 CompuNews

Windows/PC Edition	Vol. 1, No. 3	Copyright (c) 1993 by Bolt Publishing Co.

About

Information about CompuNews

Mailing and Publishing Info

In-the-News

Event Calender

Intel and AMD's Legal Battle

Intuit's Quicken 3 for Windows

Symantec's Q&A v. 4.0 for Windows

Traveling Software's CommWorks for Windows

Features 'n' Reviews

Company Profile: Scott Cook's Intuit

Micro Scope v. 5.0 and Post Probe

StockReport

ACAD:	AutoDesk Inc.

ADBE:	Adobe Systems Inc.

ALDC:	Aldus Corp.

CA:	Computer Associates International Inc.

CAER:	Caere Corp.

INTC:	Intel Corp.

LOTS:	Lotus Development Corp.

MNPI:	Microcom Inc.

MSFT:	Microsoft Corp.

NOVL:	Novell Inc.

QDEK:	Quarterdeck Office Systems Inc.

SKEYF:	Softkey Software Products, Inc.

STAC:	STAC Electronics

SYMC:	Symantec Corp.

WDST:	Wordstar International Inc.

PC Life

Novell's Big Box


 CompuNews Info

All material in CompuNews Online (CNO) is copyright (c) 1993 by Bolt Publishing Co. and Purple Mountain Computers, Inc. unless otherwise specified.  All rights reserved.  No material may be reproduced without the express written permission of Bolt Publishing Co. (BPC) or Purple Mountain Computers, Inc. (PMC).  Opinions expressed in CNO are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of CNO, BPC, or PMC.  CompuNews, CompuNews Online, BusinessLine, StockReport, and In-the-News are trademarks of PMC.  All other trademarks belong to their respective holders.

About CompuNews Online

CompuNews Online is a bi-weekly electronic newspaper with up-to-date news and descriptive reviews of all Windows and PC based matters.  It is available on major telecommunication networks (such as CompuServe, Delphi, GEnie and NVN), as well as on local BBS's.

Users, Public Domain/Shareware organizations, and BBS Sysops are encouraged to freely distribute this publication (charges to the end user may not exceed $2 per disk) in its entirety.  You are not allowed to reprint portions of material in CNO.

How to Access CompuNews Online

CNO is published in the Windows Help file format.  Simply double click on the CompuNews icon within Windows.  Then click on the news stories you want to view.  To go back to the main menu, click on the Contents button.  For further details select How to Use Help from the Help menu.

Writing for CompuNews Online

We are always looking for writers.  The only requirement is a clear and concise writing style.  There are numerous fringe benefits that accompany writing for CNO, contact us for details.  Unsolicited articles are welcome, however, they must be your own work.

CNO Direct

You can order a subscription to CompuNews Online, which will guarantee that you receive each issue on time.  To receive CNO on a 3.5" disk via mail ($2 per issue) or via FAX ($2 per issue), send a check or money order made out to PMC to our mailing address.  You may order as many issues as you like and you may cancel your subscription at any time for a refund on the remaining issues in your subscription.  Issues will be sent as soon as they are produced.


Mailing/Publishing Information

 Mailing/Publishing Info

Publisher:	Bolt Publishing Company, a division of Purple Mountain Computers Inc.

Editor: 	Oscar S. Steele

Assistant

Editor: 	Kathleen A. McNelley

Staff

Reporters:	Reiner D. Bohlen

Bob Garsson

Jay Morton

Keith Whitton

Ed Williams

Columnist:	Alan Frayer

Correspondence and products for review may be sent to:

Mailing	PMC

Address:	15600 NE 8th Street Suite A3-412

Bellevue, WA  98008

Phone:	(206) 399-8700

GEnie:	PMC.INC

CompuServe:	72567,302

Delphi:	OSTEELE

NVN:	ODONOHUE


Ed Williams has been professionally involved with computers and data processing for over a decade.  He confesses, under duress, that his first home system was a TI-99A.  Hes been writing about computers and business almost as long.  In addition to CompuNews, Ed has written for MicroTimes, Computer Monthly, Computer Currents, the Orange County Business Review, and the Los Angeles Times, among others.  Presently, Ed is a computer and Local Area Networking consultant on contract to a Fortune 100 company and he assures us he has a more contemporary home system than that 99A.


Bob Garsson is a freelance writer with many years of experience in newspapers and non-fiction writing.  He is highly familiar with many aspects of PCs and Windows.


Jay Morton provides research and consulting services to a variety of high-tech clients.  He has written commercially in various trade publications such as Billboard and Variety.  Spare-time activities include teaching a marketing-research course at a local college.


Alan Frayer is a professional writer, published in InfoWorld, the Clarion Tech Journal and Sarasota's Business Magazine.  He is also a member of InfoWorld's Review Board, as well as a certified NetWare 3.11 administrator.


Reiner D. Bohlen is a technical Writer for the Army Corps of Engineers in Champaign. He has been writing software documentation for database front ends (underground task management and air emissions management), and has contributed to couple of small circulation magazines.


Keith Whitton is an Assistant Sysop on GEnie in the Radio & Electronics RT and Consumer Electronics RT, as well as head of computer Operations for City of Barberton. He has done good bit of computer-related writing in the middle 80's.


Oscar S. Steele is a Communications major specializing in Editorial Journalism at the University of Washington.  When he isn't inundated with paperwork and work in general, he's editing CompuNews Online.  He has nine years of computing experience and has participated in publishing several computer related publications.


What is PC LIFE?

PC LIFE is a column where the author shares his opinions on the issues surrounding the PC industry and occasionally mixes in product reviews. The columns are written in an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek style, meant not only to entertain but also educate.


