The Cole Digest, Feb. 8, 1995

Gentle Reader,

I've long held the theory that most newspapers should look to build bulletin board systems before they look contract with commercial on-line suppliers.

I was discussing this with Chris Feola, the technoguru at the WATERBURY REPUBLICAN AMERICAN in Connecticut, and he volunteered to do some testing of various bulletin board applications out there.

Herewith, Feola's report:

DARKSTAR!

The client software is easy to install. In fact, it is so easy it is an embarrassment to the bigger companies that this little garage shareware operation has accomplished elegantly what they seem unable to accomplish at all -- build client software that tests the system and then configures itself properly.

Once you've installed the client software, users can dial into a DarkStar! system with full multimedia support. Again, the system is frankly an embarrassment to the America Onlines, Prodigys and CompuServes of the virtual world.

The system is beautiful, and fast. Sound and graphics are piped across live most of the time. DarkStar! automatically detects when a file is so large that it would cause a system slowdown, then moves it across compressed using a file transfer protocol (ZIP).

The bulletin board is about as easy to install as the client software. You pretty much start it up, and it tests your system. The version we tried -- 1.01c -- has a strong dislike for MS-DOS 6.2. Paragon recommends that you run the board on DOS 5.

So where's the fly in this ointment? This is a brilliant little piece of software from a cyber start up, forcing you to accept the fact that your brilliant software comes with start up support.

THE POWER BBS

This is a bulletin board designed to run on Microsoft Windows. Installation is fairly straightforward -- it took me an average of about 30 minutes to install it each time.

The question, of course, is why would anyone want to run a BBS on Windows? Most of the DOS BBSs are fairly close to being full operating systems -- once the computer is booted, they replace DOS and address the hardware directly.

Windows on DOS is not the world's most stable operating system. And the Power BBS runs OK, but it doesn't have a lot to recommend it. It's not as good as the other software reviewed here, never mind better.

If you already have a Windows machine and want an inexpensive, plain vanilla BBS, then The Power BBS may suit you. Otherwise, look elsewhere.

THE MAJOR BBS

If you are serious about bulletin boards, The Major BBS deserves a look.

A two-line version costs $259; you can expand up to 256 lines on a single Pentium machine. Since The Major BBS also offers network support -- including Netware -- you can keep on growing until ... well, suffice it to say that Microsoft uses The Major BBS.

The bulletin board is easy to install -- if you can type "A:\Install," you can get this puppy up and running. The software installs out of the box with both character and RIPscrip support. The whole process takes about two minutes with two disks, then another five minutes of waiting while the software configures itself.

The character-based support allows you to put up a straight-forward bulletin board system. But it's the RIPscrip implementation that really shines. RIPscrip allows the user to work with a mouse, instead of typing in commands. (RIP stands for Remote Imaging Protocol, not Raster Image Processor).

Unlike DarkStar!, The Major BBS adjusts to each user. If the user doesn't have or want RIPscrip, he or she can simply use it as a standard character-based BBS.

If the user has the RIPscrip client software -- RIPterm, included with the BBS so your users can download it -- The Major BBS automatically senses it, engages RIP support, and allows the user to log on and work the system with a mouse.

FIRSTCLASS

One BBS is different from anything else in this review: SoftArc's First Class.

For starters, FirstClass uses a Macintosh as the host computer, and has a terrific mouse-driven interface.

Like DarkStar! and the RIPscrip support on The Major BBS, FirstClass requires special client software. Client software is available for Macs, Windows and command-line systems such as DOS or UNIX.

I didn't have the time or money to reconfigure a Macintosh as a comm server, but as a member of the steering committee for the National Institute of Advanced Reporting at Indiana University/Purdue University at Indianapolis, I knew where one was running.

We set up a FirstClass server at NIAR at the beginning of last year. So far it's been a terrific -- but expensive -- system, according to Dean James Brown.

"It comes on two diskettes and takes five minutes to install," said Brown. "Of course, that's the simple version. It also has Internet connections, network and modem connections."

Such add-ons add complexity as well as features, Brown said.

DarkStar! and The Power BBS are shareware programs. You can download them from many BBSs and on-line services, including CompuServe, where you can find them in the IBMBBS forum. The Major BBS, Galacticomm, (800) 328-1128; FirstClass, SoftArc, (416) 299-4723.

Onward.

\dmc

[THE COLE DIGEST is written by consultant David M. Cole, editor and publisher of the industry newsletter THE COLE PAPERS. The DIGEST is made available to PressLink subscribers every Wednesday at no extra charge. Send comments by e-mail to cole@plink.geis.com. The COLE DIGEST is the property of The Cole Group, a California sole proprietorship. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of The Cole Group is prohibited. Copyright (C) 1995, The Cole Group. Opinions expressed are those of The Cole Group, unless otherwise noted.

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