Copyright: Copyright © 1994 Windows OnLine(tm)
Citation: All rights reserved, Copyright © 1994 Windows OnLine(tm)


Front Page


Contents

   About the WinOnLine Review™

WOLR information you should know

NEW to the magazine and Windows Help?

 here to learn more

   Publisher's Desk

This month's comments from our Publisher

   Cache La Byte, by Thom Foulkes

BBS Rating System Proposed

   Dabbler, by Steven Jay Cohen

" . . . provides the means to bring out the artist in all of us."

   Fractal Design's Painter, by Steven Jay Cohen

" . . . gives new meaning to the word, 'painting'."

   Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler, by Lawrence Bruch

". . . it will make the most demanding labelist or our friend Og dance with joy!

   Type Twister, by Ed Hoffman

" . . . let your imagination run wild."

   Deneba Canvas, by G.L. Heitzmann

" . . . a graphics and publishing tool box that will not leave you wishing for more.

   Planix Home, by Ed Rasimus

" . . . a drawing tool that is fully CAD compatible."

   Card Shop Plus, by David Morgan

". . . very well written and includes many tips and tricks to help you make the ideal card."

   Myst, by G.L. Heitzmann

". . . each puzzle to be solved is a mystery wrapped in an enigma shrouded in a paradox."

   Sound Blaster AWE32, by Randy Wong

". . . isn't it time to hear for yourself what all the noise is about?"

   Kurta PenMouse, by Steven Jay Cohen

"Let's face it. Some things are just easier to do with a pen"

   SummaSketch FX, by Steven Jay Cohen

"From an artist's point of view, the strokes felt very much like the real thing . . . "

   For Your Bookshelf, by Ed Rasimus

Newsletters From the Desktop

Visual Guide to Microsoft Access

   Windows OnLine (BBS)

   Your On-Ramp to the Internet


About the WinOnLine Review
Publisher : Frank J. Mahaney      Editor : Bob Gollihur

Technical Editor: Steven Jay Cohen     Senior Staff Writer: Ed Hoffman

Staff Writers: Steven Jay Cohen, G.L. Heitzmann, David Morgan, Ed Rasimus, Randy Wong

Contributing Writers: Thom Foulkes

The WinOnLine™ Review (WOLR) and its sister publication, the WinOnLine Review™ Shareware Edition (WOLRS), are electronic magazines that are distributed worldwide to major online services. It is estimated that each issue is read by over 100,000 online and network users. (It is reported that there are over 70,000 BBS's in the USA alone as of 1993). The Review is published monthly at the beginning of each month. The Shareware Edition is published monthly and issued mid-month.

These magazines are published by Windows OnLine™, an online (modem) service dedicated to supporting Windows users and Windows network professionals. WOL prides itself on having the most complete and up-to-date library of Windows shareware in the world. We have over 11,000 Windows-specific programs and files to download and many thousands more oriented to DOS and OS/2. WOL operates with 17 nodes (all equipped with US Robotics high speed dual standard modems) operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We hope you will give us the opportunity to become your BBS of choice.

We welcome your letters and comments about our magazine. Please feel free to call Windows OnLine™ at 510-736-8343 and leave a (c)omment to the Sysop. You will be presented with a menu to direct your message. Our mailing address, voice and fax lines are listed below. You may contact the Editor at bob.gollihur@wol.com and the Publisher at frank.mahaney@wol.com. Each author has included information about contacting them at the close of their articles in the form of a pop-up. Click on the authors' graphics to view that information.

We invite you to view our companion magazine, the

WinOnLine Review™

This magazine specializes in the latest shareware, with

 Shareware Briefs- quick takes on the newest good, bad and ugly

 Feature Shareware Reviews from our staff writers

 What's new in Windows shareware files

all hosted by our most peculiar staff member, Wolly

You will find the WinOnLine Review™ Shareware Edition magazine virtually everywhere, with the file name WOLRS##.ZIP (## = the issue number). As with this magazine, there is no charge to our readers.

© Copyright Information

The WinOnLine Review™ is a product of Windows OnLine™. Reprinting or distribution, other than through on-line distribution of this file as originally published, of any portion of this publication is not permitted without written permission of Frank J. Mahaney of Windows OnLine™.

Sysops may freely offer the .ZIP file for download by their users. Systems may not display content or portions of the contained .HLP file as bulletins, news, help files, etc., on any BBS or network, nor are you permitted such reprinting or display of these files, except as otherwise expressly granted in writing by Windows OnLine™. Subscriptions are available to Corporations who wish to offer the HLP file on their networks. For information, please call our voice number (510) 736-4376. Makers of CD-ROMs or similar distribution media are expressly forbidden to include our publications in their compilations without written authorization. Contact Windows OnLine™.

All articles are copyrighted by their authors. Upon publication in our magazines, all rights are freely transferred to and owned by Frank J. Mahaney and Windows OnLine. Opinions presented herein are those of the individual author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Windows OnLine, WOL Review or the WOLR Shareware Edition.

Windows OnLine™

Box 3487, Danville, CA 94526-8487

(510) 736-8343 (BBS)

(510) 736-4376 Voice

(510) 736-8397 Fax


First Time Readers
How to Navigate WinOnLine™ Publications

The Windows Help system is used by our magazines. It's a convenient way to view Hypertext files like the WinOnLine magazine you are reading now. Here are a few tips to make your reading more pleasurable and convenient:

The Help Button Bar at the top is arranged to help you move easily through the magazine:

The Contents button, when clicked, will return you to our Table of Contents

Search starts a dialog box with all the keywords that can refer to different sections and articles in the magazine. Try it and see.

History displays a listing of the places in the magazine you have been so you can return

Print Topic will send the article you are currently reading to the printer. It will not print "popup" boxes, though.

<<Page | Page>> can perhaps be the best way to view WinOnLine Publications. With these buttons you can browse through the magazine in page order, just as you would a paper magazine.

You may use the keyboard Page Up, Page Down and Up and Down Arrow keys to forward and backward in an article, or use mouse clicks on the vertical bar shown on the right.

Our Table of Contents has a button adjacent to each article title. Clicking on that button sends you directly to that article just like clicking on the special button brought this message to you.

The automatic Pop-Ups throughout the issue can be cleared from view by a simple mouse click anywhere on the screen. You will find that some may have a special bit of text that, when clicked, will take you even further to another page, function or popup. Using the Back button will always return you to where you have been.

Certain bits of text may have a different color and an underline image. Those usually also indicate that clicking on them will cause something to happen.

Certain graphics, such as the authors' at the close of each article, are keyed to a popup image such as information about the author. When you see your arrow cursor change to a hand , you are on such a spot. Click on this text (see the special color?) to see what happens.

We hope you will enjoy the WinOnLine publication. If you want to print this page as a reference, click on Print Topic on the button bar.

Now click Back on the button bar to resume reading where you left off.


Publisher's Desk
Graphics Special!

The popularity of Windows has quickly elevated it to status as the quintessential graphical environment. It naturally follows that some of the most wonderful tools to create graphics are being produced for this platform. Not so long ago, high quality graphical software and hardware was prohibitively priced with distribution limited only to those who could pay the freight. Thankfully, this is no longer the case.

This month Steven Cohen brings four special, related reviews (denoted by a special contents icon) of products which are cases in point. Fractal Design's Dabbler and the Kurta PenMouse are highly capable tools, yet priced well within reach of most users. For those whose needs lean a bit toward the higher end, Fractal Design's Painter 2.0 and the Summagraphics SummaSketch FX tablet provide powerful solutions. There's something here for everyone.

Superior graphics within the lowly label is aptly demonstrated in newcomer Larry Bruch's article on Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler, and Ed Hoffman shows just how he likes to lead off his articles: with twisted type from Type Twister. Gary Heitzmann's Deneba Canvas review and Ed Rasimus' story about Planix Home close the circle with the integration of computer art with functionality. David Morgan's piece on CardShop Plus, a handy home application, is the icing on the cake.

Speaking of graphics, if you haven't seen the computer CD-ROM game MYST, check out Gary Heitzmann's review, and for better PC sound, Randy Wong tells of his experience with the SoundBlaster AWE32.

The marriage of technology and art continues to mature, amazing us all along the way. Enjoy the issue!

Frank J. Mahaney

Publisher

frank.mahaney@wol.com


       CACHE LA BYTE

by Thom Folkes

BBS Rating System Proposed

The proposal comes from Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc., founder-president Dennis Hayes, who suggests a system similar to that being created by the video game industry. Hayes told SysOps gathered at Atlanta's OneBBSCon: "We could go to politicians and tell them what we are doing and ask them to leave us alone."

Hayes continued, "Look at the emotional appeal for politicians. We are going to get those people who are exposing your children to violence and nudity."

