EXCHANGE was programmed for the THOR based Machine on the standard PSION QL software.

Dansoft paid a considerable amount of money to have an improved version of the standard software but based around the concept of the IBM XCHANGE version.

The software was then distributed on license from PSION as the standard software running on the CST THOR PC computer. Three versions were made: an english version, danish and a QUILL-only XCHANGE version in danish.

Around 1989 the production of the THOR computers were stopped due to cash flow problems. Dansoft and THOR International stopped the THOR business a year later. All existing services were moved to other people. The Ritzau news system was still running in various information centres like the danish television and radio stations. Nobody had at the time any idea of releasing the XCHANGE software to the QL users.

However, Dansoft knew that pirate copies were around running on QL's and other compatibles! They had copies of it!

In early 1993 we contacted Hellmuth Stuven (former owner of Dansoft) to get an idea of the status of the THOR XCHANGE program. He informed us that he paid for the development costs and an exclusive agreement of the sole distribution of the THOR XCHANGE software.

He agreed to release the software to the QL community.

PSION themselves had no objection in letting the software flow freely among QL users.

The THOR XCHANGE contained a minor degree of software protection against letting the program run other platforms than the THOR computer.

It was a simple check whether a 'THOR watermark' was present or not (the THOR serial number displayed on initialisation of the computer). If no watermark was present the program simply displayed 'This software is only running on a THOR', and stopped by executing an infinite loop (the program had to be killed from another source, e.g. SuperBASIC). This software copy protection has now been removed.