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PC NEWS Review
----------------
On-Line
Helping you save $$ by making informed buying choices.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(c)1994 by Bolt Publishing Co. May 1994
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
THIS MONTH
==========
COLUMNS
-------
1. My Column: In This Special Issue
2. PC LIFE: WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows
3. Computerized Investing On-Line: The Dow-Jones News/Retrieval
REVIEWS
-------
4. Dueling DeskTops: Norton Desktop 3.0
PC Tools for Windows 2.0
HP NewWave 4.12
5. Harvard Graphics 2.0
6. Images With Impact for Windows
7. MarketPlace Business
8. Quicken 3 and Quicken Companion 2
9. 1993 Time Compact Almanac
Time Man of the Year
10. WinSleuth Gold Plus 1.1
11. WizManager
12. WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows
13. WordPerfect InForms
14. CommWorks
15. PNR's Book Corner
The WordPerfect 6 Print & Presentation Kit
Hacker's Guide to Word For Windows
CompuServe CIM Running Start
Concise Guide to Windows for Workgroups
The Little DOS 6 Book
Learning the UNIX Operating System
Smileys
Connecting to the Internet
Crossing the Internet Threshold
Exploring the World of Online Services
The Internet Companion
Zen and the Art of the Internet
The Internet Connection
Internet for Dummies
The Internet Passport
The Whole Inernet User's Guide and Catalog
Navigating the Internet
MISC.
-----
16. The Mailbox
17. Classified Ads
18. About PC NEWS Review
1. MY COLUMN: EDITORIAL
=======================================================================
by Steve O. Steele, Editor
THIS MONTH
----------
We decided to consildate the contents of April and May because our
deadline was just too tight. But I think this issue more than makes up for
it. Robert M. Slade will be contributing book reviews from now on (see
his work in PNR's Book Corner). And Joe Stoyack joins us to provide
computer investing information. Roger T. Imai also joins us to as Layout
Director, and he's done a good job with this issue.
This issue is much larger than those of previous months. That's
because we've got some great stuff. Dueling Desktops provides a very
good comparison of Norton Desktop, PC Tools, and New Wave. The next year
should be a very interesting one for the replacement/enhancement desktop
products. That's because:
1. Symantec (makers of Norton Desktop) and Central Point (makers of PC
Tools) have joined together. What this means for the future of both
products is uncertain. We can, of course, hope that they'll take the
best of both products and combine them (but then, what one person's
opinion of what is best may not be so to others).
2. As Jerry Davis points out in his Dueling Desktops article, Windows 4.0
(a.k.a. Chicago) is on the horizon. And that's really the big wildcard in
that arena.
MERGER-MANIA
------------
This seems to be the time of mergers in the computer industry, as
well as uncertainty for users of the products made by these companies
(such as the Aldus and Adobe merger). These mergers opens up a Pandora's
Box, and the results could be good or bad. Only time will tell.
The thought seems to be that two very good companies will make one
excellent company; however, this philosophy didn't pan out for another
recent merger of Broderbund and Electronic Arts. It's abandoned as of
early May.
WORD PERFECT
------------
These seems to be WordPerfect's month in this issue (by the way,
they also merged with Lotus, but why should that be a surprise). Alan
Frayer talks about WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows and we also have a review
of the same (item 12). WordPerfect Informs is also reviewed (item 13).
And in the Book Corner there's a review of The WordPerfect 6 Print &
Presentation Kit.
STACIN' IT
----------
I talked to Ed Nutter of Stac Electronics tech support, who told me
that what he does is run Stacker tuned to a minimum compression. He then
defragments with the MaxSpace setting every two to three weeks. Sounds
like a good plan. I'll be trying this soon.
EASTER EGG
----------
Here's a better-late-than-never Excel 5.0 Easter Egg I came across
(Easter Eggs are hidden demos that programmers embed in programs):
1. Start Excel with a blank book.
2. Right mouse click on the tool bar.
3. Select Customize.
4. Select Custom from the categories list.
5. Drag the Solitaire icon onto the blank spreadsheet.
6. Close the Assign Macro dialog box by pressing CANCEL.
7. Close the Customize dialog box by pressing CLOSE.
8. Press CTRL+ALT+SHIFT and then click the Solitaire icon.
PROCOMM RUMOR
-------------
Interested in a rumor? ProComm+ 2.0 is supposedly in beta testing
and will be released within four months. We'll have a full review of the
current version in next month's issue. Officials wouldn't comment,
saying that they are continually working on the next version of their
products.
NEXT MONTH
----------
Finally, next month we'll be focusing more on telecommunications and
multimedia topics. We will still have other material, since our lives
don't revolve strictly around on-line subjects. But for the most part
we'll be focusing on what products will make your cyberspace experience
more enjoyable.
Steve O. Steele is a Communications major specializing in Editorial
Journalism at the University of Washington. When he isn't inundated with
paperwork and work in general, he's editing PC NEWS Review or writing
news stories. He has nine years of computing experience and has
participated in publishing several computer related publications.
2. PC LIFE: OPINION
========================================================================
by Alan Frayer
PC Life: WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows
We knew this would be coming the moment WordPerfect 6.0 for DOS
crossed my desk. How could I possibly think of writing with WordPerfect
6.0 for DOS without being able to use the file in Windows? If I was going
to save the file in WordPerfect 5.1/5.2 format to stay compatible with
the Windows version, why bother to move to WordPerfect 6.0 for DOS in the
first place?
With all the grumbling I did over that, I don't think there was a
soul in my house who wasn't happy to see the WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows
package cross the doorstep. Imagine the long faces when I saw
WordPerfect suggested at least 6-8 Mb RAM to use this program (my PC
still packs a lowly 4 Mb wallop). Still, with much courage and not a
little apprehension, I proceeded to install the behemoth.
WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows is beginning to make the company look a
little like Central Point Software. The product is more than a word
processor, with such extras as a simple spreadsheet, a complete drawing
and charting package, document templates, and a user-customizable
interface, allowing the user to launch favorite applications from the
WordPerfect Button Bar.
Features popular from previous versions include the Grammatik
grammar checker, now built directly into WordPerfect, support for both
Windows and WordPerfect printer drivers, and my personal favorite, the
ruler across the top of the document.
A new watermark feature allows you to create shaded art & logos to
place beneath text on a page. A hypertext editor is included to allow
you to create your own hypertext documents within WordPerfect 6.0 for
Windows.
Some once useful features are now missing, sacrificed to the greater
good. The RETRIEVE command is missing, its function merged into the OPEN
command. Also gone is print preview, as the WYSIWYG in WordPerfect 6.0
for Windows is even more accurate than its predecessors.
While the templates were an excellent touch carried forward from
WordPerfect 5.2 for Windows, they also introduced to me the biggest
drawback I've seen so far. Granted, I was very surprised to see how much
RAM was needed, the point didn't hit home until I started playing with
some of the templates. If WordPerfect doesn't get enough memory (like
any other Windows application), it crawls across many of its jobs,
including the loading and editing of templates. In some cases, I've run
into Application Errors as I was saving documents to my hard drive. The
data gets saved, but WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows has to be aborted to
clear the problem. This problem may be related to my lack of RAM, but it
may also indicate problems with WordPerfect's memory management.
Another sad point to note is WordPerfect Corporation's decision to
start charging for technical support. WordPerfect has long set the
standard for product support across the industry, and even outside the
industry, but stiff competition has taken its toll. Tech support on
WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows is now free for only 90 days, after which it
can be purchased for about $35 a call. The days of unlimited, free
support are over.
I'm not a Windows fan, as many of my readers know, but there is a
growing list of programs that makes Windows worthwhile. If you can
forgive its high demand on system resources, WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows
offers enough to be one of those special programs. While WordPerfect 6.0
for DOS is good enough to get by, WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows will keep
competitors on their toes a while.
If you're a WordPerfect fan and have the resources, WordPerfect 6.0
for Windows gives you everything you wanted from WordPerfect 6.0 for DOS.
Copyright (c) 1994 by Alan Frayer, CNE
All Rights Reserved
Alan Frayer is a professional writer, published in InfoWorld, the
Clarion Tech Journal and Sarasota's Business Magazine. He is also a
member of InfoWorld's Review Board, as well as a certified NetWare 3.11
administrator.
What is PC LIFE?
PC LIFE is a column where the author shares his opinions on the
issues surrounding the PC industry and occasionally mixes in product
reviews. The columns are written in an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek
style, meant not only to entertain but also educate.
3. COMPUTERIZED INVESTING ON-LINE INFORMATION
========================================================================
by Joe Stoyack
The promise of the Information Superhighway may be years away, but
even now there is a wealth of information available via the personal
computer and on-line information services. The information can be
anything, from weather reports or sports news to genealogy or stock
market reports. If you find yourself getting the same kind of
information on-line over and over, wouldn't it make sense to automate the
process? This article tells you how to automate access and retrieval of
information from on-line information services, with a special focus on
getting stock market quotes for your favorite companies.
If you're reading this article, you probably already have most of
what you need: a modem and a communications program. The modem, of
course, does the actual talking to the on-line service, while the
communications program allows you to interact with the service. If the
communication program has a "script" language, another name for "macro"
language, you're all set! A common program for communications that has a
script language is Procomm (by DataStorm Technologies), although there
are others such as CrossTalk (from DCA). You'll also need an account
with an on-line service. In this case we'll use Dow Jones
News/Retrieval, DJN/R (available from Dow Jones and Company). If you
don't use Procomm or Dow Jones, don't worry! The methods I'll show you
are easily changed to fit your communications program and on-line
service. By the end of the article, you'll have a functional quote
downloader for you're favorite stocks!
The first thing that you'll want to automate is logging on to the
service. This consists of telling the communications program what to do.
To manually log on to DJN/R through a local Tymnet node, you need to:
1. Dial the local number and wait for the connection.
2. Type in the letter "A".
3. Wait for Tymnet to ask you to "PLEASE LOG IN".
4. Type in "DOW1;;".
5. Wait for Tymnet to ask "WHAT SERVICE PLEASE?????".
6. Type in "DJNS".
7. Wait for Tymnet to ask you to "ENTER PASSWORD".
8. Type in your password.
That's all there is to it. And to tell you the truth, we now know
exactly how to write the script (macro). Here is the log in script which
you can create in any ASCII text editor such as DOS EDIT (don't type in
the--or the words after them):
MDIAL "555-1234" --MDIAL means dial the number in the quotes.
TRANSMIT "A" --TRANSMIT means send the letters in the quotes.
WAITFOR "PLEASE LOG IN --WAITFOR means wait for the letters in quotes.
TRANSMIT "DOW1;;"
WAITFOR "WHAT SERVICE PLEASE????"
TRANSMIT "DJNS^M" --The ^M means send a carriage return.
WAITFOR "ENTER PASSWORD" --Early versions of Procomm use a ! instead.
TRANSMIT "MYPASSWORD^M" --Replace MYPASSWORD with your own password.
Now if you saved it as DOWLOGIN.ASP, all you have to do to automatically
log in to DJN/R is type in PCPLUS /FDOWLOGIN.ASP from the DOS command
line while you're in the Procomm directory (using the DOS version of
Procomm, see your manual for the Windows version). Earlier versions of
Procomm may use PROCOMM /FDOWLOGIN.ASP. If you're using another
communications program, just look in the manual for the commands that
correspond to those used above.
Now that we're logged onto DJN/R we need to get the stock quotes for our
companies. On DJN/R, historical stock quotes are in an area (Forum)
called //HQ. So we need to go to that forum and ask for the quotes for
our stocks.
1. Go to the //HQ forum.
2. Wait for DJN/R to go there.
3. Request quotes for Company 1.
4. Wait for the quotes.
5. Repeat #3 and #4 for all the stocks that we want.
Well that's all fine and dandy, but how do we put the data onto our hard
drive so that we can use it later? Well, all we do is ask Procomm to
log it to disk! Here is the script:
WAITFOR "!!" --The !! is the ASCII control code 019.
DJN /R TRANSMIT "//HQ" --sends it when it's done with the command.
WAITFOR "!!" LOG OPEN "STOCKS.TXT" --Send everything going across the
screen to a disk file STOCKS.TXT.
TRANSMIT "MSFT" --Get the last 12 daily quotes for
WAITFOR "!!" --Microsoft (Ticker symbol MSFT).
TRANSMIT "IBM" WAITFOR "!!"
........... --Repeat the TRANSMIT/WAITFOR
........... --combination for all stocks.
LOG CLOSE --Stop saving everything to disk.
Now that we've got our quotes, we want to log off and stop running
Procomm. Easy enough.
TRANSMIT "DISC" --Disconnect from DJN/R.
PAUSE 2 --Pause 2 seconds.
HANGUP --Hangup the modem.
QUIT --Exit Procomm and go back to DOS.
Run the whole script as described earlier and watch as everything flies
across the screen and to your disk by letting the computer do the
walking, instead of your fingers!
Now you can use any text editor such as DOS EDIT to read the quotes that
are stored in STOCKS.TXT.
As you can see, automating access and retrieval of on-line information is
really very easy! All you have to do is know how to do it manually, how
the service responds when its done with a given command, and have your
communication program script language manual handy!
Joe Stoyack is an independent investor who developed Download
Master, a program which automates access and retrieval of information
from DJN/R.
4. DUELING DESKTOPS REVIEW
========================================================================
by Jerry J. Davis
PRODUCT INFORMATION:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Title Norton Desktop 3.0 PC Tools 2.0
List Price $179.00 $179.95
Address Symantec Corp. Central Point Software
10201 Torre Ave. 15220 NW Greenbriar Pkwy.
Cupertino, CA 95014 Beaverton, OR 97006
Phone (800) 441-7234 (800) 964-6896
---------------------------------------------------------
Title HP NewWave 4.12
List Price $195.00
Address 5301 Stevens Creek Blvd.
Santa Clara, CA 95052
Phone (800) 554-1305
PRODUCT EVALUATION NW NDW PCTW
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ease of Use 4 9 9
NW = NewWave Innovation 9 9 10
Usefulness 5 10 10
NDW = Norton Desktop User Friendly 5 9 8
Compatibility 10 9 7
PCTW = PC Tools Reliability 10 9 10
Value 2 7 7
Documentation 7 10 10
Overall Score 6.5 9 8.8
MAJOR FEATURES NW NDW PCTW
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Works With All DOS & Windows Programs Yes Yes Yes
Network Aware / Compatible Yes Yes Yes
Schedule System for Auto Execution of Programs Yes Yes Yes
OLE Support Yes Yes Yes
Text Editor No Yes No
Backup Program No Yes Yes
Anti-Virus Protection No Yes Yes
Calculator Programs No Yes No
Icon Editor No Yes Yes
System Information Utility No Yes Yes
Advanced Macro Capability Yes Yes Yes
Personal Information Manager (Day Planner) No Yes No
Disk Defragmentation No Yes Yes
Screen Saver No Yes Yes
Disk Diagnostics and Repair No Yes Yes
DOS Disk of Emergency Programs No Yes Yes
Utility to Create a Disaster Recovery Disk No Yes Yes
Resource Monitor & Crash Protection No No Yes
Central Control Center No Yes No
Screen Capture Utility No Yes No
DESKTOP FEATURES NW NDW PCTW
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Loads as Windows Shell (Replaces PROGMAN.EXE) No Yes Yes
Supports Multiple Desktops Yes No Yes
Scrollable Desktop Yes No No
Fully Object Oriented Yes No No
Trashcan / Shredder Icon on Desktop Yes Yes Yes
Folders / Nested Program Groups Yes Yes Yes
Drive Icons on Desktop No Yes Yes
Program Icons on Desktop No Yes Yes
Desktop Password Protection Yes Yes Yes
Folder / Group Password Protection Yes Yes Yes
Customizable Tool Icons or Toolbars Yes Yes Yes
Customizable Menus No Yes Yes
Pop-up Menus (activated by right mouse button) No Yes Yes
Pop-up Menu to Modify Item Properties No Yes Yes
Choose Multiple Items using Diagonal Drag No No Yes
Removable Desktop Title Bar and Menu Bar No Yes Yes
FILE MANAGEMENT FEATURES NW NDW PCTW
--------------------------------------------------------------------
File Find Utility No Yes Yes
File & Directory Recovery (Undelete) No Yes Yes
File Viewers No Yes Yes
Common Dialog File Tools No Yes Yes
Drag & Drop File Management Yes Yes Yes
Drag & Drop Printing Yes Yes No
Drag & Drop Sorting of Columns No No Yes
Automatic Data & Application Binding Yes Yes Yes
Auto Creation of File Icons on File Creation Yes No Yes
Long File Names/Comments (32 characters or >) Yes Yes No
Stores Name of Person Creating File Yes No No
Object / File Password Protection Yes No No
File Encryption / Decryption No Yes Yes
PKZip 2.0 File Compression Built In No Yes Yes
One-Click File Sorting in the File List No No Yes
Dynamic Drive Updating and Relogging No Yes Yes
Directory Synchronization No No Yes
FEATURE COMPARISON: Macro Capabilities NW NDW PCTW
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Macro Recording Yes Yes Yes
Run Macros from a Menu Yes Yes Yes
Run Macros Concurrently Yes No No
Macros Can Be Scheduled for Automatic Execution Yes Yes Yes
Event Can Trigger Macros to be Run Yes No No
Full Dialog Editor Yes Yes Yes
OLE Support No Yes No
DLL and DDE Support No Yes Yes
NetWare Commands Supported No Yes Yes
Visual Basic / Word Basic Language No Yes No
Creates .EXE File No No Yes
FEATURE COMPARISON: Backup Capabilities NW NDW PCTW
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Compatible with MS DOS 6.x Backup Format N/A Yes No
Tape Sharing N/A Yes No
Tape Support for QIC 40 & 80 N/A Yes Yes
Tape Support for SCSI including DAT Drives N/A Yes Yes
Full, Differential, Incremental, Appended N/A Yes Yes
Flexible Specifications of Files to Backup N/A Yes Yes
Full Verification and Error Correction N/A Yes Yes
DES Encryption N/A Yes Yes
Virus Checking N/A Yes Yes
Flexible Scheduling N/A Yes Yes
NetWare Support (bindery/trustee) N/A Yes Yes
Background Operation N/A Yes Yes
FEATURE COMPARISON: Anti-Virus Capabilities NW NDW PCTW
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Number of Viruses Detected N/A 2300+ 2000+
Detects Unknown Viruses by Checksum N/A Yes Yes
Detects Unknown Viruses by Code Analysis N/A No Yes
Protection Against Unknown Boot Sector Viruses N/A Yes Yes
Polymorphic Virus Detection and Cleaning N/A Yes Yes
Scheduled Scanning N/A Yes Yes
Background Scanning N/A Yes Yes
Real-time Scanning (via TSR) N/A Yes Yes
Virus Behavior Monitoring (via TSR) N/A Yes Yes
Network Virus Alerts N/A Yes Yes
E-Mail Infection Reports N/A Yes No
Communicates Directly with Separate AV NLM N/A Yes Yes
FEATURE COMPARISON: System Info Capabilities NW NDW PCTW
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Recommendations & Performance Tips N/A No Yes
Windows INI File Interpreter N/A No Yes
AUTOEXEC.BAT & CONFIG.SYS Interpreter N/A No Yes
System Benchmarks (CPU, hard drive & network) N/A CPU Yes
Save, Print or Mail Report N/A Yes Yes
Number of Parameters Reported N/A 200+ 400+
Memory Viewer N/A Yes Yes
FEATURE COMPARISON: Disk Analysis/Repair NW NDW PCTW
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Scans and Fixes in Windows N/A Yes Yes
Compressed Drive Support N/A
DoubleSpace Yes Yes
Stacker Yes No
SuperStor Yes No
Save, Print or E-Mail Reports N/A Yes Yes
Large Hard Drive Support N/A Yes Yes
Integrated with Scheduling Program N/A No Yes
Includes an Undo Feature N/A Yes Yes
Includes Disk Surface N/A Yes No
Custom Alert Message N/A Yes Yes
Play Sound File During Analysis N/A Yes Yes
FEATURE COMPARISON: Disaster Recovery Disk NW NDW PCTW
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Images and Restores Partition Table and CMOS N/A Yes Yes
Disk Repair N/A Yes Yes
Undelete/Unformat N/A No Yes
DOS Restore for Backup N/A No Yes
DOS Anti-Virus N/A Yes No
Memory Information N/A No Yes
Safe Format N/A No Yes
Compressed Disk Driver N/A No Yes
Files E-Mailed to System Administrator N/A No Yes
Store on Network Drive N/A Yes Yes
FEATURE COMPARISON: Disk Defragmentation NW NDW PCTW
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Works Automatically During Idle Time N/A Yes Yes
Works Within Windows N/A Yes Yes
Supports Large Hard Drives N/A Yes Yes
Compressed Drive Support N/A
DoubleSpace Yes Yes
Stacker Yes No
SuperStor Yes Yes
Able to be Scheduled N/A Yes Yes
Quick Defragment N/A Yes Yes
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS NW NDW PCTW
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Disk Space Required (MB) 6.8 15 18
Minimum CPU 386 386 386
Minimum RAM (in megabytes) 4 4 4
Recommended RAM (in megabytes) 8 8 8
Minimum Windows Version 3.0 3.1 3.1
TEST SYSTEMS System One System Two
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU 386SX/25 with co-processor 486DX/66
RAM 8 16
Drives Conner 120 / Seagate 130 Conner 230
Graphics 1 MB SVGA 1 MB SVGA
Monitor Color VGA: 640x480 Color SVGA: 1024x768
BRIEF OVERVIEW
--------------
The three products in this review can be compared to two apples and
an orange. The odd one out is Hewlett Packard's NewWave, which while
being a Windows desktop replacement like the other two, was programmed
with entirely different goals and purposes. It lacks most of the
features that make PC Tools for Windows and Norton Desktop so popular,
but--as Hewlett Packard points out--NewWave can be used with either
of the other two so that they compliment each other.
