Dan Bricklin's Demo II Program - A Topnotch Demonstration Tool
                       Copyright 1989 David W. Batterson

     For those who don't know who Dan Bricklin is, a brief biography is in
order.  In a recent article, top industry leaders were asked to name the most
influential people in the personal computing industry.
     Dan Bricklin's name came up the most.  He was the coauthor of VisiCalc,
the spreadsheet program which helped make Apple Computer a viable contender.
Before VisiCalc, the Apple II was still a toy for hobbyists and programmers. 
VisiCalc was an immediate hit, and had tremendous sales.  [It was reportedly
the first spreadsheet program for a personal computer, but Microsoft's Bill
Gates disputes this.]
     While at Digital Equipment Corp., Bricklin helped create DEC's first word
processing program.  He also worked at Prime Computer, Inc.
     While VisiCalc is still widely used by Apple owners, the company was later
involved with lawsuits, and is no longer a software player.  But Bricklin's
contributions have been major.
     Bricklin dropped out of the limelight after VisiCalc.  He started up a
small company called Software Garden, Inc.  This resulted in the popular and
critically acclaimed Dan Bricklin's Demo Program, awarded the Best Programming
Tool of 1986 by the Software Publishers Association.
     Dan Bricklin's Demo II Program is an update to that first slide show
program, which is used mainly by programmers to demonstrate prototypes, create
software demos, and to make onscreen tutorials.  It is not your usual
presentation program, where you show slides of charts and graphics pics.  It
can do that, but a lot MORE too.
     Perhaps as a visual joke about his old Apple days, Bricklin stuck a bright
red fat tomato on the manual's cover!  It's very appealing to the eye.
     Let's get this out in the open right away:  Dan Bricklin's Demo II Program
is NOT for the new user.  Unless you are already have some programming
background and are skilled in graphics presentations, I'd advise you to stay
away from it.  It's not for the fainthearted!
     For those who care about this sort of information, it contains more than
30,000 lines of C code (Microsoft C version 4.0).
     Even with the included tutorial and thorough manual, mastering Dan
Bricklin's Demo II Program takes a lot of effort.  It's one of the more complex
software products I've reviewed.  It's not easy to learn because:  (1) it has
very powerful features, and (2) Bricklin assumes you're already a power user.
     Dan Bricklin's Demo II Program has some 75 new features and changes.  It
comes with a function key template, to assist you with commands.  There's also
a help screen to remind you of function and editing keys.
     The program makes use of the popular .PCX picture format (used by PC
Paintbrush and other graphics programs).  It cannot create these images, but it
will use .PCX files you create with paint programs or have captured to disk.
It includes its own CAPTURE program to save bitmapped and text screens.
     If you need a power-packed program to produce outstanding slide shows (and
you're no slouch as a programmer), Dan Bricklin's Demo II Program will perform
wonders for you.  The suggested list price is $195.
     Contact Peter Norton Computing, Inc., 100 Wilshire Blvd., 9th Floor, Santa
Monica, CA  90401-1104; 800-365-1010, 213-453-2361; FAX: 213-453-6398.
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     David Batterson is an independent writer of computer articles, reviews and
commentary.  Contact him via MCI Mail: DBATTERSON.