======================================================================== 
>       \    \  \   \                                     <
>       \ \  \     \ \                A Digital Magazine   <
>       \   \      \\                in Eight Chapters    <
>       \      \       \ \                                     <
>       \       \        \  ONLINE!       **November 1994**    <
>                                                                        <
> INTRO            This file (psst -- you're reading it). What the heck  <
> ~~~~~                PCM Online is about. All shall be revealed!       <
> FIRST THINGS     Editorials + Letters from readers + Random musings    <
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~         from our distinguished staff <G>                  <
> FEATURES         Neat stuff + Listings (batch/BASIC) to cut, paste     <
> ~~~~~~~~             and use!                                          <
> COLUMNS          Guru observations on Windows + DOS + Internet + Games <
> ~~~~~~~              + Business apps. (We have the BEST games column!) <
> SOLUTIONS        Q&As + Hints & Tips + Software/Hardware solutions.    <
> ~~~~~~~~~            Everything you always wanted to know about PCs.   <
> REVIEWS          Looks at Commercial software + Software roundups +    <
> ~~~~~~~              New Product lists + Hot Hardware/Software deals   <
> PRESS BOX        Short news bites + Press Release transcriptions --    <
> ~~~~~~~~~            computer industry news from the horse's mouth     <
> SOFTWARE SHOPPER Your shareware source: New Reviews + 1000s of program <
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     listings. Shareware in every category!            <
 ========================================================================

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                        PCM Online  November 1994

INTRO Contents:

   []  What Is PCM Online?
   []  SysOps Only: How to Subscribe to PCM Online
   []  How to Find and Run the Programs (Batch File and GW-/QBASIC)
   []  How to Talk to Us
   []  Submission Guidelines
   []  Masthead (the good people who bring you PCM Online)

Entire contents copyright 1994 by Falsoft, Inc.

PCM -- The Premier Personal Computer Magazine is intended for the private 
use and pleasure of its subscribers, and reproduction by any means is 
prohibited.

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What Is PCM Online?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   PCM Online is a text-only version of the magazine PCM (the Premier 
Personal Computer Magazine, established in 1984), which is published by 
Falsoft, Inc. PCM Online is prepared just for bulletin-board services. It 
contains all the articles, columns and features that go in the printed 
version of PCM -- plus more!

   One fundamental problem with a piece of paper is that it doesn't 
stretch, but a digital "page" can be stretched to a nearly infinite 
degree. So, in this online version, we can give you articles, hints, tips 
and reviews that wouldn't fit in a month's printed edition. We can also 
dig into our archives to present you with some of our favorite stuff from 
past issues.

   One thing that always set PCM apart from its competitors was its 
listings: BASIC programs our readers could type in and run through the GW-
BASIC or QBASIC interpreter. Real programs -- games, utilities, databases 
and more! For those people who didn't care to key in up to nine pages of 
BASIC source code, we offered PCM ON DISK, and still do. Of course, you 
don't need PCM ON DISK if you read PCM Online -- and you certainly don't 
need to type in the listings to run our programs -- because the listings 
are right here, ready for you to use.

   If you're an aspiring BASIC programmer, you'll find our listings great 
learning tools. And if you've written a program you think we could use, 
please consider submitting it for publication -- we're always looking for 
good new programs. Submission guidelines are included later on in this 
section.

   Another thing that sets PCM apart is that it's currently two 
publications in one: bundled within PCM is the shareware magazine/catalog 
called Software Shopper. In the pages of Software Shopper, you'll find 
reviews of the latest, greatest shareware programs, plus older titles. 
We've included Software Shopper in the PCM Online package, so go ahead and 
browse through it: you'll probably run across games and utilities you 
can't live without.

   Most of the shareware we review can probably be found on the BBS you're 
logged to right now. But if you can't find a title online, you can order 
it from us. Software Shopper is a vendor member of the ASP (Association of 
Shareware Professionals).

   There is a very special advantage we can offer you by publishing 
Software Shopper online: we can give you Software Shopper's complete 
database -- that's thousands of shareware program descriptions compared to 
the few hundred that are squeezed into the printed version every month!

   Falsoft also publishes an online version of PC Kids, the only hands-on 
PC magazine just for kids. It's full of computer facts and fun, puzzles 
and jokes. We even have a mascot, Pips, who shows kids how to do cool 
things with Windows in his column, Mousetales. If your SysOp doesn't carry 
PC Kids Online, please pester him/her on our behalf. <G>

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SysOps Only: How to Subscribe to PCM Online
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   
   If you are a SysOp and would like to carry PCM Online or PC Kids 
Online, all you have to do is contact us. Updates are available the 2nd day 
of the month. PCM Online is a monthly magazine featuring 30 or more 
excellent articles as well as 100's of Shareware reviews.  It's an 
indispensable source for BBS users who are looking for good information
on how to use the tools they have available more effectively.  It's
also a boon for your users as they can browse the shareware reviews for
software that may interest them.  PCM Online is offered in standard
text file format as well as the popular READROOM format (much better).
There's enough content here to keep your users busy ALL MONTH with it.  

