Dec 95 First Impressions

by: Jim Forbes

Gateway 2000 is reaching for new flexibility in notebook computing with Solo. This is a notebook that I've watched develop hand-in-hand with Windows 95. The Solo provides an all-in-one high-performance notebook that closely replicates desktop performance.

The Solo is available in three configurations: two with 90MHz Pentium processors and one with a 75MHz Pentium. The unit I tested was Gateway's S90 model, which ships standard with 16MB of RAM, 1MB of video memory, a 90MHz Pentium processor and a 10.4-inch Super VGA active-matrix color screen. It also provides a modular 3.5-inch floppy disk drive, modular double-speed CD-ROM drive, a 720MB hard disk and a standard complement of external ports. The Solo ships with Windows 95, Microsoft Works, Franklin's Ascend and other Windows 16-bit applications. This configuration costs $4,995 and includes a carrying case.

Let's talk flexibility. The CD-ROM drive and 3.5-inch floppy disk drive are housed

in modular cartridges that snap into the same bay in the front of the unit. Swapping units in and out takes only seconds and the modules themselves are held in place by a mechanical connection. Regrettably, the BIOS on the unit I tested required me to reboot the machine when I added the CD-ROM drive. And, there are some problems with

Windows 95 (which wants every device to have its own IRQ) and the Solo (in which some devices, notably the Ensoniq sound chip, want to share an IRQ).

Despite the fact that it has a CD-ROM drive, Solo measures just 2 by 11.75 by 8.5 inches. The version I tested had a travel weight of just over 7 pounds, excluding its carrying case. Gateway gets high marks for including a carrying case. It's ludicrous to risk a $5,000 computer to the vagaries of a briefcase or book bag. Unfortunately, the carrying case has no compartment in which to stow the unused drive.

I like Solo's 86-key keyboard with its two Windows 95 function keys. Two spring-loaded doglegs on the back of Solo tilt the unit up, making it easier to use for extended periods.

There's also an integrated palm rest and a touchpad pointing device, which is becoming increasingly popular on notebooks. (If you're a notebook computer user, there's probably a touchpad in your future, so you may as well learn to use one now if you don't already know how.)

The sound volume control and audio in- and output jacks are on the left side where they are easily reached. Another nice touch is the presence of separate doors for each connector.

The Solo's battery life is better than I expected. In fact, with minimal power conservation I was able to use it for more than two hours on several occasions. The optional lithium ion batteries that will soon be available would be a good investment.

My test unit was not a production system, although it contained virtually all the final version's components. Performance was good, but not exceptional, on our WINDOWS Magazine Wintune 95 benchmarks: 143MIPs and 52.2MFLOPs; 2.54Mpixels per second on the video, and a 12.4MB per second data-transfer rate for the hard disk. It took the Solo an average of 53.2 seconds to execute our Excel 7.0 macro and 57.3 seconds to execute our Word 7.0 macro.

Although the video is a little slow, I believe Solo is well suited for use with presentation software. The screen is bright enough to use for extended periods without appreciable eyestrain. The two small speakers mounted near the hinges for the screen provide passable sound for most purposes.

I like the Solo, although I question the two modular drives' durability, if they are left to flop around in a soft computer case.

--Info File--
Gateway 2000 Solo
Price: As configured, $4,995
In Brief: The Gateway Solo notebook computer is available with either a 75MHz or a 90MHz Pentium, and a 10.2-inch 640x480 VGA or 10.4-inch 800x600 Super VGA active-matrix color screen.
Gateway 2000
800-846-2000, 605-232-2000

by: Lynn Ginsburg

Digital intimacy is becoming a reality as products like Authorware coax multimedia users to get off the sidelines and into the game. Authorware lets you create interactive information that invites viewers to explore data beyond superficial levels. It can be used to create a variety of applications, including kiosks, CD-ROM publications and computer-based training.

Authorware also excels in breaking down barriers for the authors of interactive titles. While its $4,995 price tag suggests a powerhouse application, you won't need programming skills to get up and running quickly. That's because the high price also buys an incredibly well-designed piece of software that unravels the mysteries of interactive authoring.

