Dec 1995 First Impressions

by: By Jonathan Blackwood, First Impressions Editor, John Gartner, Technical Director, and Will Gee, Technical Associate

They're here ... almost. The long-awaited debut of the Pentium Pro (né P6) PCs is at hand. We checked out three preproduction versions of these technological marvels from Dell, Hewlett-Packard and IBM. We found them, as you might expect, to be the fastest Intel-architecture systems we've tested. Of course, this industry changes so rapidly that this is the third time in 1995 we've used that phrase in these pages.

Packed with the latest features, the Dell Dimension XPS Pro150 is a system to be reckoned with. At first glance, the XPS Pentium Pro looks like any other Dimension system, but that's where the similarities end. The XPS Pro150 does share a similar case design with other Dimension PCs, so getting inside the chassis required loosening just one thumb screw. Two external 5.25-inch drive bays, along with one internal and two external 3.5-inch drive bays, provide you with plenty of expansion space.

The evaluation unit was configured with Windows NT Workstation 3.51, a 6X TEAC CD-ROM drive, a 2GB Seagate EIDE hard drive, a 2MB Number Nine 9FX Motion PCI video card, a Sound Blaster AWE32 sound card and 64MB of 60-nanosecond RAM. The unit was tested with a 17-inch Dell LS Energy Star-compliant monitor with a 0.28mm dot pitch.

The XPS Pro150 uses an Intel-designed motherboard in the new ATX form factor, incorporating the Orion chip set, a Dell enhanced AMI Flash BIOS, Enhanced IDE, and serial, parallel, keyboard and mouse ports. The ATX motherboard, which is longer than traditional AT motherboards, eases access to the SIMM slots and other components. The XPS Pro150 has two ISA slots, three PCI slots and one shared ISA/PCI slot. One ISA slot was occupied by the sound card, and the video card fit into one of the PCI slots. Although the motherboard can accept up to 128MB of RAM, one limitation of this unit's design is that there are only four SIMM slots and memory must be upgraded in pairs. In addition to the power-supply fan, a secondary fan is mounted on the chassis to keep the 150MHz Pro150 processor from losing its cool.

The XPS Pro150 will not have a tough time satisfying a power user. Dell will provide a choice of either Windows 95 or Windows NT. The price tag for the 64MB Pro 150MHz system as tested is approximately $6,400, and the machine carries a three-year limited warranty (one-year on-site service and two-year service in which parts are shipped the next business day). The unit is also available in different configurations; for instance, a 32MB version is available for $1,400 less. One additional note: This preproduction machine was not configured with the Number Nine Imagine 128 4MB board, which will be available on shipping units. The Imagine board should increase video performance substantially.

--Info File--
Dell Dimension XPS Pro150
Price: $6,700 (with Imagine Video Card)
Dell Computer Corp.
800-613-3355, 512-338-4400

Unlike the other Pentium Pros I've seen that feature standard Intel motherboards, Hewlett-Packard has renovated the Vectra line with the introduction of the XU 6/150PC.

The unit's new mini-tower case is more fashionable, with its stylish off-white color, and more functional; you need only flip up two latches near the base for easy removal. Opening the case you'll notice the dual CPU sockets, imposing heat sink and the even larger plastic duct that directs air across the motherboard.

Closer inspection reveals an integrated Creative Labs audio chip, both EIDE and Adaptec Fast SCSI interfaces, and eight DIMM (dual in-line memory module) sockets.

HP's DIMM memory architecture uses pairs of chips to form a 128-bit-wide interleaved data path. The ECC (error-correcting code) memory chips use advanced parity-checking schemes for improved data integrity. Cosmetic improvements aside, the Vectra XU 6/150PC's stellar performance breaks new ground. Like the other Pentium Pros previewed here, it raced through our application and low-level tests, showing about twice the performance of a 90MHz Pentium under Windows NT.

