By David Gabel
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Software joins our Recommended list of products this
month. The software products we like best follow the systems listings.
Next month, we'll supplement our existing systems section with
a new hardware category that covers notebook systems and peripherals
of all types. From April on, we'll provide you with this complete
set of recommendations.
The items listed here represent the best in their categories of the products we have seen and tested at WINDOWS Magazine. If you see a product listed here, that's your guarantee that one of our testers has used it and that it passes our critical test: Would I recommend this product to a friend or family member?
Software products are rated on installation, usability,
supporting materials, functionality, performance and utility.
Reviewers score each of these categories from 1 (Poor) to 5 (Outstanding).
The WinMag Box Score is the reviewer's overall evaluation of the
product. Desktop systems are scored for setup, documentation,
ergonomics, construction/serviceability, expandability and basic
requirements (does it have the appropriate buses, ports and so
on.) Again, we use a 1-to-5 scoring system for each category.
--David Gabel
| Product | Configuration | Price as tested | In brief | Issue
reviewed | Box score |
| ACMA zPower P133
800-786-6888, 510-623-1212 | 133MHz Pentium, 16MB EDO RAM, 256KB cache, 1.2GB HDD, 6X CD-ROM, 17" monitor ast CD-ROM, fast video | $3,399 | This system is a winner. | March '96 | 4.5 |
| Compaq Deskpro XL 5133
800-345-1518, fax 713-518-1442 | 133MHz Pentium, 16MB RAM, 256KB cache, 1GB HDD, 17" monitor | $4,999 | Fast SCSI-2, Ethernet and more built-in. | March '96 | 4.5 |
| Digital Celebris GL 5133ST
800-642-4532, 508-642-6400 | 133MHz Pentium, 16MB EDO RAM, 512KB cache, 1.6GB HDD, 4X CD-ROM drive, 15" monitor | $4,249 | A loaded, rapid-fire tower of power. | February '96 | 4.5 |
| Gateway 2000 P5-133XL
800-846-2000, 605-232-2000 | 133MHZ Pentium, 16MB EDO RAM, 256KB cache, 1.6GB HDD, 6X CD-ROM drive, 17" monitor | $3,599 | New design in a feature-packed unit with room to grow. | February '96 | 4.5 |
| Robotech Cobra XLT/2 P166
800-255-2215, 801-565-0645 | 166MHz Pentium, 16MB RAM, 256KB pipeline burst cache, 1GB HDD, 17-inch monitor | $4,099 | Not just well-built, it's also a super performer. | March '96 | 4.0 |
| Preproduction | |||||
| Dell Dimension XPS P166c
800-289-3355, 512-338-4400 | 166MHz Pentium, 16MB EDO RAM, 512KB cache, 1.08GB HDD, 4X CD-ROM drive, 17" monitor | $3,229 | Power and user-friendliness, too. | February '96 | 4.5 |
| Dell Dimension XPS Pro150
800-289-3355, 512-338-4400 | 150MHz Pentium Pro, 64MB RAM, 2GB HDD, 6X CD-ROM drive, 17" monitor | $6,759 | Pentium Pro puts it into a new performance realm. | December '95 | 4.0 |
| Gateway 2000 P5-150
800-846-2000, 605-232-2000 | 150MHz Pentium, 16MB EDO RAM, 256KB cache, 1.6GB HDD, 15" monitor | $3,193
(Lowest Price) | Faster than a fast-forward videotape. | March '96 | 4.5 |
| Micron P150 Millennia
800-243-7615, 208-463-3423 | 150MHz Pentium, 16MB EDO RAM, 1.2GB HDD, 15" monitor | $3,047 | Impressive performance and top-flight peripherals. | February '96 | 4.5 |
| Micron P166 Millennia Plus
800-243-7615, 208-463-3423 | 166MHz Pentium, 16MB EDO RAM, 2GB HDD, 1GB tape drive, 15" monitor | $4,446 | This Pentium system behaves like a Pentium Pro. | February '96 | 4.5 |
| Micron Pro 200 Magnum Plus
800-243-7613, 208-465-3423 | 200MHz Pentium Pro, 32MB RAM, 256KB cache, 2GB HDD, 6X CD-ROM drive, 15" monitor | $6,147 | It blew the doors off our tests.
