★ LITTÉRATURE ★ ENGLISH ★ CHOOSING AND USING CP/M BUSINESS SOFTWARE ON AMSTRAD COMPUTERS|8000 Plus) ★ |
| Choosing and Using CP/M Business Software on Amstrad Computers | Littérature English |
Businessmen, if you believe what you read, always sound in bad shape - hard-headed, thick-skinned, and far-sighted. Given these cautious attributes, you wouldn't expect a businessman to waste anything on irrelevant software unless the investment in terms of time and money were sure to be repaid in improved efficiency, ie. greater profitability. Of course computers are a Good Thing, but the software world, especially the business software world, is pretty daunting for non-cognoscenti; the adverts are crammed with thousands of packages which all promise to revolutionise your business, and enthusiastic magazines and devout converts to computing talk blithely of SuperCaic and Cardbox and Sagesoft as if they were household names. The aim of this book is to introduce to the businessman considering the computerisation of his paperwork the basic types of software, their place in the office, and give a guide to the best known packages in each section. And, in that respect, it succeeds pretty well. The only assumption made is that you own an Amstrad; from this starting point the opening chapters outline in general terms how computers fit into the organisation of office work, and outline the principles behind databases, spreadsheets, payrolls, graphics and accounts packages, etc. The emphasis is very much on business, too: the approach is oriented towards working efficiency and not pure gee-whizz technology. There are chapters devoted to brief descriptions of the best-known packages in each area, plus Small Business Software and training materials (typing tutors and so on); there are also short guides to some of the less classifiable utilities like Brainstorm and Write Hand Man, plus sections on word-processing, and the essentials of CP/M. They don't really constitute a "Which?" guide to business software, because the end-of-chapter summaries don't recommend in any detail suitable programs for this or that type of user, beyond a table of prices and backup services; in any case, there have been new packages, modifications to old packages, and price cuts since the book was published. If you want to know which particular database or which particular payroll to buy, you'd be better off buying a monthly Amstrad magazine. However, as a round-up of alt those famous names everyone keeps mentioning, tfs just the job. Even if you don't decide to buy SuperCalc or Cardbox or Typing Tutor themselves, by knowing a bit about the standard packages and the yardsticks against which performances are measured, you would be in a much better position to evaluate the more recent software. For anyone who wants a general grounding in business software and requires initiation into the mysteries and wonders of the paperless office and how to achieve it, this book will be well worth the money. 8000PLUS
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