You can't help but feel the speed in nearly every operation when you put this machine through its paces. Under Windows 95, however, the performance boost is not nearly as significant. HP does support Win95 but does not offer it as an option. The Vectra XU 6/150PC ships with either Windows NT 3.51 or OS/2.

The preproduction system we tested in early autumn was Beta with a capital B. We needed a boot floppy to install BIOS patches to get the system up, and several components weren't fully functional. Password protection and other functions of the custom BIOS were inoperable, and even with the help of an engineer we couldn't get the HP 10BaseT/100VG AnyLAN adapter to work.

Although it was also preproduction, the unit's documentation was truly magnificent. The manual's technical detail was explained in comprehensive, clear language that even relative novices can appreciate.

All of the peripherals in this system are good performers. The Quantum Fireball 2GB hard disk, Sony quad-speed CD-ROM drive and Matrox Millennium video adapter are found in many top-performing systems. This Pentium Pro makes most of the systems that preceded it seem amateurish by comparison.

--Info File--
Hewlett-Packard Vectra XU 6/150PC
Price: $9,000 (street) as tested
Hewlett-Packard Co.
800-322-HPPC, 415-857-1501

IBM has once again gotten serious about personal computers—and high-performance workstations. The PC 300 mini-tower system I saw in early October would gladden the heart of any computer graphics maven, engineer or Wall Street analyst. What's more, IBM has not been known in recent years for being among the first to market with a new Intel processor.

You'll find in the PC 300 an ATX-form-factor Intel-built system board with Intel's Orion chip set in place of an IBM-manufactured board, even though Big Blue is one of the largest manufacturers of system boards in its own right. The system board includes two ISA slots, three PCI slots and one combination ISA/PCI slot. There are two serial, one parallel and two PS/2-style ports.

The other components are also top-drawer, non-IBM parts, including a Matrox Millennium video adapter with 4MB of RAM, a 1.2GB 5400-rpm Quantum Fireball hard disk and a 6X CD-ROM drive. The system also includes an excellent 17-inch IBM monitor with a Trinitron tube, and comes with 32MB of ECC memory. With sound, SCSI and network interface cards, the system is expected to weigh in at $4,500. Buyers will have a choice of Windows NT, Windows 95 or OS/2 operating systems, though IBM expects most of these systems will be shipped with Windows NT.

--Info File--
IBM PC 300 Pentium Pro System
Price: From $4,500
IBM Corp.
800-IBM-2-YOU, 914-765-1900

by: Joel T. Patz

Microsoft's Project for Windows 95 is packed with exciting new features. Most exciting, perhaps, is a greatly improved communications capability that provides a new way to transfer information about project deadlines, task assignments and project status.

After you've determined a project's tasks, with a few mouse clicks you can select resources from your Microsoft Exchange or other MAPI e-mail address book and assign responsibilities. The Resource Information dialog box for each team member provides details such as project affiliation and hourly rates, and you can also forge a direct link to information stored in the address book. You can assign tasks in a flash by either highlighting the task and clicking on the resource name or by dragging a name to the task. Project's Gantt chart immediately reflects your choices.

Once the tasks and team members are matched up, you can use the Team Assign feature to send an e-mail message to each member to confirm assignments. The team members return their acceptances or rejections via e-mail. If the team players also use Microsoft Schedule+, they can save even more time: Accepting a project task adds it to the Schedule+ To Do list and lets the team member track its progress.

To update project status, you can incorporate information from the team members' Schedule+ files directly into Project. Team members can also change the estimated effort for a task if you give them access to do so. When you receive this type of e-mail response, a few button clicks update the master schedule.

The Gantt chart is the main graphical representation of your project. On the main planning screen, the left panel lists the project's tasks, and you can add other fields such as duration and start/end dates. The customizable Gantt chart is displayed on the right. A project's hierarchical format can be modified in three ways: using the indent or outdent commands, clicking on toolbar buttons, or dragging and dropping the task names. Task notes can be attached where needed. For regularly scheduled project meetings, you can use the recurring-task command.

