Subject: REVIEW: Meeting Pearls CD-ROM, Volume III
From: [email-masked] (Christian Gottschling)
Date: 28 Nov 1995 20:08:00 GMT
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews

PRODUCT NAME

	Meeting Pearls CD-ROM, Volume III

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

	This is volume 3 of Germany`s most popular Amiga CD-ROM.  It is a
collection of installed software, enriched with lots of search facilities.

AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION

  Compilation Licence:

		Angela Schmidt, Neu-Ulm, Germany

  Distributors:

	Name:		Stefan Ossowski's Schatztruhe GmbH
	Address:	Veronikastrasse 33
			45131 Essen
			Germany

	Phone:		+49-201-788778
	Fax:		+49-201-798447

	EMail:		[email-masked]

	Name:		GTI GmbH
	Address:	Zimmersm|hlenweg 73
			61440   Oberursel
			Germany

	...and many other Amiga-related vendors.

LIST PRICE

	Suggested retail price is DM 14,95, US$12, #8,85, vS 119,- sFr 14,95.

HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

	HARDWARE

		A Amiga-computer equipped with a CD-ROM drive.
		512KB RAM is required. 2MB RAM (or more) are recommended.

	SOFTWARE

		A CD-ROM filesystem with RockRidge extensions is recommended.

COPY PROTECTION

	None.

MACHINE USED FOR TESTING

	Amiga 3000, 2 MB Chip RAM, 12 MB Fast RAM
	Apple CD300 CD-ROM drive
	several hard drives
	AmigaDOS 3.1
	AmiCDROM 1.15

INSTALLATION

	The installation uses the standard Installer, which is easy to use
and highly configurable. During the installation, you can restore the
original AmigaDOS file permissions of the files on the CD-ROM.  You can
configure your favorite viewers/players instead of the standard viewers. If
this is not enough for you, you can use CD-Write (a special version is
included) to "overwrite" configuration files or tooltypes on the CD-ROM.

	[MODERATOR'S NOTE:  For people who are not familiar with CD-Write,
	it is a software product that simulates the ability to write to a
	CD-ROM, invisibly using a section of your hard drive.  It does not
	actually write to the CD-ROM disc -- that is impossible.  - Dan]

CONTENTS

	The CD-ROM includes 650MB of software. It is a collection of many
programs, already installed to run directly from the CD. You get various
facilities to browse through this software collection. On the one hand,
there is an AmigaGuide-style search interface.  On the other hand, the
program "FindPearls" can be used to find software on the CD.  But FindPearls
is not only a search tool for software hunting; it gives you the opportunity
to start the desired program, to start a filebrowser by pointing on its
directory, and so on.  You want to search more?  Then use "FindText."  This
tool allows you to search through ALL documents on this CD with amazing
speed.

	But what's about the software on the CD itself?  There are various
kinds of software with lots of topics. Apart from the texts already
mentioned, there is a large collection of FAQs (60MB) and other texts. Lots
of these texts are available in HTML format, too. Very interesting (for
German users) is a collection of laws in AmigaGuide format.

	PasTeX 1.4, the TeX package for the Amiga, previously unpublished on
a CD-ROM, fills up 96 MB. You can use it (as all the other software on this
CD) directly from the CD. The hard disk installation won't work, but you can
correct this easily by using CD-Write.

	Programmers get a lot of stuff in the drawers "debug" and "dev," and
not only tools -- a complete compiler for Amiga E is also included. Do you
ever want to know what patches are applied to your OS?  Now use the
"kiskometer".  This shows every call of SetFunction(). Build your personal
charts of "patchers"!

	If you are interested in movies, the "InternetMovieDatabase" gives
you information about films, actors, stories etc. This is an Internet-based
project with over 57000 films and 470000 links. I think, almost every
little actor is included in this database.  Want information about Franz
Rampelmann (German actor)? Here you get it.

	If you want to do networking, there are several programs in the
drawers "tcp" and "comm."  AMosaic is included in version 2.  But as
mentioned before, you can use CD-Write to prevent it from crashing by raising
the stack in its tooltypes to 35000. A full-working demo version of the
TCP/IP stack AmiTCP4.0 is included.

	That's not all:  there is much more software. To mention it all, I'd
have to write a _very_ long text full of honors.

COMPARISON TO OTHER PRODUCTS

	It is not very easy to compare this CD with others. In contrast to
the Aminet CDs, the MeetingPearls isn't a simple backup of an Internet
archive, enriched with a simple search-tool.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

	All typos made in this review are mine. All mine! ;-)

	This review represents my personal point of view.  (Don't hesitate
to contact me if you have any comments about my review.)

	If you would like to re-publish this review in any way, the author
requests at least a copy of the used media.

	Copyright 1995 Christian Gottschling.
	All rights reserved.

	Christian Gottschling
	Alte Reichsstra_e 74
	52428 J|lich
	Germany

	[email-masked]

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