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       Ŀ
       WHAT IS IT?  We are a GUIDE TO FREEWARE, a sorted index to FREE
         programs and databases commonly found on public
       access Bulletin Boards around the world and the Internet. The
       programs on this list have been tested and found to work as
       described, and to be worth downloading.

                The list includes Freeware, $0 Shareware and Public
       Domain software.  These are programs and databases for which NO
       FEE is required for use by you as an individual. Freeware,
       Shareware and Public Domain are terms often mis-used. Since
       they matter to us, correct definitions are given below.

                We distribute the GUIDE in a paperback book titled the
       "Freeware Hall of Fame Guide to Free Software" which is sold by
       mail order for $20. It's the FreeHOF's only income. The BBS and
       the Hall of Fame are free to everyone.

                Most of the programs in the GUIDE will be found on our
       BBS. We encourage sysops everywhere to download them, and our
       GUIDE encourages readers to call their local Boards, not us. We
       make available a huge packet of Freeware so Sysops can grab a
       pile in one gulp.  That file is OLHOFn.ZIP from Conference 3.

       Ŀ
       WHAT'S NEW  We add new entries whenever we find them.  Some
         are uploaded to us at the Hall by their authors and
       some we bring down from other Boards around the world.

       Ŀ
       WHO'S IN  Among the most prominent people in the computer
       THE HOF?  world, past and present, are those programmers who
         allow us to use their programs at no cost. Writing
       software and distributing it via Bulletin Boards with no
       request for payment, they enable everyone to share the fruit of
       their knowledge, the benefit of their discoveries, and the
       spirit of generosity that defines a person's character.

       Ŀ
       NAMES  In the circle of Great Freeware Writers for their output
         and quality are names such as Douglas Boling, Bruce
       Guthrie, Raymond Kaya, Ward Christensen, Robert Vostreys,
       Frederick Volking, Michael Mefford, Keith Graham, Keith
       Ledbetter, John McNamara, David Daniel Anderson, and the writer
       who gave us CED and so much more, Chris Dunford.

       Ŀ
       GRATITUDE  The Freeware Hall of Fame was founded in 1989 to
         honor these people and to encourage other
       programmers to follow in their footsteps.  The list of files is
       never complete. It will grow every week as we attempt to catch
       up with the hundreds of fine people who represent the hobby
       side of the PC world, and the generous side of human nature.

       Ŀ
       AMONG THEM  are some of the best programmers in the profession,
         software writers sought after and employed by the
       most advanced governments and industries in the world. The
       Freeware they write on their own time (cough) commonly reflects
       the highest level of concept and execution.

       Ŀ
       BENEFITS  Our Hall of Fame GUIDE is the only published guide
         devoted to Freeware. All these programs work. All
       are free. Nearly all are commonly available on public access
       Bulletin Boards. We can recommend them as programs that do the
       job for which they are intended.

       Ŀ
       WHERE YOU  Our files are indexed to make these programs easier
       FIND THEM  to find, but locating the current version on a BBS
         can require a search. The Board's archive packets
       commonly are named with an abbreviation of a program's full
       name, often adding a version number to that.

                For example, the excellent free version of Mustang
       Software's off-line reader Offline Express is named
       OLX-TD21.ZIP.  A file -name- search for "Offline" even using
       wildcards won't find it. You might have to hunt and peek
       through the Boards Communication Directories or ask the sysop
       what the latest version is named.

       Ŀ
       SEARCH  Some of the programs for running a BBS make the search
         easier by allowing us to search for keywords in the
       file -description-.  On a PCBoard, for example, entering
                             Z keyword A
       should reveal every instance of <keyword> in the Board's file
       descriptions. The full generic file name always appears in a
       file description on a properly designed BBS.

                For example, you will not find Raymond Kaya's DIRX (a
       file management program for compressed files) listed in a BBS
       file index. The index name for the archive is DRXxxx where xxx
       is the version number, and that changes with every update. The
       Z command will find DIRX in the file description.

       Ŀ
       FREEWARE  Freeware as used at the Freeware Hall of Fame refers
       DEFINED  to programs or databases that an individual may use
         without payment of money to the author. Commonly the
       author will copyright his work as a way of legally insisting no
       one change it prior to getting his approval. Commonly he will
       issue a License defining the terms under which his program may
       be used. With Freeware there is no charge for the license.

                The copyright has nothing to do with a user fee, aside
       from giving the author a legal right to charge one. Freeware
       authors don't exercise that right, though in some cases a
       program will be Freeware for an individual but require a paid
       license if used by any other entity. The HOF includes these.

       Ŀ
       PUBLIC  Other Freeware is in the Public Domain, which means the
       DOMAIN  author donated his work to the public and retains no
         ownership rights. No fee can be required for the use of
       PD programs, though a humorous request for author support might
       drift into the Docs.

