| Hardware | Vendor | Price | In brief | Issue | Mos. on list | Box score | |
| MASS STORAGE | |||||||
| CD-ROM changer
NEC MultiSpin 4X4 | NEC Technologies 800-632-4636, 508-264-8000 | $279 (street) | The MultiSpin 4X4 CD-ROM changer has front buttons that let you access specific discs directly. | 4/96 | 2 | 4.0 | |
| CD-ROM/EIDE
Philips PCA62CR 6X CD-ROM drive | Philips Electronics 800-235-7373, 408-453-7373 | $189.95 | This Philips 6X internal CD-ROM drive adds zip to multimedia and is a snap to install. | 4/96 | 2 | 4.0 | |
| CD-ROM/EIDE
TEAC CD-56E | TEAC America 800-888-4923, 213-726-0303 | $199 (street) | The TEAC 6X CD-ROM is fast, reliable and affordable. | 5/96 | 1 | 4.0 | |
| CD-ROM/Portable
Micro Solutions Backpack 4X CD-ROM with sound card | Micro Solutions 800-890-7227, 815-756-3411 | $449 | A parallel-port external CD-ROM drive with sound. | 2/96 | 2 | 4.0 | |
| CD-ROM/SCSI
Plextor 4PleX Plus | Plextor 800-886-3935, 408-980-1838 | $309 | For speed and simple operation, the 4PleX Plus is a knockout. | 2/96 | 2 | 5.0 | |
| Fixed Hard Drive
Quantum Fireball 1080 | Quantum Corp. 800-624-5545, 408-894-4000 | $265 | Quantum provides a good, solid performer that offers easy configuration and detailed instructions. | 1/96 | 2 | 4.0 | |
| Removable Hard Drive
SyQuest EZ135 drive | SyQuest Technology 800-245-2278, 510-226-4000 | External, $239; internal, $199 | This unit uses removable, $20 3.5" cartridges that hold 135MB-and it's fast. | 12/95 | 2 | 4.5 | |
| MODEMS | |||||||
| External, Telephony
Hayes Optima 288 | Hayes Microcomputer Products 770-840-9200, fax 770-441-1238 | $419 (street) | Though its price isn't exactly pocket change, this telephony fax modem offers power and versatility. | 2/96 | 2 | 5.0 | |
| Internal
Amquest Hypermodem 28800 AM2814I-HY | Amquest Corp. 717-569-8030, fax 717-569-8530 | $199 (street) | With a lifetime warranty and reasonable price, the Hypermodem 28800 makes moving to the information age a smooth voyage. | 3/96 | 2 | 4.5 | |
| Modem/E-net adapter, PCMCIA
Motorola Marquis | Motorola Mobile Computing Products 800-4A-PCMCIA | $499 | This card combines easy installation with flawless performance. | 2/96 | 2 | 5.0 | |
| Modem/E-net adapter, PCMCIA
Ositech Jack of Diamonds | Ositech Communications 800-563-2386, 519-836-8063 | $549 | Combines a V.34 fax modem, cellular modem and 10BaseT Ethernet adapter into one Type II card with excellent performance. | 4/96 | 2 | 5.0 | |
| MONITORS | |||||||
| 17-inch
Nanao FlexScan F2-17EXEIZO | Nanao Technologies 800-800-5202, 310-325-5202 | $1,098 (street) | If you rely on employees to be productive for long hours using CAD or image processing programs, this is the monitor to buy. | 6/95 | 2 | 5.0 | |
| 17-inch
Samsung SyncMaster 17GLsi | Samsung Electronics America 800-SAMSUNG, 201-691-6200 | $929 (street) | This monitor produces a high-quality, accurate image and sports an ergonomically sound keypad. | 10/95 | 2 | 5.0 | |
| 17-inch
ViewSonic 17GA Perfect-Sound Multimedia Monitor | ViewSonic Corp. 800-888-8583, 909-869-7976 | $795 (street) | The 17GA serves up great images with sound and style. | 12/95 | 2 | 4.5 | |
| 20-inch
ArtMedia TN2185 | ArtMedia USA 800-278-6334, 408-980-8988 | $1,888 | The TN2185's Trinitron CRT provides a near-perfect image, and supports 1280x1024 resolution at 77Hz. | 5/96 | 1 | 5.0 | |
| 21-inch
ViewSonic PT810 | ViewSonic Corp. 800-888-8583, 909-869-7976 | $1,999 (street) | The PT810 is about as good as it gets, with a 19.5" viewable area. | 3/96 | 2 | 4.5 | |
| INPUT DEVICES | |||||||
| Keyboard
