2nd. Annual Editors Choice Awards, Commercial Software by WilliamLH

1998 was an interesting year, Bill Gates and Microsoft went on trial, SyQuest filed bankruptcy and closed its physical and virtual doors (They have since reopened the virtual tech support areas), PC users are panicking about the Y2K / Millennium Bug / Millennium Bomb, not to mention that some machines will start failing in 1999 (mainly medical equipment and some databases), while Mac users are laughing in most cases. AOL purchased Netscape, and a load of new Macintosh product came to market. This is where MacNow Magazine comes in, our Editors and reviewers have looked at these products and determined which are the best of the best products for 1998.

Drum roll please....

Computer of 1998:
Apple Computer, Inc’s - iMac - The iMac could be called the Apple Savior, it helped bring Apple 4 quarters of profit and stock stability as well as good press coverage. The "A" model had its problems but Apple released fixes and that worked and then released the "B" model. Apple marketed the iMac like its never marketed before, TV, Radio and billboard ads touting the iMac. They hired reps to be in stores on the weekends, and allowed Best Buy to sell the iMac along with CompUSA. The machine itself is a very stable and fast machine at the right price.

Software product of 1998:
Apple Computer Inc.’s - MacOS 8.5.1 - MacOS 8.5.1 is the most stable and bug free operating system Apple has ever put out. With new features such as Sherlock, a meta search engine built into the OS, the new Network Browser, tear off Application Switcher, 100% PowerPC Native AppleScript and AppleScript Folder Actions this new MacOS shines, granted it is no where as backwards compatible as other OS releases, but it is a great step to the modern OS Apple has promised since Copland, and with the release of the MacOS strategy, the MacOS future is bright.

Word Processing Suite of 1998:
This one was a difficult choice, so I decided to give the award to 2 finalists in 2 different categories:

Home, Education Suite:
Apple Computer Inc.’s - AppleWorks 5.0 - AppleWorks 5.0 (Formerly ClarisWorks Office 5.0) is a great all around application for word processing, spreadsheet, basic database, painting and drawing for home or school use, loaded with features including basic HTML, assistants, templates, URL and document linking, low memory and processor requirements are also a big plus. AppleWorks 5.0 is one of the best suites suited for the home or education user.

Business, SOHO Suite:
Microsoft Inc. - Office 98 Gold Edition - Office 98 Gold Edition is a breath of fresh air from Microsoft, Inc. considering the Word 6.0 fiasco, Microsoft has invested in Apple and dedicated 200 Mac specific programmers to producing Macintosh application programs. Office 98 Gold Edition includes Word 98 (word processor), Excel 98 (spreadsheet), PowerPoint98 (presentation graphics application), Outlook Express (Internet e-mail client), FrontPage 1.0 (web site creation and management), Encarta 98 Encyclopedia Deluxe Edition (multimedia encyclopedia), Bookshelf 98 (integrated information resource) and Internet Explorer 4.01(browser). It is easy to use and has the Macintosh feel to it, not to mention it accepts Windows Office based documents which is handy when swapping documents with users of that other platform. The only down side to this product is the memory and processor requirements And you should download the 3 updates if you are running MacOS 8.5 or MacOS 8.5.1.

Processor Upgrade of 1998:
Sonnet Technologies, Inc. - Crescendo G3 293-300/1M - This processor upgrade is available in several configurations for the Power Mac 6100, 7100, 8100 & 8115; Performa 6110/6112/6115/6116/6117/6118; Workgroup Server 6150, 8150 & 9150; and Radius 81/110. In our benchmarks we upgraded a PowerMac 6100/66 w/DOS Compatibility card, the original benchmark put the 6100 at 95.3, once we upgraded (Loosing the DOS Compatibility Card) our lowly 6100 jumped to a benchmark of 401.0!! I noticed a big speed up in application launching, screen refresh and all around better performance, and with Virtual PC loaded we had the DOS Card back, in a sense.

Graphics Tablets of 1998:
This year the same company wins in 2 categories:

Home Use Tablet:
CalComp Technologies Inc. - Creation Station - The Creation Station from CalComp brings pen and tablet computing to the masses, utilizing UltraSlate technology, it includes a cordless/batteryless pen and a 5 button programmable cordless/batteryless mouse and 4" x 5", 512 level pressure sensitive tablet. The bundled software includes a nice beginners tutorial and Art Dabbler, Kai’s PhotoSoap SE software. Add to that the low price ($99.00 after mail-in rebate!) and you see the Creation Station is a great product. It features WYPIWYG (pronounced Wipy-Wig) that stands for Where You Point Is Where You Go, this allows you to tap at the top edge of the tablet and the cursor goes there, then tap at the bottom and it goes to the bottom. With the clear overlay, you can trace items in books or magazines up to .25 inches thick.

