Looking Back to 1993
From the September 1993 Bits of Blue
Secretary’s Report
MINUTES OF 8/11/93 Meeting and PERSONAL COMMENTS
By: Jim Clark
Another BIGGIE?! Yes, if you weren’t at this meeting, you missed another biggie. We had a presentation on one version of probably the most widely used word processor — Word Perfect 6.0 (DOS) — made by the inimitable John Johannesmeyer who has a special knack of getting across a lot of info in a very enjoyable way. And, we had a vote on our Articles of Incorporation (AOI) to change the name of our group. Although we had a good crowd, it was not the wall-to-wall crowd J had expected for this event. It was a productive and enjoyable evening.
CLUB NEWS
Name Change: Harvey explained the several reasons the Board of Directors (BOD) felt that a change in our name was necessary: 1) Our name is so similar to other groups in our area that we are often mistaken for them; 2) Our present name incorrectly implies that only persons using true IBM PCs are eligible, whereas in reality we are open to users of any PC (as well as those that don’t use computers at all, but have an interest in them); 3) Because of the similarity of names, some distributions from the computer industry intended for our group are often sent to one of the other groups; 4) We are applying for non-profit status with the IRS and it is important that our name reflect our true situation — membership in our group is not limited to a select group of people, but is open to all.
The BOD had agreed upon and proposed to the membership that our name be changed to “Tampa PC Users Group”. There were other ideas proposed from the floor during discussion, but in the end it was agreed that this name would probably meet our needs the best; it reflects our openness, and at the same time would also help keep our established identity in the industry. A motion to change our name to “Tampa PC Users Group” was made and seconded. A vote was held, and the motion carried without opposition.
Financial Reports: A motion was made to incorporate into our newsletter a financial report to let members know what our financial status is. The motion did not specify a time table for such reports. It was noted that financial reports are available for review by any and all of our members at all of our meetings and that for such reports to be included in the newsletter frequently would consume valuable space and create additional work on the volunteers serving the organization. Considerable discussion ensued as to the need for such reports and, if needed, the frequency of them. An amended motion was proposed to publish a financial statement, consisting of an Income Statement and a Balance Sheet, during the first quarter of the calendar year with an as-of date of the last day of the previous year. The motion was seconded and carried without opposition.
INDUSTRY NEWS
CorelDraw Update: A number of bugs have shown up in the recently released CorelDraw 4.0. To rectfy most of these problems, CorelDraw has developed and is distributing a free update. If you are an owner of CorelDraw and have registered, you should receive your update automatically. If you have not registered, you will have to call CorelDraw at 1-800-836-DRAW to get your update.
Word Perfect for OS/2: Word Perfect Corp says they are now shipping this version of WP.
Stacker/Novell Agreement: An agreement has been reached that will incorporate Stacker software in future releases of Novell and DR-DOS. Inasmuch as Stacker seems to be the most popular disk compression software, this agreement will no doubt expand Stacker’s share of the disk-compression market and should enhance the value of Novell and DR-DOS programs.
MS Access 1.1 maintenance upgrade is out. It can be purchased from MS directly for $19.95, or call MS for a coupon which will allow purchase from local retailers for $14.95.
PRESENTATION — Word Perfect 6.0 (DOS)
John Johannesmeyer, area manager for Word Perfect Corporation, was on hand to give an overview presentation of WP 6.0 (DOS). It is a very powerful program and no one could review all of its features in the limited time available, but John did cover a bunch of them--and I shall be even more brief here.
To start with, WP 6.0 is very similar in many ways to WP 5.1 — that is, it does all of the things 5.1 does (plus a bunch) and those things can be accomplished in pretty much the same way as 5.1 if one so desires. Some of the key combinations are different, but if one uses phonetics they are very much the same. V/P 6.0 can be operated in a variety of ways, from a clean screen that would remind you of all of the earlier versions of WP, through pull-down menus on the screen, to a Windows-like operation, complete with user-definable tool bars. One does not have some of the capabilities with 6.0 (DOS) that are available in Windows, such as DDE, but it appears to offer all other benefits of a Windows-like graphical interface. Like Windows, WP 6.0 makes use of all extended and expanded memory installed on the computer and otherwise available for use.
