ÉÍËÍ» Ë Ë ËÍÍ» ËÍÍ» ËÍÍ» ËÍÍ» ËÍÍ» Ë Ë Ë ÉÍÍ» ËÍÍ» ËÍÍ» º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º ÌÍ͹ ÌÍ ÌÍ ÌÍ˼ ÌÍ ÌÍ º º º ÌÍ͹ ÌÍ˼ ÌÍ º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º Ê Ê Ê ÊÍͼ Ê Ê ÊÍ ÊÍͼ ÊÍͼ ÈÍÊͼ Ê Ê Ê ÊÍ ÊÍͼ Ë Ë ÉÍÍ» ËÍ ËÍ ÉÍÍ» ËÍÍ» ËÍÍ» ÉÍÍ» ÉÍËÍ» ËÍÍ» º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º ÌÍ͹ ÌÍ͹ º º º º ÌÍ ÌÍ ÌÍ͹ º º º ÌÍ º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º º Ê Ê Ê Ê ÊÍͼ ÊÍͼ ÈÍͼ Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê Ê ÊÍͼ ßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßßß ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ WHAT IS IT? We are a GUIDE TO FREEWARE, a sorted index to FREE ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ programs and databases commonly found on public access Bulletin Boards around the world and the Internet. The programs on this list have been tested and found to work as described, and to be worth downloading. The list includes Freeware, $0 Shareware and Public Domain software. These are programs and databases for which NO FEE is required for use by you as an individual. Freeware, Shareware and Public Domain are terms often mis-used. Since they matter to us, correct definitions are given below. We distribute the GUIDE in a paperback book titled the "Freeware Hall of Fame Guide to Free Software" which is sold by mail order for $20. It's the FreeHOF's only income. The BBS and the Hall of Fame are free to everyone. Most of the programs in the GUIDE will be found on our BBS. We encourage sysops everywhere to download them, and our GUIDE encourages readers to call their local Boards, not us. We make available a huge packet of Freeware so Sysops can grab a pile in one gulp. That file is OLHOFn.ZIP from Conference 3. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ WHAT'S NEW We add new entries whenever we find them. Some ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ are uploaded to us at the Hall by their authors and some we bring down from other Boards around the world. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ WHO'S IN Among the most prominent people in the computer THE HOF? world, past and present, are those programmers who ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ allow us to use their programs at no cost. Writing software and distributing it via Bulletin Boards with no request for payment, they enable everyone to share the fruit of their knowledge, the benefit of their discoveries, and the spirit of generosity that defines a person's character. ÚÄÄÄ¿ NAMES In the circle of Great Freeware Writers for their output ÀÄÄÄÙ and quality are names such as Douglas Boling, Bruce Guthrie, Raymond Kaya, Ward Christensen, Robert Vostreys, Frederick Volking, Michael Mefford, Keith Graham, Keith Ledbetter, John McNamara, David Daniel Anderson, and the writer who gave us CED and so much more, Chris Dunford. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ GRATITUDE The Freeware Hall of Fame was founded in 1989 to ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ honor these people and to encourage other programmers to follow in their footsteps. The list of files is never complete. It will grow every week as we attempt to catch up with the hundreds of fine people who represent the hobby side of the PC world, and the generous side of human nature. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ AMONG THEM are some of the best programmers in the profession, ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ software writers sought after and employed by the most advanced governments and industries in the world. The Freeware they write on their own time (cough) commonly reflects the highest level of concept and execution. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ BENEFITS Our Hall of Fame GUIDE is the only published guide ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ devoted to Freeware. All these programs work. All are free. Nearly all are commonly available on public access Bulletin Boards. We can recommend them as programs that do the job for which they are intended. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ WHERE YOU Our files are indexed to make these programs easier FIND THEM to find, but locating the current version on a BBS ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ can require a search. The Board's archive packets commonly are named with an abbreviation of a program's full name, often adding a version number to that. For example, the excellent free version of Mustang Software's off-line reader Offline Express is named OLX-TD21.ZIP. A file -name- search for "Offline" even using wildcards won't find it. You might have to hunt and peek through the Boards Communication Directories or ask the sysop what the latest version is named. ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ SEARCH Some of the programs for running a BBS make the search ÀÄÄÄÄÙ easier by allowing us to search for keywords in the file -description-. On a PCBoard, for example, entering Z keyword A should reveal every instance of in the Board's file descriptions. The full generic file name always appears in a file description on a properly designed BBS. For example, you will not find Raymond Kaya's DIRX (a file management program for compressed files) listed in a BBS file index. The index name for the archive is DRXxxx where xxx is the version number, and that changes with every update. The Z command will find DIRX in the file description. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ FREEWARE Freeware as used at the Freeware Hall of Fame refers DEFINED³ to programs or databases that an individual may use ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ without payment of money to the author. Commonly the author will copyright his work as a way of legally insisting no one change it prior to getting his approval. Commonly he will issue a License defining the terms under which his program may be used. With Freeware there is no charge for the license. The copyright has nothing to do with a user fee, aside from giving the author a legal right to charge one. Freeware authors don't exercise that right, though in some cases a program will be Freeware for an individual but require a paid license if used by any other entity. The HOF includes these. ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ PUBLIC Other Freeware is in the Public Domain, which means the DOMAIN author donated his work to the public and retains no ÀÄÄÄÄÙ ownership rights. No fee can be required for the use of PD programs, though a humorous request for author support might drift into the Docs. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ WHAT'S NOT Shareware is not Free. Shareware is fee ware, ³ FREE? ³ commercial software sold on the "try before you ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ buy" plan. It's like testing a car for a few weeks to see if you like it. If you keep it you're expected to pay for it. Shareware got its name because at the beginning the programs were free and if you registered, the author would advise you of updates to the software. The cost of that led to registration fees, and they were followed by fees imposed if you continued to use the program after trying it. Most Shareware released today requires a fee for use, though there are many authors loyal to the original concept. Using Shareware marketing, many superb programs are made available at far lower cost than software marketed in stores or by mail order. ÚÄÄÄ¿ DEMOS Something free but not Shareware or Freeware is software ÀÄÄÄÙ "demos" sent to Bulletin Boards. A demo is a program that will stop working or cause problems on a PC if used beyond a trial period. They are the product of commercial software authors asking the Shareware community to market their products. Demos guarantee a user will pay for the program if he continues to want it, which some authors find attractive. Every demo represents a product that might have been Shareware, but isn't. Demos are a threat to the Shareware concept and for that reason, most sysops refuse to carry them. Demos are thoroughly commercial with no sharing involved. They can be a source of income to sysops who recognize they are entitled to be paid to carry them. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ³ 0$ ³ There is one form of Shareware that is free for SHAREWARE individual use. Authors usually call it $0 ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Shareware. It meets our definition of Freeware for individuals and is included in our collection. But in addition, The Freeware Hall of Fame endorses ALL forms of Shareware because it makes good sense for software users and the PC industry. Here's why. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ ECONOMICS Retail marketing means higher price than Shareware ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ for the same functionality. The higher price comes from the mark-up to cover distribution, marketing, and a profit at each step of the way. Buyers pay for those but they add not one line of code to what the author wrote. Production, flashy packaging so it can be seen on the shelves, advertising so we will hear of it, and marketing to get it included in the store inventory - those are major chunks of the sales price even if the software is sold at deep discount. The only one who doesn't add to the cost of the product is the end buyer. In retailing, he's the ultimate source of everyone else's income. No economies of scale or mass production can alter that, though they and competition may keep the price from bulging. No matter how deep the discount, the cost to sell through retail channels means retail can never approach the value of Shareware. With Shareware the only one paid is the author. There is no advertising, packaging, or marketing. Distribution is donated free by sysops, by callers passing uploads around the Boards, and by Shareware disk distributors with their catalogs. The savings translates to rock-bottom price for software that can be as good or better than what's found in stores. Nearly every retail store and mail order program has Shareware and Freeware equivalents. Not uncommonly the equivalents are better but that's something you have to prove for yourself, as others did. For example, software from a BBS can be updated and distributed on short notice - overnight - and at no cost, so Shareware authors are usually the first to be in step with advances in new hardware, first to take advantage of new DOS or Windows capabilities when operating system are updated. Both Shareware and Freeware are available on Bulletin Boards. The Freeware Hall Of Fame BBS maintains two sets of Directories. Odd-numbered Directories are Freeware, even-numbered ones are Shareware. ÚÄÄÄÄ¿ PIRACY Programs sold through retail stores are never available ÀÄÄÄÄÙ on Bulletin Boards, but that's like saying lawyers and politicians are never dishonest. The statement is true only if you overlook the bad apples. The FHOF BBS wants no programs in its download directories that aren't supposed to be here, and screens programs carefully. Should something slip through that shouldn't be here, we expect callers to tell us. All callers including first-timers can see and access all our download directories. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ SHAREWARE Shareware always asks for a fee for continued use of DOWNSIDE³ the program and the author says so, usually in a ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ professional way. A few authors aren't professional and show that when discussing payment. They lose sight of the users who pay and fixate on those who don't. In their Docs they insult you and damage the Shareware industry. Shareware works on an honor system in a world where there is more Shareware than honor. Not every author can handle that, and some respond by displaying their own personal failings. