11/4/95                        CompuNotes                       Issue #24

                 Patrick Grote, Publisher and Editor
     CompuNotes is a weekly publication available through an email
           distribution list and many fine on-line networks!
We feature reviews, interviews and commentary concerning the PC industry.

                         This Week's Contents:
                         =====================
                                  NEWS
                                  ====
                  -=> Novell to Dump Applications <=-
                 -=> Triton Releases New CoSession <=-
                                REVIEWS
                                =======
          -=> Electronic Publishing with Envoy from Novell <=-
       -=> Dealing with Postal Rates Made Easier by EmmaSoft <=-
                          WEB SITE OF THE WEEK
                          ====================
                        -=> Guitarist on Web <=-
                    -=> Need to Fix Your Home Up <=-
                          FTP FILE OF THE WEEK
                          ====================
                 -=> Bring Life to Your Batch Files <=-
                               INTERVIEW
                               =========
         -=> Wolfgang Stiller - Author of Integrity Master <=-

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------------------------------------------------------------------------
   NEWS OF THE WEEK| This section is dedicated to verified news . . .
       All News (C)opyright  Respective Owner - Will Only Reprint
------------------------------------------------------------------------
   -=> NOVELL TO EXIT PERSONAL PRODUCTIVITY APPLICATIONS BUSINESS <=-

    Orem -- UT., Oct. 30, 1995 -- Novell, Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL) announced
today that it has decided to exit the personal productivity applications
business and is in discussions to sell its Business Applications
Division. The decision underscores Novell's previously announced
strategy to focus on the networking software business. The Business
Application Division accounted for 16 percent of Novell revenue in the
company's third fiscal quarter which ended in July 1995.
    Novell's objective is to successfully place its Business
Applications Division with an industry partner within Novell's first
fiscal quarter, ending January 1996. Novell intends to ensure its
award-winning PerfectOffice suite, WordPerfect word processing products,
Quattro Pro spreadsheet and other business applications are well
supported and continue to evolve to meet customer needs.
    These actions do not affect Novell's GroupWise Division, whose
networked applications are among the company's fastest growing products.
    In addition, the Novell board of directors authorized a stock
repurchase program. Under this program up to 10 percent, or
approximately 37 million shares of outstanding Novell common stock, may
be acquired through open market or private transactions over the next
twelve months. The repurchases will be funded from Novell cash and
short-term investments that currently total approximately $1.3 billion.
    Novell is the leading network software provider and the second
largest supplier of PC software worldwide.

   -=> Triton Technologies Introduces CoSession for Windows v6.0 <=-
 
     Latest Release Offers Windows 95 Support, Blazing Performance,
     Enhanced "Drag-and-Drop" File Transfer Capabilities,  and More

    ISELIN, N.J. -- October 17, 1995 -- Triton Technologies, Inc. has
announced a new version of CoSession for Windows, their leading remote
communications software program that allows a PC in one location to
remotely operate or access a second PC via modems, serial ports or
network connections.  CoSession for Windows v6.0 performs dramatically
faster than previous versions, and now has the ability to connect PCs
running the Windows 95 operating system, as well as other Windows and
DOS versions.  The product also includes many advanced file transfer
features that give users faster, smarter and more versatile transfer
options.
     CoSession for Windows V6.0 contains a new Windows-based Host and
Viewer software that eliminates the need for a DOS TSR for Windows
connections, adding convenience for Windows users and greatly improving
the remote Windows connection.  The new CoSession also adds support for
Winsocket connections in addition to its modem, NetWare SPX and NetBIOS
capabilities.
     Enhanced file transfer capabilities include "intelligent" file
transfer that updates only portions of files that have changed,
dramatically increasing transfer speed.  File synchronization and
cloning have been added to provide greater flexibility for handling file
management tasks between two computers. File synchronization and cloning
ensures that selected directories on the host and viewer PCs contain the
same version of all files with the simple click of the mouse.  Files can
be transferred from one PC to the other with "drag-and-drop" ease.

