Big Blue Disk 19/bbd19.zip/DESK.TXT

Text File | 1988-03-03 | 12KB | 176 lines

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|D║ |5On the Editor's Desk |D║════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
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^C^1On the Editor's Desk
^Cby
^CDaniel Tobias

   In this column, I give news and reviews of products and developments that
have reached my desk.  My desk is getting so crowded with this stuff, that I've
begun letting others around the office take some of them so I can get them out
of my way.  You'll be seeing guest reviews from these people in this column,
such as this month's WordPerfect Executive review by Joel Rea.

   We recently recieved a Zoom/Modem 2400 from Zoom Telephonics (207 South St.,
Boston, MA 02111, [phone]).  Since we had been having line-noise problems
with the previous modem on our Soft Fido BBS (a 1200-baud Hayes clone), we
welcomed the opportunity to replace it.  Thus, I wasted no time in installing
the new modem.

   I found the Zoom/Modem to be a breeze to install.  Other modems often have
lots of DIPswitches, some factory-set to unusual settings.  In contrast, the
Zoom/Modem is ready to go; the only thing you might have to change is a jumper
that selects what serial port to use.  The default is COM1, but you may have to
use COM2 if another device or interface uses COM1 already.  A program is
included to tell you which ports are free on your system.  Once you've set the
port, just plug the modem in any slot, attach the modular phone cable to the
back, and it's ready to start telecommunicating.

   After installing the modem, I tried calling another BBS.  There I ran into a
snag; it dialed and connected fine, but the text came out as gibberish.  Since I
couldn't solve this myself, I called Zoom Telephonics' service department.  It
turned out that the modem was defective; they requested that I return it, and
they would ship another.  I have to admire the cooperativeness of Zoom's
customer support.  With some other companies, you have to endure lengthy
interludes of elevator music and recorded requests to "wait for the next
available operator" before reaching a person who then bounces you around between
a dozen different departments.  Once, I called Microsoft's service department,
where I had to navigate a maze worthy of the Colossal Cave Adventure, run
entirely by machine ("This is a recording.  Please dial 1 if your problem is
with QuickBASIC, 2 if it is with Fortran...") before I could begin to wait in
line for a real human being to answer.  In contrast, with Zoom, I immediately
reached a person who knew what he was doing, and was cooperative in helping me
resolve the problem.  And their warranty replacement policy is very good.
Within two years of your purchase (five years if you take an extended warranty
option), they will repair or replace a modem if it goes bad for a reason other
than user abuse or negligence.  Sort of like our own policy of replacing bad
disks, except that modems are much more expensive.

   One week later, the replacement arrived.  This one worked fine; you can see
it in action by calling our BBS at [phone].  The Opus BBS program worked
well in the Hayes 2400 baud modems configuration.  Procomm worked without a
hitch using the same setup I had been using all along with the old modem. In
general, all software I could find that works on standard Hayes 300, 1200, or
2400 baud modems, worked with the Zoom/Modem.  That's a very strong point in
Zoom's favor, given the bizarre incompatibilities that so regularly crop up in
"compatible" modems.  And, by the way, there was virtually no line noise at any
speed; the Zoom/Modem's filters could handle the Shreveport phone lines without
any problem, unlike the modem I had before.  If all this wasn't enough, the
"deluxe" version I've got has all kinds of snazzy additional features like
automatic redial and a built-in realtime clock.  I don't have much use for these
things, since my PC already has a battery-powered clock, and my communications
programs redial by themselves, but such features might be useful to somebody
whose system is not already endowed with such hardware and software support, or
for those who wish to have the modem keep trying a busy number "in the
background" while the user does something else on the PC.  In addition, the
Zoom/Modem has sophisticated capabilities to detect what response it gets on the
other end; it can distinguish a busy signal from a dial tone, and even decode
touch-tones to require callers to dial a password before proceeding.

   So, the old modem is now sitting unused in a corner of my office, while the
Zoom/Modem takes over the BBS chores.  One thing I miss, though:  internal
modems don't have flashing lights on the front, so I never know what they're up
to!  Besides that, I'm thoroughly pleased with the Zoom/Modem.

   The same day the replacement modem arrived, another telecommunications-
related package came in:  Procomm+, the newest incarnation of the communications
program Procomm from Datastorm Technologies (PO Box 1471, Columbia, MO 65205).
We included the shareware Procomm in BIG BLUE DISK #9 last year.  Now, Datastorm
has decided to release Procomm+ as a commercial package.  They're treating it
like a whole new program as a marketing move.  However, Procomm+, while a very
good program, appears to be little more than an incremental revision of the
already-good Procomm, rather than a revolutionary new product.  Its general
appearance and user interface is about the same (with some small but helpful
improvements, such as the ability to select the dialing directory entries you
wish to call by moving a cursor to highlight them, rather than having to input
their entry numbers as in the old ProComm).  The major improvements are the
addition of some new download protocols (including some specially designed for
the new high-speed modems), and better online help.  Some minor enhancements
were also made to the built-in script language, Aspect, which is practically a
full-fledged programming language to describe automatic actions you wish the
program to take when connecting to a remote system.  For these improvements, and
the professionally-done printed manual, there is a price:  Procomm+ sells for
$75 (though registered users of Procomm can upgrade for $50), while the
shareware package could be tried out free and registered for $25.

