POWer Viewer 1.0 (C) Copyright Victor Yiu, 1995. [victor.yiu@psl-online.com] POW is not free, or "public domain," but "cardware" non-commercial use. Corporate and BBS operators, please note the registration section below. It is requested that all users of this program register. (It's practically free anyway!) Introducing "POW"... -------------------- POW is a unique text viewer -- in fact, the ONLY ONE of its kind. What's so special about it? ** You can now browse plain color ANSI files! ** And ANSI.SYS is not required. You can even scroll back and forth, search through, or goto a specific line. It's a breeze to view raw BBS capture files! There have been many utilities in the past that allowed users to view ANSI files, but never before has any program allowed a user to actually BROWSE, move back and forth, up and down, as if it were any other plain text file! Bulletin Board Operators ------------------------ BBS Sysops can now have the ability to distribute color coded ANSI 'new files' lists to their users. Compared to their plain text counterparts, the colored versions are more attractive and convenient for the users to use. Color coding allows the users to quickly browse through the listings. (See SAMPLE2.ANS for an example.) Since ANSI.SYS is not required, sysops will not have to worry about the users' configurations. If you wish to use POW in your bulletin board system, please contact me to work something out (see below). By registering, you can get a customized version of POW for you to include for your users. Optionally, you may include a short ANSI 'advertisement' for POW to display automatically after its copyright screen (will be incorporated inside the EXE file, no external file necessary). Limitations ----------- POW is designed to work with 'sequential' ANSI files only. Files that utilize vertical cursor positioning commands or have unusual line break placement will result in unexpected displays. Maximum viewable file size is 32,500 lines. Due to the design of the program, it is not possible to view these files. Viewing 'animation' files would require loading them completely in memory. I have opted instead for an algorithm that allows greater capacity (32,500 lines), while maintaining a small memory footprint (will run in about 256k). Since most animated ANSI sequences do not require the 'viewer' capability anyway, they should be viewed with plain ANSI.SYS. Registration (it's practically FREE to all users!) ------------ POW is cardware for normal users (non-commercial use), which means all you have to do is to just send me a postcard (a cool one :) ) with suggestions and comments about POW. Your continued support will encourage me to further develop this product! Snailmail address: Victor Yiu 2823 Cane Field Drive Sugar Land, TX 77479-1427 Additionally, I also ask that you upload the complete, unmodified version (with all its files intact) to another BBS or internet FTP site. Help spread POW around! That's it! Drop me a line in e-mail if you can, too! :) victor.yiu@psl-online.com ******** NOTICE ******** For corporate accounts or BBS sysops, please contact me for details. For BBS sysops, the general price outline based on the number of registered users is shown below. I don't want overwhelming registration prices to deter you from using POW. In all cases, please e-mail me to work something out. up to 25 user package $ 9 Please make checks or money 50 user package $15 orders payable to Victor Yiu. 100 user package $19 200 user package $29 400 user package $39 401+users email me privately For the option of adding an ANSI screen for POW to automatically display during program exit is an extra $5. The short ANSI sequence (up to 20 lines or so) will be customized directly into the EXE file, so tampering or erasing of the 'ad' will not occur. This program is based on an honor system. I don't think the price is unreasonable, and hope all corporate users or bulletin board operators will take the time to register. It may seem little, but it means a lot to me. Contacting the author --------------------- I can be reached through the Internet at "victor.yiu@psl-online.com", without the quotes. I also frequent PSL Online (see below). On FidoNet, I can be reached at 1:106/30, as Victor Yiu. My snailmail address is listed above. Revision History ---------------- .99beta PSL Online user beta-test. Not for distribution. [3/19/95] 1.00 First official general-public release. [5/09/95] Special Thanks -------------- Special thanks to Maryjane Choate for her help and support. Thanks to Harry Brimberry of PSL Online, for running such a great board. Try it out and see what I mean! PSL Online (10 nodes) (713)442-6704... Disclaimer (who really reads this section anyway? :) ) ---------- The author, Victor Yiu, disclaims all warranties as to this software, whether express or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, functionality, or data integrity. The author is not liable for any damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of POW. Whew! Thanks for using POW! þ POWer Viewer 1.0 þ (C) Copyright Victor Yiu, 1995. þ All rights reserved. þ