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       Software Shopper Online    August 1995 - BBSCON Edition
       "Your Shareware Source"

SOFTWARE SHOPPER Contents:

   []  Editor's Notes: Things are heating up
   []  Shareware Reviews: Dragon's Bane: Mahjongg II, Fire & Ice, 
          NetSpades and Vinyl Goddess From Mars
   []  Featured Selection: Our pick of what's new
   []  New Releases: New shareware programs
   []  New Versions: Updated shareware programs
   []  The Download Top 40: Jojo's list of the 40 most popular 
           shareware, freeware and demo downloads across the Internet
   []  FormGen's Top 10: Hot sellers in shareware
   []  What Is Shareware?: A cheerful explanation of try-before-you-buy
   []  About the Catalog: A note on Software Shopper's database
   []  Online Order Form: Yes, you can order shareware titles from us!

Entire contents copyright 1995 by Falsoft, Inc.

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

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Editor's Notes     \|/     by Lauren Willoughby
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                        THINGS ARE HEATING UP

   It's grueling summer here, and it seems software companies everywhere 
are taking a beat from the weather by stoking their "production 
furnaces" to top capacity. I've been FTP-ing software from around the 
globe, and it's getting so hard to keep up! Tons of new stuff pours in 
every day. Next month look for lots and lots of software we didn't have 
time to prepare for this issue!

   Summer is a great time for games. We're covering some great arcade 
and board games this month. Take a look at Dragon's Bane: Mahjongg II, 
the next generation in Mahjongg. And there's Entombed, an adventure game 
in the vein of Seventh Guest (gorgeous graphics). Fuzzy's World is for 
you if you ever wondered what it would be like to play golf in space. 
And then there's NetSpades, a multiplayer card game with hilarious chat 
features. It must be played to be believed!

   Last month I reviewed BananaCom, a great little DOS communications 
program -- perfect, in fact, for the person plugging in a modem for the 
first time, or for people who are "scared" of their modems. Obviously, 
that's not you -- or you wouldn't be reading this in your corner of 
cyberspace. If you're set up with all your scripts and stuff, BananaCom 
isn't for you. But let me tell you, it's the best program for new 
computer users. It's simple, streamlined, uncomplicated. So when friends 
and family return from Circuit City with that new Packard Bell and ask 
for your help in going online, do yourself a favor -- get them going 
with BananaCom, not Telix. Easier for them, less stressful for you.

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

Shareware Reviews
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   >> Dragon's Bane: Mahjongg II
          Tackling the Tiles

   >>  Fire & Ice
          A Game That Really Goes to Extremes

   >>  NetSpades v1.1
          Trump and "Bonk" Other Players Over a Modem!
                 
   >>  Vinyl Goddess From Mars
          A Thong Bikini, a Lady and Lotsa Monsters

                                 -=*=-

                  >> Dragon's Bane: Mahjongg II  <<
                         Tackling the Tiles

   Nels Anderson's Mahjongg wasn't the first shareware program I 
discovered, but it was the first one that reeled me in, hook, line and 
sinker. How I loved it when I won and got to see the fireworks 
celebration!

   Probably every PC user on the planet is familiar with Mahjongg, so I 
won't belabor the points of the game. Namely, you tag and remove 
matching tiles from a stack until you remove them all -- if you can. A 
little bit of luck and a lot of strategy are involved.

   Anderson has updated his board-game classic with Mahjongg II. 
Actually, it's called Dragon's Bane: Mahjongg II, in honor of the 
"dragon," which is the term given by the Chinese to the traditional 
pyramid shape of the tile pile.

   If you liked the original Mahjongg game, you'll love this update. It 
has sound! It has animation! It has VGA support (actually, it requires 
the VGA graphics mode)! It has a medieval theme! It also has a voracious 
appetite for hard-disk space. While the original Mahjongg could fit on a 
360K floppy disk, with room to spare, Mahjongg II gobbles up more than 
2MB of disk space. That's to make room for the sounds and the animations 
that play whenever you succeed in matching tiles (and you can turn off 
sound and animation if you like, which is good, because they do slow 
down game play somewhat).

   Like the original Mahjongg, you can choose to load different tile 
sets. Several medieval-themed tile sets are provided (lots of knights, 
shields and axes), along with a Chinese tile set as a salute to the 
game's ancient origins. Also included is a tile editor that lets you 
create your own tiles or modify existing tile sets. This is fantastic! 
The editor includes line, circle, rectangle and fill tools -- and it's 
even fun to just doodle around in.

   Unlike the older Mahjongg, Mahjongg II lets you venture beyond the 
traditional "dragon"-style layout to many others. It even lets you 
design your *own* layout. Lots of other bonuses are built in: tournament 
modes, statistics (to keep you apprised of your success "battling the 
dragon") and a timed option.

   It was as much fun to discover and play Mahjongg II as it was the 
original game. Of course, user expectations regarding interface and game 
play are rather higher now -- but Anderson has risen to the challenge. 
Great game! Play it!

   Mahjongg II requires 640K of RAM, DOS 3.0 or higher, extended memory, 
and VGA. Registration is $16.

              | Software Shopper Ordering Information |
              | Dragon's Bane    HD0144   1 Disk   $8 |

                                 -=*=-

                        >>>>  Fire & Ice  <<<<
                 A Game That Really Goes to Extremes

   Life around here has been torrid and steamy. Hey! I'm talking about 
the weather! So it was an extreme pleasure to stumble across Fire & Ice, 
a hot (and cool!) platform-style arcade game from Streetwise software. 
When the game loaded I found myself in the Arctic circle, turned into a 
character named Cool Coyote. Not only does he live in an igloo, he can 
spontaneously generate and lob ice pellets at will.

   That's a handy talent for him to have, because throwing ice pellets 
is the only way he can defend himself against the bad buys (little 
Eskimos and Penguin-esque creatures). To kill a bad guy, you freeze him 
with an ice pellet (some enemies require more than one dose); then when 
he's frozen, you bounce on him to shatter him. (I know, that sounds kind 
of drastic -- but if the bad guys win, their leader, the evil Suten, 
will destroy the earth with fire.)

   Like other 2-D platform games, including the popular Commander Keen 
series and Jazz Jackrabbit, Fire & Ice has great animation and graphics, 
and it gives you hidden objects to find and use. Lots of jumping, 
running, shooting and grabbing. My favorite things to do in a game! Fire 
& Ice also has moving platforms -- and puppies! If a puppy is around, 
it'll follow Cool Coyote and launch ice pellets whenever the Cool man 
does. (Talk about hero worship!) There's lots of humor in this game, 
from the puppies, to the crane that takes away the sun and puts the moon 
in place, to the nice clouds that shower down "snow bombs" when you hit 
them with an ice pellet.

   There are supposed to be some "Scottish" levels in this shareware 
version, but I haven't encountered them yet -- the game starts in "Ice" 
mode, and I haven't gotten too far along. (I think it's a subconscious 
desire to beat the heat. I'm taking a dive to stay cool!) I like this 
game; I find myself playing it more and more as the thermometer courts 
the 100-degree mark.