NewWave is an attempt to bring about a total object-oriented way of
using the computer with the programs and resources available right now.
It takes Windows and gives it the feel of IBM's OS/2 or Apple's System 7.
Programs and their files become objects, all tied to icons. You can run
the program, or you could run the file, which loads the program. You
delete the icon, you delete the file or program. NewWave purposely
isolates you as much as possible away from DOS, letting you "manage
information" instead of programs. Norton Desktop and PC Tools for
Windows don't attempt to change Windows into something completely
different. Instead, these programs enhance Windows while letting it
retain its familiar qualities, and also give you powerful tools to help
you deal with DOS (instead of hide from it).
FEATURES: NewWave
------------------
The major feature that is supposed to set NewWave apart from the
others is that you can create word processing documents, spreadsheets,
Windows macros (called Agents), database files, or just about anything
independently of their application by simply clicking and dragging a
template icon. Say you want to create a new Excel file. Instead of
starting Excel and then creating a new file, you have the option of
simply creating a new Excel file icon. When you click that icon, Excel
starts and loads the file. If you want to start Excel with three
different files, click three different Excel file icons. Each one will
load into the same session of Excel. Each file is an object linked to
the program that uses it.
With NewWave, the point is to group and manage your data files and
not worry about your programs. You're not supposed to start out with a
screen of program icons; instead, start out with a group of "file drawer"
icons, each holding separate folders all with their own subject. Say
you're running a business that deals with clients, and you keep a lot of
data about your clients in spread sheets, database files, and word
processing documents. You arrange your file drawers A through F, G
through K, etc., and within you have file folders named after each client
(up to 32 characters long). Inside each folder are document icons,
spreadsheet icons, and database icons all dealing with that client. Or
you can keep folders within folders, grouping your data into specific
areas, such as years, months, or even the type of data they contain. It's
how you'd file data in the real world, in real file cabinets and real
file folders.
Imagine keeping an office the way most people keep data in their
computers, where you stuff all your correspondence under one big, thick
file called "Letters"; all your financial data under "Spreadsheets"; and
record keeping data under "Forms." You'd have to duplicate folders for
all your clients under each and every category ... if you didn't, then
you'd have to thumb through all the letters you'd ever written just to
find one addressed to the client in question. That's not the way to run
an office, and Hewlett Packard doesn't think it's the way to run your
computer. Separating the data from the application, and de-emphasizing
the application, is a logical way to increase productivity. NewWave
gives you a way to by-pass the file management built into your
applications and work directly with your data. While it's an intuitive
way for non-computer users to use a computer, it definitely takes some
re-thinking and un-learning for a person already familiar with computers
to use as it is intended. If you don't use it as it is intended--it's
easy not to, as you can setup NewWave to run just like the regular
Program Manager--then what would be the point in using it at all?
FEATURES: Norton Desktop 3.0
-----------------------------
The main feature of Norton Desktop is the Windows version of the
Norton Utilities that come with it. While NewWave stresses data
management, Norton Desktop stresses data security. Security from
viruses, accidental erasure, failing diskettes, and major system crashes.
Norton covers the full spectrum of file security from password protection
to full hard drive backup. Despite its many glossy features, this is the
backbone and real value of the product. Other features that make Norton
Desktop stand out is its support of not only DoubleSpace, but Stacker and
SuperStor as well. It also has a Personal Information Manager, a
superior Windows text editor, a centralized control center, and a screen
saver that is compatible with After Dark modules.
FEATURES: PC Tools 2.0
-----------------------
PC Tools for Windows features its own versions of the same data
security utilities that make Norton Desktop so valuable. These utilities
do not surpass Norton's, but they do equal them, as PC Tools has played a
good game of catch-up with their new version 2.0. However, their main
strength is not in the utilities that match chief rival Norton, but the
differences that have always separated the two products. Even in version
1.0, PC Tools featured multi-desktops and superior file handling options.
Version 2.0 strengthened these features. You can have several desktops,
each with its own set of programs and folders, for every particular use
--or user--that your computer has. Husband of the household can have
his desktop, wife can have hers, and the kids can have their own--each
independently configured, uniquely customized, and yet sharing the same
programs.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
------------------------
File handling with NewWave is pretty much the same as with a
Macintosh. You click, drag and drop icons from one window to another. It
happens right on the NewWave desktop, as file management is completely
integrated into the desktop itself. The folder you create and copy files
into is in fact a directory that NewWave creates on the hard drive. The
icon you throw into the trash and delete is not just the icon that
represents the file, it is the file itself. People already used to
Windows have to keep this in mind when they re-arrange their desktop.
The problem with working with this environment is that you have to import
your programs and files into it, and export your data out of the
environment. It's almost like a different operating system, but its not
--not really. Its really a relational file database with a GUI. When
you "import" a file into NewWave, it's assigning a separate 32-character
name to the file along with a complete file history, including the name
of the person who created it, the program it belongs to, and the icon
that will be associated with it.
PC Tools' file system, which on the surface looks nearly identical
in layout to Norton's, is substantially more powerful. A myriad of
features that require separate interfaces in Norton Desktop are
integrated in PC Tools file handling. It can also mimic to a high degree
the features that make NewWave so special, including the treatment of
files and programs as icons, and the direct link between them. While
this is also possible with Norton, it is much stronger with PC Tools. PC
Tools also features integrated diskcopy and format into the file
management system that will run concurrently in the background--a
feature exclusive to PC Tools. When asked why Norton didn't include such
a feature in their file management system, Norton's technical
representative on America Online said that though they knew concurrent
disk copying and formatting was possible, they doubted it would be 100%
reliable. In testing the background diskcopy feature during "real work"
situations (my day job), one out of twenty disks turned up flawed, but it
is not clear if the flaw was caused by PC Tools or by user error. In the
next twenty disks copied there were no errors.
The advantage that Norton's file handling holds above the other two
is that of speed. The first time you access a hard drive, it searches
and maps out the entire directory structure and keeps it as a data file.
The next time you access that disk, it refers to this data file instead
of searching the whole drive again. The result is lightning fast
response in displaying directories, in file copying, and especially file
moving. As long as you're using Norton to do your file management, all
changes you make are kept track of in the data file. However, if you
drop to a DOS prompt or use another file management utility to create or
delete a directory, or move directories around, Norton's file management
will not see it until you perform a "refresh" of the data file.
PC Tools and Norton Desktop also have file compression and
decompression built-in to their respective file management systems.
Norton is limited to PKZip version 1.0 to 2.0g. PC Tools supports PKZip
1.0 to 2.0g, SEA's Arc files, and LHA's LZH files. And while PC Tools
has more of PKZip's features built-in, Norton again wins the speed
contest, somehow managing to zip and unzip files even faster than running
the DOS version of PKZip.
All three programs feature powerful and useful macro recording
capabilities. NewWave has the unique ability to be able to run two or
more macros concurrently. Norton Desktop stands out in that you can
write macros in Visual Basic or Word Basic, and that it has OLE support
built-in. PC Tools macros have the convenience advantage of compiling
into EXE files. Both PC Tools and Norton Desktop macros support DLL and
DDE, something that is missing in NewWave.
Other features not included in NewWave, but discussed here, are data
backup, anti-virus protection, disk defragmentation, and disaster
recovery. As far as backup goes, both PC Tools and Norton's versions of
this utility are flawed. If you're backing up to diskettes, you're fine,
but when backing up to a tape drive neither have all the bugs worked out.
Using an internal Jumbo Trakker 250, Norton Desktop bombed out in the
middle of a routine restore. Fortunately in the next round of tests the
restore went flawlessly. PC Tools and Norton were both unable to find an
Irwin external 120 tape drive despite it being listed as a supported
drive. Neither would recognize any type of parallel port tape drive, a
peripheral which is one of the fastest growing in popularity next to the
CD-ROM.
Virus detection is strong in both Norton and PC Tools, though Norton
holds a slight advantage in both speed and sheer number of viruses it
detects. Disk defragmentation is another feature where Norton has a
speed advantage. However, the PC Tools defragmenter has an option of
running automatically either during idle time, or in the background.
Unless you have a very fast computer, running the defragmenter in the
background is not a really good idea. Even my 486/66 slows to a crawl.
Both PC Tools and Norton Desktop feature a disk diagnostic program
to fix problems with faulty floppy disks or even trouble areas on the
hard disk. In tests, three of nine bad disks were fixed by PC Tools, and
seven out of the same nine were fixed by Norton. This is because, unlike
PC Tools, Norton includes a surface scan feature that moves data out of
trouble areas. A life saving feature shared by PC Tools and Norton
Desktop is the "Recovery Disk" that both make upon first installation,
and can be made again later at your discretion, (usually before and after
major system changes). This feature has saved me personally from some
major headaches more than once. It's a disk on which PC Tools and Norton
Desktop record CMOS information, disk and directory information, etc.,
and a method of restoring it all later if it's ever lost--like, say,
after your CMOS battery goes dead. Both versions work great, and both
are justification enough to purchase either package.
PROBLEMS AND OPINIONS
---------------------
If you would like to arrange your work the way NewWave does, you
have the following options:
1. Spend the $195.00 and buy NewWave, adding it to Windows 3.1.
2. Spend a lot less and buy OS/2 2.1.
3. Wait until Windows 4.0 comes out (scheduled for the end of the
year, and featuring the object oriented environment that NewWave
boasts).
4. Buy a PowerPC and run System 7.5 from Apple.
I'd recommend number 3, as all sources point toward Windows 4.0 to
be the next revolution in the PC industry. If you're thinking at all of
upgrading to the next version of Windows, then NewWave is not practical.
By the time you spend the money, install it, convert your system over to
it, and just start getting comfortable and productive with it, Windows
4.0 will be out, and who knows what--if any--upgrade NewWave will be
able to add to the new version of Windows. Its almost certain that
NewWave 4.1 will not be compatible, and even if it was, it would be
redundant to the new Windows environment. I have to extend this caution
out to PC Tools and also Norton Desktop. Unless you plan on waiting for
Windows 4.0 to prove itself before upgrading, it makes buying a product
that enhances the current Windows a much harder decision. There is a
possibility that upgrades from PC Tools and Norton will be available for
Windows 4.0 (neither company would comment on future products, though
Norton's sources hint that Windows 4.0 has plenty of room for extra
utilities). I can't see paying $170-odd dollars only to have to pay $50
more for an upgrade five months down the road. Another factor is that
Symantec has just acquired Central Point Software (official as of May 4,
1994). This in itself throws a lot of unknowns into making a decision.
One thing is certain, research your options thoroughly.
5. HARVARD GRAPHICS 2.0 REVIEW
========================================================================
by Grant Frichey
PRODUCT INFORMATION:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
$395.00: Retail
Software Publishing Corporation
PO Box 54983
Santa Clara, CA 95056-0983
(800) 234-2500
PRODUCT EVALUATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ease of Use 7
Graphics 7
Innovation 4
Sound 5
vs. Competition 7
Usefulness 8
User Friendly 6
Compatibility 5
Reliability 6
Documentation 5
OVERALL 6
QUICK SUMMARY: Good slide production and graphing package.
PROS: Easy to use, more polished than previous version, also
more stable.
CONS: Not a major upgrade. No real innovations, actually more
difficult to use some advanced functions.
THUMBS: Up
OVERVIEW
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harvard Graphics 2.0 for Windows, while being a very good and much
improved program, is not exactly a full number upgrade. The new version
mainly addresses technical shortcomings of the original package. Ease of
use has been enhanced.
The addition of OLE (version one) opens up new possibilities for
the use of the program. Harvard limits OLE support to acting as a client
in its design window and a server from the slide sorter. This means you
can't move parts of a Harvard Graphics image (only the chart for
instance) to another program through OLE. You must move the entire
slide. DDE support hasn't changed. You can DDE link the Harvard
worksheet to an existing spreadsheet.
Harvard uses "templates" to control the look of slides. Each
template will include placement and formatting information and what type
of chart or charts you want included. The program comes with a large
collection of ready-to-use templates and you can save any number of new
ones with each job. A "Master Template" (like the one already in use by
Lotus Freelance) now controls the look (placement and formatting of
titles, subtitles & footnotes, color palettes, etc.) of all other
templates which makes setting up and editing large jobs much easier. You
can also edit the templates directly now instead of formatting a slide
and then saving it as a template. The "Backgrounds" function, used to
setup the backgrounds for slide output, is more difficult to get to (a
menu level deeper), but it does retain all of it's functionality.
With the addition of direct support for TrueType and Postscript
fonts, the package is much more stable. Because of the new font support
you can now stretch a box of text by the corners. Doing the same thing
in Harvard 1.0 resulted in text that, if it printed correctly at all, had
badly mutilated spacing. A nice new function called "Shrink to Fit" will
reduce the point size of text with a box as you input more text, keeping
the box the same size. This will make creating your own flow charts and
then subsequent editing much easier.
Other than these basic changes, the program has undergone a large,
cosmetic facelift. The graphics and layout within Harvard are much
flashier. They have a new feature in most of the options windows called
"Quick Looks" which shows what parts of a graph you are affecting.
There's a window called "Advisor" which will show you design or operation
tips as you go, including lines pointing out different options on the
screen. Functions like double-clicking to edit text or charts, right
clicking to edit attributes and an icon bar make the whole program much
easier to use.
The addition of OLE also improved the ScreenShow function. The
ability to create hyper links within a show, an autobuild function for
charts and a new function for conferencing add to the ScreenShow
improvements. With the conferencing function Harvard will allow up to 64
systems to look at one slide show through a network. One person at a
time controls the ScreenShow and the program allows that person to
temporarily mark up a slide with "chalk". Other individuals in the
conference can use a built-in messaging facility to communicate.
The program comes bundled with a small drawing package called
Harvard F/X that provides more drawing ability than the main program
itself has. If you don't have a vectored drawing package this could
prove a godsend. If you do, you probably could use the space on your
hard drive for something else.
OPINION
-------
All of this does come at some sacrifice. The program is much slower
than it was before. Your system may have to be re-configured to get the
program to work properly. You have to exclude sections of high memory
for video use or face a large number of crashes. You also will need to
speak with any slide services that do your work. There is no "slide"
paper size (like in Lotus Freelance) so you either need to use the
Autographix driver that comes with the program (which was not supported
by some of the slide services I've worked with) or you have to setup a
page size that emulates the size ratio (3x2) of a slide (some slide
services find this very confusing).
SUMMARY
-------
This all ads up to make for a more stable, easier to use version
1.x of Harvard Graphics. There were no fundamental changes to the
program and anyone familiar with version 1.0 can easily pick up exactly
where they left off. If you're a newcomer to Harvard or slide
presentations in general, the program is easy to use and powerful so you
shouldn't have any trouble either.
6. IMAGES WITH IMPACT FOR WINDOWS REVIEW
========================================================================
by Grant Fritchey
PRODUCT INFORMATION:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
$119.95: Retail
3G Graphics Inc.
