For Immediate Release
                       NEW PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT

For further information, contact Rey Barry.
  Internet:  rey.barry@execnet.com
  Voice line: 804-293-2693

            New Paperback Guide to Free Software Released

  Charlottesville, VA - Owning a computer doesn't require spending a
fortune for computer software.  Good software that doesn't cost a dime
is available to do most any job, according to Rey Barry, a retired
real estate broker who founded the "Freeware Hall of Fame"(sm).

     "There are so many first-rate free programs for DOS and Windows
you can do practically anything when you know what to look for and how
to find it," Barry says.

     To make his point he published "The Freeware Hall of Fame Guide
to Free Software," a 96-page paperback available by mail order. It
describes 1,743 programs free for personal use, and tells how to find
them on the Internet and neighborhood Bulletin Boards.

     In May, BBS Magazine called the collection, "... some of the
finest utilities and applications available. Many are tools that you
couldn't find elsewhere at any price."

     From A to Z they range from archivers that store or back-up files
to a postal ZipCode bulk mail manager.  Included are word processors,
loan analyzers, harddrive file managers, spelling checkers, legal
forms, schedule planners, multi-media viewers and creators, modem
communication programs, collector databases, aviation and maritime
programs, network utilities, programs to convert nearly anything to
something else, and 100 programs to manage the Internet and other
on-line services.

     Databases list the telephone area codes for the entire world,
thousands of songs and composers, a year-by-year review of United
States culture, and a nationwide list of hamburger chain radio
channels.  Tune in with a scanner and hear orders being placed at the
neighborhood drive in.

     Whether for profit or for fun it's all free, and some things are
found only in Freeware.  For example, Barry says the only DOS program
to assign jobs to the keyboard's F-11 and F-12 keys is Freeware.

     The Hall of Fame, or FreeHOF as it's known, had its origins in
1984 when Barry began looking for software to run his real estate
office.  "I was amazed that the Freeware found on Bulletin Boards was
sometimes better than retail software costing hundreds of dollars, and
I began collecting it," Barry explains.

     Who writes free software?  According to Barry some of the authors
"rank with the best in the profession, employed by the most advanced
governments and industries.  The Freeware they write on their own time
often reflects the highest level of concept and execution."

     By 1989 the collection was so large and diverse Barry named it
the Freeware Hall of Fame and began mailing choice Freeware to
Bulletin Boards in the US, Canada and Western Europe that were members
of the ILink International Netmail Network(sm) where Barry is an
administrator.

     Three years later he opened the FreeHOF BBS and currently more
than 300 Bulletin Board operators on three continents regularly call
in to download and upload Freeware.  "So far as I can discover, it's
the world's only BBS dedicated to Freeware, Public Domain and $0
Shareware" Barry says.

     The Guide to Free Software singles out what Barry calls "the
circle of Great Freeware Writers legendary for the quantity and
quality of their Free programs, or for their impact on the PC
industry."  He says nearly every PC in the world runs at least one
Freeware utility by an author in that circle.

     "People don't think of those as Freeware but as programs that
'came with the computer,' as indeed they did," he says.

     The Guide has two parts.  One lists applications and databases in
105 categories.  The second is an alphabetized list naming more than
1,000 Freeware writers and their programs.  Barry notes that 13 of the
most prolific writers account for more than 180 entries in the Guide.

     An introduction gives tips on the best way to find the newest
releases of these programs on the Internet and neighborhood Bulletin
Boards - and suggests who should NOT be using the Internet to search
(people who pay their own INET bill.)  The introduction also tells how
to keep computers safe from destructive viruses and trojans.

     The Guide is available for $20 from the Freeware Hall of Fame,
1561 Dairy Road, Charlottesville, VA 22903-1303.  No charge for VA
sales tax or postage.  The book is expected to be in bookstores
nationwide by the end of the year, probably at a higher price.
