AFTER READING THIS FILE, CLICK THE "FILE" MENU (IN THE WINDOWS PROGRAM) AND CLICK OFF "PSL-NEWS". Spreadsheet Programs on the Vol.4, Num.9 CD-ROM: =============================================== Long-time PsL member Joel Beck called to say that the spreadsheet programs were missing from the most recent CD featuring Business programs as the Section of the Month. At first we thought he missed the announcement that we did not include older programs from the last Business CD (Vol.3, Num.11), which had most of the spreadsheet programs on it and which can still be ordered by anyone wanting those programs. On closer inspection of the current database, however, we discovered that the newer spreadsheet programs which WERE on the Vol.4, Num.9 CD had the wrong path name in the database, meaning that they could not be automatically installed by the CD access program. We found the same problem with a couple of entries in the Statistics section as well. You can still access those files by using File Manager (in Win31 or My Computer (in Win95). We have corrected the entries in the database. PsL Hot Picks of the Month ========================== (Double-click on a file name to install it.) ---WINDOWS: MVP Spades Deluxe 1.2 [WIN\MVP\MVPSPA12.ZIP] ** NOTICE - MVPSPAD1.ZIP and MVPSPAD2.ZIP on last month's CD were flawed due to an error in PsL's processing of the files. No viruses or anything else that would hurt your system is involved, but if you have installed those files, please delete them right away and substitute the newer files from this CD. If you have posted the files on a BBS, please delete them right away and use the new files. Cloaking Device (32-bit) [WIN\COMMUNIC\TSC110E.ZIP] allows you to securely send and receive binary files and text via the Internet and other e-mail services. Features include ZIP-compatible compression and extraction of files with long file names, extensive help, and more. Requires Win95/NT. CardShark Spades [WIN\GAMES\CSSPADES.ZIP] lets you play Spades against three computer players or up to three other humans over a network. CS-Spades has numerous rules options and interface options and is guaranteed to play a stronger game than any other computer Spades game, shareware or retail. Features include your choice of a variety of animated, talking computer opponents who play different styles, a tournament mode, the ability to view explanations of computer players' bids and plays, view/replay past deals, and much more. The ZIP file above does not contain all the sounds files for the program because that would make the ZIP too large to distribute via BBS. However, CS-Spades *and* CS-Hearts are also pre-installed on this CD with all of the more than 5MB of sound files. Look in the CARDSHRK directory on this CD-ROM with File Manager or My Computer to run them. SH-WinBlocker [WIN\GAMES\WINBLOCK.ZIP] is a fantastic alternative to the usual falling-block game, where you must shoot blocks into the falling geometric shapes. The falling shapes are destroyed whenever you create a rectangle. Features include five challenging levels, WAV sound effects, German/English help files, and a high score listing. Merlin for Windows [WIN\HOME\MERWIN20.ZIP] is an easy-to-use hurricane/tropical storm tracking tool that provides the user with current information about the selected storm, in an easy to understand text report and five tracking maps. Several sample storm data files are included. Recipe-Wizard for Windows (16-bit) [WIN\HOME\RWIZARD.ZIP] is a powerful recipe management system that includes metric conversions, automatic formatting of entries, import/export functions, and custom printing capabilities. Other features include the ability to display BMP graphics, WAV sound support, search facilities, a spell checker, and a comprehensive nutrution analysis function. Text to Exe [DOS\UT_DSKFI\TEXTEXE.ZIP] allows you to quickly and easily compile a standard ASCII text file into a self-displaying executable file that may be read on-screen. Mouse House (16-bit) [WIN\UT_SYSTM\MH16.ZIP] helps you locate the mouse cursor on the Windows desktop. It provides a stay-on-top window that the mouse cursor will return to after 30-seconds of inactivity. Another Notepad [WIN\WORDS\ANOTEPAD.ZIP] is a powerful replacement for Windows' Notepad. Features include support for files up to 16MB in size, hotkey support, the ability to change fonts, line sorting capabilities, user-defined margins, file merging, auto-save of all settings, and much more. ---DOS: Text to Exe [DOS\UT_DSKFI\TEXTEXE.ZIP] allows you to quickly and easily compile a standard ASCII text file into a self-displaying executable file that may be read on-screen. Section Of The Month: Home Apps for DOS ======================================= The Section of the Month on this