 CompuNews Event Calendar

October 7-8, 1993

CHICAGO, Illinois -- The Lap and Palmtop Mobile Computing Expo will be held at the Chicago Mart/Expo Center.  The latest in communications, mobile and pen computing, peripherals, and software will be shown. Over 80 leading industry experts will speak at the Mobile Systems Solutions Conference series.

October 27-29, 1993

BOSTON, Mass. -- The CDROM Exposition will be held at the World Trade Center.

November 7-10, 1993

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- GeoCon/93, an international conference for software developed outside the U.S., will be held at the Royal Sonest Hotel.  Three days of workshops will cover such issues as "How to Negotiate Distribution and Licensing Contracts" and "How to Market Through Direct, Retail, and Catalog Channels."  For more information contact Tom Stitt, Associate Publisher of Soft Letter at 17 Main St., Watertown, MA  02272-9154 or by phone: (617) 924-3944 and FAX: (617) 924-7288.  In Europe, contact Colleen O'Shea, Director, Soft Letter Europe, at 2 um Bierg, 7641 Chirstnach, Luxembourg or by phone: 35-2-87119/FAX: 35-2-87048.

November 15-19, 1993

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- One of the largest shows in North America, COMDEX Fall '93 will be held throughout Las Vegas.

If you have an event scheduled and would like to include it in the CompuNews Online Event Calendar, then send please get in touch with us (see Mailing and Publishing Info).


 Symantec's Q&A v. 4.0 for Windows

by Jay Morton, Staff Reporter

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- Symantec Corp. is now shipping Q&A for Windows, the first Graphical User Interface (GUI) version of its easy-to-use database and word-processing software.  The company has had this flat-file database with integrated word processing available in a DOS version for several years.

"End users -- whether in a home office, small business or a corporation -- need an intuitive tool to track and report on their data," says Tom Leonard, Symantec's general manager of productivity applications.  "Q&A is the easiest database and word processor for Windows with the power to grow as database needs change."

Q&A for DOS had always had strong integration among its components, allowing for convenient mail merge capabilities.  Its use of natural-language inquiries and a spreadsheet view of data made for easy and powerful reporting output.

Symantec has enhanced its built-in query and report assistant feature, which is called DAVE ("Do Anything Very Easily") in the Windows product, by giving it a point-and-click interface.  DAVE can automate routine database tasks with English phrases; its scripts can be assigned to pull-down menus or customized buttons.

"I used to pore over database manuals to learn the programming features," says Bill Watson, a beta-tester in Texas, "but now it's just point-and-click."

The word processor -- called Q&A Write -- can produce publication-quality documents, as it includes an outliner, spell checker and thesaurus, a table generator, an envelope feature, and both fax and e-mail enabling.

Taking further advantage of the GUI, Q&A for Windows uses graphical forms for data input, accepts picture fields to incorporate bitmap images, and provides OLE and DDE support.  The Windows version is network-ready, for both sharing and security features, and is fully interoperable with Q&A for DOS.

Q&A v. 4.0 for Windows is available now for a suggested retail price of $249.95 single-version and $499 for the network pack.  A competitive upgrade is available for $89.95 and $149.95 respectively.  Further information may be obtained from Symantec at (800) 441 7234.

Founded in 1982, Symantec develops, markets, and supports a line of application and system software products for PC and Macintosh computers.

Copyright (c) 1993 Smith and company.

All rights reserved.


 Traveling Software's CommWorks for Windows

by Oscar S. Steele, Editor

BOTHELL, Wash. -- CommWorks for Windows, a collection of telecommunication tools, is now available for $199.95 from Traveling Software.

Traveling Software is known for their Laplink product, which offers file transfer capabilities between laptop and desktop computers.

The new CommWorks package goes beyond their own file transfer product by combining it with several pieces of software from other categories in the telecommunications field.  "CommWorks moves Traveling Software beyond file transfer," said Traveling Software's chairman and CEO, Mark Eppley.

CommWorks consists of a "Control Center" that lets the user access the package's tools, which consist of TS Online, TS Fax, Remote Access, and Laplink V.  The product also includes a serial cable.

TS Online simplifies common tasks such as upload/downloading.  TS Fax lets users with FAX modems receive, send, and store Faxes.  Remote Access allows users to control another computer from their own terminal.  And Traveling Software's flagship, Laplink V, lets users transfer data over a serial cable, a parallel cable, or a Novell network.

Purchased separately, the suggested retail price of TS FAX is $119, TS Online is $139, Laplink Alert is $15, Laplink Remote Access is $100, and Laplink V (without cables) is $119.  Cables are $39.95.

Traveling Software is offering a special price of $149.95 until the end of the year for users ordering the product directly.  Users who already own a Traveling Software product can receive CommWorks for $69.95 until the end of October.  The company can be reached at 800-343-8080 (for orders), 800-364-1927 (for upgrades), or 206-483-8088 (for other information).


 Intel and AMD's Legal Battle

by Bob Garsson, Staff Reporter

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) hopes to see a resolution by Christmas of its suit against Intel for the right to use the microcode in any X86 processor through 1995.

United States District Court Judge William A. Ingram has ordered a new trial in the 80C287 microcode case to commence November 1, 1993. The judge last April granted AMD's motion for a new trial on the basis that Intel improperly withheld certain key documents that might have influenced the jury's findings on the meaning of a license agreement.

Although the 287 is a dead duck, AMD considers the suit of vital importance due to its contention that it has the rights to use any code through 1995, based on a 1976 agreement that was renewed in 1982. This, an AMD spokesman said, would include the 386, 486, Pentium and any other "86" introduced through the end of the agreement period.

In addition to the setting of the trial date there was good news and bad news for AMD in September.

The good news was that the California Supreme Court agreed to review a Court of Appeals ruling that overturned key provisions of an arbitrator's award of remedies for Intel's breach of a 1982 technology exchange agreement.

