Possibilities - TBBS Symposium at ONE BBSCON

Contact:   eSoft, Inc. (Makers of TBBS)
           15200 E. Girard Ave., Suite 3000
           Aurora, CO  80014
           (303) 699-6565      Voice
           (303) 699-6872      Fax
           (303) 699-8222      BBS
           support@esoft.com   E-Mail

TBBS SYMPOSIUM AT ONE BBSCON
----------------------------

*** From July 1992 Possibilities Newsletter ***
*** Copyright 1992 by eSoft, Inc.  All Rights Reserved ***

TBBS Symposium at ONE BBSCON
by Phil Becker

The last TBBS symposium eSoft did was in 1989.  These symposiums were very 
popular, but with our rapid growth in the past three years the resources 
just haven't been available to put them on.  I am happy to announce, 
however, that I am going to be able to include a TBBS symposium within The 
ONE BBSCON next month here in Denver.

As I indicated in an earlier newsletter this year I am a partner in ONE, 
Inc. the company which is putting on The ONE BBSCON August 13-16.  This will 
be the largest BBS industry show in history with over 1,000 sysops attending 
and with vendors from all parts of the BBS and modem world exhibiting.  
Since eSoft does not have to put on the show itself, it can provide the 
material for a symposium within the show and I have arranged to do that.

The last TBBS symposium had a list price of over $350 while the cost of 
registration for The ONE BBSCON is only $225 ($175 if you register before 
August 1, 1992).  We weren't able to arrange for special air fares for TBBS 
symposiums either, but The ONE BBSCON has discounts up to 45% for both 
United and Delta airline tickets.  Finally, at The ONE BBSCON you will not 
only get the TBBS symposium material but also the most comprehensive BBS 
educational program ever presented -- over 100 hours of seminar material 
from nearly every BBS luminary there is.  It is much more material for less 
than half the price!

The TBBS symposium I will present will consist of over seven hours of 
material on the following subjects:

TBBS Version 2.2 Overview

A complete review of TBBS 2.2 features and capabilities.  Extensive question 
and answer session so you can get your questions answered by me personally.

TBBS Menu Design Workshop

A step-by-step class on how to design menus for TBBS 2.2 using SDL.  A 
complete TBBS system will be developed and the techniques used to build ANSI 
or non-ANSI menus, commands which execute for only some users, making 
parametric directories for easy disk layout changes, etc. will be fully 
developed.  This is your chance to learn how to use the powerful TBBS menu 
building capability to its fullest.

TBBS and FidoNet

A how-to session on interfacing TBBS to FidoNet.  Learn what software 
components do and how they interface.  The new TIMS 1.1 and enhanced eSoft 
interface utility programs will be discussed as well.

TDBS Database Design Techniques

Learn how to use TDBS to build online databases.  This session will not only 
acquaint you with what TDBS is capable of, but will give concrete examples.

TBBS Option Modules

This session will describe the other option modules for TBBS.  Examples of 
how these option modules are used to solve problems will be given.  In 
addition the new option modules to be introduced this year (QWK, 
InterChange, etc.) will be fully discussed.  This is your chance to have 
your questions about what these new modules will do answered.

Serial Port and Modem Basics

In this session I will describe in detail how serial ports, UARTS, and 
modems work together to allow online connections.  You will learn what the 
impact of high speed modems are on your serial port and how to troubleshoot 
your modem installation.  This session will remove the black magic 
surrounding modems and serial port setup.

TBBS Future Directions

In this one hour session I will indicate the future plans for TBBS and its 
add-on products.  You will have a chance to ask me the hard questions about 
what you can expect from TBBS in the years to come.  This was always one of 
the most popular and lively sessions in past TBBS symposiums.

Ben Cunningham will host a TDBS developers roundtable.  This roundtable will 
allow all who write TDBS programs to exchange ideas and techniques.  In 
addition, I will sit in on the roundtable to field questions from TDBS 
programmers.

Unlike past TBBS symposiums there will be much more than just the sessions 
of interest to TBBS users.  eSoft will have a booth with live 
demonstrations.  You can get specific answers to your questions there, often 
with a demonstration of the answer.  eSoft will also have a hospitality 
suite active each evening and I'll spend as much time there as I possibly 
can.

In addition to the TBBS specific seminars I will be involved with Jack 
Rickard of Boardwatch Magazine in presenting an expanded version of our 
popular seminar on "making your BBS profitable".  Along with our two hour 
seminar we have added sessions on specifics like how to get a credit card 
merchant account.  We have also added roundtables which feature successful 
sysops from big systems like Channel 1, Aquila, PC Ohio, and many others.  
You an learn how they did it!

There are many other sessions at ONE BBSCON which would be worth the price 
alone.  Some examples: How to get press coverage for your BBS or software 
products (hosted by the Dallas Bureau chief of InforWorld magazine and 
featuring journalists from most major PC magazines).  Copyright and 
trademark law for BBSs.  Online Democracy .  Sessions on ISDN, X.25, and 
dealing with the telephone company all by experts in those fields.  And IBM 
is sending an OS/2 team to present a session on OS/2 and communications.

This only begins to describe the sessions which will be available at this 
show.  In addition I will be as available as possible for one-on-one 
sessions to answer any questions I can for as many of you as possible.  It 
will be an unprecedented opportunity to learn about TBBS and the rest of the 
online world.

There is only one problem - You need to register now to be assured of 
getting in!  This show will sell out (as I write this all of the booths and 
a bit over half of the registrations are already sold - leaving less than 
500 spots available).  You can register with your credit card by calling Peg 
at ONE, Inc. 303-693-5253.  You can obtain more info and register online by 
calling the ONE BBS at 303-693-5432.  I would like to see as many of you 
there as possible (I don't want more WildCat!, PC Board, or Galacticomm 
Sysops than TBBS Sysops!).  Let's make it a real TBBS gathering!  I look 
forward to seeing you there...

- END -
PS0792-6
Rev. 7/92

Copyright (C) 1994 eSoft, Inc., All Rights Reserved.  Permission granted
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IMPORTANT:  The information herein is subject to change without notice.
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