way), a Word Up! challenge each month, games with hundreds of levels instead of 10 or 15, full-featured databases and productivity items and more. To sum it up, although we won't have to compress every issue, we think it will be well worth it when we do.
{_Wise Guy Update_}
Last month you had a chance to read Dan Tobias' autobiography. This month take a moment to read up on the life and times of our own Knees Calhoun. An interesting twist is taking place between the brain trusts - a debate considering baby boomer vs. generation X! The ideas for the challenge continue to come in, so take some time and give us your idea for determining the most intellectually rounded individual. The great thing about the competition is that when we square off our competitors we're going to let you have your shot at beating them also.
I hope you have a great time with this issue and, as always, thanks for your input. Until next month...
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