STATUS REPORT ON THE VENDINFO PROJECT
                  (as of "alpha-test" release, 7/31/93)

 Brief Project Description

   VENDINFO is a system for conveying software product information
   and distribution permissions from the author to distributors.
   A standard (public) file format will carry extensive information
   in a compressed, efficient form.  The associated toolset will aid
   the author in constructing the record, and will allow the
   distributor to extract portions of the record, or make
   distribution decisions based on its content, in a highly auto-
   mated way. VENDINFO will allow automation of many operations now
   performed manually by BBS Sysops, disk vendors, etc.

 VENDINFO File-Format Standard ("Alpha-Test Version") Released

   An "alpha-test" version of the VENDINFO file-format standard is
   now available for study and comment.  This is a lengthy (55 pages)
   and detailed description of the proposed file format, and is
   probably a good read only for those with a serious interest in
   the internals of VENDINFO, or a serious interest in helping to
   insure that VENDINFO handles the needs of the entire industry. 
   For those with such an interest, it is available now, and
   comments are most welcome.

   The standard can be obtained from the SHAREWARE forum on
   CompuServe (lib 0, VNDINF.ZIP); by download or FidoNet/RIME file
   request (as VENDINFO.ZIP) from the Rams' Island Software BBS
   (see below); or from various other sources.  If absolutely
   necessary, hardcopies are available for mailing within the
   United States upon receipt of $3.00 U.S. and a mailing label.
   A complete set of VENDINFO information, including some material
   not available electronically, can be obtained for $5.00 U.S.
   and a mailing label.

   We are working now to prepare the VendEdit editor, the VendPrcs
   processor, and the software developer's library.  When these are
   ready for beta testing, that test period will also constitute a
   beta test of the file format itself.  Until then, the file format
   is regarded as changeable.  Beta testing of all these components
   should begin by early September, and perhaps sooner.

   Those who have seen the prototypes of these tools agree (see just
   below) that they insulate the user from the complexity of the
   VENDINFO file format very well, and make the system easy to use.

 VENDINFO Prototype Tools Demonstrated at Summer Shareware Seminar

   A prototype VENDINFO toolset was demonstrated for two days at the
   Summer Shareware Seminar held in Indianapolis June 18-20.  Nearly
   200 attendees, representing authors, disk vendors, rack vendors,
   CD-ROM publishers, and BBS sysops, saw demonstrations of these
   tools.  Virtually all were extremely positive.

   In fact, we've now had somewhere around 250 responses, either to
   the concept paper or to the demonstration.  There have been literally
   zero negative responses.  Three people have been skeptical about
   VENDINFO's acceptance by the industry, but all three were concerned
   about the complexity of the file format, and none had seen the editor.
   All those who saw the tools at SSS seemed to agree that it will be
   extremely easy to produce and to use the VENDINFO record, regardless
   of the (necessary) structural complexity of the record itself.  Except
   for these three, all reactions have been positive.

   As you can see below, acceptance by the BBS software manufacturers
   has also been extremely good.

 Products Now "Committed in Principle" to Support VENDINFO

   The following software manufacturers are "committed in principle"
   to "support" the VENDINFO standard.  That is, subject to our
   development of a satisfactory standard and software developer's
   library, these manufacturers agree to extract relevant product
   description information directly from the VENDINFO record, much
   like today's use of FILE_ID.DIZ.  They have not been asked to
   make any direct use of the distribution policy information in the
   VENDINFO record.  That is the function of a separate tool,
   optionally available to the Sysop.

   BBSes
      PCBoard, Clark Development Co.
      Wildcat!, Mustang Software, Inc.
      Major BBS, Galacticomm
      Searchlight BBS, Searchlight Software
      TBBS, eSoft
      Auntie BBS, Wes Meier
      OmegaComm BBS, Larry Loiselle
      PowerBBS for Windows, Russell Frey
      ProBoard BBS, Philippe Leybaert
      Sapphire BBS, Pinnacle Software
      Tinyhost, Bruce Krobusek
      UltraBBS, UltraBBS Software
      Windowed Modem Environment, Jason Fesler

   File Upload Processors
      Catscan, Mike Ortiz
      CheckZip, Bill Hull
      DIZIT, Robert Neal/CorpSoft
      HoboScan, Floyd Hobson
      TransScan, Craig Dunstan

   Other Products
      Colorado Utilities Disk Manager, Micro Systems Solutions

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