351 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
351 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
N A G - B U S T E R version 1.1d
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ÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ
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NAG-BUSTER is Copyright (c) 1992-1994 Erik Famm.
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Programming and documentation by Erik Famm.
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Introduction
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What's a NAG?
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---------------------------------------------------------------------
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A 'nag' on PCs is a screen window that contains a message from the
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author, often with a timed delay, begging you to pay for the program
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if you intend to use it on a regular basis. The registered version
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will not contain such a nag. The nag screens (there may be several)
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often pop up at program start or exit and occasionally at one point
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in the program. However, nags are not the contents of for instance
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a Windows About Box. Such boxes appear on user requests and has no
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effect on the program running. Nor are nags a one-line message in
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a command line program that informs the user that registration is
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this and that. Alas, nags annoy and disturb the user and hinder
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normal program execution. Nags serve two purposes:
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1) To remind the user to pay.
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2) To annoy the user (so he will pay).
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I think that you have the right to a trial version that is
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identical to the program you are supposed to pay for. I also think
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that purpose 1) above is obvious to most users - he will know that
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the intention of shareware is 'try before you pay'. And purpose
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2) is unlikely to work. A query made by me, states that users of
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shareware programs with nags often throw them away instantly. They
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will not even bother trying them. I think this is a rather
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unfortunate consequense for the programmer.
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What's the purpose of NAG-BUSTER?
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---------------------------------------------------------------------
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NAG-BUSTER is a utility that removes those 'naggy' windows that
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tend to pop up at program entry or during program exit. These
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windows contain information and requests that should have been
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placed in a readable file included in the package rather than inside
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the program. By removing them, you will be able to evaluate a program
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more or less identical to the program you will receive after you have
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paid for it. Normally, all naggy windows are subject to great
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irritation rather than information, and the user will not even _try_
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the program because of this, and this effect is not satisfactory
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for either the programmer nor the user.
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Some programs contain delays connected to these windows in which the
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user sometimes has to wait for up to 90 seconds before the program
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continues running. Other programs contain hidden 'bombs' that is able
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to crash a machine if the code has been altered in any way.
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What's wrong with 'naggy' programs?
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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A shareware program in its unregistered form with all windows
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popping up telling you to pay as soon as possible, is not identical
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to the program you will pay for later. The registered version has
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none of these windows, delays, checksums or limits. This means that
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the user will pay for a completely different program than he
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evaluated - which is not right, and gives me a legal right to inform
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you how to alter the program to emulate the registered one, or even
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register it.
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Users from countries other than Norway must comply with the laws of
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their respective country and must not use this program if the actions
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taken by this program is against the law. If they are, then bear in
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mind that it is you, the user of NAG-BUSTER and not me that is
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responsible.
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Registration/payment
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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NAG-BUSTER is neither shareware nor public domain, but those who
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intend to use it must register and pay for my program.
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NAG-BUSTER doesn't contain a lot of irritating windows, begging
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screens, delays and other forms of crippled procedures to annoy
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the user. That's one of the reasons that NAG-BUSTER isn't a shareware
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program. In fact, the only implemented feature that will show that
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this is an unregistered edition, is the menu choice [Registration]
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which is only implemented so that you do not have to fill out a form
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manually. Besides, the form will hopefully be correct when I receive
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it. Those who feel that upgrades (including lots of new patches) are
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of interest, may pay the amount of
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$ 39,- (United States)
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NKr 260,- (Norway)
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DM 60,- (Germany)
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œ 25,- (Great Britain)
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SEK 280,- (Sweden)
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DKK 250,- (Denmark)
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Shipping and handling are included.
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You may *not* pay by check, due to high fees in Norwegian banks(!)
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(i.e. if you sent me a check, I would have to pay a fee of approx.
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$30 to cash it!). You may pay by international postal money order or
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using one of the following credit cards: Access, Visa, Eurocard,
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MasterCard, or American Express. If you don't own a credit card, then
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credit Erik Famm's bank account directly. Use the following address
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and bank account:
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Bank Name : DnB (Den Norske Bank)
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Bank Address : Stranden 21
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Box 1171 Sentrum
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N-0250 OSLO, Norway
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Name : Erik Famm
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Address : Hertzbergsgt. 7 A
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N-0360 OSLO, Norway
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Bank Account : 7112.11.26952
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I would prefer a postal money order of NOK 250,-.
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Remember to fill in the Registration form found in the Main menu
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in NAG-BUSTER.
