=====News & Views - Utilities for the AICPA ... MegaDisk Sets of utilities for DOS & Windows. - Goodbye to 5.25" Disks? ... Trade magazine predicts the "drive war is over". - First PsL CD Sells Out Quickly ... Word of mouth beats advertising. - Together Again ... Graphic viewer for PsL CD is fixed. - Letters ... readers ask questions, offer suggestions. - Retail Products ... Outstanding Printer Buy!! ... Pinball For Windows ... Translate It! For Spanish, German & French ... ... Fast, Inexpensive Texel CD-ROM Drive ... ... Fantastic Bundle: Alone In the Dark & Out of this World ... ... Ultrabots ... Quicktoons Cartoon Classics CD ... Betrayal at Krondor - Quick Looks Explained - Explained -----Utilities for the AICPA The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants asked PsL recently to put together a MegaDisk set of utilities for DOS and another for Windows for the AICPA to send to its members. Although long-time readers will recognize the following programs as having been recommended and offered in various sets by PsL in the past, we thought we would give newcomers a shot at them. The programs are also on the September PsL CD in the AICPA directory. --DOS Utilities: [WarpDrv] is an improvement over ANSI.SYS. [BCMove] is a file moving utility. [CopyDsk] is an enhanced disk copying utility. [Kopy] is a better file copier than the DOS COPY command. [ZDir] is a colorful sorted directory lister. [VIEW] is a tiny file viewing utility. [DLT2] is an enhanced file deletion utility. [FDForm] is a powerful disk formatting utility. [Edit] is a small, fast, full-screen text editor. [Fgrep] is a very fast text search utility. [CED] is a DOS command line editor, command recall, and DOS macro utility. [LCD] makes it easeir to change directories. The next two were our picks for 1992's Best New Utilities: [PocketD] adds over 120 functions to DOS in a small package. [MegaBack] is a fast, easy-to-use hard disk backup utility with many sophisticated features. Last but certainly not least are [PKZIP204], a popular utility for compressing files and Integrity Master [INTEGMAS], a virus protection program. --Windows 3 Utilities: [ChPaper] lets you browse through and change your wallpaper on command or at specified intervals. [FreeMem] displays free conventional and expanded memory. [HotSpot] lets you instantly start or disable the Windows 3.1 screen saver. File Find [FILEFND] will find files anywhere on your hard drive or network volume. [IcnMstr] is a powerful icon editor. [Launch] is a convenient desktop program launcher. [TrshMan] is a Mac-like trashcan for drag-and-drop deletion of files. [WinClok] is a multi-featured desktop alarm clock. Free Disk Space [WFDS] monitors and displays free disk space remaining on all (or specified) hard drives. [WinPost] lets you have multiple on-screen "post-it" type notes which can easily be hidden, saved and recalled. [WINProt] is a virus scanning program. [TypSmart] completes words you are typing based on your past typing. Byzans Task Manager [BYZ_TM] is a powerful replacement for the Windows 3.1 Task Manager. [Sysfon] lets you change the system font that Windows uses for window titles and menus. -----Goodbye to 5.25" Disks? Computer Retail Week reports: The disk drive war is over. Most software publishers see little reason to include 5.25-inch disks. Not one game on our April hits list [has 5.25-inch disks]. Some PsL customers have urged PsL to abandon low-density disks and have an all-MegaDisk library. It has been almost 10 years since new computers were equipped with 360k 5.25" disks. PsL recently lowered the price of 1.44MB 3.5" drives to $49.95. There would seem to be little reason to continue with 360k disks, yet we continue to get calls regularly from people who have 8088's with 360k drives. For people who just want to keep mailing lists or do home accounting or word processing, these systems still perform adequately. And the people using them still need programs for them, even if the latest video games have left them behind. We also hear from a lot of schools and other institutions who have been given old computers by businesses and who want educational programs and simple games for them. Then there are people who have newer machines with 1.2MB 5.25" drives, but no 3.5" drives. When the first 3.5" drives came out, we predicted that 5.25" drives would disappear in a couple of years. We were obviously way off in that prediction and now we hesitate to predict that they will ever disappear. -----First PsL CD Sells Out Quickly With only word of mouth advertising for our August CDROM, we did not expect much in the way of subscriptions and sales, yet they sold out in two weeks. Callers have been consistently excited about the concept and we appreciate all the comments, support, and advice we have received, particularly from sysops around the world. A typical response comes from Stephen Matthews: "You've outdone yourselves again! This is one bill I will ENJOY paying every month." We promised in advance that the first issue would have 