-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Software Shopper Online December 1994 Vol. 5 No. 8 "Your Shareware Source" SOFTWARE SHOPPER Contents: [] Editor's Notes: Playing Through the Holidays [] Shareware Reviews: Five of the season's coolest games! [] FYI: DOSKEY Timesavers (a quick tip) [] Featured Selection: Our pick of what's new [] New Releases: New shareware programs [] New Versions: Updated shareware programs [] FormGen's Top 10: Hot sellers in shareware [] What Is Shareware?: A cheerful explanation of try-before-you-buy [] About the Catalog: A note on Software Shopper's database Entire contents copyright 1994 by Falsoft, Inc. PCM -- The Premier Personal Computer Magazine -- is intended for the private use and pleasure of its subscribers, and reproduction by any means is prohibited. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Editor's Notes \|/ by Lauren Willoughby ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PLAYING THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS Warm up your joysticks, game boys and girls, because the elves at the shareware toy factory have been working overtime to bring you a cool holiday extravaganza. Run this one by your eyeballs: picture yourself as a 90-foot robot duking it out against another metal monster (the computer or even a human opponent) in the terrific new game from Epic MegaGames -- One Must Fall 2097. If you like karate/combat-style arcade games, check it out! This is a game that'll make your typical pre-teen Nintendo-head go steady with the PC. Next! Imagine yourself as a tough rabbit out to save the girl AND the galaxy in Jazz Jackrabbit, another must-see new title from Epic MegaGames. (You're pink, and you've got a gun.) For frantic run-jump- shoot action, Jazz Jackrabbit is the season's best. Next! And lo, the programmers at Copysoft bring us tidings of race joy -- yes! yes! A racing simulation has finally made its way to shareware -- Skunny Kart. (Darn, it's about time. And, darn, it's good.) Remember Skunny, the dashing hero squirrel? You can choose to be Skunny or one of his many animal pals as you take the wheel of a turbo-charged go-cart. Game play is fast, furious and hilarious. You'll think you're at the arcade. Split-screen action means you can even play against another human-type person. Next! Attention, Lemmings fans: no it's not a Lemmings shareware game. The folks at Virgin Interactive (makers of the CD-ROM game 7th Guest) have ventured into shareware waters with an evaluation version of their latest game, Cannon Fodder. It'll remind you of Lemmings, though, the way it looks and plays. Your job is to corral a bunch of tiny soldiers over a frozen landscape, killing enemy soldiers and blowing up their buildings. The Virgin Interactive people certainly work graphics magic with just a few pixels. I could go on and on, but then you'd have no incentive to check out the "New Releases" section. Trust me. Great games are afoot! >>[ DOOM and Gloom, and a Strange Phenomenon ]<< I guess you've heard by now -- DOOM II is out, but not in shareware (sigh). The guys at id have hit the big time, and it's the commercial life for them. Congratulations, guys! But please don't forget us little people the next time around. Fortunately, for a shareware 3-D fix, we still have Wolfenstein 3-D, Ken's Labyrinth, Blake Stone and good ol' DOOM Part I: Knee-Deep in the Dead. Speaking of Wolfenstein and DOOM-esque 3-D games, I've discovered a weird phenomenon that manifests itself after a prolonged play session in 3-D Land: uncontrollable strafing in large, open spaces. There I was at the mall, booking it to Sears, when my legs began side-stepping past all the store entrances, darting me around corners and back again. I just couldn't help myself. Has this happened to anyone else? >>[ Playing the Hits ]<< For quite a while now, the nice people at FormGen have been faxing us shareware Top 10 lists, "compiled from unit sales of evaluation disks by the leading disk vendors around the world." What say we type up and include that information here? OK, let's do it! Look for November's list somewhere in this section. >>[ A Serious Note ]<< This game-playing has got to stop! There's more to shareware than games, you know! Next month, we're gonna get down to business. Yep, we're gonna get serious with word processors, spreadsheets, databases and serious stuff like that. But until then, have fun! Play games! Enjoy the holidays! -=------------- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -------------=- Shareware Reviews ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GAMES! GAMES! GAMES! <> Jazz Jackrabbit <> Laser Light <> Literati Lite for Windows <> One Must Fall 2097 <> Skunny Kart 3-D -=*=- <> JAZZ JACKRABBIT <> This Little Bunny Carries a Big Gun! Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. The latest arcade hero is a pink bunny rabbit. Don't laugh! (Well, OK, you can laugh a little. Hey, if a hedgehog can kick butt, why can't a bunny?) This bunny is tough, he's fast, his name is Jazz, and he's starring in Jazz Jackrabbit from Epic MegaGames. If you're a fan of platform (run-jump-shoot) arcade games, you can't miss this one. And if you're making mental comparisons to Epic MegaGames' other platform-style arcade games -- Jill of the Jingle and Xargon -- stop! stop! stop! While those games are good, Jazz Jackrabbit is in a league of its own. Jazz Jackrabbit's animated characters are larger, something on the order of Sega, and the game play is faster and smoother (like Sega). The character somehow feels a little more solid through the controls. The scenario? 'Tis noble indeed. The evil turtle emperor, Devan Shell, kidnaps the beloved rabbit princess, Eva Earlong. and if that's not bad enough, he's also terrorizing the galaxy with his goons. And so it's Jazz to the rescue, shooting the bad guys, hopping among the levels, seeking out secret areas, and grabbing stuff for points whenever possible. The fate of the planet Carrotus rests in the paws (feet?) of one lone rabbit. You're advised to shoot everything: "If it moves, shoot it! (If it doesn't move, shoot it anyway!)" Bad things will be after you, like Turtlettes and BumblingBees -- don't let them touch you. Jazz Jackrabbit is fast. It's so fast, the programmers included a slow-motion mode for people who get dizzy playing at regular speed! The animation is great, the graphics are cartoon-quality-cool, the sound is awesome -- what can I say? This is THE arcade game of the season. Kids and adults both will love it. Try it! Register it -- you'll get five more episodes! To Play Jazz Jackrabbit you need a 33MHz 386 or faster CPU, 4MB of RAM, a hard drive and VGA. A sound card and a joystick are recommended. (The Gravis Gamepad is supported.) | Software Shopper Ordering Information | | Jazz Jackrabbit HD0064 1 Disk $8.00 | -=*=- <> LASER LIGHT <> Cool Logic Game With Lasers There's something about a good creative problem-solving game that ignites the imagination. When you finally build a solution out of the pieces you're given, you're filled