FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


MDG ANNOUNCES PROLINE 3.0 UPGRADE

SAN DIEGO, California, USA -- November 29, 1993 -- The Morgan Davis Group
is proud to announce the ProLine 3.0 upgrade, a major advancement in the
evolution of the acclaimed Apple II BBS.  ProLine is hailed as the premier
networked bulletin board system for Apple II computers, linking more than
100 regions in a dozen countries with the global Internet.  The ProLine
3.0 upgrade, the first major enhancement in a year and a half, includes
hundreds of improvements and additions making it one of the most substantial
revisions in ProLine's ten-year history.

Planned for release before the end of the year, the low-cost ProLine 3.0
upgrade  kit includes three 800K diskettes with a simple update procedure.
Registered ProLine owners can reserve upgrades now by ordering directly
from the Morgan Davis Group.

SPECIAL: Order before December 31, 1993 and receive a custom-designed,
one-of-a-kind "Big Brother Inside" sticker lampooning the Intel logo.
A statement against the government proposed data encryption chip, this
hilarious farce comes in dark blue on a transparent background, suitable
for strategic placement on electronic devices you own (or perhaps don't).

How to order:

Payment:	Visa, Mastercard, check or money order accepted.  No CODs.
		Make checks payable to: Morgan Davis Group

Prices:		$39 + $4 S/H (2.0 owners)
		$79 + $8 S/H (1.8 owners, includes new 350-page manual)
		$159 + $8 S/H (new owners)

Include:	Name, address (and shipping address if different),
		and if paying by credit card, type, number, and exp. date.

By e-mail:	mdavis@mdg.cts.com
By FAX:		619/670-9643
By voice:	619/670-0563
By modem:	619/670-5379 (send email to mdavis@mdg.cts.com)
By US mail:	Morgan Davis Group
		10079 Nuerto Lane,
		Rancho San Diego,
		CA 91977-7132 USA

_________________________________________________________________________

What's New in ProLine 3.0

This extensive document, intended for current ProLine owners, summarizes
the myriad changes and improvements which will be packaged in the
ProLine 3.0 upgrade kit.  Each new or improved command also includes
updated documentation on disk.  (Note: MDG reserves the right to
add to or change this list without notification).


Where		What
=============	=====================================================
addconf		Asks for newsgroup info
adduser		Can ask user if s/he lives in USA, fixed bad login name
		bug, removes area code restrictions for US expansion
addsite		NEW!  Makes adding a new network site easier
addtopic	Total rewrite; asks for newsgroup info
arbitron	NEW!  Reports USENET traffic statistics!
bank		NEW!  Bank simulator manages money between games in the
		ProLine gaming economy.
batch		Total rewrite, creates proper batches, no longer needs .rsrc
blackjack	NEW!  Full-screen blackjack game with real card images, real
		deck, and advanced features like split hands, doubling bets,
		and more.  Integrates with the ProLine banking system.
calls		Avoids error if log doesn't exist (using -f option)
cs		Better newsgroup support, allows creation of articles to
		be sent directly into UNIX news systems.
csh		Mv bug, exec bug, multiple commands on invocation bug,
		commands after comments bug, and variable parsing after
		comments bug -- all fixed.  Supports global startup
		script (cshinit) that lets the admin define certain
		to perform at sign-on time.  This also enables the admin
		to designate sign-off tasks for the user as well.
cshinit		NEW!  Initialization script for csh users (see csh).
csmod		Asks for newsgroup info
cyber		NEW!  Full-scale interactive fiction game (ala Infocom style)
delsite		NEW!  Makes removing a network site easier
dstat		Total rewrite; supports '=' opcode to set absolute permissions
err		Simply converted to a shell script to perform same task
flip		Total rewrite; can process 1500 accounts, new -d option added
gid		Total rewrite; smaller and faster
Hayes.Acura	NEW modemcap
import/export	Total rewrite; includes support for converting files between
		ProDOS/HFS, DOS, and UNIX.
inspect		NEW!  Inspects files and reports their contents.  Comes
		with a new CRC utility module.
Intel.14.4EX	NEW modemcap
it		NEW!  Total rewrite, completely new interface and new
		features, VTxxx and ANSI arrow key support, debugging modes.
itc		Total rewrite; adds support for higher baud rates, new
		command to completely quit from IT.
login		Logout command, user login alert, reports real connect
		speed, no longer displays news (see news)
lpr		Total rewrite; no longer redirects output to modem when
		done (and not online), allows printing by non-root users
		at local console only, new options for added flexibility
mc		Without arguments mc loads the configured modemcap file.
		Adds support for 38,400 and 57,600 speeds.
mdss		Fixed 16-file limit on ZMODEM batch receives, enhanced
		tolerances for slower systems helps avoid the rare but
		annoying BIN file that caused sendmail to complain.
mdssclean	Total rewrite; smaller, faster, more accurate, and flexible
ned		NEW!  Full-screen customized editor for managing the
		newsys file.
news		Total rewrite; improved interactive mode, new command
		line options, new items created with editor, replaces
		login's news displaying function
notice		Total rewrite
od		Total rewrite; new -a option enables ASCII dump mode
plush		Fixed reverse menu searches, added local/bin and games paths
plush.m		Updated
poll		Reports real connect speed
ps		NEW!  Reports process and module status
rmdir		Total rewrite; can remove multiple dir arguments
rnews		Fixed bug in sending batches to sites with same domain
rx		20% speed improvement, correctly handles Binary II
		files when Binary II decoding is turned off
safecom		Total rewrite
sendmail	Searches for domains properly, writes rnews mailboxes
		faster, added forwarding via "forward" file feature
server		Smarter at obtaining sender's address rather than using
		the explicit return path
sweep		Total rewrite; can be used by regular users not just
		admins, added new directory command, faster, cleaner, better
sx		Speed improvements
trim		Total rewrite
unbatch		Avoids long newsgroups field error (string too long), faster
USR.Sportster	New modemcap
vedit		Smart scrolling implemented, real tab support, numerous
		fixes and enhancements
whereis		NEW!  Locates programs and manuals
Zoom.2400EX	New modemcap


