Table Of Content

• rocessorm When we in Then there were those senders troduced Microsoft of mail, who didn't want to click-click Word six years ago, dick-click-click-click we weren't planning So we built support for Microsoft on making history. Mail right into Word. Now, with just a We had just click, everyone stays in the loop. And one goal, and a fairly simple one at work in progress stays in progress. that: to make a word processor that As it happens, listening to what suited people's needs. Mac users want is a pretty good way to Then again, we knew that the design software. people we wanted to suit were a wild How else can we explain Word ly diverse, independent lot: Mac® users. version 4.0 being the most popular So it made sense to let them tell us word processor in Mac history? exactly what to put into Word. And those cards and letters are Which they did. still coming. "Listen;' someone'll say. "In First, there were some folks case you're working on the next Word.. :' who didn't like tabbing much. Fair Which we are. In fact, if you've enough. For them, we developed Ta- got some input for us, feel free to drop bles-an easier way to set up side-by us a line. Or if you'd like to find out side paragraphs, columns of numbers, more about Word, call us at (800) 541 even forms. No tabs. No hassle. 1261, Department P22. Then we heard from a few more Our goal is still simple: to make people. "Love the Tables gig;' they said. Word the best word processor around. "Now, about this text-numbers-graph- With the latest technology-translated ics combo all in one document .. :' into human terms, of course. We made that simple with "warm After all, we're only making his Once you've linked Microsoft tory because we make word processors links~' Excel data to a document, keeping the way you like 'em. that document updated with the lat Mr~so-~I$ est Microsoft Excel figures is easy. Just ~v,-:_ 1• click your mouse. Making it all make sense· Smd llu1SC cards um/ lrrters tu: Micn1wft \\'on/ fur MadtllvsJi IJ<'l'f/flpmn111i>tm1, 0111_,Mim1.<J1fl l\ (tr. Ht·1/m11111/, ll'asltinj!f1m !J8052·639Y. C11sto11w~ li1 C111uu/a, mll (.J UiJ 6i.1· ifi:JR. 0111siflt !\'orlh 1l111t rim, ml/ 12tJfiJ 882·86til. Cl 1990 Mirm.'Oli/t lijrpnrntion. All ri'ghts resn11ttl. Micro.wfl and the Micr~1fl lugu areregistcrctl tm.Jemark:t am/ Making ii all 1Trnk\• SCllS4' i5. t1 lmtlcma1k11/Mirrosoft Corfl'Jm/ion. ,War;~ u rf'J.tistrml tradmmrkofApplr Cm11p11tcr. Jnr. Features Networking the '90s BY JoHN Rizzo AND JON ZILBER If you share electronic infonnation with other JANUARY 1991 computer users, your business depends on your network connections. Here's a primer on the top technologies to get you plugged in to the '90s .................................. 92 Thoroughly Modern Modems BY STEPHEN SATCHELL AND THE M ACLJSER L ABS Sl'AFF A modem is a modem is a modem, right? Nope; new technologies and features translate into significant differences among high-end 2,400-bps modems. We pushed eight Mac-specific turnkey packages to their limits and discovered that the best 2,400-bps modems deliver close to 9,600-bps throughput. If you like getting four times what you bargained for, read on ........... 100 The Best of UNIX and the Mac: A/UX 2.0 Take a guided tour of • . BY ALEXIS ROSEN, JEFF PrnELKAU, AND THE connectivity technologies M ACUSER LABS STAFF in the MacUser Labs A/UX is the most interesting and impressive software NetWorkShop. from Apple since HyperCard. And it's the only UNlX system that offers a large base of productivity applica tions thatoffercut-and-pastecompatibility among UN1X files . ........... ...... .... .. .. .......... .................................... . 118 The Invisible Bridge to Mainframe Data BY V ERNON K EENAN, PAUL YI, AND THE MACLJSER LABS STAFF If you want to access your finn 's mainframe-based data with your Macintosh and if you want the mainframe to shoulder most of the task of finding that data, you ' re in luck - Apple's DAL, Oracle's SQL*Net, and TechGnosis' SequeLink all do it well, although in quite distinct ways .......................................................... 