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AN NEC MULTISYNC" MONITOR? AT THIS PRICE? DID SOMETHING Well, here's something you proha hly didn’t expect. Those j jremium NEC monitors that always seemed a hit heyond your price range. Introducing the NEC MultiSync XV Series. Featuring monitor (l5.6" viewable image size), the optimum size for today’s demanding appli¬ cations, at the incredible price of only $799? administrator, a slightly frenzied manager, a number-crunching analyst. These eyes demand sharp detail, images. Which is precisely what these MultiSync monitors deliver. For example, they’re built with NEC’s exclusive capability for sharp and focused all the way to the edges and in the corners. The MultiSync XV Series bright colors, and crystal-clei MultiSync® XVl7™ 17" Flat Square Technology CRT (15.6" viewable image size) Max. Res: 1280 x MultiSync® XVlS™ $480 ESP 15” Flat Square Technology CRT FullScan™ images that MultiSymi® XV14™ $330 ESP 14" Non-Glare CRT (l3.0" viewable image size) ax. Res: 1024 x 768 .NI at 70 Hz Now this is clearly good news for you. And your CFO. But most importantly, perhaps, for the person who will sit in front of them all day. You see, our XV Series of monitors, like all MultiSync monitors, are truly designed for the eyes. The eyes of an overworked Designedjor also delivers the legendary Quality and reliability you expect from NEC, hacked by a three year limited warranty which is one of the best in the industry. Plus, the XV Series is ideal for both PC and Macintosh® systems and olfers Microsoft® Plug and Play compatibility. Microsoft Windows 95 FREEZE OVER? You won’t find all this with conventional constant scrolling, which can only help monitors in this class. overall productivity. yVnd considering all of Speaking of typical, everyday monitors, the advantages of larger monitors, a 1 7" there’s one thing you should rememher: you display won ’t he obsolete in the near future, don’t have to settle for the monitor So if you’re looking for an affordable that comes bundled with the system. high-performance computer monitor, we In fact, these days it makes sense to suggest the NEC MultiSync XVl7, and he selective. • a— the entire example, developed the NEC MultiSync XV17 to optimize today’s soltware applications that are more involved than ever before. There’s simply more information which needs to he displayed on the screen. Our XV17 can accommodate all this on-screen information, and it does it surprisingly better than the typical monitor. Plus, a bigger screen helps eliminate The MultiSync XV Series offers optional ihe the AudioTower™ Speaker System sh< XV Series. They are designed to go above and beyond your expectations. Not your price range. To learn more, call 1-800-NEC-INFO. For information sent to you via fax, call 1-800-366-0476 - and request catalog

1. Or contact us

on the Internet at http://www.nec.com. SEE. HEAR AND FEEL THE DIFFERENCE™ , om . NEC Circle 182 on reader service card. MultiSync XVt? Pentium' OverDrive' processor up Pentium OverDrive processor now available. Is your PC stuck in the slow lane? A Pentium® OverDrive® processor can dramatically boost your current CPU’s performance and get your software really moving. So, if you’re not planning to move up to a Pentium processor-based PC just yet, then this is a good alternative for you. As our fastest single-chip processor upgrade, the Pentium OverDrive proces¬ sor is a very affordable way to upgrade many Intel486™ processor-based PCs. grade. Shift your PC into high gear. For more information, contact your http://www. intel.com/procs/ovrdrive/ local PC dealer. Or you can dial our to learn more. FaxBack* number at 1-800-525-3019, doc.

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ext. 296; or visit our Web site at Put Some Muscle On Your Desktop The Compaq® ProLinea® family now combines real affordability with innovative features that make it the most powerful desktop in its class. To start, you can choose the processor you want — from extremely fast (Pentium® 75MHz) to blindingly fast (Pentium 133MHz). And the ProLinea is available in three form factors: 3 slots/3 bays, 4 slots/4 bays, or 5 slots/S bays. We’ve also included PCI Local Bus Graphics and a host of other features you’ll find in the chart to the right. And naturally, we have made the Compaq ProLinea Plug and Play compliant. So for a power-packed desktop that respects your budget, get the ProLinea. And there’s no need to exert yourself—just call Compaq DirectPlus.® COMPAQ. DirectPlus Options & Upgrades 8MB Memory Kit $359 Compaq 171FS Monitor $425 14.4Kbps Internal Fax Modem $79 QuadSpeed CD-ROM Drive $239 Without Straining Your Budget. COMPAQ PROLINEA [ 575e 5120e 5100 5133 Processor Pentium 75MHz Pentium 120MHz Pentium 100MHz Pentium 133MHz Std./Max. Memory 8MB/136MB 8MB/136MB 16MB/192MB 16MB/192MB Hard Drive 630MB or 1GB 630MB or 1GB 630MB or 1GB 1GB Cache Internal 16KB 16KB 16KB 1,6KB Cache External 256KB (optional) 256KB (optional) 256KB 256KB Architecture PCI PCI Tri Flex/PCI TriFlex/PCI Video Memory/Max. 1MB/2MB 1MB/2MB 1MB/2MB 1MB/2MB Compaq 150 Color Monitor Yes Yes Yes Yes Diskette Drive 3.5" 1,44MB 3.5" 1.44MB 3.5" 1.44MB 3.5" 1,44MB Expansion Slots (Total) 3 3 4 5 Drive Bays (Total) 3 3 4 5 Ports: Serial/Parallel 1/1 (ECP) 1/1 (ECP) 1/1 (ECP) 1/1 (ECP) Security Features Yes Yes Yes Yes Processor Upgradable Yes Yes Yes Yes 101-Key Keyboard, Mouse Yes Yes Yes Yes Software Preinstalled (Choice of) MS-Windows® 95 or MS-Windows 3.1 MS-Windows 95 or MS-Windows 3.1 MS-Wndows 95 or MS-Wndows 3.1 MS-Wndows 95 or MS-Windows 3.1 Energy Star Compliant Yes Yes Yes Yes Limited Warranty* 3-Year 3-Year 3-Year 3-Year Pricet 630MB Hard Drive *1,779 $2,269 *2,279

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  r _ v ,,, © 1996 Compaq Computer Corporation. All Rights Reserved, Compaq and the Compaq trademark and DirectPIus is a registered service mark of Compaq Computer Corporation. Products, prices and programs are subject to Circle 274 on reader service card. PCComputi BULL’S-EYE Bargain Pentiums Your dream system is just a phone call away! Get the lowdown on the top 20 Pentium PCs you can buy by mail. 132 PCC Direct 60 Don’t miss our editors’ ratings of the 60 largest mail-order dealers. Here’s your one-stop shopping guide to the best PC bargains. 147 Sound Advice Windows 95 Databases Track it! Sort it! Search it! Report it! Windows 95 databases make it easier than ever. Find the one that works best for you. 162 Listen up! You don’t have to settle for your PC’s tinny sound system. New sound cards and speakers will put your stereo to shame. 173 The Right Way to the 1-Way Get faster, cheaper access to the Web now with PC Computing’s exclusive guide to the top Internet per vice providers. 179 USABILITY APPROVED: Whenever you spot this seal, you’ve found hardware or software that meets or beats the tough standards of our Usability Labs. ONLINE EXTRAS: This symbol means you’ll find freebies, bug patches, and other bonuses on our Web site, our CompuServe and Microsoft Network forums, or our CD-ROM. New! Reviews Stand back! Reviews of the first 32-bit 150MHz Pentium Pro power stations from Hewlett-Packard and Micron Electronics. 86 86 Micron Pro 150 Magnum Plus and Hewlett- Packard Vectra XU 6/150 Pentium Pro power stations. 89 HP LaserJet 5Si MX Top-notch paper handling and network print speeds. 90 Connectix VideoPhone Incredibly cheap videoconferencing. 92 PageScan Color, PageWiz, and PaperPort Vx Page scanners. 94 Toshiba Satellite Pro 410CDTandNEC Versa 4050C 96 Epson Stylus Pro 98 Iomega Ditto Easy 800 98 HP SureStore CD-Writer 4020i CD recorder. 103 Lotus SmartSuite 96 Lotus’s Windows 95 business-application suite. 108 Netscape Navigator 2.0 The best Web browser. 110 Hands-On Crush Multimedia marketing. 112 Any View Professional, Hurricane, MagnaRAM 2, and RAM Doubler 114 Accounting & Payroll’95, M.Y.O.B Accounting 6.0, and One-Write Plus 5.0 Basic bean-counting. Soho All-in-OneS Want a fax machine, scanner, copier, and printer in one box? A phone that works with your PC? Or a robot travel agent? See it here first. 287 297 SoHot Make your hotel 297 Trends Fax on a and travel reservations shoestring and a PC from your PC. phone for the home. 116 Inset Hijaak 95 Manage your graphics. 116 Clarislmpact2.0 122 Emulex ConnectPlus LT andMicrocom LANexpress 4000 Remote-access solutions. 32 Pulse Windows 96 sneak preview! Plus, Radar, Best Bets, and Bargains. 41 The A-List 245 Direct to You/Spec Watch 274 Product Index 275 Marketplace 273 Ad Index Reviews Road tests of printers that also scan, fax, and copy. Edge Is Your E-mail Safe? Internet security glitches and problems with Netscape’s Navigator threaten e-mail and online banking privacy. 304 304 I-Way Patrol Free Stuff, Insites, and the real Internet insecurities. 307 CD-RON Ron White reviews virtual art on disc. 20 PC Computing Online How to get your hands on all our online freebies. WINDOWS BUYER jJJ Windows 95 Buyers’Guide PC Computing’s guide to 16 essential Windows applications and utilities for the office and home. 191 DeLorme Street Adas USA 3.0 191 Gibson Research ChromaZone 198 Starfish Software Sidekick 95 198 Block Financial Kiplinger’s Home Legal Advisor 204 Avantos DecideRight 204 Day-Timer Organizer 2.0 212 Gold Disk Instant Multimedia 212 Mustang Software QmodemPro 220 Berkeley Systems Expresso 220 Automedia Backdrop 228 Now Software Up-to-Date 228 ExMachina Reach Me 236 IdeaFisher Systems Writer’s Edge 236 Day Runner Planner for Windows 242 Portable Software QuickXpense 1.6 242 Inso Quick View Plus for Windows 95 COLUMNS 20 PCC Online 23 Mail 77 PaulSomerson 79 John G Dvorak 310 HotList P C C O M P U T I N G dg) pentium THERE ARE TIMES WHEN YOU NEED ADVANCED MULTIMEDIA \ersaBay II technology lets you configure the Versa® 4000 at a moment’s notice. Need multimedia? Slip in the CD-ROM. AND TIMES WHEN YOU DON’T. ForlEare"' " installation, insert the 1.44MB floppy disk drive. Introducing the NEC Versa 4000. Along with the innovative VersaBay II. the Versa 4000 features a 10. 4 ’high-resolution screen, lull-motion video support, SoundBlaster® Pro compatibility, two huilt-in speakers and a microphone. So what do you get when you combine all that with its 1 20MHz Pentium® processor* 1GB hard drive, 8 - 40MB RAM, a lithium-ion battery, a VersaGlide pointing device and hot-swappable PC Cards? Simple. Not just the most advanced notebook for multimedia, the most advanced notebook, period. Call 1-800-NEC-VERSA. SEE, HEAR AND FEEL. THE DIFFERENCE." Circle 110 on reader service card. ▲ Business Plan Pro™ The most widely acclaimed business plan software is now stand-alone— it’s the simplest and fastest planning program ever. SRP $149.95 “No business plan software can match Business Plan Pro ™ for its navigational ease, customizability, and superb integration. ” “Sets a new standard for this genre. ” —PC Magazine, February 7,1995 “Whether you’re financing a new venture or assessing an existing business, Business Plan Pro™ can help put together an effective busi¬ ness plan. ” —Windows, March, 1995 “If you’re a fledgling entrepreneur, Business Plan Pro™ may be an excellent first step towards realiz¬ ing your business dreams. ” —PC World, March, 1995 ▲ Marketing Plan Pro™ Combines the tools and know-how of a professional marketing manager in an easy-to-use program. It’s sim¬ ple enough for novices yet powerful enough for pros. SRP $ 149.95 A Decision Maker™ Unleash your computer’s power on the most difficult challenges you face as a business owner or manager: mak¬ ing sound decisions. SRP $ 129.95 ( Palo Alto Software
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  144 E. 14th Ave., Eugene, OR 97401 [email protected] http://www.pasware.com Circle 115 on reader service card. PCComputing VICE PRESIDENT, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Paul Somerson EXECUTIVE EDITOR Wendy Taylor managing editor Debra McDonald TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Adam Meyerson art director Michael Yapp EDITORIAL features editor Bob O’Donnell senior editor Jack Lyon associate editors Marty Beaudet, Kyla K. Carlson, James Oliver Cury, Liesl La Grange Noble, Rich Schwerin assistant managing editor Kim Austin copy chief D. Jacqueline Kan Mark Baard copy editor Kristine Dixon production editor Peggy Gannon assistant copy editor Tara McGoldrick ART AND DESIGN associate ART DIRECTOR Allyson Appen SENIOR TECHNICAL ILLUSTRATOR Timothy Edward Downs photo editor Peter Alan Gould art assistant Frances Herrera Gunther LABS AND TECHNICAL TECHNICAL editor, performance lab manager Scott Naylor usability lab manager George Hackman, Jr. SENIOR PROJECT LEADERS Lulit Bezuayehu, Ibrahim Gul project leader S. Jae Yang TECHNICAL SPECIALISTS Lydia M. Karlowicz, Daisy Zhao vice president, publishing director J. Samuel Huey PUBLISHER Robert J. Nolan CONTRIBUTING EDITORS SENIOR CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Ed Bott, Ron White contributing editors Vincent Chen, John C. Dvorak, Charles Fleischer, Preston Gratia, Marty Jerome, Woody Leonhard, Neil Randall, Jon Zllber ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING SENIOR ONLINE editor Yael Li-Ron associate online editor Dylan Tweney MARKETING AND SALES DIRECTOR OF MARKETING Michael Wiener Goodman Lawrence E. Friedberg subscription director Charles Mast SINGLE-COPY SALES, MARKETING DIRECTOR James E. Gerth MARKETING INFORMATION SPECIALIST Kimberly Black marketing manager Nancy Garafano ASSISTANT EVENTS MANAGER Denise Chase marketing coordinator Tracey Sweeney PRODUCTION PRODUCTION DIRECTOR CarlOS LugO production manager Dennis Fitzgerald ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER ADMINISTRATIVE EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE VP, Leta C. Fisher EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE VP, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Kristiana J. Sooy EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT TO THE PUBLISHER Sandra L. Neto ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Julie McCullough receptionist Christina Valdez Howto Contact the Editors Wewelcomefeedback. However, we cannot respond to individual requests to look up stories from previous issues, recommend products, or diagnose PC problems. Send comments or complaints to: 950TowerLane, 19th Floor, Foster City, CA 94404; fax us at (415) 578-7059; contact us via the Internet ([email protected]) or CompuServe (72241,1724); or log on to PC Contact to post a public message (see page 20). PCComputing is under no obligation to review unsolicited products. All unsolicited submissions become the property of PCComputing. If you want to make a submission, contact one of the following editors— Features: Bob O'Donnell; News and Reviews: Kyla K. Carlson; Online: Yael Li-Ron. If you buy a product advertisea in PCComputing, are dissatisfied, and can't resolve the problem, write (please do not call) Sandra L. Neto, Executive Assistant to the Publisher, at the above address. Include copies of all correspondence.' PC Computingon CD-ROM PC Compirtingis available as part of Computer Select, a CD-ROM published by Information Access Com pany, formerly Computer Library. Each monthly issue of Com puter Select conta i ns the full text of the most recent year's issues of PCComputing. Computer Select also contains full-text articles from over 70 computer magazines, newspapers and newsletters as well as abstracts from over 40 more computer periodicals, business magazines, and newspapers. For more information, call Information Access Company/Computer Library at (800) 419-0313 ext. 718. service questions, address changes, or for ordering, call (303) 665-8930; fax (303) 604-7455 in the United States or Canada; call (303) 604-7445; fax (303) 604-0540 if elsewhere; or write to PCComputing, P.0. Box 58229, Boulder, CO 80322-8229. The subscription rate is $24.97 foroneyear. Canada and all other countries require an additional $16 for postage. For back issues (subject to availability), send acheck or money order for$7 ($8 outside the United States) to Back Issues Department, Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, P.O.Box 53131, Boulder, C080322-3131. Samsung monitors. Desi g ned from your point of view. "We were impressed with the picture quality and feature sets of both units, and their relative value makes them top choices." PC Magazine - Sept. 12, 1995, on the SyncMaster 17GU and 17CLsi monitors. September 12, 1995 Samsung SyncMaster 17GLi Performance is only part of the reason to buy a new 17-inch SyncMaster™ monitor. It has big, bright, crisp, clear images that you can depend on year after year. Simplicity is also important. The GLi Series offers Plug and Play* compatibility, so you can get right to work. Its intuitive controls and on-screen programming keep concentration where it belongs - on the job. Plus, Samsung delivers outstanding Value - in the comfort of a three-year warranty, and the satisfaction of a competitive price. If you take your work seriously, think about an exceptional monitor. Think about the SyncMaster 17GLi. After all, it's your point of view. Call 1-800-933-4110 or use fax- on-demand at 1-800-229-2239 for more information. Circle 139 on reader service card. Coming Soon PPComputing ONLINE SUPERGUIDE Which commercial service is right for you? PC Computing’s editors test the top contenders, including America Online, CompuServe, and Microsoft Network, to find which one offers the best news, e-mail, and free utilities—and how they stack up against the Net. Also: top utilities, downloads, and destina- mb tions found on the major online providers. I| LSO NEXT MONTH ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHING COMPANY chairman and ceo Eric Hippeau BUSINESS MEDIA GROUP president. BUSINESS MEDIA GROUP Ronni Sonnenberg executive vice president, business media group Claude Sheer MARKETING AND DEVELOPMENT GROUP president Jeffrey Ballowe FINANCE FACE-OFF Do your banking online and track your finances right down to the penny with the newest personal-finance software. We test the best packages for maximizing your financial fit¬ ness, and the add-in programs that make these applications even more powerful. PERSONAL PRINTERS Still waiting for the network printer down the hall? Check out our guide to the latest desktop printers for less than $500. DESKTOP STORAGE Hard drives aren’t the only place where you can stash your data anymore. Removable hard disks, low-cost rewritable opti¬ cal drives, and inexpensive tape drives are just a few of the new products vying for a spot on your desk. See our guided tour of these new technolo¬ gies, how they work, and the lowdown on which product is right for you. New! Reviews of the top 166MHz and 200MHz desktop systems, ultrafast six-speed CD-ROM drives, new Windows 95 software, and Web-publishing tools. Edge CD-RON spins the top CD encyclopedias. Plus, the best Web sites, shareware, and freeware in our 1-Way Patrol. SOHO Essential new products for the small office and home office, and hands-on usability tests of 1996 tax software. “YOUR FREE BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM KNOCKED MY SOCKS OFF’ To access the Consumer Information Catalog and more than 250 helpful federal publications, use your communications software to dial (202) 208-7679. Or, e-mail the message “SEND INFO” to [email protected] for Internet directions. Either way, keep your shoes on. A public service of this publication and the Consumer Information Center of the U.S. General ServicesAdministration This could be a best seller. But it's free. You can’t buy the Consumer Information Catalog anywhere. But you can send for it, free! It’s your guide to more than 200 free or low-cost government publications about getting federal benefits, finding jobs, staying healthy, and more. The Catalog is free. The information is priceless. Send name and address to: Consumer Information Center Department best, Pueblo* Colorado 81009 VICE PRESIDENT, ALLIANCE MARKETING Janet Ryan vice presibent, business development Tom Thompson VICE PRESIDENT. ZIFF-DAVIS MAGAZINE NETWORKS Joe Gillespie VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING AND DEVELOPMENT GROUP Herbert Stern vice president, marketing services Jim Manning vice president, corporate research Elda Vale executive director, magazine networks Ellen Atkinson MARKETING DIRECTOR, ZIFF-DAVIS MAGAZINE NETWORKS Michael Perkowski MANAGING DIRECTOR. ZDPC Jeff BrUCe DIRECTORS, ZIFF-DAVIS MAGAZINE NETWORKS Anne Fitzpatrick, Kelly Lowman, Melinda Maginn, Alicia Sarthalis vice president, project testing Mark Van Name director, zd labs Bob Kane DIRECTOR, ZD BENCHMARK OPERATIONS Bill CatChingS ZIFF-DAVIS PUBLISHING COMPANY, CORPORATE president, business media group Ronni Sonnenberg PRESIDENT, COMPUTER INTELUGENCE/INFOCDRP Bob Brown PRESIDENT, CONSUMER MEDIA GROUP J. ScOtt BriggS PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL MEDIA GROUP J, B. HolstOn III PRESIDENT, MARKETING AND DEVELOPMENT GROUP Jeffrey BallOWe executive vice president, business media group Claude Sheer SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, CIRCULATION Baird Davis VICE PRESIDENT, ASSISTANT TO THE CHAIRMAN Tom McGrade VICE PRESIDENT, CENTRAL ADVERTISING SALES Bob Bader vice president, chief financial dfficer Timothy O’Brien vice president, circulation services James F. Ramaley VICE PRESIDENT. GENERAL COUNSEL, AND SECRETARY
• Malcolm Morris vice president, human resources Rayna Brown VICE PRESIDENT, PLANNING Darryl Otte vice president, PRODUCTION Roger Herrmann vice president, technology Bill Machrone treasurer Thomas L. Wright chief information officer Wellington Y. Chiu executive director, licensing Gertrud Borchardt director of public relations Gregory Jarboe Mailing Lists We periodically make lists of our customers available to carefully screened mailers of quality goods and services. If you do not wish to receive such mailings, please let us know by writing to us at: PC Computing, P.O. Box 58229, Boulder, CO 80322-8229. PC Computing is an independent journal, not affiliated in any way with IBM Corporation. PC Computing is a registered trademark of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. The following are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company: American Computing, Fast Facts, The Magazine for Business Computing Experts, PC Contact, PC Sources, Perfect 10, Personal Computing, Pro Tips, Software Secrets, and The Ultimate PC. Entire contents copyright © 1996 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. All rights reserved. 12 1996 L oN' pUTE s EDITORS^ CHOICE AWARDy PENTIUM CHIP, LITHIUM, 16MB, TFT. PC Laptop's p "Value Notebook of the Year ' 7 — January 1996 CD-ROM VALUES WinBook W inner of PC Laptop's annual Editors' Choice Award — the WinBook XP5 DOCKING STATION with 4x CD-ROM $ 399 gives you the features you want in the highest quality, best value notebook. At 2999, you get

  an amazing list of standard features including: 75MHz Intel® Pentium® processor, lithium ion batteries, 10.4" TFT active matrix screen, 16MB RAM, an 810 MB hard-drive, and more. Great values on options begin \ with stereo sound, integrated ( ' touc hp a d or trackball, and v"' v 3-year extended limited Pentium " warranty package. Call today processor our $2999 offer or for information on our other models. EXTERNAL CD-ROM with SCSI adapter Available only to 9 | WinBook XP and CALL US TODAY, TOLL-FREE 1 - 800 - 468-7507 Monday-Friday, 8am-9pm EST • Saturday, 9am-4pm Use VISA, Disrover Card, MasterCard, personal check or VO. with creita^roval. WinBook Featuring the new Inti • 10.4" TFT Active Matrix Color Display • 16MB RAM • 810MB Removable Hard Drive • 256K Cache • 6.1 Pounds • 14.4 Send/Receive FaxA/oice/Data Modem • 32-Bit Local-bus Video • 40 Watts per hour Lithium Ion Battery •1MB Video RAM • Two Type II or One Type III PCMCIA Slot • Integrated Dual-button Pointing Stick, Optional Dual-button Trackball or Touchpad • Parallel, Serial and PS/2 Ports *2999 Circle 271 on reader service card. If yOU could imag- i ire p r i n t ? what you could EPSON COLOR INK JET PRINTERS. Imagine being able to coax that rainbow chasing child called your imagination out of your brain and onto a document in living, breathing, 720 x 720 dpi, Photo Quality ink jet color. Imagine being able to do it for as little as $449. Imagine the kind of color that will make people stop what they’re doing and look at what you just did. Imagine EPSON Stylus Color. Now stop imagining and call 1-800-BUY-EPSON x3100, or see http://www.epson.com. And give your imagination something to play with. AnthroCarts! AnthroCarts are so flexible. You have dozens of shapes and sizes to choose, plus over 50 accessories to configure ► your cart exactly the way you want, ft ifft And they have a Lifetime Warranty! IMS Made of steel and high density particle llj board, these AnthroCarts are as tough as nails. W I See them all in our catalog, then call us direct to order. We'll j ship to you the very next business day! k » ■ Call for your free catalog: 800 - 325-3841 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM PST, M-F Anthro Corporation® Technology Furniture® 10450 SW Manhasset Dr. W Thalatin, OR 97062 AkITLDn Fax:800-325-0045 | h1%LJ E-mail: [email protected] Since 1984. Prices from $299. For a lower cost line for the home, ask for our SOHO catalog. GSA contract. Available for OEM applications. Anthro, AnthroCart and Technology Furniture are registered trademarks of Anthro. PCComputing vice president, publishing director J. Samuel Huey publisher Robert J. Nolan SALES MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATE publisher/east coast Sloan Seymour (212)503-4830 associate publisher/west coast William P. Howard (415)578-7570 national sales manager Lucy Wohltman (415) 578-7073 advertising coordinator Denise Gillett (415) 578-7031 sales coordinator Francie More sales assistants Gina Belt, Loreen Bernard ini, Jennifer Criddle, Erving Dockery, David McCaman, Elizabeth McGarry, Richard McNees, Kirk Thomason ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES NEW ENGLAND Debra Donovan, Accountflepresentative, (415) 578-7068 MID-ATLANTIC Thomas Koletas, District Manager, (212) 503-4907 One Park Ave„ New York, NY 10016 Monica Sembler, Senior Account Representative, (415)578-7067 MIDWEST Craig Westcott, District Manager, (312) 214-7333 150 North Wacker Dr., Suite 2500, Chicago, IL 60606 Melissa Gruber, Account Representative, (415) 578-7065 southeast Thalia Karakitsios, District Manager, (404) 814-8960 3405 Piedmont Rd. NE, Suite 460, Atlanta, GA 30305 Michael Duff, Account Representative, (415) 578-7072 ■ SOUTH CENTRAL Stephen Shore, Central Advertising Sales Manager, (214) 360-5755,5956 Sherry Ln„ Suite 625, Dallas, TO 75225 Lisa Fung, Account Representative, (415) 578-7056 SOUTHWEST AND LOS ANGELES David Lynn, Southwest Regional Manager, (714) 852-5912 18301 Von Karman Ave., Suite 330, Irvine, CA 92715 Nancy Romano, Senior Account Representative, (415)578-7066 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA/PACIFIC NORTHWEST Kelly Worrall, District Manager, (415) 578-7061 950 Tower Ln., 19th Floor, Foster City, CA 94404 Lisa Fung, Account Representative, (415) 578-7070 SAN JOSE William B. Wise, District Manager, (415) 578-7052 950 Tower Ln., 19th Floor, Foster City, CA 94404 Stacey Levy, District Sales Representative, (415) 578-7041 950 Tower Ln., 19th Floor, Foster City, CA 94404 Linda Nishimura, Account Representative, (415) 578-7058 MARKETPLACE SALES OFFICE Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, (800) 825-4237 Permission and Reprints Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without permission. Written requests for permission should be addressed to Chantal Tucker, Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, One Park Ave., New York, NY 10016; or faxed to (212) 503-5420. For price quotes on reprints, please contact Ziff-Davis Reprints toll-free at (800) 825-4237. Printedm the U.S.A. Canadian GST registration number is R123669673. Absolute Necessity." “I know exactly how much I make (or should be " making) on every project, every customer, even by employe Eye Opening! ‘When I actually saw my project costs vs. estimates, l raised my rates immediately!” A Giant Leap! “Integrates time tracking, estimating, and job costing with accounting and payroll. Finally, all my important business information is in one place! "Fast & Easy! "Information automaticallyflows from my estimates and time " tracking data to right where I need it when I do invoices, reports and payroll." Introducing an entirely NEW kind of software for businesses that prepare estimates or track time! Announcing QuickBooks® Pro” a your business, from accounts receivables to materials expenses—take breakthrough program that perfectly advantage of over 7 5 customizable reports and graphs, to always integrates time tracking, estimating, know what’s going on. It’s Easy. The screens look just like checks, job costing, and payroll with r invoices, and purchase orders—so you don’t have thenumberoneaccounting — to be an accountant to use it Nothing gets the job done like QuickBooks Pro. Order today, and try it for just $8. software! Save time. Never enter the same infor¬ mation twice.Track every¬ thing from project expenses to ^rhployee hours—and have the information appear automatically everywhere you need to use it: invoices, paychecks, vendor payments, accounting records, and more. Knowledge is power. You’ll have incredible control over every aspect of Produce Professional Estimates Fast. Simply type in the firstfew letters of your customer’s • Prepare professional estimates •Track time by employee • Track time by activity or project • Compare estimated vs. actual costs • Quickly find cost of last year’s projects •Create customizable invoices • Invoice based on time sheet entries •Invoice based on flat rates • Track expenses by customer or project •Write and print checks • Prepare and print payroll checks • Calculate payroll earnings & deductions • Easily track A/R and A/P •Track Inventory •Write Purchase Orders • Manage credit card & checking account •Manage cash flow • Create and track project budgets •Maintain an audit trail • Report tax figures easily • Keep track of customers and vendors *7i Try QuickBooks Pro for only $8.00! Pay only shipping and handling now to try QuickBooks Pro. If you decide to keep using it after 30 days.payjust $189.95. 1-800-781-6999 Ext.701 583 To order 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Offer expires QuickBooks Pro reads Quicken, QuickBooks, and QuickPay data. System Requirements: Windows: 100% IBM compatible 386 or h w disk space. VGA or higher resolution monitor. Works with any printer supported by Windows 3.1 or higher. Mac: System 7.0 or higher and at least 6MB of RAM with a 6L_ _ r . including Ilfx, IIvx, Ilci, Centris, LC III, LC 520 or higher, Performa 450 or higher, and all Quadra and Power Macintosh machines. Hard disk with 15MB free disk space. Supports PowerBook, 12

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  The Best PC Money Can Buy P133 Millennia Plus P133 Millennia • Intel 133MHz Pentium* processor • 256K pipelined burst cache, flash BIOS • PCI 32-bit Ultra SCSI Fast-20 controller • 6X SCSI-2 CD-ROM drive, 3.5" floppy drive • SoundBlaster” 16 stereo sound & speakers •PCI 64-bit video, MPEG, 2MB EDO • Tool-free mini-tower or desktop • Microsoft* Mouse, 104-key keyboard • Microsoft Windows* 95 CD • Microsoft Office Pro 95 & Bookshelf 95 CDs A • 16MB EDO RAM • 1GB Fast SCSI-2 hard drive • 15" Micron 15FGx, 1280NI, .28mm monitor

