Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!hao!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!THINK.COM!whitney
From: whitney@THINK.COM
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: zlink
Message-ID: <8803072047.AA02332@godot.think.com>
Date: 7 Mar 88 20:47:33 GMT
References: <8803070706.AA29682@Think.COM>
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 53

I received this note:
--------
From: Mark Crimmins <crimmins@csli.stanford.edu>

>I had no trouble downloading zlink.  Good work.  A couple of things.
>First, you've been complaining about share fees.  There's no reason
>to expect such fees until your program has something to it that makes 
>people prefer it to kermit and other shareware programs.  

I agree.

>Second, on the version I just downloaded, the exit routine left me
>with an error message "File not found" or something similar.  You
>should DEFINITELY use the prodos quit code.  Anyone that uses ram
>disks or hard disks will have trouble with your playing with the reset
>pointers and so on.

I do use the QUIT code. I've never had trouble. I use a //GS running
Prodos 16, which then runs prodos 8 off of my hard disk. Every
conceiveable hitch which might go wrong doesn't. When I quit, prodos 8
promptly reloads prodos 16, and I'm back at the finder desktop. You'll
have to be specific about the error if I am to fix it.

>If you really want to distinguish yourself from TIC and so on, you
>need to blow people away.  You already have a good program.  My
>suggestions: add kermit support (the apple // kermit is a shame), add
>a mouse-editor patch to allow people to use emacs and vi with the
>mouse (I have a patch that you could use if you want, originally
>written for for the kermit program, to allow this -- it's real short
>and something to sell your program over other stuff), add a scrollable
>review buffer, macros, extra memory support, (dream) a mouse editor,
>and whatever else you can think of.  Nowadays, people have lots of
>memory, and would love a com program that does everything.  There are
>already many com programs with less.  People really would pay for 
>a program they would use.  Right now, I see no reason to use ZLink
>over TIC; give me some!

Binary II and Kermit are on the way, as I have time to write them. I am
a struggling (well, sort of) student, and work on Z-Link gets a low
priority. I'm sure you can sympathise. Z-Link is distributed as-is with
the promise to people who pay the shareware price that they'll receive
the upgrade to Binary II and Kermit. Response was so low (actually none)
in terms of payment that I had to assume that nobody was using it. This
goes exclusively to the people who have paid (as of yet, nobody). If I
receive some input from the net saying generally "well, I think Z-Link
has potential, and I'll pay for it when it has the bells and whistles",
then I'll post the updates to the net instead of sending only to those
who have paid. I don't want to turn off the public, but I do want to be
sure I can receive something for my efforts. If it seems that there is
no interest in Z-Link (ie, no notes or money or whatever), then forget
it. I'll work on it for my own benefit.

	Dave