138 Best-Buy Bargain Word Processors 100 The humble modem BY CHARLES SPEZZANO, K ELLI WiSETM, AND THE evolves into a M ACUSER L ABS STAFF Not everyone is writing novels or thick corporate manu high-performance als. (And even those who are may want a simpler tool for communications tool. smaller jobs.) There are now four good low-cost word processors to choose from - Claris MacWrite II, the word-processing module of Microsoft Works 2.00, New Horizons WordMaker 1.0 l, and T/Maker WriteNow 2.2 - plus several shareware products ........................ 156 Buying Smart BY SHELLEY ZULMAN 174 Puzzled about buying computer gear, finding good deal Consumer ers and mail-order firms, decoding warranties, and figur crusader David 156 ing out what to do when a company goes bankrupt? Horowitz tells how Word processing has Here's how to stretch your dollars and shrink your anxi to be a savvy never been so easy eties, along with advice from the host of the syndicated Mac buyer. or inexpensive. TV show "Fight Back! with David Horowitz." ..... 174 Departments Reviews Jon Zilber Kodak XL7700 Taming the mouse menace . ........ .. ........ ... ................. 31 Kodak ushers in a brand-new era of true photograp~ic quality printing with this continuous-tone color printer. Robert R. Wiggins But it's not exactly cheap . .......... .............................. 62 The Mac has a dirty little secret: instability . ............ 41 4D Compiler Guy Kawasaki Imagine the versatility of 4th Dimension combined with How many spaces should go between sentences? .... 57 pure, unadulterated speed? Stop imagining; it's already John C. Dvorak here, thanks to what may be the single most important Apple is doomed - to succeed ............................. 346 tool of all time for 4th Dimension developers .......... 65 Letters Aldus PrePrint Weenie computers or weenie columnist? ..... ... .. ... ... 13 If consistent color separations for PageMaker are what you need, then PrePrint's the utility that might finally Advertiser Index ................................................... 292 make it possible . ....................................................... 70 Marketplace .......................................................... .. 328 Desk It's seven ... seven . . . seven DAs in one! But although A rni1:ui1:1u11:i1m111M...................................... 195 this combination program takes aim at Microsoft Works, ., does it add up to the sum of its parts? ...................... 74 Prepress TelePort A300 Imagesetters and service bureaus: why and how. 197 Elegant is the word for this inexpensive and feature Step by Step packed 2,400-bps fax modem that even saves you a port How to simplify the creation of complex graphics by by plugging in to the ADB port along with your mouse using multiple drawing layers ................................ 210 and keyboard ............................................................. 79 ~l:ljl li!H*'i ................................................. ....... 215 HookUp! The hobby-shop electronic-module kits of yesteryear Trouble Shots meet the age of multimedia in this novel icon-oriented Plan your LAN, even a plug-and-play one ............ 217 programming tool for all ages .................................. 83 ~ !Qtlfiijj;l(l)ilt'i .............................................. 220 Project Scheduler 4 Project-management specialists - especially those Power Techniques working in mixed Mac and PC environments - will Exploring the Print dialog box ............................... 220 discover that this new entrant offers an impressive set of Power Techniques features but some inte1face frustrations as well ........ 86 Make the Portable's battery last even longer. ........ 229 Beating the System Ten things-such as rebuilding your desktop-that you "Well, see, the drive on should start doing this year .................................... 237 my llci went out on The Expert's Edge me. I took it to my Forget scanners. If you want to get photos into your DTP productions, get a Canon XapShot electronic-imaging regular dealer, who camera . ........................................................... ........ 245 immediately replaced Power Programming the drive at no cost Text Browser was nice in its day. Now let's look at Byte Browser, clear hex display and all. ........................ 