Lotus articles from November 1990

Lotus archives from November 1990

A tribute to pioneers. (Corby Distillers Ltd. was among the first to automate whiskey blending) (Staff Letter) (editorial)
November 1, 1990... A Tribute to Pioneers Have you heard the epigram about the sad fate that awaits the first company to introduce or use an innovative product? It goes, "The pioneers are the ones with the arrows in their backs." Fortunately, failure is not...

A multilingual laptop. (Research Development Innovations' Brite Lite) (Product Announcement)
November 1, 1990... A Multilingual Laptop Watch for Research Development Innovations, a small San Diego startup, to unveil an 8-1/2-pound laptop computer with some very big features this month at Comdex/Fall '90, the personal-computer trade show. RDI claims...

Sign of the times. (on-line data bases add files on the Iraq crisis and nuclear energy)
November 1, 1990... Sign of the Times If the daily headlines aren't enough to make you nervous, now you can go on-line to download data about troop movemetns in Saudi Arabia or about nuclear accidents. Mead Data Centeral recently added a file on the Iraqi...

Laying down arms. (ergonomic devices to combat carpal tunnel syndrome)
November 1, 1990... Laying down Arms Mom may have been wrong about the beenfits of sunshine and red meat, but doctors and PC specialists are learning how right she was about good posture--especially at the computer. As keyboard-related wrist, neck, and...

Upgrading made easy. (Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 3.1 spreadsheet software upgrade policy)
November 1, 1990... Upgrading Made Easy Lotus Development Corp.'s new in-store upgrade program should make upgrading to 1-2-3 Release 2.2 or 3.1 a lot quicker. Just bring the title page (the original, not a copy) of your current 1-2-3 reference manual to a...

Release 3.1 for the feds. (Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 3.1 Government Edition spreadsheet software) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Release 3.1 for the Feds Lotus Development Corp. has released a government edition of the recently shipped 1-2-3 Release 3.1. Features unique to the special edition include its ability to translate spreadsheet files between Microsoft Multiplan...

Expanded memory problem in release 2.01. (Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 2.01 functions fail)
November 1, 1990... Expanded Memory Problem in Release 2.01 Some users of 1-2-3 Release 2.01 report a problem in the way Release 2.01's database functions and commands operate under expanded memory. The symptom, which seems to occur randomly, is a database...

Lotus/Interleaf technology partnership. (Lotus Development Corp. link's 1-2-3 worksheets with Interleaf 5 electronic publishing products)
November 1, 1990... Lotus/Interleaf Technology Partnership Lotus Development Corp. and Interleaf, a Cambridge, Mass., developer of electronic-publishing software, have combined technologies to link 1-2-3 worksheets and documents in Interleaf's recently announced...

1-2-3 for Eastern Europe. (Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 2.2 for Eastern Europe spreadsheet software) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... 1-2-3 for Eastern Europe In an effort to expand its presence in Eastern Europe, Lotus Development Corp. recently brought out an Eastern European version of 1-2-3 Release 2.2, sponsored its first Eastern European user conference, and named three...

DataLens tools for Sun and DEC. (Lotus Development Corp.'s DataLens Developer Toolkit program development software) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... DataLens Tools for Sun and DEC Lotus recently shipped a pair of DataLens Developer Toolkits: one for the VAX platform and one for Sun workstations. A DataLens Developer Toolkit is a set of programming tools that lets developers build drivers...

Networking on the cheap. (peer-to-peer local area networks)
November 1, 1990... Networking on the Cheap Jonathan Krasner and James DeRocher's restaurant delivery service was suffering growing pains. Each new PC that they added forced Takeout Taxi's employees to perform increasingly complicated electronic gymnastics...

Color printer prices drop.
November 1, 1990... COLOR PRINTER PRICES DROP When it comes to color and computing, what you see is not necessarily what you get. While most of our PC screens display color, our printed pages are strictly black and white. That's mainly because high-quality...

Dodging viruses and other data perils. (includes related articles on the federal computer security standard and software packages falsely blamed for harboring viruses)
November 1, 1990... DODGING VIRUSES AND OTHER DATA PERILS At Coca-Cola Foods in Houston, Cheryl Currid and her team walk an electronic beat. They are the LAN police. To minimize the risk of virus infection, Coca-Cola employees are forbidden to store...