Among the major capabilities offered in WP 6.0 is a very capable spreadsheet built right in. This spreadsheet provides over 100 functions, including all of the ones used most often by most spreadsheet users. And the spreadsheet is indeed very nice. Also included is an efficient send-fax capability so that one can send faxes from within WP 6.0 (the host computer must, of course, otherwise have a fax capability). And, the desktop publishing capability of WP 6.0’s recent predecessors is still available -- but it has been enhanced and made more powerful than ever. Among the many other features of WP 6.0 are:
WP 6.0 can be operated in text or graphics modes; text mode takes less memory and looks much like WP 5.1 on the screen; and graphics mode which takes more memory and runs more slowly, but gives full benefit of the graphical interface (i.e., WYSIWYG).
Up to nine documents can be opened and working at one time. This makes transferring information between several documents (up to nine) very easy.
Word processing has been enhanced with features such as Grammatik V grammar checker now built in, and drag and drop editing of text. And, 6.0 will import from all of the popular major word processors.
Provides a conversion macro to convert on the fly documents from previous versions of WP.
Macros from WP 5.1 are convertible and creation of macros is easier.
A comprehensive and detailed table creation and control capability - a very powerful and versatile feature. One can create and modify a table structure in just about any way I can imagine with just clicks of a button, and embed formulas as desired.
Good control of graphics compared to other word processors, including scaling and drag-and-drop moving. It also allows the choice of block wrap of text around graphics, or contour wrap with a click of a mouse button The program will import some 15 different graphics formats, including all of the most popular.
Another feature that is particularly “nice” is the Watermark. One may import a graphic in any of the 15 formats supported and make it a “watermark” — a graphic that is printed lightly to become a background to any printed document.
Enhanced, powerful desk top capabilities, including easily set up and controlled column layouts, with any combination of single and multiples allowed on the same page. Automatic text flow between columns and balanced columns are available.
Some of the other features are: Extensive documentation and context-sensitive online help; drag-and-drop text editing; spell checker; thumbnail preview of up to 32 pages at one time; document length limited only by space; envelope printing, with bar-code capability; hypertext (electronic referencing for documentation); supports full color printing; embed sound in any place desired in a document, with the sound becoming a part of the document file (assumes a sound capability built into the computer); uses Adobe and Bitstream Speedo fonts, with third party software providing True Type capability as well; and many, many more.
Requirements: John says that WP 6.0 (DOS) will run in text mode on a 286 machine. A 386 with 2 MB of RAM will allow operation in text or graphics modes; more RAM will give faster operation. (A 486SX25 laptop was used for the demo, and it worked very well.) The program needs about 420K of free RAM, after all TSRs are loaded. A minimum load of the program uses about 7M of hard disk space-- loading all features takes about 14 MB.
Costs: List price of the program is $495. Upgrade from WP 5.1 lists at $129.95, but has a street price of around $89. A competitive upgrade is available for a little more, but one must be upgrading from a competitive program with a list price of at least $395.
Word Perfect Corp is implementing a program called Easy Move. This program will allow a purchaser of WP 6.0 (DOS) to obtain the software for the Windows version for $29.95, or $59.95 for the program with complete documentation. This “Easy Move” applies to lateral versions and/or earlier versions, but not to later versions; that is, a 6.0 licensee could Easy Move on any 6.0 versions (Windows, DOS or OS/2), or any 5.X versions, but could not do the same on 6.1 or later. John emphasized that one is not purchasing an additional license, but is only expanding an existing license. Hence, if one owned a license for one program and Easy Moved on another, and subsequently gave or sold one version, that person wilt have sold or given away his license for both versions.
Word Perfect Corporation and John Johannesmeyer, many thanks for an excellent presentation of your very powerful new version of Word Perfect for DOS. It is truly an impressive and powerful program, and, John, your presentation was both informative and entertaining, as usual.. MANY THANKS!
AND THE WINNER IS
Thanks to the generosity of Microsoft Corporation (who donated a copy of Microsoft Access), our own Sunshine Computer (who donated several peripheral items), and Word Perfect Corporation (who donated several WP T-shirts), along with the 50/50 cash drawing, there were some very nice raffle prizes. Those among us to have the good fortune to win are as follows: