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1. Richard Eckhouse2. The PhotoMail communications kit which includes the PC Eye 1000 video digitizer graphics display card Screen Master mouse and PhotoMail soft ware is priced at 2495 PhotoMail soft ware alone is 795 For more information contact Chorus Data Systems 6 Continental Blvd PO Box 370 Merrimack NH 03054 603 424 2900 Reader Service Number 30 Macintosh users offered Lisp development environment ExperTelligence Inc has designed a Lisp development environment for the Macintosh as a complete workstation or as a stand alone software package ExperLisp a complete implementa tion of the Lisp programming language contains all the features of Lisp dialects usually available only on much larger machines It provides access to the Macintosh tool box compiles directly to MC68000 machine code and has exten sive graphics capabilities including 3 D and spherical As a stand alone software package ExperLisp retails for 495 It requires a Macintosh 512K with an external drive The ExperLisp workstation includes ExperLisp a Macintosh XL with up to 4M bytes of RAM and a 10M byte hard disk drive ExperLisp workstations con figured with 2M bytes of RAM are available for 7000 For more information contact Ex perTelligence 559 San Ysidro Rd Santa Barbara CA 93108 805 969 7874 Reader Service Number 31 Keyboard enhancement features pop down editing Alpha Software has introduced Keyworks a second generat
3. 5 million in sales and 15 employees However by using it up to then you will have saved yourself considerable time and money Richard Eckhouse Electronic meeting software targeted for OEMs and VARs Network Technologies International has announced eForum low cost state of the art electronic meeting software eForum 4000 is designed for use with a central mainframe computer in a net work services system and is configured to serve and support hundreds of in dividial users within any single cor porate application eForum 2000 designed for client owned host computers uses the Unix Operating system and runs on any super micro or minicomputer including IBM AT amp T and DEC eForum ws for workstation is a soft ware front end product for use with either eForum 4000 or eForum 2000 on microcomputers that use IBM s MS DOS It converts any IBM compatible personal computer into an interactive terminal that can be connected with any mainframe mini or super micro computer equipped with one of Network Technologies meeting systems Reviews_ The company is making eForum available on both a branded and private label to OEMs and VARs eForum 4000 costs 26 per hour prime time 9 50 non prime time eForum 2000 retails for from 5000 to 15 000 depending on the host system and eForum ws is 150 to 200 depending on configuration For more information contact Net work Technologies 315 W H
4. Editor Richard Eckhouse Moco Inc 91 Surfside Road PO Box A Scituate MA 02055 Compmail r eckhouse New P Mainframe accounting systems offer interactive environment Silent Partner from Silent Partner Systems is an interactive integrated group of real on line accounting systems for the IBM mainframe environment At present seven Silent Partner ac counting applications have been re leased which perform such functions as access password management menu generation and on line generation and altering of application parameters Each Silent Partner application can serve as a stand alone product or can be integrated with other companion prod ucts Each comes complete with all the application and systems programs and utilities necessary to generate and in itialize all files Both source and object code are supplied to eliminate the need for compiling during installation Each Silent Partner application costs from 5000 to 60 000 depending on configuration For more information contact Silent Partner Systems 330 1441 Creekside Dr Vancouver BC V61 4S7 604 736 3551 Reader Service Number 25 Matrix computation enhanced for IBM PC users PC Matlab from The MathWorks is an integrated analysis program that specializes in matrix computations with a user interface that accepts commands in the standard mathematical notation for matrix operations Analytical capabilities include eigen values eig
5. ard software for IBM PC and compatible systems to support electronic mail and program or data file exchanges BBS PC provides 16 sub boards four file transfer protocols for uploading or downloading data and a terminal mode that supports a second modem COM port and phone line to permit answering one modem and dialing out on the other BBS PC can create a communication network for businesses user groups and other organizations or it can be used for public access The sysop system operator has complete control over access to the system and each of its 16 sections Some sections can be open to any caller others restricted Up to 256 security levels are possible permissions can include or exclude read write upload or download privileges on each section BBS PC maintains communication at 1200 or 2400 bps For file uploads or downloads it supports Modem XModem Modem 7 and standard ASCII line or block transmission modes BBS PC for the IBM PC PC XT and PCjr with 256K memory and com patible systems is available for 249 For more information contact Micro Systems Software 4301 18 Oak Circle Boca Raton FL 33431 305 391 5077 Reader Service Number 34 size as you first print the payroll register then the payroll check and finally a monthly summary form To get started you copy the floppies and gather your company data your chart accounts trial balances for assets liabilities and capital acc