NOTE:  November and December of 1994 are -FREE-   Feel free to post it
   online now and pick up the December issue from us directly at no cost as
   well.  Orders will not be taken until December.  

Special Introductory offer:  For the first 100 sysops who subscribe to 
PCM online you can get a full years worth of SUPER CONTENT for your
subscribers for just $75.00.  Orders taken after the first 100 will be
priced at the normal rate of $99.00 per year.  Six month subscriptions
are $58.00.   

VISA & MASTERCARD are accepted online or checks or money orders 
through US Snail Mail.

I know the cost of many magazines and 'services' for your BBS is out of
reach.  I am a sysop myself and our system has just recently made the
Boardwatch TOP 100 in the Nation.  It's an uphill fight and I know
well the problem of providing good content to users at an affordable price.
This is our answer to it.  I hope you think that it's a good a deal as
I'm making it out to be, because you will not find more for less anywhere.
We promise to keep the price low and the QUALITY high.    - Chuck Burke


Shiva Systems, Inc
6111 Regal Springs Dr.
Louisville, KY  40205

Call 'The Dance of Shiva' BBS    Louisville, KY     Data: (502) 899-7773
                                                   Voice:   "   897-1494
To contact us through Internet e-mail simply write to: Chuck@shivasys.com
     
   ___________        ____  _   _ ____ _     _ ____        ___________
  (___________       (  __)| |_| (_  _) \   / ) _  |       ___________)
    (_________        \__ \|  _  |_||_ \ `.' /  _  |       _________)
      (_______       (_____|_| |_(____)  \_/ |_| |_|       _______)
                       BBSing on the Bleeding Edge!
  
   If logging onto the BBS please login normally with your FULL name. The 
system will walk you through the login process. From the Main Menu you can 
use the caret '^' symbol to access our support services area.  Also, please 
leave Email to CHUCK BURKE indicating that you are interested in PCM 
so we may chat.

   Shiva Systems, Inc. also carries an excellent line of TBBS products 
produced by Kurt Risser. The Internet Mailer & The Purity Test are two 
such programs. Mr. Risser's work also includes the PIQUE Internet .BAG 
file processor for those SysOps running the Planet Connect or Pagesat 
systems.


NOTE: PCM ONLINE is for on-line use only.  You can not provide a means
   for users to download the files as we'll be dealing with redistribution
   problems forever.  Any system carrying issues dated from January 1995 on
   that is not a registered subscriber will be prosecuted!  Please do not
   put us in this position.  

 -=--------------        -=*=-     -=*=-     -=*=-        --------------=-

How to Find and Run the Programs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   Many of our articles offer batch files and QBASIC or GW-BASIC programs 
readers can type in and run. Of course, you don't need to type in the 
listings: we've made the .BAS and .BAT programs available to you. In every 
issue these files will be available for downloading as a .ZIP file. 
Contact your SysOp for the location of these files if he/she hasn't 
already given this information to you.

   PCM Online's files use this naming convention:

            PCMOxxxx.ZIP

where xxxx represents the year and month by number. For example, the files 
for our November 1994 issue can be found in the file PCMO9411.ZIP.

   We may opt not to include very short batch files in the .ZIP file. To 
use those files, you need merely to cut and paste. Most terminal packages 
(the good ones, that is!<G>) include the ability to "capture" screen 
output. What this means is that you press a key combination and your 
terminal program then asks for a filename. You give it a filename, and the 
program begins to write the contents of the data stream to disk. When 
you're finished capturing, you press the key combination again, and the 
file closes down: now you have a "captured" text file on disk of 
everything you've seen online. Just go in with a text editor, clean it up, 
and run it immediately.

   In Telix (great shareware terminal package!) the "capture" key 
combination is ALT-L. In Procomm Plus, it's ALT-F1. Please refer to your 
manual or doc files if you are using something different. We hope you 
enjoy what you find here in PCM Online and that the code we distribute is 
useful to you.

 -=--------------        -=*=-     -=*=-     -=*=-        --------------=-

How to Talk to Us
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   We welcome your feedback. If you think of ANYthing we can do to make 
PCM Online a better publication, to better meet your needs, please let us 
know. Feel free also to write letters to the editor, or to post questions 
to our Q&A columnists. Our Internet mailbox accepts mail 24 hours a day! 
If you're connected to the 'net, you can reach us by e-mailing:

                           pcm@shivasys.com

If you do reach us by net with a letter or question for publication, 
please let us know whether or not you want us to publish your e-mail 
address.

   You can also get our attention via "snail mail" or Ma Bell:

                           PCM Online
                           The Falsoft Building
                           P.O. Box 385
                           Prospect, KY 40059

                            Voice: (502) 228-2200
                              Fax: (502) 228-5121
                           Orders: (800) 847-0309

Please note that our toll-free (800) number is for orders only. If you 
need to call for any reason other than to place an order, please use the 
(502) 228-2200 number. (If you call the 800 number with a question, our 
receptionist will just refer you to the other number anyway.) Our office 
hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.