Microsoft Natural Keyboard | Microsoft Corp. 800-426-9400 | $99.95 | Microsoft's Natural Keyboard brings an ergonomic, wrist-saving design to a price point affordable to all. | 10/94 | 2 | 4.5 | |
| Keyboard
NMB ConcertMaster RT-9100W | NMB Technologies 800-662-8321, 818-341-3355 | $129.95 (street) | An outstanding combination of keyboard and sound/audio controls with built-in speakers. | 3/96 | 2 | 4.5 | |
| Mouse
Microsoft Mouse 2.0 | Microsoft Corp. 800-426-9400 | 59.95 | On the market since 1993, version 2.0 of the Microsoft Mouse is preferred by millions. | * | |||
| MISC. | |||||||
| SCSI Adapter
BusLogic FlashPoint LT | BusLogic 800-707-SCSI, 408-492-9090 | Kit, $199; adapter, $179 | The FlashPoint LT complies with the newest standards for SCSI hardware, including Ultra SCSI and SCAM. | 3/96 | 2 | 4.5 | |
| UPS
APC Plug and Play Back-UPS Pro 280 | American Power Conversion 800-877-4080, 401-789-5735 | $199 (street) | This inexpensive UPS unit can protect your computer and phone line. | 11/95 | 2 | 4.0 | |
| MULTIFUNCTION | |||||||
| Multifunction Office Machine
JetFax M5 Multifunction Office System | JetFax 800-7JETFAX, 415-324-0600 |
$2,995 | The JetFax M5 combines the functionality of a plain-paper fax machine, copier, scanner and printer in one device. | 12/95 | 2 | 4.5 | |
| PRINTERS | |||||||
| Ink Jet
Canon BJC-610 | Canon Computer Systems 800-848-4123, 714-438-3000 | $469 (street) | Great output, separate cartridges for each color and the Windows Printing System combine to make a nice package at a good price. | 3/96 | 2 | 4.5 | |
| Ink Jet
Canon BJC-4100 | Canon Computer Systems 800-848-4123, 714-438-3000 | $329 (street) | This color ink jet printer provides brilliant color at 720x360dpi, and comes with the Canon Creative CD-ROM. | 12/95 | 2 | 4.5 | |
| Ink Jet
HP DeskJet 855C | Hewlett-Packard Co. 800-752-0900 |
$499 (street) | The DeskJet 855C offers terrific color, good monochrome output, superior paper handling, excellent drivers and easy installation. | 2/96 | 2 | 5.0 | |
| Page
HP LaserJet 5L | Hewlett-Packard Co. 800-752-0900 |
$479 (street) | 600dpi, under $500, from Hewlett-Packard. What's to know? | * | |||
| Page
HP LaserJet 5Si.MX | Hewlett-Packard Co. 800-752-0900 |
$4,899 | This network powerhouse is built to handle the demands of a large workgroup with ease and style. | 1/96 | 2 | 4.5 | |
| Page
Panasonic KX-P6500 | Panasonic 800-742-8086, 201-348-7000 | $499 (street) | The KX-P6500 takes up very little desk space and gives you 1200dpi output for less than $500. | 2/96 | 2 | 5.0 | |
| MULTIMEDIA | |||||||
| Digital Camera
Ricoh RDC-1 Color Digital Camera | Ricoh Corp. 800-225-1899, 702-352-1600 | $1,799 | Ricoh's RDC-1 color digital camera takes still or motion videos with audio clips, and stores the resulting data on SRAM cards. | 4/96 | 2 | 4.5 | |
| Kit
Diamond Ultra Kit 8000 | Diamond Multimedia Systems 408-325-7000, fax 408-325-7070 | $449 | This is the first multimedia kit to offer an 8X CD-ROM drive. | 3/96 | 2 | 4.5 | |
| SCANNERS | |||||||
| Color
Logitech PageScan Color | Logitech 800-231-7717, 510-795-8500 | $399 | Stylish and functional, the 24-bit PageScan color scanner is a good value for small offices. | 2/96 | 2 | 4.5 | |
| Color
Primax DeskScan Color | Primax Electronics 800-338-3693, 408-522-1200 | $399 | The DeskScan Color scanner is a TWAIN-compliant, true-color unit that inputs everything from single pages to business cards to photos. | 3/96 | 2 | 4.5 | |
| Page/Document Management
Visioneer PaperPort Vx | Visioneer 800-787-7007, 415-493-9599 | $299 (street) | This scanner specializes in organizing documents. | 1/96 | 2 | 4.0 |