Good idea, Dennis. Now, let's figure out how to make it work.

First of all, we'll set up some standards. And, since we're out to label the "purveyors of pornography" for exactly what they are, we'll define "pornography." Uh-oh, trouble already. Not even the U.S. Supreme Court has been able to define the big "P" with precision. Well, we all know pornography when we see it, right? So let's put that problem aside for later.

Given that our rating system won't mean much unless we get the majority of BBSs to use it, let's start identifying all of the BBSs in the nation. We can have the FCC and all of the state PUCs establish rules and tariffs so that a BBS operator must register the system's phone number prior to putting it online. SAY WHAT???!!! Oh, you don't like that idea, either?

Hmmm... Well, let's see. What we really need to do is make sure that new users of any BBS are aware of what its rating is, prior to logging on. Easy enough -- we'll require every SysOp to publicize the rating of the BBS in any publication that lists its phone number. Hoo, boy -- somehow, I don't think that's going to work too well, either, especially in the Yellow Pages and local newspapers. Ever try to tell a newspaper what to publish?

Well, one thing we can do. We can elect a group of SysOps to a "standards committee" so that they can enforce our ratings system. If any BBS refuses to be rated, or violates the requirements of its rating, we can tell everyone to log on to that BBS only at their own discretion.

Never mind that such a system would be exactly what we already have. We would have convinced everyone that they are being protected.

Either way, it's easy to come up with a name for this new BBS standards group. We'll call it the "Hayes Office."

commentary by

(click)

Thom Foulkes


Bear Rock Labeler
       BEAR ROCK BAR CODE LABELER

by Lawrence Bruch

Once upon a time, way back in our Neanderthal beginnings, our prehistoric politician Og would have his annual Behemoth BBQ. All the local dignitaries would be invited to attend and Og would spend many arduous hours carving rock name badges for each of the important guests in attendance.

Today it would seem that that we are no better off than our ancestor Og. Sure, we have computers, but have you ever tried making labels using your trusty Windows word processor? It's not always an easy task. How about doing a merge with selected data from your database, and then add to graphics, bar codes, serial numbers and having them all align themselves properly? Even a modern-day Neanderthal would be impressed.

Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler is available to solve all your label problems. With this label program you can combine great ease of use with the complete artistic versatility to make labels quickly and correctly.

Version 2.0 of Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler for Windows comes with over 400 pre-designed labels from manufactures such as Avery, MACO, Nashua, Nebs and many others. You can even modify the existing labels or create your own custom labels. Within each label manufacturer you can choose from many different types, such as standard address, floppy disk, envelope, audio cassette, file folder, shipping and ID badge labels.

Creating that customized label is a breeze with the many different tools and options built into Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler. Here is where Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler really shines. It has the usual assortment of text and graphics formatting tools you would find in a graphics program. On the top row you will find a neatly laid out ribbon bar that includes fonts, font sizes, text justification, color and a bar code pull down menu.

On the left side going down vertically you will find 2 Tool Palettes. Included in the top palette are the normal graphics tools you would expect to see which include a pointer, text object, circle object, square object and a line object tool. In addition you will see some special tools used specifically for label making. These special tools include Bar Code, Graphics import, help and a really creative tool that the Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler engineers have created called the FLIP tool. This tool allows the Label artist (labelist) to easily move from label to database screen and back again. When you click on the "To Database" icon, you will actually see it flip. Once in the database section you can perform whatever database requirements necessary. Click "To Label" and the screen will revert to the label screen.

Once a label has been chosen the fun starts. The labelist will see the chosen label rendered in a true to scale form in the label work area. As you add text, graphics, bar codes and other fields to the label, Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler will render these objects onto the label. To change, re-size, move or delete an object all it takes is a click of the mouse on the object itself. The borders of the label work area show horizontal and vertical rules to aid in laying out the label. Drag down guides are available to help in positioning and aligning objects.

For the industrial strength labelist the Bar Code tool will be a very popular item. Ten different types of bar codes may be incorporated into a label. Some of the more popular bar codes include POSTNET, which is used by the Post Office, FIM Facing Identification Marks, which is used on business reply mail. Also included is Code 39, 128, EAN-8 and 13, Codabar, Int. 2 of 5, and UPC A and E. The density, height, ratio and even the x axis dimensions of these bar codes can be adjusted for optimal scanner readability.

On the second tool palette there are objects that describe the data types that will go on the label. The Constant tool places text on a label that never changes, or you can incorporate data from your database onto the labels as you print by using the Merge tool. The serial number tool adds user defined numbers that increment as labels are printed, while you may put the system date and/or time on each label using the final tool button function.

At the bottom of the screen is an informative status bar that tells the labelist each button's function as the mouse is placed over it. This should help the first time user to become quickly accustomed to Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler. Below, a status bar describes statistics concerning the database in use, the record number, sorting sequence and more.

A very nice feature of this program is the ability to work directly with data from DBASE III/IV, ASCII, and DIF file formats without converting to a native format. All of these databases can be used with any label. By clicking on the Flip tool you can work directly with an existing database or one you create on the fly within Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler itself.

While in the database screen you will find a dedicated tool palette on the left. These database tools provide the labelist easy access and modification to the data before merging them with your labels. The check mark tool allows you to choose only certain records for printing while the magnifying glass searches for certain records to be marked for printing. Six levels of variable selection criteria are behind the check mark plus button. The trash can, of course, deletes records, and the trash can emptying tool purges that record from your database. The sorted 123 tool performs simple field sorts up to three sort levels, by field, on your database in only ascending order. An additional function I would like to see would be to allow indexes created by other database programs to be attached to the label for more sophisticated sorting.

While in the database mode you can add, modify, delete, sort, purge and mark records to be printed. A strong and useful feature of Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler is the ability to modify the database structure within the program itself. You may delete, add and change fields without going into the original host program that created them.

There are additional tools available to rotate or align text, while others color, stack and re-size objects. There are so many bells and whistles with this program that exploring it will add hours of fun and excitement while creating your own custom functional yet attractive labels.

A key feature of Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler is the ability to see the actual merge information from the database on the rendered label itself when working with an attached database. On the bottom of the screen are buttons that will allow the user to move forward or backward through the database and view each record on the label as this is done.

Another important item is the ability to preview the labels before it is printed, saving both time and expensive label stock. Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler also allows clicking on the rendering of the particular label that the printer should start on, allowing the use of a partially printed page of labels. These options give much needed control when printing labels. If the text does not fit on a label it can be shown as an X superimposed on the field. If the labelist has a serial number field on a label an option to update the serial number tracer after the print job is completed can be checked. When merging with a database you may start at a certain record number, print a specified number of records once or a specified amount of times.

My experience has shown that what is rendered on the label work area screen is not always accurately rendered in the print preview screen nor what will be printed on the label itself. In other words, this is another case of Windows WYSINEWYG, or What You See Is Not Exactly What You Get..

Learning to use the Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler was easy and straightforward. The documentation was complete and each feature was explained in-depth. When describing bar code usage, the program explained each one, its specific use, giving many varied examples and illustrations on how businesses use them. The database section was also very thorough. Help was always available at the help status bar or by clicking on the help tool in the palette. The technical writers really paid much attention to details that explain each and every feature of this program. A job very well done!

Whether you need to design simple labels for shelving or complex serialized data merged, bar coded labels for the next space shot to Mars, Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler has what it takes. With its ease of use, many varied features, hundreds of pre-designed labels, extensive database and bar code capabilities, it will make the most demanding labelist or our friend Og dance with joy!

Bear Rock Bar Code Labeler 2.0

List Price: $395

Upgrade from version 1.0: $129

available from:

Bear Rock Technologies

4140 Mother Loade Dr., Suite 100

Shingle Springs, CA 95682-8038

(916) 672-0244

(800) 232-7625

Fax (916) 672-1103

written by

(click)

Lawrence D. Bruch


       CARD SHOP PLUS

by David Morgan

Last Christmas I wanted to do something a little different when it came time to give gifts. It was time to be a bit more personal than just going to a store and buying gifts. I wanted to make something for my family and friends. Finally after much thought, I decided to make Christmas cards. The cards would contain personal messages as well as graphics that would somehow reflect the interests or the character of the people who would receive them. I used a very popular and powerful desktop publishing program and achieved good results, but it took a lot of time and effort to get those results. I wish I had used Card Shop Plus from The Software Toolworks.

Card Shop Plus is essentially a desktop publisher devoted to creating customized greeting cards, but it doesn't stop there. It also can be used to create personalized awards, certificates, signs, stationary and letterhead. Card Shop Plus is very easy to use and a lot of fun. It's a program the entire family will enjoy!

Resized and modified screen capture showing the overall layout of Card Shop Plus.

Card Shop Plus is powerful considering the available abundance of pre-designed cards, sayings and phrases, and graphics. There is something for virtually every occasion.

