PCjs Machines

		    WHAT TO DO - AND NOT DO - WITH YOUR NEW PC
				    by
			    Thinking Software, Inc.

	I have been programming for twenty years on all sorts of computers,
but the PC is my favorite.  I've seen it all (almost), and done it all
(almost) and I'd like to take this opportunity to help those of you who have
just purchased your first PC.  I am going to give you a few do's and don'ts
- feel free to disagree, but at least I'll give you some interesting ideas
to think about.  First of all, if you have not yet purchased a PC, please
follow the following RULES OF PC PURCHASE:

		   1. If you can, buy at least a 286 or 386.
		      (Why? Because the older 8086 PC's are
		       just TOO SLOW!)
		   2. Get the biggest hard disk you can afford.
		      (Why? Because they fill up with good
		      software much faster than you would expect.)
		   3. Get a color monitor, preferably VGA.
		      (Why? Because I like color, of course,
		      and have three monochrome monitors
		      sitting unused in my closet!)
		   4. Make sure one of your floppies is 5 1/4 inch
		      size (that's the standard size).


	Now that you have your PC up and running, here are the things
to do:
1. FOCUS YOUR INTERESTS.  Try to figure out why you got a PC and what you
   want to do with it.  Are you interested in writing, music, art, programming
   or what.  Come on, you must be interested in something! A PC can be used
   for virtually anything.  It is even good for teaching your child to read
   (Reader Rabbit, Amy's Primer). Focus, focus, focus.

2. USE A SURGE SUPPRESSOR. Go ahead, I know you are almost broke after
   buying that 220 Megabyte hard disk, but GET A SURGE SUPPRESSOR BEFORE
   YOU TURN IT ON!  The very first night I put together my first PC,
   there was a huge thunder and lightning storm.  My house wiring took
   a direct hit while my $3500 investment was on for the very first time!
   A surge suppressor saved my bacon by turning off automatically. After
   30 minutes it mysteriously went back on by itself, and my PC was undamaged.

3. TRY DESKTOP PUBLISHING & A WORD PROCESSOR. Remember using a typewriter?
   One tiny mistake and you had to retype the whole page! Now, with any
   simple word processor, you can correct your errors before you print the
   first copy. And if you write a lot of letters, it's great to have an
   automatic file of all the letters you wrote on your hard disk, complete
   with addresses.  Desktop publishing is also a terrific advance, and
   with inexpensive products like Publish It! or First Publisher, it is
   also easy to get started.  Perhaps you have an idea for your own
   newsletter?

4.TRY LOTUS 123 OR ANOTHER SIMILAR SPREADSHEET. The PC became so incredibly
  popular because of Lotus (and Word Processing).  Though I personally am
  bored to tears by spreadsheets, fifty million users can't be wrong,
  so give it a try.

5.TRY THE BASIC INTERPRETER YOU GOT WITH YOUR MACHINE. Basic, or the GWBASIC
  you probably got free with your clone, is an easy and surprisingly powerful
  language (GW stands for Gee Whiz!).  Even if you plan to buy most
  of your software, you will understand your PC much better if you write a
  few simple BASIC programs of your own.  If you find you like BASIC, you
  may eventually want to move up to QuickBasic or Turbo Basic, which
  run about $69.95 and allow you to compile your Basic Programs to true
  EXE files, just like the professional programs you buy.

6.LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT DOS.  The Disk Operating System you got with your
  machine is also a powerful language, and you should run, not walk, to
  your nearest bookstore and buy the slimmest book you can find about DOS.

7.GET A HARD DISK & LEARN TO ORGANIZE IT.  If you already have a PC without
  a Hard Disk, you have already experienced the incredible frustration
  of computing from only one or two floppies. Get a Hard Disk, 40 Megabyte
  minimum.  It shouldn't cost much more than $300. Right now, there is
  a mail-order bargain on the Seagate 65 Meg RLL Drive.  You will need
  an RLL Controller, but the disk is only $260 and built like a tank.
  (See Computer Shopper).

8. GET THE NORTON UTILITIES. This bag of tricks and techniques will more
  than pay for itself with Quick Unerase, which will allow you to easily
  recover those files you deleted by mistake.

9. BACKUP IRREPLACEABLE FILES TO FLOPPY DISKS. If you are writing the
   great American Novel, copy your work once a week to a floppy and stash
   it in a safe place.  It only takes a second, and imagine how you
   would feel if the only copy on your hard disk somehow became
   unreadable.  I leave the question of full hard disk backups completely
   up to you.  If you have a lot of important files on your hard disk
   it may be advisable, even if it takes 60 or more floppies. Fastback Plus
   or DSBackup can ease the task. I don't personally backup, but I have
   three machines (one 386, one 286 and one old 8086) and each has copies
   of my most important files.  They are all surge protected, and the
   chance of three simultaneuos hard disk disasters is only 1 in 47,000,000.
   (Approximately).

