Borland’s New SideKick Has Merit
Borland International’s SideKick program has been a big hit since it came out in 1984. The first integrated, pop-up program for the IBM PC, SideKick remains a best-seller despite the introduction of competing software over the last few years.
Rather than rest on its laurels, however, Borland is coming out later this month with a more powerful and expensive version of SideKick known as SideKick Plus. To evaluate the advantages of the new software, it is important to first understand what the original version does.
As an integrated program, SideKick (which still is available) performs a variety of functions. Specifically, it has a simple word processing program known as a notepad along with a personal appointment calendar, a telephone directory with an automatic dialer and a calculator.
As a pop-up program, it can be called on even while you are operating other software. You could be using a spreadsheet program, for example, and then switch to SideKick to write a memo or perform calculations.
When you are done with SideKick, you can press the Escape key and find yourself back in the spreadsheet program. SideKick never really goes away--it remains in memory, ready to be recalled instantly.
SideKick Plus does everything that SideKick does and a lot more (I tested a preliminary copy of SideKick Plus, not the exact version scheduled to be available to the public.) All the old features have been beefed up considerably. The new version also has an outline function and a communications mode, allowing your computer to exchange data with other computers.
The notepad with SideKick Plus is a very powerful writing tool, rivaling some of the leading stand-alone word processing programs. It allows you to work with up to nine documents at a time and switch between them by pressing a key. That’s very useful and impressive by the standards of any word processor. As I wrote this column, I used one window for the article and two more for background notes. If I need to write a quick letter, I do so without unloading the article I’m working on.
As before, the notepad uses the same commands as WordStar, a widely used word processing program. If you’re familiar with WordStar, you know how to use SideKick’s notepad.
Dividing Up the Day
SideKick’s new outline feature can be used to create and organize speeches, reports and agendas or just plain outlines. You can create headings and subheadings and rearrange them at will. You also can enter long notes under headings, making it possible to use the outline processor to write and organize documents.
Another nice touch is the capacity to turn outlines into organizational charts, complete with lines and boxes. SideKick outlines can be printed or put into documents created by the notepad or other programs, including stand-alone word processors.
The new appointment calendar lets you organize your day in any fashion. A doctor, for example, could use it to slice the day into 15-minute slots for appointments.
As with the outliner, you can attach notes to any listing. For example, in the daily schedule, you could enter a meeting agenda or directions to where the session is being held. A built-in alarm sounds a beeper or buzzer to remind you of an appointment. There is even a “snooze” alarm if you need more than one reminder or if you like to nap at your desk.
A search feature helps you find an appointment or an available time slot. If your computer is connected to others through a local area network, you can create a common calendar for two or more people. That’s an excellent way to schedule meetings within a department or work group.
The built-in communications program is very impressive. The old SideKick could dial your telephone. The new one can also call up other computers to check your electronic mail, read news reports, get information from your company’s mainframe computer and let you exchange programs and data with a friend.
More Than Sum of Parts
Unlike most communications programs (including some that cost twice as much as SideKick), the new SideKick lets your computer communicate with another machine while you are running another program. In other words, you could check your electronic mail at the same time you work with your word processor. SideKick also allows you to automate your communications. By pressing a single key, you can initiate a phone call to another computer, transfer information to your disk and hang up, all while you are using another SideKick function or a different program.
The original SideKick has a simple calculator. The new program has four calculators, one with built-in formulas and three others designed for scientists, programmers and business people.
Another new feature, File Manager, helps you organize your hard disk, allowing you to copy, print, delete and move files without leaving the application program you are running. It also can be used to format a floppy disk or to search your hard disk for files that contain specified words or phrases.
Like other good integrated programs, SideKick is more than the sum of its parts. Its various modes share commands and data. The communications mode, for example, works just like the word processor. You can even search for words or phrases that have crossed your screen since logging on.
Further, data from the calculator, appointment book and outliner can be put into the notepad. What’s more, SideKick works well with other programs. Its “clipboard” allows you to transfer text from documents created by other programs to a SideKick file. That text can in turn be transferred into a document created by yet another program.
SideKick Plus has a suggested retail price of $200--more than twice its predecessor’s price but less than you pay for many programs that do only one thing. The power, speed and flexibility make it a tempting purchase.
Computer File welcomes readers’ comments but regrets that the authors cannot respond individually to letters. Write to Lawrence J. Magid, 3235 Kifer Road, Suite 100, Santa Clara, Calif. 95051, or contact the L. Magid account on the MCI electronic mail system.
SIDEKICK PLUS: THE SPECS
Features
SideKick Plus is the successor to SideKick, the first integrated, “pop-up” program for the IBM PC. It runs in background while other programs are in use and has a notepad, an outliner, a calculator, a time planner/appointment book, a table of ASCII codes and a file manager.
Requirements
IBM PC or compatible computer with a hard disk and at least 384K of RAM. When running in the background, it takes away only 71K from other applications.
Publisher
Borland International, 4585 Scotts Valley Drive, Scotts Valley, Calif. 95066. Telephone: 408-438-8400 or 800-543-7543. Suggested retail price: $200. Available March 20.
