9/10/95                        CompuNotes                      Issue #20
                  Patrick Grote, Publisher and Editor
     CompuNotes is a weekly publication available through an email
           distribution list and many fine on-line networks!
    We feature reviews, interviews and commentary concerning the PC
                               industry.


          Still looking for a listserv site, please help . . .

                         This Week's Contents:
                         =====================
                            PATRICK'S NOTES
                            ===============
                         -=> News and More <=-
                                  NEWS
                                  ====
                  -=> Super Bowl Decided by CDROM <=-
              -=> Microsoft Money - Free for Everyone <=-
                                REVIEWS
                                =======
                       -=> Simon the Sorcerer <=-
             -=> Darn - Don't Forget Reminder Software <=-
                          WEB SITE OF THE WEEK
                          ====================
                      -=> Fisher Comes Alive <=-
                          FTP FILE OF THE WEEK
                          ====================
                          -=> New Web Site <=-
                               INTERVIEW
                               =========
                -=> PCBoard Innovator - Jack Kilday <=-

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------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            Patrick's Notes
              Notes from the Publisher and Managing Editor
------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Wow, what a four weeks this has been. The publication of CompuNotes
was sporadic there for a while due to the fact we were moving into
office space. Our move is over, so now more delays!
    Let me warn you about using a suite number at one of those
MailBoxes, Etc. or PakMail places. When you move your mail cannot be
forward from the post office to your new address. You have to pay the
suite number provider a fee for forwarding your mail! Can you say pain
the behind? I knew you could! If anyone knows a way around this, please
let me know . . .

LISTSERV
    Ok, our list of CompuNotes subscribers is close to 6000. I am still
processing the list by hand using Eudora. It takes forever to send the
issue out using this method. Does anyone know of anyone who has the
capacity to handle our list? I know lists of over 10,000 people exist.
Where can I find someone to handle this?

FORMER WRITERS
    If you wrote for CompuNotes or CyberNews in the past and would like
to do software reviews again, send a message to
review_list@supportu.com. You will receive a return message listing all
the software we have available for review. Before you request software
remember the following:

    *   Reviews must be completed within a week of receiving software.
    *   Reviews should be as in-depth as 600-800 words allows.
    *   They should be submitted in ASCII.

WINDOWS 95
    Look for my extra special Windows 95 review coming up in the next
issue. I will be writing this on my birthday, September 20! I turn 27!
Ugh! No more early 20s or young adult :-)

------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEWS OF THE WEEK| This section is dedicated to verified news . . . All
News (C)opyright  Respective Owner - Will Only Reprint
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       -=> Super Bowl is Over <=-

    LANCASTER, Pa.--(BW SportsWire)--Sept. 13, 1995--The San  Francisco
49ers will be dethroned and lose Super Bowl XXX to the  Indianapolis
Colts, according to a new, technologically advanced  statistics based
CD-ROM football game being introduced by APBA to  coincide with the 95
season kickoff.
    Last year, APBA correctly predicted that the San Francisco 49ers
would be the '94 season champs using its DOS version to run an  entire
season of statistical play.  APBA, which was acquired by
SAI/MicroLeague earlier this year, has been developing sports board
games and more recently CD-ROM titles for the past 45 years.
    "The new APBA Football for Windows for gridiron "stats fanatics"
makes it significantly easier to build the schedule and account for  all
of the off-season personnel changes," explains APBA President  Fritz
Light.  "We already know that '95 was a riveting season that  we
simulated in only 30 minutes using APBA Football."
    APBA Football for Windows is the culmination of years of  planning
and effort designed to make APBA Football, introduced as a  board game
in 1958, more powerful and easier to play using the  Windows interface.

   Stunning Season Upset  

    According to the APBA Football game, the regular season saw some
surprises (Indianapolis and Green Bay) and familiar faces (Dallas,  San
Francisco, Pittsburgh and Oakland) capture division titles. Wild card
Cleveland provided the biggest post season shocker by  upsetting
Pittsburgh in the Steel City, 17-16.  Dallas and San  Francsico competed
for the NFC title for the fourth consecutive  season, while Cleveland
met the Colts, a familiar championship foe  from the past.  The Niners
had no troubles halting the Cowboys,  23-9, to earn a sixth trip to the
"Big Game," while Indy pounded  Cleveland in an impressive display of
offensive firepower, 36-10, to advance to the Super Bowl for the first
time since 1971.

