Lotus articles from August 1989

Lotus archives from August 1989

We checked up on you again. (results of subscriber survey)
August 1, 1989... WE CHECKED UP ON YOU AGAIN Every year we do a random survey to update our "subscriber profile." That profile helps us decide what to put in the magazine. I've been looking at the results of the latest survey, and I'd like to share...

Intel's new i486 CPU brings minicomputer power to PCs.
August 1, 1989... INTEL'S NEW i486 CPU BRINGS MINICOMPUTER POWER TO PCs The next generation of desktop computers will soon arrive. By year's end, IBM and a slew of other computer companies plan to release powerful new PCs based on Intel Corp.'s new i486...

Desktop publishing tackles color; four-color separation and other prepress tasks for less money.
August 1, 1989... DESKTOP PUBLISHING TACKLES COLOR A growing number of publishers are turning to low-cost color-separation programs that run on personal computers. These programs, which are used to prepare color photographs and illustrations for printing,...

The case for improved software design. (computer-aided software engineering)
August 1, 1989... THE CASE FOR IMPROVED SOFTWARE DESIGN Finally, the software industry is taking advantage of its own technology. Systems analysts, software engineers, applications developers, and data-processing departments in large companies are...

Will there be a 650-megabyte optical drive in your PC soon? (Optical Storage Systems Co. president M.H. Chaffin) (interview)
August 1, 1989... WILL THERE BE A 650-MEGABYTE OPTICAL DRIVE IN YOUR PC SOON? While most of us plod along with floppy disks and hard-disk storage devices, many experts predict that optical-storage technology is the next frontier. Dataquest, a San Jose,...

How to find the best flight route. (PC Flight Guide; business traveller software)
August 1, 1989... HOW TO FIND THE BEST FLIGHT ROUTE Figuring out how to fly from point A to point B can be exasperating. If you want to fly from Boston to Los Angeles, for example, and you don't care how many stops the plane makes or at which of LA's four...

Truth in computers. (screening job applicants by computer; Human Resource Systems' Greentree Interview)
August 1, 1989... TRUTH IN COMPUTERS You'd think that interviewing a job candidate would be one task for which a computer is totally unsuited. But a recent study found that job applicants are more apt to tell the truth to computers than to human...

Big-type word processing. (SkiSoft Publishing Corp.'s Eye Relief) (product announcement)
August 1, 1989... BIG-TYPE WORD PROCESSOR Given the availability of such full-featured programs as WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, WordStar, and Lotus Manuscript, to name a few, it's not easy for a small software developer to break into the crowded...

What do you do with 20 million used PCs?
August 1, 1989... WHAT DO YOU DO WITH 20 MILLION USED PCS? Personal computers don't age well. Because a computer-industry generation is often only two or three years, corporations face a growing problem of what to do with "old" PCs. Many firms are turning...

Audio and video - together on CD-ROM. (IBM, Intel Corp., Microsoft Corp. unite for DVI standard; includes related article on Philips NV and CD-I standard)
August 1, 1989... AUDIO AND VIDEO--TOGETHER ON CD-ROM "When IBM, Microsoft, and Intel get together and say something is going to happen," notes industry observer Stewart Alsop II, publisher of P.C. Letter, "it usually does." What these companies said,...

Lotus offers 24-hour telephone support. (Lotus Development Corp.)
August 1, 1989... LOTUS OFFERS 24-HOUR TELEPHONE SUPPORT Purchasers of 1-2-3 Release 3, which began shipping in late June, can call Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 support specialists toll-free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for six months. Lotus will...

More on Release 3. (Lotus 1-2-3)
August 1, 1989... MORE ON RELEASE 3 Lotus Development Corp. will ship French, German, Italian, Swedish, Spanish, and Dutch versions of 1-2-3 Release 3 in the third quarter of this year. Portuguese and Danish versions of the program are scheduled to follow...

'Perfect Fit' rebate offer for 1-2-3. (Lotus 1-2-3)
August 1, 1989... 'PERFECT FIT' REBATE OFFER FOR 1-2-3 Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 Perfect Fit offer entitles customers who purchase or upgrade to 1-2-3 Release 3 or Release 2.2 to a $100 rebate if they buy Lotus Freelance Plus Release 3.0 or Lotus...

NEC and Lotus create ROM-card software. (NEC Home Electronics, Lotus Development Corp.)
August 1, 1989... NEC AND LOTUS CREATE ROM-CARD SOFTWARE NEC Home Electronics (Wood Dale, Ill.) will manufacture and distribute read-only memory (ROM) card versions of Lotus software for the NEC Ultralite laptop computer. An agreement between the two...

Lotus ships a new version of Manuscript. (Lotus Manuscript 2.1) (product announcement)
August 1, 1989... LOTUS SHIPS A NEW VERSION OF MANUSCRIPT In June, Lotus Development Corp. shipped Lotus Manuscript Release 2.1, the latest release of the company's word-processing program. Manuscript 2.1 is available at a suggested retail price of $495....

New drivers for Freelance Plus 3.0. (product announcement)
August 1, 1989... NEW DRIVERS FOR FREELANCE PLUS 3.0 Lotus Development Corp. announced several new output-device drivers for Lotus Freelance Plus Release 3.0, Lotus's business-graphics package. Drivers are not available for the following output devices: ...

