
    KINDS OF SOFTWARE
  The information stored in the computer is called software. Most 
software stays in RAM temporarily and is erased from RAM when you 
no longer need it. But some software stays in the computer's 
circuits permanently: it hides in the ROM and is called firmware.
  To feed firmware to the computer, stick extra ROM chips into 
the main circuitry. To feed other kinds of software to the 
computer, use the keyboard, disk, or tape: type the information 
on the keyboard, or insert a disk or tape containing the 
information.
  You can feed the computer four kinds of software: an operating 
system, a language, application programs, and data. Let's look at 
them. . . . 

                OPERATING SYSTEMS
                             An operating system is a set of 
instructions that explains to the CPU how to handle the keyboard, 
the screen, the printer, and the disk drive.
                             The operating system is divided into 
two parts. The fundamental part is in the ROM chips provided by 
the manufacturer. The advanced part is on a disk and called the 
disk operating system (or DOS, which is pronounced ``doss''). So 
to use the advanced part of the operating system, you must make 
sure the computer contains a disk (floppy or hard) containing 
DOS.
                             Different computers use different 
operating systems:
Computers                                  Which operating 
systems they use

Apple 2, 2+, 2e, 2c, 2c+, 2GS              Apple DOS or Pro DOS

Radio Shack TRS-80                         TRSDOS (pronounced 
``triss doss'')

Apple Mac                                  Mac System

most ancient microcomputers                Control Program for 
Microcomputers (CP/M)

DEC's Vax minicomputers                    Virtual Memory System 
(VMS)
                             Big IBM mainframes use an operating 
system called Multiple Virtual Storage (MVS) or an operating 
system called the Virtual Machine with Conversational Monitor 
System (VM with CMS).

                                           IBM PC and clones
                             Most of IBM's personal computers 
(such as the IBM PC, IBM PC XT, IBM PC AT, IBM PS/1, and IBM 
PS/2) use an operating system called PC-DOS. Clones use a variant 
called MicroSoft DOS (which is abbreviated as MS-DOS, which is 
pronounced ``em ess doss'').
                             Instead of buying PC-DOS or MS-DOS, 
you can buy a more modern operating system called Operating 
System 2 (OS/2), but it causes complications and is unpopular.
                             Many people buy PC-DOS or MS-DOS and 
then modernize it by adding a supplement called Microsoft 
Windows. Microsoft Windows is not an operating system; it's a 
supplement to an operating system. Before buying Microsoft 
Windows, you must buy PC-DOS or MS-DOS.
                             A supplement, such as Windows, that 
modernizes an operating system and hides the system's ugliness is 
called an operating-system shell. PC-DOS, MS-DOS, and Windows are 
all called operating environments.

                                                 Unix
                             AT&T's Bell Laboratories invented an 
operating system called Unix. It's pronounced ``you nicks'', so 
it sounds like ``eunuchs'', which are castrated men. (Be careful! 
A female computer manager who seems to be saying ``get me 
eunuchs'' probably wants an operating system, not castrated men.) 
``Unix'' is an abbreviation for ``UNICS'', which stands for 
``UNified Information and Computing System''.
                             The original version of Unix was 
limited to DEC minicomputers used by just one person at a time. 
Newer versions of Unix can handle any manufacturer's maxi, mini, 
or micro, even when shared by lots of people at a time.
                             Microsoft has invented a slightly 
improved Unix called ``eXtended Unix'' or Xenix (pronounced ``zee 
nicks''). It runs on the IBM PC and other microcomputers.
                             Though many programmers adore Unix, 
it won't outsell MS-DOS, since Unix is harder to learn, runs 
slower, consumes more memory, costs more, and is having its best 
features stolen by the latest versions of MS-DOS.

        LANGUAGES
  Languages that humans normally speak ___ such as English, 
Spanish, French, Russian, and Chinese ___ are called natural 
languages. They're too complicated for computers to understand.
  To communicate with computers, programmers use computer 
languages instead. The most popular computer languages are BASIC, 
LOGO, PASCAL, C, DBASE, and COBOL. Each is a tiny part of English 
___ a part small enough for the computer to master. To teach the 
computer one of those tiny languages, you feed the computer a ROM 
or disk containing definitions of that tiny language's words.
  The typical microcomputer's ROM chips contain part of BASIC and 
part of the operating system. To use the computer fully, you must 
insert a disk containing the rest of BASIC and DOS.
  Different people prefer different languages. Most students 
prefer LOGO in elementary school, BASIC in high school, PASCAL in 
college, and C in graduate school. To do accounting, most 
business executives prefer DBASE on microcomputers, COBOL on 
maxicomputers.
  Although those six languages are the most popular, many others 
have been invented. Five old languages still in use are FORTRAN, 
RPG, LISP, PL/I, and SPSS. Five new languages are FORTH, PILOT, 
PROLOG, ADA, and MODULA.
  The Secret Guide to Computers tutors you in all those languages 
and more, so you become a virtuoso!