   Super Bowl Surprises  

    All signs favored the 49ers to extend the 12-year run of AFC
failure in the biggest of games, but Indy scored on the game's first
play from scrimmage and never looked back, turning Super Bowl XXX  into
yet another blowout, 36-20.  The Colts were led by a pair of  offseason
acquisitions, QB Craig Erickson (15-18, 286, 2 TDs, 0 INT)  and WR
Flipper Anderson (128 yards, 1 TD).  RB Marshall Faulk's 123  yards and
2 TDs allowed Indy to keep the ball away from the explosive  San
Francisco passing attack.
    In fact, the 49ers were held scoreless until the fourth quarter,
when trailing 33-0, QB Steve Young connected with WR John Taylor on  a
24-yard TD hookup.  The Colts' defensive star was CB "Big Play  Ray"
Buchanan, who held All-World WR Jerry Rice to just one catch  for a
single yard.
    "I was stunned by the result," Light said.  "But the stats don't
lie. Get ready for a big year in Indianapolis."
    APBA Football for Windows is available on both CD-ROM and 3 1/2
inch floppy disks.  It requires an IBM PC or 100% compatible  486sx/25
or higher processor, double speed CD-ROM drive, MS Windows,  3.1 or
higher, hard drive, SVGA Monitor and mouse.
    The price of $59.95 and can be ordered by calling APBA toll free  at
1/800-334-APBA (2722).
    Headquartered in Lancaster, APBA is a division of SAI (in Newark,
Del.) an integrated multimedia company and a leader in interactive
sports strategy simulation games for popular PC formats.  SAI  develops
and markets software under the MicroLeague, General  Admission and
Affiliated Venture Publishing (AVP) labels.  SAI  Productions provides
full service distribution, packaging and  printing for other software
publishing companies.

                         -=> Free Money??? <=-

    New Version Of Microsoft Money Personal-Finance Software Boasts
 Attractive, Easy-To-Use Interface, And Online Banking And Bill Paying

    REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Since the start of the
limited-time offer on Aug. 24, 1995, a quarter of a million people have
made the move to obtain Microsoft(R) Money for the Windows(R) 95
operating system.  The personal finance software, which makes it easy to
manage core home-finance tasks and offers enhanced online banking and
bill-payment services, is being ordered or downloaded at a rate of one
every seven seconds.  The special promotion, which continues through
Oct. 31, 1995, offers people the option to download the product at no
charge or order disks, and demonstrates Microsoft's renewed commitment
to the personal-finance category.
    "We were confident that this dramatically different version of Money
would appeal to large numbers of people, and we are simply thrilled by
the terrific response to this limited-time offer," said Pete Higgins,
group vice president of applications and content at Microsoft.  "We knew
that people who had an opportunity to experience this new version
firsthand would see how easy and enjoyable it can be to manage their
personal finances, and that was our goal with this special promotion."
    Through Oct. 31, anyone can download a copy of Money for Windows 95
from MSN(TM), The Microsoft Network online service, or from Microsoft's
World Wide Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/MSHOME/) at no charge.
Those who want product disks and a user's guide can acquire them
directly from Microsoft for approximately $9.95 by calling 800-508-8458.
The product is scheduled to be available in stores nationwide by Nov. 1,
1995, for approximately $34.95 (U.S.).
    Money for Windows 95 takes the personal-finance category in a
significantly new direction, aiming to attract the 70 percent of
households with computers that do not currently use personal-finance
software.  The product's elegant redesign, its focus on making the core
home-finance tasks easy, and its enhanced online home-banking services
are intended to make it more compelling for the typical home computer
user to shift everyday financial chores to the computer.
    Microsoft has announced that it will work with 21 financial
institutions to offer online banking and bill-payment services using
Microsoft Money for Windows 95.  The following is a list of banks
offering these fee-based online services.  (Asterisks appear next to the
names of banks that offered these services with the previous version of
Money.) Bank of Boston Centura Bank Chase Manhattan Bank* Chemical Bank
Compass Bank CoreStates Bank Crestar Bank First Hawaiian Bank First
Interstate Bank First National Bank of Chicago* Home Savings of America
M&T Bank Marquette Banks Mellon Bank Michigan National Bank* Sanwa Bank
California Smith Barney Texas Commerce Bank Union Bank US Bank* Wells
Fargo Bank
    Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
software for personal computers.  The company offers a wide range of
products and services for business and personal use, each designed with
the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take
advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
    NOTE:  Microsoft, Windows and MSN are either registered trademarks
or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other
countries.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
REVIEWS OF THE WEEK | Interesting software/hardware you may need . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           Simon the Sorceror
                              by Doug Reed
 
