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INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS
**************************************************************************

In order to set up the WindiGO application, unzip the  WindiGO.ZIP file
(example: "pkunzip windigo.zip" ).

When you unzip windigo.zip you should have these four files:

  go.exe       The WindiGO executable
  go_help.hlp  The help file.
  readme.txt   This file
  go_reg.frm   The order form

An overview, as well as all the documentation for WindiGO is available by
pressing F1 from inside the application.   This invokes the help files.


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Minimum Hardware Requirements
**************************************************************************
This software is intended to be run on an IBM-compatible 386 with at least
2 Meg of RAM and Windows V3.1. You will also need a mouse.  It takes less
than 1 Meg of hard  disk space.


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REGISTRATION INSTRUCTIONS
**************************************************************************

WindiGO (copyright 1994 by Lemanowicz & Miranda) is a  Windows-based
program which allows you to play Go.  If you  decide that you find WindiGO
useful and plan to continue to use it, please send $24.95 to the author
(see the registration  form - the file GO_REG.FRM)

Lemanowicz & Miranda
3330 Forest Overlook Drive
Seven Hills, OH 44131
USA

Upon registering, you will be sent the latest registered version of
WindiGO (Please specify preferred disk size or eMail address).  Registered
users will also be eligible for discounts on, and notified of, possible
future versions.

All registered users are entitled to 100 days of free technical support.


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DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE
**************************************************************************

Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying
it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected
to register. The authors are no compensated for their efforts unless you
register.

Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the
copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as
stated below. The main difference is in the method of distribution. The
author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software,
either to all and sundry or to a specific group. 

Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. The Shareware
system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you
buy. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee - if you don't use
the product, you don't pay for it.


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DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT
**************************************************************************

Users of WindiGO (copyright 1994 by Lemanowicz & Miranda)  must accept
this disclaimer of warranty: 

"WindiGO is supplied as is.  The author disclaims all warranties,
expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of
merchantability and of fitness for any purpose.  The author assumes no
liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the
use of WindiGO."

WindiGO is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user
for evaluation.  Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do
not give it away altered or as part of another system.  The essence of
"user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with
quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for
programmers to continue to develop new products.  If you find this program
useful and find that you are using WindiGO and continue to use WindiGO
after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of
$24.95.  

The $24.95 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one
computer at any one time.  You must treat this software just like a book.
An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and
may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as
there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being
used at another.  Just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at
the same time.

Commercial users of WindiGO must register and pay for their copies of
WindiGO within 30 days of first use or their license is withdrawn.
Site-License arrangements  may be made by contacting Lemanowicz & Miranda

Anyone distributing WindiGO for any kind of remuneration must first
contact Lemanowicz & Miranda for authorization.

You are encouraged to pass a copy of WindiGO along to your friends for
evaluation.  Please encourage them to register their copy if they find
that they can use it.  All registered users will receive a copy of the
latest version of the WindiGO system. 

**************************************************************************
Why I wrote this program
**************************************************************************

I saw a program on TV once about artificial intelligence and the role of
games in its study.  They mainly discussed chess because it is the big AI
game but they also mentioned this game GO.  The interesting claim that
they made was that it was much more difficult to get a computer to play GO
than to play chess.  Another article I read once said that GO may be the
new drosophila of AI research.

One measure of their relative complexity is the number of possible games.
I've read that there are 10^40 possible games in chess, there are 10^304
possible games in GO.

So, anyway, it seems like an interesting problem.  While there are chess
programs which play at the grandmaster level I understand that no GO
program plays at better than an amateur level.  This program is the first
step in my evil plan for world domination through GO.

Of course this program is not capable of acting as an opponent as yet but
even in this state it is useful for allowing two human players to play
through eMail, over a LAN or in person.

Possible enhancements

My main interest is to try to get the program to actually play GO but
there are other items I would consider adding according to the kind of
feedback I get from users.

        Reading standard GO files.  

        Ishi press markets a number of GO programs that store games
        in a different format than WindiGO uses.  Their format is
        superior in that it saves the history of the game so it may
        be played back.  I could add the ability to read the Ishi
        format files including playback.

        The ability to edit the board.

        Currently you can edit the game file with a text editor
        directly if you want to set the board up a certain way.
        However there is no check that the board you set up will be
        legal.  I could add the ability to edit the board
        interactively.

        Multiple games open.

        WindiGO is currently an SDI application.  If you are
        playing interactively over a LAN against multiple people
        you have to run separate copies of WindiGO.  It could be
        extended to hold multiple games at once.

        DDE Interface.

        I could add a DDE interface to WindiGO to allow other
        programmers to write GO playing programs that use WindiGO
        as a go-between and referee.  I would also provide sample
        code for a very simple go playing program to show how to
        interface with WindiGO.


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Known bugs
**************************************************************************

The target rectangle.

There is a small rectangle that follows the cursor around showing where
the piece will be placed.  Under certain conditions a copy of that
rectangle will get left behind on the board.  It is a purely cosmetic bug
and does not affect play.  If it bothers you, minimizing and then
maximizing the game will get rid of it.

KO situation not always caught.

To reliably detect all KO situations a GO program must save all previous
board images.  WindiGO does not do that so some KO situations may slip by.
It should catch the simple KO situations which I think make up 99% of all
KO situations.  Certainly it should always catch the "overlapping-diamond"
KO that is the classic example given in all GO books that I've seen.

Corrupted Game file.

When testing over a LAN there were occasions when pieces would appear on
the board that no one placed there and we were unable to duplicate the
problem.  If you ever face this problem and figure out how to cause them
reliably I would be most grateful to hear about it.  In the mean time, if
playing over a LAN, I strongly recommend that you use backup files that
are in a different directory that the game file directory.  Preferably on
your hard drive.
