Possibilities - U.S.A. TBBS: Support and Public Access Mixed for Maximum

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

U.S.A. TBBS: SUPPORT AND PUBLIC ACCESS MIXED FOR MAXIMUM
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*** From November 1990 Possibilities Newsletter ***
*** Copyright 1990 by eSoft, Inc.  All Rights Reserved ***

U.S.A. TBBS: Support and Public Access Mixed for Maximum Impact
By Alan Bechtold

Tang Computers believes strongly in the old adage, "all work and no play 
makes Jack a dull boy."  The international distributor of computer hardware 
and software has catapulted the mixture of business with pleasure into the 
future with their new TBBS/TDBS Online Information System, the U.S.A. TBBS.  
Tang's TBBS system artfully combines support for branch distributorships and
dealers with extensive public access information and outright fun.  The 
results are definitely interesting -- and profitable.

U.S.A. TBBS System designer Eric Shore says Tang has seen a noticeable jump 
in consumer awareness -- of both their company and of the products they 
sell.  He attributes this added consumer awareness directly to the 
popularity of the public access areas of their TBBS online information 
system.  He also describes the goodwill the system has generated among the 
general public as "so much it's immeasurable."

Shore isn't alone in this belief.  Fujitsu America heard about Tang's U.S.A. 
TBBS and sent representatives to take a look at it.  They were so impressed 
by what they saw that they donated a 1.2 Gigabyte Fujitsu hard disk drive 
and additional financial support to make sure the U.S.A. TBBS would continue 
to grow and reach potential customers.

The system was originally set up to connect Tang's 14 southeastern U.S. 
branches and to serve the more than 500 dealers they sell to.  The system 
allows new dealers to fill out Tang's dealer application online.  There is 
also an online message base and catalog order form.  Dealers place orders by 
modem and engage in sales and service related conversations.

Shore, a journalist for more than 16 years, was a computer and technology 
columnist for the Miami News until that paper folded almost two years ago.  
Then he went to work for Tang Computers.

"I've always been fascinated with computers," Shore said.  "My wife, Maria, 
is Manager of Tang's International Sales Division.  One day she said, 'you 
can take computers apart and put them back together, practically with your 
eyes closed.  You ought to come to work at Tang.'  So I did."

Now Shore is Tang's Technical Support Manager.  Since he had designed and 
operated his own online information systems as a hobby since 1972, it wasn't 
long before Shore could see the need for an online system at Tang.

"Once I got the go-ahead, I started looking around on the local systems in 
our area," Shore said.  "The operator of a popular southern Florida system 
recommended TBBS.  It appeared to offer everything we were looking for, so 
we decided to give it a try."

Shore was immediately impressed.  "We knew we wanted to go multi-line right 
away and TBBS was definitely the answer.  It was the only solution I found 
that allowed us to run a multi-line system on a single PC without additional 
complicated networking hardware and software."

He installed TBBS on a DTK IBM-compatible 20 Mhz 386 PC (one of the 
computers distributed by Tang).

"I bought an 8-port Digiboard from Hummel and Associates," Shore said.  
"They asked me what modems I was using and how many lines I was running, 
then guaranteed shipment of the board already configured for 8 US Robotics 
9600 baud HST modems.  I liked that.  All I had to do was insert the board, 
plug in the modems and bring the system online."

Shore also liked TBBS's total configurability.  "It took me a little while 
to get started -- since you can literally set up your menus any way you wish 
-- but I caught on eventually.  The TBBS distribution disk comes with a 
sample system designed to help get you started, but I needed more help.  I 
called the eSoft Support Board and got the telephone numbers of some other 
established TBBS systems.  There are a lot of them that have guest log-ons 
for fellow TBBS system designers.  Some even allow you to download their 
SDL menu files.  That really helped get me rolling in no time."

The menus Shore created are simple and clean, offering users a choice of 
straight ASCII, ANSI or IBM Graphics displays.  "I used THEDRAW -- a 
shareware ANSI drawing program -- to design the graphics portions of my 
menus, then included the code for menu boxes, shading and colors into my 
system's SDL code.

"The only serious problem I ran into," Shore said, "was forgetting to add 
ASCII commands to some of the menus.  Sometimes I'd get so wrapped up 
concentrating on getting the graphics right that I'd simply forget to 
include the ASCII text.  But," he added with a smile, "I could always count 
on the system's users to remind me right away."

Shore found it was easy to rely on the family of experienced TBBS system 
designers for general advice.  "I never called another TBBS system designer 
who wasn't ready and willing to help at that moment," Shore said.  "They 
never even asked me to call back at a more convenient time.  I've never seen 
anything like it before."

Tang dealers liked the new online service and made it a part of their day-
to-day business lives.  But Shore soon noticed the system was only being 
used during the day.  Like the early time-share mainframe systems of the 
early seventies, the new Tang system was busy serving dealers during the day 
but sat idle all night long.  Just like those early time-share computer 
systems, Shore decided to make the Tang system available to the general 
public, who would use it most during the evening hours.

