______ _ __ __ / ____/___ ____ ___ ____ __ __/ | / /___ / /____ _____ / / / __ \/ __ `__ \/ __ \/ / / / |/ / __ \/ __/ _ \/ ___/ / /___/ /_/ / / / / / / /_/ / /_/ / /| / /_/ / /_/ __(__ ) \____/\____/_/ /_/ /_/ .___/\__,_/_/ |_/\____/\__/\___/____/ /_/ This Week's Contents: My Notes: 1) New Format? Sound off! 2) The Winner of our CDROM this Issue is . . . Columnists' Corner: 1) Doug Reed Shows us a Sneak Peek of a Java Book! News: 1) IDT Buys Genie! 2) IS Professional's Salary Survey is Out! Reviews: 1) ABC Graphics Suite by Micrografx Reviewed By: Doug Reed 2) The Corner Drug Store Reviewed By: Russell G. Johnston 3) Book: INSIDE LINUX, A Look at Operating System Development Reviewed By: Gray Johnston <71533.712@compuserve.com> 4) Microsoft Office 95 Professional Edition with Bookshelf 95 Reviewed By: Doug Reed Web Sites: 1) Windows NT Support on the Web 2) WorldAirGames Site! Interview: 1) None this week! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date : September 3, 1996|CompuNotes is a weekly publication available Issue: 52 |through email and many fine on-line networks. ------------------------|We cover the IBM computing world with CompuNotes is published |software/hardware reviews, news, hot web B440, |sites, great columns and interviews. We also 1315 Woodgate Drive |give away one software package a week to a St. Louis, MO 63122 |lucky winner for just reading our fine (314) 909-1662 voice |publication! Never dull, sometimes tardy, we (314) 909-1662 fax |are here to bring you the way it is! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The Backroom Workers: |We are always looking for Patrick Grote, Managing Editor |people to write us with |honest, constructive Doug Reed, Asst. Editor / Writer Liaison |feedback! We need to hear |from you! Please take the Judy Litt, Graphics Editor/Web Master |time to send us your |opinions, comments and ------------------------------------------|criticisms. Some of our I am looking for a collection of shareware|better features have reviews I put out in the 87-88 timeframe |actually come from our under my handle of NEVER BEFORE. I think |readership! Thanks! they started as NB*.ZIP. Can you look |--------------------------- on your local BBS? THANKS! | Go St. Louis Rams! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Every issue of CompuNotes ever published can be found at the following ftp site: ftp://ftp.uu.net:/published/compunotes. Thanks to UUNET! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Web Site is at http://users.aol.com/CompNote/ Please Add Our Link to Your Homepage! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To subscribe, send a message to notes@inlink.com with the command subscribe compunotes in the subject. To unsubscribe, send a message to notes@inlink.com with the command unsubscribe compunotes in the subject. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SYSOPS READ HERE! Wanting to make CompuNotes available on as many BBS as possible, we can't afford to call everyone's BBS every week. What we would like to do is send those interested sysops a UUENCODED version for posting on their BBS. If you can volunteer to receive the UUENCODED version, turn it into a ZIP and upload it to your BBS, we'll list you in our sysops directory. If you are interested, fill out the following lines and send them back to notes@inlink.com with SYSOPS. We'll list your BBS in our SYSOPS LIST which will be included in each version of CompuNotes we ship out. If you have a WWW link we'll throw that up on our page. BBS NAME: BBS SYSOP: BBS NUMBER: URL: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Patrick's News Being The Publisher and Managing Editor Has Its Perks! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW FORMAT? | ------------- As our subscription ranks grow I'd like to ask if anyone has any comments on the layout of CompuNotes? Is there a better format we can borrow from another ezine? Do you have any ideas? If so, send them on to me at notes@inlink.com. Thanks! ------------------ WINNER IS . . . | ------------------ The software package being given away this week is HOME SURVIVAL TOOLKIT CDROM by Books that Work! Our winner is: paul.thomson@mbbs.com Send them a congratulatory email! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Columnists' Corner - We bring you a different person each week! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Reed's Corner | ----------------------------------- Welcome y'all to my little corner of the world! I intend this column to be a semi-regular feature, wherein I will talk about a wide variety of topics, from changes in the way we do reviews to sneak peeks of upcoming releases and tidbits from my impending second career as a web site designer. This week I'm presenting a sneak peek at a new book appearing shortly in hardback by O'Reilly & Associates. Enjoy! Sneak Peek: JavaScript: The Definitive Guide by David Flanagan. Probably the most unique feature about O'Reilly's newest book for programmers is that it isn't even a book - yet. In a unique twist, O'Reilly is offering JavaScript: The Definitive Guide for purchase on their website, where purchasers gain immediate access to the 'beta' form of the book on-line; said purchasers will receive a hardcopy version once