6. are presented in color and are both graphically illustrated and inter active If you have a Microsoft or Mouse Systems mouse you can use it for choosing topics You have a choice of working your way through each topic at your own pace from top to bottom step by step or selecting the The programs are short and illustrate the topic being presented You are instructed to modify them to see what happens when you execute them 7 As you may have guessed I really en joyed using True Basic It seems to have corrected most of my objections to the current crop of Basic implementations I was even willing to put up with the re quirement to preface each assignment statement with let a requirement to simplify the compiler At 149 90 it seems like a bargain to me Richard Eckhouse topic and getting a complete answer to a particular question Being the type that rarely completes a manual before using a system I like the way OLE allows me to plunge in and get help when I need it Ole runs on an IBM PC or true com patible It requires 256K a graphics board and the encyclopedia files in drive B or on a hard disk The com mon base for the system serves up to 80 volumes MS DOS and Basic being the current two available What comes next is uncertain and will most likely de pend on both the acceptance of this _ product and the reference demands for other popular products The retail price is 69 95 per volume
7. ctions isn t consecutive and is confusing Some subjects like setting up your chart of ac counts seem to just stop in midstream Most important for me there is no pay roll module I consider such a module to be the core of any integrated system Still this system is an exceptional value and I do recommend its purchase Richard Eckhouse A Basic could truly like _ Almost everyone complains about the Basic interpreter that comes with their PC almost everyone also uses the Basic interpreter that comes with their PC since it is almost impossible not to Basic often comes free with your machine so after you tire of executing DOS com mands you turn to Basic Over time most people drift towards C Pascal or some other more structured language Still a quick and dirty Basic program can often solve all your needs in a relatively short time Most of us sort of get stuck to Basic in a kind of love hate relationship that we can t seem to shake It becomes par ticularly compelling when we change from one PC to another and the only commonality is Basic Still even a Basic interpreter written by the same company with the same syntax seems unable to conjure up the same semantics That s when we say never again will we use Basic l Wouldn t it be nice if we had an ANSI standard Basic and each version was not only source code compatible but also semantically compatible across implemen
8. edger so you don t have to go to the other modules immediately In addition you get a payee name and ad dress file that is accessed automatically by code number during check printing When you re ready to pick up the next module you will again have to perform some initialization entering and editing account names and payees initial amounts for receivables or pay ables starting check numbers and transfer accounts between the module you are using and the general ledger Now you can enjoy not having to key in data related to the periodic payment of a payroll check an invoice or a pur chase order By keeping this informa tion with the module that uses it you can call it up and print the appropriate form immediately Plus for payables or receivables you get aging and past due amounts shown as part of your reports In each module you are presented with a similar set of menus all emanating from the master menu In most cases use of the return key will suffice to accept the appropriate de fault value The escape key serves as the means for leaving a module PC users will find that the 10 function keys are not used Obviously with a system that is to run on a variety of comput ers you must anticipate the least com mon denominator There doesn t seem to be any reason to use the function keys anyway given the extensive menu structure of the system When you take an inappropriate ac tion the system will ask i
9. envectors matrix arithmetic matrix inversion linear equation solu tion least squares regression deter minants singular value decomposition and condition estimates Other tools in clude root finding fast Fourier trans forms convolution and filtering for signal processing applications Advanced multivariate statistical calculations and control systems design and analysis can also be performed PC Matlab which runs on the PC PC XT and PC AT under MS DOS 2 0 or higher is available for 695 For more information contact The MathWorks 124 Foxwood Rd Portola Valley CA 94025 415 851 7217 Reader Service Number 26 92 Software selection made easier for IBM PC users Matchware Computer Services has developed Matchware a computerized diskette based software evaluation and selection service for computer retailers CPAs and computer consultants Matchware helps small business clients to find appropriate software and service users to identify software requirements and make product recommendations regardless of their level of expertise in an application area To evaluate a client s needs Match ware asks a series of questions regarding the features desired in a software prod uct These requirements are weighted by importance and quickly compared with hundreds of products included in the service or just with products recom mended and supported by the service user Software products coming the closest to meeti