     Additional features in CoSession for Windows V6.0 include:

* Multi-Protocol Wait for Call:  A breakthrough feature that allows the
CoSession for Window Host to wait for calls from multiple communication
types (protocols) at the same time.  Previous versions of the product
could only wait for calls from one protocol at a time.

* Simultaneous Remote Control/File Transfer:  Users can perform remote
control functions while the system is busy performing file transfers.

* No System File Modifications:  CoSession does not modify the display,
mouse, or keyboard drivers in SYSTEM.INI, giving users trouble-free
Windows operation.

* Easy Installation:  A highly intuitive setup program that
automatically detects your PC's configuration and sets up CoSession for
instant connections.

* True Color Support:  CoSession for Windows v6.0 now offers users true
color support for video resolutions up to 1280 x 1024 and 16 million
colors.

    CoSession for Windows v6.0 will be available on November 15, 1995,
with the retail price expected to be approximately $80 for a Two PC
package. Volume and corporate site licenses can be purchased directly
from Triton Technologies.  Upgrades from previous versions of CoSession
or competitive packages are $40 for a Two PC Package, and $25 for
individual Host or Viewer packages.  For more information, contact
Triton at (800) 322-9440 or  (908) 855-9440.
    Triton Technologies, Inc. is a leading developer of remote access,
file transfer and modem sharing communication software packages for
IBM-compatible PCs and networks.  The company was founded in April,
1985, and offers a comprehensive line of products for PC, LAN and X.25
communications including CoSession, CoSession LAN II, Session XL,
CoSession ACS, CoSession X.25 and CoSession PC2X.  To date, Triton
Technologies has shipped more than 2 million copies of CoSession. Triton
products are available through dealers and distributors worldwide.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
REVIEWS OF THE WEEK | Interesting software/hardware you may need . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           Envoy for Windows
                       Reviewed by Lars Anderson

  If you have ever had the task of editing or commenting you may have
had to print it out, edit it and then put in the additions to the
original document.
  This may have been all right if you are doing a one or two page
editing job on a new manual that you are getting ready for publication.
But say, for example, you are updating an already existing manual and
have to ensure that changes are consistent throughout the document. Say
al so that you not only have to cross reference several different
sources of information such as legal and technical manuals but you
also have to consolidate the different inputs of several colleagues. I
had not heard much about Envoy when I installed it on my 486 Laptop but
I have come to respect it and be a convert to its helpfulness.
  To begin with, to avoid crowding the Hard drive on my computer I
keep most of my files on my Iomega Zipdrive. In the past I have had
problems with applications I installed in this manner. Either the
installation goes roughly or the pointers to the removable Iomega drive
confuse e the installation software. I went to File manager in Windows
3.1 and clicked on to the A drive where Envoy Setup file at the
bottom of the menu display. I had to look for the setup file, it may be
a good idea to rename it so it floats to the top of the file list, call
it "asetup" or something.
  The program came on one disk and it installed itself onto my Iomega
without a hitch. The Button Bar on the viewer could use some variety
since the 7 different text and graphics programs supported are
represented with the same Icon. But what the package lacks in showroom
finish it more than makes for in substance. Envoy supports Corel 4,
Excel 5, Framemaker 4, Pagemaker 5, Quark 3 .2, Word 6 and WordPerfect
for Windows. As part of the installation process the Envoy Driver
installed itself into the Microsoft word printer option list the I had.
  I was pleasantly surprised to find it in there and had to only
choose it as my default printer to save myself the hassle of always
having to go to the setup screen to do so. I printed a 2 page paper
to the Envoy Driver which immediately launched Envoy's viewer and there
was my document ready to be annotated and edited. The Button Bar on the
top of the page included a number of useful tools enabling me to search
for text annotation Zoom in/out. Also included are a several text
annotation methods such as sticky yellow notes, hi-liter, hyper-te xt
links, bookmarks. Also when several pages are involved are the
thumbnail sketches allowing drag and drop annotation and editing. The
On-line users manual was accessible from the Icon suite from the Program
Ma Manager. The On-line manual is also available once the viewer has
launched itself. I found it useful to save it as a text file and get
it printed out.
  It comes to 19 pages and covers most trouble-shooting scenarios.
All in all I found the viewer an excellent addition and something that I
would look forward to experimenting wit h further. My next project will
be sending the document via modem and Internet to see if Envoy's
promise of collaborative effort holds and the document transfers
intact.
 