(Fastest Performer) | February '96 | 4.0 |
| NEC PowerMate P166
800-NEC-INFO, 508-264-8000 | 166MHz Pentium, 16MB RAM; 256KB cache, 1.6GB HDD, no monitor | $3,399 | Easy expansion and great graphics performance. | March '96 | 4.0 |
Note: Pentium Pros have level 2 cache in the package.
| Product | Configuration | Price as tested | In brief | Issue
reviewed | Box score |
| ACMA sPower P133
800-786-6888, 510-623-1212 | 133MHz Pentium, 16MB EDO RAM, 256KB cache, 850MB HDD, 15" monitor | $2,599 | 133MHz power at a value price. | March '96 | 4.5 |
| AMS InfoGOLD P100
800-888-6615, 408-945-2296 | 100MHz Pentium, 16MB RAM, 256KB cache, 1.08GB HDD, 4X CD-ROM drive, 15" monitor. | $2,779 (direct) | The InfoGOLD takes the gold.
(Fastest Perfomer) | December'95 | 4.0 |
| Epson Action Tower 8200
800-289-3776, 310-782-0770 | 75MHz Pentium, 8MB RAM, 256KB cache, 850MB HDD, 4X CD-ROM drive, 17" monitor | $2,199 (street) | Loaded with all but the kitchen sink and easy to set up. | December '95 | 4.5 |
| FCS P5-100 Multimedia
800-325-1911, 770-441-1911 | 100MHz Pentium, 16MB RAM, 256KB cache, 1.6GB HDD, 4X CD-ROM drive, 15" monitor | $2,299 | Good looks, great performance, easy accessibility. | December '95 | 3.5 |
| Gateway 2000 P5-120
800-846-2000, 605-232-2000 | 120MHz Pentium, 16MB RAM, 256KB cache, 1GB HDD, 4X CD-ROM drive, 15" monitor | $2,374 | The performance you need when you get down to business. | February '96 | 3.5 |
| HP Vectra VL Series 4 5/100M T
800-752-0900, 415-857-1501 | 100MHz Pentium, 16MB EDO RAM, 256KB cache, 1GB HDD, 4X CD-ROM, 15" monitor | $2,954 (street) | Even the most demanding user will love it. | February '96 | 5.0 |
| IBM Aptiva PC Model M51
800-IBM-2-YOU, 919-765-1900 | 100MHz Pentium, 8MB RAM, 256KB cache, 1GB HDD, 4X CD-ROM drive, 15" monitor | It has all the bells and whistles. | February '96 | 3.5 | |
| MidWest Micro P5-75 Office PC
800-235-9148, 513-368-2309 | 75MHz Pentium, 16MB EDO RAM, 256KB cache, 1GB HDD, 4X CD-ROM, 15" monitor | $2,051
(Lowest Price) | Excellent components are a welcome bonus. | March '96 | 3.5 |
| Mitsuba Premier System-100
800-648-7822, 909-392-2000 | 100MHz Pentium, 16MB RAM, 256KB cache, 1.28GB HDD, 4X CD-ROM drive, 15" monitor | $2,600 (street) | Expandability is its middle name. | December'95 | 3.5 |
| NEC PowerMate V100
800-NEC-INFO, 508-264-8000 | 100MHz Pentium, 16MB RAM, 256KB cache, 1GB HDD, 6X CD-ROM drive, 15" monitor | $2,859 (street) | This system gets your business moving. | February '96 | 3.5 |
| NEC Ready 7022
800-NEC-INFO, 508-264-8000 | 75MHz Pentium, 8MB RAM, 1GB HDD, 4X CD-ROM drive, 15" monitor | $2,098 (street) | It's a solid system, and the IR remote control is snazzy. | February '96 | 4.0 |
| NEC Ready 9522
800-NEC-INFO, 508-264-8000 | 100MHz Pentium, 16MB RAM, 256KB cache, 1.6MB HDD, 4X CD-ROM drive, 15" monitor | $2,898 (street) | Loaded with features from IR to telephony. | December '95 | 3.5 |
| Quantex QP5/120 SM-1
800-632-5022, 908-563-4166 | 120MHz Pentium, 16MB EDO RAM, 256KB cache, 1.6GB HDD, 6X CD-ROM drive, 17" monitor | $2,599 | You'd expect to pay more for this great-performing system. | February '96 | 4.0 |
| Product | Configuration | Price as tested | In brief | Issue
reviewed | Box score |
| Compaq ProLinea 575e
800-345-1518, fax 713-518-1442 | 75MHz Pentium, 8MB RAM, 632MB HDD, 15" monitor | $1,788 | Well-constructed and documented, but no multimedia. | March '96 | 3.5 |
