May 95 First Impressions
Info File
By: Jim Forbes
Visioneer's PaperPort 2.0 is not the first product on the market that allows you to scan, organize and incorporate preprinted data on your personal computer. But it's certainly one of the best.
PaperPort consists of a roller scanner that connects to your computer's serial port and the PaperPort 2.0 Windows application. It was originally designed to share and annotate preprinted information in workgroup settings, but Visioneer enhanced PaperPort's software and repositioned it for individual PC users. It seems tailor-made for small business users, as well.
The scanner used in the PaperPort system is an attractive unit designed to sit near your computer. It connects easily to most systems. The scanner has a maximum resolution of 400 dots per inch, though I used 200 dpi for most of my text-based scanning. It takes about six to seven seconds to scan one page of text. That's substantially faster than on most roller scanners, including Logitech's ScanMan PageMaster and Plustek's ScanFX.
PaperPort links directly to more than 50 applications, including faxing software, most commonly used Windows word processors, OCR packages, contact management programs and other software. You can easily use it to turn preprinted information into an electronic document to share with coworkers.
PaperPort's robust but flexible document management component lets you create customized document storage folders. You can store documents using file names with up to 32 characters or other attributes such as key words. I like PagePort's ability to annotate electronic documents with the software equivalent of stick-on notes, a feature carried over from the first release of this product. Be forewarned, though. Storing electronic versions of paper-based documents can quickly consume large portions of your computer's hard disk.
If you look at only one sheet scanner system this year, PaperPort 2.0 should be the one.
Visioneer PaperPort 2.0
Price: $399
Visioneer
800-787-7007, 415-493 9599
Info File
By: Jonathan Blackwood
If you're like me, you regularly use at least two computers other than your office machine. Finding a way to conveniently back up more than one machine used to be a show stopper, especially as hard disks have grown larger and larger in capacity. That's where the Backpack 900 comes in. It just doesn't get any easier than this.
The unit is 8.375 by 4.75 by 2 inches and weighs 1.5 pounds. You plug it into your parallel port using the supplied cable, plug in the power cord and turn it on. Then you install the supplied backup software for Windows or DOS, and you're off to the races. The DOS and Windows software are compatible, so you can restore files backed up with one version using the other. There's also a pass-through parallel connector, so you can use your printer even if you have only a single parallel port.
Using data compression, you can get up to 900MB of storage on a Sony 8mm tape cartridge or 700MB on a 3000XL, QIC-3010 cartridge. The Backpack 900 also reads QIC-80 and QIC-40 tapes. I backed up 500MB in a little more than two hours. The Backpack 900 is rated at 60,000 hours MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures), based on a 5 percent duty cycle. This rugged little unit is the best solution yet for backing up multiple, non-networked machines.
Micro Solutions
Backpack 900
Price: $599
Micro Solutions
800-890-7227 x200,
815-756-3411 x200
Info File
By: James E. Powell
Corel Gallery 2.0's CD-ROM has a mind-numbing 15,000 clip art images, 500 photos, 500 fonts, 75 sounds and 10 video clips. Fortunately, it also includes management and editing utilities to help you make sense of it all.
In the beta version I tested, Gallery's Album feature provided a way to organize media clips in albums and subalbums. Drag a file from the Drive window into the Album (or use a TWAIN-compatible system to scan one in) and it generates a thumbnail if it recognizes the file format. If the format is unknown, it displays an application icon.
You can create a description with keywords for an image, then search for files based on this text or the filename using logical operators. The CD-ROM's graphics are already arranged in albums with keywords.
You can manipulate bitmap images and vector graphics with the Image Editor and Clipart Editor. You can zoom, flip, rotate and convert images to black and white or other color depths. You can also change brightness, contrast and hue/saturation, and sharpen or soften the image. Gallery handles most standard vector formats, including .EPS, .WMF, .CGM, .PIC, .WPG and, of course, Corel's. You can view bitmap files in .BMP, .TGA, .PCX, .JPG and .GIF formats as thumbnails or edited.
Gallery also lets you view video clips and listen to sound files.
The font utility lets you view the names of installed fonts, add new fonts permanently or temporarily, group them, print font information and uninstall fonts. You can preview fonts before installing them, but you can't view currently installed fonts.
The Capture utility lets you capture a screen to a file, Clipboard or printer. You can define the capture-activation key, delay time before captures and intervals for repetitive captures. Capture's file format options are limited, and it doesn't let you decide if the cursor will appear.