   You'll need EGA or VGA, and a hard drive, to play. Registration is 
$29.95.

              | Software Shopper Ordering Information |
              | Fire & Ice    HD0146     1 Disk    $8 |

                                 -=*=-

                      >>>>  NetSpades v1.1  <<<<
             Trump and "Bonk" Other Players Over a Modem!

   Tell me, the last time you and your pals got together for a friendly 
game of cards, did somebody scream? Push someone else out of his or her 
chair? Give everybody lots of cheerful hugs? Turn into an alien? Hmmm. 
These bizarre "things" seem to happen around me with great frequency: 
when I'm on the computer -- usually when visiting BBS chat rooms. People 
are always screaming, rolling on the floor laughing, or getting bonked. 
on the head. Things like that are happening now more than ever since 
I've installed NetSpades from Synthetic Reality. And I *LOVE* it!

   NetSpades is the classic four-player card game done up in Windows -- 
but with the full chat treatment. Not only can you play a challenging 
game of Spades, you can also trade insults (or warm hugs) with up to 
three other human players over a modem or network. (If you can't find 
four humans to warm the seats, "robots" will fill in.) The programmer, 
Dan J. Samuel, has obviously spent a lot of time in chat rooms. It shows 
in the beautiful interface that lets you make a face or bonk somebody 
with a single mouse click.

   Yes, NetSpades is a chatter's delight. A toolbar at the top of the 
screen gives you 14 buttons you can use to express yourself. Seven 
buttons feature yellow smileys, but only one of them is smiling! The 
others wear sad, angry, rude, malicious, drunk and coy expressions. When 
you feel yourself breaking into the appropriate mood, press the button, 
and you'll see the change reflected in your picture onscreen -- a little 
cartoon representative of you next to your cards. If that weren't 
enough, you can click the Face Editor button to custom-configure each 
picture from among hundreds of possible combinations. (You can turn 
yourself into an alien when you're angry, if you like.)

   The other seven buttons store action phrases; you can put a phrase 
"at the ready" any time simply by clicking its button. To put a phrase 
in action, just place your mouse cursor over someone else's "face" and 
do a right click. The action is typed into the scrolling chat box at the 
right of the cards. With human opponents, the commentary can get quite 
lively. When you're playing solo, you'll have to settle for bonking the 
robots. The seven default action phrases include such things as:

   [] <Ricky's> hair stands on end as <Lucy> emits a piercing scream!
   [] <Wilma> and <Fred> help <Barney> from the floor, after <Betty's>
          attack.
   [] <Clark> gives <Lois> a warm and cheerful hug.

   The <Names> represent names of the people playing the game! That's 
cool. If you click on the Action Editor button, you can type in your own 
custom phrases.

   Sound effects! We must talk about the sound effects! This program 
stocks .WAV files aplenty. Each action or event in NetSpades is 
accompanied by a humorous sound, whether it's a snick, a crash or a 
springy boing. When you change your expression, you hear it. (Try being 
angry just to hear the anguished yell. <G>) When you deliver an action 
phrase, you hear a sound effect too.

   The game play lives up to the excellence of the chat features. Try 
solo play and you'll see that the "robots" play a tough game. Here's a 
refresher on the rules of Spades for those who have forgotten how to 
play or never learned:

   The deck is dealt out to four players so that each holds 13 cards. On 
a play, someone leads with a card. Everyone else must play a card of the 
same suit. Say that someone leads with an ace of hearts; the others lay 
down a 10, 9 and 6 of hearts. The person who played the ace "takes the 
trick" -- earning 1 point. The high card wins the point, and aces are 
high. If one doesn't have a card of that suit, he or she may play a card 
of another suit. If he or she lays down a *spade* on, say, a pile of 
hearts, he/she "takes the trick" (earns 1 point), because spades are 
trumps. Even a lowly 2 of spades can take an ace of hearts -- or clubs 
or diamonds too, for that matter. But a higher spade always beats a 
lower spade.

   Let's back up to the point just after the cards are dealt: that's the 
bidding time. Bidding takes place before any cards are played. "Bidding" 
just means to estimate the number of tricks you think you can take, 
looking at your hand. You can bid from 0 (Nil) to 13 (though it's highly 
unlikely that you'll take all 13 tricks). The more spades, aces and high 
cards you have in your hand, the more optimistic you can be. Bidding is 
important, because scoring depends on it. Say you bid 5 tricks, and you 
win 5 tricks. Lucky you -- you get 50 points! Yep, that's 10 points for 
each trick won. What if you bid 5 tricks but win 6? You'd get 51 points, 
not 60, because "overbid" points count as 1. Woe be to you if you don't 
match your bid. If you bid 5 but take less than 5 tricks, you *lose* 50 
points. (NetSpades' computer opponents, and most human opponents too, do 
everything in their power to try to keep you from meeting your bid.) 
It's not unusual to see players in negative-point situations. Game play 
proceeds until somebody wins 300 points.

   A lot of strategy goes into winning Spades -- knowing when to play 
high cards, when to hold off trumps. NetSpades makes things interesting 
by letting you adjust the rules with "Nil" and "Overtricking" clauses. 
If you bid 0, or Nil, and manage to meet that, you'll win 100 points! 
(Of course, everyone else will throw out their low cards to try and make 
you take a trick.) The Overtricking rule counts the number of tricks you 
win over your bid. When you rack up 10 "overtricks," you're docked 100 
points.

   NetSpades also gives you the option of playing two-on-two; you and 
your partner bid as a team (but without being able to discuss your 
cards, unfortunately).

   I can't recommend NetSpades highly enough. It's a great game of cards 
all by itself. When you add in the chat features, the sound effects and 
the unpredictability of other players, it becomes a delightful circus. 
It won't take you long to use up the 10 hours of evaluation time you're 
allotted in this shareware version. After 10 hours, you must register 
($22.95) to receive your activation code in order to get back.

              | Software Shopper Ordering Information |
              | NetSpades     HD0147     1 Disk    $8 |

                                 -=*=-
                      
                 >>>>  Vinyl Goddess From Mars  <<<<
             A Thong Bikini, a Lady and Lotsa Monsters

   The game Vinyl Goddess From Mars has been sitting in my IN box for 
quite a while. Something about the disk label, with the picture of the 
scantily clad woman holding a knife in a provocative manner, put me off. 
But on a recent expedition through the depths of software awaiting my 
attention, I picked up the disk again and actually read the letter from 
Union Logic (the publisher) this time. Then my sense of humor got the 
better of me.

   Describing Vinyl Goddess From Mars as a "sexy" platform game, the 
publishers gave it this scenario: "While en-route to the esteemed 
intergalactic B movie festival, the Vinyl Goddess crash-lands on a 
strange planet. Help Vinyl recover enough storage capsules to fix her 
ship and reach the festival in time."