The bad news was the filing of three stockholder's class-action suits against AMD, company executives and directors alleging violation of federal securities laws in connection with statements made by AMD in September concerning the AM486 family of Intel-compatible microprocessor products.

W. J. Sanders III, AMD chairman and chief executive officer, said he is pleased that the Supreme Court agreed to review the ruling, which he said AMD considers "wrong and manifestly unjust. The lower court had stripped the award of all meaningful remedies while leaving intact the arbitrator's findings concerning Intel's bad-faith breach of the agreement and the resultant injuries to AMD."

Scott Allen, spokesman for AMD, noted that after five years of arbitration, AMD was awarded rights to all the intellectual property contained in the AM386, which contains Intel microcode and the award was subsequently affirmed in Superior Court. On appeal, he said, the Appellate Court made what was "to us a very startling reversal by throwing out his award to us."

The California Supreme Court decision to hear the case is "extremely important to us," Allen said. "We have sold a billion dollars worth of 386 devices; we are preparing to sell the AM486SX, which contains the AMD-developed code (and) which has lines of Intel 386 code in it."

Allen said the key issue is future of arbitration in the state of California. The arbitrator, he said, decided Intel had worked against the spirit of the contract and had breached the contract and that as a result of the breach, AMD suffered damage. The arbitrator, among other remedies, awarded AMD $15 million plus rights to AM386 intellectual property.

The contract with Intel, Allen notes, had an arbitration clause in contract with Intel. By contract, he said, any remedy for breach of contract was to invoke the arbitration clause.

"If you have to go through arbitration and then have to go through lengthy court proceedings anyhow, why bother with arbitration?", Allen asked.

With regards to the shareholder suits, AMD officials said it is common for an announcement that makes stock tumble to generate stockholder lawsuits and AMD intends to vigorously defend itself against the suits.

Meanwhile, in related Intel news, ULSI Systems in San Jose announced that the United States Court of Appeals in Washington has declined Intel's petition to rehear the Intel vs. ULSI patent infringement suit. Intel had requested a review of the court's June 1993 ruling in favor of ULSI, but all efforts to review the suit were denied.

Robert J. O'Brien,  ULSI's vice president of sales and marketing, said, "The court mandate effectively slams the door shut on Intel's attempt to restrain ULSI from selling its family of math co-processors for the 386 and 486-SLC/DLC systems."

ULSI recently introduced a new 40Mhz math co-processor for portable computers in addition to an enhanced 40Mhz 486-DLC/386DX compatible math co-processor.  ULSI is also preparing to bring to market a number of proprietary high performance video graphic chip sets.


 Micro Scope v. 5.0 and Post Probe

by Keith Whitton, Staff Reporter

The majority of today's PC diagnostics lie in a gray area between application software and the operating system environment. These programs, which sometimes are written very well, are all dependent on DOS being resident on the computer. Unfortunately DOS masks the system, which imposes severe limitations on testing and accessing the systems hardware.

All DOS based diagnostic programs are subject to these inaccuracies and restrictions. The only true way to accurately test a system is to use a program that runs independent of the PCs operating system.

Micro Scope version 5.0 from Micro 2000, is one such program.  It runs completely independent of any PC operating system (DOS, OS/2, Unix, Xenix). Micro Scope runs a proprietary diagnostic environment designed specifically to diagnose PC's much like super mini and main frame diagnostics. The only requirement is an Intel (or compatible) processor (8088, 8086, 286, 386, 486, and the new Pentium).

Micro Scope is supplied on 5.25" and 3.5" diskettes. Micro 2000 also includes 3 wrap plugs (9 pin serial, 25 pin serial, 25 pin parallel). for testing serial and parallel ports and an easy-to-use 178 page technical manual that explains screen by screen how to use the program.

To boot Micro Scope, the user places one of the diagnostic diskettes into drive A and turns the system on. An option to "Run Base Memory Test" or "Load Diagnostic" will be displayed. Only 2K of base memory is being used at this point.

"Run Base Memory Test" will test from 2K to 640K of base memory. Since operating systems cannot relocate in base memory, DOS based diagnostics cannot test where the DOS operating system is loaded.

"Load Diagnostic" will load the rest of the Micro Scope program into Base Memory (384k). A menu bar will be displayed at the top of the screen with the categories of System Information, Batch Menu, Diagnostics, Utilities, and Quit.

System Information is broken down into System Configuration, Active ROM Search, IRQ Assignments, Partition Tables, CMOS Display/Edit (only displayed in systems with CMOS), and Show POS registers (only displayed in PSII systems). The list of information about the system is not only extensive but accurate. IRQ, I/O port, and memory conflicts are easily identified (including LAN adapters). Partitions on fixed disk which are corrupted or missing can be repaired with a minimal knowledge of partition structures. CMOS can be displayed and edited, which is useful when the CMOS needs to be changed on a system that is missing the CMOS setup diskette. Critical PSII setup information is displayed for all PSII adapters (slot, ADF, and adapter).

Batch Menu is broken down into Run All, Select Tests, Run Selected, Report Features, Error Log and Error Halt. A Burn in test can be run on newly assembled systems or on systems with intermittent problems. Selection of tests and number of passes to be run are easily set. All errors are stored in the Error Log which can be viewed, saved to disk, or printed in a 4 page report form.

Diagnostics is broken down into SystemBoard Tests, Coprocessor Test, Memory Tests, Floppy Tests, Fixed Disk Tests, Serial Port Tests, Parallel Port Tests, and Video Tests.  The suite of tests is extensive and all errors are highlighted in red. CPU, DMA's, PIC's, coprocessor, base memory, cache memory (up to 256k), extended memory (unlimited), expanded memory, floppy drives (includes 2.88 floppy drive), fixed disk (low level formats all drive types including IDE drives), serial ports (identifies UART), parallel ports, video adapters (up to 2 MB), and video monitors are all tested. No other program can test cache memory, low level format IDE drives, test unlimited extended memory, identify the UART chip on a serial port, and test up to 2 MB of video memory!

