-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- PCM Online November 1994 FIRST THINGS Contents: [] PCM Online Table of Contents: November 1994 [] LPRINT: Publisher's Notes -- Graphics are what it's all about today [] The Issue at Hand: Editor's Notes -- Welcome to PCM Online! [] README: Last-minute notes about Software Shopper, our shareware publication. [] Letters to PCM: The readers talk back 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. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- PCM Online Table of Contents: November 1994 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PCM Online is divided into eight sections. -=*=- INTRO [] What Is PCM Online? [] How to Find and Run the Programs (Batch File and GW-/QBASIC) [] How to Talk to Us [] Submission Guidelines [] Masthead (the Falsoft staffers who bring you PCM Online) [] SysOps Only: How to Subscribe to PCM Online FIRST THINGS (this section) [] PCM Online Table of Contents: November 1994 [] LPRINT: Publisher's Notes -- Graphics are what it's all about today [] The Issue at Hand: Editor's Notes -- Welcome to PCM Online! [] README: Last-minute notes about Software Shopper, our shareware publication. [] Letters to PCM: The readers talk back FEATURES [] Truchet Tilings: Computerized patterns -- before fractals, there were Truchet tiles. This program paints them on your screen. [] Print Listings the Easy Way: EasyList makes neat printouts of all your program's modules. A handy tool for programmers! [] Teed Off: This strategic game tests your mental mettle (or perseverance). It's the popular "restaurant" peg-jumping game. [] Alternate Operating Systems: Does Microsoft Have It Right With Windows NT? *NOTE: The BASIC/QBASIC listings for these programs are contained in the file PCMO9411.ZIP. If you cannot find this file in the usual file-downloads area of your BBS, ask your SysOp for the file's location. COLUMNS [] Business as Usual/Emmett Dulaney: PCM's business columnist looks at accounting packages and samples the "suites." [] DOS Keys/Kari Jackson: PCM's DOS expert shows you there's more to the FORMAT command than you probably imagined. [] Riding the Internet: Finding Your "On Ramp" [] Silicon Warrior: The Warrior Takes on Five New Games [] Working in Windows: Updates to Windows and Word SOLUTIONS [] Spiffing up Batch Files With Sound [] Multiple Wildcards With DIR [] Windows Users: Keep the DOS Line Open [] Random Hints <> Housekeeping Simplified: A DIR of your DIRs <> Giving your mouse a bath <> Take out the trash (and get it back!) <> To do or not to do -- an easy way to use Windows to keep track of your to-dos REVIEWS [] Reviews of 20 new commercial software programs: <> AnyTime <> Bartender 2.0 for Windows <> Bridge Baron <> Car Buyers' Companion & Home Buyers' Companion <> Connect for Success <> Dragon's Lair CD-ROM <> Escape With Your Life <> Expert Forms, Expert Labels, Expert Resume Writer <> Forest & Trees 3.1 <> Goblins Quest 3 <> The Hanna-Barbera Animation Workshop <> Medio Magazine <> MyBrochures and Mailers for Windows <> The Print Shop Deluxe <> Reuter's Money Network <> SpeedTools 2.0 for Windows <> WindowMagic [] Focus On: Presentation Graphics, an in-depth look at programs like Harvard Graphics and Freelance PRESS BOX [] News Bites: News shorts from across the industry [] $$ What a Deal! $$: Bargains we've stumbled across [] Telecom Press Releases: For SysOps and other online enthusiasts SOFTWARE SHOPPER [] Editor's Notes: Lots of Hot New Titles [] Shareware Reviews: Looks at seven great new shareware titles: <> Color Presentation Magic <> GeoPublish <> Hocus Pocus <> NeoBook Professional 2.0 <> NeoShow Pro <> QuikGraf <> wInformant [] FYI: Capturing Screens in Windows (a quick tip) [] Featured Selection: Our pick of what's new (and a special offer) [] New Releases: New shareware programs [] New Versions: Updated shareware programs [] What Is Shareware?: A cheerful explanation of try-before-you-buy [] About the Catalog: A note on Software Shopper's database -=-------------- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- --------------=- LPRINT \|/ by Lawrence C. Falk ~~~~~~ PUBLISHER'S NOTES GRAPHICS ARE WHAT COMPUTERS ARE ALL ABOUT TODAY . . . . . . Let's take a small, simple example. I've always written this column and several others on a regular basis, stored them on disk, and given them to people in the editorial department. Did I ever get the disk back? Of course not. So it was always me who had to go asking for extra disks. "Do you eat these things?" I was asked once. But no more. I scanned a photo of myself (did only minimal damage to the scanner), scanned my signature for effect, and produced a disk label with the photo and signature on it -- along with a message that the disk belongs to me and that its theft is punishable by law. Haven't had anyone fail to return a disk since. There are so many collections of clip art that it is difficult to go through everything looking for the right image to incorporate into a document. In doing a brochure the other day, I found some 200 different images in three collections to represent money. The hardest part was not in finding them but in choosing the best one to use. When I started THE RAINBOW [the now-retired magazine for