Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    The newest issue of AmigaWorld has several ads for spreadsheets.
    There are some new ones that I had never heard of before.  VIP
    seems to be the most talked about one.  MaxiCalc allows you to assign
    different colors to the cels.  I doubt that there are any public
    domain spreadsheets for the Amiga that live up to commercial offerings.
    
    

  There is a public domain spreadsheet program available somewhere on
MARVIN::, although I don't remember where.  It hasn't been ported to the
Amiga, and it doesn't look very feature laden, but the price is right ...

     I have ANALYZE!. It's OK. I really don't like speadsheets but this one
    seems to meet my basic needs. I have'nt seen a spreadsheet with the
    features I want. One thing that ANALYZE! doen't have is the ability to
    have multiple window sheet and then have them communicate. I've not seen
    any speadsheet that will alow label parsing and copy/merge/delete from a
    function cell. What would be realy neet is a good window oriented data
    base program that could drive the data and structure of a speadsheet. I
    think VIP has got a link to a graph package, but I don't know how this
    works. You can get ANALYZE! for $69 from GO AMIGA and VIP for $149
    from the same. 
    One thing I like is the @DATE function.
    
     ... Rich

    You may have already decided about a spreadsheet, but I thought
    I would add my $.02 worth. I just purchased the VIP Professional
    spreadsheet. I am very pleased with it... There are some problems,
    but since it is a LOTUS 1-2-3 look alike, it has some definite
    benefits, including the ability to transmit the '.wks' files to
    the VAX system, and use XWAY to move them into the VAX world !!
    (Please note that I have not tested this, but the documentation
    specifically states that the '.wks' file format is identical with
    LOTUS 1-2-3 !!)  I will be doing a review on it in a few days, but
    I thought I'ld let you know now...
    
       -- John B. Fisher

         John, please don't keep us (me) in suspense!  This is one of
         the packages that I have been waiting a long time (given it
         was advertised in the 1st or 2nd issue of AMIGA WORLD) to
         hear/see a review on.  Its' advertised LOTUS 1-2-3
         compatibility, in terms of functionality and "portability" of
         .wks files, are features that I would love to have given my
         heavy use and reliance of LOTUS 1-2-3 here at work. 
         
         If tried ANALYZE! and while it is not bad, it has some
         missing features (macros, graphics, and "database"
         manipulation) versus 1-2-3 that I use regularly, and also
         contains some minor bugs.  I just read the review of MAXIPLAN
         in the latest edition of AMIGA WORLD, which SOUNDS good, but
         I've got to admit that I'm a bit skeptical with the MAXIxxxx
         family of products based on what I've seen and read - I'm
         from Missouri with regards to this one. 
         
         I await your analysis with baited breath!
         
         
         Thanks
         
         Art Gosling - Kanata
         
           

     
    
    Although this is basically heresay, I'm sure that some people would
    want to know: The dealer where a friend of mine bought his Amiga
    refuses to carry the MAXIxxxx series. He says they are lousy, and
    refers to them as Maxish*t. I have no experience with them personally,
    but this particular dealer gave us good advice on other products
    that he didn't carry but others did. 
    
    I guess the bottom line is that I would make sure I got a demonstration
    before I bought a spreadsheet.
    
    Roy

    One thing to that those on the brink of purchasing VIP Professional
    should consider, is that once VIP is loaded you are left with
    approximately 40k of RAM (assuming 512k configuration) for generating
    spreadsheets!!!  Anyone with any experience with spreadsheets will
    understand that this limitation makes the product all but useless -
    throw a couple of formula in a 50x10 grid, and you will get beeped with
    a "MEMORY FULL" error. 
                          
    Thanks to Lucio Cicuto in Montreal for passing this information on to
    me and thereby saving me some money at this point in time.  I still am
    likely to purchase this product in the future, but now have to consider
    expansion memory in the total cost.
    
    
    Art Gosling - Kanata

    Sorry folks!
    
    I did not mean to drop off the edge of the earth... But as you might
    imagine all of the publicity that we have been receiving has been
    keeping us VERY busy in the field  (I'm in Sales Support with a
    Strong background in IBM Mainframes, etc...)  Anyway, I have managed
    to get Dave's VT100 program, so I can do things like answer this
    late at night...  (THANKS DAVE !!)
    
    As to VIP:
    
    	1) It is a memory HOG. I don't actually have any problems with
    	   that, as I will probably be adding memory to my system.
    
    	2) The documentation is excellent.
    
    	3) The support appears to be more than adequate (tech hotlines,
    	   and the like). All very professional, and impressive.
    
    	4) It is an excellent replica of LOTUS 1-2-3. This was actually
    	   the deciding factor for me. Although I have not had the chance
    	   to test it, I should even be able to KERMIT the file to my
    	   handy-dandy VAX. Roll it through VAX Xway, and *PRESTO* (drum
    	   roll, please) it suddenly is accessible to MANY other neat
    	   things, such as LN03s, or LCP01s, and the like.
    
    	5) The memory limitation is a nuisance. If you have one of the
    	   add on memory cards (over the required 512KB), then this
    	   is no problem. Otherwise, it becomes a single tasking system.
    	   (I wonder if Blink would help ??   I honestly can not even
    	   guess why it is such a memory hog... )
    
    In summary:  IF you love LOTUS, then this is the spread sheet to
    get. Otherwise, you might want to go with a cheaper one, and see
    if there are future enhancements to this one...
    
    Personally, I use it regularly (expense reporting, etc...)  And
    I remain as impressed as when I opened the package.  (But then maybe
    I am biased, since I actually forked out the money...)
    
    Hope that helps...
    
    =John B. Fisher=