Corel Gallery 2.0 is a multimedia-clip cornucopia with a handful of functional--if somewhat limited--utilities tossed in to sweeten the pot.
Corel Gallery 2.0
Price: $99
Corel Corp.
800-772-6735, 613-728-8200.
Info File
By: James E. Powell
So you want a really fast vehicle to cruise the Infobahn? Well, the Zoom/FaxModem V.34X is a Ferrari among modems. It uses the standard Hayes AT command set and supports data speeds from 2400bps to 28.8Kbps and fax speeds up to 14.4Kbps.
The modem meets the V.34 standard while providing V.Fast Class compatibility. A handshake at 28.8Kbps takes an average of about three seconds, about half the time required by a V.32bis modem.
The unit supports MNP error correction, including MNP10 for better operation on noisy or poor-quality cellular, transcontinental and urban lines. The modem supports V.42bis and MNP compression and V.42 error correction. It handles incoming number identification if you have Caller ID service and the appropriate software.
In addition to the traditional receive-data, send-data and carrier-detect lights, the 15-light LED panel on the front of the modem indicates when a fax message is waiting and when V.34, V.FC and 14.4 modes are in operation. The unit has only two drawbacks: The power switch on the back is a little awkward to reach, and you must use software for volume adjustment.
Zoom/FaxModem V.34X
Price: $299
Zoom Telephonics
800-666-6191, 617-423-1072
Info File
By: James E. Powell
ADI system's MicroScan 4V is a 15-inch flat screen monitor with 0.28mm dot pitch, a maximum non-interlaced resolution of 1280x1024 and a resolution of 1024x768 at 76Hz. Its image extends to all four edges of the display, and it complies with the Swedish MPR II low-radiation standards. To put it in plain English, the monitor performs well at a low price.
The MicroScan 4V has brightness and contrast controls and a power switch up front. A Select key lets you choose among horizontal size and position, vertical size and position, and pincushioning and trapezoid controls. Then you press + or - keys to make the actual adjustment, which lasts into the next session. There are also 10 preset modes. The tilt adjustment control, which adjusts picture rotation, is a nuisance to use because you need a screwdriver to access it on the back of the monitor.
In the tests I ran, the MicroScan 4V always provided bright, clear images, even at the corners. This monitor is energy efficient, too, meeting the EPA Energy Star requirements of 30 watts or less in standby mode.
The MicroScan also meets the European NUTEK/TCO requirements of 5 watts or less in sleep mode. You can enter the standby/suspend mode, in which the monitor consumes less than 15 watts, then enter sleep mode and reduce consumption to less than 4 watts. Both modes use the VESA DPMS method to control their energy saving states. The monitor consumes 85 watts when not in power-saving mode, less than average for its size.
Besides all the internals, the MicroScan has a sleek, tapered silhouette that looks good on your desktop. For a low price, you can have a good-looking monitor with an image to match.
ADI MicroScan 4V
Price: $409 (street)
ADI Systems
800-228-0530, 408-944-0100
Info File
By: James E. Powell
Getting more disk space doesn't have to cost a lot. The Tahoe 230 gives you virtually unlimited disk space for under 30 cents a megabyte. It's a 3.5-inch external optical drive that uses 230MB optical diskettes that are the size of 3.5-inch floppy diskettes.
The drive itself costs $999 and rewriteable media costs $65 for each diskette. The unit is backward compatible with 130MB optical diskettes, and diskettes are ECMA compliant for disk swapping with any other ECMA 3.5-inch magneto-optical device.
The Tahoe weighs in at only 1.8 pounds. It uses a SCSI interface, and comes with a SCSI-2 terminator and a cable with a SCSI-1 connector at one end and a SCSI-2 connector on the other. I tested the drive using the supplied Adaptec SCSI card. Formatting and partitioning is fast and easy.
Pinnacle Micro claims the Tahoe provides 30-millisecond seek time. Subjectively, the Tahoe seemed to provide acceptable performance--roughly comparable to two hard disks installed on my test system.
The unit is rated at 40,000 hours MTBF (mean time between failures) and Pinnacle Micro guarantees a media shelf life of 30 years. The only problem I encountered was that it was slightly noisier than I'd like. Still, the unit delivered excellent performance, thanks in part to a built-in 237KB track buffer to speed data transfer.
