This was originally published on August 5, 1995.

Anyone who has owned their own business understands that the devil is in the details. If you don't have a competent, detailed accounting package you are in trouble. When you look at accounting packages on the market most are overblown and tough to use. QuickBooks Deluxe on CD-ROM is the answer to this problem!

You may think that shipping an accounting package on CD- ROM is overblown, but QuickBooks Deluxe is, well, deluxe . . . In addition to the main application, QuickBooks for Windows, the CD-ROM includes QuickPay, onscreen documentation, workbooks to help your business, a complete set of IRS publications, a national ZIP code directory, inside tips from the experts and sound clips that walk you through some of the more advanced functions of QuickBooks for Windows. Super additions!

When you install QuickBooks for Windows you are in for a treat! The program assumes you know next to nothing about proper accounting procedures, which is super considering most of us don't know a debit from a voucher! As the installation winds down you are asked what type of business you have. QuickBooks presents a very thorough list of businesses to choose from. My business, computer consulting and freelance writing, were both on the list! If yours isn't on the list you can easily modify one of the standard business types.

As you move through the installation process you'll be prompted for information about your company; QuickBooks uses this information to create your company profile. Once your company profile has been generated you'll be able to move onto the five main areas of QuickBooks: 1) Invoicing, 2) Accounts Receivable, 3) Accounts Payable, 4) Inventory and Purchase Orders and 5) Reports and Graphing.

Invoicing your customers is the bloodline of the business. You need that cash flow to keep your business up and running. Invoicing under QuickBooks is very easy. The first items you need to accomplish is the addition of invoice items. QuickBooks is very generous in the amount of space you can use to describe a part number or service. The second is your list of customers and vendors. This list has enough fields to support addresses, phone and fax numbers.

When you are ready to invoice, QuickBooks lets you choose from three different invoice types based on your business. This is an excellent feature. Many accounting packages only offer one style of invoice. After you choose your style you are ready to complete the invoice information. Every invoice needs to know where it is going and QuickBooks obliges with a field for which customer this invoice is for. Whoa, when you start to type SMITH AND BROTHERS, you notice that QuickBooks fills in the field as soon as you type SMI. Neat feature. You notice that this feature is consistent through out the invoice form including when you detail invoice items.

The Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable sections of QuickBooks are rock solid. Not only are the fields consistently displayed where needed, but the graphical reports you can generate with the information really let you see what areas need attention. What if a customer is late paying? What of you are late paying? QuickBooks will sport a nifty little notice when you start up.

Inventory is one of the worst nightmares a small business can face when selecting an accounting package. QuickBooks uses the invoicing and Purchase Order systems to verify, store and accurately process your inventory. QuickBooks uses the information from all other modules to track inventory. Of course, you can make adjustments on non- sales, etc.

The next part of QuickBooks you'll enjoy using is the reporting feature. Not only does QuickBooks offer ready to run reports on all aspects of your business, but you can easily customize any of these reports for your or your accountant's needs! The graphically reporting function is a little disappointing in that you cannot modify the functionality.

If you are looking for a complete, easy to use accounting package for your small business Look no further than QuickBooks for Windows Deluxe.

QuickBooks for Windows Deluxe Intuit 64 Willow Place POB 3014 Menlo Park, CA  94026 CompuServe: GO INTUIT URL: http://www.careermosaic.com/cm/inuit/
 

This was originally published on July 8, 1995. Written by Roger Klien.

When I first began hearing about the newest version of OS/2, better known as Warp, I didn't give it a second thought. You see, I'm an avid Windows user and everyone of my Windows using buddies had warned me that OS/2 was nothing but a headache compared to good ol' Windows. They talked about slowness, installation problems, and lack of support for their favorite Windows apps.

Well, this held me back for awhile but I continued to hear more and more good things about this latest IBM operating system (not to mention the really cool commercials on TV where even nuns are getting Warped)! So finally, I cracked. I decided to give Warp a shot and try it out on a workstation at work. I'm a network administrator for a fortune 500 company and have a few extra machines at my disposal (I wouldn't dare install this on my workstation at home based on what I had heard about earlier versions the OS/2 product)!

To my amazement the installation went flawlessly and I had Warp up and running in about a half an hour. This didn't include time for repartitioning my hard drive but that was my decision. I wanted to have a "Windows" partition and a "Warp" partition. Using the boot manager utilities that came with the product made this a snap. By utilizing the boot manager like this I can either boot into "Warp" mode or "DOS" mode so that I can run my Windows setup. The version of Warp that I looked at didn't include Wi 2 but since I had an existing installation of Windows on my system I was still able to get this functionality. So now I can either boot into "DOS" mode and execute Windows or run Warp and then execute WinOS2 to run my Windows apps.