10. even comes with its own plug in board containing an additional processor used to support the accounting task How then do you make an intelligent choice Frankly I think you and your accountant must decide which system is right for you but I will be presumptuous and suggest a system that not only fills the bill but is also a bargain de resistance at 795 As I ve said before I am part of a little company The thought of spend ing 395 per module for general ledger accounts payable accounts receivable and payroll seemed overwhelming Thus I started looking for something that was less than 1000 for everything was easy to use would generate reports that would satisfy my accountant would minimize my work like only one entry for recurring items such as weekly payroll or monthly insurance premiums and would satisfy my ac countant with its double entry cash or accrual based accounting An in tegrated system that transfers debits _ and credits from one module such as payroll to the general ledger would be nice but not necessary After a bit of searching I found the Accounting Partner from Star Software Systems The system costs only 395 and over 50 000 are in use Star has now come out with Integrated Account ing Partner at 795 which has all the features and more of the original system plus automation and integra tion Because the software is written in a higher level language it has been ported to a
11. ext and voice transmitted over phone lines Chorus Data Systems is offering PhotoMail to allow PC users to capture images with a standard video camera or VCR and transmit them to a remote PC via ordinary phone lines Still frame pic tures of people diagrams text prod ucts anything a camera can see are sent at a resolution of up to 640 x 400 x 16 colors or levels of gray PhotoMail operates with the IBM PC PC XT and PC AT and compatibles PhotoMail is icon driven and supports voice communications allowing users to peng Photomail an icon driven system from Chorus Data Systems allows anything a camera can see to be sent over the phone July 1985 converse while an image is being displayed By using a mouse or the keyboard each party can simultaneously point to a specific area of the picture and have a cursor displayed on both screens By drawing with the mouse users can designate specific areas on the display In addition to video images PhotoMail includes a screen grab routine that allows the user save and transmit IBM 320 x 200 x 4 color graphic displays Screen displays generated by popular software packages such as Lotus 1 2 3 can be sent to a remote location for display and printout The communications icon supports the Hayes Smartmodem 1200B and com patible modems as well as popular 2400 baud modems PhotoMail can also format images to be used with electronic mail services such as MCI mail
12. f you really meant it For example if transactions need to be posted you will be warned accordingly every time you call up the submenu related to transactions and trial balances If you go to post an empty transaction file you will hear a beep and receive a warning message at the bottom of the screen that the file is empty Like most accounting PEER this one is keyed for a particular set of forms The forms are available from a number of sources and include payroll and general payment checks and in voice and general statement forms The payroll module also produces a ma chine printed W2 The payroll module can produce your 941 summary along with your quarterly tax deposit report Imagine not having to calculate this in formation at the end of each month I tried the state calculation procedure in the payroll module for my state Massachusetts The state tax can t be calculated as easily as the federal tax using only a tax table that you supply to the module To calculate federal tax you enter the tabular values either with a correction amount if you have zero deductions or with a fixed amount based on an employee s actual salary Both ways work equally well and demonstrate the flexibility of the module I have no doubts about the versatility of this system For a rather modest price you get an accounting package that should work well as your company grows You won t be able to use the system when you go beyond
13. he PC ESCA DSS allows users to choose op tions on the computer screen and make selections through a mouse or cursor keys instead of through traditional language commands It also allows users to analyze data in any order they see fit and to recreate an analysis technique through procedure recording and duplication Finally ESCA DSS allows users to gather information from a large number of sources simultaneously and analyze it in different ways offering analytic functions such as methods for forecasting smoothing and other arithmetic calculations ESCA DSS which runs on the IBM PC PC XT and PC AT and requires 256K of memory and MS DOS 2 0 or higher retails for 2000 single copy For more information contact ESCA Inc 312 W Randolph St Suite 650 Chicago IL 60606 312 346 0444 Reader Service Number 33 procuct RE VIEWS A versatile accounting partner In my last review I covered a start up accounting system that satisfies ini tial accounting needs However as time progresses it becomes clear that this simple system is missing the functions of everyday business transactions fill ing weekly or monthly payrolls sending out purchase orders and invoices and attending to budgets Choosing an accounting system to fit these requirements is not an easy task A great many companies offer a wide range of products with prices starting at 395 and running into many thousands of dollars One system