To accomplish this, Shore added several special interest message bases and 
file download areas for users of virtually every type of computer.  He also 
added file areas with general interest downloads, DOS utility files, games, 
communications, graphics, programming software, business-related files, and 
printer-related files.

"But," said Shore, "I really went nuts when I discovered TDBS (the TBBS 
Expansion Module that allows integration of dBase III Plus compatible prog- 
rams and databases).  It installed in a snap.  Then I called the eSoft 
Support Board and downloaded all the TDBS databases I could find.  There are 
some good ones there, but I purchased some of the most impressive TDBS 
applications from TBBS system designers Pete White and Jack Rickard."

Shore's gateway to TDBS is the U.S.A. TBBS database menu.  This includes 
options for users to access databases of the Oscars, Movies and Trivia, City 
and State Zip Codes, Drug Interactions and more.  "I also found a really 
fine database of NASA Cosmic Information, from the University of Georgia," 
Shore said.

Shore also added a number of TDBS interactive games, including Starquest, 
Blackjack, Draw Poker, Two Up & Chat, Card Guppies, Battleship, Towers of 
Hanoi, Word Scramble, KENO, Super Blackjack, Master Mind, and Phraze Craze.  
Several games make full use of ANSI and IBM graphics and some allow for 
multiple players.

The U.S.A. TBBS also offers regularly updated news and information files, 
including USA Today Decisionline (updated daily) and INFO-MAT Magazine 
(updated weekly).  USA Today Decisionline offers world news in brief and is 
showcased online with the aid of a new specialized TDBS application, 
available exclusively from TBBS system designer Jack Rickard.

INFO-MAT is available from BBS PRESS SERVICE, INC., and covers the fields of 
computers, software and telecommunications (See Resources for info).

The USA Today  TDBS application makes the entire online "newspaper" menu-
driven, so users can simply move a cursor and point at each daily news 
section.  This brings up a list of the various headlines appearing in the 
current edition.  Users can then select individual headlines and quickly and 
easily read only the stories they're interested in .

"The special TDBS application for USA Today Decisionline was designed by 
long-time TBBS system designer Gary Funk," Shore said.  "We were talking and 
I remember telling him it would be nice to have a utility that let the 
callers leaf through USA Today Decisionline like a printed newspaper.  Gary 
got really excited about the idea and said he thought it would be fairly 
easy to create something like that with TDBS.  He called me just a few days 
later and uploaded the finished product for me to test out.  It worked 
great.  The power of the TDBS/TBBS combination really shines with programs 
like that one."

Shore said, "We must be doing something right.  When we attended a recent 
conference of Florida online system designers and users, we were literally 
mobbed when they saw us coming."

Some corporate online systems would be bothered by local callers keeping 
their phone lines so busy, but Shore says they love the exposure.  They're 
getting ready to add more lines and features -- not restrict access by the 
general public.

Shore said, "We've just added a new sports database, for example, that 
offers regularly updated statistics and information.  It's a simple Type 20 
text database with ANSI graphics menus that's updated twice a week.  So far 
it looks like it's going to be one of our most popular features.  The more 
useful a feature is, the more the users will remember us and keep coming 
back."

To accentuate the fact that local and regional general users are welcome, 
the U.S.A. TBBS offers special discounts on selected Tang products.  They 
also recently held an uploads contest.  Three users with the highest 
recorded number of uploads to the system won prizes.

"The contest encouraged a lot of our users to upload their favorite 
shareware and public domain software to the system," Shore said.  "This 
added significantly to the number of files that we could make available for 
download.  It was a total success we plan to repeat."

According to Shore, Tang couldn't offer their successful public access areas 
without the help of SYSOM, the TBBS system maintenance Expansion Module.  "I 
do 90% of the system updates remotely," Shore said.  "Without SYSOM, we'd 
have to discourage public use of our system evenings so we could perform 
routine maintenance.  With SYSOM, I'm free to call in any time and update 
online features, user access levels or files."

But, it's the bottom line that really matters in business.  Public service 
helps a business improve its bottom line by planting seeds of good faith in 
the minds of potential future customers.  Tang's U.S.A. TBBS is a perfect 
example of a company that's put its existing resources to work planting 
those seeds of good faith.

RESOURCES

USA TBBS (data) 305-599-3004 -- 3/12/24/9600bps

Bill Hummel & Associates (DigiBoards, TBBS software & utilities) -- 214-490-
8048

Terry McCraith (Sports Update Database) 716-688-2667

Jack Rickard (USA Today, Boardwatch Magazine) 303-973-6038

INFO-MAT Magazine -- BBS Press Service, Inc 913-478-3157

- END -
PS1190-3
Rev. 11/90

Copyright (C) 1994 eSoft, Inc., All Rights Reserved.  Permission granted
to distribute this file in its entirety, without modification, to any
interested party.  Any other use requires the written permission of
eSoft, Inc.

IMPORTANT:  The information herein is subject to change without notice.
Please call or write to confirm factual information of importance to you
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