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by
Peter Ellison
This column, which was started in issue 3, is
written for the person, who is considering buying a computer. Or for
one who has just bought an ATARI and wants to know what reasons he or
she bought it for? In the third issue I wrote how unlike its'
competition, the Commodore 64(tm), was able to access excellent
graphics through BASIC. Then in the fourth issue I discussed how one
should go about buying his or her first home computer. Then in the last
issue I commented on all the support ATARI has. Firstly, from its'
manufacturers; Warner Communication, and then the numerous User Groups,
BBS's, magazines, and third party software houses.
In this issue I'm going to discuss a very important
reason why many people buy a computer, that is Business. Many being
unfamiliar with computers, think of the Atari as just a game machine.
Because Atari was first to come out with a game machine(2600), which
took the nation by storm, many think of it as being nothing more than
just that. The reality is, however, that Atari has the same basic
structure as the Apple II and the Commodore 64(6502 microprocessor
chip). In this issue I'm going to discuss some of the business and word
processor software available for the Atari.
Last year one thing that really depressed Atari's
sales was the lack of business software. I think this is all changing.
One program that has made a strong impact on the computer world is
VISICALC, a program that has been described as `The program worth
buying a computer for'. This program is finally available for the Atari
and is a must for anyone who wants speed in keeping books. Any problem
that can be solved by using a calculator or pen and paper can be done
by Visicalc better and much, much faster. Another excellent piece of
business software that Atari has produced is `The Book Keeper`. This
program allows a person to keep a general ledger, accounts receivable,
accounts payable, and payroll. This program can make book keeping for
any business a snap.
One excellent Payroll program put out by a third
party software company is called `Miles Payroll System`. This program
from Mile's Computing will keep track of up to 50 employees, allowing
weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly pay periods. It accomodates
regular, overtime, doubletime, sicktime, holiday, vacation, bonus, and
commission earning categories. For a big or small business, this
program has the flexibililty and ease of use that would save money on
secretarial costs alone. Another third party vendor of Atari software
called Continental software has a whole new line of business software
available for the Atari. Though these programs were previously only
available for the Apple II, they have now been converted to run on the
Atari. They include The Home Accountant and The Tax Advantage. More
program conversions are expected to be released in the next year.
Other good business related software is `The Money
Processor` from Luck Software, `Financial Wizard` from Computari,
`Personal Finance System` from Dynacomp, `Home Inventory` from Creative
Software, and a whole lot more that can be found by just looking
around. Below is a list of the different company names mentioned, and
their addresses:
Atari, Inc.
P.O. BOX 50047
San Jose,CA 95150
(716)425-2833
Miles Computing
7136 Haskell Avenue,#204
Van Nuys,CA 91406
(203)994-6279
Continental Software
11223 S. Hindry Avenue
Los Angeles,CA 90045
(213)410-3977
Luck Software
1160 Niblick Road
Paso Robles,CA 93446
(805)238-2585
Computari
9607 Athlone
Dallas,TX 75218
Dynacomp, Inc.
1427 Monroe Avenue
Rochester,NY 14618
(716)442-8960
Creative Computer Software
230 E. Carribean Drive
Sunnyvale,CA 94089
(408)745-1655
Another area in which Atari has strength, is its'
word processing department. The function of a word processor is, as its
name indicates, to process words. That is, to organize them. A
newspaper is an example of this. Wherein a bunch of words are so
organized that they are evenly spaced and create a straight margin on
either side of the page. One of the best of the available word
processors is `ATARIWRITER` from Atari. This 16K cartridge gives the
user the ease of use, plus the convenience of a cartridge. This
program, written by William Robinson, is an improvement over his
earlier word processor (which I still enjoy) Text Wizard(Datasoft).
Other good word processors on the market include:
`Bank Street Writer` from Broderbund, `Letter Perfect` from LJK
Enterprises, `Super Text` from Muse, and `Letter Writer` from The
Programmers Workshop. Each program is good and has their own
particular. Two spelling checkers for word processors are `Atspeller`
from APX and Spell Wizard from Datasoft. The latter is the better of
the two, because it has a special dictionary of up to 33,000 different
words to check your spelling. Below is a list of the different word
processor companies:
Datasoft, Inc.
9421 Winnetka Avenue
Chatsworth,CA 91311
(213)701-5161
Broderbund Software, Inc.
17 Paul Drive
San Rafael,CA 94903
(415)479-1170
LJK Enterprises, Inc.
7852 Big Bend Blvd.
St. Louis,MO 63119
(314)962-1855
Muse Software
347 N. Charles Street
Baltimoxe,MD 21201
(301)659-7212
The Programmer's Workshop
5230 Clark Avenue, Suite 23
Lakewood,CA 90712
I hope that after reading the above article you will
have a fuller appreciation of the capabilities of this machine. Your
Atari has the power, and all that is needed is the program. That is one
thing the Atari has over the competition, ease of use. In the next
issue I will be discussing education and "Atari goes camping".
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