                    PROGRAMS
                             The computer will do whatever you 
wish ___ if you tell it how. To tell the computer how to do what 
you wish, you feed it a program, which is a list of instructions, 
written in BASIC or in some other computer language.
                             To feed the computer a program, type 
the program on the keyboard, or buy a disk containing the program 
and put that disk into the drive. But before buying the disk, 
make sure it will work with your computer. For example, if the 
disk says ``for MS-DOS computers'', it will work with an IBM PC 
but not with an Apple.
                             A person who invents a program is 
called a programmer. Becoming a programmer is easy: you can 
become a programmer in just a few minutes! Becoming a good 
programmer takes longer.
                             You can buy two kinds of programs. 
The most popular kind is called an application program: it 
handles a specific application, such as payroll or psychotherapy 
or chess. The other kind of program is called a system program: 
it creates a system that just helps programmers write more 
programs!

                                           Main applications
                             An old-fashioned office contains a 
typewriter, filing cabinet, and calculator. A modern office 
contains a computer instead.
                             To make the computer replace your 
typewriter, buy a word-processing program. To replace your filing 
cabinet, buy a database program. To replace your calculator, buy 
a spreadsheet program. Each program typically comes on a set of 
disks.
                             Why computerize? To save time! A 
word-processing program lets you edit mistakes faster than a 
typewriter. A database program lets you find info faster than 
thumbing through file cards. A spreadsheet program lets you 
revise numbers and totals faster than rekeying them on a 
calculator.
                             But even the most modern 
computerized offices still contain typewriters, filing cabinets, 
and calculators. Those pre-computer relics aren't used much, but 
they're still used occasionally, to accomplish tiny tasks for 
which a computer would be overkill.
                             A typewriter is more practical than 
a computer, if what you're typing is short (a paragraph or less), 
or if you're typing answers onto a form somebody mailed you. A 
filing cabinet is more practical than a computer, if you're 
filing fewer than 100 items, or if you're filing documents that 
were mailed to you and that would take too long to retype into 
the computer. A calculator is more practical than a computer if 
you're manipulating fewer than 10 numbers or writing numbers onto 
a pre-printed form.
                             But for most tasks, the computer is 
far superior to pre-computer relics. Here are the details.
                             Word processing A word-processing 
program helps you write memos, letters, reports, and books. It 
also helps you edit what you wrote.
                             As you type on the keyboard, the 
screen shows what you typed. By pressing buttons, you can edit 
what's on the screen and copy it onto paper and onto a disk.
                             The most popular word-processing 
program is Word Perfect, which lets you perform many tricks. 
About 60% of all people doing word processing are using Word 
Perfect. The fanciest versions of Word Perfect require a Mac, a 
Next computer, an IBM PC, or a clone. Stripped-down versions of 
Word Perfect are available for the Apple 2 family, Commodore 64, 
Amiga, Atari ST, minicomputers by DEC and Data General, and IBM 
mainframes. Discount dealers sell the IBM PC version for about 
$250; the other versions cost less.
                             The second most popular 
word-processing program is Microsoft Word. It runs on the Mac and 
the IBM PC.
                             Another wonderful word-processing 
program is Ami Pro. Though it's not as famous as Word Perfect of 
Microsoft Word, people who use Ami Pro are thrilled.
                             Though Word Perfect, Microsoft Word, 
and Ami Pro are fancy and popular among experts, they're complex. 
Many simpler word-processing programs have been invented for 
beginners.
                             Databases A database program helps 
you manipulate long lists of data, such as names, addresses, 
phone numbers, birthdays, comments about folks you know (your 
friends, customers, suppliers, employees, students, and 
teachers), past-due bills, and any other data you wish!
  As you type the list of data, the computer automatically copies 
it onto a disk. The computer lets you edit that data and insert 
extra data in the middle of the list. The program makes the 
printer print the data in any order you wish: alphabetical order, 
ZIP-code order, chronological order, or however else you please.
  The program can search through all that data and find, in just 
a few seconds, the data that's unusual. For example, it can find 
everybody whose birthday is today, or everybody who's blond and 
under 18, or everybody who lives out-of-state and has owed you 
more than $30 for over a year.
  The best easy-to-use database program is Q&A (which stands for 
``Questions & Answers''). It lists for $399; discount dealers 
