Cream of the Crop 25/Cream of the Crop 25.iso/faq/compu74.zip/COMPU74.TXT

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|-=>CompuNotes<=-|
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Notes from The Cutting Edge of Personal Computing
April 13, 1997
Issue 74
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Managing Editor: Patrick Grote -- mailto:[e-mail]
Assistant Editor: Writer Liaison: Doug Reed--
mailto:[e-mail]
Graphics Editor, Webmaster: Judy Litt mailto:[e-mail]
Archives: ftp://ftp.uu.net/published/compunotes/
LOOK *** NEW WEBSITE!!!!!
Website: <http://www.geocities.com/~compunotes>
email: mailto:[e-mail]
fax: [phone]
voice: [phone]
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CONTENTS
My Notes:
1=> Link to Us!
2=> This Week's Winner!

Columns:
3=> Iomega Responds!
4=> "Push Providers Pulling Your Leg!", by Jeff Fishbein,
mailto:[e-mail]
5=> The Royal Flush, Plebiscite by Internet, by Jeff Bushman,
mailto:[e-mail]

Reviews:
6=> Product: Pagis Pro 97
Reviewed By: Judy Litt, mailto:[e-mail]
7=> Product: Tomb Raider
Reviewed By: Jerry Eichelberger, mailto:[e-mail]
8=> Product: Novell's GroupWise 5 User's Handbook. By S.B. Rogers and
R.H. McTague, San Jose, Novell Press, 1996. 260 pages
Reviewed By: Richard Malinski, mailto:[e-mail]
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CompuNotes is: Available weekly via email and on-line. We cover the PC
computing world with comprehensive reviews, news, hot web sites, great
columns and interviews. We also give away one software package a week
to a lucky winner for just reading our fine publication! Never dull,
sometimes tardy, we are here to bring you the computing world the way
it is! Please tell every online friend you know about us!
CompuNotes
B440
1315 Woodgate Drive
St. Louis, MO 63122
[e-mail]
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Patrick's Notes
1=> Link to Us!
Well, we have a new website up and running! Please come visit us! We
have a complete archive of all CompuNotes sites up and about 30% of
the reviews we have done!

Our page: http://www.geocities.com/~compunotes

We would also like to offer a link on our LINKS page to you! All it
takes is you putting a link of us on your page! We'll then add you to
the list of CompuNotes supporters who have their own page! We even
have a neat graphic for your to use if you would like!

Send the details of your page to Patrick Grote.
mailto:[e-mail].

2=> Winner!
This week's winner is mailto:[e-mail]! Send them a
congrats message mailto:[e-mail]!

3=> Iomega Responds!
A few issues back, we printed letter from a frustrated user trying to
get the rebate he was promised by Iomega. Guess, what? Iomega read
CompuNotes and helped that reader out! They can help you too:

Date forwarded:   Mon, 7 Apr 1997 12:29:19 +0000
Date sent:        Mon, 07 Apr 1997 09:19:01 -0600
From:             JOYCE MIYA <[e-mail]>
To:               [e-mail]
Subject:          Re: Iomega Rebate -Reply

 Thank you very much for forwarding the customer info on the rebate.
If you receive any other concerns regarding Iomega Rebates you can
give either forward it to [e-mail] or you can give the address
to the one writing to you.

We really do want to help every\one who is deserving of a rebate to
receive it.

Thanks
Joyce
[e-mail]

4=> "Push Providers Pulling Your Leg!", by mailto:[e-mail]

Have you signed up for BackWeb, Intermind, Castanet, or another "push"-
type content provider? When you got done with the process, were you
calling it something more along the lines of a vacuum?

There's no doubt that the Internet must offer the same level of
delivery -- turn it on, it's there -- of cable television, radio or
print media before it will be as popular as a source of news. We still
seem to be a long way off.

