AFTER READING THIS FILE, CLICK THE "FILE" MENU (IN THE WINDOWS PROGRAM) AND CLICK OFF "PSL-NEWS". Picks Of The Month: ================== (Click on a program name to install it.) 3D Spinball [WIN\GAMES\32SB11.ZIP] [SEE SCREEN SHOT] is a great action-arcade game that requires you to think fast and move fast to survive. Your objective: Destroy all the blocks in the center of the screen, by causing the Spinball to collide with them. BalanceIt! Mutual Funds [WIN\HOME\BALANC1.ZIP] [SEE SCREEN SHOT] allows you to manage your portfolio which typically consists of several mutual funds that you will want to analyze. It will keep a record of each of these funds including the fund name, its return on investment, a minimum investment you specify, and its stock, bond, and cash reserves distribution, and more. CD Streamer [WIN\SOUNDS\CDSINS1.ZIP] [SEE SCREEN SHOT] is an integrated Compact Disc audio recorder and player that copies music from CD tracks and Wav files, compressing the resulting digital audio data by a factor of 94% or more with virtually no sound quality loss. It includes a jukebox-like player/organizer with a title editor, playlist management, and random play. You can also create standalone copies of this jukebox player that are portable to other PCs. You no longer need CDs to listen to music on the PC. ClockWatch Pro for Win95 [WIN\UT_SYSTM\CLOCKW1.ZIP] [SEE SCREEN SHOT] queries one of the time servers maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) which then returns the exact standard time. ClockWatch converts standard time to local time and compares it to the internal system time on the computer, adjusting the system clock if necessary. Settings can be made on demand, on a regularly scheduled basis or automatically based on the specific experience of the local system. CoolCat [WIN\COMMUNIC\COOLCAT.ZIP] [SEE SCREEN SHOT] is designed for current and aspiring web designers, and gives you everything you need to create dynamite websites, with eye-popping graphics and cutting-edge effects. Its comprehensive suite of HTML tools covers every angle when it comes to designing, writing, and managing your dream website. E-MailZIP Deluxe [WIN\COMMUNIC\EMZD20.ZIP] allows you to send ZIP files over the Internet without the need to use software to ZIP or an E-Mail client. Simply select the files that you want to send, type in the address of the recipient, and then email them the zipped files as an attachment. Pop! The Balloon Dog Puzzle Game [WIN\GAMES\INSTALP1.ZIP] [SEE SCREEN SHOT] guide Pop on his way to the moon past porcupines, thumbtacks, cats, bees, firecrackers, car batteries and more. This deviously demented puzzle game features 87 levels of cartoon mayhem. ScrapPad [WIN\UT_SYSTM\JCSP.ZIP] is an application for Win95/NT that easily allows you to record notes, thoughts, messages, or just about anything you can type. ScrapPad is as convenient to use as scrap paper. Simply click on the icon in the tray and start typing. It does everything else. Your ScrapPads stay exactly where you left them, even when you reboot your computer. Sorbet [WIN\GRAPHICS\JMV20.ZIP] is a program which creates thumbnail icons for BMP, JPEG, PCX, GIF, PNG, TIFF files. Sorbet shows you its thumbnail anywhere you see an image's icon. There's no easier or faster way to manage graphics files. KatieSoft Scroll [WIN\COMMUNIC\KSCROLL.ZIP] is a unique Web interface that quadruples your Web surfing power. By providing a multi-paned browsing environment (four windows), it allows you to surf multiple sites at once, explore different areas of one site simultaneously, compare information from multiple sources, and more. Visual Zip Studio 98 [WIN\UT_DSKFI\M17VZS98.ZIP] is a very powerful environment to manage as many zip files as you want. It is also a file compression utility that allows you to compress any number of files into a "zip" file which you can later decompress to obtain the original files. It also decompresses zip files created by other utilities, such as PKZip, TurboZip, and WinZip. Rtweak [WIN\UT_SYSTM\RTWEAK3.ZIP] is a utility for power users that allows them to take control of their system by permitting the altering of Windows 95 registry settings to customize your system and optimize certain features, all without using the archaic Regedit program. This functionality is presented in an easy to use format with an intuitive but powerful interface. Terminus [WIN\UT_DSKFI\TERMINUS.ZIP] [SEE SCREEN SHOT] overwrites every byte of data in a selected file (or group of files, one file at a time) several times to obscure the file's contents. The the filename itself is scrambled a number of times, then the attribute flags used by Windows to determine system, read-only, are overwritten, file names are scrambled, and then the file is deleted. Virtual Binder [WIN\DATABASE\VB10.ZIP] [SEE SCREEN SHOT] is a replacement for the binders you use to store information every day. It provides the ability to assimilate multiple types of information under a single common user interface. You can store multiple binders in the central database, then subdivide the binders into sections, then enter all your information, and more. 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. Order from 800-2424-PSL or online at "www.pslweb.com". Vol. Num. 6 10 Home for Windows (new files since V.6, N.3) 6 9 Business for Windows & DOS (new files since V.6, N.2) 6 8 Games for Windows (new files since V.6, N.1) 6 7 Communications for Windows (new files since V.5, N.11) 6 6 Education for DOS & Windows (new files since V.5, N.10) 6 5 Words and Graphics (new files since V.5, N.9) 6 4 Utilities for Windows (new files since V.5, N.8 6 3 Home for DOS & Windows (new files since V.5, N.7) 6 2 Business for DOS & Windows (new files since V.5, N.6) 6 1 Games for DOS & Windows (new files since V.5, N.5) 5 12 Programming for DOS & Windows (new files since V.5, N.4) 5 11 Communications for DOS & Windows (new files since V.5, N.3) 5 10 Education for DOS & Windows (new files since V.5, N.2) 5 9 Words & Graphics (new files since V.5, N.1) 5 8 Windows Utilities (new files since V.4, N.12) 5 7 Home for DOS & Windows (new files since V.4, N.10) 5 6 Business for DOS & Windows (new files since V.4, N.9) 5 5 Games for DOS & Windows (new files since V.4, N.7) 5 4 Programming for DOS & Windows (new files since V.4, N.6) 5 3 Communications, Networking, Internet for DOS and Windows 5 2 Education (math, science, languages, reading/spelling, gradebook, study aids) 5 1 Words & Graphics (new files since V.4, N.3) & all OS/2 (word processing, drawing programs, clip art, desktop publishing, spelling/grammar checkers, hypertext, fonts, printer utilities, and more.) (OS/2: all OS/2 files since V.4, N.1) 4 12 Utilities For DOS & Windows (new programs since V.4, N.1) 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 3 Words & Graphics (new programs since V.3, N.5) 4 1 Utilities for DOS & Windows and All OS/2 Programs (new programs up to 1/96, since V.3, N.4 CD) 3 11 Business (up to 11/95) 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 (up to 7/95) 3 5 Words & Graphics (up to 5/95) 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. 6 11 Utilities 6 12 Words and Graphics 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 end users. We will implement every possible suggestion which will still allow us to produce the CD in a timely manner and which will not degrade the CD in 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, Inc. P.O.Box 35705 Houston, TX 77235-5705 Voice: 713-610-1432 Fax : 713-523-9803 Email: admin@pslweb.com Web : http://www.pslweb.com