114 Second Avenue S., Suite 104
Edmonds, WA 98020
(206) 774-3518
PRODUCT EVALUATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ease of Use 10
Graphics 6
Innovation 4
Sound -
vs. Competition 5
Usefulness 7
User Friendly 10
Compatibility 9
Reliability 9
Value 6
Documentation 7
OVERALL 7.3
QUICK SUMMARY: A comprehensive clipart collection in a Windows metafile
(WMF) format.
PROS: Very easy to use and compatible with almost everything.
CONS: Not for the high end computer artist.
THUMBS: Up
MINIMUM An application that accepts WMF (just about any package)
REQUIREMENTS: and a CD ROM drive.
TEST SYSTEM
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: 16 MB P5/60
Drives: Western Digital 528 MB IDE Hard drive
Video: ATI Ultra card with a CrystalScan 1776 LE monitor
CD-ROM: Phillips CD ROM Drive
OVERVIEW
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Images With Impact clipart collection provides the user with a
concise assortment of images in the Windows metafile (WMF) format. The
collection covers all the basic categories of images from business to
nature. The WMF format can be imported into just about any desktop
publishing or word processing program and most vectored drawing packages.
That makes this collection of clipart very versatile and easy to use.
With the CD, no installation is involved, you can just start pulling the
images into whatever program you're using.
FEATURES
--------
Dropping the CD into its caddy, then choosing to import, place or
insert a WMF file is all you need to know to use this package. The WMF
format was a good choice by the 3G company because of its almost
universal acceptance in Windows programs. The package comes with a
manual that provides simple instructions on how to bring the images into
the most popular software packages. 3G even provides a list of technical
support numbers. The manual is categorized well and each section
corresponds to a directory or sub-directory on the disk. The files
themselves are clearly labeled and easy to find. Quite frankly, you
couldn't choose a simpler way of distributing clipart.
The images cover a very wide range of subjects and styles. The
frames and borders make distinctive and useful pieces. The best objects
in the collection are the symbols. Some of the bullets would make very
good additions to a presentation. The artwork is about typical clipart
fair. None of it is very memorable, although, some of it is drawn from
interesting angles. Some of the drawings are complex enough that you
could take them apart and combine them with other pieces to create
something new. On the whole, however, the collection is basically flash
art. A computer artist would probably find the collection very weak.
COMPETING PRODUCTS
------------------
Images With Impact compares fairly well to other clipart collections
I've seen. It offers a decent number of good images. I found it easier
to import its images than the images in MasterClip because of its WMF
format (MasterClip uses Computer Graphics Metafiles, CGM). When compared
with similar packages, Images With Impact measures up, especially for
those who have no artistic talent (and no use for an arts creation
package). "This is definitely for the user that doesn't have an art
department," is the way Michele Grondin, graphic artist for Celtic Rose
Computer Service, puts it.
OPINION
-------
If you're looking for clipart that you can use in any program, that
you can sort through easily and is of a reasonable quality, then this
package is for you.
DOCUMENTATION
-------------
The manual is very complete. It provides a clear, black and white
picture of every piece of clipart. It also provides a brief overview of
how to work with the graphic images. At the beginning of each section
are tips on how to use the clipart aesthetically. As mentioned earlier,
the sections in the manual correspond to directories and sub-directories
on the disk. Each image is labeled with its file name. There's even an
index of key words that you can use to find an assortment of images.
SUMMARY
-------
Images With Impact is a very easy to use collection of clipart. The
CD-ROM format adds to this considerably. The art is pleasing to the eye
and while not complex or especially striking, it would be very useful for
a small business or organization that can't afford expensive original
art.
7. MARKETPLACE BUSINESS REVIEW
========================================================================
by Bob Garsson
PRODUCT INFORMATION:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
$895.00: Retail
MarketPlace Information Corporation
Three University Office Park
Waltham, MA 02154
(617) 894-4100
(617) 894-1656: FAX
PRODUCT EVALUATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ease of Use: 6
Graphics: 6
Innovation: 9
Sound: -
vs. Competition: -
Usefulness: 8
User Friendly: 4
Compatibility: -
Reliability: 6
Value: 8
Documentation 8
OVERALL 6.1
QUICK SUMMARY: A database of some seven or more million businesses in
the US, designed for the use of those engaged in what
the company terms desktop marketing.
PROS: Searchability by location, type of business, annual
sales, number of employees, or any combination thereof.
A separate manual provides a concise albeit brief course
in desktop marketing.
CONS: Extreme accuracy is a must when defining the data
parameters or excessive cost may result.
THUMBS: To the side
MINIMUM A minimum of 5 MB of hard disk space and a CD-ROM
REQUIREMENTS: capable of accessing 650 MB of data. The standard
installation optimizes the application speed by copying
as many files as can fit in a designated directory on
the hard drive. In my case, that meant some 11.5 MB.
TEST SYSTEM
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: 8 MB 386/33
Drives: 211 MB IDE Seagate IDE hard drive with Stacker.
Video: Groundhog Graphics VGA; Seiko monitor.
System: MS-DOS 6.2, Windows 3.1; Stacker 4.0
CD-ROM: NEC CD-ROM Reader with Trantor Controller
OVERVIEW
------------------------------------------------------------------------
MarketPlace Business is designed for sales and marketing
professionals, small business owners or entrepreneurs who have an ongoing
need to prospect for new customers. It is a prospecting and analysis
tool that provides rapid access to Dun & Bradstreet data about businesses
throughout the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.
FEATURES
--------
One of its principal values is that it takes the prospector out of
the hands of list brokers who disdain small orders, take considerable
time to produce a list and then allow it to be used only once.
With MarketPlace Business, the user can create lists of prospects
and use them over and over again. The list can be as small as desired
because the meter counts only those names selected.
In addition, the user can evaluate and define sales territories,
locate the competition in a given area, analyze the potential for a
branch office site or determine market potential for a new product, to
name a few.
What's more, not everything has to go through the meter. Without
installing the meter, the user can create lists, get instant list counts,
perform unlimited market analyses and even print those analyses.
The meter must be in place, however, for the user to print mailing
labels and reports or to export the list to another software product.
The meter, incidentally, can be refilled at any time by choosing "Refill
Meter" from the Meter menu and placing a call to MarketPlace Business
customer service.
A brief tutorial walks the user through the basic process and claims
the process can be learned within 15 minutes. It's not really quite that
simple.
First the user defines the list by choosing from several
criteria--location, type of business, annual sales, number of employees,
ownership (public or private), type of site (headquarters, branch or
single location), year started and new or updates businesses since the
last disk. The latter is important and when the application is booted,
you get a reminder if you are not using the latest updated database.
Selections can be about as detailed as the user wishes. Location, for
example, can be based on state, county, metro area, three-digit zip codes
or five-digit zips. Type of business can be identified by SIC Divisions
or two-digit, four-digit, six-digit or eight-digit SIC codes.
Once the list is defined, the user can examine it, previewing the
name of and selected information about the businesses that fit the
criteria, delete the names of those businesses not wanted on the final
list and analyze the list to generate summary statistics.
Licensing the list allows the user to print mailing labels, create
telemarketing and prospecting reports and export the list to another
software program, such as lead-tracking, database or spreadsheet program.
Using a street address takes one meter credit, the telephone number
requires an additional credit and complete demographic information
requires still a third credit. This is the best reason for selecting and
narrowing a list as closely as possible to meet one's needs.
PROBLEMS
--------
Not necessarily a problem, but more of an annoyance. Everything
remained selected until specifically deselected. In other words, if you
are scanning the state of Nebraska and then want to scan Wyoming, you
will build a list for both unless you specifically deselect Nebraska. It
would be easier if one command could do this for you and take you back to
the beginning.
OPINION
-------
MarketPlace Business would have been a highly useful tool several
years ago when I was running a sales organization. Now, it was fun to
take a close look at some of the small towns I've been in and see the
changes that have taken place in such things as eating and drinking
establishments.
We recognize the need for the company to make a profit, but wonder
if there is a little too much stinginess involved. Although I could
build a list to almost any criteria I wished and then view it, I found no
way (other than using credits) to look up the telephone number or the
name of the company's chief executive. This application won't put an end
to your telephone company's charges for directory assistance.
DOCUMENTATION
-------------
The manuals are brief, but thorough. There should be little need
for them, however, as the on-line help is complete and even references
the page numbers in the manual for those who prefer to read instructions
off line.
TIPS
----
As I said earlier, think carefully about what you really need to
avoid paying excess charges for pulling information out of the database.
SUMMARY
-------
Desktop marketing is the wave of the future and MarketPlace Business
may well become a leader in the field. MarketPlace Information
Corporation obviously has put a great deal of thought into designing the
application. It remains to be seen how well sales and marketing
practitioners accept it.
8. QUICKEN 3 AND QUICKEN COMPANION 2 REVIEW
========================================================================
by Ed Williams
PRODUCT INFORMATION:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
$69.95: Quicken 3
$29.95: Q3 Upgrade
$39.95: Quicken Companion 2
$19.95: QC 2 Upgrade
Intuit
155 Linfield Avenue
P.O. Box 3014
Menlo Park, CA 94025
(800) 624-8742 or (415) 322-0573
(415) 322-1013: FAX
PRODUCT EVALUATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ease of Use: 10
Graphics: 8
Innovation: 5
Sound: -
vs. Competition: 9
Usefulness: 10
User Friendly: 10
Compatibility: 9
Reliability: 10
Value: 10
Documentation: 10
OVERALL 9.1
QUICK SUMMARY: The packages integrate seamlessly to form a personal
financial management system that is more flexible and more comprehensive
than previous versions.
PROS: New Quicken Financial Calendar improves data entry and
payment automation; better measurement of investment
performance; optional, automatic data backup; enhanced
reporting capabilities; better interoperability between
Quicken and the Companion's Tax Estimator.
CONS: Despite the offset of significant improvements in
Quicken's flexibility, a few money management techniques
remain overlooked.
THUMBS: Up
MINIMUM: 5 MB free hard drive space for Quicken and
REQUIREMENTS 2 MB disk space for Quicken Companion.
TEST SYSTEM
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: 20 MB 386 DX/33
Drives: 240 MB Maxtor IDE hard drive
Video: Trident 8900C in 800x600x256
System: MS-DOS 6.2, Windows 3.11
Other: Math co-processor
OVERVIEW
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quicken is Intuit Inc.'s best-selling financial management software
for home and small business use. It records, tracks, reports on, and
helps automate bank, savings, and credit card accounts, bill payment
(Checkfree software is included), investments, loans, budgets, and tax
record keeping. Quicken Companion integrates into the Quicken desktop
and provides complete home inventory management, including insurance
planning and, drawing data from Quicken, net worth estimating. The
Companion also allows automatic, on-line stock quote and mutual fund
price retrieval, and personal tax planning and estimation.
FEATURES
--------
When Intuit first brought Quicken to national recognition in 1985,
the foundation was ease of use. To that end, the company wrote an
interface that was a direct mirror of a standard, consumer checkbook.
Quicken 3 for Windows, released a bit less than a year after the
appearance of version 2, boasts as its strongest feature an augmentation
to this ease of use: a new pop-up calendar, the Quicken Financial
Calendar, which enables point-and-click capability to record past
activity, schedule payment reminders or automatic payment register
entries, or just note upcoming events like birthdays or investment
maturation dates.
"This is really hot," said Scott Cook, president of Intuit, speaking
of the new Financial Calendar in the company's introductory press
release. "There has never been more innovation or more breakthrough in a
Quicken release since Intuit pioneered the checkbook metaphor in 1983."
It is, by all means, a useful and flexible new feature, but I
nevertheless felt I had to disagree with Mr. Cook and give Quicken 3 an
Innovation rating no higher than mediocre. I address this first because,
as you can see from my "At-a-Glance" tally, with higher marks in this
category my appraisal would look more like scorecards for a winning
Olympic gymnastics performance.
The calendar is handy, but it's not a leap in functionality; it's an
add-on. Essentially, all the new features in version 3 are tacked on to
the existing software engine. But let's be candid. There simply aren't
that many truly innovative features that can be expected from this type
of software--the addition of Checkfree automated payments in Quicken 2
is something I considered an innovation of note.
However, the enhancements to Quicken 3 and its augmentation with
Quicken Companion make these two products powerful sellers in the retail
channel. Beyond the Quicken Financial Calendar, version 3 introduces
several additions to investment management. There is now an investment
portfolio view, complete with the QuickZoom focusing tool Intuit
introduced in version 2 for reports and graphs. Eighteen different
measurements of investment performance is included, ranging from simple
dollar income to return on investment and internal rate of return. The
reporting capabilities are more extensive. QuickReport allows instant
transaction reports from the register of accounts, easier report
customization, preview of reports before printing, and even the ability
to copy reports to the Windows clipboard in tab-delimited format for
pasting into other applications.
The accounts register now has a pop-up calculator to accompany the
pop-up calendar, and a "split percentage" capability that allows a single
transaction to be allocated by percentage to two different expense
categories. Of particular interest to users of version 2 are two simple
functions that were omitted in that release: the register now has a
maximize button, and transactions can be copied and pasted between the
registers of different accounts.
Financial planning and budgeting is beefed up with planning graphs
and worksheets, budget spreadsheet printing, and a planning calculator
for loan re-financing.
Quicken Companion 2 links tightly with Quicken 3. Its most notable
addition is a complete home inventory application. Handy for projecting
insurance needs and keeping records for claims--not to mention an easy
way to calculate net worth--the module can be used for details like
serial numbers, dates and locations of purchase, and warranty
information. With the links to Quicken, new purchases can be easily
added to the home inventory file.
Also linked to Quicken is the tax estimator feature. All
tax-related information entered into Quicken can be transferred to the
Companion's Tax Estimator. The data can be transferred literally, or the
module will annualize the information to estimate projected earnings and
tax liabilities.
COMPETING PRODUCTS
------------------
Certainly there is competition--for example, Computer Associates
International's recent entry, Kiplinger's CA-Simply Money. But Quicken
dominates the field. Consider these statistics: Quicken has an estimated
70% market share across all platforms; Quicken claims about five million
users, and of those 1.5 million are small businesses; Quicken outsells
its closest competitor by 14-to-one.
Quicken is designed to be painless to learn for those not yet
familiar with computers, but that doesn't mean it's excluded from the
preference of power users. "I used Simply Money for a while last year,"
says Arthur John, a Certified NetWare Engineer and information services
manager for a large Texas corporation. "But I went back to Quicken even
before the release of version 3. It's a solid program. The new features
cement that decision."
PROBLEMS
--------
Problems are scarce. The best I can come up with are feature
omissions, not failures of the features included.
For one, Quicken should have a security feature for accounts. In a
typical household, Quicken serves to do more than manage finances: it is
a valuable educational tool. Giving younger family members their own
accounts--cash and checking, if applicable--promotes an effortless
way to instill basic money management and budgeting techniques. No
accounting required. But password protection that hides the central
household accounts is advisable.
The register lacks a sort control. It would be useful to be able to
organize, or filter, the screen display when commingling different series
of check numbers (as is the case if you opt to buy checks from Intuit and
let the program print them for you), and when reconciling ATM and EFT
transactions with the bank statement. You can accomplish this by viewing
a Quicken report of the register, but this does not allow interactive
data entry while viewing.
If you write checks on your money market account, Intuit suggests
setting it up as a regular bank account. However, this doesn't allow
inclusion of the money market account in investment reports and graphs.
OPINION
-------
At $69.95 recommended retail, Quicken scores a perfect ten for
overall value. Intuit, and Scott Cook, have developed a reputation for
delivering a well-thought-out product. Installation is worry-free, and to
demonstrate the program's consideration for new computer users, following
installation the first dialogue box asks if you would like a tutorial on
using Windows; pass on that and you get a chance to go through a basic
Quicken tutorial. As you use Quicken, unobtrusive little help windows
pop-up automatically to explain what function you are performing and what
options are available.
Add to the user friendliness the fact that there is likely no more
universal application a home computer can perform, and you have the
reason Intuit has gone from a garage business to an important player in
the software marketplace.
DOCUMENTATION
-------------
This may well be the only time you see me give a ten to a
documentation rating. I freely admit this area is a pet peeve of mine.
But, despite the fact the font used for headlines in the Quicken
Companion manual made me dizzy, I have to applaud Intuit for extending
their quality planning to include the documentation.
Quicken has a printed manual that is as comprehensive as any you'll
find in applications costing three times as much. The "Getting Started
Guide" is a slim and unintimidating tour through installation and basic
functionality. After browsing that, you also have the 390-page, nicely
indexed "User's Guide." Moreover, you'll find a good, on-line help
utility with a convenient glossary that has entries covering everything
from "401(k)" and "Active Window" to "VGA" and "Wallet Checks."
TIPS
----
The current release as of this printing is version 3.0 release 7.
You can find out what the release number is for your version of Quicken 3 by
holding the SHIFT key and clicking your left mouse button on the About
Quicken... option in the menu bar.
If you perform regular backups of your hard drive, you don't
necessarily need Quicken to do these for you. You can turn off the
periodical backup warning by setting AutoBackup to =0. You can turn off
the feature that actually saves files to a backup directory by setting
AutoCopy to =0. These are the defaults of your QUICKEN.INI file (which
should be located in your windows directory):
[Quicken]
AutoCopy=1
AutoBackup=1
SUMMARY
-------
Intuit's recent acquisition of ChipSoft, with its solidly-placed
TurboTax product, is an indication that future versions of Quicken may
focus on that growing segment of small-business users. BIS Strategic
Decisions agrees with the market assessment, saying that 1993 ended with
39 million small businesses and work-at-home vocations. This would be an
explosion of 260% from 1991, the massive growth due in part to the
downsizing of large corporations.
So look for even more improvement in tax handling and other
business-related functions in the future. In the meantime, Quicken does
an admirable job of record keeping for the small business, and it remains
the class of the field in personal financial management software.
Ed Williams has been professionally involved with computers and
data processing for over a decade. HeÆs been writing about computers and
business almost as long. In addition to PC NEWS Review, Ed has written
for MicroTimes, Computer Monthly, Computer Currents, the Orange County
Business Review, and the Los Angeles Times, among others. Presently, Ed
is an Information Services consultant, in addition to being a writer.
9. 1993 TIME COMPACT ALMANAC and TIME MAN OF THE YEAR REVIEW
========================================================================
by Bob Garsson
PRODUCT INFORMATION:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
1993 Time Compact Almanac: $99.95
Time Man of the Year: $39.95
Compact Publishing, Inc.