300+ programs. Instead, it had well over 500. This issue has over 700 programs. If you are not getting the CD because you don't have a drive, check out the prices on the Mitusmi and Sydos drives on the front inside cover of this issue. If you just aren't sure about the CD, enter a subscription, get a copy and check it out. If you are not 200% satisfied, don't pay the invoice. Just send the CD back. We are confident that anyone who sees this CD will want to keep getting it every month. -----Together Again Together is a pop-up program that lets you view PCX files whose names appear on the screen, such as in a text file describing a program. On our first PsL Monthly CD (last month), we placed Together in a directory with several program screen shots so that you could see program screens while reading about the programs using the PSL_NEWS program on the CD. Everything worked fine during testing, but not on the CD. Together tries to write to the default drive, which it could not do with the CD. As soon as we discovered this, we called the author who immediately fixed the problem and emailed it to us. Unfortunatley, it did not arrive in time for last month's CD, but it is on the September CD. Before installing Together!, you must edit the TOGETHER.INI file to match your hardware. The TOGETHER.DOC file tells you how. You may read that file by typing VIEW TOGETHER.DOC at the DOS prompt. -----Letters --Software Innovative or Not? William B. Fankboner, La Quinta, CA: "According to the letter you sent me, my program Move It! was rejected for inclusion in your catalog because you "already have a lot of programs of the same type and do not feel it is a significant improvement. "This is absolute nonsense. There is no program [which] moves, removes, and copies directories with the ease and facility of Move It!. "It is dismaying that the self-appointed curators of shareware are so absorbed with the financial end of the shareware business that they ignore innovation. But of course it's a major inconvenience to try out new programs, and there's all that fuss and bother of re-editing the catalog." Nelson Ford, PsL: I am sorry if my letter offended you. It is meant to provide helpful feedback. My own experience as a programmer is that the great majority of vendors provide no feedback at all, whether they accept your program or not. The letter goes on to say: "If you feel that your program IS better than all the others, a chart comparing the features... would be a good selling point for your potential customers as well as for PsL." Just saying that a program is "easier" does not really give us a basis for comparison, since every programmer (including me) thinks THEIR program is easier and better than all the others. When talking about the cost and trouble of adding programs, you are pointing your finger at the wrong company, as our own "features comparison chart" of major vendors shows: PsL PC-SIG PBS RS # pages in last catalog 960 ? 51 63 # of programs in library 8000+ 4000? 2000+ 350 # new programs per month 500+ 50 30 90 Frequency of catalog/mag. mo. bi-mo. qtr. mo. (Number of pages in PC-SIG's catalog is unknown; also the # of current programs shown for PC-SIG is an educated guess. Other numbers are based on the most recent issues of vendors' catalogs/magazines.) Because PsL grew out of a hobby back in 1982, we have always done things that didn't make great economic sense, like carrying many times more programs than other vendors, and like giving away (practically) all the new programs we get each month for $20 (on CD) to our competitors, as well as to our customers (two of the three competitors in the chart subscribe). --Wants Windows Outliner Richard De Young, via CompuServe: "I know that WordPerfect, etc., all have outlining capabilities now, but they don't work as simply as the old PC Outline. Are there any similar programs for Windows? PsL: We haven't seen a shareware outliner for Windows 3, but maybe your question will light a fire under some programmer. --Suggestions for PsL Vince Heiker, Las Colinas, TX: "Here are some suggestions for improvements: "1. Put all FAX related utilities onto one disk or MegaDisk set." PsL: Will do. "2. Convert to 1.44MB floppies for all diskettes. Virtually everyone has 1.44MB 3.5" drives. Position PsL as a leader and force your competitors to respond or to become obsolete." PsL: We began offering 1.44MB MegaDisk sets at great savings years ago and so far, our competitors have neither responded nor become obsolete. One vendor who "guarantees" the lowest prices charges $16 for sets of 4 disks which cost $6.99 from PsL. "3. Provide your PsL Order Form as a program, automatically pricing orders based on diskette numbering, membership discounts, etc." PsL: The Windows version of our Reviews program was headed in that direction and we got side-tracked. We'll put this back on the to-do list. "4. Give more descriptions of the programs in the listing in the back of PsL News." PsL: It's a question of where to draw the line. Full descriptions of all the