Lotus articles from May 1991

Lotus archives from May 1991

The inside story of the new 1-2-3 releases. (Staff Letter) (editorial)
May 1, 1991... Macros Editor Nicholas Delonas: Don't worry about losing speed with Release 2.3." Nicholas Delonas is also the author of RatioMaster, a 1-2-3 add-in that analyzes balance-sheet and income-statement data by using 60 sophisticated business...

An electrifying agenda set for LotusWeek. (Publisher's Letter) (editorial)
May 1, 1991... An array of professionally rewarding and informative events gets underway next month at LotusWeek in Boston. Major product announcements, the most complete collection of software and hardware for Lotus users, and tutorials by experts are only...

If you can't buy it, rent it. (renting microcomputers)
May 1, 1991... The latest round of corporate belt-tightening is bound to squeeze a few new computers off the requisition list. If that 33-MHz 386 machine you had your eye on was one of the casualties, try renting. Consumers and businesses are renting more...

The Judd Test: measuring 1-2-3 proficiency. (Mentrix's The Judd Test for Lotus 1-2-3.) (Product Announcement)
May 1, 1991... "Know how to use 1-2-3'.?" "Yup-just like the back of my hand." That conversation is repeated thousands of times each day in businesses across the land. Yet both parties may be disappointed when they realize that knowing 1-2-3" implies...

dB-Quick: fast access to your database. (Alpha Software's dB-Quick) (product announcement)
May 1, 1991... C databases are ubiquitous, but the P skills needed to use them are not. A solution to this mismatch is available from Alpha Software, developer of the highly regarded AlphaFour database. dB-Quick is a memory-resident program that provides...

Adial: Agenda phones home. (Rosebud Systems' Adial telephone software for Lotus Agenda) (product announcement)
May 1, 1991... For those willing to invest considerable up-front learning time, Lotus Agenda can become a positively addictive information-management tool. Once they custom-tailor Agenda, some users rarely leave the program. Unfortunately, Agenda falls...

Real Estate Partner. (Niche Software Inc.) (product announcement)
May 1, 1991... * Real Estate Partner is a DOS-based analysis program that calculates the best interest-rate/points combination the best type of mortgage based on the anticipated years of ownership, state and federal taxes, rate of return, and other...

Ca$hCollector. (accounting software from Jian Tools for Sales Inc.) (product announcement)
May 1, 1991... * Control of receivables is improved with Cas$hCollector, a $179 program that automatically generates documents needed for the collection of outstanding debts, including reminders and notices, agreements to pay, wage-assignment agreements,...

atSTEAMR3. (Techware Engineering Applications.) (product announcement)
May 1, 1991... * Determine the thermodynamic and transport properties of steam and water with @STEAMR3, an add-in for 1-2-3 Release 3.x. IFC formulations are used in the 29 functions that are provided to reproduce the property values listed in the 1967...

Solicit Your Congress. (T-Lan Systems) (product announcement)
May 1, 1991... * For $49.95 (plus paper arid postage) you can write a letter to any member of Congress as often as you like. The specret is a program called Solicit Your Congress, which includes a word processor, labelprinting capability, and a database of...

SureTrak Project Scheduler. (Primavera Systems Inc.) (product announcement)
May 1, 1991... * Time sealed graphics and the ability to track 4,000 activities are what you get with SurTrak Project Scheduler, from Primavera Systems Inc. of Bala Cynwyd, Pa. Targeted toward cost conscious project planners and schedulers, the $795 product...

Tektronix Inc. (introduces new thermal-wax-transfer color printers)
May 1, 1991... * Tektronix Inc. (Beaverton, Oreg.) has introduced a series of thermal wax-transfer color printers that can be used with DOS and Macintosh computers, workstations, and Unix and IBM host environments. Prices range from $4,995 to $11,995. DOS...

Bitstream Inc. (Type City expandable font cartridges) (product announcement)
May 1, 1991... * Expandable font cartridges are the latest innovation from Bitstream Inc. of Cambridge, Mass. Called Type City, they feature a basic cartridge with numerous fonts plus four add-on slots for cards containing additional fonts. Cartridge, $379;...

Modify the worksheet: the Copy and Move commands, as well as the EDIT key, restructure worksheet data. (tutorial)
May 1, 1991... 1-2-3 has several time-saving tools that let you rearrange the labels, numbers, and formulas in your worksheet with minimal effort. Three of 1-2-3's basic features-the Move command, the Copy command, and the EDIT key-can help you save time...

Rethinking the spreadsheet: pen-based slate computers may make number crunching as simple as 2+2. (Ideas and Trends)
May 1, 1991... Spurred on by the February release of Go Corp.'s PenPoint operating system, pen-based computing is making its move off of the drawing board. Go is hoping its operating system will kick-start the development of "pen-centric" software written...

Is it all over for all-in-one programs? Interest in expensive integrated packages fades as low-priced starter software thrives.
May 1, 1991... Interest in expensive integrated packages fades as low-priced starter software thrives. The premise of integrated software is compelling: all the applications you need linked together, wrapped in a common command structure, and delivered...

Negotiator Pro. (Beacon Expert Systems) (product announcement)
May 1, 1991... * You get, a free copy of the book Secrets of Personal Negotiation Success when you buy Negotiator Pro. The $299 program and the book help you sharpen your negotiating skills. Available in both IBM and Macintosh versions, from Beacon Expert...

