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JANUARY 1993 [.-3: C•X•li i•Xij] MONSTER MONITOR Which 16-inch color display is the desktop champ? I :J ;JI: ii 3 ;f.1 MacUser Labs tests the latest and greatest? Get more power and save money with our step-by-step guide +BXBl<LJIJ>r:*******S·•OIGIT 22485 r +ADE0210t<092 3+710508 2H SIVEY ANDERSON D~C 94 SIVEY ANDERSON INC USBL 210 KINGS WOOD DR •4901 KING GEORGE VA 22485-9144 Introducillg Microsoft I the sum total of seven yeru We've been making Microsoft" tomize them with very little effort. Excel for the Mac"since 1985. Which With Drag and Drop, you can is one reason why we're pretty good "grab" any piece of information with at making both routine and complex your mouse and drop it in wherever spreadsheet tasks simpler. youli like to see it on-screen. No need The other reason is that since to cut-and-paste. Unless you want to. the introduction of Microsoft Excel, Autofill intelligently helps you we've been listening to you. And con build a worksheet.Type JAN in a cell, sistently adding all the features you for instance, and Autofill enters FEB, need to get your job done easier. MAR-as many months as you need. Take our new Microsoft Excel Itwill even replicate formulas. 4.0 for instance. We have just added And now weli like you to meet floating Toolbars. Including six new Wizards, step-by-step guides that are ones which sensibly relate to a set of designed to walk you through com tasks, such as charting. You can move plex tasks. The CrosstabWizard, for them around, resize them, and cus example, creates summary tables from lists of infor ~.,,,.,..---. mation for you. It prompts you, takes all the information you'll give it, and constructs the per fect report. See, it really is that easy. Speaking of easy, weve added a feature to help you manage and organ ize your work a lot more efficiently: They're called Workbooks, and with them you'll be able to group all of your related work- Sheets Under a Sin The bottom line is simple. It's never been easier for you to create smart, impressive-lookiug spreadsheets i11110 time flat. © 1992 Microsoft Cmporation. All rights reseroed. Printed in the USA. For infonnation only: In Canada, call (800) 563·9048; outside the 50 United Stales and Canada, call (206) 936-8661. Micrasoft is 1 ~140.It's of success. rs gle file. And you can do it graphically. We've made a lot of little im provements that make printing easier too.To begin with, we have made our headers and footers a lot more intui tive and easier to use. In addition, our Zoom feature adds to your flexibility. And with the --- newViewMan [bj ager you will be ~ '==':.J able to name a ·· · ~Will particular view :!;!Jdi\\".iDL ~ of a worksheet. So you can see things Way YOUf ThenewA11toformatbuttonfonnatsm1 e11tire h worksheet with a click ofthe mouse. The W en ever ',1 Char/Wizard button makes charting a snap. YOU U like. And so can everybody else. There's even aSpelling Checker built into newMicrosoft Excel 4.0. But that really shouldn't come as a sur prise to anybody. After all, thatwas the one feature our users asked for most. All of which goes to show you that in order to be number one in your books, we've made your needs number one in ours. - Now to sum things up. Ifyou want to get your hands on the most significant Microsoft Excel upgrade we've ever introduced, give us a call at (800) 992-3675, Department B34. And discover one ofthe reasons why the older you get, the smarter you get. MiclOsotl® Making it easier gistered trademark ofMicrosoft Corpomtio11. Mac is a registeretl trademark ofApple Computer. Inc. Todays est spreadsheet wasrlt born yesterday. Features Maximum RAM BY TOM PETACCIA JANUARY 1993 Your most cost-effective performance enhancement could be a RAM upgrade. Here's everything you need to know Volume 9 Number 1 about when, why, and how to upgrade ...................... 90 On the cover: With monitors, bigger is better - and the versatile Sony CPD-1604S scored big in our lab testing. Setting the New Standard: Cover photo by Steven Underwood 16-lnch Color Monitors I 152 BY W INN L. ROSCH Offering 70 percent more pixels than 13-inch monitors OCR programs: Are scanners do, 16-inchers are the new standard for display systems. and software MacUser Labs tests sixteen 16-inch monitors for sharp ready to replace ness, brightness, color range, and value . ................ 