   So, a platform game. Here I was envisioning all sorts of lewd cyber-
orgies, and it's a platform game (I *love* platform games!) -- with a 
sense of humor. When I loaded it up and began to play, I found that 
Vinyl Goddess From Mars looks and plays a lot like Epic MegaGames' Jill 
of the Jungle. It's pure platform action: running, jumping and shooting. 
(Oops! Make that "knife throwing" instead of "shooting.") Yep, and it 
also adds elements of vine-climbing, ducking, trampoline hopping, bad-
guy-fighting, moving-platform timing, hidden-area finding and 
goodie/health-device-grabbing.

   The 256-color graphics are spectacular. The animation, which Union 
Logic states is at 70 frames per second, is about the smoothest I've 
seen. The interface really clicks. You'll get caught up in the action as 
you jump around looking for your red storage capsules -- and having to 
fight off the green pod creatures and other meanies that fire energy-
sapping globs at you.

   To play you'll need a 386DX or better CPU, 640K of RAM, a hard drive 
and VGA. To hear the digitized sound effects, you'll need a Sound 
Blaster or compatible. Joysticks and GamePads are supported.

   (Yes, I get the reference to Leather Goddesses of Phobos. But since I 
haven't played that game, I can't compare them for you. Sorry.)

           |    Software Shopper Ordering Information    |
           | Vinyl Goddess From Mars  HD0153  1 Disk  $8 |

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

Featured Selection
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      Our pick of the best of what's new in shareware. We're offering
   these programs at half off our normal distribution costs until 
   August 31, 1995. Want the whole bunch? We'll send them to you for
   $12 -- that's an additional $6 savings.

Dragon's Bane: Mah Jongg II
Medieval Mah Jongg -- lotsa fun!
     Mah Jongg, that popular solitaire tile game from Nels
     Anderson, has just moved to its second generation -- and
     acquired a medieval theme with tile sets of knights,
     dragons and castles. Other tile sets are provided, and with
     the included tile editor you can design your own tiles! Mah
     Jongg II also has a layout editor and extensive
     record-keeping (for those who like statistics). It supports
     both VGA and Super VGA (VESA 1.2 and others supported);
     mouse and Sound Blaster are optional.
Requires: 640K, VGA (SVGA recom.), hard drive
SS ID#: HD0144    SS Dist. Cost: [NOT $8] BUT $4

Fire & Ice
Hot (and cool!) platform arcade game
     Holding out for a hero? The good guys are, after the evil
     Suten threatens to destroy the earth with his favorite
     element -- fire. The hero turns out to be Cool Coyote, who
     lives up to his name, residing in a polar igloo. Directing
     Cool Coyote, you tool around icy levels, freezing little
     bad guys with your snowballs -- and then bouncing on them
     to shatter them. There are hidden objects to find, amazing
     graphics, cute music and sound effects, and lots of fun.
     Fire & Ice is a platform game, which means it's
     two-dimensional, like Commander Keen and Mario Bros.
Requires: EGA/VGA and a hard drive
SS ID#: HD0146    SS Dist. Cost: [NOT $8] BUT $4

NetRemote v6.0
Remote access and control program!
     NetRemote is a remote access and control program. It lets
     you take control of a second PC over a phone line (or a LAN
     connection), which means you can run that PC's programs,
     control it with your keyboard and mouse, view its display
     on your screen -- and treat the drives on the remote system
     as virtual drives you can access as you do your own. As a
     "remote control" user, you can access data, print reports,
     or observe the operations of another PC user (great if you
     want to provide support to others from the comfort of your
     own chair). Features include drag-and-drop file transfer;
     remote reboot; dial-back connections; bidirectional drive
     mapping; support for up to 24-bit color and resolutions up
     to 1280-by-1024; and network support for IPX/SPX and
     NetBIOS. Includes both Remote and Host software. (The
     Remote software requires Windows; the Host software
     operates within DOS or Windows.)
Requires: 386+ CPU, Windows 3.1, 2MB RAM, modem
SS ID#: HD0139    SS Dist. Cost: [NOT $12] BUT $6

NetSpades v1.1
Spades! Alone or with friends via modem
     It's the classic card game for four: you can play alone,
     letting the computer fill out the other chairs -- or you
     can play online, over a modem or network against other
     people! This game is really slick, fun, and funny. The
     programmer, Dan Samuel, gives you lots of "smiley"-type
     toolbar buttons you can click to "bonk," insult or
     otherwise communicate with your opponents. You can also
     type your own comments; a scrolling chat line at the right
     of the screen keeps up with the chatter and the bids. You
     also get your own onscreen representative -- whose look you
     can change at will to reveal your emotional state
     (laughing, snarling, and everything in between). You may
     have so much fun playing with the interface that you'll
     forget the game for a while. But do play! The computer
     opponents are challenging, and you can adjust rules
     regarding overbidding and nil bids. Everything about this
     program shines, from the humorous sound effects to the
     quality of writing in the help file.
Requires: Windows 3.1
SS ID#: HD0147    SS Dist. Cost: [NOT $8] BUT $4

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

New Releases
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Animated Memory Game v3.0
Match the squares to see the action
     Test your noggin in this "Concentration"-like game, which
     uses 30 sequences to test memory skills. By turning over
     and matching hidden pictures in pairs, you win the game and
     get to watch animated rewards. Supports keyboard and mouse
     play.
Requires: EGA and a hard drive
SS ID#: AU9506    SS Dist. Cost: $6        Author's Fee: $  6.00

Animated VGA Memory Game v1.0
Match the pictures, watch the morphs
     A "Concentration"-type game in which you turn over hidden
     pictures, two at a time, looking for a match. When the
     pictures match, they animate, accompanied by neat sound
     effects. Pencils explode, locks morph into keys, and mice
     "walk away" from their computers. Neat game! You'll want a
     sound card to hear the effects; most sound systems are
     supported.
Requires: VGA, a hard drive
SS ID#: HD0152    SS Dist. Cost: $8        Author's Fee: $ 10.00

BARCODE-BLOBS
Turn bar codes into .PCX files!
     BARCODE-BLOBS lets you generate 14 different kinds of bar
     codes -- and then turn them into .PCX graphics images (in
     high-quality 300x300 dpi) for use in word processors,
     desktop publishers, database managers or other
     applications. Supported label formats include UPC A, UPC E,
     EAN/IAN 8 & 13, Interleaved 2 of 5, POSTNET and more.
Requires: 512K, DOS 2.0+, floppy drive
SS ID#: AU9503    SS Dist. Cost: $6        Author's Fee: $ 50.00

Delrina WinComm LITE
A terrific telecom program!
     A "lite" version of the commercial program Delrina WinComm
     PRO, this program packs the telecommunications basics
     you're looking for -- easy connection to BBSs and online
     services; the ability to upload and download files using
     the most popular file-transfer protocols; and a selection
     of terminal fonts for best screen fit. The program lets you
     assign icons to your favorite online services -- logging on
     is as simple as double-clicking. Preconfigured icons are
     provided for services like Delphi, BIX, GEnie, CompuServe,
     AT&T Mail, Dow Jones, and the Delrina BBS. If you upgrade
     to WinComm PRO (for only $49.95, a great deal!), you get
     added capability, including script features and a button
     bar.
Requires: Windows 3.1 and a modem
SS ID#: HD0143    SS Dist. Cost: $5        Author's Fee: $ 49.95

