Nov 95 New Products

Quad-speed CD-ROMs may not be the fastest drives on the market anymore, but they're still speedy by most standards--and they cost less than ever.

Panasonic released the internal LK-MC684BP and external LK-MC604S drives with 600KBps data-transfer rates and 175ms average seek times. They offer CD audio through headphone jack and line-out, audio playback and subchannel data read with error correction. Each has autoloading and three-way eject. They support Video for Windows, Photo CD, CD-i and Video CD. The LK-MC684BP is Plug and Play compatible and fits into any vertical or horizontal 5.25-inch slot. LK-MC684BP, $299; LK-MC604S, $499.

Panasonic Communications & Systems
800-742-8086, 201-348-7000.

The Chinon CDS-545i offers a 630KBps data-transfer rate and 185ms average seek time. It is compatible with CD audio, CD-ROM XA, MPC 2, and Photo CD and Multisession. The drive also connects to the PC with enhanced IDE instead of SCSI. You can operate the CDS-545i's front-panel controls independently. $199 (street).

Chinon America
800-441-0222, 310-533-0274.

The Diamond Multimedia Power Kit 7000 includes a 16-bit, 1MB wavetable sound card; 15-watt amplified speakers; a joystick; a microphone; and 22 entertainment and reference titles. It is Photo CD and Multisession XA compatible. $399 (street).

Diamond Multimedia Systems
800-468-5846, 408-325-7000.

The Creative Labs Sound Blaster Performance 4X multimedia upgrade kit includes a Sound Blaster 32 audio card, 10-watt speakers and 24 software titles. The Sound Blaster 32 card provides 16-bit digital stereo, and can be upgraded to 28MB of SIMM memory. The CD-ROM has a 600KBps transfer rate and a 250ms access rate. $429 (street).

Creative Labs
800-998-5227, 408-428-6600.

The Pioneer DRM-624X six-disc changer features a 4.4-speed drive, making it faster than your typical quad-speed six-disc changer.

The DRM-624X features a 676KBps data-transfer rate, a 150ms access time and an average seek time of 110ms. It can change discs in five seconds, and its magazine tray holds discs upside down to prevent dust from gathering on the optical head at the top of the drive. The DRM-624X measures 8.27 by 3.45 by 14.6 inches. It supports CD-Audio, Photo CD, graphics, animation and motion video. $795.

Pioneer New Media Technologies
800-444-OPTI, 310-952-2111.

The International Interactive MediaPlayback Professional expansion card transforms a PC with a CD-ROM into a CD-i (Compact Disc Interactive) player. By bringing full-motion, full-screen CD-i capabilities to PCs, MediaPlayback Professional simplifies the job of developers of interactive training and kiosk systems.

The expansion card lets a PC with a CD-ROM drive play CD-i titles at 30 frames per second with full-motion MPEG video and full interactive control. It works with Digital Video, VideoCD and MPEG II files. MediaPlayback Professional works right on your computer's VGA monitor and supports any CD-i-compatible CD-ROM drive. $1,000 (direct).

International Interactive Media
617-290-5964, fax 617-890-6682.

The Alaris Matinee accelerator delivers PCI graphics and scalable full-motion playback for under $200. It combines an Alliance Semiconductor ProMotion 6410 graphics/video chip with XingMPEG Player Plus software. $199.

Alaris
800-317-2438, 510-770-5700.

You don't need a second mortgage to buy a notebook computer that enhances communication when you're away from the office. The AT&T Globalyst 130 costs less than $2,000 and includes software that makes it easier to work on the road.

Based on a 75MHz DX4 processor, the AT&T Globalyst 130 weighs 5 pounds and ships standard with a 256-color, 10.4-inch passive-matrix color screen, one PCMCIA slot, 4MB of system memory and a 340MB hard disk. It also provides a variety of communications software packages, including AT&T's Vistium Share document-sharing software.

AT&T's Mail AccessPlus, MessageFlash and MailFlash ship with the Globalyst 130. Mail Access PLUS provides messaging access over the Internet. The notebook uses a center-mounted trackball to position the cursor and includes a palm rest. $1,999.

AT&T Global Information Solutions
800-447-1124, 512-834-6975.

