Weather Maps and CIS
6 messages in this thread
I like Access! by Keith Young – shareware It is simple, full featured and
works under 2.0
My thoughts! Patrick
Patrick:
I thought that Access! had some problems when used with the 2.04 operating
system. I've been able to use it for some messages reading, but I thought
downloading caused problems.
I've been using JR-Comm. It seems to be pretty solid, and it supports B+
protocol. I tried Whap!, but found that it wasn't quite as flexible as I'd
like. It also screws up the CIS defaults for when you go in normally. A new
version is due out in about a month, but it's going to cost $60. Quite a
bit for shareware.
Actually, since the weather charts are rarely more than about 22Kbytes, the
savings from the faster protocol won't make that much difference.
Paul
"A new version is due out in about a month, but it's going to cost $60.
Quite a bit for shareware."
A) TapCi$ sells for $79 and doesn't do half of what AutoPilot does
B) AutoPilot (and Whap! for that matter) are _not_ shareware products.
Rather, they are commercial products that you can purchase only after
setiing up and using the demo versions successfully on your system. That's
is an important feature: YOU CAN'T WASTE YOUR MONEY on the purchase of
Whap! (or AutoPilot, when it is releasd). The registration of the product
can only be accomplished by setting up and getting the demo properly and
getting it working to your satisfaction. That, IMHO, is better than a
money back guarantee.
If you access CIS primarily for use of the various forums, (ok, fora) then
Whap! and AP will say you enough money to pay for themselves very quickly.
In my case, I recouped the registration cost of Whap! several times over
the very first month I used it.
Michael
…..on AutoPilot
Michael:
That's true, in the pure concept of shareware, you get a complete version
with maybe a delay screen. I don't agree that Whap! uses the best
distribution system possible though. To get Whap!, I've got to spend money
to download the file, then extract it and print the manual myself. Most
commercial software these days provides a semi-automated installation
procedure, and of course provides a printed manual. Many shareware authors
send the printed manual when you register.
I did try the demo of Whap!, and found that it wasn't saving me time. Over
the years I've gotten pretty good at scanning message headers and typing
numbers. What Whap! did do better was to keep track of the replys I sent.
Now I've gone and pulled down the workbench screen, and I can refer to your
message through the saved capture buffer. When I send this, I'll have to
remember the forum and message number.
What Whap! didn't do better though was a somewhat obscure function I do
when online. If I see a thread that I have some interest in, but it has
many messages, I can hit ^P to stop the download after I think I've seen
enough. Some threads can have over 200 messages. I like to see what's
going on, but don't want to spend the $$$ and time on that many messages. I
guess a feature like that could be automated if it allowed me to change the
number of messages I wanted to read in a thread.
You must spend a lot of time on CIS if you saved the $39 in just one month.
Lately I've been able to capture about 275,000 bytes in about 15 minutes at
9600 bps.
Nevertheless, I'll check out Autopilot when it comes out. Maybe it'll even
convert me.
Paul
Paul:
I don't know if any automated message retrieval program will suit your
needs. To limit the number of messages within a thread could be like
cutting off your nose to spite your face… but I know what you mean.
Whap! will download all of the messages in a selected headers retrieval
(it has to, and I certainly wouldn't want it any other way)… but while
reading messages, you can SKIP the current thread by using the SKIP THREAD
command from the View Messages menu.
"I did try the demo of Whap!, and found that it wasn't saving me time."
Whap won't save you time… it will save you ONLINE TIME (money). It is
far more effecient at automatically navigating the CIS forum(s) you are
participating in than you can be manually. But then again, you are trying
to determine before downloading a message wheter it is of interest to you,
so maybe this type of program isn't for you. No one is gonna hold that
against you!
Yes, I am online a lot. BEfore I started using whap, my monthly CIS bil
was in the area of $200-$300. Afetr the first month of using Whap!, it
dropped to $50, and I was participating in more forums, and actually
_participating_, not just lurking. Prior to whap!, I found it got very
expensive to leave messages online and even more expensive to take the
time to REPLY to messages. So, for me, it was money well spent.
I'm sure you'll like the features in AutoPilot, but again, NO automated
program of which I am aware will let you perform that "somewhat obscure
function" of limiting the number of messages to be downloaded from within
a thread.
Michael
…..on AutoPilot
Michael,
Actually, AP and Whap! do have this feature, though it is not obvious.
All one needs to do is enter ^P in the serial monitor window while the
thread is being collected. (I tested this with AP, and am _pretty sure_
that it will work with Whap!.) Of course, with AP I am usually reading
previously collected messages and not what is scrolling past in the serial
monitor window, but if it is important to one that he can interupt a long
thread, then it is possible. It's all a matter of priorities.
-Homer
Flying on Auto