Utilities is broken down into Memory Display, Floppy Editor, Fixed Disk Editor, Rebuild MasterBoot, Floppy Head Cleaner, Toggle Attributes, and Version Information. All real mode memory (1024K) can be displayed. All areas on floppy diskettes and fixed disks can be displayed and edited including track 0. The master boot loader is where most viruses reside can be written over with a push of a button, thus, deleting the virus. A floppy drive head cleaning program has been included and should be used anytime a floppy error occurs. The diagnostic can be set to color or monochrome for easy reading.

Quit is broken down into Exit to O/S and Reboot System. Exit to O/S will only be displayed when Micro Scope is loaded under DOS. Reboot system will do a cold reboot and update CMOS changes.

Micro Scope is a professional tool for the field engineer and bench technician. Service organizations, manufacturers, and consultants will find this diagnostic to be a valuable addition.

But what do you with a dead PC which fails before any type of software can be loaded?

Post Probe is the perfect companion to Micro Scope. It is the first POST reader card in the industry that works on all IBM or IBM compatible PCs that are failing to boot. Post Probe with its MCA adapter will fit into any ISA, EISA, and Micro Channel slot and monitor the system as it is trying to boot.

Post Probe displays all the diagnostic signals at the same time.  You can watch the whole POST process and monitor all computer functions as they happen. This allows isolation of problems even if the system BIOS does not emit post codes.

The Post Probe comes with a 280 page technical manual which includes the post codes for AMI, Award, Compaq, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, IBM PSII, Microid, Phoenix, and Quadtel BIOS's. The Post Probe manual is the only POST reader card manual which lists the post code, the test that is failing, and what chip or device causes that test to fail.

The Post Probe comes with a tri-state logic probe built into the card, making the determination of specific chip failures possible.

Micro Scope has a suggested retail price of $499 and Post Probe lists for $399.

Micro 2000, Inc.

1100 E. Broadway

Glendale, CA  91205

(818) 547-0125


 Company Profile: Scott Cook's Intuit

by Ed Williams, Staff Reporter

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- We wish Scott Cook a happy 40th birthday this year.  Software companies are known for young moguls.  Some moguls, though, learn wisdom earlier than others.

Seventeen years ago, Scott landed his first corporate job:  marketing Crisco shortening for Procter & Gamble.  As he puts it, I was a former fat salesman.  Today, he heads Intuit, Inc., the undisputed leader in personal finance software, a company soon to acquire ChipSoft, Inc., for $225 million and thereby cement a major, continuing role in Americas expanding base of small business.

A Harvard MBA helps.  It unarguably gives one a decent foundation, a key to the business door.  And while diving directly from Harvard into vegetable shortening may not seem the expected path for a mover and shaker in the software business, Scotts three-year stint at Procter & Gamble afforded him the opportunity to watch, listen, and learn . . . three things he does well.

But Scott is also an entrepreneur at heart.  He followed the staid path of prestigious school to major corporation, and found something lacking.  A prospective future of slow, albeit steady, steps up the corporate ladder, bigger budgets, better title, larger house every ten years, left him nervous with the threat of boredom.

He left Procter & Gamble and became a consultant for Bain & Co., for a while.  In 1983, Scott found his calling and incorporated Intuit in Menlo Park, California, to make personal finance software.  At Procter & Gamble, decisions are based on data, not judgment or whim, notes Scott.  Intuit would bring packaged-goods marketing sophistication to software, and it would also develop a corporate culture driven by customer satisfaction, a drive instilled by Scott Cook.

I wanted to reach a mass market, he explains.  My thinking was that every household in America has to pay bills.  This is something computers should be good at.

Scott posted fliers on university bulletin boards, seeking a programmer.  Thomas Proulx (the name rhymes with true) responded to a notice at his Stanford campus.  Proulx began writing the software on a personal computer in his dormitory room.  And Scott began telephone surveys of potential customers.

Scott learned that people liked the idea of having better control of their personal finances, but they thought the effort much too time-consuming.  Those who owned personal computers were eager to automate bill paying and budgeting, but did not want to be forced to learn computerese in order to perform simple tasks, and they certainly didnt want to spend more time on the chore than they already did.

Scott gathered a volunteer panel of computer hobbyists to test the personal accounting programs popularly available.  The tasks were basic:  writing checks, keeping register records, reconciling statements.  Amazingly, in each case, it proved faster to perform the task with calculator, paper, and pen than it did to do it with the computer.

Proulx and Cook set about designing software that mimicked tasks people were doing manually.  For example, paying a bill should look just like typing information onto a visual representation of a paper check.

You cant try to alter peoples habits, Cook explains.  Thats why Pampers were white and looked just like cloth diapers in the beginning.  Once you get people hooked, you can move them to colors.

In 1984, Scott invited members of Palo Altos Junior League to help with an evaluation of the Quicken prototype.  Several well-dressed women responded; none were computer-familiarafter all, the IBM PC had only been on the market for two years.  That day, though, after croissants and coffee, the members of the Junior League sat in front of computers and attempted to write checks.  Scott, Tom Proulx, and Tom LeFevre watched, but they remained silent and offered no assistance.

The test went well at first.  Even though the keyboard was unfamiliar, the Junior Leaguers had little trouble selecting menu options.  Then the testers chose print checks.  Inevitably, the printer alignment was off, with each sample check printing too far up the form or too far down it.  The testers tinkered with the printers, trying to manually adjust the forms in the carriage.

Scott looked at Tom and me, says LeFevre, now an Intuit Vice President.  He said, You guys figure out a way to solve that problem.  His tone said, And dont come back until you do.