This first hitch I encountered was the first time I tried to executed WinOS2. Warp would go into a permanent state of limbo. I quickly discovered that this was due to the fact that I was running a PC speaker driver for Windows and when this driver would try to directly access the hardware Warp would lock. Warp tries to handle all hardware calls and obviously wasn't able to handle this. Once I figured this out Windows ran great under Warp and I didn't have any other problems.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm a network administrator so I obviously needed to get Warp up and running on my network. I jumped onto CompuServe and went to the NetWire forum for Novell where I was able to download the client drivers for Warp. In another ten minutes after downloading the software I had Warp talking on my network. The OS/2 Warp LAN Client product, which should be out just about now, is going to have network functionality built in.

For me, Warp's network support is where this product really began to shine! The fact that OS/2 can use network sockets allowed me to log into my network as several different users from the same workstation! For a network administrator this is heaven! This, combined with the fact that OS/2 is truly multi-threading, allowed me to be logged into one server as myself and then trouble shoot a users problem by being logged in as them in another window! No more logging in and back out every time I wanted to te a users account on the network!

Another great benefit of OS/2 is the fact that it uses multiple VDM's (Virtual DOS Machines). This means that every time a DOS window is opened up under OS/2 it looks to the operating system like it is a stand-alone machine. You can even have separate config.sys and autoexec.bat files for each window. The true test of this, and Warp's ability to multi-thread, was when it was time for me to do my monthly upgrade to a proprietary production application we have on the network. Usually this upgrade holds a station hostage for half a day while I continually run over and check on its progress. You see, the application won't allow anything else to be running on the machine, such as remote monitoring software, during the upgrade. This time I opened up a DOS window under Warp and started the upgrade. It ran flawlessly in the background while I went about my administration tasks such as checking my email, running various administration utilities, and logging in as other users in separate te DOS windows, etc. Everything ng ran smooth as silk. Only when I had multiple things running at one time did I notice any slow down and some of these processes where hitting the processor pretty hard.

Overall, I'm very impressed with Warp's ability to run Windows apps, multi-task, and handle network functionality. The install went great and it even set-up an icon for my favorite game Doom! (Yes it was installed on my work computer but for testing purposes only :-) ) Warp is definitely a strong product and I'm looking forward to see what functionality IBM adds to it next. As of right now I would say my time, at least at work, is probably spit evenly between running Warp and Windows. Although, when In a stable, true multi-threading environment, I have no other choice but to get Warped!

IBM Corporation 1000 NW 51st Street Boca Raton, FL 33431 (800) 799-7765 CompuServe: GO WARP URL: http://www.ibm.com/

This was originally published on July 1, 1995.

Microsoft has long been known for their prowess in operating systems and business applications, but they have also been a long time proponent of CDROM technology for the home. Cinemania '95 is one of their MICROSOFT HOME offerings which demonstrates this commitment.

Cinemania '95 is more than just a "look up the movie" CDROM. With film clips, audio sound bites and still photographs, you're immersed into the world of movies in true Hollywood fashion.

But, all isn't fluff and light. This CDROM is dead serious about the information supplied to you. Using Roger Ebert's Video Companion, Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide, Ephraim Katz's The Film and Pauline Kael's 5001 Nights at the Movies, you are surrounded by the best minds in the business when you look up a movie.

Looking up a movie couldn't be simpler using Microsoft's interface. You can search by File Name, Actor Name and many other methods. In fact, you can even have Cinemania '95 pick a movie for you based on your mood and the type of movie you want to see. Incredible!

With more than 19,000 reviews spanning over 80 years of file, there hasn't been a movie on cable that didn't make this disc! In addition to the reviews you may even see one of the 4000 actor biographies that accompany the films.

If you like have cable and watch movies, this CD is an absolute necessity. If you rent movies often, this CD is an absolute necessity. If you own a satellite dish, this CD should be part of your installation package!

Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052 (800) 228-6270 CompuServe: GO MICROSOFT URL: http://www.microsoft.com

This review originally appeared on May 21, 1995 by Chip Cox. It's funny to look at how the personal information market (PIM) shook out through the 1990s. At this point most people use Outlook. 

Organizer 2 is a computerized scheduling system.  It incorporates multiple calendars, project schedules, an address book, anniversary schedule, call history section , notepad and a to-do list into a easy to manage system.  Since I started working with Organizer I have become increasingly dependent on it for organizing my week.  Schedules can be viewed in a variety of formats.  These include different levels of detail depending on the time span displayed on a page.  The to-do list is the section I use most.

Activities are separated by due date (Future, Current, Overdue, and Completed).  Within each category they are sorted by date and priority. The Notepad section provides a categorized set of notepad pages to write down quick notes and updates on projects or any other task.  I keep notes concerning development projects I am working on in my notepad. This allows me to review the status on each project without having to place large amounts of text in my to-do list.  The planner section displays either a quart quarterly or yearly calendar with up to 4 projects tracked on each day.  Mine shows days I will be in training and days I will be on vacation.  Meetings scheduled in my calendar also are displayed on the project plan.  The Address section provides a phone and address list for both business and home contacts.  The anniversary section is one of the default calendars. Other calendars can be created and loaded. A Holiday calendar is shipped with Organizer.  Organizer 2 has a very nice section for tracking calls.  Th is section includes the name of the person called.  The time of the call.  The duration of the call is tracked as well as the result of the call (busy, completed). All of these features work together to help busy executives plan their schedules.