Dragon's Bane: Mah Jongg II
Medieval Mah Jongg -- lotsa fun!
     Mah Jongg, that popular solitaire tile game from Nels
     Anderson, has just moved to its second generation -- and
     acquired a medieval theme with tile sets of knights,
     dragons and castles. Other tile sets are provided, and with
     the included tile editor you can design your own tiles! Mah
     Jongg II also has a layout editor and extensive
     record-keeping (for those who like statistics). It supports
     both VGA and Super VGA (VESA 1.2 and others supported);
     mouse and Sound Blaster are optional.
Requires: 640K, VGA (SVGA recom.), hard drive
SS ID#: HD0144    SS Dist. Cost: $8        Author's Fee: $ 16.00

Entombed v1.7
Solve the puzzle of the ancient tomb
     You play the role of an archaeologist who becomes trapped
     in an ancient tomb in this 3-D puzzle adventure game. Alone
     you must navigate your way through deadly traps, intricate
     puzzles and involved mazes as you try to escape from your
     harsh captor before it claims another victim. What became
     of the race that created this vast underground metropolis,
     and what is its purpose? Time travel, perhaps? Features
     breathtaking ray-traced graphics. From Impulse Software.
Requires: 386+ CPU, Win. 3.1, 2MB RAM, 512K SVGA
SS ID#: HD0140    SS Dist. Cost: $8        Author's Fee: $ 39.95

Fire & Ice
Hot (and cool!) platform arcade game
     Holding out for a hero? The good guys are, after the evil
     Suten threatens to destroy the earth with his favorite
     element -- fire. The hero turns out to be Cool Coyote, who
     lives up to his name, residing in a polar igloo. Directing
     Cool Coyote, you tool around icy levels, freezing little
     bad guys with your snowballs -- and then bouncing on them
     to shatter them. There are hidden objects to find, amazing
     graphics, cute music and sound effects, and lots of fun.
     Fire & Ice is a platform game, which means it's
     two-dimensional, like Commander Keen and Mario Bros.
Requires: EGA/VGA and a hard drive
SS ID#: HD0146    SS Dist. Cost: $8        Author's Fee: $ 29.95

Fuzzy's World v1.00s
Putt-putt in space! Really!
     It's wild! It's zany! It's . . . space golf? That's right!
     If you're a fan of putt-putt, you can't miss this game,
     where gravity is skewed and graphics are great. The artists
     were definitely inspired by The Jetsons cartoon. The sound
     track is cool too (though you'll need a sound board, like
     the Sound Blaster, to hear it). A mouse is required for
     aiming and swinging. From Pixel Painters.
Requires: 33MHz 386+ CPU, 4MB RAM, VGA, mouse
SS ID#: HD0141    SS Dist. Cost: $12       Author's Fee: $ 27.95

Graph Crazy v1.1
Quick graphs for school or business
     When you need to print a graph fast, this is your program.
     Graph Crazy can churn out 11 graph types based on your
     data. It includes neat Windows goodies, such as a Graph
     Wizard, a toolbar, balloon tool tip help, and
     spreadsheet-like data-entry. Graph types supported include
     3-D pie, 2-D bar, 3-D bar, Gannt, line, polar, scatter,
     line/log and more -- and each kind of graph has many
     sub-options you can select. Graphs can be saved as .BMP or
     .WMF files, or be sent to other Windows programs directly
     via the Clipboard.
Requires: Windows 3.1
SS ID#: HD0148    SS Dist. Cost: $6        Author's Fee: $ 19.95

Home Stretch v2.1
Horse racing and wagering
     Home Stretch for Windows bills itself as "the most
     realistic (and fun) horse racing and wagering simulation
     available." It includes realistic odds, bet types (win,
     place, show, quinella, exacta), race-track sounds, horse
     graphics, printed reports and past performance data (which
     you can use to make intelligent bets). Supports up to four
     human and computer players. Can you beat the computer
     handicapper?
Requires: a Windows 3.0 or 3.1 system
SS ID#: HD0142    SS Dist. Cost: $6        Author's Fee: $ 20.00

Netcenter's Guide to the Internet
HTM files ready for your hotlist
     A list of 3000 sites on the World Wide Web. Just load the
     main .HTM file (ROADMAP.HTM) into your Web browser, and
     it'll take you on a direct route to sites broken down by
     categories. Actors (Drew Barrymore, Quentin Tarantino),
     Federal (White House, Dept. of Energy), Internet Navigation
     (Internet Town Hall, Worldwide Yellow Pages), Museums
     (Baseball Hall of Fame) and many more sites are on the
     itinerary.
Requires: a World Wide Web browser program
SS ID#: SE9501    SS Dist. Cost: $6        Author's Fee: $ 49.00

NetRemote v6.0
Remote access and control program!
     NetRemote is a remote access and control program. It lets
     you take control of a second PC over a phone line (or a LAN
     connection), which means you can run that PC's programs,
     control it with your keyboard and mouse, view its display
     on your screen -- and treat the drives on the remote system
     as virtual drives you can access as you do your own. As a
     "remote control" user, you can access data, print reports,
     or observe the operations of another PC user (great if you
     want to provide support to others from the comfort of your
     own chair). Features include drag-and-drop file transfer;
     remote reboot; dial-back connections; bidirectional drive
     mapping; support for up to 24-bit color and resolutions up
     to 1280-by-1024; and network support for IPX/SPX and
     NetBIOS. Includes both Remote and Host software. (The
     Remote software requires Windows; the Host software
     operates within DOS or Windows.)
Requires: 386+ CPU, Windows 3.1, 2MB RAM, modem
SS ID#: HD0139    SS Dist. Cost: $12       Author's Fee: $ 49.00

NetSpades v1.1
Spades! Alone or with friends via modem
     It's the classic card game for four: you can play alone,
     letting the computer fill out the other chairs -- or you
     can play online, over a modem or network against other
     people! This game is really slick, fun, and funny. The
     programmer, Dan Samuel, gives you lots of "smiley"-type
     toolbar buttons you can click to "bonk," insult or
     otherwise communicate with your opponents. You can also
     type your own comments; a scrolling chat line at the right
     of the screen keeps up with the chatter and the bids. You
     also get your own onscreen representative -- whose look you
     can change at will to reveal your emotional state
     (laughing, snarling, and everything in between). You may
     have so much fun playing with the interface that you'll
     forget the game for a while. But do play! The computer
     opponents are challenging, and you can adjust rules
     regarding overbidding and nil bids. Everything about this
     program shines, from the humorous sound effects to the
     quality of writing in the help file.
Requires: Windows 3.1
SS ID#: HD0147    SS Dist. Cost: $8        Author's Fee: $ 22.95