Authorware's central paradigm is its flowline, where you order the objects that make up your project. The program automates many of the routines that require either programming or scripting in other applications. Using the program's object-based design, I relied on icons to easily accomplish complex operations. From the central toolbar, you drag and drop icons to create basic animations, perform functions, manipulate variables and create paths based on either user-response or author-defined controls. You rarely need to stray from these icons to wade through menus.

Multimedia elements, text or commonly used functions can also be stored in drag-and-drop libraries for easy access. A file can be associated with up to 20 libraries, and libraries can be linked to many different files. When a file associated with multiple libraries is updated in one library, it's automatically updated in all the others to which it's linked.

Authorware uses an ingenious method to get you started immediately with tools and functions that you may not yet fully comprehend. When you add a new icon to the flowline and use a hotkey to run your interactive application, Authorware stops at the new, undefined icon and displays a dialog box that lets you fill in options for that feature. To create a simple animation sequence, for instance, I just dropped a "motion" icon onto the flowline. The resulting dialog directed me to select and move the object that was to be animated, and asked for a playback rate. Choosing the object and defining its animation path was a simple drag-and-drop operation. Similar dialogs are available for most tasks, including adding multimedia elements, creating controls for navigating the application and performing system functions such as exiting the program.

Because much of the logic and functions of interactivity are built into Authorware's tools, many familiar actions are also reduced to drag-and-drop and dialog box options. For instance, if/then functions are usually among the most complex interactive operations in authoring programs; these functions typically require extensive scripting. With Authorware, I just filled in dialog boxes to set up an if/then scenario for an interactive quiz that branched based on the user's responses.

Hyperlinks are also easy to create. When I wanted to quickly create links to some audio clips and text, I just double-clicked to mark the text I wanted to link, added red and a hand icon to identify the hot-text or screen areas, and indicated the object I wanted to link in a dialog box.

Besides ease of use, cross-platform reliability is another of Authorware's strengths. Like its sibling application, Director, Authorware offers compatibility between Windows and Macintosh. You can also integrate Director productions into Authorware applications, and even send Director's Lingo commands from within Authorware to Director movies, and receive information back in turn.

Authorware is a good bet for novices, but its depth and diversity of toolsets also make it an excellent tool for creating complex navigations, variables and functions. The program is best used for putting together the "big picture," and making all of the minute details function smoothly as a whole. Director, on the other hand, is ideal for controlling details, and for scoring and coordinating a wide array of multimedia production elements. Authorware's price may make it prohibitive for those who want to dabble, but its innovative design and awesome power make it an excellent choice for the serious interactive author.

--Info File--
Authorware 3
Price: Commercial, $4,995 (includes Director); Education, $995
In Brief: Authorware 3 is a powerhouse multimedia authoring program that's equally suited to novices and professionals.
Disk Space Required: 40MB
System Resources: NARAM: 8MB
Macromedia
800-326-2128, 415-252-2000

by: Lynn Ginsburg

In Win95 wonderland, complex multimedia applications will be the desktop accessories of an eager audience. TriSpectives, 3D/EYE's first entry in the Windows multimedia market, is a 3-D program intended for the general business masses that delivers professional-level power. Borrowing from the latest generation of ultra-easy graphics programs that employ smart shapes, predesigned drag-and-drop graphics and design wizards, TriSpectives tries to make the 3-D modeling process more accessible.

From the outset, TriSpectives facilitates your transition into the 3-D workspace. Create a new document and up pops a wizard, giving you the option to open the document as a 3-D page or a 3-D scene. Choose 3-D page, and the workspace that appears resembles that of a 2-D graphics program, easing novices into the 3-D world.

The program's ready-made 3-D page offers options similar to those of other 3-D packages, where you can specify a fixed viewpoint at a 90-degree angle. But what's unique about TriSpectives'

3-D page is its border, which, like a 2-D graphics program, represents a constant reference point for the page's final output. The constant reference point relieves 3-D novices from worrying about 3-D elements such as camera positions and zoom rates for matching the final rendered image's desired dimensions.

TriSpectives' IntelliShapes--predesigned objects--are most inviting for less-experienced users. IntelliShapes are the basic, geometric solids used to build 3-D objects. In TriSpectives, they simplify working with three dimensions by controlling how shapes interact with each other when placed in a scene. Drag a shape from the library and drop it into a scene, and the built-in smart features guide you through compiling shapes to make up objects. IntelliShape surfaces will snap to each other and automatically align with the axes of other shapes. IntelliShapes also have control handles that function like bounding boxes used to scale objects in 2-D programs. These handles control movement along the object's length, width and height, and can display dimensions as they are moved.

