From the March 1992 Bits of Blue
Secretary’s Report

TAMPA IBM PC USER’S GROUP
MINUTES OF 2/12/92 MEETING

Once upon a time there was a…..

No, that’s not right. Let’s see. Oh, yes. The meeting began approximately on time, but something seemed different, and it look a while for me to figure out what. But, then my 486/50 mind figured it out after just a few NS’s - Harvey, our President, was not there. Instead, our distinguished Director of Education, Ed Buzza, was filling in for our eminent Vice President, Steve Speairs, who was to fill in for Harvey who was out in Arizona on what Ed reported as a “well deserved vacation”.

In any case, Ed opened the meeting and carried the first few minutes. Steve then took over and conducted the remainder of the meeting. Here is a summary of what transpired (please remember that I do not hear well - I may not have heard it all)

CLUB NEWS:

Steve introduced Leslie C. Dort of Corel Systems Corp. who would give us a demo of CorelDRAW. Leslie began by noting that she had provided a number of different informational materials for those interested, including quite a few demo disks. Leslie emphasized that while there are a few special versions of CorelDRAW (OS/2 PM, UNIX OSF?Motif, and UNIX OPEN LOOK), the program most of us are likely to be interested in and the one she would demonstrate requires Microsoft Windows. She then proceeded to outline the current and near-term future of CorelDRAW. The last major release was version 2.0. A maintenance release (2.01) was also out and all owners of 2.0 should have received the 2.01 release free of charge. Version 3.0 was in the works and should be released before the end of 1992. Corel would be marketing a “Blockbuster Bundle” which would include:

Leslie made a point of informing us that the SCSI in the Corel package would be the first true interface, and it would be capable of supporting 7 external devices. When the bundle would be available was not clear.

The bundle would include 10,000 pieces of clip art, 200 fonts, Art Show 91, and would be usable in 5 languages. The bundle list price will be $1295 for new CorelDRAW purchasers and $595 for upgrades. An external CD ROM drive could be had - and that is recommended to save a slot - for an additional $100. A 16 bit SCSI can also be had for an additional $100. The SCSI will also be available as a separate item for $195 for the 8 bit version and $300 for the 16 bit variety. But Leslie pointed out that CorelDRAW is not really in the business of making or marketing hardware - they are and intend to continue as a software company.

In getting to the demo, Leslie noted that CorelDRAW [obscured text] rated in its niche and that it is excellent for presentation graphics, supporting word processors with graphics and special effects, and for DTP. She reported amazement at the variety of uses that have been found for the program, including engraving.

Leslie is very knowledgeable on CorelDRAW and proceeded to give a very comprehensive and very quick demo of a very powerful program (the 2.01 maintenance version). I could not even hope to put into text what I saw her demonstrate of the program. In short, I can’t imagine anything that one might want to do with text or graphics that CorelDRAW can’t do - and she made it look very easy. It gives super control of text (with a supply of 150 fonts in the normal package as a foundation, or you can import with ASCII or from most major word processors) and almost unlimited control of graphics - and the capability to make text graphics which then gives phenomenal control of text. Mirror, skew, size, curve, swirl, extrude, bend, fan, rotate at any angle, stretch, etc., etc., etc, is a short list of the many special effects things you can do and any combination thereof.

It supports (imports and/or exports) EPS, Windows Metafiles, BMP, CGM, GEM, DXF, WPG, TIFF, PCX, PIF, Video Show, SCODL, HPGL, and the AI format for Adobe Illustrator file formats. Included with the standard package are 3300 symbols and 700 pieces of high-quality art. Of course, with CorelDRAW you can make your own symbols and graphics. It includes three standalone utilities:

If you get the impression that I was impressed with the program, you’re right - it is the best drawing/graphics/special effects program I have seen, bar none.

After the presentation, Leslie passed out quite a few prizes as part of a question and answer period. Included were several mouse pads and a SCSI manual. All of the winners of these prizes did not provide their names to me, so I know only a few, who are:

CorelDRAW requires a 286 or better machine, hard drive with at least 8-10 meg for the program, an EGA or better display, any printer supported by Windows, and Microsoft Windows. I suspect, however, that the program might be a little slow on the 286.

To Lesley (and Corel Systems Corp) we give you a very BIG “ Thank You” for a superb demonstration of a super program - and for all of the goodies you provided. We are indebted.

Following Leslie’s demo of CorelDRAW, our own Don Patzsch gave a review of the Shareware program AM-TAX91. This program is available on our own and the Sunshine BBS as AM-TAX9IA.zip.

It is quite a nice little program, is relatively easy to use and is fairly well documented. It will work on just about any IBM compatible computer that has 320K of usable RAM, any monitor, and just about any IBM or Epson (or compatible) printer. It will work with floppies, but a hard drive is best.

The version downloaded from the board supports the 1040 and Schedules A, B, C, D, Dl, El, E2, F, R and SE, as well as W-2s. The program completely prints all of the forms in a form acceptable to the IRS, except for the 1040 form - the data for which has to be copied to the IRS form. Registration costs $20 for which you get printed documentation and additional capability, including printing of the 1040 in a form acceptable to the IRS.

There are also more capable versions available to deal with more complicated returns - each with a modestly higher registration fee. However, for those whose tax return needs do not extend much beyond the forms supported by the basic program, this seems to be an excellent and relatively inexpensive way to go. (Of course, the freebee 92FM1040.ZIP, for use with Lotus 123 or Quatro Pro, is also available.)

Thanks, Don, for an excellent presentation and introducing us to this program.

AND THE WINNER IS:

After the presentations, Steve began the drawings, using our lovely guest presenter, Leslie, to good advantage. She drew the following lucky names: