Source: PC World – September 1987

PC World was perhaps the widest read PC magazine during its life. Issues from the 1980s were massive with this issue from September 1987 coming in at around 420 pages. The page count gradually decreased over the years with the Internet finally destroying this magazine as it did so many others. Contents of this issue include:

Getting Started

• Worksheets by Design – A beginner’s guide to creating a worksheet in your favorite spreadsheet program.

• Laser-Perfect – Using the LaserJet Plus with WordPerfect 4.2.

Community

• DOS Amigos – Interviews with Compaq’s Rod Canion and Tandy’s John roach in which they talk about the PS/2 and the future of personal computing.

• The Knowledge Engineers – Capturing knowledge with Expert Systems.

Review

• NewViews Breaks the Rules – A look at a new accounting software product from Q.W. Page that combines a spreadsheet with an audit trail.

• Letters From Cell A17 – A look at three add-in products for Lotus 1-2-3 that add word processing capabilities. These are 4Word, InWord, and Write-in.

• Dimensional Fortitude – A look at two three-dimensional spreadsheet programs (basically combining the functionality of multiple worksheets), Boeing Calc and MVP Spreadsheet Plus.

• Magical Multiscan Tour – MultiScan monitors were a relatively new technology at the time. Their advantage being that one monitor could handle multiple video standards so you didn’t have to buy a monitor every time you went to a new graphics standard. They were not cheap though. This review looks at seven different monitors and they all come in at somewhere near $900 and we aren’t talking big screens either, probably maxing out at around 14-inches with most having a max resolution of around 800×600. Monitors reviewed include the NEC MultiSync, Sony Multiscan, JVC GD-H3214, Taxan Super Vision 770, Magnavox Multimode, Thomson Ultra Scan and Nanao 8060S.

• Cache on Demand? – A look at various disk caching programs including Flash 5.0, Lightning 4.5, PolyBoost 1.7, Quickcache 2.1, Super PC-Kwik 1.5, and Vcache 2.01.

State of the Art

• Routines for Rent – A look at APIs and DOS. APIs were a relatively new fad at the time. This article points out that the best known example at the time was how Lotus Developer supports the creation of add-ons for Lotus 1-2-3 and Symphony 1.1.

Hands On

• From Ledger to Spreadsheet – Using EasyBusiness Systems, Lotus 1-2-3 and DOS Exports, you too can movie data from a Ledger to a spreadsheet.

• Up From WordStar – Various macros to make Microsoft Word and WordPerfect work more like WordStar.

Departments

• David Bunnell – The FCC proposes to add “access fees” to dial-up to online services such as CompuServe of $4.50 to $5.40 an hour.

• Letters – Letters from readers regarding IBM, the PS/2 Model 60, the PS/2 Model 50 and converting programs to 3.5″ disks, the Kyocera F-1010 laser printer, software piracy, PC-Talk, and more.

• Harry Miller – Using new to tools beyond spreadsheets for financial analysis and budgeting.

• Stewart Alsop – The strategy behind new product announcements.

• Top of the News – Toshiba gets in trouble for selling submarine propeller technology to the Soviet Union; Koryo Systems announces the Inchon, a 286/386-upgradable desktop system the size of a laptop; Hercules announces PS/2 card; Daybreak announces Satin integrated package that includes spreadsheet, file manager, word processor, communications package and idea processor; Epson to release low end PC clone called Apex featuring an 8088-2 processor, 512K RAM and two 360K floppy drives.

• PC World View – An interview with Ashton-Tate CEO Edward Esber, Jr. about dBase IV and Ashton-Tate’s future plans.

• Product Outlook – Recent product announcements and upcoming releases including Byline (desktop publishing software); the Zenith Easy PC; new Wyse models including the PC 286 Model 2108, Model 2112, Model 2214 and Model 3216; the Turbo 888-XT Headstart Computer System; and more.

• From the Software Shelf – Reviews of the latest software, including Xerox Ventura Publisher (desktop publishing program), True BASIC 2.0 (BASIC compiler), Eureka: The Solver (equation solver), and Opt-Tech Sort (DOS sort utility), Glyphix (font designer).
• From the Hardware Shelf – Reviews of the latest hardware, including Datavue Spark ($995 laptop with 384K and 384K), PC Laser 6000 (laser printer), Slimline 4200 (286 based with 360K floppy for $1495), and the Maynstream 60 (60MB-125MB tape drive).

• The Upgrade Path – A look at various PC upgrades including: The MicroSoft Mach 10 turbo board featuring a 9.54/4.77-MHz 8086 for $549; the Essential Card, a 256K RAM expansion for the Epson Equity I; and more.

• Consumer Watch – What to look for when buying floppy disk drives and cheap disks. Plus, reader letters about the Tandy 3000 and PC compatibility, The Source and fees, the AT&T 6300, and more.

• Soucrcebooks – Book reviews of The Cognitive Connection: Thought and Language in Man and Machine, The Brady Guide to Microcomputer Troubleshooting and Maintenance, Microcomputer Data Security: Issues and Strategies for Business, Quick Start Guide for 12 Top PC Programs, and more.

• The Help Screen – Questions from readers answered about searching text files, Dvorak keyboards, installing a 3.5″ floppy drive in an IBM PC XT, syncing files between PCs, PageMaker hardware requirements, and more.

• Next in PC World – Coming in the October 1987 issue, readers choose the best hardware and software of 1987, a review of Crosstalk MK.4, a look at Borland’s Reflex, and more.

• Another Angle – Software piracy and the cost to consumers.

…and more!