Lotus articles from March 1989

Lotus archives from March 1989

News about 'start here' and other items. (Staff Letter) (editorial)
March 1, 1989... NEWS ABOUT 'START HERE' AND OTHER ITEMS When you complain, we listen. And one complaint we have taken to heart is that there are not enough articles aimed at beginners. So in this issue, we introduce a new monthly column called Start...

The 80386 waits for software. (includes related articles on wringing more power from the '386 and on the 80386SX trade off)
March 1, 1989... THE 80386 WAITS FOR SOFTWARE Discussing the merits of computers that are based on Intel Corp.'s 80386 microprocessor is like arguing about whether Miller Lite is less filling or tastes great. For corporate purchasing departments, where...

Run large DOS programs in OS-2: new expanded-memory drivers make it possible.
March 1, 1989... RUN LARGE DOS PROGRAMS IN OS/2 OS/2, billed as the personal-computer operating system of the future, wasn't designed for today's memory-hungry DOS applications. Many people who switched to OS/2 thought they could run their DOS programs in...

A page-description language for screens. (Display PostScript System from Adobe Systems)
March 1, 1989... A PAGE-DESCRIPTION LANGUAGE FOR SCREENS A dobe Systems, the software company whose page-description language drives most laser printers, wants to extend that control to your PC screen. Over the last couple of years, the Mountain View,...

Hypertext connects disparate data: extract a world of data, layer by layer.
March 1, 1989... HYPERTEXT CONNECTS DISPARATE DATA Hypertext, an emerging programming technique that ties disparate data together in a way that is useful to the individual user, has the potential to change the way we work with computers, as well as the way...

Computer access for the blind: the government sets standards.
March 1, 1989... COMPUTER ACCESS FOR THE BLIND Imagine using your favorite computer program with your eyes closed. Difficult, but possible if the program is character-based and you have a special board that converts the words and numbers on your screen to...

Interview: Said Mohammadioun stakes company on new program. (Samna Corp.) (Ami graphical word processor) (interview)
March 1, 1989... INTERVIEW: SAID MOHAMMADIOUN STAKES COMPANY ON NEW PROGRAM Samna Corp. was an early contender in the IBM PC word-processing market, having released its first product, Samna Word iI, in August of 1983. Founded by Said Mohammadioun and three...

Putting Apple and IBM in touch: open a line of communication between your Macs and PCs.
March 1, 1989... PUTTING APPLE AND IBM IN TOUCH Although there are technical problems to overcome, PCs and Macs can work together. "It's getting easier all the time," says Chris Veal, a partner in the San Jose, Calif., office of Arthur Young & Co., a Big...

A deskless PC. (Innovation 2001 ST) (product announcement)
March 1, 1989... A DESKLESS PC When is a desktop PC not a desktop PC? When it's everywhere but on the desk. In February, Innovation Computer Corp. (Cleveland, Wis.) began shipping its $6,990 model 2001 ST, an 80286-based system nicknamed the "Stealth...

Mission possible: save JFK. (John F. Kennedy) (Guardians of Infinity software package) (product announcement)
March 1, 1989... MISSION POSSIBLE: SAVE JFK November 22, 1988, marked the 25th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Numerous books, articles, and television specials reviewed and reanalyzed the tragedy. Now you can use your PC to go back...

Exploring fractals and tessellations.
March 1, 1989... EXPLORING FRACTALS AND TESSELLATIONS Visitors to "The Interactive Image," a new hands-on computer-graphics exhibition at the Boston Computer Museum, can create their own animations and explore advanced mathematical concepts, as well as...

Introducing the worksheet: installment One in a new series for 1-2-3 beginners.
March 1, 1989... INTRODUCING THE WORKSHEET Our readers tell us that we haven't written enough for beginners. In response, this month we kick off a series of columns for newcomers to 1-2-3. Even if you're about to run 1-2-3 for the first time, you'll be...

Two-way what-if tables: blow away Symphony's What-If 2-Way command. (includes related article on useful conventions and on using range names)
March 1, 1989... TWO-WAY WHAT-IF TABLES Symphony's What-If command can really slow you down. This statement may seem outrageous, considering that the What-If command rapidly generates huge tables of values based on any collection of formulas in the...

A pauper's notepad. (1-2-3 Release 2-2.01 macro)
March 1, 1989... A PAUPER'S NOTEPAD For several tens of dollars you can buy an add-in program that helps you annotate cells in your worksheets. Such add-ins let you attach explanatory notes to cells, then review the notes when you want a reminder of the...

Help from HAL. (Human Access Language) (Lotus HAL for building and using worksheets)
March 1, 1989... HELP FROM HAL An enhancement program for 1-2-3, Lotus HAL derives its name from the term Human Access Language. Because the name Hal stirs up memories of the verbose computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey, many people think of Lotus HAL as merely a...