While all of these technologies -- along with mail-based "push"
providers such as Mercury Mail or the vendors participating in
Netscape's In Box Direct -- offer some level of satisfaction, the
reality is that I can read three Sunday papers and watch The News Hour
on PBS in the time it takes me to read 10 stories on the 'net --
mostly because I have to wait for the information to arrive.

I enjoy reading the headlines from various In Box Direct papers, but
again, I can't spend the day waiting for stories (actually, the
gratuitous graphics) to download, so I rarely click to the web site.
Pointcast is a bit faster -- after all, the stories are on my disk --
but again, the speed factor plays a role. I can make coffee in the
time it takes Pointcast to change sections and display a new story. I
drink too much coffee already.

Because of the time factor, the browser-based news pages, such as
Excite Live or My Yahoo, are just as bad as anything else. I could use
an offline browser assistant to download everything for me, but I've
had very bad luck with them. And besides, I don't have unlimited disk
space.

So I had high hopes when I tried BackWeb, only to be disappointed by
the lack of content. Most sites offer nothing but animated headlines --
even slower than what I had before. Intermind was another "give us
your credit card number, cancel in 30 days or we bill you" provider,
and I don't do business that way. If you're offering me a free
service, even for a limited time, you don't need my credit card
information.

The word is, the next generation of browsers will be even more
oriented toward "push" delivery. I hope they find they key to making
it work.

Until then, I know I can count on the speed, immediacy and ease of use
of the newspaper, radio and television.


-- Jeff Fishbein is a freelance writer and Internet consultant. He
owns an Internet commerce site, http://www.riverweb.com

5=> The Royal Flush, Plebiscite by Internet, by Jeff Bushman,
mailto:[e-mail]

I was recently involved in a couple of conversations regarding the
internet and democracy and found myself in an unusual position (I'm
referring of course to a rhetorical position -- the fact that I was
standing on my head on a kitchen table during the discussion wasn't
particularly unusual).

But more on that in a moment, first some administrivia.

In my last piece in this esteemed publication (never mind, *piece* of
what; that word usage is utilized by us big-time writers), I had the
occasion to mention "CP/M."

A fair volume of e-mail hit the bandwidth in response to my comment
that initially those letters stood for nothing (a great deal like some
of our national office holders; the rest will stand for anything), but
later were said to stand for something specific.

Some readers wrote in to say I was wrong, i.e., it stood for something
from the start, and then they proceeded to tell me what it stood for.

Only, some of them told me different things.

Most said it stood for Control Program for Microprocessors. Someone
said the initials represented Control Program for Microcomputers.
Someone else said... You get the idea.

Some people even told me that I was right.

One gentleman whose message I kept in my e-mail box only to have it
(along with several dozen others) erased by my sterling ISP (and I'm
sorry I don't recall his name) provided some very interesting reading
on the subject of CP/M's history.

In any event, thank you all. I'm not sure I was right, but I certainly
appreciate all the responses.

OK, except for the note that, in one sentence, maligned my
intelligence and questioned my mother's species.

Back to biz. You may recall that a long time ago, I was telling you
that I found myself in an unusual position and that I avoided the
obvious gag referring to when I was dating.

The discussion in which I was involved dealt with the prospect of
having citizens cast votes on issues by use of the internet.

The reason that my statements were unusual is that I usually argue for
greater democracy. I was arguing, however, against the proposal.

The advocates for internet plebiscites said that having people vote on
issues that are now decided by Congress would have the advantage of
being more truly representative of majority views.

They also suggested that political power would be more widely
distributed and that the power of the wealthy and lobbyists and
campaign contributors would be diminished.

Some of the people in the group suggested that such voting might be
restricted to "important" issues.

Except for the argument that the power of the wealthy in politics
might be diminished, most of the arguments that the proponents of this
idea made are, in my view, exactly right.

And that's the primary reason that this is a very bad idea.

First, let's examine the idea that the power of the wealthy would be
diminished, when it comes to politics.

Balderdash.

