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From: Flash@UMass.BITNET (Rick Flashman)
Newsgroups: net.micro.atari16
Subject: I*S Talk by Batteries Included, review follows.
Message-ID: <860729020349.0000079A.AEOA.AA@UMass>
Date: Tue, 29-Jul-86 02:03:49 EDT
Article-I.D.: UMass.860729020349.0000079A.AEOA.AA
Posted: Tue Jul 29 02:03:49 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 31-Jul-86 02:48:46 EDT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 49

Hi,
       I just purchased I*S Talk by Batteries Included. Basically, what I can
say is that the product seems like a good one, but version 1.00 should not
have been released to the market, too many bugs. It is so full of bugs, that
one cannot use some of its main advertised features. If one attempts to use
CUT & PASTE you are going to find yourself with a facefull of cherry bombs
and out on the desktop very fast. Also, its FUNCTION key accessory which is
supposed to let you access ALL of GEM without the mouse, just about, only
works one in every 10 tries. The 50,000 spelling dictionary only works on
the buffer or compose window and NOT on entered text, making it useless.
Forcing one to use THUNDER instead. The program will also crash into more
cherry bombs if you add a new entry and don't give it a breather before
pointing at a menu item. It does have some fast text scrolling, but it could
use some inprovement. If you leave he mouse over certain parts of the window,
the mouse will overwrite the text. The documentation is very confusing and
frustrating. The built in HELP functions are useless, but cute. It is missing
such basic features, that you would not believe. I use a system that
provides for me all the linefeeds I need, but it is impossible to turn off
linefeeds from the terminal, ARGH! The compose window is cute, but doesn't
allow you to enter more than one line at a time. So not very usefull.
The buffer is efficient, but it is NO use without CUT&PASTE. The docs are
so bad, that after several hours with the docs, I still have not been able
to sucessfully use the KEYS and REPLAY functions at all without crashing.
I feel I am using an Amiga with all these crashes. Yucko. With all the
hip about B.I. products they turn out to be a VERY below quality
company with slapped together programs. THUNDER and DEGAS are great, but
I*S Talk is something to stay away with a hot poker until they improve it,
unless you really NEED a GEM terminal program. It is the BEST GEM program,
since the other ones out there (MI-TERM and FLASH) are worse and have even
more bugs.
       I do not have access to Compuserve so I cannot pass on to B.I. what
I think about their product, and I can't call them until my warranty card
gets to them, so I would be VERY happy if someone could foward this to them
on Compuserve or somewhere similar. (Neil?) I met with the president of that
company at a meeting in Boston, where he proceeded to claim that B.I. were
the EXPERTS of the industry when it came to GEM, but it turns out they do
need to practice for a couple more months on the magical art of GEM
programming. He showed us I*S Talk as a complete finished product, and
went on to talk about how FLASH terminal is full of bugs. When it turns out
that his product is in much worse shape. Heck, more of the pre-release-
still-under-developement stuff I see is in much better shape than this.
Well, enough flame, I already lost my money...Now I will have to PAY
B.I. for a WORKING upgrade of this piece of unfinished code. Sigh.

Rick Flashman
1057 N. Pleasant Street
Amherst, MA 01002
(413) 549-7399
Flash%UMASS.BITNET