The new VGA. (Edsun Laboratories Inc.'s Continuous Edge Graphics Digital to Analog Converter video chip) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... The New VGA In less than four years, IBM's Video Graphics Array (VGA) standard has established itself as the most popular option for PC graphics. According to market researcher Dataquest (San Jose, Calif.), 78% of all video boards sold in...

Beyond the worksheet: file management. (Start Here) (tutorial)
November 1, 1990... Beyond the Worksheet: File Management Whenever you run 1-2-3, you also run another software program: the disk operating system, or DOS. even though you can get along without ever leaving the sreadsheet, there are at least two reasons why...

Templates for commercial loans. (Loan Operations Software's Commercial Loan Spreadsheets spreadsheet templates) (Business, Finance) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Templates for Commercial Loans Commercial Loan Spreadsheets is a set of 29 templates for calculating commercial loans. The templates support variable/floating rates, four earnings bases, effective date posting, commitment fees, participations,...

Modular communication system links different networks. (Zenith Electronics' Galaxy Exchange) (Networking) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Modular Communication System Links Different Networks A new modular network communication system combines functions normally associated with network bridges and routers. Called Galaxy Exchange, it supports bridging of baseband and broadband...

Security system for Novell networks. (American Computer Security Industries Inc.'s CompSec-II-NetOne security system) (Networking) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Security System for Novell Networks CompSec-II-NetOne is a security system for Novell networks. It secures each node individually and then extends the security to the server, including transparent operation, anti-virus protection, and...

Utility uses network to track resources and employees. (Nordra Technologies Inc.'s Time Out! resources management software) (Networking) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Utility Uses Network to Track Resources and Employees Tracking personnel and facilities is the mission of Time Out!, a memory-resident program that stores information on a file server. It replaces traditional paper logbooks and pegboard...

Sales management eased with contact software. (Richmond Technologies and Software's Maximizer 2.0) (Utilities) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Sales Management Eased with Contact Software Sales and marketing professionals are the targets of Maximizer 2.0, a program that helps users manage information on sales and other business contacts. You can store names and addresses, manage and...

American Heritage goes electronic. (Houghton Mifflin Co.'s American Heritage Electronic Dictionary) (Utilities) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... American Heritage Goes Electronic The American Heritage Electronic Dictionary is now available. It provides complete definitions and etymologies for more than 116,000 words and phrases. Other features include Roget's II Electronic Thesaurus,...

Extended batch-language and batch-file compiler. (Hyperkinetix Inc.'s SonofaBatch compiler) (Programming) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Extended Batch-Language and batch-File Compiler Sound, box drawings, and passwords can all be included in DOS batch files created with SonofaBatch, a batch-file enhancer/compiler. It supports the basic batch commands embedded in MS-DOS and...

Share printers and modems without a network. (Buffalo Products' peripheral-sharing device) (Hardware) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Share Printers and Modems Without a Network Multiple users can share printers, plotters, and modems with SL, a peripheral-sharing device that includes a memory buffer and control software with a pop-up menu. Maximum computer memory usage is...

Color scanner for Mac and IBM PC. (Epson America Inc.'s ES-300C scanner) (Hardware) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Color Scanner for Mac and IBM PC In Epson America's ES-300C flatbed scanner, purchasers get a color scanner with image manipulation/retouching software for less than $2,000. The scanner comes with either IBM PC or Macintosh interface kits and...

CD-ROM drives get faster and cheaper. (Sony Corp.'s CDU-541, CDU-6211, CDU-531 and CDU-6201 CD-ROM drives) (Hardware) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... CD-ROM Drives Get Faster and Cheaper Improved performance and lower prices are offered by four new 5-1/4-inch, half-height CD-ROM drives introduced by Sony Corp. Two of the models--the CDU-541 (for internal installation) and the CDU-6211 (for...

NEC releases low-cost PostScript printer. (NEC Technologies Inc.'s NEC Silentwriter2 90 laser printer) (Hardware) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... NEC Releases Low-Cost PostScript Printer The NEC Silentwriter2 Model 90 is a low-cost PostScript laser printer that prints six pages per minute and is compatible with both the Macintosh system and MS-DOS. The unit includes 2MB of RAM,...