programs fill a 1000-page book. Even the one-liners we have in the Listing in PsL News now take up more pages than we would like. Now that the latest reviews of all the programs in PsL are on the CD-ROM each month, we are hoping that more people will keep up that way. "5. Start a separate category for WinNT." PsL: We have answered this type of question many times over the years: our categories are supply-driven. When we get enough of a particular type of program to justify a separate section, we split it off. Until we get enough programs, there is no point in having a section for them. "6. Some MegaDisks say [4 disks]. Is the cost $6.99 per disk or for the set? Is there a difference between [4] and [4 disks]?" PsL: It is $6.99 per MegaDisk number, as noted on the order form. The "[4 disks]" notation means that if you get the set on 360k disks, it will take 4 disks. Sometimes you will see something like "20220-20221 [2 MegaDisk Sets]". This means that you pay $6.99 per set for a total of $13.98. Sometimes we offer special prices on sets of 1.44MB disks. In those cases we will say "9 MegaDisk Set for $27" or "two 1.44MB disks for $9.99". When we have room, we normally say "[4 disks]". When we do not have room, we just say "[4]". --Galactix (#27747) Gary Evans, Arlington, TX: "When starting this program I get the message "not enough memory for intro". I have 4MB of RAM which is plenty. I also tried to register the program but my check was returned with no forward address for the authors." PsL: A limitation of DOS is that only 640k of your 4MB of RAM is available for most programs to run in. From that, you have to deduct the RAM used by drivers and TSRs. Run MEM or CHDKSK to see how much free RAM you have. This particular program requires over 600K of free RAM You may have to boot up with no Config.sys or Autoexec.bat to free up enough memory. --Disk Copy Fast (8/93 CD) The program does not currently support MicroSolutions backpack external floppy drives. --Program Not In Listing in PsL News Robert Pearson, author of Paramind, wanted to know why his program is not in the Listing in PsL News. The reason is that because of the large number of programs in PsL, we are unable to list every program. We have the complete write-ups of every program in PsL in the Reviews Disks files, which are also on our monthly CD-ROM. --Missing Authors The authors for the following programs are no longer at the addresses in their documentation: GetPM (Lawrence Faulkner), ByeBye (CBII Enterprises), Cunning Football (Cass Cunningham), TourTech (Gerry Landry), TF77 (Paul Giroux). -----Retail Products --Outstanding Printer Buy!! Long-time readers of PsL News know that we don't gush over products without good cause. Get ready for a real Texas Gusher! For a year-and-a-half, we have been struggling with WinJet 800 to get 800 dpi ("dot per inch") printing from an HP LaserJet. The most recent problem was that the WinPrint driver program was causing Windows 3.1 to lock up. We tried getting tech support, but this is one of those companies whose "tech support" consists of leaving you on hold long distance (on your nickle) until you go broke or otherwise give up. So we have been looking for another printer. The new HP LaserJets with 600 dpi resolution looked interesting, but did not exactly get rave reviews. Then we stumbled across the Samsung Finale 8000 laser printer. Its features start with an impressive 1200 dpi resolution (!!), print modes which include PostScript, HP LaserJet II & III ("PCL"), Epson FX, IBM ProPrinter, and HPGL/2 (plotter) emulations, an 8ppm 16mhz RISC processor, 6MB of RAM, and serial, parallel, and AppleTalk interfaces. Windows 3.1 drivers are included. Typefaces include 35 scalable PostScript fonts, a TrueType rasterizer, 14 bit-mapped HPLJ-II fonts, 8 scalable HPLJ-III fonts, and HPLJ compatible font card slots. Graphics can be printed in up to 256 shades of gray. Two paper cassettes allow you to put in extra paper or to have two different types of paper (eg: letterhead and plain paper) online and software selectable. The manual is very thorough, providing information (eg: character tables) about all the printing modes. When we asked several different knowledgable computerists what they thought a printer with these features would cost, everyone suspected that the price was low, but nobody could bring themselves to guess below $2500. The Finale, as described, is just $1850 (plus $20 S&H in the continental U.S.) and has a 2-year warranty. At 1200 dpi, you get the highest quality printing available for a PC today. PostScript capability and 6MB of RAM are high-priced options on most computers. We think that this is the hardware buy of the year. --Pinball For Windows #30394 $29 Sierra's Pinball For Windows is like all Sierra games: lots of entertaining graphics and sounds. There are eight different playing fields and themes based on other popular Sierra games, such as Leisure Suit Larry . Our favorite was the layout called "Draxon 2" . Its black holes and gravity fields created