255 and then treated me to Tip Sheet dinner and a movie An editable Clipboard, how to proof 300-dpi color mate before driving me rial with tinted text, and more . ............... ................ 265 home." ........................178 Help Folder MacDOS, the department ofredundancy department, and more . ............. .......... .. .......... ..... ....... ........ .... ....... .... 275 MadJJser Group Vice President and Publisher Ziff-Davis Publishing Company J. Samuel Huey President Wiiiiam B. Ziff, Jr. M#fo&i Executive Vice President Eric Hlppeau Senior Vice President. Marketing Jon Zilber Paul H. Chook Associate Publisher Vice President. Operations Baird Davis Robert Nolan Vice President. Business Manager Mf!Jt:ft!I T. L. Thompson Vice President, Circulation Bert Lacy Managing Editor Nancy Groth Vice President, Circulation Services Technical Director Henry Bortman James Ramaley Senior Editors Alleen Abernalhy, Vice President, Creative Services James S. Bradbury, Rik Myslewskl, Lee The Herbert Stern Technical Editor John Rizzo Vice President, Marketing Services Assistant Managing Editor Claire Hamillon Ann Pollak Adelman Chief Copy Editor Eva Langfeldt Vice Presidenl, Production Associate Editors Russell Ito, Bruce Roger Herrmann Mewhinney, Victoria von Biel,Paul YI Vice President, Research Senior Copy Editor Rhoda Simmons Marian D. White Copy Editor Mary Cole Vice Presidenl James Stafford Assistant Editor Michele Stokol Group Vice President, PC Publications Research Assistant Darryl Chan J. Scott Briggs Administrative Assistant Nancy Peterson Director, Classified Sales Interns Mark Simmons, Shelley Zulman Paul Stafford Contributing Editors Steven Bobker, Thom Director of Planning Gary A. Gustafson Hogan, Andy lhnatko, Guy Kawasaki, Bob Production Director Walter J. Terlecki LeVilus, Kurt W. G. Matthies, Salvatore Parascandolo, Dave Pellz, Winn L. Rosch, Ziff Communications Company Michael Swaine, Kathleen Tinkel, Kurt Chairman William B. Ziff, Jr. VanderSluis, Gregory Wasson Vice Chairman Philip B. Korsant Contributing Business Editor Robert R. Wiggins President Kenneth H. Koppel Contributing Anti-Editor John C. Dvorak Executive Vice President Philip Sine Assistant to the Editor Teresa Mollna Senior Vice President Hugh Tietjen Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary MacUser Labs J. Malcolm Morris MacUser Labs Director Andrew Eisner Vice President, Controller, and Treasurer Associate Director Jeffrey S. Pittelkau Patrick J. Burke, Jr. Project Leaders Paul R. Freedman, Vice Presidents Sleven C. Feinman, Stefan Lipson, Stephan Somogyi William L. Phillips, Seth R. Alpert Lab Technicians Tony A. Bojorquez, Mffrz:tT1Mtftti Anthony Stoltz Network Administrator Romel Soils Subscription Director Charles Mast M·l¥Utttl Single-Copy Sales/Marketing Director James E. Gerth Art Director Lisa Orsini Business Director Becca Hoblin Associate Art Director Diane Dempsey Customer Service Michael Cronan Photo Editor Peter Alan Gould Art Production Manager Jan McKenzie Rogers Technical Illustrators K. Daniel Clark, Mark W. Sweeney Founding Publisher Felix Dennis Advertising/Sales Sales Manager Lee Uniacke Entire con1en1.s ti) 1991 Ziff-Da"is Publishing Co. . a t.livision of Ziff Communic;.uions Co. All rights rcs.crvcd: MPftttM@tj rcproduc1inn in whole or in ran wi1hou1pc.nniS!'tion i!t prohibi1cd. M11cUur is a rcgiMcrcd lradcmark of Ziff Production Director Carlos Lugo Conu11unica1io11' Co. 11lc following arc trademark.'! of Production Manager Brenda Falco Ziff Communications Co.: Mainstream Mac. Pins1ripc M:1c. Quid. Clicks. MncUscr Labs. Open Window. wzm:c1m Dc\il"i. Ad\(>catc. Mclp Folder. Control Panel. Nc1WorkShop. Oridgcs. Scrapbook. MacinlO"lh Anal)'st. Marketing Development Manager Steve Fricke Minifindcrs. S13nUp. Power Tools. Mm·UJt'r i.s an independent joumal. not affili:11ed in 3 11)' way wi1h Promotions Coordinator Shannon Malliel Apph: Compulcr, Inc. W!J·i§fiit.J.tW Printed in the U.S.A. WBPA Business Manager Rosemarie Carbone Ziff-Davis MacNETWORK Director David J. Ezequelle In 1cmory of Advertising Director Peter Weedfald John J. ;\ndcrson 1956-1989 and On-Llne/Zmac Derek Van /\l c;1ync Manager. On-Line Services Ben Templin 1967 - 19H'J It's like owning a disk drive with a bulletproof vest. Introducing the