CompuAdd has introduced a new six-member notebook computer family that is available with a 50MHz, 75MHz or 100MHz 486DX4 processor. The CompuAdd Colorscan and the CompuAdd Colorpro include built-in trackpoint pointing devices, microphones and stereo speakers. The notebooks come standard with 4MB of RAM and 340MB hard disks. They ship with Windows 95 installed. Colorpro models have active-matrix screens.

Options include a mini-docking station, SCSI adapter and portable Canon printer. Colorscan, from $2,195 to $2,595; Colorpro, from $3,095 to $3,495.

CompuAdd Computer Corp.
800-627-1961, 512-250-1489.

The Commax Technologies Smart-Book III-P line of notebooks features 3.3-volt Pentium processors and the ability to connect to multiple peripherals.

The processors are 75MHz, 90MHz or 100MHz. The notebooks provide two serial ports, 8MB of 64-bit memory, accelerated graphics and 1MB of video memory.

Their sound features include built-in microphones, integrated speakers and self-contained Sound Blaster Pro-compatible audio.

You can choose between a 10.3-inch dual-scan passive-matrix color, or 10.4- or 9.5-inch active-matrix color monitor. The monitors support up to 256 colors and 1280x1024 resolution.

With the battery, the SmartBook III-P weighs 6.6 pounds. A docking station is optional. From $2,530.

Commax Technologies
800-526-6629, 408-435-5000.

Infrared fever is becoming contagious. The capability now extends from your notebook to any desktop PC, thanks to Puma's wireless connectivity bundles.

The bundles consist of IR adapters and TranXit 2.0 software, and provide infra-red transfer capability be-tween almost any notebook and PC--even if your notebook doesn't have a built-in IR interface.

The Puma Desktop Wireless Connectivity Bundle includes an IrDA-compliant serial infrared adapter and lets IR-ready notebooks transmit to non-IR desktops. For notebooks without a built-in IR interface, the Puma Mobile Wireless Connectivity Bundle includes a PC card infrared adapter for your notebook along with the serial adapter for the desktop.

TranXit 2.0, which comes bundled on many infrared notebooks, uses an interface similar to File Manager. It synchronizes your notebook files with those in your desktop by copying over the older documents in the desktop to bring them up-to-date. Puma now sells TranXit PrintPro, which gives your notebooks wireless access to printers. It even lets you use a printer that isn't IR-ready but is connected to a desktop.

Desktop Bundle, $149.95 (direct); Mobile Bundle, $299.95; (direct); TranXit 2.0 plus PrintPro, $129.95 (direct).

Puma Technology
800-774-PUMA, 408-987-0200.

If you think Compaq releases a new Pentium-based PC every time you turn around, you're right. In fact, with the Compaq ProLinea 5120 and Compaq Deskpro 5120, the company has officially released more than 50 Pentium-based desktops this year. (And the year's not over yet. Compaq still plans to bring out 133MHz Pentiums.)

The new models are based on the 120MHz Pentium chip. The ProLinea 5120 includes 16MB of RAM, a 256KB secondary cache, a 1GB hard disk, ISA and PCI local-bus architectures and high-performance graphics.

The Deskpro 5120 is network-ready. It features Compaq's Intelligent Manageability for asset management, fault management and security management. It also has an integrated 32-bit PCI Ethernet controller, network drivers and a network setup utility.

ProLinea 5120, $2,699 (street); Deskpro 5120, $3,299 (street).

Compaq Computer Corp.
800-888-5858, fax 713-378-1442.

Advanced Logic Research's singular selling point for its ALR Optima SL is price. The company touts the ALR Optima SL 575 as a sub-$1,000 Pentium-based PC. But that's without a hard disk--540MB of disk space to go with 8MB of RAM and a 75MHz processor will cost you $1,249.

The ALR Optima SL 590 is a 90MHz PC with 16MB of RAM and 850MB on its hard disk, and costs $1,839. Without the hard disk, it's $1,145.

All ALR Optima SLs are expandable to 128MB of RAM and include 1MB integrated PCI graphics expandable to 2MB, two PCI slots, two ISA slots (one shared), and a PCI-enhanced local-bus IDE. They're Plug and Play- and Energy Star-compliant. They come with three storage bays: one 5.25-inch, one internal 3.5-inch and an external 3.5-inch bay.

