Last revised: September 20, 2003
Dear user,
the file you are about to read is intended to be the primary source of information
about Factor Software, its products and the people who made them; its purpose
is to answer to the most common questions raised by the users (FAQ stays
for "Frequently Asked Questions"). If you have any questions
about Factor Software and its products, please check if it's not already
answered in this FAQ before contacting me. Thank you.
This FAQ file currently answers the following questions:
Q -
Who is Factor Software?
A - Factor Software
is in fact a single person, i.e., me, Federico Filipponi. I am a 39 years old
Mac programmer living in Rome, Italy. The name Factor Software doesn't refer
to any existing company: I just use it as a nickname since 1986.
I entered the Macintosh Shareware market in 1994, when the first version of
MyEyes (see next question) was released to the public. Previously, I was making
silly games using Basic on my first home computer, a MSX 1 (does someone out
there know what I'm talking about?). Then, the name Factor Software appeared
on a DEC MicroVAX II, where I programmed scientific procedures using Fortran
(that was my real job!). In the early '90s I started programming on a Macintosh
(a Mac SE) using Turbo Pascal first and subsequently THINK Pascal. In 1995
I switched to CodeWarrior (you know, real men use CodeWarrior ;-).
Q -
What products are currently available from Factor Software?
A - Please refer
to my online catalog at:
A brief description of my current software products follows; please refer to my online catalog for up-to-date information.
BOOM - An arcade
game in the grand tradition, bringing the playability and feel of the glorious
8-bit consoles on the Macintosh.
It can be described as “Bomberman
meets Doom”. Actually, I took the basic Bomberman idea and dropped it
in a “Super-Deformed Doom” scenario (whatever this means). If you
don't know what Bomberman™ and Doom™ are, definitely you've never
played a computer game. This is the right time to start.
BOOM's main features are:
Current version: 1.4.4
System requirements: PowerPC, Mac OS 9.0 or later
For Mac OS 9.x only: 12 MBytes free memory, CarbonLib 1.5 or later
For Mac OS X only: Mac OS X 10.1.2 or later.
Shareware fee: US$15 (single user license)
Germs - A game
by Mike Weyandt and Factor Software. It combines quick thinking with even
quicker reflexes as players manipulate scads of colorful, killer pathogens
in order to neutralize a biologial threat and save humanity.
The gameplay is quite
simple, relying at its core on the "pick pieces up and place them on the
gameboard" model used in several games such as MacPipes. In Germs, the
player picks up germ sprites from a "culture dish" and arranges them
on the gameboard in patterns of the same color to make them disappear.
Germs' main features
are:
Current version: 1.0.0
System requirements: PowerPC, Mac OS 9.0 or later
For Mac OS 9.x only: 12 MBytes free memory, CarbonLib 1.5 or later
Shareware fee: US$19.95 (single user license)
MacPipes - Classic
arcade puzzle in which you have to build a pipeline of required length connecting
pipe parts within a time limit.
The first public release
of this game was numbered 2.0. It sounds a bit strange, doesn't it?
Well, in fact this game has a long story behind its back.
Despite its appeal and gameplay, it is NOT a clone of Pipe Dream from LucasArts
Games; it is in fact a rendition of a small Amiga game I saw in the late 80s,
called Pipeline. It was so addictive that I decided to port it to my Mac (it
was a Macintosh SE, one of those small machines with a black & white built-in
screen, do you remember?)
I started programming it in Turbo Pascal in 1988 (I still have that proto-version
floating around somewhere on my hard disk). Then the 90s arrived bringing color
to the Macs. In early 1994 I produced a color version of MacPipes but didn't
release it to the public until July 1995. The last classic version of the game
(2.2.7) was released in early 1999.
The current version of MacPipes requires a PowerPC processor and runs on Mac
OS 8.6/9.x with CarbonLib and natively on Mac OS X. Since it is a complete
rewriting of the original game, I decided to add a 'X' to the name and restart
version numbering from 1.0.0 (oh, by the way, the silly name it's because all
Macintosh programs in the 80s were called MacThis, MacThat, MacSomething).
Current version: 1.1.1
System requirements: PowerPC, Mac OS 9.0 or later
For Mac OS 9.x only: 3 MBytes free memory, CarbonLib 1.5 or later
Shareware fee: US$7.50 (single user license)
MyEyes - A small
extension that draws on the menubar a pair of eyes constantly following the
cursor movement.
Yes, I've already seen the
Eyeballs INIT (I loved it!) and I must admit that it's a very old idea, but
when I started working on color machines those poor, black & white peepers
seemed to me a little dull. So, guess what! I added color and lived happy.
Using a setup application, you can change a number of parameters affecting
the appearance and the behaviour of the eyes. You can change the color of both
the iris and the eyelids, the frequency of the blinking and the amount of mouse
inactivity time after which the eyes must go to sleep. You can choose the eyes
movement mode between normal (i.e. not focusing) or independent (chameleon-like).
Finally, you can change the eyes positioning mode. You can have the eyes displayed
after the last menu item in the menubar (like the old Eyeballs did), in a fixed
position or on the right side of the menubar (normally, on the left of the
help menu in System 7).
