COMING SOON - KERMIT FOR WINDOWS 95

Planning bulletin!

Original announcement: 31 August 1995
Most recent update: 4 October 1995
Release date: 23 October 1995 (revised)

DUE TO MANUFACTURING DELAYS, THE DELIVERY DATE OF THE SHRINK-WRAPPED KERMIT
95 SOFTWARE PACKAGE HAS SLIPPED FROM OCTOBER 5 TO OCTOBER 23. THAT'S THE
BAD NEWS. THE GOOD NEWS IS, WE ARE EXTENDING OUR "EARLY BIRD SPECIAL"
PRICING UNTIL THE NEW DATE.

Kermit software for Windows 95 is on the way! This is a full-featured,
fully native, 32-bit communications software package for Windows 95 (and
yes, also Windows NT Workstation 3.51) from the Kermit Team at Columbia
University for both serial and TCP/IP communication.

K-95 can be both icon/menu operated for newcomers or command-line executed
for veterans (or any combination of the two for those who want it all). It
works not only on Windows 95 but also on Windows NT Workstation 3.51.

LICENSING

Unlike other Kermit software, K-95 is not "free". It is not available for
downloading; it cannot be freely shared and given away. Instead, it must
be purchased and licensed. It is quite inexpensive. It will be available
in software retail chains and directly from Columbia University.
Aggressive quantity- and site-based licensing terms will also be available
from Columbia, including low-cost ACADEMIC SITE LICENSES. Exact terms are
still being worked out for quantity discounts, corporate and government
licensing, and so on.

Why isn't it free? --

 1. The Kermit Project operates entirely on the income it generates.

 2. Because of the rapid growth and commercialization of the Internet
 and proliferation of "free software" CDROMs made from Internet ftp
 sites, Kermit software is in wider use than ever before, but nobody
 is ordering it from us. Thus our income is down while our
 tech-support workload is up.

 3. We could not have brought this software to you without making
 asignificant investment.

The status of other Kermit software (MS-DOS, UNIX, VMS, IBM Mainframe, etc)
remains as it always has been.

FEATURES

K-95 comes with a graphical Dialer (menus, buttons, dialog boxes,
notebooks, and all) to help you manage all your connections and all the
settings for each one, without complicated initialization files, macro
definitions, or SET commands. The Kermit engine itself is launched from
the Dialer pushbutton-style to make the desired connection automatically
with all the appropriate settings. Kermit veterans need not worry: It can
also be run on its own like other Kermit programs.

K-95 is a multithreaded multitasking NATIVE 32-bit Windows 95 communication
software application that is easy on your CPU. It is fully integrated with
Microsoft Telephony (TAPI) and Winsock, and can be used uniformly for both
serial and network connections.

K-95 offers:

 Adirectory PRELOADED with hundreds of dialup and network connections:

   Commercial networks and data services
   Public data networks like SprintNet and TYMNET
   Internet service providers by dialup
   Internet resources via TELNET
   BBSs and much more

 Faithful VT320, VT220, VT102, VT100, VT52, ANSI, and TTY terminal
 emulation with:

   Amazingly fast screen updates
   Full color selection
   Virtually unlimited and instantaneous screen rollback
   Flexible key mapping
   Full support for all VT100/200/300 keys
   Integrated mouse functions: copy-and-paste, cursor steering
   Screen height and width selection
   Character-set conversion
   Versatile printer control
   Pop-up context-sensitive help, debugging, much more

 Kermit as well as X/Y/ZMODEM file transfer:

   The fastest and most advanced implementation of the Kermit protocol
   available anywhere: Sliding windows, long packets, control-
   character unprefixing, locking shifts, character-set translation,
   an update feature, recovery, automatic file transfer initiation,
   and much more.

   X/Y/ZMODEM licensed from Online Solutions Oy, Jyvaskyla, Finland
   Auto-download for both Kermit and Zmodem
   Windows 95 long filenames
   Background as well as foreground file transfers

 Management of multiple sessions through the graphical Dialer.

 An intelligent phone-list that understands the difference between
 international, long-distance, local, toll-free, and internal PBX
 calls, and adjusts itself according to your location; that allows
 multiple phone numbers for a single service; and that can be told
 how many times and how frequently to redial if the connection
 is not made.

 Script programming using the same portable Kermit script language
 that is already in widespread use on hundreds of other platforms.
 When used in combination with the Windows 95 System Agent, this
 allows for automatically scheduled unattended communications tasks.

 Abrand-new user manual plus a technical reference manual.

 Atech-support hot line (900 number, as so many of you suggested)
 and a tech support BBS.

AVAILABILITY

The publication date is October 23rd, 1995.  Single copy price:

The USA list price is $79.00 US.
The USA street price is $54.00 US.

For USA orders prior to October 23rd, 1995, the introductory price is
$49.00.

Plus an extra charge for shipping outside the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
Quantity discounts are available.  Enquiries to
kermit-orders@columbia.edu.

The shrink-wrapped package, published by Manning Publications of Greenwich
CT, includes the software and manuals plus a discount upgrade coupon for
the next planned version.

The package will be available in computer software stores and you can order
it now from Columbia University or the publisher (store orders should go
to the publisher):

 1. Kermit
    Columbia University
    612 West 115th Street
    New York NY  10025-7221  USA

    Fax:   +1 (212) 662 6442  or  +1 (212) 663 8202
    Voice: +1 (212) 854 3703
    Email: kermit-orders@columbia.edu
    Web:   Order form

 2. Manning Pu

Further announcements will appear on the comp.protocols.kermit.announce and
comp.protocols.kermit.misc newsgroups and in the LISTSERV Kermit Digest. 
If you want to receive announcements directly by e-mail, please send a
request by e-mail to kermit@columbia.edu.

THE FUTURE

We plan to develop this product actively to meet your needs.  Numerous
changes and features are on tap for future releases; our priorities will
be driven by the success of this product and preferences of its users. 
Items under consideration include Kerberos authentication, Tektronix
terminal emulation, 3270 terminal emulation, 5250 terminal emulation, RIP
graphics for BBS's, ALA character-set support, UNICODE support, a
character-set-aware form of HTML viewing, further GUIfication, and more.

 Frank da Cruz and Christine Gianone
 Managers
 The Kermit Project
 Columbia University
 
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