Lotus articles from January 1992

Lotus archives from January 1992

Resolutions. (criticism of Lotus Development Corp.'s Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows spreadsheet software) (Editorial)
January 1, 1992... The new year is a time to swear off bad habits, but Lotus Development Corp.'s spreadsheet division made its resolution early. In the wake of mixed reviews 1-2-3 for Windows and a corporate shakeup, new spreadsheet chief Jeffrey Beirs said in...

Letters.
January 1, 1992... "1-2-3 for Windows: The Real McCoy" (June, page 34) states that "you can . . . create libraries of different groups of icons and switch among them." Page 12 of the 1-2-3/W User's Guide also mentions named palettes. I recently upgraded to...

Beyond the Classics. (Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet software menu) (Issues and Trends)
January 1, 1992... The Classic menus that you summon by hitting the slash key (/) in 1-2-3 for Windows may help you feel comfortable in your new environment, but not completely at home. When you want to move around the Windows screen or explore new features...

Color on the cheap. (Hewlett-Packard Co.'s DeskJet 500C and Canon's Color Bubble Jet color printers) (Issues and Trends) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1992... Good color output at a low price has been too much to ask of a PC printer--until now. Hewlett-Packard's DeskJet 500C and Canon's Color Bubble Jet can now produce laser-quality text and color graphics on plain paper, at no more than laser...

Lotus trims work force; Landry replaces King. (Lotus Development Corp.'s John Landry, Frank King)
January 1, 1992... Lotus Development Corp. last month fired off a one-two combo in its efforts to shake up the organization and shake off perceptions that it is losing steam as the premier spreadsheet vendor. The company announced its first widescale layoff...

Lotus's Windows programs to run on Digital networks. (Lotus Development Corp., Digital Equipment Corp.) (Issues and Trends)
January 1, 1992... Lotus Development Corp. announced that 1-2-3 for Windows, Ami Pro 2.0, and Freelance Graphics for Windows will be adapted for Digital Equipment Corp.'s TeamLinks environment. Under TeamLinks, Windows applications can share information...

Future spreadsheet directions. (Lotus Development Corp.'s Jeffrey Beir) (Issues and Trends) (Interview)
January 1, 1992... In November, then--Chief Technology Officer Frank King announced a major reorganization of Lotus Development Corp.'s spreadsheet division. The reshuffling of executives came shortly after Vice President Donald Casey abruptly resigned after...

An upgrade to 2.x. (Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 spreadsheet software) (Issues and Trends)
January 1, 1992... Lotus Development Corp. hasn't forgotten about its bread and butter: users of character-based 1-2-3. A forthcoming upgrade to Release 2.3 should have some of the nifty features of Release 3.x and 1-2-3 for Windows, possibly including...

A 1-2-3 macro interpreter for Excel. (Lotus Development Corp.'s spreadsheet package) (Microsoft Corp. developing Lotus Macro Interpreter)
January 1, 1992... Microsoft Corp. is upping the ante in its battle for 1-2-3 users who are migrating to the Microsoft Windows environment. During an applications-strategy briefing in November, the company demonstrated a Lotus Macro Interpreter (LMI) that runs...

dBase in the public domain. (Ashton Tate Corp.'s data base management system)
January 1, 1992... Ashton-Tate Corp. spent several years and probably several million dollars protecting the dBase database language and file structure from what it viewed as copyright infringements by publishers of dBase-compatible programs. Now, in an ironic...

New release of Notes coming. (Lotus Development Corp.'s Notes 3.0 office automation software) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1992... Lotus Development Corp. is planning a major new release of Notes that it hopes will heat up demand for its innovative groupware product. Notes 3.0, due this summer, will get Macintosh users into the loop, with Mac client support provided...

The guide to 1-2-3 options, part 2. (Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet software) (Upgrade Clinic)
January 1, 1992... If last month's column still leaves you guessing about whether it's time to upgrade, some additional comparison charts might help you decide. Last time we listed file-related, graphing, and general-purpose features that have been added to...

Macro compatibility in 1-2-3 for Windows. (Lotus Development Corp.'s spreadsheet) (Tutorial)
January 1, 1992... 1-2-3 for Windows is uncharted territory for most spreadsheet macro writers. Although most character-based 1-2-3 macros should work in the new version, the lack of tools for creating Microsoft Windows-like user interaction makes the macro...