with a sense of accomplishment sort of like you've just built a house, solved a monster calculus problem, or written a program. I think that's the attraction of programs like Brix and Heartlight (two great graphical problem-solving games from Epic MegaGames) -- and even Tetris. They give you an abstract, graphical way, outside the realm of mathematics, to solve complex problems. We just got in a good new problem-solving logic game -- Laser Light -- from a company called Pixel Painters. In it the problem you must solve creatively is that of shooting a laser beam at a target. The laser and the target both appear on the screen, and the laser never points directly at the target. You can't move the target, and you can't adjust the aim of the laser. So what can you do? You're given a set of mirrors and other tools you can drag and drop onto the playing grid to direct the laser beam to the target. In the beginning levels, there is only one laser and only one target. As you advance, Laser Light will throw multiple targets at you. If the targets outnumber the lasers, you add splitters to your repertoire of skills. To make it challenging, the game allots you only so many mirrors and splitters per level. When you think you have the solution, "throw the switch" to fire the laser(s). If all targets are destroyed, you may proceed to the next level. If they aren't, it's time to retool. You'll want to solve each puzzle in as few tries as possible for higher scores. Logic Puzzlers will definitely want to add Laser Light to their collection. To play you need a 286 or better CPU with 640K of RAM, VGA and a Microsoft-compatible mouse. | Software Shopper Ordering Information | | Laser Light DC9407 348K $6.00 | -=*=- <> LITERATI LITE FOR WINDOWS <> "Scrabbling" for Points Looking for a game that doesn't require trigger-finger reflexes? Word games more your style? Don't mind the computer making you feel dumb? (Tired of all these questions?) MVP Software has the program for you in Literati Lite for Windows. If you like Scrabble (TM), you'll love Literati Lite. Same premise, and nearly identical game play. Literati Lite's board is colorful and attractive. (For the benefit of the one or two people out there who don't know how to play Scrabble, it goes like this: you're given a rack of letter tiles, which you place on a board to form words and earn points. Each letter is assigned a point value, and you have opportunities to increase your score by having your word intersect double/triple letter/word squares. Got it?) You could round up three of your buddies to play on the computer, but most likely it'll just be you against the CPU. I must warn you, the program plays tough. You might shrink away from a rack of tiles that looks like this -- QXRTKZE -- but I wouldn't be surprised if the program's dictionary had a few entries to handle it. And I wouldn't be surprised if the program found a way to arrange the word to take advantage of triple letter and word scores. (Sigh.) Yes, this program will make you feel dumb. MVP Software brags that Literati Lite was "written by real smart people for real smart people." You'll need Windows 3.1 and VGA to play, along with a dash of humility. | Software Shopper Ordering Information | | Literati Lite for Windows HD0059 1 Disk $8.00 | -=*=- <> ONE MUST FALL 2097 <> "One Must Play" This Combat Game The year is 2097. The world's governments are mere puppets to mega- corporations, and to one corporation in particular -- World Aeronautics and Robotics (WAR), which has a lock on the robotics industry with the human-assisted robot (HAR), vital to space travel and modern military defense. Piloting a HAR is like inhabiting a new body, a super-powerful, gigantic, METAL body. Your brain "jacks in" to a supercomputer, which aligns the remote robot's senses to your own. Its eyes are now yours; its powerful muscles are yours to flex. But you're not just a thrill- seeker, no. You're one of the few executives qualified to fill a high- ranking WAR position on Ganymede. And the powers that be have decided the position will be filled by the one best able to control a HAR in one-on-one combat. And in every duel, of course, one must fall . . . That's the scenario of One Must Fall 2097, a new game developed by Diversions Entertainment and published by Epic MegaGames. Pretty heavy stuff, huh? If the programmers ever decided to give up programming and take up writing, they could probably find success penning science- fiction novels. The docs are so enjoyable to read, you might find it hard to tear yourself away to play the game. I did. When I finally closed out the docs I was blown away by the game. Wow. One Must Fall 2097 is the best one-on-one combat game I've seen for the PC. It's like a cross between Rock-'Em-Sock-'Em Robots and a no-holds- barred kick-boxing tournament -- with superhero, comic book-style graphics, cool animation, and metal-on-metal sound effects. When you're on the offensive you can punch and kick. Kick high! Kick low! Kick your opponent's head with gusto! With a bit of practice you'll be able to step in and wham-wham-wham your opponent, then leap away from the counterattack. When you're on the defensive you can block, duck and jump to escape crushing blows. Each match is divided into two or three rounds; you must win two of three rounds to advance. To some extent One Must Fall 2097 feels a little like a role-playing adventure. You get to choose your pilot's character. Do you want to be Crystal, a 23-year-old engineer who suspects the position on Ganymede would gain her the secret of her parents' mysterious death? Or would you rather be Christian, her brother, who hates WAR but vows to pursue the Ganymede project if only to protect his sister from a sinister plot? You could be Steffan, a bratty but ambitious 17-year-old -- or the mysterious Angel, who came out of nowhere. Each has his or her particular strengths and weaknesses. Before matches you get to watch conversations unfold between your character and your opponent -- each reveals little bits of information that add drama to the game. You'll find yourself playing hard to win just to learn more about your character and the others. And you'll want to win so you'll look good on the news updates. Yes, after every match a sports announcer breaks in with video highlights. (Try to be the one shown waving to cheering crowds . . . not the one that's crumpled to a pile of bolts.) Besides getting to choose your character, you're also allowed to choose your robot. The Jaguar is a sporty model that boasts speed, dexterity and the dreaded "100-Ton Concussion Cannon." The Chronos is a contender with its ability to teleport itself out of harm's way -- or in an opponent's face for the kill. Then there's Thorn, a model with a powerful kick and wing-like appendages barbed with deadly spikes. Each robot, too, has its particular pros and cons. I enjoyed One Must Fall 2097 on all levels. Play it! If you like games like Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, you'll love it! And if you get tired of crushing the computer (or having it crush you), invite a friend over to duke it out in the human-vs.