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The idea of integrated packages (database, WP, graphics) really doesn't
make much sense on a true multitasking machine like the Amiga, since
several applications can be active simultaneously. In addition, the
religious adherence to a unified standard for graphics and sound,
called IFF, allows for pretty seamless integtation of text and graphics
from virtually ANY applications.
Anyway, packages that you can't go wrong with...
Word Processing
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ProWrite 2.5 (my pernal favorite)
Excellence!
Pen Pal
KindWords
All these packages are true WYSIWIG, although KindWords does not use
standard Amiga fonts, which IMHO is a big handicap. All can import
and print color graphics from any paint program, and ProWrite and Pen
Pal have the added advantage of being able to print graphics while using
your printer's built-in high quality NLQ fonts instead of a cruder
bit-mapped font. If you want Postscript capability, Excellence! has it
included (at a higher price) and ProWrite offers it as an add-on.
Spreadsheet
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MaxiPlan 500
Analyze
The Advantage
All of these programs can generate and save pretty graphs in many colors
in IFF format for import into your WP program or database.
Database
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Superbase Personal/Professional
MicroFiche Filer
(Others I may not be familiar with...) MicroFiche filer is an
incredibly slick package that uses the metaphor of (surprise) a
microfiche machine. Superbase is probably more powerful.
Graphics
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Deluxe Paint II/III (the Granddaddy and reigning champion)
There are other programs like Photon Paint and DigiPaint that utilize
the Amiga's exotic HAM mode to display thousands of colors on screen at
once, but Deluxe Paint is almost a rite of passage for Amiga users.
DPaint II will probably fill your needs, but DPAint III has many added
features, most notably animation capabilities.
Any combination of the above packages would make for a powerful little
home workstation. As your needs and bank account enlarge, you can move into
powerhouse DP programs like Professional Page, which can hold it's own
with the heavyweights from the Mac and PC world.
THINGS TO LOOK FOR: If a package features AREXX compatibility, that's
a good thing. AREXX will be pretty hot stuff a year or so from now.
Not having it isn't really a handicap, since it's being added to many
current packages. AREXX is a very powerful macro language from the
mainframe world that will make it possible to do things on the Amiga
that simply are not possible, and will be inluded with version 1.4 of
the system software.
OTHER: Make sure that you get set up with a nice terminal program and
modem and get plugged into the vast world of free/almost free Amiga
Public Domain/Shareware software. We have several hundred megabytes of
goodies available right on the DEC EasyNet. If you need help getting
started, just holler.
Ed.
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Sorry for any apparent typos or misspellings in my -.1 reply. The
darned line noise is so bad tonight that I have to hit ^W every other
word or so.
A few more points... if you don't have at least 1 MByte of RAM and (2)
floppy drives, try to get to that point as soon as possible or you'll
curse the day you ever saw an Amiga. If funds allow, you really should
migrate to a combination hard drive/ram expansion box. The Amiga, like
the Mac, is largely disk based, and disk loading and swapping can make
an otherwise enjoyable experience maddening.
Ed.
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Re: .0, .1
In the Spreadsheet arena, there's a very nice product Ed forgot
to mention, SuperPlan, from the same company that prouces the
SuperBase database. Both of these products feature AREXX ports,
which makes them a VERY powerful integrated environment (not package).
Regards,
<CB>
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| Thanks for the info. I wasn't aware how interactive the Amiga
was with a variety of applications. As you could tell, I thought
that the only way for a spreadsheet to play with a WP was to buy
an all-in-one package. Could you (or anyone for that matter) recommend
a good Amiga magazine?
For the record I have an Amiga 500 with 1meg, a 1084 monitor and
two floppy drives. I am hoping to buy a hard disc and more memory
this summer... after I have a chance to "kick the tires" a little more.
Thanks,
Eric
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| Re .0:
> I am looking for a good all in one package; word processor, spread
> sheet, database, (graphics). Basically something like Appleworks.
I have good news and I have better news:
Such families of applications exist for the Amiga but their NEED
doesn't. On the Apple II and other systems, a sub-environment like
Appleworks or GEOS integrates the functions you seek but is basically
incompatible with everything else.
The Amiga developers did the right thing by specifying an Interchange
File Format for graphics, sounds, et cetera, so you can mix and match
the word processor, spreadsheet, database, paint program, and whatever
else to suit your own needs and preferences.
I have ProWrite 2.5, which provides nearly everything I want in a word
processor (with the exception of multi-column output, but that's more
appropriate to desktop publishing). Info Magazine likes Pen Pal
better, which comes complete with a built-in database capability.
I also have SuperPlan (from the same source as SuperBase, which I've
used on the C=64/128 and will eventually acquire for the Amiga), which
provides a very complete spreadsheet implementation, integrated
graphing/charting, and rudimentary database handling. It also responds
to ARexx controls, so you can feed it data and crank through operations
from a background task, producing an output file (text or graphics) for
inclusion in a word processing document or whatever.
SuperBase Personal is on a par with competitive database products. It
lets you define records, manipulate them, and generate reports.
SuperBase Professional does all that, includes a bunch of other
features, and provides a programming interface so you can build
database-centered applications. An intermediate version stops just
short of the programming interface.
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