the book is released this fall. Why is this book being offered in a 'beta' form? Two reasons: first, it allows readers to provide feedback on the various sections prior to the book's actual release, in essence acting as beta testers for O'Reilly, and second, JavaScript itself is still in beta form, although the latest version of Netscape's Navigator (3.0) will supposedly contain JavaScript 1.0 (yes that's right - if you're using Netscape Navigator 2.0 you've been using a beta form of JavaScript - which was quite a surprise to me!). Having immersed myself rather deeply into programming on webpages using JavaScript, I know that for many what they consider to be the definitive book on the subject was published a few months ago by IDG- Danny Goodman's JavaScript Handbook. For JavaScript: The Definitive Guide to be a success, it is going to have to tackle Danny Goodman head-on. And from the sneak peek I've had of what is currently in the book at O'Reilly's web site, Flanagan has done an admirable job of writing a book that not only equals Goodman's book but surpasses it in several areas. First, I should mention that I think the world of Danny Goodman's book - it is the book that essentially taught me JavaScript. Flanagan's book, however, not only presents JavaScript well to non-programmers, but also presents 2 chapters of subjects not even mentioned in Danny Goodman's book. The first is a chapter on LiveConnect - establishing communication between Java applets and JavaScript, something which was essentially lacking in Navigator 2.0 but should be in full-form by Navigator 3.0. The second is a compiled list (but by no means complete) of bugs found in JavaScript (beta). In addition, future versions of the book will include discussions of server-side JavaScript, which appears to be slated by Netscape to replace CGI. So, right away, there are several reasons to consider this book over Goodman's JavaScript Handbook. Now, this is simply a sneak peek, so I won't go into a lot of detail of how the book is laid out and what is covered - but suffice it to say that from what I have read so far, the writing is easy to understand. Plenty of examples are included for the reader to type in and try at home. In a move that may shock some programmers, the first program example in the book is not a "Hello World" program ;^). I have the suspicion that JavaScript: The Definitive Guide will very quickly be side-by-side with O'Reilly's other must have for web designers - HTML: The Definitive Guide (reviewed in issue 49A by Bob Johnson, and wholeheartedly endorsed by myself). O'Reilly & Associates http://www.ora.com 101 Morris St. Sebastopol, CA 95472 707-829-0515 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS OF THE WEEK| This section is dedicated to verified news . . . All News (C)opyright Respective Owner - Will Only Reprint ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IDT BUYS GENIE!| ---------------- HACKENSACK, N.J., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ - IDT Corporation (Nasdaq: IDTC) one of the nation's largest Internet service providers and a leading provider of international telephone service, announced today it has purchased the Genie Online Service from Yovelle Renaissance Corporation. Genie, the online service formerly owned by General Electric, provides multi-player gaming, interactive chat, and bulletin board services to 20,000 customers in the U.S. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. As part of the transaction, IDT has gained the rights to the GENIE name as well as over 100 gigabytes of content from the Genie online service. This content will be incorporated into IDT's Internet-based online service Genie Interactive - a new service designed to compete with America Online and Compuserve by offering flat-fee unlimited access to a wide range of value added content. In addition to the extensive Genie content and discussion groups, Genie Interactive will provide users with customized news, stock quotes, travel information, and audio/video conferencing capabilities as well as access to popular multi-player games. The acquisition will allow for the continuance of the Genie online service, currently under IDT's management, and provides for long-term access to the General Electric Information Services technical infrastructure to support the online service. The arrangement also amicably resolves all formerly reported differences between the privately held, New York based Yovelle Renaissance and General Electric. Genie online service currently has 20 employees in its Rockville, Md. facility and has over 60 system operators moderating discussion groups and adding to its special interest bulletin board services. The new Genie Interactive service will be run from IDT's New Jersey headquarters. ------------------------- IS Salary Survey is Out!