Altering the look of your project plan can help convey its information effectively. You can differentiate task listings, for instance, by tweaking their formats, including fonts, font sizes and colors. You can also customize the bars of the Gantt chart with beginning and ending shapes, styles (solid, dashed or framed) and colors. And if the Gantt chart doesn't suit your needs, Project also offers a calendar view.

As a project gathers steam, moving tasks around on the schedule can become time-consuming, but Microsoft Project greases the wheels by letting you drag and drop these tasks to new locations along a timeline. When you do this, the software's Planning Wizard pops up to ask if the task you moved is linked to the one nearest it. Say yes, and dependency arrows appear on the chart. You can also link tasks by highlighting a pair of them and clicking on the link button in the toolbar, or by dragging from one task to another. After moving and adjusting tasks and timelines, you'll want to save the plan. Select Save from the File menu, and another wizard asks if you want to save the plan as a baseline to let you track changes over time, or save it without a baseline.

Project also lets you perform resource leveling across single or multiple projects. You can consolidate projects and share resources by bringing multiple files into a single window or a new file. Filtering and sort options affect the display of pertinent information. Reports—general and particular—are available for all the information you're likely to need.

Project's Help file is a good guide to the program's features, and the tutorial acclimates first-time users quickly and comfortably. The Answer Wizard is another welcome component; it uses IntelliSense technology to answer questions written in your own words.

Microsoft Project for Windows 95 is a powerful—and very usable—project management program.

--Info File--
Microsoft Project for Windows 95
Price: $469; upgrade, $149
Win 95 Software In Brief: Project's expanded workgroup functionality enhances communications between the project manager and team members.
Disk Space: Complete, 25MB; compact, 10MB
RAM: 6MB (12MB for NT)
Microsoft Corp.
800-426-9400, 206-882-8080

by: James E. Powell

No matter who you want to reach out and touch—or how you need to do it—CommSuite 95 has the necessary Windows 95 communications tools. Delrina's new communication coup (which I tested in beta) offers you the wherewithal for Internet, online service and bulletin board access, along with its flagship fax facility.

Cyberjack, the suite's Internet component, allows access to all key Internet services including the Web, ftp, telnet News, Usenet and Internet Relay Chat (IRC). Veronica, Archie and gopher are supported to help you locate what you need no matter where it is on the Net.

Cyberjack's GuideBook helps you store and manage all your Internet information. It comes with dozens of Web sites, newsgroups and names of downloadable files listed and arranged in folders. You can easily add your own items to any GuideBook folder. When you click on a site in a folder, Cyberjack launches the appropriate tool to access it. You can drag items from the GuideBook onto your desktop, creating true OLE 2.0 objects, not just shortcuts.

Net surfing couldn't be easier. Cyberjack will highlight an address and automatically launch the right program to access it. The browser saves previous pages and makes good use of cache, so your online sessions move along at a comfortable pace.

Cyberjack includes OLE 2.0 in-place activation. While viewing a fax, for example, you could click on an attached Word file and edit it using Word toolbars and menus.

Most of the changes to WinFax PRO 7.0 are relatively minor enhancements to the previous version (4.0). The program's interface now uses tabbed dialog boxes for program options, but the feature set still includes a scheduler for delayed or recurring faxing, group addressing and sending to multiple locations. There are more than 100 cover pages with automatic fill-in of variable information such as date, time, name and fax number.

Under Windows 95, WinFax PRO 7.0 can send or receive faxes in the background without crippling

the performance of other applications. You can also access the Exchange phone book from WinFax. You can automatically forward received faxes to another number, and you can convert faxes into editable text using the built-in Xerox TextBridge OCR.