bizarre effects not possible on real pinball games. If you are a pinball purist or don't like Windows games, stick with Tristan, which is still the most realistic pinball simulation, but if you just want to have a fun and flashy game to pop up while you are in Windows, this is it. Comes on 1.44MB 3.5" disks. --Translate It! For Spanish, German & French $59 Per Language Timeworks has another sure hit with this series of language translation programs for English-Spanish (#30395), English-German (#30397), and English-French (#30396). Each program lets you translate text files in either direction. Each comes with a very large 250,000 word dictionary, as well as a user-modifiable dictionary. The programs do not simply do word substitution; they perform full-sentence idiomatic translations. Different tranlations of a word are based on parts of speech. You can choose whole-document translation, or an on-screen, interactive mode. You can even translate documents as you create them with the built-in text editor. Translate-It! is also compatible with all major word processors. This is a real help for us at PsL where we often get FAXes in German, French, etc., with nobody available to translate them. Although Translate-It! does not do a perfect job (90-95% accuracy is claimed), it does well enough to let us figure out what is being said. Timeworks is so sure of this product that they offer a 60-day money-back satisfaction guarantee. --Fast, Inexpensive Texel CD-ROM Drive #30398 $449 + $7 S&H The Texel DM3024 drive has a 265ms access time and 300kb throughput, making it one of the fastest drives around. It is not quite as fast as the Toshiba 3401, but the Toshiba costs 33% more. At $449 for the internal drive, SCSI interface card, drivers, and cables, you get a lot of performance for your money. And to sweeten the deal even further, we will throw in the current PsL Monthly CD. --Fantastic Game Bundle is a Bargain, Too! #30391 $39.95 Out of This World and Alone in the Dark are two exciting graphical adventure games with scrolling 3-D graphics, excellent sound effects and music. In ...World, you are hurtled thorugh space and time by a nuclear experiment gone wrong. You are faced with alien monsters and deadly earthquakes. In ...Dark, inspired by the work of H.P. Lovecraft, you explore Derceto, a huge mansion that becomes a nightmare world of the macarbe and the monstrous. Both of these programs have terrific 3-D graphics that are constantly scrolling, panning, and changing perspectives, more like the scenes in a movie than in a video game. We have a limited number of these bundles that let you get both programs for less than $20 each. --Ultrabots #30393 $34.95 This is an incredible arcade game where giant 60-ton robots battle it out for the domination of the Earth. You can train in the Humanoid Warrior, Scorpion, or Scout robots, each with special offensive and defensive weapons. The game features fully interactive simulation-style cockpits, beautiful 256-color ray-traced graphics, computer generated maps and visual displays, realistic digitized sound effects, a SoundBlaster/Roland musical score, and much more. All in all, this is a futuristic feast for the eyes and ears! Requires a 386/16 or better machine, VGA, mouse, 1meg RAM, hard drive, and a high density 3.5" floppy drive. --Quicktoons Cartoon Classics CD #30399 $19.95 This disk contains public domain color and black-and-white cartoons starring Betty Boop, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, and others. Both Windows 3.1 and Macintosh versions are included. You can easily incorporate these cartoons into your multimedia presentations, or just sit back and enjoy the whacky entertainment on your desktop. --Betrayal at Krondor #30392 #34.95 Digitized actors and scenery take up 15MB of hard disk space for this program, but you will think it is worth it when you get wrapped up in this fantasy role-playing game set in ancient, mystical times. The program also requires a 386SX or better, DOS-5+, 2MB RAM, and VGA. Greats sounds and 3-D graphics bring this game to life. Comes on seven 1.44MB 3.5" disks. -----Quick Looks Explained PsL receives a lot of programs which we do not add to our permanent collection for various reasons, although the programs may be of excellent quality. These programs are written up as "Quick Looks" in PsL News and are included on PsL's Monthly CD. Some of the types of programs that will be classified as Quick Looks include programs of a type already in PsL such as text editors, periodical programs with a limited life span such as magazines-on-disk, demo programs, extreme niche programs, and files too large to justify distributing on diskettes. ----- Explained Throughout the program reviews, you will see PCX file names in angled brackets. These are for use by TOGETHER! so that you can see screen shots of programs when reading the PsL News on CD. For more information, see TOGETHER.DOC in the \SCREENS directory. To view this file, change to the \SCREENS directory and type \VIEW TOGETHER.DOC