sell it for $189. It also includes an easy-to-use word processor, 
at no extra charge. It requires an IBM PC or clone.
  To computerize your business cheaply and pleasantly, get an IBM 
PC clone and Q&A. If your business is typical, Q&A is the only 
applications program you'll ever need, since Q&A includes a 
top-notch database system and a word processor that's much easier 
to use than Word Perfect.
  If you have a Mac, you can't run Q&A. Instead, get Filemaker 
Pro. It's an easy-to-use program that performs almost as many 
database tricks as Q&A but lacks a word processor. Discount 
dealers sell it for $265.
  What I use Although this book discusses hundreds of application 
programs, I use only two of them on a daily basis: Q&A and Word 
Perfect. I use Q&A to run my book business, course business, 
accounting, and life. To type this book, I could have used Q&A 
but decided to use Word Perfect instead, because Word Perfect 
lets me perform extra word-processing tricks that make the book 
look pretty.
  So Q&A and Word Perfect are the only two application programs I 
need. Maybe you'll discover they're the only application programs 
you need!
  DBASE If you need even more database tricks than Q&A performs, 
invent your own database program by using a computer language 
called DBASE (pronounced ``dee base''). It resembles BASIC but 
includes extra vocabulary for handling databases. It's published 
by the Ashton-Tate division of Borland. It runs on the IBM PC.
  Another company, Fox Software, has invented an improvement on 
DBASE. The improvement is called FOXPRO. It runs on the IBM PC 
and the Mac. Recently, Fox Software became part of Microsoft.
  To run the newest versions of DBASE and FOXPRO, get an IBM PC 
or clone. Older versions of FOXPRO run on the Mac.
  Q&A and DBASE are the two most famous tools for databases on 
the IBM PC. Q&A is easier than DBASE but has some limitations. If 
you can live within those limitations, use Q&A; if you can't, you 
must use DBASE or FOX or a competitor (such as Alpha, Filemaker 
Pro, Approach, Access, or Paradox).
  The typical business makes the mistake of buying DBASE and 
hiring a consultant to write DBASE programs. Six months later, 
the business complains that it's paid the consultant $2000 in 
fees and the consultant's program still doesn't work. The 
business would have been better off using Q&A, which is so easy 
it doesn't need a consultant.
  Spreadsheets A spreadsheet program handles tables of numbers. 
For example, it can handle your budget, inventory, general 
ledger, baseball statistics, and student test scores.
  As you type the numbers, the computer puts them onto the screen 
in neat columns. You can tell the program to compute
the totals, subtotals, and percentages and put them on the screen 
also.
                                         The computer lets you 
revise the numbers. Whenever you revise a number, the computer 
instantaneously recalculates all the totals, subtotals, and 
percentages and shows them on the screen, faster than your eye 
can blink!
                                         When the numbers on the 
screen finally appeal to you (for example, your budget finally 
balances), press a button that makes the printer print onto paper 
the entire table of numbers, including even the totals, 
subtotals, and percentages. Pressing another button makes the 
computer copy the table onto a disk. The most popular spreadsheet 
programs can also graph the data.
                                         Spreadsheet programs can 
become weapons that mesmerize people into believing everything 
you say ___ even if what you're saying is wrong. For example, 
suppose you want to submit a budget. If you scribble the budget 
on a scrap of paper, nobody will take you seriously; but if you 
put your data into a spreadsheet program that spits out 
beautifully aligned columns with totals, subtotals, percentages, 
bar charts, and pie charts, your audience will assume your 
budget's carefully thought out and applaud it, even though it's 
just a pretty presentation of the same crude guesses you'd have 
scribbled on paper.
                                         The most famous 
spreadsheet program is Lotus 1-2-3, which runs on the IBM PC. 
Version 2.4 lists for $495, but discount dealers sell it for 
$289.
                                         For a fancier 
spreadsheet program, get a competitor called Quattro Pro, which 
discount dealers sell for just $40!
                                         The fanciest spreadsheet 
program is Excel, invented by Microsoft. It requires either a 
souped-up IBM PC (containing containing Microsoft Windows) or a 
Mac. Discount dealers sell it for $295.
                                         For the Apple 2 family, 
the most famous spreadsheet program is Appleworks, which also 
handles word processing and databases.
                                         The typical spreadsheet 
program requires that the entire spreadsheet fit in the 
computer's RAM. If your spreadsheet contains too many rows and 
columns to fit in RAM, you'll want to buy more RAM. But you might 
be wiser to give up the spreadsheet program and switch to a 
database program instead, since database programs store data on 
disks instead of in RAM. Database programs produce the same 
pretty tables as spreadsheet programs, so your boss won't know 
you switched.

