Beta testers wanted: AnzioWin 15.0

[Bob Rasmussen <ras@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Greetings! We are about to begin beta testing version 15.0 of AnzioWin,
our Windows-based SSH/telnet/terminal emulation program. There are a
fistful of new and enhanced features, and we are seriously interested in
your feedback.

FREE UPDATE PERIOD: Any AnzioWin orders on or after September 1, 2003 will
be eligible for a free update to version 15.0 when it is released, so
there is no reason NOT to place an order now.

HOW THE BETA PROGRAM WORKS

If you are interested in participating, simply send me your email address.
I will email back (once we're ready) with the location of the web download
and instructions. The downloadable version will run as a demo throughout
the test period. The instructions will include procedures to prevent
interfering with any existing installations of AnzioWin.

All we ask is that you seriously exercise the AnzioWin program, especially
its new features, and provide us feedback whether good or bad.

WHAT YOU GAIN

You gain an opportunity to experiment, provide input, tell us we're crazy,
and so forth. You do not get free software for long term use.

MAJOR NEW FEATURES

Here is the exciting part. The following are just the highlights of the
new and improved features:

* Superfiles

This is a concept that underlies many new features. Many operations that
used to deal with files can now optionally use a "superfile", sort of like
a URI. We already had this to a degree, such as the command
   COPY ftp://somefile@xxxxxxxxxx WPRN
Now we have added many new kinds, to handle faxing, scanning, speech, and
many of the other features described below.

* FTP options

A new "FTP" section in Transfer Options allows you to configure how
AnzioWin's interactive FTP behaves.

* FTP

The interactive FTP dialog is greatly enhanced. You can drag-and-drop,
navigate around, delete files, rename files, download-and-print files, and
more. Additional command-driven FTP options have also been added.

* SFTP

When you are working over an SSH connection, you can now do SFTP, which is
a secure (encrypted) alternative to FTP. It works through the same port
(and firewall opening) as the terminal session. It looks and behaves just
like the FTP dialog described above. There is also a range of
command-driven SFTP transfer options.

* Macro recording

Improvements in this area make it easier to develop macros by recording
keystrokes and menu operations.

* Scanner support

With TWAIN support included, AnzioWin can now incorporate scanned
documents and pictures in a variety of ways. You can scan and save, scan
and upload, and scan and print. You can use a scanned page as a form
overlay. You can scan a picture or signature and merge it into a document
as it is being printed.

* Backchannel encrypted printing

One of the weaknesses evident in securing your network is the lack of
options for encrypted printing. This is particularly an issue with HIPAA.
With this version of AnzioWin, when you are connected using SSH, you have
the option of opening a backchannel for printing. Print jobs from the host
can travel over the authenticated, encrypted SSH link, in a channel that
is separate from your terminal session, to go to your printer.

* Speech

AnzioWin can now make use of Windows' text-to-speech capabilities.
Possibilities include:
    * Read part or all of the screen.
    * Have a macro or host command speak literal text.
    * Capture to speech.
    * Print to speech.

* Fax32

This fax capability is included in Windows 2000/XP/2003. We provide a way
to print to the fax driver with a pre-specified phone number, so no
operator intervention is required.

* Diagnostics

New menu items allow printing or faxing a diagnostic package, consisting
of a screen image and the last 8K of bytes received from the host. It is
also easy to take a snapshot of the screen image and write it to a disk
file.

* Annotation on Tablet PC

Anzio already worked quite well on the new Tablet PCs. Now we have added
an annotation capability. When AnzioWin prints a job, and Print Preview is
enabled, you can use the Tablet PC's stylus (or a mouse) to mark up the
previewed image, which is the first page of the print job. Then when you
print the job, that first page will be printed with your markup. You could
concievably generate a PO, combine it with a form image, preview it on
your tablet, sign the PO, and fax it out, without it ever hitting paper.

* Print Wizard improvements

I've already indicated that many new features involve printing. These and
more are provided by the enhanced version of the Print Wizard printing
engine (PW) included in AnzioWin. Additional enhancements include:
    * Changing page specs: different pages of a report can have different
numbers of copies, come from different paper bins on the printer, and have
different overlays.
    * Storage and use of PCL macros: on a PCL-5 printer, PW can load PCL
macros into the printer's memory and leave them there. It can also use any
stored macros as overlays. This can be much more efficient than loading
macros for each print job.
    * 2D barcodes: PW now supports Maxicode (used by UPS) and PDF417
barcodes. These can contain more information than earlier barcode formats.
    * Global replacement: you can now specify one or more regular
expression replacement operations, to be applied to every line that is
printed.
    * Text alignment options: for a paragraph (<P>) or a division (<DIV>),
you can now set temporary margins, and also set text alignment to left,
center, right, or fill.
    * PCL translation: when you're dealing with a PCL print file, that
might come from another application, PW can now translate and use that
file on non-PCL printers and devices. This means you can
       # Print a PCL file on a non-PCL printer
       # Use a PCL overlay on a non-PCL printer
       # See PCL overlays in Print Preview
       # Send PCL to fax

* PDF generation

This one's actually part of Print Wizard also, but it's a MAJOR feature
and I wanted to end with a bang. We have created our own PDF output
generator. Anything you could previously print with the embedded Print
Wizard you can now render to a PDF file with NO additional software. This
includes
   * Plain text (auto-fit to the page)
   * 132-column reports
   * Form overlays (bitmap, PCL, scanned)
   * Embedded pictures, signatures
   * Font changes, etc.
   * Screen images
You have control over the filename and location produced. You could then
email the produced PDF file as an attachment, so the recipient would get a
fancy but precise print image that they could preview and then print.

MORE TO COME

As the beta process moves along, we will send to participants technical
notes on using the above features. We'll also be fine tuning the product
for general release.

I welcome your input.

Regards,
....Bob Rasmussen,   President,   Rasmussen Software, Inc.

personal e-mail: ras@xxxxxxxxxx
 company e-mail: rsi@xxxxxxxxxx
          voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time)
            fax: (US) 503-624-0760
            web: http://www.anzio.com