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From: psrc@pegasus.ATT.COM (Paul S. R. Chisholm)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc,alt.hypertext
Subject: Re: Hypertext on IBM-PCs
Summary: some information on commercial and shareware systems
Message-ID: <4652@pegasus.ATT.COM>
Date: 3 Jun 90 07:24:45 GMT
References: <9004150754.AA16288@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 62

> A faculty member on our campus has asked about hypertext software for IBM
> clones.  They're interested in any type (PD, shareware, and commercial).
> They said that they'd like graphics to be included in their data.

> Paul Motsuk, motsuk@cua.bitnet, motsuk%cuavax.dnet@netcon.cua.edu

I've read a little bit about such packages; I don't have any direct
experience.  I can give you some pointers.

IBM has jumped into this market with a product called LinkWay.  All I
know about this is that it's described in a book called IBM LINKWAY:
HYPERMEDIA FOR THE PC (written by Richard Harrington, Bill Fancher, and
Peter Black, and published by John Wiley & Sons, ISBN 0-471-51298-2).

Another Wiley book, DESIGNING INTELLIGENT FRONT ENDS FOR BUSINESS
SOFTWARE (Dan Shafer, ISBN 0-471-60114-4), describes two expert system
shells with graphics and hypertext capabilities:  Paperback Software's
VP Expert, and Knowledge Pro from Knowledge Garden.  The latter company
also has a version of that software for MS-Windows.  Guide, from Owl,
is another Windows-based hypertext system.

I found a few shareware hypertext systems in the Public Brand Software
catalog.  One (disk TO3.0) has two programs named KnowledgePro and
TextPro; the latter is the run-time module for the former.  These are
somehow related to Knowledge Garden's products, but I'm not sure how.
There's no registration fee (it's listed as "bannerware").

Black Magic (version 1.5, TO1a.0, TO1b.0, TO1c.0, $40-80 registration
fee) "works best in EGA, but CGA and Hercules graphics are supported".
It requires 640K and a hard disk, and a mouse is recommended.  Yes, it
supports graphics, as well as EMS memory, and has some sort of
programmer's interface.  PBS gives this package a trophy, meaning that
it's one of the "best program[s] anywhere for the task".  Note that
this comes on three disks.  Disk RD31.0, Reg-in-a-Box, is a Black Magic
hypertext application, complete with the MagRead display program; it's
"the official rules for underground storage tanks (part 280 of the EPA
regulations".  This is PBS's sixth most popular disk.  Strange. . . .

There's also Hypershell (disk TO9.0, fifty pound (!) registration fee),
which doesn't appear to support graphics.

My source is the Public Brand Software catalog; they're a good source
of public domain and shareware software.  They're not the cheapest
around, but their catalog has saved me lots of time.  They list the
shareware registration fees up front, so you know what you'll be
getting into if you like the product.  They test nearly everything (and
check it all for viruses), and they're an approved vendor of the
Association of Shareware Professionals.  They haven't made a mistake in
any of my orders.  PBS is at P.O. Box 51315, Indianapolis, IN, USA
46251, 1-800-426-3475 (voice, U.S.A.), 1-800-727-3476 (voice, Indiana),
1-317-856-7571 (Indianapolis), all twenty-four hours a day for orders
or requests for catalogs.  They also have a business phone
(1-317-856-4144), and a $50/year BBS (1-317-856-2087).  They take
personal checks, Visa, MasterCard, money orders, COD ($5 charge), and
P.O.s for at least $65.  They charge $5/disk (5.25" or 3.5"), plus
$5/order.  (The comp.sys.ibm.pc folks are probably tired of hearing
about this place from me, but the catalog contains answers to a lot of
net.requests.)

Paul S. R. Chisholm, AT&T Bell Laboratories
att!pegasus!psrc, psrc@pegasus.att.com, AT&T Mail !psrchisholm
I'm not speaking for the company, I'm just speaking my mind.