  3,299 Business lease $112/month B • 32MB EDO RAM • 2GB Fast SCSI-2 hard drive • 15" Micron 15FGx, 1280NI, ,28mm monitor s 4,299 Business lease $147/month C • 64MB EDO RAM • 4GB Fast SCSI-2 hard drive • 17” Micron 17FGx, 1280NI, .26mm monitor *6,299 Business lease $206/month • Intel 133MHz Pentium processor • 256K pipelined burst cache, flash BIOS • 4X EIDE CD-ROM drive, 3.5" floppy drive • SoundBlaster 16 stereo sound 8i speakers • PCI 64-bit video, MPEG, 2MB EDO • Tool-free mini-tower or desktop • Microsoft Mouse, 104-key keyboard • Microsoft Windows 95 CD A • 8MB EDO RAM • 850MB EIDE hard drive • 15" Micron 15FGx, 1280NI, ,28mm monitor • Microsoft Works 95 CD *2,399 Business lease $86/month B • 16MB EDO RAM • 1.2G6 EIDE hard drive • 15" Micron 15FGx, 1280NI, ,28mm monitor • Microsoft Office Pro 95 8< Bookshelf 95 CDs *2,899 Business lease $103/month • 32MB EDO RAM • 1.6GB EIDE hard drive • 17" Micron 17FGx, 1280NI, ,26mm monitor • Microsoft Office Pro 95 & Bookshelf 95 CDs *3,899 Business lease $133/month PIOOPowerStmon • Intel 100MHz Pentium processor • 256K write-back cache, flash BIOS • 4X EIDE CD-ROM drive, 3.5" floppy drive • SoundBlaster 16 stereo sound & speakers • PCI 64-bit video, MPEG, 2MB EDO • Tool-free mini-tower or desktop • Microsoft Mouse, 104-key keyboard • Microsoft Windows 95 CD A • 8MB EDO RAM • 850MB EIDE hard drive • 15" Micron 15FGx, 1280NI, ,28mm monitor • Microsoft Works 95 CD *1,999 Business lease S71/month B • 16MB EDO RAM • 1,2GB EIDE hard drive • 15” Micron 15FGx, 1280NI, .28mm monitor • Microsoft Office Pro 95 & Bookshelf 95 CDs *2,499 Business lease $89/month • With 75MHz Pentium processor....subtract $100 P133 Home MPC Pro P75HomeMPC • Intel 133MHz Pentium processor • 256K pipelined burst cache, flash BIOS • 16MB EDO RAM • 1.2GB EIDE hard drive • 4X EIDE CD-ROM drive, 3.5" floppy drive • SoundBlaster 16 stereo sound & speakers • 14.4 fax/modem, speakerphone, voice mail • PCI 64-bit video, MPEG, 2MB EDO • 17" Micron 17FGx, 1280NI, ,26mm monitor • Tool-free mini-tower or desktop • Microsoft Mouse, 104-key keyboard • Microsoft Windows 95 CD • Microsoft Office Pro 95 & Bookshelf 95 CDs • Microsoft Scenes: Sports Extremes: Microsoft Bob " CD; Microsoft Encarta'" 95 CD; Quicken Deluxe Edition CD; Microsoft Dangerous Creatures CD; Microsoft Golf Multimedia CD; Trial subscriptions for CompuServe", Prodigy" and America On-Line". *3,299 • Intel 75MHz Pentium processor • 256K write-back cache, flash BIOS • 8MB EDO RAM • 850MB EIDE hard drive • 4X EIDE CD-ROM drive, 3.5" floppy drive • SoundBlaster 16 stereo sound & speakers • 14.4 fax/modem, speakerphone, voice mail • PCI 64-bit video, MPEG, 2MB EDO • 15" Micron 15FGx, 1280NI, .28mm monitor • Tool-free mini-tower or desktop • Microsoft Mouse, 104-key keyboard • Microsoft Windows 95 CD • Microsoft Works 95 CD • Microsoft Scenes: Sports Extremes; Microsoft Bob CD; Microsoft Encarta 95 CD; Quicken Deluxe Edition CD; Microsoft Dangerous Creatures CD; Microsoft Golf Multimedia CD; Trial subscriptions for CompuServe, Prodigy and America On-Line. ! 1,999 P75 PowerStation LX • Intel 75MHz Pentium processor • 256K write-back cache, flash BIOS • 8MB EDO RAM • 850MB EIDE hard drive • 3.5" floppy drive • PCI 64-bit graphics accelerator (1MB) • 14" Micron 14FGx, 1024, ,28mm monitor • Tool-free mini-tower or desktop • Microsoft Mouse, 104-key keyboard • Microsoft Windows 95 • Microsoft Works 95 *1,499 Business lease $54/month • With 100MHz Pentium processor..add $100 • With 100MHz Pentium processor..add $100 isign ed for a International Sales Hours: Mon-Fri 7 208-463-3434 • Fax 208-463-3424 • Purchase Order Fax 208-467-5384 Technical Support Available 24 Hours A Day - 7 Days A Week M Circle 106 on reader service card. It’s Your Call 800 - 515-9197 http://www.mei.micron.com MICRON ■ ELECTRONICS, INC. PPComputing Howto Reach Us How can I reach the PC Computing editors? Drop us e-mail via the Internet ([email protected]) or CompuServe (72241,1724). Or post a message at our Web site (http://www.zdnet.com/~pccomp). You can also fax us at (415) 578-7059, or mail your comments to PC Computing, 950 Tower Lane, 19th Floor, Foster City, CA
• To be considered for publication, your letter must be signed and include a daytime phone number. Where can I find PC Computing online? You'll find PCC Online on the Web (http://www.zdnet.com/~pccomp), on CompuServe/ZDNet (GO ZNT:PCC), and on Microsoft Network (GO PCCOMPUTING). Visit any of these sites for hundreds of free file downloads, links to hot sites, and electronic versions of reviews and features. How do I join ZDNet on CompuServe? Call CompuServe at (800) 895-4596 and ask for the PCC representative who’ll send you the free software you need to get online. New members receive their first month’s membership to both CompuServe and ZDNet free along with ten hours of online time to use anywhere on the services during the first month. After that, five hours are free each month. ZDNet costs $3.50 per month and includes services like PC Contact, ZDNet utilities, headline computing news, an online teaching university, and much more. The cost for CompuServe is $9.95 per month. Once online, type GO rates for full details on pricing. CompuServe members can just type GO ZDNET to join. How can I get the PC Computing CD-ROM? Cali (800) 335-1196 for CD-ROM subscription information. Whom do I call with a question about my subscription? For inquiries and address changes, call (303) 665-8930 or fax (303) 604-7455. You can also write to PC Computing, P.O. Box 58229, Boulder, CO 80322-8229. ' How can I get back issues? Back issues are subject to availability. Send a check or money order for $7 ($8 outside the United States) to Back Issues Department, Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, P.O. Box 53131, Boulder, CO 80322-3131. PCC Online/Adam Meyerson Prime Time H ere we go again. One of your top New Year’s resolutions for seven years running has been to watch less TV and make better use of your time, right? Meanwhile, TV executives are plotting new ways to keep you glued to the tube. They want you to keep shelling out that $34 a month for cable, plus a whole lot more for the next generation of interac¬ tive TV technology. Of course, if you’ve been cruising the World Wide Web, you know those TV guys don’t have . a chance. Next to the Internet, sappy, lowbrow, politically correct network TV pales in comparison. But who has time to slog through millions of dud Web sites for the good stuff? That’s where we come in: Just set your home page to PC Computing (http: / / www.zdnet.com/ -pccomp). Then point, click, explore, and enjoy. Internet Tour Guide Whether you want a quick business tip or hours of entertainment, our Web map will guide you to the perfect spot. Want to uncover the best little-known search engine? We have it. Need the leading online reference works? They’re all here. Want to explore topics that you can’t talk about from 9 to 5? Check out our Underground Internet section. Or even if you’re just ramping up, head for our Under¬ ground Internet pages to find all the utilities and search engines our edi¬ tors use to cruise the Net—along with insider secrets that will turn you into an expert in no time. You can also download thousands of files, including the following: • Web browsers from Netscape and Quarterdeck • The best virus scanners anywhere • New Internet-publishing tools • Viewers for every conceivable graphics format you can imagine On top of all this, we feature expert buying advice, plus tech- -nical tips and tricks from PC Comput¬ ing’s Labs staff. Our Free Stuff section is packed with Win¬ dows 95 utilities and applications. And to prove that we’re not all business, we post demos of our favorite games, including Descent, Doom II, MechWarrior, Dark Forces, and NASCAR. Sneak Peeks Don’t miss our excit¬ ing new Industry Insider section. Every week we highlight the latest products and technologies before they hit the market. In fact, if you hurry you can get a preview of the following: • NEC Technologies’ new $279 4x4 CD-ROM Changer • 150MHz and 166MHz Pentiums • 200MHz Pentium Pro systems Next, look for in-depth reviews and analyses of these products in a future print edition of PC Computing. To sweeten the deal, we give you the chance to get your hands on some of the hottest new products on the mar¬ ket—from slick Windows 95 software to cutting-edge systems and peripher¬ als. Check out our daily and weekly contests and giveaways. If this sounds like a lot for one Web site, it is. But we want to be your sole provider. So set your home page to PC Computing and make a New Year’s resolution to purchase an ISDN line. Then you can zip through all the great stuff our site has to offer and beyond, to the best of the Web. 20 JANUARY 1996 TURN YOUR SCANNER INTO A WORLD-CLASS TYPIST. quicker than the fastest typist—and still delivers pinpoint accuracy. minute with the simple push of a button. OmniPage Pro 6.0’s indus¬ try-leading Optical Character flags down suspicious words, then corrects them for you. It accurately interprets hard-to-read faxes and copies using grayscale information. And it even reads unique char¬ acters and special symbols. "OmniPage's automatic OCR is goof proof." InfoWortd 3/6/95 Without doubt OmniPage Pro 6.0 is the smartest OCR software package you can buy. So order yourself a copy today. And don’t waste one more minute of your time typing. Tired of retyping faxes, reports, articles, even letters into your computer? With OmniPage® Pro 6.0 and your scanner, you can accurately enter thousands of words per Recognition (OCR) software converts your scanned pages to editable text and graphics in seconds for popular applications like Word, WordPerfect, Page¬ Maker, Excel and many others. So you get to spend a lot more of your time producing instead of manually typing. And OmniPage Pro 6.0’s blazing speed is only outdone by its superior accuracy. It recognizes all fonts at virtually *129 75% OFF RETAIL PRICE Upgrade from OmniPage Limited Edition, OmniPage Lite, WordScan or other versions of OmniPage (including those bundled in your scanner) and get the best OCR! • 65% more accurate • 35% faster • New, easy-to-use AutoOCR Toolbar"' • Text & graphics that retain original layout with True Page® • 24-bit color image editor • Runs on Windows 95 Call Ext 40 today! caffi Circle 261 on reader service card. R E Mail BY PHONE, FAX, NET & POST: IW Id 11 Surf’s Up at PCC • Web Traffic Jam PCC SPINS ITS WEB You Mastered The Intricacies Site for Sore Eyes I ’ve been a subscriber for a while now, and I’ve always enjoyed your magazine. PC Computing has great reviews, good coverage of operating systems like Win¬ dows 95, and terrific Web sites in the I-Way Patrol section. Now I’ve made it to the Internet, and I’m glad to see that your publication is there, too. Your Web site is very easy to use, and fun to explore. Keep up the good work! Richard Lowe via the Internet October 1995 Windows 95 Superguide issue with the words Speedup Secrets on the cover. I bought and read the entire magazine. The next day, I reinstalled Windows 95 using your tips, and had no more problems. My CD-ROM drive is faster and more reliable than ever, my video quality is excellent, and everything else is great. Thanks! Julius Bautista Vallejo, California Review of Reviews Congratulations on the best and most helpful reviews on Windows 95 that I have read in any magazine. Your Septem¬ ber and October 1995 Superguide issues will stay permanently on my bookshelf, ready for the day I upgrade. I look for¬ ward to receiving your excellent maga¬ zine each month. Keep it coming!
• H. Wheeler Durham, England Neighborhood Net Access Fm wondering how I can find a good local Internet service provider (ISP) that’s free and supports Netscape’s Navigator. Could you please give me some advice? Aaron Myers via the Internet YOU BET! Check out our feature in this issue on the best regional ISPs (page 179). ATangiedWeb I just created Web sites for our storefront businesses. Even so, I believe that the Web can’t be a viable commercial tool until it’s more reliable and less congested. It’s bad now, and most people and businesses have not yet established Web pages. Let’s hope that Internet providers both small and large will upgrade their servers and related communications hardware soon, so that customers don’t become too familiar with the message “network traffic ... try later.” Milt Burns via America Online WE FEEL YOUR PAIN, Milt. But at what speed are you accessing the Web? Most national Internet service providers (ISPs) offer a connection at 28.8Kbps or faster, but commercial services, including America Online, have been slow to catch up. If you don’t need the structured content of America Online, consider switching to an access-only ISP account. We explain in our feature “The Right Way to the 1-Way” starting on page 179. Our Secrets, Your Results I’m the computer expert in my house. I installed Windows 95 about a month ago, and my system’s performance was slower than with Windows 3.1.1 didn’t know what was wrong. Then I saw your Of Style Sheets, Macros, And Graphic Design. PC COMPUTING Beat the Are you paying too much in taxes? Do you forget to take deductions to which you are legally entitled? Are you afraid to take certain deductions because you are afraid they may trigger an IRS audit? If you said “yes” to any of these questions, Simply Tax'" could save you thousands of dollars! It’s the tax software that hundreds of thousands of people trust. It’s specially designed to make sure you take every sin¬ gle available deduction there is, so you pay the lowest amount of tax allowed by law. Sound difficult? It’s easy. Save time and money with Simply Tax. Simply Tax is designed to run on Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 and has a friendly graphical interface that will have you up and running in minutes. An Interview Wizard offers simple expla¬ nations, and online “IRS Help” answers all your questions as you fill out your tax return. You can easily import data from last year’s Simply Tax, TaxCut, TurboTax, Simply Money” and Quicken with the click of a button. Simply Tax fea¬ tures over 120 forms, schedules and worksheets, and 75 mini work¬ sheets. Plus, it supports 1040PC and all IRS elec¬ tronic filing methods so you can file quickly via modem or diskette, and have your refunds deposit¬ ed directly into your bank account. Summary Help More than 150 incredible tax savings tips. The Tax Savings function reviews every rele¬ vant line in your return to ensure you get all the tax breaks for which you qualify. It will comb through all your entries for commonly over¬ looked deductions. Simply Tax helps you be not only aggres¬ sive — but careful, too. A spe¬ cial Audit Alert checks your data and warns you if your return exceeds national averages which could trigger an IRS audit. There’s also a “what-if ’ option let you preview your tax return before it’s final. For instance, you can find out how much your return changes by altering your IRA contribution or deferring income until next year. Tax Deadline Alarms help you avoid costly late penalties and save you money. The Alarm system automatically alerts you to upcoming tax dead¬ lines/so you don’t miss out on filing returns or overlook any tax- savings strategies deadlines. And, before you file, Simply Tax vali¬ dates all your information and checks your return for complete¬ ness and accuracy. It will inform you immediately of any invalid, missing or incomplete data? (Did you know that 19% of last year’s returns had a “math error”?)* So, what are you waiting for? Don’t you want to know how much you can save? Call right now, and find out how much you can cut your taxes! To order Simply Tax Final Edition for only $19-95, call 1-800-773-5445, dept T1308. 4Homejr Productions - ItH ‘I BY PHONE, FAX, NET & POST: Iwldll Radar Wrong • Confusability Testing • Suite Success Missing Links Without Graphics In your November 1995 issue (“Under¬ ground Internet,” page 195), your advice to not load graphics ignores an unfortunate reality. Many Web-page designers embed links in the graphics. The search site Yahoo is a perfect example. Its What’s New link, among others, is in the title graphic. At least Yahoo provides a text-only interface, but some Web sites don’t. Christine Krenzel via the Internet GRAPHICALLY GREEDY, ARE WE? While you won’t get the benefit of image maps if you turn off graphics, the speedy access you gain can be worth it, especially if you're surfing at only 14.4Kbps. The best advice? Don't settle for anything slower than a V.34 modem (28.8Kbps). Serious surfers should consider ISDN. Free Internet E-mail I enjoyed your “Underground Internet” guide very much. It was packed with use¬ ful information. However, you say that CompuServe tacks a surcharge to your bill every time you receive a piece of Internet mail (page 198). As of September 10,1995, that was no longer true. Samuel Bavli via CompuServe THANKS FOR THE UPDATE. Our lead time for feature stories is three to four months. Sometimes between the time a story is written and when it hits the newsstands, information such as company rates can change. CD-ROMs vs. VCRs I disagree with your November 1995 “Radar” (Pulse, page 42). VCRs on the way out? Computer screens replacing television screens? Not in the next mil¬ lennium. No matter how good the image quality, I can’t imagine gathering the family around the old computer monitor to watch a movie. For about the cost of a large computer monitor, I can purchase a 45-inch television with built-in surround sound. And tell me, where can I rent movies on CD-ROM? Ian Michaels via America Online pc COMPUTING NO ONE WANTED to give up vinyl records for CDs, either. But it happened. And you’re right, it’s not happening today. But we’re all waiting for the prices on large computer monitors to decrease, and when they do, you’ll see the computer and video industries adapt quickly. Let’s talk in a year. Computer Confusion Ed Bott speaks the truth in his response to a letter in your November 1995 issue (“Every Company Has Them,” Mail, page 30). He writes, “Sadly, as our Usability Labs tests established, computers are still too hard to use.” I’m tired pf hearing worn-out phrases like user-frierialy and intuitive. Many com¬ puters and applications are far from either. I work with newbies as well as people who’ve used computers for a few years, and through their example I am continually reminded of how difficult and confusing these machines can be at times. Scott Clark via CompuServe Suite on Cyberjack I agree wholeheartedly with your Novem¬ ber 1995 review of Delrina’s CommSuite 95 (“One-Click Internet, E-mail, and Fax,” page 83). People wondered why Symantec bought Delrina, but if you’ve seen Delrina’s Cyberjack Internet suite, you know that Symantec knew something the rest didn’t. This software suite is actually good enough to call a must-have, and warrants passing up the ubiquitous Internet shareware. Software like this will ensure that America Online and Microsoft Network will lose out to the Internet in the long run. Todd R. Kinley via the Internet Power to the P6 In your November 1995 issue, you com¬ pare a 133MHz Pentium with the Power¬ PCs from IBM and Motorola (“Power PCs: Running on NT,” page 71). A more apt comparison might be between Dell’s $4,000 Dimension XPS P6 and the $7,000 PowerPCs from IBM and Motorola, run¬ ning 32-bit multimedia applications under Windows NT. Gerald M. Lerner via America Online 25 You Feel As Much At Home On The Internet As You Do In Your Own Living Room. 1 I ! i 1 ! t i s iNew raperrort vx;' easiest way to intoyow Organize everything easily. Mark-up your documents, then put them in files you create. Instantly find whatever you need with our powerful tie Just drag and drop your document to your fax, e-mail, word processors, printers—and more. You'll never again have to babysit the fax machine or With Visioneer s new PaperPort Vx, you can get paper into your PC in as little as two seconds—and put it to work with unmatched simplicity and speed. Get paper in fast. Just feed any piece of paper (up to 8.5” wide and 30” long) —a letter, photo, newsclip, receipt, business card—into PaperPort Vx. In seconds, it appears on your screen. Crisp and clear. Easy to read. And ready to be faxed or e-mailed, edited or copied, printed or filed with incredible ease. Put it to work—instantly. PaperPort Vx has direct links to hundreds of the most popular software applications, so you can automatically integrate paper into the applications you use everyday—your fax, on-line service, word processor, contact manager, spreadsheet, and many more. Do even more with $249 worth of free software. PaperPort Vx includes the latest OmniPage LITE" OCR software to transform scanned paper into editable text; Corex CardScan SE“ to automati¬ cally turn your pile of business cards into an electronic card-file of contacts; and PictureWorks Copier " to turn your computer and printer into an instant copy machine—with power¬ ful features to resize your image and put multiple items (like receipts and business cards) on a single page. Superior readability, superior results. Only PaperPort Vx gives you exclu¬ sive SharpPage” technology. So you get crisper scanned text—and your fax recipients get extremely legible pages, with no unreadable black blotches. And with up to 256 shades of gray, PaperPort Vx accu¬ rately captures your snapshots and graphics—even magazine pages. So, instead of running papers around your office, use PaperPort Vx to zip them into your PC where you can put them to work. To find out moi us at 1-800-787-7007, Ext. 102, or see your local dealer. Super-small, super convenient. PaperPort Vx fits between your keyboard and monitor, and installation couldn't be easier. Just plug it into a serial or parallel port—no cards required. Award-winning. PaperPort has won the most prestigious awards for its usability and design. PAPERPORT^ Circle 242 on reader service card. I S I O N E E R Ilflail BY PHONE » FAX ’ NET & POST: I Vlull Defending Tape Drives • Remote-Access Possibilities Products and Press In your November 1995 Mail (page 34), Gary Wong writes that “being light on one’s feet with timely, full-featured, bug-free soft¬ ware releases is the secret to success.” Remember that Windows 95 was promised for delivery in 1994. The gulf between the image that marketing induces and fact seems to be increasing in the computer industry. I hope that once the latest wave of hype subsides, we can reach a point where there is a clear line between the computer business and the media that covers it. James Kurien via the Internet EZ to Disagree I disagree with your review of SyQuest’s EZ135 Drive in the November 1995 issue (“Storage as Easy as 1-3-5,” page 76). You prefer Iomega’s Zip drive, but it is slower than the EZ135 and can be used only for backup. The EZ135 can run programs. Your complaints about having to push a button and turn a lever to remove the EZ135 seem petty compared with these other issues. Marc C. Levine via the Internet No Backup Support Based on my own frustration and that of others, I reali2fed that there are few options available for Windows 95 backup on large- capacity tape units (QIC-3020 and SCSI- DAT). I find it intolerable that Microsoft has not supported these drives, yet has pro¬ vided extensive support for sound cards and other peripherals. Computer users can live without sound, but not without back¬ up. If Microsoft intends to make any impact with Windows 95 in the SOHO and corporate world, support for these devices needs to be standard. Brent Livingston via the Internet MORE PEOPLE HAVE sound cards than tape drives. And Microsoft’s limited backup software concentrates on the most common tape units, which also happen to be the lowest capacity. Fortunately, other vendors like Arcada are filling the need for full Windows 95 support and comprehensive tape support for most QIC and SCSI-DAT tape units. Remotely Yours, Windows 95 In your October 1995 Windows 95 Superguide you say that a remote TCP/IP connection to Windows 95 can’t be done (“Networking Smarts,” page 178). It can. I wanted to connect to NetCom using Windows 95. With the help of a dial-up FAQ on a NetCom server, I was able to set up a TCP/IP connection, and use Netscape 1.22 over that—all in less than ten minutes. Did I misinterpret your supertip? Tell me, please, because TCP/IP works great from where I sit. Christopher DiBlagio-Wood via America Online SIN OF OMISSION. Let’s try this one more time. What we meant was, you cannot set up your system as a Windows 95 dial-up server and use it as a gateway to the Internet (taking advantage of your T1 line, for example). Only a Windows NT server lets you transfer Internet protocol addresses over a dial-up connection. Double Your Microsoft Money In your October 1995 issue, you give Microsoft’s Money for Windows 95 four and a half stars out of five as a usability rating (“Banking on Easy Money,” page 111). However, if Microsoft wants to lure anyone away from Intuit’s Quicken, it needs to work on Money’s import fea¬ ture. I tried importing my data the way Microsoft says to, and I got a lot of dou¬ ble entries when I transferred money between my accounts. My balances dou¬ bled in many cases. If only my bank account would double in real life! Carlos D. Butler via the Internet MICROSOFT HAS SINCE fixed this import “prank macro” (Redmond’s spin term for bug). For more information, surf to http://www.microsoft.com/kb/softlib/Hom eZone/q_money.htm. Windows Savings Microsoft saved me a fortune. I upgraded to Windows 95 and have found the system to be completely reliable and virtually crashproof. The speed gain over Windows for Workgroups 3.11 is minute, but I have When Other Techies Have Questions, They Usually Call You. PC COMPUTING 27 IUI 'I BY PHONE, FAX, NET & POST: IIf lull In Search of Netscape • Speedy CD-ROM Drives • Moving Windows 95 Pictures more resources available. Plus, there is no need to get memory managers or disk compressors. Thanks, Microsoft! Charles D. Burleson via CompuServe Communications. This address no longer works. You’ll do better with ftp.netscape.com. Steve Friedl via the Internet FTP sites for popular products such as Navigator. But keep trying— it’s worth it. CD-ROMs Get Faster CD-ROM drives now come in eight- speed models, and most home PCs come with at least a quad-speed drive. But soft¬ ware developers are still making double¬ speed CD-ROMs. Wake up, CD makers. Catch up with the outside world!
• C. Chu via the Internet THE OUTSIDE WORLD is a big place. Quad-speed drives are common in home systems today, but many users still rely on last year’s double-speed models. Manufacturers must cater to their whole market. Sure, you have to wait for that video clip, but if it were mastered at quad-speed, many people wouldn’t see it at all. Moving or Copying? In your November 1995 excerpt from the book CD-MOM 95: The Mother of All Windows 95 Books, by Barry Simon and Woody Leonhard (Addison-Wesley,
• the “Just Do the Right Drag” Snap¬ shot on page 270 shows an icon with a plus sign for Drag and Move. This is incorrect. When you copy a file you see the plus sign, and when you move a file you see nothing. The “Drag and Move” and the “Drag and Copy” pictures should be switched. Chris Whiteford via CompuServe For the Record In “Win95 App Explosion” (November 1995), the table “Will Your Windows 5.x Apps Work with Windows 95?” on page 132 should have listed Novell’s WordPer¬ fect 6.1 and PerfectOffice 3.0 as being compatible with Windows 95. How SOON DO YOU PLAN TO UPGRADE TO A NEW SYSTEM AND WHY? Send your thoughts about this and other subjects to Mail, PC Computing, 950 Tower Lane, 19th Floor, Foster City, CA 94404; fax: (415) 578-7059; Internet: [email protected]; CompuServe: 72241,1724. Letters are subject to editing for length and clarity. Name That Site In your November 1995 A-List (page 54), you mention that Netscape’s Navi¬ gator can be downloaded from ftp.mcom.com. This is Netscape’s old site name, from when Netscape was Mosaic QUESTIONS? HERE’S HOW TO REACH US FOR QUICK ANSWERS... Need to change your address? Wondering when your subscription expires? Want to order back issues? Renew? Give a gift subscription? If you have any questions about your subscription to PC/Computing, just let us know. We’re here for you. And we’ll get you the answers you need...or the service you want — fast! CALL. WRITE OR FAX US! HERE’S HOW: BY PHONE: In the United States and Canada, call TOLL FREE: 800-365-2770 All other countries, call: 303-447-9330 BY FAX: Outside the United States and Canada only : 303-443-5080 BY MAIL: PC/Computing P.0. Box 50253 Boulder, CO 80322-0253 Computing TAKE YOUR PICK. You can download Netscape’s Navigator from mcom.com, netscape.com, or any of a dozen other sites. The challenge, however, isn’t finding an open site, it’s getting past the online busy signal that plagues 28 JANUARY 1996 So Why Would You Go Right On Using That Antiquated Mouse Pad? The 3M™ Precise Mousing Surface. Until now, you had no choice. But 3M just invented the first tracking surface with technology built in. Technology that actually improves the performance of IM-Whin . MoUdUny SUA-ffLOL- JA The unique microstructure, with its microscopic peaks and valleys, gives you tracking control like you’ve never felt before. WPt'uWO You experience more exact cursor placement, more efficient hand movement. To call it WYPIWYG (Where You Point Is Where You Go) is something of an understatement. The microstructure keeps your mouse ball cleaner as it rolls by. Improving performance even more. In addition, our low-profile mousing surface integrates smoothly with your work surface. dnhcmaid. T/locKm^ And stays out of the way when you’re doing other things. Call 1-800-3M HELPS for more information, or visit your computer store. 3M Innovation Circle 173 on reader service card. The Sony Trinitron Multiscan display. in a crow of impressionists. Trinitron SONY No other computer display in the world comes close to the vivid clarity of a Sony Trinitron® Multiscan® dis¬ play. And, it’s more than purely a matter of style. Besides the brighter and sharper picture, the Sony Trinitron Digital Multiscan technology gives you clearer, more accurate color. Edge- to-edge, corner-to-corner." On all of todays computers. Sony’s new family of com¬ puter displays is plug and play compatible with Windows® 95.°° Plus, intuitive digital on-screen controls make it easier and more convenient to customize the picture." 08 So why settle for any¬ thing less than an original Sony Trinitron display? For a retailer near you and more information call 1-800-352-7669 ext. 119 or visit us at http://www. sel.sony.com/SEL/ccpg Pulse Windows 96 , NEC’s Bill’s Vision: Expected by summer, Windows 96 should include bug fixes, driver updates, and new utilities. Telecommuting Costs (percentage of total expenditures) Remotely Expensive: Most U.S. businesses spend an average of $1.6 million per year on remote workers. Surprisingly, equipment costs are the smallest expense. Pentium Prices (average prices for 1995) SOURCE: COMPUTER INTELLIGENCE INFOCORP The Pentium Is Falling! Prices for PCs are steadily dropping. The average cost of a new Pentium-based system is now $2,000. Home Multimedia PCs Sold (shipments in millions) ’93 '94 '95 '96 SOURCE: DATAQUEST Multimedia Slows: After a 400 percent growth rate over the last two and a half years, demand for home multimedia systems is slipping. SNEAK PREVIEW Microsoft's New Baby It’s 1996 and Windows 95 is four months old. But don’t bet on Microsoft’s baby being around to celebrate its first birthday. It’s a good operating system, but there’s just one lit¬ tle problem: Its name has expired. The birthday party is more likely to be a christening for Windows 96. Big surprise, right? You’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop since the August release. And if you’re a computer- services director, you’ve proba¬ bly banned Windows 95 from your corporate desktops and servers until you hear the sec¬ ond thud. PC Data President Ann Stephens reports that while individuals have been plunking down about $33 million a week for Windows 95, corporations have stayed away. “It’s not that anything is seri¬ ously wrong with Windows 95,” adds Forrester Research analyst Jon Oltsik. “It’s just that upgrading corporate equipment is such a major hassle that infor¬ mation-technology executives want to do it only once.” “No one expects Windows 96 to be a major overhaul,” says Stephens. “Just a point revi¬ sion—as in Windows 95.1.” When will Windows 96 arrive? Probably within the first half of this year—although, as always, it’s futile to predict the release date of a Microsoft product. Code is with beta testers, but the job won’t be anywhere near as onerous as testing Windows 95 says Carter Lusher, vice president and research director of the Gartner Group. He thinks Windows 96 could arrive as early as April. As of press time, Microsoft wouldn’t say much except that Windows 96 is code-named Nashville (Chicago and Mem¬ phis were taken). Most analysts and beta testers are looking for transient bug fixes and fine tun¬ ing wrapped around minor fea¬ ture improvements. Expect Windows 96 to include a few features that didn’t make the Windows 95 release deadline, such as infrared data-transfer UPDATES I Best Bets and Bargains ZIPPY INTERNET EASY NETWORKING NET HELP STAY ON TRACK Supra Simple Internet Net44 ($249) Michael Wolff’s Concerned about includes a 28.8Kbps networks up to four 352-page NetTech NetWare disasters? internal modem, PCs via parallel ($19) maps online Ontrack Data Recovery Supra Mosaic, and ports—no boards, no information and for NetWare ($395) online access for just cards, no mess. support resources. is invaluable. $179. Contact Supra Contact LCI at Contact Random House Contact Ontrack at at (800) 727-8772. (800)441-6562. at (800) 726-0600. (800) 752-1333. Reader Service No. 6oi Reader Service No. 602 Reader Service No. 603 Reader Service No. 604 1996 32 Bargain support and add-ons for ISDN. Support for a NetWare 4.1 Requester should appeal to cor¬ porate buyers, while Microsoft hopes that its DirectX multi- media extensions will make Windows 96 the 3-D game platform of choice. Look for improvements in the Exchange e-mail client and the Internet Explorer Web browser, as well as improved support for periph¬ eral and software drivers. Microsoft hasn’t announced its upgrade policy yet, but ana¬ lysts expect either minimal fees or no charge for an upgrade from Windows 95. Whether Windows 96 enjoys a longer run than Windows 95 depends on how early in the year it makes its debut. One thing’s for sure, it’s a guaranteed hit. MH Stac Bugs Windows 95 If you’re upgrading to Win¬ dows 95 and use the compres¬ sion utility Stacker 4.0, upgrade to Stacker 4.1 first, or you could lose data. Stacker 4.0’s disk optimizer wipes out Windows 95 file and directory names. Once Windows 95 is installed, the only way to “un-Stack” your drive is with an undocu¬ mented fix using two different DOS utilities. The alternative is to spend $30 for Stacker 4.1, which has the single improvement of Windows 95 compatibility. Stac Electronics first warned customers of this problem dur¬ ing Windows 95’s debut, and followed up by sending post¬ cards to recently registered users. But the company is rec¬ ommending Stack -4.0 users who inadvertently installed Windows 95 to seek help from Stac’s online forums or Web site (http://www.stac.com). MH 4x4 CD-ROM No More CD Juggling Now that most applications and games are available on CD-ROM, a new problem has cropped up: CD swapping. NEC Technologies’ MultiSpin 4x4 CD-ROM Changer is an internal quad-speed drive that holds up to four CDs at a time and costs only $279. The internal drive takes up no more space than a regular drive does, and uses an elevator-like mechanism to store and exchange CDs. joc MultiSpin 4x4 CD-ROM Changer / NEC Technologies / [800) 632-4636 / $279 est street price /Reader Service No. 6of Color Scanners You view and print in color, so why scan in grayscale? Color scanner prices are dropping. Here are the least- expensive colorflatbed scanners we could find as of October 23,1995. Product Price Microtek Color ScanMaker II $396 Computer Discount 'Warehouse (800) 886-4239 Genius Color Page 1 Pro MidWest Micro (800)413-9757 $415 Microtek ScanMaker IISP Bulldog Computer (800) 438-6039 $469 Microtek ScanMaker IIHR Insight Direct (800) 998-8021 $579 Hewlett-Packard ScanJet 4C Sunshine Computers $899 (800) 854-7754 Reader Service Numbers: Computer Discount Warehouse, 6o6; MidWest Micro, 607; Bulldog, 608; Insight Direct, 609; Sunshine Computers, 610 RADAR: CD-ROM Swapping, Single-Minded Machines What’s on the scope? If a blip is near or moving toward the middle of the radar screen, check it out. If it’s moving off the screen, steer clear for now. 0 Closing In 0 On Its Way Out Static Web Pages: Netscape's Navigator 2.0, push-pull animation, Sun’s Hot Java. ...It it $500 Computers: A high- powered but simple PC for basic tasks like accounting at a throwaway price? Why Multidisc CD-ROM Drives: Play Phantasmagoria without a seven-disc CD-ROM changer and you risk getting carpal tunnel syndrome from caddy-swapping. systefn? We bet you're still using slide idles for your calculations, too. Interconnected Apps: v it’s notan OLE- enabled app in an office suite—or at leastcompatiblewith one—Itoyv can you call it software? Windows 95 Tutorials: There were ten last time s m we counted. Wasn’t this snnnnsnd tn ho the easi/ PC COMPUTING Pulse Dual-Chip Computing, Monitors with a Twist, Interoffice Web Sites The Next NeXT? What if you built a technologically superior computer and no one wrote any apps for it? This question, which puzzled Steve Jobs at NeXT, is now being faced by Jean-Louis Gassee, another former Apple executive. His company, Be, recently announced the BeBox. This machine sports dual 66MHz PowerPC chips and an object-oriented operating system. It’s as fast as high-powered PCs, but sells for only $1,600. The BeBox is aptly named: It’s just a box. You provide Be f hd: system H the monitor, drives, and other peripherals. Gassee hopes to lure developers by marketing it as the ultimate tool for writing programs that exploit the merging of the Web and multimedia, rs hd File Window t Browser 3 S BeBox ^PJP ^kernel fir & BeBox / Be / (415) 462-4141 / $1,600 est. street price / Reader Service No. 613 audio_server « WORKGROUP FORUM Groupware on the Web A New Spin on 17-Inch Displays Get a new perspective on Win¬ dows: High-resolution, 17-inch monitors from ADI and Por¬ trait Display Labs let you switch between vertical and horizontal views by rotating the bezel on the monitor. Check out the full-page portrait view for word processing and page layout, then switch to the landscape view for a wide-angle look at spreadsheets. To pivot ADI’s MicroScan 17X (shown above) or PDL’s Pivot 1700, turn the bezel on the monitor and hit a hotkey combination on your key¬ board. The view then switches to a vertical or horizontal orien¬ tation. The video drivers that come with each monitor han¬ dle the switch. Both monitors work with most major graphics cards, support a maximum res¬ olution of 1,280 by 1,024, and include digital controls. The MicroScan 17X’s dot pitch is a respectable 0.28mm; the Pivot 1700’s is a finer 0.26mm. What does this extra twist cost? Less than you’d expect. At $1,099 for the Pivot 1700 and $959 for the MicroScan 17X, both are priced to com¬ pete with 17-inch displays that can’t make the switch. JOC Pivot 1700 / Portrait Display Labs / [800] 858-7744 / $1,099 est. street price / Reader Service No. 611 MicroScan 17X / ADI Systems / [800) 228-0530 / $959 est. street price / Reader Service No. 612 Want the benefits of Lotus Notes without the hassles? Digital’s Workgroup Web Forum lets you share and col¬ laborate with teammates across the office or around the world. While Lotus wisely offers Notes users the option to pub¬ lish databases on the Web via Internotes Web Publisher, companies that don’t need Notes’ additional features will find Workgroup Web alluring. Workgroup Web marks the ascension of corporate intrawebs, or internal Web- based networks. Intrawebs are simple to implement, easy to support, and accessible across multiple platforms. Use your Web browser to link into an intraweb and view local hyperlinked files. It’s as easy as surfing the Web. Intrawebs can deliver hot company news, daily messages, agendas, and meeting schedules. Many companies have set up intrawebs for human-resources information and help-desk sup¬ port. Why publish a phone- book-size policy manual or directory when it’s quickly out¬ dated and unused? Instead, post it on an intraweb where it can easily be edited on the spot. Use Workgroup Web to share working drafts of memos, manuscripts, slide presenta¬ tions, and spreadsheets. You can also have automatically threaded online conversations, share audio and video files, and conduct polls in real time. Essen¬ tially, any infor¬ mation that can be published on the Web can be organized, shared, and man¬ aged with Work¬ group Web. And until something comes out of Netscape’s acquisition of Col- labra Software, Workgroup Web is one of a kind. On the flip side, Workgroup Web doesn’t compete with Notes’ unrivaled workflow management, database replica¬ tion, and forms creation. But if you don’t need all these fea¬ tures, you won’t miss the high cost, long implementation schedules, and tough learning curves associated with Notes. At $1,995 for a server and $99 for each client, Workgroup Web Forum is a smart alterna¬ tive for companies that don’t need all the features of Notes. And for simple setup and implementation, Workgroup Web is unbeatable. You be the judge: Look for an example of our intraweb at http://www .zdnet.com/~pccomp. RS Workgroup Web Fomm / Digital Equipment Corp. / [800) 344-4825 / $1,995 est. street price for the server, $99 for each client/ 3 Reader Service No. 614 Contributors to Pulse: Kyla ' §
• Carlson, James Oliver < Cury, Mike Hogan, Jack “ Lyon, Scott Naylor, Rich < Schwerin, and Jon Zilber. p Edited by Wendy Taylor. 1 urn in in a m id w! Intraweb Created with Digital's Workgroi Intraweb: Don’t need the power of Lotus Notes? Share basic workgroup information via any browser using Digital’s Workgroup Web Forum. 34 U A R Y 1996 Acer Direct: Hip, new products, Good, old-fashioned service! AcerNote Light: PC Pc Small. Lightweight. Power-packed. And what a deal! The value of AcerNote ™ Light recalls a time when things were simpler and better. Long flight ? No problem. DuracelP NiMH batteries keep AcerNote cruising for up to three full hours! For even longer battery life, swap the internal floppy drive with an optional secondary lithium ion battery! At Acer* Direct, our 800 research & development engineers had their work cut out for them. The mission: to create a lightweight, yet fully featured notebook... and keep the price low while you’re at it! Well, just look at the result: the AcerNote Light! A marvel of good old- fashioned ingenuity! Looks like our 6% of revenue investment in R&D paid off! Acer Direct backs up the AcerNote Light with some good old-fashioned service and support, too! Like a corps of Acer Business Service Specialists available exclusively to service Acer Direct customers. They’re waiting by the phone to answer your every question! And a team of Custom Configuration Technicians, who can make notebooks to fit your special needs. Acer even offers Custom Business Leasing Plans for growing businesses. At Acer Direct, it’s “The Good Old Days” all over again! Don't Forget Back-Up Batteries Long-lasting Duracell batteries make AcerNote Light more portable! To or contact your sales representative at Acer Direct, or call 1-800-603-8225, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For a retailer or reseller near you, Call 800-529-ACER GSA# GS00K95AGS7202 Please call 1 -800-230-ACER for details on the money-back guarantee and limited warranty. Return shipping and insurance charges are the responsibility of the customer. Not available in Canada. Products, availability, prices and programs are subject to change or cancellation without notice. Shipping and handling charges are extra. Acer and the Acer logo are registered trademarks and AcerNote is a trademark of Acer America Corporation and Acer Inc. The Intel Inside logo is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation. All other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. ©1996 Acer America Corporation. All rights reserved. wer That’s Going Places! Under 5 lbs! So ligh t, you never have to check it (a big help, if your bags ever get sent to Belize)! From Walla Walla, Washington, to Kalamazoo, AcerNote Light’s IntelDX4 ”, processors let you take the power of your office PC wherever you go! Golly! Three Swell Payment Plans! • Cash & Carry: All major credit cards, check or money order! • Business Leasing: Got good credit? We’ll make a few calls and approve you fast! • New Business Purchase Plan: Less than two years under your belt? Acer Direct has special programs for young businesses and start-ups! AcerNote Service and Support • 30-day money-back guarantee • Three-year limited warranty with first-year replacement service • First-year, Toll-free technical support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week • 350 Acer Service Provider locations available in the U.S. For immediate delivery, Call 800-230-ACER Ill AcerNote Light 75MHz m 75MHz lntelDX4 Processor with Built-In 16KB Cache ■ 8MB System RAM (Expandable to 32MB) ■ 10.4" Dual-Scan LCD Displays 256 Colors
• 420MB Upgradable Hard Disk Drive 1 PCMCIA Type II Slot (1 PCMCIA Type III Slot Module Available as Accessory)
• Built-In Touchpad Pointing Device 1MB Video Memory Secondary Lithium Ion Battery Option Simultaneous Notebook Display and External Monitor CRT Support ■ Slim 8.2" x 11.7" x 1.7" System Case Weighs 5 lbs., Including Duracell NiMH Battery Full-Sized 82-Key Keyboard s Personal Organizer and Hoyle^Classic Card Games Included ■ Microsoft Windows 0 95 ■ Three-Year Limited Warranty with First-Year Next-Business-Day Replacement In U.S. and Canada $ 1,999 Access the Acer Web site at http://www.acer.com/aac/ AceR <♦

  Monday through Friday 6 AM-6 PM and Saturday 8 AM-4 PM Pacific Time. Acer computers are also available at fine retailers and resellers. When calling, please reference

  016 ACD. Specifications and pricing are subject to change. Prices valid through

  January 31,1996. The dilemma: to buy a Pentium processor-powered desktop with full multimedia capa¬ bilities, or get a portable, lightweight notebook? The AcerNote ” Pro is both in one! ickin irdffit AcerNote Pro, you're still productive Swap out the floppy drive for dual-bt operation capabilities that keep you i Get a load of the AcerNote Pro! It’s the laptop PC that goes anywhere, and, with the help of AcerDock™, turns into a fully featured desktop once you get it back to the office! They sure don’t make ’em like this anywhere else than at Acer®! You sure won’t get that Acer Direct brand of service and support anywhere else, either. No siree Bob! Like easy payment terms! Corporate purchase and leasing plans! Easy credit for start-up firms! Custom notebook configurations! And the list goes on! But what else would you expect from an ISO-9000- certified company with over 15 years PC manufacturing experience...who manufactured over TWO MILLION PCs last year (a top 5 ranking!)... and owns over 200 microcomputer patents? Don't settle for less than the best—call Acer Direct today!! Acer Direct’s “Good Old-Fashioned” Service! Acer Business Service Center: Exclusively for Acer Direct customers! Get your preferred access number with your order confirmation. AcerCare”: Want to extend or upgrade your warranty? Gee Whiz! Three Easy Ways To Pay! • Cash &c Carry: All major credit cards, check or money order! • Business Leasing: Got good credit? We’ll make a few calls and approve you fast! Call 1-800-223-7703. • New Business Purchase Plan: Less than two years under your belt? Acer Direct has special Acer Expertise: Need help with third-party software? Call programs for young businesses and start-ups! 1-900-555-ACER for quick solutions! ($2.00 per minute, $24.00 maximum) For a retailer or reseller near you, Call 800-529-ACER GSA# GS00K95AGS7202 Please call 1-800-230-ACER for details on the money-back guarantee and limited warranty. Return shipping and insurance charges are the responsibility of the customer. Not available in Canada. Products, availability, prices and programs are subject to change or cancellation without notice. Shipping and handling charges are extra. Acer and the Acer logo are registered trademarks and AcerNote is a trademark of Acer America Corporation and Acer Inc. The Intel Inside logo and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. All other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. ©1996 Acer America Corporation. All rights reserved. AcerNote Pro P120MHz AcerNote Pro P75MHz

  p

  A: AcerNote Pro! • 75MHz Intel Pentium Processor ■ 8MB System RAM (Expandable to 40MB) ■ 10.4" Dual-Scan LCD Displays 256 Colors ■ 500MB Externally Removable 2.5" Hard Disk Drive • 256KB L2 Cache » 2 PCMCIA Type 11/1 Type III Slot • Externally Removable 1.44MB Diskette Drive Secondary Lithium Ion Battery Option s 1MB PCI Bus Video with Graphics Accelerator ■ 16-Bit Sound Blaster-and Windows' Sound System: Onboard with Built-In Speaker and Microphone « Slim 8.97* x 11.7" x 1.97" System Case Weighs 6.4 lbs., Including NiMH Battery • Personal Organizer and Hoyle” Classic Card Games Included ■ Microsoft Windows 95 ■ Three-Year Limited Warranty with First-Year Next-Business-Day Replacement in the $ 2,499 SAME CONFIGURATION AS ABOVE WITH: 16MB System RAM (Expandable to 40MB) 800MB Externally Removable 2.5" Hard Disk Drive $ 2,999 pentium UPGRADE ANY DUAL-SCAN DISPLAY TO ACTIVE-MATRIX FOR $500. ■ 120MHz Intel Pentium Processor a 16MB System RAM (Expandable to 40MB) ■ 10.4" Dual-Scan LCD Displays 256 Colors

  1000MB Externally Removable 2.5" Hard Disk Drive

  $ 3,499 AcerDock Docking Station Docking Station Features Include: • 200-Watt Power Supply « Quad-Speed CD-ROM Drive 2-Button Mouse Standalone Speakers Standard Keyboard « 3 ISA Expansion Slots, 3 Storage Bays (1 lnternal/2 External) • Removable Top Cover for External CRT • Built-In Battery Charger Bay $799 For immediate delivery, Call 800-230-ACER I Welcome M H] EB Access the Acer Web site at http://www.acer.com/aac/ Acert f Monday through Friday 6 AM-6 PM and Saturday 8 AM-4 PM Pacific Time. Acer computers are also available at fine retailers and resellers. |When calling, please reference

  016 ACD. Specifications and pricing are subject to change. Prices valid through January 31,1996.

  USE ABC GRAPHICS SUITE” WITH YOUR MICROSOFT'OFFICE” SO YOU AND YOUR DOCUMENTS WILL BE MORE IMPRESSIVE THAN EVER. Designed for use in the “drag and drop" environment of Windows®95, ABC Graphics Suite is the perfect graphics extension to Microsoft Office 95. It arms you with market-proven, award-winning applications for diagramming, image editing, drawing, 3D text and graphics and media management of over 30,000 clipart images. You’ll get the new “6.0” versions of ABC Flowcharter? Picture Publisherf Micrografx Designer? and the revolutionary ABC Media Manager'plus Instant 3D? For only $149.95? it’s one of the most cost-effective ways to improve your business. mmw Only $149.95* 'Upgrade price for owners of Micrografx ■8 MteroKS e ^{Tce r} h, BRp 0 a f?sT 1 t?me

  ¥1 MICROGRAFX' Circle 376 on reader service card. Cal 1-800-376-5122 for a free** 30-day trial CD, for more information or to use our automated fax back system. http://www.micrografx.com The A-List Editors’ Top Picks by Wendy Taylor Micron Electronics PI 33 Millennia Want to see Windows scream? Want to see it again? $3,598, 133MHz . Pentium, 16MB RAM, / 1.2GB, 6X CD-ROM. Hewlett-Packard Vectra XU 6/150 RISC power in an x86-based system. Feed it native 32-bit apps only. $5,700, 150MHz k Pentium Pro, 32MB / RAM, 2GB hard drive. Micron Electronics PI 20 Millennia A trim minitower design and enough power to keep even wireheads happy. $2,699, 120MHz l Pentium, 16MB RAM, f 1.2GB hard drive. Dell Dimension P75t First-rate features at a cut-rate price—our favorite combo. $2,029, 75MHz . Pentium, 16MB RAM, / 1GB, 4X CD-ROM. Compaq Presario CDS 982 Command central for any home office- manages your fax, voice, and e-mail messages while you get down to work. ■ $2,199,90MHz k Pentium, 16MB RAM, / 729MB hard drive. IBM Power Series 850 Workstation might meets Pentium prices in this PowerPC rocket. $6,796, 133MHz M PowerPC 604, 32MB / RAM, 1GB hard drive. Poiywell Poly 500P8 The most PC at a bargain price— $2,848, 133MHz t Pentium, 16MB RAM, / 4X CD-ROM drive. Compaq ProSignia 300 5/90 Who needs an information systems department? This server is so well designed, it runs itself. $5,434, 90MHz . Pentium, 32MB RAM, / 2GB hard drive. Digital Prioris LX 590 Our labs called it the fastest server to hit our test bench; we call it a great deal. $4,418, 90MHz , Pentium, 198MB RAM, / 4X CD-ROM drive. Compaq ProLiant 1500 A reliable anchor for 15 or more nodes. $16,212, 100MHz t Pentium, 128MB RAM, / two 2.1GB SCSI-2 drives. Hewlett-Packard NetServer 5/100 LH Room for two processors and loaded with technical wizardry. $14,758, 100MHz } Pentium, 192MB RAM, , four 1GB SCSI drives. Toshiba Satellite Pro 410CDT Big desktop power—but take only what you need on the road. $4,699, 90MHz . Pentium, 8MB RAM, / 4X CD-ROM drive. IBM ThinkPad 701C George Jetson would be envious; the butterfly keyboard spreads its wings when you open the case. $2,999, 50MHz t 486DX2, 8MB RAM, / 540MB hard drive. Texas Instruments Extensa Model 450 All the extras of Dell’s Latitude and Toshiba’s Satellite for hundreds less. Let the price wars begin! $1,799, 75MHz k 486DX4, 4MB RAM, j 340MB hard drive. Gateway 2000 Solo S90 removable CD-ROM drive; and wired for sound. $5,799, 90MHz t Pentium, 16MB RAM, / 1.2GB hard drive. IBM ThinkPad 760CD When you demand the ultimate: full-screen hardware MPEG and a high-resolution 12.1-inch display. $7,999, 120MHz k Pentium, removable / CD-ROM drive. Sept. 1995. page 106 (800)515-9197 Reader Service No. 857 • Sept. 1995. page 106 (800) 515-9197 Reader Service No. 859 Stay tuned (800) 765-8431 Reader Service No. 860 : Nov. 1995, page 503 (800) 888-5858 Reader Service No. 861 Nov. 1995, page 71 (800) 472-7693 Reader Service No.862 Nov. 1995, page 13 (800) 345-1518 Reader Service No. I Nov. 1995, page 14 (800) 322-4772 Reader Service No.! Nov. 1995, page 74 (800)846-2025 Reader Service No. I PC COMPUTING 41 Peripherals y Storage y Video y Network Printers y Desktop Printers The A-List Editors’ Top Picks by Wendy Taylor You can buy a faster laser, but not a better one. Plus, who needs cables? Beam jobs to the IR port instead. $800, 6 ppm, 600 dpi, Dec. 1995, page 158 . PCL 5 (PostScript (800) 752-0900 f optional), infrared port. Reader Service No. 873 Low-Cost Color Printer Canon BJC-4100 Low-maintenance, high-quality color— and priced for mortals. J $349, 720-by-360- h dpi black, 360-by-360- f dpi color. Dec. 1998. page 88 !800>848-4123 Reader Service No. 874, D kl H 1 U P k d N 1 lit 1 ut ut $499,600 dpi, Color Printer DeskJet 855C for a tenth of the price. i i7 ppm black, ( 3 ppm color. Stay tuned (800) 752-0900 '- Reader Service No. 875 Portable Printer Citizen PN60 Slip it in your briefcase, then wow clients when you produce color pages on the spot. $339, 300-dpi thermal j transfer, 1.5 pounds. Feb. 1995, page 64 (310)453-0614 Reader Service No. 876 Network Hewlett-Packard Even 50-page print jobs fly out $4,299, 24 ppm, This issue, page 89 Laser Printer LaserJet 5Si MX faster than you can trot down the hall to claim them. 600 dpi, PCL 5e, / PostScript Level 2. (800) 752-0900 Reader Service No. 877 High-speed Network Color Printer Tektronix Phaser 340 Drop-dead solid-ink color at just 11 cents per page. $4,995, 4 ppm,

  600-by-300-dpi

  f black and color. Dec.1995, page 158 (800) 835-6100, ext. 1229 Reader Service No. 878 Low-Cost Hewlett-Packard Churns out brilliant color pages faster $1,400, 9 ppm black, Stay tuned Network Color Printer DeskJet 1600C than you can produce them. » 4 ppm color. (800) 752-0900 Reader Service No. 879 High-Resolution 20- or 21-Inch Monitor Nanao FlexScan T2-20 It’s like buying orchestra seats for Windows—and worth every penny. J $2,163, 20-inch. 1,600 by 1,200 pixels, f Plug and Play. Dec. 1995, page 158 Reader Service No. 880 High-Resolution 17-Inch Monitor Sony Multiscan 17sf Sweet 17-inch deal. Looks great, too. J $899, 1,280 by

  1,024 pixels at 60Hz. Dec. 1995, page 158 (800) 352-7669 Reader Service No. 881 High-Resolution Graphics Accelerator Matrox MGA Millennium Ultrafast Windows RAM and 3-D acceleration make this the graphics accelerator to covet. $480, 4MB WRAM, t 1,280 by 1.024 pixels f at 76Hz, PCI interface. Dec. 1995. page 158 (800) 583-4353 Reader Service No. 882 Removable Storage Iomega Zip drive Chic, purple, and portable. Plus, the cartridges are removable. i $200, 25MB or 100MB , cartridges, SCSI or f parallel interface. p«. 1995, page 158 (800)697-8833 Reader Service No. 883 CD-ROM Drive { NEC MultiSpin 4Xc The best bargain around: Queue up seven discs in this quad-speed jukebox for the price of a single-disc drive. $349, SCSI interface, J seven-disc changer. Dec. 1995, page 158 (800)632 4636 Reader Service No. 884 Hard Drive Seagate Medalist 2140 Be greedy. At these prices, why not get two? J \530, Fast ATA-2, i 10.5ms access time, f 2151GB storage. Stay tuned (800)468-3472 Reader Service No, 885 Network Mega Drive Systems The best kind of insurance for your $12,745, 5GB Nov, 1995, page 186 Storage MR5 Raid Disk Array network data. i RAID array. (800)404-6342 Reader Service No. 886 Personal Scanner Visioneer PaperPort Vx The quickest way to tame your paper in-box—moves paper off your desk and onto your hard drive. $359, 400-dpi l scanner, document- / management software. (800)787-7007, ext. 1QQ;; Reader Service Np. 887 Multimedia Creative Labs Sound The ultimate for business multimedia. $249, 32-voice This issue, page 173 ’ Sound Card Blaster AWE32 PnP Great for games, too. J 1 polyphony, 16-bit 1 DSP. (800) 998-5227 Reader Service No; 888 High-speed U.S. Robotics Courier The best of both worlds—a 28.8Kbps $699, ISDN and V.34 DeC. 1995, page 158 Fax Modem l-modem analog and ISDN modem in one. ! (28.8Kbps). (800)877-2677 Reader Service No. 889 42 J AND departure gates and times. Checkins & Outs. Specify your destina¬ tion and you’ll see what’s available at over 30,000 hotels. Now that’s room service! Wheels &Deals. You can reserve a car from over 50 car rental companies world¬ wide. Just point, click.. .and pull away. FareShoppetf ' Whenever price is your priority, we’ll show you a list of the best available fares for your itinerary. Your Personal Profile. Once you enter all your travel preferences - aisle seat, smoke-free hotel rooms, phone- equipped cars, etc. - United Connection remembers every detail. Time after time. Connecting Colleagues. Who’s going along? List their preferences and United Connection will provide the best rates fares available for the whole group. Mileage Plus! United Connection gives you instant access to your Mileage Plus account, including your current bal¬ ance and recent activity. You’ll earn 500 Mileage Plus bonus miles every time you use United Connection software to buy and complete round-trip travel on United from now through 1996. All in all, your mouse now gives you more power over your travel experience than you ever thought possible. Call 1-800-4UA-CNXN (482-2696) to get connected. Now your PC’s mouse roars with a power it never knew before. Because now it gives you complete control over all your travel,Thanks to the employee-owners of United. With United Connection software, you can reserve and purchase your travel right from your own PC. Flights &Fares. Tell us where you’re going and you’ll see all the available flights that meet your itinerary-from over 500 airlines. Make your selections and the best available fares on the screen. You can even check for current United The A-List Editors’ Top Picks by Wendy Taylor TEL Professional < Desktop o Publishing Top Pick The Buzz The Stats More Info Microsoft Office for Windows 95 The complete business software suite for Windows 95. $499 (Standard Edition), 28MB to 89MB bard disk space. Sept. 1995, page 83 (80d}4**tQQ Seeder Service No. 890 Lotus Word Pro 96 Microsoft’s Word comes close, but smart spell-checking and versioning control give Word Pro 96 an edge. $105, Windows 95 Of WindowsNT 3.51, 8MB RAM. Dec. 1995, page 158 "(80fflS48-54W Reeder Sendee No. 891 Microsoft Excel for Windows 95 While QuattroPro and Lotus 1 -2-3 languish in the 16-bit world. Excel steals the 32-bit show. $339, Windows 95 or Windows NT 3.51, 8MB RAM. Dec. 1995, page 158 (800)428-9400 i Reader Service ho. 892 Microsoft Access 95 The usability and productivity champ. / $339, 486 CPU, 12MB RAM. This issue, page 162 (800) 428-9400 Reader Service No. 893 Lotus Freelance Graphics for Windows 95 Reason enough to upgrade to Windows 95. Great for flashy $329 ($99 upgrade), Windows 95, 18MB to 40MB hard disk space. Sept. 1995, page 94 (800) 343-5414 Reader Service No. 894 Microsoft Publisher for Windows 95 The people’s press and the usability $80, 386 CPU, 6MB RAM, 6MB hard disk Dec. 1995, page 158 (800) 426-9400 Reader Service No. 895 QuarkXPress 3.31 for Windows Produces pages as slick as the ones in check out PageMaker for Windows 95. $570, 486 CPU, 8MB RAM, 12MB to 15MB hard disk space. Dec. 1995, page 158 (800)788-7835 Reader Service No. 896 CorelDraw 6 The all-in-one graphics toolkit for Windows 95: Draw, edit, and design your own masterpieces. $487, Windows 95, 486 CPU, 8MB RAM. Dec. 1995, page 158 (800)495-6216 Adobe Photoshop 3.0 for Windows A digital darkroom for your PC. And a Windows 95 version is expected early next year. $550, 486 CPU, 8MB RAM, 20MB hard disk space. Nov. 1994, page 106 (800) 521-1976 Reader Service No. 898 Intuit Quicken Deluxe 4 for Windows Branch-office checking from your hard drive. $39, 386 CPU, 4MB RAM, 7MB hard disk space. Det.ffilK^KlS8 (800) 624-8742 Reader Service No. 899 i."' Intuit QuickBooks Pro Cheaper than your average accountant and a lot easier to understand. $189, 386 CPU, 4MB RAM, 12MB hard disk space. Dec. 1995, page 158 (800)624-8742 Reader Service No. 900 Delrina CommSuite 95 One launchpad for all your Internet fixes. Sends e-mail and faxes, too. $99. 486 CPU, 8MB RAM, 30MB . hard disk space. 1 No,itil|page ; 83 !; :ii:

  (SQ0J 268-6082 Reader Service No. 768 Netscape Navigator 2.0 Still the best way to explore the Web. Download the new Windows 95 $39, Windows 95. 4MB RAM, Internet access. This issue, page 108 (800) 638-7483 jj . Reader Service No. 769 Lotus Organizer 2.0 The interface is a little precious— but the networking and usability extras are first-rate. $119, Windows 3.1, 386 CPU, 8MB hard disk space. ; Feb. 1995. page 118 (800) 343-5414 Reader Service Microsoft Project for Windows 95 Takes the work out of teamwork—the easy way. $469, Windows 95, 386 CPU, 20MB hard disk space. Dec 1995, page 188 sscwjiww X , Reader Service No. 771 Symantec Norton Utilities for Windows 95 Resuscitates dead files and diagnoses hardware problems before they happen. Everyone should have a copy. $90, Windows 95, 486 CPU, 8MB RAM. Dee.J$98.>p»8»lW " (800) 441-7234 Reader Serv.ce No. 772 PhoneDisc PowerFinder Let your fingers do the walking—find phone numbers fast. Just in: the updated version for 1996. $99, Windows 3.1, 386 CPU, 4MB RAM, CD-ROM. Stay tuned {} fl (800284-8383 ; Reader Service No, 773' PC COMPUTING . J The Tale Of Mt. Bovine and the Incredible Computing Adventure! Protection Program (SDWPP) after he turned state’s evidence in South Dakota’s biggest case of dairy fraud Wally Heifer — George’s bodyguard who suffers from an inexplicable fear of cows Buffy and Bernice Heifer — twins, Heifer cousins who are tagging along on the family holiday Roger Heifer — family know-it-all and ski expert “Holy cow,” shouts Uncle George. “It’s a Gateway 2000 Family PC™ multimedia system!” Thus begins the Tale ofMt. Bovine... "Wally, I’m happy as all get-out with this Gateway computer. Go out there and ski with your family. Anyway, there’s no one here to recognize me,” says Uncle George, busy at the keyboard the next morning. “And Wally... quit whining about cows. I’m telling you, it’s gotta be a theme resort, man. Just because it’s called Mt. Bovine doesn’t mean there’s an Abominable Snow Cow herd out there.” But George can’t convince him. So Wally stays in with George, who is totally entranced I by the Gateway 2000® P5-100 Family PC™ multimedia system standard with MPEG technology, and priced at only $2,149 — an unbeatable value! New MPEG Technology For Movie-Quality Video All Gateway 2000 Family PC multimedia systems now come standard with new MPEG (Motion Picture Experts Group) data compression technology for movie-like I video performance. MPEG gives you incomparable full-screen, full-motion video right from your CD-ROM drive! Combined with the video scaler on all Gateway graphics cards (standard on our Family PC systems), moving pictures from all your MPEG multimedia applications will be smoother — no herky-jerky moving images here! And it won’t be long until all your favorite flicks will be available on CD. “Wally, get a load of this! In Gateway’s Generations II software collection is Masters® Golf,” exclaims George. “Check out all this live-action video and interviews with cool pros like Bobby Jones. I can’t believe the video. It’s just like being there! And Wally, I called the friendly folks at Gateway, and they say there are more MPEG-ready applications coming soon!” 850MB Hard Drives Minimum On All Gateway PCs Get the hard drive space you’ll need to store today’s and tomorrow’s intensive software applications. Gateway 2000 introduces a new minimum standard — hard drives from 850MB to 2GB on all Gateway desktop PCs! Even with all the incredible pre-installed software on your Gateway system, you’ll know that you still I have plenty of room to go. These hard drives support DMA Mode 1 or 2, providing you with the best performance for multitasking environments like Windows® 95. George can’t believe his good fortune in discovering the Gateway P5-100 Family PC system complete with MPEG technology. Meanwhile on Udder Trails, Buffy and Bernice think it’s just plain rude for Uncle George and Wally to be so antisocial. I Inseparable as always, the twins Buffy and Bernice head out to the moguls on Cud Pass. “I can’t believe George and Wally are at that computer already this morning,” pouts Bernice. ‘They are so ... hey Buffy, where is that incredibly cool music coming from? Noway! Buff, that computer is pumping out those tunes!” So the twins spend their day with the Gateway 2000® Holiday XL system, while Mt. | Bovine’s entertainment, Disco Santa, lip synchs along to the high-fidelity sound. I Stereo Speaker Sound For The Audiophile At Heart You’ll be in awe when you hear the amazing stereo sound of Gateway’s Altec™ Lansing ACS-40 speakers now standard on all Gateway Family PC™ multimedia : systems! Exclusively from Gateway 2000, these high-quality speakers are a step above any other standard speaker set in the industry. Add our Altec Lansing ACS-250 subwoofer for only $75. Your speaker system will pump out an additional 40 watts of thumping bass on all your software applications and music CDs with this heart-pounding subwoofer. Experience the full-bodied sound of a home stereo system with Altec Lansing ACS-400 speakers. These 1-foot-tall tower speakers include the ACS-250 subwoofer and Dolby® Pro-Logic Surround Sound for the epitome of stereo sound on all your multimedia applications and music CDs. The ACS-400s are available exclusively through Gateway 2000 as an upgrade from the ACS-40 speakers for just $120. 6X EIDE CD-ROM Drive For Super-Fast Performance Be ready for tomorrow’s technology with this lightning-fast 6X CD-ROM drive. It’s the fastest EIDE CD-ROM found anywhere with 900KB/second data transfer rate and 214ms average access time. Combine the 6X CD-ROM with any Gateway graphics accelerator standard on our Family PC systems, and you’ll get full-motion video and be set for video scaling applications including MPEG and video conferencing. “Bernice, I’m just blown away by the stereo sound of Gateway’s Holiday XL speakers!” exclaims Buffy. “And 1 can’t believe how cool and helpful those Gateway tech support people were today. Boy, I wish we knew that much about computers! Check out this Music Central™ 96 software application running on our really fast 6X CD-ROM.” Meanwhile, back on Bull Run, Marge is anxious to try the business appli¬ cations on one of those Gateway 2000 PCs, known for their high quality and value.

