Amiga Computing - Commodore Is Awesome

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your work organised. Spreadsheets, by their
nature, are not so simple to use as. say,
databases, but at least there are keyboard
shortcuts as well as menus to work with
What is appealing is the way data can easily
be taken from the spreadsheet and
made into a graph. which in turn can be
imported into the word processor as part of a
document.
Like the Lotus Suite on the PC. Mini Office
maximises ease of use by maintaining a consistent
control system through each of the
sub-programs. The video recorder-style toolbar
isn't brilliantly successful, but it's
nonetheless strange that more developers
haven't attempted a similar approach on the
Amiga_
It has to be said that the package is looking
slightly dated now, and the inclusion of a
few new features would not go amiss. The
Amiga needs an integrated package like this.
so it's a shame that Europress has not seen
hi to develop a new update - in my view,
doing so would justify a higher price. For
some, however. Mini Office remains a better
option than other more expensive
alternatives - and that's despite its age.
Its ease of use and uniform control system
should make it attractive to those who
find some aspects of computing daunting,
and as an all-rounder there is still nothing
to beat it at this price.
The bottom line
Product: Mini Office
Price: £59.99
Supplier: Europress Software
Tel: 0625 859333
Ease of use 9
Implementation
7
Value for money 8
Overall 8
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Product: Home Office Kit Deluxe
Price: £69
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Supplier: Silica
Tel: 0181-309 1111
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Ease of use 8
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Implementation
Value for money
Overall
7
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means it's easy to control.
In the printing stakes, kindwords lack of support
for Postscript fonts is quite a serious flaw, and
advanced features like auto-correct were but
dreams back in those days. Still, you get what you
pay for.
Infofile makes up the third and final part of the
Building up a database starts here package, and it turns out to be a rather strange little
bit defi ning the columns and type• of program. Primarily, ifs a simple database that
Information with this control panel
allows even technophobes to knock up information
records within minutes. Columns and rows
resized using the mouse
and, for those daunted by Maxiplan, it
also includes basic calculation options,
That's all very dull and handy, but
what's peculiar is the option to create an
automated slideshow with sound using
Infofile - especially since this is set up
using the same database interlace. Why
wst.
this was included in the same package
I'm not sure, but who knows, it might
prove useful,
If serious financial analysis is a must
for your business then Maxiplan 4
should make you give this package
more than a cursory glance. Since it's
available separately for E30, however,
you may decide not to bother with the
whole bundle. -
Amiga Computing
MAY 1995
SOFTWARE
Digita HUMP Office
This old chestnut is composed of four programs:
Home Accounts, Mailshot Plus, DG
Calc and Day by Day. and costs roughly hall
as much as the other two packages.
Digrta's package is the only one to include
something resembling a diary/personal organiser,
something that might have given it the
edge over the other titles. Sadly, l*cl much
rather stick with writing memos to myself
because this system is drab in appearance
and amateurishly implemented.
Mailshot Plus is a handy little program for
printing out labels for envelopes with the minimum
of fuss, and naturally it allows
for mailmerge with Wordworth. Our copy.
however, was significantly bugged.
The Home Accounts manager is the predecessor
to the recently reviewed Money
Matters, so it's all about keeping your personal
finances in order, It doesn't have the latest version's
pretty icons but it will keep track of all
those standing orders for you. Alter working
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this program is supposed to remind you oi
important dates and appointments, but it'. so
drab I couldn't be botherod to too* at it
with Maxiplan, the spreadsheet program in this
package leaves a lot to be desired for the professional,
and it's no surprise to find it lacks.
the power of that benchmark title.
Nevertheless, it's not quite so limited as if
looks thanks to the availability of 52 formulae,
a 'Goto cell' feature, password and cell locking
Facilities, There's also a feature allowing any •,
row or column to be held on screen as the.
spreadsheet scrolls beneath.
Overall, the package feels outdated, hit and
miss and unstable on the Al200 we used. It is
cheap and better targeted for household
finances/records than the other products:
reviewed, so it may be worth considering,
Before spending any money I'd see what alternatives
were available in the PO libraries first.
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Product: Digita Home Office
Price: L'35
Supplier: Digita International
Tel: 01395 270273
Ease of use 8
Implementation
5
Value for money 6
Overall 6
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