       Ŀ
       WHAT'S NOT  Shareware is not Free.  Shareware is fee ware,
        FREE?    commercial software sold on the "try before you
         buy" plan.  It's like testing a car for a few weeks
       to see if you like it. If you keep it you're expected to pay
       for it.

                Shareware got its name because at the beginning the
       programs were free and if you registered, the author would
       advise you of updates to the software. The cost of that led to
       registration fees, and they were followed by fees imposed if
       you continued to use the program after trying it.  Most
       Shareware released today requires a fee for use, though there
       are many authors loyal to the original concept.

                Using Shareware marketing, many superb programs are
       made available at far lower cost than software marketed in
       stores or by mail order.

       Ŀ
       DEMOS  Something free but not Shareware or Freeware is software
         "demos" sent to Bulletin Boards.  A demo is a program
      that will stop working or cause problems on a PC if used beyond
      a trial period. They are the product of commercial software
      authors asking the Shareware community to market their products.

                Demos guarantee a user will pay for the program if he
      continues to want it, which some authors find attractive.  Every
      demo represents a product that might have been Shareware, but
      isn't.  Demos are a threat to the Shareware concept and for that
      reason, most sysops refuse to carry them.  Demos are thoroughly
      commercial with no sharing involved. They can be a source of
      income to sysops who recognize they are entitled to be paid to
      carry them.

      Ŀ
         0$    There is one form of Shareware that is free for
      SHAREWARE  individual use.  Authors usually call it $0
        Shareware.  It meets our definition of Freeware for
      individuals and is included in our collection.  But in addition,
      The Freeware Hall of Fame endorses ALL forms of Shareware
      because it makes good sense for software users and the PC
      industry.  Here's why.

       Ŀ
       ECONOMICS  Retail marketing means higher price than Shareware
         for the same functionality. The higher price comes
       from the mark-up to cover distribution, marketing, and a profit
       at each step of the way. Buyers pay for those but they add not
       one line of code to what the author wrote.

                  Production, flashy packaging so it can be seen on
       the shelves, advertising so we will hear of it, and marketing
       to get it included in the store inventory - those are major
       chunks of the sales price even if the software is sold at deep
       discount. The only one who doesn't add to the cost of the
       product is the end buyer. In retailing, he's the ultimate
       source of everyone else's income.

                No economies of scale or mass production can alter
       that, though they and competition may keep the price from
       bulging.  No matter how deep the discount, the cost to sell
       through retail channels means retail can never approach the
       value of Shareware.

                With Shareware the only one paid is the author. There
       is no advertising, packaging, or marketing.  Distribution is
       donated free by sysops, by callers passing uploads around the
       Boards, and by Shareware disk distributors with their catalogs.
       The savings translates to rock-bottom price for software that
       can be as good or better than what's found in stores.

                Nearly every retail store and mail order program has
       Shareware and Freeware equivalents.  Not uncommonly the
       equivalents are better but that's something you have to prove
       for yourself, as others did.  For example, software from a BBS
       can be updated and distributed on short notice - overnight -
       and at no cost, so Shareware authors are usually the first to
       be in step with advances in new hardware, first to take
       advantage of new DOS or Windows capabilities when operating
       system are updated.

                Both Shareware and Freeware are available on Bulletin
       Boards.  The Freeware Hall Of Fame BBS maintains two sets of
       Directories. Odd-numbered Directories are Freeware,
       even-numbered ones are Shareware.

       Ŀ
       PIRACY  Programs sold through retail stores are never available
         on Bulletin Boards, but that's like saying lawyers and
       politicians are never dishonest. The statement is true only if
       you overlook the bad apples. The FHOF BBS wants no programs in
       its download directories that aren't supposed to be here, and
       screens programs carefully.  Should something slip through that
       shouldn't be here, we expect callers to tell us.  All callers
       including first-timers can see and access all our download
       directories.

       Ŀ
       SHAREWARE  Shareware always asks for a fee for continued use of
       DOWNSIDE  the program and the author says so, usually in a
         professional way. A few authors aren't professional
       and show that when discussing payment. They lose sight of the
       users who pay and fixate on those who don't.  In their Docs
       they insult you and damage the Shareware industry.

                Shareware works on an honor system in a world where
       there is more Shareware than honor.  Not every author can
       handle that, and some respond by displaying their own personal
       failings.

       Ŀ
       CRIPPLED  They will cripple the Shareware. You get only a
         limited version of the program until you buy it. They
       put delays and more than one payment request in the program
       which only go away when you purchase a registration number.
       Some simply quits working if you don't buy it soon enough.

                Some Shareware gives you bonus features when you
       register which some people resent.  They extend the term
       crippled to include Shareware that doesn't have all the
       author's bells and whistles.  That's an extremist position.  We
       think true bonuses coming with registration, such as adding
       extra functions to working software as QWKMail creator Mark
       Herring of SparkWare did, are a legitimate business gimmick.
       Shareware IS business. Getting people to pay is no easy task.