Box 40310
Washington, DC 20016
(202) 244-4770
PRODUCT EVALUATION (same for each CD)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ease of Use: 9
Graphics: 9
Innovation: 5
Sound: 8
vs. Competition: -
Usefulness: 3
User Friendly: 8
Compatibility: -
Reliability: 10
Value: 5
Documentation: 8
OVERALL 7.2
1993 TIME COMPACT ALMANAC
-------------------------
QUICK SUMMARY: A good product for history buffs, news junkies and the
like who want to know what happened around the world
from 1988 through 1992.
PROS: Easy to use, although the search feature leaves a little
bit to be desired.
CONS: If you need to be absolutely sure of your facts, better
check them somewhere else, too.
THUMBS: To the side
TIME MAN OF THE YEAR
--------------------
QUICK SUMMARY: A good product for history buffs, news junkies and the
like who want to know about Time Magazine's Man of the
Year from Charles Lindbergh in 1927 to Bill Clinton in
1992.
PROS: Easy to use and well put together.
CONS: Includes full text of every issue for 1992, which
duplicates material on the Time Almanac CD..
THUMBS: To the side
MINIMUM MPC compatible CD-ROM drive and sound board (optional),
REQUIREMENTS: 1 MB of hard drive space, Microsoft CD-ROM Extensions
(MSCDEX) version 2.2 or later.
TEST SYSTEM
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: 8 MB 386/33
Drive: 211 MB IDE Seagate IDE hard drive with Stacker.
Video: Groundhog Graphics VGA; Seiko monitor.
System: MS-DOS 6.2, Windows 3.1; Stacker 4.0
CD-ROM: NEC CD-ROM Reader with Trantor Controller
OVERVIEW
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two new CD--ROM disks related to Time magazine seem to be of limited
use unless you are a news junkie (like me), historian, a lover of
biographies or simply are interested in what transpired during certain
periods in the 20th century.
One disk is the Time Almanac 1993; the other is Time Man of the
Year. There is a certain amount of overlap between the two. And be
forewarned: accuracy is in the eye of the beholder and users need to
check carefully before accepting entries as fact--but more about that
later.
Installation is a breeze and automatically creates an icon for
starting the program.
TIPS
----
If your monitor doesn't support 256 colors, the Almanac will detect
this on installation and ask if you want to change the system's color
palette for optimal viewing of graphics. The recommended answer is to
allow the Time Almanac to use the palletized VGA display driver.
The Almanac is simple to use and reading the manual isn't a
necessity. The contents screen is the first to appear when you open the
Time Almanac and buttons take you quickly to each of the six main areas.
The first of these is the complete text of each issue of Time
magazine for the years 1989 through 1992. The section on Time highlights
includes selected article from the magazine, by year, for the 1990s and
1980s and by decade from the 1970s to the 1920s, including an extensive
section covering every presidential election since 1924.
The Time Portraits section has articles, videos and photo essays on
11 major Time cover subjects in the 20th century. Newsquest is a current
events quiz with more than 1,500 questions taken from issues of the
magazine.
Finally there are two Almanac sections with extensive articles,
tables and maps. The United States section has a federal directory,
complete profiles and census data on the people, government, economy and
environment of each of the 50 states illustrated with full-color state
maps. The World section contains the complete 1992 CIA World Factbook
plus US State Department notes on more than 200 countries, illustrated
with full-color maps.
This is where those with a penchant for accuracy need to be careful.
The Almanac includes information on all federal officials elected in the
fall of 1992, including senators and members of the House of
Representatives, and even members of President Clinton's cabinet.
Unfortunately, Time editors did not worry about such up-to-date accuracy
when it comes to state governments. On checking my own state of North
Carolina, for example, I find no mention of the governor and other
officials who were elected in the fall of '92, but rather a list of those
state officials whose terms ended with that election. I would assume the
same holds true for officials of other states which elected their
officials at the same time. To me, this makes the Almanac untrustworthy.
State officials for those states, such as New Jersey and Virginia, which
did not hold gubernatorial elections in 1992 would, presumably, be
accurate, while the Almanac would be inaccurate for those states that did
hold such elections. Time would have better served its Almanac users by
investing in the time and effort to make certain that all information was
accurate as of whatever date it may have chosen--the end of 1992 would
have been best.
Searching also is not as simple as one might like. I need, for
instance, to dins out the proper postage for a letter or postal card
going from the United States to Canada. A search on the keyword
"postage" brought no results. A search on the keyword "postal" did find
some related entries; first class postage within the United States, third
class postage, express mail and special handling and size standards for
domestic mail. The postal rate for letters going out of the country is
nowhere to be found, however. While Time could not include everything,
of course, it seems that finding what does exist could be made simpler
and more complete.
Turning to Time's Man of the Year (MOY) CD, minimal system
requirements are virtually the same as for the Almanac. The manual does
note on this disk that if an audio adapter is not present, the videos can
be played but will not have the accompanying sound.
The MOY disk includes the cover stories from every Man of the Year
issue--starting with 1927's Charles Lindbergh through 1992's President
Bill Clinton. Also on the disk is the full text of each 1992 weekly
issue (this duplicates what is on the Almanac disk) and articles, videos
and photo essays on 11 major Time cover subjects of the 20th century.
Each disk allows the user to copy text and graphics to the Windows
clipboard, put bookmarks in place for future reference, and the user can
write or delete notes using the annotation feature. All articles and
graphics can be printed, but will include the appropriate copyright
notice which Time says must be included with any further use of the
materials. Articles and graphics also can be saved to disk, but again
will include a copyright notice.
Each disk has an extensive on-line help file, including a section on
troubleshooting. The manuals also list a non-toll-free telephone number
for registered users needing support.
I would neither recommend for or against someone purchasing these
disks. If you have a use or a need for them, then go to it but be aware
of the fact that inaccuracies may exist.
Bob Garsson is a freelance writer with many years of experience in
newspapers and non-fiction writing. He is highly familiar with many
aspects of PCs and Windows.
10. WINSLEUTH GOLD PLUS 1.1 REVIEW
========================================================================
by James Klaas
PRODUCT INFORMATION:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
$99.95: Retail
$49.95: Upgrade
$49.95: Competitive Upgrade
DorSoft Inc.
5241 Lincoln Ave., Suite B5
Cypress, CA 90630
(714) 236-1380
(714) 236-1390: FAX
PRODUCT EVALUATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ease of Use: 8
Graphics: 10
Innovation: 9
Sound: -
vs. Competition: 7
Usefulness: 6
User Friendly: 8
Reliability: 5
Value: 5
Documentation: 7
OVERALL 7.2
QUICK SUMMARY: In-depth Windows system utility with extensive memory
and port checking abilities.
PROS: Easy to use and friendly interface makes using it
pleasant.
CONS: Most users won't be able to use its best features.
THUMBS: To the side
MINIMUM
REQUIREMENTS: 4 MB of hard drive space.
TEST SYSTEM
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: 12 MB 386SX/25
Drives: 330 MB & 125 MB Seagate IDE hard drives, 110 MB Hard Card
120 MB Tape Drive
Video: WD90C11 Western Digital chipset (800x600x16)
Other: 16 Bit Sound Card w/ Joystick
Greyscale hand scanner
OVERVIEW
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WinSleuth Gold Plus is a comprehensive set of Windows diagnostic and
analysis tools for the expert computer user and programmer. The manual
is an excellent source of education for the aspiring computer hacker.
FEATURES
--------
WinSleuth Gold Plus divides the task of system analysis into six
different categories: "System", "Environ", "Disk", "Video", "Memory" and
"Ports". There is also a section specifically aimed at making peripheral
installation easier.
WinSleuth Gold Plus is easy to use with a friendly interface. The
Conflict Finder and associated utilities help the user to detect problems
when adding peripherals and tracking down existing problems. It has
extensive hardware and software testing utilities as well as benchmark
tests for the major computer components. One of the truly practical
features of WinSleuth Gold Plus is the Disk Utilization utility. Disk
space usage is displayed as a percentage numerically and graphically for
each directory relative to the total amount of disk space used.
COMPETING PRODUCTS
------------------
Only a few other diagnostic tools have as many utilities as
WinSleuth Gold Plus. The tools for the expert are more comprehensive
than any other Windows package. No other product has as much memory
reporting and testing as WinSleuth Gold Plus. It doesn't have any
unrelated utilities to make working in Windows easier like PC Tools or
Norton Desktop for Windows, two of the more popular utilities for
Windows.
PROBLEMS
--------
Most people will be interested in the extensive sections on
inserting peripherals and upgrading their PC. WinSleuth Gold Plus
utilities for finding occupied DMA (Direct Memory Access) and IRQ
(Interrupt ReQuests) channels are inadequate for testing on some cards.
This program failed to find any of the peripherals that use software
switches rather than jumper switches to set IRQ and DMA. I would like to
see improvement in this area because the program would be more valuable
if this feature worked as promised.
The CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT Tune-Ups have a lot of potential.
The Tune-ups offers general suggestions for increasing standard memory.
Unfortunately the suggestions are so general that they are almost
useless, especially if you are already running MemMaker (which is one of
the suggestions it makes). If this was bundled with its own memory
management tool it might actually be useful.
WinSleuth Gold Plus tests memory usage by grabbing a block of
addresses and asking the user if the machine crashes. While I did not
have an occasion to experience this behavior, I think that there are
better ways to accomplish this task. I thought that this method was
rather peculiar and dangerous to data.
WinSleuth Gold Plus offers a conflict finder to help find hardware
conflicts when adding peripheral cards or when peripherals don't work
right. The conflict finder makes its own bootable floppy and records the
conflicts as they pop up when the system reboots. I was unable to get it
to work because it has problems with DOS 6.2. I was unable to contact
Technical Support (a toll- free call) the first day I called, but I was
able to reach them easily on the second day I tried. Technical help was
courteous and knowledgeable, but their solutions did not fully solve my
problems. I did not have the opportunity to call them back for more
hints.
OPINION
-------
WinSleuth Gold Plus is like many systems reporting utilities, in
that it cannot correctly identify what is actually running in a computer.
Other than the components recorded in the system BIOS chip, it could not
correctly identify one single component in my system. The shining
exception to this is the multimedia detection utility. That utility
relied on the drivers installed in the system and not actually on the
hardware installed. I think that it is ludicrous that these utilities
cost $100 dollars or more when a little diligence the user and a piece of
paper costing less than a cent can do just as good a job. WinSleuth Gold
Plus does deserve more credit for its memory reporting abilities, but
these are of little to no use to the average person who just wants to add
a CD-ROM and a sound card.
These problems are why I don't give WinSleuth Gold Plus a very high
rating. In some areas it was better than the competition. None of the
other utilities work any better or especially well for detecting
peripherals. All rely on whether or not drivers for the devices are
installed rather than querying the hardware itself. Granted, polling the
hardware is a very difficult task, but then the utilities shouldn't claim
to be able to detect all the hardware attached to the computer.
DOCUMENTATION
-------------
The better half of WinSleuth Gold Plus is the thorough documentation
which acts like a dictionary of computer terms with the software there to
provide specific information on your computer. The manual touches on
every aspect of the hardware. There are even wiring diagrams for
loopback test plugs used to test the serial and parallel ports. If you
don't want to make the plugs, they are available for $25. I was able to
find the parts to make them for less than $10.
On-line help simply describes what each function does. You need to
consult the excellent manual for more in depth descriptions. The manual
also provides a background for the more technical details. In addition
there are two appendices, one of which is great for the aspiring
hardware hacker.
SUMMARY
-------
Many of the gee-whiz graphics and some of the more mundane features
worked fine but the real meat of the program, and its main selling
points, including conflict resolution, failed to work properly.
Additionally some of the really hard core tests will be of little help to
the average user. The tests for finding what Windows modules are loaded
will be great for programmers as will the byte by byte testing of memory,
but they are virtually useless to the weekend hacker.
11. WIZMANAGER REVIEW
========================================================================
by Grant Fritchey
PRODUCT INFORMATION:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
$39.95: Retail
Mijenix
6666 Odana Road, Suite 326
Madison, WI 53719
(608) 277-1971 (voice/FAX)
PRODUCT EVALUATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ease of Use: 8
Graphics: 6
Innovation: 8
Sound: -
vs. Competition: 6
Usefulness: 8
User Friendly: 6
Compatibility: 8
Reliability: 8
Value: 7
Documentation: 8
OVERALL 7.3
QUICK SUMMARY: Button bar, macro language and a command line interface
for File Manager.
PROS: Buttons speed up standard functions and the command line
interface gives you the speed of DOS in moving files
around
CONS: The buttons take time to memorize and the interface can
be a little confusing at times.
THUMBS: To the side
MINIMUM 580 KB of free hard drive space. WizManager will only
REQUIREMENTS: run on 16 bit Windows systems (OS/2 & Windows NT are
excluded).
TEST SYSTEM
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: 16 MB P5/60
Drives: Western Digital 528 MB IDE Hard drive
Video: ATI Ultra card with a CrystalScan 1776 LE monitor
OVERVIEW
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WizManager is an add-on utility for File Manager that adds a button
bar and a command line interface. The buttons add speed and ease of use
to your file and directory manipulation. If you're into doing a quick
batch copy or a copy from a deeply nested directory, the command line
interface will provide you with the same satisfaction as DOS without
having to open a DOS shell. The program is very easy to install and
customize. You can have it up and running in a matter of minutes. Best
of all, it's available on-line so you can "try before you buy."
FEATURES
--------
WizManager configures File Manager so that it has a toolbar. As you
move your mouse across the buttons, a small tab will appear just below
the pointer to let you know what that icon does. You can scroll through
a very large default set of icons by clicking the right mouse button or
by using the scroll buttons provided. Most of these buttons provide
one-click access to options and functions that File Manager already
supplies.
A few of the buttons perform functions that you may wish File
Manager already had. For example, you can instantly set up a vertically
tiled selection of windows (File Manager itself only tiles horizontally).
Some of the new commands are also automatically setup as menu selections.
To the left of the toolbar, is a small text box that contains a
command line interface. This is not a direct connection with DOS, rather
these commands interact with DOS from the File Manager. Over a hundred
different commands can be typed into the command line interface. Most of
these are typical DOS commands like COPY, MOVE, CD and DIR. Some of the
commands are for controlling WizManager and Windows itself. You can even
change the normal File Manager file trees from the command line. An
extension of the command line is the ability to make scripts by stringing
together a series of commands. A sample in the manual will prompt the
user to delete *.BAK files and then launch Word.
COMPETING PRODUCTS
------------------
I haven't seen any other File Manager utilities. WizManager
definitely improves the regular old File Manager.
I have used the File Manager replacement that comes with PC Tools
from Central Point Software (CPS). It has a button bar and a command
line interface. WizManager brings the standard File Manager to a level
near that of PC Tools. However, the PC Tools File Manager replacement
deals directly with ZIP and ARC files, which is a very useful function.
But the $179 price tag of PC Tools only makes sense if you buy it for all
the other features and not just the File Manager replacement. If that's
all you're looking for, then WizManager is a better buy.
PROBLEMS
--------
Currently, Mijenix reports only one problem with WizManager.
Apparently the drivers for the Orchid Fahrenheit and Diamond Viper card
don't work well. They also had problems with other older video drivers,
but updating to the latest drivers for your board seems to fix them all.
I didn't experience any problems with the install, the operation, or the
removal of the program.
OPINION
-------
The program is very easy to use. The word intuitive is overused and
overrated, but if you know DOS and the File Manager, using this program
is indeed intuitive. The command line interface works very well and if
you're one of those people who've been dragged kicking and screaming into
Windows and refuses to learn the File Manager on principle, check this
out. It will give you all of your standard DOS commands exactly as
you've been accustomed to.
The button bar works extremely well, but the icons take some time to
memorize--especially since there are so many of them. The tag at the
bottom makes it possible to find what you want, but you have to read each
button. This is mainly a matter of an adjustment period, but worth
mentioning.
DOCUMENTATION
-------------
The manual is very professionally laid out for a small product from
a small company. The material is organized quite clearly and will help
you over any learning humps that you might hit. There are plenty of
screen shots that will show you as well as tell you what you need to do.
The last half is composed of a command reference, detailing the command
line and script language. The on-line help is an exact copy of the
printed manual--but without the screen shots. If you purchase the
retail version, you get technical support and a subscription to the "Tips
and Tricks for File Manager" newsletter.
TIPS
----
The command line can be a trifle confusing to use if you focus too
much on the File Manager tree. Just above the command line is the
directory that the command line is addressing. You can address commands
to the tree by preceding them with a semi-colon (i.e.: COPY ;*.EXE).
SUMMARY
-------
WizManager adds some needed functionality to the File Manager with
not much effort on your part. It can be a bit confusing to use and other
products do most of what it can do and more. Because you can "try before
you buy" by downloading this program, it's worth checking out if you want
to enhance the power of the standard File Manager.
12. WORDPERFECT 6.0 FOR WINDOWS REVIEW
========================================================================
by Bob Garsson
PRODUCT INFORMATION:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
$495: Retail
$129: Upgrade for WordPerfect users
$149: Competitive upgrade
WordPerfect Corporation
1555 N. Technology Way
Orem, UT 84057-2399
(800) 451-5151
(801) 222-5077: FAX
PRODUCT EVALUATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ease of Use: 8
Graphics: 9
Innovation: 8
Sound: -
vs. Competition: 9
Usefulness: 10
User Friendly: 9
Compatibility: 10
Reliability: 9
Value: 10
Documentation: 8
OVERALL 9
QUICK SUMMARY: WordPerfect has long been one of the top three word
processors and Version 6.0 for Windows does nothing to
change this.
PROS: Too numerous to mention, with many new features and
innovations.
CONS: Lacks means to convert to or from files in the Microsoft
Word 6 format.
THUMBS: Up
MINIMUM 14 MB of free hard drive space for minimum install;
REQUIREMENTS: 31 MB for complete installation.
TEST SYSTEM
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: 8 MB 386/33
Drive: 211 MB IDE Seagate IDE hard drive with Stacker.
Video: Groundhog Graphics VGA; Seiko monitor.
System: MS-DOS 6.2, Windows 3.1; Stacker 4.0
OVERVIEW
------------------------------------------------------------------------
My first word processor was for the TRS-80 and my second was
WordPerfect 4.2. Both were good word processors, but both were exactly
that and no more. WYSIWYG didn't exist. Today, word processors are
becoming ultra-sophisticated applications that are moving ever more
closely toward eliminating the need of most users for additional
applications, such as desktop publishing programs, drawing programs,
spreadsheets and the like. WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows comes closer to
that than anything else I've seen.
