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VOLUME 6, NUMBER 11
NOVEMBER 1995
DEPARTMENTS
4 readme.txt
6 Newswire
53 AskTess
58 TheA-List
66 Netted Boards
72 Classified Ads
74 Bookshelf
76 Online Update
FEATURES
10 open for Business
Making Your BBS pay
by John Hedtke
16 At Your Service
APOrs BBS Service Bureau
COLUMNS
22 Take My Web Site, Pieasel
Webwise by Dave Kramer
24 Are Your Windows Open?
Techiwraves
by Lazlow Jones
Hunt 95
The Big Boards
by Terry Rossi
bbs.notebook
26
30
by Steve Janas
34 Sharewaring
by Maria Langer
40 Do You Speak Commodore
Commodore Connections
by Gaelyne R. Moranec
46 GetRiP-ed!
Macintosh Online
by Michael A. Kuykendall
50 Hot Files
by Hank Hurteau
54 ZyXEL Fires Back
Modems by Modem Mage
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MftGAZINE
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Web Site and the SWC dial-
up BBS are integrated by
the TCP/IP network and a
Novell IPX/SPX network,
essentially allowing the two
systems to share download-
able files.
There's also bulletins,
an online store "Door"
(actually something called
3 WAIVI, or Web BBS Add-on
Module), rudimentary chat,
and a time bank — the site
requires users to log
In and tracks time
used.
Linton says real-
time chat will be
implemented soon,
and done so in a
fashion different
from what we've
seen thus far. Linton
also said he has
plans io sell
upgrades to Web
BBS. but that sysops will
receive the early version
free. Price of the upgrade?
Under $100.
Searching is very BBS-
like as well. Users can scan
through all file names and
descriptions in a few blinks.
SWC is offering full
access to its Web BBS with
monthly and annual rates
from $85 for three hours a
day for a year to one month
at one hour a day lor S4. 95.
Sign-ups can be taken from
the Web, too, with quick
credit card verification.
Current dial-up mem-
bers can transfer their
accounts to the Web BBS,
othenwise they have to sign
up as a newcomer.
Check out the pages at
http://www.swcbbs.com, or
call SWC direct (voice) at
508.368.3654.
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
your desktop and waits. When a user
dials the Net via SLIP, PPP or ISDN
and attempts (or accidentally) hits a
Web/FTP/Gopher site or newsgroup
SurfWatch deems to have explicit
material (they've programmed in over
1 ,000), a pop-up screen warns the site
has been blocked.
But what about sites created since
your version of the software? That's
where the SurfWatch Subscription
Ser\'ice comes in, automatically provid-
ing updates to your database of blocked
sites ($3.95 a month). For further
blocking, custom site databases arc
available so password-holders can
include their own list specific prefer-
ences to block.
Check out SurfWatch's Web site at
http://www.surft\'atch.com (where soft-
ware can be purchased), or call
Offline
Cybe^atrol
"TO SURF AND PROTECT-
800.438.6600. Call Venlana
Commimications Group lor retail
reseller orders at 800.743.5369.
Also in the blocking business is
Framingham, MA, Microsystems
Software.
The com-
pany
recently
released
Cyber
Patrol for
Mac and Windows that also blocks
restricted Web, FTP and Gopher sites,
as well as IRC and Usenet.
The Interface is clean and simple to
use, but comes with a bit of a learning
curve, especially for parents \vho have
yet to venture online, or on a computer
at all.
Built into Cyber Patrol is a "Cyber
by John Baynham
NOT List" of researched sites "contain-
ing material parents may find question-
able" according to the company. {The
list is updated weekly and can be auto-
downloaded within the program.)
The list is split into categories and
access can be managed to the file direc-
tory or page level, which means access
can be allowed to approved material at
an IP address and not restricted materi-
al.
The sites on the NOT list were
determined by a team of parents and
teachers, Microsystems said, based on
criteria that include sexuality, racism,
violence, drugs, alcohol and other sub-
jects.
Time of day access can also be set, as
well as the number of hours of use per
week.
Loading at the Windows/Mac start-
up, Cyber Patrol drops into the back-
ground to block access at the Winsock
level.
Parents or employers can choose
categories they wish to block and can
override blocks as they see fit.
Additionally, the password holder can
add sites and desktop programs they
want to block.
Controls included in Cyber Patrol
prevent disabling or renaming blocked
applications. Still, Microsystems
admits, no program is "hacker proof."
Cyber Patrol lists for S49.95, includ-
ing a six-month subscription to the
CyberNOT List. Subsequent six-month
subscriptions sell for $19.95. The home
page can be found at
http://\\'ww.microsys.com/CYBER/
where Cyber Patrol can be purchased
or taken on a test run. Call them voice
at 508.879.9000.
One Well
of a Site!
The eclectic
online com-
munity of
llBSers
known as The WELL, based in
Sausalito, CA, has taken to the Web in
a big way.
With its recently unveiled WELL
Engaged! (a Web-based interface to
The well's conferencing system),
members can point and click their way
NOVEMBER 199E
3BS MAGAZINE
around conferences ranging from
media, art, literature and Generation X
to jazz, parenting and spirituality.
Reading and responding to posts
and email are now done with a simple
dick.
And Personal Library Software's
(PLS) search engine has been integrat-
ed to allow for swift inquiries into The
well's whole conferencing base for
concepts and specific subjects.
"WELL Engaged! has fundamental
advantages over any other Web confer-
encing systems existing today," said
Bruce Katz, CEO of The WELL, in an
August statement. "The organizational
structure of WELL conferences allows
users to selectively track those confer-
ences which interest them and search
those conferences for discussion of par-
ticular interest."
The WELL also offers The Whole
Works Internet Toolkit (included as
part of a $15 PPP registration fee,
where users can dial in from scores of
cities worldwide), a suite of applica-
tions accompanied by a TCP/IP stack
and dialer.
The suite includes the latest version
of Netscape, Eudora for mail, clients
for Telnet, FTP and a Newsgroup read-
er. There's also a Gopher client, but it
accommodates Mac only.
Dip into The Well at
http://ww\v. well.com or call (voice)
415.332.9200 for more information.
Version 2.1 Tops the Banana
Banana Programming has announced
more new features for BananaCom
Custom, the blindingly simple commu-
nication program sysops can have cus-
tomized for their own boards.
It's version 2.1, and now includes a
batch and upload facility, as well as an
improved modem scan function,
according to the company. Now
BananaComm will automatically scan
for the modem and detect its speed
during installation, as well as test for
possible com port conflicts.
"We found 95 percent of our
incoming support calls were because
the user was experiencing some type of
com port conflict," said Banana
Programming's Paul Wheaton, who
said V 2.1 also includes a feature that
will perform an even more thorough
scan of the hardware.
Beyond all that, look for auto Super
Kermit, a good protocol for file trans-
fers across Telnet sessions, and the abil-
ity to view JPEG and text files at once
during download. The new JPEG fea-
ture also lets a BBS show a thumbnail
JPEG in the corner of a full-screen
ANSI graphic — all this is in real-time,
too.
Banana Programming can be
reached at 406.543.1928 (voice) or
406.543.8234 (modem).
Have A Crappy Day
Take a note! And if you hurry you
might be able to get "The Masked
Basher" to send a nasty note to your
"crappy boss".
Huh?
That's right, somebody out there —
a self-proclaimed "corporate dropout"
calling himself The Masked Basher —
has put up The Crappy Bosses Day
Web site to service the tired, the week
and the downtrodden who have come
to that state after dodging the slings
and arrows of a horrible boss.
"I woke up one day and decided that
T had taken
too much
abuse from
my dysfunc-
tional boss.
So, like
thousands of
other people
who leave
big business
every year, I
quit and
formed my own company," said The
Basher, whose company is appropriate-
ly named The Rude and Obnoxious
Press and carries the motto, "Have a
crappy day."
"We're inviting ever)'one in the
world to send their boss's email
address," The Basher said. "Then, on
October 16th, The Rude & Obnoxious
Press will send anonymous email mes-
sages to all the unsuspecting, crappy
bosses out there, just to let them know
they aren't appreciated."
If your so inclined, the crappy-look-
ing site is located at
http://ivww.neosoft.com/~ro_press/ro_
home.htm. iluou
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m
Online Lexicon
@ — When you're talking internet, the @
(at) symbol simply serves as a divider
between the user's ID and the damain
name In the address:
edltor@bbsmagazlne.coiii.
Archie — Use this tool to search Internet
FTP archives around the world. Searches
can be narrowed right down to the file
name.
Batidwidlh — A diminishing resource?
Actually il's more like a measurement of
the top speed your system can send and
receive information over the Internet.
Commercial Online Service —
Sometimes it's hard to leil the difference
anymore, between BBSs and the so-
called online services that Is.
Traditlonaiiy they were Prodigy,
CompuServe, AOL, etc. But now local
BBS sysops have captured large, paying
markets using great software and backed
up with even belter content. So who's
who? You be the judge. It may come
down to service and support.
Freeware —Almost what it sounds like.
Freeware is software you are tree to use,
but not free to manipulate.
GUI — Graphical User interface.
Something that takes the plain old text
sometimes seen on BBSs and adds the
ability to point and click your way around
using a mouse. It usually means color,
graphics and, for many, simplicity.
Newhle — When you read it here it's not
derogatory. We just mean "newcomer".
Snail Mall — That which came before
email. If you're sending a letter to Aunt
Martha through the U.S. Postal Sen/ice,
it's riding snail mail.
Zip — When you're asked to "Zip" a file,
you'll want to compress It using a pro-
gram called PKZip. This'il take that big
program or file and squeeze It down to a
more manageable size. Let's say this
LEXiC0N.DOC file was 100,000 bytes in
size. If I "Zipped" it the file might end up
50,000 bytes or less and be renamed,
say, LEXiCON.ZIP.
NOVEMBER 1935 BBS MAGAZINE
10
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
pen for
Business!
Now that you've got a BBS,
how do you make it pay?
My article in the preceding issue addressed how to set up a bul-
letin hoard service with the least effort. This time Vm going to
show you ways you can use your BBS to make a little money.
by John Hedtke
Part 2 of 2
T
here are two basic ways to make money with a BBS: you
can either sell memberships and services on the board
(treating the BBS as a business itself) or you can use the BBS
as part of another business (to advertise, take orders, and pro-
vide customer support and information). Both paths offer a
Continues..
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE 11
chance to spend vast amounts of time
and money... and also the possibility of
making huge profits.
Treating the BBS as a Business
Probably the most popular fantasy of
new sysops is that of setting up a large,
multiline BBS with chatting, forums,
huge message boards, files, games, and
Internet access. Subsequently, the sysop
will assuredly reap vast profits, \vork at
home 20 hours a week, and become
famous in the BBS world.
All this is truly possible, but is it
going to be practical? My previous arti-
cle talked about setting up a BBS like
this, but now let's look at some of the
economic details.
Let's say you're going to set up an
eight-line BBS. Typical costs and con-
figurations are as follows:
Item: 486-66 w/16 MB RAJVI, 2 1-giga-
byte hard disks, 4X CD-ROM, tape
drive, DigiBoard
Cost: S3,000
Item: 8- 14.4k modems @ SlOO each
Cost: $800 (More for 28.8s, of course)
Item: Business phone lines
(installation)
Cost: $200 to $500
Item: Business phone lines
(monthly service)
Cost: S200-.$500
Item: BBS software
Cost: SO-S400
Item: CDs, files, backup tapes
Cost: $400
Total startup and first-month costs —
$4,600-55,600
As you can see, you'll need between
$4,600 and $5,600 just to get started,
(unless you've got lesser ambitions or
already have some equipment; see
below) and perhaps between 52,000
and S6,000 for your telephone expens-
es. Don't assume you're going to make
money immediately, either. Prudent
businesses have operating capital in the
bank for their first year's expenses.
To set the prices for memberships,
you need to figure out what your
expenses are, then estimate the number
of people likely to buy memberships
over a year, and divide.
If your first-year expenses are
1 2 •
$8,000, you'll need to sell 200 annual
memberships at $40 just to break even.
That's a lot of memberships — figure
that you'll sell one membership for
every five people who try the board
(you'll need a free trial membership for
people, too).
TIP: insurance is a good idea. If you're set up
in a spare room of your house, your house-
hold policy may not cover the BBS because
it's a business asset.
But wait, there's less! You're going
to need to do some kind of advertising,
whether it's taking out ads in national
BBS magazines or local newsletters.
And it would be nice to make some
sort of profit on all of this, too. So your
membership prices \vill have to reflect
these costs as well.
Can you do all of this cheaper? Of
course you can! You may already have
a computer and modems you can press
into sendee, phone service might be
cheap in your area, and you maybe
able to provide some of your start-up
costs with pre-sok! memberships at a
discount. But remember there are fixed
costs that must be dealt with: the phone
bills will come in no matter how many
people are calling you.
Selling It
What will actually sell memberships
varies. As you can see from ads in the
BBS magazines, there are all sorts of
profitable BBSs. In general, selling a mix
of chatting, conferences, files, and
online games is a good place to start.
Adult files and chatting sell well but may
cause legal or BBS policy issues. BBS
networks for messages and mail are fair-
ly standard for larger BBSs, and Internet
access (usually for an additional mem-
bership Ice) is increasingly connnon.
NOTE: The costs and technical expertise nec-
essary for providing Internet access vary
enormously. Unless you're familiar with the
Internet, you may want to skip offering
Internet access until your BBS Is up and run-
ning as a profitable enterprise.
Finally, a litde market research before
you begin can pay off handsomely.
Almost all of your memberships will
come from the local calling area. If
there are already a number of boards
established that provide first-rate file
downloads, you may have a much easi-
er time building a BBS membership
that looks to your BBS for messages
and networking. It may be much easier
for you to define your own market
niche and fill it than to go head-to-
head with other established BBSs.
Business and Corporate BBSs
The preceding section discussed how to
make money with BBSs as a business
themselves. This section shows you
how to use a BBS to make money as an
adjunct to a business. Corporate BBSs
can directly advertise products, display
price lists, disseminate public informa-
tion, and act as ser\'ice representatives.
Corporate BBSs can also perform tasks
inside a company, including acting as a
messenger service and transferring files
and other information.
Some of the ways you can use BBSs
in a business environment include:
• Customer support
• Exchanging information
• Recruiting
• Mail and message systems
• Forums and sharing ideas
• Telecommuting
• Direct sales
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
Although you'll see BBSs in most
high-tech companies these days, these
applications can benefit large offices in
any industry.
Customer Support
The most common use for BBSs in
high-tech industries is for customer
support. A business BBS can act as a
24-hour ser\'ice representative, giving
customers technical support and instal-
lation instructions, providing cus-
tomers with suggestions on ways to use
products better, and taking customer
complaints and suggestions. You can
also use the BBS to do\v'nload add-on
programs, updated drivers, and patches
to software.
Support BBSs can handle frequently
asked questions, A well-written answer
to a question can be read by dozens or
even hundreds of BBS users, preventing
many extra phone calls to the support
department. Users who have invented
novel methods of solving problems will
frequently tell other people how they
did it. As a result, many support ques-
tions posted on the BBS can be
answered by other BBS users.
Exchanging Information
Businesses often use BBSs as a central
source of information. For example,
one major company installed a BBS for
sharing general information and
announcements with all its divisions,
and for transmitting files and spread-
sheets bet^veen divisions. Using the
BBS cut the time people spent making
long-distance calls each day from four
hours to ten minutes.
Recruiting
BBSs are excellent recruiting tools. You
can post job openings and descriptions
on a BBS. Prospective candidates can
fill out a questionnaire or send a mes-
sage expressing interest in a particular
job.
Mail and IVIessage Systems
BBSs are faster than courier services,
and you have the added advantage of
being able to receive a tile, change it,
and return it, all within a few minutes.
Many companies use BBSs to upload
and download contracts and related
files during negotiations when the par-
ticipants are away from the main office.
Forums and Sharing ideas
The advantage of a BBS over a network
email system is that everyone can see a
forum on a BBS, but not everyone has
to participate. In other words, the BBS
is acting very much like a regular cork
bulletin board on the wall near the cof-
fee pot. Posting a discussion on a BBS
allows both active and passive partici-
pation, and you can see how the discus-
sion has progressed simply by reading
the preceding messages.
Telecommuting
Telecommuting is working at home
and using a BBS to send and receive
projects and assignments. A wide vari-
ety of people, including architects,
\vord processors, programmers, clerks,
documentation specialists, auditors,
real estate appraisers, editors, and actu-
aries, hold jobs related to the manipu-
lation and transfer of information. The
people who hold these jobs can benefit
from telecommuting, and the greater
flexibility offered to employees
improves both productivity and
morale.
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MA6AZIHE
Direct Sales
A BBS can be a 24-hour salesperson.
Customers can dial in at any time, look
at online catalogs of merchandise (and
even do\\'nload pictures of products),
and place orders with credit cards or
pre-approved accounts. The BBS gives
you a competitive advantage by accom-
modating customers (particularly long-
distance customers) who might nor-
mally have a hard time reaching you
during regular business hours.
Ways to Use BBSs in Business
Applications for BBSs in business are
limited only by your imagination.
Here are some ways you can use
BBSs in business settings.
Hospitals and Clinics; Many hospitals
and clinics have set up BBSs on which a
patient can phone in and "talk" to a
consulting nurse about general medical
questions. These can provide a good
source of basic information for people
who don't have a regular doctor or who
need to ask a question late at night.
Hotels and Resorts: The BBS can act as
an online resen'ation desk. For ski or
fishing resorts, you can also use the
BBS to post weather, fishing, or sports
information.
Advertising: You can also sell ads (usu-
ally posted as bulletins) to local busi-
nesses that rent equipment or provide
services.
Insurance Agents: BBSs can be a boon
to insurance agents. The user can log in
and enter any of a selected series of
questionnaires that will then let the
agent provide rapid quotes for insur-
ance. With a little more effort, you can
provide actuarial and financial projec-
tion programs that will let customers
determine many of their insurance
needs on their own.
Lawyers: A BBS lets clients see how
things are developing and leave mes-
sages for their lawyer. Even if a lawyer
is not available, the client can leave
detailed questions, something that is
not usually practical to do with an
answering service. The lawyer can then
review the client's question, compose
an answer, and put it on the BBS for
the client to examine later. Lawyers and
clients can also post messages in a
1 3
forum. This provides a complete case
history and supports participants in a.
case who cannot meet regularly.
Publishers and Typesetters: Most pub-
lishing houses and printers use BBSs to
transfer files. BBSs are a fast, inexpen-
sive alternative to express mailing man-
uscripts and diskettes. A BBS can also
solve computer incompatibilities — if
the files were prepared on a Windows
or DOS computer, they can be
uploaded to a BBS and then down-
loaded on a Macintosh.
Radio Stations: BBSs at radio stations
use boards as a listener forum, solicit-
ing real-time comments about the
music, requests, and general input, just
like a listener hot line. In addition, the
BBS can also be used to announce
upcoming musical events sponsored by
the station, including concert dates,
times, and ticket information. The BBS
can also have song lists for specific
shows available for downloading.
Real-Estate Agencies: For a real-estate
agent, same-day or even same-hour
information is the difference between
making a sale and hearing about it.
Many agents maintain private BBSs for
clients listing the available properties
and prices, \vith access for a small fee
for interested home buyers. The main
advantage to using a BBS in this indus-
try is speed of communications. A
choice property can be listed, shown,
and sold in the time it takes for a letter
to get from the real-estate agent's office
to a potential client. By listing property
information on the BBS as it becomes
available, clients can find out about a
property within a few hours of its
becoming available.
Stockbrokers: One stockbroker I know
installed a BBS as a free service to cur-
rent and potential clients. The BBS
contains general information about the
stock market in downloadable text files
on topics such as over-the-counter
stocks, IRA accounts, and recent devel-
opments in state and federal legislation.
The BBS also has a library with infor-
mation about new books about the
stock market. In addition, there is an
online glossary of terms used in the
business. Clients can request brokers to
track a specific stock by setting up a file
on the BBS. The brokers then enter the
stock's daily closing price.
BBS users can also utilize the BBS to
set up brokerage accounts. Clients can
also upload and download orders, files
containing company analyses, spread-
sheets, and statistical information. By
relegating some of the more routine
requests for information to the BBS,
the broker can service a larger number
of customers effectively.
Unions: Union locals are using BBSs to
keep the local's members informed on
union news. It can also serve as a forum
for straw polls and disseminating gen-
eral information. During labor negotia-
tions, getting timely information out to
union members can be critical.
Wholesalers and Direct-sales
Organizations: A BBS can keep the
company's field staff informed ot the
latest developments. In many businesses
involving direct sales, such as the
wholesale food industry, prices and
inventory change constantly. Many
companies have used BBSs as a way to
let dealers and field representatives
receive the latest price sheets. Sales
orders can also be entered quickly by
tailoring a questionnaire to ask tor the
appropriate sales information. With this
system, a food sales representative can
phone the company headquarters from
a client's office on an 800-line check the
current price and availability of an item,
use this information to close the sale,
and then enter the sales information
necessary to reserve the items in inven-
tory and start processing the order.
The Wrap-Up
Running a BBS for profit is not a casual
thing: for-profit BBSs require a fair
cash outlay and a substantial continu-
ing outlay of time and money.