Many states have a process called the "initiative." This is a truly
great idea that has become something of a nightmare. It's had some
good results, but it's also had some very bad ones.

The initiative is a mechanism whereby a ballot proposition can be put
on the ballot after the proposition motivates a minimum number of
voters to sign a petition.

Once the proposition makes its way to the ballot, the money begins to
flow. Proponents and opponents campaign for and against the
proposition, spending millions of dollars on advertising to persuade
the majority of voters to vote their way.

As between the wealthy and the poor, it's obvious who usually wins
those battles. Not always, it's true, but usually.

The argument that only those issues that are important would be
determined by internet-based voting begs the question of who decides
what's important. The person who decides that will largely decide the
results.

It's like an old Tammany Hall politician once said. "You can let
anyone you want do the votin'. Just let me do the nominatin'."

But the arguments where the proponents of this type of voting are
right are more frightening.

Most Americans dislike and/or distrust the Congress as an institution.
Some will dislike the composition of an existing Congress. Democrats
dislike the present composition comprised of a majority that's
Republican and Republicans have disliked Congress' makeup when the
majority is Democratic.

What these voters and those who favor voting with modems blinking are
missing is the question of expertise.

I'm not saying that on every issue Congress is better able to make
decisions than the American voter. But they are so enabled on the vast
majority of legislation that is presented.

The reason is the same as the basis on which you take your car with a
broken muffler to a muffler shop rather than a more broadly-based auto
repair facility.

They deal with mufflers every day.

I consider myself reasonably well-informed, but there's a great deal I
don't know. And, at the risk of seeming snobbish or immodest, I am
daily surrounded by people who know even less than I do about current
events.

While I'm sure it's not true of you, many Americans can't answer any
or most of the following questions:
a) What is the name of the current U.N. Secretary-General?
b) Who was his predecessor?
c) What's the amount of the national debt?
d) What's the amount of the budget deficit?
e) What does the Federal Reserve Board do?
f) Who's the President of Zaire?
g) Approximately what percentage of the national budget
goes to foreign aid?
h) Approximately what percentage of the national budget,
before the recent welfare-reform legislation, went to
welfare?

The questions may seem like an exercise to prepare for a hot game of
Trivial Pursuit, but they're more than that. Whether a person has
knowledge of at least most of those matters is reflective of how well-
informed they are about most matters relating to legislation that
comes before the Congress.

Do we really want a large group of unknowledgeable individuals voting
on whether to send troops to Bosnia or whether to expand NATO, to name
just a couple of examples?

We may disagree with the conclusions that Congress reaches on these
matters and the fact that they have access to more information doesn't
mean they'll always make the right decisions.

But at least they do have that access.

And, we get back to the question of wealth and the effect of money
spent on campaigns. Like the discussion of the initiative process
details, the wealthy interests would campaign in favor of their own
interests and against the legislation that may be broadly beneficial
to the country and its people.

The assertion that internet voting would be more representative of the
majority of American voters is doubtless correct. Again, that's what
makes it scary.

First, as is reasonably well-known, this is a republic. We have so-
called representative government where we don't vote directly on
issues. That's why we have a Senate and House of Representatives.

But the fact that internet voting would change that is not the
problem. The reason that our government was established to operate in
the manner in which it does was largely to protect against the whims
of the majority.

If we had a country in which the majority always determined policy, we
might still have racial segregation.

Free speech and a free press would be figments of the imagination.

Our government with its three-branch arrangement is designed to
protect against the excesses of majority rule.

While it may be true that the power of lobbyists and campaign donors
might be limited by what amounts to a computer town meeting, that's
not an unmixed blessing either.

While anyone with any sense knows we need reform of lobbying and
campaign finance any member of Congress who's honest would tell you
that lobbyists and contributors often bring to a Representative's or
Senator's attention, considerations which should be part of their
knowledge-base when voting.

That information would not be available to those who voted on their
computer.

In brief, internet-based plebiscites have as much to do with better
government as does friendship with an opportunity to sleep in the
Lincoln bedroom.