                      The Electronic Postal Window
                     from EmmaSoft Software Company
                       Reviewed by Danny Williams
 
    Just place your package on a dime-store scale, enter the weight into
The Electronic Postal Window (EPW), and it will tell you exactly how
many of those 32 cent beauties you need to lick and stick. Click a
button and switch to second class. Another adjusts to the price of an
oversize envelope. If you want to send it through the US Mail, this
program will tell you how much it costs.
    But wait! There's something missing! This postal window has no
collectable stamps, FBI wanted posters,  or helpful employees! Then
again, there are also no gun-toting, disgruntled ex-employees; and you
rarely even need a helpful employee. All the postal answers you've long
been waiting for in those serpentine, Disney-esque lines are now right
at your finger (or mouse-pointer) tip. You will even be entertained
while you wait with  postal trivia worthy of Cliff Claven.
    EPW bucks the Windows bloatware trend by packing all its features
into a paltry 456k on your hard drive.It ran fine for me under both
Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and Windows 95. Iinstallation is very quick
and easy - one diskette - and a very fast uninstall program is included.
I also really liked the little "Help" flags that pop up when pausing
your pointer over any button.
    My first thought about this program was "I don't need this - I have
a fancy electronic scale in the back that tells me how much my mail
costs."  It didn't take long, however, to to change my mind. First, the
electronic scale costs hundreds of dollars. It also costs dozens of
dollars every time there is a rate change - they send me a chip that
gets replaced inside the scale. EPW, on the other hand, costs $30 ($ 40
with printed manuals) and software rate updates are about $6.50.
Financially I'm already way ahead with EPW.
    EPW wins with features, too. It has a group of buttons for selecting
First, Second, or Third class; Parcel Post; Express Mail; Priority Mail;
or Book Rate. Other button groups change according to the class you have
selected. For example, selecting First Class provides three other groups
of buttons: Postcard/Envelope/Oversize; Foreign/Domestic; and ZIP
bar-coding options. Book rate takes away the postcard option and
replaces bar codes with Zone selection. This is all very slick and
intuitive - I sat right down and used all of this without ever opening
the book.
    EPW will also help you balance speed versus cost by comparing the
cost of sending your package by several different methods. Perhaps that
mail-in rebate coupon is worth the premium to send it first class, but
the IRS check can just take its sweet time getting there third class and
save you a few cents. EPW shows you all the rates in one window so you
can quickly compare.
    Of course the USPS changes their rates periodically (and the periods
get shorter every year, it seems), so  updates are available to keep
your EPW database up to date. Updates are $18.95 for three issues, 30.95
for six, and 55.95 for twelve.  The issues are not based on a time
period, but are issued whenever there is a rate change, so a 12 issue
subscription could last well past one year (if we're all lucky and they
don't raise the rates!!!). Updates can also be ordered individually, but
the subscription seems much more painless and easy. Database updates
also automatically include software updates, so you'll always have the
most current version.
    Like most people, I use carriers other that USPS to tote my
packages, so I asked the author if I could enter rates for  Federal
Express, UPS, and such. he said: "No.  We are planning to add UPS and
FedEx rates in version 2.0 of the program.  In fact I just got the rates
from FedEx yesterday so we can plan that version.  There is no release
date for v2 set - it will probably be some time in the first half of
next year."  Even without the other services listed, if you send a lot
of things USPS, then you need this program.
    An evaluation version of EPW is available on the EmmaSoft BBS
(607-533-3685/7072), CompuServe, AOL, and Ziffnet as EPW15.ZIP. Full
registered version with printed manual and free tech support is $39.95 +
S&H. For $29.95 you can register your shareware, but receive no manuals.
 
