I have written a significant upgrade to my Newsreel news publishing package. It is my belief that it is nearly perfect for campaign logs and game designers' journals. I've already established that it's ideal for my own needs of occasional article publishing on my web site (www.lazarusid.com/notes). What I don't know is how well it works for others.

I'm offering the beta test in two flavors.

Version one gives you a site on my server along the lines of mydomain.lazarusid.com. The advantage is that you don't need to have a domain name or web hosting for your stuff. The disadvantage is that you don't have nearly as much control over the setup of the site, appearance, or the ability to offer downloads.

Version two gives you a copy of the software and an installation program that you can use on your own web site. The advantage is that you have full control over the site, and you can offer file downloads if you want. You also have your own domain name instead of piggybacking off of mine. The downsides? Well, you need to have your own web space. This software is pre-compiled, with a setup program. If for some reason you can't use the pre-compiled software, there is a source distribution that lets you compile your own.

The beta test is free of charge. If you can provide me with useful feedback on the software and the install process, I'll send you the final precompiled version free of charge to use on your site (normally there is a $25 charge for the precompiled version).

If you think that this would be good for your game and you'd like to try it out, drop me a line via private mail here, or to my regular mail clay@lazarusid.com.

Clay wrote: The downsides? Well, you need to have your own web space. This software is pre-compiled, with a setup program. If for some reason you can't use the pre-compiled software, there is a source distribution that lets you compile your own.

The software runs on the web server. This means that you'll need to match the version that you install to the operating system of your web server. I can help you make this match if you need it. Note that if you're choosing to use the version installed on my server, you won't need to worry about making this match; I'll be handling all of the setup.

Clay-- You can count me in on the test. I'd be happy to try it on your server. Andy