                                             Compulsive perfectionism
                                         The most successful 
business programs are the ones that make work become fun, by 
turning the work into a video game. That's why word processing 
programs and spreadsheet programs are so successful ___ they let 
you move letters and numbers around the screen, edit the errors 
by ``zapping'' them, and let you press a button that makes the 
screen explode with totals, subtotals, counts, and other 
information.
                                         Sometimes, word 
processing can be too much fun. Since it's so much fun to edit on 
a word processor, people using word processors edit more 
thoroughly than people using typewriters or pens. Word processing 
fosters compulsive perfectionism.
                                         Word-processed documents 
wind up better written than non-electronic documents but take 
longer to finish. According to a survey by Colorado State, people 
using word processors take about 30% longer to generate memos 
than people using pens, and the word-processed memos are 
needlessly long.
                    Graphics
  The first easy-to-use graphics program was Mac Paint, developed 
by Apple Computer Incorporated for the Mac. It lets you use the 
Mac's mouse to draw pictures on the screen, copy them onto paper, 
and perform special effects. It's fun. It's the program that made 
the Mac popular.
  Mac Paint has been replaced by dozens of fancier programs that 
run on the Mac, IBM PC, and all other popular computers.
  Architects and engineers draw blueprints by using a program for 
computer-aided design (CAD).

               Desktop publishing
  A program that lets you combine graphics with text ___ to 
create posters, ads, and newsletters ___ is called a page-layout 
program or desktop-publishing program. The fanciest desktop 
publishing programs are Aldus Pagemaker and Quark XPress. Each 
runs on the IBM PC and Mac. They let you easily create headlines 
and multiple columns with graphics.
  For the IBM PC, a pleasant alternative is Ami Pro, which is a 
word-processing program that includes many desktop-publishing 
commands.

               Integrated programs
  Instead of buying a word-processing program and also a database 
program and also a spreadsheet program, you can buy a single 
``monster'' program that does a little bit of everything! Such a 
program's called an integrated program.
  The best integrated programs for the IBM PC are Q&A, Microsoft 
Works, and PFS First Choice. Here's how they compare.
  Q&A is the best at handling databases. Q&A's main weakness is 
that it does not handle spreadsheets at all.
  Microsoft Works is the best at handling word processing and 
spreadsheets. Its main weakness is that it requires a peppy 
computer and a mouse to run well.
  PFS First Choice is the easiest to learn how to use, but you'll 
outgrow it soon, since it lacks advanced features.
  Each IBM clone built by Tandy comes with an integrated program 
called Deskmate. For the Apple 2 family, the most popular 
integrated program is Appleworks.

              Creative applications
  You can buy programs that teach you new skills, produce music, 
play games, and perform wild tricks.

                Vertical software
  Software that can be used by a wide variety of businesses is 
called horizontal software. Programs for word processing, 
databases, and spreadsheets are all examples of horizontal 
software.
  Software targeted to a specific industry is called vertical 
software. Programs specifically for doctors, lawyers, and 
real-estate management are all examples of vertical software.
  Vertical software is expensive because it can't be 
mass-marketed to the general public and isn't available from 
discount dealers. The typical vertical-market program costs about 
$2000, whereas the typical horizontal-market program costs about 
$200 from discount dealers.
  Until the price of vertical software declines, use horizontal 
software instead. With just a few hours of effort, you can 
customize horizontal software to fit your own specific needs.

                     Viruses
  Some nasty programmers have invented computer viruses, which 
are programs that purposely damage your other programs and 
sneakily copy themselves onto every disk that you use. To avoid 
catching a virus, make sure that the only software entering your 
computer comes from a reputable, safe source.

