Productivity Software


© Debbie Levitt
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14 July 1998

Whether or not we're internet professionals, we all want to be more efficient... to know more now, more easily, and be better organised. I'd like to share what keep me and my business running (on Windows 95), all of which I recommend highly.

Stay On Top of the News
BackWeb (formerly Lanacom's Headliner) is an application that brings news and headlines to your desktop. BackWeb can run in four different modes: InfoCenter, where you set your prefs, sign up for channels, and see what information has been collected for you, Ticker, which runs across your screen (you choose where), Screen Saver, or NewsTitle. NewsTitle runs BackWeb in the title bar of whatever your active window is and does not take up extra space like the Ticker. Unlike PointCast, BackWeb does NOT show you ads, and uses little bandwidth; as you see the headlines go by, you can get a summary of that item by rolling your cursor over it. If you are interested in the full story, just double click the headline to go live to the web or to the pre-downloaded page. There are hundreds of sources to choose from including CNET, Reuters, Wall Street Journal (WSJ online subscription required), The Washington Post, The Age (Melbourne, Australia), The Jerusalem Post, The Bangkok Post, Greek News, Swedish CNN, and plenty of regional news. You can also sign up for horoscopes, Mr. Showbiz, advertising industry news, aviation industry news, US Census Bureau press releases, stock quotes, and the US Billboard Music Charts. No matter what industry you're in (or if you're just having fun on your computer), you will find interesting info scrolling across your screen with BackWeb.

Get Organized and Stay in Touch
Anyone who likes to be organised and especially those who like "suite" types of software applications should check out GoldMine 4.0. Although GoldMine "competes" with programs like ACT! and Maximizer, GoldMine is a class by itself. As a small business owner, it's something I'm more likely to grow into than grow out of. GoldMine 4.0 has all of the features you would expect a contact manager to have: relational database, calendar, multi-user capability, synchronisation amongst users, editable and custom fields, and the ability to merge your records with correspondence, fax, or email. Where this program differs with most is in the extras; for example, not only can you file email addresses for contacts but you can also send and receive POP3 email right from GoldMine. You even have the options to file an email linked to a contact in that contact's "history" section. What GoldMine can do is too vast to list here, so check out their GoldMine 4.0 vs. ACT! 3.0 page. Yes, I know ACT! is now 4.0, but I still think you will be impressed by what GoldMine can do. And by the way, at my favourite online software mail order store, a single-user copy of GoldMine 4.0 is $6 US less than ACT! 4.0, and the 10-user copy is $155 US less. You can get a better product for less money!

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Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: View all related messages

2.   Jul 26, 1998 9:23 AM
I just got GoldMine and while I think their trial version is more stable than their real version (!), I'm glad I have it. I wish I knew how to spread the word. I think many normal PC users, networke ...

-- posted by AsWas


1.   Jul 24, 1998 9:47 PM
Rob Bechard

Hi it's nice to see people talking about Contact Manager Software, I teach Sales Automation, usually maximizer (I hope you won't hold that against me) More small businesses need to ...


-- posted by TheStick





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