6=> Product: Pagis Pro 97
Reviewed By: Judy Litt, mailto:[e-mail]
Reviewed on: Pentium Pro 200, 64 MB RAM, Windows 95, HP Scanjet IIcx
Requires: Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows NT version 4.0, 486 or
higher, 16 MB RAM, 20 MB hard drive space
MSRP: $39.95

I didn't know what Pagis Pro was when it became available to review.
But I did know it was from Xerox, so I jumped on the Web & found out
what it was - scanning & OCR software. I don't do OCR much, but when I
do, I need a good program. I've come to the conclusion that there
aren't any really good OCR programs. Pagis Pro doesn't really fit into
the "really good" category for my needs, but it may for yours.

Installation
Installation was easy, although I did get the baffling error message
"unable to read from scanner", even though a scanner test was
performed without a hitch. After reading the manual (shudder!), I
found out that this was normal for TWAIN scanners. There's also an
option for ISIS scanners, & I have to admit that I've never heard of
that particular type of scanner. If you have a flatbed scanner,
chances are it's TWAIN.

Pagis Pro will scan your system to compile a database of all your
files. This is used later in searches. My only quibble with this is
that you have no idea how long this operation will take - a status bar
of some sort would have been nice. You do have the option to cancel
the operation (after the initial installation, you'll have to reboot
in order to index your system). You can arrange updates to be done
automatically upon boot, run it whenever you feel like it from the
Pagis Pro toolbar, or right click on files & choose to update just
that particular file.

Pagis Pro automatically adds both a send to bar & the Pagis Pro
toolbar to your desktop after installation. I personally found the
send to bar an annoying eater of desktop space, but if you do a lot of
scanning it may come in handy. It's easy to get rid of both & only run
them when you need them.

One Step Operations
Pagis Pro does make many of its functions easy & painless. From the
Pagis Pro toolbar, you can scan, copy, fax, edit, search, and update
documents. If you're scanning, you can use the different document
types to optimize your scans - magazine article, letter, photograph,
business card, custom. If you leave the type on any document - the
default - Pagis Pro will scan, clean up, & prepare the document for
OCR. You have control over what sort of automatic corrections Pagis
Pro makes - lighten, darken, autocrop, autostraighten, etc.

Pagis Pro saves documents in its own proprietary format call xif. This
is a compressed format: for instance, a text only letter sized page
was 48 kb in xif format; the same page scanned into Corel OCR-Trace &
saved as a bmp was about 1.7 MB! You don't have a choice to save in
anything other than the xif format during the original scan, but you
can convert it to a wide variety of formats (jpg, pcx, tif, & bmp) in
the Pagis Pro editor.

You can send the document to your word processor right from the
scanning module & it will automatically be OCRed using Textbridge Pro.
You can also right click on the file and send to your word processor
with the same results. You can even drag & drop the file onto your
word processor & have it automatically OCRed.

You're supposed to be able to do the same with any HTML editor, but I
was unable to get this to work. If you drag and drop a file onto a
program that hasn't been "registered" with drag and drop, the drag and
drop registration wizard is supposed to open up. If it doesn't, you
can open it manually and add the program. I tried this with my HTML
editor, but it still refused to perform.

The search feature is fast & pretty accurate. It allows you to match
any word, match all words, or match exact phrase. You can further
refine your search by specifying an author, dates modified between,
etc. The results you get will show you the last date modified, & will
be ranked by the number of times those word/words appear (which is
also shown).

OCR (or can you read?)
I found the OCR module - the main reason I was interested in this
program - only worked on well on very simple files. Throw in columns,
tables, or funky fonts, and the program got very confused. I also have
Corel OCR-Trace 7, which was much better equipped to handle
complicated layouts - or recognize strange fonts. Corel's Trace also
automatically spellchecks when you OCR & gives you the opportunity to
correct misspelled words before you convert to a word processor
format.