    Simon the Sorceror is an adventure game published by Infocom,
world-famous maker of adventure games such as Zork (and all of the
accompanying sequels), Planetfall, and the computer adaptation of the
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. The box bills Simon the Sorceror as
"The interactive fantasy with an attitude".
    The premise of the game is fairly simple and common: you play the
part of Simon, an adolescent from our world thrust into a fantasy world
who must rescue the good wizard Calypso from the evil clutches of
Sordid. The game uses a simple interface whereby you use the mouse to
move Simon around the screen and to access various commands from the
bottom of the screen. The top half of the screen shows you the location
graphically while the bottom half shows you the various commands and
items that you have picked up. Conversation is key to the game, and when
a reply is necessary a list of choices will appear on the bottom of the
screen. Characters in the game reply through digitized speech, which you
must pay careful attention to because there is no notepad or any device
in the game to save these statements. The game does come with, however,
a "postcard" which can magically transport you to some of the important
locations in the game that you have already visited. The game breaks
down essentially into the old pattern of get what character A wants,
then they give you what character C wants, and they give you what
character B wants, and so on.
        Not that this patterns makes for a bad game. I personally found
Simon the Sorceror to be a fun and engaging game that sucked me in. The
characters are interesting and funny (including Simon, who tends to be a
bit of a smartalec). The graphics are pretty to look at and the
animations are well done. If you leave the game running without touching
it for a while, Simon pulls out a Walkman and plays it while he waits
for you. The puzzles begin simple and gradually increase in difficulty.
When the going gets to rough, the game provides a helpful owl who will
give you hints as to how to proceed. In addition, it appears that the
game is structured such that Simon is never killed. All in all, I liked
Simon the Sorceror a lot.
    Simon the Sorceror played just fine under Windows '95 by running the
game under MS-DOS mode. I have only two gripes about the game: the
aforementioned lack of a notepad/recorder to save conversations, and the
difficulty sometime in finding objects on the screen. Unless your mouse
pointer happens to pass over it just so, you might spend hours trying to
find some necessary item. This can be exasperating at times (for
example, in one screen you have to find a rock lying on the ground
(along with several others) that has a password on it. The rock blends
in so well with the background that it does not stick out and is hard to
find. I might never have found it if it hadn't been for my wife, who was
fortunate enough to find it by accident. Overall, though, I recommend
Simon the Sorceror. It is entertaining and downright funny at times.
 
                                Infocom
                          c/o Activision, Inc.
                            P.O.. Box 67713
                         Los Angeles, CA 90067
                             (310) 479-5644
                       CompuServe: GO ACTIVISION
                     URL: http://www.activision.com

                          Darn! Don't Forget!
                              by Doug Reed
 
    Do you constantly forget important dates, such as anniversaries,
birthdays, and meeting with the boss?  Darn! Don't Forget is the perfect
program for you, or for anybody who would like to keep track of
important dates on their computer. Darn! is a reminder program which is
available as shareware; the latest version upgrades Darn! to run under
Windows 3.1. The full version of Darn! comes with a printed manual and
two bonus utilities, Lookout! and the Emmasoft Screen Saver. Lookout!
runs in the background and pops up to remind you when it is time for an
appointment. The Emmasoft Screen Saver provides you with a new screen
saver, Emma the soft Cat flying across the screen on her flying carpet.
    Both Darn! and Lookout! can be setup to run in the Windows startup
group.
    Darn! can be set to pop up every time Windows is loaded or the first
time that Windows is loaded every day. Adding new appointments,
birthdays, and so on is very easy. The event can be personalized so that
you know who, what, and where, as well as a phone number or address. You
can even specify whether this is a one-time event or occurs annually,
weekly, etc... It even comes with customized 'icons' that appear next to
each item as it comes up. Darn! can be customized so that it will show
you events that are occurring on the current day and show you what is
coming up in the near future (the default is 21 days). Darn! also
reminds you of holidays, including Mother's day. It can also suggest
gift ideas for anniversaries! As an added bonus, Darn! also pops up each
day with famous quotes. These can be copied or you can add your own
personal quotes. Overall, I'd say that Darn! is a very useful program. I
no longer have to keep and update an appointment book; Darn! keeps track
of everything for me. Lookout! is also handy, making sure that I know
about those appointments immediately before they occur. Darn! is very
easy to use and bug-free.
    Windows '95 users will be happy to note that Darn! is fully
compatible with Windows '95. If you'd like to try it, the shareware
version can be found at the Emmasoft web site
(http://www.exepc.com/~emmasoft) and can also be found through various
shareware vendors, BBSs, and on-line services (look for DARNW40.ZIP).  A
registration key can be obtained from the company for $29.95 once you
decide you want it (and I'm betting you will). I give Darn! my highest
recommendation.
 