                    EmmaSoft Software Company, Inc.
                              P.O. Box 238
                         Lansing MI  14882-0238
                          Phone (607) 533-4685
                           Fax (607) 533-3524
                          BBS: (607) 533-7072
                    email 71333.1577@compuserve.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------
WEBSITES OF THE WEEK! | This section is devoted to cool WebSites . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
    -=> Electric Guitarist Performs Virtuoso Violin Music on WWW <=-
 
    (Portland, OR) Local musician Kevin Ferguson has just released a
debut CD of Paganini, Sarasate, Vivaldi, Bach and other violin music
performed on an electric guitar.  The CD, entitled "STRAD TO STRAT" was
recorded after very positive audience responses at recent performances
in Portland.
    Though so far the release only includes local Portland retail
stores, the CD was immediately sold across the country through mail
order because of the exposure through the internet. Dan Sause of Local's
Only said that though many other musicians have set up World Wide Web
Pages, none have resulted in immediate telephone orders like this one
has.
    The STRAD TO STRAT Web Page
(http://www.teleport.com/~kevinf/strdstrt.html) includes album graphics
and 30 second audio samples of select tracks.
    Ferguson had to invent new ways of playing the electric guitar in
order to play the 5 octave range of Paganini and Sarasate music at full
tempo on guitar.  Though classical guitarists have transcribed
Paganini's Caprice No. 5 and Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen, recordings up to
this point have the highest octaves transcribed to a lower octave.
    The CD's 65 minutes of music include Paganini's Concerto No. 1,
Perpetual Motion, Caprice No. 5, Bach's Concerto No. 1, Prelude to the
6th Violin Sonata, Vivaldi's Presto Movement of Summer, Sarasate's
Zigeunerweisen, Wieniawski's Caprice In A Minor, and Rimsky-Korsakov's
Flight Of The Bumble-Bee.
    For more information, call Local's Only @ (503)-227-5000, email
kevinf@tv.tv.tek.com or kevinf@teleport.com, or write: DeBone Music,
P.O. Box 1646, Beaverton, OR 97005
 
       -=> Lowe's Web Site Is Virtual Do-It-Yourself Magazine <=-

    NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Imagine having all
your home improvement project "how to's" available at the touch of a
button in the comfort of your home?
    Today, Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE: LOW), the nation's number two
home improvement retailer, has unveiled its comprehensive Home Page at
http://www.lowes.com.  It is a dynamic cybermagazine filled with tips on
how to keep your home safe and step-by-step how-to guides for projects
ranging from hanging a door and installing vinyl flooring to finishing
wood.  Schedules of in-store home improvement clinics will be updated
regularly.
    Each month, new projects will be added until this section becomes
the definitive and indispensable archive for do-it-yourselfers.  In
addition, the site contains information from the Lowe's Home Safety
council about solutions to common household hazards and seasonal safety
issues.
    To make the site truly interactive, users can easily locate the
stores nearest them by zip code, by state or by using a clickable map.
The current stock price is available as well as links to the Southern
Living home page and toll free numbers for product service information.
    "Today's clarion call is `Get Interactive!' and although the
cybernetic applications of this concept may be new, Lowe's has been
interactive for years -- responding to the changing needs and desires of
our customers, getting involved in the communities where we operate,
building a corporate family that nurtures the careers of our employees
and encouraging participation in Lowe's growth through share ownership.
We stated in our 1994 Annual Report our promise to embrace new
opportunities for future innovations," explains Robert Strickland,
Chairman of the Board.  "Lowe's new entry into the World Wide Web is
exciting confirmation of this commitment."
    Other information available on the site includes weekly NASCAR Team
Lowe's updates, a program schedule of "At Home With Lowe's" on the Home
& Garden cable network, corporate financial data and employment
opportunities with one of The 100 Best Companies to Work For in America
(Doubleday).  A web site survey is provided and those who respond will
have a chance to win a prize.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
COOL FTP FILE OF THE WEEK | You may need this file . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Sparkle 4.1 Batch file menus/sound/more! **Includes Sparkle & Menu
Magic (MM).  MM writes batch files for you.  Sparkle offers NINETEEN
options to enhance batch files: SCROLLING BAR MENUS, ASK (turn ANY
screen into a menu),  BIG! FONTS (Print 8-line-high messages), WINDOWS
250 styles, SOUND EFFECTS (Over 35), VIEW FILE (in colorful windows),
PROMPTS (4 dynamic prompts), CUSTOM BROADWAY SCREEN FONTS, and m-u-c-h
more!

