SmartWords

["Frank Kenneth B." KBF@xxxxxxxx]

Finally, I am pleased to announce that we will begin shipping the Beta
release of the SmartWords editor in approximately 2-3 weeks. Here are the
particulars:

As some of you may know, we have incorporated the XyWrite word processing
engine into a new product line we have developed called SmartWords.
SmartWords is an integrated platform for developing and deploying
"intelligent knowledge-based" applications for use in a Windows desktop
environment or on the Internet. These applications manage and analyze
information and dynamically assemble text. It has been licensed by several
large legal publishers for developing intelligent products for both desktop
and Web delivery.

We originally acquired XyWrite for the purpose of incorporating its
functionality into this new type of product. If we had not purchased
XyWrite it would almost certainly have disappeared prior to the release of
XyWrite 4.0 and XyWrite for Windows-- products we released. As I have
indicated in the past, the economics of the word processing market simply
don't justify investment of the resources necessary to develop, market and
support a full-featured word processor.

While most of SmartWords may not be of interest to the average XyWrite user,
we have developed a text editor/word processor for use as one component of
the SmartWords system. In my judgment it is far superior to the current
XyWrite for Windows product. While this release is 16 bit (which can run in
any Windows environment) we have converted may of the internal structures to
32 bit providing increased capacities. A native 32 bit editor is under
development.

Overall this version of SmartWords should be compatible with previous
versions of XyWrite in most important respects. We have of course preserved
the command line interface, and while we have added many new commands, the
old ones work just as they always did. We have not yet spent time improving
things like column tables, frames, borders, graphics, etc., and for the most
part you will not see them on the menus. The commands work as well as they
did previously in XyWrite for Windows, but no better. Most macros that
worked in XyWrite for Windows should continue to work in SmartWords.

As I had announced previously we are happy to make this editor available to
XyWrite users and others at a nominal price.  Since this is not a full
commercial release, however, there are some limitations on what you will get
and what we are willing to do.

First, what you WILL get:. For a price of $14.95 (plus $5.00 shipping) we
will provide you with a CDRom containing the SmartWords editor and
supporting files, a Command Reference Help file and an Interface Help file,
installation instructions and an email address for reporting bugs. Over
time, we will be putting portions of a user manual onto our Web site, and we
will also put Frequently Asked Questions (and their answers) on the Web site
as well.

Because of licensing issues, the base price will allow you to select only
one set of word processing filters (e.g. to and from one other word
processor). For an additional $35.00, or a total price of $49.95 (plus
$5.00 shipping) you will have import and export filters for all industry
standard word processors. While no filter is perfect, these are vastly
superior to the filters included with previous versions of XyWrite.

When you install the program you will also have the option to install a
sample SmartWords application so you can see what it does. The application
will be in the area of Computer Law, and will let you prepare Non-Disclosure
Agreements and Employment Agreements and perhaps a couple other types of
documents. As you will see, it stores and retrieves information from
databases, and also has the ability to explain the issues involved in making
the decisions you might need to make in preparing any of these documents.

What you WON'T get: This is not a commercial release, nor is it priced like
one. Therefore we will not provide free support of any kind. Paid
telephone support at our standard $1 per minute is available, and we will
attempt through our Web site and/or the XyWrite list to provide additional
information, bug fixes, etc. as they become available. But we make no
guarantees that we will do any of that. Basically this is "as is." We
think it is something you may find useful. If you do, great, if you don't
we're sorry. We are interested in your bug reports, if any, as well as
suggestions or questions. We will certainly review them, but may or not
respond directly.

Basically we think this is a superior text editor, especially for those of
you used to XyWrite. Anyone can take us up on this offer, whether or not
they are a current XyWrite user. The license is for personal use only, and
may not be reproduced or re-distributed. We do sell commercial licenses for
both the editor and the intelligent modules; anyone interested in learning
more about that can contact our sales department or me.

We are in the process of setting up an eCommerce component for our Web site,
but it will not be operational for at least a month. If you are interested
in obtaining a copy of the Beta you should call our Sales Department at
(410) 576-2040, Option 2. If you get voice mail, you may either leave your
name, address, telephone number and credit card information specifying the
version you wish to order, or you may leave your name and phone number and
someone will return your call. You may also fax that information to (410)
576-1968. You will not be charged until the product is ready to ship.

Sorry this has taken so long, but I hope you will find it useful.

K.