Global worksheet commands. (Start Here) (column)
August 1, 1989... GLOBAL WORKSHEET COMMANDS If you're followed this column since its inception, you've learned enough to understand most of the articles in LOTUS. Once you're familiar with the 1-2-3 environment and you understand how formulas and menus...

Capture those keystrokes. (includes related article on the "GET" command) (1-2-3 Macros) (column)
August 1, 1989... CAPTURE THOSE KEYSTROKES There are times when you want a 1-2-3 macro to let users press certain keys but not others. For example, your macro might let someone move the cell pointer around in the worksheet but not make any changes. Or a...

Screen dialogues that everyone can understand. (Lotus 1-2-3; includes related article on proper input screen design) (For Developers) (column)
August 1, 1989... SCREEN DIALOGUES THAT EVERYONE CAN UNDERSTAND The time you spend creating a model is wated if no one wants to use it. Users will discard your application if they find the input/output dialogue confusing. They may also reject it if it is a...

Instant business letters. (custom form letters using Lotus 1-2-3)
August 1, 1989... INSTANT BUSINESS LETTERS Have you limited your database tasks to querying, sorting, and extracting? If so, you're missing out on a major time- and energy-saving feature of the 1-2-3 database: the custom form letter. To produce custom...

When one cell depends on another. (cell referencing in Lotus 1-2-3 and Symphony)
August 1, 1989... When One Cell Depends on Another The flexibility of 1-2-3 and Symphony stems from the many ways they let you use worksheet data. In fact, without the ability to link one piece of data to another, a spreadsheet would be little more than an...

Differences are not always real. (Lotus 1-2-3 and Symphony templates for analysis of variance routines)
August 1, 1989... DIFFERENCES ARE NOT ALWAYS REAL If you tossed a coin four times and got heads three times and tails once, you wouldn't conclude that the chances of getting heads were 75%. Obviously, four tosses aren't enough to make a conclusion about...

How to analyze an IPO. (initial public offering worksheet for Lotus 1-2-3, Symphony; includes related article explaining IPOs)
August 1, 1989... HOW TO ANALYZE AN IPO Each year in the United States, about 5,000 companies relinquish private ownership and go public. They sell shares of stock in their businesses in order to raise money to fuel expansion. By selling shares of the...

Is that truly a capital lease? (Lotus 1-2-3 2/2.01, Symphony worksheet template)
August 1, 1989... Is that Truly a Capital Lease? In order to comply with a accepted accounting practices, you must evaluate your firm's leases, separating capital leases from operating leases and treating each type appropriately. Using 1-2-3 Release 2/2.01...

Laptops; the compromises you must make. (includes related articles on the growth and the future of the laptop industry)
August 1, 1989... LAPTOPS The Compromises You Must Make In the desktop world, if you can't always get what you want, it's only because it's too expensive. But in the world of laptop computers, the price/value equation doesn't hold. The ideal laptop has...

Answers to your questions about Lotus products. (Q & A)
August 1, 1989... ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT LOTUS PRODUCTS 1-2-3/SYMPHONY ONE-WAY POINTER MOVEMENT Q. Is there a way to modify 1-2-3 so that the cell pointer remains at the destination cell or range at the end of a copy...

Sending faxes from your PC. (PC-based fax boards and software; includes related article on MCI Mail's fax option) (Software Review) (Data Transfer) (evaluation)
August 1, 1989... SENDING FAXES FROM YOUR PC If you need to send small to moderate-size documents, chances are you're using a fax machine to do it. A fax machine's instant delivery is faster and, in most cases, less expensive than overnight services. The...

Scientific formulas that anyone can use. (atLibrary-Scientific and Engineering Applications add-in for Lotus 1-2-3, Symphony) (Software Review) (evaluation)
August 1, 1989... SCIENTIFIC FORMULAS THAT ANYONE CAN USE If you use 1-2-3 or Symphony for engineering or scientific applications, the @Library-Scientific and Engineering Applications add-in can save you modeling time and effort. Several of the included...

A reference library for your PC. (Microsoft Bookshelf) (Software Review) (evaluation)
August 1, 1989... A REFERENCE LIBRARY FOR YOUR PC Your company may establish a new office in Brunei, a country on the coast of Borneo, and you have to prepare a preliminary study recommending for or against the plan. You need data about Brunei's economy,...

Forest & Trees: a top-management tool for small to medium-size business. (product announcement)
August 1, 1989... Forest & Trees: A Top-Management Tool for Small to Medium-Size Businesses As its name suggests, Forest & Trees helps you gain perspective--that is, it helps you focus on the crucial rather than the trivial. You can use it to monitor the...

New products. (product announcement)
August 1, 1989... NEW PRODUCTS BUSINESS, FINANCE Goal-Seeking Add-in for 1-2-3 Releases 2--3 and Symphony What-If analyst is a simple goal-seeking program. Once you've set a budgetary goal, such as net profit, and identified an...

Still waiting for the right products. (what users want from Lotus 1-2-3 enhancements)
August 1, 1989... STILL WAITING FOR THE RIGHT PRODUCTS In this space last month, Jeffrey Tarter wrote that some software developers are abandoning the Lotus aftermarket for lack of profits. He suggested that Lotus Development corp. can improve the...