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1992-11-07
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╔═══════════════════════════════╗
║ THE FREEWARE HALL OF FAME ║
╚═══════════════════════════════╝
┌─────────┐
WHAT IS IT? We are a list of programs which are commonly found
└─────────┘ on public access Bulletin Boards. The programs on
this list have been tested and found to work as described, and
to be worth downloading. The list is limited to Freeware. These
are programs and a few databases for which NO FEE is required
for use by individuals. The meaning of Freeware, Shareware and
Public Domain, all frequently mis-used, are given below.
┌────────┐
WHAT'S NEW We've added three hundred new entries in this
│IN 11/93│ edition including a large group from Finland.
└────────┘ Among the authors to join the list is Professor
Timo Salmi of the University of Vaasa, the most prolific
Freeware writer in the world we know of at this time.
We've begun to include OS/2 Freeware as we find it. The HOF
believes OS/2 will be around for awhile and we would hate to
see it wall-to-wall with annoyware and beg-screens. We're
finding that OS/2 has LOADS of Freeware. When you find a
program you like, nominate it.
┌───┐
NAMES in the circle of Great Freeware Writers for their output
└───┘ and quality are Timo Salmi of Finland, new in this
edition with more than 20 entries; John McNamara--the Sysop's
friend; Raymond Kaya; Robert Vostreys; Fredrick Volking; Chris
Dunford (CED & 6 others); HRH Ward Christensen; Keiths Graham
and Ledbetter; Michael Mefford; Vern Buerg and so many others.
┌────┐
IN ALL this HOF edition lists 600+ entries by 500+ authors.
└────┘
┌────┐
LAYOUT The Freeware Hall of Fame comprises three sorted ASCII
└────┘ indexes in the file HALLFAME.TXT. Each index contains
the same information: Author, Program Name, a brief Description
of the program, and the Program Category. Index One sorts by
Author, Index Two by Program and Index Three by Type.
┌──────┐
TO PRINT the indexes, set standard 80-col narrow-carriage
└──────┘ printers for 12 chars per inch (Elite). The file
prints very nicely with appropriate page breaks on 8½ by 11
paper, but we're really too large to print now. If you must,
QEDIT prints it perfectly. Otherwise you can type
HALLFAME.TXT > PRN or PRINT HALLFAME.TXT
or use any word processor. The file is prepared using
QuattroPro 2.0 exported to formatted ASCII.
┌─────┐
UPDATES will always be named HOFmmyy.ZIP and there will never
└─────┘ be two in one month. HOF packets should contain
HALLFAME.TXT, README.HOF and a SYSOP.NOTe, and may or may not
contain a FHOF Logo and description. These are commonly
stripped off during uploads.
┌────────────┐
WANT A HOF D/L We are now giving the ON-LINE Freeware Hall of
│DIRECTORY ON│ Fame to any Sysop who wants it for his callers.
YOUR AREA BBS? The 4.X-megs of Freeware amount to 120 or so
└────────────┘ programs using the ZIP archive, plus an Index.
These are the programs themselves, not merely a list. The
Index contains multi-line descriptions of the files. We
estimate there are about 100 Boards in North America and Europe
now carrying the ON-LINE FHOF. Ask your sysop to read the
SYSOP.NOTe in this packet for more information.
┌───────┐
JUST WANT We give files to others also. If you have a local
│ FILES?│ or school computer club and would like 100+ Freeware
└───────┘ programs, call us. We can make available self-
extracting versions of the programs prepared with a Freeware
archiver so no commercial programs are needed at any step in
the process. There's no charge. We encourage copying these and
circulating them to other individuals, clubs and schools.
┌──────┐
WHO'S IN Among the most prominent people in the computer
THE HOF? world, past and present, are those programers who
└──────┘ allow us to use their programs at no cost. Writing
software and distributing it via Bulletin Boards with no
request for payment, they enable everyone to share the fruit of
their knowledge, the benefit of their discoveries, and the
steady advances that have typified the computer industry from
the beginning.
┌───────┐
GRATITUDE This file is intended to honor those generous and
└───────┘ wonderful people. The HOF Index is not finished and
never will be. It's a list that will grow every few months as
we attempt to catch up with the hundreds of fine people who
represent the hobby side of the PC world, some from the era of
CP/M (lest we forget), some writing for DOS, and now OS/2.
┌────────┐
AMONG THEM are some of the best programmers in the profession,
└────────┘ software experts sought after and employed by the
most advanced government and industry employers in the world.
The Freeware they write on their own time (cough) commonly
reflects the highest level of concept and execution.
┌──────┐
BENEFITS This Freeware Hall of Fame is the only published
└──────┘ guide to tested Freeware. All these programs work.
All are free. Nearly all are commonly available on public
access Bulletin Boards. We can recommend them as programs that
will do the job they were intended for.