An extensive art library of more than 1000 BMP and CMF files.

 	500 ready-to-use sayings and phrases and graphic elements.

100 ready to print pre-designed cards.

15 true type fonts.

I was impressed with the quantity and quality of the graphics supplied with Card Shop Plus. If you can't find the perfect one from among the 1000 graphics available, you can import your own. During setup the graphic files are automatically cataloged, a process that may take several minutes depending on the power of your system. After the cataloging process is complete, the images will appear as rather large thumbnails in the art viewing window.

One of the first things to do before creating a greeting card is to select the name of the sender and receiver. The names are placed in the appropriate text box on the main screen. Next, select the occasion or event from the occasion bar. The occasion bar lets you quickly pick the following events:

Anniversary	Easter	Mothers Day
Any Day	Father's Day	New Years
Awards	Get Well	Office
Baby	Graduation	Sorry
Birthday	Grandparents	St. Patrick's Day
Bon Voyage	Halloween	Thank You
Christmas	Independence Day	Today
Color It	Invitations	Valentine's Day
Congratulations	Jewish	Wedding

After you have picked an occasion, you can select a pre-designed card. The card will appear in the main window with graphics and text showing the name of the person receiving the card. You can then be print or edited it. For each occasion there are several pre-designed cards of a general, humorous or serious character.

Creating new cards from scratch is a breeze. After selecting the page layout from Full Page, Side Fold or Top Fold, you add images and text. The art window shows the hundreds of graphics to be applied to the card. Simply scroll through the images until you see something you like. Then just click on the image and it is transferred to the card. You can then drag and resize the image easily by using the mouse. To add text, simply select the text icon from the tool bar and begin typing. The font and bold, italic or underlined characteristics can be changed through an icon on the tool bar.

The Tips icon can be clicked at any time. This opens the help file to reveal a list of topics including: Certificates and Awards, Color Printing, Combine Art and Messages Effectively, Layout Tips, Signs, and Stationary and Letterhead. I found these tips quite helpful. Along with the thorough help file, the user's manual for Card Shop Plus is very well written and includes many tips and tricks to help you make the ideal card. The package comes with paper of various colors to get you started right away. Card Shop Plus system requirements include having a VGA monitor and graphics adapter, 2 MB RAM, 10 MB free hard drive space and a Windows-supported printer.

Card Shop Plus 1.0

List Price: $39.95

for further information please contact:

The Software Toolworks

60 Leveroni Court

Novato, CA 94949

800-234-3088

fax 415-883-0367

written by

(click)

David R. Morgan

david.morgan@wol.com


       PLANIX HOME

by G.L. Heitzmann

Visual Home and Landscape Design for Windows

When I was just a lad, circumstances forced us out of our rental home and we decided to build our new house. Money and materials were scarce at the end of WW-II and my job was to draw the plans for it. Fortunately, at that time strict building codes weren't being enforced. I did an adequate job with my paper, pens and ruler, but in my wildest dreams, I could have only wished for PlanixHome and its Visual Home and Landscape Design.

The program is supplied on two 1.44mb floppies, requires a 386, VGA, Windows 3.1, 6MB of hard drive space, 2MB RAM (4 recommended), and a mouse or other pointing device. It has a somewhat persnickety self-installation that required several attempts before I got it right. Initially it displayed a prompt saying that installation wasn't complete, go to SETUP.EXE for installation. It was then I discovered that installation REQUIRED moving the cursor with the Tab-key. It finally installed, but still gave me a dialog-box prompt saying that an application has used an invalid TrueType font causing an error, close all apps and restart Windows. When I clicked on the displayed Close button, the wheels grind and the opening screen appears. Strange, but it works. I've probably erased the specific font it sought.

Using PlanixHome is not a brainless operation. It requires much study to become familiar with the various symbols, buttons, etc. For example, there are 18 main buttons and 102 sub-buttons, all of which can be edited by the user to suit individual needs. It also has 22 drop-down menus and sub-menus, all that will be used at one time or another while producing a final report. I definitely recommend that the manual be read, not scanned, and kept close at hand, as it will lead you through all of the nuances you'll need to know.

It's best to start with the segment called Your First Drawing and one of the sample building plans. Choose one that most closely resembles the place you have in mind, but opting for a 17-bathroom mansion for your initial attempt is a bona fide mistake. Whether your tastes lead you to a small cottage or a palatial estate, you'll find a similar plan that you can alter to meet your every desire with a few mouse clicks. You can also alter the view by controlling the panes (a tile-like display) and zoom. One other handy item is the ability to clean up electronic debris. Occasionally, I found that there were things displayed on screen that didn't belong and I didn't want there. Clicking on View/ReDraw removed them permanently. An Inquire menu shows you information on a particular part of your plan, i.e., measurements, angles, distance, number of symbols, and two items that should be included into every program: memory usage and disk space.

The manual and program lead you through tutorials designed to thoroughly familiarize you with the nuts and bolts of designing a building (area by area), decorating it inside and out, as well as landscaping the finished product. PlanixHome includes Building Shell, Home Decorating, Electrical Devices, Deck, Driveway, Sidewalks, Landscaping, Reports, Annotating, and Custom Symbol tutorials. There are twenty pre-drawn house drawings and floorplans. Symbols contained in various libraries will show everything (to scale) you might wish to add to the house or use as furnishings. From stereo amplifiers to lawn sprinklers, from trees to ceiling fans, from decks to driveways, they're all ready for use and display. Best of all, if any given item isn't quite right, it can be easily modified to suit your need.

PlanixHome supports most printers and will produce a scaled output that looks as if it was produced on plotter. My old impact printer delivered a very nice drawing that would save much time and cost when you take the it to the architect that is required by most of today's building codes.

Definitely not a playtoy, PlanixHome Visual Home and Landscape Design for Windows is a drawing tool that is fully CAD compatible. Once mastered, it can save you lots of architect fees while you are including each and every item you've wanted in and around your dream home. Just transfer your drawing files to a floppy disk and take them to an architect who uses CAD. On the other hand, if home planning and landscaping is your business, here's a new way to produce more drawings in less time for more profit.

PlanixHome

List Price: $99.00

for further information:

Foresight International Corp.

10725 Ambassador Drive

Kansas City, MO 64153

816-891-1040

written by:

(click)

G.L. Heitzmann

gary.heitzmann@wol.com


       MYST

by G.L. Heitzmann

For many years, I've been a game player. I guess it started with marbles and progressed through cards and chess. The realm of computer games has generally left me flat. I really don't enjoy dying early and often, and the need to re-boot the system to play a DOS game which gobbles all 640K of RAM irks me. Now there's a new game that eliminates both of those sticking points.

Welcome to MYST that happily stays in the Windows realm using its memory handling and requires relatively little hard drive space. Supplied on a single CD-ROM disk, it requires Windows 3.1 and DOS 5.0, Super VGA 640x480x256 colors, an MPC compliant sound card and a mouse. It utilizes standard installation methods and deposits about 2Mb on your hard drive. It creates a Windows group item with two icons as well. One of the icons plays a short movie called The Making of Myst.

Click on the MYST icon to start a totally new and different, non-linear adventure game, the likes of which you've never seen on your computer. With no dueling, shooting, running, or dying it's a game to be played and savored at your own pace. The more you allow yourself to be drawn into it, the easier and more enjoyable the game becomes. The 3-D graphics are near-photographic in quality, and the music gives a haunting, almost melancholy feel to the player. It runs very smoothly on my system (486DX, 16MB RAM, 2x CD-ROM) but I suspect that a slower system might suffer some delay. The sound is amazing when played through decent speakers and the same may be said of the music which adds to the feel of the game without getting in the way. The rumbling, clanking, clanging, etc., can be felt, and aren't exactly what they seem to be. For example, the bubbling sounds are nothing more than bubbles produced by blowing air through a straw into a toilet bowl. From there, sound enhancement produces an ominous simmering cauldron effect. The music is very effective and will take you from loneliness to utter desolation at any given turn. The use of quick-time video and slide-show dissolves bring a speed to playing that is also enhanced by a zip-mode that lets you jump between major areas of the game.

Without giving away too much of the story line, you'll start by reading the writings of Atrus whose works are so well written that they become alternate, but unpopulated worlds or ages unto themselves. Your investigations will cause you to travel to and through them. This would be a prodigious feat unto itself, but is worsened because someone is destroying the books and your task is one of restoration. You will find people trapped in strange places that are untouchable and nearly inaudible. The game will not be solved by frenetic action or sorcery. It requires that you bring your senses and logic into play. Included is The Journal of Myst, a book unlike any you'll see in other games. Only the first page is printed and it urges you to record everything you see and hear on the remaining blank pages. You'll find no help screens, no informational prompts, and no manuals besides the folder in the front of the CD's jewelbox and the installation information folder.