  i ! ,HfAUH On a break from Bull Run, Marge and the kids, Billy and Bessie, are thrilled to find a Gateway P5-120 Family PC™ multimedia system. And Marge sees visions of the perfect holiday ahead with all the software applications available from Gateway. Microsoft Windows 95 At Your Service All Gateway 2000® PCs include Microsoft® Windows® 95 and are optimized to take full advantage of this new operating system! You’ll be prepared to weather all the computing storms of tomorrow with the powerful 32-bit platform of Windows 95. Gateway’s New Generations II Software Collection You’ll get 45 of the newest, most popular software programs in the world with Gateway’s new Generations II software collection, pre-installed on all Gateway Family vmmmm PC multimedia systems. Most Generations II programs are optimized for Windows 95, bringing new life to your multimedia software. And don’t forget to ask about Gateway’s Ultimate Software Bundle — unrivaled in the world of software bundles! Takin’ Care Of Business With MS Office 95, Professional Edition Gateway’s Holiday XL configuration, and our P5-100, P5-120, and P5-133 Professional systems all include Microsoft Office 95, Professional Edition, with 32-bit versions of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint® presentation graphics program, Schedule-)-, Access database and Bookshelf® ’95. These feature-rich applications provide innovative tools and resources to take advantage of Windows 95, for the ultimate computing performance. “Mom, dig this!” exclaims Billy, experiencing the full multimedia fun of NHL® Hockey ’95, available in the Gateway Sports Pack. Marge smiles, but can hardly wait to explore MS Office 95. While back on Herding Road, Mitch is sick of Roger’s ffee- advice, King-Of-The-Hill attitude... looks around and... “Whoa, what the heck’s going on at Mt. Bovine? Marge?... kids? Hey Rog, I'll be right back, buddy.” aSz&it&S * 6 “Know-it-all, big ski expert Roger f mutters Mitch as he enters the warm glow of Mt. Bovine lodge, “I’ve been itching to get in here with these computers for days anyway!” With that, Mitch stumbles into Mt. Bovine and almost lands right on a Gateway 2000® P5-120 Family PC™ multimedia system where he discovers a whole new world on the information superhighway! Introducing The Gateway 2000 Information Highway CD When you get a Gateway 2000 PC with fax/modem, your universe erupts with more information and communication capabilities at your fingertips than you ever thought possible! And we’ll include our own Gateway 2000 Information Highway CD to make navigation around this new universe easy. The Information Highway CD features a cool user interface with point-and-click icons that lead you through trial memberships to CompuServe? Prodigy? America Online? and Reuters Money Network online services. You’ll also get GNN (Global Network Navigator®) for easy Internet browsing and FaxWorks™ communication software on the Information Highway CD. Explore the entertainment world, access live chat lines and meet people from all over the globe, or converse with old friends and family! Reference early releases of publications such as USA Today, People and BusinessWeek. And get hooked into UseNet groups where people sharing common interests meet online for world¬ wide conversations and to exchange information. Access areas where you can download a million files of all types — free of charge! And for the world’s most expert online technical support assistance, you can contact the Gateway 2000 BBS. To get an edge on Roger, Mitch enters the ESPN site and talks to ski pros about all the latest slalom tips. But he’s sidetracked and finds evidence that Uncle George donated his dairy heist money to the research of high-nutrition milk production. “Oh, just wait till I tell Marge! She’s been wondering who gave her that anonymous grant money! And now that I’m online, there’s nothin’ stopping me from taking over as family know-it-all. See ya’ Rog!” Meanwhile Roger readies himself for Holstein Hill, Mt. Bovine’s most treach¬ erous downhill slope. He poises, glances around to make sure everyone’s looking and... “Hey! Where did they all go?! What are they doing? How could those Gateway computers possibly be more entertaining or informative than mel I’d better head back to Mt. Bovine to check out my competition!” “ He y Heifers! The roads are open. Let’s go!” But Roger stops - in awe at the sight of the whole Heifer family happily computing on Gateway 2000® PCs. '‘Holy cow! You must be joking!” laughs George. “This is the coolest holiday this family’s ever had! There’s something for everyone here. Plus, Gateway gives you all the resources and technology to make initial start up. daily maintenance, and upgrading for the future easy. Boy, does that ever add to the overall value of a computer! And Gateway 2000 even has a 90-Days No Payment Program.” Value-Packed Pentium-Processor PCs For Today And Tomorrow Nearly all Gateway 2000 PCs include the Intel® Pentium® processor. All your applications will run better and faster with the extra oomph of this processor, and f° u ’U be prepared to handle the new applications of the future! Gateway 2000: Making Computing Easy For Everyone Microsoft® s new operating system makes working on your computer easier han ever. And all Gateway 2000 keyboards are designed with three keys specifi- aHy for Windows® 95. The included MS IntelliType and IntelliPoint software vill turn your keyboard and mouse into powerful, personalized computing tools. All Gateway PCs are 100% Windows 95 Plug and Play compatible. Plug and Play automatically recognizes and configures any new expansion hardware installed in your PC, making upgrading your system easier than ever. You’ll get all the resources you need, from Gateway’s Quick Setup poster to our Information Highway CD, to award-winning toll-free technical support for quick, expert technical assistance. All Gateway PCs are built to order, so we’ll custom-configure a computer to your exact specifications. And be sure to ask about our outstanding line of Gateway Solo™ portable PCs. “Hey gang, we’ve gotta come back next year and bring the whole Heifer herd!” exclaims Roger, now a Gateway believer. “Just think of all the incredible stuff Gateway 2000 will have then. Mt. Bovine rules! Where do we make reservations?” GATEW1Y2000 NO PAYMENTS Ask About Our “90 Days No Payment" Program! pentium Gateway 2000® Family PC U Systems. P5-75 FAMILY PC ■ InteFTSMHz Pentium® Processor ■ 8MB EDO Performance DRAM ■ 850MB 10ms DMA Mode 1 EIDE Hard Drive I PCI Enhanced IDE Interface I 64-Bit PCI Graphics Accelerator w/ 1MB DRAM ■ 4X EIDE CD-ROM ■ 16-Bit Gateway Sound Card ■ Altec‘“ Lansing ACS-40 Speakers ■ TelePath® 14.4 Fax/Modem Communication Center ■ Gateway Information Highway CD ■ .15' Diskette Drive ■ 14" ,28dp CrystalScan® Color Monitor ■ 7-Bay Desktop Case ■ 104 + Keyboard & MS Mouse 2.0 ■ Microsoft® Windows® 95 ■ Ml Generations II Software Collection ■ Gateway Gold™ Service & Support $1799 P5-I00 FAMILY PC ■ IntehioOMHz Pentium Processor ■ 8MB EDO Performance DRAM ■ 1GB 10ms DMA Mode 1 EIDE Hard Drive ■ PCI Enhanced IDE Interface ■ 64-Bit PCI Graphics Accelerator w/ 2MB DRAM ■ 4X EIDE CD-ROM ■ 16-Bit Gateway Sound Card I Altec Lansing ACS-40 Speakers ■ TelePath 28.8 Fax/Modem Communication Center ■ Gateway Information Highway CD ■ 3.5” Diskette Drive ■ 15” .28dp CrystalScan Color Monitor ■ 7-Bay Desktop Case I 104 Keyboard & MS Mouse 2.0 ■ MS W indows 95 ■ Ml Generations II Software Collection ■ Gateway Gold Service & Support $2149 P5-120 FAMILY PC ■ Intel 120MHz Pentium Processor ■ 8MB EDO Performance DRAM M 1.62GB 9ms DMA Mode 2 EIDE Hard Drive M PCI Enhanced IDE Interface N 64-Bit PCI Graphics Accelerator w/ 2MB DRAM ■ 6X EIDE CD-ROM ■ 16-Bit Gateway Sound Card ■ Altec Lansing ACS-40 Speakers M TelePath 28.8 Fax/Modem Communication Center ■ Gateway Information Highway CD ■ 3.5” Diskette Drive ■ 15" .26dp Vivitron™ Color Monitor ■ 7-Bay Desktop Case I 104* Keyboard & MS Mouse 2.0 M MS Windows 95 ■ MIGenerations II Software Collection ■ Gateway Gold Service & Support $2499 Gateway 2000 Manufacturing. North Sioux City. South Dakota, is ISO 9002 certified. mwnfimJL SOFTWARE COLLECTION ■ Microsoft® Encarta® 96 ■ MS Cinemania* 96 ■ MS Julia Child: Home 3 Cooking with Master Chefs ■ MS Bob. 1 ” for Gateway 2000 ■ MS Works 95 MS

  Publisher 95 ■ MS Money 4.0 ■ MS Golf ■ MS Music Central™ 96 ■ MS CD Sampler ■ MS Entertainment Packs 1-4(31 fun games!) ■ Cash Graf Home Office Plus'” ■ . Mayo Clinic® Family Health Book ■ ’ Mediamatics Arcade™ MPEG Player ■ The Masters®: Interactive Journey Through Its 60- Year History, for MPEG

  MS Office 95, Professional Edition includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint presentation graphics program, Schedule*, Access database - and Booksh^f '95. Gateway 2000 Family PC Systems HOLIDAYXL ■ Intel 133MHz Pentium Processor ■ 16MB EDO Performance DRAM ■ 256K Pipelined Burst Cache ; ■ 1.62GB 9ms DMA Mode 2 EIDE Hard Drive ■ PCI Enhanced IDE Interface ■ Matrox® MGA” 2MB WRAM Graphics Accelerator ■ 6X EIDE CD-ROM Drive ■ 16-Bit Ensoniq® Wavetable SoundCard ■ Altec Lansing ACS-40 Speakers w/ ACS-250 Subwoofer ■ TeiePath 28.8 Fax/Modem Communication Center ■ Gateway Information Highway CD ■ 3.5” Diskette Drive ■ 17” .28dp CrystalSeah Color Monitor ■ 12-Bay Tower Case ■ 104 + Keyboard & MS Mouse 2.0 ■ MS Windows 95 ■ MS Office 95, Professional Edition* ■ IS Generations II Software Collection ■ Gateway Gold Premium Service f $3499 Gateway Ultimate Software Bundle I Call today and ask how you can get both Generations II Software Collection and Microsoft Office 95, Professional EdtHpft? pre- '• installed on any Gateway 2000 desktop PC, along with a gaming pad—all for an unbeatable value 1 4 flncludes priority access to technical experts and extends on-site service « agreement to three years total. "h GATEWAY GOLD" SERVICE & SUPPORT Service When You Need It ■ Toll-Free Technical Support 24 Hours A Day, 7 Days A Week ■ Free Software Technical Support for all Gateway-provided operating systems & applications (includes Windows 95 Support) ■ Industry-Leading Response Times For Toll-Free Support ■ 1-Year On-Site Service Agreement* ■ Next Business Day Response On-Site Serviceff pentium ■ Extended On-Site Service Houts (6a.m.-10p.m. Monday-Friday, 8a.m.-5p.m. Saturdays) ■ Scheduled On-Site Service 4 (2-hour appointment window) ■ 3-Year Parts Only Limited Warranty*

  ■ Express Replacement Parts Delivery ■ Club Gateway™ Membership ■ GW2k' ": Gateway Magazine ■ Gateway iulietin Board (BBS) Service ■ Automated FaxBack Service ft Pending parts delivery for most locations, and when our technicians determine it’s necessary.

  Call or write us for a free copy of our

  warranty or on-site service agreement. GATEW4V2000 8 0 0 - 4 2 4 - 1 4 1 7 P5-75 P5-100 Intel 100MHz Pentium Processor 8MB EDO Performance DRAM ■ 256K Pipelined Burst Cache ■ 1GB 10ms DMA Mode 2 EIDE Hard Drive PCI Enhanced IDE Interface 64-Bit PCI Graphics Accelerator w/1MB DRAM Drive ,28dp CrystalScan Color Monitor 7-Bay Desktop Case 104 + Keyboard & MS Mouse 2.0 Windows 95 MS Office 95, Professional Edition* Gateway Gold Service & Support $1999 P5-120 ■ Intel 1 20 mHz Pentium Processor ■ 16MB EDO Performance DRAM ■ 256K Pipelined Burst Cache ■ 1GB 10ms DMA Mode 2 EIDE Hard Drive ■ PCI Enhanced IDE Interface ■ 64-Bit PCI Graphics Accelerator w/2MB DRAM ■ 4X EIDE CD-ROM Drive L ■ 3.5" Diskette Drive ■ 15" .26dp Vivitron™ Color Monitor ■ 7-Bay Desktop Case ■ 104* Keyboard & MS Mouse 2.0 ■ MS Windows 95 ■ MS Office 95, Professional Edition* ■ Gateway Gold Service & Support $2499 P5-133 ■ Intel 133MHz Pentium Processor ■ 16MB EDO Performance DRAM ■ 256K Pipelined Burst Cache ■ 1.62GB 9ms DMA Mode 2 EIDE Hard Drive ■ PCI Enhanced IDE Interface ■ 64-Bit PCI Graphics Accelerator w/2MB DRAM ■ 6X EIDE CD-ROM Drive ■ 3.5" Diskette Drive ■ 15" ,26dp Vivitron Color Monitor ■ 7-Bay Desktop Case ■ 104 + Keyboard & MS Mouse 2.0 ■ MS Windows 95 ■ MS Office 95, Professional Edition* ■ Gateway Gold Service & Support $2799 ■ Intel® 75MHz Pentium® Processor ■ 8MB EDO Performance DRAM ■ 850MB 10ms DMA Mode 1 EIDE Hard Drive ■ 3.5" ■ 14" ,28dp CrystalScan® Color Monitor ■ 7-Bay Desktop Case ■ f04 + Keyboard & MS Mouse 2.0 ■ MS Windows® 95 ■ MS Works 95 ■ Gateway Gold™ Service & Support Professional Systems G6-200 Service Options ■ Intel 200MHz Pentium Pro Processor ■ 64MB DRAM I 2GB 10ms DMA Mode 2 EIDE Hard Drive ■ PCI Enhanced IDE Interface ■ Matrox® MGA™ 2MB WRAM Graphics Accelerator ■ 6X EIDE CD-ROM Drive I 3.5” Diskette Drive ■ 17” ,28dp CrystalScan Color Monitor I 12-Bay Tower Case I 104* Keyboard & MS Mouse 2.0 I MS Windows NT’ M Workstation 3.51 I MS Office 95, Professional Edition* I Gateway Gold Premium Service Microsoft® Windows NT Workstation 3.51 Upgrade If your work demands a powerful operating system, you need MS Windows NT Worksta¬ tion. Run your 32-bit applications with crash , protection and preemptive multitasking, better network access, improved security, and the capability to handle large data files. Available as an upgrade on the P5-120 and P5-133 Professional systems in selected configurations at time of system purchase. $99 pentium

  *Call or write us for a free copy of our

  warranty or on-site agreement. Pie G6-200 Professional system has not been approved by the Federal Communications Commision. This devicefs not. and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased until the approval of the FCC has been obtained.

  MS Office 95, Professional Edition includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint’ 3 presentation graphics program, Schedule +, Access database and Bookshelf '95. ''' Gateway Gold Premium ■ Extended Three-Year On-Site Agreement ■ Priority 800 Number For Access To Technical Experts $99 Gateway Gold A La Carte ■ On-Site System Installation ■ On-Site Upgrade/Add-On Installation ■ Hardware and Software Customization/ Integration Ask your sales representative for details and pricing information. Qet All The Sights and Sounds of Incredible holiday extras from Gateway 2000, all at outstanding values. All peripherals and software sold only with the purchase of a Gateway system. Multimedia Audio Multimedia Kits Everything you need to add multimedia to a Gateway 2000® PC. Choose a Gateway 16-bit CD-quality sound card or an Ensoniq® Soundscape'16-bit wavetable sound card. Both are Sound Blaster™ compatible and include two Altec™ Lansing ACS40 speakers. $95 (Gateway 16-bit sound card andACS-40 speakers) $115 (Ensoniq Soundscape 16-bit wavetable sound card andACS-40 speakers) Multimedia Speaker Upgrades Upgrade the speakers in any Gateway multimedia kit by adding the all-new Altec Lansing ACS-250 subwoofer to provide up to 40 watts of additional bass. $75 (upgrade from systems which include Altec ACS-40 speakers) The Dolby® Pro-Logic Surround Sound ACS-400 speaker system will make your CD audio multimedia applications come alive with theater-like surround sound. Complete with two Altec Lansing ACS-400 satellites and ACS-250 subwoofer. $120 (upgrade from systems which include Altec ACS-40 speakers) ! 6XEIDE CD-ROM Drive Access your software applications and documents faster than ever with this 6X EIDE CD-ROM drive from Gateway 2000; giving you 900KB/sec|}nd data transfer rate and 214ms average access time. Supports multisession photo CDs and XA format, enabling simultaneous audio and data with additional hardware. $100 (upgrade from systems with 4X CD-ROM drive )» ' 4X Three-CD Changer Enhance the value and usefulness of your PC with the 4X threspCD changer. It supports multisession photo CDs and XA format, enabling simultaneous audio and data with additional hardware. You’ll have access to three times the amount of information of a singk£D-ROM drjjrtf $100 (upgrade from 4X CD-RCpf drmf CH FlightStick The CH FlightStick is engineered specifically to look and feel like a jet joy stick. Features advanced throttle control, contour jet grip with two fire buttons and seven-foot cable. $35 i Gateway accepts most major credit k cards and C. O.D. terms, with net 30- i day terms and leasing options I available to qualified commercial customers. You can also apply for the Gateway 2000 DuoLirte™ MasterCard ® card, issued by Dial National Bank, Des Moines, Iowa. NO PAYMENTS Ask About Our “90 Days No Payment’’ Program! pentium Qateway 2000 Extras! Software 10th Anniversary Software Bundle Our special 10th Anniversary bundle includes BioForge:™ Wing Commander® III: Heart of the Tiger; Magic Carpet™ II: The Netherworlds; and a Gateway 2000 10th Anniversary T-shirt! $49 (BioForge mv not be suitable for younger children.) ■ «--• «S> Kid’s BackPack™ II Our new Kid’s BackPack II combines learning and fun in a software package specifically designed for kids.- ; j| Includes What is a Bellybutton?; The Tales of Petfr Rabbit; Cinderella, The Original Fairy Tale; I reddi ■ Fish™ and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds™; and Pocahontas Reading Adventure, along with a Gateway cow-spotted backpack! $59 4205^ Finance Pack Get your finances in order with this new software bundle. Includes Quicken® Deluxe 5; Quicken Financial f Planner;™ Quicken Family Lawyer;™ Quicken Parents’ Guide To Money;™ and a coupon to receive TurboTax® Deluxe upon release at no extra charge. $79 Starter Pack: The Sequel A new twist on our favorite software bundle! Includes Tuneland;™ Cyberia;™ SimCity;™ Rand McNally TripMaker™SE; Hometime® Weekend Home Projects; 70 Million Households Phone Book; Consumer Survival Kit; and The 7th Guest™ Also includes 12-CD flip-case holder. $99 (The 7th Guest my not be suitable for younger children.) Sports Pack Includes Unnecessary Roughness ’95;™ Hardball 4; w FIFA International Soccer, PGA Tour® Golf; NHL® Hockey '95; and NASCAR® Racing. Also includes Gravis GamePad™ and 20-disc storage rack. $99 Flight Pack Includes TFX"! Tactical Fighter Experiment; Aces® Over Europe; Maximum Comanche;® Strike Commander; Privateer; Wing Commander® Armada; and Warplanes. You also get a joystick and 20-disc storage rack. $99 Communications & Storage TelePath® 28.8 Fax/Modem Communication Center Internal fax/modem, 28,800bps modem, V.34, with 14,400bps fax capability. Sends and reCStves data and faxes, and also includes voice mail capabilities. Includes the Gateway Information Highway CD giving you trial memberships to CompuServe® Prodigy® America Online®, Reutejs,4doney Network online services, and GNN® for easy Internet browsing. $149 (upgrade from TelePath 14.4 to Jeff Path 28.8 Fax/Modem $70) Colorado Memory Systems® Jumbo™ 1400 TBU CMS Jumbo 1400 internal tape backup unit with up to 1.36GB compressed (680MB native) storage capacity per tape. Comes with MS Windows® and DOS® software, one tape and cable. $199 American Power Conversion ’' Back-UPS® 600 Protect your computer and data with an Uninterruptible PoWer Supply from American Power Conversion (APC), the power protection products leader. $259 BH 8 0 0 - 4 2 4 - 1 4 1 7 More Qateway Ways To Make Monitors Gateway Vivitron™ Color Monitors Non-interlaced color monitor using Sony® Trinitron® tube technology, capable of 1280 x 1024 resolution. Gateway 15-Inch Vivitron Color Monitor, .26 dot pitch Upgrade from a 14" CrystalScan® monitor to 15" Vivitron monitor $160 Upgrade from a 15" CrystalScan monitor to 15" Vivitron monitor $75 Gateway CrystalScan Color Monitors Non-interlaced color monitor capable of 1280 x 1024 resolution.; Gateway 15-Inch CrystalScan Color Monitor, .28 dot pitch Upgrade from a 14” CrystalScan monitor to 15 Cry stalScan monitor Gateway 17-Inch CrystalScan Color Monitor, .28 dot pitch Upgrade from a 15" CrystalScan monitor to 17" CrystalScan monitor (Upgrade prices good only at time of system purchase.) Networking 3Com® Ethernet Adapters 10/100 Base-T PCI Card for CAT 5 Unshielded Twisted Pair $159 16-bit Triple Media Card with BNC, AUI and RJ-45 connectors $99 16-bit Card with only RJ-45 connector $79 SMC PCI Ethernet Adapter 32-bit Card with both RJ-45 and BNC connectors $119 Printers Epson® Stylus™ IIs Color Ink Jet Printer Photo-quality printing in color and black-and-white with 720dpi on high-quality glossy paper. Great for home use. and is easy to use. $339 Epson Stylus II Color Ink Jet Printer Perfect for the small business or home office, providing vivid color and crisp black-and-white printing at 720dpi. Plus, it’s quiet and compact. $449 Hewlett® Packard 5L-FS Printer Add professional edge to your outputs with 600dpi and HP Resolution Enhancement technology. You’ll also enjoy fast laser printing with this printer’s speedy 4-ppm engine. $499 Epson ActionLaser 1400 Printer Features a high-performance RISC-based processor optimized to perform operations in fewer clock cycles than a standard CISC, as well as 600 x 600dpi with edge smoothing technology. $499 Lexmark™ Optra R Corporate-quality printer with networking capabilities. Features a 25MHz RISC processor, 2MB memory , true 1200 x1200dpi, and prints 12ppm. $1299 Epson ActionPrinter 3260 This letter-quality, dot-matrix printer prints at 360 x 360dpi with a choice of 10 built-in typefaces and can be upgraded to color. $209 All printers include parallel cable. Cattfibr additionalprinter options. Software Upgrades Gateway's following special Microsoft® Windows 95® and Office 95 Professional Edition offers are available to existing Gateway 2000® customers only as upgrades to DOS® and Windows or MS Office. Microsoft Windows® 95 Upgrade Only available to our valued customers, Microsoft’s new operating system will make your system faster and easier to use. And you’ll get toll-free technical support for Windows 95 installation, configuration and problem resolution. Order your copy today! $94 (On&skettes $104) Microsoft Office 95 Professional Upgrade Microsoft Office 95, Professional Edition is designed to work specifically with the Windowk’95 operating system, and includes 32-bit versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint® presentation graphics, Schedulet, Access i database, and Bookshelf®’95. $264 Windows 95 & Office 95 Professional Edition Upgrade For an unbeatable combination value, get both MS Windows 95 and MS Office 95, Professional Edition. Microsoft Windows 95 operating system will make your system faster and easier to use. And you’ll get toll- free technical support for Windows 95 installation, configuration, and problem resolution. Microsoft Office 95, Professional Edition is designed to work specifically with the Windows 95 operating system, and includes 32-bit versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint presentation graphics, Schedule+, Access database, and Bookshelf ’95. $349 Service & Support Gateway Gold™ Premium service and support is available to all new customers as an upgrade to Gateway Gold standard with all Gateway desktop systems. If you are already a Gateway customer and are currently, within your one-year on-site service agreement, you can upgrade to the Gateway Gold Premium service option for $99. ' pentium Pentium GATEWAY2000® LIBERTY ■ 10.4" SVGA DSTN Color Display ■ Intel 486 DX4-100 Processor ■ 4.2 Lbs., 10" x 8" x 1.6" ■ 1MB Video RAM 1 NiMH Battery & AC Pack ■ 2 PCMCIA Type II or 1 Type III Slot ■ |Z Point ' 1 Integrated Pointer 1 Removable Hard Drive M Choice of Desktop IR Module or External Floppy Drive I 78-Key Kevboard ■ Parallel, Serial,VGA & PS/2 Ports ■ Ascend personal information manager (for use with Franklin Day Planner) ■ Microsoft Windows 95* §| ■ 8MB RAM (expandable to 24MB) ■ 340MB Hard Drive ■ 256KL2 Cache ■ External Floppy Drive IMS Works 95 DX4-100 BEST BUY ■ 24MB RAM ■ 720MB Hard Drive < j ■ 256KL2 Cache I 2 NiMH or 1 Lithium Ion Battery I TelePath® 14.4 XJACK® Fax/Modem ■ Desktop IR Module ■ External Floppy Drive / ■ MS Office 95, Professional E^ion 1

  I Liberty Leather Carrying Cfse $3599 $2599 DX4-100 DELUXE ■ 16MB RAM ■ 540MB Hard Drive ■ 256K L2 Cache ■ External Floppy Drive I MS Office 95, Professional Edition" $3099 r MS Office 95, Professional Edition includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint® presentation ' graphics program , Schedule-r. Access database and Bookshelf’95. **MS-DOS? 6.22 and MS Windows for Workgroups 5.11 available upon request. PERIPHERAL OPTIONS ■ Panasonic® KXL-D720 External CD-ROM Drive $299 ■ PCMCIA 14.4 XJACK Send/Rcceivc Fax/Modem $159 ■128.8 PCMCIA Fax/Modem $299 ■ PCMCIA Network Adapters 3COM® Twisted Pair Ethernet $129 3COM Coaxial Ethernet $159 IBM® Token Ring $399 ■ Extra Solo Lithium Ion Batter ■ Extra Liberty NiMH Battery ■ Extra Liberty Lithium Ion Bait ■ Desktop IR Module $79 f ■ Call for additional memory and bard drive options. g f y $200 ery $199 SERVICE & WARRANTY Call for service and warranty options. Lifetime portable-specific toll-free support 24 hours a day. 7 days a week. One-year limited warranty standard. (For a free copy, call or write.) Three-year limited warranty option. $100 GATEWW2QOO 0 0 - 4 2 4 - 1 4 1 7 Wishing you a very merry holiday (Michellepom Sales); the twins Bernice and Buffy (Katie from Creative Services and her twin sister Mollie), Uncle George (Wes from Information Systems), Roger (Dave from Marketing), Mitch (Ed from Technical Support), Wally (Dax from Portables Technical Support), Bessie (Ed’s daughter Mandi), andBilly (Ed’s son Quinn, who couldn't be dragged away from NHL® Hockey ’95 for this photo). Designed for Microsoft Windows 95 GSA Schedule

  GS-0OK-94-AGS-515O-PS01

  rrmmmrn Toll free from '■«« "You’vegot a friend in the business.™ ■SSS, 8 0 0 - 4 2 4 - 1 4 1 7 610 Gateway Drive • P.O. Box 2000 • N. Sioux City, SD 57049-2001 Phone 605-232-2000* TDD 800-846-1778 • Fax 605-232-2023 FaxBack 800-846-4526* International FaxBack Access 605-232-2561 • Component Ail-On Sales 800-846-2080 Sales: Hours: 7am-10pm Weekdays, 9am-4pm Saturdays (CST) © 1995 Gateway 2000. Inc. Gateway 2000, CrystalScan,TelePath, black-and-white spot design. “G" logo l.. registered trademarks, and Club Gateway, GW2k, Gateway 2000 Duoline, EZ Pad, EZ Point, Family PC, Liberty and Vivitron are trademarks of Gateway 2000, Inc. The Intel Inside Logo, Intel, Pentium and OverD All other brands and product names are tradema size of the cathode-ray tube. All prices and configurations i Jn. Prices do not include shipping or applicable sales tax. GATEm\2000 tlhe busine it M to guide your project down a clear path Introducing new Microsoft Project for Windows 95. Now you can manage projects more simply, more smoothly, by communicating project informa as it occurs. With new Microsoft Project you can convey project status quickly and effectively so your boss, customers, and coworkers are always in the loop. From sharing task deadlines and responsibilities, to letting people know about changes and the impact they'll have on the deadline, you have the tools to organize your projects into manageable steps and keep them moving in the right direction. New Microsoft Project unlocks the doors of communication and gives you the power to navigate the most efficient route to a successful end product. Graphical views let teammates visualize where the project is going. •' With Microsoft Project you can display project data in ways that everyone can understand. Great-looking Gantt Charts integrate text, timelines and graphical bars so everyone can see start and finish dates, inter¬ dependencies and task assignments. Throughout your project, you can also use a Monthly Calendar report to share your plan in a format that’s clear and easy to read. And since Microsoft Project shares many of the same key commands with other Office applications, it will be easy to create schedules and reports. But if at any time you need help, type in a question and the Answer Wizard gives you the information you need. Microsoft Project helps you illustrate every phase of your project so Keep everyone moving on the same track with open lines of communication. iS Start Microsoft Projects the world's best selling project management software and now is optimized to work hand-in-hand with the 32-bit performance, advanced mulMtaJtjng, and simplified user interface of the Windows® Q5 operating system. Together, they help open the lines Of communication. Together*' they help‘‘enhance the way you manage your projects. Now you can take full advantage of Windows 95. Microsoft Project is completely integrated with a wide range of e-mail systems* and Schedule+ so that with a single click, changes and additions are immediately distributed to and from teammates. Assignments, task changes, and progress can be communicated and updated without ever reentering information, so you save time and eliminate mistakes. And because Microsoft Project is a member of the Office family, sharing data between programs is easy. For example, you can start building a schedule by simply dragging a task list out of Microsoft Excel and dropping it directly into your Microsoft Project plan. You keep communication clear ^{and information consistent and your project continues to move exactly the way you planned. Windows 3. lx Windows 95 Windows NT Fast, Easy & Amazing 32-bit Graphics! Features: • Anti-aliasing for Internet graphics • Interactive graduated transparency •Stepless graduated fills for photo-realistic images • Change colors of artwork in one easy step The perfect complement to: •CorelDRAW 3 •CorelDRAW 4 •CorelDRAW‘5 •CorelDRAW"}

  • Corel VENTURA ...and all other DTP and graphics software! PaulSomerson Woof D o you like dogs? I sure do, even though both of mine are slowly eating my house and its contents. They spend all day munching wood, like GIANT CARNIVOROUS TERMITES. Recently, a neighbor saw the damage and asked how old they were —in dog years. What a concept. Dogs have relatively short lives and age relatively rapidly. So we need an accelerated measurement system for them. For PCs, too. It used to be you’d upgrade once every cou¬ ple years. Then MOORE’S LAW KICKED IN and Intel trotted out the newest hot CPU. Now these chips are coming every few months. And it used to be that all the other parts didn’t change very much. You stared at small monitors and used small hard disks and slow modems and small amounts of RAM. But GUIs and multimedia and the Web REWROTE ALL THE RULES. Now the changes are starting to happen in dog years. Your PC that seemed so killer months ago suddenly feels like an old, tired mutt. And you find you can’t take your mind off that new screamer from Dell, Gateway, Micron.... Your skin tingles. Your palms sweat. Your mouth turns dry. Your pupils go all the way black. Your breathing becomes shallow and rapid. Your limbs feel heavy. Your heart ham¬ mers like a sewing machine. Your brain screams, “I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT!” Hon¬ est, boss, it followed me home. Can I keep it? OK, few of us are rolling in enough dough to buy a new PC every couple months, but as our Usability Labs have proven repeatedly, most of this stuff PAYS FOR ITSELF awfully quickly in increased productivity. In days, sometimes. Frankly, if you’re still wrestling with a gutless 386, plunk down a few thousand for a spank¬ ing new system. But the revolution isn’t just in CPU muscle. ALMOST EVERY SINGLE PART of your system will benefit greatly from a visit to your dealer. If your processor still has a lit¬ tle hair on it, you can blast it into high gear with the following trade-ups: • Huge, speedy, cheap, EIDE or SCSI-2 Fast HARD DISKS. Get a gig or two. • At least 16 megs of RAM, though 32 is bet¬ ter. You can never have enough. • True-color, 64-bit, accelerated 3-D GRAPH¬ ICS CARDS. Seeing is believing. • Plug and Play, 3-D sound, wavetable SOUND CARDS. Hearing is believing, too. • Powered SPEAKERS. Throw away those toys and snap in a wall-shaking pair from Cam¬ bridge or Advent. • Big, affordable SCREENS. 17-inch is now minimum; 21-inch is better. • Big-bandwidth MODEMS. 28.8Kbps models sell for $150; analog/ISDN combos for $450. • CD-ROM DRIVES. 4X or 6X. And how can you live without a changer? • Even CACHES. Swap out that old asynchro¬ nous SRAM for “pipeline burst” memory. Why wait? Now’s the time to upgrade. Don’t let your system go to the dogs. PowerServer SMP The Ultimate SMP Pentiimf Processor Server Solution O nly Micron can deliver server solutions built on such a unique heritage of award-winning speed, performance, reliability and service. And just like all Micron systems, the PowerServer SMP is engineered to meet the challenge of your most demanding information processing needs-with no compromise in system reliability. And no server would be a server without Novell's rigorous lab tests. Certification that the PowerServer SMP is ready to run NetWare® when you are. Plus all Micron products are backed with a 30-day, money-back guarantee with no questions asked. So it's no surprise why customers surveyed by both PC World and PC Magazine said they are more likely to purchase a Micron system again than any other manufacturer. The PowerServer SMP from Micron. An incredible server at an amazing price. Only from Micron—the technology leader. P133 PowerServer SMP • Intel 133MHz Pentium processor • Dual Pentium SMP ZIF sockets • 512K write-back cache, flash BIOS • Slots: 5 EISA, 2 PCI, 1 EISA/PCI • PCI 32-bit Ultra SCSI Fast-20 controller • 4X SCSI-2 CD-ROM drive, 3.5" floppy drive • PCI 64-bit video, MPEG, 2MB EDO • Full-size tower with 10 drive bays • Microsoft® Mouse, 104-key keyboard • Microsoft Windows® 95 CD A • 16MB RAM • 1GB SCSI-2 hard drive

  15" Micron 15FGx, 1280NI, .28mm monitor $ 3,799 Business lease $130/month B 32MB RAM • 2GB SCSI-2 hard drive

  • 15" Micron 15FGx, 1280NI, .28mm monitor

  4,799 Business lease $164/month

  NetWare Tested and Approved Pentium • With second 133MHz Pentium processor..add $799 • With Windows NT Workstation 3.51 CD..add $249 P266 PowerServer SMP • Dual 133MHz Pentium processors • 512K write back cache, flash BIOS • Slots: 5 EISA, 2 PCI, 1 EISA/PCI • PCI 32-bit Ultra SCSI Fast-20 controller • 6X SCSI-2 CD-ROM drive, 3.5" floppy drive • PCI 64-bit video, MPEG, 2MB EDO • Full-size tower with 10 drive bays • Microsoft Mouse, 104-key keyboard • Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51 CD m Make The Connection A B • 32MB RAM • 2GB SCSI-2 hard drive • 15" Micron 15FGx, 1280NI, .28mm monitor

  5,499

  Business lease $180/month 800 - 515-9197 http://www.mei.micron.com • 64MB RAM • 4GB SCSI-2 hard drive I • 17" Micron 17FGx, 1280NI, .26mm monitor $7 3QQ I ELECTRONICS, INC. f Business lease $242/month g^, E Roadi Namp3i jD mi . Mon . Fri 7am . 8pnl Sat 8am . 5pm m International Sales Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-6pm 208-463-3434 • Fax 208-463-3424 • Purchase Order Fax 208-467-5384 Technical Support Available 24 Hours A Day - 7 Days A Week 1*1 M John C. Dvorak Buzz Off L ou Gerstner has tried to remold IBM into a more aggressive company, if only to stop the punk kids in Redmond from pointing and laughing at “the old men ” But the notion that things are changing has run its course over the past two years, and the only substantive dif¬ ference is in IBM’s number of employees. At this juncture, anyone who’s seriously looking at IBM can say with confidence, “It ain’t working.” IBM is simply too big to change. It reminds me of how a cop once described prostitution: “It’s like a big, rubbery inner tube filled with water. You can stamp down one part, but it bulges up someplace else.” IBM is a world unto itself, and its CEO is nothing more than the business equivalent of a cop trying to stamp out prostitution. Gerstner is at a disadvantage because he’s unaware of certain marketing tactics in the computer game. To make matters worse, most of the people at IBM are clueless about these maneuvers, too, so they’re no help whatsoever. Market Misfire The main reason IBM falls flat is its lack of what I call buzzification —the ability to generate excitement. IBM hasn’t got a clue about how to do this. A case in point is the com¬ pany’s unbelievable OS/2 Warp ad cam¬ paign, which included a large poster proclaiming that “it obliterates all the soft¬ ware on my computer.” This exemplified a naivete that haunts IBM’s upper manage¬ ment. Obviously, nobody could tell that this poster would become an immediate object of derision. And knowing how the company operates, I’m sure a dozen peo¬ ple had to sign off on this turkey. In fact, when you talk to IBMers about the company’s internal workings, it’s exas¬ perating to count the number of people who must sign off on the simplest decisions. There is no empowerment within the ranks. Everyone is watched like a hawk for fear they will screw up. Of course, this doesn’t breed self-confidence, especially at the lower technical levels, where the smartest guys I know are treated like big dummies. When someone with brains comes along, they either kowtow to the IBM cul¬ ture or quit. The ones who relax into the company way lead circumspect fives, and do their jobs much like employees of a stereotypic Japanese corporation—not drawing attention to themselves, obeying, putting up with incompetence from above. There are few young go-getters in this crowd. To compare the company cultures of IBM and Microsoft for yourself, try the following project: Find two popular devel¬ opers’ conferences and attend them both. Be sure one is sponsored by IBM or related to IBM development, such as OS/2. The other should be involved with Microsoft. Go just to feel the while they fall difference in energy levels. IBM conferences have more flat f Computers low-energy engineer types. Very thoughtful, extremely intelligent, but with the demeanor of postal workers. It’s depressing. Then check out the Microsoft crowd. Lean, jittery, fast-talking, nervous, high-energy, confi¬ dent. Arrogant sometimes. Even the coders at Microsoft’s events are high-energy. Now that’s frightening. If you examine the backgrounds of these two crowds, you’ll find them quite similar. But one is jazzed while the other is blase. The IBMers’ slow-moving approach to the job is instilled from above. They are beaten It BAFFLES IBM execs: How does an INTROVERT like Bill Gates create such a BUZZ aren’t BISCUITS. They’re about EXCITEMENT, not distribution. dogs. IBM execs can’t see that when their employees are moping around in public, the public perceives that the company has nothing to offer. IBM magnifies this effect with a PR department that acts like the secret police, discouraging discourse and openly threatening the careers of top tech¬ nical people if they show any incentive. It’s hard to imagine how this mechanism works, but I can assure you that it keeps the talent incredibly fearful. This old IBM has not changed one iota under Gerstner. Failed Vision The more I watch IBM, the more I see that Gerstner is the wrong man for the job, as talented as he is. I’ve been reading his various interviews and transcripts of his speeches, and I’ve con¬ cluded that he has the potential to be a computer visionary. But he’ll never become one, because he can’t create the buzz. And nobody else will be allowed to, thanks to the IBM system. Gerstner’s background is alien to such a concept, anyway. You don’t need a buzz to sell Oreo cookies or Shredded Wheat. You need distribution. Computers aren’t yet com¬ modities like biscuits. There is still plenty of excitement in the computer industry, and it must baffle IBMers to watch how an introvert like Bill Gates masterfully creates a buzz to the detriment of those who do not. My favorite recent comment was during the Windows 95 rollout when the quarterly sales of OS/2 dropped to 900,000. An IBMer moaned that this was because of the excessive media hype over Windows 95. I found this to be rather naive. What did IBM expect? It’s an old-fashioned company that has developed a fife of its own. The head trans¬ plant didn’t change anything. Obviously, the brains are elsewhere. c c o U T I N G 79 Pantera™... The Right Tool For Your Job. The ZEOS Pantera. Now with more speed, more memory, bigger hard drives, your choice of operating systems and new lower prices. It’s today’s modem solution to getting your job done right. Step Up To The Best At ZEOS, our philosophy is to make sure that you, our customer, get the best of everything And that starts with performance. The heart of the Pantera is an award-winning ZEOS-designed motherboard. Already called “Overall performance leaders” by PC Magazine, | iVll .jJgl the Pentium® processor-based Pantera line is now boost- ed even further with the addition of EDO DRAM, pentill ITV synchronous burst SRAM cache options and CPU choices all the way to the new 133MHz Pentium processor. In plain English, we’ve turned on the afterbumers-giving you performance unlike anything you’ve seen before! Beyond great performance, we also protect your investment. To ensure that your new ZEOS Pantera will serve you well for years to come, we build in more reliability, expandability and upgradability than anyone else. For starters, all Pantera systems provide you with CPU upgradability to a future OverDrive® Processor. You also get six memory sockets instead of the usual four. That means more room to grow-without having to throw away perfectly good memory when it’s time to upgrade. Panteras also include on-board PCI local bus SCSI and Ethernet options and the power to run all these goodies. Believe it or not, most companies are now building in small power supplies of 150 watts or less! That’s great for reducing their costs, but it sure doesn’t do much foryou. Pantera power supplies are 200 watts standard and they’re energy effident-Panteras are EPA Energy Star compliant, mean¬ ing they can power down and use less energy The bottom line is that virtually no one else gives you any of these features to protect your investment. At ZEOS we give you them all ! More Than Great Hardware In addition to the latest features, you need your new system JBMHI — to arrive promptly and you need it to work in your environ¬ ment when you get it. That is why ZEOS Pantera systems include your choice of Windows® for Workgroups or the new Windows® 95, and that is why you also get compatibility with

  every major operating system on the market including Win NT®,

  Netware®,Unix®andOS/2®.Thatisalsowhywepioneeredour Computers Now' program-many of our most popular config¬ urations can be shipped the very day you order (even custom-built systems can be shipped in about a week). You could be taking delivery of your new Pantera tomorrow! And after your purchase, we’ll be here. ZEOS was the first to provide 24 hour-per-day, 365 day-per-year toll-free technical assistance, and it’s the best there is. Add to that our easy ZEOS accessibility through the major on-line services and through our automated fax-back system, and you can see that we support you like no one else. Unbeatable Value The hottest performance for today and for tomorrow, compatibility, reliability, bundled software, the best service in the industry and incredible prices that’ll leave you amazed at how much you get for so little. As PC/Computing said, the Pantera “... is a deal you simply can’t pass up.” So call your ZEOS Systems Consultant now at 800-554-5218. It’s the best purchase decision you’ll ever make.

  Not all configurations may be certified. Call ZEOS for additional details. Pentium Processor-based Panteras 90MHz 1 OOMHz 120MHz 133MHz CN.'$1595 $1645 $1695 $1795 $1895 -8MB EDO RAM

• 528MB local bus EIDE hard drive Diamond Stealth 64 PCI local bus SVGA color graphics card with 1MB DRAM ► ZEOS 14" 1024 x 768 NI SVGA color monitor, .28mm dot pitch
• Six-bay desktop case with two cooling fans Microsoft Mouse ► MS Windows 95, or MS-DOS 6.2 & Windows for Workgroups 3.11 MS Works 95 or MS Works CN! $2195 CN!$2245 10OMHz 120MHz 133MHz $2395 ► 16MB EDO RAM ► 850MB local bus EIDE hard drive ► 4X CD-ROM drive and 3.5" 1.44MB floppy drive
• Diamond Stealth 64 PCI local

  bus SVGA color graphics card with 1MB DRAM ► ZEOS 15" 1024 x 768 NI SVGA color monitor, ,28mm dot pitch ► Six-bay desktop case with two cooling fans ► Microsoft Mouse MS Windows 95, or MS-DOS 6.2 & Windows for Workgroups 3.11 ► MS Office Pro 95 & Bookshelf 95 CD, or MS Office Pro & Bookshelf Included With Every ZEOS Pantera: ► Genuine Intel* Processor. ZIF socket for easy upgrading to a future OverDrive* Processor.. ► Diamond Stealth PCI local bus SVGA color graphics card with 1MB DRAM, upgradable to 2MB DRAM. ► Flash BIOS for easy upgrading. ► On-board PCI local bus Fast SCSI-2 and Ethernet LAN options. ► TWo high-speed serial ports and one enhanced parallel port on the motherboard. $2595 CN! $2645 $2695 $2895 ► 24MB EDO RAM ► 1.2GB local bus EIDE hard drive ► 4X CD-ROM drive and 3.5" 1.44MB floppy drive ► Diamond Stealth 64 PCI local bus SVGA color graphics card with 1MB DRAM ► ZEOS 15" 1024 x 768 NI SVGA color monitor, .28mm dot pitch ► Six-bay desktop case with two Microsoft Mouse ► MS Windows 95, or MS-DOS 6.2 & Windows for Workgroups 3.11 MS Office Pro 95 & Bookshelf 95 CD, or MS Office Pro & Bookshelf ►Slots: Three PCI & five ISA ► 6 SIMM slots for low-cost memory upgrading. EDO RAM expandable to 384MB. ► ZEOS 101-key space-saving keyboard. ► 200 watt power supply with built-in surge suppressor. Switchable between 115/230V. ► EPA Energy Star compliant. ► FCC Certified Class B; UL Listed. Pentium* Processors 16MB EDO RAM, 256k synchronous SRAM cache 1.2GB local bus EIDE hard drive 4X CD-ROM drive and 3.5" 1.44MB floppy drive Diamond Stealth 64 PCI local bus SVGA color graphics card with 2MB VRAM ZEOS 15" 1024 x 768 NI SVGA color monitor, .28mm dot pitch Ten-bay vertical case with two cooling fans Microsoft Mouse ► MS Windows 95, or MS-DOS 6.2 & Windows for Workgroups 3.11 MS Office Pro 95 & Bookshelf 95 CD, or MS Office Pro & Bookshelf Best MM Supreme Pentium*’ Processors 10OMHz CN! $ 4145 120MHz CN! $4245 133MHz The above system modified to include: 32MB EDO RAM, 256 k synchronous SRAM cache 1.6GB local bus EIDE hard drive Sound Blaster® AWE32 sound card ZEOS 17" 1024 x 768 NI SVGA color monitor, ,28mm dot pitch 7-Bay Mini-tower Case Upgrade..Free Upgrade from a 15“ to a 17" Monitor ZEOS SVGAN1,1280x1024, flat screen. $2 lO-Bay Vertical Case Upgrade.$95 Internal 14,000 bps V.32 bis to 2MB Modem with 14,400 bps Video DRAM Upgrade .. Diamond Stealth 64 Video PCI Graphics Card with 2MB VRAM Fastest 64-bit accelerated video. $249 send/Recetwe FaxT. ...$139 Front Drive Bay PCMCIA SwapBox .$79 Installs into 3.5" drive bay. 2 TVpe II, or 1 Type III and 1 Type II. 400 to 800MB (with compression), includes backup software. For on-board SCSI. Includes drivers... Many other affordable upgrades and options available. Call for details! ...$179

  a Upgrade

  Sound Blaster 16® sound card, stereo speakers...$i 28 Microsoft* Applications Included! All Pantera packages include your choice of Microsoft* Windows* 95 or MS-DOS 6.22 & Windows’ for Workgroups 3-11, and Microsoft* Office Pro & Microsoft* Works. 800 - 554-5218 24 Hours a Day • 365 Days a Year CN! -We can ship today! Call for details. Fax Orders: 800-362-1205 or 612-362-1205. Phone Orders: Outside U.S. and Canada: 612-362-1212, Government: 800-245-2449, ZEOS Information Systems, Inc. GSA