Even experienced 3-D users will find IntelliShapes useful for quickly creating and editing objects. I especially liked the IntelliShape that drilled a hole through an object, giving me interactive, flexible control over the process.

Another key ease-of-use feature--and one of my favorites--is the ability to specify a page size and resolution for your final image. Although this seems simple, other 3-D packages turn it into an arduous process in which you typically have to go through extra steps to manually calculate the image's resolution and final output size. At the same time, you have to make sure that the rendered image appears where it should be within the page frame. None of this applies with TriSpectives. You just specify page size and resolution in the page properties dialog box.

TriSpectives also includes properties panels--core features that give you added depth of control over every element in a scene. For example, properties panels let you specify all the parameters of an IntelliShape, including surface reshaping, beveling and cross-sectioning. Similar control is available for colors, surface finishes and scene settings, and all other attributes that go into building 3-D objects and scenes.

The downside to the program's emphasis on streamlining the 3-D design process for novices is a sometimes unwanted layer of automation added to the interface that tends to hinder rather than help experienced users. In other programs, such as Caligari's trueSpace, you have more direct access to all tools and controls, so you can see the immediate effects of your interactive operations.

TriSpectives does an admirable job of masking some of the complexities of 3-D creation, but it still can't completely compensate for the nature of the beast. Still, it provides an effective, relatively painless introduction to 3-D graphics.

--Info File--
TriSpectives
Price: $299
Win 95 Software In Brief: TriSpectives is a Win95 3-D graphics entry that offers innovative ease of use.
3D/EYE
800-WIN-953D, 607-257-1381

by: Michelle A. Tyrrell

There's a lot to love about Epson's ActionTower 8200 multimedia system. It comes loaded with everything but the kitchen sink, it's unbelievably easy to set up, it has great expansion capabilities and it sports a terrific price tag. The only downside to the package is its lackluster performance.

This machine is equally suited to corporate or home use. It comes preloaded with productivity software, educational software and games. The quad-speed CD-ROM drive, microphone and stereo speakers operate well for either business or fun.

The ActionTower 8200 has a 14.4Kbps internal fax modem with voice capability and Prometheus MaxFax software that includes answering machine/speakerphone/voice-mail capabilities. CompuServe, America Online, Prodigy and NetCom NetCruiser are included, too.

The system ships with a 75MHz Pentium microprocessor, 8MB of RAM (expandable to 128 MB), an 850MB enhanced IDE hard disk, a 1.44MB floppy drive, 256KB of level 2 cache (expandable to 1MB) and PCI local bus video with 1MB video memory (expandable to 2MB). The seven drive bays include three 3.5-inch internal, plus two 3.5-inch and two 5.25-inch external. There are three ISA and two PCI expansion slots with Plug-and-Play capability. Integrated ports include: two serial ports, one VGA port, one parallel port, and PS/2 mouse and keyboard ports.

MS-DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.11 (Win95 by the time you read this) are preinstalled, as is ClarisWorks, an integrated word processor, spreadsheet and database package. ClarisWorks Small Business Pack--a set of business templates and forms--is also provided. Quicken SE personal finance software, CardShop Plus and Starfish Sidekick round out the productivity software.

Other software includes educational titles from Novell (reading, writing, math, keyboard skills), games (Sierra Outpost and others), and reference titles.

Music lovers will enjoy the 16-bit stereo sound, AC-powered stereo speakers, Sound Impression software multimedia "rack" and CD-ROM drive. You can even connect the audio input of a stereo amplifier to the line jack to enjoy audio applications or prerecorded music, or use the microphone to record voice annotations or other sounds.

Setup took about 15 minutes with no questions asked. Epson's documentation is probably the best I've seen. The Epson User Guide that comes with the system explains and illustrates exactly how to set up every component and how to use the FocalPoint software. It lists all the included software and how to reach the tech support for each. It offers troubleshooting advice, and lists upgrade options--all in a mere 25 pages. If you ever misplace the guide, the on-screen manuals for the system and system software are only a double-click away in FocalPoint.