Outer Ridge
"Asteroids"-style game -- in 3-D!
     Imagine the old Asteroids arcade game with colorful,
     rendered space rocks that spin realistically and whiz by at
     breakneck speeds. Imagine that you're at the helm of a
     spaceship in the middle of all this frantic activity, and
     your job is to shoot them! When you shoot the big
     asteroids, they break up into smaller 'roids. When you
     shoot the smaller rocks, they pulverize into harmless dust.
     This Asteroids game is in 3-D, though. You're really in the
     center of things, with a full range of motion. Watch for
     approaching asteroids -- and spaceships -- on your radar
     screens, and use your thrusters to get closer to targets,
     or to get out of the path of a big rock!
Requires: 386+, 4MB RAM, VGA, hard drive
SS ID#: HD0145    SS Dist. Cost: $8        Author's Fee: $ 25.00

PCStat v2.7
Pro stats program even novices can use
     A statistical report program providing basic descriptive
     statistics and histograms, PCStat is particularly useful in
     showing comparisons such as before-and-after situations or
     one process versus another. It has a pull-down-menu user
     interface similar to Lotus 1-2-3, with online,
     context-sensitive documentation. It accepts data from Lotus
     1-2-3, manual key-in or prepared Dbase, ASCII and
     DIF-compatible files.
Requires: 640K RAM, 720K+ disk space
SS ID#: AU9504    SS Dist. Cost: $6        Author's Fee: $ 32.95

Personal Tennis Coach
Practice, analyze, focus, practice
     Use your home computer and this program to analyze your
     game and help focus you on the areas that need improvement.
     Use it to record vital statistics on each playing session,
     your playing strategy, your opponent's, and thoughts on the
     next workout. Includes phone-book and scheduling modules to
     help you line up practice opponents.
Requires: 256K RAM and a floppy disk
SS ID#: AU9502    SS Dist. Cost: $6        Author's Fee: $ 12.00

PhotoPat v1.5
From bitmaps to "color-by-number" sheets
     PhotoPat is a truly unique image-processing program. It
     takes bitmap images (even scanned photos) and converts them
     into color-by-number type patterns. User-definable palettes
     match up the pieces (yes, crayon palettes are included).
     Applications for PhotoPat include color-by-number designs,
     sign-making and stained-glass designs.
Requires: Windows 3.1, 5MB RAM
SS ID#: HD0149    SS Dist. Cost: $8        Author's Fee: $ 25.00

RISS Icon Pak v1.5
2001 icons for Windows, plus viewer
     Tired of the same old Windows icons? Add some zip and zing
     with this collection of 2001 different icons. They're
     conveniently arranged into separate DLL libraries
     (categories include applications, games, people and
     utilities). RISS Icon Pak comes with a viewer utility and
     an easy setup program, which automates installation.
Requires: Windows 3.1
SS ID#: HD0150    SS Dist. Cost: $8        Author's Fee: $ 16.95

Super Speed v1.1
A VGA race game for 1 to 4 players
     An overhead-view racing game for up to four players.
     Challenge your friends or compete against the computer as
     you control your careening little car around hairpin
     curves. Occasionally objects will appear on the track that
     you can pick up for points or extra speed. Players can
     control their racers via the keyboard or joysticks. Great
     graphics and animation! Supports sound cards.
Requires: 386+ CPU, VGA
SS ID#: AU9501    SS Dist. Cost: $6        Author's Fee: $ 15.00

Tek Illustrator v3.16
For technical drafting in Windows
     Powerful, fast and easy to use, Tek Illustrator makes a
     great Windows-based program for drafting and drawing
     technical illustrations. It features a full set of drawing
     and construction tools, including hatching, symbol
     management, dimensioning, .BMP trace display, WMF
     import/export, font support (TrueType and PostScript), DXF
     filters, an extensive help system, and more.
Requires: Windows 3.1, 7MB free disk space
SS ID#: HD0151    SS Dist. Cost: $10       Author's Fee: $129.00

Vinyl Goddess From Mars
A sexy platform game
     Think you'd like to play a platform game that stars a
     goddess in a thong bikini? Then you'd like this game.
     Here's the story: The Vinyl Goddess, star of intergalactic
     B movies, has crash-landed on a strange planet. The force
     of the crash scattered her storage capsules far and wide,
     and she must track them down if she is to reach the
     intergalactic B movie festival on time. Lots of running,
     jumping and shooting. The game features
     70-frames-per-second smooth scrolling, a rock soundtrack
     and digital sound effects for Sound Blaster and compatible
     sound cards.
Requires: 386DX+ CPU, 640K, hard drive, VGA
SS ID#: HD0153    SS Dist. Cost: $8        Author's Fee: $ 29.95

WinClip v3.5
View, print catalogs of BMPs, GIFs, PCXs
     A handy little program that lets you quickly view your
     .GIF, .BMP and .PCX clip-art files -- and print catalog
     thumbnails of them. With the AutoZoom feature, you can view
     all images at a certain level of magnification. To view an
     image, click on its name once in the file list. If you
     double-click on its name, the image loads automatically
     into an image editor (you can specify your editor of
     choice). Features a new 1-inch-wide catalog thumbnail
     printout for neater pages.
Requires: Windows 3.1, 2MB of RAM
SS ID#: AU9505    SS Dist. Cost: $6        Author's Fee: $ 20.00

