From the Editor's Desk
Dear Member,
After this long, intentional test of your patience, I
have the honour to present you with my best compliments and the SABS award of
the most forbearing person I know. Or else you have actually READ the previous
editorial and thought for yourself: "Ha! If he thinks that he can do a
part-time MIS course at UCT, change job and take charge of a 100 workstation
network, have his wife expect a new baby, review 200 disks and still expect to
bring out his newsletter in time, then I am a(n) [please complete with noun of
your choice]!"
Oh well, okay - so there I got what I deserved: plenty of
midnight oil burning sessions and a very vague memory of what non-work
week-ends used to be. But here is your newsletter again, at last. Hope you like
it! And yes, you can congratulate me (or rather Eva) with the birth of our
healthy son Jonathan, now 2 months old. Born on Father's day, which also
happens to be Soweto-day and our wedding anniversary - how's that for timing?
We've got the pigeon pair (in Flemish it's called a King's pair and that is how
we feel).
Regards from us all and enjoy your reading:
Eva Johanna, Anneke Rebecca, Jonathan Dominique and of
course
Jean-Paul Willy Georges Dominique Van Belle.
Table of Contents
How to Get a Free 2 Tracks (17000 Bytes)
More on Every Disk You Format! 2
Beginner's Corner: Take Advantage of Your Hard Disk.
Part II: DOS and BATch Files 4
Little Known Computer Languages 6
Data Compression Algorithms of LARC & LHARC 10
Enroll NOW!
Personal Growth and Development Courses 15
DOS Re-direction and Piping 16
The Library Pages 20
How to Get a Free 2 Tracks (17000 Bytes)
More on Every Disk You Format!
"Olivier"
- Have you ever needed just a few
thousand bytes more storage space on your floppy disks?
- Could you need a couple of bytes more
when you want to make a disk bootable?
- Or maybe you're just plain cheap and
would like to get more storage for your money.
Well here is the answer to
all your problems: Get another 17000 bytes of storage absolutely free of
charge. All you have to do is to spend a couple of seconds editing your
CONFIG.SYS to include the following line:
DEVICE=DRIVER.SYS
/D:0/F:7/H:2/S:9/T:42
The /D parameter is used for
drive specification.0 for drive A,1 for drive B.
The /T parameter 42 is used
to specify 5,25 inch disks and 82 specifies a 3,5 inch disk.
If you don't yet have a
CONFIG.SYS file,create one,by typing the following at the A> prompt.
COPY CON CONFIG.SYS
DEVICE=DRIVER.SYS
/D:0/F:7/H:2/S:9/T:42
(Press F6 and then Enter to
save file)
Now copy the file DRIVER.SYS
from the MS-DOS disk to the root directory where your CONFIG.SYS program should
be situated.
REBOOT the system.
To format the a disk using
this new drive you have created,execute the MS-DOS format file using the next
logical drive you would have. Eg You have two floppy disk drives and one hard
drive.The floppy drives would be A and B,the hard drive C and the new drive D.
Therefor say: Format D and it will format a disk in drive A if the /D setting
is 0.
Once you have formated a disk
with the new drive,you do NOT have to configure the extra drive to read,write
or DISKCOPY. You can also use the /s and /v switches as normal.
If you format a disk using
the normal way,it will format to the normal track range and will work under all
versions of DOS.
PLEASE NOTE: Unfortunately
there is only one problem.These special formated disks only work with DOS 3.1
and higher . DOS 3 or lower will tell you that there is no data on the disks.
Finally,I do not accept ANY
responsibility for any loss or damage to data or hardware.However this
principle is widely used and I have tested it to the fullest of my capacity
without having had any errors or bugs,except for the DOS version problem stated
above.
Editor's notes:
Note that this
"modification" will not work readily on all computers. In fact, I
have yet to find an AT that will accept the job, although most PC's (8086) will
work. Some floppy drives work better than others; not all drives will read
and/or write track 41 reliably, but virtually all should cope with track 40
(which is i effect the 41st track as DOS starts counting from 0). This
"adding of additional tracks" used to be one of the tricks of several
protection schemes: a specific code was written to the 41st track, which would
not be copied by the DOS diskcopy command (although even the most basic
bitcopier program would check this additional track).
In a similar vein, utilities
exist that will enable one to use the empty "space" which is used to
synchronize the data read operations within a track. I.e. there are a whole
bunch of synchronization bits on each tracks before the beginning of a sector.
IBM being conservative and all that there are rather more synchronization bits
than strictly necessary and that can again be used by some smart programs
(using low-level diskette drive calls)) to store additional data on your
diskettes (up to 420K on a "360K" floppy). However, procedures here
are not so easy - see one of our earlier utility diskettes. Or learn about all
this and more in the "Beneath disks operations" technical reference
guide (disk 1851).
Lastly, those of you who
have, say a PC with one 360K floppy (A:), a 720K stiffy (B:), a 40MB Hard Disk
(partitioned into C: and D:), and a Virtual Disk (VDISK E:) may often have the
problem that they want to be able to easily copy between floppies (or
stiffies). An easy solution to this is to add the following statements to your
CONFIG.SYS file:
DEVICE=DRIVER.SYS /D:0/S:9/T:40
[A: -> F: = 5 360K]
DEVICE=DRIVER.SYS
/D:1/S:9/T:80 [B: -> G: = 3 720K]
which will add two drives
(namely F: and G:) which are additional logical drives refering to the
same physical 5 and the 3 drives respectively. I.e. you can then DISKCOPY (or
XCOPY, COPY etc.) A: F: (or XCOPY G: B:) without confusion. The system will
prompt you automatically when to swop disks. Again, this trick may not work on
all systems but I have used it with great success on many machines.
Beginner's Corner
Taking Advantage of Your PC's Hard Disk
Part II: DOS and BATch Files
Barry Gordon
New York Personal Computer, Inc.
[This series of three articles is
aimed at novice PC users and covers (1) Hard Disk File Mangement; (2) Batch
File Techniques; (3) Setting Up a Virtual Disk.]
Familiarity with DOS is assumed. However, it is helpful
to the new user to include a paragraph or two on BATch files. The IBM PC and
DOS work with three different kinds of program or command files: .EXE, .COM,
and .BAT files. (BASIC and BASICA work with their own .BAS files, but those are
not relevant to the present discussion.) The .EXE and .COM files give
instructions to the PC itself. They are produced by assemblers, compilers, and
linkers. The .BAT or BATch files are instructions to DOS which you create for
your own convenience. I will discuss a couple of commands that you may find
convenient in working on your PC: the DOS PROMPT command and the PATH command.
The DOS PROMPT Command
Just as DOS keeps track of a default disk drive, it will
also keep track of each drive's current directory (the directory you are
working in). Most often, this directory is the one you tell DOS to assume and
use when no other is specified. The DOS prompt always has indicated the default
disk drive followed by the greater-than symbol: A> which works well for
diskette drives. With a hard disk, you will want to know the directory you are
working in (the current directory) as well. You can customize the prompt to
show the current directory using the DOS PROMPT command. The command PROMPT
$P$G tells DOS to display the name of the current directory whenever the prompt
appears on your screen. Other, more elaborate, prompt variations are possible,
but $P$G is a useful beginning.
The DOS PATH Command
The actual program fetching is accomplished by means of
the DOS PATH command. This command tells DOS where to look for your programs
(the executable files) when they are not in the current directory. The overall
scheme begins to take shape: you work in the (current) directory containing
your data files, and DOS looks for the programs you need (in priority sequence)
in other sub- directories. Thus, your PATH command might look something like
this:
PATH
C:\anyname1;C:\anyname2;C:\any3
The PATH command should contain
the full specification of each sub-directory, including the drive designation.
This keeps the search path valid even if you should decide to make, say, drive
A: the default drive temporarily. Since the root directory is not named, it is
not included in the PATH command.
Of course, having to enter
all of this PROMPT and PATH information each time you turn on your PC can
become a nuisance. The proper way to handle this is to create special BATch
files in the root directory that store and execute your commands.
Creating BATch Files
The most direct way to create .BAT files is to use the
DOS ability to COPY a file directly from the PC keyboard into a disk file:
COPY CON filename.BAT
where CON is the DOS name for
the keyboard, and "filename" represents the name you wish to give
your new BATch file. You enter your file contents, line by line, ending with a
line containing ^Z (Control-Z), which can be entered by pressing the Function
Key 6 (F6). As an alternative (though I don't recommend it) you could learn to
use EDLIN, a minimal file editor, whose chief virtue is its automatic inclusion
with the DOS package. For serious work of this kind, a good file editor is a
great help. The IBM Personal Editor is one of the very best.
The AUTOEXEC and SETPATH
BATch Files
The AUTOEXEC.BAT file is executed only at startup (unless
you specifically enter it), and contains those commands you wish to enter for
your convenience in operating your PC.
A simple version of an
AUTOEXEC.BAT file might look like this:
DATE
TIME
PROMPT $P$G
PATH C:\anyname1;C:\anyname2;C:\any3
The first thing you may want to do is to move the PATH
command from the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and put it in its own BATch file called
SETPATH.BAT. The AUTOEXEC.BAT would have these four lines:
DATE
TIME
PROMPT $P$G
SETPATH
Your SETPATH.BAT file would
look like this:
PATH C:\anyname1;C:\anyname2;C:\any3
Putting the PATH command in
the SETPATH.BAT file lets you modify your program search path any time you
wish, and then restore it by getting into the root directory and entering the
SETPATH command.
Little Known Computer Languages
Author Unknown
-- PASCAL, FORTRAN,
COBOL, and BASIC --
These languages are well known and more or less well used
throughout the computing industry. There are also numerous other languages,
however, which are less well known, yet still have there ardent devotees. In
fact many of these little known languages have the most ardent of devotees. For
those who wish to know more about these obscure languages --- and why they are
obscure --- the following catalog is presented.
--SIMPLE--
SIMPLE is an acronym for Sheer Idiots Monopurpose
Programming Linguistic Environment. This language, developed at the Hanover
College for Technological Misfits, was designed to make it impossible to write
code with errors in it. The statements are, therefore, confined to BEGIN, END,
and STOP. No matter how you you arrange the statements, you cannot make a
syntax error.
--SLOBOL--
SLOBOL is best known for the speed, or lack of it.
Although many compilers allow you to take a coffee break while they compile,
SLOBOL compilers allow you to travel to Bolivia to pick the coffee. Three or
four programmers are known to have died of boredom sitting at their terminals
while waiting for a SLOBOL program to compile. Weary SLOBOL programmers often
try to return to a related, but infinitely faster language, COCAINE.
--VALGOL--
From its modest beginnings in Southern California's San
Fernando Valley, VALGOL is enjoying a dramatic surge of popularity across the
industry. VALGOL commands include REALLY, LIKE, and Y'KNOW. Variables are
assigned with the =LIKE and =TOTALLY operators. Other operators include the
'California Booleans' FERSURE and NOWAY. Repititions of code are handled in
FERSURE loops. Here is an example of a VALGOL program:
LIKE, Y'KNOW {IMEAN} START
IF
A = LIKE BITCHEN AND
B = LIKE TUBULAR AND
C = LIKE GRODY ** MAX
{FERSURE} ** 2
THEN
FOR I = LIKE 1 TO OH-MAYBE
100
DO WAH + {DITTY ** 2}
BARF{I} = TOTALLY GROSS{OUT}
SURE
LIKE BAG THIS PROGRAM
REALLY
LIKE TOTALLY {Y'KNOW}
VALGOL is also characterized by it unfriendly error
messages. For example, when the user makes a syntax error, the interpreter
displays the message
GAG ME WITH A SPOON.
--LAIDBACK--
Historically, VALGOL is a derivative of LAIDBACK, which
was developed at the (now defunct) Marin County Center For T'ai Chi, Mellowness
and Computer Programming, as an alternative to the more intense atmosphere in
nearby Silicon Valley. The Center was ideal for programmers who liked to soak
in hot tubs while they worked. Unfortunately, few programmers could survive there
for very long, since the Center outlawed pizza and RC Cola in favor of bean
curd and Perrier water. Many programmers mourn the demise of LAIDBACK because
of its reputation as a gentle and non-threatening language. For example,
LAIDBACK responded to syntax errors with the message:
SORRY, MAN, I CAN'T DEAL WITH
THAT.
