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Phone.app.txt
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1995-06-12
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Phone.app: phone and address management software
Contact:
The Hutchison Avenue Software Corporation
phone: 514/499-2067
fax: 514/499-3666
info@hasc.ca
Phone.app is a handy little application that we've developed internally at
Hutchison. We're releasing it as shareware, with a low-low price of $X.XX.
Feel free to download it and play around with it. It's pretty cool... features
include intra-text hypertext buttons for phone dialing (not implemented yet...
see the Q+A) and NeXTmail-ing, customizable colors, memorized open documents,
free-format text searching and database format, fast case insensitive
searching, etc. It's really worth every penny! (And hey, you did say you
wanted inexpensive software!).
You can find it at:
ftp://hasc.ca/pub/next/Phone-2.0.tar.gz
Here's a short Q+A from the help panel:
Q: What is Phone.app?
A: It's a phonebook manager which can read and write ASCII plain text
files. If you're currently using perl or some other command line tool to
read phonebook files, then this application can live side-by-side with
your tool, and you'll not have to change your file format one bit.
Q: Gee, that's cool. Are you sure about the file format thing?
A: Well, we're pretty sure! By default Phone.app is looking for records
like this:
Herve Avril
Hutchison Ave. Software
herve@hasc.ca
Darcy Brockbank
Hutchison. Ave. Software
514/499-2067
samurai@hasc.ca
Danny Gagne
danny@hasc.ca
...
As you can see, you don't have to do anything special with your records.
They can be in pretty much any order. Phone uses some intelligent
algorithms to figure out what's what. You can set this application up
so that it reads colon delimited files, or whatever!
Q: So, why is plain text better than binary?
A: Because you can read it with the tool of your choice. You can also bring
your phonebooks to other computers (ie. running DOS) and read them there
if you need to. It also allows Phone to reside in your system along with
perl or bourne shell scripts which read your ASCII phonebook file. Plain
text lets everyone get along fine.
Q: Ok, enough about the file format junk. How do I use this thing?
A: It's pretty easy. Make a new phonebook, and hit the "Insert" menu item
to add a new record. Phone will search case insensitively for records
that match your search. You can search forwards or backwards based on
the contents of your query field.
Q: Does this app do anything else?
A: You can set the color of each of your open phonebooks to help you find
them amidst the break grey windows that abound on NEXTSTEP. While we
figured it would make Steve Jobs have a hemorrhage, we found that a
small grey window was often hard to locate. So, we allow you to drag and
drop in the color of your choice. You, the user, are being allowed to be
a victim of your own poor taste ;-).
Q: Very funny. Do you expect me to pay you for this?
A: Yes we do. This app is shareware, and if you find that you're using it,
then you should send ten bucks to:
Hutchison Ave. Software
3481 Aylmer, Suite B
Montreal, Qc., CANADA
H2X 2B4
Q: OK, if I do that, will I get free upgrades?
A: Minor upgrades and bugfixes are free. We use this app internally and
continue to upgrade it and add features. This is the first public
release of this app, so there's bound to be more.
Q: Are there any secret hidden features?
A: Yes, but if we told you what they were, they wouldn't be secret and you
wouldn't have any fun. :-P.
Q: When are you going to implement telephone dialing?
A: As soon as someone sends us some public domain phone tones, or we get
our hands on a digital microphone.
Q: OK... by the way, those are pretty cool color wells. Much more svelte
than the usual breed.
A: Why thank you! We like the emacs keybindings in the text field too.
Q: I have no more questions. I'd just like to say ``What a great deal!''
A: Wait! There's more! Phone can be programmed to use hints when it parses
your plain text. We're not ready yet to disclose this feature to
everyone, but if you really need it, let us know. Using hints will help
it determine what's what... it already uses some that are pre-programmed.
Q: OK, are you finished?
A: Yes. Enjoy the app. And don't forget to send us some cash :-).
About Hutchison Avenue Software:
The Hutchison Avenue Software Corporation is a software company based in
Montreal, developing innovative custom and shrink-wrap solutions for
corporate clients. Our clients include Equinox Capital Management,
WSC Investment Services, Bell Canada, and Hewlett Packard.