Newsgroups: alt.cd-rom.reviews Path: cdrom.com!barrnet.net!sgiblab!rtech!amdahl!netcomsv!netcom.com!cdsale From: cdsale@netcom.com (Todd Ostrer) Subject: ADULT CD-ROM REVIEW: PORKWARE#1 Message-ID: Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest) X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL1] Date: Sat, 7 May 1994 08:04:39 GMT Lines: 154 Pork-Ware 1 =========== For the record, I've owned and viewed over 40 "adult" CDs with an aggregate image count near 100,000. I've "messed with" a lot of image viewing and processing software. In a previous life, I was a photographer who did, among other types, nude stills in both color and B&W. I've done all steps from model interview through final print processing. I don't claim to be an "expert" (whatever that is), but I do know good image characteristics from bad ones, Still, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder so remember, what follows IS ONE PERSON'S OPINION. Statistics ========== This section focuses on the numerical data relative to the physical contents of the CD. Pork-Ware 1 (PW1) has 2014 GIF images on it, plus 35 Targa files. The CD has 22 image directories, 21 for GIFs and 1 for the Targa files. The directories are named X01...X22 thereby in themselves giving no clue to their individual contents. In reality, the images are split across directories according to subject matter (see Operations below). There are a total of 632,783,505 bytes of GIF files making an average of 314,192 bytes per GIF. Make no mistake about it, there are some very large GIFs on this CD. The 35 Targa files occupy 21,848,140 bytes for an average of 614,232 bytes each - actually somewhat small by Targa standards. There are NO duplicate file names on the CD, nor exact duplicate GIF images that could be revealed by an electronic audit of names, file sizes, and checksums. Checked against a 47,000+ GIF file unique name data base, there were 833 "hits" indicating that, on a file name basis, about 41% of the files are potentially duplicated on other adult CDs. The "hit" distribution was as follows: Seedy 6-Pak: 428 7th Heaven: 114 Busty Babes: 46 Ecstasy: 164 FA0-2: 52 FA0-3: 53 FAO-GOLD: 91 PCPIX-I: 55 PCP1X-2: 38 PCP1X-3: 60 Visual Fntsy: 41 Storm-3: 65 Now before anyone says: "Hey, all those hits add up to more than 833.", recall that a given GIF file name may be duplicated on more than one other CD. Operations ========== The entirety of this section focuses on those aspects of the CD that effect convenience and usability. Accordingly, it is more subjective that the statistical section. There are file listings included on the CD. These are the two-line description type with a header at the beginning of the file. Not being a sysop, I'm not sure this makes PW1 "BBS ready" or not. The file descriptions seemed accurate enough on casual scan. As said, the file directories are named X01 through X22. The Targa files are alone in directory X20, with the GIF files occupying the rest. The PW1 CD that I received had a 3-1/2" diskette with it labeled "Pork-Ware Installation Disk". As I discovered from it, I there apparently is, or will be, a "Pork-Ware 2" CD as provision was made to install either from this same diskette. Even though shareware versions of both CSHOW and VPIC are included on the CD, the installation procedure forces VPIC as the choice. More interesting than that is that the installation program only runs under Windows 3.1 (or later). That's a little weird if you ask me! All the install program really does is to attempt to configure VPIC to your hardware by running the "WHICHVGA" program and then VPIC's configuration program. This will probably work for most older video boards, but it failed to correctly recognize and configure for my S3-based board. After that, the user is given the choice of having "VIEWPORK.BAT" copied to the DOS sub-directory of the HDD. Since it's likely the DOS sub-directory is in the PATH statement, PW1's authors seem to be trying to make it easy to look at the CD's contents by entering VIEWPORK from any command line prompt. The .BAT file is large (about 4K bytes) and clumsily written owing to PW1's authors not having or at least not using an ASK.COM or equivalent. Well, at least they tried. What was useful from examining the VIEWPORK.BAT file was learning that the contents of the GIF directories are indeed organized by subject matter. A printout of that .BAT file reveals that PW1 and PW2 are slightly different; more importantly, it allowed me to clip and save the PW1 index and keep it with the CD for future reference. I didn't use the versions of CSHOW or VPIC that were included on PW1, but instead used my personal favorite image file viewer (GDS) for the rest of the examination. Both of the included programs are generally very well-known. For those users without a preference, or perhaps even a viewer, I'm sure either one (or any other of a number of similar viewers) would be adequate for starters. Further review of them here is therefore unwarranted. Visual ====== This section focuses on the visual merits of the CD's imagery AS JUDGES BY THIS REVIEWER. Accordingly it is more subjective than either of the two preceding sections and should be taken as such. PW1 is a full-blown "X" CD. Some of it's images are as "raw" as any you're likely see on any CD containing similar material. Having said that, it's worth noting that PW1 doesn't contain any "furry sex" or other really "fringe" material. That's not to say the images aren't graphic - they are. In addition to the explicit sex images, there's a considerabLe population of nude images. Many of these are from the PIC series and the LADYR series. Most but not all of the images have a BBS logo on them. I made it a point to view each of the "non-hit" images. As I suspected, there were some "old friends" lurking in there under changed names. I didn't keep strict count, but I'd estimate that of the 1181 "non-hits", about 25% were in this category. On the other hand, of the non-hit file names, 28% had Village Adult BBS file names indicating that they were, as far as my data base is concerned, "new" images. If you're into 24-bit color, you'll appreciate the 35 Targa files included on PW1. They do look slightly smoother than 256-co1or images, but not by much to these tired eyes. Eight-bit color seems to do quite well rendering flesh tones, etc. I actually converted a few of the Targa images to 256-co1or and could see differences, but they were small ones. For pictures of humans, IMHO the extra space required by 24-bit color isn't worth it. Since most of the images are obviously scans from some of the larger and better known "houses" (e.g. McHenry, Prizm, Village, etc.), the intrinsic image quality of the images is quite good on the whole. As with any similar adult CD, there are a few misses, but not that many. All in all, if you don't have an adult CD and want ONE with a variety of material on it, including a mix of nudes and "X", this isn't a bad choice. It's better than XXX Extreme (aka Physical Therapy); better than the Nix Pix series (which personally I regard as poor); and a LOT better than either Giffy Gold or Digital Dreams with respect to the nude collection. If you already have several adult CDs, this one won't add much to your collection. ------------------------------------ Review by Bob Jackson: Houston, Tx. ------------------------------------ Pacific Data Graphics / Your Adult CD-Rom Source 2473 S.E. 135th / Portland , Oregon. 97233 (503) 257-7255 '24' Hr. 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