Metro with SCSI Sentry EMAC has found a way to prevent unnecessary But Metro's engineering goes far beyond pure Macintosh hard drive fatalities with SCSI Sentry;" aesthetics. With some of the most stringent testing an engineering breakthrough in in the market-and mean-time-between-failures disk drive reliability. It protects ratings of 50,000 to 70,000 hours-these drives were your disk drive from damaging built to keep you up and running. And, if your shorts that can trap data inside Metro drive ever does have problems, our modular your hard disk. Which makes design makes diagnosis and repair quick and easy. any drive with the SCSI Sentry When you add the SCSI Sentry to such reliable substantially more reliable. disk drives, you know your data's safe with Metro. And only EMAC Metro drives have it. Ifyou want to own a disk drive with a bulletproof Metros are zero-footprint disk drives - so they vest, call EMAC at 1-800-821-0806, extension 2222, fit perfectly under a Mac Plus or SE. You can also (In Canada, 1-800-663-5161). stand Metro on its side next to any Mac II, keeping your desk free for papers, phones, or photographs. !lvtAC, tM UtAC lcgo.Mrt.ro, 11nd SCSI SC"ntry, arr lr.admwrb of £1"".r Systoru, /nr. Othv brand 111UfJrs aJt:I prodMrt namturr tr.Wmwrb or wgulrml lt•dmrarb of thnr rnp«fltV' rom ftfnks. £MAC.a divdion of (crar:r Syf.tt'rltf, llf(., 4B4JJ .Milm;:,,it Drn,.., f rmwn1. CA 9.,5.18 Please circle 154 on reader service card. .Madlker Put an end to the envelope hassle! How to Reach Us GOZMAC If you· re a CompuServe subscriber, you can reach us on Zmac, the on-line service for MacUser. Jusl type GO ZMAC, or look elsewhere in this issue for information on how to sign up. Product Announcements and Updates Please send your letters or press rcleuscs about Set a default return Save commonly used addresses new products or upgrades to Michele Swkol. address or logo. in a convenient pop-up menu . Assistant Editor.MacUser. 950Towe rLanc, 18th Floor, Foster Ci1y, CA 94404, or 1ype GO MACUSER on Zmac. Help Folder If you've got a Mac question or problem, send ii to Help Folder, c/oMacUser at the above address, 11111 or fora personal answcrto your problem. type GO TECHSUPPORTon Znrnc. You should also Jake advantage of local user gro ups. You can !ind !he one nearest you by calling Apple toll-free al (800) 538-9696, ext. 500. t':a1twrint f''l>l"~'r lt.\i I t ':itMdr.il 0;1Jo., Rn;,id Tip Sheet \l:&r~" il~.t:A 9S l71 We love gening tips from our readers. Send your lips lo Tip Sheet, c/o MacUser a1 the above ad dress. or type GO TECHS UPPORT on Zmac. We can't print every tip. but we'll try our best 10 pick the most interesting ones for publication. 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Please circle 398 on reader service card. 6 January 1991 MacUser If Have You On And In ' Need You • The Network Communications Solution. The Productive Internetwork. EtherGate is the onlyEtherTalk ni/LocalTalk gateway Macs and PCs can also share serial devices through TM that also supports wide-area internetwork routing, Dial-In EtherGate.Just plug one or two printers, plotters, moderns or Network Access™from a single remote Mac or PC and inter other serial devices into an EtherGate, and they're available network serial device sharing. One at a time. Or all at once. to the entire internetwork. Over EtherTalk.™Or LocalTalk:M The Global Internetwork. The Network Communications Company. EtherGate lets you link remote EtherTalk and LocalTalk Whatever your network communications needs, Shiva has TM TM LANs, no matter where theyare. With a modem, EtherGate solutions. Including the popular FastPath 4 gateway, with can communicate asynchronouslyover dial-up lines, or versatile K-Star software, for networking envirornnents such synchronouslyover dedicated lines or ISDN. Dial-In Network as DECnet and TCP/IP. For more information about Access allows asingle remote Mac or PC to use inter EtherGate, FastPath and other Shiva products, call rn network resources and files. Fromacross the street. Or across 1-800-458-3550. the country. EtherGate ·· bJJShiva Wf!'re Putting Networks To Work0 One Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142 All produa names are 1r2demuk.s ur 1heir rcspeClh't mwufaaurers.