There is no correct or incorrect series of actions to accomplish anything (as far as I can tell). In order to travel between worlds and ages, you will accumulate evidence to help you solve the mystery of MYST. There are secret rooms, passages, elevators, mazes, etc., everywhere, and every contrasting color, mark and item must be investigated closely. To paraphrase a WW-II cryptography description, each puzzle to be solved is a mystery wrapped in an enigma shrouded in a paradox. In short, MYST is a game not likely to be solved in the first (or several) sittings, but more likely to keep you occupied when the weather seems bent on inflicting cabin fever on you. It will entertain the most jaded game player for many such snowy nights and days

MYST

List Price: $59.95

for further information:

Broderbund Software

500 Redwood Blvd.

Novato, CA  94948-6121

Phone:415-382-4400

Fax: 415-382-4582

written by:

(click)

G.L. Heitzmann

gary.heitzmann@wol.com


       TYPE TWISTER

by Ed Hoffman

Anyone with Windows 3.1 on their system has to be amazed at the wealth of fonts available in both the commercial and shareware arenas. Aside from changing the basic size and style of the letters you use to construct your documents, there is little you can do with standard fonts to add pizzazz to your creations. Those with Word for Windows on their systems have the feature called WordArt to add an extra touch to your creations, but even this program has limitations. Now, with Type Twister 1.0, from Aldus, you can let your imagination run wild.

Type Twister is a unique font manipulation utility that works with any TrueType or Adobe Type Manager fonts installed on your system. With this program you can add a wealth of special effects to all your typefaces. For those without a hearty selection of fonts, the Type Twister program also includes a built-in collection of twenty-two specialized fonts to help add just the right look to your documents.

The complete program runs from a single window. A row of thumbnail representations of each of the fifty built-in special type effects is shown across the top of the screen. These are easily identified by three-letter codes assigned to each. To manually toggle through these different effects, click on the buttons with the single arrow on both sides of the thumbnails. Double-arrow buttons are used to activate the Auto Scroll feature. When the double arrow is clicked, each of the different thumbnails is shown in the preview window. This gives you a larger view and allows you to see exactly how the effect appears. These pre-set effects are created with a different combination of fonts, colors, and effects.

While you can use any of these fifty pre-made effects, you can also modify any or all the elements to create a completely new effect. In addition to these fifty font effects you can also add up to fifty of your own designs for a total of 100 different font effects. So, if you design the perfect headline for your newsletter, or similar document, you can easily save the effect by clicking on the Add button. Those effects you no longer need can be deleted by clicking the Delete button.

The four general areas that can be manipulated to create each effect are: Effect, Font, Shape, and Colorset. Each of these areas offers a wide range of possible choices from very plain to extremely radical, and all the effects can also be totally customized. For example, if you like an overall shape but not the color scheme, you can change the colors to another pre-set pattern or make up your own colors. Similarly, shadowing effects can also be modified to suit your wildest ideas.

Using the program is actually very simple. First, you select the basic effect you want. Then, type in the text you need in the window on the left side. Depending on the specific design of the effect there will be either one, two or three different panes. You can then select the font you want to use and adjust the colors. All changes you make to the text are automatically shown in the preview window. The text can be stretched, compressed, slanted or rotated by simply clicking and dragging the mouse on one of the text handles in the preview window. The viewing size of the text in this window can also be enlarged or reduced by simply selecting the appropriate size in the Zoom window. Here you can select sizes from 25% to 200% or simply select the Fit In Window option for the optimum viewing size.

Once you have the text exactly the way that you want, click the Copy button. The text is automatically copied to the clipboard. You can then paste the text into any other Windows application, or even insert your creation with an OLE capable application. With Word for Windows, for example, clicking Insert-Object takes you to a listing of several applications. Just scroll down until you find Type Twister Text, and click this selection. The Type Twister program will then appear and you can add your special text.

 	The Type Twister program is very easy to use and you'll have a good time exercising your creativity. The program comes with a small manual that completely explains all the features of the program. The help system is also very well done and offers a considerable amount of detailed assistance and information about getting the most from the program.

Aldus Type Twister

List price: $49.95

available from:

Aldus Corporation

Consumer Products Division
5070 Santa Fe Street
San Diego, CA 92109
800-888-6293

written by

(click)

Ed Hoffman

ed.hoffman@wol.com


       DENEBA CANVAS

by Ed Rasimus

I guess I've seen too many Ginzu knife commercials. Each time I think I've got my hands wrapped around the capabilities of Deneba Canvas, that insistent pitch man screams in the back of my head, "Now what would you be willing to pay? But WAIT, there's more." I've been grappling with the review of this incredible package for a couple of months now. Frankly, I'm still not sure I've gotten deep enough into the program to do it justice. It should be sufficient to say that any Windows user with a need for illustration, desktop publishing, design, layout or graphics software could do a lot worse than Canvas.

Deneba Canvas has been well respected in the Mac world for several years. Now they are entering the Windows arena to do battle with the likes of Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator, Aldus Freehand and Harvard Graphics. Why do I mention those four competitors? Because if you currently have a copy of any of those graphics packages, you are eligible for a competitive upgrade price of $99 for Canvas.

When I first picked up Canvas, I thought I had just another integrated draw and paint package. I was right and I was wrong. Yes, this is a fantastic drawing program with all of the tools Windows users have become accustomed to over the years. Further, it brings some state-of-the-art updates for the power illustrator, such as pressure pen Bezier curves, attribute/object blending, 3-D extrusions and fractal pattern generation. What would you pay for such a high end drawing package? But WAIT, there's more.

It slices, it dices, it even cuts nails

Canvas is also an effective computer assisted design program offering the user the capability of very precise technical drawing tools. The program offers 1/65,000 of an inch precision object placement augmented by patented "Smart Mouse" technology for perfect alignment. Automatic dimensioning is built in. Merely select the object, whether line, arc, area, perimeter, radius or diameter and the software will generate the dimensioning arrows and notations. Do you need parallel lines? There's a tool to do it. Custom grids, guides & rulers? It's in there. Want dynamic links between objects? Merely select the "Smart Lines" feature and you've got it working for you. So what would you pay for such a powerful drawing and CAD program? But WAIT. . .

Canvas also offers full 24-bit paint and image editing capability. With 16.7 million color support, 2540 dpi images, unlimited layers, and automatic tracing of scanned images to smooth line art, few illustration requirements will be found wanting. Conversion to and from most graphic file formats is supported, including TIF, BMP, WMF, EPS, CGM and more. When you are ready to go to press after completing your artistry, Canvas supports process and spot color separation as well as PANTONE colors.	Need to dimension the new kitchen plan?
Of course most graphics programs support text entry. Canvas, however, reveals itself as a fully capable desktop publishing program. Not only can you perform the mundane text manipulations of font selection, sizing, kerning, leading and justification the Canvas user can also bind text to objects, flow text around and within shapes, and import from most popular text editors for column-to-column or shape-to-shape layout. The program offers its own text processor with traditional rulers and style sheets so if you aren't assembling text from outside sources, you can generate your entire publication from within Canvas. So now what would you pay?? WAIT, there's more.

Quite often we generate magnificent presentation graphics that support a short-term requirement or presentation to a small audience. The job requires high-quality and professionalism but the show doesn't justify or the time doesn't allow a full color printing. That is where slide show presentations have become a business staple. Canvas supports fully automated slide shows along with all of its other features. Assemble your impressive graphics, generate your text for the message, employ OLE links to spreadsheets or databases to keep you information current, then select a layer of your artwork as the master template. Choose slide show from the menu and select automatic rotation of your slide or manual advance, with or without mouse display and you are ready to take your show on the road.

So what do you get with Canvas? There is top of the line drawing and painting, professional level CAD, full featured desktop publishing, portable presentation capability, and image editing with scanner support. Throw in OLE support, seamless integration with Macintosh applications, a built-in spell checker, a collection of True Type and Post Script Type-1 fonts, and even a business clip art library. You wind up with an all purpose graphics and publishing tool box that probably will not leave you wishing for more.

Deneba Canvas

List Price: $399

Competitive upgrade: $99

available from:

Deneba Software

7400 Southwest 87th Ave.

Miami FL 33173

(305) 596-5644

(305) 273-9069 fax

Review by

(click)

Ed Rasimus

ed.rasimus@wol.com


       FOR YOUR BOOKSHELF

by Ed Rasimus

Newsletters From the Desktop is in that category of computer books of which we need many more. Subtitled as "the desktop publisher's guide to designing newsletters that work," it is a generic text that provides techniques, philosophy and ideas for performing a task without reference to specific software. Computer books come and go, and I've reached a point where I'm reluctant to shell out another twenty-five or thirty bucks for a book that is little more than a rehash of the original documentation and that will be rendered obsolete with the next upgrade.