The WinComm PRO module can be used for access to online services or bulletin boards, or for point-to-point links with other PCs. Each connection setup—including scripts for CompuServe, GEnie, MCI and Dow Jones, which come with the program—is represented by an icon. The list of file-transfer protocols and terminal emulations is comprehensive. Among the terminal features are a scroll-back buffer and screen capture to a file. WinComm PRO supports TAPI modems and Winsock connections for telnet sessions. If you use an internal modem, you'll like the set of simulated LEDs that mimic a modem's status lights. Graphics in 31 formats can be viewed as they're downloaded, and you can scan downloads as they arrive to check for over 3,000 viruses.

Cyberjack, WinFax and WinComm were not fully integrated in the beta I tested, but Delrina said the shipping product will have an automated setup routine that will help configure TCP/IP stacks and work with your Internet service provider. The part of the integration that was working in the beta—the Delrina CommBar—showed the status of all communications sessions.

A menu option lets you dial into Delrina's Cyberjack server, download any upgrade the company offers and incorporate it into your own copy of the program.

From fax to ftp, CommSuite 95 supplies all the hooks you need for uncomplicated communications.

--Info File--
CommSuite 95
Price: $99 (street)
Win 95 Software In Brief: CommSuite is a comprehensive communications package for Windows 95.
Delrina Corp.
800-268-6082, 408-363-2345

by: Philip Albinus

Your driving instructor was wrong—faster is better. With a sticker price of about $2,900, the Quantex QP5/133 SM-1 is the speed demon multimedia PC you've been looking for.

The QP5/133 SM-1 comes fully loaded, with a 1.6GB hard disk, 16MB of RAM and a blazingly fast Intel Pentium 133MHz processor with 256KB of direct-mapped, write-back secondary cache. Housed in a large mid-tower design with 11 drive bays, the QP5/133 SM-1 is so fast you'll expect to hear sonic booms even after launching bloated applications like Microsoft Office and WordPerfect 6.1. They're on-screen and ready in a flash.

The Quantex QP5/133 SM-1 ships with the 17-inch MAG InnoVision DX17F monitor. MAG InnoVision monitors usually achieve fair-to-middling results in WINDOWS Magazine's roundup reviews, but most users will find the DX17F monitor acceptable, with a 0.26mm fine dot pitch. Unfortunately, the monitor has a black band that "frames" the application on the screen, making a truly edge-to-edge image impossi-ble. If you are performing demanding layout or CAD work, upgrade to a better monitor, but if your day is filled with standard Windows operations, the MAG InnoVision will perform admirably. The QP5/133 SM-1's video is driven by the ATI Mach 64 Graphics Xpression video card that boasts 2MB of DRAM.

The Quantex QP5/133 SM-1 ships with a Toshiba quad-speed CD-ROM drive, the 16-bit Soundscape Wavetable sound card from Ensoniq and a pair of Altec Lansing speakers. At review time, the Windows 95 drivers for the Ensoniq Soundscape sound card were still in beta. After extended tinkering with the beta drivers, the sound card functioned well but I had to use 16-bit DOS drivers for the CD-ROM drive. A Quantex representative said the drivers for the sound card, video card and CD-ROM drive would be installed on all Quantex machines by the time you read this.

As the Internet and the Web beckon to you, why should your processor be the only speed demon in your system? Quantex ships with a 28.8Kbps fax modem from Askey International. Software includes Novell PerfectOffice, Quicken Financial Manager, Special Edition, SharkWare, Astound, the Complete Reference Library, Delrina WinFax Lite, as well as CompuServe, Prodigy and NetCruiser Plus preinstalled on the hard disk.

Unfortunately, some of the most important peripherals do not have the same spit and polish as the rest of the system. PC users rely on the microprocessor, the memory and the video, but they interact with the keyboard and mouse. The QP5/133 SM-1 I reviewed shipped with the woefully ugly Quantex mouse, a three-button monstrosity that resembles an electric razor. The mouse was unresponsive, and strenuous clicking was required to activate the mouse button.

It left me pining for a more professional mouse from Microsoft or Logitech. The 101-key Quantex keyboard did not have a responsive tactile feel and was rather noisy, especially the spacebar, which made a disconcerting "clacking" sound when depressed.