The printer alignment problem was resolvedby some fancy, patented code that has the computer line up the checks automatically.  But there was a flood of software on the market, and Intuit faced seemingly insurmountable problems with distribution, with bringing its product to market.  Despite good reviews from a few trade publications, major retailers didnt want to chance shelving a product from an unknown company.

In mid-1985, Cook and Proulxwho had stopped drawing salaries from Intuitwere forced to release their five employees.  Two of the five chose to stay on without pay.

By 1986, Proulx says, We were prepared to get out and get on with our lives.  Scott gambled his last money in an advertising effort to sell Quicken direct to the public.  The telephone began to ring.  One call came from Egghead Software, ready to stock Quicken in its 186-store chain.

In 1990, Quicken surpassed the then market leader, Managing Your Money, in total sales.  The same year, Microsoft made quiet inquiries to learn if Intuit might be acquired.  Scott politely declined further negotiation before talks became serious.

Today, Intuit continues to test its programs relentlessly.  Research groups are assembled from users both experienced and inexperienced.

You watch their eyebrows, where they hesitate, says Scott.  Every glitch, every momentary hesitation is our fault.

For all this, planning before the sale takes a back seat to support after the sale.  About a quarter of Intuits work force is dedicated to customer support.  Scott has managed to imbue the very mortar of his companys structure with this message:  Intuit stands or falls on its technical support.

Almost everyone in the company, including Scott, spends some time each month answering the customer service telephones.  I was hired in September (1990), says Victor Gee.  That same month Scott came by and started taking calls, too.  I thought:  What other company would have the president do the same thing Im doing?

Every few months, each employee is treated to lunch by an Intuit senior manager.  Lunch with a Dork, the staff has affectionately named the program.  After his lunch with the president, Customer Support Specialist Dwight Joseph said, He had his notebook with him, and he writes down what you say, any ideas you might have.  Its pretty gratifying.

Letters from customers are read aloud, then framed and posted on the walls.

At the companys weekly meetings, Cook says, The first four numbers we go through have to do with customer service.  Even before we get to revenues.  It creates real peer pressure to improve servicepeople see how were doing each week.

Technical support costs Intuit an estimated 10% of its total revenues.  By most accounts, this is an expensive parcel.  Would Scott change it?  In a word:  No.  That, he says, is the advantage of owning the company.  When you own the company, you take the long view.

Scott Cook gambled everything on a personal belief that the buying public is intelligent, that what it wants isnt hype and a pretense of concern for the buyer.  What the public wants is real customer support; what it wants is the product to be right.

Over 5 million copies of Quicken have been sold.  Over 30% of the registered customers say they bought the product because it was recommended by a friend.  In Scott Cooks philosophy, thats the best advertising there can possibly be.

Copyright © 1993 by H. E. Williams


 Intuit's Quicken 3 for Windows

by Ed Williams, Staff Reporter

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- The industry leader in personal finance and accounting software, Intuit, Inc. (NASDAQ:  INTU), earlier this month released the latest version of its most popular product.

Quicken 3 for Windows boasts as its strongest feature a new calendar which can be used to record past activity, schedule automatic payments, or just note upcoming events like birthdays or CD maturation dates.  When Intuit first developed Quicken in 1983, the foundation was ease of use.  To that end, the company wrote an interface that was a direct metaphor for a standard, consumer checkbook.  Likewise, the new calendar feature is as immediately familiar to the user as a paper calendar.

Known for its exhaustive customer research, Intuit targeted Quicken 3 for Windows toward the reduction of data entry, a chore that garnered universal dislike among those polled.  While some data entry is unavoidable, Quicken 3 captures transactions to a memorized list and lets users simply drop them onto the new calendar.  It is also possible to set recurring transactions for automatic entry, with an option to require approval by the user before the completion of an automated transaction.

Following on the heels of the July release of Quicken 4 for the Macintosh, Quicken 3 for Windows expands on the products traditional role of checkbook management and now includes new investment tracking, financial planning, and loan tracking features.

Commenting on this move toward more comprehensive financial management, Intuit Product Manager Eric Tilenius says the company found 45% of its Quicken customers used the product for both personal and business finances.  The company saw the need for features which relate to both types of users.  Quicken is aimed at the broad market.  Its really geared toward someone whos working with investments as part of their overall financial portfolio.

Industry forecasters agree with Intuits assessment of its projected market.  LINK Resources, a New York research firm, estimates the number of small businesses and work-at-home households in 1991 totaled 14.9 million.  BIS Strategic Decisions believes that number will explode to 39 million by the end of 1993, the massive growth due in part to layoffs forced by a sluggish economy and the downsizing of large corporations.

Intuits larger view is driven by its President and CEO, Scott D. Cook [see the accompanying CompuNews article, Company Profile:  Scott Cooks Intuit, Inc.].  In May of 1985, Intuit faced possible closure; Cook and his partner Tom Proulx were forced to release all five of his fledgling companys employees.  Today, Intuit has sold well over 5 million copies of Quicken, a product that has come to dominate the market so strongly that The Business Journal reports its sales account for more than 60% of all the personal finance software units sold for Windows, DOS, and the Macintosh.

Entering the competition recently is the formidable Computer Associates International, with Kiplingers CA-Simply Money.  Making a splash with its offer of obtaining the software for only $6.95 in shipping charges (an offer that is interestingly reminiscent of one made by Intuit in 1991), Simply Money introduces a click-and-drag icon interface for Windows.  PC Magazine reviewed Simply Money last August and felt it fared as well as Quicken and Managing Your Money.