| ------------------------- FRAMINGHAM, Mass., Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ - Nearly all computer professionals have drawn bigger salaries in 1996, with largest increases going to top positions in information systems (IS), according to a survey conducted by Computerworld, the leading newspaper for IS professionals. Computerworld conducted a nationwide survey of more than 1,100 IS managers to determine the annual salaries, salary increases, additional compensation, and turnover for IS personnel. The survey found that computer professionals in the hardware and software industries experienced the greatest salary increase this year at plus 10.65 percent, followed the banking industry with 6.31 percent, the transportation industry at 6.23 percent, business services at 5.93 percent, industrial equipment at 4.50 percent, and the media at 4.40 percent. The Computerworld survey also revealed that pay for computer professionals varies greatly according to industry. For instance, a chief information officer (CIOs)/vice president of IS working within business services can earn an average of $178,192 annually. Meanwhile, a CIO/VP of IS within the education industry earns $101,000 less, at an annual salary of $76,919. Lower- level computer professionals such as LAN managers can earn an average of $55,989 yearly in the insurance field while that same position within the non- profit sector earns $36,091. Computerworld further found that the gap is widening between the bonuses being given to top-level professionals and those bonuses handed out to lower- level computer professionals. At the top of the scale are CIOs/vice presidents of IS who are earning bonuses averaging $11,061 annually. In contrast, lower-level positions like micro managers/end- user computing managers are earning about $2,349 in bonuses. "We found that nearly all computer professionals are drawing bigger salaries and bonuses," said David Weldon, senior editor, Computerworld. "However, the greatest increase has been with IS managers, who, many of our respondents indicated, appear to not always be sharing the wealth with their staffs." In addition, the trend toward pay-for-performance is gaining momentum. Such compensation tied to agreed-upon performance goals is also absorbing a larger portion of overall compensation. According to Alan R. Earls, author of this year's survey report, "Even as computer professionals continue to gain increased compensation, they must contend with the likelihood that even more will be demanded from them before they secure significant pay increases." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- REVIEWS OF THE WEEK | Interesting software/hardware you may need . . . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Product: ABC Graphics Suite Reviewed By: Doug Reed ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The ABC Graphics Suite is the latest killer Suite of applications for Windows 95, bar none. Micrografx has combined upgraded versions of Designer and Picture Publisher with ABC Flowcharter and the ABC Media Manager to create what they think is THE solution for graphics in business, scientific, and Internet applications. And you know what? They did. The ABC Graphics Suite comes on 3 CDROM disks; one contains the various applications while the other two comprise a wide variety of fonts, pictures and clip art ready to use. Installation is easy and straightforward but definitely on the slow side. You will almost certainly want to do a custom install: the 'typical' install amounts to 85 MB of hard disk space! Fortunately, 35MB of this is clipart and pictures that can be left on the CD. The applications disk also includes a 'freebie' called Instant3D which can create 3-dimensional text and images. More on that later. ABC Graphics Suite comes with 2 manuals. The first gives an overview of each of the applications and how to use them both individually and together to create the images you want. This manual is exceedingly thin but does manage to cover the basics of each of the programs fairly well. If you've ever used a graphics program before you should be up and flying in no time. If you never used one before it may take a little longer but fortunately these programs have a short learning curve and come loaded with lots of on-line help. The second manual shows visually all of the various pictures and clipart stored on the two CDs. Suffice it to say that there is a ton of artwork here! As mentioned above, both Picture Publisher and Designer are included in the ABC Graphics Suite. Both have been upgraded to 32-bit applications, including support for long file names, background printing, and multi- threading. Both programs retain the look and feel of previous versions, but with significant enhancements in speed and stability. Particularly impressive was the ability to open several images at once in Picture Publisher while printing and modifying others. Also included is ABC Flowcharter, Micrografx's solution for creating flow charts for business needs. Micrografx has also added a new program, the ABC Media Manager, which allows you to manage graphics files and quickly move them from one application to another. The entire package has been made not only Windows 95 compatible but also Microsoft Office 95 compatible, which means that you can use the Office toolbar and binder for documents created with the ABC Graphics Suite. Another nice integration with Office 95 is the ability to drop and drag artwork from the Media Manager directly into Word and Excel (it can be added as a toolbar button). Picture Publisher is probably the most well-recognized of the programs in the ABC Graphics Suite. Picture Publisher