Lotus articles from July 1987

Lotus archives from July 1987

War stories from the research editor. (Staff letter) (editorial)
July 1, 1987... WAR STORIES FROM THE RESEARCH EDITOR Every magazine wages a never-ending fight against inaccuracy. But LOTUS readers can rest assured that a well-armed research editor and her troop of tireless, free-lance fact-checkers--Noreen Kimball,...

Whatever happened to "user friendly"? our trusty reporter checked with some "power users." (Ideas and trends)
July 1, 1987... WHATEVER HAPPENED TO "USER FRIENDLY"? Whatever happened to the phrase "user friendly"? A year ago it was in computer magazines, in software and hardware ads, and on the lips of most computer salesmen. Now it has gone the way of "Where's...

A tale of two chips; how Intel's 80386 and Motorola's MC68030 chips evolved. (Ideas and trends)
July 1, 1987... A TALE OF TWO CHIPS Intel Corp. and Motorola, archrivals in the microprocessor-manufacturing arena, are once again butting heads with 32-bit microprocessor chips. Each pushes forward the performance of VLSI (very large scale integration)...

Putting megadata on microcomputers; it's a lot harder than some manufacturers claim. (Ideas and trends)
July 1, 1987... PUTTING MEGADATA ON MICROCOMPUTERS Massive databases no longer need massive mainframe computers, a fact that a number of PC users are beginning to discover. While few firms are pulling the plug on their million-dollar data processors, a...

Popularity of diskless PCs grows; compatibility problems persist, but price is a big attraction. (Ideas and trends)
July 1, 1987... POPULARITY OF DISKLESS PCs GROWS Somewhere between full-powered desktop PCs and dumb terminals linked to a large computer is a class of hybrids, known as intelligent terminals, intelligent workstations, or diskless PCs. Connecting diskless...

Alan Shugart: disk-drive maker; surviving the ups and downs of Silicon Valley startups. (Ideas and trends)
July 1, 1987... ALAN SHUGART: DISK-DRIVE MAKER The microcomputer industry can sometimes vault an entrepreneur's company into the stratosphere. The reverse, of course, is also true. Ask Alan Shugart; he's been up and down quite a few times. A burly,...

Monitoring PC use. (Ideas and trends)
July 1, 1987... MONITORING PC USE For companies that need an accurate record of how often a personal computer is used, a new program takes the guesswork out of the process. Utilog II, from Benta (Kansas City, Mo., 816-353-3765), lets you monitor keyboard...

Low-cost data transfer. (Ideas and trends)
July 1, 1987... LOW-COST DATA TRANFER When they work (or more specifically, when they work with other applications), RAM-resident programs offer some of the most creative solutions for specific tasks. For example, Magic Mirror, a new $89.95...

Recover Lotus files. (Ideas and trends)
July 1, 1987... RECOVER LOTUS FILES Due to the complex binary structure of Lotus spreadsheet files, slight damage may render a file unloadable in 1-2-3 or Symphony. Sometimes Lotus files develop structural damage without showing any DOS-level damage....

Playboy on-line. (Ideas and trends)
July 1, 1987... PLAYBOY ON-LINE If you own a Macintosh and a modem, you can download portions of the current issue of Playboy in a text-and-graphics format that includes even those pictures. The magazine's publicity people are hoping that Mac owners will...

Testing a regression model. (Forecasting)
July 1, 1987... TESTING A REGRESSION MODEL Linear regression is a useful statistical tool for determining the degree to which sets of data are dependent upon each other. 1-2-3 Releases 2 and 2.01 and Symphony Release 1.2 provide functions for deriving...

Pricing options with the Black-Scholes model. (Finance)
July 1, 1987... PRICING OPTIONS WITH THE BLACK-SCHOLES MODEL If you're an investor, buying options on stocks, securities, or commodities offers you great potential advantages. Options limit the amount of money you risk to a flat per-share premium, but if...

An introduction to using strings.
July 1, 1987... AN INTRODUCTION TO USING STRINGS If your introduction to the world of spreadsheet software was VisiCalc or 1-2-3 Release 1A, you may think of spreadsheets as only number crunchers. But if you use Symphony or 1-2-3 Release 2 or 2.01, you...

More of Doug Cobb's essential 1-2-3 and Symphony tips.
July 1, 1987... MORE OF DOUG COBB'S ESSENTIAL 1-2-3 AND SYMPHONY TIPS In the October 1986 issue of LOTUS, I shared 15 of my favorite tips. The editors asked me to compile another collection of tips, tricks, and techniques for 1-2-3 and Symphony. This...

Multiple-pass reports from your Symphony database.
July 1, 1987... MULTIPLE- PASS REPORTS FROM YOUR SYMPHONY DATABASE Buried inside Symphony's Database Settings sheet under the heading Report Ranges is an obscure item called Type. Many Symphony users ignore this item and are content to print standard...

Under the normal curve. (statistical tables)
July 1, 1987... UNDER THE NORMAL CURVE How do you know when to shout "Eureka!"? You've been cross-breeding avocados for months and at last, there it is, a new and improved variety. Or is it? Say the average avocado rates about a 6 in a rating system...