10. BUY A DOZEN SHAREWARE PROGRAMS FOR $1.99 EACH, AND REGISTER AT LEAST ONE.
   Shareware is an interesting and inexpensive way to experience a broad
   range of software. It is a unique marketing concept - try before you
   buy. You will help keep it alive, and more good shareware coming, if
   you register the shareware you like and continue to use. You will
   absolutely need a simple ASCII Editor to use your PC properly.
   Without a simple editor, even changing your AUTOEXEC.BAT file
   is a real chore. QEDIT is nice. Put PROMPT $P $G in your
   AUTOEXEC.BAT file RIGHT NOW if it isn't already there. It
   identifies directory names when you change directories.

11. TRY SOME ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PROGRAMS TO PEEK INTO THE FUTURE
    OF COMPUTING.  You have probably heard about Expert Systems, that
    follow rules-of-thumb to give advice like a human expert, but
    through Shareware you can also try one yourself. Other areas are
    Natural Language Programs, that respond to your english language
    sentences, and Neural Networks that mimic the thought process of the
    human brain.  Many can be experienced at low cost through shareware,
    or though the miracle of Modems and Bulletin Boards. Or you could
    page thru the Thinking Software Catalog for six programs that
    interest you ($99.95).

12. AFTER YOU ARE FAIRLY COMFORTABLE WITH DOS, TRY WINDOWS 3.0.
    Windows 3.0 is a GUI or Graphical User Interface.  It requires
    the use of a Mouse, because you operate Windows by pointing and
    clicking with the Mouse.  It also requires a serious 286 or 386
    computer with VGA and plenty of hard disk space.  Windows alone
    wants about 5 Meg of your hard drive geography.
    Although most of what you want to do on a computer does not
    require Windows, you should eventually try it, because it
    probably represents the future of PC Computing.


		THINGS YOU SHOULD TRY TO AVOID
DON'T:
     Move your PC without very good reason. It can destroy the
	 programs on your hard disk.
     Get any weird programs that mess with your hard disk if you
     havn't had a problem!
     Make millions of directories within directories.
     Keep your hard disk almost full.
     Worry about OS/2 - it is a dead issue for home users.
     Leave your machine on all the time.
     Worry if you can't learn to program in C, Lisp or Prolog.
     Write COBOL on a PC.
     Worry much about Viruses. They are dying down now.
     Load your machine so full of TSR's at start-up that it gets confused.
     Open your computer unless you absolutely have to.
     Upgrade to a 386 if you have a fast 286.
     Upgrade at all - buy another machine. Two is nice.
     Try to to turn your PC into a MAC - buy a MAC.
     Don't overload your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
     Don't type FORMAT C: unless you really mean it!


		 A QUICK INTRO TO DOS FOR BEGINNERS ONLY

     DOS stands for Disk Operating System.  It started ten years
     ago at Version 1.0 and then matured with 3.1 and 3.3. It
     gives your machine the primitive intelligence required to
     run programs (Applications), and organize a hard drive.

     DOS 4.1 is current as of the beginning of 1991, but a Beta-test
     Version of DOS 5.0 is already available to industry insiders.
     It is recommended.  DOS is a brilliant engineering accomplishment
     by Microsoft.  Over the years, hundreds of very bright programmers
     have contributed to it.

     DOS is built around the concept of a Hard Drive divided into
     file folders called Directories.  C:\ is the root.
     C:\DOS > is a direcory OFF the ROOT. (You could think of branches
     off a tree, and yes, there are often directories within directories.)
     Try to avoid copying files to your root.
     Instead, make a new Directory (file folder) with a meaningful
     name (MONEY, TEMP, WORK, NEW, LOTUS, WORD, etc) and change
     to that Directory. Then copy your files into that Directory.
     The exact commands are given below, and you will keep your
     Hard Drive neat and tidy.


     Most used Commands: (you press the ENTER KEY after you type
			  any one of these commands.  Practice on
			  a formatted floppy, not your hard drive.)


	DIR produces a directory list of files and programs on the
	    disk, example DIR A:, or just DIR
	DIR/P pauses when the screen is full for long Directories
	DIR/W (Directory Wide) puts the Directory list in several
	    columns across the screen
	COPY copies a file or program to a new name, new directory
	    or new disk, example COPY *.*  C:
	    (If you have a new disk in A: and want to copy ALL the
	    programs on the disk to C: you would type this at the
	    A:> prompt.)
	CD changes from one directory to another. CD\ changes back
	    to the root    CD\MYDIR, then to change back: CD\
	MD makes a new directory
	    example MD MYDIR
	TYPE displays the contents of an ASCII file on the screen
	    TYPE ORDER.FRM
	PRINT prints a file on the printer
	    PRINT ORDER.FRM or COPY ORDER.FRM LPT1
	    Note: there really is an ORDER.FRM on this disk,
	    so you can try this command later on the MoneyMaker Disk!
	Pressing the Shift/Print Screen Keys causes the current
	     screen to be printed
	DEL deletes a file....be careful   DEL BADPGM.EXE
	RD removes an empty directory      RD MYDIR