has been considered for a long time to be the standard in the importation, handling, and manipulation of photographic images. Files from a number of different formats can be opened, modified, converted, cropped, and otherwise altered to your heart's content. One of the funnest features of Picture Publisher is the ability to modify the picture with various effects. Not only can you sharpen or smooth or remove any blemishes, you can also do some wild things like Ripple (which makes the picture look as if it has a ripple in it). This latest version of Picture Publisher loads much faster than previous versions and appears to be far more stable than before (in over a month, it has never crashed on me, a record for a graphics program). Particularly nice is the ability to print or implement effects in the background while opening and modifying other pictures at the same time. Designer has also been updated. While not as well recognized as Picture Publisher, it is probably the closest competitor to Corel Draw (I prefer Designer, simply because I have found that in previous versions it was more stable and more flexible). Put simply, Designer is used to create vector-based graphics for business and technical documents. Very little is changed in the look or interface since Version 4.1 (the last version for Windows 3.1). However, Designer does run much faster as a 32-bit program and various features such as importing files have been much improved. ABC FlowCharter is simply that - it creates flow charts for use in business. A wide variety of flow chart images are included with the program, so in no time at all, you can create a impressive flow chart showing anything from a project outline to a family tree. The manual includes a section on using FlowCharter to create a family tree, including multimedia elements like pictures, sounds, and even video files. The Media Manager is what ties the various applications together. All graphics images can be loaded as thumbnails in the Media Manager, and can be dragged and dropped into the different ABC applications as well as Word and Excel for use in a document or modification to create new pictures. Media Manager can be loaded in each of the different applications, or loaded by itself and scanned. Media Manager will browse not only your hard drives but also your CDROM and floppy drives (it also keeps a record of files found on various floppies and Cds). A very handy tool for rapidly bringing in new graphics and creating impressive documents filled with pretty pictures. The ABC Graphics Suite has also been oriented towards creating graphics for the web. An entire chapter in the manual is devoted towards teaching you how to create HTML icons, transparent/interlaced GIF files, and even image maps. Using Picture Publisher, you can quickly find the co- ordinates of a map in order to create the clickable map for use on your web site. Be sure and visit Micrografx's website so that you can download two free additions to the ABC Graphics Suite. The first is WebCharter, which works with FlowCharter to create a flow-chart view of your web site so you can see and test various links. If that wasn't enough, Micrografx has created a free plug-in for Netscape called Quicksilver (Internet Explorer fans do not despair: an active-X version of Quicksilver is in beta testing and is available from Micrografx). Quicksilver allows you to display vector-based graphics on the Internet as well as raster-based graphics. The advantage? Vector-based graphics will load faster because generally they are much smaller than raster- based graphics. In addition, the Quicksilver plug-in allows you to use Designer and Picture Publisher to create graphics with controls (like an onClick control). If you haven't guessed, I love this collection of applications. In my mind, if you use graphics in your work, ABC Graphics Suite is a must- have. Having at one time or another used most of the different graphics programs on the market, I can safely say that you will probably not be able to find a better, faster, and more stable collection of graphics software which can meet all of your needs. Micrografx Corp. 1303 Arapaho Richardson, TX 75081 214-234-1769 http://www.micrografx.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Product: The Corner Drug Store Reviewed By: Russell G. Johnston ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Corner Drugstore" is an encyclopedic look at prescription and over- the-counter drugs. The information is drawn from two drug hand- books, a drug-interaction software package, a medical glossary, and video clips from a syndicated TV series, "The Corner Drugstore." Sounds boring, huh? But the intuitive interface and the hypertext links help you through the arcana. Most of this could be replaced by four years at Harvard Med, but that would really be boring. Is this a useful thing? Let's contrast drug buying with and without the program. In the case of OTC drugs, like cold remedies, the label goes something like this. "Active ingredients: long, unpronounceable name, more of same. Inactive ingredients: something, something acetate. Precautions: Blah, blah, uninformative disclaimer, prepared by legal department." In the case of prescription drugs, the doctor's instructions are