Tandy Color Computer users], I recall one of the first things I did was to get a graphic designer to create a rainbow; then I worked the design into letterheads, envelopes, business cards and so on. The design cost me a couple of hundred dollars (which I have always considered well-spent), and we used it for several years. Today, however, you don't even have to print letterheads or envelopes -- just plain paper and envelopes, set up the graphics and type in your word processor, and you have . . . stationery. My graphics prediction is that within the next couple of years, high- quality, inexpensive color printers will be on the market that begin to replace the black-and-white laser printers so many use nowadays. When that happens, you will see a second explosion in graphics (the first was the mere ability to produce them at all) that may well see a lot of quick-print shops simply go out of business. By contrast the market for graphics programs, clip art, even more fonts and the like will continue to increase. Fonts, you ask? Aren't there already so many of them that I can't keep track of them? That's right, but one day fonts will be colorful too, with designs incorporating the colors into the fonts. It will be interesting. -=-------------- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- --------------=- The Issue at Hand \|/ by Lauren Willoughby ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EDITOR'S NOTES WELCOME TO PCM ONLINE A lot can happen in a few months. Take PCM Online. A short while ago, this electronic publication you're reading was just a gleam in a SysOp's eye and a vague idea by an editorial staff that its material might go over big in "electronic book" fashion. Thanks to Chuck Burke, the SysOp of Louisville's Dance of Shiva BBS (and a remarkably energetic catalyst), we decided to follow our digital dreams. Greetings! Welcome to PCM Online! We hope you like it, and that you return to our electronic pages again and again. We're going to be around for a LONG time. PCM, the magazine on which PCM Online is based, gives you the assurance that we're here to stay: PCM recently celebrated its 10th anniversary in print, and it's anxious to embrace the next decade. We've seen a world of change in the volatile world of personal computers, but our view stays fresh -- we're constantly learning new things about what it means to be computer users. PCM is the magazine for personal computer hobbyists. If you haven't read PCM before, you're in for a treat! It's probably the most "hands-on" computer magazine in existence. If you like to type in batch files, putter around with BASIC, tinker with your Windows environment, get the most out of DOS, and keep up with the latest software, PCM is for you! While PCM Online is a text-only version of PCM, it's also more than just that -- because we're not constrained by a printing budget. We're free to fill PCM Online's digital pages with whatever we want. But we'd rather fill it with whatever YOU want. If you would like to see a certain type of article, just let us know. Our Internet address is pcm@shivasys.com. If you'd like to see a specific program reviewed, send us a message. If you have a PC question you'd like answered, send it to us by e-mail -- if we can't find an answer, we'll turn it over to other PCM Online readers, many of whom will hold the key. Feel free to cram our e-mailbox full of letters and wish lists. Let's build an interactive magazine together. See you again next month -- same time, same BBS. -=-------------- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- --------------=- README ~~~~~~ LAST-MINUTE NOTES ABOUT SOFTWARE SHOPPER Software Shopper is the first online shareware magazine/catalog we know of that is updated monthly. Software Shopper is also an ASP-approved shareware vendor; we've been reviewing and offering shareware for several years. Our "inventory" contains thousands of programs. We certainly can't fit all of them into the "offline" version of Software Shopper (which is published as 32 pages bundled inside the magazine PCM), but we can certainly pack in quite a lot of them in this online version! While Software Shopper Online offers descriptions on more than 1000 shareware programs -- and is one of the most comprehensive shareware catalogs you can find -- it's still a work in progress. We're converting our database record by record. So, if your favorite shareware titles are missing from this month's catalog -- have patience, they'll probably be added soon. Also, this month's online catalog went to "print," so to speak, before we could post a notice in the Software Shopper section about the "Author's Fee" fields. We do not have registration fee information for all titles, so for those fields that show a fee of "0.00," please do not assume that registration is free! An Invitation to Shareware Authors Shareware authors: we invite you to monitor our catalog to help keep us up to date with your titles. Although we receive the ASP Advantage CD- ROM and get disks sent to us by shareware authors, we don't get everything we'd like -- so we turn to BBSs and online services for files we're missing (and of course read the vendor info to make sure we're allowed to distribute the programs we download). We'd