Epson's FocalPoint software will answer almost any question you have about your system, directing you to the online Epson User Guide and the electronic manuals.

A video on/off button on the graphical interface lets you watch a video tour guide that explains all the available software and information.

But the Epson ActionTower 8200 isn't the speediest system out there. In fact, I've tested comparably equipped laptops that were quicker than this tower. The WINDOWS Magazine Wintune 2.0 benchmark scores were adequate, but not outstanding, even with optimal configuration and a 75MHz Pentium. The CPU scored 74.8MIPS and 16.2MFLOPS. It registered a 6MB-per-second hard-disk transfer rate and a 4.5Mpixel-per-second display-graphics score. The ActionTower 8200 averaged 46 seconds to run our Word 6.0 macro. The Excel 5.0 macro executed in 21 seconds.

The tower measures 7.1 by 13.3 by 16.3 inches and weighs in at 16.3 pounds with one floppy drive. It is Energy Star compliant and supports low power states for the processor, hard disk and monitor. The system can receive phone messages and faxes while in the Suspend mode, so you can leave it on all day long.

As long as you don't need the fastest available system, the Epson ActionTower 8200 is an outstanding system for home or small-business use. Its excellent software package makes it one of the most user-friendly systems I've encountered.

--Info File--
Epson ActionTower 8200
Price: With 17-inch monitor, $2,599
In Brief: This well-equipped system includes FocalPoint software, so even a novice can get up and running quickly.
Epson America
800-289-3776, 310-782-0770

by: David Gabel

When QuickXpense first appeared, I hailed it as my deliverance from the drudgery of travel expense reports (see First Impressions, December 1994).

The first edition of this handy program made tallying trip expenses as easy as typing in items and then lettting QuickXpense sort things out and run up the totals. I tested a beta of the newest version, which one-ups its predecessor with even more ease-of-use features while also adding Windows 95 compatibility.

QuickXpense still offers a spreadsheet-like ledger where you enter your trip expenses in any order. Drop-down lists aid the process, with pick lists for commonly used credit cards, airlines, hotels, car rental agencies and so forth. It accommodates company-paid expenses and cash advances, and can differentiate among cash, check and credit-card transactions. And if you're a globetrotter, don't worry--the program also is capable of converting foreign currency entries based on the rate you indicate.

You don't have to tinker with QuickXpense's output. For a small fee, Portable Software will create a digital version of your company's expense report form, so as you determine the bottom line, you can toe the company line, too.

QuickXpense conforms to Windows 95 standards with support for long filenames, OLE 2.0 and Microsoft Exchange. The new HotelXpert facilitates breaking down hotel bills into specific expense categories. The HotelXpert can help track items such as the room rate and tax, meals and phone calls. Just enter your total hotel bill and then click on Itemize. The HotelXpert will ask for the room rate and

tax, check-in and -out dates, and the other charges you wish to itemize. QuickXpense will then sort out the expenses and put each in its proper slot.

If you have a GE Capital Corp. credit card, you can use a special version of the program to download expense data from that company's database for inclusion in your report.

-- Info File --
QuickXpense for Windows 95
Price: $99.95 (upgrade, $29.95)
Portable Software Corp.
800-478-7411, 206-637-8808

by: Cheryl Dominianni

It's easy to see the rhyme and reason of Time & Chaos, even if you've never used a PIM. Its four sections--calendar, appointment list, to-do list and telephone book--appear on the opening screen for an instant overview of the day's events.

Days with notes or appointments associated with them are displayed in red on the monthly calendar. To set an appointment, simply click on a day and then on Add Appointment. If the person you're meeting is in Time & Chaos' telephone book, start the entry by dragging the name up to the appointment screen. Appointment bells and whistles include alarms, repeat options, notes and linking. Linking appointments with phone book records lets you create client-activity, sales-contact and other reports.

Information stored in Time & Chaos' telephone book can also be used to generate profiles, letters (including merges) and envelopes once you've defined your word processor--Microsoft Word, WordPerfect or Ami Pro are supported--in the file preferences setup.

Add items to a to-do list and color code them to indicate their urgency. A to-do item can also be linked with a telephone book entry.

Time & Chaos' four databases can be searched and shared with others over a network. Creating order out of chaos has never been easier--even if you're short on time.