more to the point: "Take these." or "Take these until they're gone." If instead you load "The Corner Drugstore" into your CD, you are confronted with a well-organized interface much like that of Encarta. You can choose the source book (OTC or prescription), then select from a list of drugs to bring up a text window with a description. Since the list is long, a "quick scan" feature saves you digging through all the names. A "speaker" button pronounces the term. If there is a video concerning this type of drug is available, a "camera" button provides a link. Hypertext links in the drug descriptions reference the medical glossary and video library. At the bottom of the screen a feature bar includes an "interactions" button where the possible interactions among drugs in a list are enumerated. The program takes into account any allergies you might have, and dietary data (such as the beer you used to wash the stuff down). Over-the-counter medications for colds, hay fever, etc. are usually combinations of things. Herein lies a potential for side effects. Which cold remedies contain aspirin? This is useful information for the ulcer patient. How many sinus medications contain phenylpropanolamine? Patients with high blood pressure should avoid those that do. This kind of information is easy to find by reviewing various cold preparations. In this case a video on this general topic is available. The video library is a large collection of brief episodes of a syndicated TV series featuring Dr. Schueler himself discussing various types of drugs, and other drug-related topics. Dr. Schueler's style and delivery make often complex information accessible to the layman/laywoman/laybeast. Now a few words from my geek side. The program is variously described as "Windows 95 Ready" or "Windows 95 Compatible." Those of us who don't publish software needn't concern ourselves with exactly what that means. But on my computer, running Win95, the installation went flawlessly, partly because the installation program did not automatically install "Video for Windows." Windows 95 doesn't support the 3.1 application, and it can cause problems. If you are running 3.1 and don't have it, you can install "Video for Windows" separately. Changing screen resolutions didn't cause problems either. There is no uninstall program for the 1.5- meg hard disk footprint the installation leaves. No doubt this is part of the reason for the absence of the honest-to-gosh "Designed for Win95" imprimatur. Nevertheless the "The Corner Drugstore" didn't crash or lock up Win95, more than I can say for many other programs in my possession. Multimedia software with its video and sound files takes up a lot of space. In the case of "The Corner Drugstore," the program occupies 4 CD- ROM's. We're talking 2.4 gigabytes, roughly the size of the hard drive on Jerry Pournelle's PDA. The new CD formats now appearing will hold this much data on one disk. But for now the frequent disk switching will bring back memories for those of you who trace your computer careers to the days of the 320K floppy. At your age you should find a drug reference handy. Pixel Perfect Software P.O. Drawer 410129 Melbourne, FL 32941-0129 Tel 407.779.0310 Fax 404.777.0323 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Product: Book: INSIDE LINUX, A Look at Operating System Development Reviewed By: Gray Johnston <71533.712@compuserve.com> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "Inside Linux, A Look at Operating System Development" is published by SSC, whose titles include several other Linux, Unix, Internet and C references, as well as the "The Linux Newsletter" and "WEBsmith", a web- publishing journal. The constellation of topics: server operating systems and the Internet explains why I believe this book deserves a wider audience than Linux users and theorists or hobbyists. I recently learned that I didn't understand the plot of "Rear Window", one of my favorite Hitchcock movies. It seems the various scenes played- out in the apartment windows viewed by Jimmy Stewart represented his misgivings about marrying Grace Kelly. (That part I still don't understand.) I probably could have made it through life with this limited insight, so long as I held my tongue at cocktail parties. But where computers are concerned, in this age of Internet connectivity, it is becoming more difficult to get by with limited knowledge. For the 80% of PC's used only for word processing, even new word processors are integrated with web access and HTML conversion programs. But is it necessary to know anything in particular about Unix, in its various incarnations to get along in the world of computers? Certainly when I sat tapping on my 8088 PC in 1984, sorting out DOS, WordStar, and BASIC qualified me as the neighborhood geek. However Dr. Bentson makes a point early in "Inside Linux",. Computing systems can be divided into: "..large scale systems run(ning) expensive operating systems requiring support staff..the workstations run(ning) some flavor of Unix..administered by a small staff, or an experienced user..