rather that the programs came directly from you -- and we're sure you'd rather that too. Feel free to send us your updates and new titles. Our mailing address is: Software Shopper, P.O. Box 385, Prospect, KY 40059. Our shipping address is: Software Shopper, The Falsoft Building, 9509 U.S. Highway 42, Prospect, KY 40059. We've got to tell you about our new high-density line. Most shareware vendors are still putting out titles on low-density floppy disks only, but we're proud to have launched our "HD" line: which means we can competitively distribute titles like DOOM, Raptor, GeoPublish and NeoBook Pro on high-density disks (complete with nifty, laser-printed labels). So, large programs don't upset us! We do request that, when you send us large programs, you break them into chunks that would also fit on 1.2MB floppy disks. But if you can't, that's OK -- we'll just insert a note asking readers to order the program on 1.44MB disks only. -=-------------- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- --------------=- Letters to PCM ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THANKS FOR THE TIPS Editor: As a retired professional engineer and a computer novice, I would like to tell you that your articles "Learn to Use Your Computer," "The Disk Is In Your Hands" and "Can I Run This Program?" were without a doubt the finest technical articles that I have ever read. They all appeared in the January issue of PCM within the Software Shopper section. Armed with this information I was able to attack my computer full of confidence. I was sure there were tips somewhere that could get me off dead center, and you provided them. Thanks a great deal for giving a big jump start to my computer education. William Zabriskie, Jr. Old Saybrook, Connecticut -=*=- REMOVING UNNECESSARY FILES Editor: My wife and daughters love to play the Carmen Sandiego series. I think we have them all except the deluxe versions that require more than Tandy graphics or EGA. I have a 65MB hard drive with DOS 6's compression and it is running out of room. I either have to put some programs or data on floppy disks or get rid of unused files such as Windows' VGA files (I have EGA). There are several Carmen Sandiego data files that I don't need: MCGA.DAT and MIDISND.DAT are two I'm sure I don't need. There are others I'm not sure about, such as IBSND.DAT, FRAGSND.DAT, DIGISND.DAT and MFXSND.DAT. Which files are used by Tandy sound and which are used by popular boards? (I presently have Game Blaster, which is no longer supported.) I would like to delete the unnecessary files after copying them to a floppy. Broderbund told me to buy a new hard drive, which is not in the piggy bank with three now in college. Robert Hales Albion, New York Although it may be a time-consuming process, generally the best way to find out which files are required is to either rename or move each suspect file to a floppy disk one at a time. If the program continues to work without any problems, you know that file isn't required. If the program quits working or acts strangely, either rename the file back to its original name or move it back onto the hard drive. Some files, such as MCGA.DAT and MIDISND.DAT, are obviously for MCGA and VGA graphics and MIDI sound so aren't applicable to your configuration and can be removed. We agree with your idea of keeping backup copies of the files on a floppy disk. In this way you can easily copy the files back onto the hard drive if they are needed later, or if you upgrade the computer such as by adding a VGA card. -=*=- TANDY GRAPHICS TO VGA Editor: I am a subscriber to PCM and have a Tandy 1000 RLX. In the July 1993 issue of PCM was a feature called "A Little Flag-Waving Music, Please!" by John Shewchuk with his listing of FLAG.BAS. I entered this program into my computer but the program stops at Line 100 asking for an End Of Statement for the statement CLEAR ,,,32768!. I wrote Mr. Shewchuk asking for any assistance he could give me to clarify this problem. He stated he could only suggest trying two changes, which were to first change CLEAR,,,32768! to CLEAR and if that didn't work to completely eliminate the CLEAR statement. I tried both of these changes but the program still will not run. I am hoping that you may be able to help me make this program work. Any help will be greatly appreciated. William Hart Kenosha, Wisconsin The problem you are experiencing is because the Tandy 1000 RLX has VGA graphics whereas FLAG.BAS requires Tandy graphics. To make the program work properly on your computer in the equivalent VGA mode, delete the statement CLEAR ,,,32768! and change SCREEN 6 to SCREEN 8 so Line 100 reads: 1OO SCREEN 8:KEY OFF:CLS:IX=5:IY=6: X1=2O:X2=O -=*=- ENHANCING A SIMPLE DATABASE Editor: Regarding the "Plain and Simple" program in the February 1994 issue of PCM, I found errors when attempting to run it (SDB.BAS) on an IBM 386SX clone using MS-DOS 5.0 and GW-BASIC 3.2. Solutions and other comments are given below. 