LIPSERVICE

Smarter than that

Regarding your review of StayInTouch 1.25 in the January 1994 issue ("Contact Sports"), we found the following inaccuracies:

StayInTouch has compact windows (expert windows) just like SBook does, available in the version reviewed.
StayInTouch can import from a variety of sources, the system is configurable, and it sports an import language that affords absolute control over how data is imported into the application. If StayInTouch doesn't import a particular data format, it has always been our policy to provide the customer with either a free data conversion or a means to convert the data.
StayInTouch has no artificial limit on the amount of data that it can import (beyond computer speed and available memory). Our in-house workouts routinely test with databases that contain over 15,000 records (4.19MB address files), and we have not experienced any of the of the choking problems implied in the review. Version 2.0, which shipped in February, introduces more efficient file loading; our 15,000-record file takes less than a minute to load.
StayInTouch not only recognizes U.S. addresses and phone num- bers, but Canadian and British formats as well. Other European countries with similar addressing formats may work as well. The software also provides intelligent dialing for international phone numbers.
No software application that dials a phone with a modem "knows" when a voice call is finished. The article implies that SBook can detect this condition and reset the port. StayInTouch 2.0 corrects the inconvenience of having to reset the lock before making a new call.
StayInTouch has always allowed users to alphabetize each entry in any way that they see fit. They have complete control of sort orders by either the name field or the browser's record label.

As for your positioning of our product, your evaluation in no way represents the product emphasis or the market orientation of StayInTouch. If a user seeks a certain feature that our product does not offer, then a competitor's product may be a better choice for that particular user, regardless of categorization. The end user can make a very competent evaluation of which product is better for his needs Ð demos are free for the asking. This decision is not NeXTWORLD's to make or endorse.

I encourage you to focus on the comprehensive features and benefits afforded to users of any reviewed product. Your PC-counterpart publications seem to do this well.

Manuel Albert Ricart

President, SmartSoft

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

We stand by the review, which was based on the four beta versions of StayInTouch 1.25 that we worked with over the period of a month. The features described were either not in place or not working. Given the diversity of the NEXTSTEP market, we believe it is the magazine's job to evaluate applications on the basis of their appropriateness for different market segments. Ð NW

Ultimate upgrade path

I own a NeXTcube with tons of expensive peripherals and software. I have used the Cube as a home computer for daily use and for business for two-and-a-half years with no hassles at all.

The only wish I had for my Cube is color and maybe more processing power, but to upgrade from 25MHz to 33MHz is not really necessary. So why do I have to buy a new box just to get color, especially when the box is near-equally powered and the alternative means "Intel inside"? Remember the idea behind a black Cube. The simplest upgrade path ever Ð change just one board, nothing more. The chassis of the Cube was built for the future, not the garbage.

Why is there no company that will construct a Pentium board to fit in the Cube Ð and SPARC, PA-RISC, and PowerPC boards later? I'm not alone with my Cube. Some thousands of other users would love to upgrade to the next generation of processors.

The marriage with Sun and NeXT is a big step forward, but a port to PowerPC would be even more interesting because the hardware should be less expensive. I look forward to the marriage of NeXT and Apple. That would be the last big deal of the century. Don't good old NeXT customers deserve a bonus or goody?

Martin Bachmann

Lucerne, Switzerland

Early adopter

In my house, the "reading room" happens to be the bathroom. So when my son, Levi, who we are potty training, sat down, picked up NeXTWORLD, opened it up, and acted like he was reading it, I just had to take a picture and send it to you. I guess you could say that NeXT users aren't made, they're born.

Jerald Dawson

Chicago

NeXTWORLD welcomes your comments. Please mail them to Letters at NeXTWORLD, 501 Second St., San Francisco, CA 94107, or e-mail them to letters@ nextworld.com.