Professional Use Tablet:
CalComp Technologies Inc. - Creation Station Pro - The Creation Station Pro from CalComp comes in several sizes from 6 X 9” to 12 X 18” and includes a cordless/batteryless pen and a 5 button programmable cordless/batteryless mouse and 512 level pressure sensitive tablet with TabletWorks control panel, this tablet also utilizes UltraSlate technology. As with its little brother, Creation Station Pro has the clear overlay so you can trace items in books or magazines up to .25 inches thick. CalComp also bundles several customizable logo strips for the product that are really a nice touch. If you do graphics for a living take a look at this product, it rocks.

Database of 1998:
FileMaker Pro Inc.'s - FileMaker Pro 4.1 & FileMaker Pro Developers Edition - With FileMaker Pro 4.1's new ODBC compliance and the new Developers Edition, FileMaker Inc. has once again put out award winning products. With the included templates a rank amateur can design workable databases for machine, network or web based used and is still powerful enough with the Developers Edition to create custom database solutions for clients. Add to this instant web publishing and the ability to create stand alone databases for both Macintosh and PC's and you quickly see how powerful yet simple FileMaker Pro and FileMaker Pro Developers Edition are.

Save my Macintosh from the PC guys award:
This category is for all Mac users who have a PC based IT manager who is saying "Let's replace those Macs with PC's, we can't access them!."
Miramar Systems, Inc. - PC MACLAN for Windows 95/98 & NT - If you must coexist with a PC based network, PC MACLAN for Windows 95/98 or NT is your savior on the PC. PC MACLAN allows you to read, write, back-up, copy and view Mac files and volumes on a PC based network. The software is easy to install and configure on the PC and is almost flawless in its job. So if that PC IT manager says "We're replacing your Macintosh because we can not access it on the PCs." tell him or her to buy PC MACLAN and leave your Mac right where it is!

Internet Authoring products of 1998:

HTML authoring tool of 1998:
GoLive Inc.'s - GoLive Cyberstudio 3.0 - GoLive, Inc. has been the leader in stand alone html authoring tools since the day they released GoLive Cyberstudio 1.0 and continue that tradition today with GoLive Cyberstudio 3.0, with site maintenance, CSS, DHTML, XML, MCF, ActiveX, Java & JavaScript support, customizable tags, the ability to take the code to text editors for hand tweaking, site and page import options and an easy to understand user interface GoLive has the best stand alone HTML WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor on the market. GoLive, Inc. also pulled off a first in the industry this year, by offering GoLive Cyberstudio 2.0 as a $99.00 Personal Edition allowing those who can not afford 3.0 an affordable, multi-award winning HTML editor at a reasonable cost! Keep up the great work GoLive, Inc.!

Design Suites:
We have selected two different Internet design suites this year to suit different types of developers one is for the designer who comes from a print based background, the other is for the general professional.

Print Background Suit eof 1998:
Macromedia, Inc.'s - Design In Motion Suite - Macromedia's Design in Motion suite includes: FreeHand 8 for design, illustration, and multipage document creation, Flash 3 for animation, interactivity, and sound, as well as file optimization, Insta.HTML 2 for easily exporting FreeHand pages as HTML pages. Freehand 8.0 improves features and adds functionality to its previous versions and when combined with Flash and Insta.HTML becomes a versatile and simplistic suite of tools to create content for the web. If you have a background in Freehand or Adobe, Inc.'s Illustrator, this suite is for you.

General Professional Suite of 1998:
Macromedia, Inc.'s - Dreamweaver/Fireworks - Even though these products are not sold as a suite, I've included them this year because they should be. Used in conjunction with each other they shine. The user interface is a bit awkward, but the programs are very good and worth learning. Dreamweaver shines with DHTML actions that utilize JavaScript and CSS to accomplish special effects in a web page and there are a load of actions available online to download and add to your toolbox. Fireworks shines with multiple views of image optimization and supports most all web based formats including PNG. If you do not own a suite, check Macromedia, Inc.'s site linked above.

QuarkXPress web tool of 1998:
Extensis, Inc. - BeyondPress 4.0 - BeyondPress 4.0 uses CSS and Bitstream's TrueDoc font technology to take QuarkXPress 3.x - 4.x documents to web format and is one of the only products on the market that deals with XPress documents as web pages. If you use XPress and need those documents on the web, BeyondPress 4.0 is the right product for you.

