
DataCom Shareware Review

Terminate v1.10

To succeed in today's technically sophisticated environment, a communications
program must do more than just control a modem and provide a protocol for file
transfers.  Terminate is just such a program, providing much more than the
necessities.

Terminate is probably the most feature rich DOS communications program
available today.  In addition to the usual amenities, Terminate provides the
only cost management feature I've seen that rivals Telemate's.  It also
features the nicest built-in file management utility I've ever encountered in
a communications program.  The file manager won my respect when I hit <Enter>
with the cursor on a .ZIP file and the next thing I saw was..SHEZ!  I have no
idea how Shez got there. I certainly don't recall configuring its path into
Terminate.  And speaking of configuring, Terminate has enough configurability
to keep the most ardent tinkerer busy for hours.  (Obviously I didn't look
very closely at the external support configuration screen.  SHEZ is there!)

Another noteworthy feature is the file tagger.  This feature must be seen to
be believed.  With Terminate's file tagger, you can do your file shopping
offline from your favorite BBS's file list and post your choices in Terminate's
file list.  Then you call the BBS, enter the download command, and hit Alt-F6.
When the file list pops up, press <Enter> with the cursor over the name of
each file you want to download, and it's yours!  It's a great timesaver,
especially when you're paying long-distance charges to call an out-of-town
board.  This list of features just scratches the surface of Terminate's
capabilities.  Virtually everyone will find something to like about Terminate!

With all that it has going for it, it's very easy to wonder if Terminate
doesn't have any rough spots.  Yes, it does, and although they're all very
minor, they deserve mention.

Configuring Terminate for my own use, I was elated to find that the program
can be set up to use multiple modem initialization strings.  However, my
elation cooled when I found that it does not have the capability to send
these strings to multiple COM ports.  Also it would be nice if the alarm that
sounds at the end of a file transfer would just time out instead of requiring
a key press to stop it.

Probably the most negative thing about Terminate is the registration reminder
that pops up after a configurable length of time on line.  I personally find
this more of a disincentive than an incentive to register.  After all, though
Terminate is quite good, so are many other similar programs, and I would be
more inclined to register one that used a lower-key approach to reminding me
of my responsibility.  

All in all, I consider Terminate to be the cream of the newer crop of DOS
communications packages.  Look for it to be a real mover and shaker once the
few rough spots are ironed out!

Terminate v1.10
Filenames:  TER110.ZIP
Registration Fee $$
DAN BBS
V/Bo Bendtsen
Kastanie alle 14
2620 Albertslund
Danmark
