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My "love affair" with astrology software began in 1978, when I was given the money for my first microcomputer (as they were then called) by a grateful client. Things were so primitive back then that I had to load my first astrology software via cassette tape, and it took several tries to work. But I was totally hooked when I first saw the planetary positions for a birth chart appear on my 9" green computer screen. Since then, I've watched an almost unbelievable evolution in astrology software. The programs are so powerful that most astrologers will never use half of the features of the best programs. And they're so friendly that even children can run them. And the graphics and colors are totally beautiful. I have worked through the years to help most of the major astrology software firms to debug their programs, add new features, and keep the prices down. I've also guided thousands of astrologers to the software that best meets their needs. As you might know, I've written a book on astrology software, and many software reviews in American Astrology, the Mountain Astrologer, and the AFA bulletin. This is my first attempt at an online monthly newsletter on astrology software. I welcome your feedback and suggestions, and will gradually add new features and columns. Note: As of November 2000, Softstar News will be published every other month instead of monthly. New!: As of July 20, 2008, I've decide to change the format of SoftStar News to a weblog, That will enable me to make more frequent, shorter additions that will reach you, my readers, in a more timely fashion. I am changing the name to SoftStar Weblog and will update the date each time I make an addition. Hope this change proves worthwhile for you. SoftStar Weblog: Updated Monday, June 29, 2009 Morinus Primary Directions Freeware SoftStar Weblog: Updated Monday, June 22, 2009 The Optimal Use of Astrology Software -- new revised version of the article every astrologer should read. SoftStar Weblog: Updated Sunday, June 14, 2009 Find the positions of Minor Point and Bodies, Occultations, etc. SoftStar Weblog: Updated Saturday, June 06, 2009 Programs offering Astrological Calendars (Updated Day Watch Sidebar) SoftStar Weblog: Updated Saturday, May 30, 2009 My Mountain Astrologer Review of The Day Watch Astrological Calendar SoftStar Weblog: Updated Monday, May 25, 2009 My Mountain Astrologer Review of Intrepid 2.0 SoftStar Weblog: Updated Wednesday, May 20, 2009 My Mountain Astrologer Janus 4.1 Review SoftStar Weblog: Updated Monday, May 11, 2009 Astrology Software for Linux SoftStar Weblog: Updated Monday, May 04, 2009 The Basic Ephemeris 1.0 SoftStar Weblog: Updated Monday, April 27, 2009 Which is the best astrology program? SoftStar Weblog: Updated Saturday, April 18, 2009 Sources for Time Zone and Daylight Saving Time Data SoftStar Weblog: Updated Friday, April 10, 2009 Frequently Asked Questions about Sirius SoftStar Weblog: Updated Sunday, April 5, 2009 New Lunabar 6.30 freeware SoftStar Weblog: Updated Saturday, March 28, 2009 "AstroDatabank is Free?" SoftStar Weblog: Updated Saturday, March 21, 2009 Issues with Jagannatha Hora SoftStar Weblog: Updated Saturday, March 14, 2009 and on Monday, March 23, 2009 Switching to the Mac for Astrology SoftStar Weblog: Updated Sunday, March 08, 2009 Why Astrology can never be systematic Part Two: Astrology Software Limitations SoftStar Weblog: Updated Wednesday, March 04, 2009 Why Astrology can never be systematic SoftStar Weblog: Updated Sunday, February 22, 2009 An Astrological House Formulary: how each system works and how to calculate cusps SoftStar Weblog: Updated Saturday, February 14, 2009 Software Tips & Tricks: Research Graphs in Shri Jyoti Star & Helio/Geo toggle in Solar Fire Gold SoftStar Weblog: Updated Saturday, February 07, 2009 How you place yourself in jeopardy if you download illegal copies of astrology programs. SoftStar Weblog: Updated Sunday, February 01, 2009 Update Your Solar Fire Gold! SoftStar Weblog: Updated Saturday, January 24, 2009 Sale pricing of Janus 4.1 extended indefinitely SoftStar Weblog: Updated Monday, January 19, 2009 My Full Published Mountain Astrologer Review of Solar Fire Gold SoftStar Weblog: Updated Friday, January 09, 2009 The Art of Reviewing Astrology Software - Part Four: My Hands-on Evaluation of Astrology Programs SoftStar Weblog: Updated Thursday, January 01, 2009 The Art of Reviewing Astrology Software - Part Three: Additional Issues in Reviewing Astrology Programs SoftStar Weblog: Updated Thursday, December 18, 2008 Millennium 7.0 -- The latest version of Alphee Lavoie's powerful software. SoftStar