Print bar-code labels from your HP LaserJet. (Pacific Data Products Inc.'s Pacific BarCode and Pacific BarCode PE printer cartridges) (Hardware) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Print Bar-Code Labels From Your HP Laser-Jet Pacific BarCode and Pacific BarCode PE combine a cartridge for HP LaserJet printers with supporting software so that you can print bar codes and labels. The product lets you design and view labels...

Mannesmann Tally releases high-speed dot-matrix printers. (MT130/24 and MT131/24 printers) (Hardware) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Mannesmann Tally Releases High-Speed Dot-Matrix Printers Mannesmann Tally is shipping two new 24-pin, serial dot-matrix printers: the MT130/24 (narrow-carriage model) and the MT131/24 (wide-carriage model). Both units offer a top speed of 300...

Tandy releases notebook PC. (Tandy 1500 HD) (Hardware) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Tandy Releases Notebook PC A notebook PC that weighs under six pounds and is equipped with both a high-density 3-1/2-inch floppy-disk drive and a 20MB hard disk is available from Tandy. Designated the Tandy 1500 HD, this portable computer uses...

Multimedia gets compressed. (Sony Corp.'s PCY-311 ADPCM audio encoding card) (Hardware) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Multimedia Gets Compressed Computer cards for the creation and playback of CD-ROM XA multimedia applications have been introduced by Sony Corp. The PCY-311 ADPCM (for adaptive differential pulse-code modulation) is an audio-encoding card that...

Label your system. (AMT Communications' Label Logic label kit) (Accessories) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Label Your System The Label Logic kit provides 144 labels to identify computer ports, cables, drives, expansion slots, and peripherals. The kit includes a reference card, which defines the terms on the labels and provides space for notes on...

Simulation program teaches financial management. (Strategic Management Group Inc.'s Financial Learning System) (Training) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Simulation Program Teaches Financial Management Learning financial management by controlling a fictitious company from startup through maturity is the concept of a new training program called Financial Learning System. The program includes a...

Politics for the information age. (NDMA Inc.'s GamePlan 3.0 educational software) (Training) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... Politics for the Information Age Teaching information-systems managers how to deal with corporate politics is the goal of GamePlan version 3.0, an expert system that simulates the political response of an organization to actions taken by...

Upgrades. (Ashton-Tate Corp.'s dBase IV 1.1 data base management system) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... UPGRADES Faster operation and lower memory requirements are among the enhancements in dBase IV version 1.1. The program now uses 450K of RAM, instead of the 516K previously needed, and allows the user to define the percentage of memory...

Stop the review hype! (computer product reviews) (Essay) (column)
November 1, 1990... Stop the Review Hype! Choosing the right software and hardware has never been more difficult. Misinformation disguised as real information is everywhere: in advertisements, in catalogs, and in magazine articles placed by ingenious...

Where am I? Create models that figure out what release of 1-2-3 or Symphony they're in. (Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet and Symphony integrated software) (For Developers) (tutorial)
November 1, 1990... Many developers use 1-2-3 and Symphony to create models for design and analysis. But the many releases with varying capabilities can make for development headaches. Rather than develop different models for each release, you can develop one...

Life in the fast lane. (cursor movement in spreadsheets) (Techniques) (tutorial)
November 1, 1990... LIFE in the FAST LANE A sprawling spreadsheet means a lot of work. Navigating from section to section isn't easy. Building a formula that relies on data stowed hundreds of rows away can require many repetitive keystrokes, and in a large...

Take it to the limit: 1-2-3/G's Solver combines powerful optimization techniques with an intuitive graphical interface. (Lotus 1-2-3/G spreadsheet software) (Techniques) (tutorial)
November 1, 1990... TAKE IT TO THE LIMIT In the best of all possible worlds, a company could produce an infinite amount of its product and reap unlimited profits. In the real world, several factors, or constraints, limit the possibilities. For some...

Backsolver: Solver's simpler sibling. (Lotus 1-2-3/G's Backsolver utility) (tutorial)
November 1, 1990... BACKSOLVER: SOLVER'S SIMPLER SIBLING Have you ever built a model with a specific bottom line in mind, only to find that the results don't quite meet expectations? If your problem can be expressed as a chain of formulas, then 1-2-3/G's...