Pinnacle Micro
Tahoe 230
Price: $999
Pinnacle Micro
800-553-7070, 714-727-3300
Info File
By: James E. Powell
Two things on my desk let me communicate with the outside world: my phone and my computer. The CompuPhone 2000 merges both into one device.
The unit combines a traditional 101-key keyboard and a telephone. Your phone line plugs into the back, as does the comfortable telephone headset that's included. Software installation is quick and easy, and the straightforward user guide explains all options.
Your hands need never leave the keyboard as you make calls and log them. Press the Phone key and the numeric keypad will change its configuration to reflect a telephone dialing pad. There are also keys for mute, volume control, last number redial and Flash.
CompuPhone's Autodial software will dial a number and create a log entry in a text file. It will also automatically dial phone numbers from Cardfile and is smart enough to know when to use the area code. Unfortunately, you can't use the phone if your computer is off, because the keyboard draws power from your PC. Still, this is an inventive product that makes contact management easier.
Integrated Technology CompuPhone 2000
Price: $139.95
Integrated Technology USA
800-393-8889, 201-907-0200
Info File
By: Ron Bel Bruno
Hardware installations are like relationships--you never know if they're going to work until you give them a try. But with SetUp Advisor 2.0, at least you may be able to figure out why the hardware didn't work.
Before you tie the hardware knot, SetUp Advisor will analyze your PC configuration, then compare what it finds against information in its library for the specific peripheral you're installing. Version 2.0 adds about 200 more products rap sheets to this library to bring SetUp Advisor's roster to 350 devices--including multimedia kits, video boards, modems and so forth. And because Touchstone has a forum on CompuServe, quarterly library updates that add new hardware peripherals to the list of supported devices are just a modem link away.
The program is versatile--both experts and unabashed novices can use it to troubleshoot installation problems. An experienced user installing a card may first consult the Devices menu to find and then analyze the board to determine its required IRQ assignments. If SetUp Advisor detects a problem such as unavailable IRQs, it posts a red "Problem" message. If it determines that the required resources are available, it displays a bold green message, "Success! De-vice Can be Installed."
But even if you don't know what an IRQ assignment is, SetUp Advisor's Helping Hand will prompt you through each step of its device analysis. Helping Hand will lead you through the process of gathering the necessary system information while providing the IRQ and DMA reports. You can also use the program's reporting features to print out your system configuration and the new hardware's requirements. With these reports in hand, you can consult an expert to help solve your installation problem.
I used SetUp Advisor for a sound card installation. At first, it detected an IRQ conflict and flashed its Problem indicator. I was able to use the information the program provided to resolve the problem and successfully install the card.
SetUp Advisor provides valuable configuration information and takes some of the mystery out of hardware installations. Until Plug and Play arrives, it provides some good, basic help for adding peripherals.
SetUp Advisor 2.0
Price: $29.95
Disk Space Required: 1.3MB
System Resources: 1%
RAM: 4MB
Touchstone Software Corp.
800-531-0450, 714-969-7746
Info File
By: James E. Powell
Speed--like beauty--is in the eye of the beholder. But for an unbiased comparison of computer systems, you need a benchmark test.
Landmark 3.0 Speed Test checks a system's CPU, floating point unit (FPU) and video performance, and displays the results graphically. You can run the program from a diskette--a handy feature when you go system shopping. Its built-in database makes it easy to save and compare results.
The program measures performance with software-application emulations. For CPU testing, it uses WordPerfect, Excel, Harvard Graphics and Paradox emulations. FPU tests include Excel and AutoCAD emulations.
Landmark's software emulation testing may provide a false sense of real-world performance. Actual performance may be affected by disk performance and other configuration factors, such as caching and memory. The program doesn't test hard-disk performance, which can be a key factor in performance.
Landmark is still useful--especially since you can run it from a single diskette.
Landmark 3.0
Speed Test
Price: $49
Disk Space Required: 589MB
System Resources: 3%
RAM: 640MB
Landmark Research International
800-683-6696, 813-443-1331
Info File
By: James E. Powell
Sceptre may not be the best known name in monitors, but the company is making a name for itself with its 17-inch flat-screen monitor.
The high-resolution CC-617GL+ has a sharp, crisp picture, thanks in part to the 0.26mm dot pitch and advanced dynamic focusing. The multiscan monitor supports a non-interlaced resolution of 1280x1024 and a maximum of 1024x768 at 72Hz. It handles horizontal scanning frequencies of 30 to 66KHz and vertical refresh rates up to 90Hz.
