
        

                         ABOUT THE AUTHOR -  JIM HOOD 

        

       I am commercial photographer by training and a computer hobbyist 
       by preference. An odd combination of skills, but technology has 
       always been a fascination. I live about 3 miles from Seattle, 
       Washington on Mercer Island, a city of about 24,000 people in 
       the middle of Lake Washington. 

       As former coordinator for the Mercer Island Computer Club, I 
       divide my time between computer related hobby activities and the 
       operation of Seattle Scientific Photography which produces 35mm 
       lecture/presentation slides for a variety of commercial clients. 

       Many authors and vendors wonder how I collect such a large 
       amount of newsletter and mailing address information. The 
       Seattle area where I live is home to major software companies 
       such as Quicksoft (Bob Wallace/PC Write) Buttonware (Jim 
       Button/PC File), Microsoft, Aldus, Microrim and many others. We 
       have a large BBS network, rich computer club focus and busy 
       programming scene. Various lists and leads thus pop into focus 
       frequently and it makes sense to me as a shareware author to 
       collect and use this information in mailing my shareware to 
       various distributors and large computer clubs. 
       
       However, the more I thought about how valuable such mailing list 
       and shareware industry news is, it seems a little selfish not to 
       distribute this information which, in some ways, is more vital 
       to your financial success than the source code of your program! 
     
       I attended the University of Sophia in Tokyo, Japan and Seattle 
       University in Seattle. I have taught classes at the University 
       of Washington Experimental College. My first shareware program, 
       PC-LEARN absorbed approximately 950 hours of programming, 
       editing and research time. Your honesty in submitting a 
       registration fee for using PC-LEARN or THE $HAREWARE MARKETING 
       $YSTEM is appreciated. To your success! 

       Following are descriptions of the shareware packages I have 
       published.
            
       PC-LEARN is carried by most major disk vendors, even the HIGHLY 
       selective Software Excitement Group of Oregon which mails out 
       over 8,000,000 shareware catalogs annually! Selected a 
       recommended beginner's choice by 21 computer clubs and has been 
       featured in two national computer magazines. PC-Learn is a 
       computer training system for beginners which includes chapters 
       on buying and using a computer, an entertaining history of 
       computers, DOS lessons, hard disk drives, tech tips how to use 
       shareware tutorial and virus protection. It also includes 
       information on word processing, a suggested reading list, 
       software selection, mailing list of computer clubs, batch files, 
       spreadsheets, databases, and even a glossary! PC-LEARN features 
       high speed color or monochrome menus, tutorial printing, 
       information searching capabilities and more! 
       
       The SSP Directory of Computer Clubs. Every computer owner, from 
       novice to advanced, can use this comprehensive directory of over 
       1,000 computer clubs and users groups to locate and benefit from 
       the vast offerings which computer clubs and users groups offer. 
       Edited by a former computer club coordinator, the SSP Directory 
       of Computer Clubs is a comprehensive listing of major computer 
       clubs and users groups which focus on the MSDOS and PCDOS family 
       of personal computers. Includes a mailing list of computer clubs 
       plus brief tutorial on the support services, newsletters, 
       monthly meeting agenda and special interest groups of computer 
       clubs. The mailing list and contact directory is provided in 
       both plaintext ASCII which you can read and revise with your 
       word processing software and also in dBase format so you can 
       generate mailing labels or use your database program to 
       effectively search and sort this large resource list. 

       The SHAREWARE USER'S TUTORIAL is a detailed presentation on how 
       to use and enjoy shareware! Topics include: eight easy steps to 
       using shareware FAST, determining what is on a disk, how to run 
       a program, how to unpack and unarchive, commonly asked 
       questions, a short DOS review course, shortcuts, using filenames 
       and extensions, locating documentation on disk. Even includes a 
       short pop quiz to test your "shareware survival skills!" Chapter 
       titles of this excellent tutorial are as follows: What is 
       shareware, public domain, freeware and commercial software? 
       Eight easy steps to using shareware FAST! Minimum DOS commands 
       for using shareware. Copying the master disk. The directory 
       listing of a shareware disk. File names and extensions - the 
       keys to the kingdom. A turbocharged shortcut! Finding, reading 
       and understanding documentation within a file. Unpacking and 
       installing, including ARCS, ZIPS, LZH and more! Configuring the 
       program if necessary. Running the program. Feedback: either 
       register or send your regrets! Common questions and answers. 
       Recommended reading list for shareware users and authors. 
       Shareware vendors should consider adding this to their catalog 
       as a reprint or at least sending this file with every order to 
       customers!  

       The $HAREWARE MARKETING $YSTEM received the Public Brand 
       Software Trophy award in 1991 and 1992. It is a top seller at 
       over 800 vendors. It is a quarterly updated marketing newsletter 
       and complete mailing list of over 4,200 major shareware disk 
       distributors, large computer clubs, key magazine editors, 
       recommended BBS systems and more! Software programmers, disk 
       vendors, agents and authors can use the detailed mailing list to 
       mail software in an effective, highly successful manner. Also 
       contains a massive marketing newsletter which has been prepared 
       by an established shareware author and contains dozens of 
       creative tips, tricks and traps every author and disk vendor 
       should review. The database file mailing list is rated so you 
       can mail shareware to key vendors ranked A, B or C. The database 
       file is supplied in dBase III (DBF) file format. Program does 
       NOT require color or special graphics. Requires database program 
       such as PC-File, dBase or any database which can import dBase 
       III format (DBF) files. Hard drive suggested. Single issue 
       registration available as well as subscriptions - 4 quarterly 
       issues per year. 
  

       