--SARTRE--
Named after the late existential philosopher, SARTRE is
an extremely unstructured language. Statements in SARTRE have no purpose or
meaning, they just are. Thus SARTRE programs are entered and left to define
their own functions. SARTRE programmers tend to be boring, depressed, and are
no fun at parties.
--FIFTH--
FIFTH is a precision mathematical language in which the
data types refer to quantity. The data types range from CC, OUNCE, SHOT and
JIGGER to FIFTH (hence the name of the language), LITER, MAGNUM and BLOTTO.
Commands refer to characters manipulated by the programmer, such as CHABLIS,
CHARDONNAY, CABERNAY, GIN, VERMOUTH, VODKA, SCOTCH and WHATEVERSAROUND. The
many versions of the FIFTH language reflect the sophistication and status of
the various users groups. Commands in the ELITE dialect include VSOR and
LAFITE, while the GUTTER dialect includes HOOTCH and RIPPLE. The latter dialect
is a favorite of frustrated FORTH programmers who often end up devoting a great
deal of effort on becoming end-users of this language.
--C--
This language was named for the grade recieved by its
author when it was submitted as a class project in computer science. C is best
described as a low level programming language. In fact, most C programs require
more statements than machine language. In this respect it bears a strong
resemblance to COBOL.
--LITHP--
This otherwise unremarkeable language is distinguished by
it absence of an "S" in the character set. Programmers must instead
substitute "TH". LITHP is said to be ustheful in prothething lithps.
The language was for a time considered as the standard for Taiwanese computers,
since the absence of "S" would allow the manufacturer to save a small
amount of manufacturing costs.
--DOGO--
Developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Obedience
Training, DOGO heralds a new era of computer literate pets. DOGO commands
include SIT, STAY, HEEL, and ROLL_OVER. An innovative feature of DOGO is
"puppy graphics", a small cocker spaniel that occasionally leaves a
deposit as he travels across the screen. This is considered the de-facto
language for writing Fido BBS programs.
--FOCUSALL--
This language is design to run on small computers with
minimal memory. For this reason, Commodore machines were originally considered,
but declined because of the lack of a paper tape reader. It is only distributed
on paper tape, for loading from an ASR-33 teletype. Loading takes about 20
minutes, after which the user is greeted by the message
CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE
LOADED FOCUSALL!
The interpreter is then ready to execute any available
command. The only available command is LOAD FOCUSALL, which causes the system
to once again load the interpreter from paper tape. This operating system is
recommended for frustrated Commodore users; when this system has been run
several hundred times without error, the user is ready to graduate to Commodore
operation, which has a similar disk operating system. The real power of the
language comes from the fact that preceeding a command with a line number
causes it to be stored and executed in sequence later as in the following
example:
100 LOAD FOCUSALL
200 LOAD FOCUSALL
300 LOAD FOCUSALL
.
.
The pronunciation of the name of the language is actually
more flexible than the language itself would appear to be; it is pronounced
according to your mood at the moment. Actually, the name came from a
combination of FOCAL and the habit that optics lab types have had for refering
to a lead engineer as a "Focus Man" (ie. "Person"). Someone
would then chime in "Yeah, and he'll focus every chance he gets!"
--FASTBOL--
This language is more commonly refered to as QUICKIE.
Error messages include the very common "COMPUTUS INTERUPTUS". A
closely related language is MOONER.
--GEROTOL--
This language is characterized by the habits of its
ardent users. Instructions frequently forget their function while executing and
finally conclude with the "I USED TO KNOW THAT" condition code. Loops
tend to repeat frequently at sporadic intervals, even when not initiated.
Data Compression Algorithms
of LARC and LHarc
Haruhiko Okumura*
The author is the sysop of the
Science SIG of PC-VAN. His address is: 12-2-404 Green Heights, 580 Nagasawa,
Yokosuka 239, Japan
1. Introduction
In the spring of 1988, I
wrote a very simple data compression program named LZSS in C language, and
uploaded it to the Science SIG (forum) of PC-VAN, Japan's biggest personal
computer network.
That program was based on
Storer and Szymanski's slightly modified version of one of Lempel and Ziv's
algorithms. Despite its simplicity, for most files its compression outperformed
the archivers then widely used.
Kazuhiko Miki rewrote my LZSS
in Turbo Pascal and assembly language, and soon made it evolve into a complete
archiver, which he named LARC.
The first versions of LZSS
and LARC were rather slow. So I rewrote my LZSS using a binary tree, and so did
Miki. Although LARC's encoding was slower than the fastest archiver available,
its decoding was quite fast, and its algorithm was so simple that even
self-extracting files (compressed files plus decoder) it created were usually
smaller than non-self-extracting files from other archivers.
Soon many hobby programmers
joined the archiver project at the forum. Very many suggestions were made, and
LARC was revised again and again. By the summer of 1988, LARC's speed and
compression have improved so much that LARC-compressed programs were beginning
to be uploaded in many forums of PC-VAN and other networks.
In that summer I wrote
another program, LZARI, which combined the LZSS algorithm with adaptive
arithmetic compression. Although it was slower than LZSS, its compression
performance was amazing.
Miki, the author of LARC,
uploaded LZARI to NIFTY-Serve, another big information network in Japan. In
NIFTY-Serve, Haruyasu Yoshizaki replaced LZARI's adaptive arithmetic coding
with a version of adaptive Huffman coding to increase speed. Based on this
algorithm, which he called LZHUF, he developed yet another archiver, LHarc.
In what follows, I will
review several of these algorithms. [Ed.: simplified codes in C language are
provided by the author on our disk 2320. All the programs are written in
draft-proposed ANSI C and tested in Turbo-C.]
2. Simple coding methods
Replacing several (usually 8
or 4) "space" characters by one "tab" character is a very
primitive method for data compression. Another simple method is run-length
coding, which encodes the message "AAABBBBAACCCC" into
"3A4B2A4C", for example.
3. LZSS coding
This scheme is initiated by
Ziv and Lempel [1]. A slightly modified version is described by Storer and
Szymanski [2]. An implementation using a binary tree is proposed by Bell [3].
The algorithm is quite simple: Keep a ring buffer, which initially contains
"space" characters only. Read several letters from the file to the
buffer. Then search the buffer for the longest string that matches the letters
just read, and send its length and position in the buffer.
If the buffer size is 4096
bytes, the position can be encoded in 12 bits. If we represent the match length
in four bits, the <position, length> pair is two bytes long. If the
longest match is no more than two characters, then we send just one character
without encoding, and restart the process with the next letter. We must send
one extra bit each time to tell the decoder whether we are sending a
<position, length> pair or an unencoded character.
4. LZW coding
This scheme was devised by
Ziv and Lempel [4], and modified by Welch [5].
The LZW coding has been
adopted by most of the existing archivers, such as ARC and PKZIP. The algorithm
can be made relatively fast, and is suitable for hardware implementation as
well.
The algorithm can be outlined
as follows: Prepare a table that can contain several thousand items. Initially
register in its 0th through 255th positions the usual 256 characters. Read
several letters from the file to be encoded, and search the table for the
longest match. Suppose the longest match is given by the string
"ABC". Send the position of "ABC" in the table. Read the
next character from the file. If it is "D", then register a new
string "ABCD" in the table, and restart the process with the letter
"D". If the table becomes full, discard the oldest item or,
preferably, the least used. A Pascal program for this algorithm is given in
Storer's book [6].
5. Huffman coding
Classical Huffman coding is
invented by Huffman [7]. A fairly readable accound is given in Sedgewick [8].
Suppose the text to be
encoded is "ABABACA", with four A's, two B's, and a C. We represent
this situation as follows:
4 2 1
| | |
A B C
Combine the least frequent two
characters into one, resulting in the new frequency 2 + 1 = 3:
4 3
| / \
A B C
Repeat this step until the whole
characters combine into a tree:
7
/ \
/ 3
/ / \
A B C
Start at the top
("root") of this encoding tree, and travel to the character you want
to encode. If you go left, send a "0"; otherwise send a
"1". Thus, "A" is encoded by "0", "B"
by "10", "C" by "11". Algotether,
"ABABACA" will be encoded into ten bits, "0100100110".
To decode this code, the
decoder must know the encoding tree, which must be sent separately.
A modification to this
classical Huffman coding is the adaptive, or dynamic, Huffman coding. See,
e.g., Gallager [9]. In this method, the encoder and the decoder processes the
first letter of the text as if the frequency of each character in the file were
one, say. After the first letter has been processed, both parties increment the
frequency of that character by one. For example, if the first letter is 'C',
then freq['C'] becomes two, whereas every other frequencies are still one. Then
the both parties modify the encoding tree accordingly. Then the second letter
will be encoded and decoded, and so on.
6. Arithmetic coding
The original concept of
arithmetic coding is proposed by P. Elias. An implementation in C language is
described by Witten and others [10].
Although the Huffman coding
is optimal if each character must be encoded into a fixed (integer) number of
bits, arithmetic coding wins if no such restriction is made.
As an example we shall encode
"AABA" using arithmetic coding. For simplicity suppose we know
beforehand that the probabilities for "A" and "B" to appear
in the text are 3/4 and 1/4, respectively.
Initially, consider an
interval:
0 <= x < 1.
Since the first character is
"A" whose probability is 3/4, we shrink the interval to the lower
3/4:
0 <= x < 3/4.
The next character is
"A" again, so we take the lower 3/4:
0 <= x < 9/16.
Next comes "B"
whose probability is 1/4, so we take the upper 1/4:
27/64 <= x < 9/16,
because "B" is the
second element in our alphabet, {A, B}. The last character is "A" and
the interval is
27/64 <= x < 135/256,
which can be written in
binary notation
0.011011 <= x <
0.10000111.
Choose from this interval any
number that can be represented in fewest bits, say 0.1, and send the bits to
the right of "0."; in this case we send only one bit, "1".
Thus we have encoded four letters into one bit! With the Huffman coding, four
letters could not be encoded into less than four bits.
To decode the code
"1", we just reverse the process: First, we supply the "0."
to the right of the received code "1", resulting in "0.1"
in binary notation, or 1/2. Since this number is in the first 3/4 of the initial
interval 0 <= x < 1, the first character must be "A". Shrink
the interval into the lower 3/4. In this new interval, the number 1/2 lies in
the lower 3/4 part, so the second character is again "A", and so on.
The number of letters in the original file must be sent separately (or a
special 'EOF' character must be appended at the end of the file).
The algorithm described above
requires that both the sender and receiver know the probability distribution
for the characters. The adaptive version of the algorithm removes this
restriction by first supposing uniform or any agreed-upon distribution of
characters that approximates the true distribution, and then updating the
distribution after each character is sent and received.
7. LZARI
In each step the LZSS
algorithm sends either a character or a <position, length> pair. Among
these, perhaps character "e" appears more frequently than
"x", and a <position, length> pair of length 3 might be
commoner than one of length 18, say. Thus, if we encode the more frequent in
fewer bits and the less frequent in more bits, the total length of the encoded
text will be diminished. This consideration suggests that we use Huffman or
arithmetic coding, preferably of adaptive kind, along with LZSS.
This is easier said than
done, because there are many possible <position, length> combinations.
Adaptive compression must keep running statistics of frequency distribution.
Too many items make statistics unreliable.
What follows is not even an
approximate solution to the problem posed above, but anyway this was what I did
in the summer of 1988.
I extended the character set
from 256 to three-hundred or so in size, and let characters 0 through 255 be
the usual 8-bit characters, whereas characters 255 + n represent that what
follows is a position of string of length n, where n = 3, 4 , .... These
extended set of characters will be encoded with adaptive arithmetic
compression.
I also observed that
longest-match strings tend to be the ones that were read relatively recently.
Therefore, recent positions should be encoded into fewer bits. Since 4096
positions are too many to encode adaptively, I fixed the probability
distribution of the positions "by hand." In retrospect, I could
encode adaptively the most significant 6 bits, say, or perhaps by some more
ingenious method adapt the parameters of the distribution function to the
running statistics.