Newsletters From the Desktop assumes you have software for your job and you know how to use it. The book doesn't tell you key strokes and menu choices. What it does do is teach the current or potential newsletter author the essentials of style, layout and design. Now that most computer users have software that effortlessly provides columns, bullets, headers, and wraps it becomes more difficult rather than easier to prepare readable output. We are faced with so many choices of fonts, styles, colors and graphics that we generate more trash than treasure.

Anyone who uses their word processing software or page layout program for more than basic correspondence can benefit from Newsletters From the Desktop. The book can be read through or picked up and skimmed for inspiration. A 24-page color gallery of professional newsletter designs supplements the liberal illustrations throughout the text. The reader learns the terminology, and the tips necessary to layout templates, establish a style and even deal with the printer or service bureau. If you would like your next newsletter to look more professional than the random word clippings of a ransom note in a grade B movie, take a look at this book.

Newsletters From the Desktop

by Joe Grossman with David Doty

List Price: $24.95

The second book is one of the program specific type. The Visual Guide to Microsoft Access is only going to be of value to you if you use Access 2.0. However, if you would like to learn about relational database design, become proficient with Access 2.0, and even enter the esoteric world of Access Basic programming without sacrificing large quantities of blood, sweat and tears, this could be a good choice.

Did you ever bring home a computer book, diligently start to wade through its turgid prose, and abandon it by page 63 because of sheer boredom? The Visual Guide to Microsoft Access avoids that by starting off with a "whirlwind tour" of Access employing the built in sample database tutorial files. Once you have lifted the figurative corner of the tent, you are introduced to concepts of relational database design.

With its own sample disk, The Visual Guide to Microsoft Access takes you step by step through construction of a full-blown database application in a more detailed, thorough and better illustrated sequence than the original manuals. The book walks the narrow line between over-simplification that bores and excessive assumption of reader experience that confuses. It does it better than most I've seen.

By the time you get to the end chapters, you are ready to tackle more than the cue cards and wizards. With the MS documentation you will have given up in frustration long ago. With The Visual Guide to Microsoft Access it seems the most natural thing in the world to be tackling macros and Access Basic programming. If you are interested in total mastery of a complex and powerful program that shows every indication of being the standard for PC based relational database management software for a long time to come, take a look at The Visual Guide to Microsoft Access .

Visual Guide to Microsoft Access

by Walter R. Bruce, Dan Madoni, Rich Wolf

List Price: $29.95

available from:

Ventana Press

P.O. Box 2468

Chapel Hill NC 27515

(919)  942-0220

Review by

(click)

Ed Rasimus

ed.rasimus@wol.com


       SOUND BLASTER AWE32

by Randy Wong

When working with multimedia applications, you work in awe. Music, speech, and animation can really enhance your senses and enjoyment. With the huge installed base of game players and the glitter of multimedia, quality sound cards are booming on the market. Electronic instrument and audio specialty companies have joined in with their versions of PC sound cards, and established manufacturers are updating their products. In the PC world, Sound Blaster support has been around for the longest time. Who better than Creative Labs to produce a new breed of sound cards with Sound Blaster support? Keeping track with the old, but still proceeding with new technology, Creative Labs has come up with the Sound Blaster AWE32.

SoundBlaster AWE32 Specifications:

   16-bit CD-Quality stereo sound and backward compatibility with the Sound Blaster line of sound cards.

   Advanced Signal Processor (ASP) for real-time hardware compression and decompression of sound files, plus advanced speech synthesis.

   32-voice Advanced WavEffects (AWE) Synthesis which includes Reverb, Chorus, and Qsound effects.

   The integrated EMU8000 Digital Signal Processor (DSP).

   16 channels, 128 instruments, 32-voice polyphony (General MIDI compatible).

   6 drum kits (General Sound compatible).

   Sampling Subsystem which supports the download of E-mu's Soundfont library of sound. Comes with 4 Mbit (512 KBytes) of RAM which is expandable to 28 MBytes.

   A 20-voice OPL3 FM Music Synthesizer.

   Multi CD-ROM Interface supporting Sony, Mitsumi, and Creative Labs CD-ROM players.

   Stereo Line Input jack for connecting up to cassettes, DAT players, or Disc players for playback or recording.

   Stereo Mic Input jack for connecting a microphone.

   Stereo Line Out jack for powered speakers or an amplifier.

   Speaker Out jack for connecting speakers that is powered by the built-in amplifier.

   Wave Blaster add-on option.

   A joystick/MIDI MPU-401 UART connector.

Creative Ensemble sound rack system

The Sound Blaster AWE32 is a 16 bit sound card using an EMU8000 Synthesizer, an OPL3 FM Synthesizer, and an Advanced Signal Processor (ASP). It has 512 KBytes of RAM that is expandable to 28 Mbytes for downloading additional sound available from E-mu's Soundfont libraries. The Sound Blaster AWE32 offers compatibility with many products by producing sounds in either FM synthesis or wave synthesis, such as General MIDI, Sound Canvas, or MT-32. The Roland Sound Canvas and MT-32 sounds are supported by loading a special software program. You get Sound Blaster's line of support with 16-bit or 8-bit recording and playback. The Sound Blaster AWE32 offers musical effects, wave sampling, downloadable sound samples, speech recognition, and more, all on a single card. In addition to getting a quality built sound card, a suite of software products are included.

Qsound for soundscape effects on your WAV playback

The Sound Blaster AWE32 includes several Windows and DOS applications. Topping my list, Cakewalk Apprentice for Windows is included. This is a MIDI sequencer with powerful editing features. With a click of a button, you can play, create, edit or display the MIDI files in various formats. Creative Ensemble is a group of applications that resembles audio components. You have playback on audio CD and MIDI, while you can record or playback WAV files. Each application of the group can be individually started. With the EnsembleRemote, you control all the other components without taking up all your screen space. HSC Interactive SE is another tool included for creating interactive multimedia applications. All you have to do is combine graphics, animation sequences, and audio sounds to make your presentation. Creative WaveStudio 2.0 helps you to record, playback, mix, and add special effects to mono or stereo WAV files. It is a full featured WAV editing tool with dropdown menus and tool bars. Some special effects are echoing, rap rhythm, silence, fading, channel swapping, panning, shifting, frequency modification, volume control, reversing, and more. Creative Soundo'LE is a special utility for playing and recording WAV files. It can be used to compress or decompress WAV files in several formats, such as Creative ADPCM, CCITT A-Law, IMA/DVI ADPCM, Creative FastSpeech 8, Creative FastSpeech 10, and others. Additionally, this Object, Linking, and Embedding (OLE) software allows you to record or playback WAV files from any Windows application that supports OLE.

Creative WaveStudio for modifying WAV files

As for speech and voice systems, Creative Labs did not forget you lazy, high tech users. Creative VoiceAssist is an advanced command and control speech recognition system. It supports multiple users, has a vocabulary of 30,000 words, and automatic menu extractions for easy speech training. You have user defined mouse and keyboard macros for creating custom commands for almost any Windows application. Creative TextAssist is a text to speech application. It uses the DECtalk technology, which is consider the most realistic text to speech synthesis. There are nine predefined voices include; four male, four female, and one child. You can fine tune the voices by adjusting the pitch, length, speed, and volume. A dictionary editor is used to customize pronunciation of words. Within Creative TextAssist, there are several other modules that can be called. TextAssist Reader which embeds button on an application's title bar for quick playback. TextAssist Control Panel is used for modifying or creating a new voice. TextAssist Dictionary informs you of a mispronounced word. Texto'LE allows you to drag and drop TextAssist objects into a Windows application that supports OLE. Talking Scheduler verbally reminds you of appointments.

As for controls, you have the AWE32 Control, QSound Control Panel, and Creative Mixer. They allow you to control the effects on playback or recording of sound files. When you become tired of creating music files, fine tuning your sounds, or working for your living, you might want to play Mosaic. This mind twister tiled puzzle game with sound effects will put your brain to rest.

Installing the Sound Blaster AWE32 is not that hard to do. With many jumpers on the card, it may look complicated, but the default setting will be fine for most users. Since I had another sound card on my machine, I had to changed the MIDI Port Address. The DMA channels and Interrupt (IRQ) can be changed by running the Diagnose software from DOS. There is a SB Configuration application that you can run from Windows that does basically the same function. In my case, I had to change the IRQ from the default 5 to 7, which is what some software looks for on a Sound Blaster card. The 8-bit DMA channel was left at channel 1, but the 16-bit DMA channel was changed from channel 5 to 6. Beware, that on some older machines, the 16-bit channels (channel 5, 6, and 7) do not always function correctly. In that case, shift the 16-bit DMA channel to channel 1, which will allow your system to run but limits some of the 16-bit sounds. The rest of the software install ran smoothly. Most changes to the system files were clearly pointed out. Three TRS drivers will be added to your Config.Sys file, and several others are loaded into your Autoexec.Bat file. If you get a chance, try to load these programs high.