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

New Versions
~~~~~~~~~~~~

CAD/DRAW v2.00e
Powerful computer-aided design
     If you need to draw blueprints, plans or elevations in
     Windows, try CAD/DRAW. It features numerous drawing tools,
     multiple layers (up to 256) and color support. It also has
     associative dimensioning, library management, user-defined
     hatchings, context-sensitive help and more. Commands are
     available by menu, keyboard command or icons.
Requires: Windows 3.1
SS ID#: HD0038    SS Dist. Cost: $8        Author's Fee: $ 59.95

Catalog-On-A-Disk v4.01
An electronic sales tool!
     Tired of "printing" catalogs? Why not just "copy" them? If
     you have something to sell, and you know your audience is
     composed of computer users, give this program a try. It
     lets you distribute your catalogs and price lists on disk.
     Users can browse, search for products, and interactively
     tag items of interest; when they're finished tagging, they
     can press a few keys to have the program total up their
     purchases and even print the order form with precalculated
     taxes and shipping. ASP author.
Requires: 640K, DOS 3.0+, 500K disk space
SS ID#: JY1007    SS Dist. Cost: $6        Author's Fee: $ 55.00

Home Plan v2.7
Draw/print floor plans and elevations
     Got an idea for your dream house, or do you want to create
     floorplan printouts to use for reference in your next
     renovation project? Home Plan can help you put your plans
     to paper. It's for drawing, editing, saving and printing
     house plans (elevations as well as floorplans). It supports
     metric as well as U.S. measurements; can draw
     variable-width walls; show studs and joists; offers
     predrawn furniture and appliances; and supports
     wide-carriage printers. ASP author.
Requires: VGA, printer (HP LaserJet or dot-matrix)
SS ID#: FE9305    SS Dist. Cost: $6        Author's Fee: $ 24.00

Paint Shop Pro v3.01
Powerful Windows paint/image editor!
     Want the best multipurpose Windows graphics utility? Look
     no further than Paint Shop Pro, which lets you display,
     convert, alter, scan, print, and generally fiddle with
     images. It supports more than 30 file formats, including
     .PCX, .TIF, .GIF, .BMP, .WPG, JPEG, Targa, Kodak Photo CD
     and the new PNG. It offers TWAIN scanner support and more
     than 20 powerful image filters (for special effects): it
     also includes a Kai's Power Tools filter, and it offers
     plug-in support for other Adobe-compatible filters. Its
     multidocument interface lets you view several files at the
     same time. New in Version 3.x are the paint tools! Where
     before Paint Shop Pro was a great image editor, now it's a
     terrific image editor and paint program, giving you even
     more power in fine-tuning your images. You get eight types
     of paintbrushes (including crayon, charcoal and pen). New
     in Version 3.01 is support for transparent .GIFs -- great
     for putting up Web sites. We recommend this program highly.
     In fact, we use it daily to prepare graphic images in all
     Falsoft publications. (Formerly SS ID# JN9169.)
Requires: Windows 3.1+
SS ID#: HD0109    SS Dist. Cost: $10       Author's Fee: $ 69.00

SmartDraw v1.03
5-STAR drawing/flowcharting program!
     SmartDraw is the best drawing program we've seen for doing
     charts, diagrams, flowcharts, maps and miscellaneous
     business graphics. With this drag-and-drop program, users
     can pull shapes (rectangles, pyramids, circles, arrows and
     more) onto the drawing board, resize them, and connect them
     with different styles of lines -- and the shapes stay
     connected even if you move them, because the lines
     stretch. Text and graphics can be inserted into the shapes,
     or placed above and below. You get a built-in library of
     shapes, clip art ("smart" drawings, which can act as
     shapes), and a set of design styles. SmartDraw works a lot
     like Visio, but it's even easier to use! It also works with
     Microsoft Office programs and other programs as an OLE
     server.
Requires: Windows 3.1, 386+ CPU, 1MB+ RAM, VGA
SS ID#: HD0071    SS Dist. Cost: $8        Author's Fee: $ 35.00

Top Draw v2.01
Powerful object-oriented drawing program
     Interested in "drawing" programs like CorelDRAW and
     Micrografx Designer but don't want to pay an arm and a leg?
     Check out Top Draw, an award-winning shareware competitor
     that offers powerful object-oriented drawing features. It
     can do Bezier curves, gradient fills, text-on-a-path,
     textures and more! Because it's a vector-based drawing
     program, its images are resolution-independent and can be
     scaled large or small without any of the jaggies you get
     with bitmap images from paint programs. Use Top Draw to
     create logos, diagrams and other elements for sharp
     illustration and desktop-publishing work. You'll love it!
Requires: a 386+ CPU, 2MB RAM and Windows 3.1
SS ID#: HD0020    SS Dist. Cost: $8        Author's Fee: $ 49.95

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

The Download Top 40
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   The following Top 40 contains the best download PC games in the 
world. The list includes demo versions, shareware versions and freeware 
games. Vote for a game in this chart if you think other people should 
download it.

   This list is prepared by Jurgen "Jojo" Appelo and reprinted by 
permission. To see how commercial games rate, look for The Internet Top 
100 in the FIRST section of PCM Online.

========================================================================
 Download Top 40                  Edition 135 - Week 31 - July 31, 1995
========================================================================
 TW   LW   NW Title                Developer/Publisher(s) Cat  ID Points
------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1 (  1)   5 Nethack 3.1 {F}                     DevTeam RP [1186] 283
  2 (  2)   5 Descent {S}              Parallax/Interplay AC [1644] 136
  3 (  4)^  5 Stars! {S}                     Star Crossed ST [1662] 105
  4 (  3)   5 Terminal Velocity {S}  Termin. R./3D Realms AC [1646]  83
  5 (  6)^  5 Doom {S}                                 Id AC [1645]  73
  6 (  5)   5 Angband {F}             Robert Alan Koeneke RP [1255]  71
  7 (  7)   5 Heretic {S}                        Raven/Id AC [1648]  60
  8 ( 11)^  5 Minesweeper {F} {W}               Microsoft ST [1184]  48
  9 ( 10)^  5 VGA Planets {S}                Tim Wisseman ST [1651]  37
 10 ( 12)^  2 Xquest {F}                         Atomjack AC [1482]  36
 11 ( 20)^  3 Full Throttle {D}                 LucasArts AD [1689]  36
 12 ( 34)^  5 FreeCell {F} {W}                  Microsoft ST [1660]  35
 13 (  9)   5 Virtual Pool {S}          Celeris/Interplay SP [1655]  31
 14 ( 15)^  5 Rise of the Triad: The Hunt B. {S}   Apogee AC [1668]  31
 15 (  8)   5 One Must Fall: 2097 {S}                Epic AC [1647]  30
 16 ( 18)^  5 Sherlock {S}                  Everett Kaser ST [1654]  30
 17 ( 19)^  5 Roids {S} {O}                   Leonard Guy AC [1670]  28
 18 ( 14)   5 Jazz Jackrabbit {S}                    Epic AC [1652]  25
 19 ( 26)^  5 Scorched Earth {S}           Wendell Hicken AC [1673]  22
 20 ( 36)^  4 Curses {F}                    Graham Nelson AD [1396]  21
 21 ( 17)   5 3D-Lemmings {D}  Dime. Cr./Eclipse/Psygnos. AC [1619]  19
 22 ( 24)^  5 Raptor: Call of the Shadows {S}  Cy./Apogee AC [1665]  19
 23 ( 16)   5 Cyberdogs {F}                  Ronny Wester AC [1542]  17
 24 ( 13)   5 Wacky Wheels {S}              Beavis/Apogee AC [1649]  16
 25 ( 22)   5 Slicks 'n' Slide {S}         Timo Kauppinen SP [1659]  16
 26 ( 28)^  4 Barren Realms Elite {S}  M. Patel/Solar Rea.ST [1683]  16
 27 ( 30)^  4 Mordor {S} {W}                     MakeItSo RP [1681]  15
 28 ( 32)^  3 Ragnarok {F}                      Norsehelm RP [1243]  15
 29 ( 25)   5 Wolfenstein 3D {S}                Id/Apogee AC [1658]  13
 30 ( 21)   5 Epic Pinball {S}                       Epic AC [1650]  12
 31 ( 29)   5 Oxyd {S}                         Dongleware PU [1671]  10
 32 ( 35)^  5 Duke Nukem 2 {S}                     Apogee AC [1677]  10