At any rate, the present
version of LZARI treats the positions rather separately, so that the overall
compression is by no means optimal. Furthermore, the string length threshold
above which strings are coded into <position, length> pairs is fixed, but
logically its value must change according to the length of the <position,
length> pair we would get.
8. LZHUF
LZHUF, the algorithm of
Haruyasu Yoshizaki's archiver LHarc, replaces LZARI's adaptive arithmetic
coding with adaptive Huffman. LZHUF encodes the most significant 6 bits of the
position in its 4096-byte buffer by table lookup. More recent, and hence more probable,
positions are coded in less bits. On the other hand, the remaining 6 bits are
sent verbatim. Because Huffman coding encodes each letter into a fixed number
of bits, table lookup can be easily implemented.
Though theoretically Huffman
cannot exceed arithmetic compression, the difference is very slight, and LZHUF
is fairly fast.
9. References
[1] J. Ziv and A. Lempel, IEEE Trans. IT-23,
337-343 (1977).
[2] J. A. Storer and T. G. Szymanski, J. ACM,
29, 928-951 (1982).
[3] T. C. Bell, IEEE Trans. COM-34, 1176-1182
(1986).
[4] J. Ziv and A. Lempel, IEEE Trans. IT-24,
530-536 (1978).
[5] T. A. Welch, Computer, 17, No.6, 8-19
(1984).
[6] J. A. Storer, Data Compression: Methods
and Theory (Computer Science Press, 1988).
[7] D. A. Huffman, Proc IRE 40, 1098-1101
(1952).
[8] R. Sedgewick, Algorithms, 2nd ed.
(Addison-Wesley, 1988).
[9] R. G. Gallager, IEEE Trans. IT-24,
668-674 (1978).
[10] I. E. Witten, R. M. Neal, & J. G.
Cleary, Comm. ACM 30, 520-540 (1987).
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1100 Overcoming
Peace of Mind EC-7 How to Convert a Wheelchair
Into a Dune Buggy
1102 You and Your
Birthmark
H202 Creative Tooth
Decay
1103 Guilt Without
Sex
H204 Exorcism and
Acne
1104 The Primal
Shrug
H205 The Joys of
Hypochondria
1105 Ego
Gratification Through
Violence H210 High
Fiber Sex
1106 Molding Your
Child's H210 Suicide and Health
Behavior Through
Guilt
and Fear H220
Biofeedback and How to Stop It
1107 Dealing with
Post-Realiza- H302 Skate Yourself to Regularity
tion Depression
H406 Understanding
Nudity
1108 Whine Your Way
to Alienation
H408 Tapdance Your
Way to
1109 How to
Overcome Self-Doubt Social Ridicule
Through Pretense
and
Ostentation H409
Optional Body Functions
1130 "I made
$100 in Real Estate" C800 How to Draw Genitalia
1131 Career
Oportunities in C102 Needlecraft for Junkies
El Salvado
C105 Cuticle Crafts
1231 Packaging and
Selling
Your Child C110
Gifts for the Senile
1300 How to Profit
From Your Body C606 Christianity and RV Maintenance
1310 Money Can Make
You Rich E406 Repair and Maintence of
Your Virginity
1434 Bonsai Your
Pet
F234 Looters Guide
to American Cities
1342 How You Can
Convert Your
Room Into a Garage
G105 Sinus Drainage at Home
Name_________________________
Phone__________________
Address______________________________________________________
Mail with your
bank-guaranteed cheque @ US$ 3500 per course only
(0,1% discount when ordering
10 or more course)
TO: Jean-Paul T/A The Honest Dealer
P.O. Box 91246453
Zrich - Switzerland.
DOS RE-DIRECTION & PIPING
Ed.: This file is reproduced from the MR-DOS
tutorial (our disk nr 2247).
INTRODUCTION
The world of DOS is a large
one. There are many, many commands with optional switches in the realm of file
management. Fortunately, like most software there is a flow and feel to DOS.
After you are familiar with the core commands, looking up additional ones and
figuring out how to use them becomes easier. The pattern is a DOS word (DIR,
COPY, DEL....) followed by the necessary, minimum information to make it go.
For example:
A>DIR B: DIR only needs the drive
the directory is desired.
A>Copy C:sample.doc B: COPY needs 3 pieces of
information - what file on which drive is to be copied to which drive
A>DEL B:Test.EXE DEL needs 2 pieces of
information - what file on which drive to delete
SOFTWARE VERSIONS
Software is labeled with a
version number. With each subsequent release of the product, the version number
increases. The reason for these upgrades are to rid "bugs" (problems)
within the software, significant product improvements, and/or to exploit new
hardware advancements. In general, anything created on an earlier version of a
software will work with a later version of the same software. This is known as
upward compatibility. The reverse is rarely true.
DOS first hit the market as
version 1.0 in 1981. It has gone thru many upgrades as new hardware components
became available and new DOS features were added. Currently DOS 5.0 is
available. However, most systems are still using DOS 3.X versions. For a single
user system, any DOS version over 2.1 is probably adequate. If you are using
high density 3.5 inch floppy drives, you will need at least DOS 3.X.
When application software is
purchased, DOS version requirements are noted on the package as well as RAM
requirements.
FILE ALLOCATION TABLE
As was discussed earlier
formatting a new floppy disk prior to use, electronically superimposes a grid
system on the disk. Each grid intersection (sector) is numbered. The location
of files pieces on a disk are noted in a File Allocation Table (FAT) on each
disk. When a file is copied to a disk, the FAT is checked for available sector
locations.
The FAT is like an index to
the location of file pieces on the disk. File portions DO NOT have to be in
adjacent sectors. As a disk repeatedly has new files copied to it and old files
deleted, files become fragmented - portions of the file exist in non-adjacent
sectors. This situation is referred to as non-contiguous sectors. Data
integrity is not affected by this situation, but the speed in which data can be
retrieved is. There are many third party products to "defragment" a
disk. If the programs you will be using are disk intensive - like accounting or
database management, you will notice a slowing of program execution over time
as files become fragmented.
When a file is deleted from a
disk, the contents are not wiped from the sectors, rather the file name is
removed from the FAT and the associated sectors are now simply dec%17* *ailable
for new data. This is important to understand because deleted files are
actually still on the disk but their locations are now not considered off
limits. Again, many third party software products are available to undelete
these files.
If you do delete a file, try
not to use the disk until the proper utility software is available to reverse
the deletion. With more use, you are running the risk that the next file that
is copied to the disk will occupy the sectors of file you wish to undelete. If
that should happen, you will not be able to undelete the "old" file.
Some popular third party
utility tools to defragment a disk and allow undeletion include PC TOOLS,
NORTON UTILITIES, MACE UTILITIES, VOPT DISK OPTIMIZER.
BATCH FILES
Batch files are a DOS tool
that allow you to automatically execute 1 or more DOS commands sequentially. A
more detailed explanation can be found under Hard Disk Dos sections.
For example, you are tired of
changing default drives, subdirectories and typing the word LOTUS each time you
wish to enter into the LOTUS 123 spreadsheet program. The 3 steps required are:
A>C:
C>cd\lotus
C>lotus
These steps can be combined
with a single BATCH file called LOT.BAT.
To build this batch file one
would type the following:
C> copy con:lot.bat ---
Begin creating a file called lot.bat
C:
cd\lotus
lotus
<F6> --- End building and
save to disk by pressing the <F6> function key
Now, each time LOT is entered
at the DOS prompt, the commands within the LOT.BAT file are automatically
executed sequentially.
C>lot
REDIRECTION
Redirection refers to having
input or output come or go to devices other than the standards of Keyboard
(Input) and Monitor (output). In DOS we expect to enter commands from the
Keyboard and have the results displayed on the Monitor.
A>DIR --- Gives a directory of
the A drive disk on the monitor
A>DIR >PRN --- PRN means to send the results of
this command to the printer
A>DIR >LST.TXT --- Now the output of this command is put into
a file on the A disk called LST.TXT (any filename could have been used)
The greater than sign ( >
) used above was to REDIRECT the output to a Printer and a Disk File rather
than the default output device; the monitor. This is useful for getting a hard
copy print-out of a particular disk's contents.
PIPING - FILTERS
Piping is a way of telling
DOS to transfer the output from one command to be the input for another
command. Piping is a form of redirection except DOS will create a temporary
file on a disk to accomplish the task.
Piping usually involves the
use of special commands, termed Filters, to accept data, do something with it,
and then pass it to the next step. There are 3 standard filters used by DOS in
piping:
FIND - used to search a file directory for a specified
string of text
MORE - used to display one 1 screen of output at a time
SORT - used to sort disk filenames
The symbol used by DOS to
indicate a Piping operation is the vertical bar (|).
Examples:
A>DIR |sort --- Will display on the
monitor the list of files on the A disk, BUT in filename alphabetic order.
A>DIR |sort/+10 --- Will display on the monitor
the list of files on the A disk, BUT by alphabetic order of the filename
extensions. Extensions are 10 characters from the left on the screen during a
DIR.
A>DIR |sort >prn --- Same as the 1st example except
the results of this command will be printed out.
A>DIR |sort >SAM.D --- Same as the 1st example except the
results of this command will be saved in a file on the disk called SAM.D
A>DIR |sort |more --- Will display in sorted order one
screen at a time
A>DIR |find "05-14-89" --- Will display a list of files that were
last changed on May 14, 1989
A>DIR |find "SALES" --- Will display a list of files that have
the word SALES in the file name.
The Library Pages
2219 The Personal Asset
Register. PAR
allows you to enter important information regarding your personal assets for
insurance, net worth and estate purposes. The PAR system comes complete with
specific input screens for Insurance Policies, Art, Jewelry, &
Collectibles, Household Inventory, Credit Card Inventory, Safe Deposit Box
Inventory, Book Inventory, Computer Inventory, Software Inventory, Investment
Portfolio, Video Cassette Recordings. Note: no printed reports + limited number
of records.
2220, 2221 & 2222
LEGAL FORMS: 300 fill-in-the blank templates. These three disks contain the text of
a total of about 300 legal forms for all types of applications (leases, notes,
contracts etc). They are in ASCII file format, so they can be read and, if necessary,
modified by your usual wordprocessor. Normally, all you need to do is fill in
the blanks. Since they come from the USA, some may not be appropriate for SA
conditions and/or law; others may need some modifications.
2223 FORMKING and MAGIC
MOVE. FORMKING is
a simple, easy-to-use form designer program. MAGIC MOVE helps you in moving
furniture around in your current/new house (needs CGA).
2224 FORTE Full page
music manuscript editor.
(needs EGA/VGA & HP LaserJet 500+ / II or compatible) FORTE is a complete
integrated system for producing professional commercial-quality sheet music
manuscripts. Included in this package is the FORTE program (a hi-resolution
WYSIWYG graphics screen editor), two music and three text laser font files,
demonstration music files, and a built- in library of pre-defined musical
symbols. (Shareware version: save-to-disk option disabled!)
2225 WORLD COIN ALBUM;
quick CHDIR; colour DIR.
WORLD COIN ALBUM organizes your COIN collection in a easy to use electronic
database. You may enter up to 1000 character comments. WORLD COIN ALBUM will
allow unlimited number of COINs to be input. CCD allows you to change directory
by typing in only the first few letters of the subdirectory name. For example,
say you want to go to subdirectory c:\database\day1\letters\sales just enter
CCD S and you are there. DDD is a fast directory listing in color.
2226 ALTERNATIVE &
HEALTHY LIVING: Herbs, flowers, healthy eating. HERBS information on the use of
different herbs. VITAMIN program (in Basic) with info on vitamins in foods.
FLOWER lists the healing properties of certain flowers. FOOD finds the proper
combinations of food to ensure a balanced, healthy diet containing all the
proteins you need. Includes options like "low cholestrol" or "no
red meat". (based on "Food for a Planet").
2227 WHITEWARE'S
NUTRIENT ANALYST (updates #529)
The "Test diet" section lets you select particular foods, one at a
time, and keeps a running total of total nutrients (calories, protein,
carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals). The "Build program diet"
part generates a total daily diet, within the limitations you give it, either
from scratch or from a partial diet created with the "Test diet"
section. Numerous utility routines help analyze individual foods, adjust your
nutritional requirements, and create a food database of your own from an
extensive library of food items.