    You can find this as SPARKL41.ZIP on the following FTP site:

              FTP.CRL.COM:/USERS/SU/SUPPORTU/SPARKL41.ZIP

------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK | Interesting people you should know about . . .
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wolfgang Stiller is a known virus expert. His product, Integrity Master,
is what the pros use to protect themselves from data loss!

     You can contact Wolfgang Stiller at 74777.3004@compuserve.com.
 
PG: Describe your product Integrity Master in detail. Does it work with
Windows 95?
 
WS: Integrity Master works smoothly with both Win95 and OS/2.  Since
release 2.51 of IM we have had a Windows setup utility included with IM
(IMWIN.EXE).

  Integrity Master is a high performance (100% assembler) program
offering virus scanning, data integrity, security, CMOS protection, and
change management all in one easy to use package. It detects hardware
glitches, software bugs, and even deliberate sabotage to your data. If a
virus strikes, IM identifies it by name and (unlike other programs) also
identifies any damage caused by the virus.  It will even detect new and
unknown viruses. IM is NCSA (National Computer Security Association) as
a virus scanner.

PG: What was the inspiration behind Integrity Master?
 
WS: Integrity Master began almost 15 years ago when I was working IBM
system 360/370 computers as well as 8080 based micro computers. I wrote
the ancestor to IM in IBM BAL (Assembler) and then ported it to the 8080
(later CPM) environment.  At this point, Integrity Master was fairly
primitive-purely an integrity checker. It would read each file, record a
32 bit CRC and compare values on future checks. But it was invaluable!
Many times when my system would function strangely, I would run the
checker and find a file had become corrupted.  Without IM's ancestor, I
would have had no way to find such damage. Back in 1988, I realized that
these same problems were happening on IBM PCs and that since a virus
must change something on your PC to infect it, the basic idea would also
detect viruses.  I completely rewrote the checker in 8088 assembler and
added software to check system and reload system sectors.  This was
published in an article in PC Magazine (Feb 1990). The software was
called the "PCdata integrity toolkit".  This gave me extensive
experience with thousands of users. I realized that most people need
much more help than that provided by just an integrity checker. To solve
these problems, I began work on Integrity Master to become an
intelligent integrity checker. It would spot any changes to the system
(files, system sectors or CMOS) but it would also advise if the change
was due to a virus.  To accomplish this I added a virus scanner (this
grew from 40 viruses to more than 7,000 today!) and generic detection of
virus like code.
 
PG: Describe a hard to believe story related to the use of Integrity
Master. Did it save a corporation? Did someone use it in an odd way?

WS: Here are some interesting stories from my files:
 
 Marcus Byron of Brooklyn, New York wrote this in a public message in
 the Intelec Virus conference:
 
   "This is for you and ALL others who may still be thinking of "IF THIS
   PROGRAM IS WORTH IT": I was able to detect the reason my hard
   drive/system went down by using Integrity Master to tell me that BOOT
   sectors were damaged and were no longer readable.  Before that, I had
   no idea.  This is about the sixth or seventh time this program has
   saved my neck.
 