Nonetheless, you can make a decent
profit and work at home besides. The
most successful BBSs have several
dozen lines and offer a big range of ser-
vices. But always remember that if you
want to make money with a BBS, you
need to treat the BBS as a business, not
a hobby. You should enjoy what you're
doing, but it's still going to be work.
NOTE: a BBS is not always the best solution
lor distributing inforinatlGn. Sometimes a
paper routing system or an occasional con-
ference call between offices will work better
and more cheaply. It your only solution is a
hammer, pretty soon every problem will start
looking like a nail.
Business BBSs do best at distributing
information that changes frequently
and that must go to a number of people
separated from the source of the infor-
mation and each other. Make sure that
the BBS's intended users understand
how to use it by teaching classes in
basic telecommunications or writing a
simple set of procedures. Then enlist as
many helpers in remote offices as you
can. Appoint someone in each office as
a BBS resource to answer questions for
other users who may be having
problems.
All in all, making money with a BBS
is challenging, but it can be rewarding.
Take time to plan and don't overextend
your resources, and you should be able
to do okay, mumii
John V. Hedtke is a cohtmnist and the
award-winning author of 12 books,
incUidiiig the 3rd edition of Using
Computer BidJetin Boards, Peachtree,
Accounting for Windows Made Easy,
and The Whidows Sliareware 500. He
can be reached at johnliedtke@aol.coni or
jhedtke@oz.net. John lives in Seattle.
Copyright 1 9yj by John V. Hedtke, fortiniis nseii by per-
inmiflil of MIS: Prc<<, il dsvisian of Hairy Hall c- Co.
14
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
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s
'o you think you've identified the perfect
application for an onUne system. You see it as
one that will either save your company
thousands of dollars or create sources of
revenue not previously possible. The idea is
solid. Now, how to make it reality?
To begin you have to find the appropriate
hardware and software, (as discussed
elsewhere in this issue and issue 9/95), then
there is sometimes the learning curve related
to customizing the BBS features to meet your
needs. And what about multiple
communication lines, modems, Internet
access, usage tracking, security issues, legal
issues, data maintenance, on-going user
support, etc.?
The task can be daunting.
If this scenario sounds familiar, you'll be
pleased to know there are alternatives. And
one of those is a BBS service bureau.
I'^m
mm
i.
Continues
vhardware that makes APDI work.
16
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZIh
«
i
mm
^sv^'iiiKHiriiifiiinim
I*-''
r"<=f-
1
17
BBS service bureau?
BBS service bureaus exist primarily to relieve you, the BBS
operator or sponsor, from the task of learning technical details
related to implementing and operating an online system. The
bureau will often assist in the system design and then imple-
ment the online service in their specialized facilities, supplying
all of the computer hardware, software and communication
facilities. This leaves you, the client, free to concentrate on
maintaining the system's data and promoting usage of the
board.
One of the major service bureaus of this kind (if not the
major one) is Application Programming & Development, Inc.
(APDl).
Launched in 1990 by a group of technicians who coded an
online system from scratch for the Resolution Trust
Corporation (RTC), APDl now boasts 15 full-time staff and
operates over two dozen online systems for some of the
nation's bigger organizations. Current capacity at APDI's
Service Center, which is located just outside of Washington,
D.C., exceeds 500 simultaneous connections handling thou-
sands of callers per day.
APDl was started primarily as a programming shop, but
has evolved to concentrate on operating BBSs for those who
don't want to get their hands dirty from the nitty-gritty of
running a system.
According to APDl President Mark Burnett, "Over the past
several years wc have seen so many organizations spend thou-
sands of dollars on BBS hardware and software which are cur-
rendy sitting idle because clients mistakenly thought that BBSs
were simple to set up and easy to maintain."
For the absolute beginner that can be true; however, many
BBS software companies are addressing this issue head-on
with simple install procedures to get a board up and running
in short order. Still, there's the issue of maintenance and hard-
ware and future modification — all of which APDl accommo-
dates. And while APDl will go to a customer's site to install a
BBS, their main business is implementing online systems at
their own service facility.
Beyond Hardware and Software
First and foremost, according to APDi, the company impress-
es on prospects that a successful online system is far more
than simply hardware and software.
"In fact," says Director of Business Development Lee
Hevner, "these elements represent only a small portion of the
total cost of a successful online system. It is our job to make
sure the client recognizes all of the other related costs."
With all clients, APDl first works through a process of sys-
tem design and analysis. Starting with a clear statement of
goals, a detailed questionnaire is completed which defines all
elements of the system. Such issues as user interface, commu-
nication options, data formats, menu structures, security
requirements, and reporting rcquironicnls are addressed.
"The up front design effort cannot be skipped" according
to Hevner. "This process separates fantasy from reality and
leads us to a detailed design document which provides a clear
understanding of the service to be provided. It forms the basis
of a contract between APDI and our customer."
APDl Pfesidenl Mark Burnett (center) shares a joke with Jim Harrer (yellow
shirt), president of Mustang Software, and Galacticomm President Scott
Brinker, at the company's booth at BBSCON. APDl usesGalacticomm's
Worldgroup software and Mustang's Wildcat! product to run its clients' BBSs.
Finding the right fit
BBS software is changing and improving at a dizzying pace,
and APDI says it retains the flexibility of recommending the
best software available for a client's requirements. (As new
products and revised versions enter the market, APDI road-
tests and offers them as an option to clients.)
Whenever possible the company recommends off-the-shelf
software.
In fact, most systems currently operated by APDI use either
Galacticomm's Worldgroup software or Mustang Software's
Wildcat! product. And if an off-the-shelf package will not do
the job, APDI's programmers can develop a customized sys-
tem to meet the requirements.
"We only offer to utilize BBS software which is 100 percent
rock solid," said Burnett. "After all, as a service bureau, it is up
to us to support the users of these products."
Currently APDI is a strategic business partner of
Galacticomm and one of only three Certified Mustang
Software Integrators for Wildcat! soffivare.
APDI offers its clients a wide range of user connect options
Each online system operated by APDI has its own unique look and capabilities.
i
18
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
as well. Among these are regular dial-up lines, 800 number
connects, Telnet, and X.25 packet switching connects (allow-
ing local calls from throughout the U.S. and many interna-
tional locations).
All communication lines enter the service facilit)' via fiber
optics, and APDl has recently entered a strategic relationship
with Bell Atlantic to offer full ISDN connection capability.
Clients can m'\x and match any of these connection types
for their system (e.g. three dial-up lines, two Telnet connects,
and two ISDN connects). And additional lines can be added at
any time system activity demands. Online systems operated by
APDI can also be accessed directly from the World Wide Web.
"This flexibility of connection quantity and type is extremely
difficult to duplicate by organizations attempting an in-house
installation. It is a major factor in our clients deciding to out-
source their system to us," according to Burnett.
After identifying the appropriate hardware, software and
communication elements, APDI technicians customize the
system to provide the capabilities as specified by the client,
including presenting a unique "look-and-feel." Users of the
online service can have no indication the system is running
anywhere other than in the client's offices. APDI even answers
tech support calls from system users generically.
Like APDI's design process, the implementation process
also follows a defined methodology. Well-defined perfor-
mance criteria must be met before a system is released to the
user population. The startup process includes alpha testing
and beta testing, during which the kinks are worked out of the
system and feedback from beta users is solicited.
In the startup period, the service bureau supplies clients
assistance that goes beyond just the technical aspects. The
company says it advises on all phases of the system, including
data collection and presentation, legal issues, virus protection
and the creation of marketing materials and user help packets.
"Over the years we have seen hundreds of ideas and imple-
mented dozens of online systems. We have seen systems suc-
ceed and we have seen them fail. We have a good feel for what
works and what doesn't," said Burnett. "We want our clients'
systems to be successful ever)' bit as much as they do . , .. And,
quite honestly, we don't accept all of the business which is
offered to us. We will not implement a system which is not sup-
ported by a sound business plan and thus has ver>' little chance
for success. That would be a waste of our time and their money.
APDI is only successful if the systems we run are successful."
Operation and maintenance
Okay, the BBS is implemented to the customer's specifications
and users are connecting. Time to relax, right? Not exactly.
Says APDI, this is where the real advantages of using a ser-
vice bureau kick in.
For instance, APDI commits many resources to maintain-
ing and operating released systems. Data is backed up daily
and technology is constantly being refreshed. But perhaps
most important during the operation phase of a system is
what APDI points to as its Help Desk. Since even the best
online service is completely useless if callers cannot connect to
it, the company provides all systems with a professionally
staffed Help Desk capability from 9 a.m. to midnight week-
days (24-hour/seven days a week coverage is also available) to
■ ■ ■ ■ NOVEMBER 1995 BBS
"APDI is only successful If the systems we pun are
successful." — Mark Burnett, APDI
assist callers in connecting to their system. If a user of any
board has a problem connecting, they call APDI, not the spon-
soring organization., and receive step-by-step instruction.
According to Hevner, "Second only to the quality of the
online data, no single element is more important to the suc-
cess of an online system than continuous support of the user.
And support at the level provided by APDI is prohibitively
expensive for an organization to provide in-house. This is
another reason organizations choose to out-source the opera-
tion of their on-line systems to APDI."
The service center
A mistaken impression exists out there today that BBSs are run
solely out of basements, garages or the wiring cabinet. Though
many are, the reality is that professional business systems often
require a state-of-the-art environment. APDI has built its
Service Center in an attempt to provide this environment.
"We operate mission critical online applications for some of
the largest organizations in the country. These online systems
are essential to daily business," said Burnett. "Unscheduled
downtime is not acceptable to most of our customers."
To achieve the best opportunity for continuous operations,
all systems operated at APDI run on completely redundant
hardware and mirrored data servers. Any glitch encountered
by a server immediately kicks in a second server without inter-
ruption. In addition, all systems are connected to industrial
strength UPSes which maintain power for a minimum of two
hours in the event of total power failure. Even this capability is
redundant, however, as APDI has its own natural gas powered
generator which supplies juice for an indefinite period of time.
Is it for you?
BBS service bureaus can be used by anyone from entrepre-
neurs to the largest organizations in the country.
Continues,.
The APDI Help Desk on the job.
MAGAZINE
19
Sje Jivofavivat, APDI treasurer, and Lee Hevner, director of marketing, withi
several products from companies utilizing APDI's services.
"Dating services, lotto online and purely entertainment
boards would do best to look elsewhere," according to Hevner,
"We target professional business applications, and among our
most successful vertical markets are publishers, associations,
financial service organizations and corporations. Each of these
market segments have applications where cost justification and
opportunities for new revenue streams abound."
An emerging market for APDI ser%'ices exists in the form of
back-end processing for CD-ROMS. Publishers and informa-
tion providers who distribute information periodically (e.g.
monthly) via CD are supplementing their product with a fea-
ture programmed into the CD that automatically dials an
online system at APDI to download daily data. Other CD pro-
ducers are programming "buttons" in their software that allow
users to place orders from the CD automatically, by dialing a
service at APDI which collects ordering and payment data and
then transmits it to vendors for fulfillment. Still others are dis-
tributing millions of free CD-ROMs of all t)'pes that a user can
test drive. If they want the full product they click a button on
the software interface which transmits to a system at APDI
payment information. The bureau then transmits back a key
to unlock the full features of the CD.
"The applications for online systems are tremendous and
businesses are just now starting to understand the power of
these capabilities" said Hevner. "APDI is positioned to pro-
vide customized online systems to meet these needs."
The money factor
APDI charges its clients an initial setup fee for implementa-
tion and customization of each online system. Then there is a
monthly charge based upon the number of simultaneous con-
nects dedicated to the system (APDI's largest client has 300
connects). APDI does not charge based upon system activity,
information downloads or other variable factors.
"We find that professional organizations want a firm num-
ber which they can budget for over)' month, not one that
varies all over the map," states Burnett.
And make no mistake, operating a professional online sys-
tem through APDI is not exactly cheap. Unless an organization
is willing to commit at least S25,000 per year to operate and
maintain the system, then APDI's services are not for them.
20 NOVEMBER 1996
"When put in perspective, however, running a system at
APDI costs far less than hiring (or diverting) one or more
employees in-housc to manage the system. And with APDI an
organization can be assured of a professional system operating
in a professional environment." according to Burnett.
APfJI further offers clients the opportunity to start the sys-
tem at APDI's service bureau and after a period of time bring
it in-house when all is running smoothly.
"So far we have had only one organization take us up on
this offer and they are now trying to figure out how, political-
ly, to move it back" said Burnett. "People just don't realize
what it takes to keep these things running 24 hours a day,
seven da)'s a week."
What about the Web?
"The advent of the popularity of the Internet and the WWW
[World Wide Web] has increased our business several times
over," according to Burnett, who says the Internet and the
WW^V are not replacements for BBSs, but complementary
elements.
As mentioned, all BBSs run at APDI can be accessed via a
Telnet session on the Internet allowing access with little or no
communication charges. A Web home page can "front end"
any of APDI's systems, enhancing the visibility and marketing
of the BBS. In the final analysis, however, professional organi-
zations prefer to conduct secure business and confidential
information exchange within the secure confines of their own
proprietary online system; a system with multiple levels of
security and one which requires a password to enter. In other
\s'ords, a BBS.
And, while some people may find this hard to believe, says
Burnett, sur^^eys which APDI has conducted of potential sys-
tem users show that there are a lot of people out there who do
not use the Net and don't plan to use it in the near future.
"When one of our customers decided to switch access
methods from phone lines to Internet only, they lost half of
their audience. They put the phone line option back in very
quickly," Burnett said. "Most of our clients are ver)' pragmatic
about this. The days when everyone uses the Internet are sev-
eral years off"
Still, APDI's use of the Net is extensive. Systems that oper-
ate this way are seamlessly integrated with the internet in sev-
eral areas. Internet email is a common option which APDI
integrates into client systems. The bureau can also include
access to specialized Internet Newsgroups. And while APDI
can build a system for an organization with full Internet access
capability, most clients do not want to become Internet service
providers. Their purposes for the online system are much
more focused than that, and allowing users to browse the
Internet is not one of those purposes.
Online services are proliferating as more and more of the
population is able to connect. Professional organizations and
businesses are discovering online applications that are easily
cost justifiable, yet the logistics and of implementing a profes-
sional online system are sometimes beyond the current capa-
bihties of many existing MIS departments. For them, the BBS
ser\'ice bureau just might be the solution.
For more information, APDI can be reached at
I-800-785-APDI. ^B
BBS MAGAZINE
Put Your BUSINESS ONLINE ...
E-MAIL - Private and public message areas,
user mail boxes, and file attachments all in
an easy to use word processor style editor.
Users can preview graphic images
from CD-ROM, hard drive or any
other mountable volume.
Send and receive files
while using system
features such as
chat, and e-mail.
■.»i»l lr(c-n-.w8t tHufpakt/
Citizen
Com&dy vsrith lAAalloj3
And it's pr*ttf tvxoij . toa
"i April 3, 1995
Welcome to Cili»a Pokel
j^ifjl Ppwrntnl ■ faiiw .
channel after a few hours; the results of prolonged exposure to
light bulb jokes have not been studied by medical science.
I-ortunately, there's also a batch of links to other humorous
sites to divert you, if you can break the spell.
Like to make fun of corporate America? Who doesn't. Well,
there's no better place to start that The Gallery of Advertising
Parody at http://www.dnai.com/-sharrDw/parody.html. I he punch-
line? Some aren't jokes.
Parody is surely the greatest flattery on the Web. To see vv^hat
i mean visit the What Snooze Page (a sarcastic take off on the
NCSA What's New page) at http://www.digimark.net/mfu/whas-
nooz.htiTiL Among the gems are PGt: ( Pretty Good luilhanasia)
and Top Ten Rejected Wired Magazine Covers. Another parody
site is The Squat (http://thBorv.physics.missouri.edu/~georges/Josh/
squat/), which appeared within weeks of the debut of the soap
opera-ish Web site called The Spot {http://www.thespot.com/).
Spawn of the Net
The Internet has its own indigenous forms of hunwr, and
much of it has been preserved for future generations who don't
have a clue what they're in for. (Heh heh.) For one thing,
there's the international sport of the Net: Barney hating. That
anthropomorphic dinosaur has tlie face that launched a thou-
sand newsgroups — most of them devoted to new and exciting
methods of disembowelling the purple beast.
Now, thanks to the magic of the Web, you can lake Harney
apart yourself Surf to the Barney Fun Page at http://ugwEb.cs.
ualberta,ca/~gerald/barney/, ivhere you can pick a weapon and go
to work! Or, join the lihad to Destroy Barney on the World
Wide Web (http://deeptht.armory.com/~deadslug/Jihad/jihad.html)
and discover the six degrees of separating Bai-ney's head from
his shoulders.
If you can't squeeze enough humorous hate and loathing out
of Barney, it's time to jettee to Australia for a dose of The Bas-
tard Operator from Hell. The fully serialized antics of one loath-
some system administrator are chronicled for your pure chew-
ing satisfaction at http://www.st.nepean.uws.edu.au/stuff/bofh/.
On a more unpredictable note, there's always the Usenet
Oracle. If you're new lo the Internet or just stick to the back
circuits, the Oracle is an all-knowing being that dispenses some
ot the most sage-worthy advice ever devised to anyone who
sends a query via email.
Actually, the Oracle is a humorous force wherein the sender
of a question is suddenly an authority on whatever random
query she or he gets saddled with — at the price of sending a
question. The results are often hilarious, and they're collected
at the Best of the Oracle, located at httpr//paul.spu.edu/~zyistra/
comedy/oracle/index.html on your radio dial. You can also find
Oracle memorabilia at The Usenet Oracle Index, just a short
click away at ht1p://www.pcnet.com/usErs/stenor/oracl8/mdex.html.
'Zines
Finally, there are stacks of humor e-zines on the Web.
Foremost among them is Citizen Poke (http://www.amherst.edu/
-poke/) at Amherst University. Released monthly in Adobe
Acrobat format, past features include 10 Steps to Beating jury
Duty, sexual harassment trading cards, and, for those lazy stu-
dents of pop culture, O.I. Cliff Notes.
Or, perhaps, the Ooze is more your style. Based at
http://www.io,com/-ooze/, the site boasts such articles as From
the Editor's Dmiipsler, Rejected Metaphors for the
Information Superhighway, and Stupidest Mac Shareware
(which includes "Ooze: The Game").
For the more sophisticated palate, there is a somewhat more
disciplined collection of Editorial Humor at
http://virtumall.cam/newsstand/EditorialHumor/main.html.Thesite
boasts sample cartoons to get you interested in the printed
magazine of the same name. As a bonus, subscribers get a pass-
word to access more online booty.
Cap off your tour de farce with the Britcomedy Digest,
which has features and links for fans of "Black Adder," "A Fish
Called Wanda," "AbPab" and "Red Dwarf," to name a few.
Check in at http://cathouse.org/BritishComedy/BD/
And for those with reall)' short attention spans, the one sen-
tence short stories at http://www.cs,mcgill.ca/-lestat/short.html
should suffice. Of course, if you have a reall)' short attention
span, you probably didn't read this far.
Ah, the irony.
Overheard on the 'Net
"I hope life is not a big joke, 'cause 1 don't get it."
lymv Knuiier can be readied nl reehime@omni.vokenct.com.
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
23
lechnoraves
BY LA2LOW JONES
Are Your
^
?
Windows Open^
(It's raining hysteria)
The four ambassadors
slowly enter the steely-
cathedral through the 50-
foot flashing monitor-laden
doors . Smoke billows
before them a 30-foot-wide
computer animated
Windows 95 logo. A deep
bass explosion accompanies
pillars of fire as the logo
speaks.
"You dare disturb the great Goz?"
One steps forth, "Oh great Goz, we
request back control of our
computers."
An ear shattering explosion from a
cannon hurls Win 95 CD-ROMs like
shrapnel piercing the prominent lead-
ers, who now lay on the floor, slain:
The king of neon -colored Wired ville
"Oh |pnt Gai, wn iwpatt back
lafNPi
(the 51st state of the union), the CEO
of McDisney CNNBSBSTV, SKGT-
CIBM leader Steven Spielberg, and Mr.
Start-Me-Up Mick Jagger.
All kinds of doomsday scenarios
were drawn before the release of
Windows 95 this summer. Some
viciously opposed the onslaught of the
upgrade by mighty Microsoft, and
painted the pre-95 release hoopla as
preapocolyptic warnings.
Others have moved backward, to the
safet)' of decade-old operating systems
like Commodore 64s and Vic 20s
(which are Internet compatible, by the
way). One woman even claimed to have
infiltrated Microsoft and exposed a reli-
gious cult that will use Windows to ele-
vate BiU Gates as the one true Messiah.
Every known medium worldwide
has been plastered with comments on
it. Obviously, something much bigger
than an $89 platform upgrade is occur-
ring here.
Following Gates's screaming new-
born, public reaction has been more
interesting than the platform could
ever hope to be. The question is, why
was there so much anti-Microsoft sen-
timent if 80 percent of users were run-
ning the old Windows anyway? These
are the folks who brought us the glow
of the old faithful C:\ prompt. Should
they have stopped there? Well, here are
several responses received after I posted
inquiries about reactions to Win 95:
The 'They're robbing
us blind^ argument
A Microsoft employee recently emailed
me this response:
"I've been here for 4.5 years. When I
joined it was 6,000 employees. . . it's
now 16,000. But remember, IBM is
24
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MABAZINE
200,000. So we're actually kind of
small. IBM makes $52 billion in rev-
enues — $10 billion in cash in the
bank, AT&T over $70 billion in rev-
enues, HP $10 billion in revenues,
Apple $8 billion in revenues, then let's
not forget all the Japanese companies
— Sega, Nintendo, Fujitsu, etc. etc. etc.