2228 DIET spreadsheet +
RECIPES. DIET is
a spreadsheet that helps you to control your weight (you need lotus 1-2-3,
Quattro or As-Easy-As #2123 to run it). This disk also contains many recipes in
text file format.
2229 to 2232 VITICAL:
your complete vitamin, mineral and calorie tracker. This program is designed to be used
as a guide to healthier living. It is only designed as a general reference and
should not replace consultation with medical personnel nor should it replace
careful planning of activities or dietary planning. For those with the wrong
genetic constitution, looking slim, trim and 21 often involves slave labor,
starvation and malnutrition. But how do you stay healthy while reducing your
weight? This is where VITICAL comes into play: rather than restricting WHAT you
eat, it allows you to plan your lifestyle around healthy activities and healthy
foods that YOU ENJOY.
2233 & 2234 ECG
(ElectroCardioGram) Tutorial
The ECG TUTOR is an easy-to-use graphics program designed to be used as a
teaching aid in basic ECG interpretation. It presents ECG tracing as either
rhythm strips or 12 lead ECG's. Includes testing and student data storage. (CGA
needed)
2235 EMERGENCY MEDICAL
ASSISTANCE multiple choice tests.
Contains three levels of the US Emergency Medical Technician certification
process. These include the EMT-Ambulance, EMT-Intermediate, and EMT-Paramedic
levels of certification. E.g. the Ambulance Tests cover: Musculoskeletal
Injuries, The Human Body, The Skull & Spine, Patient Assessment, Medical
Emergencies, Airway management, Pediactric Emergencies, CardioPulmonary
Resuscitation, Child Emergencies, Breathing Aids & oxygen Therapy,
Environmental Emergencies, Soft Tissue Injuries & Shock.
2236 DIAGNOSIS OF
MENTAL DISORDERS.
This program provides a computer assisted method for exhaustive diagnosis of
mental disorders. It is intended to be used by trained psychotherapists
familiar with the DSM-III-R (The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) or by therapists in training. Also
contains a number of text files with information on a variety of
medical-related topics.
2237 ELECTRONIC
ALMANAC. This is
the computerized version of the famous "Almanac". It will advise you
on what to plant/harvest/etc., what your day will look like, give you a quote
& advise for the day, advise on questions, give various astronomical &
weather information, read your horoscope, do metric conversion and all those
other things that a good Almanac should do. (Note: based on the Northern
hemisphere weather pattern.)
2238 FARM MANAGEMENT
RECORD KEEPING PROGRAM
Farm Record Keeping is one of the MOST IMPORTANT TASKS THAT A FARMER DOES, EVEN
THOUGH IT USUALLY IS NOT ONE OF HIS FAVORITE TASKS. As profit margins continue
to get closer and as more money has to be borrowed, a farmer MUST KEEP GOOD
RECORDS. This set of programs will help the farmer do a better and easier job
of Record Keeping. Includes: Inventory Programs Farm, Livestock, &/or Crop
Analysis Programs Financial Statement Creation Program Farm Loan Reports
Program
2239 The Real
Advantage: Real Estate Sales Management System. This is a comprehensive, intuitive
easy-to-use and inexpensive tool for sales management of residential property.
All functions and features are accessed from a four-option main menu.
(Shareware limited version)
2240 THE PERSONAL
NETWORK: a personal contacts manager. This easy-to-use program allows you to maintain your personal
network of friends, acquintances, collegues, family and other contacts.
Effective management of your personal network is of survival importance for
success in today's society! Includes mailing label facility.
2241 U.S. COLLEGE PROBE
(updates 1448)
This program helps you in selecting a USA college or university based on
various selection criteria and will list those that most closely match your
needs. It will also provide all necessary information on any schools that you
are interested in. Selection criteria include majors, fees, state, SAT score
and student population.
2242 & 2243 QUIZ
MASTER teacher's testing tool.
Creates and maintains questions and answers in free format style on any subject
plus has the ability to provide student tests. Questions can be selected
individually, at random or based on more complex criteria. Tests can be printed
or taken on-line. Up to 600 questions per database.
2244 & 2245 WHIZ
QUIZ 5.5 Multiple choice design & answering system. WhizQuiz is an easy to use multiple choice
test program, useful for a variety of purposes; parents can help their children
with their education, students can quiz themselves on a subject, and Educators
can test a student without being present. WhizQuiz can provide multiple-line
feedback, also for wrong answers.
2246 EXAMBANK Exam Bank is a teacher's aid program
which stores examination questions of the type most commonly used by teachers
and professors (hundreds each of multiple choice, true false, short answer,
essay, and crossmatch), along with course information and the teacher's
favorite instructions for the page and section headers. It allows for easy
editing (add/change/delete), selection and printing of questions.
2247 The MR-DOS
tutorial. The MR
DOS tutorial is a menu-driven, self-paced tutorial for learning about a
microcomputer and its Disk Operating System. It is split into 7 topics ranging
from - "First Time User" to "Hard Disk Level 2". Each topic
has 3 options: display tutorial on-screen, print & present a multiple
choice /fill-in test. As an example, DOS level 3 covers: Versions of software,
File Allocation Table (FAT), File fragmentation, File un-deletion, Batch Files,
Redirection, Piping/Filters, Sorting directories
2248 CLARION database
tutorial. This is
the Professional Developer tutorial for the commercial database program
CLARION. There are tutorials for each Clarion utility program, as well as the
Clarion language structure and development environment.
2249 & 2250
GROUNDWATER Education System in Hypertext. The Groundwater Education System is
designed to educate society of the nature of groundwater, how it is important,
how it is contaminated, and the steps that should be taken if their groundwater
becomes contaminated. Hypermedia makes this program easier to use as well as more
educative. (Needs EGA; HD).
2251 to 2254 The *BOX
educational games series (3-7 years). A series of educational programs for CGA for junior. The
programs are fun, educational and include parental control parameters. Each of
the disks is independent of the others. The four volumes of the series are:
2251: The LUNCHBOX includes letter matching (upper & lower case), memory
& problem solving (whilst learning the 10 "digit" keys), counting
objects, number sequence (1 to 9) and addition drill. 2252: The USABOX teaches
concepts of distance and map reading, using a fun game (involving laser matter
transmitters etc) but based on the USA geography. 2253: the FLASHBOX is a
series of reading and memory drills. Each module contains 20 recommended
"sight" words for pre- primer through first grade. Four boxes flash
on the screen, each box covering a word. One at a time, each box vanishes for
two seconds, revealing the word underneath. 2254 the BOATBOX is a set of
reading drills. Each of the four modules contains 26 unique words. These drills
should be played with a monitoring helper (like Mom or Dad!)
2255 AMANDA'S LETTER
LOTTO: educational game.
Amanda's Letter Lotto provides several levels of play. For young toddlers
(18-30 months) it allows then to push keys that change the colors and symbols
on the screen and get the computer to make some sounds. As your kids grow older
they progress to locating specific keys and learning multiple key combinations.
At the most difficult level of play you need to correctly pick five secret
letters to win Letter Lotto.
2256 & 2257 INSTANT
OFFICE v3.91: Integrated desktop manager. A fully integrated package that uses a "common
sense" approach to the daily office tasks that need to be performed. It
uses your current word processor, is fast, powerful and has received many rave
reviews. This one is definitively worth a look! Includes a flexible name &
address book, to-do list, week-at- a-glance with many diary functions,
instant-letter (ready-written letters that require a minimum of customization)
with envelope and/or merge, telemarketing, phone dialing, rolodex, typewriter
and many more functions. (Shareware version supports up to 50 names).
2258, 2259 & 2260
MONEY-MIZER Personal (check/savings/card) accounting. This personal accounting system for
home & small business features: Pop-UP and Pull-Down menus, Mouse support,
Print checks from your checkbook, Easy reconciliation and balancing, Budget
reports, over and under budget indicators, 3 types of budget graphs: Line, bar
and pie (CGA/VGA only), Monthly Reminders, Card File Index for names/companies
with mailing labels, Cash Flow report, and many more features. Very intuitive
to use with extensive help.
2261 PC-DEAL: Simple
accounting package.
PC-DEAL is a no-nonsense accounting package supporting up to 80 accounts. It is
a simple, no-frills package but will export data to various other programs
(including dBase) and will happily work on a floppy-only system.
2262 & 2263
PC-CHART: Technical analysis tools for stock & commodity analysis. Comprehensive set of tools to
generate buy/sell signals based on various technical analysis methods.
Menu-driven interface. Data can be entered via spreadsheet-like entry mode.
Supports price/volume, relative strength, logarithmic plots and weekly charts.
Works with any graphics card.
2264 ASP: A Statistical
Package for Business, Economics & Social Sciences. Menu-driven collection of appropriate
statistical routines & data management system. Can deal with missing
values. Includes autoregression (with data transformation routines), analysis
of variance, scatter plots, various probability distributions (including
Hypergeometric & Weibull), hypothesis testing (incl. goodness of fit,
Kolmognov/Smirnoff, Krushal/Wallis & Friedman).
2265 PROTAB:
Statistical Calculations for Quantitative Analysis. ProTAB is an easy-to-use statistical
calculator for fast quantitative analysis of small data sets. The tools
available include single and praired distribution, ANOVA, correlation and
regression, and crosstab analysis.
2266 IMAGE ACCESS: Text
& Graphics Database.
Welcome to ImageAccess, a simple database program that associates a graphics
image file with each text record. The result is a database of pictures.
ImageAccess can create an inventory of just about any collection or group of
people, places, or things. Possible applications are: organize clip-art,
inventory with pictures of items, personnel files with employee photos,
collectors, biologists, museums, estate agents, ... Pictures can come from DTP,
drawing packages or scanners. Recognizes PCX, TIF and MSP files. Requires
EGA/VGA. Prints to 24-pin or HP Laser.
2267 GET-IT v2.01: A
free-form database & reminder program. Getit is a free form database
program. Records may be entered while within the program, or copied in through
the "Import" option. Basic records have no fields and any item may be
found in any record. (the index key and reminder date are area specific) Getit
is also a reminder program, for those of us who tend to forget those little
things in life that should be remembered.
2268 TOTAL RECALL
v.1.3: The Intelligent Way to Learn. TOTAL RECALL is a complete, computerized learning
environment designed to help adults learn and memorize almost any subject. You
enter everything you need to learn or memorize into TOTAL RECALL. It then helps
you drill, review, and test on the material quickly and effortlessly. TOTAL
RECALL automatically keeps track of where your weaknesses are and gives you the
most practice in those areas. (Shareware version: maximum 50 records &
limited number of sessions.)
2269 & 2270 BLACK
MAGIC Creates & Reads Hypertext documents. Hypertext is based on the concept of
"Expanding Information". With hypertext, blocks of information (text
or graphics) can be linked to other blocks of information. Once two blocks of
information have been linked together, they provide an instant
"gateway" to the other. A single block of information can lead to
another and so on. Information can literally expand at the user's request.
Comes with sample files on world history, periodic table (chemistry) and the
USA. (Requires CGA/EGA/VGA).
2271
"RAUNCHY" clip-art for WordPerfect (WPG) BOOTGIRL BRIDE FISH0 FLOWER HOTSTUFF
JOJO KLEAN NICE PEGASUS PIANOGRL SAMFOX SHOWER SKIRT TIGRESS TWINS ZEBRA
2272 Miscellaneous
clip-art for WordPerfect.
ALICE BFLY1 BFLY2 BLOWURTH CASTLE CLOCK0 CRAB EARTH ELF0 FISH1 FOLIES GARGOYLE
GLUE KENYA MOUSE READ SCISSORS WORDPRO ZIPPY
2273 Picture-Pak
Demonstration Clip-Art collection.
High quality clip-art, mostly in .PCX format.
2274 Miscellaneous
Clip-Art for DTP in IMG format.