┌───────┐
WHERE YOU The file is indexed to make these programs easier to
FIND THEM find, but locating them on a Bulletin Board can
└───────┘ require a search. The Board's ZIP, ARC or LZE/LHA
packets commonly are named with an abbreviation of a program's
full name, often adding a version number to that. You might
have to hunt and peek unless the Sysop has set up a Freeware
Hall of Fame Directory all to itself.
┌─────┐
PCBOARD Some of the programs for running a BBS such as PCBoard
└─────┘ make the search easier. On a PCBoard, entering
Z filename A
should reveal every version of <filename> the BBS has available
for download. For example, you will not find DIRX, Kaya's file
management program for compressed files, listed in a BBS file
index. The index name for the program is DRXxxx where xxx is
the version number, and that changes every few months. The Z
command in PCBoard is a -text search- command and it will find
the word DIRX in the file -description- since it can't be found
in the file index.
┌──────┐
FREEWARE Freeware refers to programs or databases that an
DEFINED│ individual may use without payment of money to the
└──────┘ author. Commonly the author will copyright his work
as a way of legally insisting that no one re-write it prior to
getting his approval. The copyright has nothing to do with a
user fee, aside from giving the author a legal right to require
one. Freeware authors don't exercise that right, though in some
cases a program will be Freeware for an individual but require
a site license if used by a business. The HOF includes these.
┌────┐
PUBLIC Other Freeware is in the Public Domain, which means the
DOMAIN author donated his work to the public and retains no
└────┘ ownership rights. No fee can be required for the use of
these programs, though a polite and sometimes humorous request
for author support might drift into the Docs.
┌────────┐
WHAT'S NOT Shareware is not here. Shareware refers to a way
│ HERE? │ of marketing programs on the "try before you buy"
└────────┘ plan. Because you must buy it, it isn't Freeware.
As Shareware, many superb programs are made available at
reasonable cost and on a far fairer plan than purchasing
"commercial" software you must buy before knowing if a program
will do what you need. Most Shareware is a delight to use. Some
is not.
┌───────┐
SHAREWARE always asks for a fee to use the program and the
└───────┘ author says so, usually in a professional way. A few
authors aren't professional when discussing payment. They
presume you're not going to pay and in their Docs they insult
you. A few authors are...strange. We discovered one Shareware
author offering a $100 reward for information about anyone
using his $10 program without registering it.
┌──────┐
CRIPPLED Some Shareware comes crippled. You get only a
└──────┘ limited version of the program until you buy it.
Shareware might have annoying delays and payment dunnings built
into the program which only go away when you purchase a
registration number. Some Shareware quits working if you don't
buy a code number within a few weeks. Some shareware requires
that you download a key from the author's board which will
expire if you don't buy a permanent key.
┌──────┐
FREEWARE does none of these things. The author might
└──────┘ ask as one did that you take him to dinner (he called
his method Dinnerware), and another suggests you take your
spouse out to atone for the time you spend at the computer.
One German author wants you to send him picture postcards.
Freeware authors often show a sense of humor. They also
frequently provide the source code.
┌───────────┐
WHO GOT HERE? To gain entry to the Freeware Hall of Fame,
└───────────┘ a program can be discovered by the FHOF compiler
or nominated by someone. Anyone may nominate a program and we
encourage Freeware authors to nominate their own programs. The
only requirement is that the file nominated be a PC program or
database available for use at no cost. Every program gets a
1-line listing. Ward Christensen gets one line for his CP/M
communications programs--perhaps the most influential Freeware
of all time--and you'll get a one-line entry for your program.
┌─────────┐
NOMINATIONS are made to the compiler of this list and we need
└─────────┘ to know 4 things:
(1) Author name
(2) Software name
(3) Brief description of what the program does
(4) Your certainty the program is Freeware.
┌───────────┐
CALL THE HALL We can be contacted three ways: via the ILink
└───────────┘ computer network; through our FHOF BBS; and on
Usenet as rbarry@turing.org
┌───┐
ILINK Hundreds of BBS's around the world are members of the
└───┘ ILink network and many North American cities have an
Ilink affiliate or two. The network is a collection of hundreds
of topic conferences which are provided to member Bulletin
Boards for the use of their callers. The HOF monitors the
Shareware and Sysops conferences for mail addressed to Rey
Barry. The monitoring is automated so watch the spelling. All
Ilink messages are public.
┌────┐
│FHOF│ Our BBS operates 24 hrs a day using PCBoard software
│ BBS│ and a USRobotics Dual Standard modem. The FHOF
└────┘ conference is #3. Enter J 3 at the main menu.
804-293-4710. 1st time callers have 45 minutes and have batch
download privileges up to 99 files. We invite nominations for
the Freeware index.
┌───────┐
COPYRIGHT This file, the accompanying files HALLFAME.TXT and
└───────┘ SYSOP.NOT, and the name "Freeware Hall of Fame" are
Copyright 1989-92 by Rey Barry. HALLFAME.TXT is a Freeware
database offered for the use of all to accord Freeware authors
the recognition their contributions have made to the PC hobby.
Charlottesville, VA, USA 11/92
FHOF BBS -- 804-293-4710
rbarry@turing.org