Microsoft is only $5 billion in revenue
with $5 bUlion in the bank."
Response: So that's why Bill Gates
didn't have change for the soda
machine in that Coke commercial? Is
he broke? Are Coke and Microsoft
going to merge and change that damn
"I'd like to buy the world a Coke" jingle
to "I'd like to buy the world Windows
95, and multitask in harmony?"
The 'Windows 95 is the
same as Mac" argument
Comic strip artist Henry Payne depict-
ed Bill Gates sketching the Win 95 logo
using an Apple as a model. Macintosh
interface designer Bruce Tognazzini
recently said that the new platforms are
still duplicating the original cigarette
burns in the original Mac platform.
Others feel the same:
"Yeah, I've seen Winblows95 (sic)
too, and wasn't impressed with techno-
logical 'innovations' that were on the
Mac ten years ago. Are you really
impressed with Microlimp including
Centipede as part of Lose95 (sic), a
weak videogame also ten years old?"
— SGSardi
Response: Um, it beats solitaire,
Tlie 'Bill Gates is out
to ruin me' argument
"Mr. Gates considers people vvho
report problems with his software to be
personally attacking him. He uses his
power and money to stomp people into
the ground,
"During family medical emergency
on August 21, 1991, Microsoft attempts
to have me committed during after
(sic) arrest fails when I pass test. I'm
now having my cognitive differences
used in an attempt to make me look
insane. The cops assaulted me very
badly and mocked me about Bill Gates
and Microsoft. Both my children wit-
nessed this and were traumatized by it.
"Microsoft is crawling with cult peo-
ple. Rick (Microsoft employee) was a
New Age Christian. Like most of his
type he began talking about Revelations
in the Bible. Then he started in with
this stuff about Bill Gates being the
Messiah. Though his words kept saying
he was going to rid me of this demon
he perceived in me, he was definitely
attempting to assault me."
— Joan Grove, Seattle WA
Response: Please, please, take the med-
ication. (To see more of her grievances,
head to http://www.halcyon.com/
redrose/joan.html).
The 'Ifs a memoiy hog" argument
"I have windoze (sic) 3.1 on my system
because it shipped with my computer,
and as far as I am concerned it is a
memory gobbling hog. I use it very lit-
tle. As far as windoze 95 goes, that is
one piece of software that will never
reside in my system. Just to show you
how serious I am, I have in my hot little
hand a slackware version oflinux... it
will be installed later on this week as
the rest of the brainwashed public
installs the microscum (sic) messiah.
"I'm so sick of all the h>'pe and I can
only hope that there is a collective crash
of systems on Thursday night as alt
these lamebrains try to install that
hacked piece of code."
— Cassis in NY
Response: That collective crash was
cash registers. Sell your computer and
buy some stock.
'I won't never use Windows 95,
not if it was the last OS on earth.
(rdusemyVic-2Sf!r^).'
— Casale in Philadelphia
Response: See if you can get a grammar
checker for that Vic-20.
Tbe'lBMOSyZWaipplatfonn
doeitts same tpg" argument
"I've been using OS/2 for the past three
years. WinBloze (sic) 95 ain't nothing
new or exciting for me!!! I've got the
features already!!!"
— macwarp
Re^wnse: This is beginning to soimd
liJ^e the VHS/BETA wars of the early 80s.
The 'huh' argument
"Color me square, but who's Bill
Gates?"
— Susan in Missouri
Response: 10: print "wake up" 20: goto
10.
The 'Windows is for stupid people
who can't figure out computers'
argument
when MSN was unveiled overseas, one
person coined it "the McDonaldization
of the on-line world." In the same vein,
core Internet users scoffed at the flood
of AOIers hitting the Net, labeling them
as newbies and asserting that stupid
people are trying to figure out
computers.
Response: Stupid people have figured
out computers. Run for your Ufe.
,^ Start I
Windows is an operating system
that cost hundreds of millions of dol-
lars to develop, over 1,000 people to
write and is comprised of 11 million
lines of code. It seems the question is,
"What do people want in an operating
system? No nonsense ease of use?"
Windows 3.x delivered that, somewhat.
What is the perfect operating sys-
tem? Is it Windows 95? Will Bill Gates
buy us all a Coke? Is there a secret reli-
gious cult inside Microsoft? Can I go to
confession from my laptop?
These reactions are amusing,
indeed, and in many cases extreme. It's
interesting to note that most email was
critical and the positive feedback
scarce. This may be what I call the
"pizza delivery" phenomenon which I
experienced in my teen-age days of
slinging pies.
On occasion a customer would call,
bellowing complaints and insults at the
store manager, grumbling that they
weren't given the perfect pizza. No one
ever phoned overwhelmed in culinary
delight. Instead, they voted with their
dollars by calling back in the future
when they were ready to have their
junk food intake upgraded. ^^
Sling Win 95 complaints and other stuff
at Lazlow at lazlow@tmdernet.com
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
25
Ilie Big Boards
BY TERRY ROSSI
Hunt 95
The quest begins for Windows tools and toys
Along with a million others, I rushed to the computer store
within four days of Windows 95 being released — S89 in
hand. I read the printed manual, or at least the title page, and
dove right into upgrading my new laptop to the touted wave
of the future in operating systems.
For those who haven't guessed from my previous columns,
I have to admit I purchase and run almost every O/S you can
stick on a PC. 1 have Windows, Windo^vs for Workgroups,
Windows NT, OS/2 and FreeBSD Unix. I like them all and the
last thing I needed \vas another one; howe\'cr I'm a tech-wee-
nie at heart, and the one thing I couldn't do the latter part of
August was drive past a computer store without knowing I
was still running yesterday's software.
"Would you like a receipt, sir?"
Back to the laptop. 1 use it primarily for communications,
access to all the online .services, direct and dial-up connections
to the Internet, and outgoing faxes. I also have a PCMCIA net-
work adapter and use it to connect to my Novell LAN,
Microsoft Network, and TCP/IP networks. The reason I'm
sharing all this is that I was wondering just how far "plug-and-
play" would take me. Answer: pretty far, it seems. 1 had only
one problem with the PCMCIA card services supplied in my
Toshiba, and once I allowed 95 to disable them and use the
new 32-bit ser\'ices, the minor configuration issues went away.
After I had the installation finished it was all pretty boring;
the only thing I was looking forward to was logging onto the
new Microsoft Network. So I quickly dialed up the big three
and MSN to search for the latest and greatest tools and toys
for my new O/S.
26 NOVEMBER 1995
£^| e.i«™j«i ^r.lnjsj
CompuServe
First stop was CompuServe. It seems that if I'm looking for
support or software, I always call CIS first and this time, as
usual, I wasn't disappointed, i did a quick search for "win-
dows 95" and clicked off on the first kew'ord "WTNNEWS"
which gave me my first look at WinCim under Windows 95.
At first I was pretty disappointed, because upon entering the
forum, WinCim began to download a foi-um logo. (The forum
logo is generally pasted right in the center of the Wintjm
screen.) The forum logo was encased in a Windows 95 win-
dow — however I quickly realized the forum logo was a pic-
ture of a Windows 95 window and not the window itself. OK,
my mistake.
After reading the forum news file, I realized that the WIN-
NEWS forum, which is operated by WUGNET, is part of the
CompuServe Windows 95 Support Center (GO WIN95) hold-
ing a wealth of information and software.
The first tool I downloaded was the Windows 95 version of
WinZip. If you've never used WinZip I encourage you to
check it out. It's a great shareware program that gives you total
BBS MAGAZINE ■ ■
control over your compressed files in a very thorough and
graphical environment.
After I installed WinZip I was able to uncompress and
experience some of my downloads. I grabbed some great ani-
mated cursors, bitmaps and images to show off my new sup-
port for Windows 95, Microsoft's new O/S handled them all.
I encourage you to check out both the WinNews and
WIN95 forums on CIS to hunt your own treasures.
AOL
Next stop was America Onhne. 1 was looking for a good image
capture program for 95 after being told by my editor that my
old standby Hijack Pro was producing "weird" images under
Windows NT. I figured it might also break down under 95, so
off I went.
I followed the same procedure as on CIS, and clicked on
the search button looking for "windows." AOL produced two
services: the Windows Forum and Windows Magazine Online,
both of which were accessible via keyword WINDOWS.
After clicking the Windows Forum icon I was presented
with an icon for AOL's Win 95 Center (Keyword: Win95).
After AOL auto-downloaded some new art, up came a rather
pleasing interface for something called the Win 95 Center,
complete with news, software libraries, World-Wide Web sites
and an offer for a free Windows 95 tutor.
According to the center's introduction, "You'll find tips
from Microsoft (check out the "WinNews Electronic
Newsletters" section), World-Wide Web links to areas of
interest and much more. AOL already has the best collection
ot Windows 95 files available and, as always, our message areas
are a great place to get help from peers and experts about
Windows 95 issues."
I quickly went to the Software Library and started looking
for my screen capture program. Unfortunately AOL's claim to
the best collection of Windows 95 files available did not
include a screen capture program. I did however find one in
the standard Windows software libraries — the program
Grnblt Pro (GP50.ZIP) by Software Excellence By Design Inc.
The file description makes the following reference: "The
Chicago Computer Society magazine Hard Copy had this to
say about Grabit Pro: 'In short, Grablt Pro will increase your
NOVEMBER 1995
efficiency at least 50% and probably (no kidding) 80% or
More!'"
I'll let you know if it helps me. By the way, it turns out that
GP50.ZIP is indeed a Windows 95/NT v3.5 1 program that just
hasn't made it into AOL's Win 95 Center.
I also enjoyed the Windows 95 Message Boards, which were
well written and full of useful information. One particularly
interesting category was "Tips and Tricks." ! found many of
those good un-documented features along with some need-to-
know type information.
Delphi
My next stop on the Win 95 quest was Delphi. 1 stumbled into
the Windows Users Forum (GO COM WIN) brought to us by
Jim makely [FRODOH] and Valda Hilley IVHILLEY), co-
authors of "Windows 3.1 Configuration Secrets" from IDG
Books. It seems that Delphi has just upgraded this forum from
a Custom forum to an official Delphi SIG. I quickly found the
database, Delphi's naming convention for a file library. In
there I honed in on "1995 Windows" — my assumption is
that the Delphi folks named the menu option this instead of
"Windows 95" so that users could take advantage of the com-
mand line completion feature of VMS, the system on which
Delphi runs.
Unfortunately, the file collection was really small — a total
of 10 files — however it wasn't a wasted phone call because I
did find a utility 1 was looking for. The program RoboDUN is
a freeware scripting utility to use with Microsoft's Dial Up
Networking in 95. 1 downloaded it to test out the dial-up PPP
connection I use while on the road.
After finding the screen capture utility for 95 in the stan-
dard file libraries on AOL, I figured it might be worth a try on
Delphi as well. It was. Going up one level to the standard win-
dows database (file libraries), I found a few more 95 ufilities
Innouncencnts
Foil
k»nFei~encc
Set Pt-efe
)atahcises CFiles>
Topic Pes
-nti'u Log
Uha's Her
-orun <[1eEs.iiges>
UorhspaCQ
ntemet Hftuigator
Help
lail
Exit
lenber Uirectorif
UindQwc Users >Uhflt do you want to tlo?
Databases arc
rticnjsoft WinHeuE availiiblc
Benepal Infatuation IFpconing Sc
Ifindous Cnnf igui*ation Neiic and (in
Iforkcfruup Afiplicationc Fi'otii^anning
Hot Sliai-euai'e 1995 UindoU
ropiOUJiicJi topicTQPIOUMch topic?
Pleas^c respond.
-sasji
en for hllsJncas!
Ndus and ftnnoiincenonts topict
including one which was right up my ally: CLNUPW.ZIP, or
CleanUp For Windows. This little jewel allows you to scan one
or more disks to identify and remove unnecessary files, save
them to a directory, create (and optionally execute) a batch
file, or print a list of files. CleanUp will identify files with the
same name in any directory and display them in the main
window. You can also display a graph of the space used by
BBS MAGAZINE
C O N T I N V K S
27
MSN TODAY
your largest directories. Alternatively, you can choose to view
all files on the disks, zero length files, backup files (*.BAK), or
tagged files. In any view, you can Tag and Untag files tor dele-
tion with a plethora of selection criteria.
Prodigy
Convinced that there must be more great shareware out there,
I logged into Prodigy and received some more of the focelift I
told you about that last month. The Prodigy user interface is
really starting to shine — I especially the new "Dear Member"
Prodigy's suggestion box for the next generation of the service.
I quickly went to the com-
puting section and the Ziff
Davis Shareware Club, where
I was happy to see the open-
ing screen featured a
Windows 95 logo.
If you've never used
ZDNET on Prodigy before,
you're missing one of the
best things online. ZDNET's
claim to fame in my opinion
is a feature called "Preston's
Picks." Preston Gralla is the
man behind the picks, and he
rounds up some of the best
software tools for Windows
and its step-children. I find
his picks to be excellent and
particularly liked one called
DOCMAN.ZIP, which
Preston describes as follows:
"If you can make any
sense at all or find any real,
useful purpose for the
Documents section of the
Windows 95 Start menu,
then you're a better person
than I am. Among its many
shortcomings: you can't add
individual documents to it,
and you can't delete individ-
ual documents or groups of
documents from it. As far as
I can tell, that makes it well-
nigh useless. DociVIan
(Document List Management System) changes that, turning it
into a true power tool. This great little program allows you to
add and delete files from the Documents menu easily. With it,
you'll find the Documents section something that you turn to
again and again instead of something that you tune out."
Microsoft Networl<
OK, here it is... A search for Windows 95 software would not
be complete without a look into the new Microsoft Network
(look for a full review of MSN ne.xt month). The MSN client is
a standard component of Windows 95 and has been at the
heart of much controversy regarding Microsoft allegedly
attempting to monopolize the online market. Remember that
28 ■ NOVEMBER 1995
FAVORITE
MEMBER^ASSISTANCE
CATEGORl ES
2'
•
m
there are over 100 million Windows users, many more than all
the online users combined.
I must admit my first impression of the software was not a
favorable one. It was slow and the multi-tasking support of the
system made it difficult to use. Windows were popping up all
over and several times I double-clicked on an option and,
when it seemed like nothing was happening, I clicked again,
only to get a bogus error message that "The task could not be
completed at this time."
I also didn't like the fact that to access all the features of the
service (i.e. the Internet), I had to download what MSN
reports as an upgrade — eat-
ing up half an hour in the
process. I just bought the
darn thing, and I know there
was plenty of room on the
CD for MS to include this
stuff. It just appeared to be
either poor planning or a
lame attempt to keep users
online longer.
In the spirit of the quest
for 95 software I did attempt
to use MSN to find some new
stuff. I found that after leav-
ing the "Microsoft Central"
main screen, 1 had to load
several screens of file folders
traversing through
Computers and Software,
then Software, then
Operating Systems, then
Windows 95, and finally to
Free Stuff.
Then I hit the mother-
lode . . . PowerToys.
PowerToys is a series of
user interface enhancements
developed by the members of
the Windows 95 develop-
ment team. The catch here is
that it's essentially unsup-
ported software, hence its
free status. The kit includes
many simple little changes to
your desktop, each of which
may speed up, simplify, or otherwise improve your navigation
through the new 0/S.
The tool I liked best was Xmouse. Xmouse gives the
Windows desktop the functionalit)' of X-Windows. When the
mouse moves over a window, for instance, that window moves
to the top and "gets focus".
There's lots there, so check it out.
All and all I think my quest was successful. Top ranked was
CompuServe as far as the sheer number of files available for 95
users goes, and MSN will undoubtedly be filled to overflowing
soon. And I'll bet many of you will have your coffer filled by
the time you read this.
The Microsoft Network
MSN TQDAYW^
MAIL
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ST PK
BY STEVE JANAS
/
C.
To qualify for possible review in BBS
Notebook, call The Livesvire BBS at
609.235.5297. From the main menu,
type ADDBBS ami follow the prompts.
Vetlink
Sysop: G. Joseph Peck
Location: Tampa, Fla.
Data*: K 13.249.8323
BBS Software: Osiris 2.11
There are actually 85 "vetlinks" scat-
tered around the country, each one
committed to the same mission as
the originah namely, to stitch togeth-
er a support network of friendship
and camaraderie for veterans of
America's armed forces.
The focus hero is on war veterans.
Sysop G. Joseph Peck did not actual-
ly go abroad when he served in the
Army during the Vietnam War era,
but he was severely wounded in an
accident and understands the psy-
chological, sociological and bureau-
cratic hurdles war vols face. Thus,
Vetlink acts as a clearinghouse for
uiformation on dealing with the
Veterans Administration at the same
time as it provides group purgation
with such features as the Wall, a
Door that launches a database con-
taining the names of each of the
56,000 servicemen killed in action
{ t;iav
... 30 •
during the Vietnam conflict.
The board also allows old war
horses to chew the fat about their
memories of the service. The mes-
sage areas are divided basically into
two areas: the Korean War and the
Vietnam War, with each section fur-
ther divided according to what ser-
vicemen were actually assigned to do
in each war. For example, in the
Vietnam message area, there is a sec-
tion devoted to what Joseph calls the
river rats — soldier.s who patrolled
Vietnam's rivers in boats n la Martin
Sheen in "Apocalj'pse Now."
The messages, ferried betweeti
Vetlink nodes via Fidonet echos, run
the gamut from the boastful to the
poignant. In one thread in the
Vietnam area, Marine and Army vets
traded quips over who had to put up
with more grief during the war.
Meanwhile, in the Korean War area,
a Vietnam vet posted a message
appealing for mail for his father, a
Korean War vet who had just been
institutionalized in a VA hospital in
Massachusetts. He got several
responses from other vets, total
strangers except for having shared
the intimacy of being under fire
together in the same isolated back-
water of the world.
Joseph says he founded the board
in 1985 after 20 frustrating years liv-
L3">.
(^
NOVEMBER 1995
BBS IVIAGAZtNE
ing as a disaliled vet and trying to
find a BBS that had the community
of others like him.
"1 looked for one and didn't find
it," he says. "So if you can't find it,
create it."
He admits that (CompuServe does
have a veterans conference, but "it's
too much of a shotgun approach.
The veterans conference is just one
conference. There are many issues
that do concern veterans: education,
the \'A, how do 1 process and how
do I present my claims."
Each of those areas is addressed in
a conference on Vetlink. In addition,
the board helps vets cope with the
lingering psychological effects of
war.
Joseph even credits the link with
saving some vets* lives.
On at least five occasions, a vet
has logged on to a chat threatening
suicide, launching a full-blown effort
by the sysop to intervene, Joseph
says. Fortunately the 85 individual
vetlink boards represent a network
of resources for Joseph to mobilize.
"If someone is in trouble, they
contact me and I have the files here
and I know the buttons to push," he
says. 'Tf 1 don't know I'll call some-
one who does know,"
In addition to active participants
of the board, there are what Joseph
narnsuiiourir^p^jl ■- — r^;^ /i/.A/Jt"
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Tf /'
W. AtJgusta
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lowann
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'Wetisboro)
calls "lurkers," vets who drop in
without revealing their presence.
"They'll log on and see answers to
questions they don't want to ask
themselves," he says.
loseph runs the board from a two
486 machines linked together via
Ethernet. One machine, which
Joseph calls his work machine, holds
his personal files on a 700MB hard
drive. The second machine, with a
420MB hard drive, carries the .system
information for vetlink and is
attached to a CD-ROM drive.
The system runs on Osiris 2.1 1
software, which Joseph says he is cur-
rently in the process of upgrading so
he can offer his users Internet access.
Membership is free, he says, and vdll
remain so even after the board is
connected to the Internet, loseph
says he'll pay his provider out of his
own pocket rather than ask his mem-
bers to pay.
"There'll be no fee," he says. "Our
veterans have already paid their
price."
Intercity ' ''' '"^ ' *
Sysop: Tyronnc Foy
Location: Richmond, Va.
Data #: 804.353.4160 ^^HanOVef..
BBS Software: RBBS
Richmond, Virginia's Intercity BBS
began life as a basic message board
about nine years ago, developed an
affiliation with genealogists largely
on the strength of its substantial
Fidonet connectivity, and has now
become something of an online gath-
ering point for local African
Americans.
Sysop Tyronne Foy, a one-time
blues saxophonist, says he averages
about 3,000 calls a week on the
board's two nodes, and on any given
day receives up to 800 Fidonet echos.
It is that kind of activity that prompt-
ed the National Genealogy Society,
which wanted to establish a presence
in the Richmond area, to contact him
about setting up a genealogy confer-
ence, Tyronne says. Now, in addition
to running that conference, the
board is a part of three different
VsOK?i!i5'''8
ml \^ Honesdale(W2Ui
>Cl7f
Monlicello
'¥
genealogy networks. "And I'm still
not a genealogist," Tyronne says.
More recently, after hearing about
it in a conference on America Online,
Tyronne set up his board as a node of
the International Black, African,
African American and Minority net-
work, which carries conferences on
black-themed topics centering on
teen-age and family issues, male and
female relationships, black/ African
art and, of course, genealog)'.
