Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-ncis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ames!killer!texbell!merch!cpe!hal6000!trsvax!johnm
From: johnm@trsvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Request for poll of ten best/worst
Message-ID: <216100074@trsvax>
Date: 3 Jan 89 18:11:00 GMT
References: <210@imspw6.UUCP>
Lines: 68
Nf-ID: #R:imspw6.UUCP:210:trsvax:216100074:000:2854
Nf-From: trsvax.UUCP!johnm    Jan  3 12:11:00 1989


>From Ted Holden, HTE:

An interesting topic of conversation because it will cause us all to look at
areas that we might not otherwise be familiar with and allows us to share our
own favorite "discoveries".

Unfortunately, that is a preface to a few quibbles that I have with your lists:

>     The Zortech C++ compiler, baseline version 1.07

Amen, brother.

>     The little $180-$250 hand scanners advertised now in virtually
>     all PC magazines

Can't agree less here.  I had a chance to use "The complete hand scanner" and I
was woefully disappointed.  I have high hopes for some of the extremely cheap
flatbed scanners where the camera moves above it though.  Those could be
adapted with colored filters in front of the lens arrangement in order to get
RGB input if the precision of the lens movement is sufficient to line up
different scans.

Unfortunately, that is flat out impossible with the hand scanners.

Instead of this I would suggest Borland's new Turbo Debugger.  It's remote
debugging capabilities have changed my programming life.

>      The NeXt computer

Amen, again.
 
>      The Compuserve GIF format for graphics interchange

Another disagreement.  I'm a GIF developer and I can tell you that in their
classic style Compu$erve has screwed us again...

Previously, developers of GIF programs received free online time in the PICS
area which meant that all pictures were free to them.  This was only reasonable
since CI$ was profitting from the many freeware and shareware GIF viewers that
its developers were generating.  However, they decided that that was "too
generous" and PICS was broken off from the areas that contain the main body of
GIF files.  A few are still available for "testing" but developers are expected
to pay for anything else.

As a result, the GIF decoder that I'm almost finished with for Tandy 1000 class
machines and the one I'm starting now for Amiga's will both have restrictions
preventing their uploading to Compu$erve.

I would expect to see a sharp dropoff in future support for the format due to
this "incredibly wise" move on their part.

Instead of this I would suggest the proliferation (sp?) of good quality
inexpensive 2400 baud modems.  I just recently bought a Supra 2400 baud external
for just $144 and I couldn't be happier with it.  I can only hope that the
trend continues.

My only additions to your list of "bests" would be:

Telix 3.11 - This is the most incredible piece of shareware I have ever had a
chance to use and as a telecom package it leaves Procomm+ in its dust.

Desqview & QEMM - It changed my programming environment entirely.  If you have 
extended memory in your 386 machine you can multitask 90% of the programs you
encounter.  As a heavy Amiga user I find it almost a necessity to be able
to multitask and anything less is an incredible frustration.

John Munsch