Time-off tracker. (worksheet for Lotus Development Corp.'s Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet software) (Tutorial)
January 1, 1992... For most managers, keeping track of employees' time off is a necessary evil. Fortunately, a simple spreadsheet model can help make the task less burdensome. The Time-Off Tracker keeps a running total of employees' accrued, used, and...

From numbers to graphs. (includes related article on how to set up a model) (using Lotus Development Corp.'s Lotus 1-2-3's Graph commands) (Tutorial)
January 1, 1992... By using just a few commands in 1-2-3, you can create a pictorial representation of your worksheet data, then watch that picture respond to any changes you make in the data. All releases of 1-2-3 include the program's major graph...

Answers to your questions about Lotus products. (Q&A)
January 1, 1992... Symphony Altered field lengths Q I created a database in a Symphony FORM window. After making several entries, I realized that one field was too short. Can I change the field-length setting without losing the entries in the...

October contest results.
January 1, 1992... In the October issue we asked readers to submit the best method to determine the number of years, months, and days between two dates. We provided the following example: Cell B1 contains the formula @DATE (91,10,1) and cell B2 contains...

More tips on using Lotus products. (Good Ideas)
January 1, 1992... 1-2-3 Friday's date on Monday I create daily reports for the previous day's work and like to date them accordingly. The formula @NOW--1 returns the previous day's date on reports for Monday through Thursday, but it won't...

Baler bBase: build spreadsheet applications that read dBase files. (Baler Software Corp.'s program development software) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1992... Baler Software Corp.'s spreadsheet compiler has long been a favorite of 1-2-3 application developers who want to turn their worksheets into stand-alone programs. Now there's bBase, a companion program to Baler that gives you the capabilities...

Geneva Statistical Forecasting: heavy-duty batch forecasts. (Pizzano and Company Ltd.'s statistical software) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1992... 1-2-3's forecasting capabilities are fine for small problems, but sometimes you need heavier artillery. Complicated projects--preparing annual budgets for multiple product lines, or managing sales quotas for aging products with declining...

WordStar for Windows: a bumpy road to spectacular layouts. (Software Review) (WordStar International Inc.'s word processing software)
January 1, 1992... If you're in the market for a word processor that can double as a medium-duty desktop publisher, Wordstar for Windows is your best bet. You won't find the power, programmability, or fit and finish of heavyweight competitors such as Lotus's...

Microsoft Works for Windows: jack of all trades. (Software Review) (Microsoft Corp.'s integrated software package)
January 1, 1992... DOS users in search of low-cost applications have long been loyal fans of integrated packages such as Microsoft Works and LotusWorks, but it's a whole new ball game under Microsoft Windows. Spinnaker Software Corp. was first at bat with...

1-2-3/M version 1 release 2.0. (Lotus Development Corp.'s spreadsheet software) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1992... * 1-2-3/M Version 1 Release 2.0 for the IBM System 370 family of mainframes allows 1-2-3 users to integrate personal-computer and host spreadsheets. Release 2.0 offers support for the VM/ESA operating system and provides connections for...

Individual Training for Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows. (Individual Software Inc.'s education software) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1992... * Learn 1-2-3 for Windows as you use the program, with the help of Individual Training for Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows. The interactive software tutorial provides instruction on basic 1-2-3 functions, essential Microsoft Windows skills, and new...

4-5-6 Link and atStats. (Intex Solution Inc.'s file exchange and mathematical software)
January 1, 1992... * Intex Solutions has released new versions of its 4-5-6 Link and @Stats enhancement programs for 1-2-3. A file-integration program that exchanges data between a mainframe and 1-2-3 spreadsheets, 4-5-6 Link now functions as an add-in that...

LotusWrite 2.0. ( Lotus Development Corp.'s word processing software) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1992... The word processor, renamed LotusWrite 2.0, includes SmartIcons for quick access to principal features, a WYSIWYG display, and a 130,000-word spelling checker. The program, which supports Object Linking and Embedding, is shipped with the...

