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[32mQ&A

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[34mQ: When was Digital Dynamics started?

[31mA: [33mDigital Dynamics [37mwas founded in [35mNovember of 1988 [37mas a computer programming
consultation firm specializing in multiuser applications in a [36mIBM PC network
[37menvironment. [33mDigital Dynamics [37mimmediately spawned a [0;36mBBS [1;37mto support its
customers and as an information system for the general public. This [0;36mBBS [1;37mbecame
a very popular system in southern california with the focus on technical
discussions, [0;35monline games[1;37m, and [0;32mfile transfers[1;37m. The [0;36mBBS [1;37msoftware in use at that
time did not have many of the features that the users and the sysops wanted,
including the most important feature - [33mmultiple nodes[37m. There were other
packages available that supported multiple nodes, but they lacked in file
transfer features and customization options. And every package tested proved
noticeably slower than the existing software.


[34mQ: What prompted you to create Digital Dynamics and write Synchronet?

[31mA: [37mIn [35mDecember of 1990[37m, I decided it was time to start the development of our
own BBS software. Since [33mDigital Dynamics [37mwas not a commercial software company
and no client had requested the package, it was assumed to be used in-house
only.

In [35mJuly of 1991[37m, [33mDigital Dynamics [37mstarted running [34mSynchronet[37m, their latest
creation. Requests from other sysops to purchase the software were so numerous
and sudden, that it was soon decided to start a commercial development project
of [34mSynchronet[37m. In [35mNovember of 1991[37m, version 1a of [34mSynchronet [37mwas available for
purchase. As more and more sysops and users were getting familiar with
[34mSynchronet[37m, the comments and suggestions began to pour in. Most of the
suggestions were implemented almost immediately and available as free revision
upgrades and many were slated for future version upgrades.


[34mQ: Where did the name "Synchronet" come from?

[31mA: [37mInitially, the ability to run multiple "[32msynchronous[37m" nodes on a [36mLAN [37m(local
area network). It now also applies to the ability to run multiple "[32msynchronous[37m"
[0;32mmessage networks[1;37m.


[34mQ: How many people does Digital Dynamics employ?

[31mA: [35mFive[37m.


[34mQ: How many units of Synchronet have been sold to date?

[31mA: [37mApproximately [32m2000 [37mcopies.


[34mQ: What do you see in the future for Digital Dynamics?

[31mA: [34mSynchronet [37mwill be the [33mbest multi-platform [37m(DOS, OS/2, Win-32) BBS software
available. [36mTechnical features [37mthat are [31minnovative [37mrather than [0;32mreactionary[1;37m.
Distributed data base add-ons for [34mSynchronet [37m([35mSBL [37mbeing a test-bed for this
technology) starting with an extremely comprehensive match making system.


[34mQ: Why do you think Synchronet doesn't get the media attention a lot of
   Synchronet SysOps believe it should?

[31mA: [34mSynchronet [37mis comparitively a [33myoung product [37m(in age) and has a smaller
installed base than a number of [32mBBS [37mprograms. Also, other development companies
probably [35mspend more resources [37mgetting the [36mattention of publications [37m(press
releases, pre-written "[0;32minterviews[1;37m" and the like).



[34mQ: Are there any plans to make port Synchronet to other operating systems
   such as Unix, or Apple's System7?

[31mA: [0mNo[1m, not those operating systems. The current plan is [33m32-bit OS/2 [37mand Windows
([36mNT/Windows 95[37m) and possibly a [35m32-bit DOS [37mversion.


[34mQ: What do you feel are Synchronet's strongest features?

[31mA: [32mEase of installation [37mand [36msetup[37m, [35minter-node communication[37m, [34mdoor support
[37m([33mno batch files![37m), [36mmessage and file area organization[37m, [0mARS security[1m, [30mQWKnet
extensions[37m, [0;32mCD-ROM/Juke-Box support[1;37m, message base storage format ([0;35mSMB[1;37m),
and our [33mresponsive and accurate technical support team[37m.

[34mQ: It's weakest?

[31mA: [37mBeing that [35mSMB [37mis not quite [33msix-months old[37m, we're just now beginning to see
third party support. [32mDigital Dynamics [37mspent considerable time and energy in
developing [34mTHE most comprehensive message base specification [37mand royalty-free
function library in existance. As other developers discover the [35mSMB
[37mspecification and library (available for download from [33mVertrauen [37mas
[36mSMB_111.ZIP[37m), we will see a significant increase in echomail programs, editors,
off-line readers, and the like supporting the [35mSMB [37mformat (which like the JAM
and Hudson formats, is not necessarily specific to [34mSynchronet [37mBBS systems).

[0m[255D