(and) the personal computer..run without management" He points out that, "The boundary between these categories is changing due to encroachment from below..characterized as 'the attack of the killer micros'". Because of the Internet, with its connection of computing systems of every stripe, general understanding of operating systems and networking is more useful to computer users today. So the full title of "Inside Linux, A Look at Operating System Development" is significant. I don't anticipate becoming involved in operating system development. My knowledge of the C language is on a par with the French I have learned from old Maurice Chevalier movies. But the information in "Inside Linux" can often enlighten the reader who uses Windows (especially the 32-bit incarnations), OS2, or the Mac. The book covers in some detail Linux, a free variant of Unix, concocted in 1991 by Linus Torvolds as an investigation in how to implement task switching on the Intel 386 processor. By searching Usenet news groups one can see the interest in the OS, both among developers and users. Dr. Bentson briefly follows the history of computer operating systems, then concentrates on Linux as a specific instance of a modern O.S. He examines how an operating system accomplishes the basic tasks of file system implementation, support for processes (interaction between instructions and data, yielding desired results), and allocation of memory. The book considers the operating system from the point of view of the user, then goes on to examine the requirements of the system kernel. Later sections of the book examine the system from a programmers perspective. The chapter detailing the user interface is excellent. The "over a dozen" shells available for Linux obviously present a more varied interface to the user than what appears on a Mac or DOS/Windows system. But command line interface exemplified by the Bourne and C shells, have their counterpart in DOS: Command.com and the more capable 4DOS. Likewise the graphical interface of Windows and the Mac have their counterpart in the X Windows System. Throughout the description of the command line shell, details of parsing of the command line and use of environmental variables recall the DOS interface. The X System appears to present a more complex interface to the user than Win95 or the Mac. The consumer-oriented OS presents a "user-friendly" interface. But anyone who has worked to untangle a difficult memory problem on a desktop systems knows that such niceties represent a thin veneer over a complex system. I received two impressions after reading what is, at time, a rather technical book. First, as desktop hardware becomes more capable, the operating systems come to resemble Unix, or more properly, come to resemble each other. Though the GUI masks complexity, the integration into the OS of multitasking, networking and security functions cause the O.S. to be increasingly complex. Second, as with most intricate subjects, much of my confusion about Unix stems from jargon overload. Dr. Bentson does an admirable job of defining terms, clearly explaining the more arcane concepts. Still, using Linux as a reference model has its disadvantages. If the C code examples and the references to Unix utilities confound you, many sections of the book fail to enlighten. You will search in vain in the bibliography for "Unix for Idiots", etc. But, is there an alternative? If a simpler operating system, such as DOS (or even CPM) were used, the book would shed little light on modern systems. If a purely conceptual discussion were presented, the overall effect would be that of woolgathering. Specialized Systems Consultants, Inc. (SSC) PO Box 55549 Seattle, WA 981550549 Tel. 207.782.7733 Fax 207.781.7191 E-Mail: sales@ssc.com URL: Http://www.ssc.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Product: Microsoft Office 95 Professional Edition with Bookshelf 95 Reviewed by: Doug Reed ---------------------------------------------------------------------- There is little doubt that Microsoft is the leader in bundled business applications (collectively called ‘Suites’). Office 95 was introduced last year at the same time as Windows 95 as a complete upgrade of all of Microsoft’s business applications to 32-bit programs fully optimized to handle all of Windows 95’s bells and whistles. Office 95 comes in two flavors, the Standard edition and the Professional edition: the primary difference between the two is that the Professional edition includes Access. Both editions include Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Schedule+. This review covers the Professional edition, although the only difference is the additional software (it even includes the same manual). Each of the various applications included could be covered in their own separate reviews, so instead I won’t review each of the applications but instead focus on the whole package and how the difference applications interact with each other. Installation of Office 95 in Windows 95 is a snap -just as it should be, considering that both were designed by the same company. Installation of Office 95 can be to either your master hard drive or to a slave drive, however, a fair number of files are required to reside on the master drive: expect to lose between 80 to 100 MB hard drive space. Once installed, the computer is rebooted and final configuration changes are made while Windows 95 is reloaded. Once finished, the only