Stories about: Claris

Apple's venerable consumer application suite AppleWorks, which at one point was the industry's best-selling piece of software, beating even Lotus 1-2-3 on the PC, has finally been laid to rest at the age of 23.

End-user unrest over Microsoft's enterprise licensing plan may prompt some companies to move from the Microsoft Office suite to rival Sun Microsystems' personal productivity suite, StarOffice, according to research group Gartner.

SYSTEMS FLYING BLIND By Phil Scott Since the middle of the 20th century, when someone first dragged a radar receiver to an airport control tower, pilots have been taking orders from the ground. "Controllers tell pilots where traffic is, and they tell them to speed up, slow down and to turn," says Amy Pritchett, an assistant professor in the Georgia Tech School of Industrial and Systems Engineering in Atlanta. "Typically, pilots have been unable to know exactly where and how they fit into the traffic flow."

We all know that the number 13 is considered bad luck, but in the world of software publishing, the unlucky digit seems to be 6. In light of the poor performance of some recent version 6 releases-Microsoft Corp.'s Word 6.0, Now Software's Now Utilities 6.X, and the latest arrival, Apple Computer Inc.'s AppleWorks 6-software publishers may just decide to skip directly from version 5.0 to version 7.0.

A handheld is only as useful as the software it runs -- otherwise, it's just an expensive paperweight. Since its introduction four years ago, Palm OS has amassed a rich following of developers, from amateur programmers to professional software publishers, who have created tens of thousands of programs for use on Palm Inc. and Handspring Inc. handheld organizers.

E-mail is about as private as undressing with your curtains open. You may think you're having a private moment, but the reality is quite different. The steamy love letter you sent to your sweetheart, the joke about your manager's new haircut, and the resume you sent to your company's competitor may all have passed under the eyes of your boss, as well as those of the systems supervisor and a few other unintended recipients. The fact is, thanks to modern technology and the approval of the courts, your employer can easily-and legally-keep tabs on everything that passes through your e-mail out-box at work. It's also not especially difficult for a hacker, your ISP's mail administrator, or a coworker to intercept and read your e-mail. Thankfully, you can shield private messages from public scrutiny. With some security know-how and our e-mail tips, you can fight off the Big Brothers of the world.

If your organization is like many others, there's a good chance you use a FileMaker Inc. FileMaker Pro database for tasks such as managing workgroups, analyzing sales information, creating online catalogs, and sharing data among users. Considering the frequency with which your users access FileMaker Pro for these crucial functions, there is an even better chance that you would be interested in extending the functionality of FileMaker Pro to save development time, decrease training costs, and increase employee productivity.

Handspring Inc., the company founded by former employees of 3Com Corp.'s Palm handheld computer subsidiary, opened for business in Europe today, launching an e-commerce Web site and naming local channel partners. But French consumers will have to wait a little longer for their turn.

Some Web pages take ages to print from Netscape Communication Corp.'s Communicator 4.7 and earlier, and they may not print at all if you surf to another page before the dialog box that reports the progress of printing or print spooling has appeared. Gabriel Dorado of Cordoba, Spain, found a way to print much more quickly. Immediately after clicking the Print button in the Print dialog box, take Netscape offline by clicking the small plug icon in the lower left corner of the browser window. On some Web sites, Netscape may display an alert complaining about being offline, but you can simply click OK and ignore it. After printing or print spooling finishes, click the plug icon to go back online.

More than a dozen global energy and petrochemical companies, including Royal Dutch/Shell Group and Occidental Petroleum, have founded a B2B (business-to-business) trading exchange for purchasing goods.

US Office Products Co. (USOP), which racked up $3.2 billion last year through direct sales to businesses using its print catalog, is aggressively pushing into e-commerce to fend off dot-com upstarts and traditional rivals.