 33 (  -)^  1 Fade to Black {D}  Delphine/Electronic Arts AC [1693]  10
 34 ( 33)   4 Alphaman {S}                     Jeff Olson RP [1680]   9
 35 ( 38)^  2 Nahlakh {S}                   Tom Proudfoot RP [1692]   9
 36 (  -)^  1 Witchaven {D}            Capstone/Intracorp RP [1694]   8
 37 (  -)^  1 Solitaire {F} {W}                 Microsoft ST [1214]   7
 38 ( 23)   5 Asteroids {F} {W}                 Microsoft AC [1653]   5
 39 (  -)^  1 Hi-Octane {D}      Bullfrog/Electronic Arts AC [1695]   5
 40 (  -)^  1 MechWarrior 2: The Clans {D}     Activision AC [1696]   5

========================================================================
| TW : This Week    | The Internet PC Games Charts are compiled using  |
| LW : Last Week    | votes sent by gamers from all over the world.    |
| NW : No. of Weeks | The latest charts are published every Monday on  |
|  - : New Entry    | Usenet in the comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.* newsgroups.|
|  ^ : Climbing     |--------------------------------------------------|
|  * : Bullet       | If you send your votes, do it like this:         |
| AC : Action       | > 5  Dark Invader  [1435]                        |
| AD : Adventure    | > 4  Mysterious Forces 2  [1322]                 |
| PU : Puzzle       | > 5  Super Fighter  [1502]                       |
| RP : Role-Playing | > 2  Magic of Zuul 4  []                         |
| SI : Simulation   | > 4  The Lost Tycoon  []                         |
| SP : Sports       |--------------------------------------------------|
| ST : Strategy     | (c) 1995 all rights reserved |  Jojo Productions |
| {F}: Freeware Ver.| The Internet PC Games Charts | Balderikstraat 16 |
| {D}: Demo Version | are published for the gaming | 3032 HC Rotterdam |
| {S}: Shareware Ver| community. Distribution of   |   The Netherlands |
| {R}: Registered V.| these charts is granted only |    jojo@xs4all.nl |
| {C}: CD-ROM Only  | by written permission.       |                   |
| {W}: Windows Only |--------------------------------------------------|
| {O}: OS/2 Only    | On the WorldWideWeb:  http://www.xs4all.nl/~jojo |
========================================================================

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

FormGen's Top 10
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                               July 1995
                   These figures are from June 1995.

               The lists are compiled from unit sales of 
             evaluation disks by leading shareware vendors
            around the world. The lists are produced monthly
           by Dorinda MacLean and distributed by FormGen Corp.

                 The symbols next to "Rank" indicate whether
                 the title is growing more popular or losing 
                 ground:

                        ^  =  up from last month
                        v  =  down from last month
                        -  =  no change

                                 -=*=-

                          APPLICATIONS TOP 10

Rank|Months|     Title (Author)              |  Description             
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  ^  4    Quikmenu (NeoSoft)                DOS menu with Windows look
 2  v  8    wInformant (Neocom Microspec.)    Windows uninstaller/utils
 3  v  7    Snooper (J. Vias)                 PC system analyzer
 4  ^  2    WinPak (Rhode Island Soft Sys.)   Screen savers for Windows
 5  ^  2    Home Plan (C. Herndon)            Floor plan designer
 6  ^  2    Phantom Screen (NeoSoft)          Screen-blanking utility
 7  v  4    Paint Shop Pro (JASC)             Windows paint/image editor
 8  ^  2    ProtoCAD 3D (TRIUS, Inc.)         3-D CAD program
 9  ^  1    Envision Publisher (Soft. Vision) Desktop Publisher for DOS
10  ^  1    Draft Choice (TRIUS, Inc.)        Desktop CAD program

                                 -=*=-

                         ENTERTAINMENT TOP 10

Rank|Months|     Title (Author)              |  Description             
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  -  7    Rise of the Triad (Apogee)        3-D VR combat game
 2  - 18    DOOM (id Software)                3-D VR combat game
 3  ^  2    Terminal Velocity (3D Realms)     3-D VR flight combat game
 4  ^  8    One Must Fall (Epic Megagames)    Arcade one-on-one combat
 5  ^  3    Heretic (Raven/id Software)       3-D VR combat game
 6  ^  3    Descent (Parallax/Interplay)      3-D VR combat game
 7  v  5    Wacky Wheels (Beavis Soft/Apogee) Action Racing Simulation
 8  ^ 15    Raptor (Cygnus/Apogee)            Arcade shoot-'em-up
 9  v 19    Epic Pinball (Epic Megagames)     Video pinball game
10  v  9    Jazz Jackrabbit (Epic Megagames)  Platform arcade game

                                 -=*=-

                           EDUCATION TOP 10

Rank|Months|     Title (Author)              |  Description             
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 1  -  3    Beginners Guide to Internet       Tutor for Internet
               (Suarez Associates)
 2  - 10    Big Dummy's Guide to Internet     Tutor for Internet
               (Electronic Frontier)
 3  ^ 35    PC-Fastype (Trendtech)            Typing Tutor
 4  - 35    Word Rescue (K. Crowther/Apogee)  Arcade reading game
 5  ^  4    News of the Past (F. Bonebrake)   Historical reference
 6  v 29    Math Rescue (K. Crowther/Apogee)  Arcade math game
 7  ^  3    College Funding Finder (Theberge) Financial aid resource
 8  v  9    Adventure Math (Epic MegaGames)   Math game
 9  -  6    Pre-School Pack (V. Watson)       Preschool learning game
10  -  5    Amy's First Primer (Motes Educ.)  Preschool learning game

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

What Is Shareware?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                          WHAT IS SHAREWARE?
                           HOW DOES IT WORK?

   Shareware operates on the "try before you buy" system. Authors allow 
their programs to be copied and passed around, among friends, over BBS 
systems or through services such as Software Shopper.

   If you find a shareware program is of value to you and you intend to 
keep and use it, then you must register the program with the author (pay 
a fee -- the amount varies). Registration gives you various benefits, 
depending on the author. (Common benefits include printed manuals, newer 
versions and support if you happen to run into problems.) The fee also 
helps motivate authors to improve their programs and develop new ones.

   No part of the money collected by Software Shopper, or any other 
service, goes to the program authors. Those charges are strictly 
copying, handling and shipping fees, and they are non-refundable. The 
author gets paid only when you send in your registration fee. We supply 
all copies of shareware programs on both 5-1/4- and 3-1/2- inch disks, 
although there is an extra charge of 75 cents per disk for 3-1/2-inch 
(720K) format. There is no extra charge for 3-1/2-inch 1.44MB (high-
density disks).

   Programs are separated into subdirectories on a disk when we make up 
special orders for you (most of our orders are special orders). A short 
instruction sheet is packaged with the disk, but your disk label tells 
you the name of the subdirectories.

   Generally, our orders are processed within 24 business hours of 
receipt. Due to volume, we may run a day or so behind from time to time. 
Our business hours are generally 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through 
Friday.

   We disclaim any damage that any of the software in Software Shopper 
may cause and cannot guarantee that any particular system follows sound 
business practices. Our sole liability, in any event, consists of a 
refund of the copying and distribution charge we make for providing 
software to you.

   We invite and solicit your comments and suggestions about Software 
Shopper and the shareware which we make available through it. Our 
shareware library contains many more programs than appears in this issue 
of Software Shopper. If you have a specific need, please contact us on 
our Customer Assistance line, (502) 228-4492. We will do everything we 
can to try to help.


   Falsoft, Inc. is an approved vendor and associate member of the 
Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure 
that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve 
a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member 
directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you 
resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide 
technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP 
Ombudsman at 545 Graver Road, Muskeg, MI 49442, or send a CompuServe 
message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007, 3536.

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

About the Catalog
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   The rest of Software Shopper Online is our database or "catalog" -- 
the majority of the shareware programs in our archives, which are 
neither new nor updated this month. While you'll see more than a 
thousand programs listed in the database, please keep in mind that more 
is coming! We're still in the process of converting records, so future 
issues will be more complete. If your favorite shareware title is 
missing from the database now, it will probably soon be added.

   Also, a note about how the database is structured. There really is a 
method to the madness! We divided the database into 32 sections (usually 
32): 16 broad categories for DOS and the same 16 broad categories for 
Windows. (Categories include Business, Education, Games, Utilities, 
etc.) Each rather generic category is in turn broken down into smaller 
subcategories -- for example, "Business" is broken down into Accounting, 
Contact Management, Personal Finance and others.

   When you read the database, it will look like each category starts 
out nicely in alphabetical order -- but then does several A-Z cycles! 
The reason for this is that the subcategories are also in alphabetical 
order. Yes, we COULD have separated the database into distinct 
subcategory files, but your SysOps would have wanted to murder us for 
making them deal with hundreds of files instead of the slightly unwieldy 
32! As long as you know the subcategory structure is there, you should 
have no trouble finding the kinds of programs you're interested in.

   We do not have registration fee information available for all titles, 
so for those "Author's fee" fields that show a fee of "0.00," please do 
not assume that registration is free!


>>[ An Invitation to Shareware Authors ]<<

   Shareware authors: we invite you to monitor our catalog to help keep 
us up-to-date with your titles. Although we receive the ASP Advantage 
CD-ROM and get disks sent to us by shareware authors, we don't get 
everything we'd like -- so we turn to BBSs and online services for files 
we're missing (and of course read the vendor info to make sure we're 
allowed to distribute the programs we download). We'd rather that the 
programs came directly from you -- and we're sure you'd prefer that too. 
Feel free to send us your updates and new titles. Our mailing address 
is: Software Shopper, P.O. Box 385, Prospect, KY 40059. Our shipping 
address is: Software Shopper, The Falsoft Building, 9509 U.S. Highway 
42, Prospect, KY 40059.

   We've got to tell you about our new high-density line. Many shareware 
vendors are still putting out titles on low-density floppy disks only, 
but we're proud to have launched our "HD" line: which means we can 
competitively distribute titles like DOOM, Raptor, GeoPublish and 
NeoBook Pro on high-density disks (complete with nifty, laser-printed 
labels). So, large programs don't upset us! We do request that, when you 
send us large programs, you break them into chunks that would also fit 
on 1.2MB floppy disks. But if you can't, that's OK -- we'll just insert 
a note asking readers to order the program on 1.44MB disks only.

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

Online Order Form
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   If you would like to order shareware from Software Shopper, please 
capture or log the following order form to a file, then print it using a 
monospaced font. (If you need more space for your order, feel free to 
copy and paste additional lines.) Write (or type) your selections on the 
form, cut a check, and mail the check and the form to us. OR, if you're 
planning to pay by credit card, you can call our order line at 1-800-
847-0309 and place your order over the phone. OR you can send an 
electronic version of this form (which you've customized by typing in 
your selections), along with your credit-card information, to 
orders@delphi.com.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
|     SOFTWARE SHOPPER ONLINE - Shareware Order Form - August 1995     |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
|PROGRAM ID NUMBER|             PROGRAM NAME                  |COPY FEE|
|----------------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------|-------------------------------------------|--------|
|-----------------|-------------------------------------------|--------|
|-----------------|-------------------------------------------|--------|
|-----------------|-------------------------------------------|--------|
|-----------------|-------------------------------------------|--------|
|-----------------|-------------------------------------------|--------|
|-----------------|-------------------------------------------|--------|
|-----------------|-------------------------------------------|--------|
|-----------------|-------------------------------------------|--------|
|-----------------|-------------------------------------------|--------|
|-----------------|-------------------------------------------|--------|
|-----------------|-------------------------------------------|--------|
| Are you interested in programs from our Featured Selection? |        |
|    (Special prices good until August 31, 1995)              |        |
| []  YES! Send me ALL the Featured Selection programs        |        |
|      for the low price of $12. (I save an additional $6)    |        |
| []  YES! But I'm checking only the ones I want.             |--------|
|     [] HD0144    Dragons's Bane (normally $8) now only $4   |        |
|     [] HD0146    Fire & Ice (normally $8) now only $4       |        |
|     [] HD0139    NetRemote 6.0 (normally $12) now only $6   |        |
|     [] HD0147    NetSpades 1.1 (normally $8) now only $4    |        |
|-------------------------------------------------------------|--------|
|                             SUBTOTAL                        |        |
|-------------------------------------------------------------|--------|
| *Please indicate disk size for titles ordered on low-density|        |
| disks:   [] 5-1/4-inch (360K)    [] 3-1/2-inch (720K)       |        |
|     Add $0.75 for each title ordered on 720K disks          |        |
|                                                             |        |
| Please indicate disk size for titles ordered from our high- |        |
| density line: [] 5-1/4-inch (1.2MB)   [] 3-1/2-inch (1.44MB)|        |
| (Please order HD titles on 1.44MB floppies: no surcharge!!!)|        |
|-------------------------------------------------------------|--------|
| Kentucky residents add 6% Sales Tax; Canadians add 7% GST   |        |
|-------------------------------------------------------------|--------|
|                             TOTAL       (Minimum Order $6)  |        |
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        (All funds in U.S. Dollars only)
   NAME: _____________________       [] Payment Enclosed, or charge to
ADDRESS: _____________________          [] VISA   [] MasterCard
         _____________________          [] American Express
   CITY: _____________________          Account Number: ________________
  STATE: ____  ZIP: _____-____          Card Expiration Date: __________
  PHONE: (___) ___-____                 Signature: _____________________

Software Shopper, The Falsoft Building, P.O. Box 385, Prospect, KY 40059
         >> Credit Card Orders, Call Toll-Free: 1-800-847-0309 <<

* All titles are sent on low-density disks unless they belong in our 
"high-density line," in which case their ID numbers begin with "HD."

-=------------=-     T-H-E   E-N-D   F-O-R   N-O-W     -=------------=-

