Welcome to Pollen Software

The software has been deliberately developed to be non-intrusive to your system. This means it does not "install" itself, does not make any additions to your registry file and no additions to your INI files. They do not store information in places other than the directory you put them in. No file associations are done automatically. No files are added to your Windows System directory. Although a few files of a general nature are supplied here, which can be dropped in your windows system directory (contrary to popular belief they usually can instead be dropped in the same directory as the software), they will already be in most peoples computers and are not specific to the software here. All this means you can easily remove the programs and their files by deleting the folder you placed them in. Nothing more, the program is completely gone, leaving no files on your system, leaving no associations, nothing.

This software has now been developed for both personal and for distribution purposes. Hence I have (now) made an effort to supply all necessary information to the operation of the software! Remember the software may well have started its life as a personal program, and as such may have undocumented features. Most of the features are self explanatory, were not talking rocket science here, remember if is says delete, it means delete... If you require help, which is not provided in these web pages or with the software, please do not hesitate to email me. Its this kind of feedback which will make it easier for everyone. And if enough people ask for it, well, I guess I’ll just have to do it. At any rate I am more than happy to help people on an individual basis for now.

Most of my software USED TO expect to be installed in a particular directory. Usually I kept this to C:\Program Files\Datalink Extras\… The software also expected the proprietary Timex Datalink software to be in C:\Program Files\Datalink. I have made a conscious effort to broaden this, where possible incorporating a feature that will ask you, when you first run the software, where your Timex software is. I plan to continue this effort.

All software on this site was developed exclusively for Microsoft Windows 95 or above. At the time of most of the program on the Datalink software, I had Win98 installed on my main machine and Win95 on another, and have made every effort to ensure the software runs on anything Win95+. These programs are 32-bit programs and will not run on Windows 3.1 or 3.11.

All the programs were generated using Visual Basic 4.0. I have attempted, wherever possible, to make no reference to external libraries and custom controls. This ensures the software will run smoothly on most all systems without being installed, but to some extent this is unavoidable, and in these cases I have provided here the controls for download.

None of our software caters for disability features. This also means that dialogs may not display correctly if disability features, such as large screen fonts, are being used.

Many of the programs I place on these web pages are first released as BETA versions. This means that I have released them, knowing there are shortcomings in the program, for others to try and make comment on the programs. This can quickly uncover problems which never occur on my system, and identify feature improvements which would otherwise never be implemented.

If you download a program, particularly one which is identified as in BETA stage, you must consider yourself a BETA tester. This means that you cannot throw a hissy fit when it does somethings strange, or won't run at all, on your system. But you CAN help to improve the software, both for yourself and for others by providing valuable feedback on the software.

Don't think "It doesn't work, what am I doing wrong!?!" will do it. From this statement (and I have gotten this exact statement before) I not only have NO IDEA what the problem is, but I also don't particularly like you now... Instead try to define:

	WHAT: exactly are the symptoms of your problem?
	WHEN: does it happen? Did it always happen? Does it happen predictably?
	WHERE: give some info on the system you have, particularly:
	- What Operating System & Version (i.e. Win95 -OSR2).
	- What Screen Resolutions and Color Palette.
	- What Base System (i.e. brand of CPU)
	- Any abnormal use you may be attempting (e.g. using off a network drive)
	WHAT do YOU think might be causing the problem?

The above is basic information which should at least give me a running chance in fixing the problem up.

If you wish to provide some feedback aimed at improving the feature set of the software, while I certainly do not wish to discourage you, you may wish to take into account the following:

	Is your additional feature within the program's scope?
	Would your improvement cause another valuable feature to be lost?
	Would other people want this feature? Could it be modified to be so?
	Would it make the program overly complex to use?
	Would it make the program over-sized? (e.g. lots of integrated graphics)
	Can it be done? I prefer to use the 32-bit version of VB 4.0. I can use VB6, but this requires the user to install the software...

Above all realise that I have a day job, a wife and a life: The effort I put in here is substantial, and all my Datalink software is provided free to anyone who wants it. This means that sometimes it has to take the back-burner for a day or two while I am busy. All the same I am very interested in improving the software, and the service I provide. If you think you can contribute in any way then I would love to hear from you. And please remember, if I don't email you within two seconds its because I am sleeping, working or investigating your questions!

I hope you enjoy the software and these web pages. If you have any comments or queries on the above or this site, contact the Webmaster (below). For more information on this site and the software it contains please click on the Copyright and Disclaimer icon in the menu to the left....