Java Web based tool of 1998:
Mainstay's - PageCharmer Pro -PageCharmer Pro is a Java Applet generator, as I have reviewed in the past, the PageCharmer family of products works via Netscape Communicator/Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer through a set of HTML documents, you set various parameters, add images or use the clip art provided, copy-paste the generated code into your own HTML document, upload the graphics and Applet classes and POOOOF, instant Java based animation, information, roll over's, banners, etc. Simple enough for the beginner, powerful enough for the seasoned web based Java programmer.

Webserver Middleware product of 1998:
Blue World Communications, Inc. - Lasso 3.0 -Lasso 3.0 is the leader in database delivery for Internet and Intranet based web servers using the MacOS, with ODBC compliant support, Java based API, better security and the industries only support for FileMaker Pro 4.x Windows version, Lasso 3.0 blows away the competition. When I asked the reps at FileMaker Pro Inc. who produces a server product to deliver my FileMaker Pro databases over the web, they pointed me to Blue World Communications, Inc., what more can I say.

Web Server add-on of 1998:
Neuron Data Systems' - MacCoach 2.0.1 - MacCoach 2.0.1 allows you to keep your MacOS based server up and running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by monitoring the activity of the server and if it detects an application crash or hardware crash the ADB (Apple Desktop Bus) device restarts your machine. MacCoach 2.0.1 also adds log files that allow you to see which programs are being pesky. This device was very reliable and smooth, and works on almost all Macintosh systems except some 68K machines and PowerBooks. MacCoach 2.0.1 is being distributed in the USA by STF, Inc.

PhotoShop Plugins of 1998:
There are several PhotoShop compatible plugins available this year from several vendors that really shine in their category.

Best Plugin of 1998:
Alien Skin's - Xenofex 1.0 - Xenofex 1.0 is Alien Skin's new collection of 16 different special effects filters for various image editing programs. This company found its nitch market and has stayed on top with frequent releases, updates and good tech support. The user interface is simple yet powerful and all effects can be previewed. The 16 effects are: Baked Earth, Constellation, Crumple, Distress, Electrify, Flag, Lightning, Little Fluffy Clouds, Origami, Puzzle, Rounded Rectangle, Shatter, Shower Door, Stain, Stamper and Television.

Best Compression plugins of 1998:
Digital Frontiers' - HVS ColorGIF 2.0 & HVS JPEG 2.0 - HVS ColorGIF 2.0 & HVS JPEG 2.0 are two Photoshop compatible plugins that do what every web designer desires, allows you to slim down web bound images without loosing loads of quality. With the simple export filters you can preview compression's, reduced color sets and transparency levels then export your final choice with your chosen settings. Simple and effective.

Best 3D Plugin of 1998:
Vertigo's - HotText 1.5.1 -Vertigo's HotText 1.5.1 is a simple, straight forward Photoshop compatible 3D text generator that works well at what it is intended to do, create great looking 3D text in Photoshop or Photoshop compliant image editing program. With HotText 1.5.1 you can choose various paths for your text to follow or create your own, add textures, bevels, etc.. The program is easy to use yet provides enough customization for the professional to add it to his or her toolbox with comfort.

Best (OCR) Optical Character Recognition program of 1998:
Caere, Inc.'s - OmniPage Pro 8.0 - OmniPage Pro 8.0 outshines its competition by miles, with a claim of 99+% accuracy I was skeptical, but OmniPage Pro 8.0 delivers and then some. With one button OCR, automatic spell checking, auto paste into your favorite word processor and many other customizable features Caere, Inc. has a winner on its hands that will be hard to beat anytime soon.

Best PC Emulation product of 1998:
Connectix, Inc. - VirtualPC 2.1.1 - VirtualPC 2.2.1 with Windows 95 or 98 is by far the best PC emulator for the Mac, it is a stable as Windows gets and is fast enough to get you through those PC based chores you HAVE to do, if you have to do PC chores that is. ;-> With 56k Modem support, HTML-Based Online Help and DirectX 5.0 support for games, VirtualPC 2.1.1 lives up to its promise: "If you have to use a PC, why not fake it on a Mac!?!?".

Best Printer utility of 1998:
InfoWave, Inc. - PowerPrint for USB - PowerPrint for USB brings older Mac & PC printers to the iMac by allowing you the correct Parallel to USB cable and the correct drivers/chooser selections for over 1,000 different printers. The cable is high quality and a good majority of the drivers work as supposed to, it is a unique product and one that EVERY iMac user should look at if they have an old printer they want to hook up to their new machine!