FEATURES
--------
There are more features than I can cover without taking up all of
the available space in this publication, so I'll just touch on a few of
the major ones.
One of the most interesting, I think, is the tables feature, a new
item on the main menu. It includes advanced spreadsheet capabilities
such as nearly 100 formulas, numerical cell formatting, automatic
recalculation, data fills and named ranges. There are dozens of borders,
line styles and fill patterns for table design. This feature may well
eliminate the need for a separate spreadsheet application for a great
many WordPerfect users.
The WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows interface is intuitive and virtually
all elements are customizable, including the button bar, power bar, ruler
bar, status bar, keyboards and menus. The button bars can be displayed
on any screen edge or as a floating palette and the power bar lets you
select the features you use most from among 81 options. Feature bars
provide context-sensitive tools with nearly 20 options.
Another nice feature is the availability of 70 predefined
templates--WordPerfect express docs--which are custom document templates
for such things as newsletters, fax forms, memos and the like. You can
easily edit these or create your own. Other new features include
coaches--similar to Microsoft's Wizards, although not as versatile--but
they do teach you how to perform a variety of common tasks; WordPerfect
Draw and charting and easy-to-create graphics, including rotation of
images and text wrap. It also includes Grammatik 5, Textart and 25 new
TrueType fonts from Bitstream and 150 pieces of clip art.
COMPETING PRODUCTS
------------------
WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows meets or exceeds the competition well.
It lacks a few of the features, for example, of Microsoft Word for
Windows, but it also has a number of features not easily available in
Word, such as watermarks and hypertext for electronic publishing. I
imagine one can expect each of the applications, including Ami Pro, to
continue to leapfrog each other as each succeeding version matches
features available in the others and comes up with a few new ones as
well.
PROBLEMS
--------
When I tried to use a few of the features, WordPerfect came up with
a message saying the feature could not be accessed, probably because of
insufficient memory. When I clicked on the okay box, a GPF resulted. Liz
Tanner of WordPerfect Corporation assured me that the GPF problem has
been corrected in maintenance release 6.0a (see summary for more info).
If Adobe Type Manager is not installed and running, a message saying
it is needed appears on opening the application. Tanner says this
message also will be eliminated in the maintenance release.
I also experienced problems trying to open the help file and the
message said only that the call to Winhelp failed. This, too, was caused
by low memory, but no explanation appeared on screen.
For me, the lack of a converter for Word 6.0 files was a problem and
Tanner indicated that such a converter will not be in the maintenance
release either. One is expected at some future date and likely will be
available through the on line services such as CompuServe. As a fix,
Tanner suggested saving files in Word 2.0 format and then opening them in
WordPerfect. This worked all right. What did not work was saving the
same files in WordPerfect 5.0 format. These files did not open properly.
Furthermore, Word 2.0 files did not always open as expected and some
formatting was changed.
OPINION
-------
All in all, however, WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows is a more than
usable product and even though I generally work in Word for Windows, I
can see several instances in which I will find WordPerfect to be the
preferred word processor. The folks in Orem can be proud of their
product.
DOCUMENTATION
-------------
The printed manual is very good and quite complete, but so is the
on-line help file, which means it is rarely necessary to go to the
printed pages.
SUMMARY
-------
Without question this is one of the top three word processing
applications on the market. Ahead of the competition in some ways behind
in others, but each word processor company leapfrogs the other as new
versions are released.
The 6.0a patch is available via ftp (on the Internet) at
ftp.wordperfect.com. It is also available for free to registered 6.0
users by calling (800) 451-6161.
Bob Garsson is a freelance writer with many years of experience in
newspapers and non-fiction writing. He is highly familiar with many
aspects of PCs and Windows.
13. WORDPERFECT INFORMS REVIEW
========================================================================
by Bob Garsson
PRODUCT INFORMATION:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
$495.00: Retail
WordPerfect Corporation
1555 N. Technology Way
Orem, UT 84057-2399
(801) 228-9916
(801) 222-5077: FAX
PRODUCT EVALUATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Product Evaluation:
Ease of Use: 8
Graphics: 8
Innovation: 7
Sound: -
vs. Competition: -
Usefulness: 6
User Friendly: 8
Compatibility: 10
Reliability: 9
Value: 6
Documentation: 9
OVERALL 7.9
QUICK SUMMARY: WordPerfect InForms is a tool for creating forms to be
printed or used electronically.
PROS: Comes with 111 pre-designed forms that can be used as is
or modified.
CONS: An on-line tutorial might make it easier to learn.
THUMBS: Up
MINIMUM 19 MB of free hard drive space available for standard
REQUIREMENTS: install, and 15 MB for minimum install.
TEST SYSTEM
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: 8 MB 386/33
Drive: 211 MB IDE Seagate IDE hard drive with Stacker.
Video: Groundhog Graphics VGA; Seiko monitor.
System: MS-DOS 6.2, Windows 3.1; Stacker 4.0
OVERVIEW
------------------------------------------------------------------------
WordPerfect InForms allows the user to create forms, fill them in
and either print them out for duplication or distribute them
electronically. WordPerfect InForms also can be linked to a variety of
databases, making it a convenient front ends for that purpose.
FEATURES
--------
Designing forms of any type when it's intended to print them out is
a simple proposition in almost any application, particularly word
processors such as WordPerfect 6.0 for Windows and Microsoft Word for
Windows. If this were the only feature distinguishing WordPerfect
InForms from the others, there would be no need for the application.
WordPerfect InForms distinguishes itself in two ways, I think.
First, because it is specifically intended for the purpose, it makes
designing a form a fairly simple proposition. The form can be set up
quickly and exactly as needed. Graphics can easily be added, whether to
simply improve the looks or for any other purpose.
More importantly, forms can be designed for use electronically so
they can, for example, be distributed to all employees via company e-mail
and then returned in the same manner. To this end, the electronic forms
can be "signed," making any tampering of the protected forms easily
detectable. The WordPerfect InForms package includes an application
named Security, which sets up a database to store information about users
who are authorized to sign forms.
Using the electronic forms, users can save collected information
directly into a database. Eliminating time-consuming duplicate data
entry.
Electronic forms also can contain calculations. WordPerfect InForms
supports more than 120 functions and 10 system variables that let the
user utilize arithmetic, databases, date/time, financial, statistical,
text and other formulas. Calculations not only will allow the user to
add a filled-in form to a database with the click of a button; they also
can be used to hide or show certain portions of a form depending on the
data entered by a user.
WordPerfect InForms also contains a third application called Filler.
This is for users who need to fill in forms created with the Designer
package, allowing them to look up and edit database information from
within Filler.
Using Filler makes it easy to fill in the forms, access any database
linked to the form, print the form, print records from the database and
send the completed forms via e-mail.
WordPerfect InForms is designed to interact, of course, with any
other WordPerfect product. However, it also integrates with most
non-WordPerfect products, including Lotus and Microsoft mail
applications. It can link to virtually any database, including but not
limited to Btrieve, Clipper, dBase, FoxPro, Oracle, Paradox and SQLBASE.
OPINION
-------
A major asset of WordPerfect InForms is the inclusion of 111 forms
designed either for print use or electronic use. These are ample and I
surmise most users will find them adequate as is without further
modification. They include forms for a variety of subjects including
banking and mortgage, financial and accounting, insurance, office,
personnel, real estate, shipping and receiving forms and travel and
expense forms.
DOCUMENTATION
-------------
There is extensive documentation, with a thick manual for Designer
and a smaller separate one for Filler. On-line help, however, is
complete and the user should have little reason to go to the printed
pages. One thing I like about the on-line help is a section entitled
"How do I...," which shows the user how to utilize specific parts of the
application.
The first part of the Designer manual contains 86 pages devoted to a
tutorial on using the application. The Filler manual is almost entirely
devoted to lessons. Although these work well, I find an on-line tutorial
to be easier to work with and follow.
TIPS
----
Some disk space can be reclaimed (about 175 KB) by eliminating the
files in the Learn directory after using them.
SUMMARY
-------
An application of value to anyone seeking an easy way to come up
with forms that can be printed or mailed electronically.
Bob Garsson is a freelance writer with many years of experience in
newspapers and non-fiction writing. He is highly familiar with many
aspects of PCs and Windows.
14. COMMWORKS REVIEW
========================================================================
by Richard F. Daley
PRODUCT INFORMATION:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
$199.95: Retail
Traveling Software, Inc.
18702 North Creek Parkway
Bothell, WA 98011
(206) 483-8088
(206) 485-1736: FAX
PRODUCT EVALUATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ease of Use: 8
Graphics: -
Innovation: 6
Sound: -
vs. Competition: 7
Usefulness: 9
User Friendly: 7
Compatibility: 10
Reliability: 9
Value: 10
Documentation: 7
OVERALL 8.0
QUICK SUMMARY: An all-in-one software suite for communications needs:
file transfer (via LapLink V), FAX send/receive, remote
access to another computer, terminal. The printed
documentation is adequate.
PROS: LapLink V is the best file transferor on the market.
CONS: The other programs do not match the quality of competing
programs on the market.
l
THUMBS: To the side
MINIMUM The suite requires a Hayes compatible Modem 1200 baud
REQUIREMENTS: or higher (9600 recommended) and a Class I, II or CAS
compatible FAX (optional for FAX use). Complete
installation requires 6.5 MB of free hard drive space.
TEST SYSTEM
--------------------------------------------------------------------
CPU: 8 MB 486 DX2/66
Drives: 340 MB Conner IDE drive with HLC-3000SP VL bus controller
Video: Diamond Viper video card with 1 MB video RAM
System: MS-DOS 6.2, Windows 3.1
Modem: Gateway Telepath 14.4 FAX/Modem
OVERVIEW
------------------------------------------------------------------------
CommWorks is a suite of applications billed as a complete solution
to all your communications needs. This suite includes LapLink V, LapLink
Remote Access, LapLink Alert, TS FAX and TS Online. LapLink V is a file
transfer program designed primarily to transfer files between a laptop
computer and a desktop computer through a special cable or over a
network. However, desktop to desktop transfers are possible as well.
LapLink Remote Access requires a cable or modem connection and allows you
to access drives and printers on a remote computer from within any
Windows application. LapLink Alert informs you when a file, e-mail or
fax arrives on your machine. TS FAX sends and receives faxes. TS Online
is a terminal program which allows you to log on to major communications
services as well as your local BBS.
FEATURES
--------
LapLink V is a top rated file transfer program. It is the star of
this software suite. Its intended use is to facilitate the transfer of
files from a laptop computer to a desktop computer. This transfer is
done either via a special cable available from Traveling Software, over a
modem or via a network connection. None of the other programs in the
suite match the quality of LapLinkV. However, they are all reasonable
programs.
LapLink Remote Access is a remote access program which allows you to
use printers and disk drives on a remote computer as if they were
attached to the local computer.
LapLink Alert is an alarm which runs in the background. The alarm
sounds to let you know when a file, e-mail or fax arrives at your
machine.
TS OnLine is a terminal program which you can use to connect to
on-line services as CompuServe or a BBS. It allows transfer of files and
e-mail from the remote computer.
TS FAX sends and receives faxes. Sending a fax is as easy as
printing from any application. And incoming faxes are stored on your
hard drive as a graphic image.
COMPETING PRODUCTS
------------------
There are many competing products for all of the programs in this
suite. LapLink V is at the top of its class. TS FAX and TS Online are
about average members of this group in comparison to similar programs
that I have seen and used. I cannot compare LapLink Remote Access with
other remote control software as it is the only member of this class I've
used.
PROBLEMS
--------
There were no real problems in installing the software or in using
it. The only real complaint I have is that the only documentation for
the scripting language is in a Windows help file. There is a brief
overview/tutorial in the manual, but no printed documentation. For me,
that is a real problem in getting an overview of the scripting language.
OPINION
-------
I will keep LapLink V and LapLink Remote Access on my computer. I
wish that the LapLink V program was a native Windows program (it runs in
a DOS window). However, I didn't experience any difficulties with
operating LapLink V within Windows. I will not keep TS FAX or TS OnLine
on my computer. I prefer WinFax Pro to TS FAX and CrossTalk for Windows
to TS Online. WinFax Pro has a smoother interface and gives better fax
transmission and quality than TS FAX. I think that CrossTalk for Windows
has a more powerful scripting language than TS Online. Since I write a
lot of complex scripts automating my communications tasks, I found the
scripting language for TS OnLine too limiting for my needs. If you don't
need complex scripting, then TS Online is easier to use than CrossTalk
and contains all of the features needed in a communications program.
LapLink Alert is not a program for which I have any real use.
DOCUMENTATION
-------------
The manuals are adequate for all of the software. None of them are
outstanding. I had some difficulty making contact with another computer
over a large Novell network. I called Traveling Software's Technical
Service department. After a surprisingly short wait, I spoke to a
pleasant engineer who gave me some hints that didn't work for my
situation. I called again and received some additional help that still
didn't solve the problem. My local network guru finally solved the
problem. To be honest, the technical support people did not have enough
information about the LAN setup to make the connection work.
SUMMARY
-------
CommWorks is an excellent value if you need even two or three
programs in the suite. Apart from LapLink V and LapLink Remote Access,
the programs are not the best of their genre on the market. The rest of
them are, however, adequate for most communications needs.
15. PNR'S BOOK CORNER REVIEW
========================================================================
by Robert M. Slade
"The WordPerfect 6 Print & Presentation Kit", Solomon,
1993, 0-201-62261-0,
US: $28.95 / Canada: $37.95
USA Canada
--------------------------------------------------------
Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
1 Jacob Way P.O. Box 520
Reading, MA 01867-9984 26 Prince Andrew Place
Don Mills, Ontario M3C 2T8
800-527-5210 416-447-5101
617-944-3700 Fax: 416-443-0948
or
5851 Guion Road
Indianapolis, IN 46254
800-447-2226
If you are a rank newcomer to the publication of presentation
documents, this is a reasonably good start. The first part of the book
covers some of the basics of design. The material is simple, and mostly
common sense. It is by no means extensive: the author starts the book
by boasting that she has no training in design, and, unfortunately, it
shows. It also assumes that you have access to extensive resources in
the way of printers, scanners, clip-art and fonts: there is no
discussion of how to "make do" or maximize what you may have.
If you are not a WordPerfect user, not to worry. Part 1 has nothing
at all to do with WordPerfect. Part 2 does, but you won't be missing
much. Part 3 supposedly does, but you should be able to figure out how
to do it in your system.
If you *are* a WordPerfect user, you won't be getting an awful lot
of presentation help here. Many of the aspects that are discussed in
detail aren't related to desktop publishing (such as how to use the
button bar). Those aspects that are important to publishing seem to have
a surprising lack of detail. The aspect of "boxes" (which is what
WordPerfect uses for graphics and many special effects) is covered in a
scant twenty pages, despite its vital important to presentation. The
material seems to be little more than a reworking of the manual. There
is nothing in the way of tips, tricks, shortcomings, or workarounds.
(Wordperfect users had also better be using version 6.0: although, as
with other program users, you may be able to figure it out, there is no
reference to earlier versions of the program at all.)
The third part of the book gives supposed samples of things to do
for yourself. Again, this section has little to do with the WordPerfect
program, and is pretty standard boilerplate stuff. An outline for a
brochure, for example, suggests printing in landscape with narrow margins
and three columns for a "three-fold" page. Not exactly rocket science.
Those who are just starting out in desktop publishing with
WordPerfect 6.0 may find some tips here. Those who have turned out a
newsletter to their own satisfaction probably don't need it.
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994 BKWP6PPK.RVW 940121
-=-=-=-=-
"Hacker's Guide to Word For Windows", Leonhard/Chen
US: $39.95 / Canada: $51.95
USA Canada
--------------------------------------------------------
Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
1 Jacob Way P.O. Box 520
Reading, MA 01867-9984 26 Prince Andrew Place
Don Mills, Ontario M3C 2T8
800-527-5210 416-447-5101
617-944-3700 Fax: 416-443-0948
or
5851 Guion Road
Indianapolis, IN 46254
800-447-2226
This book will not appeal to the corporate types. Even granting
that the authors have provided a warning symbol for the worst of their
lunacy (a little figure who appears to be going "booga-booga" at you),
the bulk of the text is very informal, perhaps even flippant. This will
be amusing to fans of Monty Python, bemusing to the rank novice, mildly
irksome to those looking for a reference, and completely unacceptable to
the buttoned-down mind. The authors state that this work is for those
who have learned to love Word for Windows, and you'd likely have to love
the program to put up with some aspects of the book.
Pity. Because beneath this carefree exterior is an incisive
analysis and presentation of Word. The authors state that this book is
not for newcomers to Word. This is not quite true. For those familiar
with computers and text editing concepts, section one is an excellent
introduction to the program, covering the oddities of the Word "paradigm"
with succinct clarity. Word was the forty-seventh word processor I
learned, and it took me a full month to realize the information carried
in those indistinguishable paragraph markers.
But that is only the first section. And the first half of the
section at that. The remainder of section one re-opens the question of
who, or what, this book is for. First there is the title. A "hacker",
in computerdom, usually refers to a programmer: a *good* programmer.
The authors keep insisting, though, that the book is for *anyone*. Then,
they launch into a long, though entertaining, story of the writing of a
program. The story is laced, alternately, with comments of "See? Isn't
it easy?" and chunks of C-like code ending with a program which, when
completed ... doesn't work.
Section two gets back to the user level with a grab bag of tips,
bugs, tricks and self-praise for the DocCruiser program. We also have
further evidence for the hacker mindset in statements such as "fun is
better than useful." Certainly they haven't wasted a lot of time on
thinking of how you would refer to all of this information. (Fortunately,
the index is fairly substantial.)
Having stated that the book is not an introduction to WordBASIC,
section three seems to be precisely that. This is not an overview for
those who have no experience with programming: all the jargon is there,
and little is explained. However, most of the time you can figure out
what you need to know about how to work in WordBASIC. If you don't
understand a group of commands, you aren't likely to need them, at least
not right away.
Section four is a reference list of WordBASIC commands. As the
introduction to the section states, this is the heart of the book. The
commands are listed, and extensively described, including bugs and errors
in the original documentation. Again, while this is ostensibly technical
information, it is not difficult to read or understand the entries.
Section five is again a rather unfocussed collection of information
on WinWord fields and bookmarks, and Windows WIN.INI file settings.
