Computer Software Reviews
Copyright (c) 1994, Louis Turbeville
All rights reserved
 
Blue Wave Off-line Mail Reader
Requires: DOS 3.3 or above, Shareware program
Cutting Edge Computing
Registration Fee: $25.00
 
Bulletin Board Systems have many exciting features.  You may check the latest
Shareware/freeware files, play a diversionary on-line game or explore the
robust world of electronic mail. Ideally you would like to do all of the above.
However, without an easy-to-use off-line mail reader you could not possibly
enjoy many of the opportunities and help that the world of e-mail has to offer.
With the growing popularity of message conferences, some with hundreds of
message posts a day, you could not read many of your favorite conferences and
still have time to look at other features of a BBS.
 
To alleviate this problem many boards are using off-line mail utilities that
allow a user to read messages off-line and enjoy other aspects of the board
while freeing up telephone lines quicker.  One of the top mail reader programs
is Blue Wave.  Blue Wave can be used with any BBS mail utility that uses
either the QWK or Blue Wave mail packet format.
 
Blue Wave is very easy for the beginner to use, but has a lot of power
functions for the experienced user and someone who wants to get the most out of
a program as possible.  A few or its many functions include:
 
- An address book - to keep the name of people you write to most often
- DOS Shell
- The ability to run batch files
- The ability to post the same message in many conference with one keystroke
- Delete messages from your mail packet
- Reply to messages with one quick keystroke
- It automatically quotes the original message when you enter a reply
- Delete, Edit or View replies that you have already saved
- Read the BBS opening screens and bulletins (if your BBS has the capability)
- View and request new files from your BBS (if your BBS has the capability)
- Scan for personnal mail
- Sort the display order for messages in your mail packet.
 
With all of these capabilities, Blue Wave is still one of the easiest mail
reader programs to learn and use.  If you do a lot of electronic mail and
messages through your local BBS then you owe it to yourself to check this
program out.