   Exactly what could you order from us? Glad you asked! How about PCM 
itself (the "offline" version)? Maybe you're the kind of person who 
prefers to lie back in a recliner and read something that doesn't fire 
photons at you. (Or you're a fan of breath-taking magazine layout. <G>) 
For you we offer 12 issues of PCM for $30.60, which is 10 percent off our 
regular subscription price of $34. We also offer the "offline" version of 
PC Kids, which has the coolest art of any kid's magazine! And then there's 
Software Shopper; remember, if you can't find the programs we review on 
your BBS, you can get them from us.

   We accept payment by VISA, MasterCard, American Express, cash, check or 
money order in U.S. currency only.

 -=--------------        -=*=-     -=*=-     -=*=-        --------------=-

Submission Guidelines
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                   To the Prospective Contributor . . .

   . . . Thank you for your interest in contributing to PCM. We're looking 
for the following:

   []  Short BASIC programs that do neat things (accompanied by short,
          explanatory articles);
   []  Helpful batch files (accompanied by short, explanatory articles);
   []  Handy and/or little-known hints and tips;
   []  Short-cut tutorials on important features in popular programs;
   []  Articles that clear up some of the mystery of computing;
   []  Articles that inspire our readers to carry the magazine to the
          keyboard, type in something, be amazed, and belt out a few 
          lines from Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus." (These kinds of 
          items get top priority.)

Windows and the Internet are, of course, hot topics. From time to time, we 
do use other kinds of material, including cartoons. (For PCM Online, we 
accept "ASCIItoons.") Currently we are NOT interested in freelance 
reviews; we're doing reviews in-house.

FORMAT: We prefer that you submit your article and listing, if any, both 
on disk and as printed "hard copy." We do accept electronic submissions, 
though we ask that you first query us by e-mail. (Again, our e-mail 
address is pcm@shivasys.com). Please format articles as plain ASCII files. 
We can prepare finished tables, diagrams and schematics from your rough 
draft IF you provide legible copy and full directions. You are also 
encouraged to include screen captures (color .PCX, TIFF, etc.) of your 
program if it contains visually attractive elements. Be sure to mention if 
your program or batch file requires a certain minimum level of hardware 
and software (e.g., VGA, math coprocessor, DOS 6.0+, etc.).

AUDIENCE: PCM targets novice and hobbyist users, who are usually more 
interested in what they can do with your program or batch file than in how 
it works. So, in your article, please do not give us a breakdown on every 
line of your program. Though if your program makes interesting use of a 
BASIC or DOS command, and you can tell the readers how to modify it to do 
even more interesting things, please feel free to include this 
information.

WHAT TO WRITE: Anything with a practical or entertaining application. If 
it interests you, it will probably interest a lot of other people. If 
you've discovered something neat, write about it!

COVER LETTER: Do include a cover letter to us, briefly explaining your 
submission. If it's a program or batch file, please tell us what it does, 
who would be interested, and why we should use it. Also, please include 
your address, home/work phone numbers, social security number (we'll need 
it come tax time if we buy your article), and a bio -- a short paragraph 
telling us about yourself -- that we can publish.

WRITING STYLE: We're shooting for a friendly style. Don't overdo the chat, 
but be conversational. Avoid technoslush! If you can be succinctly 
entertaining while you're informing, so much the better. And try to make 
your first paragraph as interesting as possible. It's true in all areas of 
journalism: you can gain or lose a reader in the first paragraph.

FICTION: Uh, we're almost afraid to mention this, considering all the 
frustrated fiction writers out there <G>. But we're cautiously CONSIDERING 
publishing short fiction: preferably stories that involve the computer in 
some way -- speculative stories on present and future uses for the 
computer -- but that keep a human focus.

PAYMENT: We pay on publication; the amount varies.

THE FINE PRINT: We purchase all rights, title and interest to your 
material, including the right, without further consideration, to include 
your material on PCM ON DISK, PCM the printed magazine, PCM Online and 
Delphi's PC-Compatibles SIG, or to reprint it in other forms. When we 
decide to purchase your material, you will be asked to sign a contract 
that covers these and other considerations in detail. We do not want to 
consider any material being simultaneously submitted to other 
publications. If you are sending us more than one article, please submit 
them in separate envelopes with separate cover letters.

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Masthead
~~~~~~~~

          PCM and PCM Online are brought to you by Falsoft, Inc.

             Editor and Publisher - Lawrence C. Falk

                        Editorial - John Crawley
                                    Ed Ellers
                                    Laurie Falk
                                    Greg Law
                                    Lauren Willoughby

             Contributing Editors - Alfred J. Bruey
                                    Emmett Dulaney
                                    Kari Jackson
                                    Wayne Kawamoto

                              Art - Joe Haysley

                         Prepress - Ira Barsky
                                    Melba Smith

                 Customer Service - Shannon Yoffe

       Advertising Sales Director - Kim Lewis

                           -------------
                           Falsoft, Inc.
                           -------------

                        President - Lawrence C. Falk

                  General Manager - Judi Hutchinson
Asst. General Manager for Finance - Donna Shuck
    Admin. Asst. to the Publisher - Debra Wilson


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