          DATA
                                                     When you buy 
a program, it comes on a floppy disk. Here's how to use that 
program disk, if you have just one disk drive.
                                                     First, put 
the program disk into the drive, and press some buttons (or type 
a word) that makes the computer look at the disk. (To find out 
which buttons to press, read the manual that came with the 
program.)
                                                     When the 
computer finishes looking at the disk, remove the disk from the 
drive.
                                                     Insert a 
second disk, called the data disk. At first, the data disk 
contains no information; it's blank. Put your fingers on the 
keyboard and type the data that you want the computer to 
manipulate. The computer will display your data on the screen and 
copy it onto the data disk.
                                                     At night, 
before you go to bed, hide the data disk (which contains all the 
personal data you fed the computer) to protect it from any 
accidents and from any competitors, vandals, toddlers, pets, and 
goblins that go bump in the night.

                                                          Two drives
                                                     If your 
computer has two floppy disk drives, put the program disk in the 
main drive (``drive A'') and the data disk in the other drive 
(``drive B'').
                                                     If your 
computer has one floppy disk drive plus one hard disk drive, put 
the program disk in the floppy disk drive, copy its program onto 
the hard disk, then use just the hard disk. The hard disk holds 
the program and data.

         SOFTWARE COMPANIES
  Will your computer be pleasant to use? The answer depends 
mainly on which software you buy. Software companies will 
influence your life more than IBM, Apple, or any other hardware 
manufacturer.
  The thirteen dominant software companies are Microsoft, Novell, 
Lotus, Borland, Symantec, Oracle, Computer Associates, Intuit, 
Electronic Arts, Broderbund, Claris, Adobe, and Autodesk. Here's 
why. . . . 

              Microsoft
  The most important software company is Microsoft, which takes 
in about 4 billion dollars of revenue per year. It makes the most 
popular operating system (which is MS-DOS). The company's main 
founder, Bill Gates, became a billionaire when he was 30 years 
old and appeared on the cover of Time Magazine. Now Bill is 38 
and worth 7 billion dollars. He doesn't have that much cash in 
his pocket, of course: most of his billions are invested in 
Microsoft stock.
  Microsoft is the most diversified software company: besides 
selling MS-DOS, it also sells other operating environments 
(Windows and Xenix), programming languages (Microsoft BASIC, 
FORTRAN, COBOL, C, and others), a word-processing program 
(Microsoft Word), database programs (Access and Fox Pro), a 
spreadsheet program (Excel), an integrated program (Microsoft 
Works), a computerized encyclopedia (Encarta), and a wide variety 
of other software. It's the main software publisher for the IBM 
PC and Mac. It also wrote the versions of BASIC used by the Apple 
2 family, Commodore Amiga, Commodore 64, and Radio Shack TRS-80.
  Microsoft continually develops new products because of pressure 
from competitors. For example, Microsoft's been forced to improve 
Microsoft Word because of competition from Word Perfect and 
improve Microsoft C because of competition from Borland's C. 
Those continual pressures to imrpove keep Microsoft a vibrant, 
dynamically changing company.

               Novell
  Novell makes Netware, which is software that lets you wire 
computers together so they can communicate with each other.
  In 1994, Novell bought Word Perfect Corporation, which makes 
the most popular word-processing program, Word Perfect. Novell's 
purchase was natural, since both companies are in Utah. Word 
Perfect Corporation sold out to Novell because Word Perfect 
Corporation's been having financial trouble, since many customers 
have been switching to Microsoft Word, which has been improving 
dramatically.
  Novell also bought a product called Quattro Pro, which was 
invented by a company called Borland. Borland sold that product 
to Novell because Borland was having financial trouble competing 
against Microsoft.
  Hey, if all of Microsoft's competitors have financial problems 
competing against Microsoft, maybe Novell will buy them all!
  Altogether, Novell takes in about 3 billion dollars per year.
                                                       Lotus
                                         Lotus makes the most 
popular spreadsheet program (which is 1-2-3). For too many years, 
Lotus sat on its laurels, and customers gradually began to switch 
to competitors such as Microsoft Excel and Quattro Pro. We 
expected Lotus to gradually die.
                                         But during the 1990's, 
Lotus displayed good taste and made wide moves: it dramatically 
improved 1-2-3; it bought a company called Samna, which made the 
nicest word-processing program (Ami Pro), so Ami Pro became a 
Lotus product; it began selling an easy-to-use 
presentation-graphics program, Freehand; and it began selling a 
product called Notes, which helps people send electronic mail to 
each other and edit each other's documents.
                                         Now Lotus is doing okay. 
It takes in about a billion dollars per year.

