AdminisTrivia...The more the merrier

This page contains links to sites of several of Kyle's friends and associates, as well as links to a select group of vendor sites.

The Pub

CompuServe is the oldest surviving on-line service, with nearly 30 years of history. It was the home of The Pub until November, 1999, when the forum was merged into a catch-all area and the regular members went elsewhere.

You can find many of them in a set of semi-private newsgroups at Optimax. This link reaches the "web view" of the Pub groups; leave a note in the General area to get instructions for subscribing to the groups in Newsgroup format (it's free).

Friends and Associates

Sue Petersen does database development and writes book reviews from her home high in the Pacific Northwest. SueP was a staff member for The Pub on CompuServe for several years and her book review column appeared in alternate issues of "Visual Developer" magazine until that magazine (like so many others) ceased publication.

Bill Bach does business as GoldStar Software from his base in Chicago, but provides on-site consulting, training courses, and troubleshooting for Btrieve and SSQL users all over the Northern Hemisphere. Bill is the person Kyle goes to for answers about network problems. Nuff said.

Dana Cline, like Kyle a former member of the VB Tech Journal Editorial Review Board, specializes in creating help files and documentation from his home near Denver. His company name, TANSTAAFL Software, comes from Robert Heinlein's novel "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress." It translates to "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch."

Doug Reilly also writes for Pervasive Software Developer's Journal, and operates Access Microsystems in New Jersey. He's the author of "BTFiler," an excellent utility for the test and maintenance of Btrieve files. You can download an evaluation copy from his web site.

Andre Lormet does business as C-Soft Inc. from Atlanta, GA. His "BTEdit" program (downloadable from execnet) does many of the same things as "BTFiler" but both packages have their places in the toolkit of the serious Btrieve developer since each has features the other lacks. I always look forward to visiting with Andre at Pervasive's developer conferences.

Joe Rose provides a wide range of third-party system support services to clients in the vicinity of Victoria, BC. His web site includes a wide range of tips and techniques for getting best results from a number of office automation packages.

Selected Vendor Links

The publisher of Pervasive.SQL, Btrieve, and Scalable SQL (SSQL), is Pervasive Software Inc. in Austin, TX. Their web site provides an extensive knowledge base concerning all their products.

The Maximizer PIM comes from Multiactive Software Inc. in Vancouver, B.C. You can download a 30-day evaluation version of the program from their site.

Many financial and accounting packages are built on Btrieve or  SSQL. These packages include those from ACCPAC International, CYMA Systems, Inc., Macola Software, Peachtree Software, and RealWorld Corporation, among others.