104 the typing pool? Network Renderers: Drawing On All Resources BY STEFAN B. LIPSON AND SEAN SAFREED It's a designer's dream come true: multiple Macs work ing together to render a single 3-D image in a fraction of the time it takes for a single Mac to do the job. With help from the state-of-the-art NetWorkShop, MacUser Labs investigates three network rendering programs ...... 130 Can You Read This? OCR Software BY ELISA M. WELCH The idea is appealing: Scan in a paper document, and let optical-character-recognition software tum it into an electronic document. The reality of OCR performance has been less satisfying, but with these eight products, the reality is getting closer to the ideal. ........................ 152 1· High-Resolution Printers BY PAUL YI Three fast, low-cost 600-dpi printers score high marks for high-resolution printing .......................... 186 241 Calling all desk Departments potatoes: remote 104 controls for Macs. Trade up to something bigger: Jon Zilber MacUser Labs examines Ingenuity, Mac style .................................................. 23 16-inch color monitors. Andy lhnatko 223 Shop secrets ............................................................... 29 Yes, a Mac Michael Swaine can share a Read before you rip ................................................... 41 printerwith a PC.And it's John C. Dvorak easierthan Invasion of the GOO-EE watchers . ................... .. :.. 356 you think. Letters Readers review reviewers, whine about whiners, and distinguish between a power user and a nerd ............ 13 Product/Advertiser Index .............................. 287 Marketplace ........................................................ 329 Sections Reviews ~ Microsoft Works 3.0 ;E\'; ON THE MENU ....................................... 47 Microsoft Works 3.0 scores with a new interface and Tax and spend: Should you spend your anticipated tax much improved charting features but fumbles integration refund on MaclnTax or TaxCut? Plus: A break for the between modules ............................ ........................... 50 middle class: Claris' Clear Choice line targets cost cc:Mail 2.0 .conscious Mac users . ... ..... .. ........ ... .................. .. .. ...... 47 Lotus' refurbished E-mail package takes on the competi ' tion, with superb Mac-to-PC connections and a slick O:};HTOP PUBLISHING ........................................... 191 graphical interface .............................................. .... ... 52 ~- Techniques Morph 1.0 Thanks to improved printer technologies, it' s now easier This video-effects tool brings high-end MTV-style ef to obtain good halftone results - but it's still tricky. fects to QuickTime presentations .............................. 54 Follow these tips to get good grays ........................ 193 LetterPerfect 2.1 Step by Step Honey, they shrunk WordPerfect-and now it's simple, How to use Photoshop for a stylish pencil effect. .. 210 flexible, and cheap . ................................................... 55 mr MacroMind Director 3.1 ....................; .. ................................ ~~llllIIiiillil 213 The premier multimedia and animation authoring pro gram adds QuickTime support and Lingo-language Document Management enhancements . ........................................................ ...56 Better-than-paper document sharing? It's coming your way . ..... .. ......... ... ... .. ..... .. ..... ........ .... ... ..... ..... ...... ...... 215 MacDraw Pro 1.5 A solid-but-sluggish upgrade to Claris' veteran drawing Mac to PC program . .. ............ ...................... .. ...... .......... .. ..... .. .....58 Debunking printer-compatibility myths ................. 223 Canon·cJ10 I~ A versatile one-stop color solution does triple duty as ~ ..........................................229 copier, scanner, and printer - but all that functionality doesn't exactly come cheap . ...................... ....... ........ 61 Mobile Mac For the mobile Mac user, keeping connected is harder CA-Cricket Graph Ill 1.0 than it should be. Here's our mobile manifesto ...... 231 This low-end charting program offers ease of use at an affordable price . ............ ............................................ 72 Shopping List How to buy a backup storage device . ..................... 239 Special Delivery 1.0 An innovative presentation package for interactive slide ~-iililti .............................................. presentations . ................................. .. .......................... 76 241 Quick Clicks Techniques Numeric Keypad, NoteBook KeyPad, and PowerPad: Ten steps to power word processing ....................... 