Central Point jousts with Norton for market leadership. (Central Point Software Inc. hopes new utilities software will win company larger market share than rival Peter Norton Computing Inc.)

Software juggernaut Central Point Software Inc. hopes that a new generation of software released earlier this month will lead the Beaverton company to its second consecutive year of 100 percent growth.

Central Point also hopes that its PC Tools 7.0 will give it an edge in its no-holds-barred fight with archrival Peter Norton Computing of Santa Monica, Calif. The two companies are battling neck-and-neck for leadership in the $310 million utilities-software market.

Phil Catterall, Central Point vice president for sales, said PC Tools 7.0 contains more than 80 enhancements as well as an increased emphasis on the two

most prevalent trends in personal computer use--the increasing popularity of Microsoft Inc.'s Windows software and the establishment of computer …