-human mode. Requirements include a 386 or faster CPU (a 486 or better is recommended), 4MB of RAM, VGA and a hard drive. | Software Shopper Ordering Information | | One Must Fall 2097 HD0065 2 Disk $12.00 | -=*=- <> SKUNNY KART 3D <> Vroom! Vroom! Skunny's Got Wheels! You never really notice a void in a software category until it's been filled. For years the commercial software market has tossed car- and motorcycle-racing simulations at an eager public, yet in the shareware market there was a gaping hole. But no longer. Copysoft, maker of the humorous "Skunny-the-squirrel" arcade action games, steps in with Skunny Kart 3D. It's about time! Copysoft plays it for laughs -- road hazards include such things as banana peels and ghosts that hover over the asphalt -- but the design and game play are impeccable. The cartoon-quality animation, while very funny, is also smooth and fast. (Sometimes it seems too fast, so be careful with ham-fisted steering.) The "3D" in the title means the game uses first-person perspective. Actually, your perspective is just behind your tiny animal driver (you can choose to be Skunny or any of his seven other pals). When the light goes green, the race begins -- and you're off. The race courses are full of hairpin curves, and if you take them at top speed, you'll probably skid. Besides watching for the next turn, you must also keep your eyes peeled for pickups -- items that, if you run over them, can impede your progress or give you a boost. If you want to skid out of control and off the course, pick up a banana peel (not recommended!). Pick up guided missiles if you like to drive offensively. Run over coins to pick up extra points, and look for magenta clocks to shave seconds off your time. The screen is very noisy, colorful and BUSY, what with the pickups and the other drivers roaring past you or falling behind. At different levels you can broaden your racing experience by driving underwater or jumping over obstacles. Steering is not so easy, at least not using the keyboard. When I see a pickup ahead, I tend to oversteer in my excitement. What usually happens is, I end up running over a bad pickup by mistake. (Whatever you do, avoid the teddy-bear pickup -- it's vicious! It'll hang onto the back of your kart, "scratch" the living daylights out of your poor driver, and slow you down considerably.) Probably the most exciting feature of Skunny Kart 3D is that it offers a split-screen mode for two players. Joysticks are recommended for the dual-player mode. A young cousin recently enticed me to play one of his Super Nintendo race games (I think it was called F-1 Race), and I couldn't help but notice how much more fun Skunny Kart 3D is. To play Skunny Kart 3D you'll need a 386 or better system with 4MB of RAM, a hard drive and VGA. A joystick and sound card are recommended. (You'll need a Sound Blaster or compatible card to enjoy the funny sound effects and music.) | Software Shopper Ordering Information | | Skunny Kart 3D HD0055 1 Disk $8.00 | -=------------- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -------------=- FYI ~~~ DOSKEY TIMESAVERS DOSKEY, a TSR program found in DOS 5 and 6, does three important things for us command-line hounds: it lets us press the up arrow key to recall and re-execute DOS commands we've typed before; it lets us edit commands without having to Backspace over them; and it lets us enter multiple commands at a single DOS prompt. You separate the commands by pressing CTRL-T, and that control character shows up as a paragraph symbol ( ) at the DOS prompt. So a sample multi-command would look something like this: c:\LETTERS> REN *.DOC *.TXT COPY *.TXT D: DEL *.TXT Poof. All the commands run as if you had executed them from a batch file. To perform this DOSKEY magic, all you have to do is type DOSKEY at the prompt to load it into memory (it consumes about 4K of RAM). If you find yourself using this timesaver often, consider loading it from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file so you'll always have it available (to do that, put the word DOSKEY on a line by itself in the file, save and reboot). -=------------- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -------------=- Featured Selection ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our pick of the best of what's new in shareware. We're offering these programs at half off our normal distribution costs until December 30, 1994. Want the whole bunch? We'll send them to you for $20 -- that's an additional $4 savings. Jazz Jackrabbit This little bunny carries a very big gun Watch out, Sonic, here comes Jazz -- a bunny rabbit with an attitude! This is one of the best arcade games to come down the pike in a long time. It's fast, huge and funny, and the cartoon- type graphics have to be seen to be belived! When the evil turtle emporor Devan Shell rabbitnaps the beloved princess Eva Earlong, Jazz comes to the rescue (hopping mad!). Here's your objective in a nutshell: Collect everything; if it moves, shoot it ("if it doesn't move, what the heck -- shoot it anyway!"); and find and shoot the checkpoint signs. Jazz Jackrabbit features ultra-fast-scrolling 256-color graphics, rocking digital audio with surround sound, and hot action from Epic MegaGames. You'll definitely want a Gravis Ultrasound or Sound Blaster/Pro or compatible for this one. Plays like Sega, only better! (Please order on 1.44MB format only: the zipped file is 1.4MB big.) [See the review in this issue.] Requires: 33MHz 386+ CPU, 4MB, VGA, hard drive File No.: HD0064 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: [NOT $8] BUT $4 Laser Light v1.02s Cool logic game with lasers. We like it! Laser Light looks like an arcade game, but it's all logic and strategy. The goal is to hit one or more targets with a single laser beam, and you can't adjust either the target or the laser. What you can do is strategically arrange a series of mirrors and splitters to get the job done. To make the game even more challenging, you can go after pieces of fruit for bonus points, creating detour paths with mirrors to get them. If you love problem-solving games like Brix and Heartlight, you'll love Laser Light too! [See the review in this issue.] Requires: 286+ CPU, 640K, VGA, MS Mouse File No.: DC9407 Size: 348K Dist. Cost: [NOT $6] BUT $3 Literati Lite for Windows How many points is 'Q' worth? Do you like Scrabble? If so, you'll LOVE Literati Lite from MVP Software. It's a crossword board game for one to four players. Rack up points with double and triple letter and word scores. Features two skill levels, a built-in dictionary, cool background music and nice graphics. The computer plays tough. "Written by real smart people for real smart people." [See the review in this issue.] Requires: Windows File No.: HD0059 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: [NOT $8] BUT $4 One Must Fall 2097 v1.1 Don't be a 98,000-pound weakling! Transformers, Mechwarriors, Street Fighters, Mortal Kombat, Rock- 'Em-Sock-'Em