BAR-TAXI CD-MUSIC FLY-LETR GOOD-MRN I-MUSTDO NEWSWRLD PAIN-L-S SCROLS-T
2275 The COSMOS v5.72L:
Planetarium Simulator.
Cosmos is a program which provides astronomical simulations the same way a
planetarium does. Cosmos will show the past, present and future skies as viewed
from Earth. It also shows the position of the planets in orbit around the Sun
and gives specific data about the celestial bodies. Works on any CGA but
EGA/VGA & maths co- processor recommended.
2276 SPACE FLIGHT
simulator: earth as seen from space. This demo is provided principally as a means of
interesting persons in the Space Flight Simulator. The program at this point
simply depicts the earth as seen from a wide elliptical orbit. The program
should work with CGA (very poorly), Hercules, EGA, or VGA graphics.
2277 QUICKFLI: graphics
animation of clown.
A superb demonstration of 256K VGA graphics animation capabilities.
2278 BARCODE generator
(for C39 standard).
This program generates bar codes on labels for internal inventory / tracking
use. It adheres to the C39 standard which allows the use of alpha-numeric
characters. Epson (graphics) compatible printer required. Note: the barcodes
are not compatible with the RSA (numeric) product SANA bar-codes. (See disk
2279 HP compatible laser printers)
2279 Utility collection
including DISK
FILE ANALYZER will let you display or/and print ASCII text file data and
control codes which may be imbedded in the program. DISPBUF1 will display the
keyboard buffer memory location & actual content (eg when monitoring
card/scanner input). KEYBUF will expand the keyboard buffer to accept up to 500
characters (instead of the usual 14 characters). Ideal for for PCs with
alternative input devices eg magnetic card readers & bar-code scanners.
UNIBAR01 is a bar code 39 printing routine for HP & compatible laser printers.
2280 & 2281 VIDEO
ADS & PRESENTATION v1.1
VAP converts black and white PrintShop (PS) Screen Magic screen files into
colorful displays that contain a variety of PS fonts and character sizes. In
addition, you can add PS graphics to your display files and color them. VAP's
colorful displays can be used by merchants to display in-store advertising and
customer relations messages, or by people who want to display messages at
conferences, shopping mall information centers, computer retail stores, club
and business meetings, computer fairs, vendor shows. You need the commercial
program PrintShop to use this program.
2282 QUEST 3-D v3.1
Design & model 3-dimensional objects. QUEST-3D is a design and modeling program that enables
you to create, view, and edit three-dimensional wire-frame objects and images.
Completely menu driven, the program is easy to learn and use, and features
versatile commands with emphasis on conceptual design and illustration
applications. QUEST-3D features the ability to create drawings from any
viewpoint around your drawing, and uses a simultaneous command architecture
that allows you to use several viewpoint commands even during the drawing
functions. (CGA/EGA/VGA)
2283 & 2284 CASCADE
DRAW: drawing & design program. A Computer-Aided Drawing/Drafting system suitable for
the beginner. Objects included are lines, rectangles, arcs, cicles, arrows,
points. Additional functions are copy, rotate, scale, mirror, zoom, pan. Text
is scalable and can be written in any direction. Tutorial included. Works with
any graphics card.
2285 & 2286 MAGIC
BRUSH v1.11: Simple, effective drawing program. Magic Brush is a relatively simple,
easy-to-learn graphics drawing program for CGA. Comes with a full disk with
sample drawings.
2287 & 2288 1 on 1
= 3: dBASE III+ clone.
1 on 1 = 3 is a dBase clone, i.e. it executes almost all the commands of dBase
but claims to execute most a lot (2 to 10 times!) faster. It has a number of
enhancements, both in assist and command mode: including up to 48 open files,
much better help & system info, better security, customizable menus (up to
9 overlaying each other), 2-dimensional arrays, lotus-like menus, etc. Hard
disk and 640K needed (files expand to 1,4MB)
2289 to 2292 PULQUI
Fractal Pictures.
Pulqui Pics are VGA 640 X 400 256color graphic renditions of different Fractal
types and planes. Each is unique in its color presentation, and position within
the Mandelbrot or Julia set. You may view these graphics with any VGA graphics
package that supports 640 X 400 256 color graphics. (Eg CSHOW, volume 2564) You
should try color cycleing to realize truly magnificient images!
2293 STARVIEW: Display
of the night sky for astronomers.
Starview gives a detailed real-time (or sped up) display of the solar system
objects in the night sky. You can add your own data for sky objects (in
addition the planets, sun & moon already there). Many options available to
enable its use by professional sky-gazers.
2294 ASTROLOGY
CALCULATOR. This
astrology program permits you to: calculate the zodiac sign positions of the
ten planets, the sun and moon, and the twelve house cusps for date, time, and
place; display the chart in graphic chartwheel format or in non-graphic format;
choose between Koch <->Placidus house system, Sidereal <-> Tropical
zodia; display aspects & midpoints, save charts and many more.
2295 SINGLES DATING
SYSTEM for a dating service.
Club Connection is a progran for running a Singles Dating Service Club by
computer, although you may rename it anything you wish for advertising
purposes. Since it is the authors opinion that no one can understand what God
really had in mind when he invented the chemistry that attracts people
together, this program is designed to dwell on the practical sides of
compatability by determining and matching on areas of common interest.
2296 to 2299 Saguaro
Club ASTRONOMY DATABASE
This is a compilation of data of astronomy objects to provide a comprehensive
observing list for use at the telescope. The database is in the form of a text
file which expands to more than 1 MB. (HD) It comes with dBase formatting info
(14 fields), a reader and miscellaneous printer utils (80/132/180 col).
2300 & 2301:
ANTI-VIRUS kit: virus detectors, killers & vaccines. Collection of anti-virus programs
including SCAN (scans your system, RAM and files) for 501 viruses, Flushot 5
(another virus scan utility), VSHIELD (memory-resident utility that attempts to
intercept any virus attacks), NETSCAN (scans network file servers for viruses),
CLEANUP (removes viruses with a little damage as possible).
2302 Lotus in the Lab:
Macros and Templates
A sampling of Templates and Macros for Lotus applications in the laboratory.
Linear Regression, Quadratic Least Squares Fit, Third-Order Least Squares Fit
and plot template. Predict value from regression line macro. Plot a polynomial,
template. Plot first and second derivative for values. Linear Regression with
Error Bars Plot & confidence lines. Plot a surface template. Plot multiple
XY line and scatter graphs with diverse data. Elasped time keeping macro.
2303 EZ-FIT: Finds the
best-fitting model for experimental data. EZ-FIT is an interactive computer software package that
fits experimental data to a variety of model equations. It provides reliable
parameter estimates and determines the goodness of fit of the data to the
selected model. EZ-FIT has the facility for data entry, editing, filing, and
plotting. Up to 90 data pairs can be analyzed at once. (Requires CGA for plot.)
2304 CALCULUS &
DIFFERENCIAL EQUATIONS v10.
Integrated set of routines to solve calculus and differential equations
problems (EGA needed!) Also included: Runge-Kutta vs. Euler approx., 3-D
version, string vibration animated demo, graphical 3-D illustration of simplex
method for Linear Programming.
2305 SCIENTIFIC
CALCULATOR with more than 250 functions! This is a handy calculator to scientific & mathematical
functions quickly. An incredible amount of power packed into one program!
Includes evaluation functions (polynomials, Gaussian, differentiate &
integrate, fourier etc), statistical functions, "common" maths
functions, many coordinate transforms, general & relativistic science
functions, zillions of unit conversions, trig functions, matrix operations
& evaluations (also 3-D) and more.
2306 E.Q. FILER:
Equation Storage & Execution System. E.Q.Filer is for anyone who uses equations. It provides
quick and easy access to the formulas that you have input with clear and
concise prompts. Before using any formula, the system will display the relevant
equation and any descriptive notes. E.Q.Filer then goes on to accept data, with
prompts input by you, and solve the equation. Any variable can be changed with
instant results after the initial solution.
2307 PARTICLE
SIMULATOR: simulates the behaviour of solid bodies. 3-body simulations; Elliptic billiard
systems in n-dimension; Sun, Moon and earth; Comet near the earth; Movement of
a particle on a surface along the geodesic; Time delay phenomenon in Relativity
theory (CGA or EGA).
2308 CHEMICAL ELEMENT
Reference Library.
Provide detailed information for all 106 elements which may be updated using
any ASCII type word procesor, a listing of special solutions and reagents as
well as procedures & formula to properly create the result mixtures, basic
information of the atomic groups and their distinct traits, glossary for common
Chemistry and Physics terms, and extended function calculator.
2309 SILICONIX
FET/MOSPOWER device databook.
This on-line database of FET and MOSPOWER devices is somewhat out of date
(1986) but allows one to search a device by characteristics which is very
useful.
2310 MOTOROLA Databook. Besides being a comprehensive
database of Motorola electronics devices, it also assists designers in finding
the best device for a new design but also provides substitutes that can
optimize existing designs by reducing the number of elements (1988 version)
2311 & 2312 PC-BROWSE
text scanning & searching utility. PC-Browse is a memory-resident program that helps you
find information in your files. You can pop up a PC-Browse window over your
application program, enter the name of a file to search and the text you want
to find, and press the search key. PC-Browse quickly finds and displays the
information you seek. Press the search key again to continue searching until it
finds all occurrences of the text. You can paste information into your
application program, copy it to a file, or print it. PC-Browse offers some
"navigational" tools, or place markers, so you can quickly move back
and forth between pages of text.
2313 SCREEN design
& cut and paste utilities.
SoS (Save our Screens) is a memory-resident program that allows you to save and
restore text screens to memory (up to 9 screens) and disk (up to 90). Supports
most text applications in MDA, CGA, HGC, EGA, MCGA and VGA TEXT modes (40/80
columns, max.50 rows). Graphics Cut and Paste (GRCP) allows users to take (cut)
information from any graphic screen and put (paste) this information onto
another graphic screen. Software receiving the destination paste must be a
graphics editor that does not care about what images are on the screen.
P-Screen lets you design screens, create screen "libraries," then
display your screens from your own programs -- easily, quickly. Usesful for
menus, help screens, data entry, program demos, prototyping, etc.
2314 Timed Execution,
TAME multitasking programs, MTBF calculator. TIMERUN is a user supported program
which will allow the user to execute a program or DOS command at any future
time. All the user has to do is tell Timerun which program or command to
execute along with the day and time it should run. RELIABILITY CALCULATOR
assists with such things as temperature acceleration factors, number of days
required to demonstrate on MTBF (MEAN TIME BETWEEN FAILURE) with for various
products based on actual number of units tested for a specific number of days
at a given temperature. TAME is designed to speed up applications within any
DOS based multi-tasking environment (DESQview, Double Dos, Omniview, VM/386,
Windows/386). It does this by intercepting the continuous keyboard polling
routines of the programs when idle, so that the other multitasked programs get
more time-slices. Vast improvements will be shown for programs such as
WordPerfect, Lotus, Harvard Graphics, Norton Commander,...
2315 Gentle AT-SETUP,
Total System Statistics, ScreenBlanker, DOS/BIOS Xref. GSETUP is a generic (gentle?) SETUP
program for the AT and all TRUE compatibles. The program is designed to allow
you to set/modify CMOS ram values to tell the system what the time, date, type
and number of floppy disk drives and hard disks, monitor type, etc., are for
your personal computer. TOTAL SYSTEM STATISTICS v2.2 produces a simple but
comprehensive set of statistics of the PC/XT/AT or compatible computer on which
it is run. BLANKs is an MS-DOS/PC-DOS based, resident program that blanks the
screen after a preselected interval in the absence of a keypress. This interval
can be selected from 1 to 60 minutes. Also included on this volume is a
comprehensive DOS & BIOS reference.
2316 TYPING DEMON
keyboard speed-up/ redefinition util & data compression TYPING DEMON is a creative approach
to speed up typing & word processing by making your keyboard a lot more
intelligent. Although difficult to explain, it is very quick to learn (you
don't have to learn a NEW keyboard like the DVORAK keyboard) but yields
dramatic speed improvements. For example it gives you quicker access to the
often-used Backspace, Enter and cursor keys, and commonly used words. FLY
ST/EXP represents a new level of performance for text data compression,
typically compressing text files to about 30% of their original size.
