Dear friends:

Looks like a few of you really disliked issue #72 (Catacomb
Abyss Sampler, Circuitry, Edit Meister, etc.). Others really
enjoyed trying out something new (Catacomb Abyss), playing
Circuitry and learning to use Edit Meister (which DOES have
Help text you can load and print). Your main complaint: that
there weren't enough programs on the issue. You're right. A
couple of other programs WERE supposed to go on the disk,
but other programs grew...and grew some more. I sincerely
apologize to those of you who were unhappy. I promise we'll
do better. In fact, I'm sure we already have with this
issue.

I'm madly in love with Color Directory. Now, when I go to a
large directory and type "CDIR," I can easily pick out all
the .EXE files and locate the one I want. DOS can be pretty
darned cryptic, but utilities like Color Directory make it
bearable.

I'm also totally addicted to Finagle. I can't seem to get
enough of this card game that's a cross between our own
Poker Squares and Circuitry, as well as Tetris. But don't
worry...I'm not playing Finagle and ignoring On Disk
Monthly. In fact, we're already hard at work on some pretty
exciting programs for issues #76 and #77.

First, we're working on a chess game (as yet unnamed) that
is going to literally knock your socks off. It will be
intelligent, yet easy to play and instructional. But the
real fun part will be choosing which chess set you play
with, choosing board colors, and even, if you dare, creating
your own chess set.

Second, we're working on a major paint program (also
nameless at this time) that will handle graphics modes from
CGA to SVGA and will load/save a variety of graphics
formats, including .PCX, .GIF, .BMP and .LBM. You'll be able
to use this program to create your own chess set, to edit
the .PCX graphics from ODM, and much more.

Great, you're thinking, but what about issue #75? Well,
issue #75 is a special issue for two reasons. One, we're
celebrating the completion of 75 issues. Count 'em.
Seventy-five! Whew! And two, as many of you have kindly
pointed out, we're still running a little behind schedule.

Therefore, issue #75 will contain some of our most popular
previously published programs. Some of these will appear to
be relatively unchanged. Some will get a face lift and new
features. Others will receive a bug fix or two. All will be
the kind of programs that you love. Most of you won't have
seen them since you weren't around back then, and you
probably haven't ordered them as part of a back issue
either. To the handful of subscribers who HAVE been around
since issue #1 or have ordered our complete back issue
collection, I apologize. You might, however, be amazed at
how useful you find these new "old" programs to be. And
maybe, just maybe, there'll be a couple of new things, too.
Even...gasp!...a special 75th issue celebration contest!

A few more things before I go....

You've indicated you want more utilities and productivity
programs. We're all madly brainstorming new ideas. If you've
seen a program elsewhere that's exactly what you'd like to
receive on ODM, write and tell us. Be sure to describe what
it does in as much detail as possible.

We're also slowly but surely updating our most popular
previously-published, but somehow lacking programs. The best
way to go about this is to do one or two at a time and to do
them, along with new programs, in an order that creates
building blocks for other programs. A good example of this
is the paint program mentioned above. When this one's done,
we'll have the building blocks for a whole host of new
programs, as well as for updates to graphic programs such as
Certificate Creator and FormKing.

You've also indicated that you're interested in Windows
programs--whether on ODM or as single programs you can
purchase. We've formed a Windows development team to
investigate that avenue. I'll keep you posted.

Finally, I'd like to indicate that we want you to stick
around and be subscribers for a long, long time. Giving you
great customer service is one way to convince you. Another
is to develop the kind of quality programs that you demand.
The ODM staff is sure going to try. Stick around so you can
see us make it!

Please remember this when you receive your next renewal
notice. The average ODM program would cost you around $15.00
in the real world (or even in shareware if your conscience
bothers you as it should). This means that during a
three-month subscription, if you receive just 1.3 programs
that you enjoy and will use, you've gotten your money's
worth. And, if you've received 2.6 useful programs in six
months, 4.6 in 12 months or 8 in 24 months, you've received
useful merchandise equal to what you paid for it. Certainly,
my goal is to give you enough good programs to exceed those
figures...even though everyone has special areas of
interest. Unfortunately, everyone won't like every issue.

My point? Don't base your renewal decision on just one issue,
usually the last one, that you've received. Sit down at your
computer. Relax. Now look back over all the issues you've
received during your subscription, think about future issues
and anticipated programs...then decide. I'm counting on you
to hang around and keep us on our toes!

Happy holidays from the whole ODM gang,

Ronda Faries
ODM Product Manager