[CQ-Contest] CW speed training software for Windows (XP)? - Conclusion

[Kristinn Andersen]

On June 11 I posted an inquiry about good speed training software for 
Windows, particularly XP.  My objective is training and preparation for CW 
contests.  I had experienced difficulty running my favorites, RUFZ and PED 
under Windows and other morse-training software for Windows wasn't up to 
my expectations.  I received several responses but here is what my 
conclusion is:

Of the available Windows software, "Pilemania" is the one that comes 
closest to my expectations.  The software is still in development by 
Yasushi, JA1DYB, and is available at 
http://www.geocities.jp/yasushi_hashi/pilemania/pilemania.lzh or 
http://www.jg1vgx.net/etc/pilemania0.08.zip.  Refer also to posts from 
Rin, JG1VGX, and Franz, DK1II, on cq-contest on June 17.

Yesterday, however, I came across software called DosBox, which appears to 
emulate DOS pretty well under Windows XP.  I came across it through the 
RUFZ homepage (http://www.darc.de/referate/dx/xedtr.htm) and so far both 
RUFZ and PED run well and this software does not appear to have any 
sideeffects.  For example, I start RUFZ from the Run-windows by entering: 
"C:\Program Files\DOSBox-0.61\dosbox.exe"  "c:\Rufz\RUFZ.EXE".

In a conclusion, I prefer the DosBox method with RUFZ or PED for the time 
being, but Pilemania is a good second choice and may surpass the others as 
it develops further.

73 de Kristinn, TF3KX