It is difficult to share the authors' enthusiasm for a program so
bug-ridden and poorly supported by the documentation. Given the starting
premise that a word processor is a tool for manipulation, storage and
printing of text, one comes away from the book with feeling that you
could spend your life exploring the intriguing byways of Word for Windows
... and still not get any work done. This is not a word processor, this
is a toy with a word processor as a front end.
At the same time, one can see, after digging deeply enough, that
there are a number of very powerful functions. Unfortunately, relatively
few of them have much to do with text. Flipping through the command
reference at random seems to turn up one text oriented command out of
every five. (This may, of course, be unfair to the program. After all,
it does "select" for commands which the authors are more interested in
... or those which have more bugs.)
If you use Word for Windows extensively, this book is very likely a
worthwhile investment. If you *must* use Word for Windows, this book may
save you some peace of mind ... *always* a worthwhile investment.
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKHGTWFW.RVW 930915
Differing opinion from Bob Garsson, assistant editor:
I have been using this program for years Winword 2 is far from
bug-ridden and the same goes for Winword 6. Winword, WordPerfect
and Ami Pro all have macro languages. It is one of their fortes. The
average user may never need them, but the power user will and the macro
languages allow for customization of the application to make it do
exactly what the user wishes. The book in question is designed for the
power user more than anything else and does--very well--the job it
is intended to do.
-=-=-=-=-
"CompuServe CIM Running Start", Campbell, 1993
US: $17.95 / Canada: $22.95
USA Canada
--------------------------------------------------------
Sybex Computer Books Firefly Books
2021 Challenger Drive 250 Sparks Avenue
Alameda, CA 94501 Willowdale, Ontario M2H 2S4
800-227-2346
510-523-8233 416-499-8412
Fax: 510-523-2373 Fax: 416-499-8313
71650.2556@compuserve.com
Let's review this on the basis of the cover blurbs.
"Exclusive Two-Part Format, Designed to let You Get the Most Out of
CompuServe." The two-part format is a tutorial and a reference section.
Hmmm. Somehow that format sounds vaguely familiar. However, if you need
this tutorial to get you started, I doubt that you are ever going to get
the most out of CompuServe. Remember, this is a tutorial on how to use a
graphical interface, which is, itself, an aid to a menu interface. "If
you want to add an address to your address book, just press the Add
button when you are in the Address Book Screen!"
"Nine Simple, Step-by-Step Lessons to Help Make You a CompuServe
Ace." Simple? Yes. Ace? See above. Let us suppose, though, that this
book is aimed at the complete and utter computer neophyte. There is
nothing here about the really hard part of communications: setting up the
modem and making the first few calls.
"Covers both WinCIM and DOS CIM." On the inside back cover is a
sample screen from CIM for DOS. There are twelve references to
differences between the two versions. Otherwise, this is about WinCIM.
"Special Bonus Offer! FREE CompuServe Introductory Membership Plus
a $15 Credit towards Your Usage." If there is anyone who has been
involved in the computer world for a while and hasn't had dozens of such
offers--how did you avoid them?
Now all of this may be amusing, but is it fair to the author? After
all, it is the publisher who decides on such things as the cover, and
often even the title. However, what is really at issue to the "consumer"
is the book as a whole. Campbell has done a reasonably good job. The
material is fairly clear, and the work is well written, as far as it
goes. However, the concept of the book, as a whole, is one that boggles
the mind. Do people really need documentation for this? Do they need a
third party book?
A while back a friend and I were delving into CompuServe via WinCIM.
There were a number of "features" which we thought should probably be
there, but we couldn't figure out how to make it work. This book was no
help either in terms of finding those features, or in terms of confirming
that they were or weren't available. Third party books on systems
generally either help to mitigate the shortcomings of the existing
documentation, or teach more advanced "tips and tricks". This book
doesn't, and there seems to be little chance that such is possible with
this topic.
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKCSVCIM.RVW 931202
-=-=-=-=-
"Concise Guide to Windows for Workgroups", Jamsa, 1993, 1-55615-505-0
Canada: $17.95
USA Canada
--------------------------------------------------------
Microsoft Press Macmillan of Canada
1 Microsoft Way 29 Birch Avenue
Redmond, WA 98052-6399 Toronto, Ontario M4V 1E2
Elizabeth Wilson
416-963-8830
Fax: 416-923-4821
Another "second source" set of documentation for Windows. Note
please: Windows. More than half of this book deals with functions and
features which are *not* specific to Windows for Workgroups. The chapters
relating to the Control Panel and Accessories, for example, contain almost
no material relating to features other than those found in a stand alone
version of Windows.
Which raises another point. The cover blurb states that this book
covers "everything from installation to customization." Well, given some
latitude in interpretation, that could be said to be true. However, to
those who have worked with Windows, let alone those who have struggled
with the Workgroups part, installation and customization refer to those
times when the defaults don't quite work as advertised. Instead, what we
get for "installation" here is a run through the screens of the
installation program. As for customization; well, I'll be kind and assume
that they are referring only to the screen color changes you can make
with the Control Panel.
It could be said to be concise. There is no reference material.
There is no attempt to point out any "tips and tricks." The material
appears to be a rewriting and reformatting of the standard Windows
documentation.
The ultimate question is, "Why?" Windows is supposed to be
"user-friendly." (Please, no unseemly laughter from you in the back,
there.) Windows is supposed to be usable without documentation at all.
Why, then, this type of rehash from third parties?
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKCGTWFW.RVW 931201
-=-=-=-=-
"The Little DOS 6 Book", Nelson, 1993, 1-56609-056-3, U$13.00/C$18.00
USA
--------------------------------------------------------
PeachPit
2414 6th St.
Berkeley, CA 94710
800-283-9444
510-548-4393
Fax: 510-548-5991
tbooth@peachpit.mhs.compuserve.com
For those that need an introduction to DOS that will take them up to
the intermediate level, this is a good choice. It contains both an
introduction to DOS and a command reference. It goes beyond the
cartoonish "beginning DOS" books that used to come with PC-DOS, but is
not as formidable as the full documentation or the DOS "bibles".
One potential objection might be that the book concentrates very
heavily on DOSSHELL. While command line options are given at every
point, the shell and its interface are given priority, and most of the
book deals with DOS through the shell. If you want to learn the command
line interface, you will get the basic information here, but will likely
have to do a lot of practice to make up for the lack of examples.
The organization is generally good, and useful for referencing
topics by subject. Some of the organization is a bit odd: the "Basic
Basics" chapter discusses floppy disks, the two physical sizes, some
safety tips about magnets and even discusses how to insert them in the
drives. The discussion does not mention the two formats: that is
explained in chapter six (for which there is no pointer in chapter one)
and even there, the book relies on the presence or absence of hub rings
to distinguish high density 5-1/4" diskettes. (Some double density disks
don't have hub rings either: the most dependable test is that high
density media is slightly less opaque, and you can faintly see a nearby
bare light bulb, or fluorescent tube, through a high density disk.)
The book has a fair number of useful tips, but misses a great many.
As only one example, the "/S" switch on the DIR command has rendered the
WHEREIS and SEEK utilities obsolete. This is a very desirable function,
and one that can save users a lot of time in finding misplaced files.
While the switch itself is mentioned, there is no discussion of this use.
A reasonable introduction for the intelligent beginner who wants to
begin to actually use the operating system--and at a reasonable price.
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994 BKLTLDOS.RVW 940103
-=-=-=-=-
"Learning the UNIX Operating System", Todino/Strang, 1987
USA
--------------------------------------------------------
O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
103 Morris Street, Suite A
Sebastopol, CA 95472
800-998-9938
707-829-0515
Fax: 707-829-0104
info@ora.com
"Learning the UNIX Operating System" is stated to be intended to
cover enough of the basics of UNIX to get a user started. Generally
speaking, the book does just that.
Chapter one is a fairly standard introduction in the "nutshell"
series, not so much an introduction to the topic as to the format of the
book. Chapter two is where it really begins, getting the user to log in
and log out of the system. Some attention is paid to familiarizing the
user with the command line interface.
Chapter three is entitled, "Your UNIX Account", but what it really
covers is directory navigation, files and mail. Chapter four seems to
cover some of the same ground in file management.
Chapters five and six seem somewhat out of place. They cover
redirection of 1/0 and multi-tasking. While these topics are
unquestionably important to UNIX itself, it is difficult to see that the
novice user would have immediate need of them. If this book is aimed
beyond the novice level, then there are several topics left uncovered for
which I, personally, would see a greater need.
Chapter seven deals with the important issue of how to proceed
beyond the scope of this work. The book concludes with a brief but
useful "cheat sheet" of commonly used commands.
The book is labeled as a "single session overview", and very likely
an hour or two on-line with it would get most novice users "up and
running". While those who are familiar with other operating systems may
find some of the material tedious, the writing and examples are clear for
any intelligent reader. This book could be very valuable in getting new
users "over the hump" when confronting UNIX for the first time.
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKLRNUNX.RVW 930728
-=-=-=-=-
"Smileys", David W. Sanderson (dws@ora.com) and Dale Dougherty, 1993,
1-56592-041-4
USA
--------------------------------------------------------
O'Reilly and Associates, Inc.
103 Morris St., Suite A
Sebastopol, CA 95472-9902
800-338-6887
Fax: 707-829-0104
info@ora.com
"Smileys", otherwise known as "emoticons" (emotive icons), are the
"body language" and "intonation" of electronic mail. It is tremendously
easy, when using e-mail or bulletin board type communications, to say
something which you consider to be a minor and flippant aside, and have
it come across as a deadly insult. Hence the "smiley" :-) a set of
characters which forms a "happy face" (view it sideways) to indicate that
the writer is joking.
David Sanderson has compiled an enormous list of these "typewriter
faces" since there are many variations on the basic smiley above. To the
basic "happy" :-) , one can add sad :-( , apathetic or stern :-| and
"cool dude wearing shades" B-) (which also works as a "Batman"
caricature). A great number of the examples given in the book fall into
the "caricature" category, and are fun, if not terribly useful. (This
used to be a popular pastime at both UBC and SFU: generating new
caricatures and characters.)
As well as the enormous list of smileys contained in the book, pages
41 to 44 present you with an assortment of games using emoticons.
"Where's Smiley", on page 42, will be immediately recognizable as a
section of UUENCODEd material. The fact that "smileys" pop up
inadvertently in miscellaneous material was the source of a humorous note
recently on alt.folklore.computers in which a programmer lamented that
his C code was grinning at him {:
The explanatory text is minimal. It does explain that smileys are
used to convey emotion; and particularly the fact that a particular
statement is made in jest. Pages 24 and 25 begin to explore the fact
that electronic communication is fraught with peril for misunderstanding,
but do not explore it in great depth. Page 26 warns against overuse of
emoticons, but nowhere is the reader warned against the all too common
practice of sending a truly abusive message with some smileys attached.
Had the book some more serious material, I would not hesitate to
recommend that it be standard practice for corporations to issue a copy
to every new user given an e-mail account. As it is, the book is a
highly amusing piece with the potential to be used as a lead in to more
serious discussion.
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKSMILEY.RVW 930506
(Postscriptum: commenting on the original draft of this review, David
Sanderson has stated that he plans to expand the next edition to include
much more discussion of the etiquette and culture of e-mail.)
-=-=-=-=-
"Connecting to the Internet", Estrada, 1993
US: $15.95
USA
------------------------------------------------------
O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
103 Morris Street, Suite A
Sebastopol, CA 95472
800-998-9938
707-829-0515
fax: 707-829-0104
info@ora.com
dlist-update@ora.com
When I give my "Beginner's Guide to the Nets" talk, I know that one
question is inevitable. "Great! How do I get an account?" Here, then,
is a book directed at answering that question.
Of course, without the talk to precede it, some explanation of the
Internet is in order. Estrada's explanation comprises the first three
chapters. It is framed in the language and style of one addressing the
neophyte. Viewed from that perspective, though, the contents may be a
little odd. The non-technical reader doesn't need to know, in chapter
one, that the Internet is a packet- switched network using TCP/IP.
Chapter two talks about connection speed and gives some useful examples.
The distinction, however, between the speed of the local connection and
the speed of the backbone is not as clearly specified. Also, the
illustration of information as water may not be universally informative,
given the necessity to keep converting books to gallons. (I suspect, as
well, that the measures for audio and video are a bit ...
conservative.)
There is certainly room for a book for the computer novice who wants
access to e-mail, electronic discussions and a few files from the
Internet. There is also room for a book which gives technical details
about the Internet for those who are trying to attach mainframes, VAXen,
workstations and even PCs in such a manner as to be fully part of the
Internet. These two books need not be separate volumes, as the two
groups of explanations could be accommodated in one book if sufficiently
carefully planned. Apparently, this is what Estrada has tried to do.
However, some readers may find the use of "novice style" throughout the
book, even in those parts directed at the technical expert, to be
somewhat disconcerting.
Chapter three approaches the issue of an Internet connection the
same way I counsel first-time computer buyers: don't ask "what's best,"
ask "what do I want to do?" Clearer than the first two, this chapter
provides a good overview of the basic functions and services on the
Internet. The discussion is quite brief (none of the mentions of e-mail,
conferencing or "chat" refer at all to on-line etiquette), and there is a
strong emphasis on multimedia applications.
Chapters four, five and six deal with the selection of connections,
via providers, dial-up and lease lines. These chapters are generally
very good, and provide both checklist, and charts to help you evaluate
various services. Given the previous non-technical tone of the book,
some of the inclusions (such as example "trouble tickets") may be odd,
but chapter six seems to indicate an eagerness to be of service to
technical types as well.
Most of the rest of the book; most of the book, actually; is made up
of two appendices which list providers through whom one can obtain
Internet access of varying types and degrees. Appendix A is the Kaminski
PDIAL list which describes those systems providing individual accounts
with access to the Internet. While I have no reason to suspect the
integrity of the American portion of the list, I note that Canada is
represented only by a single company in Montreal. Canada Remote Systems,
Mindlink and CyberStore are notable by their absence. The
"international" section has only three listings.
Appendix B is a list of those providers offering dedicated line
connections, most likely for those wishing their own "domain". This
DLIST is maintained by the author of the book. The American emphasis is
still strong, but there are signs of good efforts being made to expand.
Canada gets a whole section to itself, although BC is represented only by
BCNet and Wimsey is unmentioned.
There are still a number of areas missing. Commercial on-line
services, such as CompuServe, GEnie, America Online and now (finally)
Prodigy provide e-mail links, although possibly at substantially higher
charges than one might see through other providers. They are mentioned,
but very briefly. Any Fidonet board that offers netmail can send
messages to, and receive from, the Internet. If there are no providers
locally, I often recommend checking with local universities and colleges.
Freenet is mentioned only in the glossary. (In BC alone there is one
functioning Freenet and three "under construction".)
Regardless of these flaws, this is bound to become a major reference
work as more and more individuals and businesses seek access to the
Internet. The coverage that this work gives to both the PDIAL and DLIST
references will lead to feedback which will strengthen them for future
editions (as well as the on-line versions noted).
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKCONINT.RVW 930914
-=-=-=-=-
"Crossing the Internet Threshold", Tennant/Ober/Lipow, 1882208013
US: $45.00
USA
--------------------------------------------------------
Library Solutions Institute and Press
2137 Oregon St.
1100 Industrial Road, Suite 9
Berkeley, CA 94705 San Carlos, CA 94070
510-841-2933
510-841-2636 Fax: 415-594-0411
alipow@library.berkeley.edu jlo-lis@cmsa.berkeley.Edu
rtennant@library.Berkeley.Edu
This book is useful for newcomers to the Internet. This book is
useful for trainers. This book is useful for librarians. Ultimately,
this book is most useful for those training librarians who are new to the
Internet.
The contents cover the basics as an introduction to the Internet.
There is an "Internetworking Overview" which is a bit long for a beginner
but helpful for a trainer. "Important Information for Beginners" is
important, but primarily to those needing either to get a connection to
the Internet or to keep current with Internet developments. The
bibliography is generally sound and with helpful annotations. (There are
some gaps, such as no mention of O'Reilly and Associates "!%@::" (cf
BKDEMAC.RVW), but most of the other references one might name are more
recent publications.) Three chapters cover e-mail, remote login and file
transfers (ftp). There are very helpful "fact sheets" on the basics of
related functions, such as archive and gopher, as well as projects such
as Freenet. In addition, there are trainers' aids, and appendix
materials.
A newcomer to the Internet might find this material a bit
disorganized, but very definitely helpful and useful. It is heartening
to see the very strong emphasis on Internet etiquette and culture which
all too often gets short shrift, even in introductory guides. The
grouping of discussion lists and electronic journals with e-mail is a
logical extension which is not always made. The work is not limited to
the novice, though; many Internet users would find the fact sheets to be
a handy quick reference.
The material here was originally developed for a workshop and,
unfortunately, it is all too obvious at some points. The Internet maps
and certain other materials could be useful in seminars, but have no
associated explanatory materials. The exercises are useful but missing
information at certain points. For example, the list of special
databases to try out does not always have full information on how to log
in. This would, of course, be supplied in the workshop, and can be
figured out by an experienced "net surfer," but it would be nice to see
more help for novice users. The training resources, as well, would
require some work. The "Introduction to Networking" overhead, for
example, is far too cluttered, and, realistically, should be subdivided
into at least five parts. This is, however, the first of a series of
related works. As the material is subdivided, and the different
audiences defined, the material will undoubtedly improve. The work shows
a fundamental understanding and promise which bodes well for future
editions, once organization and isolated materials are improved.
Still, the book is useful to all those parties mentioned in the
opening paragraph. For those serious about Internet training, or the use
of the Internet in a library situation, this should definitely be on your
bookshelf.
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKCRSTHR.RVW 931229
-=-=-=-=-
"Exploring the World of Online Services", Resnick, 1993
US: $17.95 / Canada: $25.95
USA Canada
--------------------------------------------------------
Sybex Computer Books Firefly Books
2021 Challenger Drive 250 Sparks Avenue
Alameda, CA 94501 Willowdale, Ontario M2H 2S4
800-227-2346
510-523-8233 416-499-8412
Fax: 510-523-2373 Fax: 416-499-8313
71333.1473@compuserve.com
The "world" part of the title is a bit grandiose. One has come to
expect, unfortunately, that a particular work will cover either
commercial services or "the nets," but not both. However, even dealing
strictly with commercial information services, there is still a lot of
room in the cover statement that the book "compares and contrasts the
most popular on-line services, including CompuServe and Prodigy". The
*only* services included are CompuServe and Prodigy.
