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Most of us view backing up as a downer. If we do it at all, it's grudgingly. And all too often, we just cross our fingers and hope nothing bad happens to our precious data.
The folks at Iomega are hoping their new solution will make you view backups in a more favorable light. The Iomega Ditto 2GB tape drive has a 2GB compressed capacity that should be big enough to store your hard disk's entire contents. Its one-step backup icon sits on your desktop and lets you back up any time. You can also restore lost files and copy files from tape to disk or vice versa with a single click. Iomega claims up to a 19MB-per-minute backup rate with its internal drive and 9.5MB per minute with the external mode, with a 1Mb-per-second transfer rate with both models.
The internal drive fits any 5.25-inch bay. The first non-Travan Ditto drive is read-compatible with all leading tape cartridges. An Iomega 2GB cartridge costs $19.95.
Iomega also released accessories for the Zip drive. The Iomega Zip Unleashed rechargeable battery pack can power the Zip drive for up to three hours, and the Iomega Zip Card is a Type II PCMCIA-to-SCSI adapter that attaches to notebook PCs.
Ditto 2GB: $199 (external), $149 (internal); Zip Unleashed, $49.95; Zip Card, $99.95
Iomega
800-MY-STUFF, 801-778-1000
If you take your storage personally, you want something fast but small so it's always available for tucking away data. The Olympus Personal Storage System rewritable optical drive can transfer data at speeds up to 2.4MB per second with an effective seek time under 17 milliseconds. The 8-by-6-by-2-inch system weighs 2 pounds, and comes in internal, SCSI and universal models. The universal model connects to your PC either through the parallel printer port, or through a SCSI connection for faster performance. It uses 230MB cartridges, which cost $10.
The internal drive is compatible with 3.5-inch optical media, backward compatible with 128MB and 230MB drives, and designed to comply with 640MB and 1GB future drive standards. You can use the external versions horizontally or vertically.
Internal, $299; SCSI, $359; universal, $389
Olympus Image Systems
800-347-4027, 516-844-5000
The Micro Solutions backpack 8000t and MicroSolutions backpack pd/cd connect to your PC's printer port and let you back up reams of data either on tape or optical cartridges.
The 8000t's tape backup can store up to 8GB of data on a TR-4 cartridge, with a 30MB-per-minute data-transfer rate without a SCSI hookup. The pd/cd drive can also serve as a hard disk or 4X CD-ROM drive. It stores up to 650MB of data on a PD cartridge. Both products automatically recognize and support Enhanced Parallel Ports (EPP) and IEEE 1284 ports.
Backpack 8000t, $599; backpack pd/cd, $599
Micro Solutions
800-890-7227 x200, 815-756-3411 x200
Whether you publish on paper or the Web, style counts. Microsoft Publisher 97 shares its desktop publishing features with Webmasters so you can create professional-looking documents either way. The new version includes a Web Site Wizard to create a Web site without HTML, an enhanced 5,000-piece Clip Gallery that supports OLE objects, and Clip Gallery Live that lets you download over a thousand additional clip-art items from the Web.
The product hasn't abandoned desktop publishers, though. Its Postcard Wizard and Mail Merge functionality make it easy to create and address postcards and other business mailings. And to keep you in style, Publisher 97's Design Checker points out design and layout faux pas.
$79.95; $20 rebate for upgrades
Microsoft Corp.
800-426-9400
The 11 newest models in the NEC Ready line live up to their name. They come prepared for just about anything you can do with a PC. Available with Pentiums up to 200MHz, the Ready line also includes full multimedia features, 3-D graphics, built-in 100MB Iomega Zip drives and a telephone answering machine.
The top-of-the-line Ready 9629 has all the above features (except the Zip drive) and 32MB of EDO RAM, a 3.2GB hard disk, an 8X CD-ROM, a 33.6Kbps modem, 4MB of video RAM, a 25-watt amplifier/equalizer, a 40-watt speaker system and remote control. Other models have 120MHz, 133MHz, 150MH or 166MHz Pentiums; 6MB of EDO RAM; 1.6GB, 2.0GB and 2.5GB hard disks; 1MB or 2MB video RAM; and 10- watt or 16-watt speaker systems. All models have NEC Merlin, an interactive Video Wizard that show you the system's features.
From $1,599 to $2,999
NEC Technologies
800-NEC-INFO, 508-264-8000
Corel Office Professional 7 is a pumped-up version of Corel WordPerfect Suite 7 for Windows 95 juiced with Java functionality. Office Professional 7 includes Corel's WordPerfect 7, Quattro Pro 7 and Presentations 7 with new Internet capabilities. The suite also includes CorelDRAW 6, InfoCentral personal information manager, Borland's Paradox database, Corel Time Line professional project manager, Netscape Navigator 2.01 Personal Edition, Corel's online dictionary and encyclopedia, and 1,000 fonts.
$695; upgrade, $249
Corel Corp.
800-772-6735, 613-728-3733
With Windows Draw 5, you can quickly whip up 3-D and 2-D graphics to drop into business and personal documents, such as business cards, certificates, brochures and Web pages. The program's highlight is Instant 3D, a 3-D graphics and text program Micrografx recently acquired. Windows Draw 5 also includes Photo Magic for photo editing, ABC Media Manager to organize clip art and photos, and more than 20,000 clip-art images and 250 typefaces.
$49.95
Micrografx
800-676-3110, 214-234-1769
You don't need much design experience, artistic talent or money to create newsletters, brochures, cards or other business documents. The Master Publisher Premium Publishing Suite includes TurboPublisher to design documents, TurboDraw for graphics and illustrations, 2,000 fonts and 1,000 photos.
$29.95
IMSI
800-833-4674, 415-257-3000
The CTX DP Series of mini-tower PCs ship with 166MHz, 133MHz or 120MHz Pentiums; 16MB of RAM; an 8X CD-ROM drive and 16-bit stereo sound card. The high-end of the line, the DP166E, ships with a 3.2GB hard disk, 2MB video memory and a 33.6Kbps modem. The other models ship with 1.7GB hard disks, 1MB video memory and 28.8Kbps modems.
From $1,499 to $1,999
CTX International
800-888-2012, 818-839-0500
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