Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / April 14, 1993, edition 1 / Page 10
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TfceDallyT*r!fe Fraternity brings cutting-edge computers to campus BY ANNA GRIFFIN SENIOR WRITER From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today in the Great Hall, Alpha Kappa Psi business fraternity is offering computer lovers and the com puter illiterate a great chance to find out more about the latest in microchip technol ogy- Represenatives from 11 computer com panies will man boothes in the Great Hall all day, showing off their wares and demon strating new products. Meredith Powers, president of Alpha Kappa Psi and organizer of the fair, said the computech fair was a great chance for members of the University to increase their computer awareness and shop for hard ware. “(The fair) is basically a service to stu dents and faculty on computer technology,” Powers said. “This is the second year we’ve done it. We got a really good response.” Alpha Kappa Psi branched out this year, contacting local businesses, high schools and state officials about the program, she Macintoshes capable of more than word processing BY PHUONG LY STAFF WRITER In the early 1980s, typewriters began to disappear. But the average Joe and Jane don't realize the same fate awaits ledger books and greeting cards. Although personal computers are best known for word process ing, their power also can be ex tended to other parts of daily life such as personal finances and the (Flip Daily (Far MM COMPUTECH COMPUTER FAIR 1993 EDITOR: AMBER NIMOCKS DESIGN EDITOR: JUSTIN SCHEEF PHOTOGRAPHERS: ANDREA BROADDUS AND JUSTIN WILLIAMS PRODUCTION: STACY WYNN, manager; LISA REICHLE, assistant from (Fljp Daily (Far MM The Year in Review IW3 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS This specially bound Commemorative Edition chronicles the Tar Heels march” to the NCAA Basketball Championship, including player and coach profiles and the year in review. $5 per copy, Available soon locally at: plus $2 first class postage and Johnny T-Shirt handling per copy Carolina Pride ... Tarheel Textbooks Call toll-free 9 a.1t1. - 5 p.m.: The Intimate Bookshop 1 -800-UNC-DTHI Bull's Head Bookshop or locally at 919-962-1163 DTH office, Student Union Order by phone with Mastercard or DTH Souvenir Edition Visa. You can also send a check or PO Box 3257 money order payable to The DTH to: chapel Hill, NC 27515-3257 said. “This is an opportunity for people to become more aware of what’s coming out,” Powers said. ‘The technology is changing so rapidly, it’s hard to keep up with the industry.” The companies manning booths at the fair are: Dell Computers; IBM; Apple; Ze nith Data Systems; Word Perfect; EduTech; Vertus Corp.; Data Print; Norina Tech nologies; Douglas Stuart Company; and Total Computer Center. Alpha Kappa Psi, which includes about 50 members, is a professional business fraternity open to students majoring in business, economics and industrial rela tions. Thanks to the cost of manning booths, the fraternity will make a profit from the fair. “The companies pay for the booths,” Pow ers said. “The gross income from the fair will be about $4,000, but we’ll take home a lot less than that.” In addition to the booths, several compa- production of personal stationary and cards. "What we re seeing now is the technology is empowering the in dividual," said Jim Barnett, a computer consultant for the Of fice of Information Technology Mi crocomputer User Services. "It's really given the individual more flexibility and more options." For computer users who want to organize their dollars and cents, 2 Representatives (rum the [..llowing Boothswill hr" set from 10 a. m . to 5 p.m.: Great Hall from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. • Dell Computers • IBM At 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. represen • Apple tatives from Dell Computers will • Zenith Data Systems conduct demonstrations at the • Word Perfect Dell booth. • EduTech „ 4 „ Mf> , ; • VprtiK Corn - .. • Data Print ? At 12 P- m - representatives from • Norina Technologies Word Perfect will conduct dem • Douglas Stuart Company onstrations at the Word Perfect • Total Computer Center booth. nies will be putting on special presenta tions during the fair. At 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. representatives from Dell Computers will software stores offer several per sonal finance programs such as Quicken and Mac Money, which sell for about SSO each. The programs, designed for the average person and small busi nesses, keep track of income and expenses, organize personal bud gets with graphs and pie charts, and balance the checkbook. The software also prints out personal checks. "However you would do ac counting in the past, the com puter can simply automate those things for you," Barnett said. Computer users also set up dif ferent scenarios such as "How much do I have to cut expenses if I want to buy anew car?" -and the computer generates the fig ures. "You can say 'Well, look, I'm spending too much on eating out, and you can cut back, " said Scott Self, a sales associate for The RAM Shop, located in the Student Stores. "It'll give you the numbers and then from the numbers, you have to determine what’s within your means." Although Quicken and Mac Money are similar programs, Quicken is the better buy and is the most popular for the average person, Self said. Quicken fea tures easy-to-understand options and is more user-friendly, he said. Software also can help simplify and speed up tax preparation. MaclnTax, which sells for about $45, is the most popular and user friendly tax preparation software package, said Gina Beau, man ager of Waldensoftware at Uni versity Mall. Accuracy and speed are the big gest advantages to tax-prepara tion software, Beau said. You're not filling out the form, you're just answering the questions," she said. "It's a lot cheaper than an demonstrate several new products, and at noon, representatives from Word Perfect will put on a special presentation. accountant." But the software would not be a big benefit for the typical student, Self said. "Most college students don't make enough money to pay a lot of taxes and to fill out more than the 1040EZ (tax form)," he said. "It's not an advantage for them to buy a program that will do it for them when they can do it by themselves in 10 minutes." People who have a lot of ex penses, property, investment and income will benefit the most from the programs, he said. Computers aren't limited to generating numbers and dollar signs. A variety of software is available to help make pages of text and paper products more in teresting. The Print Shop, which sells for about $45, includes a variety of options and graphics for design ing greeting cards, banners, cal endars and stationary. You don't have to draw any of the pictures," Self said. "There's a variety of pictures in the library. It's all just plug and play." The options allow users to give a personal touch to their creations, and the program is cheaper than buying cards and stationary, he said. "What's more impersonal go ing out to the store and buying a generic birthday card or spending your own time in writing up a birthday card and printing it out?" Self said. Other types of software, such as MacPaint or MacDraw Pro, can be combined with a word process ing program to allow users to de sign graphics and arrange them onto a page of text. MacDraw Pro, which sells for about $275, includes more options for illustration than MacPaint, which sells for about SIOO. WeffiHaSyTlptil 14/ldW MacDraw Pro also allows users to work on and move individual graphic designs on the drawing screen whereas MacPaint consid ers the design on the drawing screen to be one whole image. Also available for design work is a stylus and tablet for about S2OO. For more complex production and for people who do a lot of desktop publishing, the most popular software package is Aldus Page Maker, which sells for about $495, Barnett said. With numerous options in type setting, graphics and layout, Aldus Page Maker allows users to intermesh graphics and text to produce brochures, cover letters, newsletters and booklets. "It's given the individual more control over what they produce," Barnett said. "The quality, for all practical purposes, is just as good as what you could find in a printed magazine." All software will take some time and patience to master, but in the past several years, many pro grams have been designed to be user-friendly, with easy-to-inter pret options and graphic inter face, Barnett said. Although Macintoshes, IBMs and IBM compatibles offer simi lar software programs with the comparable prices and can per form the same tasks, the begin ning or average computer user probably will find the Macintosh easier to set up, Barnett said. "The operating system (of the Mac) is easier to use out of the box," he said. "It come out of the box set up and ready to run." But professionals are divided over which system is easier to use after set-up, he said. "The simi larities far outweigh the differ ences,” he said. "I really couldn't sit here and say which is better.”
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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April 14, 1993, edition 1
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