242 PowerBook keypad accessories for number crunchers. FastTrack Schedule: Gantt charting for project manag Techniques ers. Headline Harry and the Great Paper Race: Scoop Instant access to back-issue articles ........ ......... ....... 245 the competition. Shiva LanRover/L: Cheap, remote Beating the System connections.............. ....... .. ..... .................... ........... .....83 Sixteen system-savvy shortcuts . ............. ................247 The Mac Workshop Souping up the Mac SE/30 ..................................... 253 Tip Sheet do you have? How to pump up your mouse, hide figures in Excel Chances columns, and take your Mac to weird places .......... 255 are, it's not Help Folder How to keep your Mac's clock accurate ................. 259 enoug h . " . .. 91 This Month on ZiffNet/Mac Free icons and more ................................................ 268 MacUser How to Reach Us The editors of MacUser want to hear from you. Send questions, com plaints, or compliments to MacUser, 950 Tower Lane, 18th Floor, Foster City, CA 94404. Send electronic mail to MCI Mailbox 424-4936 or to ZiffNet/Mac (see below). MacUser's general number is 415-378-5600. 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MacUser (ISSN 0884-0997) is published monthly, with an extra issue in November, by Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, a division of Ziff Communications Company, One Park A venue, New York, NY I 0016. Editorial Offices: 950 Tower Lane, 18th Floor, Foster City, CA 94404. Telephone: 415-378-5600. U.S. subscription rates are $27 for 12 issues, $45 for 24 issues, and $62 for 36 issues. Additional postage for Canada: Add $16 per year to the U.S. rates for surface mail. Single-copy price is $2.95 (Canada, $3.95). Canadian GSTregistration #R-123669673. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to MacUser, P.O. Box 56986, Boulder, CO 80322-6986. Second-class postage paid at New York, NY I0016, and at other mailing offices. ZiffNet/Mac: MacUser On-Line Follow these steps to join ZiffNet/Mac: Call 800-635-6225 (voice) to find your local access number. Set up your telecom software with these settings: 8 bits, I stop, and no parity. Dial the local access number. When connected, press Return. 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Send a query letter with samples ofyour writing (published, ifpossible) to James S. Bradbury, MacUser, 950TowerLane, 18th Floor, Foster City, CA 94404. Allow four to six weeks for a reply. Product Announcements and Updates Please send press releases to Michele Hasson, MacUser, 950Tower Lane, 18th Floor, Foster City, CA 94404. In Memory of John J. Anderson 1956-1989 and Derek Van Alstyne 1967-1989 If the price of accelerator cards has left you feeling a bit queasy, Applied Engineering has some quick relief. We've lowered our prices on our most popular accelerators so you can have the speed you want at a price that won't make you lose sleep. Our TransWarp , accelerators boost the Macintosh SE, Classic, LC, si and Mac II family to unrivaled levels of performance. We've designed them around the Motorola 68030 and 68040 processors and with clock · speeds from 16 to 50 MHz, you will never again pay a premium for performance. Since 1979, Applied Engineering has shipped over 1.3 million of the best per formance enhancements for Apple and Macintosh. Call today for fast relief. TransWarp Cl Make your Mac IIci faster than a IIfx with Applied Engineering's TransWarp CI board. TransWarp LC Trans\%rp LC uses a 32K fast static RAM cache together with a 68030 CPU to give you up to 3 times the speed of the standard Macintosh LC TransWarp SE TransWarp SE gives you up to ii times the speed of the standard SE. Three different processorspeeds-i6, 25 and 40MHz-fit your needs and your budget. CIRCLE 88 ON READER SERVICE CARD . MacsVS . • ••,.ifi! TransWarp Speed lid TransWar Cl ll fx TransWar 040 ~ - APPLIED ENGINEERING® Apple's Oldest Largest Developer & Since 1979. © 1992 Appl;ed Eng;neering, 32 10 BeltHne Road. Dallas, TX 75234, (214) 241-6060, Fax (214 ) 484-1365. All product names are the trademarks ort heir respective holde~. MacUser •@ormm Ziff-Davis Publishing Company Janet Ryan Chairman and CEO Eric Hippeau President J. Scott Briggs Editor-in-Chief ExecutiveVice President Ronni Sonnenberg Jon Zilber Executive Vice President Mike Edelhart GroupVice President J. Samuel Huey Associate Publisher Group Vice President, Direct Publications Jonathan A. Lane Jim Stafford Senior Vice President, Marketing Paul H. Chook M@Hfflll Senior Vice President Rachel Greenfield Editor James S. Bradbury Senior Vice President, International Managing Editor Nancy Groth Development J.B. Holston Technical Director Henry Bartman Vice President, Operations Baird Davis Executive Editor Rik Myslewski Vice President, Controller Howard Sckolnik Senior Editors Russell Ito, Vice President, Creative Services Herbert Stern Pamela Pfittner, Victoria van Biel Vice President, Research Marian 0. 