Some of the features of organizer mentioned above deserve to be covered in greater detail.  The calendar functions allow scheduled events to be repeated.  Organizer provides a wide range of choices to describe when an event should be repeated.  These choices range from daily to every tenth year unless it is on a weekend and then it should be moved to the nearest week day.  Organizer also will find time in your schedule for a meeting and warn you if a scheduled time conflicts with another commitment.  The all section includes an auto dialer if you have a modem attached to your system.  This is one of those tools I never had much use for but I can see where it would be very useful to a sales person or a telemarketing representative who spends their day on the phone.

A couple of nice features I was not able to test out on my configuration at my home but that we use with Organizer at work, are the calendar sharing and appointment scheduling features.  When installed on a LAN Organizer will allow users on the same fileserver to view each others calendars and actually schedule meetings for each other.  The recipient of the meeting has the right to decline to attend and reschedule the meeting.  At work, my coworkers and I use this feature primarily to keep up with what h other will be doing during the day.  I can see their calendars reflected on my calendar.  Users who are not on the same fileserver are not out of luck.  Lotus uses several popular e-Mail programs to exchange appointment requests between users on different file servers.  My experience has been with cc:Mail and after a slightly tedious setup procedure in cc:Mail for the users, the process works wonderfully from organizer.

Organizer also supports printing schedules in a variety of formats. Many of these formats conform to popular daily scheduling books.  Since organizer runs in Microsoft Windows no special setup is needed to work with most printers.

In conclusion, Organizer 2 is a giant step forward for Lotus organizer. As with any product it takes a little time to get used to but is well worth the effort.  If you are upgrading from a previous version of Organizer, you will find Organizer 2 faster and easier to use with many more options than previous versions.  If you are new to Organizer you will be happy with the options offered and the flexibility of the product.  One final note, There is one downside to using organizer at home.  My wife has d discovered Organizer. My to do list now shows that I have to cut the grass, finish building the patio, and wash the car this weekend.

Lotus Corporation 55 Cambridge Pky Cambridge, MA 02142 (800) TRADE-UP CompuServe: GO LOTUS WWW: http://www.lotus.com

This review was first published on May 14, 1995.

Phillipe Kahn has always been a hero of mine! As I entered the world of IBM compatibles in the early 80s as a acne faced teenager, my first conquest in the arena of software was Turbo Pascal. Not only did people call me the wiz when it came to Turbo Pascal, I had adults paying me to create programs for them. I made the decision then that computers were pretty cool . . .

As Turbo Pascal grew, so did Phillipe and his company Borland. Borland soon offered other languages, yes I actually bought TurboProlog, and then they moved to applications. Anyone remember Sprint? This had to have been th best DOS word processor ever created. I swear Borland still uses this to document their programs. Anyway, Borland's first application/utility was something called Sidekick. It brought a new acronym to our computing language called TSR, terminate stay resident.

Sidekick would actually remain in your memory after loading! This meant you could pop it up in the middle of Sprint or dBase II without having to quit and reload the program! When you did pop Sidekick up, you had access to a phone directory, scheduler, calculator and even, yes everyone needs one, an ASCII table! Sidekick remained on everyone's must buy list for years.

As time marched on, other products came to dominate the world Sidekick used to reign over. Borland lumbered like a giant into the Windows application world and quickly lost sight of the useful tool it left back in the DOS world. Fast forward a few years later and you'll see that Borland has sold almost all their applications off, Phillipe no longer calls the day to day shots and Sidekick has been sold to small startup company called Starfish Software. Started up by Phillipe himself.

Starfish's main focus is on delivering simple, high-quality, software products. To this end, note that Sidekick ships on 1 diskette, only uses 3 megabytes of hard drive space and is lightning quick!

The latest Sidekick has three main sections -- cardfile, calendar and notes. These three sections are about as simple as any designer could make them. Anyone with just a passing knowledge on how to use a mouse can be up and running inside Sidekick in minutes.

As you start to use Sidekick you notice everything you do is just like you thought it would be. To create an appointment with someone, all you have to do is click on their name from the card file and drag it over to the calendar section. Same with deleting information. Click on what you want to delete and drag it onto the trashcan.

Some of the newer features of Sidekick catch the others in the game and knock them out! Some of the neater new features:

Alarms work even if you are out of Sidekick! 70 templates for printing reports, envelopes, etc! Balloon help that only activates when you need it! Global find and replace features!

There was only one very disappointing feature of Sidekick 2.0. It won't covert your 1.X data files. You need to do this MANUALLY! Ugh!

Everyone needs a personal information manager nowadays. Why go with a bloated, over priced resource hog? Why not go with a slim, styled, easy to use package like Sidekick for Windows?

Starfish Software
245 Mt. Hermon Rd. Suite 313
Scotts Valley, CA  95066
(408) 439-0942
CompuServe: GO SIMPLIFY
WWW: http://www.simplify.com