Robots. If your pulse quickened at the mention of anything in the previous sentence, boy, does Epic MegaGames have something for you! It's called One Must Fall, and it's the best one-on-one fighting game in shareware (or even the PC realm), period. The fighters are robots, biiiiig robots, and you can play against the computer -- or grab a friend for a head-to-head grudge match. Underlying the kicking, leaping and punching is a plot rich enough to support a meaty SF novel. In fact, if you read the docs first, you may have to tear yourself away from the scenario and character descriptions long enough to play the game. But do play the game! It's a blast. There are several 'bots and pilots to choose, each having unique strengths and weaknesses. The game plays better on faster systems. You'll want a Sound Blaster or compatible sound card to hear the music and metal-on-metal hits. Crunch! (Please order on 1.44MB floppies; there's too much data to fit on two 1.2MB disks.) [See the review in this issue.] Requires: 386+ CPU, 4MB RAM, hard drive, VGA File No.: HD0065 Size: 2 Disk Dist. Cost: [NOT $12] BUT $6 Patience 10 v.4.01 10 popular, addictive solitaire games! CoCoWare brings you 10 solitaire card games you can play from a single menu: Accordion, Canfield, Dimaryp, Eliminate, Golf, Klondike, Nestor, Pyramid, Stacker and Vegas. Each game has its own best-scores table, and an on-disk user's guide covers rules and strategies for all 10 games. An undo function is included, and a mouse is supported. The programmers make good use of colorful ASCII characters for the game screens. This game can be played from a 360K floppy disk on just about any PC system. Highly recommended! Requires: 512K and DOS 3.1+ File No.: NV9391 Size: 185K Dist. Cost: [NOT $6] BUT $3 Skunny Kart v1.0 High-speed arcade racing game! If you've been searching through the shareware realm for an arcade race-driver simulation, Skunny Kart looks to be just about your only choice -- fortunately, it's a good one, rivaling what we've seen out there in Nintendoland! One- and two-player modes are offered, and you can set the overall game speed depending on the speed of your computer. The graphics are cartoon-quality, and you get your choice of which "animal" to race as. You can choose to be fast (like Skunny the squirrel) or slow (like the hippo). Since this is a racing comedy, road hazards include things like banana peels, a flock of ghosts and vicious teddy bears. If you have a Sound Blaster or compatible, you'll enjoy the music and comic sound effects. [See the review in this issue.] Requires: 386+ CPU, 4MB, DOS 3.0+, VGA, hard drive File No.: HD0055 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: [NOT $8] BUT $4 -=------------- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -------------=- New Releases ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------ GAMES! ------ Cannon Fodder A hot game from the Seventh Guest people Cannon Fodder is an arcade game from Virgin Interactive (publishers of the 3-D CD-ROM game Seventh Guest) that is distributed exclusively by MVP. It's war, and your little pixel soldiers must kill the enemies and destroy their buildings. The graphics and animation are fantastic! You use the left mouse button to move your soldiers, and the right button to aim and fire. This game looks like the commercial game Lemmings from Psygnosis -- you must move a bunch of tiny characters around the screen, having them perform tasks -- but the resemblance is in looks only (these joes act in unison, and they either move or shoot). It's a lot of fun, and the witty animation just may crack you up. Cannon Fodder is the first shareware game to offer a CD registration option. War has never been so much fun! Requires: 386+ CPU, VGA, hard drive, mouse File No.: HD0061 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: $8 Desert Storm Command Kick the sand from your boots, soldier Couldn't get enough of the Gulf War? It's back in Desert Storm Command, a hot arcade game by MVP Software. This game is packed full of pluses: 256-color graphics (featuring video-captured animation of real actors), explosive digitized sound effects and a sizzling musical score. Supports most sound cards. When you kill a bad guy, he falls in a shower of blood; parents may want to switch to the "bloodless mode" if children are going to play. Requires: 286+ CPU, VGA, mouse File No.: HD0060 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: $8 Electranoid Like Arkanoid and Breakout, but better! Electranoid was designed to close the book on Arkanoid-style programs, and it does. Not only do you smash bricks, but you battle the enemy fighters with lasers, missiles, and just about anything you can throw at them! Lots of action, lots of fun, lots of special "power pills," and lots of cool music and sound effects (Sound Blaster or compatible required)! With all its speed and graphics, Electranoid is small enough to play from a 360K floppy disk, but a hard drive is recommended. Requires: 386+ CPU, 2MB RAM, VGA, EMS, MS Mouse File No.: DC9406 Size: 262K Dist. Cost: $6 Jazz Jackrabbit This little bunny carries a very big gun Watch out, Sonic, here comes Jazz -- a bunny rabbit with an attitude! This is one of the best arcade games to come down the pike in a long time. It's fast, huge and funny, and the cartoon- type graphics have to be seen to be belived! When the evil turtle emporor Devan Shell rabbitnaps the beloved princess Eva Earlong, Jazz comes to the rescue (hopping mad!). Here's your objective in a nutshell: Collect everything; if it moves, shoot it ("if it doesn't move, what the heck -- shoot it anyway!"); and find and shoot the checkpoint signs. Jazz Jackrabbit features ultra-fast-scrolling 256-color graphics, rocking digital audio with surround sound, and hot action from Epic MegaGames. You'll definitely want a Gravis Ultrasound or Sound Blaster/Pro or compatible for this one. Plays like Sega, only better! (Please order on 1.44MB format only: the zipped file is 1.4MB big.) Requires: 33MHz 386+ CPU, 4MB, VGA, hard drive File No.: HD0064 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: $8 Jigsaw Puzzle v1.1 Puzzling on the 'puter InTime's Jigsaw Puzzle is one of the most realistic conversions of table-top puzzles to the computer screen. Its pieces are actually "cut" in jigsaw-type shapes instead of being merely rectangles. You get five puzzles to solve, plus a save feature so you can later pick up the pieces where you left off! Requires: 512K, DOS 3.1+, EGA/VGA, 700K disk space File No.: DC9409 Size: 202K Dist. Cost: $6 Laser Light v1.02s Cool logic game with lasers. We like it! Laser Light looks like an arcade game, but it's all logic and strategy. The goal is to hit one or more targets with a single laser beam, and you can't adjust either the target or the laser. What you can do is strategically arrange a series of mirrors and splitters to get the job done. To make the game even more challenging, you can go after pieces of fruit for bonus points, creating detour paths with mirrors to get them. If you love