Joshua Middledorf, President of the Philadelphia-based company, Ones & Zeros, is less complimentary of either software title.  These programs are really nothing more than checkbook balancers.  What Intuit and Computer Associates did is add auxiliary features like graphics, calendar and pull down menus.  The problem is that none of the add-on features is very well thought out.  They are tacked on so that the ads can sport a longer list of features.  Computer Associates and Intuit just got somebody to add the computational features to their checkbook programs so that they could say they have them.  Ones & Zeros only product, Per%Sense, is a personal finance program specializing in financial calculations.

Chris Shipleys PC Magazine review of Simply Money included this:  Simply Money is noticeably weak in only one area where competing packages shine:  tax planning.

We are returned to Intuits plans for the future, its appraisal of the bridge between personal financial tracking and Quickens expanding use by small businesses.  On September 2, Intuit and ChipSoft, Inc., announced the signing of a definitive agreement to merge their two businesses in a transaction valued at $225 million.  ChipSoft, headquartered in San Diego, California, is the maker of TurboTax, the nations best selling personal and small business tax software.

ChipSoft tendered its Initial Public Offering last year under Robertson, Stephens & Co. and Lehman Brothers.  Traded now on NASDAQ as CSFT, a merger between ChipSoft and Meca, the publishers of Managing Your Money and Taxcut, was announced last April.  Following several extensions to the merger due to investigations by the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, ChipSoft called off the proposal citing the Justice Departments concern over a marketplace monopoly.  In 1991, ChipSoft acquired Park Technologies, maker of Taxease, and Softview, publishers of Macintax.  The Meca purchase would have left only Parsons Technology as a significant competitor.

Intuit and ChipSoft have worked for years as cooperative business partners.  TurboTax can, for example, already pull financial data directly from Quicken and, with Meca, the companies jointly developed the .TXF tax data file open software specification.

Scott Cook announced the ChipSoft merger by saying, We are excited about creating a complete financial software and services company with this merger of equals.  ChipSofts strengths in tax preparation software are extremely complementary with Intuits strengths in personal finance and accounting software and related services.

Added Charles Gaylord Jr., Chairman and CEO of ChipSoft, We now have the opportunity to develop seamlessly integrated products which marry tax with personal finance and accounting.

Cook will remain Chairman, President and CEO of Intuit, and Gaylord as Chairman of ChipSoft.  Gaylord will head ChipSofts business development and be named Executive Vice President of Intuit.  William Harris Jr., President and COO of ChipSoft, will become Executive Vice President of Intuit and General Manager of the wholly-owned ChipSoft subsidiary.

A spokesperson for the combined companies says that holders of 48% of outstanding Intuit stock and 38% of outstanding ChipSoft stock have agreed to vote in favor of a merger.  The completion date is planned for mid-December.

No product discontinuation is expected as a result of the merger, nor are employee layoffs.  In fact, Intuit announced on September 20 that it will hire a total of 175 people for its new national technical support center in Tucson, Arizona.  The center is scheduled to open in January 1994 with a work force of 75, and is expected to be fully staffed by year-end.

Copyright © 1993 by H. E. Williams


Novell's Big Box

PC Life: Novell's Big Box

by Alan Frayer, Columnist

Novell has a secret.

Actually, Novell may have many secrets, but there's only one on my mind at the moment. I've stumbled across a project of theirs that is so secret, most Novell employees have forgotten it existed, if they ever knew. You see, Novell is quietly developing a mainframe computer.

I can see the question on your lips. It is the same question that might have been on mine, had I learned about it under any other circumstances. You want to know WHY Novell would spend their money developing a new mainframe, when buzzwords like "downsizing" and "rightsizing" spell the eventual demise of that aspect of the industry. Before I can explain why, I need to defeat the attitude behind the question.

A prominent publication suggests the last mainframe will be unplugged somewhere in the next five to ten years. I'll grant PCs the ability to surpass today's mainframe in processing power by then, but will mainframes really go away?

I look at the corporate world, with its billions of dollars invested in those mainframes already in operation, and I know there would never be enough enthusiasm for PCs to justify trashing the behemoths. The most conservative ones will pick another approach to rightsizing, moving to a client-server environment to find SOME use for the machines. This approach is encouraged by the manufacturers, for obvious reasons. As long as there will be Corporate America, there will be mainframes.

Novell understands this, and that is why they are developing their own mainframe, yet Novell's mainframe won't compete with IBM's mainframes. In fact, Novell's mainframe is, in many ways, just like IBM's. We wouldn't want it any other way.

If that isn't enough to surprise you, try this: Novell's mainframe will probably cost under $1,000. In fact, it'll more likely cost under $500. Having seen it, I'd be hard pressed to be expected to pay even 20% of that, but then the longest I've seen it run before it died was 15 minutes. It might be that Novell's inability to produce a reliable mainframe is the reason why they won't admit the product exists. When asked, they reply, "Where did you get that?"

I never did find out where it came from, but I know why they made it. Novell realizes one of the keys to the computing future is communicating with IBM mainframes and minicomputers. This is why they offer NetWare for SAA, a complex product to provide a means for LANs to talk with SAA/SNA computers. The demand for such a product is making Novell's NetWare for SAA training classes popular with CNE candidates with foresight. The NetWare for SAA classes are among the hardest classes to teach without the proper equipment (specifically IBM mainframes or

minicomputers).

Novell's mainframe is the answer to this problem. Students can install and test NetWare for SAA without needing access to costly IBM equipment. All the education center would need is a spare NetWare file server to load the mainframe on.

Didn't I mention Novell's mainframe was a simulation? I guess it slipped my mind.

Copyright (c) 1993 by Alan Frayer, CNA

All Rights Reserved


 ACAD: AutoDesk Inc.

