4 * aborts suspends * SoftLogic Solutions Customer BBS THIS IS BULLETIN # 4 - INFORMATION ON CUBIT {} PROBLEM: HANDLING YOUR NEED FOR MORE MEGABYTES, WITHOUT SPENDING MEGABUCKS ON A NEW DRIVE. {} THE SOFTLOGIC SOLUTION: CUBIT NOW GET UP TO TWICE THE CAPACITY FROM ALL YOUR STORAGE MEDIA. You know what happens. The more you use your computer, the more information you create. And the faster you fill up your disk. The 10MB drive that once seemed enormous is now jammed with important files. That 20MB that should have lasted years is crowded in a matter of months. Of course, you could always go out and buy a bigger hard drive. Or you could get Cubit. It's the remarkable new software designed More (Y),N,NS? ns to squeeze the maximum usable storage space from your hard disk, as well as your floppies and tape cassettes. WHAT IS CUBIT? In brief, Cubit is an advanced software tool that automatically reduces the number of bytes required to store a file, then converts the file back to its original size when retrieved. It's sort of like taking the air out of a spare tire while it's in your trunk, then reinflating it when you need it. Some programmers call this effect "data compression," others "disk expansion." Either way, the result is the same. All your magnetic media is made to store information in the most efficient and economical way possible. Regardless of the form your data takes. WASTE NOT, WANT NOT The data storage economies of Cubit are based on the fundamental way your computer creates and stores information. For example, you know it takes a full "byte" to form a character in word processing - whether it's a letter, a number, or a space. So a word like "the" followed by a space, requires a total of four bytes in memory. And four bytes of disk space to store. However, words like "the" and other common words may occur many times in a document. Cubit takes advantage of this by converting these common words into one, two, or three byte chunks, no matter how big the word was to begin with. In general, the most common words take the least space. Less common words take slightly more. Inside the Cubit program is a dictionary with thousands of English words, each assigned a standard compression code. When Cubit sees one of these words, it automatically re-codes it while writing to disk, and changes it back when you read it into to RAM. To accommodate unusual words and symbols, Cubit uses two additional compression techniques. One that assigns new, shorter codes to words that aren't in the dictionary. And another that analyzes the frequency of character strings contained in your data. So no matter what kind of files you create, Cubit ensures maximum space Šsavings. IT'S A FIRST, BUT NOT ENTIRELY ORIGINAL Although Cubit is the only software of its kind for personal computers, it's an idea that's been around for a while. Because mainframe computer storage is frightfully expensive, software engineers have devised a number of reliable techniques to compress data, and therefore save money. We've taken the best of these proven techniques and re-applied them to the PC/MS-DOS environment. With Cubit, you'll be using the same types of compression for your data that have been used for decades on mainframe databanks worth millions of dollars. With that kind of real-world experience behind you, you need never worry about losing a single bit of data. HOW MUCH DISK SPACE WILL YOU SAVE? The vast majority of data created on PC's is standard ASCII text - letters, numbers, punctuation and other English language symbols. So we've optimized Cubit for word processing and database files. With these, you can expect a minimum of 50% expansion on up to a full 100%. Sometimes even more. At the same time, you can expect excellent performance with all kinds of data. Including spreadsheet files, program code, graph and image files, even binary data. Although you may never get a full 100% from these, the results are usually a significant 30% to 50% improvement in storage capacity. RUN CUBIT WHERE YOU WANT, WHEN YOU WANT. Maybe you'll want to use Cubit for all your files, or maybe just some some of them. Using Cubit's RAM resident mode, you can specify exactly which files, or types of files, should be compressed and which ones should be left alone. Cubit then goes to work instantly and invisibly, compressing and decompressing right from within any program you run. You won't know it's there, until you see how much disk space you're saving. Or you can specify Cubit's powerful file management mode that works directly from the DOS command line. It supports wild-card and global DOS file specifications. And addresses DOS sub- directories nested up to thirty levels deep. SAVE TIME AND MONEY, AS WELL AS DISK SPACE With Cubit, many time-consuming routines are made faster and more economical. That's because a compressed file is smaller file. So back-ups take less time, as well as less space. And communicating smaller files means significant savings on phone line charges. Any way you look at it, Cubit will pay for itself in no time. So the choice is yours. You can spend hundreds of dollars for the additional disk space you need. Or you can spend $49.95, and get the maximum out of the storage you already have. Order Cubit today by calling 800-272-9900 (603-627-9900 in NH). Special combination pricing is available for the purchase of Cubit along with other SoftLogic products, including DoubleDOS, Software Carousel and Disk Optimizer. Ask for details. Cubit Technical Specifications Š System Requirements: IBM PC, XT, AT, Compaq, and other closely compatible microcomputers, PC-DOS/MS-DOS 2.0 or higher, 128K RAM. Memory Requirements: Cubit occupies 60K RAM, whether it is used in the RAM resident or command line mode. Storage Media Compatibility: Cubit's storage expansion capability is identical whether it's used with hard disks, floppy disks, streaming tape cassettes or standard data cassettes. Original storage capacity of media is not a factor. Software Compatibility: Standard DOS based software, including products from Lotus, Ashton-Tate, Microsoft, MicroPro, Multimate, Microrim, Borland, Prosoft, and Living Videotext, in addition to binary files, program code and image files. Software Incompatibility: Software written under CP/M-86, and some graphics programs. Technical Support: Available from 9am-5pm EST. Bulletin board available from 6pm to 8am EST, Monday-Friday, 24 hrs during weekends. Special note: Cubit is compatible with all other SoftLogic products, including DoubleDOS, Disk Optimizer and Software Carousel. SoftLogic Solutions, Inc. 530 Chestnut Street Manchester, NH 03101 1-800-272-9900 (1-603-627-9900 in NH) 38 min left Bulletin # 1 thru 10, L)ist, C/R continues? Checking messages... Sorry, ERVIN, no mail for you today