Controls for horizontal and vertical position and size, pincushioning and tilt are all in the tilt/swivel base. You can adjust the screen image right up to the bezel to eliminate most of that annoying black border around your screen. Two slider controls on the side of the screen adjust contrast and brightness. The monitor automatically degausses when you power it up, but there's also a manual degaussing button.
The CC-617GL+ comes bundled with Screen F/X software, which lets you magnify any screen section threefold or use your mouse to mark on the screen. It's environmentally correct as well. The monitor meets the MRP II low radiation standard and it meets EPA and VESA DPMS standards for power consumption. In suspend mode, it consumes less than 25 watts. Energy isn't the only thing you'll save: The suggested list price is just $759.
Sceptre's CC-617GL+ gives you easy-to-use controls and excellent resolution, all at a price that won't break your budget.
Sceptre CC-617GL+
Price: $759
Sceptre Technologies
800-788-2878, 818-369-3698,
Info File
By: Jim Forbes
Your small business doesn't have to run up big bills each time you need business cards, invoices or other forms. BizForms could save you more than a trip to the printer.
BizForms is an easy-to-use forms design and data-entry application. You can create your own forms or use the forms that come with the program. BizForms comes with about 100 preformatted templates. These forms are "intelligent" because they can remember information, such as addresses, phone numbers, logos and local tax rates. They can also do basic math calculations. Seventy graphic designs for logos are included. You can also import your own bitmapped graphics.
During the simple installation of BizForms' two diskettes, the program prompts you for your address and form and layout choices.
BizForms keeps its forms in folders, which facilitates their storage--especially when you create forms for different departments or business entities.
BizForms' interface is not standard Windows fare. It lacks menu bars, so initially you may find this program less than intuitive. Data entry is straightforward, however. Just position the cursor over the appropriate blank areas on the form and start typing in the information.
Other useful features include an easy-to-use zoom viewer and BizForms' logical, one-step-at-a-time approach to forms automation. The documentation is also helpful, with a reference guide that illustrates the included forms and their related options.
In my tests, it took less than 30 minutes to create an expense report form that looked as good as the original I copied it from, was easy to fill in and performed all necessary calculations. You can use BizForms with preformatted card stock to create and print business cards. And with a wide selection of specialty papers available at office supply stores and through catalogs, you can use BizForms to create custom certificates, envelopes and letterhead for your business.
Most word processors can accomplish much of what BizForms can. But if you're in a hurry, BizForms' supplied templates and easy operation provide a quick route to finished forms.
BizForms
Price: $89
Disk Space Required: 2MB
System Resources: 30%
RAM: 4MB
JetForm Corp.
800-367-6375,fax 603-924-9441
Info File
By: Ron Bel Bruno
If you think you've seen it all when it comes to Windows file utilities, hold on to your mouse. After spending a few minutes with WinSurfer, you may conclude that File Manager isn't so bad after all.
This eccentric and marginally useful program uses a mosaic of colors and shapes to map out your hard disk's contents. The default display is a mix of various-sized blocks--the bigger the file, the larger the block. The blocks are color coded, too. For example, white blocks denote .EXE files, while blue boxes represent data files.
Ostensibly, the colors and sizes are supposed to make it easier to find files and determine how much space they're using. It's a novel idea that falls short, since most directory names and filenames are unreadable.
If you get caught in WinSurfer's undertow and need help, you'll have to leave the program to check its READ.ME file, since it lacks online help.
If you have an unusual need to see your hard disk
in a different way, then you may want to catch WinSurfer's wave. Otherwise, look elsewhere if you need help keeping track of the files on your system or stick with the landlubbing File Manager.
WinSurfer
Price: $25 (direct)
Disk Space Required: 1.5MB
System Resources: 10%
RAM: 240KB
Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory
301-405-4209, fax 301-314-9871
Info File
By: Ron Bel Bruno
Calendars should be easy to use. After all, for centuries we've adroitly penciled in appointments on paper. Yet many PIMs suffer from an abundance of features that makes using them to manage your appointments feel like you've rented a limousine to go to the supermarket.
OpenCalendar is more like the Volkswagen Beetle of PIMs. It doesn't cost much, won't hog your system resources and it gets you where you're going reliably. And, like an old VW, OpenCalendar has international appeal, with its English/ Japanese and English/French dual-language versions.
OpenCalendar is unobtrusive. It's there when you need it, but commands only a modest spotlight even when it's the active window. Its default screen displays both the current month and an appointment agenda for the highlighted date shown as a bar graph.