Optima SL 575 (540MB), $1,249; Optima SL 590 (850MB), $1,839.

Advanced Logic Research
800-444-4ALR, 714-581-6770.

The DFI Benchmarq P133 Power Station is packed with features. Besides its 133MHz Pentium processor, it has 16MB of RAM, a 256KB cache, a quad-speed CD-ROM drive and a 1.6GB hard drive. There's also a 64-bit 2MB PCI graphics accelerator and 17-inch digitally controlled monitor. The monitor can display the following resolutions and color depths at a maximum refresh rate of 75Hz: 800x600 with 16 million colors, 1024x768 with 64,000 colors and 1280x1024 with 256 colors. $4,399.

DFI
800-808-4334, 916-568-1234.

If your screen can't accommodate your spreadsheets or you can't lay out full pages without scrolling up and down, Radius' new monitors should help you see the big picture.

The Radius MultiView 21 is designed for business use; the Radius Precision-View 21 adds sharp colors for the professional publisher. Each monitor has about a 19.7-inch viewing area.

The MultiView 21 supports resolutions up to 1600x1200 with a horizontal scanning range of 30KHz to 85KHz. The 1600x1200 Super Resolution displays 92 percent more pixels than standard models.

The PrecisionView supports the same resolutions, and its horizontal scanning range is 30KHz to 93KHz. It is designed with multiple white-point settings and features cross-platform Plug-and-Play compatibility for Windows and Macs.

Both monitors include on-screen controls as well as Radius' two-lens set dual-axis dynamic focus. MultiView 21, $2,149; PrecisionView 21, $2,749.

Radius
800-227-2795, 408-541-6100.

Imagine working for hours on a project that turns to gibberish right before your eyes. Then, imagine not saying "Oh, &%*."

In fact, this turn of events makes you positively happy, because you've just encrypted an important message that could threaten corporate security if seen by a hacker or other unauthorized eyes.

Scrambler 3.0 allows you to encode confidential e-mail you want to keep confidential. It was previously limited to select corporate accounts, but this version has been upgraded for widespread business use. Any recipient using Scrambler can decode the message with a keyword agreed upon between the sender and receiver. The program scrambles text, graphic files, CAD drawings and other engineering designs. Scrambler can safeguard your most sensitive company or personal information.

It works whether you're sending mail across your company system or across the Internet. The program is compatible with Windows 95. $69.95 (direct).

Scramble Technologies
800-834-4005, 970-346-4066.

DaVinci email 3.2 is more tightly integrated into NetWare than its previous incarnations. It offers native support for Novell's NetWare Directory Services (NDS) and Message Handling Service (MHS), and works as a client/ server application.

DaVinci email 3.2 includes a Mail Server configuration option that lets it operate in the background. The program makes it easier to configure new clients because you only run ADMIN to create the basic directory structure.

DaVinci email creates the individual user directories and files automatically the first time the user launches the program.

DaVinci creator ON Technology also upgraded its entry-level e-mail program.

Notework Electronic Mail 4.0 now supports Windows NT, while OS/2 users can run it as a Windows application. DaVinci email 3.2, $199; 10-user license, $790; Notework 4.0, $199; 10-user license, $590.

ON Technology Corp.
800-767-6683, 617-374-1400.

FreeMail Internet is yours for a price. But it's free--and legal--to copy and distribute it to set up your own e-mail network. Once you install a Parent copy of FreeMail on your system, it creates Child disks that you can give to anyone without any additional charges. Anybody with a Child copy can exchange e-mail with the Parent, even if they're not on a network. The FreeMail's latest version lets you set up your own Internet domain, and your Child sites can send Internet mail to each other through the Parent domain. $199.95.

FreeMail
406-586-4200, fax 406-586-4336.

The Asanté FAST 100 hub provides the extra bandwidth needed to relieve LAN traffic bottlenecks. Using 100BaseTX technology, the 12-port stackable Fast Ethernet hub lets you upgrade your network to 100Mbps Fast Ethernet. You can stack five hubs with an expansion card. $1,995.

Asanté Technologies
408-435-8388, fax 408-432-1117.

WinLAND inventories more than 300 hardware items and automatically identifies software on each workstation. Network managers can find files by using parameters such as minimum and maximum size, date and linked files. WinLAND's Report Writer helps organize the collected data.