2317 FLY-UTILS &
XANADU disk utils, 87 emulator & JDOS program SWOPPING util. FLY-UTILS include D: a nifty
directory listing program; HUNT: locates files all over your harddisk; LOOK4:
finds selected text in any file on your HD; MC2SP: a sexy DOS-prompt; NEWDATE:
changes date/time file stamp; HIDE & UNHIDE files; VOLNAME: renames hard or
floppy disk. XANADU utils include HOT DIR colourful directory (colour based on
file extension); PC-STATS memory, disk & other statistics; SFIND: finds
files on your HD. FAKEY: Keyboard Phantom Typist allows you to
"preload" data (keystrokes) when starting up a program. Useful for
batch files to bypass initial choices or screens of application programs. EM87
emulates the 8087 math co-processor on AT type machines. FRANKE.387 emulates
the 387 maths coprocessor on 386SX/DX PCs. V-Utilities: VMARKBAD recovers data
from marginal hard disk sectors and marks them bad. VCOLOR tests the different
screen colour combinations. VRES shows memory-resident programs. JDOS allows
you to load new programs without exiting current applications whilst having
almost the full 640K (+ screen memory) available for the new application.
2318 PC performance
analyzer & HD Interleave Adjustment Util. SPEED compares the microprocessor and
memory operations in your computer with the "standard" IBM/PC. It
shows what the actual performance of a machine may be in "real world"
applications. IAU is a program which changes the physical arrangement of data
on the computer's hard disk in order for the CPU to be able to access (read and
write) the data in the least amount of time. This causes the computer system to
operate in the fastest possible manner.
2319 EZ-HELP: create
your own help systems.
EZhelp is designed as a tool for writers or programmers who need a simple help system
to use stand-alone, link with existing software, or use as an on-line
reference. You can easily create a window driven help system with new or
existing texts, and registered users may distribute EZhelp with them free of
charge.
2320 COMPRESSION algorithms
& source code (LHARC-based).
This disk contains a variety of information of compression algorithms,
including ASM and C source code routines. Also included are benchmark
comparisons between popular compression programs.
2321 ARCMASTER v4.56:
Visual Interface for ARCHIVE programs. ArcMaster is a full-featured visual interface program
designed facilitate the operation of archive systems in the PCDOS/MSDOS
environment. By itself, ArcMaster WILL NOT perform any file compression or
decompression. With one or more of the six supported archive systems present,
ArcMaster will make the creation, modification, and unarchiving of archive
files much easier and faster. It is menu- driven and employs a "point and
shoot" style method of controlling major archiving operations.
2322 PC-RESOURCE
productivity utilities disk.
FILE-CRUISER "disk-voyeur" peek/ search/ view/ locate files. WHOA
slows down programs designed for PC when running on AT/386. SHFTCAPS turns the
NUM-LOCK off when booting your AT. NOPRNTKY disables PrtScrn. QUIKSHOT takes a
snapshot of text/CGA screens. PAGER pages through a text file & prints
selected portions. PrintPrimer lets you re-configure your printer from DOS.
STUFF fakes initial keyboard input to an application program.
2323 & 2324 ORACOMM
personal Bulletin Board System.
Your Personal ORACOMM(tm) will allow you to maintain a Personal BBS System with
up to 25 Users, 150 Messages and 5 Seperate Sub-Boards.
2325 Basic Aid
programmer's tools.
As a basic overview the program will, compress,a basic program and remove
remarks, expand a program by that we mean it will separate multiple statements
per basic line into one or more statements, generate cross references on
program variables and basic reserved words, and probably the most important
will generate a cross reference showing all references to a specific line
number that was referenced by a GOTO,GOSUB,ELSE,THEN,ERL,RESTORE OR RESUME
statement. You can then find all variables, areas of code and such that are not
referenced (and remove for storage savings) as well as on overview of program
flow to find out how the program got to a specific line number. Note: this disk
also contains some basic source code programs.
2326 Basic Subroutine
Collection. A
collection of 100 documented basic subroutines for use in your own program.
Although written for QuickBasic, most can be used (or converted) for TurboBasic
of IBM-Basic.
2327 TurboBasic
routines. A
collection of routines for use with TurboBasic; including windowing, a generic
program shell (with built-in screen handling), and a source code formatting
program.
2328 SCREEN BUILDER
v1.3: Design screens for use in your programs. Screen Builder lets you design your
text screens quickly and then save them as images (including all colour and
display attributes) so that they can be loaded by your own application
programs.
2329 EGA-MONOPOLY This is the famous monopoly board
game for 256K EGA.
2330 EGA-GAMES: CASINO
games; Solitaire & Backgammon.
The Las Vegas EGA Casino is a collection of three favorite Las Vegas casino
games. Las Vegas Casino Blackjack is a simulation of the table game, as played
on the Las Vegas Strip. Las Vegas Video Poker is a recreation of the popular
video poker machines. Las Vegas Dollar Slots (MicroBucks) is a colorful visual
fantasy. Also included: SOLITAIRE (needs mouse) and BACKGAMMON
2331 CGA-Arcade Games:
Icer, Impact, Ultimate & Rimtrix. Some new arcade games for CGA.
2332 VGA DEMO PROGRAMS:
Dazzle & Waterfall
DAZZLE is a randomized color pattern generator for EGA/VGA compatible color
displays and adapters. A source of beauty, sometimes subtle, sometimes vibrant,
always changing. Useful for displays, a break or meditation. ACT produces
pseudo-animated graphics on a color EGA or VGA display: a waterfall & a
pair of spinning balls.
2333 HUGO'S HOUSE OF
HORRORS: Graphics Adventure.
This is an exciting, challenging game of wit and skill which makes superb use
of graphics and even limited animation. Help Huge rescue his sweetheart from
the haunted house. (Hard disk + EGA needed)
2334 AT/EGA arcade
games: Star Defense (superb sound) & Slither. Star Defense is a multitasking arcade
game with digital voice and sound output. The object is to protect your missile
silos from enemy bombs with five levels of action. Slither is a simple but
challenging game based on the original 'Snake' game, written in high-resolution
EGA by a video game addict for video game addicts. The object is to eat as many
rats as possible without running into your steadily growing body. (Games
require AT with EGA/VGA)
2335 Arcade Games:
PROTON (battle simulation) & ASP ATTACK (snake) Proton is an arcade style battle
simulation, set in a maze-type playfield using hand phaser weapons. It is
obviously based on a real-life game, but I can't think of its name. The game
consists of a maze playfield, with two opposing teams. Each team consists of
three players. There are also two bases or goals, which are color coded to
match the team which should be trying to protect it. Points are obtained by
blasting the hell out of the other team, while avoiding their fire. Asp Attack
is your basic snake-eats-food-and-grows arcade game, with each level presenting
more complex scenery to maneuver around. (CGA/EGA)
2336 Arcade Games:
DRAGCITY (drive a dragster) & LINETECH (2-player warship) DRAGCITY: Your uncle died and has
left you his dragster. Its not state of the art. In fact, its a manual 3 speed
job with the engine in front of the driver. You've decided to cast good judgement
aside and race it yourself. (EGA) LINETECH: This is essntially a two player
game, played on two computers that are connected with a RS-232 cable and/or
modems. You are flying a Cobra Mark IV multi-purpose General Contact Vehicle,
which is a very fast and manoeuvrable spaceship. Your opponent has a Cobra IV
too, so you both have equal chances for winning. Which one wins depends on your
reactions and tactical skills!
2337 Arcade games:
VIPER, CREEPS, ATC.
VIPER is a one-player arcade game that uses 80x25 ASCII characters, and will
work on a Monochrome or Color/Graphics adapter. The object is to shoot down as
many Cylon Imperial Fighters as you can before all three Vipers in your
squadron are destroyed. ATC (air traffic controller): direct aircrafts from one
place to another via radio and keep them separated to avoid collision, using
radar. CREEPS (CGA): You are the green triangle. The creeps are red triangles.
There are a lot of them, but they are pretty stupid. Shoot them with your gun
to kill them or just ram into them. Ramming them costs you a life and some
points, so don't do this very often.
2338 Arcade games:
MOTOR MANIA, A new Space Invaders & EGAROIDS. Motor Mania is high speed motorbike
game in which you are the rider, and you are attempting to race through a
series of jumps in a limited amount of time. You must keep track of your
temperature so as to prevent overheating, and you must stay out of the way of
other racers. You must also keep your bike balanced to prevent crashing. (CGA)
Space Invaders: A new version of the classic. Save the Earth from the hideous
terror in the skies! Fight off the evil alien claim-jumpers from Alpo
Centurian! A great way to burn off (ZAP!) your frustrations (POW!) and your
basic desire (BOOM!) to bash something into smithereens. Also includes
EGAROIDS, the EGA space ships versus asteroids game with a customization
routine.
2339 Arcade games:
BUMPMAZE and Kingdom of Kroz.
Kingdom of Kroz is a combination of arcade action, strategy, and adventure. As
the intrepid explorer, you will venture through 25 unique levels (screens) of
treasures and perils. Each level is patrolled by as many as 1000 creatures out
for your blood! Hazards include lava, earthquakes, pits, rushing rivers and
forbidden forests. Helpful items to collect are whips, gems, scrolls, keys and
artifacts. Each level is a series of chambers with puzzles and pitfalls to
overcome. (Winner of US computing contest.) BUMPMAZE is an arcade game where
the object is to push a ball into a white hole within a given time limit. There
are 8 different screens. Speeds adjusts according to your machine. (CGA)
2340 Arcade Games:
Spiders from Mars, MainBreak, Catch'em, AV. Tommy's Stompers (AKA spiders from
Mars): you wake up in a room filled with huge stomper machines that pound shining
martion steel anvils at different rates. You soon realize that great grizzly
spiders are moving down towards you on revolting threads. The only course is to
hop over the anvils in time to avoid the stompers. CATCH'EM: a VGA+mouse
"catch" the stoppers -game. MAIN BREAK is quite simple and yet very
challenging. Your job is to connect passages for the water to flow through
without leaving gaps in the water main. The board is set up in a grid like
pattern. When the game begins, there will be a starting point chosen at random
where the water will start to flow after 10 seconds. You can use 4 different
types of pipe connections. (mouse & CGA)
2341 SPACE SHADES:
Space arcade game (works on ANY pc). Space Shades places you in the cockpit of a space
cruiser. You control your ship, a space station, and a spy remote while
exploring planets in preparation for your encounter with a hostile enemy. Space
Shades is designed to provide the feel of a flight simulator. During play, you
look directly out a window into 3D Space. Provided with a navigation computer,
you have complete freedom to fly wherever you want. You can loop around your
station, fly into the Sun, or crank up your ships speed to .9 SOL. Your mission
will be to seek out your enemy and destroy him before he takes over the galaxy.
That is his mission also.
2342 PIRATE: maze game
- look for the pirate's treasure.
Work your way through a complicated cave with many tunnels, holes and ledges.
Includes basic source code (CGA).
2343 MORAFF's PINBALL:
high quality 5-flipper pinball game. The ultimate pinball game will automatically adapt to
any graphics card you may have (up to 800x600 VGA) and speed of your PC. It
will keep you addicted for many, many rounds.
2344 SHARKS: a cunning
underwater arcade game.
ALIVE SHARKS is an underwater action arcade game. It utilizes unique Artificial
Intelligence, Simulation and Classic Animation techniques to transform your
computer screen into a realistic ocean floor. You are the Frogman and your
mission is to collect rare marine creatures and recover lost treasures from the
bottom of the sea. Well, it not going to be easy. Your diving uniform is state
of the art but you can survive only a few shark bites and it is useless against
the poison of the deadly Jelly Fish. This is not your typical
"Shoot-them-up, Eat-the-Dots kind-of-game". Your enemies are crafty,
independent, they surround you in clever formations and when you shoot at them
from far away they are smart enough to avoid your shot. (Hercules, CGA or EGA.
