Editor's picks '96 - best business tools - Directory

Home Office Computing, Jan, 1996

Ring out the old, ring in the new? That optimistic adage surely applies more to your software and hardware than to any other aspect of your business. Keeping pace with the computer industry can be a full-time job in itself. In just the past year, Internet products, services, and accessories sprang up practically from dust. And after the longest, most hyped-up product launch in history (no, not blue M&Ms), Microsoft delivered not only a new operating system but also a slew of updated applications to go with it.

To help you get the most out of your technology budget for 1996, we've put stacks of products through their paces, then picked the best available. Among enduring favorites--Quicken, Norton, and WinFax, to name a few--you'll find such inspiring newcomers as Internet Phone and NetPhone, the two that captured the crown for best communications software.

Unlike our monthly Best Buy awards, our fourth annual Editors' Picks awards focus more heavily on the "best" than on the "buy." That's not to say this is a wish list. Rather, we--the 15 staff editors, contributing editors, writers, and reviewers who voted--are recommending the products we'd use to accomplish the tasks at hand. Unless noted, we give suggested list prices; subtract 25 percent for approximate street prices.

And now, a toast to the year's tops in technology.

WORD PROCESSOR

Microsoft Word 7.0

For Windows 95

With all the features already crammed into your word processor, you're probably wondering what the next upgrade can possibly do. Leave it to Microsoft to come up with the answer: Word 7.0 does your thinking for you. It corrects your spelling mistakes, creates numbered lists, and even formats your documents--all automatically, while you type. In case you're interested in stuff like file management and thumbnail previews, Word 7.0 does those too. It's expected that version 8.0 will cook dinner for you and walk your kids to school. $129; Microsoft, 800-426-9400 CIRCLE 122 ON READER SERVICE CARD

WordPerfect 3.5

For Mac

Word for Windows may shine, but when it comes to the best Macintosh word processor, WordPerfect takes the prize. It's friendlier to your system memory and offers such great features as Bookmarks and HTML editing, so you can put documents on the World Wide Web. The program also offers a Make It Fit option that lets you squeeze a document onto a specified number of pages and an Easy Envelope feature that provides an onscreen picture to take the guesswork out of formatting. Still perfect after all these years. $119 street; Novell, 800-451-5151 CIRCLE 123 ON READER SERVICE CARD

DATABASE

Lotus Approach 3.0

For Windows

It doesn't matter if you've upgraded to Windows 95--two-year winner Approach 3.0 is still the best way to get a handle on your data, presumably until its successor is released. Other databases tout their programming prowess, but how many of us are programmers? We need an easy way to store information, create reports, mail merge with our word processors, and establish relationships across databases--and Approach does it all, better than any other Windows database manager. You may even have fun customizing your data, a practically unheard-of concept when it comes to this category. $109; Lotus, 617-577-8500 CIRCLE 124 ON READER SERVICE CARD

FileMaker Pro 3.0

For Mac

You can find other Mac database managers if you look long and hard enough, but why bother? FileMaker Pro 3.0 puts them all to shame. For the first time, FileMaker Pro offers relational database capabilities, so you don't have to be envious of those powerful Windows packages. Customizing forms and reports is a pleasure, thanks to FileMaker Pro's advanced graphics features, and the program's collection of templates will quickly put novices on the right track. Even if this is the only Mac database you can find on the shelf, take it from us: You won't be disappointed. $99; Claris, 408-9877000, 800-3-CLARIS CIRCLE 125 ON READER SERVICE CARD

OFFICE SUITE

Microsoft Office

Professional 95

For Windows 95

OK, so maybe it's not fair that Microsoft had a head start on developing Windows 95 applications. And perhaps it's a little loathsome that the company is in our faces more than Shaquille O'Neal after a slam dunk. But we can't argue with a great product. With Office 95, we get a suite of top-notch applications--Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint--whose integration goes beyond a consistent interface. You can preview files created in any of the packages right from the Windows 95 desktop and then drag and drop the files across the Taskbar. The programs all feature the powerful AutoCorrect feature, and the natural language help system lets you find answers to any problems using your own words. $399; Microsoft, 800-4269400 CIRCLE 126 ON READER SERVICE CARD

INTEGRATED

Novell PerfectWorks 2.1

For Windows

No sacrifices here--this integrated package is so slick you'll hardly realize it's actually a collection of scaled-down applications. Delve into PerfectWork's word processor and spreadsheet modules, and before long you'll start believing that you're using fullfledged versions of WordPerfect and Quattro Pro. The database, draw, paint, and communications modules are pretty good too--but what's even better is how seamlessly they all work together. This six-in-one package is an especially great choice if you're working on a laptop with limited disk space. $99; Novell, 800-451-5151 CIRCLE 127 ON READER SERVICE CARD