Can 4.72 out of 5 doctors agree? (whole-number solutions to optimization problems) (tutorial)
November 1, 1990... CAN 4.72 OUT OF 5 DOCTORS AGREE? If your problem requires a whole-number solution and you come up with nothing but fractions--or worse, fractions rounded to nonoptimal solutions--your fancy footwork may fetch more flak than flattery. LOTUS...

The spirit of (at)Factory. (Corby Distillers Ltd. uses Lotus Development Corp.'s (at)Factory to process real-time data) (includes related article on at Factory's at READ and at WRITE functions) (Applications) (Cover Story)
November 1, 1990... The Spirit of @Factory On the factory floor at Corby Distilleries Ltd., Art Phelan uses handheld instruments to measure the alcohol content of whiskey drawn from a nearby holding tank. Repeating the readings aloud, he whips through the...

Instant weekends: arrange seven-day work schedules to give every employee two consecutive days off. (Applications) (tutorial)
November 1, 1990... INSTANT WEEKENDS Managers in hospitals, hotels, restaurants, police and fire departments, and other operations that run seven days a week share a common problem in personnel scheduling: how to hire the minimum number of employees and still...

Counting the beans, while counting the beans: simultaneously track inventory by units and by dollar value - without double-entry accounting. (includes related article on the macro used in the example worksheet) (tutorial)
November 1, 1990... Counting the Beans, While Counting the Beans Marvin Gardener Jr., fresh out of business school, is ready to take over his dad's bustling fruit business, Fast Fruit Inc. But because of his dad's cigar-box method of record keeping, he can't...

Feature facsimiles. (simulating Lotus 1-2-3 3.x functions in version 2.2) (Help/2.2) (tutorial)
November 1, 1990... Feature Facsimiles By combining existing functions and features of 1-2-3 Release 2.2, you can simulate some of the distinctive features of Release 3.x. This article explores six "work-alike" features: determining the directory of a...

How much is your business worth? (ValuSource's Dealmaker and Accounting Professionals Software's Business Valuation Planner financial software) (Software Review) (Reviews) (evaluation)
November 1, 1990... How Much Is Your Business Worth? IN BRIEF Dealmaker Version 2.0. ValuSource, 1939 Grand Ave., San Diego, CA 92109; 800-825-863. Uses 320K of RAM. Requires DOS 2.0 and any release of 1-2-3. Requires expanded memory to run with...

Networks without wires. (O'Neill Communications Inc.'s LAWN 1.1 local area wireless network) (Reviews) (evaluation)
November 1, 1990... Networks Without Wires What's the best way to judge if a new PC product will boost productivity? Ask what you can make it do, not what it's supposed to do. If the package is flexible enough to yield solutions to problems the original...

AllClear: create flowcharts from 1-2-3 data. (Clear Software Inc.'s diagram generation software) (New Products) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... ALLCLEAR: Create Flowcharts from 1-2-3 Data All during the 1980s the computer industry reaffirmed the old saw that a picture is worth a thousand words by its wholesale turn toward graphical interfaces, applications, and programming...

Thinx: a graphics-text-numeric database. (Thinx Software's graphics software) (New Products) (product announcement)
November 1, 1990... THINX: A Graphics-Text-Numeric Database Numbers and images are the theme of Thinx, a new Microsoft Windows-based graphics product from Thinx Software and Bell Atlantic Corp. of Morgantown, W. Va. About six months ago the company began...

1-2-3 for the Poqet: a spreadsheet in the palm of your hand. (Lotus 1-2-3 2.2 for Poqet Computer Corp.'s Poqet PC) (New Products )
November 1, 1990... 1-2-3 for the Poqet: A Spreadsheet in the Palm of Your Hand In September 1989 the Poqet Computer Corp. announced The Poqet PC, a one-pound, battery operated, MS-DOS computer that is smaller than a luggable, a portable, a lunchbox, or a...

Smaller than a breadbox: a guide to choosing the notebook computer that's right for you. (includes related articles on recommended notebook computers and determining priorities before purchase) (Reviews)
November 1, 1990... Smaller Than a Breadbox Is there any better fodder for PC publications than "notebook" computers? At a time when most hardware is a commodity, notebooks remain unpredictable. Manufacturers are redefining the market every six to eight...