problem-solving games like Brix and Heartlight, you'll love Laser Light too! Requires: 286+ CPU, 640K, VGA, MS Mouse File No.: DC9407 Size: 348K Dist. Cost: $6 LineWars II 3-D space arcade game. Kill! Kill! Kill! LineWars II is a 3-D space arcade game in which the object is to complete your mission of protecting star bases while killing enemies and blowing up lots of asteroids. There's no strategy required, just lots of shooting. The graphics are terrific: real- time, lightsource-shaded planets and asteroids (which spin slowly and realistically). VESA and S3 accelerated VGA cards are supported (though a 386+ CPU is required for those modes). LineWars II can be played one-player, or two can play over a modem, or up to eight people can play over a network. Requires: 286+ CPU, hard drive, VGA File No.: HD0062 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: $8 Literati Lite for Windows How many points is 'Q' worth? Do you like Scrabble? If so, you'll LOVE Literati Lite from MVP Software. It's a crossword board game for one to four players. Rack up points with double and triple letter and word scores. Features two skill levels, a built-in dictionary, cool background music and nice graphics. The computer plays tough. "Written by real smart people for real smart people." Requires: Windows File No.: HD0059 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: $8 MVP Bridge for Windows Great bridge game: Try it! A terrific bridge game for Windows! The DOS version won major industry awards, and the Windows version is even better. Even if you've never played bridge before, this program's online help and optional hints will have you playing like a veteran. When you register (for $39.95), you receive Eddie Kantar's Bridge Companion for Windows. Requires: Windows 3.1, mouse File No.: DC9404 Size: 348K Dist. Cost: $6 One Must Fall 2097 v1.1 Don't be a 98,000-pound weakling! Transformers, Mechwarriors, Street Fighters, Mortal Kombat, Rock- 'Em-Sock-'Em Robots. If your pulse quickened at the mention of anything in the previous sentence, boy, does Epic MegaGames have something for you! It's called One Must Fall, and it's the best one-on-one fighting game in shareware (or even the PC realm), period. The fighters are robots, biiiiig robots, and you can play against the computer -- or grab a friend for a head-to-head grudge match. Underlying the kicking, leaping and punching is a plot rich enough to support a meaty SF novel. In fact, if you read the docs first, you may have to tear yourself away from the scenario and character descriptions long enough to play the game. But do play the game! It's a blast. There are several 'bots and pilots to choose, each having unique strengths and weaknesses. The game plays better on faster systems. You'll want a Sound Blaster or compatible sound card to hear the music and metal-on-metal hits. Crunch! (Please order on 1.44MB floppies; there's too much data to fit on two 1.2MB disks.) Requires: 386+ CPU, 4MB RAM, hard drive, VGA File No.: HD0065 Size: 2 Disk Dist. Cost: $12 ShadowForce Adventure in the 22nd century The year is 2110. Earth and its colonies are in chaos as organized crime takes over governments and terrorists relentlessly attack cities. Then Earth Central Command steps in with a plan to gain control and uphold the law using its new secret weapon: a team of enhanced humanoids called the ShadowForce. The elite team's first mission is to investigate the shutdown of Icarus, a government AI and genetic warface facility. Controlling the ShadowForce, you'll discover the awful secret behind Icarus and encounter the deadly Overlord. ShadowForce is a graphical adventure game with feel of the old text adventures. By MVP Software. Requires: 286+, 640K, DOS 3.3+, hard disk, VGA File No.: HD0067 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: $8 Skunny Kart v1.0 High-speed arcade racing game! If you've been searching through the shareware realm for an arcade race-driver simulation, Skunny Kart looks to be just about your only choice -- fortunately, it's a good one, rivaling what we've seen out there in Nintendoland! One- and two-player modes are offered, and you can set the overall game speed depending on the speed of your computer. The graphics are cartoon-quality, and you get your choice of which "animal" to race as. You can choose to be fast (like Skunny the squirrel) or slow (like the hippo). Since this is a racing comedy, road hazards include things like banana peels, a flock of ghosts and vicious teddy bears. If you have a Sound Blaster or compatible, you'll enjoy the music and comic sound effects. Requires: 386+ CPU, 4MB, DOS 3.0+, VGA, hard drive File No.: HD0055 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: $8 XATAX v1.0 Sideways shooter. Smooooooth! XATAX is coming and only you can stop it! It's an awesome sideways shooter with ultra-smooth full-screen scrolling landscapes and dazzling 256-color graphics. "It's the epitome of all Nintendo-style shooters." You will battle waves of aerial assaults while entering the depths of XATAX. Watch out! XATAX has sent two major boss mutants to stop you! You'll want a Sound Blaster/Pro for this one. (Yep, you read the requirements right: a 486 or better CPU is required.) Requires: 486+ CPU, 4MB RAM, VGA File No.: HD0063 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: $8 Stardate 2410.2: Crusade in Space Build up fleets and conquer the galaxy! This is a game of "spaceploitation," with you as Emporor of the galaxy, commanding a force of powerful staships. Your objective is simply to conquer or colonize every planet in the galaxy. Build up your fleets, plan and execute your strategy, and conquer! (Be careful, your enemies share your goals.) Cool graphics, sound effects and a rousing musical score by MVP Software. Requires: Windows 3.1 File No.: HD0066 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: $8 -------- GRAPHICS -------- CompuLog v1.00a Database of graphics, with thumbnails CompuLog allows you to catalog all the graphics files on your hard, floppy and CD-ROM disks into a single, searchable database. By assigning one-letter classification codes and keywords that describe the subject matter, you can select and sort images into groups of similar pictures. Images may be viewed by selecting from a screen full of image thumbnails. A flexible keyword selection routine supports wildcards. From Canyon States Systems & Software, the CompuShow people. Requires: DOS 3.0+, VGA or VESA-compliant SVGA File No.: DC9408 Size: 139K Dist. Cost: $4 Crystal Walls Trial Version v1.0 Fred! Look! The wallpaper is MOVING! No, don't adjust your monitor: your wallpaper really IS moving (that is, if you've installed Crystal Walls). Crystal Walls replaces static Windows wallpaper backgrounds with continuously animated, 3-D wallpaper scenes, or "worlds." The retail version of Crystal Walls offers 18 active worlds, of which this 30-day trial version has two: Earthrise (moon's-eye view of the earth as it comes over the horizon) and Koi Pond (an overhead view of swimming carp). If you like Windows