105. COMPUTER SOFTWARE REVIEWS
COMPUTER SOFTWARE REVIEWS
Learn to Type
If you are trying to learn how to type, you’ll love the software program –
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. It’s available for $34.95 from Global Software
(1-800-8-GLOBAL).
This program is well worth the money because it actually making typing fun.
I tried this out on my friend Laurie, who had never sat down at a computer in her life. She was labeled as the “typical” hunt-and-peck typist. However, she even loved this program.
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing is menu driven and the more you use it the more it adapts to your particular strengths and weaknesses. (Aren’t computers smarter than ever now?) It also entertains you while you learn by providing 2D and 3D graphics, lifelike keyboard and “guide hands” to show you the perfect technique for added convenience. We especially liked the Racing Game, where the faster you type the faster your race car travels.
Help For Dot-Matrix Printer Owners (as if they still exist)
Emulaser, exclusively available from TigerSoftware (1-800-888-4437) for $69.95 is worth every penny! It’s the best thing I’ve seen — especially if you own a dot matrix printer.
Emulaser enables you to print Postscript smooth, typeset-quality type, Postscript graphics, halftones — even spectacular color images. Emulaser gives you the power to also scale type for optimum quality from 1 to 1000 points!
A friend used this on his 9-pin printer and it almost matched the same print-out from my Hewlett Packard LaserJet. When used on my LaserJet — the output was close to LinoTronic (the best available). You’ll love Emulaser — especially if you are on a tight budget and cannot afford to upgrade your printer at the present.
Emulaser also comes with 24 professionally designed borders and over 70 premium fonts including a host of symbols and graphic images!
(The only problem you may encounter is if you have one of the older IBM-compatible computers, such as an XT or 8086. Emulser may not properly print within the designated margins due to the restrictions of this older machine. It’s probably safe to assume you need a minimum 286-based system with 1 megabyte of RAM for Emulaser to run properly. 520K and 640K RAM systems just won’t cut it. Sorry.)
Thumbs Down on This One
CardsNOW is a software program for designing business cards. It’s available from Global Software (1-800-8-GLOBAL) for $39.95.
First of all, business cards are normally printed with a raised print. Anything less makes you look unprofessional and amateurish. In addition, people will normally use a color ink for their logo or company name. Both of these options are NOT available with this program, which degrades the quality look of your business cards considerably.
So why spend $39.95 for a program and $10.95 for 25 sheets of perforated business card paper, when you can send a camera-ready master to any mail order printer and have 1,000 professional business cards printed in RAISED lettering as well as 2-color for around $30? How long does 1,000 business cards last you? That’s about a 6-month supply for us, which would not warrant the extra money to spend on this software program.
A Low-Cost Graphics Library
Lotus SmartPics, exclusively available from TPC Connection (800) 800-5555 for $75. No — you don’t need Lotus software to take advantage of this magnificent package of graphics. This is an excellent way for any desktop publisher to add to their collection! Over 2,000 high-quality and professional graphics to enhance all your documents, flyers, memos, reports, bulletins, presentations and other business communications. And they’re flexible too. Choose a vector format to size, rotate and edit images or choose bitmap for editing in paint programs.
And as an ADDED BONUS, when you order Lotus SmartPics you get FREE Bitstream L’il Bits Winter Holiday Font Pack. These fonts are also a designer’s dream. You get unique ones like SnowCap, the ornate Cloister Black, the elegant Shelly, Allegro, or the ghostly FreeForm 721. Now all you have to add are turkeys, snowflakes, bells, sleds and candy canes to name a few.
Grab this package today!
Categories: desktop publishing, directory, reports, resell
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Tags: computer, softwar
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