Mon, 11 Jul 1994

You can purchase only the programs that you really need

By Zatni Arbi

JAKARTA (JP): First of all, let me ask you a simple question. What is the prevalent trend that you have noticed in the software area of the PC industry in the last two years?

Without hesitation, you would correctly bring up the fact that software packages have been coming in millions and millions more lines of code, which means that they are requiring more and more hard disk space.

This trend is obviously caused by the urge shared by all software makers to put everything in the boxes that they sell in order to beat competitors.

Many-in-one

Take the Suite approach, for instance. If you decide not to buy one of these suites -- Microsoft Office, Borland Office or Lotus SmartSuite -- you'll feel that you have foolishly missed out on a great bargain. On the other hand, if you buy one of them, you'll find out soon enough that you actually need only a small portion of the whole package for your job.

Even the new CorelDRAW! 5.0 is coming with more and more thrown-ins. If you buy the package now, you'll get Corel Ventura Publisher for free when it starts shipping. Now, honestly, do you really need CorelMOVE! for your everyday graphics requirement? Do you really get to use CorelSHOW! when you already have the much- easier-to-use PowerPoint or Freelance Graphics on your hard disk? Well, I don't see why you should.

Even if you buy single-pack programs, chances are that nowadays you'll end up having more than you'll ever need. In WPWin 6.0, for example, you have the TextArt module included. Do you really use it? I don't think so.

You also have a graphics module, in which you can create vector graphics as well as combine .WPG files with bitmap images. Do you ever use it? Well, it's too slow and, in all fairness, you'll be working with CorelDRAW! instead. Yet, they're there on your hard disk and you've paid for them.

The same is true with Winword 6.0. If WPWin has TextArt, Winword 6.0 has WordArt. This exemplifies perfectly how today's programs tend to come with utilities and modules that give them a 'heavy duty' look. In reality, however, we take advantage of just a small percentage of what is available.

Component Software

Fortunately the people in the computer industry are smart enough to detect an opportunity and once again a new selling buzzword has been coined: Component Software.

When the idea -- I believe it is by no means a question of "if" -- becomes a widespread reality, it will mean that you will be able to buy only the software programs that you really use from different sources and integrate them on your computer.

Collectively, you may not spend less on the individual programs compared to the suites but certainly you can save a lot of space on your hard disk and your bookshelf (with fewer manuals to keep). You'll save a lot of time, too, as you won't be tempted to try out programs that you may never end up using.

The signs of Component Software is in fact already on the horizon. One good example is Visio Express from Shapeware. If you've been reading my articles, you'll be familiar with its brother, Visio. It's a highly user-friendly chart and diagram maker. It comes with shape templates from which you can drag and drop objects, such as organizational symbols, into a drawing board. Visio Express is currently meant as an add-in to Microsoft Office suite.

Once installed, there will be a new icon on the toolbar of Winword 6.0 and Excel 5.0. Clicking on this icon will bring out Visio Express menu, icons and workspace. You create the chart and diagram, and when you're done you'll just click somewhere outside Visio Express and you'll be back in your Winword or Excel docu ment. It's OLE 2.0 in operation, which actually means "in place editing". With OLE 2.0, you can edit objects without leaving your document.

Mix and match

I really like this Component Software idea because it will allow me to once again choose the software programs that I truly like and then mix and match between them to suit my unique work style and personal preference.

At the moment, for instance, I still use Lotus Ami Pro 3.1 as my word processor, Borland Quattro Pro for Windows 5.0 as my spreadsheet, in which I create tables and calculate expenses, Aldus PageMaker 5.0 as my page layout program and CorelDRAW! as my graphics illustration maker.

In the future, for example, I could buy PageMaker sans its Table Editor. I've never used this Table Editor utility, although it comes free with PageMaker, as it is always easier to work in a spreadsheet and import the file as an object into the publication than to learn to use this add-in.

Furthermore, I could also buy CorelDRAW! without its Corel Ventura Publisher should I still prefer using PageMaker. Visio will definitely beat CorelDRAW! in creating flowcharts and diagrams, so it will be a nice addition to my collection of installed software.

Although they come from different vendors, they can still work together seamlessly thanks to their OLE 2.0 capability. And I'll have more free space on my hard disk. Best of all, I will have more freedom to choose what software I want to use to accomplish my tasks.