Lotus articles from December 1991

Lotus archives from December 1991

Inevitable upgrades. (deciding to upgrade older versions of Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 spreadsheet)(Viewpoint) (Editorial)
December 1, 1991... Some people can't wait to get their hands on the latest release of their primary software application. Others dread the time, expense, and inconvenience of an upgrade. But whether spurred by the desire to acquire the latest features or by...

(at)ERR. (Correction to 'Shortened (at)IF Formulas' in Oct 1991 Q&A column, page 79)
December 1, 1991... In "Shortened @IF formulas" (October Q&A, page 79), there is an error in the second formula on page 82. The correct formula to enter in cell E2 and then copy to cell E3 is: (B2>1)+(C2>1)+(D2>1)+1 There is a mistake on page 38 of "What...

How to contact us. (editorial information)
December 1, 1991... The editorial staff of LOTUS invites comments, criticisms, questions, and complaints. Send corresponds to Peter Bartolik, Editor-in-Chief, P.O. Box 9123, Cambridge, MA 02130-9123. Telephone 617-494-1192. We can also be reached via fax...

Improv: beyond Next. (Lotus Development Corp.'s Improv spreadsheet software package for the Next computer will be ported to other systems) (Issues & Trends)
December 1, 1991... buoyed by the rave reviews for Lotus Improv in its first year on the Next computer, Lotus Development Corp. plans to introduce two or more versions of the innovative spreadsheet program for other platforms, possibly including the Macintosh...

1-2-3 for Windows update. (version 1.0a of Lotus Development Corp.'s spreadsheet for Microsoft Windows 3.0) (Issues & Trends) (Product Announcement)
December 1, 1991... Responding to customer and media complaints, Lotus Development Corp. has released version 1.0a of 1-2-3 for Windows, which it says fixes all the product's known bugs and improves compatibility with 1-2-3 Releases 2.3 and 3.x. "We're out...

Multimedia or more hype? (the impending announcement of multimedia PCs from several vendors) (Issues & Trends)
December 1, 1991... Is multimedia, which has been around as a promise and a buzzword for years, poised to enter the computing mainstream? Maybe, but probably not as soon as the Multimedia PC Marketing Council would have you believe. The council kicked off the...

A change for the quiet. (the trend away from impact printers and toward non-impact printers: 1990-95) (Issues & Trends)
December 1, 1991... Impact printers, particularly dot-matrix models, are still popular for basic printing and for special needs, such as printing multiple-part forms. But the proliferation of low-cost, low-noise laser, thermal, and ink-jet printers is beginning...

Color is coming. (color portable computers shown at Comdex Fall 1991) (Issues & Trends)
December 1, 1991... Numerous PC manufacturers introduced color portables at the 1991 Fall Comdex trade show held in Las Vegas. Epson America's notebook (above), for example, uses its patented new MIM (Metal Insulator Metal) active-matrix color LCD technology....

Add-ins for 1-2-3 for Windows. (Issues & Trends)
December 1, 1991... More than 100 enhancements for 1-2-3 Windows are either available or will be soon, according to the developer-relations group at Lotus Development Corp. One catalyst: the new Windows Add-In Development Kit for 1-2-3, which provides a...

A rose is a rose. (Lotus Development Corp. renames Ami 2.0 LotusWrite 2.0 and licenses PFS:WindowWorks from Spinnaker Software Corp. as LotusWorks for Packard Bell) (Issues & Trends)
December 1, 1991... In an appellative frenzy that left some observers dazed, Lotus Development Corp. in October renamed one of its own products and gave its trademarked moniker to a program it does not and may never own. The software rechristening went to...

Lotus upgrades 1-2-3/G. (Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 for OS/2 1.1 spreadsheet, formerly called 1-2-3/G) (Issues & Trends) (Product Announcement)
December 1, 1991... Lotus Development Corp. has upgraded 1-2-3/G, now called 1-2-3 for OS/2 1.1, in three key areas: performance, programmability, and additional features. You can now position graphs and scanned images directly on a worksheet. The program is...

Beefing up e-mail security. (Lotus Development Corp. and other major computer companies support RSA Data Security Inc.'s public key electronic-encryption system for electronic mail) (Issues & Trends)
December 1, 1991... If the electronic-mail links that tie together millions of users can be used to exchange messages and files, then why not use them for contracts, purchase orders, tax forms, and other legal documents? Because the proper security precautions...