| Dell Dimension P100t
800-613-3355, 512-338-4400 | 100MHz Pentium, 8MB RAM, 256KB cache, 1.08GB HDD, 4X CD-ROM drive, 17" monitor | $1,899 (direct) | The design emphasizes functionality, not extras. | February '96 | 4.5 |
| Digital Venturis 575 Slimline
800-DIGITAL, 508-624-6400 | 75MHz Pentium, 8MB RAM, 256KB cache, 620MB HDD, 15" monitor | $1,599 | Spartan design, but it can do the job. | February '96 | 4.0 |
| Gateway 2000 P5-75
800-846-2000, 605-232-2000 | 75MHz Pentium, 850MB HDD, 4X CD-ROM drive, 14" monitor | $1,764 | All the hardware you'll need for multimedia computing. | February '96 | 4.0 |
| Quantex QP5/100 M-2
800-632-5022, 908-563-4166 | 100MHz Pentium, 8MB EDO RAM, 256KB cache, 1GB HDD, 6X CD-ROM drive, 15" monitor | $1,849 | Value for the money, but no bundled office suite. | February '96 | 4.0 |
| Robotech Cobra XL-100
800-533-0633, 801-565-0645 | 100MHz DX4, 8MB RAM, 256KB cache, 850MB HDD, 4X CD-ROM drive, 15" monitor | $1,736 | A good system for students or computing neophytes. | February '96 | 4.5 |
| Product | Vendor | Price | In brief | Issue
reviewed | Box
score | |
| Accounting | M.Y.O.B. Accounting
Version 6.0 800-322-MYOB, 201-586-2200 | BestWare | From $79.95 (street) | Features enhanced job tracking, unlimited payroll accrual categories and Cue Cards. | March '96 | 4.5 |
| Accounting | QuickBooks 4.0 and QuickBooks Pro 4.0
800-624-8742, 520-295-3110 | Intuit | $99 disk; $129 CD; $189 Pro (street) | Eases the chore of starting a new business accounting system. | February '96 | 5.0 |
| Expenses | Quicken ExpensAble
800-624-8742, 520-295-3110 | Intuit | $49.95 (street) | An envelope metaphor makes sure nothing slips through the cracks. | October '95 | 4.0 |
| PIM | ECCO PRO 3.0
408-973-7171, fax 408-257-6405 | NetManage | $139 | Offers great customization, workgroup scheduling and file synchronization. | September '95 | 4.0 |
| Contact
Manager | WinSales 3.0
206-747-2464, fax 206-747-2955 | WinSales | $495 | Sales reps will appreciate its persistence. | August '95 | 4.0 |
| Planning/
Analysis | Cashé
800-993-3600, 617-899-8700 | Business Matters | $995 (street) | Works with as much information as you can give it. | February '96 | 4.5 |
| Project
Management | SureTrak Project
Manager 1.5 800-423-0245, 610-667-8600 | Primavera Systems | $299 (street) | Has tools for budgeting labor and material resources. | February '96 | 4.0 |
| Scheduling | OnTime Enterprise for
NetWare 3.0 800-559-5955, 810-559-5955 | Campbell Services | $427 (3 users) | Usability improvements highlight this mature group scheduling product. | January '96 | 4.5 |
| Tax
Management | TurboTax for Business
800-624-8742, 520-295-3110 | Intuit | $69.95 (street) | It may let you smile on April 15. | February '96 | 5.0 |
* Not formally reviewed-consensus choice of WINDOWS Magazine editors
| Product | Vendor | Price | In brief | Issue
reviewed | Box
score | |
| Asynchronous | Qmodem Pro 2.0 for Windows 95
800-999-9619, 805-873-2500 | Mustang Software | $129 | This 32-bit communications software lets you download in the background. | December '95 | 3.5 |
| Internet Browser | Netscape Navigator 2.0
415-254-1900, fax 415-528-4140 | Netscape Com- munications | $49 | The latest version adds good e-mail and newsgroup readers to the usual great Web browser.* | * | |
| Remote Control | pcAnywhere32 .