                    EmmaSoft Software Company, Inc.
                              P.O. Box 238
                         Lansing, NY 14882-0238
                             (607) 533-4685
                         CompuServe: GO IBMAPP
                  URL: http://www.execpc.com/~emmasoft
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WEBSITE OF THE WEEK! | This section is devoted to a cool WebSite . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
             FISHER AUDIO/VIDEO UNVEILS INTERNET HOME PAGE
          WITH PRODUCTS, PRIZES, CD AND MOVIE REVIEWS AND MORE

  Sweepstakes Will Award 60-CD Shelf System and Popular CDs to Winners
 
    CHATSWORTH, CA _  Fisher Audio/Video enters the world of electronic
marketing with the unveiling of its first Internet home page on the
World Wide Web, located at Internet address http://www.audvidfisher.com.
Designed to attract cyberspace surfers across the U.S., Fisher's home
page offers an interactive combination of product information (with a
dealer locator), sweepstakes, news releases, and a broad array of
consumer entertainment presented with compact, quick-load, full-color
graphics.
    "This is perhaps the most entertaining, consumer-friendly home page
offered by a major consumer electronics manufacturer. We invite internet
surfers everywhere to look over our products, enter to win great prizes,
gather the latest entertainment news, and generally have fun _ all with
very quick access," Corporate Communications Manager David Berkus said.
    Upon entry into the home page, the user is greeted by Fisher's 1995
menu of intuitive information buttons, including The World of Fisher
Product, What's New With Fisher, The Fisher Monthly Sweepstakes, The
Fisher Galaxy of Cool, and The  Fisher Press Room. "The Fisher Galaxy of
Cool" opens up the following home pag e entertainment options:

    Fisher Cut Bait: A nostalgic look back in time that lets you
guess-that-trendsetting-year.

    CD Light: Quick reviews of today's most interesting CD releases,
courtesy of CD Review magazine, plus other noteworthy music news.

    Focus on Film and Tape: Spills the beans on new movies in
development, as well as new film and video releases.

    The Buzz Box: An irreverent overview of current happenings in the
U.S.

    Fisher Backstage: News of note on the musical front, with
information provided by EMG Worldwide, Inc.
 
    Under "The World of Fisher Product", new audio and video products
are displayed with quick-load, 4-color photographs and feature
descriptions framed in dimensional Netscape backgrounds.
    "What's New with Fisher" describes new product technology and the
latest events sponsored by Fisher marketing. This month, the company
spotlights its new anti-skip CD players, including the top model that
features a 10-second memory buffer to keep music playing despite bumps
and jolts.
    "The Fisher Monthly Sweepstakes" is now offering a Fisher DCS-5060
60-disc CD management shelf audio system ($699.95 SRP) to its grand
prize winner, and 25 popular CDs to first prize winners, compliments of
Mercury Records and RockThe Strip (on the Internet). To enter the
sweepstakes, home page visitors simply answer a few marketing survey
questions and provide their names and adresses.
    In "The Fisher Press Room", downloadable news releases and
photographs are available that describe the company's newest products.
    Fisher plans to continue to update the information on its home page
on at least a  monthly basis, and will add completely new sections to
keep visitors coming back for fresh audio/video entertainment
information.
    Headquartered in Chatsworth, CA., Fisher Audio/Video markets a
complete line of quality audio and video products. Sanyo Fisher (USA)
Corporation is a subsidiary of Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd., a major
worldwide electronics manufacturer.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
COOL FTP FILE OF THE WEEK | You may need this file . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
    You can find this as TRAILER1.ZIP on the following FTP site:

        WUARCHIVE.WUSTL.EDU:/pub/MSDOS_UPLOADS/misc/trailer1.zip

    Due to popular demand we now have a new FTP site. Some folks had no
luck getting into Wash U.'s ftp site, so I have set up a weekly site on
my provider. The only files that will remain on this FTP site are the
week's current offerings. New and older files will always be on Wash
U.'s site.

    For this week only, if there is an older file you wanted, but could
never get from Wash U. send me an email message and I will put it up on
the new site.