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Sheer Kurt VanderSluis, Gregory Wassoo Vice President and General Manager Contributing Anti-Editor John C. Dvorak Louis 8. Dotti, Jr. lnlouch Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief Vice President, Human Resources Rayna Brown Teresa Campbell-Molina Executive Director/ Information Systems John Helliwell MacUser Labs National Managing Director/ Magazine Networks MacUser Labs Director Jeffrey S. Pittelkau Joseph Gillespie Christmas Project Leaders Mark Bieler, Tony A. Bojorquez, Licensing Director Jean Lamensdorl Jettrey K. Milstead Director of Planning Gary A. Gustafson Lab Technicians Roman Victor Loyola, Production Director Walter J. Terlecki Sean Safreed Director of Sales Training·Dan Leonetti vvould be in July! Lab Administrator Anthony Stoltz Director of Corporate Marketing Susan Delman Network Administrator Stephan Somogyi Editorial Director Lewis D'Vorkin .:mm Director of Zitt·Davis Labs Beth Springer Director of Public Relations Gregory M. Jarboe Art & Design Director Lisa Orsini Director, Direct Marketing Programs Associate Art Director Diane Dempsey Alicia Marie Ivans You may not have aChristmas list the size of Santa's, but Associate Technical Art Director Peter Alan Gould Business Manager/Publishing Operations InTouch can make Christmas come early for you too! Enter and Art Production Manager Jan McKenzie Rogers Tom McGrade find names,addresses and phone numbers faster than aflying TMeacrhkn Wica. lS Ilwluesetrnaetyo rs K. Daniel Clark, Assistant to the ChairmanJames Reilly reindee[ Afew mouse clicks prints an envelope,label, fax cover Ziff Communications Company sheet, address book, or your Christmas card list. Automatically Advertising/Sales Chairman William B. Ziff, Jr. dial the phone,set reminders and scheduley our day. Advertising Coordinator Elizabeth McGinnis President Philip B. Korsant InT ouch includes Snap7a u nique time-saving utility.Just i@tffAHfftl Executive Vice President E.C. "Mick" Prokopis Executive Vice President Philip Sine highlight a person's name in any document,press akey,and Production Director Carlos Lugo Senior Vice President Hugh Tietjen Snap* finds the person's address and pastes it in the document. Production Manager Brenda Falco Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Snap* can also dial the phone and print an envelope;without Assistant Production Manager Monique Risso J. Malcolm Morris wzm@tm Vice President, Controller and Treasurer ever launching lnTouch! Patrick J. Burke, Jr. InT ouch is ideal for your PowerBook. Also ask about lightning Director of Marketing Jeff Bruce Vice President, Human Resources Marketing Manager Laurel Skillman fast InTouch Network. Frederick K. Staudmyer Events Manager Stacy Hollingsworth Stuff JnTouch in your stocking for only $99.95 If InT ouch Marketing Coordinator Renee Weems VViiccee PPrreessiiddeenntt SSetethve An lpCe. rFt einman doesn't allow you more time to celebrate,we'll refund your Marketing Administrator Cristi Leer Vice President, Business Manager money! Unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee. C!J·i§flit.i.fi T. L. Thompson Vice President, Chief Information Officer Business Manager Cynthia Mason Thor Olson Assistant to the Publisher Susan Logan Vice President, Electronic Editorial Director Assistant to theA ssociate Publisher Michael Kolowich Marci Yamaguchi Vice President of Market Development Ass1stant Accou nt Representative Doris Ashman Robert G. Brown •·tt011,taaJ11:rnnzm Executive Editor, On-Line Services Ben Templin Assistant Project Leader Shel Syed Associate Editor Mark Simmons Entire contents© 1993 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, a division of Ziff Communications Company. All rights reserved; reproduction in whole or in part without pcnnis sion is prohibited. MacU.ser is a registered trademark of Ziff ADV\NCED SOR\V\RE~ jCooumrnmalu, nniocta atfifoin lisa tCedo imn paannyy w. aMy awciUths eArp pisl ea Cn oimndpeupteern, dIennct. MvanreJ Softwale.loc 1095 E.Duane Aw.. Sunnyvale.CA 94086 (408) 733-0745 fax (408) 733·2335 800-346-53 92 CIRCLE 68 ON READER SERVICE CARD.