The book certainly promises "the world". Chapter one gives the
usual "all the business information in the known universe at the click of
a mouse" pitch. To be fair, Resnick does suggest a number of rules to
try to keep the costs down. For example, she talks about "narrowing" a
search with added terms, but doesn't go into the complexity of setting up
an appropriate data base search.
Part one of the book (chapters two to ten) is the "how to" section
with part two being the "what's there". Chapter two, for example, is
supposed to tell you about modems and communication software. Except for
a brief discussion of the pros and cons of generic terminal software
versus service specific "front ends", one wonders why the chapter was
included. A section dealing with communications parameters finally comes
down to, "Oh, it's all too technical, just use 2400,8,N,1 and it'll
probably work." Chapter three talks about logging in: Prodigy users get
pretty short shrift here. (In a section titled "Protecting Your
Password" the fifth sentence is enough to make any security types
shudder: it advises, nay, commands! that you write down your password.)
Chapter four purports to help you navigate the services: it reminds you
of the chapters in software manuals that give the basics of menu usage.
Chapter five talks about the various possible charging and surcharge
options but lacks specifics.
Chapter six discusses e-mail. This chapter could be used as an
example of most of what the book is--and isn't. The contents are
mostly a sequence of commands for WinCIM, the Windows version of
CompuServe's own "front end" communication program. Seven pages are
devoted to sending and receiving mail on CompuServe, less than a page on
Prodigy. Nowhere does it tell you how to send a message if you don't
have the CIM. One page discusses the difference between public and
private messages. Two pages purport to cover on-line etiquette: this
seems to reduce to "don't advertise unless you pay" and "aren't smileys
cute!" You are told that CompuServe can send e-mail to the Internet:
you are *not* told, as in most other places in the book, that it is a
surcharge, nor are you told how to do it.
Chapter seven says that you can upload and download. (It also
recommends that you use PKZIP version 2.04C. I guess that, in the rush
to get the book out, the disasters of that particular version went
unnoticed.) Chapter eight briefly looks at topical "bulletin boards"
(static conferencing), "real time" conferencing and chat functions.
Chapter nine discusses data base searching. Again, Resnick promises more
than CompuServe can supply. Many of the examples of valuable information
are taken from sources other than CompuServe, *all* of the instructions
are for CompuServe. This topic, more than any other, promises big
dividends for business. While there are some tentative observations
about having to learn where the information is and how to use it, the
reality is that data base access is an art in itself, and a lot of time,
and money, have to be invested to start getting returns. Chapter ten
lists some of the problems you may encounter trying to telecommute while
traveling. Unfortunately, the list of horrors mentioned is not
exhaustive, as many traveling members of the on-line community can
attest.
Part two concentrates more on the services and information that can
be found in various places. It starts off, however, with chapter eleven
purporting to compare on-line services. Given the complexity of the
offerings, a "spec sheet" type approach seems called for. Instead, we
again get an anecdotal listing of various features. Chapter twelve talks
first about financial information services, then various on-line services
other than CompuServe and Prodigy, and, finally, on-line brokerages.
Thirteen discusses making business contacts on-line; fourteen, electronic
malls; fifteen, travel services. Sixteen starts out with technical
support, then briefly lists some other on-line services, then gives us
some "pie-in-the-sky" speculation about future directions. A final
appendix gives a few pages each to GEnie, American Online and Delphi as
"The Rest of the Pack".
This book would have made a good magazine article. With many
repetitions of the same text, a lot of WinCIM screen shots and large
print, it has been expanded to a book. Considering the material that
could have been included, one can certainly see gaping holes. On the
other hand, given the price of the book, it is certainly cheaper to get
an idea of what is available "out there" in here, first. For business
people who are interested in getting into on-line systems in a big way,
this might be a start.
It is by no means the final word. Communication is still a
difficult process, likely because of the necessary number of entities
(communications software, communications port, cabling, modem, phone
line, phone service, etc.) involved. Resnick's brief overview simply
does not provide enough information, and this extends to other areas of
the book as well. Note also that many of the services, outside of purely
commercial data bases, that are listed in the book can also be obtained
through local bulletin board systems, Fidonet, Freenet or the Internet,
at greatly reduced cost, sometimes even free.
If this book contained more about systems other than CompuServe and
Prodigy, it might have served as a vehicle for choosing among the various
competing on-line services. As it is, it might almost be worth buying
the user guides for the different systems: they contain more
information. And they can't be much more biased.
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKETWOOS.RVW 930823
-=-=-=-=-
"The Internet Companion", LaQuey/Ryer, 1993
US: $10.95 / Canada: $13.95
USA Canada
--------------------------------------------------------
Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
1 Jacob Way P.O. Box 520
Reading, MA 01867-9984 26 Prince Andrew Place
Don Mills, Ontario M3C 2T8
800-527-5210 416-447-5101
617-944-3700 Fax: 416-443-0948
or
5851 Guion Road
Indianapolis, IN 46254
800-447-2226
internet-companion@world.std.com tracy@cs.utexas.edu
tracy@mojo.ots.utexas.edu tparker@cisco.com
It is difficult to know what is supposed to be "companionable" about
this volume. Physically, it would be easy to carry it along with you.
You probably wouldn't want to, though. This is not a guide for
explorations, either. It does give one some background on the Internet,
but it is not in a step-by-step fashion. (How to access the Internet is
the *last* topic to be covered.) The newcomer to the Internet will more
likely want to read it all (possibly at one sitting; it's small enough)
and look at the network gestalt.
Chapter one, entitled "Why You Should Know About the Internet",
would seem to have the idea of "selling" the Internet. The text is
interesting--but it is *what* you might want to know about the Internet.
The "why" is mostly confined to sidebars scattered throughout the text.
Unfortunately these, if believed, might cause some disappointment when
newcomers actually confront the realities of the Internet. One example
given is that of a medical researcher in Africa using satellite
communications and the Internet to support his work. Most people in
remote locations, however, are cut off from the Internet if they do not
have dependable phone links: the Internet depends on the phone rather
than replacing it. Another example used comes from education where
students are supposed to become enthused by the information resources on
the net. All too often, however, the enthusiasm is generated by
commercial services which most educational budgets cannot support. Some
fascinating data is out there but, as the preface states, learning the
Internet requires some commitment.
The second chapter purports to give you "the lowdown". Again, there
is interesting background information, but most of it can be skipped by
those who actually want to *use* the net. Even the section on
"acceptable use" deals only with the "commercialism" policy; a policy
which the authors admit is highly questionable in view of the actual
traffic on the Internet. There is no attempt, at this point, to even
raise the issues of ethics or etiquette.
Chapter three brings up the various types of interpersonal
communication, such as e-mail, distribution lists, Usenet news and
"talk". Again, there is a lot of detail here that isn't really needed,
and some aspects that are left out. The organization of information
follows no apparent logical progression. It would be difficult for a
novice to discern between generic and system specific information:
distribution lists are first discussed with "topic-request" Internet
servers, and then all over again with BITNET LISTSERVs. Again, there may
be some disappointments for some explorers, as when the authors state
that Usenet keeps all messages, not mentioning that many sites now
"expire" news after a week or less.
The last part of the chapter, dealing with "Netiquette", is a great
improvement. Not merely a list of rules, it tells the reader *why* a
short reply might be offensive.
Chapter four raises issues associated with finding information.
Again, there is a lack of organization, and some confusion between
generic functions, such as ftp and telnet; specific services, such as
archive and WAIS; and sites such as a specific Freenet or a supercomputer
center. The listings are quite brief: most will only get you to a site.
From there on, "HELP" help you.
Chapter five is supposed to deal with advanced Internet topics. In
fact, it is a loose amalgam of urban legends, security, Internet related
organizations and other topics. The security isn't bad; even the few
paragraphs on viral programs are realistic. There is a reprise on how to
find someone's e-mail address. This might have some advantages over the
"Whole Internet" guide: the authors include some information not listed
in Krol's work. On the other hand, I have found that the usenet-
addresses server at MIT is far the most useful of all the services
mentioned. Note also that they err in saying that partial names can be
used with it.
Whenever I give a "beginner's guide to the nets" seminar, the one
invariable question is "how do I get access?" This is what chapter six
tries to address, with limited success. It's a difficult question,
certainly, but once again the lack of organization, and the additional
trivia added in, don't make the answer any easier. It is actually
answered far better in the appendix.
The appendix is the one section that you might want to keep handy
for reference. It's quite short, which is good, because--you guessed
it--it could stand some logical order to it. Yes, there *are* topical
divisions, but it is sometimes hard to figure out from their headings
what you might need.
This work is somewhat less technical than the UNIX biased "Whole
Internet Guide". However, it goes too far in the opposite direction.
The authors boast that it was finished in less than two months. It
shows. Companies which are getting into the Internet in a big way might
make this the introductory volume for new users: it is generally upbeat
and non-threatening. However, help should be on hand when people
actually start using the net.
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKINTCMP.RVW 930818
-=-=-=-=-
"Zen and the Art of the Internet", Kehoe, 1994, 0-13-083033-X
USA England
--------------------------------------------------------
Prentice-Hall, Inc. Market Cross House
113 Sylvan Avenue Cooper Street
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632 Chichester, West Sussex PO19 1EB
(515) 284-6751
FAX (515) 284-2607
or
15 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10023
800-428-5331
phyllis@prenhall.com - Phyllis Eve Bregman
70621.2737@CompuServe.COM Alan Apt
Beth Mullen-Hespe beth_hespe@prenhall.com
brendan@zen.org
Kehoe starts out by quoting E.B. White's exhortation to students of
English usage from "The Elements of Style" with, "Get the *little* book!
Get the *little* book! Get the *little* book!" Sound advice. It
applies equally to those just starting out on the Internet. "Zen" is a
mere pocketbook in comparison to some of the other telephone
directory-sized guides, but a pocket guide is usually what is needed.
Kehoe has done a marvelous job of presenting the essentials, plus a few
interesting tidbits, while holding off from reproducing reams of
resources from those already available on the net, itself.
"Zen" is, itself, one of the very widely known and highly regarded
resources on the net. It was also the first introductory guide to the
Internet published in popular book form. Therefore, I am rather shocked
to note that this third edition, copyright 1994, proudly boasts of over
50,000 copies sold. I'd be delighted to do that well as an author, but
it indicates that the book is nowhere near as well-known in the general
populace as it deserves.
I should, having given these accolades, admit to a decided bias:
this is my type of book. Those who are not happy with concepts and only
wish to know what button to press will find the book frustrating. Mail,
ftp, news, telnet and a number of other tools are covered, but Kehoe does
not reproduce, wholesale, help screens from elm and tin. Since the
specific programs you will use all have help features, Kehoe evidently
does not feel the need to waste paper explaining how to use a program
that you may not, indeed, need to use.
Probably for the same reason, Kehoe does not reproduce an annotated,
or even expurgated, .newsrc file or "list of lists." Some may say that
this is a lack on the part of the book and that it is less interesting
for not providing such a directory. These resources are, however,
readily accessible on the net (Kehoe tells you where to find them) and
cannot, in book form, be anything more than an outdated and possibly
misleading first indicator.
There is, of course, nothing wrong with the large guides with all of
their lengthy references. As the same time, most newcomers will want a
gentler, smaller introduction, rather than being dumped into a vat of
data. For those to whom the sound of few pages flipping is as music,
this is definitely your book.
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994 BKZENINT.RVW 940216
Postscriptum: sadly, Brendan Kehoe was recently involved in a major
traffic accident. While the last report I saw (some time back) put him
out of immediate danger, recuperation is probably going to be a long
process. In one of the network ironies, the flood of e-mail condolences
to his personal mailbox has created something of a problem for friends
trying to help out.
-=-=-=-=-
"The Internet Connection: System Connectivity and Configuration",
Carl-Mitchell/Quarterman, 0-201-54237-4
USA Canada
--------------------------------------------------------
Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.
1 Jacob Way P.O. Box 520
Reading, MA 01867-9984 26 Prince Andrew Place
Don Mills, Ontario M3C 2T8
800-527-5210 416-447-5101
617-944-3700 Fax: 416-443-0948
or
5851 Guion Road
Indianapolis, IN 46254
800-447-2226
The number of Internet hosts is doubling every year, and has been
each year since 1986. That means that, during 1994, between two and
three million new Internet sites should hook up. Addison-Wesley and the
authors should make out like bandits on this one.
This is a cookbook level set of directions for getting connected to
the Internet. For those hackers unfamiliar with cooking, cookbooks
assume that you are familiar with a lot of basic stuff and don't include
it. Quarterman and Carl-Mitchell are a bit kinder; while they don't give
all the materials, they do tell you where to go to find them. I suppose
this book is more of a road map: it'll get you there, but you may have
to do some scouting at various points.
The book gives an overview of network functions and features, and
discusses types of access. You are given contacts for registering your
site, and, in an appendix, a brief listing of contacts for getting
access. There are technical guidelines for setting up IP, domain name
systems, electronic mail, Usenet news and search tools, as well as a
discussion of security issues.
The Internet Providers list is a good start, but be sure to ask
around locally. The Canadian listing put BCnet in Alberta and SASKnet in
Quebec. The sole provider given in the list for BC is the Victoria
Freenet, and, while it is a first rate system, they would be the first to
direct you to other sites for full access.
The software list, too, is quite limited. It seems to assume a UNIX
host and ignores other systems. Yes, this is from a UNIX series, but
they did, in fact, promise software for MS-DOS and the Mac. I assume the
brief mentions of Eudora and KA9Q were meant to fulfill this obligation.
Nonetheless, if you are setting up an Internet site and need
assistance, this is your first stop.
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994 BKINTCON.RVW 940105
-=-=-=-=-
"Internet for Dummies", Levine/Baroudi, 1993, 1-56884-024-1
US: $19.95 / Canada: $26.95 BKINTDUM.RVW 940124
USA Canada
--------------------------------------------------------
IDG Books Worldwide, Inc. Macmillan of Canada
International Data Group
155 Bovet Road, Suite 310 29 Birch Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94402 Toronto, Ontario M4V 1E2
Elizabeth Wilson
415-312-0650 416-963-8830
Fax: 415-286-2740 Fax: 416-923-4821
dummies@iecc.com
Generally speaking, most of this book is a good, basic overview of
the primary uses and tools of the Internet. The ordering of material is
sound, and the formatting and presentation is friendly and useful. I
would, however, note some relatively important tips that are missing, and
extensive material that has very limited usefulness.
I have some problem with the "... For Dummies" titles, but I have
no problems with the intent of providing an easily accessible "leg up"
for those who, as the Introduction has it, "have access to the Internet,"
and, "are not interested in becoming the world's next great Internet
expert." With that in mind, I have no idea why the six chapters of part
one are even in this book. Nobody except technical historians cares
about ARPANET. Nobody even understands the phrase, "network of
networks." And I solemnly promise you that nobody except IP routing
programmers have to understand the concept of dynamic rerouting. Part
one is well written, and it may even be of interest. But it is certainly
not required reading and doesn't deserve this prior position in the book.
"Not so!" I hear Levine cry (seconded by Ed Krol). "Part one tells
you how to get connected!" Well, yes and no. Chapters three, four and
five do go over some points, but I think the most apposite comment is the
statement that "[g]etting SLIP or PPP configured correctly is a pain in
the neck." It is a pain which Levine is obviously not willing to put
much space or effort into. Not that I blame him at all, but it does
severely restrict the usefulness of these chapters.
Following part one, however, the book improves immensely. Part two
deals with what might be seen as personal communications: mail, mailing
and distribution lists, Usenet news and the real time functions of talk
and Internet Relay Chat (IRC). The various tools are well related where
they intersect. For example, both BITNET and Internet LISTSERVs,
although distinguished from one another, are discussed together. A nice
feature is the inclusion of a brief list of recommended resources for the
user to try out (such as some well chosen distribution lists when
discussing LISTSERVs). Parts three and four carry on to discuss the more
advanced tools, first telnet and ftp, and then archive, gopher, WAIS and
World Wide Web.
Part five is a collection of quick tips for troubleshooting, short
cuts, and a little fun. Part six is a set of resource lists. The
software listing is very useful, and quite possibly worth buying this
book for, in and of itself, if you really want to make your workstation a
part of the Internet. The list of Internet providers is less so: very
US-centric and woefully incomplete. Chapter twenty-nine, listing sources
of further information, gives contact information for three magazines,
three organizations--and none of the dozens of related books.
A book for beginners cannot be exhaustive. The choice of topics
must be made carefully, and you can't include absolutely everything. I
am very glad to see a strong emphasis on the interpersonal aspects of
communication. Although there is no chapter on netiquette, per se, there
are a number of important tips strewn throughout the relevant chapters on
mail and news, and they possibly have a greater impact that way. Some
omissions, however, are rather odd. The number one newbie mistake on
distribution lists is sending administrative messages to the list,
itself, rather than the LISTSERV. Levine gives the correct information,
but doesn't point out this common error. Ftp-by-mail servers are
mentioned but the one specified only works for BITNET systems. Under
"cool things to do" is listed "read a book"--but Project Gutenberg
isn't mentioned at all. The suggestions about how to find e-mail
addresses on the Internet doesn't mention the most helpful that I've
found: the usenet- addresses mail-server at MIT. (It is mentioned in
the book--under ftp sites.)
Some aspects of the book will be open to subjective reaction. There
are numerous "well, maybe" errors, such as the statement that UNIX was
developed at Berkeley. The "...For Dummies" format does not fit well
with this material. The Internet cheat sheet, for example, is fine for
ftp and OK for news, but basically useless otherwise.
Although it is evident that Levine is most comfortable in UNIX, the
book does not have quite the UNIX bias as that of Krol (BKKROL.RVW) or
Dern (BKTIGFNU.RVW). One prejudice that Levine does share with Krol is
the "whole Internet" elitism. In a great many ways, the impression is
given that unless your machine has an IP connection, and you are running
your own gopher, ftp, WAIS and WWW clients, you aren't truly on the
Internet.
Overall, a good, solid intro to the Internet for beginners.
