New AT&T Network Requires VENDINFO Files -- Many Other Distributors
Strengthen VENDINFO Support

Parker, Colorado -- August 15, 1995 -- Rams' Island Software announces
several very strong statements of support for the VENDINFO Product
Information System. Several major on-line services, CD-ROM publishers, and
file-distribution services are either requiring or strongly encouraging
the inclusion of VENDINFO.DIZ files in all the software packages they
receive for distribution. Included are the on-line services of AT&T,
Microsoft, Ziff-Davis, and Genie; CD-ROMs published by ASP and JCSM; and
the ADN, ESC FDN, and Megapost file-distribution services.

The AT&T EasyLink Services network will soon feature a large shareware
collection. AT&T has decided to deliberately collect a large volume of
shareware and make it available to its employees, while encouraging them
to try shareware, and to register all products used. This action, by one
of the country's largest corporations, is clearly a major advance for the
credibility of shareware itself. The service -- currently used only by
AT&T employees -- is also being expanded and made available to outside
subscribers. The resulting network is expected to have more than a million
subscribers.

The new AT&T network will accept shareware products ONLY if they include
VENDINFO.DIZ files. Said Jim Ray, manager of shareware services for the
network, "We want to set some standards that will ease our user-interface
development and allow us to automate our file processing. It's clear to us
that the VENDINFO system is the correct base on which to build, and we
won't accept any products unless they include a VENDINFO file."

VENDINFO is also a key element in the new Microsoft Network. MSN strongly
prefers VENDINFO files. They will accept direct author uploads without a
VENDINFO file, but only if the author manually fills in all the required
information, including description, keywords, category, author
information, prices, platform requirements, and more. MSN also posts
products obtained from selected CD-ROMs (ASP, JCSM) and file-distribution
services (ADN, ESC), but ONLY if they include VENDINFO files. Paul Mayer,
the Shareware Forum Manager on MSN, said, "The automated software we use
on MSN looks into a ZIP file for the VENDINFO.DIZ. We can extract all of
the information we need to allow a shareware product to be located on MSN.
FILE_ID.DIZ and text files just don't work in this area."

On Genie, automated VENDINFO processors were initially used by the
Home-Office/Small-Business and Workplace Roundtables, and have now been
made available for use by all Roundtables. VENDINFO files are strongly
encouraged in these forums.

Ziff-Davis Interactive has long been a supporter of the VENDINFO system.
Their toll-free author-upload line indicates this preference clearly,
encouraging authors to download and use the VENDINFO editor, and
indicating that uploads that include VENDINFO files receive faster
processing.

JCS Marketing, publisher of the popular JCSM "Author-to-Vendor" and "Best
of A2V" CD-ROMs, is now strongly endorsing the VENDINFO system. In fact,
JCSM regards VENDINFO as sufficiently valuable that they are allowing
authors to resubmit any existing products without charge, in order to add
VENDINFO files to them.

FormGen, Inc., which publishes the ASP CD-ROM, has indicated that VENDINFO
files are the preferred method for submitting products for that CD-ROM,
and that VENDINFO is the ONLY submission method that will allow a product
to take advantage of special features planned for the CD-ROM front-end.
(Special VENDINFO.DOZ files are used, which carry additional CD-ROM
information, as well as screenshots, icons, audio samples, and other
multimedia features.)

Andrew Saucci's Megapost file-distribution service now offers a $10
discount for each product that includes a VENDINFO file, and even provides
the author with a registered copy of the VENDINFO editor, if the author
doesn't already have one.

The ADN and ESC FDN file-distribution services not only encourage use of
VENDINFO, but offer a $5 discount for each product that includes a
VENDINFO file. Said Richard Holler, President of RMH Computer Services,
"The VENDINFO system has allowed us to dramatically reduce the processing
time required for our file submissions. We can extract the majority of
necessary processing information from the VENDINFO.DIZ file, all in about
5 seconds. And by extracting the data to a comma delimited data file, we
can automatically import that data into our databases for processing, as
opposed to someone manually typing in each and every bit of data. It
allows us to obtain author and product information much faster, with much
less effort, and much more accurately."

Rudy Ramsey, President of Rams' Island Software and developer of VENDINFO,
said, "Many distributors are becoming aware of the tremendous improvement
VENDINFO can provide in their own operations. Package-handling operations
that were previously very labor-intensive can now be completely or largely
automated. The improvements are so large that they allow distributors to
offer servicess that weren't even feasible before."

Ramsey added, "The emergence of a standard such as VENDINFO occurs with a
sort of snowball effect. Now that so many distributors are making the
advantages of VENDINFO clear to shareware authors, the percentage of
serious shareware authors using VENDINFO should soon approach 100%. That,
in turn, will increase further the benefits of VENDINFO for on-line
services, BBSes, CD-ROM publishers, and end users. Everyone involved with
the industry will benefit."

VENDINFO is a system for conveying software product information and
distribution permissions from the author to distributors and users. A
standard file format allows a VENDINFO.DIZ file to carry extensive
information in a compressed, efficient form. VENDINFO provides
unprecedented capabilities for

    o  Communication of product information and distribution policies
       from author to distributors and users.

    o  Enforceable distribution policies.

    o  Automation of many aspects of package handling by shareware
       distributors of all types, including sysops, disk vendors, and
       CD-ROM publishers.

Basic VENDINFO packages (shareware and freeware) include:

    VNDINF10.ZIP -- VENDINFO.DIZ standard and information
    VNDNFO13.ZIP -- VENDINFO Toolkit (editor, processor)
    VNDVUE13.ZIP -- VendView end-user's viewer.
    VNDUTL13.ZIP -- Utilities and frequently-updated data files.

VENDINFO information and tools are available electronically from Rams'
Island Software (see below) and from many other sources, including:

    CompuServe ASP (lib 5), UKSHARE (lib 12), and EDFORUM (lib 2)
    Ziff-Davis Interactive
    Microsoft Network (ASP Forum)
    CD-ROMs: ASP, JCSM, PsL, and ESC
    BBSes on SDN, ADN, and ESC file-distribution networks

 Rams' Island Software    Member: ASP ESC STAR
 7644 E. Lakecliff Way
 Parker, CO 80134-5904    CIS:  76244,324   BBS: 303-841-6269
 USA                      Fido: 1:104/333   RIME: 1235
                          Inet: ramsisle@abwam.com
 303-841-2848             FTP:  ftp://ftp.abwam.com/pub/ramsisle
 303-841-6269 (Fax)       WWW:  http://delta.com/ramsisle/ramsisle.htm
 
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