Another black-themed network
Tyronnc has allied himself with is the
Black Data Processors Association, a
Another biaGk-themed
network Tyronne lias allied
himself with is the Black Data
Processors Association, a Los
Angeles-based network of
black computer professionals
formed about two years ago
to discuss entrepreneurial
issues, pass along job
prospects, and hash out
technical issues.
Los Angeles-based network of black
computer professionals formed
about two years ago to discuss entre-
preneurial fssues, pass along job
prospects, and hash out technical
issues. A broader mission of the net-
work is to involve more African
Americans in the computer world,
Tyronne says.
"A lot of people are not computer
literate," he says. "They're afraid of it.
But that's where communication is
going. It's all online."
Like many people, Tyronne got
his first exposure to BB.Ss through
work, when his employer, a comput-
er firm, decided to set up a company
board and asked Tyronne to run it.
He did, until he left the company in
1987. For a while, he went without
running a board of any kind.
"But then I got that little itch," he
says.
He founded the board and strug-
gled a bit over the name. Originally,
he says, he wanted to name it "Intra-
City" because of its location in the
center of town. But he liked
"Intercity," and went with that name.
It turns out he's not the only one
fond of it. An Australian board has
exactly the same name, he says.
Tyronne runs the board from
three PCs of varying speeds, all net-
worked together. Two of the PCs, a
486/33DX and a 486/66DX, serve as
workhorses for the board, while a
third, 486/lOODX, operates in what
Tyronne calls an "R&D" capacity.
Occasionally it gets pressed into
active duty, however.
"If the lines are busy, 1 can fire it
up," Tyronne says.
The board's 2 gigabytes of hard
drive capacity is augmented by four
online CD-ROMs. There are 370
message areas, 72 online games and
10 online databases that include
information on travel, restaurants,
and genealogy. Tyronne also runs 35
online magazines, including the
online version of "USA Today."
Tyronne has the board set up with
simple but striking color graphics,
and an extensive list of bulletins
greets the user after he logs on and
identifies himself. He provides his
users with email, but Internet access
is limited and a bit convoluted.
Tyronne subscribes to a number of
Usenet newsgroups through a gate-
way in New Jersey, and he provides
FTP and Web access through another
gateway in Ohio.
Tyronne admits that it would he
easier for him to connect the board
to the Net directly, but as always, the
issue is cost. He claims that the
Richmond area is a "poor market,"
where users are unwilling or unable
to pony up the monthly fee for lull
Net access. He also complains, like
many sysops, of hostility at the hands
of Internet providers, who look at
C O N T 1 N U K S . . .
Chancellutii
\Fredericksff
Falmouth
fJOVEMBER 1995
olonial Beach
BBS MAfi
r.l<.
:ownj
yj',
ach
iach
31
exington
Nunticoke /
1 Princes
LI2.
(lis)
Rusty Edie
Dual Eliminator
Rusly n Edie's BBS announces the
introduction of their Dual Eliminator.
Simply plug your phone line (o the Dual
Eliminulor unci then plug the Dual Elimin-
ator into your modem. This device consists
of 2 passive electronic filters that handle both
high and low frequency noise from the phone
line. Both high and low frequency are
independently adjustahlc wiih knobs that
mounl on the front of the unit. Surge
protection is provided by an electronic
varistor.
A light emitiing diode, also mounted on the
front of the unit, glows whenever the device
is eliminating noise from the phone lines.
This device can solve the majority of noise
problems a.ssocialed with telecommuni-
cations today, and is sold with a 30-day.
money-back guarantee. They sell for S25
each plus S4 shipping and handling. To
order, call Rusty n Edie's at 216-726-4217,
fax to 216-726-3595 or call their BBS
number 216-726-2620; they will accept
Visa. MasterCard and American Express.
Rusty n Edie's BBS
7393 California Ave.
Youngstown, OH 44512
32
BBSs as competition.
"They assume we are the
enemy," he says.
He believes prices will come
down once providers realize how
many potential customers they're
pricing out of the market. He also
believes that will be the end of the
war between direct-access providers
and BBS sysops.
"This is big bucks," he says. ,
The Regulator
/
Sysop: Steve Coker
Location: Charleston, S.C.
Data #: 803.571.1100 ^ "V
BBS Software: TriBBS 5.11
According to sysop Steve Coker, the
Regulator BBS started out as an
environmental board, with confer-
ence topics chosen to reflect Steve's
occupation as an environmental
engineer.
The environmental angle didn't
take, however, and as Steve
explains, "that theme was put on a
back burner in short order."
No matter. The board is still a
colorful and well-organized system,
with a diverting selection of features
(that include some not entirely
uncommon Doors) and a promise
from Steve that the whole thing will
be upgraded sometime before the
end of the year.
At the moment, Steve's running
his system from a 386 PC loaded
with 16MB of RAM and a !.2GB
hard drive. Additional files are kept
on an online CD-ROM, and Steve
has hooked an SOOMBg tape drive
into the system. There are two
nodes here: a public node that sup-
ports modem speeds up to 28,800
bps, and a private 14,400 bps node.
The upgrade, which should
occur sometime over the fall, will
replace the 386 with a Pentium and
add additional storage space, Steve
says. Three more public nodes
should go online as well, Steve says.
Internet access is strictly a
Fidonet affair, in which registered
members compose messages, and
Steve calls them into an Internet
gateway. That may change too,
Steve says, as he gets more ambi-
tious with his Internet offerings.
"I'll add anrthing that is useful,
supportable and affordable," he
says.
Since the board went active on
January 1, 1994, Steve has collected
a total of 377 registered users.
According to the membership bul-
letin, new users can get limited
Pun? access for free, and if they're willing
to pony up some cash, they get a
•\^y selection of higher-access member-
ships. For $5, a user receives a
member status, good for six
months. For SIO, one is upgraded to
a benefactor, and for $25 a user is
dubbed a patron. Of course, appro-
priate access privileges accrue with
each step up the membership hier-
archy.
When users log on, they're greet-
ed with the usual bulletins, plus a
few witty bon mots that Steve either
culled from BarUett's or — who
knows? — maybe even made up
himself. A sample: "To err is
human, to blame it on a computer
is more so."
Users are often given the oppor-
tunity to participate in elections for
BBS "team members." Among the
positions available are those of
ANSI artist, features manager and
file critic. Users nominate candi-
dates and cast votes for each posi-
tion. They call it "modemocracy."
Cute.
Arriving at the main menu, users
equipped with RIPterm software are
presented an attractively laid-out
selection of buttons to take them to
the various features. Included are
seven Doors that launch programs
that are interesting, even if they
don't hew to a common theme.
For example, one Door opens a
text-only edition of the King James
Bible, while another offers legal
advice on everything from the tax
deductions available to sysops to
how to get out of jur}' duty. There's
also a match-making program that
links compatible users, and a graffiti
wail on which a total of 1 2 lines of
user wisdom had been scrawled
NOVEMBER 1995
BBS MAGAZINE
ra
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J vc (
W. Augusta
UnionvJl
Orange))— <
Galetor^JWellsboro)
i^j
Troyi
lovvatiu
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Lenox'iL — ^
Monesdale
Another button opens a "reading
room" in \\'hich the user can select
from a Hst of tOO online publica-
tions. They deal mostly in shop talk:
BBSs, electronics — that sort of
thing.
But then again, that's exacdy what
a lot of people who go online are
looking for.
Ttie Secret Garden
Sysop: Kathy Landy
Location: Salinas, Calif.
Data*; 408,633.8022
BBS Software: Wildcat! 4.11 s ■■
A divorced mother of two, sysop
Kathy Landy writes in her bulletins
that she came to BBSing because of
her "continuing fascination with BBS
systems."
She's built a fair one, with a mix
of chat rooms and files presented in a
crisp, clean Wildcat! point-and-click
format.
By way of e.xplaining herself,
Kathy says she values the BBS experi-
^ hU^
ence as a "social outlet and vent for
expressing my opinions on every-
thing from Stroganoff to O.J.
Simpson." Indeed. Given that pre-
amble, you'd expect the Secret
Garden to be a hotbed of hotheads,
each one struggling with the others
to grab hold of the pulpit, as it were,
and deliver long, incendiary rants.
It is not that. While the 10 confer-
ence areas that were open to me, a
casual browser (i.e., non-member)
bore titles capable of piquing interest
{one was called, simply, "imponder-
ables"), most of the discourse I
encountered more closely resembled
Kathy's admonishment to willful
users that she'd shut them out if they
continued to adopt multiple person-
alities in the role-playing games.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to
connect with Kathy personally to get
the details on membership and the
system set-up. Nowhere did it men-
tion anything about membership
rates, however, so maybe this board
is one of those freebies. There is
i an
email offered to users, but it doesn't
appear to connect to an Internet
gateway, except, perhaps, by way of a
Fidonet echo.
The files are your typical games,
screen savers and utilities. Scanning
through them, I did get a hopeful
flash of recognition when the word
"Mac" appeared but, alas, it was not
what I hoped it would be.
It seems despite all the good press
(and the recent launch of a new
operating system by a certain multi-
billionaire that sells itself by mimic-
ing our machines), Macintosh is still
relegated to the online ghetto.
Oh well. It makes us that much
more appreciative when we come
acro.ss those little gems that our sys-
tems can use. You hear that,
sysops? ^BB
Steve Janas is editor and co-founder of
Nexus Six magazine, the journal of
gutter-tech. He welcomes news of new
ami noteworthy boards. He can be
contacted at janns@aoi.coni.
(lOJ
:owni
V.
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// li«yi'iil liy credit card, you nuiy FAX this fiirm ill (6t)9) 953-7961.
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
33
Shareuyaring
BY MARJA LANCER
Use NeoShow to create your own slide shows from PCX and BMP images.
Business or pleasure?
How about both? This
time, I've managed to find
shareware that can help you
work and relax . . . Enjoy.
DOS
NeoShow Professional 2.6c
NSP26C.ZIP
by NeoSoft Corp.
354 NH Greenwood Avenue, Suite 108
Bend, OR 97701-4631
BBS:503.3S3.7195
On-screen "slide shows" have become
an important part of business presenta-
tions. With NeoShow, you can use your
DOS-based computer to create slide
shows that incorporate PCX and BMP
images, and even add sound effects to
For a new twist on the old breakout style games, try BreakFree, a tliree-dimensional
version with sound, graphics, and special effects.
play back on SoundBlaster-compatible
sound cards.
Use your mouse and NeoShow's
menus to create a new slide show file,
then add slides and sounds to it, speci-
fj'ing a transition effect and timing for
each slide as you go. Note what you
want to happen before and after each
slide. Organize the slides in the order in
which you want them to appear and let
the show begin.
The screen goes dark and shdcs
appear, one by one. Now, use your
mouse or the Remote Control feature
to advance the shdes. The program is
remarkably easy to use — you'll find
yourself creating slide shows, as I did,
in no time.
NeoShow requires an IBM-compati-
ble PC with EGA or VGA graphics,
DOS 3. 1 or later, a hard disk, and a
Microsoft or Logitech compatible
mouse. A SoundBlaster or compatible
sound card is required for playing
sounds.
You can tr)' NeoShow for 30 day.s,
after which, if you continue using it, you
must pay the shareware fee of $35 plus
shipping for the regular version, or $89
plus shipping for the professional ver-
sion, which lets you create standalone,
executable (.EXE) slide show files.
BreakFree 1.0
BRKFRE1A.ZIP
by Software Storm
P.O. Box 2029
Orem, Utah 84059
When it's time for a break from work,
Breakl-iec is a good program to turn to.
'I'his IJOS-compatihlc game offers a
three-dimensional twist on the old
breakout st}'le games.
In BreakFree, you have a nmnber of
34
NOVFMRER 199fi BBS MflGflZINE
fireballs at your disposal
with which to break through
walls. Shoot the fireballs at
the walls around you, and
slap them back with an invis-
ible paddle when they
bounce at you. You can
move the paddle right, left,
forward, and backward b)-
using the arrow keys or a
mouse.
As you play, you'll tuid
there are several kinds of
walls, including breakable,
unbreakable, power drain,
and special effect. Hitting
each t)'pe of wall yields a dif-
ferent effect. Some walls release
objects that you can catch or
avoid — you decide which to do
as you get more experienced with
the game. Online help provides
enough information to get you
started.
BreakFree requires an IBiVl-
compatible running DOS, with
VGA or better graphics. A 386/20
processor and SoundBlaster or
compatible sound card is recom-
mended. Users who pay the $14.95
plus shipping shareware fee get a
registered version on disk that fea-
tures over 70 levels and more spe-
cial effects. It also includes a level
editor you can use to create your
own play levels.
WrUe
Paintt
o
i3 i
You have a message with tiie foHowing Items:
Date : B/2 1 f35 Time : 1 2:1 5:0D PM
Take your medicine
Caler
C^
ChaiacJeiMap MtdiaPlayw
Sojrd
Recmdei
Cios!^>Md
Mania"
FiaOasi
the $15 shareware fee.
Registered users receive a
version that excludes the
shareware reminder as well
as three additional Windows
programs on disk.
Make Your Own Screen
Saver 1.5
MYOWNSS.ZIP
by Garner Enterprises
13298 Rocky Ridge Road
NW
Silverdale, WA 98383
Win Bar Clock does far more than just put a clock in your title bar.
i. Make Your Own Siirccrn !
Efitet bitmap Nart'e
^uiiffnl Bttnapt (one lequircHn
nohvdO.bmp
AddBkiaqp^ ^ J
^
No. Included: 1
T olal aflowed: 1 5
Pa«wofd Oplioni"
winlogo.brop
Cftftce)
Time Delay F^
in S econds L_
Kininuim - 1
Maximum: - 50
J £a9iwDid Plot act ad
^bI PassfffWdL
D
Place all bUmaps
m your wrndoni
dirpctai'jp ai in yout
path.
PleaxB luppoil ths ihaicvraro concept by legislating Hake
Vqut Own Scieen Saver if you tiy the soltwafa and continue
to use it. Press the B^egislralion... button belon foi details.
Qegixtialion...
S^t
Ahojfu..
Make Your Own Screen Saver lets you do just that — using up to 15
bitmap image files.
Windows
Win Bar Clock 4.1a
WBARCL.ZIP
by G.L. Liadis Software, Inc.
5167'/! Saling Court
Columbus, OH 43229
BBS: 614-888-4749
GLLIADIS@aol.com
No room for a clock on your desk or in
your office? If you're using Microsoft
Windows 3.1 or later, you can use Win
Bar Clock to put a digital clock in the
title bar of the active window. If that's
not enough, you can also have a lloat-
ing "bar clock" anywhere on screen,
letting you always know what time it is.
Win Bar Clock is fully customizable
— you can change colors, font, and
font size. It can display the date, time,
memory, system resources, and person-
al messages, too. Use the alarm feature
to set reminders and the timer feature
to track the amount of time you spend
online.
But Win Bar Clock goes far beyond
simple timing functions. Use it to edit
system files, access system commands
like Exit and Restart Windows, jump to
DOS, or reboot; dial the phone, launch
other programs, and get complete
information about your system setup.
You can configure all these options
and more vvith a Center Console you
display by clicking the right mouse but-
ton on the clock.
Win liar C'lock re(.|iiires an IBM-
compatible computer running
Windows 3. 1 or later and
VBRUN300.DLL. Try it for 20 days
before either uninstalling it or paying
Everyone knows that a
screen saver is an important
piece of software that can pro-
tect your computer investment.
Make Your Own Screen Saver is
a Windows-compatible screen
saver file that lets you specify up
to 1 5 bitmapped images to dis-
play when your computer is
inactive.
Install Make Your Own
Screen Saver by copying it to
your Windows subdirectory.
Then open the Desktop control
panel and choose Make Your
Own SS from the Screen Saver
menu. Click the Setup button to
configure it.
You can add up to 15 BMFs
to a list of images that will dis-
play when the screen saver is
activated. Specify the amount of
time each image is displayed — the
default value is 30 seconds. If you like,
you can specify a password to protect
your computer from intruding eyes
when you step away from your desk. If
you use this feature, you'll have to
enter a password in order to clear the
screen saver and continue working.
Make Your Own Screen Saver is
simple and easy to use. It requires an
IBM-compatible computer running
Windows 3.1 or later and Windows 3.0
or later compatible bitmap image files.
If you continue to use Make Your Own
Screen Saver after a reasonable trial
period, pay the shareware fee of $8 to
register it. Make Your C3wn Screen
Saver is distributed as a fully functional
file, and its author depends on your
honesty for compensation.
C () N T 1 ,N LI K S
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
35
TimeTracker lets you keep accurate records of the time you spend on projects -
you can submit accurate bills to clients and customers.
Macintosh
■fimeTracker 2,7.5
by Maui Software
189 Audi Drive
Makawao, Maui, HI 96768-9313
billin@maui.com
One of the biggest problems facing
consultants and other professionals
who bill by the hour is finding an accu-
rate way to keep track of time spent on
various billable tasks. If you've got a
Macintosh on your desk, TimeTracker
might just be the solution. It combines
timing and record-keeping features
that make it easy to maintain exact
records of billable time spent on tasks.
TimeTracker works with categories,
projects, and documents. Categories
are tasks with associated hourly rates.
Projects are identifiers for billing pur-
poses and documents are collections of
TimeTracker entries that can corre-
spond to clients or customers.
To keep track of work done for a
specific client, you create or open a
TimeTracker document for that client,
choose a task and project, and start the
timer. TimeTracker creates an entry for
that task and records the start time,
stop time, rate, charge, and other infor-
mation. You can stop or pause the
timer by clicking buttons on
TimeTracker's toolbar. Have as many
documents open as memory allows,
making it easy to switch from tasks
36
done for one
client to
another.
Time-
Tracker is
extremely
well thought
out and
includes
every feature
a user could
want. You
can set time
increments
for billing,
edit entries to
include ex-
penses and
comments,
create docu-
ment bud-
gets, search
and sort entries, and print or export
entries. To reduce the amount of space
TimeTracker takes up on screen, users
can just minimize windows.
Toolbar buttons arc attractive and
well designed — if you can't figure out
what one of them does, point to it and
a description appears in the toolbar
area. An illustrated manual in
DOCMaker document format accom-
panies TimeTracker and covers every
aspect of its operation.
TimeTracker requires a Macintosh
running System 7 or later. It's a "fat
binary" application that can run in
native mode on a PowerPC. But if you
continue
using
TimeTracker
after a trial
period, you're
expected to
pay the S25
shareware fee.
Payment of
the fee
removes a
per-document
time limita-
tion and the
shareware
reminder that
appears each
time you start
the program.
A portion of
the shareware
fee is donated to help preserve the
Hawaiian environment.
PlayerPRO 4.4.2
by Antoine Rosset
16 BD Tranchees
1206 Geneva
Switzerland
ProOnline BBS: -1-41 22 738 26 26
rosset@dial.eunet.ch
The Macintosh has always had built-in
sound capabilities, either through its
internal speaker or the sound out jack
capable of accepting headphones or
powered speakers. No category' of soft-
ware shows the range and flexibility of
Macintosh sound more than "sound-
tracker" programs. These programs
play special MOD format files, which
are popular on the Amiga, Atari ST,
and IBM computer platforms.
Now there's PlayerPRO — a deluxe
soundtracker program that offers all
the features you'd expect to find in a
MOD player, and then some.
Open a MOD format file with
PlayerPRO. {It comes with one you can
use if you don't have any others.) Click
the Play button on the Tools palette to
start playing the file and watch as its
progress is tracked in the Tools,
Partition, Pattern, and Piano windows.
You can change the tone, speed, and
volume of play with sliding controls in
the Adaptors window.
These are only some of the windows
and controls PlaverPRO offers. It also
PlayerPRO is a soundtracker application that you can use to play, edit, or create
MOD format sound files.
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
includes a variety of analysis tools,
including Fourier's analysis, oscillo-
scope, tubes, and animations. And the
sound plays flawlessly, even when
PlayerPRO is the background applica-
tion or is hidden from view.
If you want to create or edit MOD
files, PlayerPRO also offers a variety of
music editing tools. You can write
music through classical or digital parti-
tions, playing MIDI instruments, or
opening and working with MIDI files.
The shareware version provides enough
information to get you started editing
MOD files and connecting MIDI
devices to your Macintosh so you can
use them with PlayerPRO.
The software requires a Macintosh
running System 7 or later. It is a "fat
binar)'" application that can run in
native mode on a PowerPC. Although
not required, stereo speakers are highly
recommended. Users paying the share-
ware fee of S20 receive documentation
and a complete version that excludes
the shareware reminders. A CD-ROM
disk full of MOD format files and
instruments is also available from the
program's author.
Newton Files
eWorld Access 1.1
by Giles Road Press
P.O. Box 212
Harrington Park, NJ 07640-0212
BBS: 201/767-6337
GilesRdPrs@eWorld.com
If you use your Newton for
NewtonMail and spend a lot of time on
the road, you might be interested in a
truly portable list of NewtonMail/
eWorld access numbers. Be sure to
check out eWorld Access 1.1. This
Newton paperback is a listing of all
2400 baud eWorld access numbers in
the United States — the same numbers
you'd use for Ne%vtonMail.