   I really wanted you to know that"
 
 Kay S. an administrative assistant with the State of Florida reports:
 
   Some strange things had been happening on my PC that totally
   mystified me until I installed Integrity Master.  Then I realized
   that someone was changing files on my PC during my lunch hour.  This
   was supposedly intended to be a "joke" but after Integrity Master
   reported which files were changed, I checked and discovered the
   truth.  A co-worker was deliberately trying to make me lose
   credibility with my boss.  We caught him red-handed a few days later
   trying to change some spreadsheets.
 
  Bill J. from Rochester NY reports:
 
   I was working under an extremely tight deadline earlier this week. On
   Tuesday morning, my PC wouldn't boot from the hard disk.  I booted
   from a diskette, but then it said "Invalid drive specification" when
   I tried to access my hard disk. I WAS PANICKED!  I ran Integrity
   Master from the diskette and it immediately diagnosed the problem and
   asked me if I would let it reload the boot sector on my hard disk.  I
   let Integrity Master fix things up and then had it do a full check to
   make sure everything was in order.  My hard disk was accessible again
   and I was back at work in five minutes.  Whew!
 
 Dickford Cohn (Sanken Electric USA) writes a public message to us and
 to a user in the IBMSYS forum on CompuServe: (His remarks were the
 result of a request for help by a user who had mysteriously damaged
 files on his PC)
 
   "Right on! Integrity Master has saved my bacon more than once.
 
   Re: Taking the word integrity seriously...that is EXACTLY why I chose
   your prog, For what it's worth, I view your anti- virus efforts as a
   bonus.  But, as one who 's had data trashed by all manner of
   ill-behaved programs, I welcome your program as a big step in curing
   these ills.  Thanks. "
 
 Henry Leahy, had a frustrating problem with a faulty disk controller
 but couldn't get anyone or anything to isolate the problem until he ran
 Integrity Master. He reports:
 
   "I thought you would be interested in my experience with Integrity
   Master. With all the publicity about Michelangelo some time back I
   thought it wise to look into virus protection schemes. I downloaded
   everything PC magazine mentioned in their article and read what the
   various programs had to offer.  Your text convinced me that you had
   the best approach and that PC Magazine had not given you adequate
   mention.  Running IM, I got reports that files I had not been near,
   (non-executable files), were changed .  Several runs of IM showed the
   "magic numbers" to cycle between two values for each file.  Earlier I
   had a problem with my tape system, being unable to get consistent
   results for tape verify.  The tape system vendor, Mountain Computer
   Inc. was very helpful, giving advice to look for hardware problems
   and when all else failed replacing hardware and software. The problem
   persisted; I concluded the problem was somewhere else in my system
   but was at a loss to find a method to catch the one bad bit in
   seventy or eighty megabytes.  Integrity Master confirmed that the
   problem was elsewhere in my system. Presented with IM's report, my
   system vendor, Gateway 2000 agreed to troubleshoot the entire system.
   They concluded that my disk controller was bad, replaced it at no
   cost to me. Now tapes verify and IM finds only legitimate file
   alterations."
 
 
 Nathan M. experienced conflicts between some resident software on his
 PC and some new hardware that he had recently installed.  His account
 makes it clear how devastating an undetected system problem can be.  He
 writes:
 
   I love it!  I have been a fan of integrity checking (IC) ever since
   my first big software conflict trashed small parts of a few files of
   the 2,000 + files on my disk in ... 1986, I think.  I worked hours to
   find the damaged files. Noooo .... many evenings is more like it and
   I never felt confident that I found most, much less all, of the bad
   files! I was not a happy computer owner .... !  Five times since then
   I have had files software-conflict-mangled (SCM) and the number of
   files on the good ol'hard disk has grown to around 5,000.  And now...
   all this is made easy and automatic in your Integrity Master product.
 
   Three times in the last year file corruption has hit my system. I
   love and use the Norton Utilities and most of the time NDD (Norton
   Disk Doctor) gets all the correct clusters sorted out- BUT about 40
   to 60 percent of the involved files had single sectors mangled within
   properly assigned clusters!
 
   The computer experts writing books, teaching classes, .... and
   writing programs haven't really stated how very easy it is to lose or
   damage information, AND HOW VERY DIFFICULT IT IS TO KEEP TRACK OF --
   the accuracy of -- A lOOMb OF INFORMATION AND SOFTWARE.  Clearly,
   without additional help in the form of integrity software, I believe
   it is IMPOSSIBLE!
 
 John J. an Engineer with General Motors called us with this report:
 
     "Integrity Master recently detected a Jerusalem related virus on
   several of our PCs. None of our other anti-virus products detected
   this virus!  Unfortunately, none  of the disinfection or virus
   cleaning programs could correctly remove the virus.  We permanently
   lost a lot of files because our backups were damaged also. I wish we
   had purchased your product earlier. It could have saved us thousands
   of dollars.
 
 Gil J. used Integrity Master to discover that his backup program had
 incorrectly restored a file from a backup.  Prior to this he had spent
 days trying to figure out why his PC appeared not to work.  He then
 wrote this public message to us in the IBMSYS forum on CompuServe:
 
   "Integrity Master certainly appears to work, and work well; but then
   YOU knew that!  I had a program overlay that appear to be corrupted
   because it bombed when it ran.  I've had this problem before, and
   still don't know the root cause. I had run IM and then reloaded from
   a backup.  Then I ran IM again and it detected the change, reporting
   possible corruption, even though the file size, date, and time WERE
   IDENTICAL.  Central Point AV and McAfee both failed to report
   anything at all.  Central Point AV program creates checksum files
   that I would have thought would detect the corrupted file problem,
   BUT THEY DIDN'T!  In balance -- great looking program, seems more
   effective, and a LOT -- read a WHOLE LOT -- faster than Central
   Point.
 
PG: What is the future of Integrity Master?
 
WS: Integrity Master is already the fastest and most comprehensive
integrity checker available anywhere.  We're constantly adding new
features and we will of course keep up with new operating system
features and viruses. Our product was one of the first to detect the new
MS Word macro based viruses. Within twelve months we will release
version three of IM that will have new capabilities in checking the
integrity of low level operating system processes.
 
PG: What is the biggest challenge concerning the marketing of Integrity
Master?

WS: The biggest challenge is one of perception. We don't have "Virus" in
our name but provide top-rated virus scanning and generic protection.
Most of our customers still by IM only for virus protection. The need to
check the integrity of PC files just isn't recognized by the average
person. They don't realize that on today's large disks, it is very
common to experience system problems due to undetected file corruption.
Without Integrity Master the only way to solve such problems is to
reinstall software until the problem goes away. This can be VERY costly
in terms of lost time and data!
 
PG: Does Integrity Master support you so you can work on it full-time?
If not, what do you do for a living?

WS: Integrity Master supports myself and several others.
 
PG: What are some of your hobbies?
 
WS: My wife and I enjoy bicycle touring, hiking, sailing, and overseas
travel (usually by bicycle). Unfortunately, Stiller Research requires so
much time that we have been very limited in our overseas travel.
 
PG: Do you think shareware has a future? Why or why not?
 
WS: Yes, very much so. This is best way by far to acquire software.
Large companies are now offering evaluation versions of their products
free for download.
 
PG: Describe your main computer setup?
 
WS: I have a large number of systems to test IM on all available
platforms but my personal development system is a Micro P90 with 32mb
and dual 1.6gb PCI bus WD harddrives. I use native DOS for program
development. This offers the max in speed and function for most of what
I do. All our PCs are connected on a Lantastic 6.0 LAN with an optional
Netware server for network testing.
 
PG: What do people think we they think about Wolfgang Stiller?
 
WS: Heh,heh, it beats me. I like to think that they associate the word
"Integrity" with my name <g>.  Seriously, I take integrity very
seriously when it comes to providing a solid product and supporting our
customers.

                         --- END INTERVIEW ---


