Seven Hills Software has recently reaffirmed its commitment to the Apple IIgs by introducing a slew of new software, including three productivity titles and two games. The company that has produced popular and highly regarded IIgs software programs such as GraphicWriter, SuperConvert and Font Factory, now brings us Express, Formulate and ShoeBox. The games are of European origin - Bright Software's Gate and Space Fox.
At press time, I hadn't seen the games, but I have been very impressed by the new productivity software. Before delving into details, I should mention that Express and ShoeBox require a hard disk drive. As inexpensive as hard drives have become, they are still somewhat of a rare commodity in the IIgs world. Yet, with hard drives now available for the same price as an Apple 3.5-inch disk drive, hopefully more IIgs owners will become owners of these devices. Once they do, they'll be able to take advantage of the sophistication offered by Seven Hill's latest generation of GS/OS software.
Express
Express introduces a brand new type of time-saving software to the Apple IIgs. Express is a Print Spooler that prints your word processing documents or super hi-res graphics in the background, allowing you to type another letter or to create another graphic while your printer is busy printing. Express is supplied as a Control Panel Device that works with System 5.0.4 or later. It works with all standard GS/OS software, such as AppleWorks GS, HyperStudio, HyperCard and Platinum Paint and with all Direct Connect printers that currently work with the IIgs. It does not work with software that runs under ProDOS 8, such as AppleWorks Classic, nor does it work with printers that are set up as part of a network, such as the LaserWriter.
Once installed on a hard disk drive by using the supplied easy-to-use Installer, Express's presence is basically invisible. Once you issue the command to print a document or graphic, Express jumps into action. But, rather than immediately printing, it creates a file that is saved (spooled) to your hard disk drive. Once a document is spooled to disk, you get control of your computer back, and the spooled document is printed automatically while you continue to use your computer.
Express does not actually speed up printing -- it decreases the amount of time it takes for you to get back control of the IIgs. As an example of how it works, I loaded a 7K word processing document into WordWorks Pro, Bill Tudor's wonderful word processor published on Softdisk G-S #27. Printing that 7K file on an ImageWriter II, using the Text quality option, took 51 seconds before I had control of my computer. With Express installed, I had control of my computer in 11 seconds. Printing the same document using the Best option, it took 9 minutes, 20 seconds before I had control of my computer back. With Express installed, it took only 1 minute, 21 seconds before I could use the computer again.
If you use your computer to print out lots of documents, Express will allow you to be much more productive, as you'll spend much less time waiting for your printer to hand control of the IIgs back to you. Express allows you to spool numerous documents to disk. The more complex a document is, and the more files spooled to disk, the more time you save.
Formulate
Formulate is to math what a word processor is to words. Formulate is a GS/OS desktop application which can be used to generate and print complex formulas for science and math worksheets, tests and papers. Printing can be done directly from Formulate, or formulas can be exported to any standard GS/OS based desktop publishing or paint program. Formulate intelligently knows when something is missing from a formula or symbol and automatically scales them to fit added expressions. A huge variety of more than 150 mathematical symbols are available from easy-to-use pull-down menus.
The pull-down menus in Formulate look unlike any other pull-down menu you've seen before, as they contain small graphic representations of math terms such as summation, roots, vectors, union and integrals. If those terms don't mean a thing to you, then Formulate will not be of interest to you. However, if you're a math or science teacher, a mathematician or a scientist, Formulate is a ╥must-have╙ program that will provide you with something that you've been dreaming of for a long time. You'll finally be able to impress your students and colleagues with high-quality printouts.
Formulate is not a math program -- it does not solve math problems, nor can it be employed to solve quadratic equations. Instead, it allows high quality printing of those complex equations.
Formulate requires an Apple IIgs with 1.0 MB of RAM, and Seven Hills recommends either two 3.5-inch disk drives or a hard disk drive.
ShoeBox
ShoeBox is going to make a lot more people aware of one of the Apple IIgs's best kept secrets: HyperCard GS. ShoeBox is, in reality, a series of interconnected HyperCard GS application programs for home and personal record keeping. ShoeBox is supplied on four 3.5-inch disks; two of those disks contain the ShoeBox stacks themselves, and two of the disks actually contain the HyperCard GS program! If you've never seen HyperCard GS before, ShoeBox is a wonderful introduction.
Using ShoeBox is like using a graphic-oriented relational database. With the click of a mouse, it can be used to keep detailed Income, Expense, and Budget records; can be used to store information on family members or on personal possessions; and can keep track of vehicle and insurance expenses. It also provides an appointment and calendar module, a module to keep ╥to do lists,╙ and has an address book module. Records can be accessed on screen, or reports can be printed out. A complete online ShoeBox help file is available from anywhere within the different modules, and the HyperCard GS online help system will teach you all you need to know to use HyperCard GS.
ShoeBox, like HyperCard GS, requires a IIgs with at least 1.5 MB of RAM, System 5.0.4 or later, and a hard disk drive. If you've been curious about HyperCard GS, ShoeBox is a great way to learn all about it.
Seven Hills Amnesty Program
By offering such specialty products as Express, Formulate and ShoeBox, Seven Hills is staking their financial future on the IIgs. In an effort to increase revenue, Seven Hills has announced a special amnesty program for people who use their software, but have not purchased it. The special amnesty program is very similar to one offered several years ago by Claris, when they offered cut-rate pricing on AppleWorks and AppleWorks GS for those who were not registered owners.
Seven Hills is not about to abandon the IIgs market as so many other software publishers have in recent years. But, in order to remain financially healthy, they are asking those who use their software to pay for it. By submitting a small registration fee, people will be able to become legitimate registered owners with full benefits and will be eligible for updates and technical support. People who register with Seven Hills will also be able to purchase the program documentation and latest software revision for an additional fee. Following is a chart that shows what Seven Hills is requesting for registration fees:
REGISTRATION MANUAL SOFTWARE
PROGRAM FEE (REQUIRED) (OPTIONAL) (OPTIONAL)
Disk Access v1.0 $6 $5 $5
Font Factory GS v2.0 $6 $5 $5
GraphicWriter III v1.1 $6 $15 $15
Independence v1.1 $6 $5 $5
SuperConvert v3.0.1 $6 $5 $5
ShoeBox v1.1 $6 $5 $5
Express v1.0 $6 $5 $5
If you are ordering a manual or the latest software version, add $3.50 shipping and handling per order (not per item). Seven Hills will accept online orders with a credit card, personal check, money order, or even a school purchase order. The deadline is 9/31/92 and will not be extended. Orders are limited to supplies while they last.
To quote Seven Hills, ╥We thank all the legitimate owners for their support, and we hope they they do not think this is a ╘reward╒ for those who stole from us. We are simply trying to generate cash (that would otherwise be lost forever) so we can better finance our IIgs publishing efforts.╙