-- Info File --
Time & Chaos 4.07
Price: $29.95
Disk Space: 900KB
System Resources: 3%RAM: 4MB
iSBiSTER International
214-495-6724, fax 214-530-6566

by: Joel T. Patz

Information expires. If you can't get to it when you need it, it may not be useful when you finally do retrieve it. InfoRecall Pro 5.0, a feature-laden information manager, can keep you connected to the data you need to make timely decisions.

On InfoRecall's divided screen, you create record names up to 40 characters long on the left and enter text on the right. Records can have hypertext-like links to other records based on word or name cross-references. A drop-down list lets you retrieve records instantly.

Organizing information couldn't be easier. After defining a structure for your data, creating, deleting, renaming, importing and exporting files is handled with a few mouse clicks or in straightforward dialog boxes. You can even avoid Program Manager by configuring InfoRecall to launch your other apps from a fly-out list on its menu bar.

You can choose type styles and colors for the list of records and for record text, as well as change the backgrounds on both sides of the screen. InfoRecall has a boilerplate feature that lets you collect the various parts of documents, such as contracts or reports, from different sources.

A hefty spell checker will help ensure your text's accuracy. InfoRecall supports DDE for several word processors: Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, Ami Pro, Windows' Write and Notepad. I ran into some problems with the WordPerfect and Ami Pro links, which I brought to Phantech's attention.

InfoRecall's search function is one of its strongest features. You can do normal or fuzzy searches, as well as Boolean and number-based searches. Whether you're looking for data in a directory, on a diskette or on your hard disk, the search results are listed by directory and filename, with about 80 characters of the text displayed.

You can also use InfoRecall to take notes, track call durations and make phone calls via your modem. You can design templates for frequently used forms, establish tickler files and secure your records with passwords.

InfoRecall's tutorial will get you started, and the detailed manual will help you make short work of organizing your information.

-- Info File --
InfoRecall Pro 5.0
Price: $199.95 (direct)
Disk Space: 2MB
System Resources: 5%RAM: 2MB
Phantech Software
800-208-1311, 416-502-1311

by: Tom Ponzo

The best part of Mary Tyler Moore's WJM-TV newsroom wasn't the side-by-side desk arrangement of Mary's and Murray's desks. It wasn't even the glass door with WJM-TV spelled backwards. The best part was the row of clocks on the wall that showed the current time for locations throughout the world.

WinZones 95 can do the same thing for your Windows 95 desktop. With more than 100 cities worldwide to choose from, you have access to all time zones. When daylight-saving time comes rolling around, a click of your mouse will make the necessary adjustments.

WinZones 95 has an easy-to-use dialog box to set your clock's configuration. With the pointer on any clock, click on the right mouse button to bring up a dialog box in which you choose an analog or digital clock, and other specifications, such as seconds, the date, a 24-hour clock, or Roman or Arabic numerals for the analog display. WinZones also integrates itself with Windows 95's date, time and time zone features.

Now if they could only do something about Ted Baxter ...

-- Info File --
WinZones 95
Price: $34.95 ($29.95 for WINDOWS Magazine readers)
Disk Space: 1MB
System Resources: 5%RAM: 4MB
Extend
800-943-8883, 510-484-0395.

by: Jim Forbes

Quicken users tend to get very attached to the program. Now, if you have a purse, pocket or pouch, you can really stay attached to this finance manager.

Pocket Quicken on Franklin Bookman combines a customized version of the software with one of Franklin's popular hand-held computers. This compact bundle fits in a pocket, offers simple PC connectivity with point-and-click reconciliation, and costs less than $100.

The palm-sized device (.75 by 5.5 by 3.5 inches) has a monochrome LCD screen and is powered by two AA batteries. You enter data by using the unit's standard keyboard and numeric keys, which are integrated with the keyboard. Other controls let you position the cursor, scroll and perform maintenance tasks such as setting the time.

Setting up the ROM-resident Pocket Quicken with account information and establishing an opening balance is easy--it took me less than three minutes. I quickly grew accustomed to the feel and layout of the diminutive keyboard. To enter a transaction, you press Clear, select an account, press New and fill in the fields. Pocket Quicken remembers important transactions, which speeds data entry. The software can also produce useful summary reports.