14. ion keyboard macro program that makes software perform as if it were custom designed Written for IBM PCs and com patibles Keyworks is a menu driven program for creating keyboard macros that allow users to record frequently used keystrokes and then recall them with only one or two keystrokes Keyworks allows users to assign both a name and description for each macro and then get an on screen directory of each macro and what it does It features a full screen pop down editor for making immediate changes to macros without having to re record them and enables users to create pop down moving bar menus Keyworks is compatible with most programs including Alpha Software s Electric Desk Lotus 1 2 3 Micropro s Wordstar Sorcim s SuperCalc Micro soft s Multiplan and Ashton Tate s dBase II and III Keyworks which requires a minimum 64K bytes of RAM one disk drive and DOS 2 0 or higher retails for 89 95 For more information contact Alpha Software 30 B St Burlington MA 01803 617 229 2924 Reader Service Number 32 93 Decision support system is language free ESCA Inc has introduced ESCA DSS a menu driven program that operates without a command language and provides a range of business analysis capabilities for IBM personal computer users ESCA MFL a companion prod uct that provides an interface to main frame computers allows access to native transactional data files and makes them usable on t
15. ipped IBM PCs and IBM compati bles such as Compaq Eagle and NBI computers Equipment requirements in clude 512K of memory and 5M bytes of disk Hardware configurations can be expanded without meen vine the pro grams The one time license fee for Adept PC is 795 Updates and enhancements are priced separately General Business System modules are expected to carry one time license fees of from 295 to 595 For more information contact Pa rameter Driven Software 30800 Tele graph Rd Suite 3820 Birmingham MI 48010 313 540 4460 Reader Service Number 36 speedy compiled one Among its numer ous features are a user interface con sisting of separate windows for source code editing commands and graphics function keys to switch windows and to execute common commands internal and external subroutines that can be called by a name complete with para meter passing by reference or value and the capability for inclusion in libraries fast raster graphics with a slew of com mands to draw plot make a box fill scale rotate move and distort along with user defined screen coordinates rather than those of the PC on which it runs sound and music extended range floating point math and matrix opera tors for algebra or input output do files that inspect or alter your current pro gram for such things as pretty print or line numbers if you must have them and debugging tools that include on screen help helpful er
16. large number of machines Once you have the right floppies for your computer operating system you go through a menu driven video display selection to customize it for your machine The use of menus throughout is real ly helpful for the uninitiated Because my accounting skills are pretty limited I was pleased to find that the order of the menus pretty much guides you through the system However you are free to do as you please If you do something out of order such as posting to the general ledger while performing end of month closing the system will tell you what should be done Speaking of guides three of the four modules that make up the system in clude demonstration floppies These demo floppies point out many system features and help you get up to speed quickly The first section of each manual is devoted to helping you go through the demo The next section is labeled instal lation guidelines The recommended in stallation steps come next along with operational guidelines including end of month procedures I can testify how important these procedures are because they bailed me out when I had trouble closing out the end of the month The system comes in four slipcases that hold general ledger payroll ac counts payable and accounts receiv able The software comes on several floppies the exact number depending on your system s disk capacity Each manual is fairly thick and includes a user s manual and sam
17. ng the client s requirements are reported Matchware which is portable and runs on IBM PCs and on most com patibles covers a full range of account ing software Software product informa tion is updated quarterly to keep users current New application areas including manufacturing medicine and agricul ture will be added quarterly or semi annually A quarterly subscription to Match ware costs 595 an annual subscription costs 2095 For more information contact Match ware Computer Services 6435 Castleway Dr Suite 125 Indianapolis IN 46250 317 841 8100 Reader Service Number 27 Modular system interfaces to Patran Ansys The HarrisCAD integrated design engineering and manufacturing software system introduced by the Computer Systems Division of Harris Corporation enables mechanical engineers to go from design concept to analysis and drafting to manufacturing using one system HarrisCAD which runs on the com pany s family of super minicomputers the 60 600 700 and 800 offers a wide selection of graphics peripherals and quicker response time for more users as well as integrated and com plementary software packages The software packages facilitate geometry generation geometry manipulation and grouping analysis view and scale manipulation documen tation and drafting bill of materials and numerical control All modules reside on a common database and inter face to other software package