Best Internet utility of 1998:
HotLine Software's - HotLine Client 1.2.3 PPC & 68K - Hotline Client 1.2.3 is a neat little Internet application program that allows its users to log into HotLine Servers across the Globe. It features real time, text based chat, fast file transfer with upload and download capability. It also features server tracking and the ability to be used as a private, secure Intranet or Extranet server.

Best Text Editor of 1998:
Bare Bones Software, Inc. - BBEdit 5.0.2 - Bare Bone's latest version of BBEdit demonstrates why this text editor is often the favorite of programmers and web professionals. It's beautifully designed for the editing, searching, transformation, and manipulation of text, including HTML and other software code. This is an ideal product for anyone who needs to manipulate files up to 2 Megabytes. BBEdit offers a host of features that are invaluable--including support for 13 programming languages! Be sure, however, that if you decide to purchase BBEdit, you download the updates, as 5.0.2 has corrected some significant problems in the 5.0 release. With that proviso, BBEdit 5.0.2 is a powerful Web authoring tool and robust text editor that makes flawless text editing less tedious.

Best Internet utility of 1998:
HotLine Software's - HotLine Client 1.2.3 PPC & 68K - Hotline Client 1.2.3 is a neat little Internet application program that allows its users to log into HotLine Servers across the Globe. It features real time, text based chat, fast file transfer with upload and download capability. It also features server tracking and the ability to be used as a private, secure Intranet or Extranet server.

Games of 1998:
This category expanded this year and here a few of the best.
Editors Note: Please check the ratings on these games BEFORE you purchase them for your children, some are rated TEEN and MATURE.

Role Playing Game of 1998:
Bungie Software's - Myth: The Fallen Lords - MYTH: The Fallen Lords has been around for sometime, yet has remained the premier game of its kind. MYTH: The Fallen Lords is a real-time, role playing game in which you control entire troops and/or individual characters to achieve various quests in each level, the 3D perspective, individual control and network playability (on Bungie.NET make this game stand out.
Editors Note: MYTH II: Soulblighter did not ship in time to make this years awards, but will be considered for 1999.

Adventure Game of 1998:
Knowble Design's - aGORA - published by Power Media, Inc. - aGORA is a real-time, game of strategy, skill and a bit of luck. You are on an adventurer and gain various objectives depending on your character, you can select various classes of charecters to play and try to complete the tasks at hand while exploring and making enemies or allies. This 3D walk around game is a pleasure to play and intriguing enough in its plot that it will keep you entertained for evenings.

Space Game of 1998:
Ambrosia Software's - Escape Velocity: Overide - Take an award winning game (Escape Velocity), optimize its game engine, give it new ships and missions and you have a new award winning game, enter Escape Velocity: Overide. Pick your Name, suit up and enter your Shuttle and venture earning credits and buying commodities, ship upgrades, ships, and extras. Gambel, hire escorts and haul freight, run spies and pirates or become a pirate, it's a blast. Beware, if space games are addicting to you, this one is the motherload.

Children's Educational Game of 1998:
Lucas Learning's - DroidWorks - What do you get when you mix the creativity of George Lucas with educational software? A superb "edutainment" program called Droidworks. Through your mission to build droids to infiltrate the evil Empire's secret droid factory, you build and reprogram the assassin droids, thereby aiding the Rebel Alliance. Lucas Learning uses the child's natural inclination for exploration to teach principles such as energy, magnetisim, light, simple machines, force and motion. Additionally, the game includes an interactive guide linked to the internet which illustrates basic scientific principles. Although it's literally child's play, even children in adult bodies will enjoy this offering from Lucas Learning.


Best Reference Software of 1998:
Piranaha Interactive Publishing's - RedShift 3 - Whether you are a budding Tycho Brahe or a professional astronomer in the league of Clyde Tombaugh, RedShift 3 has a host of interactive tools which are guarranteed to transform your Macintosh into a high-powered planetarium.If you're not celestially inclined, this software may readily convert you, as you can view over 1,000,000 mapped objects from the warmth and comfort of your chair, calculate the timing of events such as comets, meteor showers, and eclipses, and capture your own view of the heavens by using its Active Movie technology. RedShift 3 is enough to make you gaze in wonder and awe at the heavens on a chilly night!

Year end wrap up:
1998 is going to be remembered as the year of the Mac with no floppy drive, no ADB and no SCSI, but still sold over 800,000 units. When the third party manufacturers can turn a Mac 7600 into a 400Mhz. PowerPC G3, it's a good year. It was a year with ups and downs, but all in all Apple rose and the software industry stood up and applauded. That's a MacNow year, have a great 1999.

WilliamLH <reviewer@mymac2u.com>
http://www.macnow.com/issues/1999/02/edchoice.html
This article is Copyright © 1999 WilliamLH. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.