The file, which takes up only 93K of
Newton's precious RAM, appears in the
Extras drawer with the name eW
Access. Each entry includes the area
code, cit}' name, phone number, and a
code identifj'ing the network as either
SprintNet or MCI/British Telecom. You
can change the font size and style for
the listing to make entries more legible,
and copy phone numbers right into the
Phone Number field of Mail Prefs.
eWorld Access requires a Newton-
compatible PDA and the Macintosh or
Windows Newton Connection kit to
install it. It's distributed as freeware.
Oh yes — one thing I forgot to men-
tion: I wrote it.
Finding these Files
If you can't find these files on your
favorite BBS, try mine. The Electronic
Pen BBS is a two-line FirstClass-based
system in Harrington Park, NJ. The
number is 201.767.6337. Look in the
Sharewaring conference that appears
right on your desktop for all the files
covered in this column.
If you're on the World Wide Web,
you can FTP these files firom the Giles
Road Press web site. Use your browser
to view the URL http://\N'ww.intac.com/
-gilesrd/ and link to the Sharewaring
page from there, mmmm
Maria Langer is a freelance writer and
computer consultant who has been run-
ning a BBS since 1989. She is the author
of several computer hooks and is current-
ly hard at work on a new Microsoft Excel
book for Peachpit Press. Contact her at
gilesrd@intac.com.
Galacticomm Software!
The Major BBS v6.25 .... $155.00
WorldGroup by Galacticomm .... CALL!
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Telnet & Rlogin, FTP, Finger, a Telnet Dialer, and a WWW Server right on your BBS!
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NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
37
We Cant Keep The Future
Technology Under Wraps
Become one of a
few select SYSOPS
to experience a
preview release of
tiie first true 32-bit
client/server BBS
The seal on Mustang Software's top secret projea
Wildcat! BBS re-write, code-named AiniihUator,
has been broken to allow 5000 "leading-edge"
SYSOPS a glimpse of this breakthrough 32-bit
client/server BBS technology. Your reward, when you
purchase one of the limited Pre-Release Atmihilator
CDs for only $49 and team the inside story, is a 75%
discount off the purchase price when Aiinihilator is
released later this year.
Learn How Interactive Multimedia
Can Expand Your On-line Experience
Aiinihilator takes full advantage of the new multitasking
in Windows 95 or the robust server operations in Windows
NT to provide a solution that brings full on-line multiniedia
to every caller. See how you can use Annihiliitor's built-in
remote graphics to provide an exciting muhimedia greeting,
using familiar JPEG and GIF graphic editors to customize the
caller interface.
See How You Can Deliver
More Information At Greater Speed
Auiiihihitor's Preview CD will demonstrate how the true power of
client/server functionality can be unleashed to provide a broad,
BBS-based solution. Learn how to implement a BBS with a core
information seiver, and route that information using a number of
application clients at the Sysop's location. You'll be able to establish
a true distributed processing system that delivers more information
at greater speed, now even on a single PC.
The Client/Server Model
Provides A Number of Advantages
The AuniiuUitor Preview CD wilt show you how a SYSOP can
offer a BBS on a desktop platform with the expansion capability to
run any size on-line service.
• 32-bit Windows multitasking means no additional multitasking
software is needed and 16-32 lines can be run easily without
loading multiple copies of the BBS.
• The server controls all access to messages, files and other system
information, isolating the core of the host activities to provide
secure, private system access even to local users.
• Under Annihiiator, the enure BBS configuration can be modified
even while in full operation, but only by authorized personnel.
Of 32-bit BBS
Much Longer
Single PC Running VV^idows 95 or Windows NT
USERDATABASE
SERVER
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Server Module - functionality for processing all database and
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Local Client - a fully graphical connection for anyone
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Modem Client — ansvifers the phone for all dial-in lines and
presents the BBS in ANSI, ASCII or in full graphics.
QWK Client- handles QWK mail exchange between the host
and other BBSs.
TAPI Client - provides a link to the Windows Telephony
Application Program Interface and a mechanism for ISDN,
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Graphical Remote Client - a set of freely-distributed
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UUCP Client - handles dial-up Internet e-mail and news-
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Internet Package - accessories to handle TCP/IP support:
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MAPI Client - a mechanism to exchange messages between
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wcCODE Package ~ a new high speed, 32-bit development
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Source Code - for total customization of online activity, the
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SQL Database Client - provides full remote connectivity to
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Reports Client - reports BBS usage and statistics, and
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Billing Client - bill callers for any action performed on the
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S799
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lV(»kftni9NrvJ,JJ^rn/ile, Kb or K — 1,024 bytes. In
common use, it stands for an approx-
imation of "1,000", especially when
referring to the speed of a modem or
the size of a file. Commodore users
often confront this for the first time
when modeming, since we normally
think of file sizes in terms of the
number of disk blocks it uses. 1 K is
approximately four disk blocks.
Megabyte, meg or mb — 1024k.
Often refers to memor)^ or disk stor-
age space. 1MB = 4,096 disk blocks.
Commodore Operating Systems
Commodore computers can have dif-
fering operating systems, which
means the entire system can function
differently from its "native mode."
Native CBM Mode — The operating
system available when the computer
is first turned on (BASIC).
CP/M — Control Program for
Microcomputers. An operating sys-
tem available for the Cl 28, which has
some similarities to MS-DOS. It uses
the same disk drives as Native CBM
mode, but uses the drives differently.
RAMDOS — This is software used so
an REU can be used as a RAM disk.
GUI — Graphic User Interface. Any
Operating System that uses graphics
and pointers (a mouse or joystick) to
represent programs and disk files.
GEOS — Graphic Environment
Operating System. The GUI system
nodore, pre- X >
developed for the Commodore, pre
dating Windows and the Macintosh.
Both GEOS 64 and GEOS 128 are
commercially available from CMD.
Unix — Unix is used by many sys-
tems which are connected to the
Internet.
ACE — Advanced Computing
Environment (64/128). ACE is very
similar to Unk. ACE14A.SFX
(through ACE14E.SFX, five files).
CSDOS — Chris Smeets DOS. C128
operating system similar to MS-DOS.
This system has utilities for creating
and dissolving compressed files,
including other platform archives
such as ARC, LZH and PKZip 1.x.
CSDOS- 15.ARC, CSASSTl.SFX,
CSASST2.SFX, CSXTRA45.LZH.
Commodore Software
SEQ -— Sequential file. Usually a text
file, but sometimes used for data stor-
age by programs.
PRG — Program file. In BBSing it is
sometimes used as slang when dis-
cussing software. A program file is
usually (but not always) an "exe-
cutable" or "runnable" file. V '
Docs — Documentation or instruc
tions for software. Doc files often end
with ".doc".
TXT — Files ending with .TXT are
text or readable type files.
ASCII — American Standard Code for
Information. A universal computer
code for English letters and characters.
PET ASCII or Petscii — Commo-
dore's Standard Code for Information.
The characters are in a different order
from standard ASCII. Lowercase let-
ters in ASCII appear as uppercase in
Petscii. Many CBM programs can save
text as either Petscii or ASCII.
PD — Public Domain. Software
placed in the Public Domain. Free,
Freeware — Software which can be
used for free, but the author retains
all rights to the program. It is not the
same as Public Domain. \ \ VV
Shareware — Software \\'hich
requires the user to pay a fee to the
author. Some may have features
CONTINUES...
41
D
\V lO^ iv^x-^^^^^^
which are only available once the user
pays the shareware fee.
Rego — Australian Slang for registra-
tion. Pronounced "Re-joc". These are
shareware programs that are registered
and have been paid for by the user.
Browser — Freeware program to
read text and other files. BROWS-
ER2.SFX
FGM — Fun Graphics Machine. A
commercial C64 graphic manipula-
tion program. FGM6DEM.SFX and
FGM6D0C.SFX (demo).
GIF — Graphic Interchange Format.
These files end with the extension of
".GIF" and were designed as a univer-
sal graphic format that could be used
by many different platforms.
SID — The sound chip the Commo-
dore uses. Many music and sound
files have a file extension of ".SID".
TWS — The Write Stuff, commercial
word processor.
PC3 — Paper Clip III, commercial
word processor.
Zed — CI 28 PD text editor.
ZED077.SFX
BBR — Big Blue Reader. A commer-
cial program that can copy files to
and from MS-DOS disks. Requires a
1571, 1581 or CMD disk drive.
LRR — Little Red Reader. A freeware
program which also copies files to
and from MS-DOS disks.
LRR200.SFX
LCP — Little Computer People. A
commercial game.
File Compression
Omega-Q — A general purpose disk
utility. From the now defunct Q-
Link, it decompresses many
Commodore archives.
OMEGAQll.SDA
CSDOS — Sometimes mistakenly
referred to as program to dissolve
non-Commodore archives, particu-
larly because many use the CSDOS
Operating System only for this pur-
pose. CSDOS- 15.ARC, CSASSTl.SFX,
CSASST2.SFX, CSXTRA45.LZH
CSXOl — Dissolves MS-DOS ARC
files. A "stand alone" program from
the same programmer as CS-DOS. It
includes modules for both the C64
andCl28. CSXOl.SDA
LZH — LHArchive. A compression
method used on Amiga and MS-DOS
computers. CSDOS can create and
dissolve lower versions.
LHARC128.ARC
SFX — SelF extracting archive. These
are .Izh files which can dissolve them-
selves when run on the 64 or 128.
LHARC128.ARC
ARC (CBM) — ARC250.4, a C64
archiving system. The .ARC files it
creates are not compatible with MS-
DOS archives of the same extension.
ARC250,SDA
SDA — Self Dissolving Archive. A
Commodore style .ARC file which
has been modified so it can be
uncompressed by loading and run-
ning the file. ARC-SDA.SFX
ARC (PC) — MS-DOS style archive.
Can be dissolved using CSXOl .
PKZip — - MS-DOS archiving pro-
gram. Commodore users cannot cre-
ate files compressed in this format
but can dissolve files zipped with
PKZip version 1.x or lower.
ZIP — File compressed with PKZip
on another platform computer,
which can be dissolved using either
NZPI2817.SFX or UnziplOl.SFX.
NZP128 — Unzip 128 utility.
Includes utilities for the C64/128 and
for RAM DOS users. NZP12817.SFX.
Unzip 64 — C64 unzip utility.
UNZIPIOI.SFX.
ZIPCoded files — A Commodore
disk compressed into files. The files
begin with the letters a,b,c,d followed
by ! and a filename {eg. AIBIGUS-
DISKUS). ZIPUNZIP.SDA.
Modem and Telecom
Interface or RS232 Interface —
Allows Commodore users to use
non-Commodore modems. It con-
nects to the User Port and is used for
modem speeds up to 2400 bps (C64)
or 9600 bps (CI 28).
Null Modem — A device that con-
nects between two computers that are
in the same location to transfer data
ed to X ^
between them. Sometimes used to
transfer files to or from other com-
puter platforms.
14.4k modem — A modem which
can transmit up to 14,400 bits per
second.
28.8 modem — Modem which can
transmit up to 28,800 bits per second.
ACIA — Asynchronous
Communications Interface Adaptor.
UART — Universal Asynchronous
Receiver/Transmitter.
SwiftLink or SL — An ACIA car-
tridge that connects to the Cartridge
Port and allows communications up
to 38.4K.
HartCart — A UART cartridge which
connects to the Cartridge Port, simi-
lar to the Swiftlink but allows up to
57. 6K communications.
Flow Control — The way data to and
from the modem is controlled.
CTS/RTS — Hardware method of
flow control.
Xon/Xoff — Software method of
flow control.
Terminal Programs
Novaterm — C64, shareware.
NOVA95-1.SFX (four files), plus
NOVA95-DOC.SFX.
ACETerm — C64 and C128, free-
ware. Used within the ACE operating
system. ACE14A.SFX (five files).
Desterm — CI 28, shareware.
DES200-1.SFX (five files). Also,
DESOl.SFX and DKS02.SFX.
Dialoguel28 — C128, commercial.
Fritzterm — C64, shareware.
FRITZTRM.SFX.
BBSing
D/L and U/L — Shorthand for down-
load and upload.
FREQ^ File REQuest. Reserved for
sysops only, but you can ask a Fidonet
sysop to request files from another
BBS for you. This is an established
system for sysops to transfer files
without going lliiough the process of
logging onto a bulletin board.
C O N T 1 N u I- s . . .
THE LABYRINTH PRESENTS..?"^
Bulletins
Look!
Worldgroup Bulletins
♦ Use any installed Windows font ♦
♦ Supports color text ♦
♦ Bold, Itaiic, Underline and Str i keout ♦
-Subscript and Superscripts
♦ Framed paragraphs ♦
Prev
Next
in Print
B« Close
^ Send bulletins by class, key, sex,
age, or any combination of the
four.
■^ Sysop uses a full WYSIWYG
editor to create and modify
bulletins.
■^ Bulletins can have a lifetime.
•> Bulletins are created and
modified online.
■^ Various text colors and styles
can be used to jazz up the text.
•^ Users and sysops alike will enjoy
a very simple interface.
■» Supports ANSI/ASCII users too!
-» Works on-deck (offline)!
y^'
B u I k - m a i I e r
•^ Works with the Worldgroup
client and ANSt/ASCII users.
■^ All items have defaults.
•^ You can change the "from"
field to avoid replies.
■^ Messages are not sent until
the user logs on.
•^ File attachments are
supported.
ulk Mailer
Addressee Information
User class:
User sex:
USER
T±j User key:
NORMAL
MALE t FEMALE
13
E
Between the ages of: 18 and |35 (blank or means all ages)
Message Information
Wfio sfiould this message be from
Distribution message
Sysop
(Distributed)
Would you like a return receipt:
Days message should be active:
(» Yes
CNo
10
(blank or
means never remove)
File attachment (if any): C:VMBBS\CLIENT
ZlH
1 Select..,!
ADD-ON MODULES FOR WORLDGROUP!
The Labyrinth
PO Box 1017
Arcadia, CA 91077-1017
75.95 for both!
Th '. Labyrinth
BBS (818) 794-0490
VOICE (818) 398-9459
W lo^ 1\\
Commodore or Related
Conferences ^^
RIMEnet:
Commodore — Commodore and
Amiga topics.
Fidonet:
CBM — Commodore eight-bit com-
puters (not Amiga or CBM-PCs).
CBM-I28 — The Commodore 128.
CBM-GEOS — C-64/ 1 28 GEOS.
PCWRITE — PCWrite, Cross plat-
form computing and emulators.
CPMTECH — CP/M computing.
Usenet Newsgroups:
comp.sys.cbm — Commodore eight-
bit computing.
comp.binaries.cbni — Distribution of
uuencoded binary files for
Commodore eight-bit computers,
comp.emulators.cbm — Using
Commodore emulation programs on
other platform computers.
Correction
hi the September 1995 issue o/BBS
Magazine, Commodore Connections
column, it was stated that Novaterm
9.6 bad been released as shareware. At
press time the release is still pending (it
may be available as you read this). A
demo version will be released as share-
ware. The full version will be commer-
cial ($24.95) and will includ the print-
ed manual.
For further information, contact
Nick Rossi at voyager@eskimo.com, or
at his mailing address: Nick Rossi,
10002 Aurora Ave. N. #3353, Seattle,
WA 98133, U.S.A. SB
Gaelyne Moranec can often be found in
the Fidonet CBM echo. Comments or
suggestions can be sent to
1:366/221.128. 3:800/809.128, or
moranec@hal9000.apana.org.au. Her
home page resides at:
http://www.msen.com/-brain/guest/
Gaelyne_Moranec/index.html
:>
'ou OugnraD(^1firdPicrlir(^$
NcwMci-ito Qftlinc - New klcxnt i Ofli wMll iM UHl
"Vie^^ lapis pjUoiis tjtip
/*
4^^
^1
l£j
~ T-mJif r Itlcionferiwc ! fnt liwotin
bwi{M»Wl ymdStnnn) < UinMrY
Hey, you might not make it in pictures, so how
about the next best thing?
If you've ever considered running your own
online service, there's never been a better time.
Worldgroup is the next generation of online
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environment
No more tedious scrolling text, no more graphi-
cal display barriers, no more limits to what you can
do.
With Worldgroup, you can present graphics,
text, even sound to your users. Features like telecon-
ference, e-mail and audio-visual registries make
Worldgroup a friendly and fun environment. And
with add-ons from several different independent soft-
ware vendors, your online service's capabilities can
expand even further, such as offering connections to
the Internet, online shopping and a multitude of other
features.
So pick up your copy of Worldgroup today, and
let your imagination go wild.
Besides, even if you don't make it in pictures, at
least you'll be the star of your own BBS.
ProDesign is your best source
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(505) 271-5858 Voice ♦ (505) 271-5845 Fax ♦ (505) 244-0000 BBS
Call today to place your order or to receive our free catalog!
[Hacintosli Online
BY MICHAEL A. KUYKENDALL
Get RIP-ed!
and emulate your way through DOS country
Just a few months ago I
reached a major turn-
ing point in my life. I hit the
ancient age of 30. While
many of you may laugh at
the minor relevance of this,
for me it was a time of great
reflection and soul-search-
ing.
46
Figure 1
I was no longer a "twenty-something."
Would 1 have to give up Pearl Jam and
Live for easy listening? Start taking my
Geritol and stop staying up past 10
p.m.? I think not.
But I had to do something. First, I
had to grow a beard. Seems to me ever)^
couple of years you need to grow some-
thing new. My kids love it — they ask
me daily when I'm going to shave.
Next, I went back and looked at a
bunch of my memorabilia, including
old software.
I've been "Mac-ing" since 1984, and
possess some of the oldest software you
can find for the Mac.
Remember the "Pepsi Caps" appli-
cation used to show off the graphics
capability of the fledgling Mac? Don't
worry, most do not.
I, on the other hand, still got it.
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
RIPRoarin'
You're probably wondering what all
this has to do with BBSs and Macintosh
computing. Wcli, suffice it to say it has
something to do with those caps.
Recently my editor asked me to
evaluate RIP terminal software for the
Mac and to check out some PC BBSs
with RIP interfaces. (RIP stands for
Remote Imaging Protocol, by the way,
and essentially gives DOS boards a very
colorful GUI.)
After a thorough terminal search,
the only relevant package I could find
was PowerConnect by Cambridge
Computer Corp.
PowerConnect is a terminal emula-
tion package capable of emulating a
variety of terminals including RIPscrip,
DEC VT52/VT100/VT200/VT300
series, ADDS Viewpoint, Lear Siegler,
Honewell/BULL VIP7700 and DKU
series and Tektronics 4010/4014.
Communications interface includes:
Async, Comm. ToolBox, TCP/IF and
VIP Sync.
It reminds me of my early days of
using TTY and VT terminal emulation
software. This is definitely NOT a pack-
age for novices, mind you, but fortu-
nately there's an electronic user's man-
ual over 100 pages long included (as a
Common Ground document).
PowerConnect has a director)' with
lots of boards already listed, including
the Cambridge BBS. One thing I deter-
mined very quickly is that RIP GUI
BBSs are very popular and also very
busy most of the time. To check them
out meant late-night or eariy-morning
calls — while everyone's asleep or at
work.
I dialed several different kinds ni' PC
boards. The Major BBS (produced by a
company called Galacticomm) sup-
ports RIP graphics, as shown in Figure
1. But a funny thing 1 found is this
board has the same look and feel as a
marketplace and information board
here in Atlanta, leaving me to wonder
about the ability of The Major BBS to
allow customization of the RIP graph-
ics for their boards. Anyone running a
Ripped Major BBS please feel free to
correct me.
The next flavoi" board 1 visited was
Wildcat! (Mustang Software), as shown
in Figure 2. All of the RIP boards I
checked out only allowed connections
of 9600, and therefore it took some
time for me to sign up as a new
account, as a different graphical screen
appeared for each bit of information.
(Frankly, 1 prefer the Noval.ink Pro
and First Class single-screen approach,
with different fields you can tab to and
fillotit.)
I also had some problems with
dropping carrier during registration on
several different boards. Mowcver, I'm
not sure if it's the brand of modem or
the quality of our wonderful lines that
was to blame.
But after finally signing on and
holding carrier, I did find plenty to
enjoy graphics-wise on each of ihe
boards. The lettering was colorful and
large — clean enough for me to read
easily. A standard main screen for a
Wildcatl board may be seen in Figure 3.
rambhdqe - pDuierConnect
Figure 2
[ 11 nCART10.TXT
1,23
DL line uu^uu^uj
I [ 91 JtlBBS.ZIP
left bii GRAHF GIUItSIHI .
Figure 3
The use of buttons and being able to
mouse-click my wa)' through made the
journey much easier.
Still, it all feels somewhat alien from
my standard Mac interface. 'I'he lack of
crisp icons and graphics makes me feel
that 1 am definitely dealing with a f^C,
and that PC BBS software has a lillle
way to go with the RIP graphics. I'm
not knocking it, mind you, I just enjoy
the use of graphics immensely and was
occasionally experiencing bad flash-
backs of those awful early Prodigy days.
On the ^vhole, PowcrCtmnect does a
good job of supporting RIP graphics.
Ho\vever, PowerConnect does not sup-
port pattern flood fill; it fills with a
rJOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
solid color instead. It also does not sup-
port animation of the color palette
when flood fill is selected,
PowerConnect is shareware and may be
used for thirty days, after which you
must register the product or remove
the software from your system. To reg-
ister, contact:
Cambridge Computer Corp.