My test system shipped with Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and MS-DOS 6.22. Converting to Windows 95 was easy enough. Thanks to the ample memory, fast Pentium chip and quad-speed CD-ROM drive, the new operating system took only 10 minutes to install. Really.

The QP5/133 SM-1 performed well in our WINDOWS Magazine Wintune 95 benchmark testing, with scores of 241MFLOPS and 74MFLOPS. The Quantex executed our Excel 7.0 macro in just 20 seconds and our Word 7.0 macro test in 22 seconds.

I was impressed.

Quantex offers a full one-year free warranty for parts and labor, one-year on-site service, optional GE four-year warranty on parts and labor, 30-day money-back guarantee and lifetime toll-free technical support.

If you need a top gun, the Quantex QP5/133 SM-1 is your machine. It's the perfect blend of speed, functionality and potential. Remember to strap in, hang on and keep cool as Quantex's G-forces pile up.

--Info File--
Quantex QP5/133 SM-1
Price: $2,899 (direct)
In Brief: This fast 133MHz Pentium multimedia desktop system delivers all the power you need for 32-bit applications.
Quantex Microsystems
800-987-7209, 908-563-4166

by: Joel T. Patz

If you're used to pats on the back from clients and colleagues for creating snappy four-color presentations peppered with 2-D bar charts and exploding pies—look out. They just might hoist you up on their shoulders after you whip together your next tour de force with Harvard ChartXL 2.0.

This outstanding graphing program's flexibility and seemingly endless options let you analyze, preview and present graphic interpretations of data with more depth and clarity than you thought possible.

You start ChartXL's ball rolling by selecting from one of its three chart categories: business, statistical or technical. When you pick one, a list of chart types associated with the category appears. Over 300 simple to complex graph types are available, many in 3-D. For example, for business data, you can choose from bar, pyramid, ribbon, candlestick and high/low/close charts; statistical data uses box-whisker, scatter, pareto and star charts; and technical information can be illustrated by polar, vector, XY, surface from triplets and shadow-contour charts.

Click on a chart type and a thumbnail is displayed. If it's not what you want, click on another. Press the Gallery button for an expanded set of variations along with the Advisor, which provides the chart type's name, its customary use and its physical characteristics.

ChartXL makes it easy to associate data with a chart. Data can be imported from an Excel or Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet, or you can link data in one of those spreadsheets to a ChartXL graph. You can also enter your data directly in the program's well-appointed spreadsheet. The Range Highlighter from the View menu ensures that your data is entered in the right cells and simplifies the process of changing axis labels, values, scanning order and direction, and adding axes to a chart. The Formula Visualizer takes the drudgery out of creating curve or surface charts based on equations.

As you work, you can choose to see only the spreadsheet data or the chart, or both. ChartXL's split screen lets you view updates in the chart as you enter or change the data.

Powerful commands available on the Analysis toolbar enable you to develop statistical charts depicting linear, polynomial and cyclical trends, standard deviation and moving averages. You specify the calculation options and the data range to be used and ChartXL does the rest—quickly. You can even make data changes directly in some charts and perform "what-if" analysis by dragging the end of a column to a new point.

Your chart's appearance is as important as the data it represents. ChartXL is no slouch when it comes to good looks, too. Whether you want to spruce up the whole chart or just a part of it, a one-stop-shopping dialog box gives you complete editing control over line style, location of an axis, its scale and labels, grid lines, number format, color mapping and special enhancements for 3-D charts. The Rotation toolbar lets you rotate, tilt and change a chart's size with or without changing its perspective.

You can exercise your creativity by adding, changing or moving text, pictures and other objects. Use the drawing tool to add aor curve anywhere on the chart page. Greek characters, mathematical symbols, super- and subscript text, fonts and font attributes, text alignment, fill patterns and color choices are just a menu choice or right-click away. You can preview a chart in color or black and white before saving your changes and printing.