noticeable change is the presence of the Office 95 Toolbar on your desktop. The Toolbar is noticeably changed from Office v4.3 (the last Windows 3.1 edition). Gone are individual icons for each of the various apps; the Toolbar highlights Microsoft’s new documentcentric approach. What this means is that no longer do you load an application and then start a new file; you choose the document type you wish to create and the appropriate application is then loaded. This means that everything you do is centered around the document and not the application required to create the document. While this is hardly an original concept, it is nevertheless well implemented in Office 95. Another nice new feature to the Toolbar is the Binder. Documents located in a Binder are not necessarily located in the same directory but are related (for example, a scientific paper containing the written portion of the paper in a Word file and the data in an Excel worksheet). Using the Binder you can flip from one file to the next, establishing links and even printing the contents of the Binder all at once without loading each individual file. My only complaint with the Binder is that it can be a little slow switching from one file to the next since the application for each file must be loaded (if not already active). All of the applications in Office 95 have been updated for use under Windows 95, and it shows. All can handle long file names, a very pleasant change. It is so much easier to identify and locate files when you are longer restricted to the old 8.3! Background printing is fully supported, as is multi-threading, enabling even a outdated dinosaur like my 486 to open a large number of files and switch back and forth with little or no loss in speed or performance. OLE is fully integrated into the applications and is at the heart of how the different applications interact with each other. It is now fairly easy, straight forward, and much faster to be able to set up true OLE. Without reading the manual, I was able to quickly create a graph in Excel and import it into Word. Since I had imported it as a linked object, all I had to do was select the graph in my Word document and the correct file was automatically loaded in Excel for editing. Changing the graph in Excel resulted in automatically updating the graph in Word (you can toggle this so that it is either done automatically or is only updated at your request). I am very impressed with how well Office 95 appears to handle OLE between the different applications. It appears to work equally well with Office 95 compatible applications (for example, Picture Publisher and Designer, two applications in the ABC Graphics Suite from Micrografx). Another nice feature is the inclusion of better and more useful Wizards. In particular, Word comes loaded with Wizards. The Tip Wizard not only suggests a tip when you load Word but watches what you do and suggests ways to speed up or simplify various routine tasks (like creating a numbered list). There is also the ‘Answer Wizard’ where you can type a question and the Wizard attempts to find a solution. The Answer Wizard will basically point towards help topics that can give you the answer, but it can’t tailor the help to suit your question. Finally, the Professional Edition of MS Office 95 comes loaded with Bookshelf 95. Bookshelf is a collection of references, including a dictionary, thesaurus, almanac, and other resources. These can be browsed or incorporated into Office documents. I personally had a lot of fun with the quotations from famous (and not-so- famous) personalities, although it was lacking in some regards (there were plenty of quotes from Teddy Roosevelt, but not one from George Patton, who gave us more than a few good quips). The Bookshelf can be useful and fun but is hardly necessary, which makes it all the more nice that it runs off of the CD and does not occupy much of your hard drive. The manual that comes with MS Office also deserves some mention. In a time when manuals seems to be shrinking into non-existence, the MS Office manual is a big, beefy manual that is well thought out and arranged. Instead of a dry, press this key to do this approach, the manual takes a ‘mission’-oriented approach (for example, it shows you how to use Access to create a address book). The manual also covers (in a very basic manner) how to create your own custom applications in Excel and Access using Visual Basic for Applications. If you have Internet access, Microsoft has released a set of Internet Assistants that work with each of the various Office applications. With these Assistants, you can easily create HTML documents for the Web, or compress a file and send it over the Internet to a contact. I am in the process of constructing a web site, and found the Assistants to be very helpful. I especially like the Internet Assistant for Access, which can create ready-made tables of data in html format. The best thing about the Internet Assistants is that they are free. One special item of note: Microsoft has been leaking information about Office ‘97 in recent weeks; in particular, this newest version of Office will offer tighter integration between the applications, Visual Basic for Applications for all Office apps, and Internet Assistants