Colorocs Corp. (new four color, plain-paper printer)
May 1, 1991... * Four-color printing on plain paper at five pages per minute is offered by the Colorocs PostScript printer. The $29,995 unit prints up to 40 pages per minute in black and white. It operates by building multiple color planes on an...

General Parametrics. (Spectra*Star 430 thermal-transfer color printer) (product announcement)
May 1, 1991... * A 20MHz Intel 80960 RISC microprocessor powers the Spectra*Star 430 thermal-transfer color printer, from General Parametrics of Berkeley, Calif. The $7,995 printer includes 6 megabytes of RAM and 35 PostScript-compatible fonts. Serial,...

Sidekick 2.0. (from Borland International) (product announcement)
May 1, 1991... * Sidekick 2.0 is offered by Borland International for $99.95, or as an upgrade for $49.95. New features in this terminate-and-stay-resident utility include a visual interface with pull-down menus and mouse support, a time planner, an...

The Microsoft monopoly. (Essay)
May 1, 1991... As any politician, businessperson, or general knows, setting the agenda is half of any battle. Whether by patent, politics, or moral suasion, if you own the playing field, you control the game. Like a generation of monopolists before him,...

Pastes that don't get stuck: simple macros let you use Windows to copy chunks of text into a 1-2-3 worksheet. (tutorial)
May 1, 1991... Oe of the best things about Microsoft Windows is the way it lets you collect and redistribute information among applications. Donning a Robin Hood cap, you can steal data from a rich program and give it to a hungry one. This bounty comes to...

1-2-3's new releases: a double feature: a sneak preview of Release 2.3 and Release 3.1+. (includes a related article on selecting between Release 2.x and 3.x) (Cover Story)
May 1, 1991... Just when you thought you knew all about 1-2-3 Releases 2.x and 3.x, along come the latest sequels: Releases 2.3 and 3.I+. At press time these new versions were expected to ship in May and June, respectively. 1-2-3 Release 2.3, which...

Introducing 3.1+. (Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 3.1+)
May 1, 1991... What's out? 1-2-3 Release 3.1. What's in? 1-2-3 Release 3.1+. The Release 3.1 spreadsheet itself is the same as it ever was-WYSIWYG add-in and all. But if you crave more-powerful analytical and auditing tools, the ability to locate data in...

Sensitivity training: changes in your assumptions can dramatically affect decisions on new-product ventures. (includes a related article on setting up a sensitivity-analysis worksheet and on products available to help with the task) (tutorial)
May 1, 1991... Changes in your assumptions can dramatically affect decisions on new-product ventures. Deciding whether or not to launch a new product or business venture is seldom easy. First you must calculate the potential value of the venture, based...

Printing plain 'n' fancy: WYSIWYG or 1-2-3; Which print menu fills the bill?
May 1, 1991... WYSIWYG or 1-2-3: Which Print menu fills the bill? The WYSIWYG add-in in 1-2-3 Release 2.3/3.1 lets you dress up your spreadsheet on-screen. You can add text attributes, lines, and shading to spreadsheet ranges. You can place a graph in...

Operation cost control; using advanced 1-2-3 forecasting, a civilian engineer saves taxpayers millions on military contracts. (includes a related article on cost-cutting articles found in LOTUS magazine)
May 1, 1991... Using advanced 1-2-3 forecasting, a civilian engineer saves taxpayers millions on military contracts. In a plant that sprawls across two cluttered New Jersey suburbs, ITT Avionics develops and builds Electronic Counter Measure (ECM)...

1-2-3 in the palm of your hand; Hewlett-Packard stuffs Release 2.2 into a calculator-size package. (Hardware Review) (HP 95LX) (evaluation)
May 1, 1991... Hewlett-Packard Co. has teamed up with Lotus Development Corp. to produce the HP 95LX, a featherweight computer that has 1-2-3 Release 2.2 and a powerful HP financial calculator burned into ROM. The $699 computer, which is expected to retail...

Upgraded stat packs; SPSS/PC+ 4.0 offers enhanced data-management; Systat 5.0 sports new menus. (Software Review) (SPSS Inc.'s SPSS/PC+ 4.0, Systat Inc.'s Systat 5.0) (evaluation)
May 1, 1991... Despite its power, 1-2-3 doesn't always cut it for statistical analysis and graphing. If you're looking for sophisticated analysis, greater data capacity, or specialized graph types that 1-2-3 can't provide, you should check out one of the...

Disk utilities to the rescue; PC Tools, Norton, and Mace compete for DOS users' hearts, minds and hard drives. (PC Tools Deluxe 6.0, The Norton Utilities 5.0 and Mace Utilities 1990) (survey of reviews in other periodicals)
May 1, 1991... As the number of specialized DOS tools on the market approaches infinity, it's possible to piece together a menu of utilities that address every one of DOS's shortcomings. But there is an easier way--many users choose to start out with a prix...

ObjectVision: develop front ends for databases. (Borland International) (product announcement)
May 1, 1991... One of the problems of computing is the absence of easy-to-use programming tools for nonprogrammers. Almost all computer Professionals agree that such tools would save programming costs, cut development time, and make everyone happier, but no...

On Target: project management for Windows. (Symantec Corp.'s On Target) (product announcement)
May 1, 1991... Scheduling project deadlines is a major concern for any manager. To help ease the task, Symantec Corp. offers On Target, its latest entry in the project-management field. The $399 package runs under Microsoft Windows and has solid links to...