CD-ROM is "Home Applications for DOS". This section contains ALL of the DOS Home apps from all of PsL's past CD-ROMs, excluding demo programs. Is DOS Dead ... Yet? -------------------- It doesn't seem that long ago when we used to get letters from people who were aggravated by the presence of Windows programs on the CD-ROM. "I will *NEVER* switch to that slow, buggy Windows operating system!" was a common cry. Now we get letters from people who are aggravated by the presence of DOS apps on the CD-ROM. "Don't you know that DOS is dead?" they ask. DOS is on its last legs, perhaps, but it still has a pulse, however faint. We still get new and updated DOS programs every month. But we think that the time has come to do away with having a DOS-only section of the month, such as the Home section this month, since that "wastes" half the CD space as far as Windows-only users are concerned, and those folks now appear to make up the vast majority of our users. So barring any great outcry from some Silent Majority of DOS Users, this is the last month that we will have DOS apps as a Section of the Month. We will continue to put new and updated DOS apps on each month's CD. And we may have a Best DOS Apps CD once a year, since some apps such as games, graphics, and utilities are still of use even to dedicated Windows users. And of course, if you do not have the past CDs listed below which have DOS apps on them as the Section Of The Month, you can still order them at our regular fees. If there is some DOS app that you just love or need and you cannot find an equivalent in Windows, let us know and some programmer (if not the author of the DOS app, himself) will probably write a Windows version. CD-ROM Sections Of The Month: ============================ Following is a list of the sections from the most recent CDs. By getting all of these CDs, you would have every program/file in PsL's collection. Programs for both DOS and Windows are included in each group. Vol. Num. 4 11 Home Applications for DOS (home accounting, hobbies, home/auto maintenance, astrology, genealogy, religion, collecting, and more.) 4 10 Home Applications for Windows 4 9 Business (accounting, finance, general business, time managers, general business, database, spreadsheet, mailing list managers, and more, since V.3, N.11) 4 8 Games and Sounds & Music for DOS (since V.3, N.10) 4 7 Games and Sounds & Music for Windows (since V.3., N.9) 4 6 Programming (new programs since V.3, N.8) (assembler, Basic, C, Cobol, Fortran, Pascal, Modula, Visual Basic, general tools, and more.) 4 5 Communications & Networking (comm programs and utilities, BBS systems, programs for FAX cards, pagers, etc., plus networking pgms.) 4 4 Education 4 3 Words & Graphics (word processing, drawing program, clip art, desktop publishing, spelling/grammar checkers, hypertext, fonts, printer utilities, and more.) (new programs since V.3, N.5) 4 2 Home Apps for DOS 4 1 Utilities for DOS & Windows and All OS/2 Programs (new programs since V.3, N.4 CD) 3 12 Home Apps for Windows (Replaced/updated by V.4, Num.10) 3 11 Business (up to 11/95) (Some older files on 2/95 Business CD are not included on this CD.) 3 10 Games and Sounds & Music for DOS (up to 10/95) 3 9 Games and Sounds & Music for Windows (up to 9/95) 3 8 Programming (up to 8/95) 3 7 Communications & Network 3 5 Words & Graphics (up to 5/95) 3 4 Utilities for DOS & Windows and All OS/2 Files (up to 4/95) FUTURE CD's: Following is the schedule for the section-of-the-month for coming CDs. Because the number of programs in each section continues to grow each month, it may be necessary to split up one or more of the following sections onto separate months' CDs. If this is important to you, check before ordering. ("Vol." indicates the year. "Vol.4" is 1996, "Vol.5" is 1997. Volume 1 appeared in 1993, so Volume 2 is 1994, Volume 3 is 1995, Volume 4 is 1996, and Volume 5 is 1997. The "Number" is the month number, so Vol.4, Num.11 is November 1996.) Vol. Num. 4 12 Utilities for DOS & Windows plus all OS/2 5 1 Words & Graphics 5 2 Education 5 3 Communications, Networking, Internet 5 4 Programming 5 5 Games, Sounds & Music 5 6 Business Apps 5 7 Home Apps Problems: ======== In all the years of producing the PsL Monthly CD, we have NEVER found a single problem caused by a "bad CD copy". If you cannot get a CD to work on your machine, please try it on another machine if possible. Otherwise, please read the following Q&A's. If none of this works for you, return the CD and we will check it and replace it if necessary. (1.) "My machine locks up or reboots when I try to install a program." You have one of the small percentage of systems with a CD-ROM driver that is incompatible with PKUNZIP. To get around that problem, we have placed a public domain unzip