You add appointments by either clicking on the bar graph and dragging out a time block or by using the New menu's text-based routine of setting the event's time, frequency, alarm and notes. White bars label one-time-only events; cyan (blue) bars represent recurring events.
This program would be noteworthy even if it were in English only, but it scores major points with its two DLL-enabled foreign-language versions. Using its bilingual capabilities, those in branches of an international company, for example, could read appointment lists in English and Japanese or English and French.
You can also have custom calendars, in addition to those for each country. This lets you keep an eye on local holidays but still standardize among office branches. Although you can't share calendars over a network with OpenCalendar, custom calendars help keep track of different sets of appointments.
You can't print your schedule in any of the popular datebook formats, but the program will produce an attractive page that shows the current month and the day's schedule. OpenCalendar has what it takes to become a timekeeping standard. It forsakes high-tech bells and whistles to create a lean, mean, calendar machine.
OpenCalendar
Price: $20
Disk Space Required: 1MB
System Resources: 6%
RAM: 300KB
Pacific Software Publishing
800-232-3989, 206-562-1224
Info File
By: David Gabel
If it's a fast modem you want, the Hayes Optima 288 is for you. This V.34 unit is the fastest modem I have ever used. The V.34 standard allows for raw data transfer at 28.8Kbps. With the compression inherent in the standard, it can transfer data at more than 1MB per second.
The Optima 288 is an external model, so although Hayes supplied the modem and a single-port ESP Communications Accelerator (fast serial port) adapter card, I had to acquire a serial cable (male DB-25 connector and female DB-9 connector, about $10) to connect the port and the modem.
Once you've installed the fast serial port, you run the install routine. This installation software replaces the COM.DRV communications driver in the SYSTEM.INI file and makes changes in WIN.INI (remember to back up those two files, plus AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS before you begin).
Actually running the modem was simple. I called up my communications program (Procomm Plus 2.0) and under Setup installed the modem on COM4, then dialed. The modem performed flawlessly. The combination of the enhanced serial card and the Hayes modem even made data transfers at 14.4Kbps noticeably faster.
Hayes Optima 288 V.34/V.FC+FAX
Price: $579
Hayes Microcomputer Products
404-441-1617, fax 404-447-0640
Info File
By: James E. Powell
File Manager replacements are a dime a dozen. But Drag and File 2.0 is worth every penny of its $69.95 price.
It has all the standard features. You can copy disks, add a label, format a diskette and so on. But it also has a floating drive bar that gives you instant access to any drive. You can open multiple windows and select several files, then copy, move, view or compress them.
There's a customizable toolbar complete with bubble help and a DOS command line at the screen's bottom. You can launch your favorite programs with a menu option.
It can also associate a file extension with more than one program. So, if Notepad finds your text file too big to edit, Drag and File pops up a dialog box and lets you choose another program with which you've associated the file extension.
If moving a mouse slows you down, you'll like Drag and File's extensive keyboard shortcuts. Your hands may never leave the keyboard again.
Two utilities are bundled with Drag and File. The handy Drag and Zip lets you zip or unzip files, replace files in a zip file with newer versions and view a file within a zip file without unzipping it.
Drag and View Gold is also a file viewer. You just drag a file to this utility to view it, assuming the format is among the mere 40 supported formats. You can select an area to view, copy it to the Clipboard or send it to the printer. The viewer displayed files in popular formats--such as Microsoft Word and Paintbrush--in record time.
I found a puzzling limitation in Drag and File. You can assign a description to a file, but you can't view the description along with the file details (size, date and time).
But that's nitpicking. Drag and File's drag-and-drop functions, speedy performance and excellent features put it in my Windows toolkit for good.
Drag and File 2.0
Price: $69.95
Disk Space Required: 2.5MB
System Resources: 6%
RAM: 2MB minimum, 4MB recommended
Canyon Software
800-280-3691, 415-453-9779
Info File
By: Ian Handel
Working with scanned images can be difficult enough without making the process of scanning harder than it needs to be. With this in mind, UMAX has produced a high-quality scanner that is easy to install and use. The TWAIN-compliant UMAX Vista-S8 doesn't waste precious desktop space, either. The footprint is not much larger than the 8.5- by 11.7-inch scan area.
UMAX provides a SCSI card, but Vista should work with any Adaptec ASPI-compliant card. The setup routine automatically chose IRQ and DMA settings without any problems. The scanner comes bundled with Adobe Photoshop LE (limited edition), OmniPage Direct OCR, color matching software, UMAX drivers, and the necessary cables and terminators.
