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From: ace3@quads.uchicago.edu (anibal antonio acero)
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Subject: Re: Anarkey (was Re: WCED -vs- CED)
Summary: Evaluating PCTags/Anarkey
Message-ID: <1991May4.163351.27352@midway.uchicago.edu>
Date: 4 May 91 16:33:51 GMT
References: <41907@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <346@ncmicro.lonestar.org> <1991May1.201528.28235@donner.SanDiego.NCR.COM>
Sender: news@midway.uchicago.edu (NewsMistress)
Organization: University of Chicago
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In article <1991May1.201528.28235@donner.SanDiego.NCR.COM> davel@booboo.SanDiego.NCR.COM (David Lord) writes:
>
>I used Anarkey exactly once. While I liked the command completion and
>editing capabilities the program is the worst example of a really obnoxious
>way to get people to register that I have ever seen. Each time you start
>it up it displays a random eight digit number that you must type in again
>in order to continue. Really rude. I'm just not willing to waste my time
>Dave.Lord@SanDiego.NCR.COM
I'm posting this in part because I like the work of the author of ANARKEY
(can't you tell his name escapes me) and would like to see it receive
broader use, and also because it describes a novel (to me) method of taking
text from the screen and feeding it as input to a program, automatically.
(As such it probably belongs in comp.os.msdos.programmer).

About six months ago I found myself attempting to evalutate the PCTags 
package (by the same author as Anarkey, and using the same "incentive" to induce
registration).  Since I had a real need to use the package but had to 
evaluate it first I came up with the following method to make the program
less annoying to use:

	Requirements: 4dos (registered of course!)
		      cutpast4 (from simtel20)

	Method: perform a practice run 
		-load cutpast4
		-run PCTags
		-making a note of ALL the keys you press, use cutpast4 to
CUT out the random 8-digit number and PASTE it back to the program.
		-use the 4dos utility KEYSTACK to duplicate the keys in
the previous step (don't forget to terminate the paste step with a
carriage return).
		-optionally, use MARK/RELEASE to remove cutpast4 from 
memory, and place the whole sequence in an alias or batch file.

The method worked really well, and I liked the product so much that I 
registered it.  Ironically, the registerd version of PCTags came
with an evalution version of Anarkey which I haven't even looked at (I do have
4dos) -- now that I found out it uses the same annoyance method as PCTags
I certainly won't even try it.

Register the shareware you use, it seems to me that everybody benefits.
A comment to shareware authors -- it seems in your best interest to make your
product as likeable as possible.


Tony Acero
ace3@quads.uchicago.edu