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You may NOT register by sending me shareware programs with nags!
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(as you could before...)
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--------------------------------------------------------------------
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I permitted users to register by sending me programs with nags -
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not listed in NAG-BUSTER. The result was that a lot of people sent
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me the same programs, or they downloaded an old NAG-BUSTER program,
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such as 0.66 and sent me programs that were already supported in
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newer versions. I addition, some people obviously has a strange
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opinion on what's a good program and what's not. I've received
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a number of disks with completely useless programs, programs without
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nags(!), duplicates on several disks, disks with bad tracks or bad
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.ZIPs. Besides, I had expenses in returning registered NAG-BUSTER
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disks. And finally, only a very small amount of people paid at all
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for NAG-BUSTER. 80 per cent of you sent me disks. If you study the
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newer versions of NAG-BUSTER, you can find out how many of your
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programs that have been supported by NAG-BUSTER. Don't be surprised.
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I received 25 programs from a user where none of the 25 reached normal
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standard or weren't already patched in a newer NAG-BUSTER version.
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Therefore, I have decided that this registration method must die.
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You may now send me disks in *addition* to the registration fee
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(I cannot return them, however)
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If you enclose disks for implementation in NAG-BUSTER
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
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If you send me programs that are compressed, please enclose the
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decompressor for these programs. I may not have this program, or may
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not be updated with the correct version!) When you send me programs,
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please let me know which programs are for DOS and which programs are
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for Windows and what the patch is to remove/bypass (if this is not
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very obvious). Remember also to find out what NAG-BUSTER version that
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is the current. If you send me programs that are not listed in version
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0.66 they may be listed in version 0.74!
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I prefer 3.5 inch disks. You may send tapes compatible with the
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Colorado 120 Jumbo (not the 250!) - QIC-40 (If you register NAG-BUSTER,
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I will return the tape along with the registered NAG-BUSTER disk).
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Remember: Only send me programs not listed in the latest NAG-BUSTER
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version! (New NAG-BUSTER versions will probably be sent out each three
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months).
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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* IMPORTANT *
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* I'm not interested in games, command line programs and shareware *
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* upgrades from for instance 2.10 to 2.11, and all programs must *
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* be english versions. .ZIP-files with a filesize of less than *
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* 30K will automatically be rejected and not even looked into. *
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* Nor may you send me duplicates, programs already listed in *
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* NAG-BUSTER or .PRG files for DBASE and so on. These programs *
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* will not be patched nor counted for if you wish to register by *
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* sending programs. You may not send me duplicates, two versions *
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* of the same program, or programs that are already supported by *
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* your NAG-BUSTER version. All programs should have atleast one *
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* .EXE or .COM file of a reasonable standard. You must enclose a *
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* paper or text-file explaining what the programs do, what I *
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* should patch, how I can simulate the problem and what *
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* environment the programs are written for (DOS or Windows). At *
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* present, only DOS and Windows programs are of interest. *
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*-------------------------------------------------------------------*
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* If these simple rules aren't followed, you will not receive a *
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* registered version of the latest NAG-BUSTER edition or an *
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* upgrade! *
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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The first upgrade will be sent you for free as you register. After
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that, you download further upgrades from a BBS near you, fill in the
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registration form, send it to me and pay US$15 or the equivalent in
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your local currency. You will receive a registration code as soon as
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possible. As you probably understand, upgrades are not and cannot be
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free!
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The registered version will have your name on the main screen of
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NAG-BUSTER and the Registration menu choice will disappear.
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After registering, you may, of course, send me more programs to
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be patched in order to improve NAG-BUSTER and to give you
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the patches you need.
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Legal matters
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
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NAG-BUSTER is intended solely for the use of legitimate owners or
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licensees of shareware programs or for those who intend to buy the
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shareware program later and is NOT intended for any use that would
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deprive any software publisher of his rightful income.
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The patched files that NAG-BUSTER create may NOT be sold, rented
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out, given away, or uploaded to computer bulletin board services
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(BBS's). The created programs are intended for your testing only
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and should only be used until you register them.
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You may not modify NAG-BUSTER in any way. You may not reverse
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engineer the program by decompiling, disassembling or decrypting the
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program.
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NAG-BUSTER is provided for the purpose of allowing you to evaluate
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shareware programs as they will appear when you buy them.
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You are granted the right, and encouraged, to distribute unregistered
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versions of NAG-BUSTER to others who may find it of interest, and to
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upload it to computer bulletin board service (BBS's).
