D'Bridge User Survey  / 30 April 1994                             Page 1 of 3
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GREETINGS FROM CHRIS IRWIN
--------------------------

The NEW D'Bridge (2.00) is under construction and I need some input from you,
the users.  Believe it or not, my personal DB setup is simpler than most
systems running today, so I don't run into the same limitations as you might.
I run a single-line system with Fido storage, no BBS and just 20-30 ECHOmail
areas.  Needless to say, this isn't a very good representation of the real
world, so I need some information on how you need D'Bridge to function.



RUMOR CONTROL (or what's REALLY going on these days...)
-------------------------------------------------------

I am hard at work on a complete rewrite of D'Bridge.  In fact, when you see
the 2.00 version, you might notice that it has little in common with the
current version of the software.  I needed to start with a clean slate, so
I didn't just convert the existing code.

Our users DEMANDED the following features, so they're an integral part of
the new D'Bridge...


     - Multi-line, Multi-node, Multi-user, Multi-tasking and LAN support.
       The implementation I have chosen is to require a LAN or a multi-
       tasker such as DESQview, OS/2, Windows or others.  No internal
       time-slicing or fancy timer-tick stuff is a part of the new DB.

     - Mouse support.  It took me a long time to admit this, but I like
       using a mouse for some applications.  The new version can almost
       completely be controlled by using a mouse.  In fact, if all you want
       to do is read mail, you don't need to touch the keyboard to select
       ECHOmail areas, scan and read messages.  If you want to reply, however,
       you will have to type your response.  (-:

     - Multi-language support.  Our friends that don't live in North America
       or Australia shouldn't be forced to use English if they don't want to.
       D'Bridge 2.00 has no text internal to the .EXE file and users can
       select which language they wish to use.  When you start DB in a multi-
       user environment, you have to "log-in" just like on a BBS.  Each user
       has a primary and secondary language, as well as a personal choice of
       screen colors and other desktop preferences.

     - Multi-network support.  In the ever-changing world of EMAIL, you
       might have noticed that Fidonet is being over-shadowed by this thing
       called the INTERNET.  D'Bridge 2.00 will have the ability to store-
       and-forward mail with a generic addressing structure, instead of being
       locked-in to the ZONE:NET/NODE.POINT structure.  This means that the
       old queue format is being tossed out the door and a new "free-form"
       structure will replace it.  Hopefully, D'Bridge will become one of
       the best Fidonet/Internet mailers on the market.
D'Bridge User Survey  / 30 April 1994                             Page 2 of 3
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     - Multi-BBS support.  Instead of just Fido and QuickBBS storage methods,
       the new D'Bridge can support virtually ANY flat-file message-base
       structure in use today - and tomorrow.  Using a data-driven message
       engine, DB will be able to support message-base formats that haven't
       even been invented yet... with no program changes!  Instead of having
       code for each new BBS, a data-dictionary is defined for each method,
       specifying the file structures, much like you'd define a DBASE file.
       We'll be supplying Fido, QuickBBS, GoldBase and PC-Board and maybe
       many more by the time of the actual release; users will be able to
       define more, just like they have with the modem control files.

     - Integral ECHOfile or "tick" capabilty will be a part of D'Bridge.
       Obviously, this is not just a fad, so it's as important as ECHOmail
       to our users.

     - The scheduler will be rewritten to allow more flexible event scheduling
       and external routing files as everyone has wanted.  The new version
       will store less in RAM to accomplish some of the new features, so disk
       access will go up making the need for disk-caching more obvious.

     - New security methods. Along with user IDs, comes security.  Menus
       and features can be customized by using both a "security level" and
       lock-and-key access protection.  Menus can be customized by the user
       to delete internal functions and add external programs of their own
       that can seem an integral part of D'Bridge.  Any hotkey can be mapped
       to any function.  (No F2-ALT-F10 anymore, but whatever the operator
       wants to setup.)

     - All limitations as to ECHOmail like number of areas, number of feeds,
       etc. will be removed.  It will be easier than ever to fill your disk
       with hundreds of thousands of messages and files every month...


I couldn't justify doing all this without a downside.  Some of the things
that DB has done for you in the past might not exist in the new version.
There are some features that just won't be there.  I haven't decided exactly
what, but that's what this survey is all about.

There is no projected release date for 2.00.  That information will be made
available when some reasonable estimate can be made.


- END OF RUMOR CONTROL SEGMENT
D'Bridge User Survey  / 30 April 1994                             Page 3 of 3
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The following survey should be answered in a NETmail message sent or routed
to Chris Irwin at 1:110/68 or at my new net 108 address which I don't have
yet.  For all who don't know, I have purchased a new house in Cincinnati
where I'm sure I'll be living for the next 7-10 years...  For your reference,
my new data number is 1-513-772-0274.


Insert as many lines as you want to answer the questions.  I will be printing
all these out and compiling them in a notebook for reference during the
ongoing development process.




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1)  What is your name and EMAIL address(es)?

2)  What network(s) are you a member of?

3)  How many ECHOmail areas do you receive?

4)  How many ECHOfile (tick) areas do you receive?

5)  What message-base storage format(s) would you like to see supported?

6)  What BBS software do you run?

7)  What features does D'Bridge 1.58 lack that you would like to see added?

8)  What features does D'Bridge 1.58 have that aren't necessary?

9)  If there are any fields in D'Bridge that are too short, please list them.

10) What is your main complaint about D'Bridge?


COMMENTS:


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