Yoursoft Conversion Process. (American ComVision Inc.'s Yoursoft Conversion Process service)
January 1, 1992... * Create stand-alone programs from your favorite 1-2-3 worksheets with the Yoursoft Conversion Process. You send the company your file for conversion to a menu-driven application that includes pop-up utilities, on-line documentation, and...

atRISK for 1-2-3 release 2.X, atRISK for 1-2-3 release 3.1. (Palisade Corp.'s add-in/on software) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1992... * @RISK, the popular risk-analysis and modeling add-in, has been upgraded. @RISK for 1-2-3 Release 2.x version 2 and @RISK for 1-2-3 Release 3.1 offer mouse support enhanced graphics, a customizable icon palette, WYSIWYG support, and 12 new...

Lotus Development Corp. announced release 1.1 of 1-2-3 for OS/2. (spreadsheet software) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1992... * Lotus Development Corp. has upgraded Ami, the easy-to-use, low-end Microsoft Windows word-processing program it inherited as part of its 1990 acquisition of Samna Corp.

Weitek Power for Windows. (Weitek Corp.'s accelerator board) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1992... * Speed up your Microsoft Windows applications with Weitek Power for Windows, an adapter card that makes Windows perform two to four times faster. The card offloads from the computer's main processor such functions as moving graphical...

486 Notebook Workstation Model 486 T-25. (Notebook Computers Inc.) (Product Announcement)
January 1, 1992... * Notebook Computer Co. says its 4 1/2-pound 486 Notebook Workstation Model 486 T-25 is "the industry's fastest, lightest notebook PC." The notebook comes with a 60-megabyte or 85-megabyte hard-disk drive, a 25MHz 486DX processor, 4...

Word for Windows 2.0. (Software Review) (Microsoft Corp.'s word processing software) (Evaluation)
January 1, 1992... Microsoft Word for Windows has never been the easiest word processor to learn, but version 1.x users who persevered--they number more than a million--were rewarded with state-of-the-art text formatting and the most automated documents in...

Self-correcting forecasts. (spreadsheets) (includes related articles on more information) (Tutorial)
January 1, 1992... Forecasting models based on simple exponential smoothing can learn, in a sense, from their mistakes. From past data and a value called a smoothing weight, such models compute a prediction for the next period by using a simple mathematical...

1-2-3 performance tips. (Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 spreadsheet software) (Tutorial)
January 1, 1992... Whatever your level of expertise, you can wring more efficiency from your spreadsheets through livelier linking, faster formula recalculation, smarter macro organization, and clever search-and-replace techniques. A few simple tips can help...

Windows right away. (using Lotus Development Corp's Lotus 1-2-3 for Windows spreadsheet software) (includes related articles on using smarticons, using dialog boxes, a dozen most used features and upgrading) (Tutorial)
January 1, 1992... You're an experienced 1-2-3 user, and you've just started to explore Microsoft Windows 3.0. Now that Lotus Development Corp. has married the two, you probably want to make the union work right away. You double-click on the 1-2-3 for Windows...

Datalens: through a glass brightly. (Lotus Development Corp.'s add-in/on software) (includes related articles on Xerox's new role for financial analysts, defining DatLens, DataLens meeting Windows, and Kaiser Permanente, ProGas and XL/Proteus Software Systems Inc.'s use of the product) (Tutorial)
January 1, 1992... Today's most vexing corporate-data question is not whether the needed business information exists but how to get at it. To reach their data, workers at many companies must peer through a proliferation of incompatible databases on platforms...

From mainframe to 1-2-3. (Software Review ) (Access Paths Inc.'s RoundTrip 2.2 file transfer software) (Evaluation)
January 1, 1992... Download a report file from a mainframe or minicomputer and you're apt to end up with an enormous, formatted mess. Downloaded files are frequently nothing more than the disk-file equivalent of a printed report, often containing such...

386 computing on the cheap.
January 1, 1992... Isn't Windows fun? You finally get your hands on 1-2-3 for Windows, WordPerfect for Windows, or some other killer application only to find that your 286-based PC runs as if it's dead on arrival. Even if you've stayed out of the graphical...

A 1992 computer wish list. (ways to improve computer industry products and services)
January 1, 1992... If it's January, it must be resolution time. This year I've decided to make a list of resolutions not for myself but for the computer industry. Here goes: 1. Software companies resolve to focus less on creating compression programs for...