Current version: 2.3.5
System requirements (Classic only): 68020/030/040 or PowerPC, Mac OS 7.1
through 9.x, Color QuickDraw
Shareware fee: US$10 (single user license)
Reanimator - A utility for automatically restarting all applications and background-only processes killed by another process, typically an installer or a game. It can also be used to quit all running processes and restart them later.
Current version: 2.0.7
System requirements (Classic only): 68020/030/040 or PowerPC, 64 KBytes
free memory, Mac OS 7.1 through 9.x
Shareware fee: US$8 (single user license)
Q -
Where can I find the latest versions of Factor's products?
A - You can find direct links to download all my shareware programs
in my main archive at:
If you have trouble in retrieving my programs feel free to e-mail me for help.
Q -
I don't have Internet access. Can you send me a disk with your Shareware
programs?
A - No. The only mean of distribution of my programs is the Internet
(or, when I give permission, magazines with disks attached or CD-ROM collections).
I prefer spending my spare time programming rather than packaging and mailing
disks. This has by now become an iron rule, so please don't ask me to break
it! You will be disappointed, even if you send extra money for postage coverage
or blank disks. You've been warned!
Q -
Why Shareware?
A - Because Shareware it's the best way of distributing home made software.
Using today network facilities it's easy for a software author to make its
work virtually accessible to every computer user in the world. And that's a
big advantage over traditional street distribution. On the other hand, users
can download the software and try it before actually buying it. Moreover, Shareware
authors can keep their prices very low by eliminating all the industrial processes
like marketing, packaging and promoting.
Q -
How do I pay for your programs?
A - All my programs can be purchased from my reseller - Kagi.
Kagi accepts all major credit cards, checks and cash in a variety of currencies.
You can easily and safely buy Factor Software products online at my Kagi
Online Order Page.
In some cases my programs include a “Register X” application (where
X stays for the actual program name) that you can use to generate a registration
form to be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to Kagi.
Please read the instructions in “How
to register” before using the Register program.
Send the form together with your payment to:
Kagi
1442-A Walnut Street PMB #392-FF
Berkeley, California, 94709-1405
USA
For credit card payments,
send the form via e-mail to <shareware@kagi.com> or by FAX to +1 510
652 6589. Checks should be made out to “Kagi”.
You can also send your payments directly to me, but I can only accept CASH (US
dollars or Euro). Anything else must be sent to Kagi.
To pay for a Factor Software product with cash, print out the registration
form using the Register program, put it in an envelope along with the money
and send the whole thing to:
Federico Filipponi
via Carlo Del Greco, 2
00122 Lido di Ostia, Roma
ITALY
After receiving your fee
(or a purchase confirmation from Kagi) I will send you (preferably via e-mail)
a unique registration code for you to enter in the “Enter Code...” dialog.
In general, when you buy one of my products from Kagi, you'll have to wait
for your registration code to come directly from ME (and not from Kagi). Normally,
as soon as I receive purchase confirmations from Kagi, I send the codes to
the personal e-mail addresses provided by the users.
If you're not equipped with an e-mail address, you'll have to wait a bit more
(usually a few weeks). A US$1.50 bonus for postal coverage is greatly appreciated.
Please note that Kagi is already asking an extra US$1.50 for postcard receipt.
That's only an acknowledgment and does not contain your registration code.
Note: when sending money in an envelope make sure it is not visible from outside: wrap the bill with an opaque paper leaf (here in Italy we are used to say: trusting others is good, not trusting is better!).
Q -
I sent my registration several weeks ago and never received a reply. What's
the matter?
A - Sometimes (well, often) I receive registrations from users with
faulty or bouncy e-mail addresses. In such cases my policy is to wait for the “angry
customer” to call in for complaining. There were also cases in which a
letter containing a registration code failed to reach the user for some reason.
Should this happen, there's nothing I can do about it. So, if you already sent
money for one of my programs and never received a reply, please contact me
as soon as you can for your registration code. Your registration has not been
lost.
Q -
I received my registration code for one of your programs but it doesn't
work. Can you help?
A - When personalizing your copy of the program, both the code and the
user name must be typed EXACTLY as reported in my e-mail or letter. If you
fail to do that, the registration process will not be completed successfully.
If your code is rejected, first check for typing errors. If the problem persists,
it is possible that I gave you a wrong code. In this case only, contact me
for a new code.
Q -
How do I contact you?
A - For any request, suggestion, bug report, etc. you can e-mail me
at:
fedefil@factor-software.com (preferred)
fedefil@kagi.com
I usually don't read messages
included in registration forms. If you have something to tell me please contact
me separately using one of my e-mail addresses. I reply only to e-mail messages
so don't waste your time and money with paper mail or faxes.
Obviously, if you need a registration code you can use postal mail as well.
My postal address is:
Federico Filipponi
via Carlo Del Greco, 2
00122 Lido di Ostia, Roma
ITALY
Don't forget to visit my Web site at the following URL:
Q
- What about privacy?
A - Find information about privacy and credit card security on the Privacy
page of my web site at:
Thank you for reading this FAQ.
If you have further questions that you'd like to see answered here, please contact me.
SORTv