built into the different apps. The bottom line is that I love this collection of applications. A once die-hard Lotus aficionado, I stand converted. All of the different applications are quick and appear to be very stable. I have adapted Access to keep track of all of the software that has been or will be reviewed by CompuNotes. I find Word and Excel to offer comparable features to WordPro and 1,2,3, but are significantly better than the Lotus products since they are fully enhanced for a 32-bit environment. I especially like the way that all of the apps work very well together, making it very easy to create impressive documents and presentations. The applications also have a very similar look and feel between each other so that you can easily orient yourself and find common commands and functions. The whole Suite is geared towards insuring that you can maximize your time being creative and working instead of trying to get the software to do what you want. Microsoft has done an impressive job. Microsoft One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 800-228-6270 http://www.microsoft.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------- WEBSITES OF THE WEEK! | This section is devoted to cool WebSites . . . ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Windows NT Web Support!| ------------------------ MANHASSET, N.Y., Aug. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- CMP's Enterprise Computing Group New Media Services announced today the launch of the CMP Windows NT Solutions Center, a Web site focused on getting key NT information into the hands of IS professionals. Located at http://ntsolutions.cmp.com, the site will cover essential NT information, product information, daily news and expert advice - Windows authority Fred Langa will be the first in a series of featured columnists. "We wanted to create a comprehensive, one-stop site for everyone working with Windows NT," said Suzanne Zellner, Director of New Media for CMP's Enterprise Computing Group. "Through CMP's high- tech media leadership, we are able to call on expert editors covering the topic to give advice to users and answer their e- mail questions. We've made it easy and comprehensive, a high quality product, and we're still offering it free to users." Fred Langa, named one of the Top 25 Most Important Computer Journalists by Marketing Computers two years in a row, will be the site's first featured columnist. A 23-year publishing veteran, Langa is widely recognized as an authority on Windows-related computing in the enterprise and will be discussing Windows NT vs. Win 95 in his first column for the CMP Windows NT Solutions Center. Targeted editorial found on the Web site includes: NT Features/Opinions: Thought-provoking insights and tangible NT solutions and discussions from CMP's NT expert editors. NT News: Updated NT-related news reports with hyperlinks to companies mentioned in articles. TechSearch(TM): Access to CMP's vast editorial archive. You Tell Us: Interactive area where users can send e-mails to expert editors. Questions and answers are then posted to share NT issues and solutions with the enterprise community. Vendor Directory: More than 130 listings of NT vendors. Partner Pavilion: NT integration solutions from 18 vendors who offer NT products. ------------------ Air Games Online!| ------------------ WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 /PRNewswire/ - While surfing the net, visitors can now soar on the World Wide Web by visiting the new AeroSports '97 - the 1st World Air Games homepage. The homepage has brought parachuting, hang- gliding, aerobatics and other exciting aerosports as close as the nearest computer. The site, dedicated to the largest competitive gathering of aerosport athletes in history, will provide up-to-date information about the games, competitors and the various aerosports to be featured. Designed to be both entertaining and educational, the homepage features exciting 30-second quick-time video highlights of popular aviation sports including parachuting, hang-gliding, paragliding, aerobatics, microlighting, helicopter flying, remote-controlled aeromodelling, hot air ballooning and general aviation. Visitors can also see full-motion video, photographs and a wide array of colorful graphics. This resource is intended for educating everyone, from the most hardcore aviation enthusiast to the unfamiliar sports fan, about the games and the thrilling world of aerosports. The homepage consists of ten separate categories with descriptive information of the lst World Air Games, the ten different aviation sports, the organizing committees (Federation Aeronautique Internationale and Turk Hava Kurumu) and general background information about the games. The site will be updated on a monthly basis and will contain information about participants, as they qualify in their national competitions, updates on the September 1996 Test Games, sponsorship information and much more. The World Wide Web Internet address is www.worldairgames.com. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERVIEW WITH ????? | Weekly Interviews with the Movers and Shakers! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- No interview this week! We'll see you next week! --END OF ISSUE--