800-441-7234, 541-334-6054 | Symantec Corp | $149 | Wizards put you in touch with what you left in the office. | February '96 | 4.0 |
| Suite | CommSuite 95
800-441-7234, 541-334-6054 | Delrina Group, Symantec Corp. | $99 (street) | Asynchronous communications, fax and Internet tools. | December '95 | 4.0 |
| Terminal Emulation | Reflection Suite for X 5.0
800-872-2829, 206-217-7100 | WRQ | $599 | Several connectivity products, including TCP/IP and Windows VT terminal emulator, are bundled. | May '95 | 4.0 |
| Entry | FileMaker Pro 3.0
800-544-8554, 408-727-8227 | Claris Corp. | $199 (street) | An easy-to use FileMaker has entered the relational database world. | January '96 | 3.5 |
| Professional | Visual dBASE 5.5
800-233-2444, 408-431-1000 | Borland International | $349.95 (street) | It's equally easy to build databases using point-and-click or code-twiddling. | August '95 | 4.0 |
| Product | Vendor | Price | In Brief | Issue
Reviewed | Box
Score | |
| Antivirus | Dr. Solomon's Antivirus Toolkit for Windows 95
800-701-9648, 617-273-7400 | S&S Software International | $125 | A healthy dose of preventive medicine. | January '96 | 4.5 |
| Backup | Arcada Backup for Windows 95
800-3-ARCADA, 407-333-7500 | Arcada Software | $99 | The features that Windows 95's Backup applet lacks. | March '96 | 4.5 |
| Systems Enhancer | Long File Names for Windows 95
800-487-VIEW, 415-856-8439 | VIEW Software | $30 (street) | Win 3.x users can share Win95's long filenames transparently. | March '96 | 4.5 |
| Systems Enhancer | PowerDesk 1.0
800-777-3322, 770-516-0899 | MicroHelp | $49.95 (street) | Puts menus, applications and monitors within easy reach on your Win95 desktop. | January '96 | 4.5 |
| Uninstaller | CleanSweep 95
800-354-4757, 310-309-3700 | Quarterdeck Corp. | $29.95 (street) | Lose unwanted files easily. | January '96 | 4.5 |
| Product | Vendor | Price | In Brief | Issue
Reviewed | Box
score | |
| Environment | Delphi 2.0
800-453-3375, 408-431-1000 | Borland International | $500 Desktop; $800 Developer | All the power and ease of use you need for Windows 95 development. | March '96 | 5.0 |
| Environment | Symantec C++ 7.0
800-441-7234, 541-334-6054 | Symantec Corp. | $399 (street) | Supports a wide range of platforms (Win95, 3.x 32s, NT, OS/2 and DOS) with an excellent environment and good debugging tools. | August '95 | 4.0 |
| HTML Development | WebAuthor
800-354-4757, 310-309-3700 | Quarterdeck Corp. | $49.95 (street) | Works with MS Word to design and debug Web documents. | May '95 | 3.0 |
| Product | Vendor | Price | In Brief | Issue Reviewed | Box
Score | |
| Charting (entry) | DiagramI
206-643-7929t | Softcraft Technologies | $47.48 (street) | A drawing package with panache. | November '95 | 4.0 |
| Charting (professional) | Visio 4.0
800-24VISIO, 206-521-4500 | Visio Corp. | $149 (street) | Assign data to objects, summarize numbers and use MS Office 95's Binders. | October '95 | 4.0 |
| Desktop Publishing | PageMaker 6.0