	Using different disk drives: to switch to another drive,
	     type the letter of the drive followed by a colon
	File Extensions: File names are made up of three parts:
	a name, a period, and an extension, example  LOTUS.EXE
	name: up to eight characters
	extension: up to three characters
	Some extensions are reserved names: EXE, COM, BAT
	an EXE or COM file is a program ready to run just by
	   typing the first part of the name (and pressing ENTER)
	a BAT file consists of DOS Language statements, and
	    most BAT files are used to start COM or EXE programs
	    The AUTOEXEC.BAT File runs automatically whenever
	    you boot or start your PC.

	 if you get hopelessly confused, just BOOT!
	 (turn your computer OFF and back ON, or
	 press CTRL-ALT-DEL simultaneously).

	 Serious DOS mistakes:
	 typing FORMAT C: (erases your whole C: Drive)
	 not backing up critical files to floppy disks
	 typing DEL *.* in your ROOT (deletes all root files)
	 pouring coffee in your keyboard. (keyboards prefer water).


(C) 1991 Thinking Software, Inc.

Disk No: 2784
Disk Title: The Money Maker
PC-SIG Version: S1.0

Program Title: MoneyMaker
Author Version: 2.3
Author Registration: $10.00
Special Requirements: No special requirements.

How to make money with your PC, is a question to which we all would like
to know the answer to.  The Money Maker will gives the answers plus
suggestion on what would suit you best.  An easy to use menu driven
program tell you what kinds of PC you should buy, do's and don'ts of
computers, and what kinds of peripherals are for your system.  The
Money Maker will give you ideas on how to make money in desktop
publishing, accounting & tax returns, writing articles, home shareware
business, consulting, custom programming, bulletin board system, home ad
agency, research service, and other sources of information.  The Money
Maker gives the PC users more than ten realistic ways to make extra
money with their PC while keeping their present job.

PC-SIG
1030D East Duane Avenue
Sunnyvale  Ca. 94086
(408) 730-9291
(c) Copyright 1991 PC-SIG, Inc.

 Volume in drive A has no label
 Directory of A:\

DODONT   TXT     11754   2-05-91  10:07p
LIST     COM      4066   9-10-90   6:09p
MONEY    COM      8390   2-09-91   2:20p
VIDPOP   COM     27917  11-04-87  11:14a
POP      COM       219   5-04-87   5:04p
S        COM        46  10-15-89   5:41p
XMENU    SQZ      1994   2-09-91   1:18p
TSI      PIX     12800   1-25-87  12:44p
BUYPC    SQZ      2882   1-22-91  11:48a
BUYPC2   SQZ      1518   1-22-91   9:02a
PERIPH1  SQZ      1342   1-25-91   4:02p
DTP1     SQZ      1554   1-31-91   5:27p
DTP2     SQZ      1546   1-25-91   4:21p
ACCT1    SQZ      2190   1-28-91  11:16a
HOME1    SQZ      2328   1-31-91  10:54a
CONS1    SQZ      1842   1-31-91   4:25p
VUE      COM     16681   7-23-86   9:22p
BBS      SQZ      2202   1-31-91  10:05p
RESEARCH SQZ      2054   1-31-91   4:48p
OTHER    SQZ      1724   1-31-91   5:07p
AD       SQZ      1398   2-05-91  10:11p
MONEY    SQZ      2200   2-07-91   8:20p
KBASEA            1709   2-11-91   8:44a
KBASEQ            3072   2-11-91   8:22a
KBASED             644   2-11-91   8:00a
EXPERT   EXE     71504   2-07-91  10:41p
P0P      EXE     33163   9-10-90   6:09p
PARAM    DAT        12   2-07-91  10:17p
WRITE1   SQZ      1950   1-31-91  10:03p
MAINTIT  SQZ      1710   2-09-91   3:00p
A        SQZ       300   1-02-88   7:25p
PERIPH2  SQZ      1498   1-31-91  10:07p
B        SQZ       290   1-02-88   7:27p
AGENCY   SQZ      1942   2-01-91  10:13a
C        SQZ       290   1-02-88   8:27p
CUSTOM   SQZ      2320   1-31-91  10:14p
EXPERT91 EXE     64668   2-07-91  11:00p
INSTALLC BAT       187   2-09-91   1:10p
README   SQZ      2330   2-11-91   8:25p
INSTALLD BAT       187   2-09-91   1:11p
README   BAT        34   2-11-91   8:30p
ORD      SQZ      1906   2-09-91   2:54p
ORDER    FRM      1111   2-09-91   2:55p
AD2      SQZ      1398   2-05-91  10:35p
README   1ST      1133   2-11-91   8:54p
PREVIEW  EXE      7347   4-18-91   1:15p
GO       BAT       102   7-11-91   2:59a
FILE2784 TXT      1058   8-09-91   1:01a
       48 file(s)     310512 bytes
                       22528 bytes free