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ART12
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1992-07-27
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╓────────────────────╖
║ Perks ║
║ Accessory Programs ║
║ for Windows ║
╙────────────────────╜
by Tony Curro
Perks is another software package by Vitesse. The package consists
of 8 programs that give you some valuable information about your system.
One of them, BlackJack, is a card game, for your relaxation.
The installation procedure is relatively easy. You insert your disk
in either A: or B:; and run Windows. Then from the FILE, RUN option type
A:INSTALL, or B:, depending on which drive you are using; or you can start
FILE MANAGER, and click on the letter of the drive, then double-click on
the install.exe filename. Default installation drive and directory is
C:\PERKS. Just click OK if this is satisfactory, and in about 1 minute, you
will be done. Perks creates a group for its icons. Once you are finished,
you can run any of them by double clicking on them, as you would any other
Windows icon.
A little about each program:
BlackJack -- the game of 21. A full featured game, where you can
set limits, number of decks, and card styles (Solitaire MUST be installed,
as BJ reads the Solitaire card decks). Win a ton of money; or lose a ton,
without losing your shirt.
Text Editor -- Far superior than drab Notepad. You can edit any
file up to 64K. Change Headers and Footers; use word wrap; set Tabs; do a
text search. Calling this a, mini-word processor, would not be far off the
mark. You even have MACRO capabilities. If you use several different
formats: WordPerfect, Word, WordStar to name a few, you can create macros
to handle each type of file differently. Do these once, and each time you
start, just select the macro format you wish to work with. Only limitation
I dislike is the editable file size.
Tracker -- This program has 3 gauges, which can come up as analog,
digital, or bar display. They show the amount of resources; memory; and
disk space used. They are constantly being updated, so you can are always
up to date.
TimeOut -- This is a dual program. It features an alarm clock and
a, "timed launch" capability. Timed Launch, will start any program and the
time you specify. So you can set it to start your backup program in the
late evening, while you are not there. The clock shows the time in 12-hour
format. However, when setting the timer for launch, you MUST set it using
the 24-hour format. I set it for 10:55, and the program did not start. So I
reset it for 22:55, and it worked fine. When you have a program set for
'time launch,' you will see a little green button in the upper right corner
of the alarm clock icon. Once the program executes, the button disappears.
PANIC! -- This is a screen switcher, that allows you to hide a
window, blank out the whole desktop, or put a .BMP file in the background.
If you are playing BlackJack, and the BOSS walks by, a quick hit of the
space bar, or right mouse button, or whatever you set as a default PANIC!
button, will clear the screen. Hitting the hot-key a second time restores
the screen.
BattMan -- Tracks the battery life of a laptop computer. Lets you
know how much life you have left in your battery.
Screen Thief - Nifty utility, which I really liked. You can take
ANY icon, or screen, and capture it to Screen Thief. Once in Screen Thief,
you can crop, size, or otherwise alter it. Then you can save it as a .BMP
file. I captured the whole Program Manager, and made it into a background
file, just by setting the sizes in Screen Thief. This can be useful if you
want to send a copy of a screen to someone. For them to view it, they would
use anything the displays .BMP files, or they can set it up as a background
in Windows, and view it that way.
LaunchBox -- For me the only disappointment in the package. I set
it up according to the instructions. I ran it as explained in the manual.
Alas, the program supposedly runs, as I see it in the Task Manager. But,
try as I might, I could never see the actual window, and could not do
anything with it. I click it several times; take a look at Task List and
saw 5 copies running. Each time I clicked on Switch To, I did not see
anything. Never was able to get this one to cook for me. The program is
supposed to be a button launcher shell, which allows you to create .INI
files of several configurations, and running each set by bring them up.
Overall, I did like this package. Black Jack is a well-done version
of the card game. I was very impressed with Text Editor, and Screen Thief.
TimeOut, Tracker, and PANIC!, also were useful little utilities. You would
pay almost as much, if not more, for only a text editor that has the
capabilities of the one inside PERKS. I would buy this just for Text
Editor, and Screen Thief. But, wait! There is more. Next month I will
review Salvation, which is a Windows shell, ala Norton Desktop for Windows.
╓──────────────────────────────────────╖
║ Product Information ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════╣
║ Perks ║
║ Suggested List Price $39.95 ║
╟──────────────────────────────────────╢
║ Vitesse ║
║ 13909 Amar Road, Ste 2 ║
║ POB 929 ║
║ La Puenta, CA 91747-0929 ║
║ (800) 777-7344 Fax: (818) 813-1273 ║
╙──────────────────────────────────────╜
Copyright (c) 1992 by Tony Curro. All Rights Reserved.