Real estate closing statements in a jiffy.
March 1, 1989... REAL ESTATE CLOSING STATEMENTS IN A JIFFY Real estate professionals and lawyers specializing in real estate are being hit with a one-two punch in the paperwork department. At a time when the demand for residential mortgages is up, the...

Analyze lump-sum investments. (growth of a one-time payment into an interest-bearing account)
March 1, 1989... ANALYZE LUMP-SUM INVESTMENTS To find out how much money you would accumulate in 10 years by faithfully depositing $100 every month into an account that pays 9% interest, just crank up your spreadsheet and enter the formula...

What kind of printer should you buy? Questions to answer before you write the check. (special section on printing worksheets) (includes related article on printer trends)
March 1, 1989... WHAT KIND OF PRINTER SHOULD YOU BUY? The good news is that printers and plotters are becoming more capable and less expensive. The bad news is that, as a result, it's much harder to decide which printer to buy. Today there's a wider...

Store your print settings in macros. (simple macros for 1-2-3 Release 2-2.01)
March 1, 1989... STORE YOUR PRINT SETTINGS IN MACROS As your worksheet becomes more complex, you're more likely to use it to print several dissimilar reports. Perhaps one report requires page breaks with headers and footers, another needs to be unformatted...

Setup strings can control printing. (enhanced printed worksheets)
March 1, 1989... SETUP STRINGS CAN CONTROL PRINTING The problem: You're not satisfied with the unadorned printouts of your 1-2-3 and Symphony worksheets. You want to print some labels in bold type and others in italic, underline a row of important values,...

How to print worksheets on a LaserJet. (Hewlett-Packard LaserJet and LaserJet Plus printers)
March 1, 1989... HOW TO PRINT WORKSHEETS ON A LASERJET Remember life before the Laserjet? Those were the days of the friendly, compliant dot-matrix printer. Sure, it was a little noisy, and the print quality was bland. But you could always get what you...

Get the font you want: here's how to crack the codes.
March 1, 1989... GET THE FONT YOU WANT The appearance of what you print with a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet printer is determined by the font that you select. Eight characteristics, some or all of which you may specify, define that font: orientation, symbol...

Some essential printer utilities: remedies for printing-related maladies.
March 1, 1989... SOME ESSENTIAL PRINTER UTILITIES Does printing frustrate you? What follows is a sampling of printer utilities--programs that help you get the best performance from your current printer. Menu-Driven Printer Control If you use...

Design spreadsheet reports with Allways: how to make professional-quality documents.
March 1, 1989... DESIGN SPREADSHEET REPORTS WITH ALLWAYS Allways, the Spreadsheet Publisher, is that and more. As the illustrations on these pages make clear, Allways lets you transform lackluster spreadsheets into annual-report-quality documents. In the...

Answers to your questions about Lotus products.
March 1, 1989... ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT LOTUS PRODUCTS SYMPHONY DOC AS THE DEFAULT WINDOW TYPE Q. I work in a Symphony DOC window more often than a SHEET window. Can I write a macro that will bring me into a blank DOC window...

Reader tips on using Lotus products. (Good ideas)
March 1, 1989... 1-2-3 PRESENTING GRAPHS WITH A MACRO I use a large-screen monitor attached to a PC to present graphs to my group. The following macro lets me use 1-2-3 as a slide-presentations program to display my graphs: To...

Manuscript 2.0 vs. Wordperfect 5.0. (Software Review) (evaluation)
March 1, 1989... MANUSCRIPT 2.0 VS. WORDPERFECT 5.0 Are you sure that you need a desktop-publishing program? If you want complete control over page layout, you probably do. But if you're looking to make your business documents more effective by adding...

Project Calc: schedule, budget, and chart your projects in your spreadsheet. (evaluation)
March 1, 1989... PROJECT CALC Here's Project Calc's definition of quick and easy project management: You create a project schedule in your spreadsheet, analyze it with Gantt and PERT charts, and dynamically link it to the budget worksheet you'll use to...

Impress: presentation-quality reports, and more.
March 1, 1989... Impress: Presentation-Quality Reports, and More It's going to be hard to remain satisfied with 1-2-3's normal display and printing abilities. First there was Allways, an add-in that turns 1-2-3 into a low-end desktop publisher. (See the...

New products.
March 1, 1989... NEW PRODUCTS WORKSHEET UTILITIES 1-2-3/Symphony Add-in Shows Your Entire Worksheet Panorama for 1-2-3 lets you see a map of your whole worksheet with symbolic representations of your data. You can see the current location...

Why I keep buying computer books.
March 1, 1989... WHY I KEEP BUYING COMPUTER BOOKS The explosion of personal-computer books has astonished the publishing world. It has also confounded millions of characters like your essayist, who now finds himself compulsively buying more PC books than...