Pocket Quicken Connect and a short serial cable are also included. Connect lets you move data from the hand-held device to Quicken on your primary PC, and you can associate and reconcile accounts between the two.

The unit has two slots for other programs. At press time, more than 40 titles, including a dictionary and a King James Bible, were available.

As a Quicken user and frequent traveler, I'll be looking for Pocket Quicken on Franklin Bookman under my Christmas tree.

-- Info File--
Pocket Quicken on Franklin Bookman
Price: $99.95
Intuit
800-243-4650, 415-322-0573

by: James E. Powell

To spruce up an application with a dockable toolbar, indexed tabs, a notebook look or a 3-D form caption, slip into Designer Widgets.

The Dockable Toolbar control lets you create one or more floating or docking toolbars on a form. Multiple toolbars stack automatically, and toolbar icons have balloon help. To build a toolbar, you drag and drop buttons or groups of buttons that stay together when the toolbar is resized. All icons on a toolbar are saved as a single bitmap file to help conserve system resources. Toolbars can be added to MDI and non-MDI forms or containers.

Add tabs to dialog boxes and forms with the Index Tab control. Each tabbed page is a separate container, so you can put different controls on each. Tabs can be displayed on any side of a form and can overlap each other. They can also contain a bitmap, and the program lets you manipulate tab shape and size. It's possible to hide or display tabs programmatically, and specify colors for the active tab.

The Notebook control is a muscular version of the Index Tab. It creates a tabbed notebook interface, similar to that used by Lotus Organizer. The control includes different paper types and animations for actions like turning a page.

To change a form's appearance, especially the title bar's, you use FormFX.

It allows you to modify many form elements by adding a 3-D border or a picture, adjusting the bevel or typeface, changing the caption height and area size, and resizing the maximize and minimize buttons. The kit includes level-3 16-bit custom controls (.VBX) and 16- and 32-bit OLE controls (.OCX). The excellent documentation includes an overview, brief tutorial and control reference.

--Info File--
Designer Widgets 2.0
Price: $139
Sheridan Software Systems
800-VB-DIRECT, 516-753-0985

by: Rich Castagna

Defying physics, OfficeBlox proves that the sum of its parts can indeed be greater than the whole. This kit is a do-it-yourselfer's dream--it includes three modest but practical applets, a floating toolbar and a home base where you can whip up and organize your applications.

Click on the ToolBlox icon, and the OfficeBlox toolbar will sit above your desktop. WorkBlox provides an application shell that you can set up with your own tabs. You can pull in an app you need, customize it and plop it onto a tab. Each WorkBlox can be named, saved and even left on the Win95 desktop as a scrap. CalcBlox, ListBlox and NoteBlox are the first three offerings in a series of plug-in programs that AlphaBlox says will roll out over the coming months.

Each module does what its name implies, with a few interesting twists thrown in. CalcBlox is a full-function calculator--about eight calculators really, as you can switch among scientific, computer or other modes. But its handiest feature is the tiny spreadsheet it creates in lieu of a simulated paper tape. You can name the columns and rows and add formulas to cells, too.

ListBlox uses a similar spreadsheet for textual information. Dash off quick lists and let the rows and columns keep everything neat as a PIM, or create databases for more detailed data and take advantage of the sort, filter and search capabilities. Each cell can hold a word or two, or you can toggle to word wrap and type away. Setup is quick and easy, and the data-sniffing features are fast.

You can save your random jottings with NoteBlox. Date- and time-stamp your note with a single click, or execute a full-text search with another. You can also adjust a note's font and change its background color.

Whatever you create in any of these modules can be torn off and dropped onto a WorkBlox page, and then saved as a single file. You can build links between modules by dragging a button so that, for example, as you add numbers with the calculator, the total automatically changes in a note or a list. You can also paste these objects into any other OLE 2.0 application. Use one of the templates that's included with each module, and you'll save time developing your applications.

OfficeBlox is a refreshing change of pace from the frenetic features wars. You buy what you need and can cobble together different parts into something that suits your specific needs.

--Info File--
OfficeBlox
Price: $69.95 (street)
Disk Space: 4MB
System Resources: NARAM: 4MB
AlphaBlox
800-227-2569, 617-229-2924