                Some Shareware authors have no head for business.  We
       found one who offered a $100 reward for the name of anyone
       using his $10 program who didn't register it.  We wonder how
       many people called to turn themselves in and claim the reward.

                Perhaps the most damaging thing in Shareware are the
       few authors who are unreliable or dishonest. We've seen
       examples of each. Send them your registration money and they
       keep it and never respond, or respond months later.

                Two well-known Shareware writers are legendary for not
       following through on registrations. Buyers throw good money
       after bad phoning their "support Boards" asking for a
       registration key and never hear a thing.

                In fairness to their callers, BBSs have been obliged
       to carry programs which allow paid-up but unsupported buyers to
       crack registration codes and get the fully working program they
       paid for. Non-payers can also use these programs and never
       register, for which the authors have themselves to blame.

       Ŀ
       FREEWARE  does NONE of these things. The author might suggest
         as one did that you take him to dinner (he named this
       method Dinnerware), and another suggests you take your spouse
       out to atone for the time you spend at the computer. One German
       author asked for a picture postcard if you like his program.
       Now several authors do that.

                Freeware authors often show a sense of humor. They
       also frequently provide the source code so other programmers
       can customize the program and build on it.

       Ŀ
       VIRUSES  A file containing code put there to cause damage can't
         &    harm anything until the program is run. For this
       TROJANS  reason, Bulletin Boards like FreeHOF run the latest
         State-of-the-Art search and destroy virus/trojan
       checkers over every new file before making it available.

                Many viruses and trojans can't be spread by a BBS. For
       example the Michelangelo virus so prominent in the press is
       only spread by booting an infected diskette, and BBSs don't use
       diskettes. As insiders know, Michelangelo was spread through
       brand new shrink-wrapped retail software.

                Some viruses are introduced when disks go through mass
       duplication during manufacture.  Open the shrink-wrap, run the
       program, infect the harddrive.  Brand new pre-formatted disks
       can be infected that way, since even a "blank" formatted floppy
       contains code any programmer can learn all about. Disks sent
       out by businesses such as advertising agencies should always be
       checked before running them.  The company has no intent to
       harm.  They don't know the disk is infected.  They don't check.

                Because Bulletin Boards are nearly the ONLY industry
       to check everything for viruses and trojans they have become
       the single safest source for software.  We protect callers from
       getting damaging downloads from us, but only the caller can
       guard himself against infected diskettes.

                We recommend running a virus check on every floppy
       placed in a drive no matter where it came from. It was a
       professional consultant who spread a virus in our town a few
       years ago, doing great harm to his clients who turned on their
       computers March 6 when Michelangelo activates and promptly lost
       everything on their harddrives.

                There are more than 5,000 recognized virus strains.
       Fighting them and the sociopaths who write and distribute them
       has created an international industry of virus fighters.  The
       best anti-virus programs are equipped with "retrovirus" code to
       combat viruses designed to disable anti-virus programs.  Some
       virus checkers have a "heuristic" mode which allows searching
       for code strings which "act like" virus code.  These programs
       can find a new virus making an appearance for the first time.

                It's all a massive waste of resources, as only illness
       and war can waste resources.  Fortunately, there are excellent
       Freeware anti-virus programs.

       Ŀ
       BACK  To gain entry to the Freeware Hall of Fame a program can
       TO  be discovered by us or nominated by someone.  Anyone may
       US  nominate a program and we encourage Freeware authors to
         send us their programs.  The only requirement is that the
       software or database be free for personal use and run on DOS,
       Windows (any version) or OS/2.

                Every program gets a 1-line description, though we
       often wish it could be more. Ward Christensen gets 1 line for
       his CP/M communications programs--perhaps the most influential
       Freeware of all time since it created the BBS industry--and
       you'll get 1-line for your program.

       Ŀ
       NOMINATIONS  are made to the compiler of this list and we need
         to know 4 things:
       (1) Author name
       (2) Software name
       (3) Brief description of what the program does
       (4) Where we can download it in first call

       Ŀ
       CALL THE HALL  We can be contacted three ways: via the ILink
         International Netmail Network anywhere in the
       world, via the Internet, or through our BBS. (See below.)

       Ŀ
       ILINK  The FHOF monitors the ILink "Shareware" and "Shareware
         Issues" conferences for mail addressed to Rey Barry. The
       monitoring is automated through a Mail Door so watch the
       sperling. All Ilink messages are public so for private mail,
       use the Internet address or call the BBS.

       Ŀ
       COPYRIGHT  The name "Freeware Hall of Fame" is a registered
         Service Mark and our paperback publications, and
       this file, are copyrighted 1989-1996 by Rey Barry.

                                             rey.barry@execnet.com
                                             FHOF BBS 804-293-4710