Initial license (first 50 computers), $595; additional 100-user license, $495; additional console, $149.

Frye Computer Systems, A Seagate Software Co.
800-234-3793, 617-451-5400.

Nodemap, HavenTree Software's automatic DOS network diagrammer, is now available for all Windows versions, including Win95. The program automatically detects LAN and WAN configurations to diagram networks and help administrators diagnose network problems. Its Operational View displays all available network devices on one diagram, and the Executive View mode lets you drill down through levels for more detail. $499.

HavenTree Software Ltd.
613-544-6035, fax 613-544-9632.

With Track, you can locate buggy software and defective hardware and fixes across a LAN. The program includes a visual Query Builder and automatic notification capabilities through Lotus Notes, cc: Mail and Microsoft Mail. $495; upgrade, $99.

Soffront Software
408-263-2703, fax 408-263-7452.

If, like the rest of us, you need to better organize your day and manage your time, Day-Timer Organizer 2.0 should come in handy. The PIM includes new telephony, address book, print and network features.

It also supports TAPI and TSAPI interfaces for better integration between your phone and PC. It includes Speed Dial, Hold, Forward/Transfer and Conference calling features, and a caller ID screen that displays information on incoming calls.

The address book lets you enter up to four e-mail addresses for each contact, and customize labels and address layouts .

With Day-Timer Organizer's expanded printing options, you can print a single module from the daily planner, such as a schedule or to-do list. For networking, the PIM supports up to 720 users on a single database. It also automatically notifies meeting invitees. Day-Timer also improved the organizer's search, sorting, mail merge, and drag-and-drop capabilities. $59.95.

Day-Timer Technologies
800-224-5005, 415-572-6260.

Let your PC show you the future--and how to budget for it. BudgetPC helps organize your company's financial data while analyzing and forecasting up to five years ahead.

The program's flexible account-by-account growth options let you target your company's projected income, balance sheets and cash flow. BudgetPC's chart of accounts and financial statements should work with any size company.

BudgetPC calculates the present value of projected earnings to determine the real value of future income.

Enter or import up to five years of historical financial statements and annualize the most recent interim period. BudgetPC will take you step-by-step through monthly and annual forecasting assumptions, then create financial statements.

For reviewing financial results, the program highlights total sales, assets and liabilities, net income and net cash flow. It calculates current ratio, quick ratio, net income percentage, return on equity and debt to equity. $99(street).

MoneySoft
800-966-7797, 619-689-8340.

Janna Contact 2.0 looked just like Microsoft Office, and now Janna Contact 95 looks just like Office 95. Janna released the new version of its PIM to coincide with Windows 95. It shares many Win95 features, including Explorer-type lists, tabbed dialogs, 32-bit database performance and OLE 2.0. It also supports long filenames, right mouse-button functions and Win95-style help files.

The Information Log window is the core of Janna's integrated document management. There you store your letters, faxes, spreadsheets, presentations and voice notes alongside your contacts. You can edit any document created with an OLE server application in Janna Contact 95. $99 (street).

Janna Systems
800-268-6107, 416-483-7711.

Even information at your fingertips is often hard to access if it's not properly organized. Info Select 3.0 includes enhanced search capabilities, font management, a spell checker and built-in network data sharing that make it easier to use than its previous versions. The PIM lets you assign a file or record to one or more folders and view all the items in a folder at once. $99.95(street); upgrade, $69.95.

Micro Logic Corp.
800-342-5930, 201-342-6518.

Okay, so Smart Moves Personal Relocation Guide 2.0 won't load up the moving van and drive you to your new home. But it will tell you if it's better to do it yourself or hire professionals. The new version considers cost of living, and calculates how the sale of your house and the purchase of a new home will impact your finances. $39.95(street).

PHH Technology Services
800-210-8852, 913-661-0808.

Set up an electronic photo ID system for your company with AvantGuard 2.0. AvantGuard provides tamper-proof card production, secure ID database management and ID verification software. It includes utilities to capture images, encode magnetic stripes and smart chips, and print ID cards. The Professional Edition for organizations with multiple sites can accommodate millions of cardholders. $1,995; Professional Edition 2.0, $2,995.

G&A Imaging Ltd.
819-772-7600 option 3, faxback 819-772-2761.