New filesystem notes:

Where		What
=============	=====================================================
etc/passwd	Interpreter no longer requires a path (csh vs. bin/csh).
sys/bin		Holds administration and networking tools
bin		Holds everything else
sys/man.L	New name for man.LOCAL


New developer notes:

Where		What
=============	=====================================================
proline.h	Includes new definitions, including the IDENT() macro,
		used by all applications to insert a standard identification
		REM statement as the first line in the program.
		IDENT("name", "version", "date")
proline.lib	Programs now include new logic to detect when they're
		being launched, or when being returned to, in order to
		know when to restore environments after sublaunching an
		application.
launch.lib	Searches PATH_LIST defined in proline.h for programs
		to launch in CommandLine$.  No longer requires full
		path to a program.
CRC		New CRC module (used by inspect), available CRC calculations


Notable Enhancements
====================

The following items are worthy of additional explanation:

Improved Usenet News Support
----------------------------
Most programs related to conferencing or the news system now include
much better support for working with Usenet news distribution.  These
include addconf, addtopic, batch, cs, csmod, ned, rnews, and unbatch.
Even sendmail has been enhanced to recognize messages for rnews and
does a high-speed copy to the rnews mailbox.  News processing is faster
and more robust.

New C-Shell
-----------
In addition to a number of improvements, the C-Shell now features a
sysop-designated shell script (called cshinit) that runs before the
user's own login script runs.  This lets the sysop tailor certain
"required" programs to run before the user's session begins.  Since
the user's session can be "wrapped" within the cshinit script, this
also allows the sysop to perform tasks when the user is all done, too.

Additional Modem Support
------------------------
Because ProLine is based on ModemWorks, a communications toolbox,
much has been improved at the communications level.  Not only does
this include new modemcap files, but better supports high speed modems
and has faster serial port performance apparent during file transfers.
See the separate notes about ModemWorks 3.1 for more details.

Major Improvement for InteleTerm
--------------------------------
Although it lacks a scroll-back buffer, InteleTerm gives you just about
everything you'll need in a terminal program.  And because it is
conveniently integrated into ProLine, you may never need to quit
from ProLine again when you want to get online elsewhere.  The entire
interface is improved, now based on a hierarchical menu structure
that is neatly maintained on the top line of the screen.  By pressing
the first letter of each menu item, only two keys are needed to get you
connected and logged into your favorite host.  Scrolling lists make
selection of terminals to emulate or scripts to run a keypress away.
It's great!

Advances to Login
-----------------
The login program now has the ability to execute a task after a user
has been logged out.  Right now, the default is to simply check for
mail the user may have created and invoke sendmail to process it.
With this new feature, you can have ProLine do any number of things
by invoking a custom script of commands.

A new security alert feature allows you to instruct ProLine to emit
a unique series of audible tones when certain users have logged in.
This can be helpful in monitoring troublesome users, or alerting
you to guests who might appreciate your assistance.

By taking out the news bulletin display and putting it into the
improved 'news' utility, callers now have more flexibility in reading
(or re-reading) system bulletins and announcements.

Finally, the real connect speed (not just the serial port's closets
rate) is reported when a caller connects.  You'll see 14400 in your
log files instead of 19200.

Sendmail
--------
In addition to the rnews speed improvement and other enhancements, sendmail
now supports the concept of mail forwarding.  This is controlled by the user
who may want to receive mail at one particular site.  By creating a file
called "forward" in the home directory, a user can include alternate mail
addresses (note: plural) to which mail will be forwarded.  (Improvements
to the standard PLUSH menus now includes a friendly menu for managing
mail forwarding).

Sweep
-----
A super file management utility popular with administrators, sweep can
now be used by regular users to help manage their workspace.  It's been
cleaned up and polished, and since it's been rewritten in MD-BASIC,
it's faster and more efficient.

VEdit
-----
Those long-time annoyances have been removed and new features have been
added thanks to the generous assistance by Doug Granzow who lead the
way to a better vedit.  Doug inspired improvements in scrolling speed
and also added better tab support.  Other fixes and enhancements make
vedit better than ever.

Better Gaming
-------------
Since the older blackjack game left much to be desired, the 3.0 upgrade
includes one that offers a much better user interface, including card
images and a real deck (which means card counting schemes will work),
and professional features like the ability to double-down and split
hands with pairs.

The method the older blackjack games used for dolling out free money
made it less challenging, so that inspired the idea of a banking
system.  When you win money at a card (or other) game, you keep your
earnings when you quit, and can deposit them into your own bank account
for use at another time.  The ProLine Users Bank includes real-world
features like an ATM, savings account (with interest), loans, and
monetary transfers between users.

There's even a full-scale interactive fiction adventure game called
Cyber World that plays just like an old Infocom game, complete with
game saving and restoring features.

Lots of Rewrites
----------------
Many, many programs have been completely rewritten -- converted and
compiled with MD-BASIC 2.0.  This process not only offers the standard
MD-BASIC features (like smaller, faster, and more efficient programs),
but the conversion offered the opportunity for improvements and new
features.  Plus, with these programs in MD-BASIC source format, the
ability to enhance them in the future is not only possible, but easier
and therefore more likely.

END