  GS00K94AGS517PS01. Purchase

  Ordeis, MasteiCaid, VISA Am Ex, Discover, Z-Caid, COD and affordable leasing programs. Circle 282 on reader service card. it t rwftt 1 HilTOW Ifll 1 ! V 1 !! (THAT'S UNDER DEVELOPMENT. IN THE MEANTIME, VOU CAN'T GET MORE ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS SOFTWARE THAN NEW DELRINA COMMSUITE 90 FOR WINDOWS 90.) If you’re like most people, less than one percent of all your friends and business associates reside in parallel universes. Which means that new Delrina CommSuite™ 95 should suit you just fine. S It’s the complete, affordable, integrated communications solution for Windows® 95, featuring breakthrough programs that fully exploit Windows 95’s multitasking, multithreading, 32-bit capabilities. £ New Delrina WinFax™ PRO 7.0 is the easiest and most powerful version ever of the world’s best-selling fax software. You get true background faxing and greater speed. It cuts faxing time by up to a third. It has gray¬ scale quality faxing, $99 integrates with MS® Exchange, 101 ready-to-use cover sheets and tools to design your own. With the Talk Works” telepho¬ ny option and your voice modem, WinFax PRO turns your computer into a voice mail system that takes messages, distinguishes between fax and voice calls, has Fax on Demand, and an integrated in-box for faxes, voice messages and e-mail. SIB Microsoft ' Windows'95 Delrina, WinFax, Cyberjack, WinComm, Talk Works, CommSuite, Guidebook, and CommBar are trademarks of Delrina. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporatioj detection built-in. It even lets you download files in the background. ® All in all, it’s the perfect communications solution for Windows 95. And if you can’t e-mail Cleopatra, don't despair. These long distance relation¬ ships seldom work out anyway. DelrinJ ® New Delrina Cyberjack™ 7.0 i makes the Internet as easy to use ! as a TV remote. The revolutionary | new Cyberjack Guidebook™ will I connect you to hundreds of the ! hottest Net sites with one click, and can be updated by connecting ^ to Delrina’s Internet server. Plus, j you get all the Net tools you need I — Web, News, FTP, IRC, Gopher, Archie, Telnet — in a singularly sane interface to the multiple personalities of | the Net. Locate Web sites, take part in news groups and chat lines, keep up with stock quotes and NASA news — whatever you want — with phenomenal ease and speed. & New Delrina WinComm™ PRO 7.0 speeds you to BBSs and on-line services with a couple of mouse clicks. It has an image viewer, Zip manager and Norton™ virus With TalkWorks, the WinFax PRO telephony option, all of your messages - faxes, e-mail and voice mail - come together in one convenient place. The Cyberjack Guidebook organizes your favorite Internet sites in one place and comes with hundreds of popular sites. Circle 183 on reader service card. MARKET BRIl Dow Jones Industrial , Dow Jones Transpor Dow Jones Utility S&P 500 Index S&P 100 Index NASDAQ Composite I AMONEYNET\£ Everything You Aspire To, i registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. All other brands and pi ition. Not all models/colors available at all retail locations. Specifica poration and Acer Inc. The Intel Inside logo and Pentium a rights reserved. fSpecifications vary by model and configu ie pork bellies and futures in my boxers. With my new Acer 5 Aspire” Desktop, I can take on Wall Street Aspire. To Do More. from home. Aspire has Windows® 95, an Intel® Pentium® processor and 16MB of memory 1 , so I can explore complex “what if” trading scenarios. With its voice-activation capability, I can get into my financial programs without typing The 28.8kbps fax modem 1 and speakerphone A few more things help me cut deals over the phone or online. I can do with my Aspire: And with built-in voice mail, I never miss a call. I can even Order out for pizza. calculate my net worth or improve my golf swing, because Manage my own portfolio. Aspire includes 50 preloaded software and reference titles. Design an addition to my home. Plus, the five-speed CD-ROM 1 drive, AuraSound” 3-D stereo Lower my handicap. speakers and accelerated graphics are terrific for multimedia. Download financial articles online. I set up my Aspire in less than five minutes. And ACE, the And make my own plane reservations. „ Acer Computer Explorer, helps me navigate with ease. With Aspire, it's easy to keep control of my finances and my life. pentium* Windows®95 For the location of the Acer Aspire dealer nearest you, call 1-800-529-ACER. Or visit us on the World Wide Web at http://www.acer.com/'aad Circle 167 on reader service card. New! Pro 150 Magnum Plus, Vectra XU 6/150 Pentium Pro: Power Stations Talk about obso- , lescence: Intel’s 150MHz Pentium KKtVItW had barely seen the light of day when the next- generation 150MHz Pentium Pros (formerly called P6s) began trickling into our labs. It’s easiest to think of the Pentium and Pentium Pro as parallel universes. As we dis¬ covered with two new Pentium Pro-based systems, Hewlett- Packard’s Vectra XU 6/150 and Micron’s Pro 150 Magnum Plus, straight computational horse races are things of the past. Both machines actually perform slower than regular Pentium-based systems under some Windows 95 and Win¬ dows 3.x applications. But turn them loose on native 32-bit apps running under Windows NT or OS/2, and suddenly you find your¬ self a riding a rocket. Even fast Pentiums can’t compare (see “Overview,” below). Both Pentium Pro systems make it clear that from now on, operat¬ ing systems will guide your purchase of a CPU. HP’s newest Vectra not only scored faster than Micron’s Pro 150 Magnum Plus and Dell’s Dimension XPS P6 (see “P6 Systems: They’re Finally Here!” November 1995, page 68), but it also features the most unusual design of the three. To begin with, it’s a multi¬ processor desktop PC. Also, HP designed its own mother¬ board—a surprise, given that almost all first-generation Pentium Pro systems will use Intel motherboards. What’s Fast? We tested the Vectra using both one and two CPUs. In both cases, the machine’s performance under Windows NT outshined any x86 PC we’ve seen. Designing multiprocessor systems with Pentium Pro chips is far easier than with previous Intel CPUs because additional processors don’t require extra chip logic. Manufacturers can just slap a second or third chip onto the motherboard and then upgrade the BIOS, no fuss required. Still, who needs two CPUs in a desktop system? Just ask anyone who works with high- end graphics. (If seeing is believ¬ ing, try HP’s multiprocessor Vectra with Adobe’s 32-bit Photoshop 3.04.) For that OVERVIEW 1 150MHz Desktop PCs Next-Generation Pei Applications Performance ! HP VECTRA XU 6/150 (ONE CPU) ; MICRON PRO 150 MAGNUM PIUS MICRON PI 33 MILLENNIA Restless Natives: ntiums Pentium Pro-based systems perform no 224 % Faster better than their 133MHz Pentium cousins under 195 % Faster Windows 95 and Windows 3.xapplications. But give Baseline them native Windows NT applications, and ^bitbusiness performance soars. matter, run any application that makes heavy use of multi¬ threading operations and you’ll see immense performance gains. HP’s Vectra brings processing muscle previously available only on RISC workstations to the xS6 world. It is an absolute boon to CAD, high-end graph¬ ics, and multimedia running under Windows NT or OS/2. For basic business applica¬ tions, the single-processor Vec¬ tra XU 6/150—which costs as little as $4,200—is a better buy. Both machines come with 16MB of Error Correcting Code (ECC) RAM, a 1GB or 2GB Fast SCSI-2 hard drive on a PCI local bus (an Enhanced IDE drive option is also avail¬ able), a quad-speed CD-ROM drive, 16-bit audio, and lOBase-T/lOOVG LAN con¬ nections. Both versions of the Vectra also feature Mattox’s quick 64-bit MGA Millennium graphics controller. The Vectra uses Intel’s Orion PCI chip set, which has no support for EDO RAM. But the CPU’s integrated 256K or 512K L2 cache is faster than the optional L2 cache used on many Pentium systems. It makes EDO RAM unnecessary. Instead, the Vectra uses ECC RAM, which detects one- and two-bit errors. Kudos to the machine’s modu¬ larity. Pop two levers and the mini¬ tower case slides forward to reveal an ample chassis. Even the power supply slips away with two simple release mechanisms, revealing the slot for the sec¬ ond CPU. The Vectra features two ISA slots, three PCI slots, and one ISA/PCI slot. The layout makes upgrading and expanding simple tasks. Go, Go, Go Micron’s Pro 150 Magnum Plus might very well be Microsoft’s best sales tool for Windows NT. Micron has built its reputation on delivering top-drawer perfor¬ mance and leading-edge tech¬ nology for bargain prices. It does no less with its new Pen¬ tium Pro system. Consider what $5,500 will buy: 32MB of RAM, expandable to 256MB; a 2GB Fast SCSI-2 hard drive (a PCI-based IDE connector is integrated on the motherboard as well); a six-speed CD-ROM drive (SCSI); 16-bit audio; and Diamond’s Stealth 64 video card with 2MB of VRAM. Not bad. In basic Windows NT-native productivity apps such as word processors and spreadsheets, Micron’s Pro 150 Magnum was nearly twice as fast as its 133MHz Pentium sibling, Micron’s P133 Mil¬ lennium. It was marginally faster than Dell’s Dimension XPS P6 as well, although its performance slipped slightly behind the Dimension XPS in graphics-intensive chores. Overall, the video and disk performance on the Pro 150 Magnum were outstanding. As with the Vectra, the Pro 150 Magnum’s biggest sur¬ prise is its minitower chassis. The machine comes with three ISA slots, two PCI slots, and one shared ISA/PCI slot. And its six drive bays are over¬ abundant. But no one will Guide to PC Computing’s Ratings Excellent Market leader that offers exceptional performance . ★ Good Excels in many areas; a good buy . iHlHlf Acceptable Average for its class; a justifiable purchase .. Poor Out of date or substandard; offset by some positive features . ♦ ★ Unacceptable Missing necessary features; avoid . ★ NT Supersystems: The floodgates are open. The first 1 50MHz Pentium Pro systems are here. Micron’s Pro 150 Magnum Plus Cleft) and HP’s Vectra XU 6/150 have all the makings of servers-from Fast SCSI-2 drives to multiple CPUs On the Vectra only)- but their trim cases make them a perfect design for desktop systems. mistake this system for a server. Despite Intel’s arduous marketing efforts to position the Pentium Pro as a pricey server, system manufacturers have a different idea. The More the Merrier If HP’s Vectra and Micron’s Pro 150 Magnum presage any¬ thing, it’s that widespread acceptance of Windows NT may come more quickly than Intel or Microsoft anticipated. This is especially true now that native 32-bit versions of Excel and Word are available. And to be sure, Intel’s strat¬ egy of letting two generations of CPUs live side by side is more than just a concession to the menagerie of operating systems now available. It’s part of a larger, divide-and- conquer approach to the mar¬ ket. For the first time since the 8086 CPU debuted more than 15 years ago, Intel is feeling the heat of competitors. The impressive performance of Cyrix’s Ml chip, in particu¬ lar, has made jaws drop. The 100MHz version of the CPU performs nearly as fast as Intel’s 133MHz Pentium. Meanwhile, 120MHz and 133MHz ver¬ sions of the CPU are scheduled for arrival in the latter part of this year. The chip is compati¬ ble with Intel’s Pentium, which means that manufacturers can use it with existing mother¬ boards. And like the Pentium, the Ml uses a superscalar design, can execute two instruc¬ tions at a time, comes with a 16K internal cache, and sup¬ ports EDO memory. One edge it has on the Pentium is its out- of-order execution—a feature found in the Pentium Pro. Another Pentium Pro com¬ petitor, Advanced Micro Devices’ much delayed K5, is a hybrid of Intel’s Pentium and Pentium Pro. The K5 can pre¬ decode instructions as they are placed in its instruction cache. According to AMD officials, this allows the chip to execute up to four instructions per clock cycle—compared with the Pentium’s two instructions and the Pentium Pro’s three. Digital’s Windows NT- tuned Alpha, a RISC CPU that appears in Digital’s low- cost Celebris XL line of sys¬ tems, is also vying for the 32-bit market. Of course, you sacrifice x86 compatibility. For now, however, systems based on Intel’s Pentium Pro chip offer the best balance of price and performance. And for running Windows NT, HP’s Vectra XU 6/150 is the best and fastest system in its class. MARTY JEROME FILEBOX Pro 150 Magnum Plus Usability Performance Technology Verdict Blinding speed, and look how far your dollars go. Features as Tested: 32MB of RAM (expandableto 256MB), 2GB Fast SCSI-2 hard drive, Diamond’s Stealth 64 video card with 2MB of VRAM, six-speed CD-ROM drive (SCSI), 16-bit audio, PCI bus-mastering IDE drive controller, 256KL2 cache, three ISA slots, two PCI slots, and one shared ISA/PCI slot. $5,500 est. street price Micron Electronics [800)347-3490 Reader Service No. 617 Vectra XU 6/150 Usability * Performance * Technology * Verdict ★★★★ Brings RISC-workstation power to the desktop at Intel *86 prices. Features as Tested: 32MB of RAM (expandable to 256MB), 2GB Fast SCSI-2 hard drive on PCI local bus (1GB available), quad-speed CD-ROM drive, 16-bit audio, integrated lOBase-T/lOOVG LAN connections, Matrox 64-bit MGA Millennium video card with 2MB of WRAM, 256K and 512K L2 cache, two 16-bit ISA slots, three PCI slots, and one shared ISA/PCI slot. $5,700 est. street price Hewlett-Packard [800)752-0900 Reader Service No. 61S UTING 87 The Techies Want Performance. Multi-talented. A brilliant addition. Magnavox monitors offer resolutions up to 1600 X 1280, refresh rates over 100Hz and a 0.28mm dot pitch for sharp, vibrant color and flicker-free images. The Number Crunchers Want Affordability. Terrific value. A real deal. With autoscan capability, precise on-screen display and energy-saving, built-in power management, Magnavox monitors give you more for your money. The Boss Wants Reliability. Works overtime. Very dependable. Backed by a 3-year warranty, you can rely on the 17" Magnavox CM4018 (16.22" viewable image size) color monitor around the clock for every¬ thing from video conferences to business reports. No One Puts More In A Monitor. Circle 198 on reader service card. ©1995 Philips Consumer Electronics Company. A Division of Philips Electronics North American Corporation. Get What You Want With Magnavox. With a full-range of smart features, Magnavox has every¬ thing you’re looking for in a monitor. Available in 14", 15", 17", 20" and 21" screen sizes (12.86", 14.33", 16.22", 19.5" and 19.68" viewable image sizes) there’s one to fit your needs. Built to last and backed by a 3-year warranty*, it’s no surprise Magnavox has become one of the world’s largest monitor manufacturers. For everything you’ve always wanted in a monitor, visit your retailer or call 1-800-835-3506. MAGNAVOX Smart. Very smart ® I HARDWARE: VideoPhone • PageScan Color, PageWiz, PaperPort V< • ■ Satellite Pro 410CDT vs. Versa 4050C • Stylus Pro • Ditto Easy 800 • SureStore CD-Writer4020i LaserJet 5Si MX Network Printing Revolution It’s been two and a half years in Amazing Pace: The LaserJet 5Si MX is the best printer for the busiest networks. With its 24-ppm, 600-dpi engine, it churns out great-looking pages faster than you can say, “Where’s my document?” Shared Speed Mixed Text and Graphics Net Gains: Whether your network traffics PCL or PostScript text and graphics files, the LaserJet 5Si MX gives you 1 .jb 48 percent speed gains overthe wusrjemsimx L aserJet 4Si MX. the making, but the LaserJet 5Si MX, Hewlett-Packard’s upgrade to its venerable Laser¬ Jet 4Si MX network laser printer, is here at last. And we assure you, it was worth the wait. The 24-page-per-minute LaserJet 5Si MX is unquestion¬ ably the best high-speed net¬ work printer money can buy. The LaserJet 5Si MX sets the standard for usability in network printing. Plug it in, and within minutes you’re producing 600-dpi documents at a blazing 24 ppm. Fortu¬ nately, its high speed doesn’t mean high cost. The basic LaserJet 5Si costs a mere $2,999, while the LaserJet 5Si MX, which offers 8MB of RAM, PostScript Level 2, and a JetDirect Ethernet card, is a competitive $4,299. Print on Demand Despite its hefty 100-pound weight, the LaserJet 5Si MX is a pleasure to set up. JetAdmin, HP’s network software, is easy to use thanks to its tabbed dialog boxes. Both end-users and adminis¬ trators can use the software to change multiple settings with just a few mouse clicks. Aside from its fancy soft¬ ware, the LaserJet 5Si MX contains some welcome hard¬ ware innovations. Its default paper capacity is 1,100 sheets, with two 500-page input trays and one 100-page input tray. For $1,299, you can boost that capacity to 3,100 sheets with the optional 2,000-page input tray. Another cool add-on fea¬ ture is the multibin mailbox, which is priced at $1,889. Think of it as sorting trays on a copier, only you can assign bins to individual users. This means your print jobs are always where you expect to find them, and not mixed with 12 other people’s jobs. Barely Time to Wait Did we mention that this printer is fast? In our mixed PCL and PostScript document tests, the LaserJet 5Si MX was 48 per¬ cent faster than the 4Si MX. In fact, the LaserJet 5Si MX was not too far behind QMS’s 3825, a $21,000, 38-ppm printer. Speed differences weren’t as dramatic in tests with simple files—the LaserJet 5Si MX was about 30 percent faster than the 4Si MX when printing a collection of word¬ processing and business- graphics documents. No other printer in this speed or price range can touch FTP’s LaserJet 5Si MX. Xerox’s 4520mp, with its 20-ppm engine, is the only contender. But in our network printing tests (see “Network Super¬ guide,” November 1995, page 166), the 4520mp failed to FILEBOX LaserJet 5Si MX Usability Performance * Technology * Verdict * The ultimate 24-ppm printer for the end of your network. Competition: No other printer in this price range offers a 24-ppm engine orthe paper-handling features of the LaserJet 5Si MX. Features as Tested: 12MB of RAM, PCL5e, PostScript Level 2, JetDirect print-server card for Ethernet and LocalTalk. Paper Handling: Two 500-page input trays, one 100-page input tray. Optional 2,000-page input bin for $1,299. Configuration Options: Multibin mailboxfor$l,889; duplex unit for $669; 100-sheet envelope feeder for $549. $2,999 for the LaserJet 5Si; $4,299 forthe LaserJet 5Si MX, with 8MB of RAM, PostScript Level 2, and the JetDirect Ethernet card. $4,299 est, street price Hewlett-Packard C800J 527-3753 Reader Service No. 619 stand up to the 16-ppm Laser¬ Jet 4Si MX. Moreover, the LaserJet 5Si MX’s price can’t be beat. With its faster engine and added features, it costs about the same as the 4Si MX. What’s the LaserJet 5Si MX missing? It can’t sort pages or staple your documents—yet. It has all the other bases covered, from top-notch paper handling to laser-fast printing speeds. If your department needs a capa¬ ble network printer, you have no other choice. Get the Laser¬ Jet 5Si MX. KYLA K. CARLSON Guide to the Ratings: * Excellent *Good Acceptable Poor Unacceptable P.C COMPUTI 89 Mouil HARDWARE: IWW! VideoPhone Picture-perfect Telecommunications i Videoconferenc¬ ing makes a great mm companies like the idea of videoconferencing, the expense and configuration hassles have been prohibitive. The Video- Phone, a new videoconferenc¬ ing solution from Connectix, could change that. For only $149, the VideoPhone delivers high-quality black-and-white videoconferencing and data sharing over standard phone or network lines. The VideoPhone connects via TCP/IP, IPX, ISDN, or Digital Simultaneous Voice and Data (DSVD) analog modem. Although the VideoPhone’s video window displays black- and-white images at only 24 frames per second (fps), the price is unbeatable and the results are surprisingly good. Smile for the Camera The VideoPhone includes Connectix’s QuickCam, a 6-bit grayscale digital camera; Future Labs’ TalkShow, a shared whiteboard application that lets you simultaneously share and annotate data files; and scaleable compression software for trans¬ mitting audio and video. Flardware setup was quick and easy. The camera plugs right into your PC’s parallel port and draws power from the keyboard port through a simple Now See Here: VideoPhone includes TalkShow, a shared whiteboard application from Future Labs. TalkShow lets you review documents, edit presentations, and annotate diagrams from any Windows- based application. Eye to Eye: Connectix’s $149 VideoPhone delivers basic videoconferencing over a network, the Internet, and analog phone lines. VideoPhone is bundled with Future Labs’ TalkShow and Connectix's QuickCam, a black-and-white digital camera [above]. pass-through adapter plug. Connectix’s VideoPhone software is a 16-bit applica¬ tion, but it worked fine under Windows 95 in our tests (a 32- bit Windows 95 version is in the works). We had problems connecting over IPX on our NetWare network, however, because the VideoPhone doesn’t support Microsoft’s Open Datalink Interface (ODI) client for NetWare. Connectix said support would be ready by the end of the year. Connecting via TCP/IP was as easy as typing in an Internet protocol address and choosing Call from the File menu. Once connected, the Video¬ Phone displays the image from the remote camera, as well as the view from the camera on your system. If both computers have sound cards, speakers, and microphones, you can have uninterrupted full-duplex con¬ versations (meaning both peo¬ ple can speak at the same time) while trading data files and video images. Take a Good Look Other bundled software includes QuickPick, an image-capture utility, and QuickMovie, a util¬ ity that lets you create, save, and send movies as AVI files. There’s also multicast broadcast support, which lets one Video¬ Phone QuickCam broadcast to an unlimited number of non-video-equipped clients. You can distribute the viewing software to as many people as you like, meaning you’re able FILEBOX VideoPhone Usability * Verdict Low-cost plug-and-go videoconferencing. Competition: Creative Labs’ ShareVision PC 3000 includes a modem, color camera, and video-capture board—but costs hundreds more. System Requirements: Windows 3.1, Windows 3.11, or Windows 95; 486 CPU; 8MB of RAM; soundboard. Features: 6-bit grayscale digital camera, Future Labs’ TalkShow, shared whiteboard, scaleable videoand audio compression, and more. $149 est. street price Connectix Corp. [800) 950-5880, [415)571-5100 Reader Service No. 621 to use a single camera-equipped PC to broadcast real-time train¬ ing or announcements to every¬ one in your organization. The VideoPhone is the first of several applications from Connectix to leverage the $99 QuickCam. Also in the works is QuickCards, an application for making video greeting-cards; Badgemaker, which you can set up in your business lobby to record visi¬ tors and create photo identifi¬ cation cards for them; and QuickStudio, a program for editing images. A color ver¬ sion of the camera should be available early this year for an additional $100. While the VideoPhone lacks the picture quality of high-end videoconferencing solutions like PictureTel’s, it costs thou¬ sands less. For quick and basic videoconferencing over a net¬ work or analog phone lines, the VideoPhone is a terrific buy. RICH SCHWERIN Guide to the Ratings: * Excellent *Good Acceptable Poor Unacceptable JANUARY 1996 90 With any other notebook, you just can’t see the whole picture. Introducing the ThinkPad 760. And the world’s largest notebook screen. 12.1-inch screen. Just because you’re on the road doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to see what you’re working on. So here’s that extra space you wanted. MPEG 2 1 Video with CD-ROM. TV-like video that fills the entire screen. People will still crowd around when you give presentations. Only now, they won’t have to squint. Ergonomic design. Lift the lid and the keys rise up to greet your fingers. There’s even a palm rest so you’ll be more comfortable when you’re typing. Lift-up keyboard. There’s erwugh room in the UltraBayto hide an extra battery, hard drive or memory. So, whether you need more power or more space to store things, you’ll have it. The ThinkPad ’ 760 comes with 8MB of RAM, a 90MHz 2 Pentium chip, up to a 1.2GB 3 hard drive and some handy numbers: Call 1 800 426-7161 1 to order, or 1 800 772-2227 5 to receive faxed information (option 2, ID # 11760). Or visit our Web site at www.pc.ibm.com/thinkpad/for details. Solutions for a small planet" 6722 1 Supports hall-horizontal resolution. internal speed. External speed=60MHz. 3 QB=billion bytes. “M - F, 8am-8pm EST, 6 ln Canada, call 1800 465-3299 (ID # 45244). Screen not actual size. IBM and ThinkPad are and UltraBay and Solutions for a small planet are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. Pentium is a registered trademark of Intel Corp. ©1995 IBM Corporation. 3 registered trademarks IklmAfl HARDWARE: PluW ! PageScan Color, PageWiz, PaperPort Vx Scan-lt and Save-lt Smarts Paper Punishers: Move paper off your desk and onto your hard drive with the newest crop of document scanners [from left] from Microtek, Logitech, and Visioneer. Logitech’s $399 PageScan Color is the first to scan pages in color. Dynamic Documents: Visioneer’s PaperPort Vx offers new file- management tools as well as more document flexibility. it scans up to 200 dpi in color. When Visioneer introduced the PaperPort a little over a year ago, the paperless office didn’t seem like such a dream. Since then, more than a dozen document scanners have hit the market, each claiming to cut the paper in your in-box down to size. Three new doc¬ ument scanners—Visioneer’s upgraded PaperPort Vx, Log¬ itech’s PageScan Color, and Microtek’s PageWiz—bring the less-paper office even closer to reality. Strong Upgrade The original document scanner, Visioneer’s PaperPort, now tackles a variety of document types and offers more sophisti¬ cated document management. The upgraded PaperPort Vx offers all the tricks of the origi¬ nal, including lightning-fast scanning, OCR, document annotations, and e-mail and fax linking. But the new version adds file-management soft¬ ware, scans up to 256 shades of gray (great for scanning images), and includes basic photo-editing tools. You can also scan business cards using Corex’s bundled CardScan SE software, although (as with most business-card software) the results were spotty. Overall, this is a strong upgrade. The file-management feature alone makes it worth the money. Software-only upgrades for owners of the original PaperPort will be available in coming months. All-Purpose Power Log¬ itech’s PageScan Color handles everything the PaperPort Vx does, including OCR, fax, file management, and annota¬ tion—and also adds color. The PageScan is almost as fast as the PaperPort Vx, costs only $40 more, and can easily double for a low-end image scanner since It also detaches from its base, so if you want to scan a maga¬ zine or book page, you can remove the scanner and roll the reader directly over the page. The one shortcoming of the PageScan Color is that it saves images only in standard for¬ mats like JPEG or PCX (not in compressed proprietary for¬ mats, as with the PaperPort Vx), which results in large fdes. File size aside, the PageScan Color is a great all-purpose scanner. With the growing popularity of color printers, the PageScan Color is ready for the future. The Basics The PageWiz, which offers the same core fea¬ tures as the original PaperPort, is the least expensive new page scanner with a street price of less than $200. It’s also completely optimized for Windows 95. ''Mien you want to fax a docu¬ ment, for example, the PageWiz lets Windows 95 take care of it. The PageWiz handles just the basics. If you’re willing to pass on full-featured document- management options, it does the trick—and it costs about $160 less than the others. For quick-and-easy docu¬ ment management, the Paper- Port Vx is a superb solution. For just $40 more, Logitech’s PageScan Color offers nearly as much document-management flexibility and comparable speed—plus 200-dpi color scanning. But if cost is every¬ thing, Microtek’s PageWiz won’t disappoint. JACK LYON FILEBOX PageScan Color Usability Performance Technology * Verdict Competitive performance and price—plus color scanning. Bundled Software: Xerox's TextBridge, Documagic’s PaperMasterSE. Scanner Resolution: 400-dpi black; 200-dpi color. $399 est. street price Logitech (800)231-7717 (810)795-8500 Reader Service No. 622 PageWiz Usability Performance Technology Verdict

  A solid document scanner at an ultra-affordable price. Bundled Software: Caere’s OmniPage Lite. Scanner Resolution: 300 dpi. $199 est. street price Microtek Labs (800)654-4160 (310)297-5000 Reader Service No. 623 PaperPort Ux Usability Performance Technology Verdict For black-and-white document management, nothing comes close. Bundled Software: Caere’s OmniPage Lite, PictureWorks Technologies' PictureWorks Copier, Corex’s CardScan SE. Scanner Resolution: 400 dpi.

  ★

  $359 est. street price Visioneer (800)787-7007 (415)812-6400 Reader Service No. 624 Guide to the Ratings:

  * Excellent *Good Acceptable t*Poor
• Unacceptable JANUARY 1996 FEATURE CorelFLOW 3 Visio 4 1 Symbols 6,400+ 1 ,000+ Smart Symbol Libraries/Stencils 205 29 Fonts 160 0 Clipart 1,500 0 | Photos 1,000 0 Live repeating line patterns YES NO Polygon tool YES NO Fountain fills YES NO Center and repeating arrows YES NO Hyperlinks YES NO | Dynamic print preview YES NO Multiple shadows YES NO Thesaurus and Type Assist YES NO Live auto-line routing YES NO Script editor YES NO L Number of color models supported 8 _

  CHARTS DIAGRAMS SCHEMATICS LAYOUTS

  Organization Charts Network Diagrams • Electrical • Landscape Flow Charts Quality • Mechanical • Home Planning Timelines • Block Diagrams • Chemical • Oftice Planning Process Flow Charts Boolean Logic • Petroleum • Space Planning Marketing • Sports • Software • Maps

  CorelFLOW 3 includes all the tools you need to communicate your ideas effectively. A Windows 95 application with 32-bit power, CorelFLOW 3 is the most powerful diagramming software available on the market. With more than 6,400 drag and drop symbols, Microsoft Office Binder support and CorelDRAW 6 graphics technology, creating the perfect diagram is a breeze with CorelFLOW 3—from Corel, the world leader in graphics software. 1-800-EGGHEAD Easier to Use!

  Spell checker, Thesaurus and

  Type Assist

  Dynamic print preview Rulers and guidelines

  « Microsoft Office Binder support

  Templates and Wizards More Power!
• Designed for Windows 95
• Live auto-line routing Advanced text controls • Fountain fills and shadows Better Value! • 6,400+ symbols • 1,500+ clipart •1,000 photos • 150 fonts Circle 192 on reader service card. |k|ni M f HARDWARE: IHCW! Satellite Pro 410CDT vs. Versa 4050C Sizzle You Can Afford Mighty Multimedia: Today’s Pentium-based multimedia portables cost less than you might expect. The Satellite Pro 41OCDT [left) and Versa 4050C are priced under $5,000, yet each includes 16-bit audio and a removable CD-ROM drive. Presentation The next time a weary bean counter begins his presentation with an overhead projector and a fistful of acetates, politely tell him that the world has changed. Tell him that sensory depriva¬ tion is no longer an option for business presentations. Tell him about NEC Technologies’ Versa 4050C and Toshiba’s Satellite Pro 41 OCDT. Both machines cost less than $5,000. And both feature Pentium power, bright active- matrix displays, CD-ROM drives, and 16-bit audio. Quick Switch NEC’s Versa 4050C is powered by a 90MHz Pentium, supports 800-by-600-pixel resolution on the LCD, and builds on modularity that’s been the Versa line’s trademark for more than four years. You can swap out the CD-ROM drive for a floppy drive, second hard drive, or second battery. The Versa’s LCD is superb—one of the best and brightest we’ve seen. It ren¬ ders 256 hues at 1,024 by 768 pixels (as does the Satellite Pro 410CDT), and it comes with an 810MB hard drive— 1GB is optional. A 256K L2 cache is standard, and a 120MHz model of the note¬ book should be available by the time you read this. In other words, the Versa is a full-powered, full-featured portable with a great comple¬ ment of useful extras. An infrared port is standard equip¬ ment and the hard drive is removable. The Versa also uses lithium-ion batteries, provid¬ ing longer charge life than do nickel-metal hydride batteries. Usability has improved, but there are trade-offs. The hor¬ rendous front-mounted, pea- size trackball has been replaced with a touch-pad pointer that allots the key¬ board a comfortable wrist rest. On the downside, the note¬ book has become somewhat tubby: At 7 pounds and 9.5- by-11.7-by-2.1 inches, it’s not a pleasant machine to tote. Still, the AC adapter is smaller than a bar of soap, and the dual speakers belt out plenty of sound, even if audio quality is somewhat tinny. Road-Ready Toshiba’s Satellite Pro 41 OCDT not only stacks up well against the Versa 4050C, it also features several subtle advantages that may give it an edge, depending on your needs. For example, it comes with a removable quad-speed CD-ROM drive; the Versa has only a double-speed CD-ROM drive. The new 11.3-inch dis¬ play also suits 800-by-600 reso¬ lution better than the Versa’s 10.4-inch screen does. The Satellite’s 90MHz Pen¬ tium lacks an L2 cache, although its speedy video and fast CD performance give it plenty of muscle for multi- media. Bring your own external speakers, though; the Satellite’s single speaker undermines sophisticated audio tracks. Usability on the Satellite wins high marks: The key¬ board layout is comfortable, and the large crescent-shaped mouse buttons—placed one on FILEBOX Satellite Pro 41 OCDT Usability Performance Technology Verdict A quad-speed CD-ROM drive and high-resolution video? We’ll take it. Features asTested: 90MHz Pentium, 8MB of RAM, 810MB hard drive, quad-speed CD-ROM drive, 16-bit audio, single speaker. $4,699 est. street price Toshiba America (800] 999-4273 Reader Service No. 62 f Versa 4050C Usability Performance Technology Verdict As midpriced portables go, this should top your shopping list. Features as Tested: 90MHz Pentium, 256K L2 cache, 8MB of RAM, 810MB hard drive, double¬ speed CD-ROM drive, 16-bit audio, dual stereo speakers. $4,679 est. street price NEC Technologies (800] esz-xmae Reader Service No. 626 top of the other—are worth emulating. The floppy drive slips into an external case that connects to the notebook through a proprietary port, which lets you use the floppy and CD-ROM simultaneously. If CD-ROM-drive perfor¬ mance and a large, high- resolution screen are impor¬ tant to you, Toshiba’s Satellite Pro 41 OCDT is the notebook to buy. But NEC’s Versa 4050C offers slightly more expansion options. Texas Instruments’ Extensa 550CDT, meanwhile, costs $1,000 less while surrendering little in fea¬ tures or power. Watch for price wars soon. MARTY JEROME Guide to the Ratings: * Excellent *Good Acceptable Poor Unacceptable 94 JANUARY 1996 Get the Best Business Items Where You Live Groupuiare. E-mail. Mom the Mac" Tap Into the Dow Jones enterprise-wide clipping services and know what's going on with your client's business.Jndustry devel¬ opments..^ the competition...before you step into that next meeting. DowVislon® delivers a constant stream of general business news, including full-text access to The Wall Street Journal ® The New York Times News Service, top national and international newspapers, and newswires. Dow Jones Total Enterprise Solutions 1-800-507-8369 ext 4117 CustomClips® automatically scans thousands of industry publications and clips the specific topics that interest you the most. Information is targeted, in-depth, and—coupled with DowVision—provides the complete enterprise news service. Get your news where you want it, when you want it, and how you want it, inside your work environment. Call your Enterprise Sales Representative, today. http://bis.dowjones.com CustomClips is a service of Dow Jones News/Retrieval.® DowVision, CustomClips and Dow Jones News/Retrieval are registered trademarks of Dow Jones ©1995 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. All other products mentioned are the trademarks of their respective owners. Circle 307 on reader service card. i & Company, Inc. Moui HARDWARE: IWJW! Stylus Pro Color That’s Worth the Wait Color in Style: The Stylus Pro, with its ink-jet color output on coated paper, competes with printers that cost thousands of dollars more. The catch? Slow print speeds at high resolutions. Razzle-Dazzle: There’s nothing we didn’t like about the Stylus Pro’s 720-dpi output, particularly when using Epson’s special coated paper. Colors dance off the page, fine lines are razor sharp, and the level of detail is outstanding. You won’t get all this from any other ink-jet printer in this price range. When color quality counts and you can’t afford a $4,000 color- laser printer, there’s one printer you’ll want on your desk: Epson’s Stylus Pro. This upgrade to the ground-breaking Stylus offers the best color out¬ put available from a desktop ink-jet printer. But you need patience—the printer takes its own sweet time. It offers up to 720-dpi color output, and the images are breathtaking, partic¬ ularly when printing on Epson’s special coated paper. Colorful Characters Setting up the Stylus Pro is a cinch. Install the cartridges (one for cyan, magenta, and yellow, and one for black) and drivers, and you’re set. One annoying setup quirk: To insert paper into the input tray, you have to remove the cover that acts as the output tray. We’d rather be able to just slide the paper in. The Stylus Pro’s drivers, which are compatible with Windows 3.1 and Windows 95, are well organized and easy to use. A tabbed dialog-box inter¬ face makes for easy navigation among print options, such as Document Type (automatic, presentation, photograph, and so on), Paper, Printing Mode, and Image Settings. Switching resolution, paper type, and out¬ put-quality options are also straightforward. The printer’s default resolu¬ tion is 360 dpi. Plain-paper out¬ put is very good—only slightly below the quality of Hewlett- Packard’s DeskJet 660C. Lines are sharp and colors look good, even though they could be brighter. Unless you set the MicroWeave option, which can increase print time substan¬ tially, you may see banding in printed graphics. Text output isn’t impressive at 360 dpi. The blacks aren’t very dark, and the characters lack the sharpness of those printed with the DeskJet 660C. But jack up the resolution of the Stylus Pro to 720 dpi and use the special coated paper, and the printer tells an entirely different story. Graphics out¬ put is dazzling; colors are rich and vibrant, and the crispness of images is unbeatable for an ink jet. Text output also improves at 720 dpi, although not as dra¬ matically. For text-only EILEBOX Stylus Pro Usability Performance Technology Verdict Terrific high-resolution, ink-jet color if you don’t mind the wait. Competition: Hewlett- Packard’s DeskJet 660C costs about $300 less and offers better print quality at the lower 360-dpi resolution. When it comes to output at the higher 720-dpi resolution, however, no ink jet in this price range comes nearthe Stylus Pro in quality. Resolution: Up to 720 dpi for color and black text. Print Speeds: Up to 3 ppm for black text; up to 1 ppm for color documents. Cost per Page: 12.5 cents for 360-dpi black; 18 cents for 720-dpi color. $799 est. street price Epson [800] 289-3776 [310] 782-0770 documents, you’ll want to stick with 360 dpi. All in Good Time Alas, there’s a catch to the quality prints: High-resolution output takes much longer than the default 360 dpi. Our 11-page text document took just over six minutes at 360 dpi. But at 720 dpi, we waited more than an hour. HP’s DeskJet 660C took only six minutes to print the same document at 720 dpi. For just $799, you can have great output that will serve you well in any professional situa¬ tion. The only drawback is the printer’s slow speeds. But if you want the best color output of any ink jet in this class, the crisp pages produced by Epson’s Stylus Pro are worth the wait. KYLA K. CARLSON Guide to the Ratings: Excellent Good 1 Acceptable Poor Unacceptable JANUARY 1996 lug And Play Now Available The Next Generation Sound Blaster CREATIVE ■kin.., I HARDWARE: ■HGW: Ditto Easy 800 One-Button Backup Simple Security: Iomega’s $150 Ditto Easy 800 makes backing up your hard drive as easy as pressing a button. It stores up to 800MB on a single tape. Tape backup is still the most affordable form of rKtVItVv data insurance for your hard drive. Trouble is, most tape drives are too diffi¬ cult to install and use. Iomega’s Ditto Easy 800 is an inexpen¬ sive and easy-to-use tape drive that stores up to 800MB of compressed data on a single Travan-standard tape. The Ditto’s software is amaz¬ ingly simple. Install it, click on a button, and Ditto goes to work in the background. You can program the drive to back up only specific files or have it per¬ form scheduled backups. Simplicity doesn’t equal perfection, however. The Ditto Easy 800 makes a hum¬ ming noise as it backs up. And since a full backup takes a few hours, it’s easier on the ears to start it when you’re not around. One problem: If the Ditto runs across a corrupt file it can’t copy, it stops and asks you what to do. That’s fine if you’re around, but not if you scheduled the backup for when you’re away. The sleekly designed Ditto is the easiest backup solution we’ve yet to come across. It’s FILEBOX Ditto Easy 800 Usability * Performance Technology ★ Verdict ★-* Backing up your hard drive has never been easier. Competition: MicroSolution’s Backpack800TD isjustas simple and comes with more- sophisticated software, but it costs more. $150 est. street price Iomega Corp. [800) 697-8833, [801)778-1000 Reader Service No. 631 not speedy and it’s not sophis¬ ticated, but at $150 for the drive and $30 for each 800MB tape, it’s easily the best hard¬ disk insurance you’ll find for the price. JACK LYON SureStore CD-Writer 4020i CD Recorder at a Record Price Write Your Own: HP’s SureStore CD-Writer 4020i is the first double¬ speed CD Recorder for under $1,000. In the not-too-distant future, high-capacity optical discs will be as inexpensive and ubiqui¬ tous as floppies. In the mean¬ time, we have CD-Recordable drives for recording your own CDs. Hewlett-Packard’s Sure¬ Store CD-Writer 4020i is the first CD-R drive to make rolling your own CDs as easy as copying files to a floppy disk—for less than a $1,000. The CD-Writer is a double¬ speed recorder that also acts as a quad-speed reader for every¬ day use. HP provides all the tools you need to create your own discs, including a SCSI controller, blank discs, and Incat’s Easy-CD Pro software. The recording software integrates with Windows 3.x’s File Manager or Windows 95’s Explorer. To save data onto a CD, simply select files in File Manager or Explorer and choose “Write to CD” from the menu. We would have preferred to drag and drop files into a folder, but this light version of Easy-CD keeps things simple. And you can also use CD-Writer to master your own audio CDs. HP’s CD-Writer makes it financially and logistically feasi¬ ble to distribute cata¬ logs, archive files, or publish databases on CD-ROM. When you need to create mass quantities of CDs, just send the discs to a duplication house. If you manage really big projects, however, you’ll want to consider upgrading the soft¬ ware to the full version of Incat’s Easy-CD or Corel’s CD Creator. If you’ve been waiting for a usable CD-R drive at a reason¬ able price, HP’s CD-Writer fits the bill. SCOTT NAYLOR Guide to the Ratings: * Excellent *Good Acceptable FILEBOX SureStore CD-Writer 4020i Usability Performance * Technology Verdict The easiest and most affordable way to record your own CD-ROMs. Competition: Thefirst CD recorderto cost less than $1,000. Look for other companies to follow suit—some with jukeboxes—laterthisyear. Features: Bus-mastering SCSI controller, Incat’s Easy-CD Pro software, and data- management software. $999 est. street price Hewlett-Packard [800) 810-0134, (970) 635-1500 Reader Service No. 632 ‘Poor Unacceptable

  JANUARY 1996 Two independent labs proved the U.S. Robotics Sportster V.34 modem outperforms the leading external 28.8 modems. That’s not hype. It’s fact. And it’s what we and our customers have known all along. TeleQuality Associates and Henderson Communications Laboratories put today’s popular 28,800 bps V34 modems up against the Sportster. And guess what - the Sportster outperformed them all. SPORTSTER SUPERIOR IN CONNECTING AT OPTIMUM SPEEDS. The Sportster achieved the highest connect success rate scores, demonstrating a consistent ability to connect at top speeds. The differences were dramatic, with some brands connecting only 40% as often! Introducing our new high-capacity, affordable storage solution: Travan technology. Use 3M Travan minicartridges to off-load little-used files. Archive old information. Transfer large documents. And back up critical data. The 400 megabyte (uncompressed) TR-1 minicartridge is only the beginning. As your needs change, Travan technology keeps paee. continuously expanding, w itli capacities to 4 gigabytes in the near future. It's one more reason why more businesses protect important information on 3M brand data storage products than any other brand in the la VtV " world.To find out more.call I-K00-XSN-IXX0, ext. 2300. Or send e-mail to [email protected]. Travan drives available from Aiwa, Conner, Exabyte, HP Colorado, Iomega, Rn tec, Rexon andTeac. Expand your vision with Travan Technology.

  Reliability COREL GUIDE The Ultimate Guide to the Movies Compare the Cori

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  90,000 movie and video listings This multimedia movie expert gives you interactive access to the world's largest movie database on CD-ROM plus online video purchasing: You will enjoy hours and hours of entertainment exploring the glamorous world of movie stars, directors and behind- the-scenes cast and crew. More multimedia fun from Corel: Wild Cards '" popular card games!

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  Toy Makers ” on CD-ROM Arcade Mania ” Three awesome arcade action games on CD-ROM Bernard of Hollywood’s ™ I Marilyn A multimedia journey through I the life of Marilyn Monroe \ Enter the Corel $3,000,000 World Design Contest and win! (September '95 to April ’96) To receive a faxed copy of the rules and an entry form please call: 1-613-728-0826 ext. 3080, Document

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  To leave a message please call: 1-613-728-0826 ext. 81609. QomputAhihty 800 - 554-1635 Circle 231 on reader service card. 10,000,000 CD-ROMs sli f| SOFTWARE: Navigator 2.0 • Crush • Four Resource-Management Packages • ■ Accounting & Payroll ’95, M.Y.O.B. Accounting 6.0, One-Write Plus 5.0 • HiJaak 95 • Clarislmpact 2.0 SmartSuite 96 An Intelligent Office Alternative If you took the you know you could have cho¬ sen any business application suite you wanted—as long as it was Microsoft’s Office. Finally, you have another option: Lotus’s SmartSuite 96 for Win¬ dows 95 has arrived. The result is an innovative suite with several new Win¬ dows 95 applications and a promise of more to follow. For offices standardized on Lotus products, SmartSuite 96 is a solid upgrade. All of its components are tightly integrated and will be familiar territory for longtime Lotus fans. But offices that have completely upgraded to Win¬ dows 95 should keep in mind that Microsoft’s Office is still the only completely 32-bit suite available. Missing Pieces Lotus’s new applications are impres¬ sive. SmartSuite 96 includes Approach 96, Freelance Graph¬ ics 96, and Word Pro 96. Orga¬ nizer 2.1 and ScreenCam 2.0 are also included, but 32-bit Win¬ dows 95 versions won’t be available until later this year. The biggest disappointment is that this upgrade lacks a 32- bit version of Lotus 1-2-3. You’ll find the aging Lotus 1-2-3 Release 5 in the box with a dreaded coupon for a free upgrade to 1-2-3 96 when it’s available (before summer, we hope). You’ll also receive a free upgrade coupon for Organizer 96 when it becomes available later this year. The newest version of Microsoft’s Office has the Microsoft Office Shortcut Bar (MOSB). SmartSuite, on the other hand, offers the Smart- Center. The toolbars have sim¬ ilar features, but MOSB can be placed on all four sides of your screen, while Lotus’s Cabinet (a subset of SmartCenter) resides only at the top or bot¬ tom. Cabinet is a collection of drawers and navigation bars that give you quick access to the most-used applications and files, but MOSB offers more essential options such as icons for the Open and New file commands. Rather than open¬ ing or starting new files from within an application, MOSB lets you do it all from the Taskbar. For example, you don’t need to open your Word app to open a Word document. Customizing MOSB is a bit easier than with SmartCenter, which takes some trial and error to set up just the way you like. But SmartCenter offers something that Office’s MOSB doesn’t: one-click access to your calendar and address book through its FILEBOX SmartSuite 96 Usability Technology Verdict An impressive upgrade, but not all of theappsare 32 bits. Competition: Microsoft’s Office is the only other Windows 95 application suite. Office's collection of applications and suite-navigation tools are similar to those of SmartSuite 96, but Office has the edge with all 32-bit applications. Components: Approach 96, Freelance Graphics 96, Word Pro 96,0rganizer2.1, and ScreenCam 2.0. Coupons for free upgrades to Lotus 1-2-3 96 and Organizer 96 are included. System Requirements: Windows 95 or Windows NT, 486 CPU, 8MB of RAM (12MB recommended), approximately 55MB of hard disk space (140MB for a full installation). $399 est. street price; $199 competitive upgrade Lotus Development Corp. (800)343-5414 (617)577-8500 Reader Service No. 637 SmartCenter drawers. These drawers are linked to your Organizer file; you can add and edit items directly in your calendar or to-do list from the SmartCenter drawer as long as the same file isn’t open in Organizer at the same time. Looks Familiar Lotus has taken great pains to. continue its tradition of providing cross¬ application consistency in its SmartSuite 96 applications. The major 32-bit apps—Free¬ lance Graphics 96, Word Pro 96, and Approach 96—all have Guide to the Ratings: * Excellent *Good Acceptable Poor Unacceptable