The software driver ties into the supplied applications as a menu choice. It tracks available system memory and how much memory your operation requires. With 16MB in my computer, I was able to do a full-page true-color scan at 150 dpi. It took a total of 57 seconds, including 19 seconds for warm-up. You can also see a preview before you scan. The OCR exists as a menu choice in relevant applications and worked well.
My family photos are scanning in just fine, no muss, no fuss. Now if I could just borrow 48MB or so for a few days ....
UMAX Vista-S8 LE
Price: $1,195
UMAX Technologies
800-562-0311, 510-651-8883
Info File
By: David Gabel
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but a handful of well-chosen words can help. With FlowModel you can build a flowchart to depict any kind of process, and the program will produce the documentation to back up your chart.
In addition to the usual symbols, connecting lines and annotations, FlowModel generates text to describe the chart. You can export the text as a separate file at any time, but the text and flowchart remain linked so that a change to one is reflected in the other.
The program is simplicity itself. The tutorial walks you through building a flowchart by picking symbols from the several palettes, connecting them with simple drag-and-drop moves and manipulating them.
As you move symbols around a FlowModel chart, the connecting lines stay attached in a live link to their end-point symbols, so that you don't lose the logic of the process as you move things around to pretty up the chart.
FlowModel 1.0
Price: $495
Disk Space Required: 7MB
System Resources: 9%
RAM: 4MB
Arcland Software
610-993-9904, fax 610-993-9908
Info File
By: Joel T. Patz
You can get your own personal Wall Street analyst. But this analyst doesn't come in a blue suit and wing tips--it comes on a diskette.
Wall Street Analyst 1.0 can help you track the performance of securities and other investment instruments. It's straightforward and easy to use for both professionals and those managing their own portfolios.
The program provides analysis for stocks, commodities and mutual funds, based on user-defined information or up-to-the-minute data downloaded from subscription services.
An excellent tutorial gets you started by explaining terms such as RSI (Relative Strength Index), Moving Average 3 Line, Directional Movement Index and Volatility. Wall Street Analyst's main screen is the Chart, which graphically depicts market information for a given security.
With the Chart Status tool, a mouse click on any point in the Chart window reveals detailed performance data. You can also set indicators so that when certain conditions are met, an alert is triggered. Three Analysts are available for more guidance. The Expert Analyst crunches numbers to derive long- and short-term outlooks; the Technical Analyst combines indicators to assess a market; and the Fundamental Analyst reviews a company's actual performance.
When you install the software, it is configured to accept downloads from the subscription service you designate. In my tests, I used the Dial Data service.
Wall Street Analyst's depth is complemented by its pleasant interface, which allows substantial customization. The User's Guide provides detailed information, while the online help offers quick answers to immediate questions.
As a tool for analyzing market details clearly and concisely, and for help in understanding the technical aspects of the market, Wall Street Analyst is hard to beat.
Wall Street Analyst 1.0
Price: $99; introductory (includes one month of stock data downloading), $69.95
Disk Space Required: 15MB
System Resources: 8%
RAM: 4MB minimum; 8MB recommended
Omega Research
800-422-8587, 305-270-1095
Info File
By: Philip Albinus
You're only as good as your last presentation. The SmartView 3600 LCD projection panel's sharp display will get attention fast and help make sure your next presentation isn't your last.
The SmartView 3600 is an active-matrix projection panel that measures 13.1 by 15.5 by 2.5 inches and weighs 6 pounds. Setting it up is a breeze: Place the panel on an overhead projector, plug it into the VGA-out port of your PC, plug in the power source and you're ready to go. The SmartView also offers two built-in audio speakers.
The unit ships with a slim remote control for activating the menu. You can change the image's brightness, sharpness, contrast and image tracking. The remote's range of 20 feet should be sufficient in most conference rooms. It includes volume control for the SmartView audio speakers, but in order to mute the sound you must use the mute button on the SmartView itself.
The only problem I found was that the fan on the unit I reviewed caused a distracting hum. The display is sharp and crisp, however, and you can't beat the price. While other projection panels cost between $6,000 and $7,500, the SmartView is a bargain at $4,299.
In Focus SmartView 3600
Price: $4,299
In Focus Systems
800-294-6400, 503-685-8888
Copyright ⌐ 1995 CMP Media Inc.