Product Registration
80 Mount San ford Road
Mount Carmel, CT 06518-1210
203.288.6004
Internet: info(?Pcam.com
Continues..
47
Check out some of these new applications and
utilities, availaljle on many online semces,
BBSs, and Internet IH'P sites.
ImageMasterl.O is a
freeware utility made to
handle really big disk
images. You can use
ImageMaster just like
ShriiikWrap, bjl it's
specifically designed to tiancfle large volumes
like fiard drives, removables and CD-ROfi/ls.
You can use ImageMaster to back up your old
SyQuest cartridges, verify the integrity of CD-
ROM builds, take a "snapshot" ol your system
configuration, mount volumes over the
network, or create "instant RAM disks."
Mascot 1.4 is a freeware
utility for First Class
administrators that
performs four different
functions. It vi/ill take a
desktop/conference
capture and convert it to a batch admtn
command to create those conferences/folders
on another server. (This is good if you want to
start gating a large number oi conferences);
take a corrupted desktop capture and convert
it to a normal conference capture for use with
programs such as Conference List Tool; take a
return delimited list of conferences/folders (in
a text file) and convert it to batch admin to
create those conferences on a server: and, it
will convert a user list to a comma delimited
document, whicfi can be imported to most
database programs.
Guillotine 1.Dd3 is a tile
utility that "decapitates"
those ugly all caps DOS-
like filenames. Just drop
the offending files/folders
on it, and the names will
become all lowercase. Guillotine processes the
complete contents of dropped folders. fJote:
you will have to close and reopen the folder for
the new name(s) to appear in the finder.
Mac-IBIVI-conipare
□ Version 2.0,4 compares
the Mac and IBM machines
CPUs, hardware (monitor
support and expansion),
operating systems
(includes number crunching), networking and
printing; it covers not only present
hardware/sottdvare statistics and features but
also future possibilities. Despite its condensed
and generalized format it still provides some
tiiougfit-provoking reading on the relative
merits, problems and deficiencies of Macs and
IBM PCs, It also contains some FAQ answers
about both machines and the PowerPC tine.
48
Other RIP Programs
In all fairness, I need to mention two
other products that support RIP on the
Mac. NovaLink Pro for the Macintosh
(from ResNova Software) has support-
ed RIP graphics in their host software
from its inception. There is also
allegedly a program called RIPTerm for
Macintosh from TeleGrafix (RIP cre-
ators) that's supposed to be a clean and
simple application (much like
PowerConnect). However, I couldn't
get TeleGrafix to send me an evaluation
copy to review for this column (they
promised a copy, but it never arrived;
they were also impossible to reach by
phone). If it arrives, I'll deliver a report
in the future.
Mail and Utils
1 try to stick to answering questions
about BBSs and Macs, for the most
part, but I've had more and more
queries each month concerning the
Internet and how to connect using a
Mac. Here are a couple of the ques-
tions, as well as a few new utilities and
applications worth checking out.
Q; Is it possible to attach files (like
graphics) to an email message from
\vithin Eudora?
A: Of course. In Eudora, if you look
under the "Message" menu, you'll find
the "Attach Document" command.
Eudora will BinHex the file and attach
it to the message.
Q; I close my connection under
"Config PPP", then go out and launch
one of my Internet apps or utils, but
then the Config PPP window pops
back up again. What's happening here?
A: Don't use the "Soft Close" button in
ConfigPPP, use "Hard Close" instead.
"Soft Close" will cause Config PPP to
try to re-establish a connection when-
ever a TCP/IP application or utility is
launched. "Hard Close," on the other
hand, won't allow re-connection until
you click the Open button.
Net Files
Cyber Link is a URL
utility that allows you
to use the Finder and
its icons to keep track
of and organize all the
NOVEMBER t995 BBS MAGAZINE
places you visit while you're out surfing
the Web. Cyber Link files are like
Macintosh Finder aliases except they
point to W^WW files and documents
instead of Macintosh files and docu-
ments. When you click on one in the
Finder, the Cyber Link application
sends a message to your Web browser
telling it to go to that location. You can
drop MacWeb URL files on the Cyber
Link applications icon as well.
InterSLIP Timer
V. 1.4.2 is a utility
application to be
used with InterSLIP
that allows you to
keep track of how much time you
spend on your SLIP account. InterSLIP
Timer requires System 7.0 or later.
MacPPP Timer
v. 1.4.2 is a utility
application to be used
with MacPPP that
allows you to keep
track of how much time you spend on
your PPP account, MacPPP Timer
requires System 7.0 or later.
EasyTransfer is a file
transfer utility that
allows you to access
files on Macintosh
computers over the
Internet. It completely does away with
the need to preprocess (BinHex) files
before they can be sent. Throughput is
very fiist, too. It also supports run-time
file compression.
Control PPP 1. 1 is a
control strip module
that lets you connect
or disconnect
MacPPP and open
the MacTCP and Config PPP control
panels to change your dial-up number,
etc. It also indicates whether MacPPP is
open or not by its icon, in case you
have an internal modem. Control PPP
1.1 is postcardware.
Michael A. KuykendaU can he reached
through the Online Macintosh Users'
Group BBS, Macintosh OnHiie, at
404.822.5929, or via his email address at
andykirk@aol.com.
Apdi - The Nation^ Largest Service Bureau
Witfi over 500 simultaneous connect lines (and growing fast!} APDI is
the nation's premier Service Bureau providing customized on-line
systems for corporate and professional organizations nationwide.
APDI will work with you to design your on-line system and then
implement and operate it at our state-of-the-art Service Center located
just outside of Washington, D.C. We provide all hardware, software
and communication facilities required to make your system a success.
We also provide a professional Help Desk to assist your users in
connecting. You are free to concentrate on the data, APDI takes care of
all technical details!
Your Choices
APDI offers you a wide range of options for your on-line system
including:
• User Interface: MS Windows Client, RIP, ANSI, Terminal
• Connect Method: Toll Call, 800 Number, Local Call Nationwide, ISDN
• Internet Access: Telnet, World Wide Web, E-Mail
• Systenf) Design: Customized to present your unique image
On-Line Applications
APDI has implemented systems for some of the nation's largest
organizations. We have developed service bureau applications for
publishing, associations, university courses, customer support,
software distribution, CD-ROIVI order processing, and more! If your
project doesn't fit a standard application, we can develop a custom on-
line system to fit your needs.
QicGlaJi For Windows, v. I.OC
T^rrr
1
Saw^CHn
[o
E]3„
u^ Jj |? jvlgft^nfl f&oem HO. S4H 03831 Drug bf^'tsmpntg SufaWance CoOe
Screen shot from APDI's new Cheetah for Workgroup Product
APDl's Cheetah product is the on-line industry's fastest and most
powerful full text search and retrieval program. Search one or multiple
databases using Boolean and proximity search phrases. Megabytes of
data can be searched in fractions of seconds. You can take advantage of
Cheetah on your system running at APDI's Service Center or you can
buy the package to run on your in-house system. Cheetah is compatible
with virtually all popular BBS programs including a new version for
Galacticomm's Worldgroup!
President Mark Burnett in one of APDI's Computer Rooms
What Makes APDI Number One?
Our Stale-ol-the-Art Service Center and Secure Environment
• USRobotics 33.6Kbps modems on all phone lines
• ISDM, Packet Switching, Frame Relay
• Fully redundant hardware systems m
• Independent backup power facility
• Automated data backups daily
•Complete virus scanning
•7 by 24 system monitoring
• Continuous technology refreshment
Our User Support
• Professionally staffed Help Desk for your users from 9 a.m. to 1 2
midnight EST
Our Customers and Alliances Vm-
Some of the largest and most progressive corporations, associations
and even major online services have selected APDI to implement and
operate on-line systems for them. Additionally, many manufacturers
and service providers have chosen APDI as a business partner. Among
these are:
• Galacticomm, Inc. • Mustang Software, Inc. 'CompuServe Network Systems
Our Reputation and Demand lor Excellence
...having worked with APDI in setting up the PTO's on-line information
system we continue to be impressed with their high quality of service
and professionalism.
Jim Moriarty, United States Patent and Trademark Office
...we are very impressed with APDI's excellent support and operation
admission critical Worldgroup based on-line systems.
Scott Brinksr, President, Galacticomm, Inc.
. . . CompuServe is excited about the benefits that APDI can bring to our
existing and future client base.
JeffKiely, CompuServe Network Systems
Application Programming & Deueiopment, Inc.
6805 Coolridge Drive, Camp Springs, MD 20748
Ph: 1-800-785-APDI Fax:301-449-1224 INFOmPDI.NET
Worldgroup BBS: 301-449-1835 APDI Wildcat BBS: 301-449-6100
By Hank Hurteau
Following are top downloads as recorded last month on three BBSs across
the U.S. Look lor them on your favorite local BBS, too.
Files such as QWK packets have been omitted, as have any graphic files.
Descriptions are generated by author or bulletin board.
Programs carried in the " Top Ten " download list don 't necessarily denote
a good program, of course — just one that's frequently downloaded.
You'll have to be the judge v/hen it comes to quality.
And keep in mind: always look tor the latest program, as one of the
advantages to using (and registering) sharevme is that you'll be privy to
the frequent updates.
ABSOLUT(e)LY TEMPORARY 702.254.8601
Sysop: Chip Shapiro
1 WIN95TPS.ZIP 3123
Tips for Windows 95. Helps you get past some annoying little "features"
of Win95, sucfi as autoloading at boot up instead of going to DOS. and
hov; to fix the Start menu delay.
2 2FIFFY5.ZIP 267106
REoL TOUGH 2: Forbidden Mines. MAP01 replacement for Doom II! An
old mine shall has been convened to a demon's base of torture, with lots
of work done to become their base! Recommended: 486/66 or better
3 CSEVILDM.ZIP 49086
Chainsaw's Evil: PWAD for DOOM I
happy spots in which you get to kll
(Hmmm.)
:?
I. You are in an evil place filled with
your friends, enemies and relatives.
UPER :±> PE
4 IDA304.ZIP 529572
The Interactive DisAssembler v3.04. Full WYSIWYG interactive disassem-
bler for i80x86, 18085 zBO. i860, PENTIUM — Input: US Windows, OS/2
files, EXE, ME. LE. LX. HEX, NLM etc.
5 L0GI64.ZIP 572628
Logitech Mouseware Enhanced Version 6.40 with cloaked drivers.
6 SSUPER.ZIP 252581
Super Speed Version 1.1, Ihis speedy car racing game delivers pure
action for up to four players. Challenge friends or compete against the
computer's drivers. Eventful tracks with all the obstacles you usually pre-
fer not to find in real life driving. Requires: 386+. VGA.
7 WINZIP60.ZIP 313724
WinZip 6.0 for Windows 3.1 S Workgroups . Now supports
McAfee WSCAN and other scanners. Brings the convenience of Windows
to Zipping, External programs not needed for ZIP, tar. gz. z.
8 AIRDRUM1.ZIP 708083
AIRDRUMS is a Windows multimedia MIDI drum machine which does
more than bang a drum. Sound Blaster Compatibie, record MIDI instru-
ments from external devices-like triggers, sequencers, keyboards, or even
a PC keyboard. Play along with a CD. mix the levels while you record a
MIDI file, all in a Ray Traced graphics program.
9 FUZZY10D.ZIP 2078615
Fuzzy's World VI .00s — Pixel Painters releases its most spectacular
game to date. It's vM. It's zany. It's. ..space golf? That's right, the most
outrageous sport of the future is here for you today! Completely animat-
ed, outstanding graphics and music. Req: 4M, RAM, VGA, HD. Mouse.
386/33 (486 recommended); Opt: Sound Card.
10 SHEZ1D7.ZIP 424037
SHEZ v1 0.7--Premier Compression Shell.
ZIP,LHA,ZOO.ARC,ARJ,S0Z.PAK,UC2.HAP,RAR. WINDOWS COM-
PRESSED supported. One of the most full-featured compressed file shells
around. Fixed problem with SMARTCOPY/MOVE. Added ability to NOT fil-
ter chars when autalaadlng 4D0S desc. file. Can config, SHEZ to NOT
sv/ap when performing 4D0S functions, Nov; includes 386 version of
SHEZ,
50
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
Freeware Hall of Fame BBS 804.293.2693
Sysop: Rey Barry
1 C0IV1BI113.ZIP 47104
Combi cache v1.13. DOS 6 and downward compatible. Adds support of
XMS 3.0 for Windows and XIVIS re-allocate function for MkSM 6.0. The
default installation parameters are changed to how 99 percent of users
were setting them. Allocates all available XMS memory, creates RAIVI disk
of maximum size and releases as much of its buffer as is available (i.e.
total buffer size minus RAM disk boot sector, FAT and root directory size)
unless told otherwise.
2 BIN2ASC1.ZIP 16008
Binary to ASCII converter to send any kind of binary file, GIF. ZIP. EXE
etc. to an email message. Widely used on the Internet to include pictures
and execulables in email documents.
3 FP-218E.ZIP 585367
F-PROT version 2,18e Ttie F-PROT anti-virus package contains a virus
scanner combined v;ith a disinfection program, as well as a resident mon-
itoring program for intercepting known viruses. Free of charge for private
users.
4 FREEV17A.ZIP 31004
Free v1 .7a Free space mapping utility. Displays information on single dri-
ves, ranges or lists. Displays both bytes and true megabytes of space
available, space used, and total drive space.
5 FTASK123.ZIP 49241
FTaskman v1 .23 WIN Task Manager with many additional functions, such
as showing invisible tasks/displaying icons of tasks. By Andreas Furrer
(one of the most committed freeware authors).
6 GLDWV21.ZIP 283377
GOLDWAVE v2.11 WIN sound editor/player. Supports sound cards SB,
SB16, PAS16, GUS. t6-bit Stereo editing uses 386 — 32-bit instructions
for processing. Super zoom magnifies a sample level for accurate editing.
Direct editing v^ith mouse. Editing lunctions: undo, cut, copy, paste, trim,
mix, delete. Built-in support for WAV, VOC, IFF, AU. Sf^JD.
7 OZUITERI.ZIP 555254
TERMINATE 2.01 Epsilon [1/4] Outstanding free multitask communica-
tions program for DOS, OS/2 Warp or Windows. Internet/ISDN speeds up
to 115,200 bps v;hile using integral OWK'em mail reader. File Mavigator or
playing its TETRIS game or a CD-ROM, RIPscrip and Fido. Powerful
REXX-like Script Language. SmartPad, MQUseMenu(TM). Comprehensive
Fax Manager and cost management included. Long distance carriers,
Zmodem, CompuServe 6+, Kermit and voice calls. 8/21/95,
8 D2D1TER2.ZIP 583235 TERMINATE 2.01 Epsilon [2/4]
9 D2D1TER3.ZIP 264579 TERMINATE 2.01 Epsilon [3/4]
10 0ZD1TER4.ZIP 535786 TERMINATE 2.01 Epsilon [4/4]
Fuzzy's World
Uncle Hank's BBS 413.527.8977
Sysop: Hank Hurteau
1 #1HP11-A.ZIP 336054
HOCUS POCUS vl.1 by APOGEE! Part 1,'3. Also needs #1HP11-B &
#1HP11-C.2iP. Scrolling action game like Mario Bros,, with constant vari-
ety o1 levels, graphics, music, enemies and awesome parallaxing back-
grounds. In a magical kingdom, Hocus must overcome many realms
before becoming a (ull-fledged Wizard. Supports all major sound boards,
like Ad Lib, GUS, PAS, SB & general MIDI. Three skill levels, joystick/pad
optional.
2 #1HP11-B.ZIP 305906 HOCUS POCUS vl.1 by APOGEE! Part 2/3.
3 #1HP11-C.ZIP 303313 HOCUS POCUS vl-1 by APOGEE! Part 3/3.
ORGAN.ZIP 121611
AMF Intelligent Organ/Synthesizer for Windows. The first organ to offer
features such as 127 instrument/voice seiection, volume control, octave
control and recoding capability as well as playback capability. This organ
actually looks and works like an organ. Has an auto playback feature to
ma!(es it appear someone is actually playing! Works like a Casio keyboard
but easier!
5 1_TAGENT.ZIP 1452508
Teen Agent — One day a teenager is captured by two men in dark glasses
and long coats. This could be a very interesting day. Get ready for a v^on-
derfully humorous adventure. Teen Agent is a point-and-click animated
graphic adventure that features detailed hand-painted backgrounds and
20,000+ individual frames of animation. REO 286+. Supports SB, ADLIB,
GUS, Mouse,
6 ASECRETS.ZIP 144273
Amazing Secrets, a hovMo of amazing stunts & tricks. Includes fire tricks,
strength stunts, psychic secrets, weird stuff, shov/-off tricks, impossible
things, bar bets and "con jobs." Great fun.
7 GIFSZE15.ZIP 46151 GifsizeV 1.5 — Resize GIFs and produce
zooms/icons from them. Use the mouse to specify areas. Requires
mouse. VGA or SVGA graphics.
8 iSHIFTER.ZIP 287295
Shape Shifter Adventure. The weirdest, coolest, text adventure you will
ever play. To win the game you must find the machine to cure Shape
Shifterism, Once you find the machine, hopefully you can fix it and then
turn it on to cure yourself.
9 AIR233.ZIP 119182
Aircraft Modifier V 2.33 for FS5 airplanes.
10 A1RL1FT.ZIP 131883
A really cool remake of the classic game Choplifter. Fly your chopper
behind enemy lines and rescue hostages but be wary of the menacing
tanks, jets and drones. Requires 3B6DX-40 or better, VGA (joystick
optional). SoundBlaster or compatible highly recommended to enjoy the
original soundtrack and digital sound.
If you are a sysop and carry a Top Ten bulletin on your BBS, and woulil like
to see your board listed here, please contact "Uncle" Hank at Uncle Hank's
BBSoratunkhank@ix.netcDm.com UMM
Hank Hurteau can be reached at unkhank@crocker.com
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
51
^
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CQ
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ORDRES ONL.V
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m%\\m
Q&A
BY TESS HEDER
Ask Tess
Q: While leading some online chats on my BBS, occasionally
one of my callers asks to meet me or wants to visit my BBS,
This always catches mc off guard — especially in a group chat
situation, since my BBS is all of one PC in my bedroom! Any
suggestions about how to respond?
Chris from Pcfiiisylvania
A: Here's my take on this type of situation. You certainly can
say no. However, if you are truly interested in meeting a user
who makes an inquiry, respond via a receiver only message
outside of the group chat medium. Just tell the user while in
group chat that this topic's out of bounds in your role as
group chat facilitator. Once you switch your dialog over to
email you're in a one on one situation, which you are on your
own to handle responsibly.
Should you notice your users often talking about
meeting each other or meeting you, you might
encourage them to schedule a social event
such as a BBS picnic, brunch or party. BBS
social events can be a lot of fun, and
strengthen the bonds between the mem-
bers of your online community.
Ql Many people would agree that one
of the best things about a BBS is the
interaction with other people. This
seems to be especially true with BBS
Door games that feature multiplayer
interaction. I am in the process of setting
up a BBS and was hoping you could rec-
ommend some Multi-User Dimension
(MUD) games and other types of multiplayer
games.
Nate from Alabama
f^i
A: Yes, interactive online games are very popular and relative-
ly easy to set up on your BBS. One of the major BBS software
publishers packages a series of online games, all of which you
can add to the system. Other BBS software users can select
from literally thousands of independently authored BBS Door
games. Some well known, fully interactive text adventure
Door games include Legend of the Red Dragon, Lunatix and
Tradewars. Widely played graphics adventures games include
Land of Devastation and VGA Planets. Online board games,
chess tournaments, trivia, card and sports games also have
avid foUowings. Colorful ANSI or RIP graphics tend to distin-
guish BBS Door games from the MUD games — which popu-
late the Internet and feature truly awesome, real-time global
interactivih'.
Q: I saw your Q&A in BSS Magazine. I am new to the
Internet, etc. and am wondering what the policies are regard-
ing advertising on various BBSs?
Email from America Online
A: Advertising policies vary from BBS to BBS, so your first
responsibilit}' as a curious user is to ask the sysop. With few
exceptions, BBSs do not present paid-for advertising integrat-
ed with their content. And for the most part, public domain
and shareware software files that distribute on BBSs are not
pure advertising. Advertising often comes into play in a couple
of ways, however. Buy/sell message bases and classified ad-
type interactive online databases are very popular features on
many subscription boards. Typically BBS users buy and sell
from each other in these areas — which function sort of like
ongoing electronic garage sales or flea markets. When it
comes to the files and other informational goodies
that circulate on BBSs, these are often packaged
with a small file that identifies the author or
the producer — another relatively non-
invasive way folks can make themselves
known and peddle their wares at the
same time.
-#
;^
Q: I'm a new sysop and was wondering
how to get callers. |Ah, the eternal
question.] I've put up flyers but I'm
only getting a couple of callers to dial in
each day, and one or two who call once a
week. What do I do?
Dan from New Hatnpshire
A: This is a tough spot to be in and one that new sysops
often face. But, to be sure, electronic signs work a lot better than
paper ones. Get an up-to-date listing of BBSs in your area. Call
these boards and ask the sysops if you can post messages
announcing your new BBS (many sysops will let you do this).