On the other hand, if you need to store many scanned documents & they
don't have complicated layouts, you can't beat the compression you get
with the xif format.

Conclusion
Pagis Pro is great for companies that have to scan, OCR, and store
many simply laid out documents. It's easy to use and integrates well
with the Windows 95 interface. However, if your OCR needs are a bit
more demanding - you need to be able to OCR something with three
columns & save in Word format without a lot of user intervention -
Pagis Pro may not be the program for you.

Xerox
9 Centennial Dr.
Peabody, MA 01960
508-977-2000
www.pagis.com

Ratings:
Installation/Ease of Use: Gold
User Friendliness: Gold
Quality: Silver
User: Companies that need to scan, OCR, & store many documents

7=> Product: Tomb Raider
Reviewed By: Jerry Eichelberger, mailto:[e-mail]
Review on: Pentium 133, 16MB,SVGA, Windows 95, 8X CDROM
Requires: P60, 8MB, SVGA, Sound Card, 2X CDROM
MSRP: $50

If the U.S. Navy Seals were to allow women into service, Lara Croft
would probably be the first in line. I have played a few of the
Indiana Jones type games, but this put them all to shame.

Lara Croft is the hardbody fox that is the star of this game. She is a
very shapely lady born of British aristocrat Lord Henshingly Croft.
After completing finishing school Lara begins a life of adventure.

This game has some of the most astounding graphics and scenes that I
have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. The 3-D environment is
very well done, and the outstanding sound effects work in perfect
harmony to give you an awe inspired feeling. Walk up to a ledge and
look down and you will probably start feeling a little queasy if you
have ANY fear of heights.

Although this game has a noticeable problem with clipping (i.e. where
Lara appears to be phased into solid objects she is standing beside),
it not so bad as to distract from the game play.

You have the ability to control Lara in many ways. She can walk, run,
jump, back flip, squat, do sideways flips, and hang on a ledge and
shimmy left or right. You will find yourself so immersed in the lush
graphics, that your heart will pound and you will sweat. Jump across a
trench that is a couple hundred feet deep and hang onto a crevice and
the shimmy over to a narrow ledge, only to be attacked by a blood-
craving bat.

The puzzles in this game are moderate to difficult to solve, but there
are always hints to watch for. The music will change or Lara will
"tense" up to indicate a clue or secret. All along you journey you
will find a few health and weapon power ups, but not as many as you
will hope for.

I especially enjoyed the swimming scenes where you may have to dive
into an underground tunnel, and wonder if you are going to have enough
air to make it, or better yet if that huge crocodile that is nibbling
at your feet is going to be able to get all those teeth into your
butt.

If you are looking for a shoot em up adventure game, you might want to
look elsewhere. There are only a few "enemies" on each level, but they
have a way of sneaking up on you. You never know when you might turn a
corner just to have a huge lion jump on you and pommel you to death.
Even better, you just walked around the corner and a Raptor decides to
eat you for dinner, but you take out your trusty pistol and waste him
after about 20 rounds. Then as you are resting for a second and
getting your thoughts together .... CRAP where did this 50' high T-REX
come from. Can you say DEAD!!! Well, maybe not if you are quick
thinking enough and a good shot with a pistol.

Whew ... O.K. I got through all the animal attacks, cliff hanging and
swimming, and now I have an UNKILLABLE human that is shooting at me.
Now What!!! Oh well, the adventure continues.

I recommend this game to anyone that like adventure and problem
solving. You will be totally consumed by the graphics and the music. I
hope to see another game with Ms. Lara Croft in the near future.

Eidos Interactive
303 Sacramento Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
[phone]
www:  <http://www.tombraider.com>

Ratings:
Installation/Ease of Use:          Silver
User-Friendliness:                 Gold
Quality:                           Silver

8=> Product: Novell's GroupWise 5 User's Handbook. By S.B. Rogers and
R.H. McTague, San Jose, Novell Press, 1996. 260 pages
Reviewed By: Richard Malinski, mailto:[e-mail]
MSRP: $24.99 US

The goal of the authors is to make you productive with GroupWise as
quickly as possible. As a result they say that they deal with the most
important features and focus only on the Windows 95 client. This book
does however cover more than just the highlights!