The VGA version is disk 2345)
2346, 2347 & 2348
KUNG-FU LOUIS versus the martial arts posse. Fungfu Louis is an elaborate martial
arts arcade game for AT with EGA. The story starts Miyakonojo, on the southern
island of Kyushu, Japan. The day was hot and humid, with a tinge of rain near
the tip of the legendary mountain, Sobo Zan. Louis kneeled in meditation. Tiny
droplets of sweat and blood dripped from his face and neck. This was the test
of the Fourth Level, the last test before becoming Master. He has already
fought and defeated 19 black-belt karatekas continuously, etc.
2349 VEGAS PRO
BLACKJACK v1
Professional blackjack game with extensive tutorial and "hypertext"
help. Runs on any graphics card.
2350 VEGAS JOHNNY'S
DRAW POKER This
is a detailed simulation of a draw poker game. It's features include: Bet
limits, blind and ante amounts are user selectable; Six levels of competition;
Variable playing speed; On-line betting and drawing advice; On-Line Odds and
Statistics; On-line help with "what beats what"; Scoreboard file to
log big winners; User interface allows fast and easy play.
2351 VIDEO BLACKJACK
v2.0: BlackJack tutorial & game. Video Blakjak is for people who like to play Blackjack
and want to learn how to play it better. If you're looking for entertainment,
you'll find plenty here. If you're a serious student of the game, Video Blakjak
will make you a better player. It will help you learn how to count cards,
adjust to rules changes, and make the proper betting judgments. It will even
help you develop your own card-counting system. Runs on any graphics card.
2352 POWER CHESS v5.3 The new version of PowerChess V5.3 is
an easy to use chess playing program with a wide range of possibilities.
Because of the clearly arranged screens and the complete implementation of the
international chess rules (eg. 50 move drawing rule), PowerChess V5.3 can
highly be recommended for chess classes and leisure time. Includes several nice
features (including the dreaded announcement of "mate in <n>
moves", supports all graphics cards, many openings.
2353 EDCHESS v1.99 Another great chess game including
autoplay, monochrome monitor support, backup moves, save/load games, difficulty
level, think ahead (computer thinks whilst you are playing), 1300 opening
library etc.
2354 RACE! miniature
car racing game.
The cars can accelerate, decelerate, or turn through the race courses while
many obstacles block their progress including walls, slopes, gates, tornadoes,
and gas slicks. The more tracks a car successfully completes, the better the
car becomes in areas such as acceleration, speed, traction, and helicopter
speed. Also, Race! lets the user design his own race tracks on which the cars
compete. (CGA/EGA)
2355 PYRAMID solitaire. Features high-resolution EGA
graphics, full mouse support (optional), and a sleek, easy to use interface.
Pyramid goes one step further by including a Tournament mode in which you can
play against a friend, or try your luck against the computer. While there are
other implementations of Pyramid solitaire available, this is probably one of
the finest, with crisp, colorful graphics, cheerful sounds, and a polished user
interface.
2356 Card Games:
Pinochle, Hearts, Poker and Brain
Double-Deck Pinochle (PCPIN) is designed to let you learn and perfect the game.
A learner's version is provided which simulates everybody playing with their
hand on the table. The regular version lets you perfect your strategies. The
object in Hearts is the least score. The game was known as "Black
Lady" on its introduction...the Black Lady being the additional penalty
card, Dirty Dora, Lil, Calamity Jane, Black Maria - the Queen of Spades.
BRAINCHILD is the computerized version of the "remember the cards"
game which can be played by children and adults alike. It improves memory
skills and sports interesting card motifs (CGA).
2357 MATH AND LOGIC
GAMES FOR KIDS
These six programs are aimed at grade levels K through 6, but can be enjoyed by
all. In TARGET MATH, you take turns adding numbers trying to reach a target
sum, while in JELLY BEANS you take turns removing beans from a jar and the one
who takes the last bean loses! I SHOT AN ARROW is a simple simulation of an
arrow flying through the air; the program introduces estimation and answer
refinement skills. LEAKY TUB simulates filling a leaky bath tub with hot and
cold water. This program helps teach logical thinking and is just plain fun. In
MATH RACE, up to four players take turns answering flash card arithmetic
problems. The faster you answer your problem, the further down the track your
car travels. Each player can race at a skill level appropriate to their grade
level. Finally, MATH AS ART simply draws pretty pictures using the ideas of
fractal math.
2358 SOCCER team
manager. The
object of this outstanding game is to become a successful manager of a football
team. At the outset you are contracted for a number of years to a fourth
division team. From this lowly base you try to build up a reputation which
ensures other teams have an avid interest in desiring your managerial qualities
to be present at their club. Consequently, when your contract expires you may,
if you're extremely talented, get offered a contract from a first division
team. Also includes the Indian PACHISI (EGA/VGA) chase/race game.
2359 Board Games:
Bingo, Aggravate, Backgammon & Othello PCBINGO is a PC implementation of the
traditional game of BINGO. The game is simple to play and should bring hours of
entertainment. (needs printer to print the bingo cards). The object of the IOGA
(othello) is to have the majority of your color squares on the board at the end
of the game. The rules are quite simple, it takes a minute to learn and with
practice you'll see yourself improving steadily. The object of Aggravation is
to move all four of a player's squares around the board from Home Base position
to "Home Safe" You don't have to be AGGRAVATING but it helps!
2360 Board Games:
Doubolo, DXWord & Capture. (EGA/VGA) Doublolo is a variation of the classic game Othello. The
Board however is not 8 x 8 but 14 by 23, yet it varies with each game.
Therefore no two games are ever alike. DXWORD: Special for the Diagramless
Cross Word Puzzle solvers. No more reams of cross-hatched paper and pounds of
erasers. An infinitely erasable scratch pad for working your puzzle. Capture is
a board game of skill and strategy, for one or two players, with several modes
of play and special features.
2361 SEAHUNT &
WISDOM SEEKER.
Seahunt is the computerized version of the well-known game
"Battleship" played on the familiar grid: sink the computer's fleet
before it sinks yours. The object of Wisdom Seeker is to open a vault which
contains the keys to wisdom (Ed: Aaah! I wish it were only so easy...). You
must first make contact with an agent which will give you a floorplan of the
computer centre, where you must steal disks from the computer room, etc.
(adventure game).
2362 CROSSWORDS PUZZLES
Design System.
COMPUTER CROSSWORD PUZZLES SYSTEM (CCPS) was designed for people who enjoy
solving and/or creating their own crossword puzzles. How easy is to create your
own puzzle? ,You can find out just follow simple instructions, that you see on
the bottom on the screen. In CCPS you can have up to 5000 words in the library,
and up to 500 puzzles and up to 100 puzzle layouts. (CGA)
2363 Duelling StarShips
and Awele (african board game)
Dueling Starships is a two-player real-time battle between opposing starships.
The computer screen and keyboard are split in half allowing the captains of
both starships to play simultaneously. The object of the game is to destroy the
enemy starship. Awele is a well-known African game for 2 players with 2 rows of
12 boxes of 4 seeds each. The object is to harvest as many seeds as possible on
your side so that the opponent can no longer move. (also in French)
2364 Adventure games:
Braminar, Icewords, Kukulcan.
BRAMINAR is a boolean interactive fiction game (similar to interactive fiction,
but instead of you entering just any command, about 80% of he time, you only
need to say YES or NO or answer with a number - no more "I don't
understand" messages). Braminar can be a reasonably fast-paced game if you
are quick about responding to the prompts (unlike the usual adventure games) Be
warned that Braminar is somewhat crazy. You'll notice, as you use it, that the
author likes hamburgers and doughnuts, and makes jokes about Hellen Reddy. In
ICEWORDS you assume command of a the USS Helldiver submarine. Your brief is to
retrieve a diplomatic pouch bearing super-secret documents from a crashed B-17
bomber...on the North Pole Icecap. There is obviously a Nazi spy on board.
KUKULCAN starts on a hot, steamy day in the Yucatan rain forest. You are an
American archaeologist and are there in pursuit of the Lost City of Kukulcan, a
fabulous city which many think exists only in legend.
2365 PODWARS
(adventure) and CONNECT4 (board)
PodWars plays in the comfortized society of the late 2100s which can be quite
boring. Apart from the attacks on earth by the Zonrins some fifty years ago,
there has been only technological changes for over one hundred years. There is
very little challenge in day to day living. This has lead some of the more
adventuresome to equip their Personal Observation Droids (PODS) with lasers and
impulse cannons and send them out in search of the precious metal Qzrn
(pronounced Cues-rin). CONNECT4 is a cross between vertical
"checkers" and "othello". It has been commercially marketed
as "4 in a row". Can be played from 7 years up. (Support all graphics
cards).
2502 HOME INSURANCE
v.4.0: tracks your possessions and their value. Home Insurance is software that
allows you to keep track of what you own, where items are located and how much
it would cost to replace something that is lost. By categorizing items by type,
Home Insurance can give you the total replacement value for each type of item
you own. Data can be kept to three different levels of detail.
2503 GOALSEEKER for
spreadsheet target analysis.
Goalseeker adds a powerful new capability to your regular spreadsheet (Lotus
1-2-3, SuperCalc, VP-Planner or Multiplan). It allows you to set a certain
"target value" (goal) for a calculated value and it will
automatically find solutions where given input (independent) values will
achieve the goal, using a reverse of backward iterative search method. (Note:
has only been tested on Lotus v.2.0 and SuperCalc 4)
2504 SAVE THE PLANET:
Tutorial & Advice on Global Environmental Issues. Contains a wealth of background
information on the causes of the "Greenhouse Effect" including
detailed discussions of global warming and the ozone hole. In addition,
practical advice is given how YOU can help in your current situation (home,
life style etc). (Menu-driven)
2505 THE INTERNIST:
Diagnosis possible ailments on basis of your symptoms. By selecting the symptoms that
describe your current illness best, the computer will generate a list of all
potential ("pooled" analysis) or the most likely
("exclusive" analysis) ailment you are suffering from. Do not use
this program as an alternative to your GP, but it may give some pointers,
although the "pooled" analysis may give you quite a scare if you are
not very accurate in pinpointing your symptoms.
2506 to 2510 LASER
utilities and fonts collection for HP LJ II (compatibles) 2506: TRIM allows you to trim down
the size of huge soft fonts by selecting only those letters that you actually
use. FNTCLEAN cleans up shareware font descriptor & printer information to
make soft fonts more compact. FONTVIEW reads in an HP softfont and displays it
on EGA screen with maximum magnification. DOWNLOAD a utility to load soft fonts
into your HP and set a number of attributes (permanent, test,
primary/secondary). PRTSC replaces the DOS GRAPHICS command: lets you print
graphics screens in various graphics modes to Epson OR LaserJet printer at
different resolutions (75 to 300dpi). 2507: Contains the following collection of
fonts: VENUS (12, 20 and 29 pt), APPLE (Medium stroke attractive 24pt), CAMELOT
(very ornate, Olde English style 24pt), CANDY (candy striped letters 23pt) and
OBLIQUE (light airy font, 24pt). 2508: POR2LAND converts portrait fonts to
landscape fonts! LASEIT sends printer files to a laser jet with a multitude of
options (nr of copies, even/uneven pages, margin settings, sideways, etc.)
FONTLODR is an HP LaserJet soft font loader that can rotate, scale, mirror, and
fix the pitch of soft fonts. LAND converts fonts upside down and/or mirrored.
Also includes a 24 pt "toy letters" font (but A,E & O are
missing) 2509: SOLIDFNT converts any font to a solid, three-dimensional
typeface. Includes a sample HELVETICA 32 pt italic 3D font. ENVLJ utility to
make the printing of envelopes on your LaserJet a lot easier, provision is made
for both the mailing and return addresses. Can print one address or a series
using a database of addresses. 2510: VARIFONT converts any soft font to one of
different size, shape, texture, character set, or other attribute, as desired.
DL is a memory-resident laser font manager with point-and-shoot interface.
CTABLE is a character width table generator for soft fonts.
2512 Self-Health STRESS
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
This system is designed to be self-contained, and teaches you how to regulate
stress levels. The computer adds to the power and effectiveness of the program
by doing some of the important things another person might do, such as
providing you with information and feedback to develop your stress coping
skills. The system consist of three components: A stress test designed to
measure and analyze your overall stress level; A method for identifying your
stressors and assessing their intensity levels; A display system for showing
trends over time in stress levels for different stressors.