New life for PIMs. (personal information managers get new life under Microsoft Windows) (Issues & Trends)
December 1, 1991... Personal information managers, or PIMs, never really caught on with most DOS users. PIMs just weren't simple or convenient enough to lure people away from their address books and Post-it notes. But PIMs may get a second chance under...

For the record. (Lotus Development Corp.'s upgrades of the 1-2-3/M spreadsheet for IBM's 370 mainframe and its new graphical interface for 1-2-3 for Sun Microsystems' SPARCstation) (Issues & Trends)
December 1, 1991... Lotus Development Corp. announced last month upgrades to its IBM System 370 mainframe spreadsheet, 1-2-3/M. The new releases, which are marketed in the U.S. by IBM, provide greater flexibility in distributing and managing data. 1-2-3/M...

The guide to 1-2-3 options: Are the features of a current release nifty enough to make you switch? (features of various versions of Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 spreadsheet package compared)(Upgrade Clinic) (Illustration)
December 1, 1991... Are you a DOS user thinking of upgrading from 1-2-3- Release 1A, 2.01, 2.2, 3, or 3.1? Maybe you should, maybe you shouldn't. If you're getting everything you need from the spreadsheet you now use, why go to the expense and bother of an...

Put it there: (at)INDEX and (PUT) team up to let you quickly enter or change data in a table. (1-2-3 Macros)(column) (Tutorial)
December 1, 1991... One of the most common tasks in 1-2-3- is entering or changing data in a table. For example, suppose a fickle phone company reassigns area codes in your region, forcing you to reach through an address database to change some existing 617...

Lotus Magazine's 1991 awards. (preview of the Lotus Reader's Survey Awards articles that follow) (Cover Story)
December 1, 1991... There are many efforts to designate "the best" computer products of the year, but the LOTUS Readers' Survey Awards are the only citations that honor those products that are most useful to 1-2-3 users. The selections described in the...

Windows redraws the software map. (Microsoft Windows 3.0 graphical user interface becomes the dominant operating environment for new PC software)(includes related articles on Windows' ranking in the magazine's reader survey, on MS-DOS 5.0, and on products earning honorable mentions) (Lotus Magazine's 1991 Awards) (Cover Story)
December 1, 1991... The beginning of 1991 was anything but sedate, in politics or software. The U.S. military was rolling into the Middle East. Communism was making a last-gasp effort to hang on in Eastern Europe. And Microsoft Windows 3.0 was finally becoming...

Spreadsheet heroes. (profiles of ten users of Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 spreadsheet) (Lotus Magazine's 1991 Awards) (Cover Story)
December 1, 1991... Grumman Guru Bob Rowan was a spreadsheet guru waiting to happen. Rowan, a project engineer for the Test and Evaluation Department at aerospace giant Grumman Corp. in Bethpage, N.Y., was trained along with his work group on 1-2-3...

1-2-3 add-ins change course. (add-in products for Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 spreadsheet package)(includes related articles on the WYSIWYG/Impress add-in graphical user interface, on Baler Software Corp.'s Ice development toolkit, and on products receiving honorable mentions) (Lotus Magazine's 1991 Awards) (Cover Story)
December 1, 1991... Soon after the Lotus Developer Tools shipped in 1987, add-ins for 1-2-3 became a thriving cottage industry. Within months, add-ins such as Personics Corp.'s SeeMore, Turner Hall Publishing's Note-It, and Blossom Software Corp.'s Write-In...

Hardware: faster, better. (add-in devices for Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 spreadsheet)(includes related articles on Hewlett-Packard Co.'s LaserJet III and LaserJet IIID and on products receiving honorable mentions) (Lotus Magazine's 1991 Awards) (Cover Story)
December 1, 1991... In 1991 hardware makers struggled to keep pace with the more vibrant, graphically oriented software being embraced by Lotus users and almost everyone else. Widows-based software, including 1-2-3 for Windows, has increased the desire for...

The year at Lotus. (products released by Lotus Development Corp. in 1991)(includes related articles on Lotus 1-2-3 release 2.3 and Ami Pro 2.0, and on products receiving honorable mentions) (Lotus Magazine's 1991 Awards) (Cover Story)
December 1, 1991... This was a busy year for Lotus Development Corp. The company saw its dominant spreadshett market share begin to slip under intense competitive pressure, and it responded by shipping a number of long-awaited products and upgrades. Many...