And while you're at it, get your BBS listed, too. Make your mes-
sage attractive, your BBS welcome screen engaging, and be sure
you have good content — then hope for the best! ^^
Tess Heder is co-founder of Channel 1*, winner of the
Dvorak/Zoom Award of Excellence in Telecommunications 1992
— Best General Interest BBS. Contact her at:
BBS: Comment to sysop, 617.349.1300 V.34
Email: tess.heder@channell.com
Fax: 617.354.3100, Attention: Ask TESS
US Mail: Channel 1, Attn: Ask Tess, 1030 Massachusetts
Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138.
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
53
ITIoileins
BY MODEM MACE
ZyXEL Fires Back
Modem maker, at last, offers new line
Let's get re-acquainted
with an old friend of
the sysop/BBS caller. The
friend, known as ZyXEL,
has received little press
lately, and as a company,
they've actually been
pretty quiet since last year.
You see, ZyXEL waited
nearly 12 months longer
than most manufacturers
to release a V.34 modem,
probably hurting their
reputation in the sysop
community as well as the
desktop market. They're
back now, however, and
ready to do battle with the
Big Boys.
Where they've been...
The Anaheim-based extension of the
Taiwan-bLiscd ZyXEL
C^omniiinications Corporation was
founded in 1988, with a charter "to
be the driving force in modem com-
munications by leading the field with
proactive pricing, intelligent features,
technological advancements, and
aggressive marketing."
The company first entered the
market with a high-speed data pump
in 1990, followed by a full line of
high-speed V.32bis modems in 1991.
Subsequent products have resulted in
an array of standard and Intelligent
features at low prices.
All ZyXEL V.32bis fax/modems
(with voice) come with ZyXEL
I6.8Kbps Ultra High Speed. The Plus
Series offers advanced voice capabili-
ty with Speech Compression and
increased throughput of up to
2,200cps. The modems offer
enhanced fax capabilities including
V.17-14.4Kbps and G3 fax with auto-
matic detection of fax or modem
calls. ZyXEL ZFAX software supports
up to 1,000 data, fax and voice mail-
boxes, ^vhile the Macintosh and
Windows versions support up to
1 ,000 voice/fax mailboxes — all on
one phone line. The entire line of
ZyXEL internal, external, rack-
mount, cellular and portable
modems feature Call-Back Security
with Password Protection as well as
the ability to upgrade by firmware.
ZyXEL high-speed modems even
support distinctive ring for incoming
fax or modem calls. They also sup-
port remote configuration through
dial-up lines, and are designed to
operate over dial-up or leased lines.
Where they're going...
Now ZyXEL has introduced their lat-
est lineof ISDN/V.34 modems, (a
tact that's not exactly news by the
time you're reading this, I realize)
combining data, fax, voice and cellu-
lar. The new family of modems
includes the ZyXEL Elite 2864 and
the Elite 28641. As you may be able
to tell from the product designator,
the key difference between these two
units is with and without ISDN. The
2864 is upgradable to ISDN for a
nominal cost. The ZyXEL Elite 2864
conforms to all ITU-T standards
including the \'.34 protocol. It will
automatically fall back to lower
speeds when communicating with
slo\ver modems or when line condi-
tions degrade, and it maintains com-
patibility to ZyXEL proprietary
19.2Kbps and 16.8Kbps speeds.
What is obviously missing from
both these units is support for the
fjopular VFC and less popular
V.32terbo protocols. ZyXEL seems to
have taken the same ITU-T high-
road that companies such as
Motorola have also ventured upon.
No word yet as to possible support
for 33. 6K V.34, otherwise referred to
asV.34PlusorV.34bis.
Did I say ISDN upgradable? With
an optional ISDN line interface
module, the ZyXEL Elite 2864 can be
upgraded to a ZyXEL ISDN device.
Users have two B Channels that can
«R5-
III
NOVtMBEf
be used for simultaneous communi-
cation. For example, one B Channel
using ISDN can transmit informa-
tion at 64Kbps while the other B
Channel is transmitting analog data
(using an external analog device such
as phone or modem) at up to
28.8Kbps.
The Elite Series modem family
allows ISDN's two 64Kbps B
Channels to be combined for
128Kbps. ZyXEL is the first manu-
facturer to implement V.42bis data
compression over ISDN.
It should be noted that both these
additives are not standards for ISDN.
Combining the two B channels,
known as bonding, has yet to be
standardized. Supporting bonding is
only compatible among other ZyXEL
ISDN modems until a standard B
channel bonding protocol is adopt-
ed. The digital modems support
AT&T 5ESS, Northern Telecom
DMS-100, Siemens EWSD, and
1TR6 EDSSl switches — with either
NI-1 or custom protocols. The Elite
28641 supports Async/Sync PPP, rate
adaptation ITU-T V. 1 20, V. 1 10 and
also X.75. The ZyXEL 28641 digital
modems automatically switch
between ISDN mode and
fax/modem mode without user
intervention.
Traditionally, users had one tele-
phone Line that could be used for a
single purpose. With the Elite 28641
you have the capability of establish-
ing an ISDN connection AND a
standard analog connection at the
same time, with the same modem,
with one standard ISDN line. Other
manufacturers such as Motorola and
U.S. Robotics have followed suit.
The Elite series of modems pro-
vides a number of other features not
necessarily pertinent to the sysop or
online service provider (OSP), so I'll
skip those features.
ZyXEL also offers the RS-1602E, a
Rackmount System for the ZyXEL
U-1496RE Plus and the U-1496RE
modem cards. The cards offer the
identical features as the company's
U-1496E Plus and U-1496E models.
TABLE I — SVSOPS HIGH-SPEED MODEM DISCOUNTS BY VENDOR AND MODEL TYPE
VENDOR/ 14.4KV.32liis 14.4KV.32bis V.32TERB0, V.FC, V.32TERB0, V.FC
PRODUCT INTERNAL EXTERNAL V.34 INTERNAL V.34 EXTERNAL
Continues
AT&T
Paradyne
3721 -B1 -001-
£150
3710-A1-20r
S165PC;S190Mac
$175
N/A
CPI/
ViVa
ViVa 14.4
S180
ViVa 14.4
SI 96
N/A
N/A
Hayes Corp
Optima 144B*
$179
Ultra 144
$249
N/A
Optima 288+FAX
v.FC 28.8k $259
Optima 144+FAX*
$179 PC; $179 Mac
Intel
SatisFax/400
$249
14.4 EX
$269
N/A
N/A
Faxmodem 144i
$99
SatisFAX/400e*
$245
Faxmodem I44e
$109
Microcom
N/A
N/A
N/A
DeskPorte FAST
v.FC 28.8k $249
Travel Porte FAST
v.FC 28.8k $249
MulfiTech
IVIT1432BC
$400
MT1432BA"
$400
N/A
N/A
MT1432ES
$400 MCA
MT1432MU*
S300
MT1432BL"
$450
MT1432PCS
$575
Practical
Peripherals
N/A
PM14400FXSA*
$215
N/A
N/A
PM14400FXMT-
$155
Supra
Corp
SuprafAXModem"
$109
SupraFAXModem"
$139
SI 59
Supra V34
$179
USRotioiics
N/A
N/A
N/A
HSTV.Eveiything
V.34, VFC, FAX*
$249
Ven-Tel
PCM144FAX'
$195
EC144FAX'
$215
N/A
N/A
PCMV.32bis*
$480
ECV.32bis*
$525
MCM144FAX-
$380 MCA
flMV.32bis 11'
$425
Zoom
Telephonies
VFPV.32Bis-
$99
VFX V.32BIS-
$119 PC; $130 Mac
VFP V.FC 24k
$99
VFX V.FC 24k
$119 PC; $130 Mac
VFP V.FC 2B.8k
SI 39
VFX V.FC 28.8k
$159 PC; $170 Mac
ZyXEL
U-1496B" 16,BK
S299
U-1496E- 16.8K
$299
N/A
U-1496E*
v.32terbo16.8K $299
U-1496B+* 19.2K
$389
" Modems with an asterisk include 14,400 baud FAX send/receive at no extra charge]
Nates on Table I:
1. All internal modems are assumed to be PC-AT ISA t)us unless otherwise noted. Some manufacturers do not offer
internals: be careful when ordering.
2. Consult manufacturer tot details on availability of Caller ID or voice-mail processing options (any modem above).
3. Ttiese prices NEVER Include shipping and handling, which is always extra, Ttypically S5 - $15 U.S. dollars.
4. V.34 is International (ITU-T) standard for 2a.aK. This is not the same as V.FAST (generic name) or V.FC (Rockwell
based 28.8K standard).
NOVEIidBE
TABLE II —
VENDOR CONTACT INFORMATION
VENDOR
NAME
CALL THEIR BBS
AT THIS NUMBER
AND...
...DOWNLOAD
THIS FILE.
IF YOU HAVE
QUESTIONS OR
PROBLEMS CALL..
CONTACT VIA
EMAIL
AT&T Paradyne
(813)532-5254
ATTSYSOP.TXT
(800) 554-4996
t.bradshaw@paraclyne.com
CPI/VIVa
(805) 499-9646;
(215)746-9948
CPIA.TXT
(800) 854-7600
Hayes Corp.
(404) 446-6336:
(800) USHAYES
H96SYS0P.TXT
(404) 840-9200
rlacy@hayes.com
Intel
(503) 645-6275
OFFER.TXT
(503) 228-9707
Microcom
(800) 822-8224
SYSOP.TXT
(617) 762-5134
MultiTech
(612)785-9875;
(800) 392-2432
PRICE.TXT
(612) 785-3500
Pract. Per.
(404) 734-4600
SYSBBS.TXT
(404) 840-9966
GO PPIFORUM (CompuServe)
Supra Corp.
(503) 967-2444
SYSOP.TXT
(503) 967-2400
Qrders@supra.com
USRobotics
(708) 982-5092
SYSDEAL.TXT
(708) 982-5151
(800) 550-7800
suppon@usr.com
CIS 76711,707
Ven-Tel
(408) 922-0988
SYSDEAL.TXT
(408) 436-7400
Zoom Teleph.
(617)423-3733
ZOOMBBS.ZIP
(617) 423-1076
CIS 71333,1527
ZyXEL
(714) 693-0762
ZYXEL.TXT
(714) 693-0304
sales@zyxel.com
The Rackmount System was
specifically designed for the demand-
ing needs of the sysop and OSP mar-
ketplace. The RS-I602E is a nice solu-
tion for small businesses that need
remote access to network resources
and a managed voice/fax/data com-
munications system at an affordable
price. The ZyXEL RS-1602E aUows
you to manage the modem require-
ments of up to 16 lines from one cen-
tralized unit. The Rackmount
System's compact size measures in at
7" X 19".
The RS-1602E is now available
with a suggested retail price of $799.
The company is offering special sysop
pricing for the Rackmount System
and the U-1496RE Plus and U-
1496RE modem cards. These offers
are available to sysops in the United
States, Canada, Mexico and South
America. ZyXEL in Anaheim should
be contacted for current pricing on
this and all sysop offers.
It has been rumored that ZyXEL
was suffering financially, primarily
due to a lack of competitiveness in
the V.34 arena. Indeed, resellers tell
me ZyXEL experienced their first los-
ing month last July. However with
their re-entrance into this market,
their ISDN entries, and their ever-
present rack system, ZyXEL may be
turning the corner. As with all new
technologies, real proof will be in the
performance and long-term reliability
of the products. If they perform as
advertised, ZyXEL will be a welcome
friend to the sysop community.
The modem turns...
New relations are forming in the
modem industr)', new employment
opportunities abound in the fall
months, and the face of the online
community is, as always, changing.
I thought we'd be seeing a new
face (or facelift) for Hayes and BOCA
by now. But wait! Is that another
Chaotic spell I sense? {See issue
10/95.) For instead we see BOCA slid-
ing back out of the picture and yet
another new look for Hayes on the
horizon. What new friends will we be
meeting soon in that camp?
Additionally, more new folks are
joining the SUPRA team, bringing
untold gifts and potential fortune. So
stay tuned for more details.
And me? I'm but a simple Mage
who brings to light what others might
not see.
You can reach me at modem-
mag® ais.net.
Sysop/Provider programs
I've included a couple of basic charts
for those who believe a picture (well,
chart) is worth a few pages of ram-
bling text.
MOVE
The minimum performance level
is v.32bis (14,400 bps), but will soon
be displaced by V.34. All modems
also must have v.42bis for error cor-
rection and data compression to
make this list. The rightmost column
of Table I shows all modems faster
than 14400 bps that support at least
v.32bis standards.
I recommend only V.34 for
sysops. End-users can economically
afford to now live by the same stan-
dards. The V.34 ITU-T standard
offers 50 percent more throughput
than v.32bis, at only minimal cost
increases. It also offers a better
chance at a high-speed connect
(24,000-28,800) than VFC under
minimal line conditions. Beware of
upgrade plans to v.FAST/v.34
modems; various manufacturer pro-
grams vary greatly.
More than a modem
Some vendors offer more than just
modems to the sysops joining their
program. For example, US Robotics
offers substantial discounts off their
CommServer 486 LAN product.
Other vendors, such as ZyXel, offer
big discounts on modem rack-
mounts. A rackmount reduces the
tangle of multiplying power supplies
and becomes economical for sysops
planning on larger, multi-line sys-
tems.
Buyers' restrictions
If you maintain a system operating 24-
hours per day for the last six months,
then you're eligible for any of these dis-
counts. Some manufacturers only
require that you are currently running
a BBS at time of ordering. A few may
actually waive the current operating
requirement.
Once you receive your modem,
you're expected to keep the BBS up
and running between six and 12
months (requirements vary).
Generally, the modem is yours to do
whatever you want with after this
period expires. Some manufacturers
may ask you to never sell modems
purchased on a discount plan.
Modem resellers, such as computer
stores, are generally excluded from
participation in discount plans.
Nearly all of the modem vendors are
accepting VISA and MasterCard for
orders. Some also accept a cashier's
check or money-order for prepay
orders. Personal checks often require
additional clearing time which just
holds up your order. C.O.D. is becom-
ing less common, and is rumored for
phase-out by several of the larger play-
ers over the next few months.
One requirement, which goes for
nearly all vendors, is that they generally
expect at least a one-line advertisement
somewhere in your welcoming screens.
For example: "Using the finest Model
XYZ modem from Acme Modem Co,"
would be perfectly acceptable in all cases.
Order processing and availability
Delivery times and schedules vary radi-
cally, so your mileage may vary. Many
manufacturers are placing orders on
hold until they release V.34, Hayes typ-
ically shipped in 48 hours, and to the
far extreme, US Robotics guarantees a
two to six week waiting period.
For Canadian, European and other
sysops outside the U.S., you may or
may not be eligible for discount offers.
Please check carefully ahead of time to
avoid disappointment. You may want
to check with their European sub-
sidiaries before contacting the U.S.
ModemMag@nis. net
Rusty Edie
Call a different kind of BBS. "We
are the Friendliest BBS in the
World." Our name says it all. Edie
and 1 are a couple of burnouts from
the 60s. We didn't like rules then
and we don't now. Come on in and
relax; you will be among friends.
We have a huge adult section,
including over three gigs of adult
graphics, as well as a fine selection
of public domain and shareware
programs, including over a gig of
family-type graphics. But that's not
what sets us apart. When you call
the first time, you'll know what no
amount of words can tell you, you
are Home. That's right, put up your
feet and enjoy yourself.
We live by three no's: "No
Censorship, No Rules, No Hassle."
You'll find us like no other BBS:
• We answer your messages and
comments.
• We answer your on-line pages.
• We post our address.
• We post our voice phone
number.
Rusty n Edie's BBS
7393 California Ave.
Youngstown, OH 445 1 2
Voice 216-726-4217
HSTonly 216-726-1804
Compucom 216-726-3584
Hayes V-Series 216-726-3619
All (V32etc.) 216-726-2620
Fax 216-726-3595
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
57
The fl-List
To check out the A-hst on the Web, go to
http://www.channel1.com/usbbs/home
If you're a sysop and would Hke to be
considered for the hst, contact one of the
following sites. Posting to the USBBS List
at these sites will place you on the A-List.
BOBsBBS — 916.929.7511
Livewire/CD SUB — Download
CDSUB.2IP from The Livewire BBS (BBS
Magazine's support board) at 609.235.5297
and register the CD SUB Door program
for a permanent listing.
FTP — Download USPUB103.ZIP from
oak.oakland.edu, create USBBS.DAT and
send the completed file to BOBsBBS or
update@bobsbbs.uucp.netcom.com.
Call 609.953.91 10 (voice) for help.
Derived fwm the USBBSLIST.
LEGEND
BAUD
z
z
o
^
= 300
o
^
Lk
1 = 12D0
s 1
a.
C
2 • 2400
- ° i
S3
(C
9 = 9600 or (aster
£ ^ 1 a
S
3
i
£ S z »
Z
«
MODULATION TYPE
B 29 D 50t
3
s
3
ViV.32orV,32bis
U = USRobolics HST
H = Hayes VSM
BBS rtPi
F = V.Fasl. V.34 (1/25/95)
A - Auntie
= Other proprietary method
B = PCBoard
D = USRobolics Dual Standard
C = Phoenix/ColMe'Collosus
iV32 and HST)
D.dBBS
B = Hayes Ultra (V32 and VSM)
F=SpiSjte
SIZE
H = PC-Hosl
lndrcatea-.l,l,W,-mBT1!Wll1MB.TT.V^r.Tmi!mL4Mlll.lM«,tl.Vi»ll.liil.l...mVJ,,.lj.^l-,„y
Major BBS v6.25 - $129.95
Special Price far Limited Time Qniyl Call for th>e full itna of Galacticomm Products
Valuable Applications for The Major BBS!
(tlnhal Monilor - Splil strccn monitor us<:i*. hy key. L-hiss or uscrid A slill use bbs. S7'J
Cti Jl-Now - Splil screen cnc on one chiit & i,l\U usf the bbs? Sysop forced cliai :oo\ % 1 25
l.n.sl CavcmS' Open Lniicd Mud - yojr users build iht fiiitne as ihcy play ii! Sy)^f
Pick l-'p Aflist ' t.els sec if you're as hot as you think you art! Cartfyi not to get dumped. S^^^)
li.irtcndor * Make drinks for computer controlled customers & manage your own bar S*-)^}
\ \x Viewer - Let Lsers sertill up down and keyword search any length lextfilc on your bbs. S7'^
ALCOiinltng Autt>niatiDii - Attxpi 9iM)ii. Credit Curds und other forms oT payment. S3'l
AnonyinuuN Telei;titiifcrent;e - Nobody knows who said what in this leScconremee. S4'J
CoioriJic - Let your users, color ciiordin;ite messages, rcgislrics. piSgcs. whispers and more. $25
Credit Exchange . Allow users to swap days for cirdita or credits for days, totally flexible. S.19
Dual Password .Security - Give nscrs a second password for certaJt: areas of your bbs. .Sl'^
nscculivc Informer - Send New.s. Hulk F.mail hy key, eliss, sex. age &. more. S-)'^
Global Teleconl'creiKe - Talk in 36 channel ai the same time froni anywhere. S-l'*
Grafmi Wall - Our colorfuJ Cirafiiti Wall is globally acccsslbSe for extra usage. SI 5
Modem- fo-Modem - Play modem to niodfin ganics or transfer files directly to users S29
Not Keys - N'tgiite the clTeeis of keys in personal or class keyrings - give ti> users or classes S-19
Major Pager- [.ci users make thoir bcci^rgo oil when receiving emEiil. pages and more! S79
\ fitra Globals - I he most usetul packugcofglobals available, many unique features. S7'*
Vt'orki Wide War ■ lurntcfly Wtirlii C'ihhjucsI. .ilrategy game of world domination S I .VJ
.Aiilojiosl ■ Leave.-! message for the next user, can liold configurable ft of message.'^ SI 5
l y liorlecll - Kuii,irtsljc role playing text adventure, ovvr -iOO aionis, player combat S7y
} ■uhiddcn Lands ( - The City of Fakhon, over 300 rooms to explore, DiiD Style thimc $79
I orhiddcn t,ands II - The Vak* of Orimyrc, o\er 500 rtwmsattd over 120 mtm^ier types S79
} oibiddcn Lands III -Tlic Islands of Diiwn. ovtr 600 rotmis and configutabie quests S79
ii/--Mailer - Send all new -iignnps a flyer in the mail automatically I S79
CliiikL' - Graphical word game: save the sywip from being choked! F.xpundahle dictionary S'^J
Star Market - Einild iniding companies in space ar\d then purchase stock to make prolii. $129
Online Menu Tree Editor - FMil mcjitiing system wilhoui taVing system oflline $K9
Wlia Cares'.' - t'oiurol what gets posted lo your audit trail. $29
LLser Infonnalinn Bditor- Replaces account difiplay/edil. Sysop edit user info $6-1
Major QiiLTy - K,ey\\ord search your anilii trail onlinu', list users with a ccnain ke\ & more $39
K M
Cheersoft
457 Highway 79
Morganville.NJ 07751
800-466-1318x7300 ^^S':;^
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Full internet access & 172 million ad listings in dozens
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of our 600 local phone #'s.
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(Into via voice) (Into via modem)
1-317-359-5100
(modem info & local access #)
teimit:trader.com
flBS:908-5S'l-11?l
NOVEMBER 1S95 BBS MAGAZINE
59
334-702-4713 AL Dothan
Shadow NbI BBS Phil Willis
Games adult DOS Windov/s.
w 29 b lOt 1
360-299-0491 WAAnacortes
Fat Point S. Chris Spry
Mission #2 support, liles.lun.