800-42-ADOBE, 206-622-5500 | Adobe Systems | $895 | Frame-free layouts, new drawing tools and plenty of mouse-activated menus. | October '95 | 4.0 |
| Draw/
illustration | CorelXARA 1.1
800-772-6735, 613-728-8200 | Corel Corp. | $289 | Anti-aliasing, bitmap support and unique special effects. | March '96 | 4.0 |
| Graphics Suite | ABC Graphics Suite for Windows 95
800-676-3110, 214-234-1769 | Micrografx | $299.95 (street); $149.95 upgrade | Graphics tools fully integrated with MS Office 95. | November '95 | 3.5 |
| Paint | Fractal Design Painter 4
800-297-COOL, 408-688-5300 | Fractal Design Corp. | $549 | The most innovative, natural media paint program on the market. | March '96 | 4.5 |
| Presentation/
Entry | ASAP WordPower 1.95
800-366-8360, 408-537-3000 | Software Publishing Corp. | $99 | Good gets even better in the latest release. | March '96 | 5.0 |
| Presentation/
Professional | Lotus Freelance Graphics 96
for Windows 95 800-343-5414, 617-577-8500 | Lotus Development Corp. | $355 (street) | Sleek and powerful presentation graphics package. | September '95 | 3.5 |
| Screen Capture | HiJaak 95
800-354-4757, 310-309-3700 | Quarterdeck Corp. | $49 (street) | There are 75 different graphics formats supported. | December '95 | 3.5 |
| Product | Vendor | Price | In Brief | Issue Reviewed | Box Score | |
| Forms | OmniForm 2.0
800-535- | Caere Corp. | $349 | An especially easy-to-use tool. | March '96 | 4.0 |
| OCR | TextBridge Professional Edition 3.0
800-248-6550 x3, 508-977-2000 | Xerox Desktop Document Systems | $329 | Access this easy-to-use OCR package from within other applications. | November '95 | 5.0 |
| Spreadsheet | Microsoft Excel for Windows 95
800-426-9400, 206-882-8080 | Microsoft Corp. | $339 (street) | More wizards and smarts make this one a pleasure to use. | September '95 | 4.0 |
| Suite | ClarisWorks 4.0 for Windows 95
800-544-8554 | Claris Corp. | $49 (street) | Full-featured word processor, database and spreadsheet. | February '96 | 4.5 |
| Suite | Microsoft Office for Windows 95
800-426-9400, 206-882-8080 | Microsoft Corp. | $499 (street); $599 (w/Access) (street) | Takes advantage of the best of Win95. | September '95 | 4.0 |
| Suite | PerfectWorks 3
800-451-5151, 801-225-5000 | Novell | $79 (street) | Nimble, feature-packed, with excellent output and a disk-space miser. | February '96 | 4.0 |
| Word Processor | WordPerfect 6.1
800-451-5151, 801-225-5000 | Novell | $199 (street); $99 upgrade (street) | It offers superior file handling and great interface. | March '95 | 5.0 |
| Word Processor | Microsoft Word 7.0
800-426-9400, 206-882-8080 | Microsoft Corp. | $339 (street) | Spell-check on the fly and use the terrific customizability. | September '95 | 4.0 |
| Groupware | Collabra Share 2.0
800-474-7427, 415-254-1900 | Collabra | $995 (NT Server); 100 users, $6,995 (Workgroup edition) | Uses your installed VIM or MAPI e-mail system to create a groupware environment. | January '96 | 4.5 |