   Thus, while Procomm+ is an excellent program, it's not necessarily for
everybody.  If you're a power user who wants to use the new protocols, or a
novice user who can benefit from the enhanced context-sensitive help and the
printed manual, then get the new Procomm+; it's the best communication package I
know of.  However, the middle-of-the-road user who just wants to call BBS's,
CompuServe, and E-Mail systems, and do occasional uploads and downloads using
standard protocols like XModem or Kermit, will do fine with the good old
shareware ProComm.   They're both good programs, with only minor differences
between them. (I wish they provided a way of transferring dialing directories
between the two versions; the format is slightly different.)


^CGuest Review by Joel Ellis Rea

   WordPerfect Executive from WordPerfect Corporation (288 West Center St.,
Orem, UT 84057) is an integrated package, consisting of a word processor,
spreadsheet, note cards, appointment calendar, phone directory, and even a
calculator.  This combination is useful for executives, who need tools like this
constantly available.  The tools are linked, so that you can be writing a letter
in WordPerfect, then pull a spreadsheet showing quarterly profits into it, as
well as a bar chart made from the spreadsheet, and merge it with a list of
addressees from the phone list.  During all of this, the appointment calendar
stays ready to alert you when important appointments come up, and the note cards
and calculator are available for reminders and computations, respectively,
without disturbing your other work in memory.

   The commands are relatively easy to learn, and are consistent throughout.
They are mostly based on the function keys, in combination with the [Shift],
[Ctrl] and [Alt] keys; plus the arrow pad with [Ctrl].  The controls are set up
so that where the same or similar functions make any sort of sense in a specific
application, they use the same keypresses.  For example, [Shift]+[F8] calls up
the Format command for cells, columns and the worksheet in the Spreadsheet;
date/time format, alarms, appointments/to-do lists, colors, etc. in the
Appointment Calendar; list formats for the Note Cards and Phone Directory; and
margins, page length, right justification, spacing and tabs for the Word
Processor. Likewise, [Shift]+[F7] prints from anywhere, and [F7] alone exits
from anywhere (with an opportunity to save and/or back out of the exit).

   The applications can be called up individually, or may be integrated by
running the WordPerfect Executive Shell.  This is a customizable menu program
from which the other applications can be run, or various DOS commands executed.
You can add to or change the menu with ease, setting up your own programs to run
from it.  You can also "shell" out to the regular MS-DOS mode, with the ability
to return with all in-memory work intact by using the "EXIT" command in DOS.  A
memory map command shows you which applications are in memory and where, and how
much space each takes up.

   The WordPerfect documentation consists of two 5¼" disks and one 3½" disk.
The contents of the two formats is the same.  It also includes function key
templates (color-coded by which modifier keys are used) for a variety of common
keyboards, with others available by toll-free request.  Also included are
labels for your work disks; they're just as slick-looking as the master disk
labels.  Three relatively thin manuals are included, labeled (in suggested order
of use) "Setup", "Learning" and "Reference".  There is also a fold-out Quick
Reference Card.

   An easy-to-use keyboard macro (recording/playback) feature is included.
Several macros of use to executives are pre-defined.  For example, [Alt]+[L]
creates a letter form in the word processor, with properly-formatted sections
for header, inside address, salutation, body, etc. already laid out.  Similar
macros generate memos, itineraries and travel reports.  Others retrieve one week
of appointments, calculator results, spreadsheet expenses (block), note/phone
directory info, etc. into the word processor, or switch quickly to various
applications in the system.  Defining your own macros is much simpler than in
other macro-capable programs.

   This package is specifically designed for business executives.  It is
intended to be run full-time, though other programs can be called from its
Shell.  It is not suitable for the average home, school or hobbyist user who
likes to use many different programs at different times.  The capabilities of
the word processor are restricted to what executives need.  For instance, it
lacks the multiple-column text, table-of-contents and index generation that
regular WordPerfect has, since most executives don't write books and manuals,
just letters, memos, etc.  Likewise, the Spelling Checker has only 50,000 words
instead of 150,000, but contains words executives need most.  Keeping these
intentions in mind, it succeeds admirably.  The average executive will find it
sufficient for his needs, and easy enough both to learn and to use that s/he
will be able to concentrate on getting useful work done, not on trying to work
with the computer.