W 09 VB 3+ 1
360-427-6854 WAShellon
The TimberJack Brad Gallien Jr
Fun, games, Iree speech,
Q 29 V 9+1
401-621-4600 Rl Providence
E'NeslBBS Stanley Ulbrych
General purpose board 3/84.
B 19 FV 3204-31 F
402-474-3747
Da Place BBS
Mark Fruehlino
403-283-1107 AB Calgary
Foothills HAM Chris Krinjel
Support (or amateur radio.
B 09 DF 15 2
404-476-7880
The Late NIte Bobby Nowell
404-478-9700
The Night Shift Bill Hardy
404-773-7966
Warp Factor Mark Stewart
404-936-0550
Music Conn David Coleman
405-354-6937 OK Yukon
Chamljer32Di)ors Dave Mather
Music & games.
X 29 V 6t 1 3
405-478-8250 OK Edmond
Medicus BBS John Gilliam
Medical computing on DOS,
B 19 FD 60+ 3 3
405-670-1367 OK OK City
Shadow Magic Ouane Robertson
Free speech & computing.
X 19 f 14+ 1
405-728-7124
liotel California Uoyd Uwson
406-256-1301 IWT Billings
Great Escape! S. Richardson
Games, and ions of fun,
W 19 D 14+ 2
407-574-0670 FL Deltona
ShyNel Jeff Ballard
Largesttiles section in area,
X 29 F 52+5 S
407-676-6233 FL Melbourne
Fisherman: Net Shawn Edwards
Christian, CalvafyNet,
X 19 D 3 1
407-684-1200 FL West Palm
TheEaglesNesI Markrjetzel
Online games, chattinQ.
S 29 VF 10 3
407-687-8712 FL W PIm Beach
Bloomunil Linda Bloom
Forhomeschool families,
X 19 V 13 1
407-722-5020 FL Melbourne
Onllne'Lusions Alex Rudloff
Chat & general all around BBS,
W 19 VO 10+ 6 S
407-740-8353 FL Winter Park
Round Table Allan ffollz
Armor accounting software,
W 19 V 7+1
407-834-9468 FL Altomonte
Tech net Steve Miller
Mode! search94, usenel, fido,
B 99 B 11+2 S 2
407-859-7428
The Death Star Nicholas Seabury
407-895-0076 FL Orlando
Sneaky Pete's Jim Muddle
Communications & networking,
W 19 DF 8 1
407-932-0584 FL kissimmee
NiVETS BBS Steven webb
Epic games site, 288 modems,
W 09 FO 14+ 1
403-364-2789
PereLine BBS
Tom Serface
408-378-6583 CA San Jose
Matrix Online Darryl Perry
San Jose Bay Area
T 09 V 14+ 2
408-384-8634 CA Marina
Sleel Beach Ronald Pugh
Programming. Linux, Internet
Q 29 VF 11+1
409-769-4249
Wayne's World Wayne Belvin
409-342-3251 TX Beaumont
Broad Reach Tim Beard
Sailing and aviation,
W 09 D 11+ 2
410-239-7473 ,MD Westminster
Shrwre Paradse Bryan RIttmeyer
Science. TV, messages.
X 29 F 6+1
410-551-2586 MD Severn
The Edge BBS Tom Collins
General interest.
X 09 FV 42+ 2 S3
410-558-3882 MD Baltimore
iguana Online Bob Gerchalk
AOL-like interface;social&tnfo.
M 99 V 21+ 2
410-687-4876 MD Rosedale
Rosedale Conn Mike McCullough
Genera! IBM Interested related,
B 29 V 8+1
410-744-1102 MDCatOhSville
File Exchange Steve Cain
Files, mall and online gaming,
B 19 DF 42 2 1
410-893-6905 MD Forest Hill
TimeDistortlon Tom Vaccarino
40+ doors /2aK+ adult tiles,
W 29 VF 76+ 5
412-421-8561 PA Pittsburgh
Frank's Place Frank Lisak
Family oriented IBM support,
W 09 VF 100+ 4 3
412-667-6782
entertain me
Shavvn Cupec
412-635-0934 Pa Pittsburgh
Microtech Jack Lawrence
Windows 1 0S2 / genealogy,
Q 19 V 17+ 1 3
Tlie fl-List
412-734-2129 PA Pittsburgh
AWEsame.blis Tony Waters
Easygoing BBS,
W 29 FV 12+ 1
412-767-7068 PA Pittsburgh
Doberman Gang Tom Bing
Over 100.000 files, sharevrare,
W 09 FU 180+ 5
503-393-5580
Chemekela
Bob Hunter
413-527-8977
Uncle Hank's
HankHurleau
413-568-7016 MAWestlield
The Upper Room Thomas Long
Christian forums, files, etc.
W 29 D 8+ 1 3
414-672-6630 Wl Milwaukee
plainbrnwrappr Freddie Reitz
Files,
W 29 B 3 1
414-862-6221 Wl Trevor
Chip -N- Disk Rich Cmiel
Technical support,
W 09 VO 6+ 1 S
415-564-9440 CA San Francisco
IBBSWesI Margery Chia
Business & personal shareware,
X 09 FV 20+ 5 SI
415-648-9489 CA SanFrancisco
Realilycheck KurtWeiske
Information v/ants to be shared.
19 V 3 1 1
415-961-6911 CA Palo Alto
INTERACT Eric Knight
Live chat & multiplayer games.
T 29 V 5 32 S 9
416-770-6917
Platinum Expr
Glenn Jarvis
419-599-4878 OH Napoleon
Bob's Micro Bob Weitzel
Police /general,
X 19 V 10+ 1
501-278-5032 AR Searcy
The Playroom Mike Liddekee
Home of ISC soliv/are,
B 19 F 4+ 1 3
502-245-8117 KY Louisviile
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Options and features that you would normally expect to pay extra
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m
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Mnematics VideDlex
vlx.mne.com
Modem Madness
MADNESS.EPIX.NET . . 199.224.91.135
The Modem Nation
bbs.modEmnation.com . . 199.67.37.66
'Manaliih
Chat and discussion only
cal 1 6A033. student, uwente. nl
130.89.22B.12
Moanflower
moon.iea.com 198.17.249.11
•The Mottierboard
mottiertjoard.com 204.74.100,3
MPI Online Services
bbs.mpi-net.com 204.71.44.3
Mr. Natural's BBS
bbs.mrnalural.com . , 205.199.208.248
*Mullicomm-4 BBS Network
Free gay/lesbian/bisexual board
multicom.org 199,190.113.3
lyiuili-Comm Las Vegas
mcomm.mclv.net 204.95.95.253
IVtulliverse
telnet.multivErsE.com . . . 199.213.112.3
Music & More!!! BBS
mambbs.dnaco.cam 199.3.29.10
HandnNet
camelot.nandonet 152.52.2.82
Hasty Playmates
npl.com 204.132.116.1
Heedful Things BBS
needfullhings.com 199.221.95.12
HET-LINK ONLINE
net-link.com 204.254.156.2
HETIS
bbs.netis-com 198,186,186.16
•The flew Domain
Sametbing for everyone.
newdomain.com 205.197.2.2
Hew Jersey Computer Conneclion
pluto.njcc.com 165.254.1 17.51
The Newtonian BBS
ne^vton.com 152.160,99,254
netted Boards
'New York Matchmaker Pen-Pal Network
A greal place lo meet some very friendly
people online.
newyork.email.net 199,173,74,39
NFE BBS (Naperville File Exchange)
nfebbs.nfe.com 199,89.235.68
Nitelog BBS
- 165,227,94.25
Nucleus informalion Service
nis.nucleus.com 199,45.65.130
HucleusI
nucleus.atom.com 204.49.61,5
Nurse Net Nederiand
bbs.nursing.nl 193.78.222,138
Odyssey Online
odyssey.ody.com 204.94,37.100
Olympia Online
uranus.Dlympia.com 204,77,68.7
'The One Stop BBS
the, one-stop.com .... 205,133,113,131
On-Line Entertainment
connect.on-iine.co.uk . . . 193.130.168.1
Onix BBS
onix.com 198.70.175.1
Online Computer Distribution
main.oncomdis.on.ca .... 204,101.15.3
Online Data Systems
ods.net 204.95.172.4
Online MontgDmery
204.96.29.2
Online Orlando
00, com 204.215.243.15
OHiine WElcome
bbs.onv/eco.za 196.7.192.2
OS/2 Shareware BBS
bbs.os2bbs.com 204.194.180.10
Pacific Connections
paccon.com 199.74.141.67
Pacific Horizons
pacilic.seanetcom . . , 199.181.167.246
Paciller Online Data Service
podE.pacifier.com 199.2.117.108
Paradigm Online
202.33.54.66 ,
Paradise B8S
pplnet.com 205.240.194.3
Party Line EntertalnmenI ,
bbs.party.com 166.82.196.2
PC Genius
158.182.6.137
PCS Online Services
bbs.pcsonlinecom 204.251.132.2
PENN-COf«M BBS
mailer.pennet.com 199.234.141.3
Pennsylvania Onlinei
paonline.com 198,69.90.250
Phantasy BBS
bbs.phantasy.com 156.46.216.10
Pics On-Line BBS
bbs.pics.com 192,135,139.200
Pink's Place BBS
pnx.com 199.190.97.2
Point Blank
poinlblank.com 204.117.211.3
The Porch BBS
bbstlieporchcom 199.150.244.1
The Power Exchange
tpe.com 199.190.65.10
Powersystems BBS
pwsbbs-com 205.14B.196.2
The PressRoom
pressroom.com 198.69.131.1
Principle ol Obscurity BBS
obscurity.pd.mcs.net . .204.137.229.20
Prism BBS
prism.com 199.190.77.3
Prolink
204.95.170.95
Prostar Plus Information Network
prostar.com 204,57.131.1
Proton Palace
proton.com 198,53.206.68
Public Data Network
bbs.chatlink.com 205.139.105.2
Rain Forest Systems. Inc (RFSI)
204,96.24.10
RCI (Ripco Communications Inc)
foley ripco.com 198.4.164.3
■The Rec Hall
Messages, files, chat, games, and
Internet.
rec.ocala.com 204.1 17.196.B
'Rippers BBS
A family and business service BBS
bbsrippers.com 199.190.105.2
'River Styx
General BBS
riverstyx.com 199.1.42.182
Rock Garden
garden.hvs.com 165.247.49,130
Rock Pile BBS
rockpiie.com 199.173.32.200
'Rusty-N-Edie's
A massive system v/itb ail the sharev;are
and freeware for IBIVI, Windows and
fi/lac, plus huge adult section.
rne.com 204.179.147.2
S & H Computer Systems BBS
sandh.com 204.181.142,11
Sacramento Exchange BBS
iccse.com 204.87.174.10
Salt Air BBS
199.67.41.252
Silicon Matchmaker BBS
silicon.email.net 204.152,80.17
SIO Support BBS
199.246.240.2
SirJohn'sPubBBS
SJPub.com 204.215.137.174
Smurph Land BBS
smurph.com 199.250.197.34
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The rate is S25 per ad up to 300 characters long. Save money and send S250
for a full year of advertising. The BBS name or first rvvo words arc set in bold
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t^OVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
73
Networking
Personal
Computers
Networking Personal
Computers with TCP/IP
by Craig Hunt
$29.95, 408 pages
The challenges of TCP/IP nenvorking
are formidable indeed. Perhaps few
know that better than Craig Hunt, a
20-year computer veteran now with the
National Institute of Standards and
Technology. His book Networking
Personal Computers with TCP/IP
(O'Reilly &
Associates)
advises on
how to deal
with the chal-
lenges of
TCP/IP net-
working and
so-called net-
working
islands.
The book
offers basic TCP/IP configuration
information for the more popular
operating systems and addresses
advanced configuration topics and
configuration of specific applications
such as email, remote printing, and file
sharing.
Specifically, Networking Personal
Computers looks at how to reduce
problems PCs can cause for network
administration; tools to help a network
administrator support PCs; detailed
examples of TCP/IP configuration
under DOS, Windows, Windows NT,
Windows 95 and Novell Netware; alter-
natives to custom, system-by-system
configuration, including techniques for
using tools such as RARP, BOOTP and
74 ■
DHCP; configuration of the Post Office
Protocol (POP) servers and clients that
allow PC users to receive email directly
at their desktops; and, configuration oi
file sharing and printer sharing.
The Mac Internet Tour Guide
Cruising the Internet the Easy Way
by Michael Fraase
$29.99,391 pages
When I signed up for an Internet
account through my local provider, I
assumed I would be mailed a start up
kit with all the software I needed to lose
myself for hours on the net. Instead, I
got a fax of a tenth-generation xerox of
a logon script to type, and smudgy
instructions on how to configure
InterSLlP, MacPPP and MacTCP (had
to find them on my own) to make my
connection. Eventually the sign-on
procedure worke^l, and I sat there fac-
ing a window that simply said
"Connected." Okay, now what?
Michael Fraase's Mac Internet Tour
Guide (Ventana Press) points Mac
users in the right direction and pro-
vides the software in which to drive
away. Bundled shareware like Eudora,
Mosaic,
Fetch and
InterSLlP,
and Apple's
essential
control
panel,
MacTCP,
will take care
of all your
mail, brows-
ing, file
«MAC iNTERme
JIDI
■ I ME tJ
— TOUR GUIDE — I
transfer and connectivity needs. It's
probably worth the price of admission
just to avoid the hassle of collecting all
the bits and pieces necessary to use the
Internet. But don't stop at the software;
the text has much to offer. Fraase
explains the Internet using colorful
metaphors — enjoyable reading of a
pretty technical subject. (For some rea-
son, Ventana neglected to give this
worthy writer a byline on the cover.)
The Tour Guide covers a full range of
subjects, including the various transfer
protocols, ne^\'sgroups, email and the
WWW. A good chunk of the book lists
hot spots on the Internet, and although
this type of information can quickly go
out of date, it nevertheless makes a
good point of departure. WMtM
ADVERTISER'S
INDEX
APDl 49
BBS TECHNOLOGIES 67
BRIN COMMUNICATIONS 68
CDS 68
CHEERSOFT ....62
CLARK DEV. CO., INC 15, OBC
DIGITAL CONSULTING SERVICES 37
DIGITAL DYNAMICS 69
DURAND COWMUNfCATIONS IBC
EXCAI.IBUR 2
EINE TIME COMMUNICATIONS 57
GALACTICOMM, INC SEC, 1
GARI.IQUE GRAPHICS 6.1
GILES ROAD PRESS 70
INFOLINK 33
IN THE EEET OF THE NIGHT 65
LABYRINTH 43
LIVEWTRE 64
MACINTOSH ONLINE 70
MEDIA HOUSE 21
MIS; PRESS 65
MUSTANG SOFTWARE INC 5, 38, 39
NITE LOG BBS 70
ORIENTAL EXPRESS 70
PICS ONLINE 71
PIER EXCHANGE 52
PLANET .SYSTEMS 75
PROr)F.SIGN 45
PROFIT OPPORTUNITIES 71
QMODEMPRO 29
RUSTY-N-EDIE'S BBS 32, 57
TE.SSIER TECHNOLOGIES 61
TRAILERS CONNECTION 59
UNCLE HANK'S NEWSLETTER 68
NOVEMBER 1995 BBS MAGAZINE
¥
Now Planet Connect brings realtime data
within the reach of every BBS. Our sports
data is delivered to your BBS via satellite as the ^ ,^..,^
news is created, so its always the latest most current
information. Your users can learn about important sports
events and news hours before they appear on TV or make the
newspapers.
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Sports Connect. Players, teams, leagues, and more are completely
covered with over 4 megs of data daily Scores are reported as
the games and events
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A variety of doors
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Our satellite data systems also
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Weather and sports are now
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Instead of thinking of their BBS as a place to store
and distribute information that may be hours or days
old, tiie progressive Sysops tha< have Planet Connect
can now deliver data in real time. Highly desirable
data such as Sports, Weather, News, Stock Quotes,
and more can be obtained from Planet Connect via
satellite.
These Sysops are finding many new users who want
to obtain information as soon as it happens. People
that need time sensitive data will come to you, since
you'll be hours ahead of newspapers, and other
media. Whether at work, school, or at play your users
needs only a modem and computer to quickly locate
She exact data they want.
With satellite delivery, your BBS can be almost
completely automated lo provide services that only
the big on line services have traditionally provided.
Planet Connect negotiates with quality data providers
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savings on to you. You'll be amazed at how
inexpensive a satellite real time feed can be.
Winner of the Dvorak "Best
Product of the Year Award"
Online Update
BY JACQUELINE KRAMER
Brave New
Chat World
Conversing in the third dimension
Have you ever had an intelligent conversation with a pen-
guin or a fish? Have you ever conversed with Alice in
Wonderland, a chess piece, or a floating oriental head?
You will. And the company that will bring it to you: Worlds Inc.
Cheesy commercial allusions aside, the opportunity to come
face to face {or face to back) with any of the above representa-
tions — plus a few more — is at the heart of Worlds Chat, which
Worlds Inc. bills as the first ever 3-D chat program.
The program is intended to revolutionize the way you spend
your precious time online. Now,
instead of just tj-ping to strangers,
you can type to strangers while
iooking at how they see themseh'cs
via Digital Actors, or "avatars."
(More on the avatars later.)
The main selling point of
Worlds Chat (at least at the
moment) is the environment.
Instead of staring at a plain text
screen, you are surrounded by a
sci-fi extravaganza (Could the pre-
ponderance of Trekkers online
have anything to do with this?)
When you first arrive, you are
unceremoniously plopped into a
portrait gallery' that bears an almost
litigious resemblance to Disneyland's Haunted House ride...
except this place has lights.
Each portrait is a straight-on view of the various avatars from
which participants can choose. In addition to the mentioned
avatars, participants may appear as a poorly-drawn (IMHO)
Teddy bear, a punk rock goddess that resembles one of the chicks
in the old Flock of Seagulls videos, a giant floating head ( female),
or a variety of prett)' tame "business people."
During my repeated visits, the penguin, chess pieces, and Flock
of Seagulls chicks seemed to be the most prominent. I've yet to
encounter anyone that has chosen the "iust-left-my-accounting-
job" look.
I chose the penguin, just to see how long it would take lor
someone to begin a conversation with "Hey! You look just like
me!" — the one phrase guaranteed to trigger the ultimate Worlds
-,.^^'*fidvWH*il*^ ltd, *!)«»■* Ill *i'
fc
^
y
Chat slam (zzzzzzz).
■■■■■• 76
NOVEMBER 199i
I was pleasantly surprised
to discover that not only did
the other penguins avoid this
particular line, but there ^vcrc
quite a few BBSers to be found. Within a few minutes of my BBS
inquiries, I was bombarded with five BBS numbers and several
messages from folks who said they ran (or used to run ) a BBS ser-
vice. Not only could they talk the talk, they walked the walk —
these people knew what they were doing.
We chatted for several minutes about the logistics of BUSing
— a far cry from my previous experiences of chatting in cyber-
space, which usually consisted of "Hey, is anyone here from
Dubuque?" and yes, the occasional, "Are you a girl?" (I dunno,
let me check... uh, yep.) For this alone, I would highly recom-
mend Worlds Chat to anyone interested in BBSs. I have had no
problem fi[iding others who share the faith (or the interest).
Here is what you need to become your own penguin :
• A 486/50 or higher (recommended) IBM-compatible
equipped with Windows, at least 8 megs of RAM, and 256 colors
(a Macintosh version should be available by the time you read this);
• A TCP/IP connection (SLIP or PPP; some commercial online
services do not offer this yet); and
• A 1 6-bit sound card is recom-
mended, but not necessary. The
program will play without sound.
The version of Worlds Chat I
used was purely text-based, which
took away from the overall effect. I
spent so much time trying to keep
up with the various (written) con-
versations that I never moved
around. At one point, a fellow chat-
ter sent me a private message
reminding me that it was rather
pointless to stand still when ibis
was all about 3-D chats. The idea is
to face someone as you speak (you
cannot see yourself). However, I
found it difficult to move around
and keep up the conversations.
Half the time, I wasn't even sure who I was talking to, much
less what (if anyone knows the significance of the floating orien-
tal head, please let me know). After a certain point, I found the
avatars more distracting than anything else.
Worlds Inc. plans to add spoken text capabilities to the later
\'ersions of Worlds Chat. To check the company's progress, or to
download the latest version, visit the company's World Wide Web
site at: http://vvww.worlds.net/. The program is freeware, for now.
And while you're there, be sure to sign up to get a copy of the
Worlds Fail- software, which will have so much real estate it's
shipping on CD-ROM. The fair, which will be conducted entire-
ly on the Internet using a Worlds Chat environment, is set to
begin at the end of the year. EBB
You can reach jacqui Kramer at redtime@oinm.voicenet.com.
BBS MAGAZINE ■ ■
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Copvnghl 1995 ClaA Developmtni Company, Inc. AH Rights Resei.ed. PCBoard « a fes.3ier|() Iraaema-K and PI
Standard features include:
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^ f Ctaric Development Company, Inc.
: r^ 3950 Soofli 700 East, Suite 303, fttotay, Utah 84107-3173
~ Td 801261.1686 Fw 801.M1-8987 BBS 801061.8976
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