newsbytes@clarinet.com (01/18/90)
OREM, UTAH, U.S.A., 1990 JAN 16 (NB) -- Electronic Text Corporation (ETC), maker of the powerful WordCruncher full-text database software, has just released its latest CD-ROM product, a massive collection of American literature, WordPerfect documentation, Shakespeare, two Bibles, truth-in-lending regulations, and all major early documents relating to the U.S. Constitution. In an exclusive interview with James W. Johnston, executive vice president of ETC and crusading CD-ROM enthusiast, Newsbytes has learned that ETC would continue its policy of making information easier and less expensive to access, rather than take the lead of some publishers and make CD-ROM based text even more expensive than the printed versions. This latest product has a variety of data, making it suitable for a number of different audiences; yet at $249 it is inexpensive enough that an individual, library, school, or business needing or wanting only one of the databases will find it affordable and cost-effective. Contained on The WordCruncher Disc Volume I is the complete Houghton-Mifflin's The Riverside Shakespeare, the complete text of all the bard's works arranged by categories (tragedies, comedies, etc.) or searchable as a whole body of work. Under The Constitution Papers, you find everything from the Magna Carta and the Federalist Papers to Washington's Farewell Address and the Monroe Doctrine - everything you need to found a democracy. Also included are selected full-text works of famous American authors, including Franklin, Melville, Twain, and Henry James. Purely business databases include the entire 1989 Utah Code; Regulation Z (Truth-in-Lending); WordPerfect documentation from WP 4.2 through 5.1 and WP Library documentation including PlanPerfect (with 4.2 in both English and Dutch!); and Federal Acquisition Regulations and Military Supplements (FARS). The ETC text retrieval software is remarkably fast, and the program uses only about one megabyte of hard disk space. This bureau has a copy of WordCruncher Disc Volume I and will soon complete a review for Newsbytes. (John McCormick/1990116/Press Contact: James Johnston, ETC, 800- 234-0546)