2513 DEPRESSION FREE:
Diagnosis of & possible cures for depression. This program analyses the type of
your depression using a set of quizzes (including one for chronic fatique,
women-only, hypnosis, low-blood sugar, manic depression, stress and
self-esteem). A wide variety of possible treatment methods are discussed, both
conventional and alternative: Acupuncture, Astrology, Chiropractic, Drug
Therapy, Elavil Sleep Therapy, Electroconvulsive Therapy, Faith Healing,
Feminist Therapy, GLA, Herbal Medicine, Homeopathic Medicine, Hydrotherapy,
Hypnotic Therapy, K'ai Men, Lithium Therapy, Sleep Therapy, Soap Opera Therapy,
Vitamin Therapy.
2515 RESUME SHOP v2:
helps you prepare a professional Curriculum Vitae. This program assists you in preparing
customized CVs to improve your chances in winning that job/bursary/project...
Use the same data to create different CVs for different purposes or jobs.
2516 & 2517
PROGRAMMER's TECHNICAL REFERENCE to MS-DOS. A textbook on disk containing a
wealth of info on the technical aspects of DOS. Chapter 1: Introduction and
history. Chapter 2: Low memory, memory map, interrupts 0-9h. Chapter 3:
Interrupts 10h-20h. Chapter 4: Interrupt 21h, DOS functions. Chapter 5:
Interrupts 22h through 0FFh. Chapter 6: DOS memory blocks and work areas.
Chapter 7: DOS file structure. Chapter 8: DOS disk information.
2518 Computer Voice
Tutor's World of the Alphabet, talking program. This exciting program is designed for
children of preschool age. The - RECITE - section is designed explicitly for
small children who can not yet recognize the keyboard. RECITE will advance
without any key input. If the child hits any key, the letter will be repeated
three times. The FIND KEY section is for children who can recognize the
keyboard. They must hit the proper key to proceed. The computer voice makes it
a great attraction for the kids! (May not work with 386 PCs)
2519 SCHOOL MOM:
comprehensive set of tools for young children. SCHOOL-MOM is an educational tool for
children ages 4 to 14. Its main options are Music, Art, Spelling, English, Math
and Exams. Also, a hidden File Change Menu exists for parents and teachers.
This menu can be used to make additions and changes to the data files.
2520 HOW TO READ FOR
EVERYDAY LIVING: Tutor for young readers. This tutor covers two important areas of day-to-day
life, i.e. the Management of Your Money and How to Travel. It develops a number
of reading related practical skills pertaining to these every-day activities
(e.g. how to read a city map, train schedule; or how to apply for a bank
account). Some Americanisms may present difficulties but the program remains
very useful. (CGA needed).
2521 THE GREEN
CONSUMER: database & almanac on environmental issues. A electronic guide containing
hundreds of ways to help save our planet. A database of information for those
concerned about our environment. This program will also link symptoms of
unexplained health problems to probable environmental causes. This program is
for you, your children, and future generations... ...because you have a chance
to make a better world by making informed decisions at home, while shopping, or
at work. (Hard Disk, 640K)
2522 BRAIN-TEASERS:
Test your wits on this collection of puzzles. A collection of 48 problems which can
be solved by logical or creative thinking. Not easy but challenging. One per
day keeps the psychiater away? Gymnastics for the mind!
2523 CYCLER'S LOG: A
history and performance database for cyclists. Add rides, display them, look for
your best times, display average (weekly, monthly, total) times and other items
of interest.
2527 CHAPLINESQUE: A
multi-media animation of the poem "Chaplinesque". Includes animation and nice visual
displays but needs VGA, Hard Disk and a 386 (or fast 286) is recommended.
2528 CRYSTAL BALL:
Generates predictions for the future. Welcome to the world of the psychic computer! Like human
psychics, "Crystal Ball" generates predictions about the future. It
also answers whatever questions you may wish to ask. Unlike human psychics,
"CRYSTAL BALL" is honest. It generates its predictions entirely at
random, and it makes no claims for accuracy. It doesn't even guarantee that
what it says will make sense. But that is just part of the fun...
2529 ESPERANTO TUTOR:
Lernu la internacian lingvon, Esperanto !! This disk contains lessons on the world
interlanguage Esperanto. It explains what the language Esperanto is now; and
what it will become in the global "information and telecommunications
age" of 2000 a.d; ASCII pictures serve as a practical course in Esperanto;
text files of the dialog between boy and girl Esperanto speakers can be printed
out and studied. Batch files will cause your computer to talk like two robots
having that same dialog. A full-screen Esperanto editor with example files of
Esperanto telecommunications from Russia and China, and a Chess game with
Esperanto instructions; which shows that universal software can be developed
that can someday be used by every person of every nation in the global village
of 2000 a.d. Lernu la internacian lingvon, Esperanto.....Adia!
2530 & 2531 HOME
MONEY MANAGER II: home checkbook & budget manager. Home Money Manager II is an advanced
home checkbook and budget software package. It allows you to track check,
credit, and cash account activities and get reports that summarize your
financial activities. It can print checks or track tax deductible
purchases/donations. HMM-II can track 12 checking accounts, 12 credit accounts,
and over 3000 transactions per year. 84 budget catagories are available, plus
there are an additional 800 expense catagories.
2532, 2533 & 2534
FILE EXPRESS v.4 Easy-to-use, powerful database system. File Express is a database management
program written for the PC. Using File Express, information of virtually any
kind can be put into the computer, then can be printed, sorted and displayed.
File Express is very easy to use, because it makes extensive use of
"menus" and user "prompts". Businesses use File Express in
dozens of applications, such as: Order Processing, Sales Journals, Billing and
A/R, Inventories, Summary Reports, Mailing Lists. There are also many personal
uses for File Express, such as checkbook records and budgets, maintaining
personal inven- tories, maintaining collector records, and maintaining records
for clubs, civic groups, churches and other organizations.
2535 CLICHE-FINDER:
Checks your documents for over-used phrases. Cliche finder helps you check your
writing for old, hackneyed, trite, and overused words and phrases. It will
produce a report listing the "cliches" found in a document. Hundreds
of cliches are supplied in the program's data base. You can view and change the
information in this data base.
2536 PFRIO v.2:
PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT and PERFORMANCE EVALUATOR. PFROI provides complete portfolio
management including computation of return on investment (IRR method). PFROI
Features an easy data input format; computation of true return on investment
(IRR method); user-configurable tax rates; valuation graphics (CGA, EGA, VGA
& Hercules); support of just about every security type (stocks, bonds,
mutual funds, cd's, depreciable assets, options, etc.) with many transaction
types including reinvestment.
2539 WINSLOW Business
Cash Flow & Financial Planning Worksheet. The Planner/Analyst provides a
business owner, investor, or financial decision-maker with a planning model of
sufficient sensitivity that the financial impact of alternative scenarios can
be quickly and accurately evaluated. The Planner/Analyst produces a detailed
income statement and balance sheet, which it integrates into a cash flow
forecast that continuously reflects changes in both income statement and
balance sheet. The model also provides useful condensed summary reports of plan
results. Includes a 90-page manual. (Requires Lotus 1-2-3 & HD)
2540 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
PAK v.2 This
program package is an aid in analyzing certain financial transactions (futures,
options, interest rate swaps, and forwards), as well as an aid in general
asset/liability management evaluation. The package is designed for analysis of
banks and thrifts, though some of the sub-programs may be applicable to the
analysis of other types of firms. The package is menu driven and contains a
sub-menu for each type of analysis.
2541 LASER LETTERHEAD
PLUS v.2: Design your own letterhead stationary. This program is an easy to use laser
printing program that will let you create Letterhead Stationery and matching
envelopes on your Hewlett Packard LaserJet Printer. Create not just a business
letterhead, but a personal name version also. You do not have to calculate each
line of print nor worry about the difficult task of centering proportional
fonts. The program does it all for you. Boxing in lines is a snap and shading
the letterhead is a matter of choice. Everything is menu driven to make it
easy. Extensive documentation. (HD)
2542, 2543 & 2544
super RAPS ACCOUNTING SYSTEM for small & medium sized business. This fully menu-driven,
comprehensive, professional accounting system includes debtors, invoicing,
creditors, stock, general ledger and cash book modules. Each of the modules can
be run on their own or integrated. Includes context sensitive help. Designed in
and for the RSA & can be registered here!
2545 DECISION ANALYSIS
PAK v.2.04: the modern art of decision making. DAS will aid an individual who is
faced with a problem of choice in selecting an alternative that is consistent
with his personal basic judgments and preferences. It consists of two separate
and independent application programs: the Decision Matrix Method (DMM), and the
Pairwise Comparison Method (PCM). The DMM application program is designed to be
used primarily with tangible and easily quantifiable data. It will provide the
user with an unbiased ranking of alternatives considered. The PCM application
program on the other hand, is designed to deal specifically with subjective
assessments and evaluations of alternatives and criteria. It requires the user
to develop a hierarchical structure of the problem, and enables him to quantify
the impact of each element in this hierarchy on the overall goal of the study.
2546 MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS
AND PROCEDURE LISTS
This is a set of ASCII Medical lists, a diagnoses list and a procedure lists
that will be of interest to doctors and those writing medical software.
Basically the lists represent the clinical terms and synonyms that are used in
every day patient care by the provider who fills out a route sheet, encounter
sheet, superbill, medical record face sheet, or clinical research data sheet.
The intended purpose of these lists is for database dictionary lookup for
medical software of any type.
2548 ASIC: Almost BASIC
Programming Language Compiler.
ASIC is a "BASIC" programming language compiler for IBM PC's and
compatibles. It includes an integrated full screen editor, from which you can
edit, compile, and execute your programs. ASIC is a subset of BASICA and
GWBASIC which supports over 40 BASIC statements, integer and string variables,
and integer arrays. It will compile your programs at high speed, and the code
it generates is fast and compact. The syntax of each ASIC statement is
generally a valid subset of the syntax used by BASICA and GWBASIC
2549 & 2550 the
WINDOW PRO v1.2: Screen control routine library for "C". WINDOW PRO is one of the most
comprehensive, compact, and easiest to use screen control libraries available
for "C" language development of applications and systems software.
WINDOW PRO lets you easily create programs that look and feel like Framework,
Lotus, dBase III, and other top-sellers. Dialog boxes, context-sensitive help,
pop-up and pull-down menus are a snap to implement. Your programs will be able
to drag, zoom, split, hide, and scroll windows fast, flicker-free, and without
snow. Sensing video cards, setting video modes, and cursor control are simple straight-forward
operations.
2561 & 2562 A86
& D86 v3.22: Superb Assembly Language Assembler/Disassembler. A86 will make your applications
SCREAM with speed. A86 allows you to easily code critical routines in assembly
code. A86 is 4 times faster than IBM's MASM v5.1, much easier to use than any
other assembler (does not need all the "red tape" required by other
assemblers (e.g. SEGMENT PARA PUBLIC, PROC, ENDP etc): just feed it machine
instructions and you're on your way. It compiles directly to .COM routines,
supports multiple source files, very large programs, many language extensions,
superb macro assembler features, excellent error messages and superb
documentation. D86 is the associated disassembler and can be used to learn
assembly language, investigate your machine, or develop & debug your own
assembly programs.
2563 FILE-TYPE v1.19:
Analyzes program files for origin and functions. FILETYPE is a comprehensive
information extracting utility. It contains facilities for describing files or
viewing, searching and tracing records in the files. FileType features include
display general file info, origin trace, data type categorizing, comment a
file, and the advanced function checks(display all tasks will be performed by
the program). A must for all hackers and tinkerers! E.g. tells you that
Turbo-Basic compiler was written in Turbo-C, or that LOTUS.COM was compiled
using MASM + lots of other info.
2564 CompuSHOW v.8:
Graphics Files viewing utility.
This is the most popular viewer of graphics files supporting all graphic
displays and the following file formats: RLE, MacPaint, PCC/PCX (PaintBrush),
GIF, Dr Halo, PIC and RIX. Allows you to change colours etc.