IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR BETA TESTERS INCLUDED IN THIS DOCUMENT!
PLEASE READ ALL THE WAY TO THE END! - Thanks, -rd.



QNews(TM) -- All the News in No Time At All. (TM)

Copyright (c) 1995, Robin Davies. All Rights Reserved.

QNews is a Winsock-compliant online newsreader that runs under 
Microsoft Windows.

Among other features, it includes:

o	Multi-threaded execution. Messages can be read, or posted while 
    newsgroups and messages counts continue to update in the background.
    
o	Archiving of messages to message folders.         

o	A full featured state-of-the-art Windows user interface including, 
    print, print preview, mutli-column printing, button bars, and full
    context-sensitive help.
    
o	Simple intuitive uploading and downloading of binary files to 
    newsgroups.

o	Graphical display of threaded messages, allowing the user to quickly 
    determine which messages were posted in response to which other messages.
    
o	Speed! QNews has been specifically designed to maximize actual and 
    perceived efficiency over SL/IP and PPP lines. 
    
o   Support for both XOVER and XHDR news server commands in order to 
    maximize efficiency.

o	Unlimited message sizes. QNews correctly handles messages larger 
    than 27k bytes.

o	Only unread message headers are downloaded unless the users specifies 
    that previously read messages should be displayed.


System Requirements

QNews supports TCP/IP, PPP and SLIP connections to the Internet through 
the Winsock software interface. Winsock is a standard interface to TCP/IP 
network connections that most TCP/IP, SL/IP and PPP systems running under 
Windows provide. OS/2 Warp and Windows '95 both provide built-in SL/IP or 
PPP support.

If in doubt, search for the file WINSOCK.DLL; if it is present, then you 
will most-likely be able to use QNews. Please note that QNews does not 
include Winsock DLLs: Winsock services are usually provided by Internet 
service  providers, network vendors or as third party add-ons for Windows. 
If you currently have access to the Internet, but do not have a valid set 
of Winsock DLLs, you may want to investigate Peter Tattam's shareware 
Trumpet Winsock implementation.

QNews uses the Internet standard NNTP (Network News Transfer Protocol) 
interface to read news from an USENET News host system. QNews, therefore 
requires that you have access to an Internet host system running NNTP 
server software.

QNews also provides the optional capability to send mail messages in 
response to News messages. To use this capability, you must have access 
to an Internet host system providing SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) 
services.

QNews requires that a properly configuredset of Winsock DLLs be present on 
the system. The Winsock DLLs must support version 1.1 or later of the Winsock 
Applications Programming Interface specifications.  QNews should operate 
correctly on the following operating systems: Microsoft Window version 3.1 
or 3.11; Microsoft Windows for Workgroups version 3.11; Microsoft Windows/NT 
version 3.1 or 3.5; IBM OS/2 version 2.1 or Mach (as a Windows application).




  INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING QNews
 
You may place QNews anywhere on your hard drive as long as all files
in this distribution are placed in the same directory. The following 
instructions assume that the files have been placed in the directory 
C:\QNEWS

To install QNews as an icon in the Windows Program Manager, follow these
instructions.

(1) Activate the Windows Program Manager.

(2) Activate the window containing the program group in which you 
    want to install the QNews icon. (Click on the "Main"
    program group window, for example).

(3) Choose the menu item File/New...

(4) In the New Program Object dialog, select Program Item, and 
    press the OK button.
 
(5) In the Program Item Properties dialog, enter "QNews" in the 
    Description field. (For this field and all others, ommit the 
    enclosing quotes). In the Command Line field, enter 
    "C:\QNEWS\QNEWS.EXE". If you have placed the QNews files in 
    another a directory other than C:\QNEWS, modify this line 
    accordingly. The working directory and shortcut key fields may
    be left blank. The Run Minimized checkbox should be unchecked.
    Press the OK button.
    
If you have followed the instructions correctly, you should see
a new icon in the currently active program group entitled 
"QNews". From now on you can double-click on this icon to 
start QNews.

QNews will automatically create a QNEWS.INI file in your Windows
directory the first time it is run.

To configure QNews, run the program. QNews will display the Configuration
dialog box, if it has not been previously configured. Enter the requested 
information in the dialog box. If you are uncertain of the internet addresses
of your News and Mail servers, contact your service provider for further 
information.

Once you have filled in all the appropriate fields in the Configuration
dialog box, press the OK button. QNews will automatically connect to the 
selected News server and build a list of available newsgroups. This make 
take a little time, but only has to be done once. 

Once QNews has been properly configured, it will automatically connect 
to the selected News server whenever it is launched.

Detailed documentation and configuration instructions are provided 
in the on-line help files. Press the F1 key while QNews is running to
access the on-line help, or press the Help button in the Configuration
dialog for specific help on fields in the Configuration dialog box.


  TERMS OF LICENSE
  
QNews is provided as Shareware. The registration fee is US$10.00. 
When not registered, this version of QNews includes a Nag 
Screen (a mildly annoying dialog which is displayed every time 
the program is run) but is otherwise fully functional.

Complete terms of license are accessible on the opening screen of the
program.

This version of QNews is a beta release. The author requests that this 
version not be redistributed until a final release is available.

Please see the on-line help files for important license information.

To purchase a licenses to use QNews see the section entitled 
"Order Form" in the on-line help file.


   
   
-----------------------------------------------------------

Notes for Beta Testers

The evaluation period for this version only has been 
extended to 30 days instead of 10 days. 


Current State of QNews v0.9b3
-----------------------------

Although QNews has been through preliminary testing, 
you may still encounter bugs that cause your computer
to crash. Therefore, please make sure that you save 
anything that you are working on before you use QNews. 

There are no other known problems at the current time.

Special Offer for Beta-Testers of QNews v0.9b3
----------------------------------------------

The first 500 users to report a legitimate Emergency- 
High- or Medium-Priority bug will receive a complimentary 
license to use QNews. Please see the bug reporting 
procedure below.

Feedback on features or UI complaints are gratefully 
appreciated, and will be given serious consideration.

Send bug reports to: rdavies@magi.com



How to File Bug Reports
-----------------------

Please fill out the form contained in  BUGS.TXT and 
e-mail it to rdavies@magi.com.


Thanks you, and enjoy!

Best regards,


Robin Davies
rdavies@magi.com

April 14, 1995