                                                      Borland
                                         Borland was started by 
Philippe Kahn, who grew up in France. To study math, he went to a 
university in Zurich, Switzerland, where he got curious about 
computers and decided to take a computer class.
                                         The university offered 
two introductory classes: one explained how to program using a 
language called PL/I, the other explained PASCAL. Since PASCAL 
was brand new then, nobody had heard of it, so 200 students 
signed up for PL/I and just 5 students signed up for PASCAL. 
Philippe signed up for PASCAL because he hated big classes. His 
professor was PASCAL's inventor, Niklaus Wirth.
                                         In 1983, Philippe went 
to California and started a computer company. Since he was an 
illegal alien, he tried to pretend he was thoroughly American and 
named his company Borland, in honor of the land that produced 
astronaut Frank Borman. His first product was Turbo PASCAL, which 
he had created back in Europe with the help of two friends.
                                         Most other versions of 
PASCAL were selling for hundreds of dollars. Philippe read a book 
saying people buy mail-order items on impulse only if priced 
under $50, so he charged $49.95. The book and Philippe were 
right: at $49.95, Turbo PASCAL became a smashing success.
                                         Later, Philippe improved 
Turbo PASCAL and raised its price to $149.95. He also bought 
other software publishers and merged them into Borland, so 
Borland became a huge company.
                                         Philippe has 
occasionally experimented with dropping prices. For example, it 
dropped the price of its spreadsheet program, Quattro Pro, to 
just $49.95, even though Quattro Pro was in some ways better than 
1-2-3, which Lotus was selling for about $300. The head of 
Microsoft, Bill Gates, said that the competitor that worries him 
the most is Borland, because he's afraid Philippe will pull 
another publicity stunt and drop prices below $50 again, forcing 
Microsoft to do the same.
                                         Keep it up, Philippe! We 
need more clowns like you!
                                         During the 1980's, 
Borland bought two companies that invented wonderful database 
programs: Reflex and Paradox. Recently Borland stopped selling 
Reflex, but Paradox lives on.
                                         Paradox's main 
competitor was DBASE, published by a company called Ashton-Tate. 
Philippe decided to win the competition against Ashton-Tate the 
easy way: he bought Ashton-Tate, so now Borland publishes both 
Paradox and DBASE. Philippe said he bought Ashton-Tate mainly to 
get his hands on Ashton-Tate's mailing list, so he could sell 
DBASE users on the idea of converting to Paradox.
  But Philippe paid too much for Ashton-Tate, whose products, 
employees, and mailing lists were all becoming stale. Since 
Ashton-Tate was a bigger company than Borland, Philippe had to 
borrow lots of money to buy Ashton-Tate, and he had trouble 
paying it back. Buying Ashton-Tate was Philippe's biggest 
mistake.
  By 1994, Philippe was having trouble competing against 
Microsoft's rapidly improving products and also having trouble 
repaying the money he'd borrowed to finance the take-over of 
Ashton-Tate. Financially strapped, he sold Novell his crown 
jewel, Quattro Pro, gave Novell the right to make a million 
copies of Paradox.
  Novell's founder, Ray Noorda, said candidly he wasn't thrilled 
by Quattro Pro but wanted to buy it anyway, just as an excuse to 
give Philippe some money, so Philippe could stay in business and 
scare Microsoft, so Bill Gates would devote his energy to 
fighting Philippe instead of fighting Novell.

                   Why fight?
  See, no matter how rich the computer guys get, they still act 
like a bunch of tussling toddlers. I'm waiting for their mama to 
say, ``Boys, boys, will you please stop fighting, shake hands, 
and make up!''
  If Israel can make peace with the PLO and Jordan, why can't 
Bill Gates make peace with his competitors? Answer: they're all 
greedy ___ and Bill's also a bit brash. (For example, he walked 
out on CBS's interview of him when the interviewer, Connie Chung, 
mispronounced ``DOS'' and also asked him a pointed question about 
a competitor.) 
  But Bill's actually somewhat glad at his competitors' 
successes, since Microsoft needs to have enough successful 
competitors to prevent the Justice Department from accusing 
Microsoft of being a monopoly.
  By letting several competitors invent new ideas and bring them 
all to market, we consumers get to choose for ourselves which 
ideas are best ___ and vote on them with our dollars ___ rather 
than kowtow to a single dictator.

                    Symantec
  My favorite database program, Q&A, is published by Symantec.
  Like Lotus, Symantec shows good taste in acquisitions: it 
bought two companies making good versions of the C programming 
language (Lightspeed and Zortech) and also bought two companies 
making DOS utility programs that fix DOS's weaknesses (Peter 
Norton Software and Central Point Software).
  Symantec tries hard to improve all those acquired products, but 
I wish it would improve Q&A instead! I'm sad to see Q&A, the 
world's best database program, be neglected and fall into 
obsolescence.