gadgets and graphical doodads, you can't miss Crystal Walls. The retail version sells for $49.95. Requires: 25MHz 386+, Windows 3.1, 4MB of RAM, VGA File No.: HD0054 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: $8 -------- BUSINESS -------- COLLECT v1.04 A collections module for MED#1 COLLECT is an accounts receivable collections subsystem for MED#1 (a medical office management system for physicians, our ID# JN1006). It allows physicians to print aging reports for receivables as well as bills. The shareware version imposes a 100-patient limit. Requires: 640K, DOS 3.3+ and MED#1 (JN1006) File No.: DC9402 Size: 328K Dist. Cost: $6 Colorcube v2.1a Colorful, multidimensional views of data Colorcube interfaces with database data, 1-2-3 data, or ASCII files, allowing users to do two things: 1) view data from any of three perspectives; and 2) quickly analyze this data graphically by using colors to represent ranges of data values. It creates multidimensional views of data in a row-column-page form. Then it converts the data into a color bar a page at a time where the row-column cells of the matrix are converted into colors based on the relative rank or value of the cell. The end result is a "contour map" of the data, which allows users to easily spot extremes. Requires: 500K disk space File No.: DC9410 Size: 164K Dist. Cost: $5 Investor's Edge v5.0 Investment portfolio management program Investor's Edge handles 200 accounts of stocks, mutual funds, bonds, fixed-dollar denominated and appreciable-dollar denominated investments. Provides a general notepad and a notepad for each account. Records all investment transactions. Provides for automatic reinvestment of earnings. Screens and prints individual investment reports, portfolio reports with various breakdowns, asset allocation report, net worth statement and others. Graphically presents risk balance in portfolio. Requires: 640K, hard disk, printer File No.: DC9405 Size: 356K Dist. Cost: $6 MED_ICD9 v1.05 Physician, trash thy ICD-9 code books This program allows physicians and billing staffs to use the computer to locate ICD-9 codes instead of having to flip through large code books. Requires: 640K, DOS 3.3+ File No.: DC9403 Size: 236K Dist. Cost: $6 Medlin Windows Payroll Easy-to-use payroll writing program Medlin Windows Payroll is a payroll accounting program that offers built-in tax tables for federal withholding and all 50 states. It manages up to 500 employees and 32,000 paychecks per year. It supports tips, medical insurance, 401K plans, cafeteria plans and up to eight other income types. Lots more! It's designed to be so easy to use you won't need to read the manual. Shareware users are allotted 30 days to evaluate the program. Registered users receive a W-2 printing program. Requires: Windows File No.: DC9411 Size: 345K Dist. Cost: $6 -=------------- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -------------=- New Versions ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ------ GAMES! ------ MVP Word Search for Windows Seek and find in Windows Like word-search puzzles? Try this one from MVP Software. It comes with many puzzles you can solve, plus you can let the program create word-search puzzles from your word lists -- and print puzzles for "offscreen" solving. Words can be found up, down, left, right, and in any of the four diagonals. MVP Wordsearch for Windows makes good use of the Windows environment and includes an original MIDI sound track and cool sound effects to accent your successes. Teachers, this program may be of special interest to you if you spend much time creating activity puzzles. Requires: Windows 3.1 and VGA; printer optional File No.: AU9420 Size: 249K Dist. Cost: $6 MVP Bridge v2 Always a foursome for bridge here If you like to play Bridge, or you would like to learn, you'll like MVP Bridge from MVP Software. Featuring VGA graphics, Sound Blaster support, and strong play, MVP Bridge is one of the best shareware Bridge games developed (it's also been voted one of the top games, period, by two well-known magazines). It's easy to learn and use. In Version 2 the best gets better with improved bidding and card play. Requires: 286+ CPU, 640K, VGA, MS mouse File No.: JN9402 Size: 262K Dist. Cost: $6 Patience 10 v.4.01 10 popular, addictive solitaire games! CoCoWare brings you 10 solitaire card games you can play from a single menu: Accordion, Canfield, Dimaryp, Eliminate, Golf, Klondike, Nestor, Pyramid, Stacker and Vegas. Each game has its own best-scores table, and an on-disk user's guide covers rules and strategies for all 10 games. An undo function is included, and a mouse is supported. The programmers make good use of colorful ASCII characters for the game screens. This game can be played from a 360K floppy disk on just about any PC system. Highly recommended! Requires: 512K and DOS 3.1+ File No.: NV9391 Size: 185K Dist. Cost: $6 Patience Abroad v1.01 Nine more popular solitaire games! Just you and your computer again, eh? Why not take a crack at nine more solitaire games from CoCoWare? This time the focus is on foreign flavors: Beleaguered Castle, Tower of Hanoy, Monte Carlo, Weddings, the Great Wall, Russian Patience, Sir Tommy, Four Kingdoms and Florentine. Also features onscreen rules and mouse support. This game can be played from a 360K floppy disk on just about any PC system. Requires: 512K and DOS 3.1+ File No.: NV9392 Size: 192K Dist. Cost: $6 Pickle Wars Whimsical, wacky game! Can you save your beloved Arcadia from the dastardly invading Pickle race? Will you locate the ancient weapons in time? Will our hero and heroine discover each other? Find out in Pickle Wars, from MVP Software. The game features parallax scrolling, 256-color graphics, cinematic sequences, a whimsical musical score, digitized sound effects and more. Joysticks and Sound Blasters are supported. Requires: 286+ cpu, hard disk and VGA File No.: HD0011 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: $8 -------- BUSINESS -------- Bottom Line Accounting v3.0 Taking care of business Bottom Line Accounting is an eight-module accounting package designed for small- to medium-sized business users having little or no accounting knowledge. (Integrated modules include payroll, point-of-sale, accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory, etc.) Features online help screens and pop-up, on- the-fly data entry. It allows pre- and post-dated transactions as well as global and recurring transactions. No monthly closings are required. Includes a range of reports and graphs. It also performs payroll calculations and prints W-2s and 1099s. ASP author. (Formerly SS ID# OC1023.) Requires: 386+ CPU, 4MB RAM, DOS 4.0+, hard disk File No.: HD0058 Size: 3 Disk Dist. Cost: $14 METZ Phones v5.50 Address/telephone manager METZ Phones is an address and telephone manager for networks and individual users. It offers multiple-user support for company-wide or workgroup access to a central database. Certified Microsoft Office-compatible, it works and looks like Microsoft Office. Features include: multiple