 The Sound Blaster AWE32 is a great all around sound card. It gives you all the features of a Sound Blaster 16 with Multi-CD, plus backward compatibility with the Sound Blaster line of sound cards. With the Advanced WavEffects Synthesis included, you have the support of General Midi (GM) and General Sound (GS) on one sound card. One slot is used in your computer with nothing more to add. You might want to add more memory modules for the Sampling Subsystem. The sound produced was better than most cards, but not the best I've experienced. Instead of the MCD-ROM interface, a SCSI-2 interface would connect to more internal SCSI CD-ROM players. One of the benefits with this card is that you can download additional sounds to use. If you do a full software install you will note that you have less conventional memory. To recover some of that memory, you could use the Sound Blaster 16 mixer instead of the SoundBlaster AWE32 DOS TSRs. If you are running Windows applications only, you could get rid of all the DOS TSRs since they are not needed. The SoundBlaster AWE32 is bundled with so many great multimedia applications, and that alone makes it a good buy. If you have not experienced sound on your PC, isn't it time to hear for yourself what all the noise is about?

The Sound Blaster AWE32 package includes the card, an RCA audio cable and CD audio cable, a microphone, Windows and DOS software drivers, and the suite of multimedia products mentioned in this review.

SoundBlaster AWE32

List Price: $399.95

For more information, please contact:

Creative Labs, Inc. USA

1901 McCarthy Blvd.

Milpitas, CA  95035

408-428-6600

fax 408-428-6611

sales 800-998-5227

Written by:

(click)

Randy Wong

randy.wong@wol.com


steve graphic
       DABBLER

by Steven Jay Cohen

Most of us have, at one time or another, toyed with the idea of being an artist. Remember how much fun you used to have with crayons and paint as a child? Though few actually go on to make art a vocation, there is a bit of the artist that continues to live in all of us. Imagine for a moment that a magical benefactor has decided to supply you with all the tools you'll ever need to draw and paint. An endless array of supplies - pencils and chalk, paint and pastels, paper and canvas have all been neatly tucked away in the drawers of a desk that has been delivered to your home. Actually, that's not so far from the truth. The new Fractal Design Dabbler is, in fact, that magical desk.

Dabbler's desk showing an open SketchPad

Dabbler's Natural Media® drawing and painting tools provide the means to bring out the artist in all of us. Its metaphorical desk is even accompanied by special sound effects to heighten the illusion. As you sketch, you actually hear the sound of chalk or pencil on your paper as you work. Even the animated opening and closing of the desk drawers has realistic sound. Change the size of a tool, or choose a new tool and you'll hear a click or a ring depending upon the specific action. This is fun!

Dabbler's desk contains four drawers. Let's explore their contents.

The Tools Drawer contains all of the drawing and painting tools. Here you'll find brushes, markers, oil paint, spray paint, pens, pencils - you name it. The four top buttons, from left to right, are the SketchPad, the Session Recorder/Player, the Sound toggle, and the Text Tool. I'll tell you about these in a moment. To bring a tool to the face of the drawer, all you have to do is click on it or drag it there. Also in this drawer are the magnifier, grabber, paint bucket and page-rotation tool. Here too you will find Dabbler's special effects represented by the row of star icons. From left to right they are Stencil, Fade, Focus, Negative, Surface Texture and Float. On the far left is the Extras Drawer. Some of the items in the Tools Drawer have extra features that impart more power and depth. Whenever you choose a tool that has extra features, an icon will appear on the face of the Extras Drawer. Simply open this drawer to access those features.

A click on the SketchPad icon fills the drawer with the SketchPad, pushpin, folder, trash can and tracing paper icons as pictured in the first graphic above. The SketchPad is used to get fresh sheets of paper to draw on and to store artwork. Whatever is displayed in this miniature when the drawer is closed is what will then appear in the image-editing window. Individual pieces may be saved independently of the pad by dragging it to the folder. The pushpin is used to temporarily hold an image in order to place it elsewhere within the SketchPad. When you drag an image to the trash can to discard it, you will hear the sound of paper being crumpled. If you change your mind after tossing out a page, Dabbler will permit the rescue of the last item thrown away only before the drawer is closed.

The two icons near the front of the drawer are the partnered tracing and opaque icons. This marvelous pair of tools is used to turn the current SketchPad page into a piece of transparent tracing paper. The image on the next page of the SketchPad will be visible through it when you close the drawer. Click on the other icon and the paper again becomes opaque, preserving whatever you have traced or drawn.

The tools required for color customization are all found, of course, in the Color Drawer, pictured here on the right. Sixteen ready-to-use palettes are initially loaded by default. Color squares are on the left and various graduations from one color to another on the right. A graduation is based on the colors in the squares on each end of the bar. Custom color graduations are created by simply clicking on a square and then on the desired color in the color wheel. The color wheel is the tool which modifies the color palettes (top left). Click on it and it fills the drawer, making it easy to accomplish fine gradations of color. To its right is the Clone Color icon. This is used in conjunction with the tracing paper feature. It permits you to use any drawing or painting tool and paper texture to re-create the image on the underlying page in a new medium. If you wish, Dabbler will automatically clone the image.

On the far right of the desk is the Papers Drawer. It contains twenty different paper textures including cotton paper; canvas; spots; fine, medium and toothy grains; diamonds; lizard; and rawhide. Several of the drawing and painting tools interact with the textures to produce very special effects such as the Surface Texture and Glass Distortion effects.

With this incredible wealth of tools, breathtaking results are amazingly easy to accomplish. What's that you say? Did I hear you say that you'd probably need drawing lessons before you could use a program like this? Not to worry! The people at Fractal Design already thought of that. Dabbler includes top-notch basic art instruction from the pages of Walter Foster's famous How To Draw /1 and How To Draw /2 books. These lessons are not only reproduced in Dabbler's manual but they are also included as self-running sessions.

Remember the Session Recorder/Player I mentioned above? Dabbler has a wonderful built-in ability to record and playback drawing sessions. The Player is easily operated with buttons just like those found on a video cassette recorder. You can watch the Walter Foster sessions while referring to the original lessons in the manual. Stop the lessons at any point and finish yourself or use Dabbler's tracing paper to trace the finished product. All of this may be done without altering the sessions themselves. This feature can also be used to create and playback your own drawing sessions. Below is an exerpt from one of the Walter Foster sessions that teaches the drawing of a cartoon rabbit.

How To Draw A Cartoon Rabbit

The included Walter Foster sessions are designed to teach you:

   an easy step-by-step method of drawing facial features, including an eye, nose and a mouth.

   how to use simple shapes and lines to block-in your drawings.

   how to arrange subjects for a still-life drawing.

   how to draw a variety of birds.

   why it is OK to trace or copy a photograph.

   how to use vanishing points to draw in proper perspective.

   how to build your drawings by using basic shapes like ovals, circles and squares.

   why you should perfect your drawing before adding shading and highlights.

   what to look for when drawing an animal.

   how to set up your compositions.

With help like this from one of the most dominant forces in art instruction ever to live, you'll be drawing and painting with confidence in no time. Though you can use Dabbler with a mouse, you'll get the best results from a stylus and a tablet. This arrangement permits you to draw in the most natural fashion. Some styluses, like those made by Summagraphics, Kurta, CalComp, and Wacom are pressure-sensitive. Pressing harder with the stylus produces correspondingly thicker strokes in the image window. Pressing more lightly results in a lighter and thinner stroke. Pressure-sensitivity will allow you to control how deeply the grain is penetrated when using a Dabbler tool that interacts with paper texture.

To learn more about these devices, be sure to read the reviews of the SummaSketch® FX™ and Kurta PenMouse™ graphical tablets in this issue.

Special Note: Until December 31, 1994 Fractal Design is bundling Dabbler with Kurta's PenMouse tablet at a special price!

Dabbler is an affordable 8-bit painting program that has surprising power and depth. Its easy intuitive operation and built-in instruction will provide years of fun and creativity for Windows users of all ages. I highly recommend it.

Fractal Design's Dabbler

List Price: $99.00

for more information, please contact:

Fractal Design Corp.

335 Spreckels Drive

Aptos, CA 95003

800-297-COOL

408-688-8800

written by

(click)

Steven Jay Cohen

steven.cohen@wol.com


Kurta popup
See the review of the Kurta PenMouse elsewhere in this issue!