This 32-bit application is OLE 2.0 compliant and Microsoft Office 95 certified. In addition to Windows 95, it runs under NT and Windows 3.1 using Win32s v1.3 (included). The user guide is well written and the program's contextual and online help is excellent. Feature-packed and easy to use, Harvard ChartXL 2.0 allows you to analyze, manipulate and communicate data so effectively, you'll wonder how you did without it.

--Info File--
Harvard ChartXL 2.0 for Windows 95
Price: $149; upgrade from Harvard ChartXL 1.0, Microsoft Office and Lotus 1-2-3, $79
Win 95 Software In Brief: ChartXL is an outstanding application for creating business, financial, technical and statistical graphs.
Disk Space: 5MB (14MB recommended)
System Resources: NA
RAM: 4MB (8MB recommended)
Software Publishing Corp.800-234-2500, 408-986-8000

by: James E. Powell

If you called Janna Contact 95 a PIM or contact manager, you wouldn't be telling the whole story. It's also a document manager that can be used to store letters, spreadsheets, even voice notes along with your contacts.

Janna Contact goes beyond handling the basics adroitly. It has preset fields for name, address and unlimited phone numbers, but it also offers custom fields that can vary from one contact to another. You can quickly search these fields or filter the entire list based on just about any field criteria.

Shortcuts abound. When you enter a new contact, you can choose from a list of companies derived from previously entered records. If the company has multiple sites, a pick list lets you select the right one. The QuickSort feature sorts your database by name, company or zip code, or you can just start typing a contact's last name and let Janna find a match.

Action Item lets you schedule tasks with one or more contacts and selected coworkers on your network. The scheduler checks for conflicts, and you can include a message or a document with the schedule request. Schedule viewing and update capabilities can be restricted for particular users, and you can now set up recurring events.

While viewing a contact record, you can set an appointment with that person by switching to the calendar, selecting a time and typing in a description. Janna automatically links the current contact's name and company to the appointment. Each action type, such as Meeting, Presentation, Proposal, To Do, Special Event and so on, has its own graphic, so it's easy to find specific types of tasks quickly.

Action items can be displayed by day, week, month or year. Days are divvied up into quarters on the monthly view, with icons in each quadrant representing what's on tap for the day.

If you use Microsoft's Schedule+, Janna Contact will synchronize that program's data with its own schedule. That way, you can use the Schedule+ directory to invite people to meetings or other events.

Attach a document to any appointment, or create a new one on the fly using OLE in-place editing. A paper-clip graphic on an appointment indicates an attached document; right-click on it to view, edit or delete the document.

Janna Contact's Document Manager window lets you store and manage standard correspondence. Create mail-merge templates, using provided macros, and Janna fills in the contact information you select. Or you can select multiple contacts and fax a document to them.

The Information Log lists each contact's documents, action items or appointments on a single screen.

Janna Contact conforms to Windows 95 interface standards, with long-filename support, right-button menus, customizable toolbars and property sheets. The program uses the Microsoft Access Jet Engine for storing data, so you can use a variety of third-party tools to write custom reports. The built-in report writer needs improvement. Information sometimes printed off the edge of smaller-sized pages.

Janna Contact includes some unique features. You can purge records you haven't accessed for a specified number of days, or retain records permanently so that deletions are overridden. Integration with Microsoft Exchange lets you drag messages from your Exchange inbox to Janna Contact's Information Log or scheduler.

One of Janna Contact's few weak points is performance. But the company worked with Microsoft to resolve the sluggishness that arose when Microsoft Plus was also loaded. Fixes are available on CompuServe (GO: JANNA) and Janna's Web site (http: //www.janna.com).

--Info File--
Janna Contact 95
Price: $99 (street)
Win 95 Software In Brief: This Windows 95 contact manager offers document management and an excellent scheduler.
Disk Space: 8MB
System Resources: NA
RAM: 8MB (16MB recommended)
Janna Systems800-268-6107, 416-483-7711