1. When using random-access files, the default record length is 128. Because SDB.BAS uses record lengths of 1200, it is necessary to use GW- BASIC option /S:record length and option /I. The /S:record length option specifies the record length for random-access files. If you use the /S:record length option, you must also use the /I option. The best way to perform this task is to use this batch file: @ECHO OFF ECHO Loading Simple Database (SDB.BAS) GWBASIC SDB /S:12OO /I 2. Add a semicolon at the end of lines 3950, 3970 and after (186) in line 3960 to prevent double spacing of the card display. 3. Change all VIEW PRINT statements of the form VIEW PRINT X TO 25 to VIEW PRINT X TO 24 to avoid syntax errors. 4. When using COLOR 14.1 (yellow on blue) for the main displays, I found that the display is improved by changing the other colors (4,7 7,0 0,7) to use the brighter foreground colors (10-13 and 15) until you get results that please you. 5. Because the program disk and the magazine are not stored together, I found it useful to create and store an ASCII text file that contains the documentation on the disk. To display this text file from the program menu, make these program changes: 125 PRINT:PRINT " O) View program documentation" 21O ON A+1 GOTO 461O,22O,42O,4O2O, 43OO,388O 461O CLS:SHELL "TYPE CARDBASE.TXT | MORE" 462O LOCATE 25,7:PRINT "Press any key to return to menu."; 463O ND$=INKEY$:IF ND$="" THEN 463O 464O RUN Robert Hood Bremerton, Washington -=*=- COMPUTER NETWORKS Editor: I need help setting up two computers for networking. I have a Zenith 248, 286-based laptop with two floppy drives and 640K of memory, and a Tandy 1000 TL/2 with a 40MB hard drive and 640K of memory. Both have DOS 3.21. I need to know what hardware and software are needed for each computer to make the 1000 TL/2 the host and the Zenith the terminal since it has no hard drive. I would like the Zenith to access programs such as DeskMate and Money Counts) on the Tandy and run them and save data. The two computers will be about 100 feet apart from each other. Any help you can provide will be appreciated. Timothy Rodier Portsmouth, Virginia The easiest and least expensive method is to link the two computers via the serial or parallel ports with a program such as Rapid Relay (Systems Management Associates, 919-878- 3600), Fast Lynx (Rupp Technology Corporation, 212-517-7775) or Brooklyn Bridge (White Crane Systems, 404-446-0660). These are relatively inexpensive programs that include the necessary cables and allow you to easily copy files between the two computers. Actually running programs remotely requires a different tact, so you might look at remote- control software such as Remote2 (DCA, 404-442-4495). However, you'll be limited to strictly CGA text and graphics when using remote-control software. This means you'll have to reconfigure DeskMate to use CGA graphics instead of Tandy 16- color graphics. One potential problem is that some software may not work properly; in particular you may or may not be able to use DeskMate remotely. Also keep in mind that you will have to make your own cable if the computers are more than about 10 feet apart, and we recommend using shielded cable. In fact, you may run into communication problems by using serial cables longer than about 25 to 50 feet. The ultimate solution, in our opinion, is to use a peer- to-peer network such as LANtastic with inexpensive Ethernet boards. Unfortunately this solution is a bit more expensive and may not be a viable alternative if the Zenith laptop does not have a standard expansion slot. However, we have tested and confirmed that DeskMate works like a charm when run from a workstation on a LANtastic network, and Ethernet cables are readily available in lengths of 100 feet. -=*=- BACK ISSUES Editor: I am the owner of a Tandy 1000 SX and a Tandy 2500 SX/20. I would like to know which issues reviewed the Tandy 2500 SX and the Tandy 2500 SX/25. Lester Youngreen Howard Beach, New York Two articles we found of interest are "The Tandy 2500 XL and 2800 HD Computers" (August 1990, Page 40) and "New Tandy Computers: Introducing the 2810, 3810, 1100 HD and 2500 SX" (November 1991, Page 32). -=*=- USING DEBUG Editor: As given in PCM (February 1994, Page 52) ANYKEY.COM may be created by using DEBUG to write and assemble the source code. It is easier to write the code as an ASCII file (e.g. ANYKEY.DBG) and then use DEBUG to load and assemble the .COM file using DEBUG < ANYKEY.DBG from the DOS prompt. It is easier to correct typing errors in an ASCII text file than when writing the program in DEBUG. The only change required in the source-code listing is to change the (Press ENTER) to a blank line. This information is applicable to creating any .COM file from DEBUG and should have been given in the article. Robert Hood Bremerton, Washington -=*=- | We're sorry that we can't send a personal response | | to each letter we receive. We do, however, try to include | | in "Letters to PCM" a selection of those current letters | | we feel are of widest interest to our readers. These | | letters may be edited for clarity and/or space. | | | | Letters can be sent to us via postal mail at: PCM | | Online: Letters, The Falsoft Building, P.O. Box 385, | | Prospect, KY 40059. You can also reach us by e-mail on | | Delphi (from the Tandy or PC-Compatibles SIG menu, select | | PCM Magazine Services and then Letters to PCM) or via | | Internet at editors@delphi.com or pcm@shivasys.com. | -=------------=- T-H-E E-N-D F-O-R N-O-W -=-------------=-