       KURTA PEN MOUSE

by Steven Jay Cohen

Kurta Corporation's PenMouse™ is a personally-sized portable pad that offers high performance. Its low price and small size make it an excellent entry-level vehicle for desktop pen computing. PenMouse includes a cordless two-button pen, a 4-inch by 5-inch tablet, driver software, and accessories. The PenMouse provides 1000-dpi resolution and is compatible with Microsoft's pen extensions.

I actually spent a few minutes going over the easy instructions to ensure success. As a result, setting up the hardware and software was effortless. Because I already have COM 1 assigned to my mouse and COM 2 assigned to my modem, I needed to disconnect my mouse and connect the PenMouse 9-pin in its place to avoid an interrupt conflict. I discovered on a friend's PC that if IRQ 1 and 3, or 2 and 4 is unoccupied, or if you have a bus mouse, it is possible to have the PenMouse and a regular mouse co-exist in Windows. This allows you the freedom to use either at will without restarting Windows! In about 15 minutes I was ready to do my first pen computing.

Let's face it, some things are simply easier to do with a pen. There are few Windows-related tasks more frustrating than trying to duplicate your signature with a mouse. I cannot tell you how long I've been trying to produce a reasonable facsimile to use in my communications. The first thing I did with the PenMouse was to digitize my signature. It was a snap!

Next I launched Dabbler to see how different it might be to operate with a stylus. Frankly, it's like day and night. Though it took a little while to get used to it, I quickly discovered that detail and precision with drawing and special effects is much easier to accomplish with the PenMouse. I compared my tracing efforts with a mouse to my tracings with the pen and the difference was quite remarkable. Though my efforts with the mouse were certainly acceptable, next to the result obtained with the stylus it was somewhat more indistinct and "blurry."

I have to say that until using the PenMouse, I had no idea how much easier some Windows applications could be to use, particularly graphics. I found it very easy to use. A brand new feature included in the latest software release, is the ability to "double-click" with a single press on a provided button on the side of the stylus. I found this to be much less awkward than trying to "double-click" with the stylus tip. Kurta's PenMouse proved itself very quickly to me, and has made me begin thinking more seriously about the purchase of a laptop. Prior to the availability of this unit, the only other graphics tablets out there were costly, unless you happened to be a professional with need for such high-end capability. If you've been wondering what pen-based Windows computing is all about, but hesitated because of the potential cost, now is the time to give it a try. I urge you to take advantage of the current special offer bundled by Kurta and Fractal Design. You won't be disappointed.

Special Note: Until December 31, 1994 Fractal Design is bundling Dabbler with Kurta's PenMouse tablet at a special price! This is currently the most affordable way to obtain top-notch pen-based computing with highly capable painting software.

Fractal Design Dabbler + Kurta PenMouse

Special Pricing: $249 (available until 12/31/94)

for more information about this package, contact:

Kurta Corporation

3007 East Chambers

Phoenix, Arizona 85040

1-800-44KURTA

Special Note:     WOLR SCOOP at 6:30 pm, 8/29/94!!!!!     During the second week of September 1994, Kurta and Corel will be announcing a very special brand new package bundling the Kurta PenMouse with the Corel 3.0 diskette/CD-ROM package at a list price of $350.00, with a far lower street price. You heard it here, first!

written by

(click)

Steven Jay Cohen

steven.cohen@wol.com


Dabbler Popup
 See the review of Dabbler elsewhere in this issue!


       SUMMASKETCH FX

by Steven Jay Cohen

Using a pressure-sensitive graphics tablet to operate within Windows is quite a different experience from using a mouse. It takes some practice to reacclimate before you begin to feel at home again. Once you do become accustomed, however, you're likely to find that the degree of control and precision that is possible with a cordless stylus is well worth the effort it takes to re-learn. The SummaSketch FX  can be purchased with a four-button mouse, but our unit was ordered to test its use with the stylus.

Setting up the 12" x 12" SummaSketch FX tablet is not at all difficult. There is no need to worry about extra wires or adapters; all required hardware is shipped with the unit. In the box you will find:

Tablet with a clear plastic overlay.  Convertible transducer (in this case, a stylus) with batteries for cordless operation and cable for corded operation.  PC-compatible interface cable.	25-to-9 pin serial adapter cable  Power supply.  Drivers & Utilities software.  A manual.

The tablet connects to a serial port, so you must decide which port will not produce a conflict. The accompanying software defaults to COM 1, but can be configured for any of the four ports. The other end of this cable has a telephone-type connector that fits neatly into the tablet's I/O socket. As a safety measure, it has a shape that makes it impossible to insert it incorrectly. Interestingly, the power supply connects directly to a socket on the back of the serial port connector, rather than directly into the tablet. From a practical standpoint this is quite handy since it tends to keep the power cable behind the PC, and presumably locates it nearer the electrical power supply.

To prepare the stylus for cordless use, two very small batteries are placed in a hatch on the back of the stylus. It has a special built in energy saving feature designed to extend the battery life. After approximately 5-10 minutes of non-use, the stylus automatically shuts off. A press of a button reactivates it.

The accompanying software contains drivers and utilities for DOS, AutoCAD, and Windows. Installation of the software is a snap, and we were up and running very quickly. Access to the Windows SummaSketch FX Control Panel utilities is by way of an icon that must be set up manually in the Program Manager Group of your choice. The Control Panel window contains these three utilities:

* Tablet information utility - displays information about the specific tablet being used. A "units" pop-down menu allows you to view the information in different formats.

* Features utility - displays the transducer being used. Here is where you can change the transducer type and set the pressure settings for the stylus.

* Setup utility - provides fields for changing tracking mode, button assignments and tracking area.

The Setup utilities are where you make all the fine adjustments for how you want the tablet to represent the desktop. It permits adjustments that range from every point on the tablet corresponding to a point on the desktop to reducing the stylus movement relativity to act in a fashion very similar to the mouse. These utilities impart great flexibility to accommodate any task.

In addition to our own testing, we also obtained observations from a working graphics artist who used the tablet in his business for several weeks along with Corel Draw 3.0 and Fractal Design's Painter 2.0. His comments give some useful insight from an artist's point of view. Here's what he had to say:

"I could never manipulate a mouse as well as I can handle the pen! From an artist's point of view, the strokes feel very much like the real thing, although the odd shape of the pen took some getting used to. It was a little hard to get accustomed to using a pen 'touch and click' as a normal 'double click.' Sometimes holding the pen off the board when executing a single click still resulted, somehow, in a 'double-click.' I have no explanation for this, but it may be a matter of the sensitivity settings. Finally, I had trouble stopping a spray-paint operation even when I drew the pen totally away from the tablet. This generally took place when I withdrew the pen quickly! I'm sure that with more time, I could get a better feel for this to eliminate the problem. I've been thinking for some time about the acquisition of a tablet. After having this opportunity to work with one, I'm convinced that this is definitely a tool I need in my work."

For the purposes of this review, the artist created an original painting for us with Fractal Design's Painter 2.0. Unfortunately, the necessary limitations of our magazine's 16-color format alter the portrait's appearance far too much to permit us to display it here. If you would like to view it, it is available for free download from the Windows OnLine BBS with the file name ASHLEY1.ZIP. It is a 390x486x16 million color graphic saved in PCX format.

The SummaSketch® FX™ graphics tablet is a professional level peripheral with awesome power. If you require precision, performance and reliability for any graphical DOS, AutoCAD, Windows, or Macintosh application, this is a tablet that will more than fill the bill.

Summagraphics SummaSketch® FX™

List Price: 12x12: $649.00   12x18: $1149.00

for more information, please contact:

Summagraphics Corporation

60 Silvermine Rd.

Seymour, CT  06483

800-728-7866

203-881-5367 fax

800-444-3425 sales

800-337-8662 for nearest reseller

written by

(click)

Steven Jay Cohen

steven.cohen@wol.com


Fractal Popup
 See the review of Fractal Design's Painter elsewhere in this issue!

Click on this text to go there now


       FRACTAL DESIGN'S PAINTER

by Steven Jay Cohen

Fractal Design's Painter 2.0 is the premier professional 24-bit painting program for Windows. Like Dabbler, it simulates Natural Media® tools and textures and has special editing capabilities. Painter, however, is endowed with much more power and a greatly extended feature set. The interface is at once business-like and inviting. Upon opening, you'll see three windows: The Tool Box, the Brush Palette and the Color Palette.

 	Within the context of this application, each of these tools is referred to as a "brush," though obviously some are not. Each brush has associated with it one or more Variants, or pre-programmed modifications that provide the user with a vast array of possibilities. To access each brush's variants, simply click and hold in the resulting popup menu, and drag the cursor to the desired selection. When the variant you wish to use is highlighted, release the mouse button or, if you choose, you may click and drag the icon out of the menu, tearing it off to keep it handy as you work. The Tear-off feature (illustrated in the above graphic on the right) is new in v2.0. This concept is also put to good use with paper textures and brush looks. Because Tear-offs don't disappear when you show/hide the palletes, it's easy to trim down your working group to a small, streamlined tool set.