              Specialized companies
  Oracle and Computer Associates (CA) make software that runs on 
computers of all sizes: maxicomputers, minicomputers, and 
microcomputers. Oracle's software handles databases; CA's 
software handles accounting (such as bill-paying, 
bill-collecting, inventory, and payroll).
  Intuit makes programs that handle accounting on microcomputers. 
Intuit's programs are cheap: under $100. Intuit's most popular 
accounting programs are Quicken (which tracks expenses and 
balances your checkbook), Quickbooks (which handles all major 
business accounting), and Turbo Tax (which helps you fill in your 
1040 income-tax form for the IRS). Turbo Tax used to be published 
by a company called Chipsoft, but Intuit bought Chipsoft in 1994.
  Electronic Arts and Broderbund make the best educational games 
and low-cost tools for budding young artists and musicians. The 
two companies planned to merge but change their minds, so they're 
still separate.
  Claris, which is owned by Apple, makes the Filemaker Pro 
database (which is as easy as Q&A) and the Claris Works 
integrated package (which resembles Microsoft Works). Claris's 
programs run on the Mac. Out of pity for you folks you don't have 
Macs, Claris also sells versions that run on IBM PC clones using 
Windows.
  Adobe makes Postscript software (used in many laser printers). 
In 1994, Adobe bought Aldus (the company that invented the first 
desktop-publishing program, Pagemaker).
  Autodesk publishes Autocad, which is the fanciest program for 
handling computer-aided design (CAD).

     BUYING SOFTWARE
                                                     You'll want 
four kinds of software: an operating system (which teaches the 
CPU how to handle the keyboard, screen, printer, and disks); a 
computer language (such as BASIC); application programs (such as 
a word-processing program, a spreadsheet program, and a database 
program); and data.
                                                     When 
shopping for a computer, beware: its advertised price usually 
does not include all four kinds of software. Ask the seller which 
software is included and how much the other software costs.
                                                     The typical 
fancy program (such as a word-processing program, database 
program, or spreadsheet program) has a list price of $495. That's 
also called the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP). If 
you buy the program directly from the software's publisher, 
that's the price you'll pay. (You'll also pay about $7 for 
shipping & handling. If the publisher has a sales office in your 
state, you'll also charged for sales tax, even if you're phoning 
the manufacturer's out-of-state headquarters.)
                                                     That list 
price is made ridiculously high as an marketing ploy, to give you 
the impression that the program is fancy enough to be worth a lot 
of money.
                                                     But if you 
walk into a typical computer store, you will not pay $495 for the 
program. Instead, you'll pay $299. That's called the street price 
because it's the price you see when you walk down the street and 
peek in the windows of computer stores. (You'll also pay sales 
tax.)
                                                     Instead of 
charging $299, mail-order dealers charge slightly less: $279. 
That's called the mail-order price. (You'll also pay about $7 for 
shipping & handling, but you won't pay tax if the mail-order 
company is out-of-state.) Another way to get that kind of price 
is to visit a discount computer superstore such as Comp USA.

                                                       Version upgrades
                                                     If you 
already own an older version of the program, you can switch to 
the new version cheaply, by asking for the version upgrade, which 
costs just $99. You can order the version upgrade at your local 
computer store, or from mail-order dealers, or directly from the 
program's publisher. The most aggressive dealers (such as Comp 
USA) charge slightly less: $95.
                                                     To qualify 
for the version upgrade, you must prove that you already own an 
older version of the program. You can do that in several ways. . 
. . 
  If you're ordering directly from the program's publisher, the 
program's publisher will check its records to verify that you had 
sent in your registration card for the previous version. If 
you're ordering at a local computer store, bring in the official 
instruction manual that came with the old version: the store will 
rip out the manual's first page (the title page) and mail it to 
the publisher. If you lost that manual, you can instead give the 
store Disk 1 of the old version's set of disks. The store needs 
the original title page or disk; copies are not accepted. If 
you're ordering from a mail-order dealer, send the dealer the 
title page by mail or fax.
  Some manufacturers (such as Microsoft) use a simpler way to 
qualify you for the version upgrade: when you install the new 
version, it automatically searches your computer's hard disk for 
the old version and refuses to run if the old version is missing.
  If you bought the old version shortly before the new version 
came out, you can get the new version free! Just phone the 
publisher and ask for the free version upgrade. Here's how you 
prove you bought the old version shortly before the new version 
came out (where ``shortly before'' is usually defined as meaning 
``within 60 days''): mail either your dated sales slip or a 
``free version-upgrade certificate'' that came in the old 
version's box. Though the upgrade is ``free'', you must pay an 
exhorbitant charge for shipping and handling ($10 for just the 
disks, $30 for disks plus manuals).