notes, unlimited phone numbers, user fields, flexible data import/export, label printing, envelopes, reports, online help and more. This is a functional trial version of a retail application. (Formerly SS ID# UW1003) Requires: Windows File No.: HD0052 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: $8 ZIPKEY Directory of ZIP/area codes & time zones ZIPKEY is a complete city-level directory of five-digit U.S. ZIP codes, three-digit telephone area codes, and time zones, combined with a keyboard-enhancement program. You can use it to look up ZIP codes on the fly. But ZIPKEY comes into full power when you use it memory-resident: you can call ZIPKEY from inside your word processor or database, type a five-digit ZIP code, and fool the program into thinking you've typed any or all of the following: the city name, the state (its name or abbreviation), the ZIP code, area code, the time zone, and any other combination of fixed keystrokes. ZIPKEY holds data on more than 42,000 ZIP codes and 30,000 cities. The data is updated every month for registered users; the data in the shareware version is constrained to be at least six months old. Requires: 256K, DOS 2.0+; hard disk recommended File No.: AP1057 Size: 346K Dist. Cost: $6 -------- GRAPHICS -------- CompuShow 2000! v1.05a Look at GIF, PCX, BMP files and more! The popular CShow graphics file viewer gets even better in this current incarnation: it has adopted a desktop-style CUA menu- driven interface with pull-down menus, windows and radio buttons. Plus it has an autoconfiguration feature that automatically recognizes and configures the program for your particular graphics card with no effort on your part! (Supports just about every video card.) It's really easy to use, and it's stocked with features. There's a slide-show function, masking functions, a complete file manager, and support for images in these graphics formats: GIF, RLE, PCX, PIC, IFF, BMP, TIFF, IMG, JPEG, Targa, ColoRix, MacPaint and DR Halo. Requires: a floppy drive and a graphics card File No.: HO1015 Size: 211K Dist. Cost: $6 CompuShow v8.76a Versatile viewer, famililar interface This is the original CompuShow, with the custom (but friendly) interface you've grown to know and love. (If you like CUA-style menus, dialog boxes and windows, check out CompuShow 2000!, our SS ID# HO1015.) CompuShow is a graphics file viewer par excellence. It'll let you look at images in any of these formats: GIF, RLE, MacPaint, PC Paint, PC Paintbrush, ColoRIX, EGA Paint, IMG, Dr. Halo, Targa, IFF/LBM/HAM, BMP, TIFF and JFIF (JPEG). It also supports graphics cards from Hercules and CGA all the way through Hi-Color SVGA. Requires: floppy drive and graphics card File No.: HO1032 Size: 209K Dist. Cost: $6 METZ Corporate Screen Saver v1.0 From .BMP file to animated screen saver METZ Corporate Screen Saver allows you to place any .BMP bitmap image at the center of an exciting Windows screen saver! Imagine your company's logo or a scan of your face bouncing around the screen. That's right -- bouncing! You can assign the .BMP image to do a number of things: fade in and out with the "blinds" effect; bounce over the top of the Windows display, or erase what's underneath as it bounces; display calendars for a full year, or just three months (or just this month); accompany a message; explode; or do something else equally exciting. This is a fully functional trial version of a retail program. Requires: Windows 3.x File No.: DC9401 Size: 360K Dist. Cost: $6 ----------- PROGRAMMING ----------- A86/D86 v.3.72 Popular assembler/debugger A86 accepts assembly language source files and transforms them directly into either .COM files executable under MS-DOS; .OBJ files suitable for feeding to a linker; or object files starting at offset 0, suitable for copying to ROMs. A86 is a full-featured, professional-quality program. D86 is the A86 complement Debugger. New features in v3.72 of A86 include an INCLUDE directive, a listing facility, an END operand value, the removal of a limit on the length of a source file, the REF/DEF operators, macros in an A86LIB library, and more. The registration of $80 includes both A86 and D86; to register just one of the programs costs $50. Requires: DOS 2.0+ File No.: PA1001 Size: 324K Dist. Cost: $6 ------------------ TELECOMMUNICATIONS ------------------ METZ Dialer v3.01 Speedy autodialer for Windows METZ Dialer gives you the ability to quickly and accurately dial phone numbers using your Hayes-compatible modem. With a user-definable hot key, you can dial numbers directly from within any Windows application. Dialer will also keep a list of your frequently used names and numbers on hand, letting you dial even more quickly. Requires: Windows, a Hayes-compatible modem File No.: UW1006 Size: 347K Dist. Cost: $6 Qmodem Test Drive v4.60 Full-featured telecommunications Qmodem Test Drive is a fully functional telecommunications program designed to prodive full communications to any PC and modem. (While it's fully operational, it's not the same as the commercial version. The registered, or commercial, release includes additional enhancements and functions. The commercial version is also available in DOS or Windows flavors.) Test Drive features include a dialing "phone book," scripts, logging, and upload/download protocols such as Zmodem and Ymodem Batch. According to Mustang Software, "Version 4.6 contains only cosmetic fixes to correct spelling and contact information. It is otherwise identical to Version 4.52." (Formerly SS ID# TT1003.) Requires: a modem File No.: HD0056 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: $8 Wildcat! Test Drive v2.61 Complete BBS Wildcat! Test Drive is a working evaluation version of Wildcat!, though it is not the latest version of the registered software and lacks some features found in the registered version (like internal file-transfer protocols and the capability to run doors). A prospective BBS customer will be able, using Test Drive, to set up and operate a Wildcat! BBS system for testing. According to Mustang Software, "Version 2.61 is a very minor update to v2.6 released 9/30/92." (Formerly SS ID# TB1001.) Requires: Two MB RAM, hard disk File No.: HD0057 Size: 1 disk Dist. Cost: $8 --------- UTILITIES --------- METZ Lock v3.34 Windows "crimebuster" A security application for Microsoft Windows, METZ Lock password-protects the system to prevent unauthorized use. It even disables CTRL-ALT-DEL reboots. METZ Lock can be customized for your particular needs, and it also works with Novell and Banyan passwords. Requires: Windows File No.: UW1007 Size: 330K Dist. Cost: $6 Metz Task Manager v.2.03 Replaces the Task List & Program Manager METZ Task Manager is an award-winning replacement for the Windows' Task List and Program Manager. It takes the place of Windows' Task Manager whenever you press CTRL-ESC, double-click on wallpaper or click on the "Switch To" Control Box option. Just like Task Manager, it pops up a list of current applications you can jump to, but instead of just showing you the programs' names, it also shows their icons