Another very important feature is the ability to save customized changes. After painstakingly creating a particular desired effect, all that needs to be done is to name and save the new variant. From then on the newly created variant will be available in the popup menu.

Just as everyone's handwriting is different and each individual's handwriting varies from day to day, so does the way you handle your painting tools. Painter allows you to program the computer to react to individual differences in touch and pressure in its Set Scaling dialog box. Though subtle gradations are easier to obtain with a pressure-sensitive tablet, Painter has built-in  accommodations to produce the same effects with a mouse. Easy to operate sliders quickly adjust the effective pressure of an upcoming stroke. Using the pressure adjustments with the provided variations for the Real-time Multiple Bristle Brushes, (another feature new in this version), permits the user to obtain a plethora of magnificent results. Combine these effects with paper textures and you can exercise finite control over the degree to which texture is evident in areas of your choosing or throughout the whole composition. Its easy to see that the possibilities are virtually limitless.

Friskits is a feature introduced in the first version of Painter. In this version the concept is greatly expanded. A friskit is a mask that is placed on artwork to shield certain areas during painting or retouching. Used similarly in Painter, they are especially handy when used as irregular sections to apply textures, darkroom effects and unusual lighting treatments to specific portions of an image. Painter 2.0 introduces the choice between freehand and straight-line friskits. Also new in this version is the ability to import text as a friskit, and the ability to edit one friskit with another. There are also provisions to name and save friskits, adding yours to the libraries that ship with Painter.

Apply Lighting is another new feature in Painter 2.0. The dialog box contains sliders to customize the elements of brightness, distance of light from an image, elevation of light, spread, and color. A scrolling palette of pre-constructed lighting choices is provided to use "as-is" or serve as jumping off points from which to customize. A preview feature that is newly incorporated into a number of Painter's dialog boxes allows you to see the proposed changes before you apply them. Here too you will find Tear-offs and the ability to save new variants as earlier described.

Also among the marvelous new features in this version is the Magic Wand. Several well-known Windows painting programs have a tool by this name. Its usual function is to select an area by drawing a shape over the image. In Painter 2.0, the Magic Wand operates a little differently: it makes its selection according to pixel color. The associated dialog box permits the user to control the range of selection according to hue, saturation, and color value. This type of manipulation can produce some very interesting results.

Painter 2.0 now has the ability to save, but not read, images in EPS (PostScript) format. Two-way support is provided for Fractal Design's own Raster Image File format (RIF), as well as TIF, BMP, PCX, and TGA formats. It also supports the popular PCT Macintosh format.

Painter 2.0 is richly endowed with abilities far too numerous to detail here. This article has highlighted but a few. Its capacity for simulating natural media is unequaled anywhere. As a painting tool, it is in a class by itself. It provides all the art supplies you're used to working with when you're not using your computer and much more. In short, Painter 2.0 gives new meaning to the word "painting."

Painter 2.0 for Windows minimum system requirements:

- 386SX, 386, 486SX, 486 or Pentium IBM PC compatible.

- Hard disk.

- 4 MB RAM (6 MB recommended).

- Microsoft Windows 3.0 or later.

- Super VGA (256 colors). 16-bit (32,768 colors) or 24-bit color recommended.

- Color monitor recommended.

Fractal Design's Painter 2.0

List Price: $99.00

Street Price: $69.95

for more information, please contact:

Fractal Design Corp.

335 Spreckels Drive

Aptos, CA 95003

800-297-COOL

408-688-8800

written by

(click)

Steven Jay Cohen

steven.cohen@wol.com


Windows OnLine (BBS)
Windows OnLine™

OVER THREE GIGS OF THE LATEST & CLEANEST FILES

click on any icon                     FILES                        MEMBERSHIPS                         MAIL                for more information

    Windows OnLine™

TRAVEL THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY:  INTERNET - RIME - INTELEC - SMARTNET - ILINK

Windows OnLine™

MEMBERSHIP PLANS WITH EASY ONLINE PROCESSING


WOL Files Popup
 Windows OnLine™ brings

THE BEST AND LATEST FILES

  Over 26,000 WIN - 3,600 OS/2 - 35,000 DOS

NO JUNK - we obtain the files ourselves, screen them and edit descriptions.

THE LATEST FILES - we get them EVERY DAY!

MINIMAL DUPES - we clear off the old when we bring on the new.

Call Windows OnLine™ Today!

Free Limited Trial!

 (510) 736-8343 (BBS)

(510) 736-4376 Voice   -   (510) 736-8397 Fax


WOL Membership Popup
 GIVE US A CALL !!

BBS  (510) 736-8343	   -    Voice  (510) 736-4376

 Become a Member of Windows OnLine and Enjoy the following:

HAVE A FILE FEEDING FRENZY - with no need to upload

DAILY TIME, UP TO EIGHT HOURS -  our plans are structured for your convenience and benefit; daily time allowances are not lost

ACCESS TO ALL CONFERENCES - for the term of your membership

FREE INTERNET ACCESS - your own address on the Information Superhighway

LOW, LOW COST - Total Cost of Memberships range from $39.95 to $109.95

Call now and enter "MEMBER" for descriptions of all our membership plans.

Choose our popular "GOLD PLAN" which includes 365 days or 25,000 minutes (416 hours), whichever comes first, 400 megs of files

Check us out -- Call 510-736-8343 Today!


WOL Mail Popup
 Choose from over 2000 separate conferences

          containing over

200,000 current messages

on topics that are sure to interest you!

     Get technical support on Windows

or your favorite programs,

debate the latest Star Trek, or discuss

       your hobbies with new friends

halfway across the country!

The world is at your fingertips when you join

 Windows OnLine™

BBS  (510) 736-8343	Voice  (510) 736-4376


Internet

Cruise the Information Superhighway in style!

JOIN Windows OnLine™ and gain access to Internet Services FREE!

Your own personal universal address - get mail from everyone, everywhere!

Over 1,400 UseNet Conferences

Internet exchanges 24 times a day for up to the minute news and mail!

Windows OnLine™   1-510-736-8343


Wolly


Thom Foulkes
	Thom Foulks 5311 Alta Loma Colorado Springs, CO 80918 719-598-7828 Voice 719-528-8545 BBS


Steven Cohen


Ed Hoffman


Ed Rasimus


Randy Wong


Bob Gollihur
	Robert S. Gollihur   Custom Help Files for Advertising and Promotion Program Documentation and Freelance Copywriting   Seven Baywyn Drive Ocean View, NJ 08230 609 624-1470      fax 609 624-3646 CIS 71334,2065     bob.gollihur@wol.com


Bob Ellig
Bob Ellig, President

Bluco Corporation

135 East St. Charles Road

Carol Stream, IL 60188


G.L. Heitzmann
	G.L. Heitzmann 1460 Friendship Lane East Colorado Springs, CO 80904 1-(719)577-4247 CIS: 74212,262


David Morgan


Ted Tatman

(803) 795-3240

PCCTED@AOL.COM


Len Lindsay
Indian Summer Consultants

Lindsay, Fielder & Associates

Route 2 Box 146-AA

Ferrum, VA 24088

703-365-0519

FAX 703-365-0591

Internet: llendsay@leo.vsla.edu


Louis Turbeville


Larry Bruch


Writers Wanted
YOU can join the Windows OnLine™ Team!

Do you like to test Windows programs? Do you enjoy sharing your adventures with the latest Windows hardware and software? We are interested in adding quality Freelance and Staff writers to our magazines. You need not be a "Hemingway" (they're moody and drink too much, anyway). All is required is that you possess a general knowledge of Windows shareware and commercial products, and have the ability to relate your experiences in a friendly and informative fashion. You don't need to be conversant with the Help File format.

Call Windows OnLine (BBS 510-736-8343) and gain immediate access to the Writers Conference #4 (J 4). Download WOLWRIT2.ZIP (62K) for a brief writers guide and submission samples. Leave a message for Senior Staff Writer Ed Hoffman or Editor Bob Gollihur.  here for alternative contact methods. You can become part of the team!


Writer Contacts
PLEASE CONTACT:

Ed Hoffman, Senior Staff Writer

Hoffman & Associates

2417 Ranch Lane

Colorado Springs, CO 80918

719-599-8823

ed.hoffman@wol.com

AOL - EdH32

CompuServe 70314,2400 (messages only, no files)

Bob Gollihur, Editor

WinOnLine Editorial Offices

Seven Baywyn Drive

Ocean View, NJ 08230

609-624-1470

609-624-3646 fax

bob.gollihur@wol.com

CompuServe 71334,2065 (messages only, no files)

RIME Windows Conference;

(route as a private message to ->1579)