Weblog: Updated Saturday, December 06, 2008 Holiday Special pricing on Janus 4.1, and 2008 - The Year of the Great Shakeup in Astrology Software SoftStar Weblog: Updated Sunday, November 30, 2008 The Clairvision Virtual Astrologer: Get Astrology Charts, Lessons, and fine Interpretive Reports for free SoftStar Weblog: Updated Monday, November 17, 2008 The Art of Reviewing Astrology Software - Part Two: Learning Astrology SoftStar Weblog: Updated Monday, November 10, 2008 The Art of Reviewing Astrology Software - Part One: Unacceptable Software SoftStar Weblog: Updated Monday, November 03, 2008 A First Look at Intrepid 2.0 SoftStar Weblog: Updated Sunday, October 26, 2008 My Mountain Astrologer Review of Win*Star Express 3.0 SoftStar Weblog: Updated Sunday, October 19, 2008 My Mountain Astrologer Review of AstrolDeluxe 7.0 SoftStar Weblog: Updated Monday, October 13, 2008 My Mountain Astrologer Review of TimePassages 5.0 SoftStar Weblog: Updated Sunday, October 05, 2008 The Windows GUI and astrology programs, Janus 4.1 SoftStar Weblog: Updated Sunday, September 28, 2008 New lower price for Janus 4.1 SoftStar Weblog: Updated Friday, September 19, 2008 Great ways to use the new Clone Charts feature of Solar Fire Gold SoftStar Weblog: Updated Saturday, September 13, 2008 The new Käla 2008 Vedic program SoftStar Weblog: Updated Sunday, September 07, 2008The forthcoming StellarWindow astronomy software SoftStar Weblog: Updated Saturday, August 30, 2008 The End of an Era in Astrology Software SoftStar Weblog: Updated Wednesday, August 20, 2008 Solar Fire Gold's new free update including more Chart Art and the great new cloned charts SoftStar Weblog: Updated Wednesday, August 06, 2008The free new program Quick Jyotish for the Mac, Windows, Linux, and some Pocket PCs. SoftStar Weblog: Updated Monday, August 04, 2008 The best free firewall to protect your PC, the best anti-spyware program SoftStar Weblog: Updated Thursday, July 31, 2008 Free, excellent hard disk cloning software and the importance of backups. SoftStar Weblog: Updated Sunday, July 20, 2008 SoftStar Weblog, my new ongoing news about astrology software. June 2008 Review of Sirius 1.0, free Microsoft WorldWide Telescope, Tips on exporting Solar Fire Gold's calendar, the free Rainlendar calendar program, a major weakness in theme-based astrological weighting methods, and more. February 2008 The Strengths and Weaknesses of Interpretive Software, How to Create Chart Art Pages in Solar Fire Gold, The Optimal Use of Astrology Software revised, and more December 2007 First Look Reviews of Solar Fire Gold (aka Solar Fire 7) and Janus 4.0, downloading astrology software October 2007 The new free Astrobackup utility for Solar Fire, answers to astrologers Frequently Asked Questions, What's New and What's Coming in Astrological Software August 2007 Buggy and Inaccurate Astrology Programs, new Tips and Tricks for Shri Jyoti Star 6, Tips and Tricks readers request. June 2007 My new article on "The Future of Astrological Computing" April 2007 New free astrology programs that are definitely worth exploring, Pholus, Maitreya's Dream (significantly updated), and Jyotishya Deepika. February 2007 Daylight Saving Time Changes Alert -- if you use astrology software, read this -- also, what about Microsoft Vista, and new free tools for astrologers November 2006 My full review of Shri Jyoti Star 6, expanded from the Mountain Astrologer review pubished in September 2006 September 2006 My full Mountain Astrologer review of the professional-level Vedic program Käla, my new secure software order form, Free lectures on Hellenistic Astrology, The right computer, screen and printer for doing astrology, the new ACS atlas update for Solar Fire, new lower pricing on Janus. June 2006 Free astrology and astronomy software: WXTide32 and Configuration Hunter, Tips for Astromapping in Kepler, a Free Online French Database of Famous People's Charts, the wealth of astrological software, and more. March 2006 My full Mountain Astrologer review of the astro-mapping program Horizons from Matrix Software. January 2006 Tools for Astrological Research -- the article I wrote for the ISAR journal. I also just added a link to my full Mountain Astrologer review of the Huber-oriented program Regulus November 2005 A Great End-of-the-Year Issue of SoftStar News: A First Look at Matrix's New Horizons astromapping software, keeping your PC's clock accurate -- for free, a great new free program for both Vedic and Cosmobiology work called Maitreya's Dream, major issues in selecting astrology software, why not to purchase a used or mail-order computer, a compendium of astronomical programs