18. otection to five levels It includes automatic forecasting with up to three years of history maintained on line Moreover it is simple to use only five special keys are needed What you get is a completely inte grated system for less than the price of a stand alone Besides the features already described you will find an unlimited number of accounts and departments accounts receivable aging reports automatic finance charge calculations customized components added to cus tomers statements mailing labels check printing vendor history custom as well as standard reports directories of customers and vendors three means for customizing inventory and so on and so on the list is too long to continue Bear in mind that this system is not simple even if it is simple to use You will need to read the whole manual first if you try to install it yourself as you read the manual you will get into trou ble A lot of preparation is needed on your or your accountant s part to get it right Fortunately DAC provides blank forms for you to set things up in the beginning If you run into trouble you can purchase their service agreement for 50 per throw 12 months 60 minutes or five calls renewable as long as you re willing to pay On the negative side the software has some limitations First the manual while packaged expensively could use some work to make it more readable The numbering of the different se
19. ounts finan cial statement forms check numbers for checking accounts you may have several budgets for the next 12 months and so on Then you go through the initialization procedures for the general ledger entering this in formation plus the customization for firm name end of fiscal year etc To check that you ve done everything cor rectly you print your trial balance in come statement and balance sheet reports After these preliminaries you are ready to begin entering transactions for current operations Daily operations re quired are the entering sorting and posting of these transactions Monthly quarterly and year end operations in clude the generation of trial balances end of month adjusting entries print ing of financial statements and finally end of period processing Each end of period operation includes making back up copies of your data To encourage you to make the copies the system prompts you before going on to the next step in end of period processing Star estimates that a transition from a manual accounting system to an auto matic one takes about two months Given the richness of their system I would have to agree Without going to another module you could spend that amount of time just with the general ledger getting everything just right Besides you get six journals general July 1985 cash dispersements cash receipts pur chase sales and payroll as part of the general l
20. ple reports to ex plain the purpose of each menu and submenu Each manual has a table of contents but no index The manuals are brief and to the point With my lack of accounting experience I would have appreciated a little more explanation of what was going on Some topics are not covered in the manuals but after call ing Star I learned that the manuals are continually being revised my set was outdated by several versions An 800 number is given for software support For 50 you get 90 days or four hours of telephone consulting and you can renew as often as you wish Star expects its 1650 dealers to support you directly and they give priority ac cess to consulting support Consequent ly it would seem that you don t really have to purchase a support contract although I didn t have a chance to check this out with an authorized dealer Although the system will work on a floppy based system it works much better on a hard disk system I say this because I migrated to a hard disk dur ing my evaluation and was much hap pier for not having to change program and data floppies as I moved from payroll to the general ledger Another system requirement is a 132 column printer You can get by with condensed printing for many forms but you will find yourself having to change the type 94 IEEE SOFTWARE Bulletin board package features 16 sections Micro Systems Software is offering full feature electronic bulletin bo
21. pplication in a modular or structured fashion RuleMaster does not require Lisp or Prolog language skills or machines RuleMaster provides knowledge engineers with RuleMaker a facility for inducing rules from examples and Radial a high level language for ex pressing rules similar to structured algorithmic programming languages such as Ada and Pascal RuleMaker automatically generates rules and Radial code from a set of declarative examples supplied by an expert The knowledge engineer gathers examples from the expert and enters them in an example table in any order RuleMaker induces procedural rules from the examples and generates modules that express those rules in Radial RuleMaker also automatically prior itizes each module s if then else statements according to the amount of information they provide Knowledge engineers working with RuleMaster can write code directly in Radial a structured language with only 14 keywords Other features of RuleMaster are access to external routines written in languages such as Fortran and Pascal and an explanation facility Rulemaster for use on the IBM PC AT running under the Xenix or DOS 3 0 operating system costs 15 000 for the PC XT it costs 5000 The C version of RuleMaster for Unix based systems costs 25 000 For more information contact Radian Corporation 8501 Mo Pac Blvd PO Box 9948 Austin TX 78766 512 454 4797 Reader Service Number 29 images t