  PC COMPUTING 103 Momf SOFTWARE: IHCW! SmartSuite96 SIDE BY SIDE SmartSuite 96 vs. Microsoft Office Sr T pa|>i a , >.«t| : d 6ddF fc . 1 ShY-^l lA.-A- Caro s

  fj LjU ^{L Smart Drawers: SmartSuite 96 offers a simple dialog box to help manage the Cabinet drawers in SmartCenter, but advanced file and app management isn’t as easy as it is in Microsoft’s Office. Design Your Space: By comparison, the Shortcut Bar in Microsoft’s Office is simple to learn. An easy-to-navigate interface lets you quickly arrange your most-used files and applications. 3 Q 1*1 \ S' :r'\ Mbc\ Advanced #£l\ Bullet style: Other: None]*] ■ F _{|>|B . Number style: None) 1. | A. | a.j I. | i. | Outline j Custom Set... -r® Indent from margin: |o in Indent type: ■ a Space before tent: jo.25 in fS" Bp ‘ Skip bUllet/number f} Edit on page | Right alls Instant Info: SmartSuite 96’s context- sensitive InfoBox, which you’ll find in all the included applications, gives you a single place to adjust attributes and formatting for the selected item. Several Menus Deep: With Microsoft’s Office, you have to clickthrough several dialog boxes to change text and file attributes-not nearly as straightforward as SmartSuite 96’s InfoBox. common dialog boxes and a group of consistent Smart- Icons and menus. This consis¬ tency makes you feel right at home, regardless of which application you’re using. The InfoBox is the coolest feature in SmartSuite 96’s applications. A right-mouse- button click brings up a context-sensitive dialog box that lets you control all the attributes of-a selected item. For example, when you’re editing text, the InfoBox lets you change the font, point size, attribute, color, and advanced formatting options such as bul¬ lets, numbering, or style prop¬ erties. Even better, the InfoBox gives you immediate visual feedback on your results. SmartSuite 96’s Windows 95 applications are major revi¬ sions with hundreds of new features and enhancements. The most eagerly awaited application, Word Pro 96 (see “Ami Pro Returns as a Word Pro,” July 1995, page 60), con¬ tains several features that set it apart from its main competi¬ tor, Microsoft’s Word. The most notable new feature, a versioning tool, lets you store multiple revisions of a docu¬ ment in a single file. Another new feature in Word Pro is its unique spell¬ checker. Run a spell-check when you’re finished editing your document, and rather than stopping at each mis¬ spelled word, Word Pro high¬ lights all the misspelled words while you view the entire document. With a quick glance, it’s easy to bypass the proper names, acronyms, and technical terms that stump your spell-checker. You’ll also find Team- Review and TeamConsolidate features in Word Pro, which are handy for document distri¬ bution and gathering, as well as combining comments from numerous co workers. The latest version of Free¬ lance Graphics (see “Power to Persuade with Windows 95,” September 1995, page 94) includes new tools that let you create presentations quickly and painlessly. SmartMasters gives you suggestions about content and hints from well- known sales and marketing executives. The program also has team-computing features, similar to Word Pro’s, that let you share and comment on presentations. Usability improvements in Approach 96 (see “The First Wave of Windows 95 Data¬ bases,” page 162) are geared toward less-experienced users, and more features were added for power users. Live Net Links Smart- Center and all of the 32-bit applications in SmartSuite 96 offer hooks into the Internet. In SmartCenter, you get direct links to IBM’s home page and Lotus’s support and home pages, as long as you have a Web browser. Word Pro 96, Freelance Graphics 96, and Approach 96 all let you save information as HTML docu¬ ments, while Word Pro lets you open and save files directly from the World Wide Web and FTP servers. In addition, Approach contains a database of more than 500 URL addresses. The best thing that Smart- Suite brings to the table is a choice—you’re no longer forced to take the Microsoft Office route to receive 32-bit application support. SmartSuite is, however, missing some pieces—there are no updated versions of Lotus 1-2-3, Orga¬ nizer, or ScreenCam. While the application upgrades in Microsoft’s Office aren’t earth- shattering, they do bring each application up to 32-bit status and provide common features. SmartSuite 96 does, how¬ ever, provide the most signifi¬ cant application upgrades you’ll find in one box. If you work in a Lotus-based site, you’ll want this upgrade right away. kyla K. carlson 104 JANUARY 1996 If You Haven’t Considered An OnlineI Service For Business, That’s OK. There Hasn’t Been One Until Now Can an online service really make a difference to your business? It can if it saves you time and gives you the information -} you need, when you need it. If it’s designed exclusively with business in mind. If it’s from the lip AEST Business Network leader in business telecommunications solutions. If it’s AT&T Business Network—the latest buzz in online services. Order today for critical industry news and practical information from more than 2,500 resources. A0356 Catch the Buzz. Ask for AT&T Business Network Today, and Receive a Free 10-Hour Trial and Special Introductory Pricing! ORDER TODAY BY RETURNING THIS CARD OR BY CAUiNG 1 800 394-8840. First Name__Last Name Address__ City_State_ZIP. Phone_ Company Name_ Your Title_ mi AT&T •Free trial must begin by January 31, 1996, to qualify for introductory pricing and does not include fees for certain information sources, which are clearly marked online. sly updated. 'BUZZ our Trial and tory Pricing? 4-8840 .ichange.com NESSf 1 Entrepreneur Ianufacturers ’ THE INIEKNET larked online. ©1995 AT&T Mflft.fl SOFTWARE: IWjWI SmartSuite96 SIDE BY SIDE SmartSuite 96 vs. Microsoft Office Smart Drawers: SmartSuite 96 offers a simple dialog box to help manage the Cabinet drawers in SmartCenter, but advanced file and app management isn’t as easy as it is in Microsoft's Office. Design Your Space: By comparison, the Shortcut Bar in Microsoft’s Office is simple to learn. An easy-to-navigate interface lets you quickly arrange your most-used files and applications. Instant Info: SmartSuite 96’s context- sensitive InfoBox, which you’ll find in all the included applicatio n a . single place to adjust a formatting for the selec common dialog boxes anc group of consistent Sma Icons and menus. This cons Several Menus Deep: With Microsoft’s Office, you have to click through several rlialnn hnxes to change tex t and file create presentations quickly and painlessly. SmartMasters gives you suggestions about content and hints from well- known sales and marketing executives. The program also has team-computing features, similar to Word Pro’s, that let you share and comment on presentations. Usability improvements in Approach 96 (see “The First Wave of Windows 95 Data¬ bases,” page 162) are geared toward less-experienced users, and more features were added for power users. Live Net Links Smart- Center and all of the 32-bit applications in SmartSuite 96 offer hooks into the Internet. In SmartCenter, you get direct links to IBM’s home page and Lotus’s support and home pages, as long as you have a Web browser. Word Pro 96, Freelance Graphics 96, and Approach 96 all let you save information as HTML docu¬ ments, while Word Pro lets you open and save files direcdy from the World Wide Web and FTP NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES tency makes you feel right home, regardless of wh: application you’re using. The InfoBox is the coo] feature in SmartSuite 9 applications. A right-mou button click brings up context-sensitive dialog 1 that lets you control all attributes of-a selected it< BUSINESS REPLY MAIL FIRST-CLASS MAIL PERMIT NO. 1656 ' FARGO, ND POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE For example, when yot editing text, the InfoBox you change the font, point s attribute, color, and advan formatting options such as 1 lets, numbering, or style pr erties. Even better, the Info, gives you immediate vi: AT&T BUSINESS NETWORK PO BOX 604 FARGO ND 58107-9880 104 lilil.li.liiiiMIliiiliiilliliiliililiililliiiilnll If Yoi 1 Haven’t Considered An IOnlineI Service For Business, That’s OK. There Hasn’t Been One. Until Now Can an online service really make a difference to your business? It can if it saves you time and gives you the information you need, when you need it. If it’s designed exclusively with business in mind. If it’s from the am AIcVI Business Network m leader in business telecommunications solutions. If it’s AT&T Business Network—the latest buzz in online services. Order today for critical industry news and practical information from more than 2,500 resources. Customized features, so the information specific to your needs is automatically located and continuously updated. E-mail capabilities and instant links to relevant business „ , /' v CATCH THE BUZZ information on the Internet. And, as you’d expect from jBgpp SB E FREE 10-HourTrial and m Special Introductory Pricing? AT&T, expert support to help you every step of the way. &j ^qq Call now and catch the buzz. “ http://www.ichange.com PART AKTBusiness Network. For the Life of Your Business' CNN Business News ▲ Dow Jones Business Intormaiion Services ▲ Dun & Bradstreet Information Services ▲ Entrepreneur Magazine Group ▲ The Kipunger Washington Editors, Inc. ▲ Standard & Poor’s ▲ Thomas Register of American Manufacturers A TRW Business Information Services AOver 2,500 Information Sources APlus All The Business Resources of the Internet oductory pricing and does not include fees for ce ks of their respective companie Circle 133 on reader service card. ‘Free trial must begin by January 31,1996, to qualify for ini ©1995 AT&T. All rights reserved. All products and company:
• clearly marked online. New! SOFTWARE: Navigator 2.0 Navigate the Net Interactively FILEBOX If you’ve never used Netscape’s Navigator to browse the Web, you’re missing out. The world’s most popular browser supports more elements of the Internet—including complex text and graphics formatting— than any other Internet viewer. The new $49 version, Navi¬ gator 2.0, adds even more innovations, including e-mail, newsgroups, chat functions, HTML 3.0 and Java support, file transfers, and substantial performance enhancements. If you’re already using Naviga¬ tor, upgrade now. If you’re using another browser, switch today. And if you’re an Inter¬ net newbie, this is the browser to get you started. Live Objects Support for HTML 3.0 means Navigator can display textured back¬ grounds, tables, blinking text, colored hypertext links, and transparencies. No other browser offers this much sup¬ port. There’s also a new feature called Frames that allows sites to publish content in several interactive windows that are displayed on one screen— imagine picture-within-a- picture TV technology. For example, one frame contains advertising, another holds nav¬ igational buttons, and a third has an interactive news report. Also new is support for embedded objects such as multi- media presentations created in Macromedia’s Director or doc¬ uments published in Adobe’s Acrobat. Click on the object, and Navigator runs it automat¬ ically. Get ready for the Web to start looking very different. The e-mail client has a per¬ sonal address book and drag- and-drop features. You can embed Web URLs and pages SNEAK PREVIEW | | £> j ,& | - | i : fe Rich Schwerin's Bookmarks j FlZDNetTrailblaaer ta— O Location: j Nip ./Vwww atlanhc-tecords com/ What's New! J What's C00M j Handbook | f !h«p:4Www.:dnatcom/~pccomp Windows to the World: Version 2.0 of the most popular Web browser, Netscape’s Navigator, gains dozens of new features. For example, Frames lets you open several windows at once. Navigator 2.0 also supports e-mail, newsgroups, and FITML3.0. Efe £d* View Mosses* £0 fiptiom Window stmii II Allf Fonxardl 1 lurrread |ToW S'® INBOX IB Si SENT 2 B Id Trash- ???
• Point and click in one navigation window...
• ... while content changes in another.
• Bookmarks lets you drag and drop favorite sites into directory trees. Mail Links: The e-mail client lets you embed live URLs and HTML documents into e-mail messages. direcdy into messages to create HTML mail: Send a friend a cool' Web site, and she can double-click on the embedded hypertext link to view it. Check out newsgroups via a similar client that makes easy work of sorting, reading, and posting threads. As with the e-mail client, you can use it to embed Web URLs and pages into your newsgroup postings. Navigator 2.0 supports autoscrolling, so Web sites can build chat features directly into a frame. For serious chat addicts, Netscape’s chat client is available separately. It offers embedding tools similar to those in the e-mail and news clients. Bookmarks, vastly improved from the previous version, are now sorted in hier¬ archical folders. You can also get Netscape’s SmartMarks add-on for Navigator. Smart- Marks automatically monitors and updates your favorite sites. You’ll find basic chat and bookmarking features in Navigator 2.0, but serious surfers will want Chat and SmartMarks. They’re avail¬ able in Netscape’s $54 Navi¬ gator Power Pack. Hot Java Navigator 2.0 also supports Java applets. These applets, which are turn¬ ing up on Web sites every¬ where, can include anything from animation, interactive games, video, and audio, to continually updated informa¬ tion like sports scores, traffic Navigator 2.0 Usability Technology * Verdict * Still the most advanced Web browser you can buy. Competition: Dozens of Web browsers, many of which are based on Spyglass’s Enhanced Mosaic, and other commercial Internet suites are vying for Navigator's 70 percent market share. But none of them match Navigator's advanced features, integration, and ease of use. System Requirements: Windows 95,486 CPU, 8MB of RAM, 4MB of disk space, Internet access. Options: Versions available for Wi ndows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows 3.1, Windows NT 3.5, Unix, and Macintosh. $49 est. street price (free trial copy available from ftp://ftp.netscape.com) Netscape Communications (800) 638-7483 (415)528-2555 Reader Service No. 63 8 reports, weather information, stock-market data, and gen¬ eral news. When you happen upon one of these with Navi¬ gator 2.0, simply click on it and the applet begins. Security is a thorny issue for Netscape, as several graduate students recently exposed fatal flaws in Navigator’s suppos¬ edly ironclad armor. The flaws were quickly patched, and to good net effect: Netscape is continuing to strengthen secu¬ rity. Watch for additional Net security products in the future. Despite these glitches, Netscape’s Navigator contin¬ ues to lead the pack. There are other browsers, but none can rival Navigator 2.0’s power. RICH SCHWERIN Guide to the Ratings: * Excellent *Good Acceptable Poor Unacceptable JANUARY 1996 108 ir:rr;:r ism If you dig all that technical stuff, great. But if it just your hard drive by pre-loading software, and then deliver it right to looks like Martian code to you, call IBM PC Direct, your door. And everything you buy comes with a 30-day money-back And we’ll be more than happy to translate it into guarantee 1 and service you can depend on. clear, plain English. g—| In fact, PC Magazine 2 said our 24-hour, 7-day-a-week 3 tele- Once you understand what the low-priced, I I phone support deserves an A rating. Call us today and order, l-performance PC 300 has to offer, we think you’ll want to qm 8H| And remember, whether you’re into ZIF sockets and SIMM si and order it for your office. At IBM PC Direct, we can even- or you’rt d one to your exact needs and specifications, customize Before you pick out a computer, pick up the phone. | SOFTWARE: Crush New!: Grab Your Fair Market Share Crush the Competition: Can your PC make you a better marketing manager? Hands-On Technology’s Crush helps you pinpoint the trends and tells you how to increase your market share. ! I ii jl
• Crush lets you analyze diverse trends that could affect your marketing plans.
• Marketing sage Regis McKenna shares his wisdom.
• You can link the market data in the program to your own businesses numbers. Competitive Edge: After you’ve entered all your marketing information, Crush shows you how your business measures up to the competition on several levels. Ever wonder why taste similar, but Coke is clearly the king. The key lies in how the products are mar¬ keted. Hands-On Technolo¬ gy’s Crush CD-ROM is the first multimedia tool that helps you build marketing strategies. It offers lessons from market¬ ing guru Regis McKenna, case examples from companies including Intuit and Porsche, and a simple database for devising your plan. Market Research Hands- On did some initial tests in the marketing departments of sev¬ eral large companies. The results showed that 23 percent of Fortune 500 companies were using the prerelease ver¬ sion of Crush for their own marketing schemes two weeks before the final version was available. Despite some minor interface glitches and the lack of a simple way to export or share your plan electronically, this product is a marketing manager’s dream come true. The CD addresses a broad range of marketing strategies. Experienced marketing profes¬ sionals might not need the tutorials, but they’re essential for entrepreneurs and business- people who are new to the mar¬ keting game. Although there isn’t a glossary, most questions can be answered with the Men¬ tor tool, which explains con¬ cepts and terminology. You start by entering infor¬ mation about the target market and its needs, product-related trends, differences between competitors, and so on. It’s a great brainstorming vehicle, and Crush’s suggestions include some not-so-obvious considerations such as related legal and political trends. These sessions not only help you precisely define the mar¬ ket you’re trying to reach, but they also give you ideas about markets you might not have considered otherwise. Get the Upper Hand After adding data on trends and potential markets, you get to the fun part: plotting against your competitors, exposing their weaknesses, and devising your strategies. Using the data you provided, Crush con¬ structs a graph that compares your company with competi¬ tors. Finally, the Action Plan delivers an impressive one- page report detailing steps your company can take to gain and maintain market share. To back up your plan, you can link your ideas to any application. For example, link a specific entry to an existing Excel report. Click on the link, and it launches Excel. The end result isn’t a full- scale marketing plan, but it does present a good skeleton strategy. You simply fill in the schematics and budget consid¬ erations. Unfortunately, Crush doesn’t let you view the data in any other application, so sharing information is difficult. You can export it as raw ASCII text, but the results aren’t pretty. Thankfully, you FILEBOX Crush Usability *★ Technology Verdict The first comprehensive marketing-strategy tool—with advice from Regis McKenna. Competition: A few marketing books available on CD-ROM offer marketing advice, but Crush goes beyond that by providing strategies. System Requirements: 486 CPU, 12MB of RAM, 12MB of hard-disk space, double-speed CD-ROM drive, audio system. Online Information: Hands-On Technology's Web site (http://wwwhot.sf.ca.us/) offers market-research data you can import into Crush. The information covers several industries, including pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, and banking. Although many of the data sets are available free, some cost extra. $499 est. street price Hands-On Technology [800) 772-2580, [415) 579-7755 Reader Service No. 63 9 can print out a variety of professional-looking reports. Industry-specific sample data comes on the CD-ROM to get you started, and more is avail¬ able from Hands-On’s Web site (http://www.hot.sf.ca.us). At $499, Crush is a terrific tool for businesses looking for new marketing insights and product-development plans. Because most of the tutorial information comes from Regis McKenna’s books, new busi¬ nesses with tight budgets may want to start by reading those. But for any marketing group looking for new ways to posi¬ tion a product, Crush is well worth the money. JACK LYON Guide to the Ratings: * Excellent *Good Acceptable Poor Unacceptable 110 JANUARY 1996 By now, over a million geniuses have probably told ‘C you which portable computer to buy. JjL Everybody has an opinion. Follow the wrong one, and it deliver it right to your door. With a 30-day money-b could cost you big bucks. So enough with the conflicting, 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week telephone support 3 you can confusing advice. Pick up the phone and call IBM PC Direct. Tell us what kind of work you 'metstroke! do and we’ll recommend the right ThinkPad' the job. With all the right features, at the right price. We can tn customize a ThinkPad to your exact specifications. And then PC Magazine 2 recently said our technical suppi of the best in the industry. So call us today and it doesn’t take a genius to see that if you’re looking for computer, there’s no better place for you to buy it than from IBM PC Direct. IBM Before you pick out a computer, pick up the phone. New! SOFTWARE: AnyView Professional, Hurricane, MagnaRAM 2, RAM Doubler An End to Out-of-Memory Errors U .W W W ..™«.i 1100r» MJSla +. £ 1 1 1 (Q000H00QB0 HoninBonnaB ESI r ssHl • ai H “f1T RAM Boosters: Squeeze better performance from your system-without adding RAM-with a resource- management utility such as Helix’s Hurricane. Another View: AnyView Professional doesn’t improve memory handling under Windows 3.1, but it does offer utilities that increase the speed of your graphics display. Windows 3.x can be such a scamp. One of its favorite prac¬ tical jokes is to display a mes¬ sage saying there’s not enough memory to run an application. So you add 4MB of RAM, but Windows displays the same message again. Lack of memory might not be the problem, after all. But you may be low on system resources that aren’t affected by the amount of RAM. One way to wipe the grin off Win¬ dows 3.x’s face—without upgrading to Windows 95— is to use a system-resource management utility, also known (misleadingly) as a RAM doubler. We tested three Windows 3.x programs that attempt to solve the resource problem in different ways: Binar Graphics’ AnyView Professional, Helix’s Hurricane, and Connectix’s RAM Doubler. A fourth pro¬ gram, Quarterdeck’s Magna¬ RAM 2, doubles system memory but doesn’t optimize system resources. We tested all of these packages on a number of systems using a variety of applications. RAM Cram Hurricane, MagnaRAM, and RAM Dou¬ bler were easy to install. AnyView took longer, in large part because it does much more than manage your system—it accelerates graph¬ ics, switches color depth and resolution on the fly, matches screen and printer colors, and manages your monitor’s power consumption. Hurricane and RAM Dou¬ bler performed best in our application testing. We could open the most programs and files before running out of RAM. They also sped through the program-loading process. While Hurricane appeals to the incurable tinkerer, RAM Dou¬ bler is an install-it-and-forget-it program. Hurricane’s control panel lets you track different areas of memory management and add extras such as a print cache and screen accelerator. And it comes with a gauge that measures physical and virtual memory and CPU usage. Times Two AnyView Pro¬ fessional comes with a system- resource-management utility called OptiMemm, but it didn’t noticeably improve Windows’ raw handling of memory. On the other hand, it offers utilities for older systems that make Windows graphics run faster, let you change colors and resolu¬ tions, and save monitor energy. MagnaRAM doubles sys¬ tem memory by compressing data. It doesn’t give Windows 3.x more resources, however, and it works only with the virtual-memory swap file. In our tests, it allowed us to open larger files (gargantuan spread¬ sheets and bitmapped images, for example), but it didn’t boost the number of applica¬ tions we could run simultane¬ ously. A 32-bit version of MagnaRAM is also available. Hurricane and RAM Dou¬ bler are the real winners. Both provide dramatic increases in the number of applications and files you can open with¬ out depleting your system’s resources. An alternative is a Windows 95 upgrade with built-in fixes for memory- related and system-resources problems. But as long as there are non-Windows 95 users, Hurricane and RAM Doubler are great workarounds for RAM cram. ron white FILEBOX AnyView Professional Usability Performance Technology ★★★ Verdict ★★★ Manages resources, video resolutions, and colors from one simple interface. $49 est. street price Binar Graphics (800) 228-0666, [415) 491-4182 Reader Service No. 640 Hurricane Usability Performance Technology Verdict Excellent Windows 3.1 memory and resource control. $55 est. street price Helix Software [800) 451 -0551, [718) 392-3100 Reader Service No. 641 MagnaRAM 2 Usability Performance ★ Technology Verdict * Lets you open larger documents and files, but not more applications. Options: A Windows 95 version of MagnaRAM is also available. $60 est. street price Quarterdeck Corp. (800) 683-6696, (813) 443-1331 Reader Service No. 642 RAM Doubler Usability Performance ★ Technology * Verdict The hands-off solution for managing Windows 3.1 system resources. $65 est street price Connectix (800) 950-5880, (415) 571-5100 Reader Service No. 643 Guide to the Ratings: t Excellent Good Acceptable **Poor Unacceptable Only MGA Millennium can get you through an entire day of graphics! As a serious graphics user, you’ll need the acceleration power of MGA Combine MGA Millennium with its video upgrades and you’ll even be I Millennium to boost the performance of your demanding Windows® 95 and able to capture still video frames from a VCR, laser disk or camcorder, [ DOS based graphics applications. _ watch full screen MPEG video at 30 frames per second, and view I MGA Millennium uses the industry’s most advanced graphics technology to provide an all-in-one solution for accelerating true I | color, video, 3D and games. And for only $339! (ESP) Featuring the award-winning MGA 64-bit graphics processor, ! new Window RAM memory, and an optimized PCI bus design, I MGA Millennium delivers consistently high-performance in all 8 resolutions, color depths and refresh rates. ' Upgradeable to 4 or 8 MB of memory • Video capture/live video in a window, hardware MPEG, and And because MGA Millennium integrates all of this acceleration T - v - tu ner upgrades available into a single hardware design, you’ll be ready for today’s and tomor- • Free! Papyrus NASCAR" Racing, Asymetrix® 3D F/X™, and row’s demanding Wmdows 95 applications. You’ll be able to display true 24-bit Compcore SoftPEG™ MPEG player, and much more (retail version only) i color documents at resolutions up to 1600 x 1200, play back software MPEG • Support for Windows® 95, Windows® 3.1, Windows® NT, OS/2® Warp, video clips, and render 3D presentations and designs in real-time. AutoCAD and Microstation T.V. right on your PC. So boost your graphics performance with MGA Millennium. It’s i the only accelerator powerful enough to get you through your ( demanding graphics applications. Starting at only $339*. Circle 154 on reader service card. matron New! SOFTWARE: Accounting & Payroll ’95, M.Y.O.B. Accounting 6.0, One-Write Plus 5.0 Build a Better Bottom Line @pl % & —mm —.-c ^ Pucheses Payroll . Taking Care of Business: All three products are masters at balancing the books, but M.Y.O.B. 6.0’s graphical layout makes simple work of entering data, paying bills, and tracking account transactions. Net Accounting: DacEasy’s Accounting & Payroll ’95 is the best LAN solution, although working through its help balloons can be nerve-racking.
• In M.Y.O.B. 6.0, everything from your account balances to your debt records starts in the Command Center.
• Check writing is also done graphically. Pull-down menus let you quickly enter information.
• M.Y.O.B.'s Analyst lets you logically plan and analyze your finances, creating tasks and checking your data’s integrity. Just as accoun- books, Windows accounting software juggles ease-of-use and power, hoping for a perfect balance. Three new packages— DacEasy’s Accounting & Pay¬ roll ’95, BestWare’s M.Y.O.B. Accounting 6.0, and NEBS Software’s One-Write Plus 5.0—do just that. Each covers the essentials— payables, receivables, inventory tracking, and payroll. In terms of general accounting features, it’s a three-way tie. So we sized up their differences: interface, network connectivity, and price. M.Y.O.B. Accounting 6.0 has a radically different interface that lets you see your books graphically; it’s the easiest to use of the three. Accounting & Pay¬ roll ’95 is networkable, allow¬ ing for multiple users. And One-Write Plus 5.0 is the price bargain of the bunch. Because no accounting package can easily import records from other packages, the beginning of the year is the best time to switch. Basic Bean-Counting M.Y.O.B. 6.0 is the simplest to use because a completely graphical interface lets you get to any record quickly and eas¬ ily. It also has the best tools for data entry, with autofill and pull-down menus to simplify the bookkeeping process. M.Y.O.B’s Analyst helps you generate to-do lists and checks your balance sheets, payroll records, and other financial data for validity. If you prefer a completely graphical interface and need enhanced data entry, M.Y.O.B. is your all-around best bet of the three. DacEasy’s Accounting & Payroll ’95 is networkable, an essential feature for businesses with more than one accountant. A designated administrator can limit access on a user-by-user basis so that if someone needs to input only certain sales, for example, that’s all the informa¬ tion they’ll have access to. Accounting & Payroll’s inter¬ face is simple, and its online help system makes it accessible even to novices. If you work in an office with more than one bookkeeper, Accounting & Payroll is your best choice. One-Write Plus 5.0 marks NEBS Software’s Windows debut, and its biggest plus is the low price. For only $69, One- Write Plus includes accounting and payroll modules (many other packages treat payroll as an add-on and charge extra for it). One-Write Plus has the leanest interface of the three; you usually won’t get more than three windows deep. Pull¬ down menus and autofills make for quick data entry (a la M.Y.O.B.). And although the interface isn’t the prettiest or the easiest to use, One-Write Plus is a real price value. In the Black Your choices are simple: Pick M.Y.O.B. Accounting 6.0 for a completely FILEBOX Accounting & Payroll ’95 Technology Verdict ★★★ Networks several accountants with one basic package. One- of-a-kind for its price. $119 est. street price DacEasy (800) 322-3279, (214) 248-0205 Reader Service No . 644 M.Y.O.B. Accounting 6.0 Technology * Verdict Clean interface and easy data input make it the simplest of the bunch. $80 est. street price, $126 with payroll utility BestWare (800) 322-6962, (201) 586-2200 Reader Service No . 644 One-Write Plus 5.0 Technology ★ Verdict No-frills interface, but the price is right. Includes all the accounting basics. $69 est. street price NEBS Software (800) 882-5254, (603) 880-5100 Reader Service No . 646 graphical interface and easy data entry. Sign on with Accounting & Payroll ’95 if you need a net- workable solution. And if price is the primary concern, no one beats One-Write Plus 5.0. Keep in mind, however, that Intuit’s QuickBooks is still the favorite Windows accounting package, followed closely by Peachtree Account¬ ing; new iterations of both are right around the comer. (Look for a review of QuickBooks in an upcoming issue.) Unless one of these three fills an immediate need, you may want to wait. JACK LYON Guide to the Ratings: Excellent *Good Acceptable Poor Unacceptable 114 JANUARY 1996 After scanning the car with HP ScanJet 4c, we added and manipulated Corel Professional Photos using Corel PHOTO-PAINT 5 to create this exciting image. Together Corel PHOTO-PAINT 5 and the HP ScanJet 4c Color/Grayscale scanner can help you unleash the power of your imagination in creating impressive documents, flyers, and brochures. Now when you purchase the HP ScanJet 4c scanner you will also receive Corel PHOTO-PAINT 5. HP ScanJet 4c ® Easy to use scanning software for the novice or expert • Scan images at 2,400 dpi enhanced optical resolution (600 dpi optical resolution) One billion colors (30-bit internal) for improved shadow detail and smoother colors • 10-bit internal grayscale for 1,024 levels of gray •> Also comes with Calera Wordscan OCR and HP ScanJet Copy utility for making color and black and white copies • Includes Visioneer PaperPort software for easy e-mailing, filing and faxing of documents • Affordable scanning solution for only $1,179 US list, $1,679 Cdn list Who% HEWLETT IXl PACKARD “It's the easiest thing you'll do all day. ” IPtiOTOPAIKT B£ • Precise photo-retouching: edit, crop, change colors Ci Amazing special effects: mesh warp, swirl, pinch, 3D perspectives C Over 50 image enhancement filters: swirl, wet paint, glass block, psychedelic C Accurate color calibration system C Enter text directly on screen: up to 32,000 characters C Load and edit partial images C Intuitive user interface: fun and easy to use Corel Corporation invites you to participate in its NEW TECHNOLOGY TOUR, previewing Corel's exciting line ol products (or Windows 95—CorelXARA " CorelFLOW™

  3, Corel Print House™ and Corel* CD Creator 2. Please call 1-613-728-0826 ext. 85095 for the location of the tour venue nearest you. Just for attending, you will receive a free CD HOME title and be eligible to win great prizesl To purchase this incredible bundle call toll-free for the HP authorized dealer nearest you! United States Canada 1-800-SCANJET 1-800-387-3867 Circle 127 on reader service card. AlniJkf! SOFTWARE New! HiJaak 95 Improve Your View of Graphics I- 1d1x||| DCsw si C3 Dos Cl Encarta _J Exchange Veggies Bridge CiV R CJ hijaok95 □ bin _j catalog D New Folder £ ii 2PB " □ tutorial — J D winsys Coldn256 lift? HiJoekMsw Cl Msdanger

  J Msgolf HiJaak ypdate IPS dH H ' jMk Converl HB Send To ► Inside Look: Why didn’t Microsoft think of this? HiJaak 95 replaces generic icons of graphics files with thumbnails of the actual images in Explorer. The best Windows utilities make you wonder why Microsoft didn’t make them part of Windows itself. HiJaak 95 sparks that question with its outstanding graphics handling. HiJaak still captures screen images and converts graphics files from one format to another, but with this Win¬ dows 95 upgrade its principal role is that of a graphics viewer and manager. Instead of giving you generic icons, HiJaak 95 shows you full-color thumb¬ nails of graphics files and lets you quickly view, manipulate, copy, and convert images. What’s most impressive is how HiJaak 95 works. It oper¬ ates in Windows Explorer, My Computer, and Network Neighborhood, and in many cases it works invisibly. The program updates graphics files in the background according to the priority level or scheduled time. An expanded menu offers view, print, update, and convert commands. Only then does the application appear onsreen. Using OLE 2.0, HiJaak 95 lets you drag and drop thumb¬ nails directly into applications. And its new Catalog Find function lets you search for FILEBOX HiJaak 95 Usability Technology * Verdict * If you work with graphics files under Windows 95, this will be your most valuable utility. System Requirements: Windows 95,486 CPU, 8MB of RAM, 12MB of disk space. Features: Image-format converter, image manager. $99 est street price Inset Systems (8001374-6738 Reader Service No. 644 files by a variety of criteria. These smart features, cou¬ pled with support for dozens of file formats, make HiJaak 95 an indispensable graphics Utility. CHRIS O’MALLEY Clarislmpact2.0 Give Your Information More Impact database with a graphic, and Claris- Impact will draw an organizational chart or time line based on your data. Although it doesn’t support OLE 2.0, Clarislm- pact 2.0 is a full 32- High Impact: Clarislmpact gives you bit application, the tools for creating attractive charts, If you use graph- diagrams, outlines, and tables. ics at work, you Most of us aren’t artists, but we do need to create visually inter¬ esting charts, tables, and other basic business graphics. Claris¬ lmpact 2.0, a comprehensive business graphics application, covers everything from time lines to presentations. The best part is that Clarislmpact is tai¬ lored to those of us who are color-blind and artistically challenged—and need the work done yesterday. Clarislmpact guides you from beginning to end—just click on an option like Draw¬ ing, Report, Outline, Presenta¬ tion, or Timeline. You’re then given subcategory options with types of charts, including Total Quality Management, network diagram, decision maker, and brainstorm. Once you’ve selected a diagram, choose rele¬ vant symbols and drop them onto the page. In addition to the core dia- grammer, Clarislmpact con¬ tains a presentation utility, an outliner, a table creator, and drawing tools. A special DataDraw function lets you associate a spreadsheet or need a business graphics application. Visio 4.0 is the reigning king of diagram- mers, but it doesn’t handle the outlining, presentations, and graphics that Clarislmpact does. If you don’t know how to draw—and you don’t want to learn—try Clarislmpact before hiring the next free¬ lancer. JAMES OLIVER CURY FILEBOX Clarislmpact 2.0 Usability Technology Verdict * A complete, simple business- graphics solution for people who hate to draw. Competition: Visio 4.0 offers better drag-and-drop diagrammingtools, but it doesn’t include presentation tools, slide-show features, or an outliner. Other packages cost more and aren't as easy to use. System Requirements: Windows 3.1 or later, 386 CPU, 4MB of RAM. $99 est. street price Claris Corp. [800] 544-8554 Reader Service No. 650 Guide to the Ratings: * Excellent *Good Acceptable Poor Unacceptable 116 JANUARY 1996 Circle 149 on reader service card. The result of our mounting impatience is the easy-to-use. extremelj affordable Go nneotix VideoPho ne”. A complete camera and software solution that. [ for under $200. j turns your computer into a desktop videoconferencing workstation. Connectix VideoPhone lets you video conference and share a mark-up board. Attend meetings from home. Make office-wide presentations. Or show jour ideas to your co-workers down the hall or across the country. Because rather than wait another forty years for the phone company to come up with VideoPhone. we thought we would just do it ourselves. It’s pretty clear who’s in charge here, at leastfrom where you’re standing. And the LTE 5000" could help you stay there. It’s a Pentium i powered notebook featuring interchangeable devices — and the remarkable ability to invoke superhuman powers upon its user. Its unique, front-loading MultiBay makes it completely modular, so you can show up at any meeting with a notebook customized for the agenda. Choose from a second hard drive (up to 1.35 gigabytes), a CD-ROM drive, a second battery, or a floppy drive to create the notebook that’s right for the task at hand. An expansion base also features two additional MultiBays (and looks great on a giant glass desk). Interested? Call 1-800-345-1518 (select PaqFax) or visit our Web site at www.compaq.com. The Compaq LTE 5 0 0 0. The Ultimate N L It’s his life savings. All six years of it. It goes into the bank and gets processed into the system. Along with 123,441 other transactions. Will it be handled with the same accuracy as a million-dollar deposit? 1 Absolutely. The bank has an account with OS/2.
• Can your I No bank could ever survive by Software offering accuracy for “most” of do this? I their transactions. That’s why 20 of the top 30 hanks depend on OS/2* to run many of their computer systems. It gives them the reliable, 32-bit foundation they need to build a distributed information system. As well as the perfect environment for applications that are so vital they cant go down for even a second. It also lets them bring all of then- offices and banking systems together on one common platform. Virtually every computer in the company, from notebooks to desktops and servers, can take full advantage of OS/2 — ensuring seamless communications throughout the enterprise. OS/2 has delivered Crash Protection" and true OS/2 Warp Connect Fullpack is available tram IBM for $189 by calling 1 800 IBM-3333, ext. EADS. In Canada, please call 1 800 IBM CALL, ext. 1290. Reseller prices may vary. The IBM home page is located at http://www.ibm.com. IBM and OS/2 are registered trademarks and Crash Protection, the OS/2 logo and Solutions for a small planet are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation. © 1995 IBM Corp. All rights reserved. multitasking (allowing a wide range of bank services to be processed simultaneously) since 1992. And as more companies come to depend on networked environments, 0S/2’s strengths are helping them succeed. But banks aren’t the only ones who are using it. OS/2 (along with its latest release, OS/2 Warp Connect) is hard at work every day in insurance companies, fast- food checkout systems, automated teller machines and airline reservations—businesses where downtime due to a computer system error is simply not an option. Give us a call at 1 800 IBM-3333, ext. EA115, or visit our Web site at http://www. software.ibm.com for all of the details. We’ll provide information that your company can really bank on. IBM : NETWORKING ConnectPlus LT vs. LANexpress 4000 Reach Your Network from Afar Keys to the Office: Microcom’s LANexpress 4000 (bottom) and Emulex’s ConnectPlus LT (top) remote servers let you access your company’s network from the road. LANexpress 4000 costs $4,999 and provides enough power for large sites; ConnectPlus LT goes for $750 and is perfect for small organizations. REMOTE LAM SERVERS | Emulex ConnectPlus LT Microcom LANexpress 4000 If you’re at home or traveling and need files from your office system, a modem-to-modem remote-access setup is invalu¬ able. But what if you have to access a database or download a spreadsheet from the net¬ work server? Your desktop solution can’t help you, but a remote LAN server can. Two new LAN servers from each end of the price spectrum are Emulex’s $750 ConnectPlus LT and Micro¬ com’s $4,999 LANexpress
• The ConnectPlus LT provides all the basics at a ter¬ rific low price, while the LAN- express is a top-notch server with outstanding administra¬ tive control and up to a dozen 28.8Kbps Ethernet ports. Little Box That Could Emulex’s ConnectPlus LT is the simplest solution for remote LAN access. It sup¬ ports all forms of Ethernet networks as well as most pop¬ ular protocols, including IPX, SPX, TCP/IP, and Apple Remote Access. Setup is effortless. Plug a network cable into the server (it’s actu¬ ally a small box about the size of a VHS tape), connect one or two modems or ISDN, and run the administrator software on any networked machine. The software then searches the network for the server and connected modems, and con¬ figures them appropriately. ConnectPlus also includes Novell’s IPX client software, so if you’re running Novell’s NetWare it’s a complete solu¬ tion; but if you’re running on some other type of network, you’ll have to provide your own remote-client software. Larger sites that need exten¬ sive control and multiple simul¬ taneous connections will find Microcom’s LANexpress 4000 a good fit. It comes in several models to satisfy various net¬ work and port needs. As with ConnectPlus, you install the administration software on any networked machine and it finds and configures the server. But unlike ConnectPlus, setting up the LANexpress clients and administrator was a real chal¬ lenge, and the manual wasn’t helpful. When we finally got LANexpress up and running, however, we had no complaints. It handled several simultaneous calls without a hitch. Powerful Connections LANexpress’s administration software, expressWatch, pro¬ vides complete access control and traffic reports, but it’s far from intuitive. The included entry-level client software works, but it’s difficult to use. You’ll probably want to upgrade to Microcom’s advanced ($425 for 20 users) or premium ($850 for 20 FILEBOX ConnectPlus LT Usability ★ Technology * Verdict ★ A straightforward and affordable remote-access solution for small networks. Competition: Shiva's NetModem has outstanding server and client software but only one serial port — and it costs $1,000 more. $750 est street price Emulex Network Systems (800) 590-5773, (206) 881 -4065 Reader Service No. 6fi LANexpress 4000 Usability ★* Technology Verdict ★# Industrial-strength remote access for large networks. Competition: 3Com’s AccessBuilder 4000 costs $500 less, but it lacks administrative control. Shiva’s LanRover E Plus provides greater control but costs twice as much. $4,999 est. street price for 4-port Ethernet; $7,999 for 8-port Ethernet Microcom (800) 822-8224, (617) 551-1000 Reader Service No. users) client packages, which have better interfaces and more features. The premium version supports remote control. For smaller businesses, Emulex’s ConnectPlus LT is the simplest and most afford¬ able remote LAN server avail¬ able. Setup is easy, and because you supply your own modems, compatibility is ensured. If, on the other hand, you work for a large business that needs lots of power and tight security, LANexpress 4000 fits the bill, jack LYON Guide to the Ratings: * Excellent *Good Acceptable Poor Unacceptable JANUARY 1996 122 Gateway 2000 ^needed out. My buddies in the programming lab were getting to me. So I tossed my Gateway Solo™ S120 Best Buy multimedia notebook into my pack and headed for the desert. Nothing like little hot earth to clear the mind. <8 GATEWW2000 Man, I love this machine! There I was. Miles from anywhere, just working away. Thinking — man, I love this machine ! Everything I need, right at my fingertips. A powerful 120MHz Intel® Pentium® processor, active matrix SVGA color display, 16MB RAM, whopping 1.2GB hard drive, and CD-ROM drive — it’s high-end desktop power in a portable PC. Perched on a rock, jamming to my favorite tunes (thanks to the 16-bit sound stereo speakers and CD-ROM drive), I watched the moon begin its journey across the night sky. Off in the distance I saw headlights and heard the whining of an engine begging for a tune-up. Soon a battered old truck screeched to a halt in front of me. Over the dull roar of honky- tonk music I heard, “Need a lift buddy?” Sure, why not. “My name’s Ned. And this here’s Chuck.” He gestured to the armadillo curled up next to him. “I’m in’crete.” ’Crete? “Yea, lots of opportunity in concrete. Spend a lot of time on the road. But I like it that way. Say you got yourself a pretty nifty Gateway 2000® notebook. O Me too. Wouldn’t make a move without Gateway Solo noteboob are optimized for Microsol Sally here,” Ned smiled as he patted the Windows® 95. | More c< Gateway Solo V75 notebook sitting on the dash. Sally? “That’s what I call her, after a certain waitress in Tucson,” Ned winked at me. “Sally’s loaded. She has a 75MHz Pentium processor, 8MB RAM, 540MB hard drive, and CD- ROM drive.” He winked at me again. more Ned named his portable Sally. “It has all the features I need while I’m on the road. Isn’t that right Chuck? “I’m mighty fond of Gateway 2000. Best values in portable PCs around,” smiled Ned. “And their portable line has something for everyone.” EZ Pad ™ pointing device for easy curse The radio droned on as Ned, Chuck and I continued on our trek through the dark desert. Armadillos like to have their heads rubbed. At least Chuck did. Up ahead I saw the neon sign of a roadhouse — a beacon in the darkness. “I could use some grub. How ’bout you?” asked Ned as he pulled the truck into the dirt parking lot. There she stood in all her glory. Tiara and satin dress shimmering beneath the fluorescent lights. “Next tour’s in 15 minutes, honey,” she said. Tour? “My name’s Delilah, and I give the best moonlit desert tours in the West. Is that a Gateway Solo nputing, places. I eyeing my portable. “I have a Gateway Liberty small notebook. It’s packed with fabulous features like a Gateway Sob models feature two integrated 540MB removable hard drive, and it weighs stereo s P eakers - THE DESERT QUEEN'S desert tours The best darn tours in the West!" a mere 4.2 pounds! Why, this glorious PC has won nearly as many awards as I have! And the best part,” Delilah huge 10.4-inch color screen is dual-scan for extra privacy.” I surpressed the urge to ask the Desert Queen about the secrets she was keeping from the world. “Honey, the folks at Gateway 2000 are just great. Can you The folks at Gateway 2000 are just great. believe that each system gets 24-hour, seven-day-a-week telephone technical support? And their values just can’t be beat,” said Delilah with a far off look in her eyes. I had a feeling my adventures were just beginning. For more computing, more places call Gateway 2000 today. pentium m SSIM JHF “You've got a friend in the business. ”® 00 - 424-0854 leaned in closer. “Its V75 V90 DELUXE GATEWAY SOLO ■ Active Matrix Color Display 1 Intel® Pentium® Processor ■ Expandable to 40MB RAM ■ 256K L2 Pipelined Burst Cache ■ 1MB Video RAM ■ Lithium Ion Battery & AC Pack ■ 2 PCMCIA Type B Slots, or 1 Type III Slot ■ EZ Pad™ Pointing Device ■ Removable Hard Drive ■ 3.5" Modular Floppy Drive ■ Integrated 16-Bit Sound with Stereo Speakers ■ 86-Key MS Windows 95 Keyboaid ■ Parallel, Serial, VGA PS/2® & Infrared Ports ■ Built-In Mic, Headphone and Line-In Jacks and External Volume Control Dial ■ 5.6 Lbs., 11.8" x 8.8" x 2.0" ■ MS Automap® Road Atlas 4.0 (CD-ROM) & Ascend® personal information manager (for use with Franklin Day Planner®) ■ Microsoft® Windows® 95” ■ 10.2" VGA (640 x 480) Display ■ 75MHz Intel Pentium Processor ■ 8MB RAM ■ Modular CD-ROM Drive ■ 540MB Hard Drive ■ MS Works 95 ■ Carrying Case $3499 ■ 10.2" VGA (640 x 480) Display ■ 120MHz Intel Pentium Processor ■ 16MB RAM ■ Modular CD-ROM Drive ■ 720MB Hard Drive ■ MS Works 95 ■ Carrying Case $4299 ■ 10.2" VGA (64(l<4*0) Display I 90MHz Intel Pentium Processor I 8MB RAM I Modular CD-ROM Drive I 540MB Hard Drive I MS Office 95, Professional Edition 1 ■ Carrying Case $3799 ■ 10.4" SVGA (800 x 600) Display ■ 90MHz Intel Pentium Processor ■ 16MB RAM ■ Modular CD-ROM Drive ■ 1.2GB Hard Drive ■ MS Office 95, Professional Edition 1 ■ Carrying Case $4799
• 5.6-pound configuration includes: 540MB Hard Drive, SVGA Active Matrix Color Display and Option Bay Cover. S120 BEST BUY ■ 10.4" SVGA (800 x 600) Display ■ 120MHz Intel Pentium Processor 1 16MB RAM ■ Modular CD-ROM Drive ■ 1.2GB Hard Drive ■ 28.8 PCMCIA Fax/Modem ■ Desktop IR Module ■ Extra Li-ion Battery ■ MS Office 95, Professional Edition 1 ■ Deluxe Leather Carrying Case $5999 GATEWAY LIBERTY DX4-I00 DX4-100 BESTBUY I 10.4" DSTN SVGA Color Display I Intel 486 DX4-100 Processor I 1MB Video RAM I NiMH Battery & AC Pack ■ 2 PCMCIA Type II Slots, or 1 Type III Slot I EZ Point™ Integrated Pointer I Removable Hard Drive I Choice of Desktop IR Module or External Floppy Drive I 78-Key Keyboard ■ Parallel, Serial,VGA & PS/2 Ports ■ 4.2 Lbs., 10" x 8" x 1.6" I Ascend personal information manager (for use with Franklin Day Planner) I Microsoft Windows 95

  ■ 8MB RAM (expandable to 24MB) ■ 340MB Hard Drive ■ 256KL2 Cache ■ External Floppy Drive ■ MS Works 95 $2499 DX4-100 DELUXE ■ 16MB RAM ■ 540MB Hard Drive ■ 256KL2 Cache ■ External Floppy Drive ■ MS Office 95, Professional Edition* $2999 ■ 24MB RAM ■ 720MB Hard Drive ■ 256KL2 Cache ■ TelePath® 14.4XJACK® Eax/Modem ■ 2 NiMH or 1 Li-ion Battery ■ Desktop IR Module ■ External Floppy Drive ■ MS Office 95, Professional Edition* ■ Liberty Leather Carrying Case $3499 "MS-DOSt 6.22 and MS Windows for Workgroups 3.11 available upon request.