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ CRIPPLED They will cripple the Shareware. You get only a ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ limited version of the program until you buy it. They put delays and more than one payment request in the program which only go away when you purchase a registration number. Some simply quits working if you don't buy it soon enough. Some Shareware gives you bonus features when you register which some people resent. They extend the term crippled to include Shareware that doesn't have all the author's bells and whistles. That's an extremist position. We think true bonuses coming with registration, such as adding extra functions to working software as QWKMail creator Mark Herring of SparkWare did, are a legitimate business gimmick. Shareware IS business. Getting people to pay is no easy task. Some Shareware authors have no head for business. We found one who offered a $100 reward for the name of anyone using his $10 program who didn't register it. We wonder how many people called to turn themselves in and claim the reward. Perhaps the most damaging thing in Shareware are the few authors who are unreliable or dishonest. We've seen examples of each. Send them your registration money and they keep it and never respond, or respond months later. Two well-known Shareware writers are legendary for not following through on registrations. Buyers throw good money after bad phoning their "support Boards" asking for a registration key and never hear a thing. In fairness to their callers, BBSs have been obliged to carry programs which allow paid-up but unsupported buyers to crack registration codes and get the fully working program they paid for. Non-payers can also use these programs and never register, for which the authors have themselves to blame. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ FREEWARE does NONE of these things. The author might suggest ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ as one did that you take him to dinner (he named this method Dinnerware), and another suggests you take your spouse out to atone for the time you spend at the computer. One German author asked for a picture postcard if you like his program. Now several authors do that. Freeware authors often show a sense of humor. They also frequently provide the source code so other programmers can customize the program and build on it. ÚÄÄÄÄÄ¿ VIRUSES A file containing code put there to cause damage can't ³ & ³ harm anything until the program is run. For this TROJANS reason, Bulletin Boards like FreeHOF run the latest ÀÄÄÄÄÄÙ State-of-the-Art search and destroy virus/trojan checkers over every new file before making it available. Many viruses and trojans can't be spread by a BBS. For example the Michelangelo virus so prominent in the press is only spread by booting an infected diskette, and BBSs don't use diskettes. As insiders know, Michelangelo was spread through brand new shrink-wrapped retail software. Some viruses are introduced when disks go through mass duplication during manufacture. Open the shrink-wrap, run the program, infect the harddrive. Brand new pre-formatted disks can be infected that way, since even a "blank" formatted floppy contains code any programmer can learn all about. Disks sent out by businesses such as advertising agencies should always be checked before running them. The company has no intent to harm. They don't know the disk is infected. They don't check. Because Bulletin Boards are nearly the ONLY industry to check everything for viruses and trojans they have become the single safest source for software. We protect callers from getting damaging downloads from us, but only the caller can guard himself against infected diskettes. We recommend running a virus check on every floppy placed in a drive no matter where it came from. It was a professional consultant who spread a virus in our town a few years ago, doing great harm to his clients who turned on their computers March 6 when Michelangelo activates and promptly lost everything on their harddrives. There are more than 5,000 recognized virus strains. Fighting them and the sociopaths who write and distribute them has created an international industry of virus fighters. The best anti-virus programs are equipped with "retrovirus" code to combat viruses designed to disable anti-virus programs. Some virus checkers have a "heuristic" mode which allows searching for code strings which "act like" virus code. These programs can find a new virus making an appearance for the first time. It's all a massive waste of resources, as only illness and war can waste resources. Fortunately, there are excellent Freeware anti-virus programs. ÚÄÄ¿ BACK To gain entry to the Freeware Hall of Fame a program can ³TO³ be discovered by us or nominated by someone. Anyone may ³US³ nominate a program and we encourage Freeware authors to ÀÄÄÙ send us their programs. The only requirement is that the software or database be free for personal use and run on DOS, Windows (any version) or OS/2. Every program gets a 1-line description, though we often wish it could be more. Ward Christensen gets 1 line for his CP/M communications programs--perhaps the most influential Freeware of all time since it created the BBS industry--and you'll get 1-line for your program. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ NOMINATIONS are made to the compiler of this list and we need ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ to know 4 things: (1) Author name (2) Software name (3) Brief description of what the program does (4) Where we can download it in first call ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ CALL THE HALL We can be contacted three ways: via the ILink ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ International Netmail Network anywhere in the world, via the Internet, or through our BBS. (See below.) ÚÄÄÄ¿ ILINK The FHOF monitors the ILink "Shareware" and "Shareware ÀÄÄÄÙ Issues" conferences for mail addressed to Rey Barry. The monitoring is automated through a Mail Door so watch the sperling. All Ilink messages are public so for private mail, use the Internet address or call the BBS. ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿ COPYRIGHT The name "Freeware Hall of Fame" is a registered ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ Service Mark and our paperback publications, and this file, are copyrighted 1989-1996 by Rey Barry. rey.barry@execnet.com FHOF BBS 804-293-4710