22. ror messages and an error directed editor during com pilation The documentation which consists of a reference manual and user s guide is well written A large number of sample programs are included as part of the in structional format of the user s guide Help for MS DOS and Basic users If you ve ever struggled with an MS DOS command and wanted something more helpful than the manual On Line Encyclopedia from Hypergraphics Cor poration is for you Not only is OLE a powerful reference and tutorial tool for IBM PC users with various skill levels but it also puts a little fun into the dreary world of MS DOS and Basic After installation OLE becomes co resident with the applications you choose to run The 110K of memory needed is a sizable chunk but in return you get a graphically oriented encyclo pedic on line reference guide and tutorial with instructions organized by keyword and subject You choose a topic and the system carefully guides you through the material that explains what you need to know At the end July 1985 you are offered review questions and a list of related subjects Users can then jump to the related topic or return to the main menu To call up OLE from wherever you are you type Alt O You are presented with a menu and help screen It takes but a few keystrokes to get things going and to use the system to its fullest If you need it OLE even comes with its own help facility Topics
23. s The central database design of Harris CAD provides for total geometric descrip tion of a component and allows associa tion of ancillary data This data stored in the form of attributes contains informa tion necessary for design drafting analysis and manufacturing processes In addition to HarrisCAD s broad database its underlying structure enables interfacing with Patran a solids model ing and finite element pre and post pro cessing program and Ansys a finite ele ment analysis program for stress ther mal and dynamic response analysis Pricing for HarrisCAD ranges from a 35 000 drafting package on a Harris 60 to a 120 000 full HarrisCAD system on a 5S MIPS Harris 1000 For more information contact Harris Corporation Computer Systems Divis ion 2101 W Cypress Creek Rd Ft Lauderdale FL 33309 1892 305 973 5125 Reader Service Number 28 a a j ae HarrisCAD from the Harris Corpora tion is a completely integrated menu driven mechanical design package IEEE SOFTWARE Tool kit builds expert systems without Lisp or Prolog A software tool kit for building and operating industrial scale expert systems on the IBM PC AT and PC XT and Unix based systems is available from Radian Corporation Called RuleMaster the software per mits the creation of expert systems for complex advisory diagnosis prediction or control applications yet requires only the ability to logically organize the a
24. tations Well that s the goal of True Basic Moreover it is a structured implementation that includes case do while do until and if then else state ments As a result it encourages good program design something generally lacking in what has become known as street Basic which exists on most machines Brought to you by the originators of Basic Kemeny and Kurtz plus a new crew this PC implementation is really a joy to use It is not an interpreted ver sion of Basic but actually a rather 96 IEEE SOFTWARE Business system features codeless programming A fourth generation codeless business programming system for IBM PC XTs and disk equipped compatibles has been released by Parameter Driven Software According to PDS the new programming system called PDS Adept PC requires no programming experience to use and can generate custom business programs in minutes instead of hours The software is being offered initially as a custom program generator The screen presents questions and choices leading the operator step by step without coding The program is changed by changing parameters and the effects show on the screen immediately PDS is also developing a complete modular general business system in Adept PC Each module is being con verted from its proven BTOS CTOS Burroughs Convergent Technologies counterpart The Adept PC products operate with IBM PC XTs and with other hard disk equ
25. uron Ann Arbor MI 48103 313 994 4030 Reader Service Number 35 An unbelievable value in accounting systems After reviewing two very reasonably priced accounting systems see May issue and this issue I happened to see an ad for DAC Easy Accounting Seven full featured accounting modules general ledger accounts receivable accounts payable inventory purchase order bill ing and forecasting for only 49 95 complete plus a money back guarantee Too good to be true The only way to find out was to get one and see Truthfully I haven t been able to use all the system s features There is just too much for me to try everything and there isn t enough space in this review to tell you about them anyway However for all that I ve had the pleasure of using this system is truly an unbe lievable value when you consider typical software of this genre that sells for 400 per module with a complete system costing up to 5000 To begin with DAC Easy Accounting runs on an IBM PC or compatible It re quires only 128K one disk drive and a 80 column printer File capacity is limited only by disk space When you upgrade to a second floppy or hard disk system the system automatically trans fers your files And later on as your company grows you can use the file utility to reorganize your files This full blown multilevel double entry accounting system features a large number of report formats and password pr
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