  MS Office 95, Professional Edition includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint presentation graphics program, Schedule+, along with MS Access 9 database and Bookshelf ® 95. PERIPHERAL OPTIONS SERVICE & WARRANTY I 3-Year Limited Warranty $ 100 ■ Panasonic® KXL-D720 External | I 14.4 PCMCIA, XJACK Send/ CD-ROM Drive $299 | Receive Fax/Modem $ 1S9 ■ Extra Solo Li-ion Battery $200 ■ 28.8 PCMCIA Fax/Modem $299 ■ Extra Liberty NiMH Battery $99 | I PCMCIA Network Adapters ■ Extra Liberty Li-ion Battery $ 199 3COM® Twisted Pair Ethernet $129 ■ Desktop IR Module $79 3COM Coaxial Ethernet $ 159 ■ Call for additional memory and IBM® Token Ring $399 hard drive options. Call for service and warranty options I Lifetime portable-specific toll-free telephone technical service and support I One-year limited warranty standard. Fora free copy, call or write. NO PAYMENTS Ask about our “90 Days No Payment” Program! ra // GATEIMY2000 “You 've got a friend in the business. ”® 800 - 424-0854 dfg) pentium ;ned for ffl 610 Gateway Drive • P.O. Box 2000 • N. Sioux City, SD 57049-2000 • Phone 605-232-2000 • TDD 800-846-1778 • Fax 605-232-2023 • FaxBack 800-8464526 Component Add-On Sales 800-846-2080 • Sales Hours: 7am-10pm Weekdays, 9am-4pm Saturdays (CST) ©1995 Gateway 2000, Inc. Gateway 2000, black-and-white spot design, “G” logo, “You've got a friend in the business” slogan and TelePath are registered trademarks, and Liberty, EZ Point, EZ Pad and Gateway Solo are trademarks of Gateway 2000, Inc. The Intel Inside Logo, Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. All other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. All pnces and configuranons are subject to change without notice or obligation. Prices do not include shipping oi applicable sales tax. Typical network locations in the U.S. get mugged by an average of 289 power disturbances yearly. Surges. Spikes. Sags. Brownouts. Nasty stuff that can corrupt your data. Steal productivity. THE NEXT REVOLUTION IN COMPUTING IS HERE. AND HERE AND HERE LITHIUM ION BATTERY. Get the ultimate in long life with up to 5 hours pa charge. No other battery AND HERE AND HERE 120MHz PENTIUM' PROCESSOR Fly through even the most complex applications with ease. At only 2.9v. this processor gives you the power you need without sacrificing j>r battery life. It’s also coupled with 16MB of high-speed synchronous DRAM memory’ to maximize the performance of the Pentium’ processor. HUGE 11.3" DIAGONAL COLOR DISPLAY. The awe-inspiring size and 800x600 resolution of this display set a new standard in screen quality. PCI local-bus video delivers spectacular full motion video and phenomenal graphics acceleration. AND HERE i PCI LOCAL BUS ARCHITECTURE. Unlock the true potential of the Pentium processor. PCI’s 32-bit architecture offers the fastest levels of video performance and data throughput. Plus, it allows you to take full advantage of all Windows 95 Plug and Play capabilities. MODULAR QUAD-SPEED CD-ROM DRIVE. Conduct interactive multimedia pr< and more. The new SelectBay architecture makes swapping this ultra-fast, optional, Quad-Speed CD-ROM drive with the modular floppy drive as easy as changing a disk! TECRA 700CT AND 700CS: • 11.3 dia. color display in your choice of active matrix

  • PCI local-bus architecture • 1.2 Billion Byte H.13GB) removable HDD • Two PC Card (PCMCIA) slots (twoType 11 or oneType 111) ■ Toll-free Technical Support - 7 days a week, 24 hours a day (Cl) or DSTN dual scan (CS) • 120MHz Intel Pentium* processor (2.9v) • 800x600 screen resolution • 24-bit true color support at 640 x480 externally • SelectBay for modular 3.5* floppy disk drive or optional modular quad-speed CD-ROM drive • lithium Ion battery (up to 5 hour battery life) • 16-bit Sound Blaster™ Pro compatible sound system • Infrared data port (IrDA-compliant) • Optional Desk Station V= PCI Cud support, Hug .-.ml Ray, hot docking and mote • Preinstalled software: Windows' 95 ot MS-DOS' Designed for m 1 • High-speed synchronous DRAM memory (16MB expandable to 48MB on 700CT, 8MBexpand-ableto4QMBon7Ci0CS) with .WAV and MIDI sound support • Built-in stereo speakers with Windows' fot Workgroups, RunTime Video ■ 3-year limited warranty Microsoft* Windows*95 1 pentium

  700CT comes standard with 16MB expandable to 48MB, 700CS comes standard with 8MB expandable to 40MB. All specifications and availability are subject to change. © 1995 Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. Intel Inside and Pentium Processor Logos are trademarks of Intel Corporation. All products indicated by trademark symbols are trademarked and/or registered by their respective companies. AND HERE WINDOWS' 95. A host of new features comes to PC users - 32-bit speed, Plug and true preemptive multitasking, user interface, hot docking Tecra 700 has been designed to take full advantage of AND HERE 1.2 BILLION BYTE (=1.13GB) REMOVABLE HARD DISK DRIVE. Here’s some massive storage capacity: Even with all your applications loaded, you’ll still have lots of room for graphics, video and large database files. Plus, it’s easily removable for safe-keeping or upgrading later. hout wires. Beam documents conveniently through Utr to infrared-equipped printers, and transfer files to any other IrDA-compliant PC. STEREO SOUND. Pump up your presentations. The Tecra 700 is Sound Blaster™ Pro compatible and plays .WAV and MIDI sound files. A built-in microphone, stereo speakers and integrated headphone/speaker and microphone jacks complete your mobile audio system. »AND HERE OPTIONAL DESK STATION V. Who needs a desktop computer ? The new Desk | Station V gives you PCI card support, stereo : speakers, hot docking, Plug and Play connectivity, j a SCSI-II port and instant connect I monitor, keyboard, printers and mi Tecra Introducing a portable so advanced, we gave it an entirely new name: Tecra™ From the modular design to the uncompromising power of the Pentium' processor and PCI, Tecra is Toshiba engineering at its best. And with the optional Desk Station V, Tecra offers far more expandability and high-performance options than ordinary desktops. Ready for the next revolution? Call 1-800-457-7777 for more information or a dealer near you. In Touch with Tomorrow TOSHIBA Toshiba. The Worlds Best Selling Portable Computers. Cirde 215 on reader service card. To find out how the HP CopyJet can pay for itself in a year, call 1-800-761-8999 Ext. 1131. It copies. (It does not, unfortunately, monitor taste.) Introducing the first color printer-copier. The HP CopyJet. Look at the vivid color. Look at the flawless reproduction. Don’t look at the hat. What’s important is that the new CopyJet gives you the quality you’d expect from an HP color printer, and it has the full functionality of (bQ A A rrt a color copier Besides the b tJ (J departmental convenience, the CopyJet is easy to operate and uses plain paper If the whole department needs color printing and copying, there’s the network- ready HP CopyJet M for $3199. That’s just

  a fraction of the money you won’t have to spend for color copies. Which will make you look good, no matter what you’re wearing. Whp% HEWLETT mL'lLM PACKARD Best Direct Bets Zero in on your dream phone call away! S o you like to shop on the phone in your skivvies. (We do, too.) That’s one advantage to buying a PC direct. There are a few incidental ones as well: system performance, software bundles, service, and support. Oh, and you’ll also get some of the lowest prices anywhere. The fact is, buying over the phone is no longer a cause for concern—it’s the smart way to go. That’s what we discovered when we went out to find the best direct bargain system we could buy. We set the minimum configurations high: a 100MHz or faster Pentium processor, 16MB of memory, a 1GB or larger hard drive, a 64-bit PCI graphics accelerator with 2MB of video memory (VRAM), a 17-inch monitor, a quad-speed BY MARTY JEROME JANUARY 1996 | Reviews: Best Direct Bets H U Overall Best: Polywell’s Poly 500P8 offers stellar performance, documentation, and internal design. The recipe for their success? Look to the basics: large L2 caches (most of which were pipelined), EDO RAM (in many systems), fast video accelerators, and speedy hard drives. In fact, an interesting trend turned up in our testing. After three years of system-performance equal¬ ization, subcomponents such as video accelerators and hard drives are once again brokering the difference between a fast PC and a slow one. Never mind the Rating Bargain Systems

  7 Bundled Performance*

  Product Price CPU Monitor Software w ors t Best Usability Verdict Poly 500P8 $2,848 133MHz Pentium Diamond's Stealth 64 Yes/ Yes Polywell’s 17 Windows 95 CD, ■ Creative Labs' | Ingenious case P?spR design,

  * Great performance, excellent usability. [800J999-1278 x< ' Reader Service No. 6;6

  multimedia kit software j I outstanding | j manual. Cobra XLT $2,849 100MHz Number Yes/ Data Windows 95 disks, Poor case

  *

  Robotech Pentium Nine's Yes Display’s Novell's Perfect 1 design, Fast 100MHz [800)533-0633 Vision 330 17 Office 3.0, I i otherwise good Pentium with Reader Service No. 6$7 100MB shareware j i i usability. good bundle. Dimension PlOOt $2,600 100MHz S3'sTrio64 Yes/ Dell’s 17 Windows 95 CD, Great case

  Dell Computer Corp. Pentium onboard Yes Windows 3.1, j design and Fast 100MHz | [800)288-0550 chipset MS-DOS 6.2 | _ j manuals, video Pentium, Reader Service No. 6f8 tour at start-up. excellent usability. Magna Media $2,850 133MHz Number Yes/ Mag's Windows 95 Easy to

  Maximus Computers Pentium Nine's Yes DX17F CD; Microsoft’s 1 !■ upgrade, but Great performer, [800) 888-6294 Motion Money 95, Works j j j manuals are mix includes modem Reader Service No. 6/y 531 95, Encarta 95 j j | and match. and solid bundle. P5-120 $2,774 120MHz STB's No/ Gateway Windows 95 CD, ■ Well-illustrated

  Gateway 2000 Pentium No 2000's Microsoft's Top-notch (800)846-2000 Graphics Vivitron Office 95 | guide gets you performance, Reader Service No. 660 64 1776 | going fast. but no audio. | 'RELATIVE PERFORMANCE RATING ON WINSTONE 96 BENCHMARKS. 134 JANUARY I 996 CD-ROM drive, and Windows 95 preloaded. Anything else a vendor could fit in—sound card, speakers, modem, or software—was gravy. We thought these high-flying specs would scare away quite a few manufacturers, but 19 systems qualified. If you read anything into this, it’s that the price for 100MHz to 133MHz Pentium PCs has hit its sweet spot: All of the systems we received cost less than $3,000. The time to buy is now. Application Performance Our testing turned up a few surprises. Did the titans of direct manufactur¬ ing-companies that have built enduring reputations on the performance of their systems—sweep our benchmark tests in customary fashion? Not this round. To be sure, the offerings from Gateway 2000 and Dell Computer were top performers. In fact, Gate¬ way’s P5-120 scored nearly as high as the 133MHz Pentium systems and was the fourth-fastest performer overall. Similarly, Dell’s 100MHz Dimension PlOOt outscored a couple of 120MHz systems. But the top three performers were Tagram’s Thun¬ derbolt P133, Polywell’s Poly 500P8, and Maximus’s Magna Media. After them came Robotech’s Cobra XLT, Royal Electronics’ Ultra Media 11-17, Hi-Tech USA’s Super Power MPC-120, and Premio Express’s Express Station. None of these are exactly household names, but they all turned in excellent numbers in our Winstone 96 benchmark test. CPU. For example, Hi-Tech USA’s 120MHz Super Power MPC-120 and Vektron’s 133MHz Multimedia Ultimate were disappointingly slow, considering their processors’ clock speeds, because of slow hard drives. Video Performance PC video has been the wild card in system performance, not only because graph¬ ics accelerators keep getting faster, but also because several new memory technologies, including dedi¬ cated VRAM and Window RAM (WRAM), have appeared to spur video performance . Top honors for video go to Tagram’s Thunder¬ bolt PI 33, which features Matrox’s amazing MGA Millennium equipped with dual-ported WRAM. The Thunderbolt PI 33 outpaced its nearest com¬ petitors by almost 25 percent. Vektron’s Multimedia Ultimate, Hi-Tech USA’s Super Power MPC-120, and Polywell’s Poly 500P8— three of the five fastest systems in video perfor¬ mance—all use Diamond’s Stealth 64 Video VRAM, a video card that has proved its speedy performance across a variety of applications. Maximus’s Magna Media, third fastest in video performance, uses Num¬ ber Nine’s splendid Motion 531 card. The systems that performed above average include Diamond’s Stealth 64—USA Flex’s Flex PT-120, Royal Electronics’ Ultra Media 11-17, and Expotech’s Expo Pentium Home PC. Gateway’s P5-120, outfitted with STB’s Power Graphics 64, also did well. Hard Drive Performance Other than the power supply, no PC subcomponent has remained as staid and unremarkable as the hard drive. Yes, capacities keep going up and prices keep going down, but regardless of the manufacturer, access times have hovered in the tight 14ms-to-18ms range for more than four years. Until now. Quantum has ratcheted down that time to 12ms with its stunning new 1.08GB Fireball drive. In spite of the disconcerting imagery inspired by its name, the Fireball is the fastest Enhanced IDE (EIDE) drive you’ll find. The impressive performance is due in large measure to its Partial Response Maxi¬ mum Likelihood (PRML) read-channel technology, Best Performer: Tagram’s Thunderbolt PI 33 blazed through our benchmark performance tests. Bundled Performance* Product Price CPU MM Monitor Software worst Best Usability Verdict QP5/100SM-1 Quantex Microsystems [800] 787-8686 Reader Service No. 66i $2,799 100MHz ATI's Yes/ Mag’s Windows 95 CD, !■ Pentium Mach 64 Yes DX17F Windows 3.1, Quicken, Novell’s : Perfect Office 3.0 . : : III Easy to install, ★ ★ ★★ BB ; includes Quick Generous Setup guide. package-all ready to go. Super Power MPC-120 Hi-Tech USA [408] 262-8688 Reader Service No. 66a $2,699 120MHz Diamond’s Yes/ Mag's Windows 95 disks; Pentium Stealth 64 Yes DX17F Microsoft's Office 95, Encarta 95; i j CD sampler 1 j Unimpressive ★★★★ ■" : documentation, Outstanding ergonomic 1 bundle, great keyboard. overall value. Thunderbolt PI 33 Tagram System Corp. [800] 824-7267 Reader Service No. 66$ $2,845 133MHz Matrox’s Yes/ Mag's Windows 95 CD B Pentium MGA No DX17F Millennium l b . ■■ Poorcase HHB design, Fastest system, unorganized but mediocre I documentation, design. Expo Pentium Home PC Expotech Corp. [800] 215-3976 Reader Service No. 664 $2,843 100MHz Diamond's Yes/ CTX’s Windows 95 CD, Pentium Stealth 64 Yes 1765CD Novell’s Perfect |fl Works, Quicken, Compton’s Encyclopedia 96 | Difficult to ★★★ U | upgrade, lacks Generous system manual, bundle, average performance. Flex PT-120 USA Flex [800]872-3539 Reader Service No. 66$ $2,850 120MHz Diamond's Yes/ CTX’s Windows 95 CD, B Pentium Stealth 64 Yes 1765CD Talkshop, FaxWorks, Corel games | Excellent ★★★ 1 documentation, Incredible bundle, M| sensible case but relatively poor ||| design. performance. •RELATIVE PERFORMANCE RATING IS BASED ON WINSTONE 96 BENCHMARKS. ContinuedOnpage 136 PC COMPUTING 135 H u VI 3 o g £ D 05 Reviews: Best Direct Bets which lets it pack more data into a tighter area on hard-disk platters and transfer that data internally at faster speeds. It’s quickly becoming an industry stan¬ dard on SCSI drives, and will appear on more EIDE drives sooner than you think. The Thunderbolt P133, Poly 500P8, Magna Media, and Ultra Media 11-17, all of which use Quantum’s Fireball drive, turned in the top hard- drive performance results. In fact, the seven fastest systems for drive performance all use this new drive, if you’re searching for proof that the new PRML technology is a success, look no further. Western Digital’s Caviar 31200 drive, on the other hand, dragged down the overall performance of sev¬ eral systems that zipped through other benchmarks. Vektron’s Multimedia Ultimate, Hi-Tech USA’s Super Power MPC-120, and USA Flex’s Flex PT-120, all of which feature fast 120MHz and 133MHz CPUs, ended up with midlevel Winstone results because of the Caviar 31200’s mediocre speed. While performance differences between various video cards and hard drives widened in the past year, performance differences between CD-ROM drives narrowed. Mind you, all the CD drives in this roundup performed well. But most benchmark results huddled together. There was little to distin¬ guish one system from another, except for the top CD-ROM drive performer: Vektron’s Multimedia Best Bundle: Hi-Tech USA’s Super Power MPC-120 comes with a sound card, speakers, and lots of software. Ultimate, which is outfitted with a Teac CD-56E six-speed mechanism, pulled well ahead of the pack. The second-place finisher in CD performance, Royal Electronics’ Ultra Media 11-17, also stood out, thanks to its Media Vision’s 6X—the only other six-speed CD-ROM drive in this roundup. The other top-performing CD drive was Toshiba’s speedy XM-5302B quad-speed model, which comes Award -Winning NetCruiser , Software Over 400 Hours of Direct Internet Access And 24-Hour lave Support L J When it comes to the Internet, some people know how to get ahead. They’re the ones who spend lots of time there- without spending lots of money. Because they use NETCOM. After all, for just $19.95 a month* we not only give you over 400 hours of direct, unrestricted Net access- including the World-Wide Web, E-mail, newsgroups and more- we give you the freedom to enjoy it. Along with everything you need to get to the Net. Including our WinSock-compliant NetCruisei® software. Free 24-hour live support. And over 200 high-speed local access numbers across the U.S. So call the nation’s leading Internet service provider at 1 -800-NETCOM1. It’s the smart thing to do. ■V NETCOM How to Get There. For Just $19.95 A Month Compaq Notebooks. From Extr

  Notebooks That Really Take You Places. Wherever your work takes you, you can be sure that one of these Compaq® notebook PCs makes sense for you. Call and ask about the Compaq Contura® 400 Series—a powerful combination of affordabil¬ ity and features. Or if you need full-function desktop capabilities, ask us about the Compaq LTE Elite” with its optional SmartStatiorf" Expansion Base. But if you’re looking for a high-performance Pentium® notebook, the Compaq LTE 5000“delivers the ultimate mix of power and flexibility. With several interchangeable devices, the LTE S000 allows you to mix and match capabilities anywhere. This high-performance ■ notebook can be used at home, on the road, or on your desk. Whichever Compaq notebook you choose, one of our cost-saving Option Paqs” will make it work even harder for you. And since all our I notebooks come with a 3-Year Worldwide Limited Warranty* you can I ; on Compaq support whether you’re working at home, or in one I ;r 85 countries around the world. COMPAQ DirectPlus Portable To Extra Powerful Contura 430C • 486DX4/1 OOMHz Processor • 8MB RAM (expandable to 32MB) • 720MB Hard Drive ■ 10.4“ Color Dual Scan Display • 3.5” 1.44MB Diskette Drive • Two PCMCIA Type II Slots • Integrated Optical Trackball • Enhanced NiMH Battery with up to 5 hours on a single charge • Tilting, Full-Function Keyboard • Optional Docking Base • Weighs only 6.25 lbs. ■ Preinstalled MS-Windows* 95 or MS-Windows 3.1 • 3-Year Worldwide Limited Warranty* Only $2,499 Contura Option Paq • Compaq 192 PC Card Fax Modem • Enhanced NiMH Battery Pack • Compaq Global Carrying Case Only $299 LTE Elite 4/75C • 486DX4/75MHZ Processor • 8MB RAM (expandable to 32MB) • 510MB Removable Hard Drive ■ 9.5” Color Dual Scan Display • 3.5” 1.44MB Diskette Drive • Two PCMCIA Type II Slots • Built-in AC Adapter • Built-in Enhanced EasyPoint™ Trackball • NiMH Battery with up to 4'A hours of battery life • 6.93 lbs. total carrying weight • Preinstalled MS-Windows 95 or MS-Windows 3.1 • 3-Year Worldwide Limited Warranty* [03 • Price includes a FREE Compaq SmartStation Expansion Baset (shown above). Only $3,199 LTE 5000 ■ Pentium 75MHz Processor ■ 8MB RAM (expandable to 72MB) • 810MB Removable Hard Drive • 11.3" Color Dual Scan Display • 3.5" 1.44MB Modular Diskette Drive • Two PCMCIA Type II Slots • EasyPoint II Integrated Pointing Device • NiMH Battery with 2 to 4 hours of battery life • 101-Key Keyboard • Infrared Communication Port ■ • Weighs only 7.5 lbs. • Preinstalled MS-Windows 95 or MS-Windows 3.1 • 3-Year Worldwide Limited Warranty* Only $4,699 MultiBay™ Expansion Base The industry's first modular expansion base allows devices to be shared between the notebook and base. Supports two additional hard drives or CD-ROM drives and an additional diskette drive. Also charges up to two batteries. Elite Smart Option Paq Only $489 ■ Compaq 150 Color Monitor • Enhanced Keyboard and Mouse • APC Professional 7 Surge Protector Only $499 ASK FOR OUR NEW FREE CATALOG. OR FOR THE NAME OF YOUR NEAREST COMPAQ AUTHORIZED RESELLER, CALL 1-800-345-1518. Circle 278 on reader service card. Reviews: Best Direct Bets H U w g 3 o g £ D CQ with five other high-ranking CD systems, including PerComp’s P100 Professional and Swan Technolo¬ gies’ PowerHouse Series. The slowest systems in CD benchmarks? Polywell’s Poly 500P8 and Robotech’s Cobra XLT—systems that otherwise showed stellar performance. The Poly 500P8 comes with Sony’s CDU75E, and Robotech uses Pana¬ sonic’s 4Xi. Generally, these are drives to avoid. Ease of Use Even the slowest systems in this roundup aren’t exactly laggards. (And before you dis¬ miss 100MHz models altogether, take a long look at the performance results for Dell’s Dimension PlOOt and RoyalElectronics’UltraMediaIT17inthetable, “Rat¬ ing PC Systems.”) But what about desktop civility? That is, how easy is it to get the system up and running, find help when you need it, grow the system with expansion cards or new drives, and put it to work? Dell’s Dimension PlOOt gets high marks for usabil¬ ity because of its excellent documentation. So do USA Flex’s Flex PT-120, MidWest Micro’s P5-100, and Austin Direct’s PowerPlus 100. Manuals for Max¬ imus’s Magna Media could stand some work, but the machine is very easy to upgrade and troubleshoot. The Quick Start Guide for Gateway’s P5-120 is a model of documentation that other makers should emulate. But Polywell’s Poly 500P8 takes top honors for usability, thanks to its coherent manuals and a clean case design that lets you add components easily. Best Usability: The interior design of Polywell’s Poly 500P8 is incredibly clean, making it very easy to upgrade. Given the Poly 500P8’s extraordinary performance and the company’s reliable service and support, this system is our overall favorite—if only by a hair. The Magna Media and Thunderbolt P133 are also excellent choices. For that matter, don’t settle on a machine before considering Dell’s Dimension PlOOt and Gate¬ way’s P5-120. Despite their slower CPUs, they pack more punch than you’d expect. Rating Bargain Systems c Ultra Media 11-17 Royal Electronics (800)486-0008 Reader Service No. 670 $2,850 100MHz Diamond's Yes/ Princeton’s Windows 95 CD, !■ Pentium Stealth 64 Yes Ultra 17 Windows3.1, Plus Novell’s | 1 Perfect Office 3.0 j i i I Messy ♦★★Decent documentation, package and j confusing good bundle, but setup. tough to set up. Multimedia Ultimate Vektron Int’l (800)725-0026 Reader Service No. 671 $2,850 133MHz Diamond’s Yes/ ADI’s Windows 95 Pentium Stealth 64 No MicroScan installed but disks 5EP/API not included ; I Upgrade is ★ ★ ■1 difficult, Disappointing third-party performance for manuals only. 133MHz Pentium. PowerHouse Series Swan Technologies (800)446-2506 Reader Service No. 672 $2,849 100MHz STB's No/ Sampo’s Windows 95 Pentium Power- No Alpha installed but disks Graphic 64 17mx not included 1 Awkward case ★★stingy 1 design. bundle lacks |l soundcard and software. PowerPlus 100 Austin Direct (800)752-1577 Reader Service No. 673 $2,850 100MHz ATI’s No/ KFC’s17 Windows 95 SS&glg Pentium Mach 64 No disks | Accessible ★ ★ Good 1 components, usability, but excellent sluggish documentation, performance. Quin-54/P100 DTK Computer (800) 289-2385 Reader Service No. 674 $2,790 100MHz Tseng Yes/ ADI's Windows95 Pentium Labs’ Yes MicroScan installed but disks ET4000 5EP/API not included | Messy ★★ 1 construction Relatively slow inside case. system with poor usability. IN WINSTONE 96 BENCHMAR Surfing the Internet just took a turn for the better View Oversized Documents Without Scrolling The ADI MicroScan" I7X monitor puts a whole new spin on the way you work. In seconds, it can jm switch from landscape to portrait without closing any running applications. Just click on the portrait driver icon, turn the monitor, and hit the degauss button on the front-panel. It’s that easy to flip between Internet home pages, word processors, oversized spreadsheets, and other applications—and still get the big picture. Larger Viewing Area In Its Class The MicroScan I7X is like getting a 21" display for the price of a 17" monitor. Its vertical viewing area in portrait mode is larger than any 17" or even 21" monitor on the market, and easily accommodates an entire 8.5" x II" legal or A4 page in portrait view. No need to scroll or print to see the whole page. This means you’ll be able to do twice as much in half the time. High-Quality Feature Set The MicroScan 17X also has many other things to flip over. Like a 17" CRT display with a 16" diagonal viewing area, 1024 x 768 resolution, flicker-free 76Hz performance, ,28mm dot pitch, microprocessor digital controls, even Plug-n-Play compatibility. It’s a feature set you won’t find in competitively priced monitors. And since ADI builds monitors for leading PC companies worldwide, you know you’re making a quality investment for the long haul. The MicroScan I7X is also backed by a three-year warranty. Best of all, you don’t have to be a Web Master to get one. Just call 1-800-228-0530 for your nearest dealer. J Any way you look at it. ADI Systems, Inc. 2115 Ringwood Avenue, San Jose, CA 95131 Cirtle 174 on reader service card. BUYING DIRECT Final Analysis: Choosing Your Ideal System Value by Phone If you’re in the market for a custom system that will give you the most performance for your dollar, you’ll find that some of the best bargains are available direct. Even the big names like Dell Computer and Gateway 2000 offer excellent packages at great prices. But the winners in our performance and usability tests came from lesser-known companies like Polywell, Max¬ imus, and Tagram. Polywell’s Poly 500P8 system, in particular, impressed us with its superior performance and shrewd design. Of course, to those who have bought systems from direct manufacturers in the past, top-drawer perfor¬ mance and high usability are no surprise. But what about these legendary bargains? Exactly how much does your dollar buy? Among performance and usability winners, Gate¬ way’s P5-120 provides an excellent software bundle that includes a Windows 95 CD and Microsoft’s Office for Windows 95. But curiously, its $2,774 price doesn’t include a sound card or speakers. On the other hand, Maximus’s $2,850 Magna Media system features 16-bit audio and an average set of speakers, plus a modem and a good software bundle. Hi-Tech USA’s $2,699 Super Power MPC-120, with a 120MHz Pentium, offers one of the best all- around values. It comes bundled with reasonably good speakers and Windows 95; Microsoft’s Encar- ta, Money, and Works; and a CD sampler. Compare that with Swan’s $2,849 PowerHouse, which fea¬ tures a 100MHz Pentium, and lacks audio, speakers, and applications software of any kind—yet costs $150 more. If you need a fax modem, USA Flex’s Flex PT-120, PerComp’s P100, and Royal Electronics’ Ultra Media 11-17 all include one in their quoted prices. Nice- quality Altec-Lansing speakers come with Quantex’s QP5/100 SM-1 and Dell’s Dimension PlOOt. Of course, system features, software bundles, and prices are moving targets, so you won’t really know how far your dollars will go until you pick up the phone. Once you do, we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the choices. DECISION MAKER CHOOSE THE RIGHT BARGAIN SYSTEM FOR YOUR BUSINESS 1 Choose the factor that’s Choose the next most most important. important factor. Isn't it time you got online? Plug into Prodigy and see what you've been missing. The New Prodigy is jam-packed with computer goodness. Check out Living Digital, our Web magazine for the digital age. You can link up with your computer manufacturer, download software, create your own Personal Web Page, surf the Net. We'll even give you 10 free* hours, free software and a free trial month on the New Prodigy to get you started. Interested? Then grab a pen and give us the usual. rne new p ’prodigy whatever you're into wha \m into Planets. Rebel Space. The Zodiac. Zoos. Great Apes. Rain Forests. Forecasts. There's a whole universe to be explored. Pack a snack; you’ve got 10 free hours to start your trip. Who knows what you’ll get into? it on Shop. Invest. Play games. Get help with homework. Surf the Net. Create your own Personal Web Page. Prodigy makes it easy. That’s not the half of it. Not even a thousandth. Heck, we even won the '95 Dvorak Excellence Award. There’s something going on virtually every minute of every day. And the New Prodigy is easier to use and better than ever. So go nuts. Have fun. Call 1 800-PRODIGY, ext. 223, and get into it now. Turn on, tune in, read up. Your favorite magazine is now available on Prodigy along with our own Web magazine, Living Digital. Extras, insights, back issues, software, tips, tables and charts.

  ^{the new >, )prodigy whatever you're into BUSINESS REPLY MAIL POSTAGE WILL BE PAID BY ADDRESSEE PO BOX 8667 GRAY TN 37615-9967 MM.nl.II.11,1,1,1 ,U,I,JUm,II, nil NO POSTAGE NECESSARY IF MAILED IN THE UNITED STATES Explore it for 10 hours free. To get your free software and 10 free hours call 1 800-PR0DIGY, ext. 223. Email us at [email protected] Or download the software directly from our World Wide Web location: http://www.astranet.com (But check your screen for our icon first; you may already have Prodigy installed.) After your 10 free hours, Prodigy is only $9.95 for 5 hours with no extra charge for Internet access. Don’t miss another minute. “Cant I Print Just One Label?” Xr i«,Krir}

  without a paddle? Sure, one paddle will get you down the river. But two paddles work a heck of a lot better. The same applies to Pentium • Pro chips. So that's why we've developed the ALR EVOLUTION DUAL6, the first aggressively priced PC to offer an easy upgrade path to dual Pentium Pro tech¬ nology. Prom networking to graphics design, from Windows? NT to NooelP NetWare ™ 4.1 SMP, this is the computer you've been waiting for. The new dual processing ALR EVOLUTION DUAL6 with Pentium® Pro 150’s Here’s two. m ALR EVOLUTION DUAL6 Model 1-16 One 150-MHz Pentium Pro Processor with integrated 256-KB L2 cache 16-MB (ECC) RAM 1-GB IDE Hard Drive • 64-bit PCI video with 2-MB VRAM » 4X CD-ROM Drive $ 4880 " When you need more power, our unique DSMP (Dual Symmetrical Multi Processor) design makes upgrading to dual processing as simple as plugging in a second Pentium Pro chip. MP Spec 1.4 compliance guarantees compatibility with Wmdows NT, NetWare 4.1 SMP, and multiprocessing versions of most other popular operating systems. Looking for an application server for a large department or small company? The FIRST TO HARNESS THE POWER OF FOUR I33-MHZ PENTIUM PROCESSORS EVOLUTION DUAL 6 has room for over 15-GB of storage within its six drive bays, up to 512-MB of ECC (Error Checking and Correcting) memory, and a combination of seven available expansion slots (four PQ/four BA, one shared). Would you Starting at $3495 rather have a workstation for CAD, anima¬ tion, or graphics design? Just add a graphics crunching 64- or 128-bit PCI video adapter to one of this system's bus-mastering PQ slots. It's like having the power and reliability • of one of our award-winning servers sitting right on your desktop It's the power you've been waiting for So why wait any longer? For more infor¬ mation, please call: 1-800-444-4ALR (X5204) Advanced Logic Research, Inc. i Com^jServe - GO Circle 196 on reader service card. C Monvenience counts forj a computer, nothin the phone and c system before you buy it, I your doorstep—and you don’t have to companies that deal direct often have mon ten it comes to buying picking up i’tfry out the d right to parking. Plus, foducts in stock and a wider selection, and they give you the option of custom-building your dream PC. Many direct vendors also offer some of the best technical support around—where else can you reach a live Jm tech-support person 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? Of course, the quality of services varies widely. Some dealers offer unlimited free phone calls and BBS support, and extend generous, money-back guarantees; others limit their support to business hours, impose restocking fees, or lack online support. We’ve compiled the operating policies of over 60 manufacturers that sell computers direct, and rated them based on the amount and kinds of services they offer. Use it as a guide to zero in on companies that provide the support you need. And check out our tips for getting the best deal possible. BY BOB O’DONNELL — Direct 60 : Top Mail-Order Dealers Rating Direct Vendors Acer America [800) 733-2237 fax, [408) 922-2953 Reader Service No. 68 j Complete systems for home and office 30 Shipping paid by customer M-Su, 24 hours Internet, AATech_Support www.acer.com/aac; BBS, (408) 428-0140; fax-back, [800) 554-2494 ..... Austin Direct (800)752-1577 fax, [512)719-8155 Reader Service No. 683 Complete systems for home and office 30 15% after 30 days M-Su, 24 hours Web, www.ipctechinc.com; BBS, (512) 339-3582; fax-back, [800)341-7500

  *

  Dell Computer Corp. (800)288-0550 fax, [800) 727-8320 Reader Service No. 684 Complete systems for home and office, notebooks 30 None M-Su, 24 hours Internet, ftp.dell.com; Web, www.us.dell.com/; BBS, (512)728-8528; fax-back, [800)950-1329

  *

  PerComp Microsystems (800)856-6688 fax, [214) 690-9763 Reader Service No. 68} Complete systems for home and office, servers 30 None M-Su, 24 hours Web, www.percomp.com/pc; BBS, [214) 234-8376

  *

  5D Technology (800)787-5335 fax, [510)785-8907 Reader Service No. 686 Notebooks, notebook peripherals, upgrades 30 None M-F, 10:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m.; Sa, noon- 6:00 p.m. Internet, [email protected]

  1 Broadax Systems (800)872-4547 fax, [818) 442-4527 Reader Service No. 687 Notebooks, portable and industrial rack-mount computers 15 10% M-F, 11:30 a.m.- 8:30 p.m. BBS, [818) 274-6971

  ★

  Computer Discount Warehouse [800)800-4239 fax, [708)465-6800 Reader Service No. 688 Brand-name computer systems, networking products 30 15% M-F, 10:00 a.m.- 10:00 p.m.;Sa, 10:00a.m.-6:00 p.m. Web, www.cdw.com; BBS, (800) 383-4239

  ★ Computer Friends [800)547-3303 fax, (503) 643-5379 Reader Service No. 689 Heat-transfer systems, printer support, multimedia peripherals 30 5% M-F, 10:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m. Internet, cfriends@ telecom.port ★ ★

  Comtrade (800)969-2123 I fax, (818)369-1479 1 Reader Service No. 690 Complete systems for home and office 30 None M-F. 10:00 a.m.- 10:00 p.m.; Sa, l1:00a.m.-8:00 p.m. BBS, (818) 961-6098

  1 Dalco Electronics I [800)445-5342 I fax, [513) 743-9251 1 Reader Service No. 691 Components and accessories, custom 30 WO minimum M-F, 8:00 a.m.- 6:30 p.m.; Sa, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. BBS, (513) 743-2244

  ★*

  148 Tip: Start a price war. Call around for the best price and see if your favorite vendor can match it. I Until now, you needed a desktop computer to get multimedia performance as good as this! The Slimnote 8 is the most powerful, modular multimedia notebook you can buy — packed with useful, innovative features. You'll get an integrated dual¬ speed CD-ROM drive for fast and accurate multimedia performance, PCI graphics, a long-lasting lithium battery, built-in 16-bit stereo sound, dual stereo speakers, and your choice of bright, color-rich screens. Slimnote 8 is not just another notebook computer, it's a sophisticated and powerful business tool that makes you look brilliant — in more ways than one! THE TWINHEAD SLIMNOTE 8 SERIES • Intel Pentium® processor • 1 Mb PCI graphics • 800 x 600 Super VGA resolution • PCI hard disk interface • Removable CD-ROM drive • TV-out capability • Infra-red communications • Full docking capability • User installable memory expansion to 64 MB • Removable 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive READY FOR WINDOWS 95 " "Twinhead's Slimnote 875 TX packs more features than any portable PC we've seen... we would recommend... the Slimnote 875 TX as a desktop replacement, thanks to its multimedia prowess and rich feature set..." PC Computing, August, 1995 PCComputing ★★★★ 1/2 1 - 995-8946 Tmn Slimnote 875CX $2995 (Business lease $94/Mo.) 75MHz Pentium Processor, 8Mb RAM, 10.4" 800 x 600 x 256 Dual Scan color display, 500Mb hard disk Slimnote 875TX $3995 (Business lease $125/Mo.) 75MHz Pentium Processor, 16Mb RAM, , 256Kb, cache RAM, 800 x 600 x 64K TFT Active Matrix color display, 500Mb hard disk Slimnote 890CX $3195 (Business lease $100/Mo.) 90MHz Pentium Processor, 8Mb RAM, 256Kb cache RAM, 10.4" 800 x 600 x 256 Dual Scan color display, 500Mb hard disk Slimnote 890TX $4395 (Business lease $138/Mo.) 90MHz Pentium Processor, 16Mb RAM, 256Kb cache RAM, 10.4" 800 x 600 x 64K TFT Active Matrix color display, 500Mb' hard disk GET A FREE CUSTOM CARRYING CASE! Order now and we'll include, at no extra charge, a custom padded carrying case for your Slimnote computer! Twinhead Corporation 1537 Centre Pointe Drive- Milpitas, CA 95035 408-945-0808 Fax 408-945-1080 Direct 60 : Top Mail-Order Dealers Data Storage Marketing (800)543-6098 fax, (303) 442-7985 Reader Service No. 692 Complete systems for home and office 30 None M-F.10:00 a.m.- 7:00 p.m. BBS, (303) 786-9921

  ★

  DTK Computer (800)289-2385 fax, (818)810-5233 Reader Service No. 693 Complete systems for home and office, notebooks 30 " M-F, 8:30 a.m.- 8:30 p.m. BBS, (818) 854-0797; fax-back, (800) 806-1385 Empac Int'l (510)683-8800 fax, (510)683-8662 Reader Service No. 694 Complete systems for home and office, peripherals 30 1.5% M-F, 11:30 a.m.- 8:30 p.m. Internet, ftp.empac.com; Web, www.empac.com

  *

  EPS Technologies (800)447-0921 fax, (605) 966-5482 . Reader Service No. 697 Complete systems for home and office, notebooks 30 None M-F, 8:00 a.m- 11:00 p.m.;Sa, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Internet, ftp.epstech.com; BBS, (605) 966-5264 Expotech Corp. (800)215-3976 fax, (708) 487-8178 Reader Service No. 696 High-performance multimedia systems 30 15% after 30 days M-F, 9:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m.; Sa, 9:00 a.m.-6:Q0 p.m. BBS, (708) 526-1481 or (708)526-1407

  ★ First Source Int’l (800)850-9866 fax, (714) 448-7760 Reader Service No. 697 Notebooks, memory upgrades 30 20% after 30 days M-F, 11:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m. Web, www.firstsource.com Gateway 2000 (800) 846-2000 fax, (605) 232-2023 Reader Service No. 698 Complete systems for home and office, notebooks 30 15% after 30 days M-Su, 24 hours BBS, (800) 846-7562; fax-back, (800) 846-4526 * GST/Micro City (800)567-2764 fax, (714)739-8291 Reader Service No. 699 Complete systems for home and office 30 20% M-F, noon-8:30 p.m. Internet, FST@primenet .com; Web, www.primenet ,com/gst/

  Hi-Tech USA (408)262-8688 fax, (408) 262-8772 Reader Service No. 700 Complete systems for home and office 30 15% M-F, 11:30 a.m.- 8:30 p.m.; Sa, 1:00a.m.-7:00p.m. BBS, (408) 956-8243

  ★ JDR Microdevices (800)538-5000 fax, (800) 538-5005 Reader Service No. 701 Complete systems, upgrades, electronic components 30 None M-F, 10:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m. Web.www.jdr.com; BBS, (408)494-1430 Jinco Computers (800)253-2531 fax, (818) 309-1107 Reader Service No. 702 Complete systems, portables, cases, power supplies 30 15% M-F, 11:30 a.m.- 8:30 p.m.; Sa.noon- 5:00 p.m. BBS, (800) 253-2531 150 Tip: Can’t get a salesperson to budge on price? Get him to throw in extras in lieu of cash savings. 996 DELL DIMENSION DELL DIMENSION™ XPS PRO 150 • MS® Office Professional with Reliable PCs For 150MHz PENTIUM® PRO PROCESSOR Bookshelf for Windows® 95 High Performance . Mini Tower Model • AWE32 Wave Table Sound Card Computing ^ 16MB Parj , y Memory . Altec Cansing ACS-5 Speakers (128MB Max RAM) • US Robotics 28.8 Fax/Modem • 256KB Internal L2 Cache • Microsoft® Windows NT™/ ★ 2.1GB Hard Drive [10.5ms] 1 Year Free Software Support’ • 17LS Monitor (17" CRT, Nl) Upgrade to 32MB of Parity

  . , .. Memory for $650 more.

  Imagine 128-bit Graphics 7

  Accelerator with 4MB VRAM Business Lease : $180/Mo.

  6X Multi-session EIDE CD-ROM Drive 0rder Code

  500184

  Introducing the Dell Dimension XPS Prol50 $4000 i CAREFUL. THE CUTTING EDGE JUST BECAME CONSIDERABLY SHARPER. Introducing the Dell Dimension XPS Pro150. The first Pentium® Pro-based PC designed to bring Windows NT™ in all its 32-bit glory screaming to your desktop. Around the new Pentium Pro processor we've configured a mini¬ tower designed to run Windows NT applications like a bat out of hell. The bus is PCI. The hard drive, a full 2.1GB. The monitor is 17." The video is powered by the 128-bit Imagine Graphics Card with 4MB VRAM. The CD-ROM is 6X. As for memory, that's up to you. We ship with a PENTIUM.PRO standard 16MB, you can upgrade to 128. All this and a full year of Windows NT software support and the answer to al I your Windows NT questions, for a mere $4,999. It's the cutting edge of a true 32-bit lifestyle. Brought to you by Dell. Who else? D64.L TO ORDER, CALL 800 - 433-5881 In Canada* call 800-668-3021 Mon-Fri 7am-9pmCT • Sat 10am-6pm CT Sun 12pm-5pm CT • http://www.us.dell.com/ [ Keycode

  02078]

  Direct 60 : Top Mail-Order Dealers Vendor Specialty ^ m

  Support Options Rating* KeyStone Learning Systems C800J748-4838 fax, (801] 373-6872 Reader Service No. 703 Video training tapes for Windows applications 30 M-Sa, 24 hours Internet, keystone@ keylearnsys.com; Web, www.keylearnsys.com ★ *

  Legend Micro (800] 366-6333 fax, (216] 497-3156 Reader Service No. 704 Complete systems for home and office 30 None M-F, 9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Web, www.industry.net/ legend; BBS, (216)497-1572

  ■ Maximus Computers (800] 888-6294 fax, (818] 357-9140 Reader Service No. 703 Complete systems for home and office, notebooks 30 None M-Sa, noon- 9:00 p.m. Internet, maximus_ [email protected]; BBS, (818) 357-9790

  ★*

  MegaHaus (800] 786-1187 fax, (713] 534-6580 Reader Service No. 706 Storage devices 30 15% M-F, 9:00 a.m.- 7:00 p.m. Web.www.phoenix ,net/~megahaus

  Micron Electronics (800] 515-9197 fax, (208] 893-3424 Reader Service No. 707 Complete systems for home and office 30 None M-F, 9:00 a.m.- 10:00 p.m.; Sa, 10lQ0a,m.-7:00p.m. Web, www.mei.micron.com; BBS, (208) 465-8982

  MidWest Micro (800]883-1463 fax, (800] 562-6622 Reader Service No. 708 Complete systems for home and office, notebooks, peripherals, supplies 30 Varies M-F, 9:00 a.m.- 7:00 p.m.; Sa, 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Internet, ftp.mwmicro.com; Web, www.mwmicro.com; BBS, (513)368-3741; fax-back, (800) 445-2025 ★ *

  |S MPC Technologies (800] 672-9919 fax, (714] 724-9648 Reader Service No. 709 Notebooks 30 : 20% after 30 days M-F, 9:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m. Internet, mpctech.com; BBS, (714) 724-1519; fax-back, (800) 672-8882

  ★ 1 MultiWave Technology (800] 234-3358 fax, (818] 333-9738 Reader Service No. 710 Complete systems for home, office, value- added resellers, and government buyers 30 Shipping paid by customer M-F, noon-8:00 p.m.; Sa, 1:00 p.m- 5:00 p.m. None *★

  ; NECX Direct (800] 808-3375 fax, (508] 538-8750 Reader ServiceNo.711 Notebooks, monitors, printers, scanners, storage, networking, software 30 5%-15% M-F, 9:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Web, www.necx.com New MMI Corp. (800)221-4283 fax, (717) 327-1217 Reader Service No. 712 Name-brand and private-label systems, peripherals 30 0%-10% M-F, 8:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m. Internet, ftp.newmmi.com; Web, www.newmmi.com; BBS, (717)327-9053 I North American CAD (800)619-2199 fax, (708) 381-7374 Reader Service No. 713 Complete systems, software, and supplies for CAD 30 15% M-F, 9:00 a.m.- 7:00 p.m. Web, http://nacad.com/

  *

  Tip: Buying in bulk? Ask about volume, corporate, or educational discounts. 152 JANUARY 1996 Color is color, until you print at full throttle. Power up a Phaser® 340 color printer. And all your work will be right on time, right on the money. It prints 4 color pages per minute at 11 0 per color page. So everyday reports, must-see memos and eye-popping overheads are all suddenly practical. At 600 dpi. With PostScript 1 ." And for any size workgroup. The Phaser 340 is reliable, affordable and network manageable. It supports PCs, workstations and Macs. And it’s supported by Tektronix, a Fortune 500 manufacturer, who makes all the best solutions for color across the enterprise. Tektronix Phaser Printers 3 -3 3 ' Phaser 140 NEW Phaser 240 NEW Phaser 340 NEW Phaser 540 Plus Phaser440 NEW Phaser 480X Phaser 300i Circle 123 on reader service card. Tektronix / Call 1-800-835-6100, Ext. 1253 http://www. tek.com/CPad?1253 Direct 60: Top Mail-Order Dealers / Vendor Specialty // f* M Support Options Rating* Northgate Computers (800)548-1993 fax, (612)947-4626 Reader Service No. 714 Complete systems for home and office 30 M-F, 8:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m. BBS, (612)947-4640

  PC’s Compleat (800) 669-4727 fax, (800) 669-8329 Reader Service No. 7 rj Notebooks, desktops, multimedia peripherals, servers 30 None M-F, 24 hours; Sa-Su, 8:00 a.m.

  8:00 p.m. Web, www.ocm.com/pcs compleat/

  Polywell Computers (800)999-1278 fax, (415)583-1974 Reader Service No. 716 Complete systems for home and office 30 10% M-F, 10:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m. Internet, ftp.polywell.com; Web, www.polywell.com

  ★* Premio Express (800)834-4558 fax, (818)336-4374 Reader Service No. 717 Complete systems for home and office 30 15% after 30 days M-F, 10:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m.; Sa, 1:00p.m.-6:00p.m. BBS, (818) 330-9749 ★ Procorp (800)977-6267 fax, (770) 416-7530 Reader Service No. 718 Complete systems and notebooks for home and office 30 15% after M-Su, 24 hours BBS, (770)441-3431 *

  Prostar Computer (800)576-1134 fax, (909) 869-6026 Reader Service No. 719 Notebooks, PC Card peripherals, communication supplies 30 15% after 30 days M-F, 11:30 a.m.- 8:30 p.m. BBS, (909) 869-6025; fax-back, (909) 869-6056

  Quantex Microsystems (800)787-8686 fax(908) 563-0407 Reader Service No. 720 Complete systems for home and office 30 20% M-Th, 9:00 a.m- 8:00 p.m.;F, 9:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.; Sa, 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. Web, www.quantex.com; ■ BBS, (908) 563-9150; fax-back, (800)419-4123

  Robotech (800) 533-0633 fax(801)565-0680 ReaderServiceNo.721 Complete systems for home, office, government, and
• schools

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• 30

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  Tip: Pay only with a credit card, and make sure your order isn’t charged until it ships. If You’re Not Using PC-cillin 951.. The Complete Anti-Virus For Windows® 95 And The Internet! YOUR OLD ANTI-VIRUS PROGRAM CAN T PROTECT YOU ANYMORE. Windows 95's sophisticated communication and multi-tasking capabilities have created a virtual breeding ground for viruses - demanding that you have powerful, contin¬ uous protection. PC-cillin 95 is the only anti-virus package that has what it takes to guard your Windows 95 system. Detects & Removes Unknown Viruses tatically Adjusts Protection tet E-mail Attached Fill Easy, One-Button Virus Pattern Updates of Compressed File Types Scanned POWERFUL INTERNET DEFENSE is an absolute must, especially with the thousands of viruses lurking throughout the Internet and commercial on-line services. PC-cillin 95 keeps you covered - it scans all Internet file transfers, checks incoming E-mail attached files, and scans more types of compressed files than any other package. COMPLETE AND CONTINUOUS PROTECTION is what this new environment demands, and that’s what PC-cillin 95 delivers. It monitors every possible virus source - all the time. Whether it’s your modem, network connection, CD-ROM or floppy drive, PC-cillin 95 will keep a keen eye on it and automatically adjust your system’s level of protection to match the threat - so you don’t have to think about it - unlike yesterday’s products that only monitor your floppy drive. ONE-BUTTON VIRUS PATTERN UPDATES give you the power to update PC-cillin 95’s Virus Pattern Database with the simple click of a button. It automatically connects to our support site (via modem) and instantly downloads up-to-the-minute pattern updates from our WWW service forum or BB S- And to make sure your protection doesn’t miss a beat, PC-cillin 95 will let you know when it’s time to update your virus patterns. TOTAL PROTECTION: PC-cillin 95 also guards network connections and shared folders, detects unknown viruses, automatically executes virus scans when they are needed, cleans viruses quickly and easily - and it’s so easy to use, it’s like having a built-in virus expert. So remember, if your anti-virus soft¬ ware isn't PC-cillin 95, your system’s defense is full of holes! Get the protection you need with PC-cillin 95! Call Today: (800) 531-0450 Now available at a retailer near you! Touchstone Software Cc [TREND Circle 172 on reader service card. 2124 Main St., Huntington Beach, CA 92648 • (714) 969-7746 • (800) 531-0450 • Internet: http://www.antivirus.com • CIS: GO TOUCHSTONE Call For Site License Availability Copyright © 1995 Touchstone Software Corp. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Touchstone is a registered trademark of Touchstone Software Corp. Huntington Beach, CA. PC-cillin 95 is a trademark o

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  .RA UNITS REFLECT THC NUMBER AND KINDS 01 SERVICES OF l EKED FIVE STARS MEANS THE COMPANY.Is.. . Ill sinvii I AND MIPI’URI m’llONS INI IUOINO A <0 DAY MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE. A WEB SITE. AND 24-HOUR TECHNICAL SUPPORT: FOUR STARS MEANS,THE COMPANY OFFERS A MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE, EXTENDED TECHNICAL-SUP¬ PORT HOURS. AND AT LEAST ONE TYPF OF ONLINE SUPPORT; THREE STARS MEANS THE COMPANY DOESN’T OFFER EITHER A MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE OR ANY OTHER SUPPORT OPTION. Tip: Buy from an out-of-state vendor and you can often avoid paying sales tax. 158 JANUARY 1996 The Smart Way To Move to Windows 95. Includes Upgrade Assistant" for Windows95 Windows' and DOS Applications! ! REMOVED Attention Norton Desktop for Windows, PC Tools for Windows, and Dashboard users! Remove-IT's Upgrade Assistant is the only way to automatically configure your Windows 3.1 applications into Windows 95. -QC Remove-It 2 is already the safest and eas- TVTw iest way to clean unneeded applications and files from your PC.,But it doesn’t stop ■ there. Remove-IT 2 also includes an exclu¬ sive Upgrade Assistant that ensures a near effortless move to Windows 95. The Upgrade Assistant is a per¬ sonal guide that leads you step-by-step through the process of preparing your system for Windows 95. Here’s how easy upgrading can be. Pre-Installation Cleanup - The Upgrade Assistant reduces the chance of upgrade problems by care¬ fully clearing valuable disk space to make room for Windows 95. Windows 95 Configuration - If you decide to run both Windows 95 and Windows 3.1 until you’re com¬ fortable with the upgrade, the Upgrade Assistant will automatically configure your Windows 3.1 applications into Windows 95. Or if you use Norton Desktop, PC Tools, or Dashboard and install Windows 95 over Windows 3.1, the Upgrade Assistant will automatically transfer your Windows 3.1 program groups into Windows 95. Either way Remove-IT saves you the hassle of manually reinstalling every single applica¬ tion, or recreating all your program groups! Post-Installation Cleanup - When you’re ready to leave Windows 3.1 behind, the Upgrade Assistant will simply wash it away. All the unneeded remains of previous Windows installations are removed so that your PC runs at peak efficiency. And the price for Remove-IT 2 with your “per¬ sonal” Upgrade Assistant for Windows 95 is only $44.95. So, get smart! Ask for Remove-IT at your favorite retailer, or call our handy toll-free number: 1-800-380-2607. Ask for extension 1201. "...this is one program we won't delete from our PCs..." PCComputing "...one of those gotta have utilities that can safely and | i -f , 1 conveniently 1 ij U purge the "...comprehensive, intelligently designed and effective." "...helps prevent you from deleting necessary files" ESindows "One of Remove-IT's biggest advantages is its user interface." January 24,1995 January 1995 Now available at: Egghead Software, CompUSA, Computer City, Electronics Botique, Best Buy, Fry’s, PC Connection. Circle 324 on reader service card. © 1995 Vertisott Systems, Inc., Four Embarcadero Center, Suite 3470, San Francisco, CA 94111. Outside the U.S call 803-295-5875. Remove-IT la a registered trademark ot Vertisoft Systems, Inc. All other trademarks or INTRODUCING OUR PENTIUM PROCESSOR-BASED NOTEBOOK. $3499 Unlike most Pentium® processor notebooks, Dell's Latitude XPi gives you battery life that's actually "big." That's not just an idle boast, either. In the independent VeriTest "Cross Country"™ test," the Dell Latitude XPi P75D notebook lasted an average of four hours and forty minutes. This notebook also packs the necessary power. It's o available in 75, 90, or 120MHz. ^processor S o pick up the Dell Latitude XPi notebook. And get big battery life without the obligatory big battery. MU DELL’ LATITUDE™ XPi P120ST 120MHz PENTIUM® PROCESSOR • 10.4" SVGA Active Matrix Display • 8MB RAM (40MB Max RAM) • 256KB L2 Cache • 420MB Removable Hard Drive (1.2GB Max) • Smart Lithium Ion Battery with Advanced Power Management • 32-bit Local-bus Video, 1MB Video RAM •2 Type 11/1 Type III PCMCIA Slots • 6.2 Pounds • Optional Dell Latitude DeskDock™ Available • 1 Year Warranty* • Add a 28.8 PCMCIA X-Jack modem for $259 more. $3799 Business Lease 0 : $137/Mo. Order Code

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  Pricing is not discountable. **The VeriTest Cross-Country v2.0 test simulates typical executive use of Microsoft Office® applications in Microsoft Windows® 3.11 during an airplane flight. Power management was enabled and 8MB RAM was installed. VeriTest inc. is located in Santa Monica, CA. tFor a complete copy of our Guarantees or Limited Warranties, please write Dell USA L.P., 2214 W. Braker Lane, Building 3, Austin, TX 78758. OBusiness leasing arranged by Leasing Group, Inc. ★Prices and specifications valid in the U.S. only and subject to change without notice. Microsoft, Windows and the Windows logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. The Intel Inside logo and Pentium are registered trademarks and lntelDX4 is a trademark of Intel Corporation. ©1995 Dell Computer Corporation. All rights reserved. Keycode

