Reasons to use software from Sheepdog's Kennel
..Why would you want to use my software?
(If you are not a user of IBM-type pcs, you wouldn't!! See- Saved some people time already! (Skip down to 'What Else Is On This Page', please?))
I am primarily a computer USER. As such, I have suffered the frustrations that some software inflicts. I try to remember those lessons when I write software. Almost always, software I release through the Sheepdog's Kennel began life as something for my own use. It goes from there into the marketplace.
My programs will not revolutionise your life. Don't you hate the claims you see for some products? I like to Keep Things Simple. That is not to say that my programs are trivial or useless... I hope! They do have well focused ambitions, and I would be upset if any were dubbed 'bloatware'.
Many are free, prices around $12 are typical.
Click here for the Sheepdog's Main Kennel (Freeware, shareware, and other good stuff.)
**** What else is on this page
**** Further down this page, you will find....
A button for sending Email to the author
Explanation of why I think DOS programs are valid in our Windows world.
Ideas for more effective use of DOS programs within Windows.
Information on collecting software over the Internet.
Announcement of a competition intended to discover good web sites.
A link to comments on HTML editors, especially WebEdit and HPWiz.
Click here to send enquiry, reaction, or any other message
Explanation of why I think DOS programs are valid in our Windows world.
Suitable DOS programs run just as well within Windows as they do from the DOS prompt.
A 'small' Windows program will take up 200,000 bytes of space on your disc. There are many jobs that can be done perfectly well without the space overhead. Not only does a Windows version of a program use more disc space.... it also takes a lot more to write. Would you rather have five small, useful programs from me, or one of them in a Windows version? The Windows version would do very little that the DOS version doesn't!
I don't mean to sugget for a moment that NO program should be written for Windows... There are many things that benefit enormously from the Windows environment... but there are plenty of things that don't need it, too.
Ideas for more effective use of DOS programs within Windows 3.1
I have a little program which helps children practise an important reading skill. Once you have a copy, you CAN start it by finding it with the Windows File Manager, and double clicking on the program's name. This works, but you are missing some extra features!!!
If you use the Windows Program Manager to make an icon for the program (File|New), then you can set parameters. This may sound a little technical... but it is worth mastering!!! If you remember the 'bad old days' of DOS, and ever used DIR /P,then you have used a parameter. The /P modified how DIR would behave. You can still use such things in Windows.
My little reading exercise program can be started without parameters, as I said. If you start it that way, you have to read some advertising and answer some questions. However, if you can set up an icon with the Program Manager, then you might want to set up TWO icons. Make the 'Description' for one 'Easy Reading', and for the other 'Hard Reading'. Use the Program Manager File|New|Browse to find the program (TRD1.EXE), and to copy it with it's path to the Command Line. NOW: add /Q /L /F after TRD1.EXE for the Hard version, and /Q /S for the Easy version. One program... two difficulty levels and sets of options.
(More to come... area under development)
Information on collecting software over the Internet
You will probably have learned that software is usually 'zipped'.
It is a little alarming, because your screen goes blank, but you can Unzip under Windows 3.1 without any fancy front ends.
Use File Manager File|Associate. Enter ZIP as extension. Use Browse to find your copy of PKUnzip. (It is widely available if you haven't already got it.)
Once that has been done (once), then to unzip files you proceed as follows:
Create a directory for the results. Copy the ZIP file to that directory. Locate it with File Manager (This shouldn't be hard, because you probably accomplished the previous steps with File Manager. Double clcik on the ZIP file.
(More to come... area under development)
Announcement of a competition intended to discover good web sites
Visit the Sheepdog's Kennel (Link at top of this page) to participate in an 'election' to identify the best homepages produced within the CompuServe World.
All is explained there.... but in a nutshell: There is a list of links to good pages. You send an email to 'vote' for the best. (I promise this is not a scheme to build emailing lists!!) As time goes on, the selection process winnows the list down to better and better sites.... BUT ONLY IF YOU CONTIBUTE YOUR VIEWS.... a very simple exercise!
A link to comments on HTML editors, especially WebEdit and HPWiz
This is a Web page created with WebEdit.... which like so many others is not wysisyg, but maybe I can get used to that?
I 'grew up' in the sheltered world of CompuServe's HPWizard. It works!! (The Sheepdog's Kennel is done almost entirely with HPWiz... though two HTM files are 'tweaked' each time before being uploaded.
For reasons I'll explain another time, I'm now looking beyond HPWiz. This is my first day with Kenn Nesbitt's WebEdit... and I must say that all is well so far, much to the delight of a confirmed skeptic is is well used to having tedious teething problems with any new package. Bst of all... to home users the price is an exceedingly reasonable $39.95, with options available for purchase from abroad.
Click to visit Nesbitt homepage
(More to come... area under development)
Click here to send enquiry, reaction, or any other message
Click to visit tk1pg2
Created: Thursday, Nov 21 1996