More tips on using Lotus products. (Good ideas)
July 1, 1987... MORE TIPS ON USING LOTUS PRODUCTS 1-2-3 RELEASE 1A RELEASE 1A PASSWORD PROTECTION Since 1-2-3 Release 1A does not have a built-in password-protection feature, I use a simple macro (shown below) to protect sensitive...

Answers to your questions about Lotus products. (Q and A)
July 1, 1987... ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT LOTUS PRODUCTS CONTEST APRIL CONTEST RESULTS In the April issue we asked users of 1-2-3 Releases 2 and 2.01 and Symphony to devise the best way to set up the list of names in a column as shown below...

Making it work; helpful hints for keeping hardware and software on speaking terms. (Hardware hints)
July 1, 1987... MAKING IT WORK COMPATIBILITY UPDATE GENOA DRIVERS AVAILABLE Genoa Systems Corp. now distributes Lotus-compatible drivers for the Genoa Spectrum 4600 graphics card and the Genoa Super EGA graphics card. The Spectrum 4600...

Slide-production services. (Graphics)
July 1, 1987... SLIDE-PRODUCTION SERVICES If you read the May column describing the benefits and costs of graphics, you know that a professional-looking presentation pays off. And when it comes to presentations, the professional route is spelled...

Importing data from ASCII files. (Data transfer)
July 1, 1987... IMPORTING DATA FROM ASCII FILES In last month's column you learned how to translate between DIF files and worksheets. This month you'll learn how to use the two other kinds of spreadsheet intermediary files, delimited files and...

Software: Goalseek, Goal-Seeker, Goal Solutions. (Reviews) (Software Review)
July 1, 1987... SOFTWARE: GOALSEEK, GOAL-SEEKER, GOAL SOLUTIONS A well-constructed worksheet can instantly reveal what happens to your bottom line if interest rates increase 1%, if the price of Venezuelan crude comes down another dollar per barrel, or if...

Software: PC-SIG. (Reviews) (Software Review)
July 1, 1987... SOFTWARE: PC-SIG Public-domain software, shareware, freeware--these names describe programs that cost next to nothing and are developed by people who want to share their talents, interests, and love of computing with like-minded people. A...

January through June, 1987. (Lotus mid-year index)
July 1, 1987... JANUARY THROUGH JUNE, 1987 INDEX LEGEND The following letters appear throughout the index and denote the Lotus program(s) to which an entry pertains: o=1-2-3 s=Symphony j=Jazz ACCOUNTING depreciation schedules, o,s, Jan, 48; Feb, 108...

Software: Lotus-compatible products. (Listings) (product announcement)
July 1, 1987... SOFTWARE: LOTUS-COMPATIBLE PRODUCTS NEW PRODUCTS The CodeCalc Program CodeCalc Software, 16516 Sealark, Suite 782, Houston, TX 77062, 713-486-7672. Helps rate, review, design, and analyze pressure vessels and heat exchangers....

Microcomputer books and more; for advice, research, and reference. (New products) (product announcement)
July 1, 1987... MICROCOMPUTER BOOKS AND MORE DOS Using PC DOS, by Chris DeVoney. Indianapolis: Que Corp., 1986. 519 pp. $21.95 paper. Supercharging MS-DOS, by Van Wolverton. Redmond, Wash.: Microsoft Press, 1986. 320 pp. $18.95 paper. ...

3-D input device. (New products) (product announcement)
July 1, 1987... 3-D INPUT DEVICE FastTrap (for fast tri-axis pointer), a three-dimensional pointing device with an 18-square-inch footprint, lets you input X-,Y-, and Z-axis data directly into a variety of applications without moving the device. FastTrap uses...

Line boosters double cable length. (New products) (product announcement)
July 1, 1987... LINE BOOSTERS DOUBLE CABLE LENGTH Black Box's 232 Line Booster receives and retransmits the 12 most commonly used signals of the RS-232C interface, allowing you to double the signal-transmission distance. The 232 Line Booster is data-rate and...

Any-format data conversion. (New products) (product announcement)
July 1, 1987... ANY-FORMAT DATA CONVERSION Data Conversion Services will pick up your computer-readable data on the day you call, convert it from or into more than 1,000 computer-readable formats, and return it within 24 hours anywhere in the United States and...

Voice command for XTs, ATs, compatibles. (New products) (product announcement)
July 1, 1987... VOICE COMMAND FOR XTs, ATs, COMPATIBLES The VoiceScribe 1000 is a word-pattern matching system that can recognize 1,000 words and phrases with an accuracy of 99.3%. The full 1,000-word vocabulary requires an IBM PC XT, AT, or compatible with...

Artificial intelligence - is it for real? (Essay)
July 1, 1987... ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE-- IS IT FOR REAL? Now that computers have been with us for 40-odd years, the early 1950s hype of the giant electronic brain no longer carries quite the same conviction. "Dumb, fast slave" is perhaps a more common...