For those of you not familiar with this software product a look at the
web site will provide an in depth view. For example, GroupWise 5 is a
client/server, cross-platform e-mail product which offers full
document management capabilities. It is touted as the premier
collaboration product for intranets! It has what is called a Universal
Mail Box which gives users single-point access to incoming and
outgoing messages, documents, shared folders, personal calendaring,
group scheduling, tasks, voice mail, faxes and other message types. It
is a powerful tool that integrates much of the office communication
needs; simplifies much of the technical hassles of producing,
attaching and sending messages or documents; and facilitates
scheduling meetings and calendaring activities.

To get a feel for this software and learn how to use it, this handbook
is well worth the money. The handbook is divided ten chapters and five
appendices. It can be read sequentially as a learning tool or browsed
for particular tidbits of information. The chapters progress through
the features of GroupWise from fundamentals of messaging, preparing an
address book, managing messages, personal and group calendaring and on
to advanced features, document handling, remote connection and
customization. The appendices cover some of the general and technical
issues such as getting started, online help, internet features and an
overview of the 16-bit client.

Chapter 1 is a general introduction to GroupWise 5. It provides a good
example of the layout of the others chapters. It covers the toolbar
buttons and each of the folder icons; mailbox, sent items, calendar,
task list, work in progress, cabinet and trash. Throughout the chapter
there are three graphics used to highlight features or provide
insights. There is one for notes which refer readers to other related
chapters in the text. There is one for important features of the
function being described. The third is for tips on details of specific
functions. These are combined with screen views so that you can see
what the screen would look like when you are in the particular
folders.

The text is concise but thorough. With each element, toolbar button or
folder icon, there is enough text for you to understand and use it.
Working with your computer it takes only a few minutes to walk through
the elements. For those who have used version 4, there is some of
difference in layout and functionality but the changes are readily
apparent and intuitive. The handbook itself is a manageable 8.25 by
5.5 inches but that means that the screen diagrams are small, icons
within these even smaller and type that is about 6 or 8 point. For
some of us who wear glasses, the small print may be a problem.

Throughout the handbook there are many features which help you to
organize your work. The cabinet icon can be used much the same way as
you use directories in Windows3.1 or folders in Windows95 or
Macintosh. With GroupWise you can have both private (only you can see
them) and public (others may see them) folders in your cabinet.
Another useful feature is message threading which graphically lets you
see the relationship between messages and their replies. With this you
can step back through a series of messages to recapture the major
points or the development of an argument. A really fine feature is the
ability to retract messages that stay within the GroupWise system and
as long as the receiver has not opened the message. This is for all of
us who often think of an additional comment after just having sent it
off! An excellent feature is the document management system that lets
you set up libraries of documents. You can import documents and set up
your libraries so that you and/or others can search, access and read
the documents. Last but no least you can connect remotely to GroupWise
5. While this is possible in version 4 it is still a valuable function
for all those who travel and need to contact the office to stay in
touch.

In the appendices there are many helpful details. The discussions
cover starting your GroupWise 5 up, various types of help functions,
internet connections and running GroupWise as a 16-bit system under
Windows3.1.

Again, this handbook is an excellent guide for GroupWise 5 and it is
published with Novell's authorization and collaboration.

Ratings:  Quality Gold    (thoroughness and organization)
          User friendliness Silver  (some type too small)
          Installation Gold +  (Hey! Its a book so no problem!)

Company:      Novell Press
              2180 Fortune Drive
              San Jose, CA 95131
Telephone:    [phone]
Home page:      <http://www.novell.com/groupwise/>
(for demo of GroupWise 5)


--END OF ISSUE