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NOTE:
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No warranty of any kind, whether expressed or implied, is attached
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to NAG-BUSTER, including any claim of merchantability or
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suitability of NAG-BUSTER for any specific purpose. No warranty
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shall extend to any right to claim any damages from Erik Famm,
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including but not limited to loss of profit, data, or use of the
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software, or any consequential or incidental damages. You use
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NAG-BUSTER entirely at your risk.
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Pay for Shareware!
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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I respect the shareware concept - try before you pay - and pay less
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than you do for commercial programs. I recommend that you pay for all
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shareware programs that you intend to use on a regular basis after a
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trial period.
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If you do not intend to buy these programs, NAG-BUSTER is not for you.
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To keep up with shareware traditions, the authors deserve to be paid
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the often symbolic sums of money for their products. A lot of work and
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effort has often been put into the development of shareware programs.
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How Do I Use NAG-BUSTER?
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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When the main menu appears use your arrow keys or mouse to move the
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highlight bar to any option and press the ENTER-key (or left mouse
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button) to select it. Selecting DOS or Windows programs gives you another
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menu, in which you can select a program for patching. Then you will be
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prompted for the path and the patch will start. It's possible to stop
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anywhere and you will be asked if you wish to continue. If the patch
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is unsuccessful, you will be informed why. TIP: All patches are made
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for one unique version of a program. There is no point in running a
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patch on a different version than the version number listed in the
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DOS/Windows-menus. This won't work. If you read ahead, you'll figure
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out why.
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For speed and elegance, NAG-BUSTER does not search through an
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entire .EXE file for the specific bytes to change. Instead it goes
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directly to the pre-set offset and looks at the bytes there. If they
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differ from the pre-set bytes in NAG-BUSTER, the program cannot
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patch your .EXE file. This means that your .EXE file is not identical
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to the .EXE file that I used to test the patch. It has to be!
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If it is not identical, then your version is different or it may be
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patched already by yourself or others and should not be patched again.
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Your program may be compressed. NAG-BUSTER willl automatically try to
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decompress your program if it is compressed. NAG-BUSTER still needs
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the correct filesize to be certain that you have the correct version,
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so if the result of the compression of your program is a wrong file-
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size - that's too bad! A window will pop up telling you this and
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what you can do about it. In the DOS/Windows menus, you will now
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see that I have extended the menus with information of what
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compression program that (is likely to have) compressed your program
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and a column showing what the patch does.
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Due to the lack of space, I had to abbreviate some of the compression
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program names: TINYP. is an abbreviation for TINYPROG. EXEP. as in
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EXEPACK and COMP. as in COMPACK. The two latter are found in
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parentheses, which means that NAG-BUSTER do not have to decompress
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these programs in order to patch them. N/A means not applicable, i.e.
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an unknown compression method was used (but the programs need not be
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uncompressed in order to be patched successfully). On the far right
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in the menus you will find a brief explanation of what the patches
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will do.
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If you encounter difficulties in decompressing programs with
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NAG-BUSTER (due to lack of memory), try to decompress your program
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manually. Then re-enter NAG-BUSTER.
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None of the Windows programs from the Windows menu is compressed.
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A + sign in front of the program name indicates that the patch for
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this program is new since the last version.
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If a patch is successful, you will get a message and NAG-BUSTER
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will create (if not found), or append to a log file information on
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what program is patched and when.
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NAG-BUSTER removes protection by searching the program files for
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the data that need to be changed, and then making those changes
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with little or no intervention from you.
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Once the naggy screens are removed, you need not use NAG-BUSTER
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again on that particular program.
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New versions of NAG-BUSTER will probably be distributed twice a
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year, depending on the response from the users and the amount of
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new programs that need patching.
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And that's all there is to it! Remember that the altered files
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created by NAG-BUSTER are for your own use only and may
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not be given away or distributed to another person in any form!
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CONTACT US!
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------------------------------------------------------------------
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Please feel free to contact me at my address (found under
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Registration in NAG-BUSTER's Main menu). Or you may upload a
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message to author Erik Famm at the following Norwegian Bulletin
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Board Systems (please use the POST conferences):
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Mike's BBS phone no. +47-22-337320
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The board is open around the clock and supports the V.32bis and HST
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standards.
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Your opinion is always welcome. I will try to answer all *written*
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questions and suggestions.
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Enjoy using NAG-BUSTER!
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