    You can find this as TRAILER1.ZIP on the following FTP site:

              FTP.CRL.COM:/users/su/supportu/trailer1.zip

------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK | Interesting people you should know about . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Jack Kilday is but a sysop. He is such a wonderful sysop that he has
come to the forefront of PCBoard sysops. Jack is well known for his
simple, basic approach to attaching PCBoard to the internet. For almost
nothing Jack can show you how to do it.
    In fact, that's why we interviewed Jack. Not so much for his
technical knowledge, but for his unselfishness of sharing it with
everyone. Jack is a true sysop.

PG:  Many people in the world of PCBoard look up to you as a cutting
edge sysop. Describe your PCBoard setup. Why did you move your BBS to
the internet?
 
JK: I had no idea that I'd fooled so many!  "Cutting edge"?  Not
anywhere near that edge as a half-dozen or more that I could name.

We've been providing e-mail and Usenet newsfeeds for over 6 years. I've
always been interested in the long distance aspects of this
communications medium.  Maine is quite backward in this regard, crippled
by the non-leadership of its University system, etc., and so when it
started becoming feasible to offer interactive Internet connectivity to
the public, as well, I just HAD to be the first BBS in Maine to do it.
 
PG:  No one can just "do computers" all the time. Do you hit the golf
course? Play a little ping pong? What?
 
JK: Boating is my second love.  But the emphasis of late has been on
developing our ISP (Internet Service Provider) sideline business.
 
PG: How did you gain your knowledge of communications on the internet?
Trial by fire? Did you make many mistakes?
 
JK: Yes and YES(!).  It was basically a learn-as-you-go, osmosis-like
experience.  There were some people along the way who were generous with
their advice, but for the most part I had to dig out specifically needed
knowlege myself.   And I feel that I still have a long way to go . . .
 
PG: Do the words Pearl Jam mean anything to you? What type of music are
you in to?
 
JK: New Age.  Yanni, Manheim Steamroller, and other "elevator music"
(says my teen-age daughter).
 
PG: Where would you like to see the authors of PCBoard take the software
product in the future? Better internet connectivity? Graphical front
end?
 
JK: I'd like to see David Terry make provisions for the transition to
HTML.  There is no need to build in Internet connectivity.  If you've
read any of my posts about using standard wide-area networking equipment
to hook up BBSs to the net, you may have noted that I advocate against
wasting BBS nodes for delivery of Internet services. Far better to use
resellable hardware, and standard freely available software to deliver
these services.
 
Also, there is no need to consider porting the better BBSs from DOS to
other operating systems.   One major reason, dealing with Internet
connectivity, is that I have high hopes for the DOSEMU project
associated with the bigger Linux project on the Internet.  The DOS
emulation under Linux eventually will be adequate to support multiple
nodes of DOS-based BBS packages.  Such will answer all of the needs for
multi-tasking AND provision of various Internet services to BBS callers.
 
PG: Ok. Just like everyone asks a car reviewer or mechanic what kind of
car they drive, what is the configuration and type of your primary PC?
 
JK: On the DOS BBS side, we run a Gateway 2000 486/33 supporting 5
PCBoard nodes under DESQview.  This is null-modem-conneted to our Linux
box for transmission of e-mail and Usnet news.  We deliver e-mail and
Usenet news in Internet "standard format" to our BBS callers via a
QWK-like system of door and reader called ZipNews.
 
We also run a Linux box for shell accounts, e-mail, news, gopher, lynx,
IRC chat, and access to other Internet services.  Our terminal server
delivers SLIP and PPP connectivity to dial-up and dedicated (permanently
connected) customers.
 
PG: Does your BBS support you? Do you do it full time? If not, what is
your occupation?
 
JK: Not by a long shot.  It is a sideline that pays me very little other
than covering its own expenses and the purchase of new equipment.  I am
in data processing, PC and LAN-based systems design at an insurance
company.
 
PG: Define the Information Superhighway in your own words.
 
JK: A much overused term to describe just about any form of connectivty
today.   I don't feel that it is particularly meaningful, and should be
replaced by something more specific wherever it is used.  It's a lot
like 'cyberspace'.
 
PG: What is the best part of living in the city you live in?
 
JK: The people and their work ethic, its summertime beauty, and its
proximity to the ocean.
 
PG: If the Presidential election were held tomorrow between President
Clinton and Bob Dole who would you vote for and why?
 
JK: Bob Dole (although I certainly hope a stronger/younger and more
conservative Republican -- or Libertarian) could be found. Fat chance.
<sigh>
 

                             --END ISSUE --

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