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  pentium Designed for Microsoft ® Windows®95 Windows Data Let’s be honest. For many of us, databases have always been daunting. While we can work wonders with word processors and spreadsheets, building a database often means hiring a consultant or farming out a programming job. But a new, friendlier generation of Windows 95 database applications promises to change all that. To see if they’ve fulfilled that promise, PC Computing’s Usability Labs put prerelease versions of four first-generation Windows 95 databases through their paces: Microsoft’s Access for Windows 95, Lotus’s Approach 96, Borland’s Paradox 7, and Claris’s FileMaker Pro 3.0. Only Access and Approach were close enough to final Microsoft Access: Table Wizard templates, such as this . ,, f A 11 kl contacts database, help get you up and running in minutes. release tO allOW tor lull- DlOWn SYNOPSIS REPORT CARD: How the databases compare in key tasks. 164 USABILITY FOCUS: Access vs. Approach. 168 DECISION MAKER: Choosing the right database. 170 162 JANUARY 1996 Track it Sort it. Search it. Report it. Now it’s easy. gg bases BY JEFF DAVIS usability testing (see “Access 95: Better Help, Consistent Interface,” page 168). But all four products offer a sample of what you can expect in a 32-bit world. Generally, the news is good—there’s something to like about each of these upgrades. Access’s tight integration with other applications and its shrewd use of Wizards, for example, are standouts. Likewise with Approach’s ability to create and edit forms. Paradox’s ObjectPAL language will please many developers even if other features are lacking. Access, Approach, and Paradox all provide external links via Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) and Structured Query Language /r , K , r ... Lotus Approach: The Find/Sort Assistant lets you compose (SQL). And LlleMaker Ians Will queries in no time, even if the syntax is unfamiliar. PDTING 163 WINDOWS 95

  Databases: Evaluating the 32-Bit Upgrades welcome its new relational features. When we con¬ cluded testing, we found that none of these products offers enough improvements to make loyal users want to switch brands, but all of them offer enough to make upgrading worthwhile. The tougher choice will be for users who are new to database software. Whichever group you belong to, here’s your chance to see what each product offers. Borland Paradox: Although the Report Expert makes it easy to create basic reports, the results are lackluster and customization is difficult. Access for Windows 95 Microsoft’s Access eked out a victory in overall productivity thanks in part to its consistent interface. Nevertheless, our tests show that novice users may have trouble figur¬ ing out where to start. Power users will find plenty to like, however. Sophisticated form-creation tools let you develop layouts in a variety of styles. The Import Wizard walks you through the process of importing data, though not as elegantly as do the Assistants in Lotus’s Approach 96. Access includes a variety of tools for finding data, although deciding which one to use can be confusing. If you’re not quite up to speed on relational theory, use the Table Analyzer Wizard to split flat-file data into relational tables with little fuss. The Report Wiz¬ ard automates the creation of basic reports, but cus¬ tomizing them is less than intuitive. The integration with other applications is impres¬ sive. OLE 2.0 lets you drag and drop Excel spreadsheet data into a database, which automatically creates new tables to hold it. Access now shares the spell-checker and AutoCorrect features in Microsoft’s Word. Access can also perform mail-merge functions with Word, and can even be used as a report generator for Excel, though both processes are still a bit awkward and devour system resources. REPORT CARD DATABASE USABILITY IN KEY TASKS PC Computing’s usability testers evaluated five different operations: arranging tables, importing data, building queries, creating forms, and compiling reports. They added and edited tables, imported text files, created data-entry forms, performed routine data-analysis tasks, and tested each product’s report editor and mail-merge functions. In each category we gave check marks to the applications that achieved a satisfactory level of usability. Since all of the products were prerelease versions, none qualified for PC Computing’s Usability Seal of Approval. 4 Arranging Tables | Microsoft Lotus Borland Claris Access 95 Approach 96 Paradox 7 FileMaker Pro | ✓ Smooth Start: Access’s Database window offers elegance and consistency in handling tables and other database objects. Approach, Paradox, and FileMaker Pro keep tables as separate databases. Testers found this confusing because editing a table is unlike editing other database objects. And in Approach and Paradox, the commands for these operations are relatively obscure. Importing Data I Microsoft I Access 95 Lotus Borland Approach 96 Paradox 7 Claris FileMaker Pro | ✓ ✓ Easy Entry: Approach sets the standard for importing data, offering the ability to easily map fields and options for appending or updating data in a table. Although FileMaker Pro lets you only append data, it matches Approach in flexibility and ease of use. Access and Paradox also provide Wizard-like assistance, but neither handles field mapping as well as Approach. 164 U ARY 1996 Microsoft’s Access brings improved usability and some outstanding features to Windows 95, although there’s still room for improvement. Approach 96 Lotus has improved Approach’s overall ease of use as well, but it still achieved only moderate ratings in productivity and satisfaction among less-experienced users. Approach’s help sys¬ tem was also less effective than Access’s. Approach does well with most basic database oper¬ ations. Creating and editing forms is easy, and a variety of predefined styles are included. The Find Assistant lets you define and save custom queries with ease, and the Import Assistant absolutely shines in terms of usability. Like Access, however, Approach stumbles badly when it comes to compiling reports. Assistants help with simple reports, but the editor is awkward to use, and customizing reports is confusing. Newcomers will appreciate the friendly—if not always consistent—interface and some well-designed features, but Approach doesn’t quite match Access’s feature set. Approach’s interface is also less flexible than it could be. Unlike Access, it offers no central database window. Tabs across the main window pro¬ vide one-click access to forms and reports, but objects can quickly clutter the window. You can cre¬ ate tables and databases from templates, but there are Fast Lookup: Although all four products fell somewhat short in this category, Approach and Paradox earned acceptable marks. Approach’s Find Assistant was easy to use, but didn’t always give enough feedback. Paradox’s filters are also simple, but the Query Editor’s interface is obtuse. Access simply overwhelms the user with options; FileMaker Pro offers only one. Stylish Structure: While Access and Approach both make generating forms a breeze, Access has a broader range of styles. Paradox provides some unique tools for incorporating data from multiple tables, but the canned forms are unattractive and difficult to customize. FileMaker Pro is restricted to very basic styles and a limited array of editing tools. Interface Flaws: No winners here. Only Paradox offers a clear means of creating summary calculations, but other customizations were difficult. While Approach has a mail-merge feature, importing files for merging seemed impossible. And although FileMaker Pro and Access offer a friendly report-design mode, none of the products provides an intuitive interface. Building Queries 1 Microsoft Lotus Borland Claris I Access 95 Approach 96 Paradox 7 FileMaker Pro 1 ✓ ✓ Creating Forms 1 Microsoft Lotus Borland Claris Access 95 Approach 96 Paradox 7 FileMaker Pro ✓ ✓ Compiling Reports Microsoft Lotus Borland Claris Access 95 Approach 96 Paradox 7 FileMaker Pro Claris FileMaker Pro: While earlier versions generated only flat-file databases, Claris finally added relational features in version 3.0. no step-by-step customization options, as there are in Access. Approach’s competitive pricing ($105 list) makes it worth a look, however. Paradox 7 Many features we saw in the early beta release of Borland’s Paradox 7 are similar to those in Microsoft’s Access—including Experts, a central database window, and a programming lan¬ guage. Sadly, most of these features are less flexible PUT 165 WINDOWS 95 Databases: Evaluating the 32-Bit Upgrades than their counterparts in either Approach or Access. Paradox stores each database object as a separate file. The Project Viewer lets you view all the objects associ¬ ated with a given project. Switching between projects requires a change of working directories. Although easy to edit, the default forms created with Paradox's Form Expert are unattractive. Paradox does offer some nifty tools for creating forms that incorporate informa¬ tion from multiple tables. The Filter button is a quick way to perform basic searches, but the query editor is not as easy to use as those in Approach or Access. As with its rivals, Paradox’s report generator was a disappointment. It handled summary calculations bet¬ ter than the competition did, but customization was difficult and the default reports were rather dreary. Paradox supports the robust ObjectPAL language and offers an Object Explorer, which follows the object-oriented-programming paradigm—an envi¬ ronment application developers like. Less-experienced users may find the program awkward. FileMaker Pro 3.0 With version 3.0, Claris’s FileMaker Pro—previously only a flat-file database application—finally adds relational functions. It also has a number of other unique features, such as multiuser support (no dedicated file or database server needed), a client-server version, and cross¬ platform compatibility. But because it originated as a Macintosh application, its interface might feel odd to longtime Windows users. Unless you have cross-platform needs or FileMaker experience on the Mac, you’re not likely to feel at home with FileMaker Pro’s interface—it’s less consistent and less intuitive than Access’s. Its form-creation tools are simple to use but rudimentary when compared with those of Approach or Access. There’s no spreadsheet¬ like table view, nor will you find helpful Wizards or Assistants. The Find command lets you search for data by filling in a form, but there is no query assistant or editor, nor is there an easy way to save a search. File¬ Maker also lacks a serious mail-merge facility. And the report generator, although more understandable than Approach’s, has severe limitations. Time to Switch? If you’re looking for a radical departure in the Windows 95 version of your favorite database application, you’re in for a disap¬ pointment. While each program has improved, weaknesses remain, particularly in usability. Pro¬ grammers and power users will find plenty to like in Borland’s Paradox, but novices may be over¬ whelmed. Cross-platform shops will be drawn instinctively to FileMaker Pro. For the vast majority of people who need an all¬ purpose relational database, Microsoft’s Access and Lotus’s Approach are both good choices. Access scored slightly higher in usability tests, but both prod¬ ucts simplify creating and managing databases. Since each is included in a suite from the respective vendors—Microsoft's Office and Lotus’s SmartSuite— your ultimate decision could depend on your choice of word-processing and spreadsheet applications. Rating Windows 95 Databases Access for Windows 95 $339 Microsoft Corp. 'jS/rJ [800) 426-9400 Reader Service No. 747 Yes’ Yes/ Yes/ Yes Yes Yes ★★★★The overall winner by a slim margin. Powerful form-creation and programming tools. Smooth interface. A few usability flaws. Approach 96 $105 No Yes/ Yes No ★★★★ Easy to create forms and queries. Lotus Development Corp. list Yes/ Excellent importing tools. Some interface [800)343-5414 . Yes inconsistencies. Reader Service No. 748 Paradox 7 $299 No No/ Yes No ★★★An effective tool for power users, Borland Int’l Yes/ but not quite as friendly forthe average user. [800) 233-2444 Yes Not for novices. Reader Service No. 749 FileMaker Pro 3.0 $199 Yes No/ Yes"* No ★ ★ Lacks common Windows interface, Claris Corp. No/ but has unique sharing and network options. [800)544-8554 No Reader Service No. 7jo r H OPTIONAL ACCESS DEVELOPER’S TOOLKIT. Looking for the ultimate multimedia experience that'll put you face-to-face with serious, pulse-pounding action? Then you're ready for the Stealth64 Video 2001 Series from Diamond. With everything you need for blazing fast graphics, smooth full-screen digital video playback, and options for more. Add the MPEG Video Player 1100 Series that delivers hardware MPEG decoding for video playback of MPEG-1 video clips so clear it'll blow you away. While the optional TV tuner DTV 1100 Series converts broadcast video or cable signals int window right on your PC screen. What's Stealth64 Video 2001 Series packs a serious punch for Windows® 95, Windows® 3.1 and DOS multimedia applications. For outstanding graphics and video with an integrated TV tuner, check out the Stealth64 Video 200ITV Series. Look for the Stealth64 Video 200IXLe Series with Sega PC games Ecco the Dolphirf, Comix Zone” and a sample version of Tomcat Alley” and Softkey's Infopedia” All products feature Plug-and-Play support and Diamond InControl Tools for easy set-up and enhanced productivity. You'll never miss out on the action with a 5-year warranty, 24-hour fax-on-demand, and on¬ line support services. So, if you're interested in desk- shattering acceleration, no compromise graphics, and dazzling video performance—all at a price that'll make your head spin, contact Diamond Multimedia at http://www.diamondmm.com for more information. 24-Hour Fax-On-Demand: 1-800-380-0030 1-800-4-MULTIMEDIA a passion tor performance. CI995 Diamond Multimedia Systems, lnc„ 2880 Junction Avenue, San Jose, CA 95134-1922. All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Diamond reserves me right to change specifications without notice. Sega, Sega PC Ecco the Dolphin, Comix 2drte and' Tomcat Alley are trademarks of SEGA. The tylPEG Video Player 1100 Series and DTV I f 00 Series will be sold separately. v'SKr BJEK-TEK Circle 162 on reader service card. micro cinuR the good guys!. WINDOWS 95 I Databases: Usability Focus Access 95: Better A database application packed with fea¬ tures that power users need can’t be easy enough for their untrained coworkers, right? So says conventional wisdom. But both Microsoft’s Access for Win¬ dows 95 and Lotus’s Approach 96 are out to disprove this assumption. By shortening the learning curve while pro¬ viding powerful, high-end features, each is intended to be the only database your office will ever need. Is it possible? To find out, PC Computing’s Usabil¬ ity Labs assembled a group of readers to evaluate near-final versions of Access and Approach. Each of the testers had extensive experience with Windows 3.11 and had previously used spread¬ sheets for managing data. None of them had used a relational database before. Our testers were disappointed with both products. While they felt they could be productive with either one, they also felt Access and Approach were marred by some clumsy features. Microsoft Access 95 Although some novice users failed to grasp the purpose of Access’s initial Database window, most of them quickly adapted to the unfamiliar ter¬ minology. Access’s online help sys¬ tem provided a good overview of the program’s functions, but some testers felt that it was not sufficiently detailed on specific tasks and opera¬ tions. With a little trial and error, though, testers overcame their initial uncertainty and found it easy to cre¬ ate tables and forms with Access’s helpful Wizards. Editing existing tables also proved easy. One tester said it was “a piece of cake.” Productivity and satisfaction scores were high in both creating and editing forms. Access’s Autoform Wizard let testers generate new data- entry forms quickly and easily. Mod¬ ifying the forms was equally simple using a drag-and-drop interface. But scores dropped when testers tried to find data. Testers were faced with too many options: Query Wiz¬ ard, Filter by Form, Filter by Selec¬ tion, and Advanced Filter Sort. Testers had difficulty deciding which to use. Once they selected a method, coming up with the correct search- criteria syntax also proved to be a challenge, but a right-mouse-button click gave them the help they needed. Unfortunately, when it came to reporting, testers found the toolbar unintuitive and the help system lack¬ ing. Unlike their experience with tables and forms, the trial-and-error method was less effective when work¬ ing with reports. Productivity and satisfaction scores both slumped in this area. Access promises easy inte¬ gration with Word and Excel, but some testers found switching between applications frustrating and had trou¬ ble understanding how to apply the advice offered by the online help. Lotus Approach 96 Access was the overall productivity winner, although it beat Approach by only a slim margin. There are plenty of new features to rave about in Approach, despite a few shortcomings. As with its Windows 3.x version,' Approach 96 sets the standard for ease and power when it comes to importing data. Testers not only succeeded in incorporating new data into the data¬ base, they also enjoyed the step-by- SIDE BY SIDE HOW ACCESS AND APPROACH COMPARE Creating Tables Access: The Table Wizard allowed users to create a contacts database table using the fields they selected from the template. Approach: When using a SmartMaster Contacts template to create a database table, users wondered where to go next. 168 fjf Overall, I enjoyed working with Access for Windows 95. I would use this database application again in the future. 99 PRODUCT MANAGER JANUARY 1996 Help, Consistent Interface step process. Likewise, creating and editing forms yielded few problems. Approach received relatively low productivity marks overall, but bet¬ ter attention to detail would have earned the product a higher score. The Form Letter feature, for exam¬ ple, offers a simple yet powerful means to merge database information and text. Unfortunately, a simple design oversight tripped up this fea¬ ture and left users frustrated: It lacks the ability to easily incorporate form letters created in another program, such as a word processor. When it came to handling tables, testers found the program’s interface confusing, largely because Approach requires that each table be created as a separate file via the File menu (most looked under the Create menu). The Add Field and Field Definition com¬ mands also evoked confusion because of ambiguity in editing table defini¬ tions. Even when testers successfully added fields to a table definition, they were frustrated that Approach did not automatically incorporate the new fields into database forms. Eventually, a Productivity Index Access 95 has a slight edge over Approach 96. PC Computing's Productivity Index takes into account user satisfaction, the number of tasks successfully completed, the effectiveness of each application’s help system, and the testers’ overall choice. Access Approach little trial and error got the job done— but it cost Approach some points productivity. Finding data with Approach was sim¬ ple. The large Find button was easy to locate, and the Find Assistant made cre¬ ating queries rela¬ tively simple. Those who were unfamil¬ iar with the syntax, however, found lit¬ tle help available. While Approach received a higher productivity score for its searching tools than did Access, there is clearly room for improvement. Approach offers a Report Assis¬ tant (like the Report Wizard in Access) that makes it easy to create basic reports. As with Access, cus¬ tomizing reports in Approach frus¬ trated usability testers. They had difficulties adding cover pages and performing summary calculations. The representation of the report in the Design view was hard to deci¬ pher, and it was unclear how to view a report once it was designed. While both Access and Approach have high and low points, satisfaction among our testers was often a product of each person’s working habits and familiarity with specific terminology. Overall, it’s clear that databases haven’t yet reached their peak in productivity. Help Function Access: A search for “mail merge” yielded five entries in online help. Two of the topics were what the user was after. Approach: While creating a table, one user got this terse note after choosing Table, Command from the help index. fjf Creating a mailing in Access was frustrating but after reading the online help, I successfully mail-merged letters, f f CORPORATE ADMINISTRATOR C COMPUTING WINDOWS 95 Final Analysis: Access and Approach Vie for the Top Database Spot Close Contenders When it comes to Windows 95 databases, Microsoft’s Access and Lotus’s Approach are the clear leaders. The good news is that the Windows 95 version of both products has made significant strides in usability. Newcomers can be fairly productive with either of them, and power users can find all the tools they need. The bad news is that, despite improvements, both still need more work and lack adequate reporting tools. Wizards in Microsoft’s Access automate tedious database tasks and provide excellent customizability (except in the case of report generation). Managing database objects is easy with Access’s clean and con¬ sistent interface, and the search tools are powerful, if a bit confusing. If only Microsoft would improve Access’s reporting tools—which clearly lag behind the program’s other features—the product would shine. Nevertheless, Access offers the best balance between features and productivity for the average database user. Lotus’s Approach, on the other hand, offers a simpler interface, which makes it a good choice for novices. Fea¬ tures such as the Import Assistant set the standard for database ease-of-use. However, while some of its indi¬ vidual features are outstanding, Approach’s interface lacks the consistency of Access’s. Approach is also miss¬ ing some of the more helpful features of Access, such as AutoCorrect and the Table Wizard. Although still among the best database programs, Approach lost its position as the clear and undisputed leader. If you’re already using an earlier version of either of these products, you’ll certainly want to upgrade to the 32-bit release. If you’re choosing your first data¬ base product, however, both Access and Approach deserve consideration. Ultimately, your best choice for Windows 95 databases may be the product that comes bundled in your business software suite, since integration with word processors and spreadsheets is important. Sticking with just one suite of products assures a common interface among them, and will likely result in greater productivity. Jeff Davis is a freelance writer as well as a network and database consultant in California. DECISION MAKER CHOOSE THE RIGHT DATABASE FOR YOUR BUSINESS 1 Choose the factor that’s Choose the next most What else is Mm For your needs, the best most important. important factor. 9 important? product to buy is... These days your office can be anywhere you do business. Whether you’re downtown or in your dining room, you need to stay in touch. That’s why Fujitsu Microelectronics offers a complete family of integrated, world-class PC Cards, to give you immediate access to vital information while in the office or on the road. Our ultraportable PC Cards offer a wide range of capabilities including multimedia, LAN, and high¬ speed communications. With Fujitsu, you get instant compatibility with virtually all of today’s PCMCIA standard computing platforms in addition to multi¬ function capability and interoperability. Plus, our intuitive Microsoft" Windows- based installation software automatically sets up and configures your PC, which means fewer headaches and hassles. With Plug and Play features like hot insertion and removal, there’s no need to reboot your system when swapping cards. You even get the ease and comfort of our extensive customer support services that ensure customer satisfaction and help you get the most from your investment. So, if today’s virtual office is leaving you feeling a little detached, call Fujitsu Microelectronics at 1-800-642-7616 and we’ll get you connected. Circle 207 on reader service card. FUJITSU FUJITSU MICROELECTRONICS, INC., 3545 North First Street, San Jose, CA 95134. ©1995 Fujitsu Microelectronics, Inc. All trademarks or registered trademarks are the properly of their respective holders. The TI Extensa450. The Most Extraordinary Combination Of Weight, Power And Affordability. 4 EXTENSA 450 • Weight: 5.0 lbs? • DX4/75MHz processor • 10.4" Dual Scan or 9.4" Active Matrix • 340MB HDD • 4MB RAM, upgradeable to 32MB • Type II PCMCIA slot • Serial infrared port Now you can get a full-size portable computer, with full-size keyboard and display, that’s lighter than a notebook, more capable than a subnotebook, and more ™ affordable than both. Powered by a 75MHz IntelDX4’“ processor, the TI Extensa™ 450 weighs just 5 pounds. Which means you'll save weight as well as money. TI Extensa gives you more machine for the money. The combined battery power gives you up to 6 hours of productivity. A serial infrared port gives you wireless con¬ nectivity. The removable floppy disk drive is so flexible, it gives you support for additional PCMCIA cards, a lithium ion battery, or lets you leave the floppy drive home. But the affordability of all this technology is what makes the new Texas Instruments Extensa 450 truly extraordinary. And makes it easier for you to start doing extraordinary things. To get your TI Extensa 450 or to find out about our other models, call 1-800-TI-TEXAS. E-mail: [email protected] Internet: http://www.ti.com Texas Instruments ’Weight does not include floppy disk drive. Extensa and "Si is a trademark of Intel Corp. r Extraordinary Things" are trademarks of Texas Instruments. The Intel Inside logo is a registered trademark and IntelDX4 t, Windows and the Windows logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. © 1995 TI. Circle 165 on reader service card. Sound Advice Hot cards. Killer speakers. Turn it up to 11! « L isten up! You don’t have to settle for the tinny sound card that came with your PC. Plug into the new generation of Windows 95 sound cards and speakers, and you can take multimedia to the next level. Not only do these new 16-bit sound cards offer Plug and Play support for easy installa¬ tion, they also include 3-D sound and other effects that add stunning realism to multimedia presenta¬ tions, games, and CD-ROM titles. PC Computing Labs technicians tested the first six Plug and Play wavetable sound cards to hit the market: Creative Labs’ Sound Blaster AWE32 PnP, Ad Lib’s ASB 3D Wave Pro, Ensoniq’s Soundscape Elite, Diamond’s Ultra Kit 8000, Orchid’s NuSound PnP 32, and TeleVideo’s TeleMedia Windows 95 Companion Kit with Wavelmpact32. The TeleMe¬ dia Windows 95 Companion Kit and the Ultra Kit 8000 sound cards are sold only through multimedia kits, but the others are available separately. Thanks to their support for Windows 95’s Plug and Play, all of the cards have vastly improved usability. We were listening to music minutes after ripping the shrink-wrap off their boxes. Sound Off All of the cards we tested include Sound Blaster-compatible FM synthesis as well as a wavetable synthesizer for playing back the standard MIDI files used as sound tracks in games, multime¬ dia titles, and music software. Wavetable synthesiz¬ ers generate sound quality superior to FM synthesizers because they play back short samples, or digital recordings, of real instruments instead of generating synthetic sounds. The digital samples are typically stored in dedi¬ cated ROM, and some newer sound cards offer ROM add-on modules for loading in additional samples. A few cards also include RAM for loading cus¬ tom samples. Usually, the more memory a card has, the better the sound quality. More memory isn’t a guarantee of better sound quality, however; the fidelity of the original recordings also influ¬ ences what you hear. In fact, our top pick, Creative Labs’ Pump Up the Volume: Creative Labs’ Sound Blaster AWE32 PnP sound card and Cambridge SoundWorks’ speakers turn your PC into a topflight stereo. PC COMPUTING 173 Reviews: Putting Sound Cards to the Test C/5 Q & < V Q Z D O C/5 Sound Blaster AWE32 PnP, comes with only 1MB of sound ROM in its standard configuration. Most of the other cards include at least 2MB. To test audio reproduction we asked a jury of lis¬ teners to rate different 16-bit, CD-quality digital- audio files, and MIDI sequences. All of the cards played back the digital-audio files with excellent fidelity, but there were differences among the cards when we played the MIDI sequences through the wavetable synthesizers. In the wavetable-synthesis tests our sound jury didn’t think any of the cards was a standout performer on the MIDI files we used, but the Soundscape Elite and the ASB 3D Wave Pro were the liveliest of the bunch. Unfortunately, both produced audible back¬ ground noise. The Sound Blaster AWE32 PnP’s reproduction was good, but not as realistic as the Soundscape Elite or the ASB 3D Wave Pro cards. However, the Sound Blaster’s audio was more pleas¬ ant because it didn’t generate much hissing. The NuSound PnP 32 generated a fairly clean sound, but it wasn’t very lively, while both the Ultra Kit 8000’s and the TeleMedia Windows 95 Com¬ panion Kit’s cards sounded unrealistic and mechan¬ ical. The Windows 95 Companion Kit’s problem was compounded by annoying background noise. We also tested the sound cards by recording sample audio with 8-bit resolution at an 11kHz recording rate—a setting commonly used for multimedia author¬ ing—and then played it back. The sound-quality win¬ ner was the Sound Blaster AWE32 PnP, followed by Ensoniq’s Soundscape Elite and Diamond’s Ultra Kit
• Playback from Ad Lib’s ASB 3D Wave Pro, Orchid’s NuSound PnP 32, and TeleVideo’s TeleMe¬ dia Windows 95 Companion Kit, on the other hand, suffered from hissing and background noise. 3-D Surround Sound Many of these cards are also equipped to handle audio effects, such as reverber¬ ation, or echo, which greatly improves the overall real¬ ism of the synthesized sound. The most innovative new effect is 3-D surround sound, which creates a larger audio field from a single pair of speakers. None of the cards matched the vendors’ claims of surrounding you with sound, but the various 3-D effects all made a noticeable improvement: The sound was brighter and more alive when we used the special effects. Whether you enjoy fending off bad guys in a CD game, or you just want to appreciate the full experience of your multimedia titles, a high-quality wavetable sound card makes a world of difference. Rating Sound Cards Sound Card Price Synthesizer (ROM size/ upgradable) Wavetable RAM Audio Bundled Audio G Effects Software Worst luality

  Best Verdict s2£SZ\ Sound Blaster $249 [800] 998-5227 Reader Service No. 772 E-mu’s 8000 DMB/yes) 512Kb [upgradable to 28MB) 3-D stereo enhancement, reverb, panning, Complete with a ■ < sample editor, 1 a text-to-speech applet, and a device control panel. ★★★★Clean, 1 accurate sound ; and a top-notch software bundle. ASB 3D Wave Pro Ad Lib, [418] 522-6100 Reader Service No. 7/4 $223 Crystal's CS9233 (4MB/yes) None (upgradable to 4MB) Spatializer 3-D, reverb, chorus MIDI sequencer ;■ and VocalTec's (HHHI Internet Phone. ★ ★★ Good overall audio quality, great software selection. Soundscape Elite Ensoniq Corp., [800] 776-8637 Reader Service No. 7 73 $159 Ensoniq's Otto (2MB/no) Reverb, chorus, delay Includes CD, WAV. and MIDI players. ★★★Lively synthesizer with high-quality effects. Ultra Kit 8000 Diamond Multimedia [800] 468-5846 Reader Service No. 77 s $599 Admos’s QDSP700 [IMB/no] Binaura 3-D MIDI player, WAV mixer, player, and iMBBPI editor, plus five CD titles. ★ ★ ★ Realistic digital audio, but wavetable sound is lacking. NuSound PnP 32 Orchid Technology (800]767-2443 Reader Service No. 746 $159 Crystal's CS9233 (IMB/yes) None Spatializer 3-D, reverb, panning, chorus All the basics, including CD, WAV, and MIDI players. ★★Digital audio quality is solid, but wavetable sound lacks realism. TeleMedia Windows 95 Companion Kit TeleVideo, [800] 835-3228 Reader Service No. 777 $488 Admos's QDSP501 (2MB/yes) None " Includes WAV and MIDI HH players, plus six CD titles. ★ ★Standard audio is fine, but wavetable audio sounds mechanical. ‘estimated street price “ratings are based on jury test of relative digital and wavetable audio quality. 174 UARY 1996 SPEAKERS GIVING VOICE TO YOUR NEW SOUND CARD Sound Check It’s sad but true: Many companies bundle cheap $10 speakers with their $3,000 computer systems. The good news is that for less than $100 you can get a pair of powered multimedia speakers that will do your sound card justice. And if you’re willing to spend a bit more, you can put together a system that rivals a dedicated stereo. To determine just how good a sound card could, well, sound, our labs jury tested ten sets of speakers: five that cost less than $100 and five that are more than $100. We were pleasantly surprised to find some low-priced gems. NEC Technologies’ AudioTower and Labtec Enterprises’ LCS-3010 are both housed in sophisticated cases that were once exclusive to high-end PC speakers. The design emphasizes bass sounds and helps produce resonant low frequencies. Even more surprising, though, was QuickShot’s $49 pair of Sound Force 600 speakers. The audio quality was robust, in part because of the powerful 15-watt- per-channel amplifier. Peavey Electronics' PS-500 also performed fairly well, especially in reproducing higher- pitched sounds and effects. Sony Electronics’ SRS- PC40 was the least favored by listeners in the jury test. The over-$l00 category consisted of three-piece sets (two speakers and one subwoofer] with the exception of Bose’s dual-speaker MediaMate. This design contributed to clean, clear sound that revealed subtleties in the sample tracks. It was outperformed, however, by finer subwoofer-satellite combinations, such as Advent Powered Partners’ AV622, Altec Lansing’s ACS500, and Cambridge SoundWorks’ SoundWorks. Equipped with 30- to 40-watt subwoofers, these systems effortlessly handled everything from low rumbling bass to the high- end sizzle of cymbals and sirens. SoundWorks wowed listeners with impeccable sound highlighted by deep, resonant bass. The AV622 was favored by our jury as having the cleanest, most transparent sound. The enormous ACS500 set features tower enclosures filled with lots of small speakers that attempt to create a home theater-like experience. This surround-sound effect was only mildly successful in our tests, but the speakers sounded good nonetheless. Yamaha’s YST-SS1010 package combines a YST- M10 satellite and YST-MSW10 subwoofer. The package looked nice, but the sound was not as impressive. Without decent speakers, even the greatest sound card won’t make much of an impact-so don’t cheat yourself. Speakers Under $100 Speakers Over $100 Speaker Price* Power Rating Verdict Speaker Price* Power Rating Verdict /SggN Sound Force 600 QuickShot [408) 263-4163 Reader Service No. 7 78 $49 list 15 watts channel

  «**The

  speaker enclosures are crude-looking, but the sound is great for the money. SoundWorks nMil / Cambridge SoundWorks (800)367-4434 Reader Service No. 7 63 $219 8.1 watts per channel, plus 33.3- watt subwoofer Dynamic sound with deep, rich bass: an excellent value. AudioTower NECTechnolgies [800)632-4636 Reader Service No. 779 $99 8 watts per channel

  ★♦Good

  frequency response, nice design. AV622 Advent Powered Partners (800) 447-3257 Reader Service No. 764 $299 list 8 watts per channel, plus 30-Watt subwoofer is huge.

  -4 4 4 Clean, clear sound, but subwoofer Leg 3Q10 Labtec Enterprises (360) 896-2000’ Reader Service No. 760 $89 10 watts per channel Impressive bass response for small, inexpensive speakers. ACS500 Altec Lansing (800) 648-6663 Reader Service No. 767 $399 22.5 watts total, plus 40-watt subwoofer t, 4 impressive

  package with gpod-qUality sound. PS-500 Peavey Electronics Corp. [800)367-7833 Reader Service No. 761 $89 list 5 watts per channel

  4? ♦ Q ea n and

  true sound, but lacks punch. MediaMate Bose Corp. (800)444-2673 Reader Service No. 766 '$229: Approximately 20 to 30 watts per channel ♦ ★♦Portable: package that delivers clean, clear sound. SRS-PC40 Sony Electronics [800)352-7669 Reader Service No. 762 $99 list 3 watts per channel

  Weak sound

  that was also plagued by distortion. YST-SS1010 Yamaha Corp. (800)301-7076 Reader Service No. 767 $249 10 watts per channel, plus 25-watt subwoofer

  4 Average overall sound quality in a nice-looking design. •ESTIMATED STREET PRICE UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE. ‘ESTIMATED STREET PRICE UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE. PC COMPUT 175 SOUND CARDS Final Analysis: The Best Components for Quality Audio Sound Choices Adding high-quality audio to your computer system has never been easier. Thanks to sound card manufac¬ turers’ quick adoption of the Windows 95 Plug and Play standard, grueling installations are history. The six Plug and Play sound cards we tested all han¬ dle 16-bit, CD-quality sound with flair, although we were a bit disappointed in the quality of the wavetable synthesizers. Our overall favorite was Creative Labs’ Sound Blaster AWE32 PnP. It offers excellent digital- audio quality, good wavetable sound for MIDI files, a handful of software titles, and an expansion connector for adding more sounds later. Ad Lib’s ASB 3D Wave Pro and Ensoniq’s Soundscape Elite also sounded good, particularly when playing back MIDI files, but they suf¬ fered a bit from annoying background noise. All of the sound card packages include sophisticated software utilities to take advantage of the cards’ features. The Sound Blaster bundles a newly designed software console for controlling the components of the card— digital audio, EM synthesizer, wavetable synthesizer, a text-to-speech converter, and a custom sample editing utility, among others. Ensoniq’s Soundscape Elite, Dia¬ mond’s Ultra Kit 8000, Orchid’s NuSound PnP 32, and TeleVideo’s TeleMedia Windows 95 Companion Kit all offer a software console and a MIDI sequencer in addition to CD, MIDI and WAV file players. The ASB 3D Wave Pro goes one step further and bundles Vocal¬ Tec’s Internet Phone utility, which uses your sound card to talk to others on the Internet. The Ultra Kit 8000 and the TeleMedia Windows 95 Companion Kit are bundled with multimedia CD titles. Multimedia speakers, meanwhile, have also come a long way. QuickShot’s Sound Force 600, NEC’s AudioTower, and Labtec’s LCS-3010 sell for under $100 and nicely complement any high-quality sound card. (And the top-ranking Sound Force 600 costs less than $50.) If you want the ultimate in computer sound, choose the subwoofer-equipped Cambridge SoundWorks’ SoundWorks or Advent’s AV622. Both impressed our jury with clean, wide- ranging sound that promises new life for your pre¬ sentations, games, and multimedia CDs. DECISION MAKER CHOOSE THE RIGHT SOUND CARD FOR YOUR SYSTEM 1 Choose the factor that's Choose the next most most important. important factor. 3 What else is important? Upgradability Creative Labs Sound Blaster AWE32 Creative Labs Sound Blaster AWE32 176 U A RY 1996 Warning: Seat Belts Recommended If this doesn't bring you to the edge of your seat, nothing will. It’s ViewSonic’s 17EA 1 7" (16" viewable) multi- media monitor with sharp, crisp images and built-in stereo speakers that put you right in the middle of the action. Here’s how our engineers describe it: up to 1,280 x 1,024 resolution, a 0.28 mm dot pitch and maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz. Here’s how our customers describe it: “wow-eeee!’ Talk about a great picture. It’s got flicker-free viewing, precisely focused screen image, sharp vivid colors and stunning audio clarity. We’ve worked hard to make everything easy. OnView™ lets you make adjustments right on the screen, no guesswork. Our exclusive ViewMatch® color control allows you to make precise color adjustments. There’s also Tlug & (Play 4r" connectivity to support Windows®95 and both PC and MAC® compatibility. But seeing and hearing is believing. So call (800) 888-8583 (Dept. 466) for a dealer near you. ViewSonic Circle 171 on reader service card. MOST BANG FORTHE BUCK: (BUT DON’ T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT!) ProClass 288 LCD V.34 New Estimated Street Price: $359 PC WORLD June 1995 BEST BUY ■ “the best combination of price, performance, features, and support"... way ahead of the pack." ■ “best overall value in a V.34 modem." ■ “the clear Best Buy in this roundup.” BYTE/NSTL LAB REPORT June 1995 BEST OVERALL ■ “top honors in almost every aspect of our benchmarks." ProClass 288 Practical Class 288 MTV.34 Mill V.34 Yen Estimated Street Price: $199 ProClass 288 EZ-Port Yen Estimated Street Price: $289 HOME OFFICE COMPUTING Jan. 1995 EDITORS PICK AWARD PC WEEK April 3, 1995. ANALYST CHOICE ■ “represents the cutting edge of today's telecommunications technology...and better priced.” PC MAGAZINE March 14,1995 ■ “it's performance out distances even much more expensive modems.” ■ “by far a top performer overall.” ■ “best - performing modem.” ■ "provided the most efficient built-in power management.” ■ “best combination of price and performance." BYTE/NSTL LAB REPORT June 1995 BEST OVERALL ■ “the modem ran extremely well, finishing •first in our PC Card fax testing.” When it comes to value, industry editors and buyers think Practical. Our latest line of high-speed modems has been capturing all the awards, making Practical an incredible value. And with 7 day technical support and a lifetime limited warranty, you will be very satisfied. For more information on =z m

  the complete line of Practical modems, call PRACTIFAX , —== === PRACTICAL at 800-225-4774 and select Document

  3015, or BBBIBUEBAI C

  call 800-964-2937, Ext. 610 for a dealer referral. ~ rEnirrMEnMLB® ©1995 Practical Peripherals. Phone: 770-840-9966. Practical, the Practical Peripherals logo, PROCLASS, and EZ-Port are trademarks of Practical Peripherals. ♦Five year warranty on PCMCIA modems. Circle 253 on reader service card. Right Way Save money. Speed up access. Get better services. Here’s how. A re you paying too much for Internet access? Is your service slow and unreliable? Or maybe you’re dying to get online, but you’ve been waiting for the right time to start. Fortunately, your options for getting onto the Internet have never been better. Commercial, national, and local online service providers now offer a broad range of solutions for browsing the World Wide Web, visiting newsgroups, managing e-mail, and taking care of other Net essentials. We’ve compiled this comprehensive guide to the best local, national, and commercial Internet service providers. Using it, you’ll be able to find the LOCAL] f^pERCIAL NATIONAL) BY HENRY NORR PC CO 179 Internet Access: Making the Right Connection Net Solutions I Scenario Best Choice 1 You are new to telecommunications. Online service You like your current online service. Online service Most of your friends and colleagues use the same online service. Online service Family members with varying levels of expertise will share your account. Online service You want to control what yourchildren view. Online service You want cheap and easy e-mail only. Online service You need access when traveling anywhere. Online service You need access when traveling in major U.S. National provider or online service You want the most Internet hours for the least money. National provider or local provider You want a choice of browsers and other Internet tools. National provider, local provider, or online service You have or plan to get an ISDN line. National provider or local provider You want your own domain name. Local provider or national provider You prefer structured, organized, proprietary content. Online service You want Internet training, consulting, or Web page development. Local provider You want to publish an inexpensive, basic home page on the Web. Online service or local provider You want direct access to an unlimited number of files for download. National provider or local provider provider with the services and prices that best match your needs and budget. Just a few years ago, if you wanted Internet access you had to wade through a sea of jargon and acronyms like TCP/IP, SLIP, and PPP. But today’s service providers make signing up for Internet access almost as easy as ordering telephone service or cable TV. Prices are plummet¬ ing, and the software you need to get going online is readily available. The Net is a much friendlier place today, too. You’ll find the companies competing for your Internet dollars are increasingly consumer-oriented and their software reflects the trend toward ease-of-use. In most cases, getting an Internet account is as simple as installing some software and entering a credit-card number. The hard part is choosing among the available options. Generally, there are three ways to get Internet access: through a commercial online service, a national service provider, or a local provider. In each instance, the provider has modem-equipped computers attached directly to the Internet with a high-bandwidth data pipe, such as a Tl or T3 line. You and other subscribers con¬ nect and transfer data to the Internet through the service company’s dedicated lines. The type of Internet service provider you choose will depend on what you plan to do on the Internet and, in some cases, the location you’re calling from. Online Services The explosion of interest in e-mail and the World Wide Web is causing a fury among the major commercial online service providers to offer the best access to the Net. Prodigy was the first to provide a Web browser, but America Online, CompuServe, and Microsoft Network have been quick to follow. All offer full-featured Web browsers with support for Internet e-mail, newsgroups, and other extras. In addition, the online services are trying to distinguish themselves by incorporating extra-value content such as America Online’s Road Trips, which take you on informative excursions through the Web. Commercial online services make accessing the Internet easiest, they offer special features such as parental controls, and their prices are competitive. But they deliver the slowest performance. National Providers Two types of companies dominate the national service provider arena. One is a group of relatively 180 young companies little known outside the Internet market. They got their start providing Internet access for business customers, gradually built up nationwide networks, and have in recent years capi¬ talized on the growing popular interest in cyberspace. Companies matching this profile include UUNET Technologies, Performance Systems International (PSI), and NetCom On-Line. The other group consists of computer and communica¬ tions giants—including IBM and MCI— that are attempting to grab a share of this new market on the strength of their exist¬ ing infrastructures, expertise, and cus¬ tomer loyalty. AT&T is about to launch an access program, too. National providers are notable for their high-performance systems and low flat- rate plans. They target more-experienced users and business customers, although they’ve recently been reaching out to wider audiences and offering software that’s easy to use. And while online ser¬ vices such as CompuServe and America Online add low-cost, Internet-only ser¬ vices, look for national provider prices to continue to drop. Local Providers It doesn’t take much to become an Internet service provider, and entrepreneurs are setting up shop every¬ where. There are now more than 1,000 Internet service providers across the United States. Some have matured into major regional operations; others are strictly local, even neighborhood-based, businesses. And despite mounting competition from larger and more established players, new service providers are appearing all the time. Local and regional providers are the most diverse group, offering competitive pricing, flexibility, local information that may not be available anywhere else in cyberspace, and a personal touch that larger services can’t match. Commercial online services, national providers, and local providers all give you quick and easy access to the Net. As the competition among them heats up, you can expect even lower rates, easier con¬ nections, and more service options tai¬ lored to specific needs. In the meantime, you need to decide which I-Way on-ramp is for you. The sce¬ narios listed in “Net Solutions,” at left, will help you determine which Internet option best suits your needs. Once you’ve made a decision, read on for more details about each access route. January 1996 Windows 95 puts the power of a server on your PC.The new Plug & Play Back-UPS* Pro™ will keep it there. multi-tasking operating system like Windows 95, experts say it may be time to invest in APC protection. Why? Because bad power is the largest single cause data loss, and on a multi-tasking system, your affordable as a new mouse, it just doesn’t make leave your premium machine unprotected. SYSTEM PERFORMANCE BY CHOOSING A UPS LICENSED TO BEAR THE DESIGNED FOR Windows 95 Logo...” Microsoft SurgeArrest™ & Starting at $19 Back-ups® & Back-ups® pro UPS for PC and advanced workstations Smart-UPS® & Smart-UPS® V/S Manageable UPS for Starting at $ 119 Starting at $299 Matrix-UPS™ & Accessories Modular UPS for client/ Starting at $3499 AMERICAN POWER CONVERSION 800-800-4APC Dept E7 401-788-2797 fax / 800-347-FAXX PowerFax" 132 Fairgrounds Rd„ W. Kingston Rl 02892 USA Circle 136 on reader service card. Online Services: Easy Hookups and Helpful Extras Indirect Access g Two years ago, most commercial online services didn’t even offer Internet access. Today, the four largest ser¬ vices—America Online, CompuServe, Prodigy, and the new Microsoft Network—provide direct access to the Net. In fact, America Online and CompuServe let you use your company’s speedy Tl line via TCP/IP connections. And all of the services add features like tutorials, search engines, hotlists, and parental controls. America Online Among the big four online ser¬ vices, America Online is the leader in large part because of its aggressive Internet strategy. Its Internet Con¬ nection area offers access to all major Internet services. Icons scattered throughout America Online’s content areas also take you to related Internet resources. Version 2.5 of America Online has a capable built- in Web browser, but if you prefer Netscape Navigator or any other Internet application, you can download America Online’s free WINSOCK.DLL. However, Windows 95 makes you shuffle Microsoft’s own ver¬ sion of Winsock out of the Windows directory—a significant annoyance, especially if you also use pro¬ grams that look for the Microsoft version. With America Online’s explosive growth over the past few years, many users have complained of access problems, including sudden connection losses and frequent busy signals. We had a few problems during testing, but on the whole, performance was good. And America Online recently announced new GNN Internet-only service ($14.95 per month for 20 hours). CompuServe Although it was the first online service to offer Internet features such as FTP, Telnet, and Usenet newsgroups, CompuServe used to trail behind its competitors in terms of Web access. How¬ ever, WinCIM 2.0, the latest version of Compu¬ Serve’s client software, now includes an integrated browser—the popular Spry Mosaic. CompuServe is also available worldwide. It enjoys a good reputation for reliability and it no longer commands the premium rates it once did. In fact, its Super Value Plan ($24.95 per month for 20 hours of access, plus $1.95 for each additional hour) makes it much more economical than America Online for mod¬ erate and heavy users of both the online service and the Internet. CompuServe’s Winsock also lets you use any standard Internet software, and provides a download utility as a nifty solution for the Windows 95 conflict. And by the time you read this, CompuServe will offer Tour Guide: Let one of America Online’s Road Trips be your guide to the World Wide Web or America Online itself. Commercial Online Services Provider Monthly Rates Rate per Additional Hour Connection Type Space for Personal Web Page Support for Third-Party Browsers America Online [800] 827-6364 Reader Service No. 774 $9.95 (5-hour plan); $14.95 (20-hour, Internet-only GNN plan) $2.95 (5-hour plan); $1.95 (20-hour plan) 28.8Kbps modem or TCP/IP Yes Yes CompuServe (800) 848-8199 Reader Service No. 777 $9.95 (5-hour plan); ■ ; $24.95 (20-hour plan) $2.95 (5-hour plan); $1.95 (20-hour plan) 28.8Kbps, 14.4Kbps,'or TCP/IP Yes modem Yes Microsoft Network [800)386-5550 Reader Service No. 776 $4.95 (3-hour plan); $19.95 (20-hour plan) $2.50 (3-hour plan); $2.00 (20-hour plan) 28.8Kbps modem No Yes Prodigy Services (800)776-3449 Reader Service No. 777 $9.95 (5-hour plan); $29.95 (30-hour plan) $2.95 (5-hour plan); $2.95 (30-hour plan) 14.4Kbps modem Yes Yes 182 JANUARY 1996 a personal home-page service, as do America Online and Prodigy, but with added advantages such as 1MB of disk space and an impressive authoring tool. Prodigy The third-largest service, Prodigy, has led the way in giving subscribers access to the World Wide Web. Most recently, it was the first service to provide free space and templates for personal Web home pages. Prodigy’s browser is built into the stan¬ dard client software, and you can jump between the service’s content and the Internet at any time. Prodigy’s low rates—30 hours for about $30— makes it the price leader among the online services. On the other hand, you don’t get as much for your money because its speed is limited to 14.4Kbps. Microsoft Network Microsoft’s online service doesn’t suffer from speed problems—all of its local access points offer 28.8Kbps access. Nevertheless, it’s much slower than its rivals. You may also have to pay long-distance charges to use it for Internet access: If you choose the “MSN and Internet” option when you join, you’re limited to a surpris¬ ingly short list of local access numbers. Moreover, MSN is the least reliable online service for Internet access: Our connection failed frequently for no apparent reason. Most of these glitches are due to the service’s recent launch and may be fixed in the near future. But for now, they’re annoying. MSN and its Web browser, the Mosaic-derived Internet Explorer 2.0, require Windows 95, but the browser doesn’t come with retail versions of the new operating system—you have to download it for free from MSN or buy Microsoft’s Plus. But once set up, Internet Explorer integrates with the Windows 95 envi¬ ronment. You can create shortcuts to any Internet site and store them on the Windows 95 desktop, or embed them into documents and messages. It’s the only 32-bit browser that’s part of a commercial online service. Regardless of which online service you choose, you’ll get an easy-to-grasp Internet extension to your current online experience. With vour Moderator. Tom Recktenwalt (Updated October 13,1995) [ Browser News] r Search Tools] [Hefe] r HomeirInterest Groups] r Wdcomeflnterest Group Leader Info 1 Internet Help Interest Group Integrated Content: Prodigy's help center is in the form of a Web page, and is available to Prodigy members only. M P UTIN G PC CO 183 National Service Providers: High Performance and Low Prices Ooast-to-Coast Connections Z The Internet is where the action is. So why take a roundabout route through an online service when you can go directly to the real thing? That’s the pitch presented by a growing number of companies that let you dial into the Internet through local nodes, or points of presence (POPs in Internet jargon), across the country and, in some cases, abroad. This provider category includes some well-known giants. IBM Global Network, the default Internet provider for users of OS/2 Warp Connect, offers its services to Windows users as well. MCI Telecommu¬ nications’ service, internetMCI, provides users with the option of a customized version of Netscape Nav¬ igator for $89. And AT&T is about to jump into the market with its WorldNet Services program. The three that offer the widest range of services are UUNET Technologies, NetCom On-Line, and Performance Systems International. UUNET Technologies The company Microsoft hired to develop the dial-up infrastructure for Microsoft Network, UUNET Technologies, offers a plan called AlterDial to individual users and small businesses. It includes special features such as custom domain names (for a fee), which let you have an e-mail address such as [email protected], but it’s a bit more expensive than other national providers and doesn’t offer bundled software to subscribers. NetCom On-Line Communications Services and Performance Systems International offer bargain rates and top-notch, graphical-interface applications. Unlike commercial online services, however, most national pro¬ viders charge a start¬ up fee. NetCom The standard service plan from NetCom in¬ cludes 40 prime-time hours and unlimited use at other times for $19.95 per month. NetCruiser, the company’s propri¬ etary Internet-access software, offers point-and-click access to most Net services—such as Netscape Nav¬ igator—from a single toolbar; it even has an advanced Web browser built in. If you prefer different Foolproof: NetCruiser’s interface makes it a cinch to navigate the Net. National Service Providers Provider Monthly Rates Rates per Additional Hour Start-up Fee Prime-time Hours Connection Type Space for Home Page Software Included IBM Global Network [800] 455-5056 Reader Service No. 792 $12.95 [6-hour plan]; $29.95 [30-hour plan] $3.00 (6-hour plan]; $2.00 [30-hour plan] $19.95 Not applicable 28.8Kbps modem Extra charge None MCI Telecommunications [800] 353-3545 Reader Service No. 793 $9.95 [5-hour plan]; toll-free-only plan: $9.95 [unlimited] $2.50 (5-hour plan); $6.50 (unlimited) $18.95 Not applicable 28.8Kbps modem Extra charge None NetCom On-Line [800] 353-6600 Reader Service No. 794 $19.95 (40 hours prime-time, other times unlimited] $2.00 (40-hour plan) $25.00 M-F, midnight 28.8Kbps modem No NetCruiser Performance Systems Int’l Pipeline USA [800] 827-7482 Reader Service No. 793 $19.95 [unlimited] Not applicable None Not applicable 28.8Kbps modem or ISDN Pipeline USA Performance Systems Int’l InterRamp, [800] 827-7482 Reader Service No. 796 $9.00 (9-hour plan]; $29.00 [29 hours prime-time] $1.50 (9-hour plan); $1.50 [29-hour plan) $9.00 M-F, 8 a.m.- 11p.m.' 28.8Kbps modem or ISDN No Internet Valet (limited offer) UUNET Technologies [800]488-6384 Reader Service No. 797 $30.00 (25-hour plan] $2.00 (25-hour plan) $25.00 Not applicable 28.8Kbps modem or ISDN Extra charge None JANUARY 1996 184 software, you can switch to it after you dial in with NetCruiser because NetCruiser now complies with the Winsock 1.1 standard. To make the Net more manageable, NetCruiser opens to NetCom’s Homeport Web page, which looks like the opening screen of a proprietary ser¬ vice. It has buttons for news, sports, travel, arts and entertainment, and other services, each of which takes you to a page with links to related Web sites. The Search button brings you to a page that pulls together several Internet search options. Performance Systems International Pipeline USA and InterRamp, each with its own all-in-one interface software, are the two offerings from PSI. Aimed primarily at people who are new to the Net, also known as newbies, Pipeline USA’s software is straightforward. In fact, there are only 6 icons on the opening screen, compared with 16 on NetCruiser’s. Don’t assume, though, that Pipeline USA is for newcomers only. When you look past Pipeline’s opening icons and check its menus, you’ll find sup¬ port for most Internet features. The latest version even lets you add other programs to its menus and is Winsock-compliant. And, Pipeline USA’s pricing structure is an excellent deal for heavy users: For $19.95 per month you get unlimited access to the Net. Accessible: Pipeline USA’s user-friendly interface takes you directly to its six most popular services. PSI offers two more options through InterRamp: You get 9 hours for $9 (which at press time was the cheapest way to get on the Net through a national provider), or 29 prime-time hours, plus unlimited late-night and weekend access, for $29. InterRamp customers get a software suite called Internet Valet, which includes the Enhanced Mosaic Web browser, Qualcomm’s Eudora e-mail package, and other popular programs. Aside from the different software, the main dis¬ tinction between InterRamp and Pipeline USA is performance. Connecting, downloading, and brows¬ ing operations are a bit faster on InterRamp. If you’re a frequent Web user, using a national provider is an excellent way to go. DECISION MAKER CHOOSE THE RIGHT NATIONAL PROVIDER FOR YOUR INTERNET ACCESS 1 Choose the factor that’s Choose the next most most important. important factor. USA NetCom On-Line • PSI InterRamp USA 185 Local Service Providers: Competitive Prices and a Personal Touch Backyard Browsing H g Local Internet service providers are popping up in droves. The List, a Web site that provides a compre¬ hensive guide to Internet service providers, had 1,584 entries at press time—and the number is increasing weekly. The majority of these are small providers that serve a particular metropolitan area or geo¬ graphic region. But given the ample alternatives available from commercial services and national providers, why should you consider a local provider? Here are several good reasons to consider this option, as well as some caveats. Benefits The going rates among local providers for individual dial-up accounts are similar to those of the national companies—typically $15 to $30 per month for 20, 50, or even an unlimited number of hours. Most also have nominal start-up fees. But if your needs are extremely heavy or light, you might find a bargain. For frequent users, we found local providers that charge as little as $10 per month (plus a start-up fee) for unlimited access. At the other end of the spectrum, those who expect to use the Internet only occasionally can find plans which offer up to 3 hours of 28.8Kbps access for only $3.95 per month. Many local providers also offer additional services, although usually for an extra charge. For example, if you need Internet-related training and consulting, or someone to design and maintain a Web page for your business, it probably makes sense to find someone in your immediate area. On the other hand, most local access providers do not include their own software, so you’ll need a stand-alone Web browser. Looking for local content? Most of the local providers also carry information specific to their area— news, weather, entertainment listings, and classifieds. If you look hard enough, you might be able to access the same material from an online service or national provider, but a local operation is more likely to make it easily accessible by putting links on its default home page. And if the local provider has space for per¬ sonal Web pages (most do), it’s a good place to find other Net-sawy people and busi- Drawbacks If you travel fre¬ quently and need to gain access to your e-mail or the Web from the road, local providers can be irksome. To dial Local Interest: CyberGate-Florida in, you will prob- gives you access to area listings. ably have to make a long-distance toll call, because few local providers have toll-free numbers. Performance also varies widely. If a local provider doesn’t add phone lines as its subscriber base grows, users may often hit busy signals when they’re trying to grab urgent e-mail. Some other problems that can plague local providers are slow Web browsing and lengthy file trans¬ fers. These mishaps can occur if the link between the pro¬ vider’s facilities and the Internet’s back¬ bone lacks adequate bandwidth. With the number of sub¬ scribers growing by leaps and bounds, it’s easy for even the most dedicated provider to fall behind in these areas. Of course, national providers and online services are susceptible to the same problems, but they have more resources to address them. SOS Technical support and customer service are also uneven. Some local providers offer a personal touch you won’t get from a large company, but few provide 24-hour support, which is a common bonus among the major providers. Even the most dedicated local providers don’t have the technical resources or broad knowledge base that national or commercial providers can call on to help solve your problem. You might find information about local providers in your hometown newspaper or phone book, or from local computer dealers. You can also search several provider directories available on the Internet. Meck¬ lermedia’s The List (http://thelist.com/) lets you search by state or area code, and provides detailed information, ratings, and comments from other users, as well as links to providers’ Web sites. Another good source is the Providers of Commercial Internet Access directory, generally known as the Celestin list, which is available at www.celestin.com/pocia/index.html. When choosing a local provider, the best source of information is probably word of mouth. If you’re considering a local provider, ask for customer refer¬ ences or check with a local computer user group. And don’t forget to check out our list of leading local providers and the services they offer on the next page. Henry Norr, an editor emeritus and columnist at MacWeek, surfs the Net from Macs and PCs. Regional News: Pipeline offers both local content and 1-Way access. 186 UARY 1996 Local Service Providers Provider Area Monthly Rates Rates per Additional Hour Start-up Fee Connection Type Special Features Clark Internet Services [800] 784-6512 Reader Service No. 778 Baltimore; Washington; D.C.; northern Virginia $33.00 [6 hours per day or unlimited with a Unix shell account] $1.00 (6-hour plan) $15.00 28.8Kbps modem Real-time stock quotes, shareware directory CyberGate-Florida [305] 428-4283 Reader Service No. 779 Florida $20.00 [50 prime-time hours, unlimited on weekends and from midnight-8 a.m.] $1.00 [50-hour plan) $25.00 28.8Kbps modem None Delta Internet Services [714] 778-0370 Reader Service No. 780 Southern California $9.95 [5-hour plan]; $24.95 [60 prime-time hours]; $24.95 [75-hour plan] $1.75 [5-hour plan); $1.50 (60- hour plan); $1.50 (75-hour plan) $19.95 28.8Kbps modem Free Web page storage for 60-and 75-hour accounts InterAccess [708] 498-2542 Reader Service No. 781 Chicago and suburbs $13.00 (5-hour plan]; $28.00 [unlimited hours, if paying by credit card] $2.30 (5-hour plan) $15.00 28.8Kbps modem Domain names and extra mailboxes for extra charge Internet Express [800] 592-1240 Reader Service No. 782 Colorado $9.95 (4-hour plan]; $29.95 (20-hour plan); $39.95 [50-hour plan) $2.75 (4-hour plan); $1.25 [20- hour plan); $1.25 (50-hour plan) $29.95 28.8Kbps modem Domain names and anonymous ftp for extra charge, shareware CD MindSpring Enterprises [800] 719-4332 Reader Service No. 783 Atlanta, southeastern $15.00 (15-hour plan); $35.00 (unlimited hours) $1.00 [15-hour $35.00 28.8Kbps modem or ISDN Domain names and mail forwarding for extra charge Msen C313] 998-4562 Reader Service No. 784 Michigan $30.00 (75-hour plan); $60.00 [150-hour plan) $2.00 (75-hour plan); $2.00 [150-hour plan) $30.00 28.8Kbps modem or ISDN None Northwest Nexus [800] 539-3505 Reader Service No. 783 Pacific Northwest $30.00 (unlimited hours) Not applicable $30.00 28.8Kbps modem or ISDN None Panix Public Access [212]741-4400 Reader Service No. 786 New York, New Jersey $10.08 (unlimited for Unix shell account); $35.00 (unlimited for PPPorSLIPaccount) Not applicable None 28.8Kbps modem None Pipeline NY [212] 267-3636 Reader Service No. 787 New York $9.95 [5-hour plan); $19.95 [unlimited hours) $2.50 (5-hour plan) None 28.8Kbps modem or ISDN Accessible from other places via PSI network for extra charge Software Tool & Die [617]739-0202 Reader Service No. 788 Massachusetts $20.00 (20-hour plan) $1.00 (20-hour plan) None 28.8Kbps modem or ISDN Govline provides complete transcripts of Congressional hearings Texas Metronet [214] 705-2900 Reader Service No. 789 Dallas- Fort Worth $16.00 (unlimited hours, if paying by credit card); $19.00 (unlimited hours) Not applicable $20.00 28.8Kbps modem or ISDN None Vnet Internet Access [800] 377-3282 Reader Service No. 740 North Carolina $29.95 [80 hours, or 2 hours prime-time plus unlimited non-prime-time) $1.00 (80-hour plan) $25.00 28.8Kbps modem None The Well [415] 332-4335 Reader Service No. 791 Northern California $15.00 [5-hour plan); $35.00 (20-hour plan) $2.50 (5-hour plan); $2.50 [20-hour plan) $15.00 28.8Kbps modem or ISDN Includes access to Well conferences PC COMPUTING 187 OUTSTANDING INPUTTING. Alps GlidePoint® Keypad. Full-size numeric keypad and Alps GlidePoint cursor control in one sleek, 14-ounce package for portables. Instead of rolling around a mouse or trackball, just glide your finger over the surface for more com¬ pact, more precise pointing. The protective cover doubles as a stand. Alps Portable GlidePoint & Alps Desktop GlidePoint. The Portable goes wherever you and your laptop go, and the Desktop GlidePoint is perfect for desktop use. With more surface area and larger buttons, the Desktop Glide- Point works on or off its weighted base, and you can adjust the height and angle. Alps GlidePoint Keyboard. A built-in Alps GlidePoint touchpad, plus the new Windows® keys that make Windows 95 and 3.1 easier than ever. All your inputting issues are covered in one sleek, sculptured, adjustable, space-saving, wrist-resting, truly outstanding keyboard. The Erase-Eaze™ delete key— right where you want it, to the left of the space bar—can make a big difference in your speed. There’s even a contoured wrist rest that can be moved aside if you need the space. Desktop or Portable. Keypad or Keyboard. All the products in the Alps GlidePoint family feature Alps GlidePoint cursor con¬ trol, so you just glide a finger over the surface to move the cursor, and tap lightly to “click.” Outstanding. And Alps GlidePoint products are just part of what we do. With facilities in 18 countries and sales of almost $4 billion a year, nearly every¬ one using personal computers today is using Alps compo¬ nents or peripherals. The ALPS world’s best mechanical and membrane keyboards, key¬ pads, mice and floppy drives. All covered by a lifetime* or five-year warranty. For more information, or for a reseller nearest you, call 1-800-720-ALPS (2577). GLIDEPOINT® © 1995 Alps Electric. ALPS is a registered trademark of Alps Electric Co. Ltd. of Japan. GlidePoint is a registered trademark of Cirque Corporation. Other names identified by™ or® are trade or registered trademarks of their respective manufacturers. Specifications and prices subject to change without notice. ‘Limited lifetime warranty. See warranty for details. essential_dlld Street Atlas USA 3.0 • ChromaZone • Sidekick 95

  It’s all here! PC Computing’s exclusive Windows 95 software guide to Windows 95 BUYERS’ GUIDE In this issue: • Kiplinger s Home Legal Advisor • DecideRight entertaining—home and • Day-Timer Organizer 2.0 • Instant Multimedia • QmodemPro • Expresso • Backdrop # Up-to-Date office applications. # Re ac hMe • QuickXpense 1.6 for Windows 95 • Writers Edge • Planner for Windows • QuickView Plus for Windows 95

  Go buy it!

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  PC COMPU' 189 h street select sMi 3 d The ONLY Street Atlas that lets you import names and addresses from ANY source! everything from hotels, restaurants, banks, post offices and gas stations to churches, schools, department stores and more. They come from Select Phone, the

  l-selling Phonebook on CD-ROM.

  And since they’re both published by the same company, they work together beautifully. The first Street Atlas you can really use! Introducing Select Street Atlas, the amazing new Street Atlas on CD ROM. This is the first ever mapping product that gives you the ability to import - and display - any listings from any source. No other street atlas lets you do this. Now you can plot any list of names & addresses from any file, right down to the street level. Display where your customers are clustered. Identify which houses are for sale in your town. And of course, locate your cousin’s ranch in Montana. Select Street lets you do all this with a click. Super accuracy. Select Street Atlas data is based on the most current and comprehensive TIGER street files provided by the United States Government. That’s over 30 million street segments, right down to rural and dirt roads. Data that’s practically of any other street atlas. One million, built-in, ready-to-view listings. Say you’re on the road. You need to find a hotel near a convention center. Or perhaps a nice restaurant near your customer’s office. You’ll find them easily in Select Street Atlas. Because each copy includes a million bonus listings of Power you can use. Imagine. For the first time ever, you can take any name and address from any file or database and place it on your map. Add your own text and symbols. Then print your custom-made maps for newsletters, MbdmoNE ;

  J iTTMP brochures, ads, invitations - anything to help your friends, family, co-work- ers, prospects and customers locate you. New Select Street Atlas, now available at your software retailer. Get your copy today! m* 1/1(7'.' (I Select Street Atlas works great with Select Phone. Now you can import and display business or I ■pJjrVMP residential listings from the most powerful I . r ™. onebook on CD-ROM. Pro% Find what you've been missing . I Available in stores now or call: 1-800-99-CD-R0M Circle 308 on reader service card. WINDOWS 95 Reviews: DeLorme and Gibson Research I Street Atlas USA 3.0 B Paper-based maps are passe. Squinting to find that lit¬ tle side street, following the freeway as it jumps 30 pages, and wondering if that main road was ever fin¬ ished—there is a better way. CD-ROM-based map resources like DeLorme’s Street Atlas USA 3.0 give you mapping power like you’ve never had before. Street Atlas’s completeness is impressive, and it offers powerful search tools. Enter any street address and zip code anywhere in the 50 states, and Street Atlas will show you, in SCREEN SAVER rich, zoomed detail, the exact location of that address. Or enter a U.S. area code and phone prefix, and Street Atlas highlights the matching region. If you know someone’s phone number, you can figure out (approximately) where that person lives. Know the address? Find the phone number through the reverse directory in DeLorme’s new Phone Search USA. (Unfortunately, DeLorme sells Phone Search separately for $79; bundled together, the suite would be unbeatable.) Street Atlas version 3.0 includes new levels of detail, such as hospitals, colleges, shopping centers, civic centers, and other landmarks. The maps are editable and allow annota¬ tions, notes, and custom symbols. And once you tailor a map to your liking, you’ll find a wealth of custom print lay¬ out commands from which to choose. Sounds priceless, eh? Relax. Street Atlas can be yours for just $79. RICH SCHWERIN Street Atlas USA 3.0 Pros: Search for any U.S. address any way you want. Cons: Too bad Phone Search USA is sold separately; the two products should be bundled. Verdict: By tar the best mapping resource of its kind. $79 est. street price DeLorme [800) 452-5931, [207) 865-1234 Reader Service No. S/9 ChromaZone m Try this test: Take a look at the screen saver installed H| on your desktop system. Now compare it with the |H test pattern on late-night television. Can’t see much HI difference? Then you need a change, and Gibson Research’s ChromaZone—the first 3-D, interactive, ani¬ mated screen saver—is just the ticket. The first thing you’ll notice about ChromaZone is its slick space-age interface. Menus slide onto the screen when you click on them, and mini preview windows appear MPUTING for most options. Cycle through any of the hun¬ dreds of 24-bit color images and patterns, then select the one you want to appear. Just beware: Once the screen saver kicks in, you may not be able to take your eyes off the psyche¬ delic effects. ChromaZone also gives you the power to design your own screen savers. Just choose from the more than 100 supplied images, adjust the settings, and create your own masterpieces. Unlike many graphical screen savers, ChromaZone won’t slow down your system. The program is written in efficient assembly language code, so it’s fast. The entire pro¬ gram takes up less than 132K on your hard drive and runs easily under both Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. Looking for a way to dress up your Windows desktop? Don’t miss this new screen saver. adam meyerson 191 ChromaZone Pros: Terrific 3-D animations and effects. Cons: Hours slip away as you create your own effects. Verdict: A captivating screen saver at an irresistible price. $40 est. street price Gibson Research Corp. [800) 736-0637, [714) 348-7100 Reader Service No. 818 CorelDRAW 6 is here!!! With awesome speed, power and accuracy plus hundreds of enhancements, CorelDRAW 6 is the most robust graphics software suite available. CorelDRAW 6 offers fully-featured software applications for illustration, photo-editing and bitmap creation, business and multimedia presentations, 3D rendering and animation. Also includes eight great utilities and incredible libraries. « CorelDRAW 6 • Corel PHOTO-PAINT 6

  CorelDREAM 3D 6

  < Corel MOTION 3D 6 c Corel PRESENTS 6 Plus t 25,000 clipart images and s

  1,000 photos

  « 1,000 TrueType® and Type I &Over 750 3D models Waldensoftware 1-800-800-00EB Call for the store nearest you! CorelDRAW 5 to CorelDRAW 6 Upgrade CD-ROM Version £ CORE L Call now for faxed literature! 1-613-728-0826 ext. 3080 Document # 1082 Circle 233 on reader service card. pentium isign ed fo r m T hat look of confidence and inner pleasure. It’s a look that’s become associated with buying a Quantex. And it shouldn’t be the least bit sur¬ prising. You see, Quantex gives you just about the best buy going. And that means more than just a good price. It’s the very latest technology. The hottest software bundles. Quality components from some of the most trusted names in the business. And a company committed to giving you their best day in and day out. If Quantex had been around back in Mona’s day, she probably would have had a much bigger grin. Masterpieces A Classic Deal At Quantex, all of our systems are com¬ posed of the hottest features, tuned up top-rated performance, then competi-

  ^{ely priced to provide the maximum pg-for-your-buck. These masterpieces the experts singing their praises! pjg World reports, “Quantex offers jJSt price/performance ratios on (August 1995). Family PC raves ‘The QP5’s list of hardware features like those of machines typically around $400 higher” (July/August And PC Magazine writes that our ^^ffnEp vldes “Above-average compo¬ nents for a great price..." (Sept. 26, MfHgtaanantex consistently gives you less, constantly striving to bring jery best deal. Built for the PC Connoisseur Any fC maker can use no-name com- lenfs to take their price down. That’s t good enough for Quantex. You’ll fiat our value-packed systems fea- pore of the brand names you’ve o |now and trust. Like Intel, Sftcrosoft, Novell, STB Systems, Western digital, MAG Innovision, Altec Lansing 7 Multimedia. Ensoniq, and Toshiba to name a few. But using top quality com- ' ^fonents is only half the story. We guar-}
• t m tee the total reliability of our systems C with one of the most comprehensive ■T quality control processes in the business. So don’t settle for imitations - get the real deal from Quantex! To Work For You Designed for | All Quantex systems are not only IB Start | equipped with Windows® 95 - they’re Designed for Windows 95. As one of few companies to have passed strict Microsoft® Hardware Compatibility Testing, all of our systems are Plug and Play compliant to make adding new components a snap! For superior performance, check out these advanced compo¬ nents on our QP5/SM-2: Performance-Enhanced Memory Get extreme - our QP5/SM-2 features 16MB EDO RAM. The 16MB guarantees optimum software operation, while EDO boosts memory access speeds an additional 33%\ Plus, we give you a 256KB L2 Pipelined Burst Cache for extra rendering power. Working together, EDO and the Pipelined Burst Cache cuts the processing time of memo¬ ry operations, maximizing your system’s execution rates to accomplish tasks faster. Breakthrough Graphics and Media Acceleration Enter the world of STB PowerGraph 64 Video Acceleration, the experts’ choice for complete MPEG play¬ back with full screen and full motion video. This high-per¬ formance 64-bit video graphics accelerator with 2MB EDO DRAM is based on the S3 TRI064 V+ Chipset. That trans¬ lates into no-holds-barred power, supporting up to 30 frames per second, resolutions up to 1280x1024, plus pre¬ cise true color for photo-realistic imaging. Massive Storage Power An immense 2GB Mode 4 Hard Drive offers the capacity and performance you need to fully optimize Windows 95. In fact, it’s the flat-out highest capacity ATA-2 Interface drive to date. Plus, its speedy 16.6 MB/sec data transfer rates, 5400 RPM, 256KB multisegmented cache buffer, and 10ms seek times deliver huge masses of data in a flash. Digitally Controlled Color Monitors The MAG 17” Color Monitor boasts complete Plug and Play support, a ,26mm dot pitch for ultra-sharp display at 1280x1024 maximum resolution, rapid refresh rate, and a digitally controlled display. It’s easy to see why MAG is the world’s best selling 17-inch color monitor. Multimedia That Will Move You Quantex has teamed up with the multimedia hardware heavyweights to put together a system with premium stereo sound and image quality. Transport yourself to the world of multimedia with the ultra-fast, ultra-smooth MPEG performance of Aztech’s 6X E1DE CD-ROM Drive, which boasts a 900 KB/S transfer rate and a 256KB buffer! Then, close your eyes and indulge in the crisp highs and solid bass of the Ensoniq Wavetable Sound Card and Altec Lansing speakers with subwoofer. It’s top of the line multimedia at an affordable price, only from Quantex. Service and Support At Quantex, we stand behind our products. We back up every system purchase with a 30-Day Money Back Guarantee and Toll-Free Technical Support. That’s not all - we give you One Year Express Parts Replacement plus One Year On-Site Service. You even get the option to extend the protection of your system for up to 4 years with the GE Service Protection Plan. And now, Quantex gives you an even faster and easier way to get information and assistance. Be a part of the Digital Revolution and visit the Quantex Home Page on the Internet at http://www.quantex.com. Check out fea¬ tures such as the Quantex Shopping Mall, Customer Service Center, Technical Support Center and Resource Room, all accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Family • Novell PerfectHome: PerfectWorks; Memphis Math; Write With Software Bundle SSS Clip Art for the Office; Read With Me 1 & 2 Hardjjvidence: The Marilyn Monroe Files • The <99? Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia • Complete Reference Library (over 10 titles) :fesr ns f Animals II " v How Your Body Works

  J | Quicken Financial Manager-SE • Everywhere USA Travel Guide • America Online, Prodigy, CompuServe • NetCruiser Plus (Fre • Novell PerfectOffice: WordPerfect 6.1; Quattro Pro 6 InfoCentral; Presentations Grot Professional Software Bundle • Quicken Financial M; • Astound (

  1 in Mi

  • Phone Disc Busini • A1 Unser Arcade Racing • USS Ticonderoga • America Online. Prodigy. Compi (one month trial membership to On-: • NetCruiser Plus (Free Internet Acce QP5/75 M-1 1 $ 1 649 1 QP5/100 M-2 | $ 1 899 1 QP5/120 M-3

  $2199

  QP5/133 M-4

  $2499 ■ Intel 75MHz Pentium* processor ■ 8MB EDO Performance-Enhanced Memory ■ 1GBEIDE Mode 4 Hard Drive ■ 3.5" 1,44MB Floppy Drive ■ 64-Bit PCI Graphic Accelerator w/ 1MB (MPEG Playback w/Full Screen & Motion Video) ■ 15" MAG Flat-Screen 1280x1024 Monitor ■ 14,400 Baud Fax/Modem w/voice mail ■ Toshiba 4X EIDE CD-ROM Drive (190ms) ■ 16-Bit Stereo Sound Card ■ Magnetically Shielded Speakers ■ Newly Designed Mini-Tower Case ■ 104-Key keyboard & Microsoft' Mouse ■ Microsoft Windows'95 ■ Family Software Bundle (preinstalled) OPS/100 IB-1...$1798 QP5/120 IB-1.$1849 ■ Intel 100MHz Pentium processor ■ 8MB EDO Performance-Enhanced Memory ■ 1GB EIDE Mode 4 Hard Drive ■ 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive ■ 64-Bit PCI Graphic Accelerator w/ 2MB (MPEG Playback w/Fbll Screen & Motion Video) ■ 15" MAG Flat-Screen 1280x1024 Monitor ■ 28,800 Baud V.34 Fax/Modem ■ Toshiba 4X 190ms EIDE CD-ROM Drive ■ 16-Bit Stereo Sound Card ■ Magnetically Shielded Speakers ■ Newly Designed Mini-Tower Case ■ 104-Key keyboard & Microsoft Mouse ■ Microsoft Windows95 ■ Family Software Bundle (preinstalled) qP5/75 IB-2.$1749 QP5/120 IB-2.$1949 ■ Intel 120MHz Pentium processor ■ 16MB RAM ■ 256KB Pipelined Burst Cache ■ 1.2GB EIDE Mode 4 Hard Drive ■ 3.5" 1,44MB Floppy Drive ■ STB PowerGraph 64 Video w/ 1MB (MPEG Playback w/Full Screen & Motion Video) ■ 15" MAG Flat-Screen 1280x1024 Monitor ■ 14,400 Baud Fax/Modem w/voice mail ■ Toshiba 4X 190ms EIDE CD-ROM Drive ■ 16-Bit Stereo Sound Card ■ Magnetically Shielded Speakers ■ Newly Designed Mini-Tower Case ■ 104-Key keyboard & Microsoft Mouse ■ Microsoft Windows95 ■ Family Software Bundle (preinstalled) QP5/75 IB-3.$1949 QP5/100 IB-3...$2149 ■ Intel 133MHz Pentium processor ■ 16MB EDO Performance Memory ■ 256KB Pipelined Burst Cache ■ 1,2GB EIDE Mode 4 Hard Drive ■ 3.5" 1,44MB Floppy Drive ■ STB PowerGraph 64 Video w/ 2MB (MPEG Playback w/Full Screen & Motion Video) ■ 15" MAG Flat-Screen 1280x1024 Monitor ■ 14,400 Baud Fax/Modem w/voice mail ■ Aztech 6X EIDE CD-ROM Drive ■ Ensoniq' 16-Bit Wavetable Sound Card ■ Altec Lansing ACS-5 Speakers ■ Newly Designed Mini-Tower Case ■ 104-Key keyboard & Microsoft Mouse ■ Microsoft Windows95 ■ Family Software Bundle (preinstalled) QP5/100 IB-4.$2299 QP5/120 IB-4.$2349 QP5/100 SM 1 $23491 QP5/120 SM-1 1 $2749 1 QP5/133 SM-2

  $3049

  Upgrade Specials

  ■ Intel 100MHz Pentium processor ■ 16MB RAM, 256KB write-back Cache ■ 1.6GB 9ms EIDE Mode 4 Hard Drive ■ 3.5" 1,44MB Floppy Drive ■ ATI MACH 64 PCI w/ 2MB DRAM (MPEG Playback w/Full Screen & Motion Video) ■ 15"MAG Flat-Screen 1280x1024 Monitor ■ 28,800 Baud V.34 Fax/Modem ■ Toshiba 4X EIDE I90ms CD-ROM Drive ■ 16-bit Stereo Sound Card ■ Altec Lansing ACS-5 Speakers ■ Newly Designed Mid-Tower Case ■ 104-Key keyboard & Microsoft Mouse ■ Microsoft Windows95 ■ Professional Software Bundle (preinstalled) ■ Upgrade to 16MB EDO Memory and 256KB Pipelined Burst Cache for $49 QP5/75 SKI.$2199 QP5/120 SIB.$2399 QP5/33 SIB ...$2549

  On-Site Service ■ Intel 120MHz Pentium processor ■ 16MB EDO Performance Memory ■ 256KB Pipelined Burst Cache ■ 1,6GB 9ms EIDE Mode 4 Hard Drive ■ 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive ■ ATI MACH 64 PCI w/ 2MB DRAM (MPEG Playback w/Rill Screen & Motion Video) ■ 17" ,26dp MAG 1280x1024 Monitor ■ 28,800 Baud V.34 Fax/Modem ■ Aztech 6X EIDE 190ms CD-ROM Drive ■ Ensoniq 16-Bit Wavetable Sound Card ■ Altec Lansing ACS-5 Speakers ■ Newly Designed Mid-Tower Case ■ 104-Key keyboard & Microsoft Mouse ■ Microsoft Windows95 ■ Professional Software Bundle (preinstalled) QP5/100 SIB-1.$2699 QP5/133 SKI-1.$2899 ■ Intel 133MHz Pentium processor ■ 16MB EDO Performance Memory ■ 256KB Pipelined Burst Cache ■ 2GB ATA-2 Mode 4 Hard Drive ■ 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive ■ STB PowerGraph 64 Video w/2MB EDO RAM (MPEG Playback w/Full Screen & Motion video) ■ 17" ,26dp MAG 1280x1024 Monitor ■ 28,800 Baud V.34 Fox/Modem ■ Aztech 6X EIDE CD-ROM Drive ■ Ensoniq 16-Bit Wavetable Sound Card ■ Altec Lansing ACS-31 Speakers w/ subwoofer ■ Newly Designed Mid-Tower Case ■ 104-Key keyboard & Microsoft Mouse ■ Microsoft Windows95 ■ Professional Software Bundle (preinstalled) ■ Upgrade to ATI MACH 64 PCI w/2MB VRAM for $50 more. QP5/100 SIB-2.$2849 0P5/120 SIB-2....$2899 ■ Ensoniq® 16-bit wavetable sound card and Altec Lansing ACS-31 Speakers w/subwoofer Add $99 850MB Add $169 3.2GB Add $21 ■ Microsoft Natural Keyboard Add $5 HMim 1 - 800 - 787-8686 Quantex Microsystems, Inc. Canada 1-800-793-4167 Rico 1-800-793-4185 It’s the world’s most versatile monitor. And now it’s 42% bigger. Presenting the Pivot 17007 The only 17"

  monitor- for Windows '"and Macintosh - that lets you select the orientation that perfectly suits the work you’re doing. In portrait mode, you can read a

  full-size 8.5"x lf'document without scrolling. Which makes the Pivot 1700 ideal for things you do regularly-like word processing, desktop faxing and e-mail. Pivot easily to landscape mode and you’re set for spreadsheets, desktop video and other horizontal applications. Either way, the spacious 9-6" x 12.9" active display area gives you plenty of room for icons, launch bars and other graphical tools of Windows 95. Plus

  our sharp, crisp image and resolutions up to 1280 x 1024 make everything easy to look at. The Pivot 1700 works with popular Windows graphics cards and standard Macintosh video. It also works with your budget-at about $999, it’s yours for what you’d expect to pay for a landscape-only model from Sony, NEC or Apple! The Pivot 1700. It’s perfect for Windows 95. Any way you look at it. Portrait Pivolwithoul See your dealer or call toll-free for product literature. 800-858-7744 Ext.22 http://www.portrait.com

  15.8" Viewable Diagonal (9.6" x 12.9” Portrait Page Display) Circle 187 on reader service card. WINDOWS 95 Reviews: Starfish Software and Block Financial PERSONAL INFORMATION MANAGER Sidekick 95 fm Want a do-everything personal information man- E||| ager that’s as uncluttered and easy to read as a wrist- P!H watch? For years Sidekick has been the best KSl minimalist PIM around. The new version adds Win¬ dows 95 support and several basic utilities. Like any PIM, Sidekick has a phone book (called Card¬ file), a calendar, and to-do lists. Customize these elements any way you like, pulling dividing lines up, down, or side¬ ways to hide or reveal features. The calendar now includes LEGAL SOFTWARE Sidekick 95 tabs for daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly views, but still lacks workgroup features such as the ability to resolve schedule con¬ flicts or offer a workgroup solution. Sidekick’s Notes field has evolved into a full word processor in which you can tap out letters or lists. The low-end Expense Report Writer and telephony appli¬ cation program interface support are also great, but we quickly turned off the interna¬ tional time and map feature—they seemed unnecessary. Even with its new look and some added utilities, Sidekick is still slim enough to fit on just two floppy disks. If you need only the basics for Windows 95, this is the trimmest and sim¬ plest information manager around. A Deluxe edition of Side- kick 95 adds the Dashboard 95 shell utility, productivity videos, and Sidekick companions, which offer additional templates and scheduling references. JAMES Oliver CURY Pros: No-frills information management and scheduling. Cons: Lacks workgroup and contact-management features. Verdict: A minimalist information manager for people who want just the basics. $50 est. street price Starfish Software (800] 765-7839, (408] 439-0942 Kiplinger’s Home Legal Advisor B The first pieces of advice you get from Kiplinger’s Home Legal Advisor are to not trust the program completely and to hire a lawyer. In fact, it goes one step further, giving you tips on how to find a good lawyer. Believe it or not, that’s a good sign. Home Legal Advisor takes the guesswork out of basic domestic legal matters such as making a will, leasing a house, or appointing a health-care power of attorney. As the pro¬ gram itself emphasizes, you still need to enlist an attorney to make any of these legal documents binding, but Home Legal Advisor saves you money by helping you prepare simple legal docu¬ ments on your own. The program is straight¬ forward: Pick a topic, read the guidelines, create a doc¬ ument, then give it to a lawyer for adjudication. Choose from various types of documents, including living trust, sublease, and prenuptial agreements, plus dozens more. Simply fill in the blanks to create your own documents. The interface isn’t stellar, but plenty of help files fill the gaps. And mercifully, most documents are written in plain English, rather than legalese. If you’re spending too much time and money on legal matters, turn to Home Legal Advisor. It’s a good start, and it’s not only cheaper than the average lawyer, it’s also probably easier to understand. JACK LYON 996 Legal Advisor Pros: A fast, legitimate way to begin a legal matter, Cons: Bland interface. Verdict: A great time and money saver for producing your own basic legal documents. $30 est. street price Block Financial Corp. [800] 813-7940, (816] 561-6000 Reader Service No. S21 198 JANUAR Introducing Adaptec EZ-SCSI 4.0 software. If you've been adding peripherals and just upgraded to Windows® 95, you've probably realized that your desktop performance is not a function of the oper¬ ating system alone. Because true multi¬ tasking is more than just your PC and peri¬ pherals. You also need to upgrade your sys¬ tem I/O. That's where The first all-in-one suite of practical applications and power tools for your SCSI peripherals. Adaptec® EZ-SCSI“4.0 software comes in. It will train your individual peripherals and your system configuration for maxi¬ mum performance. Because unlike your current library of 16-bit SCSI applications, Adaptec EZ-SCSI software takes full advantage of your 32-bit operating system. It'll even teach your system a few new tricks with applications like Adaptec 32-Backup, CD-R Copier & Writer, QuickScan and Audio CD Player. Tame your peripherals with Adaptec EZ-SCSI software. See your local com- puter reseller, or for more infor- njrgj mation and a free CD-ROM ESSSf product tour, call 1-800-804-8886 ext. 2035. You'll have your multi¬ tasking system in line in no time. "I'm convinced that the key to easy upgrades is going to be SCSI. Since Adaptec promoted the ASPI driver . . . and something called [Adaptec] EZ-SCSI, you can make SCSI work without a hassle." -John C. Dvorak, PC MAGAZINE jcidciptec I/O. NOW MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER. ion from p. 89 'PC MAGAZINE' Jul Publishing Myth # 8: You need a circulation the size of Tokyo to use QuarkXPress. Myths about the exclusively “high-end” nature of QuarkXPress" abound. But just because QuarkXPress is the desktop publishing software choice for most magazines, newspapers, and design firms worldwide, don’t assume it’s more than you need. QuarkXPress is your logical choice, too, no matter what you’re publishing. QuarkXPress users like Fred Meyer, Inc., are proving it every day. Quark is the way to go even for in-house publications like Fred Meyer’s annual report shown at right, which depicts the company’s success in one-stop shopping. It’s available on the platform your company knows and it’s powerful enough to perform any publishing task — big or small. And, most importantly, QuarkXPress for Windows is easier to use than any other page layout application available — no matter what your level of expertise. Whether your name is Megalopolis Publishing Enterprises, Inc., or Donuts by Danny, QuarkXPress is for you. Perhaps that's why so many pre-press service bureaus accept QuarkXPress files exclusively, frowning upon anything else. If you don’t need the extensive list of QuarkXPress features right off the bat, so what? At least you’ll have room to breathe — and breathe easy. For a free demo version of QuarkXPress for Windows, and our 32-page Comparison Guide to Electronic Publishing, call 1-800-788-7835. are easy to control. After was imported, the cre- are a snap. Text automatically flows perfectly around pictures and objects placed in the line of fire. But if you want to get crazy, you can edit the runaround path yourself, for any item. seconds. To apply this one, the folks at Fred Meyer merely clicked the Drop Cap check box in QuarkXPress and specified that one character drop two lines for the selected paragraph. sre created from scratch

  photodisc v 1 rate”nto 6S Missing Something from Windows 95... An ATI GRAPHICS XPRESSION', WINTURBO', or GRAPHICS PRO TURBO' plug and play graphics card gives you the advanced graphics features Microsoft left out. Designed for Microsoft Windows'95 Get incredible full motion MPEG 2 video without expensive MPEG hardware for TV-like video. Play awesome arcade action games using ATI 1 : accelerated DirectDraw™ drivers, that will make you forget Nintendo and Sega consoles. hardware iA r Arcade Action Games Ultra fast Windows 95- performance is built in, along with ATI's extended utilities like easy monitor control, virtual desktop and complete on-line help. Full Motion Video Extended Windows 95 utilities And getting started is the easiest part, because ATI has worked closely with Microsoft to ensure the most stable and complete Windows 95 drivers in the industry. Counton ATI's total support right from the start. Our Windows 95 trained representatives will give you fast, friendly and knowledgeable support. ATI provides superior frame ▼ ... it’s an ATI Graphics Accelerator! For more info: CompuServe: GOATITECH Internet: http//www.atitech.ca Faxlnfo: (905) 882-2600 - press 2 for brochures Telephone: (905) 882-2600 - press 1 for Sales Facsimile: (905)882-2620 /r. Perfecting the PC Circle 158 on reader service card. "TriSpectives_deserves the killer-app label!" Stanford Diehl, BYTE Magazine, October 1995 Complete OLE connectivity AND automation - drag & drop in 3D! Drag & drop IntelliShape ™ modeling Professional illustrations - in 3D! TriSpectives The New Standard for 3D TriSpectlyes — the New Standard for 3D — is the first full-powered 3D drawing program for Windows® 95. By combining unprecedented 3D animation, illustration, and drawing features, TriSpectives is the ideal companion to your office suite. Use TriSpectives to: • Create professional 3D illustrations for posters, newsletters, flyers, and more. • Design realistic office layouts, retail-shelving designs, and virtual worlds for the Internet. • Develop high-impact 3D animations for presentations and multimedia projects. Visit us on the Internet at http://www.eye.com "TriSptctivus Is th§ coolest product I'vo over soon!" Manager In^rmation Technology, Dana Corporation With TriSpectives, you'll draw faster, you'll use 3D for more than you can imagine, and you'll have fun doing it! BONUS: • 1,000 professionally designed IntelliShape 3D models • Import/export filters for 3DS, AVI, BMP, DFF, DXF, EPS, GIF, JPEG, PCX, RAW, RTL, SAT, TGA, TIFF, Visual Basic, & VRML • 250 scaleable textures, colors and surface finishes • 50 document templates APIS PC Connection Limited Time Offer! $299.95* 1-800-WIN95-3D or 716-871-6675 Ext. 6515 60-Day Money-Back Guarantee! Professional Version Also Available irks of their respective holders. Circle 297 on reader service card. WINDOWS 95 Reviews: Avantos Performance and Day-Timer Technologies • DECISION-MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE DecideRight H For the dozens of mundane decisions you make every day—decaf or regular, white or wheat, AM or FM—Avantos’s DecideRight is overkill, like swat¬ ting a mosquito with a baseball bat. But when you need to play ball and make big decisions—where to relocate the company, whom to hire, where to invest—you’ll want DecideRight on your team. DecideRight automates the process of making valid business decisions. It’s easy to get started with DecideRight’s QuickBuild, PERSONAL INFORMATION MANAGER Day-Timer 2.0 B Some folks swear by those leather-bound organizers that have a million inner pockets and take up more space than the clunkiest PDA. The makers of those tomes—Franklin, Day-Runner, Filofax, and Day- Timer, among others—also offer software supplements that aren’t bad as stand-alone PIMs. Day-Timer Organizer 2.0 is one such product that adds some new features, but leaves DecideRight Pros: Systematically lays out your options and provides a logical structure for big decisions. Cons: Lacks a true back- solving feature to help justify decisionsyou already made. Verdict: A unanimous decision—buy! a wizard-like interview that steps you through the process: State the decision, select the options and criteria, then weigh the rel¬ ative importance of every¬ thing on a graphical, linear scale. You can use Decide¬ Right to reach consensus on a group decision by taking multiple perspec¬ tives into account. You can also run the same deci¬ sion through different sets of assumptions as often as you wish. Innovative as DecideRight is, there is still some room for improvement. We’d like to see an easy back-solving feature for assessing decisions that have already been made. There’s a workaround for this, but it’s neither obvi¬ ous nor intuitive. OLE compliance would be a plus, too. But for a first version, Avantos has done a great job on DecideRight. The decision is yours; DecideRight just makes it easier. RICH SCHWERIN K“I'^{L 654}

  Day-Timer Organizer 2.0 Pros: Workgroup features in an easy-to-use product. Cons: Paper-centric look Day-Timer’s printing options are as robust as its calendar and phone-book features. So you cany around your electronic updates in paper-based print to other pi and envelopes: also has a fam ring-binder metaphor in its address list and phone book, and bubble help over every button. But what makes Day-Timer distinctive is that it can also act as a group scheduler. Linking an expense, appointment, or note has always been simple with Day-Timer, but the new version also lets you attach files to items you’ve entered into the program. An ExpenseOrganizer has predefined categories, a Time¬ line narrows in on only date-related activities, and a Glob¬ al List shows everything you’ve ever entered. Our advice? Skip the leather-bound version—just get the software. JAMES OLIVER CURY Verdict: A Day diehard? Getthi version and nev $60 est. street price 204 JANUARY I 996 • 10.4" Dual Scan Color Display • Upgrade to an Active Matrix Color Display for only $300 more • 8MB RAM (24MB Max RAM) • 128KB L2 Cache • 420MB Upgradeable Hard Drive (810MB Max) • 32-bit Local-bus Video, 1MB Video RAM • $99 More for 2nd NiMH Battery (Slides into floppy drive to achieve extended battery life) • 2 Type 11/1 Type III PCMCIA Slots • Preloaded Communications Software ■ 6.2 Pounds • 1 Year Warranty 1 • Add a 28.8 modem for $259 more Business Lease 0 : $70/Mo. Order Code

  800020

  High Performance 100MHz Latitude LX $1899 PERFECT FOR YOUR WORK HABITS. EVEN BETTER FOR YOUR SPENDING ONES. In these days of "do more with less," we offer a notebook that actually makes it possible. The Dell Latitude LX notebook. For just $1899, the Dell Latitude LX notebook gives you all the features of a high-priced notebook. Such as a 100MHz processor, 8MB RAM, a 420MB A l hard drive, and a IBjpS3HP large 10.4" STN color display. Or get only $300 more the brilliance of an active matrix color display for only $300 more. You can even get seven hours A of battery life by sliding an optional second battery into the floppy drive. Call us today to order the Dell Latitude LX. And get a lot of notebook fora little budget. MU TO ORDER, CALL 800-247-4617 In Canada? call 800-668-3021 Mon-Fri 7am-9pm CT • Sat 10am-6pm CT Sun 12pm-5pmCT • http://www.us.dell.com/ | Keycode

  02079]

  Pricing is not discountable. A|n Cross-Country™ tests conducted by VeriTest, inc., a leading independent test lab, the Dell Latitude LX 4100D lasted 3 hours 39 minutes With one battery, 7 hours 36 minutes with two batteries. That's LA to New York, no problem. The VeriTest Cross-Country v2.0 test simulates typical executive use of Microsoft Office® applications in Microsoft Windows® v3.11 during an airplane flight. Power management was enabled and 8MB of RAM was installed. VeriTest, inc. is located in Santa Monica, CA. tFor a complete copy of our Guarantees or Limited Warranties, please write Dell USA L.P., 2214 W. Braker Lane, Building 3, Austin, TX 78758. OBusiness leasing arranged by Leasing Group, Inc. Prices and specifications valid in the U.S. only and subject to change without notice. Microsoft, Windows and the Windows logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. The Intel Inside logo is a registered trademark and lntelDX4 is a trademark of Intel Corporation. ©1995 Dell Computer Corporation. All rights reserved. Windows * jVftothef eaS< Listen ,, h cV , tetax, and le SSk’SSji*- «i Iheil 8 nn Windows 95

  SC0 ° P rkswtotdoesnt, i what works, st praise f or “”Sl WINDOWS Books: iglv complex ■ sely i« eveten0 1 5 . at everytiiing 1 involved with 1 Windows.” |

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  eto tt=aP» d "= sto ”S»* coatcnoN » 1 TO Windows- » ( Broce Brown &1 4.95 A “ground Guide* 1SBN 0^-48995-3 yy TelecoiWW*®® Addison-Wesley Woody le0I ®” 4 ^2 $24.95 Publishing Company ISBN 0-® 1 These (jjieg are available wherever computer books I are sold or by calling (800) 822-6339 or faxing (800) 367-7198 Addison-Wesley books are available for bulk purchases by rorporationJ institutions and other organizations. For more information please contact.! the Corporate, Government, and Special Sales Department at (800) 238-96828 For more detailed information on all Developers Press titles visit us at http://www.aw.com/devpres* service card. m iOer&> ,tei Security i Alexander )-201-4891B- x DesignCAD 3D m NEW for Windows95 Microsoft ’ Windows'95 introductory V2 Price Offer: Only $249! Available now! • Full Windows 95 Support • True 3D CAD with Solid Modeling • Realistic Shading •3-D Animation • Free Technical Support • Vz Price Introductory Special -f9 Sta rt The First CAD Software for Windows 95! New for Windows 95, DesignCAD 3D supports long filenames, Windows 95 Mail interface, OLE 2 support, a two dimensional drafting mode, new dimensioning commands, realistic shading, and much more. DesignCAD is Easy to Use! With DesignCAD, anyone can do it. Make 3D drawings with easy to use drawing commands and any of 250 FREE 3D symbols. Change any object with the click of a mouse button using DesignCAD’s exclusive Quick Edit Box. And you ’ll get FREE technical support. DesignCAD 3D Can Do The Job! It’s great for engineering, architectural, or any design, simple or complex. You’ll get: Boolean solid operations to build complex models; extensive surface construction; simple, powerful 3D drawing commands; volume, area, and center of gravity calculations; realistic shading on the screen and printer; 3D animation for presentations. AND IT’S SHIPPING NOW! ALSO AVAILABLE: DesignCAD 2D for Windows 95 DesignCAD 2D is available for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. If own a CAD, drawing, or design package, you qualify for a $99 competitive upgrade. Regular price, $349. Competitive Upgrade DesignCAD 3D Vs Price Offer - $49Q.only $249! • I would like DESIGNCAD 3D for: □ Windows 3.1 □ Windows 95 • DesignCAD 2D Competitive Upgrade: □ Windows 3.1 □ Windows 95 I am the owner of the following CAD, drawing, or design software: Card #: Name: Address: Address: City: Phone: □ Check . Exp: k One American Way, Pryor, OK 74361 (800) 233-3223 (918) 825"7555 ' "fax (918) 825-6359 Circle 103 on reader service card.
• K U*Sl « ; >
• • 11 ~ ; "-jmnA 1 1: " -+m mm t * i»» B6» ■ '2 v : . . . Parallel Port V.34 Modems • Complete family of low priced, high performance V.34 modems.
• DeskPorte™ family of desktop, internal, and rackmount modems.
• TravelCard™ family of PC Card (PCMCIA) modems. • Advanced features such as security, flash memory, MNP® 10, leased line, and synchronous How our V.34 modems with Advanced Parallel Technology solve the serial port bottleneck. If you're still transmitting data through a ser¬ ial port, perhaps it's time you took the fast lane. At high speeds, a PC's serial port transfers data one bit at a time resulting in slower performance, loss of data and higher phone charges. However, Microcom's Advanced Parallel Technology™ (APT™) utilizes the parallel port which transfers data 8 bits at a time. Exactly how speedy is that? Fasten your seat belt. APT allows throughput rates of up to 300 Kbps as opposed to only 115 Kbps with ordinary serial port modems. It's a veritable data autobahn. It's so fast that Microsoft® licensed the Advanced Parallel Technology and built it into Windows® 95. Of course, all our modems also include a standard serial port for DOS, OS/2 and UNIX. For more information, call today. And step on it. mm m s m Access Innovation.™ Circle 339 on reader service card. USA (617) 551-1000 U.K. Ltd. (44) 1 483-740763 France (33) 1 46 62 68 68 Singapore (65) 348-6628 Australia (61) 2 413-3302 Germany (49) 231 9026-610 1-800-822-8224 © Fax connection: 1-800-285-2802