Date	High	Low	Close	Volume (100/s)
09/13/93	48 3/4	47 1/2	47 3/4	3784
09/14/93	47 1/2	45 1/2	45 5/8	5378
09/15/93	47	45	46 1/4	4788
09/16/93	47 1/4	46	47	1975
09/17/93	48 3/4	46	48 1/4	4264
09/20/93	48 1/2	46 3/4	47	2826
09/21/93	47 1/4	45 1/4	45 3/4	2461
09/22/93	48 1/2	45 1/2	48 1/2	4262
09/23/93	50 1/4	48 1/2	48 1/2	2732
09/24/93	48 3/4	47 3/4	48 1/4	762
09/27/93	49 3/4	48 1/4	48 1/2	3290
09/28/93	49	47 1/4	47 1/4	4084
09/29/93	48	45 1/2	46	3695


 ADBE: Adobe Systems Inc.

Date	High	Low	Close	Volume (100/s)
09/13/93	19 3/4	18 3/4	19	5155
09/14/93	18 3/4	18	18 1/2	8913
09/15/93	18 3/4	17 1/4	17 3/4	12472
09/16/93	18	16 3/4	17 1/4	9001
09/17/93	17 1/4	16 1/4	16 1/2	16426
09/20/93	17 1/4	16 1/2	17 1/8	9216
09/21/93	18 3/4	17 1/2	18 3/4	20138
09/22/93	20 1/4	19 1/4	20 1/4	29581
09/23/93	18 3/4	17	18	45565
09/24/93	18 7/8	17 3/4	18 1/4	22494
09/27/93	18 3/4	18	18 1/2	8714
09/28/93	18 3/4	18	18 3/4	7556
09/29/93	19 5/8	18 1/2	18 5/8	6868


 ALDC: Aldus Corp.

Date	High	Low	Close	Volume (100/s)

Unavailable


CA: Computer Associates International Inc.

 CA: Computer Associates Int'l Inc.

Date	High	Low	Close	Volume (100/s)

Unavailable


 CAER: Caere Corp.

Date	High	Low	Close	Volume (100/s)
09/13/93	7 1/2	6 7/8	7 1/2	1612
09/14/93	7 1/2	7	7	753
09/15/93	7 1/2	6 3/4	6 3/4	571
09/16/93	7 1/4	6 3/4	7 1/4	310
09/17/93	7 1/4	6 3/4	7 1/4	323
09/20/93	7 1/4	6 3/4	7 1/4	222
09/21/93	7 1/4	6 1/2	6 1/2	595
09/22/93	7	6 1/2	6 1/2	409
09/23/93	6 3/4	6 1/2	6 1/2	820
09/24/93	6 3/4	6 1/2	6 3/4	640
09/27/93	6 3/4	6 1/2	6 1/2	805
09/28/93	6 3/4	6	6 1/2	1290
09/29/93	6 3/4	6	6 1/4	850


 INTC: Intel Corp.

Date	High	Low	Close	Volume (100/s)
09/13/93	66	64 3/4	64 3/4	19117
09/14/93	63 7/8	61 3/4	63 1/4	61759
09/15/93	65	62 3/4	64 7/8	56663
09/16/93	64 3/4	63 3/4	64	20971
09/17/93	64 3/4	63	64 1/4	29636
09/20/93	66 3/4	64 1/4	65 1/8	34013
09/21/93	66 1/2	63 3/4	65 1/4	37999
09/22/93	67 3/4	65 1/2	67 1/4	47466
09/23/93	69	67 1/4	68 3/8	35587
09/24/93	69 1/2	67 1/2	68 3/4	27665
09/27/93	70 5/8	69	70 3/8	39093
09/28/93	72 3/4	69 3/4	72 3/4	43061
09/29/93	74 1/4	72 3/8	73 1/4	66391


 LOTS: Lotus Development Corp.

Date	High	Low	Close	Volume (100/s)
09/13/93	37	36	36 1/2	6305
09/14/93	36 1/2	35 1/2	36	7839
09/15/93	38 1/2	35 3/4	38 1/2	15902
09/16/93	38 1/2	37 1/2	37 3/4	8463
09/17/93	38 3/4	37	38 1/4	9516
09/20/93	40	38 1/4	39 5/8	15986
09/21/93	40 1/8	38 1/4	39	12614
09/22/93	42 1/4	38 3/4	42	24842
09/23/93	44 1/4	42	43 3/4	25624
09/24/93	44 3/4	43	44 5/8	9314
09/27/93	46 1/2	44 5/8	46 3/8	21110
09/28/93	46 1/2	45 1/4	46 1/2	14936
09/29/93	48 1/4	46	46 1/4	19945


 MNPI: Microcom Inc.

Date	High	Low	Close	Volume (100/s)
09/13/93	2 3/8	2 1/8	2 1/4	151
09/14/93	2 1/2	2 1/8	2 1/2	763
09/15/93	2 3/4	2 1/4	2 3/4	1369
09/16/93	3 1/4	2 1/2	3	2222
09/17/93	3 1/4	2 7/8	3	2663
09/20/93	3 1/8	2 7/8	3	686
09/21/93	3 1/8	2 1/2	2 5/8	779
09/22/93	2 3/4	2 1/2	2 1/2	187
09/23/93	2 3/4	2 3/8	2 1/2	1262
09/24/93	2 7/8	2 3/8	2 7/8	946
09/27/93	2 7/8	2 5/8	2 7/8	397
09/28/93	3	2 5/8	3	446
09/29/93	3	2 3/4	3	457


 MSFT: Microsoft Corp.

Date	High	Low	Close	Volume (100/s)
09/13/93	78 1/2	76 1/4	76 3/8	10463
09/14/93	76 1/4	74 1/4	75 1/4	18049
09/15/93	76 3/4	74 3/8	76 1/2	18884
09/16/93	77 1/4	75 3/4	76	8013
09/17/93	76 1/2	75 1/4	76	7902
09/20/93	77 3/4	75	75 5/8	10841
09/21/93	77 3/8	74 3/4	76	18077
09/22/93	78	75 1/4	77 1/4	22516
09/23/93	79 1/4	76 3/4	78 3/4	22567
09/24/93	80 3/4	78 1/2	80	28588
09/27/93	82 1/2	81 1/4	82 1/4	22960
09/28/93	84 1/4	82 1/4	84	26254
09/29/93	84	80 3/4	83	27353


 NOVL: Novell Inc.