        Competitive upgrades
  If you don't own an older version of the program, you can't get 
the version-upgrade price. Here's the best you can do: if you 
already own a competing program (such as a different brand of 
word processor that competes against the word processor you're 
trying to buy), ask for the competitive-upgrade price. It's 
usually $129, which is just slightly higher than the 
version-upgrade price. Get it from your local store, mail-order 
dealer, or directly from the publisher.
  To prove you qualify for the competitive-upgrade price, provide 
the title page or Disk 1 of the competing program (or have 
Microsoft's software automatically scan for such programs).

          Copying software
  If you buy a program, you should make backup copies of the 
disks. Use the backup copies in case the original disks get 
damaged.
  You're not allowed to give copies of the disks to your friends. 
That's against the law! If your friends want to use the program, 
they must buy it from the software publisher or a dealer, so that 
the programmer receives royalties.
  If you give copies to your friends and become a lawbreaker, 
you're called a pirate; making the copies is called piracy; the 
copies are called pirated software or hot software. Don't be a 
pirate! Don't distribute hot software!Some software publishers 
use tricks that make the computer refuse to copy the program. 
Those tricks are called copy protection; the software is copy 
protected. But even if the software publisher doesn't use such 
tricks, it's still against the law to make copies of the program 
for other people, since the program is still copyrighted.
  If your friends want to try a program before buying it, don't 
give them a copy of the program! Instead, tell your friends to 
visit you and use the program while they sit at your computer. 
That's legal, and it also lets you help your friends figure out 
how to use the software.
                                         If you buy a version 
upgrade, you're not allowed to give the older version to a friend 
to use on a different computer. You must destroy the older 
version ___ or keep it just for emergencies, in case the newer 
version stops working. Some software publishers, such as Word 
Perfect, let you donate the old versions to schools, but just 
after getting the publisher's permission.

                                                    Demo disks
                                         Besides sitting at a 
friend's computer, another way to ``try before you buy'' is to 
phone the program's publisher and ask for a free demo disk.
                                         Although some demo disks 
are just useless animated ads, the best publishers provide useful 
demo disks (called trial-size versions) that closely imitate the 
full versions. For example, the typical trial-size version of a 
word-processing program has nearly all the features of the full 
version, but it refuses to print memos that are more than a page 
long and refuses to copy your writing onto a disk.
                                         Trial-size versions are 
nicknamed crippled software, because each trial-size version has 
one or two abilities cut off. Playing with crippled software is a 
great way to give yourself a free education!

                                                     Freeware
                                         Software that you're 
allowed to copy and use freely is called freeware. For example, 
most demo disks and trial-size versions are freeware.
                                         Most software invented 
by schools, government agencies, and computer clubs is freeware. 
Ask!

                                                     Shareware
                                         Some software, called 
shareware, comes with this plea: although the author lets you 
copy the software and try it, you're encouraged to mail the 
author a contribution if you like what you tried.
                                         The suggested 
contribution, typically $25, is called a registration fee. It 
makes you a registered user and puts you on the author's mailing 
list, so the author can mail you a printed manual and newer 
versions of the software.
                                         Though most shareware 
authors merely ``ask'' for contributions, other shareware authors 
``demand'' that you send a contribution if you use the software 
for longer than a month. Software for which a contribution is 
``demanded'' is called guiltware ___ because if you don't send 
the contribution, the author says you're guilty of breaking the 
law.
                                         To get shareware, copy 
it from a friend. If none of your friends own the shareware you 
want, buy the disks from a computer club or store for about $5 
per disk; but remember that the $5 pays for just the disk, not 
the registration fee that you're honor-bound to mail in if you 
extensively use the program.

                                                   Special deals
                                         If your office wants 
many employees to use a program, ask the publisher for a site 
license, which permits your company to make copies for all 
employees in the office. But the employees are not allowed to 
take the copies home: the copies must all be used at the same 
site.
                                         If you're in a school 
and trying to teach kids how to use a program, ask the publisher 
for a trial-size version or educational version or educational 
site license.