program on the CD. To invoke it with the DOS-based program, run it using the syntax: "PSL_SHRD /U" (without the quotes). In the Windows based program, select UNZIP in the window that appears after pushing the Install button. In Windows, you can also elect to use WinZip to dearchive files. (2.) "There are no files on the CD." "There are no files in one of the directories." "I get an error trying to copy a file from the CD." We have only had a few such complaints, but in all cases, there was nothing wrong with the CD. Some of the users who made the complaints were able to read the CDs without error on other machines or even when trying later on the same machine. We suspect that the problem is with dust or dirt in the drive or, more specifically, on the laser lens, or on the CD-ROM disc itself. If you do not have a CD lens cleaner, get one from your dealer. Also inspect the non-printed side of the CD for dust or debris. One caller took the CD out, wiped it off, put it back in, and it worked. Maybe it was dirty or maybe just re-seating it helped. (3.) "When I install from the Windows access program, it tells me FILE NOT FOUND." Some combination of flukes in Windows/DOS cause some systems not to be able to find PKUNZIP.EXE on the CD-ROM drive. The solution is to copy PKUNZIP.EXE into your WINDOWS directory on your hard disk. SOUND BLASTER PRO OWNERS: On the January 1995 CD-ROM, we went over 600MB on the CD for the first time and a couple of people with Sound Blaster Pro cards and CD drives were unable to get a directory on the CD. If you have a Sound Blaster Pro and have this problem on a future CD-ROM, ask Creative Labs for a new CD-ROM driver. Frequently Asked Questions: ========================== (1.) "Why don't you install the programs on the CD ready to run instead of in ZIP format?" There are many reasons: - Many programs try to write back to the directory that they are installed in, which cannot be done on a CD. - Many programmers require that their programs be distributed in archived format. - Some installation programs configure the software to the system they are installed on, so that a program installed on our system may not work on yours. - Because we add a section of PsL's disk-based library to the CD each month, there is not room to have all the programs dearchived. - For use of the CDs on BBSs, files must be in archive format. Distributing the programs in archive format makes for a much neater package, making programs easier to find. Dearchiving a program to hard disk only takes a few seconds and by using a temporary directory, you can easily delete the files when done. (2.) "Are the same programs repeated on each month's CD?" No. The \DOS, \WIN, and \OS2 directories contain only the new programs received by PsL during the last 30 days. In addition, we put a different section of our disk-based library on each month's CD. (3.) "I'm not interested in the section of PsL being added to the CD this month. Why should I have to pay for a CD with a section I don't want in order to get the lower subscription price?" The majority of each CD contains new programs received during the last 30 days. These are programs of ALL types and now usually total over 400MB. Rather than leave the rest of the CD empty (as we did during the first year of producing the CD, we fill it in with a different section of our library each month. Even if you don't care for that section, there are tons of programs on each CD for all interests. (4.) "After the PSL_NEWS program installs a file, the program sometimes has to be installed again from those files. Why can't it just be installed once directly from the CD-ROM?" Some shareware authors have custom installation programs which create directories, put files in specific directories, configure the program to the user's specific hardware, etc. We cannot have multiple INSTALL programs in the same directory and it would be cumbersome to have a separate directory for each program, so we are forced to archive such programs, resulting in their having to be dearchived from the CD-ROM before they can be installed with the author's installation program. Contacting PsL: ============== Your comments and suggestions are appreciated. We are striving to make this the ideal CD for sysops and vendors, as well as for individual and users. We will implement every possibly suggestion which will still allow us to produce the CD in a timely manner and which will not degrade the CD is some other way. If you are a programmer and want your program distributed on this CD, simply send it on disk to the address below, or email us and tell us where we can download it from your BBS or Web page. Public (software) Library P.O.Box 35705 Houston, TX 77235-5705 Voice: 713-524-6394 FAX: 713-524-6398 CompuServe: 74777,3465