Date	High	Low	Close	Volume (100/s)
09/13/93	19 7/8	19 1/4	19 1/2	20476
09/14/93	19 1/2	19	19 1/2	18993
09/15/93	19 1/2	18 3/4	18 7/8	35921
09/16/93	19 3/8	18 3/4	19 1/4	28632
09/17/93	19 1/4	18 3/4	19	36221
09/20/93	19 7/8	19	19 3/4	29383
09/21/93	20 1/4	19 1/2	19 3/4	36897
09/22/93	19 3/8	18 3/4	18 7/8	55237
09/23/93	19	17	17 3/4	95799
09/24/93	17 5/8	17 1/4	17 1/2	35309
09/27/93	17 3/4	17 3/8	17 1/2	33458
09/28/93	18 5/8	17 3/8	18 5/8	78696
09/29/93	18 7/8	18 1/2	18 3/4	38570


 QDEK: Quarterdeck Office Systems Inc.

Date	High	Low	Close	Volume (100/s)
09/13/93	2 13/	2 11/	2 3/4	679
09/14/93	2 13/	2 11/	2 11/	1064
09/15/93	2 13/	2 11/	2 3/4	495
09/16/93	2 7/8	2 3/4	2 7/8	81
09/17/93	2 7/8	2 11/	2 13/	1174
09/20/93	2 7/8	2 3/4	2 3/4	96
09/21/93	2 13/	2 3/4	2 3/4	546
09/22/93	2 3/4	2 3/4	2 3/4	191
09/23/93	2 13/	2 3/4	2 3/4	447
09/24/93	2 7/8	2 3/4	2 3/4	95
09/27/93	2 3/4	2 9/1	2 11/	397
09/28/93	2 11/	2 1/2	2 1/2	942
09/29/93	2 5/8	2 7/1	2 1/2	985


SKEYF: Softkey Software Products, Inc.

 SKEYF: Softkey Software Products Inc.

Date	High	Low	Close	Volume (100/s)
09/13/93	4 11/	4	4 11/	235
09/14/93	4 1/1	4	4 1/1	185
09/15/93	4 1/4	3 7/8	3 7/8	539
09/16/93	4	3 3/4	3 7/8	95
09/17/93	4	3 3/4	3 31/	75
09/20/93	4 1/1	3 7/8	4	53
09/21/93	4	3 3/4	3 3/4	113
09/22/93	4	3 3/4	3 7/8	131
09/23/93	4	3 3/4	4	386
09/24/93	4	4	4	5
09/27/93	4	3 7/8	4	97
09/28/93	4 1/1	3 7/8	3 7/8	56
09/29/93	4 1/1	3 3/4	3 7/8	926


 STAC: STAC Electronics

Date	High	Low	Close	Volume (100/s)
09/13/93	2 7/8	2 1/2	2 1/2	90
09/14/93	2 3/4	2 3/8	2 1/2	478
09/15/93	2 5/8	2 1/4	2 5/8	616
09/16/93	2 1/2	2 3/8	2 1/2	115
09/17/93	2 5/8	2 3/8	2 5/8	335
09/20/93	2 3/4	2 3/8	2 3/8	35
09/21/93	2 3/4	2 3/8	2 1/2	514
09/22/93	2 5/8	2 1/4	2 3/8	48
09/23/93	2 5/8	2 3/8	2 5/8	186
09/24/93	2 3/4	2 3/8	2 3/4	224
09/27/93	3	2 1/2	2 5/8	431
09/28/93	3 1/8	2 5/8	2 7/8	1380
09/29/93	3 1/8	2 3/4	2 3/4	234


 SYMC: Symantec Corp.

Date	High	Low	Close	Volume (100/s)
09/13/93	17	16 3/8	16 1/2	1844
09/14/93	16 1/2	16	16 3/8	1851
09/15/93	17 3/8	16 1/4	17 1/4	4694
09/16/93	17 1/2	16 3/4	17	4364
09/17/93	18 1/4	16 7/8	18 1/4	11355
09/20/93	18 1/2	17 7/8	18 1/8	8170
09/21/93	18 1/4	17 1/2	17 7/8	4224
09/22/93	19 1/8	17 3/4	19 1/8	12366
09/23/93	19 5/8	18 5/8	19 1/2	11987
09/24/93	20 3/8	19 3/8	19 7/8	16368
09/27/93	20 1/2	19 1/2	20	10228
09/28/93	20	19 3/8	19 3/8	4682
09/29/93	20 1/8	19 1/4	20	7150


 WDST: Wordstar International Inc.

Date	High	Low	Close	Volume (100/s)
09/13/93	1 1/4	1 1/8	1 5/3	1348
09/14/93	1 1/4	1 5/3	1 1/4	1575
09/15/93	1 7/3	1 1/8	1 1/8	2579
09/16/93	1 3/1	1 1/8	1 3/1	908
09/17/93	1 3/1	1 1/8	1 3/1	343
09/20/93	1 3/1	1 1/8	1 1/8	571
09/21/93	1 3/1	1 1/1	1 1/1	684
09/22/93	1 1/8	1 1/1	1 1/8	412
09/23/93	1 3/1	1	1 3/1	590
09/24/93	1 3/1	1 1/8	1 5/3	355
09/27/93	1 3/1	1 1/1	1 3/1	495
09/28/93	1 3/1	1 1/1	1 3/1	1055
09/29/93	1 1/4	1 5/3	1 3/1	1569