Better graphing through WYSIWYG. (the WYSIWYG presentation add-in software package in Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 Release 2.3 and Release 3.x spreadsheets)(includes related articles on the WYSIWYG-to-Windows connection and on where to get and how to use clip art)
December 1, 1991... Suppose you're the retail sales manager in a large company with outlets across the country. Each quarter you analyze the performance of each store and produce a report summarizing the results. You know that the numbers are right; in fact,...

Get a head start on worksheet development; an accountant and 1-2-3 veteran shares his ideas for taking the sweat out of spreadsheeting. (Tutorial)
December 1, 1991... AN OLD RUSSIAN PROVERB HOLDS THAT REPETITION IS THE MOTHER OF LEARNING. Seasoned spreadsheet developers might counter that repetition is the enemy of efficiency. But office routines and working habits inevitably contain repeated...

Should you refinance? mortgage rates are lower than they've been in years. Here's how to calculate whether you can cash in. (using Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 spreadsheet package)(includes related articles on figuring taxes and on how to set up the mortgage-refinancing worksheet) (Tutorial)
December 1, 1991... This year's substantial decline in interest rates has made mortgage refinancing one of 1991's hottest trends. And unlike the lambada and celebrity appearances by Norman Schwartzkopf, refinancing may be in vogue for quite some time, because...

Be selective: the Data Extract command and (at)D functions summon important information from a database. (Start Here)(column)(includes a related article on how to build the model) (Tutorial)
December 1, 1991... When you work with a customer database, you may want to see the records of all customers from a particular state. Rather than sifting through hundreds of records for them you want 1-2-3 to group those records together. Or, you may have a...

Answers to your questions about Lotus products. (Q&A) (Column)
December 1, 1991... Revisited June contest results II Q In the June contest you asked readers to come up with a formula to convert a date entered using the @DATE function to a four-digit string. The first digit represents the last digit of the...

Contest. (request for submissions from readers for the best formula to calculate the number of square feet in a room using Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 or Symphony spreadsheets)
December 1, 1991... This month we ask users of 1-2-3 and Symphony to submit the best formula to calculate the number of square feet in a room. Consider the following worksheet: We entered the room's width and length measurements as labels. Cell A2 contains...

More tips on using Lotus products. (Good Ideas) (Column)
December 1, 1991... Revisited Speed up file retrieval I have a suggestion for John Schiraga on speeding up file retrieval in 1-2-3 Release 3 (June, page 77). He found that if he erases the current worksheet by using the Worksheet Erase command...

WordPerfect 5.1 for Windows: the leading DOS word processor sheds its plain looks without sacrificing power. (includes a related article providing company and product information) (Software Review) (Evaluation)
December 1, 1991... When people talk about WordPerfect for DOS, they speak of two things: its nearly limitless power and its user interface--or more accurately, its lack of an interface. The program's menu-less modus operandi is proof that DOS users prefer...

Quicken 5.0 dominates Windows upstarts; DOS version outshines Microsoft Money and Quicken for Windows - on any platform. (Intuit's Quicken 5.0 personal finance program)(includes a related article providing company and product information) (Software Review) (Evaluation)
December 1, 1991... Intuit's Quicken is a mouse that roars. The $69.95 personal-finance program, which won LOTUS 1990 Readers' Choice awards for both personal finance and accounting, is said to have more than 2 million users worldwide. For those loyal fans,...

Integrated software covers all the bases; if five separate applications sounds like four too many to you, economize with an integrated-software suite. (integrated software packages compared)(Ratings Review)(includes a related article summarizing reviews of the products in other journals) (Software Review) (Evaluation)
December 1, 1991... Say you're in the market for simple, low-cost software for your home office. Or you're a power user who runs 1-2-3 around the clock, but you occasionally need to write memos and log on to a bulletin-board service. Or your laptop doesn't...

Games galore: 'tis the season for frivolity. (computer games) (New Products) (Product Announcement)
December 1, 1991... With the end of another year fast approaching, it's only natural that our thoughts turn inward and we reflect on what personal computer was really invented for: fun and games. Endless hours of bleary-eyed research produced this list of the...

Perspective: 10,000 ways to spot business trends. (U.S. Data on Demand Inc.'s Perspective: The Business Development Information Tool add-in software for Lotus 1-2-3) (New Products) (Product Announcement)
December 1, 1991... In this age of double-dip recession, small and medium-size businesses can't succeed without keeping an ear to the ground. Perspective: The Business Development Information Tool can help you spot trends that affect your business. U.S. Data on...

