Imagine. You turn on your Mac and a small window comes up telling you about
• the important birthdays approaching in the next five or 10 days and how old each of your friends and relatives will be;
• the anniversaries coming up and how many years of marriage each represents; and
• the other important dates in your life, be they bills coming due, recurring doctor appointments to set up, or meetings to attend...
Birthdays and Such… is an application meant to be launched on daily startup, to remind you of the important birthdays and anniversaries (and other events) in your life. It works for me, which has made me the envy of all my friends and relatives. By setting reminders 10 or so days ahead, I find I’m as on the ball as the best of the rest of my friends and relatives in remembering to buy cards and presents (and to actually send them)—and way ahead of the date-impaired. It even prompts you with which birthday—or which anniversary—it is that’s being celebrated.
And it works for lots of other people around the world. Here’s what a few users of Birthdays and Such have written to say:
“Finally! a Reminder that runs in 55K and doesn’t lock up my Mac. I love it!”
“Thanks! Neat little program.”
“I ran across your Birthdays and Such reminder program out on the internet. I had been looking for something like that, and I really like it. This is the first time I have ever kept, used, and paid for a shareware program.”
“Love your program! Lifesaver (or wifesaver, at the very least).”
“I forget how I came across your reminder application, but in just a few weeks I have grown to really appreciate your work. As a father, grandfather, and caregiver to my father there are too many special dates to be remembered and acknowledged. Clean & simple, thanks.”
Now admittedly you’re going to have to type in the important dates you want to remember. But once done, you’re home free. That certainly beats my previous annual efforts to write every date onto the family calendar or into my day-timer.
Try it out. Double-click Birthdays and Such now to see what Reminders the sample file has in store for you today.
Birthdays and Such runs on almost every Macintosh computer that’s been made. It’s a little more sophisticated on Macs with System 7, OS 8 and OS 9, but there is almost no Macintosh in use today that does not meet its minimum system requirements:
• a Macintosh computer made in 1986 or later (that is, not a Mac 128 or Mac 512)
• system software version 6.0.4 or later
The steps to use Birthdays and Such are simple: Just modify the sample “Reminders” file that’s part of the package with your own list of important dates—simple instructions are in the manual. And set Birthdays and Such to run every time you start your Macintosh.
Then every time you turn on your Mac, it starts up Birthdays and Such. The program looks up the current date and scans the Reminders file for upcoming events. And voilá, in the topmost window on your screen, it displays just those—the ones you need to do something about.
(If you leave your Macintosh running for days at a time, that’s ok, too: Birthdays and Such will update to the next day’s reminders every night on the stroke of midnight.)
Birthdays and Such is shareware. Birthdays and Such is NOT a free or public domain program. And you’ll get a free bonus via email when you pay your shareware contribution.
As with most shareware, please try it for yourself for a day, a week, a month. Unlike most shareware, however, Birthdays and Such is What’sItWorthWare—that is, I believe in user-determined pricing. You decide what Birthdays and Such is worth. Then send me a money order or a check. (What’s it worth to save your marriage? What’s it worth to maintain your relationship with your parents? OK, maybe Birthdays and Such won’t do that all by itself, but... :-)
Send your email address with your shareware contribution so I can send you the bonus “Listmaker” application. Listmaker will transform your reminders into a shopping list, complete with the age each recipient will be in the coming year. Printed out, the list makes it easy to review your list of important dates, or buy your whole year’s cards in one shopping trip!
Please keep Birthdays and Such, this “About” file, the sample Reminders file, the manuals, the Quick Start Guide, and any addendum or readme files bundled together, if you pass it on to someone else. (But you may want to add your birthday to the sample Reminders file before giving it to your friends!)
The manual should be able to answer all your questions. If you find it inadequate in any way, please let me know: I’d like to improve it.
For the most recent copy of this program:
• the Web: at http://members.aol.com/RonLichty/Birthdays
• AOL: from the Mac Utilities Forum (keyword: MUT), search the Software Libraries for "RonLichty"
• the Web: at http://www.shareware.com, search for "Birthdays-and-Such"
Warranty information: To the best of my knowledge (derived in considerable part from years of use and testing), Birthdays and Such is "harmless". Nonetheless, Birthdays and Such is offered "as is" and is not covered by any warranty of any kind, so use it at your own risk. If you do find a bug, I’d like to hear about it—I may not be able to fix it, but I’d at least like to know about it.
Ron Lichty
P.O. Box 27262
San Francisco, CA 94127
RonLichty@AOL.com
http://members.aol.com/RonLichty/Birthdays
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Oh, here’s what a few reviewers have said:
“I’ll get this out of the way right from the start: Birthdays And Such… is the most nearly perfect Macintosh program ever written. Ever. It’s small, only 17K, unobtrusive and runs on almost every Mac ever made. It could save your marriage, bring peace to your family, or even save your job. If you are the forgetful type, you must get this program. Set it up with important dates, sit back, and be the envy of all your family and friends. Imagine never again forgetting a birthday, anniversary, doctor’s appointment, or job interview!…
“…There are plenty of reminder programs out there, but none so simple, effective and useful.”
—Edward Goss, “About this Stuff”, About this Particular Macintosh e-zine, October 1998
“You’ll be reminded of birthdays and other important events each time you boot up. Worth its weight in happy spouses, friends and associates.”
—Noah Matthews, “Shareware”, San Jose Mercury News, Knight-Ridder Newspapers, August 4, 1996
“Birthdays and Such is an application meant to be launched on daily startup, to remind you of the important birthdays and anniversaries in your life.”
—”Delphi Internet Shareware Pick of the Week”, May 1997
“This month I’m only writing about one program. It’s called “Birthdays & Such”. I find myself getting more forgetful as the years go by. This program has taken a lot of pressure to remember things off my head completely. Every morning when I turn my computer on a window comes up with my reminders staring at me. It’s very easy to use… You can put anything you want in it—birthdays, bill payment due dates, doctor & lab appointments, etc. The possibilities are endless and the great thing is that you just add items as you go…”
—Toni Nowak, ed., Wes Pas Mac computer club newsletter, New Port Richey, FL