available, new flash demos of astronomical events, and my process in reviewing astrological software. September 2005 My Full Review of Solar Fire Deluxe from The Mountain Astrologer, Getting the Full Version of Jagannatha Hora (including Atlas) via download, A First Look at the great new Nova ChartWheels program, two wonderful free astronomy programs, and more. May 2005 A second look at Solar Fire Deluxe, the great Vedic program Jagannatha Hora is now free!, my article on astrology research software is published, how to find Janus, four wonderful free astronomy programs, and more. February 2005 A First Look at Solar Fire Deluxe, Astrology software suites, Free Astrology Books Online, Tips and Tricks using Kepler. December 2004 Giant Issue! Optimal Use of Astrology Software, Revised!, test your software's atlas (and see our results), Millennium 5, Protect Your PC, New Tips and Tricks Section: How to use AstroDatabank Optimally, and more. September 2004 A free astronomy program, the most powerful suite of numerlogy programs available, updates to the Vedic program Kala, and how to view your Vedic chart online. July 2004 New software, a free astrology program, the latest information on updates to Kepler, Solar Fire, and AstrolDeluxe, and more. May 2004 My Full TMA Kepler 7.0 review, The new free program Harmogram, software bugs and planetary stations, tips on using inkjet printers, my role in astrology software, and more. March 2004 Kepler 7.0, links to Famous People's chart data, computing planetary positions, and more January 2004 The Latest Updates, When Astrology Software Companies Fail You, The Joys of Beta Testing, The Need To Backup Your Hard Disk November 2003 Beautiful Sky Images, Great New Programs: DayWatch, Delphic Oracle, and Secrets of the Lost Horoscope, Ode to Visual Jyotish, and more . September 2003 The New Kala Update, Matrix's Calendar program, a free Palm OS program, TheSky Pocket Edition, source code for astrological programming, and more. July 2003 My Full Extensive Article on Astromapping Software, What Watch & Ephemeris 1.0 freeware, the ACS Atlas for Pocket PC software. May 2003 AstroDatabank 3.0, Digital Jyotish 1.5, Jyotish Tools, and more. March 2003 New Updates: Parashara's Light 6, More on Kepler 6, plus AstroTides, Solar Spark. January 2003 New Updates: Solar Maps, Shri Jyoti Star, Kepler, Timaeus, Professional Numerologist, and more. November 2002 Biases About Astrology Software, an important and topical essay September 2002 New Software: Digital Astrology & Astrodamus, The Best Hardware for Astro-Computing, Why get Windows XP? July 2002 Understanding Astrology Software (an in-depth essay on the unique features of major programs, types of software, etc.), the forthcoming Shri Jyoti Star 4.0 May 2002 VegaSviri, Tools for Astrological Programmers, New Free Astrology Programs March 2002 The forthcoming Jyotish Studio 3.0, an important free upgrade to Janus, two free programs for astrologers January 2002 Pegasus 2.0, Upcoming Parashara's Light features, Windows XP astrology software problems November 2001 Kepler 5.0, Millennium review, Windows XP, AstrolDeluxe 6.0, My Role September 2001 The Great & Free Canopus program, Vedic updates, Old Atlases, Free Utilities Note: there was no July 2001 issue due to computer problems. May 2001 Janus 3.0, Vital Utilities for your PC, Learning Astrology via Software March 2001 AstrolDeluxe 5.0, Free Astrology Fonts, Stellar Wallpaper, and More January 2001 Jagannatha Hora Lite, AstroDatabank 2.0 Special, Millenium StarTrax November 2000 AstroDatabank 2.0, Software Dealers, MetaCrawler September 2000 Many new programs, appreciating today's software August 2000 more on AstroDatabank 2.0, Make Your PC faster July 2000 AstroDatabank 2.0, Free Astrology Fonts June 2000 More on Solar Fire 5, Great Planetary Photographs May 2000 Breakthroughs in Astrology Software, Win*Writer Express April 2000 Solar Fire 5, Reviews of 50 programs March 2000 The Optimal Use of Astrology Software February 2000 Pitfalls of Vedic Software Interpretations January 2000 Win*Star Express, TimePassages December 1999 Problems with Software Atlases November 1999 Get the most out of Solar Fire 4, Free planetary algorithms October 1999 updates, Hubble Photos, Copy Protection September 1999 Parashara's Light 2000, Mapping and precise birth time August 1999 free Starlite software, buggy programs, updates July 1999 Shri Jyoti Star, why upgrade, test your software! June 1999 Major flaws in software, Redshift, printing fixes May 1999 running PC software on Macs, Lunabar, dead software Click to Return to Send e-mail to Hank Friedman by clicking here Copyright © 1998 Hank Friedman |