1-2-3 for Windows Add-In Development Kit. (from Lotus Development Corp.) (New Products) (Product Announcement)
December 1, 1991... You're not satisfied with 1-2-3 for Windows? Go ahead and change it! The 1-2-3 for Windows Add-In Development Kit (ADK) lets you do just that--provided you're a C programmer accustomed to developing Microsoft Windows applications, that is....

Compare & Contrast. (Intex Solutions Inc.'s add-in software for Lotus 1-2-3 and Symphony spreadsheets) (New Products: Lotus-Related Products) (Product Announcement)
December 1, 1991... LOTUS-RELATED PRODUCTS If you pass a spreadsheet among a group and need to spot changes quickly, Compare & Contrast can help. The program, an add-in for 1-2-3 Release 2.x and Symphony, identifies the differences between...

CFO Spreadsheet Applications. (Intex Solutions Inc.'s spreadsheet templates originally published in CFO magazine) (New Products: Lotus-Related Products) (Product Announcement)
December 1, 1991... Intex Solutions is offering CFO Spreadsheet Applications, four collections of spreadsheet templates originally published in CFO magazine. Each of the four modules--cash management, tax strategies, capital budgeting, and advanced...

Grammatik Windows 2.0. (Lotus Development Corp.'s grammar and style checker program for Ami Pro 2.0) (New Products: Lotus-Related Products) (Product Announcement)
December 1, 1991... Lotus Development Corp. is sending a special edition of Grammatik Windows 2.0 to all Ami Pro 2.0 buyers who return their registration cards. Grammatik checks documents for errors in grammar, style usage, and punctuation. The special...

Retrieve/W. (IMRS Inc.'s add-in program links the company's Hyperion and Micro Control business- and financial-reporting systems with 1-2-3 for Windows) (New Products: Lotus-Related Products) (Product Announcement)
December 1, 1991... IMRS Inc., makers of the Hyperion and Micro Control business- and financial-reporting systems, has announced Retrieve/W, an add-in that links the two packages to 1-2-3 for Windows. Retrieve/W allows corporations to tap the analytical...

T2200SX. (Toshiba America Information Systems Inc.'s notebook computer) (New Products: Hardware) (Product Announcement)
December 1, 1991... HARDWARE Toshiba America has announced the T2200SX, a 5 1/2-pound, 20MHz notebook computer with a 386SX processor, a 40- or 60-megabyte hard-disk drive, a 3 1/2-inch floppy-disk drive, and a 9 1/2-inch diagonal VGA display. The...

UltraLite III. (NEC Technologies Inc.'s notebook computer) (New Products: Hardware) (Product Announcement)
December 1, 1991... NEC Technologies has introduced UltraLite III, a 4.8-pound, 20MHz notebook computer, featuring a 386SX processor, a 60-megabyte hard-disk drive, an external 3 1/2-inch floppy disk drive, a 9.4-inch diagonal VGA display built around cold...

LapLink Pro. (Traveling Software Inc.'s file transfer utility) (New Products: Hardware) (Product Announcement)
December 1, 1991... Traveling Software has released an updated LapLink Pro that lets you transfer files between PCs via modem. The program, which supports more than 60 Hayes-compatible modems, uses a proprietary data-compression algorithm designed to move files...

PowerLeads! (Pyramid Data Inc.'s sales contact management software) (New Products: Software) (Product Announcement)
December 1, 1991... Profit Planner 2.1, an add-in that now works with Windows, analyzes historical financial information and makes projections to aid in busibess planning. The business-analysis software generates financial reports, such as cash flow statements...

386MAX and BlueMAX. (Qualitas Inc.'s memory management utility programs) (New Products: Software) (Product Announcement)
December 1, 1991... Qualitas has released upgrades to its 386MAX and BlueMAX memory-management utilities. The utitlies, which automatically configure your system, offer optimization features such as VGAswap, which frees up room in high-DOS areas by relocating...

Profit Planner 2.1. (Suntex National's add-in software package for Lotus 1-2-3) (New Products: Software) (Product Announcement)
December 1, 1991... SOFTWARE Salespeople and business travelers can manage contacts and trac leads by using PowerLeads! for Microsoft Windows. The package provides a relational database that tracks up to a million contacts, an expense-management system,...

Software recalls. (software publishers' practice of selling versions of software with bugs fixed without telling buyers of the buggy versions)(Essay) (Column)
December 1, 1991... Imagine for a moment that you've shelled out hard-earned cash for the hottest new car on the market, the all-new 1992 Fantasy XZ10. The car looks terrific and runs great except for one small annoyance: Every time you turn on the radio, the...