Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    I would definitely give dBMan a look.  I tried it at a friend's house
    about a year ago.  I did a minimal amount of dBaseII programming while
    at school, and dBMan seemed to emulate dBaseII fairly closely. Comes
    with a very large manual; most if not all of the built in functions
    look and act the same as in dBase.  The version my friend had was a
    very early one and they did not include a built-in command file editor as
    in dBase.  But it was easy enough to use LeftAmiga-N,M to switch
    between dBMan and an editor screen to edit files.
    
    I seem to remember reading an article in either Amazing Computing
    or the Amigan stating that Versasoft had made some major improvements
    to dBMan since the first version.
    
    Hope this helps.

    
    Look for Superbase Professional. This quite new DBMS has a lot of
    Amiga-specific features like digitized Sounds and Graphics. You
    can choose between a script language or normal (not so flexible)
    Menue functions. I tested a pre-release and was really impressed.
    
    Bernhard

    
    This doesn't answer .0's original question, but MicroFiche Filer
    is a very innovative, original approach.
    
    They use the metaphor of a microfiche to store and retrieve IFF
    graphics etc.  You slide the mouse around the screen, and the field
    of view moves to show miniaturized images.  You can then zoom in
    on any field of interest.
    
    Not being a database giant, I can't comment on the usefulness of
    this program.  But it's slickness factor is pretty high.
    
    Ed.
    
    

	I've been using Superbase Professional for a couple months now,
	and I'm real happy with it; it's a very well-written piece of
	software.  My only real gripe is the dongle-based copy protection
	scheme, but I've learned to live with it; other than that, I
	love it.

    Does anyone know if there is any kind of upgrade policy in place
    to go from Superbase Personal to Professional?
    
    Thanks,
    Kip

    Marauder II automatically removes the dongle protection.

    Does anyone know of a decent DBMS that has a callable interface?

    - Cliff

    re: .5
    
    Yes, there is an upgrade policy. You should call Progressive
    Propherials & Software   -  ASAP !  The offer was for a limited
    time. A word of warning - I don't remember exactly what the cost
    was, but it was approximately $125 to $160. Not cheap. But then,
    I have been very pleased with the product and support. I have already
    received an update (for $5.00) of the product.  They are trying
    something new - they send the update and on the honor system, I
    send the cost. Quick and pretty painless (especially with the cost
    being so reasonable...
    
    
    =jbf=

    re:.6
    
    I have tried to deprotect SuperBase Professional (ie: remove the
    dongle protection) with Marauder (brain file 10) and had no luck.
    
    Is their something you know that I don't??
    
    Any help would really be appreciated. I think that dongle protection
    is one of the most offensive kind of protection surpassed only by
    the word lookup scheme that some software companies use.
    
    Chris

    Re .9:
    
>   I think that dongle protection is one of the most offensive kind of
>   protection surpassed only by the word lookup scheme that some software
>   companies use.
    
    Personally, I think the dongle is both good news and bad.  The good
    news is that the distribution disk isn't copy-protected.  One can make
    backups easily and can put the software on whatever media one wishes. 
    
    The bad news is that in a multi-tasking system it would be entirely
    possible for two different dongle-protected programs to be trying to
    look at the same "dongle port" simultaneously.  Since only one dongle
    fits at any given instant, one program wins and the other loses.  What's
    needed is some kind of standard for dongles such that they could be
    "daisy-chained" off the least offensive port (I nominate the second
    joystick port) without breaking the normal operation thereof. 
    
    FWIW, I agree about the word-lookup (and similar sign/countersign)
    approach.  Both approaches have a common goal; they provide some
    hard-to-copy piece of the packaging which assures that the product can
    only be used on one system at a time.
    
    If you think of the dongle like a car key, it might be easier to live
    with.  I haven't yet gotten to the point I have a "dongle-ring", but I
    do have one of my dongles physically attached (on a piece of nylon
    braid) to my system so it won't wander when it's unplugged. 

 >      fits at any given instant, one program wins and the other loses.  What's
 >   needed is some kind of standard for dongles such that they could be
 >   "daisy-chained" off the least offensive port (I nominate the second
 >   joystick port) without breaking the normal operation thereof. 

    I think that any "buisness program" which monopolizes a port for
    the purpose of copy protection is ridiculous. This port, minor
    though it may be, can be used much more effectively. Digidroid,
    for instance, uses this port as it's controller port.
                       
    Games may be a different story, but when you pay $299 (list price) for 
    a database program, you don't want to screw with dongles. 
    
    By the way, additional dongles for SB Prof are $100.
               

    
    Just out of curiosity, has anyone seen any silly dongle-like schemes
    for Pee Cees and/or Macs?
    
    I personally won't buy a product from a vendor who so obviously
    assumes that I'm a thief (games excluded), especially when the product
    is as obnoxious as a dongle.
    
    Piracy is a real problem.  Games are the most likely to be pirated.
    However, lots of software vendors are fabulously successful without
    resorting to copy protection.  WordPerfect Corp is quite pleased
    with their Amiga sales numbers.
    
    

>        I personally won't buy a product from a vendor who so obviously
>    assumes that I'm a thief (games excluded), especially when the product
>    is as obnoxious as a dongle.
 
    Nor will I. However, as it turns out, software manufacturers don't
    advertise the fact that their programs are copy protected with a
    *&#&&!! dongle. You only find out when you open the package.
    
    I too would be interested if this kind of copy protection goes
    on in the PC and Mac world.
          
    Chris

    yes that kind of copy protection exists in the IBMPC and MAC worlds.
    
    They don't have standard joystick ports, so most dongles hang off
    the serial port.
    
    It's just a hardware solution to the piracy problem.  It doesn't
    solve the problem, it just makes life more difficult for pirates
    and customers.
    
    -dave