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Show Has computer jargon got you down? LjyyjHtusiiiess Computer by Franklynn Peterson and Judy K-Turkel If you can't read about computers without feeling lost in a foreign language, you're far from alone. We think computer sellers learned the trade from snake-oil peddlers who wowed folks into buying by giving fancy names to ordinary things. This guide should help you overcome jargon and find programs you need to turn a dumb box of electronic parts into a computer that can do real work. Word processing programs make computers into smart typewriters. How smart depends on the program, and price doesn't always measure quality. They can pull tricks like moving around whole paragraphs and replacing "ANT' with "anti-disestablishmentarianism" "anti-disestablishmentarianism" throughout through-out a memo or book manuscript. But they can't do anything until you type in the first draft. They won't produce error-free writing unless you can correct your grammer errors, and they won't put a thing 6n paper unless you own a printer. Wordstar and M ultimate are the best sellers. We like Benchmark and The Word for versatility, pfs:Write for its bargain price. Spreadsheets are electronic versions ver-sions of accountants' worksheets. Accountants and corporate analysts use them to analyze trends and juggle figures. Spreadsheets divide a computer screen into about 25 rows and six columns. You can use words to label the rows or columns and put numbers in any box. Then, "if yoii -K know how to supply the rjghi formulas, the computer will tally, Utilities, also called housekeeping ( programs, are small programs that do small but dandy chores. Few computer users go looking for them, but they're nice to know about. ProKey and SmartKey utilities equip you to change the meaning of some of the keys on your computer keyboard. SideKick has a calculator, phone dialer, appointment calendar and notepad that you can use while you're using a database or word processor. StarBurst equips you to create menus (with which we set up our own integrated system), do fast switches between programs and automate backing up and copying. Vertical market programs do jobs for special industries from hospitals , to filling stations. More and more are being written for microcomputers, but be wary: some are good but a lot have a long way to go. The authors will answer questions and send a checklist of available back issues. Send a stamped, self-addressed self-addressed envelope. Comparative details on computer price and performance are found in a new 4,000-word special report, "Your Personal Computer Buying Guide." For your copy, send $3 for Report FP02, in care of the Park Record, P.O. Box 3688, Park City, UT 84060. Make checks payable to Newspaperbooks. You can read back issues of these columns on News-Net's News-Net's on-line data base: for details, 1-800-345-1301. (c) 1985 PK Associates, Inc. ( Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc. average or perform other match feats on the numbers within seconds. But it won't put anything on paper unless you attach a printer. SuperCalc3 and 1-2-3 are the most versatile spreadsheets. pfs:Plan is quick to learn and a great bargain. Database managers are electronic file-card drawers. They organize mountains of facts or figures but only if you first create and design each file, select the topic (person, place or thing) for each record in the file and put each individual fact you want in each record into its own field. If you've done your job cleverly, it can find facts whenever you need them. How many facts, how quickly and in how many combinations depends on how versatile the program is. The easiest-to-use versatile database data-base is Friday!, despite its sickly manual. The biggest and best for small computers is dBase n and dBase LTI. Databases that come with word processing programs like Benchmark and Wordstar are fine for making mail lists and small databases. Telecommunication programs equip a computer to "talk" to other computers over phone wires but Only.if you hook it first to a modem. . r and phone line. You can send or receive (and read onscreen) whole files or just messages typed at keyboards. You can also read commercial database files like The Source and NewsNet. If you have a printer, you can copy onto paper anything you receive. Relay is our choice in telecom programs for IBM and "compatible" computers, although CrossTalk is a top seller. PC Talk IU and pfs :Access are good too. Integrated packages try to incorporate incor-porate all the above programs into one. The good ones really succeed, the poor ones don't. Our favorite for most users is Ability. Framework and Symphony are worth checking. Accounting programs may be for client accounting, for folks who don't always keep debits and credits straight, or client write-up, for CPA firms who keep books for several different clients. Most good programs come in packages (but can be bought separately) that may include general ledger for keeping company books, accounts receivable, accounts payable, pay-able, payroll, inventory, and job costing. A lot of changes are happening in these programs; watch for our upcoming report., , |