and places a group of handy utilities just a button click away. METZ Task Manager includes a file-finder utility, a mini file manager, a scheduler to perform routine tasks for you (when you're not at the computer), a menu-type launcher, a text-search utility (finds files based on text strings inside files) and more. A handy feature is the grid of nine blank buttons onto which you can drag icons for quick launching of the applications you use most. You can also browze Program Manager's groups for quick icon-click launches. (Formerly SS ID# FE9112) Requires: Windows 3.x File No.: HD0053 Size: 1 Disk Dist. Cost: $8 -=------------- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -------------=- FormGen's Top 10 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ November 1994 These figures are from October. -=*=- APPLICATIONS TOP 10 Rank|Months| Title (Author) | Description ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 7 PKZIP/PKUNZIP (PKWare) File compression utility 2 45 ViruScan (McAfee Associates) Virus detector 3 2 WinZip (N. Mak) Windows ZIP file manager 4 1 Snooper (J. Vias) PC System Analyzer 5 21 EnVision Publisher (Software V.) Desktop publisher for DOS 6 2 WinPak (Rhode Island Soft Sys.) Screen savers for Windows 7 3 Phantom Screen (NeoSoft) Screen-blanking utility 8 1 Cross-Stitch Designer (R. Scott) Windows pattern designer 9 1 Home Plan (C. Herndon) Floor plan designer 10 1 Uninstall for Windows (J. Yabion) Windows utility -=*=- ENTERTAINMENT TOP 10 Rank|Months| Title (Author) | Description ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 10 Blake Stone (Jam Prod./Apogee) 3-D action adventure 2 10 DOOM (id Software) Heavy VR combat game 3 10 Duke Nukem II (T. Replogle/Apogee)Arcade game 4 11 Epic Pinball (Epic MegaGames) Video pinball game 5 7 Raptor (Cygnus Studios/Apogee) Arcade game 6 10 Xargon I (Epic MegaGames) Arcade game 7 13 Halloween Harry (SubZero/Apogee) Arcade Game 8 1 Jazz Jackrabbit (Epic MegaGames) Arcade platform game 9 3 Hocus Pocus (M. Voss/Apogee) Action platform game 10 1 Zone 66 (Epic MegaGames) Arcade game -=*=- EDUCATION TOP 10 Rank|Months| Title (Author) | Description ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 4 Beginners Guide to the Internet Internet tutorial (Suarez Associates) 2 2 Big Dummy's Guide to the Internet Internet text (Electronic Frontier) 3 27 PC-Fastype (Trendtech) Typing tutor 4 4 Amy's First Primer (Motes Educ.) Preschool learning game 5 7 Bert's Dinosaurs (T. Wierenga) Children's coloring book 6 21 Math Rescue (K. Crowther/Apogee) Arcade-style math game 7 1 Earth-Centered Universe (Nova As.)Windows astronomy program 8 27 Word Rescue (K. Crowther/Apogee) Arcade-style reading game 9 1 C++ Tutor (Coronado Enterprises) C++ tutorial 10 1 Adventure Math (Epic MegaGames) Math teaching program -=------------- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -------------=- What Is Shareware? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WHAT IS SHAREWARE? HOW DOES IT WORK? Shareware operates on the "try before you buy" system. Authors allow their programs to be copied and passed around, among friends, over BBS systems or through services such as Software Shopper. If you find a shareware program is of value to you and you intend to keep and use it, then you must register the program with the author (pay a fee -- the amount varies). Registration gives you various benefits, depending on the author. (Common benefits include printed manuals, newer versions and support if you happen to run into problems.) The fee also helps motivate authors to improve their programs and develop new ones. No part of the money collected by Software Shopper, or any other service, goes to the program authors. Those charges are strictly copying, handling and shipping fees, and they are non-refundable. The author gets paid only when you send in your registration fee. We supply all copies of Shareware programs on both 5-1/4- and 3-1/2- inch disks, although there is an extra charge of 75 cents per disk for 3-1/2-inch (720K) format. Programs are separated into subdirectories on a disk when we make up special orders for you (most of our orders are special orders). A short instruction sheet is packaged with the disk, but your disk label tells you the name of the subdirectories. Generally, our orders are processed within 24 business hours of receipt. Due to volume, we may run a day or so behind from time to time. Our business hours are generally 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. We disclaim any damage that any of the software in Software Shopper may cause and cannot guarantee that any particular system follows sound business practices. Our sole liability, in any event, consists of a refund of the copying and distribution charge we make for providing software to you. We invite and solicit your comments and suggestions about Software Shopper and the Shareware which we make available through it. Our shareware library contains many more programs than appears in this issue of Software Shopper. If you have a specific need, please contact us on our Customer Assistance line, (502) 228-4492. We will do everything we can to try to help. Falsoft, Inc. is an approved vendor and associate member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Graver Road, Muskeg, MI 49442, or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007, 3536. -=------------- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -------------=- About the Catalog ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The rest of Software Shopper Online is our database or "catalog" -- the majority of the shareware programs in our archives, which are neither new nor updated this month. While you'll see more than a thousand programs listed in the database, please keep in mind that more is coming! We're still in the process of converting records, so future issues will be more complete. If your favorite shareware title is missing from the database now, it will probably soon be added. Also, a note about how the database is structured. There really is a method to the madness! We divided the database into 32 sections: 16 broad categories for DOS and the same 16 broad categories for Windows. (Categories include Business, Education, Games, Utilities, etc.) Each rather generic category is in turn broken down into smaller subcategories -- for example, "Business" is broken down into Accounting, Contact Management, Personal Finance and others. When you read the database, it will look like each category starts out nicely in alphabetical order -- but then does several A-Z cycles! The reason for this is that the subcategories are also in alphabetical order. Yes, we COULD have separated the database into distinct subcategory files, but your SysOps would have wanted to murder us for making them deal with hundreds of files instead of the slightly unwieldy 32! As long as you know the subcategory structure is there, you should have no trouble finding the kinds of programs you're interested in. Enjoy! -=------------=- T-H-E E-N-D F-O-R N-O-W -=------------=-