3/6/94

THANKS for choosing Novaterm!  Whether you're a new user or you're updating
from an older version, I hope Novaterm 9.5 fulfills all of your wildest
telecommunication dreams!

Okay, okay, I admit, this little letter is to encourage you to register your
copy of Novaterm.  But before the pitch, let me mention what's planned for
Novaterm in the near future.  Your registration will help these planned
features become a reality.

There are many new and enhanced features planned for future versions of
Novaterm.  Among those on the drawing board are:

* Direct DMA access to RAM expansion units for a large buffer area.  Novaterm
  needs to use the RAM expansion unit as a large buffer area, rather than as
  just another disk drive.

* FAX document module, for use with FAX modems.  You ought to be able to send a
  FAX from your Commodore 64!

* Zmodem upload.  The other half of Zmodem will be a great convenience.

* Enhanced 40/80 column text editor.  The text editor needs an 80 column mode,
  and it needs more features, such as a block copy/move/delete function.  The
  editor also needs to be able to access Novaterm's buffer directory.

* The ANSI editor needs some repair and some new features.

* Fast 1541 read/write routines.  Novaterm sorely needs fast disk routines to
  speed up file transfers and other critical disk operations.

* Extended script file commands and structures.  The script language needs some
  true programming commands, like FOR and WHILE loops, subroutines, and
  user-defined variables.

* A block size count during file transfers (determined by dividing the byte
  count by 254).

Accomplishing some of these features will require rewriting the main portion of
the program in assembly language (or in C compiled down to assembly, if that
option becomes available to me).  This task will be made much easier by a new
Commodore 64 emulator for IBM PCs, allowing me to continue development on a
much faster computer.

As you can see, there are still many useful features planned for Novaterm.  But
in order to accomplish them, I need your support.  Shareware registrations are
what keep this software going.  If you use Novaterm and would like to see it
continue to grow and offer more features, I urge you to register.  Even if
you've been using Novaterm for a long time and are just now thinking about
registering, don't worry about it - nobody's going to come after you!  Just
know that your one-time registration makes it possible to continue developing
the software.

As a registered user, you are immediately sent a disk with the most recent
version and the most recent module updates (with the shareware title screen
replaced by your name, of course).  When a brand-new version of Novaterm is
released, you'll be notified immediately by mail, and you can upgrade simply by
sending in a blank disk.  (And don't worry, your name will not appear on a junk
mailing list somewhere.  Registration information is held in strict
confidence.)

Again, if you enjoy using Novaterm, I urge you to register and support software
for your Commodore 64.

Nick Rossi