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994 BKINTDUM.RVW 940124
-=-=-=-=-
"The Internet Passport", Kochmer, 1993, 0-9635281-0-6
US: $29.95
USA
--------------------------------------------------------
Computer Literacy Bookshops
2590 North First Street
San Jose, CA 95131
408-435-0744
fax: 408-435-1823
info@clbooks.com
This work is a fairly bare bones and no nonsense guide to the
Internet. The book is orderly, and the explanations and illustrations
are clear. Each chapter covers a single topic. Each chapter ends with
additional references, most often on-line materials or sources. The work
is well researched and highly competent in most cases. There is, in the
early chapters, a gracelessness to it which lacks any kind of appeal.
What humor there is tends to seem somewhat contrived and sanitized: a
topic on the hardware that connects computers on the Internet is
subtitled "Router Rooters: 'Go Internet Go!'" Nevertheless, it is a
thoroughly researched and valuable reference for those interested in
using the resources of the Internet.
Section one, which is also chapter one, is a brief introduction to
the Internet. There is minor mention of the technologies and
organizations involved in the Internet, as well as brief mention of
Fidonet and UUCP. The bibliography is a very solid list of valuable
titles, but would have had significantly more value with some annotation.
Section two covers the basic tools and functions of the Internet.
The topics are well chosen, starting with e-mail, mail servers, mail
gateways to other networks and systems, telnet and ftp. Chapter four
discusses mail etiquette. This section, I am happy to note, gives more
space to the topic than is usual. In the end, though, it comes down to a
list of rules that reduce to "keep it short, keep on topic, be complete
and don't mess up." It would be nice to see one of these essays tell
people how and why flame wars start, which might help to avoid them.
Chapter eight, following ftp, deals with file compression and archiving.
Section three moves into the next level of sophistication, in terms
of communications, with group discussions. As the book puts it, these
are the "Community Forums" of the net. Chapters nine, ten and eleven
deal very clearly, completely and usefully with Usenet, BITNET, LISTSERVs
and Internet mailing lists. I am noted for highly critical reviews: I
find nothing of any substance wrong with this section, and recommend it
highly and without reservation. Once again, the end of each chapter
gives useful directions on how to find out further information,
particularly the specifics of various LISTSERVs and mailing lists.
Section four starts to look at the resources of the Internet as a
library, with electronic journals, books, catalogues and data bases.
Chapter fifteen is very similar to the catalog section of Ed Krol's work
(cf BKKROL.RVW) with listings of sites and resources by topic. Section
five deals with exploration and retrieval tools, such as archie, gopher,
WAIS, WWW and directory services. The final section contains two
specialized interests, the use of the Internet in public education, and
access to supercomputing facilities.
The book concludes with several appendices. The most interesting
are likely Appendix A, which gives suggestions of on-line sources of
information about the Internet, and, B, which gives a short list of
Internet access providers and methods. The glossary is very well done:
not overblown with imposing numbers of entries, but good explanations of
the important terms.
The unprepossessing beginning of this work hides a very carefully
researched and well organized reference for those wishing to get into the
Internet and its resources. Less flashy than Krol, it should
nevertheless have a place on the desk of every serious Internet user.
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKINTPSP.RVW 931118
(Postscriptum: this work is being kept up to date. The edition I
reviewed was the fourth, and a fifth is planned for next year.)
-=-=-=-=-
"The Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog", Ed Krol, 1992,
1-56592-025-2 krol@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu
USA
--------------------------------------------------------
O'Reilly and Associates
103 Morris St., Suite A
Sebastopol, CA 95472-9902
800-338-6887
Fax: 707-829-0104
info@ora.com
For those of us who have used the Internet for some time, the
enthusiasm of "newbies" can sometimes be tiring. You get used to seeing
articles, and hearing presentations, by those who are breathless with
excitement over the fact that they have received e-mail from someone in
another country. Thus, having heard of this book with the rather
"California" title, I assumed I would be plowing through old material and
trying to be kind in the review.
The day I received the book, I had a use for an "Internet guide". I
had forgotten the site that allows posting from mail to the Usenet
newsgroups. So, I decided to put it to the test. I didn't find the
answer, but what I did find was a fascinating and useful resource, well
worth the time (and book price) invested by novice and devotee alike.
About three quarters of the book is devoted to the user's guide. It
is likely impossible to give a "non-user" a true feeling for the "living"
Internet in a "static" book, but this definitely comes close. The
"catalog" is rather small, but not to be skipped, taking up about half of
the remaining pages, with the rest assigned to three appendices, a
glossary and the index.
The user's guide contains fifteen chapters, implicitly divided into
four sections. Although there are no explicit divisions, the preface
suggests different "sets" of chapters for different types of users. The
first four chapters deal with background material; the book, the
Internet, what, who and how; while chapter fifteen covers problems that
may arise. The next four chapters describe the functions of the basic
tools of the Internet; telnet (using a "remote" computer), ftp (copying
files from a remote computer to your local computer system and vice
versa), electronic mail (including electronic "periodicals") and the
Usenet "news" discussion groups; to which chapter fourteen adds "other
applications". Chapters nine through thirteen are concerned with
"finding" different types of information; files (archie), people (finger
and whois), menus (gopher), related information (the Web) and anything
(WAIS).
Krol, in the introduction, suggests that this book is for anyone who
wants access to the resources of the Internet. This is definitely valid.
The vocabulary and style are accessible to any intelligent reader, even
without any background or familiarity with computers. The examples are
clear and well chosen. The range of material covered is "sufficiently"
complete: the Internet is still "under construction", and probably will
never be "finished", but the range of topics covered is enough for all
but the most specialized interest. Indeed, the book is not only for the
Internet novice. I practically "live" on the Internet, and freely admit
that much of the content was a new (and welcome) surprise.
The book is not perfect. Some "errors" are included. These, for
the most part, were *not* errors at the time the book was finished, but
the Internet is a "moving target", and sites and groupnames do change
over time. (I did find one mistake early in the book which, of course,
stood out in red for me, personally: the repetition of the myth that a
"worm" differs from a "virus" in that a worm does no intentional damage.)
I hesitate to say, though, that I have any "complaints" about the
book. Those items that I might raise tend to fall into the misty areas
of personal opinion. Speaking personally, then, I would like to see some
"reordering" of sections of the book. I feel that there is too much
technical emphasis too early on. All of it is interesting, and much of
it is useful, even to the "user" as opposed to the programmer or "net
guru". However, while the technical material is well presented and clear,
it may tend to intimidate the newcomer. It would be a pity if anyone
gave up halfway through chapter four, and never made it into the more
directly useful second section. Even within the "section" composed of
chapters four to eight, I would suggest that mail and news are of more
interest to more people (especially newcomers) than telnet and ftp.
Also, although Krol explains his choice of UNIX as an "operating
system of choice" for examples of various systems, it is my opinion that
this is taken too far in certain areas. It tends to demonstrate a
"workstation" bias which may be hard to understand for those, likely a
majority, who have access to the Internet only through terminal
connections or personal computer "dial-in" situations. This is echoed in
the emphasis on WAIS and the Web. Although I would hardly recommend
eliminating the references to them, the amount of space dedicated to
these topics is likely lost on the majority of users who do not have
either dedicated or "SLIP" access, and therefore do not have access to
gopher, WAIS or Web clients (or Xwindows servers).
I have, perhaps, been unjust with my opening illustration: the
information about how to post to Usenet newsgroups from e-mail *does*
appear in the book. However, I expected to find it in either the chapter
on mail (which does cover "distribution lists", the electronic
periodicals of the Internet) or in the Usenet news chapter. It appears
in neither, nor is it referenced in the index. It *does* appear in the
"catalog", but how would you find it there? (Hint: look under "N".) In
the same way I was surprised to find that chapter seven, in covering mail
and the distribution lists, did not mention the "list of lists", which
gives information about how to access specific lists. Again, this is not
mentioned in the index, either, although it does appear in the catalog --
but only with directions on how to access it from WAIS. (The dependence
upon WAIS may limit the usefulness of the catalog. In "Computing" WAIS
is used to access nine items: ftp, telnet, gopher and e-mail combined
only give you sixteen. In "Network Information" the imbalance is even
more pronounced; WAIS is used ten times, the others, combined, only
four.)
The catalog can't really be considered a serious resource. How
could it? Fifty pages is only enough space for an unformatted printout of
the "list of lists" *or* a listing of the "backbone" Usenet newsgroups.
This would not leave space for explanation or any other resources.
Therefore the catalog should best be considered as, perhaps, a pointer to
a general topic. After you start making contacts, you can take it from
there. The catalog is, however, a lot of fun to browse, and does, as
mentioned earlier, contain some very valuable information.
These comments do not, however, take away from the overriding
importance and usefulness of the book. The quote from "Communications
Week", used as a cover blurb, that it "... will probably become the
Internet user's bible" seems, for once, not to overstate the case. "The
Whole Internet User's Guide and Catalog" is a valuable resource for the
Internet "expert", and should result in the introduction of a great many
newcomers to our present day version of cyberspace.
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 BKKROL.RVW 930420
-=-=-=-=-
"Navigating the Internet", Gibbs/Smith, 0-672-30362-0
US: $24.95 / Canada: $31.95
USA Canada
--------------------------------------------------------
Prentice Hall/SAMS Publishing
11711 N. College Avenue, Suite 140
Carmel, IN 46032
800-428-5331
Fax: 800-835-3202
rjs@lis.pitt.edu
mgibbs@rain.org
75600.1002@compuserve.com
With this title, one would expect an emphasis less on introduction
and more on the search tools of the Internet. This is not the case; what
we have here, is, again, another introductory guide to the Internet. The
book leans quite heavily on the "Internet as ocean" metaphor in the first
chapter, but thereafter abandons it.
The choice and organization of individual chapters is reasonable,
but tends to be application specific rather than function specific. The
discussion of LISTSERV mailing lists gets a chapter of its own rather
than being combined with either e-mail, which is how you use them, or
Usenet news, to deal generically with conferencing or discussion type
activities. The organization within chapters is somewhat discontinuous,
with topics being discussed in two or three places within a chapter, but
most chapters are short enough that this should not be a problem.
Coverage is not exhaustive; the topic on finding people does not list the
extremely useful MIT "usenet-addresses" mail server; but should be enough
to get a novice started.
The tone is very light, at times flippant. (The computer humor
literate will immediately recognize a description of a FORTRAN specific
ftp site as coming from the "Rambo Guide to Real Programmers".) This
should not prove too much of a problem as most of the asides are clearly
that, and could not be mistaken for directions. Indeed, one story by
Mark Gibbs about carelessly reading a message and confusing "resent" (as
in taking offense) for "re-sent" (as in forwarding of a message) is a
fine object lesson in the importance of thoughtful reading of e-mail. (I
am glad to see the extended coverage given to network etiquette.)
One bad fault is in the proofreading, confusing ".ed" for ".edu" as
the educational domain, and calling the "rn" newsreader "nr". The UNIX
bias is even more deeply embedded than with Krol (cf. BKKROL.RVW) or
Dern (cf. BKTIGFNU.RVW) and assumes that everyone is on a UNIX system
with Elm and rn. Strangely, though, there seems to be an underlying
BITNET bias as well. One example is the insistence that domain names can
be shortened as long as a unique version remains. In the Internet this
would very much depend upon the (possibly multiple) domain name servers
between the user and the target system. In BITNET, however, all sites
have unique machine names, and so the .BITNET domain can be dropped. The
LISTSERV program discussed is also limited to the BITNET version, with no
discussion of the general differences between it and the Internet
version, and no mention of the JANET (UK) MAILBASE system. Finally,
there seems to be an odd confusion between BITNET and Usenet, referring
to BITNET "newsgroups" and to Usenet as if it were an actual network.
Nonetheless, the book is a handy introduction. Appendix B is a
command reference for archie, elm, ftp, gopher, LISTSERVE, rn, telnet,
WAIS and World Wide Web (WWW). There is also a tear-out reference card
for common mail gateways, ftp, telnet and gopher.
Appendix E, the Internet Navigator's Gazetteer, is a resource guide.
It is a nice counterpoint to Krol's Catalogue. Where Krol goes overboard
on WAIS, WWW and gopher, this Gazetteer is almost exclusively mailing
lists (most of them BITNET). Many are outdated. The listings are by no
means complete. A complete list, of course, would be an enormous task,
and one which would be out of date before it ever saw print.
Nevertheless, in my own searching I could find no entries for computer
communications, data communications, or telecommunications, nor did I
find any for computer security. I looked in vain for a general listing
on ecology, although I did find an ecology list under another topic. Part
of the difficulty lies in the practice of major headings with
subdivisions. The subheads can go on for pages, and the major topics are
not "carried forward" to following pages.
(I found a subheading of "Viruses" under the "Computer" topic. I
noted two listings for VIRUS-L one of which had an obsolete address, and
VALERT-L list, a list I'd never heard of which didn't seem to have much
to do with the topic, three listings for the cert.org ftp site, and one
for the VTC site at the University of Hamburg. And there, at the end of
the subsection on Page 350, is your humble scribe's Quick Reference
Antiviral Review Chart. Fame!)
A substantial number of people will have access through UNIX
systems, and will have elm and rn available. Even for those who do not,
this work is a good guide. The errors are not major, and the included
resources may be a very handy start.
Copyright Robert M. Slade, 1994 BKNAVINT.RVW 940110
16. THE MAILBOX MISC.
========================================================================
Letters from PC NEWS Review Readers
Dear Editor,
I work as a freelance consultant in Hong Kong and have several years
experience with both PC's and unix systems.
I just thought that I would share some of my experience
Regarding Windows and W4WG, the deletion of the temporary files is a
must! (cannot overstate that enough)
I have several clients with small networks of W4WG. If they leave the
temporary files around, then the machines will start to degrade after a
short period of time with all kinds of strange errors, program crashes
and the works. Delete the files, and everything goes back to normal.
This also applies to Windows.
Deleting the temporary files is the first way to solve many Windows
problems.
- Paul D. Walker
Sent via Internet
-=-=-=-=-
Dear Editor:
In regards to "Flight Simulator 5.0" review, James Klass, March
1994 issue, your choice of expert input to evaluate this product was
extremely poor. It would be difficult to pick a person who is less
qualified. To quote:
> "I found the Cherokee simulation passable, and on my
> dinosaur 386, it runs well enough to learn/practice instrument
> scan for landings and IFR approaches," said Sean Long, a
> private pilot with more than 80 hours logged and student in the
> Air Force Flight Training program. "This helped me enough that
> every instructor I have ever flown with has commented that I
> get info from the panel more quickly than most."
You must remember that many prospective users of this product are
longtime aviation enthusiasts and even professional pilots, some, no
doubt, with many _thousands_ of hours under their belts. To them, or to
any other informed person, the opinion of a flight student with only 80
hours in the cockpit would be discountable at least, and at most
laughable and absurd. It is amusing to imagine one of the hapless Mr.
Long's instructors, whom he is so sure that he is impressing, reading
this and taking it upon himself to teach him a little humility.
It is also obvious that you unthinkingly capitalized the phrase "Air
Force Flight Training program", merely assuming this to be the official
name of the program in which Mr. Long is enrolled. The proper phrase is
in fact, U.S. Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training.
If you set yourselves up as software experts, you must make at least a
passing effort to become acquainted with the block of knowledge on which
the software under review is based. You have failed to do that in this
instance. There will no doubt be some cringing at Microsoft over this.
Sincerely,
John I. McClendon
Captain, U.S. Air Force
(1800 hours)
Sent via GEnie
Editorial response:
Thank you for your input. We understand your concerns, however, it
was our intention, and still is, to quote average users of the product.
Even though there may be a great number of professional pilots who use
Flight Simulator, we believe that the person quoted represented a middle
ground between experts and novices.
Furthermore, using your argument of how pilots with thousands of
hours under their belt would feel regarding the opinion of a flight
student, the quote regarding the student's experience had no other
bearing on the review other than to show that it is a useful tool in
flight instruction. A point which you did not disagree with in your
letter.
In this case, we feel it would not do justice to the majority of
readers if we had a trained pilot reviewing the software. Those who want
to pick up the title for fun, or just a little education, or for other
reasons would be at a disadvantage. And Microsoft should have no reason
to cringe with a thumbs up and 7.7 rating. That's pretty solid.
As to the attribution: "Air Force Flight Training," this was
unfortunately an unintentional editing blooper that occurred under
deadline pressure.
-=-=-=-=-
Dear Editor,
I'm relatively new to the virtual community, but I know a good thing
when I download it. <g> My subscription to PNR-Windows is going out
today in the mail. I am excited about the potential of electronic
publishing, and I wish you and PNR all the support possible. I have
earlier responded to your ad in the current PNR_6 for volunteer ASCII
layout help also.
Reading your feature column on tech support problems with your Morse
IDE Blazer controller card using 32-bit disk access, but not 32-bit file
access, I got curious and checked my library of Windows manuals. I
couldn't find a single reference that indicated that 32-bit access
applied to files as well as sectors, but I did dig up a few references to
possible solutions you might want to try, if you haven't already.
I really sympathize with you. I made my first big mistake by buying
a '286 which couldn't access memory above 1 MB except in a RAMdisk. Then
I made my second mistake upgrading my processor to a '386SX by picking a
33MHz chip. I soon read that Cyrix was making 286-to-486 and 386-to-486
upgrade chips. When I called their order department, I discovered that
the 33MHz chip was the only model that Cyrix did not plan to support!
Hope you solve your Morse IDE Blazer controller problem...
Sincerely,
Roger T. Imai
Sent via GEnie
-=-=-=-=-
Hi,
Just received my first copy of PC NEWS Review (Windows edition) and
would like to offer my congratulations on a job well done. A number of
reviews, most notably the one on Stacker 4.0 by Ed Williams, have proved
to be very useful in determining which products I will invest my money.
Despite time constraints and as a result of my favorable impression
of this newsletter, I would be interested in contributing a review at
some stage in the future and would appreciate advice on how to do this.
A very brief description - I am currently working towards a PhD in
molecular genetics and have experience on Windows, UNIX and Mac's. I am
buying a 486DX/40 in the very near future and routinely use 486DX2/66s
and SUN4 X-workstations. I don't claim to have an extensive knowledge of
DOS or any other OS - I consider myself very much an "interface-level"
user but feel that perhaps I could bring a useful insight to a product
review.
Cheers,
Garry Myers
Sent via Internet
Editorial Response:
We're glad you liked the last issue, and especially glad that you
are making informed buying decisions.
If you (or anyone else) is interested in contributing just drop us a
line and let us know. We'll send you information on how you can do so.
17. CLASSIFIED ADS MISC.
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18. ABOUT PC NEWS Review MISC.
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PC NEWS Review STAFF
--------------------
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PUBLISHING INFO
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