wang@cwruecmp.UUCP (02/03/87)
Hi, Atari ST's VIP professional users. Did you ever get free upgrade of VIP professional, i.e. Gem version. I called ISD Marketing, Inc. (416-479-1880). They are insisting on $19.95 upgrade fee for their profit. I tried to call VIP Technologies (805-967-4434). But, no one answers phone. Is VIP Technologies still in the business? If they are, are they keep their promise on the VIP deal, i.e. as soon as Gem version comes out, the old VIP owner will get free upgrade? -- Tsu Hua Wang Usenet: .....!decvax!cwruecmp!wang CSnet: wang@case Arpa: wang.case@csnet-relay
silvert@dalcs.UUCP (02/05/87)
In article <1863@cwruecmp.UUCP> wang@cwruecmp.UUCP (Tsu Hua Wang) writes: > > Hi, Atari ST's VIP professional users. Did you ever get >free upgrade of VIP professional, i.e. Gem version. I called >ISD Marketing, Inc. (416-479-1880). They are insisting on $19.95 >upgrade fee for their profit. I sent them a letter detailing why I felt I was entitled to the free upgrade -- I had the packaging that promises GEM features. They respected the advertising and sent me the upgrade free. In fact, when one of the disks turned out to be defective (some demo files were bad) they promptly sent me a replacement. However, if you bought one of the versions that came out with more honest packaging, perhaps the charge is legit! In any case, even if you have to pay, the upgrade is worth it. Very nice GEM implementation, and not copy protected. Comes with two packed disks! Only fault that I have to find is that it is slow, probably due to the speed of updating the screen. -- Bill Silvert Marine Ecology Laboratory, Dartmouth, NS, Canada CDN or BITNET: silvert@cs.dal.cdn -- UUCP: ..!{seismo|utai}!dalcs!silvert ARPA: silvert%dalcs.uucp@seismo.CSS.GOV -- CSNET: silvert%cs.dal.cdn@ubc.csnet
zsr@psuvm.bitnet.UUCP (02/05/87)
...And while we're at it, is the upgrade of VIP Professional worth the time and effort spent obtaining it? I have the original version and it is a DOG. Moving, copying, recalculating and file I/O cause me to, they are sooooo slow. The scrolling I can put up with, but there is simply no excuse for the other slow speeds--it's an 8 MHz 68000 for crying out loud! A 6 MHz 8088 running Lotus can beat it! Not to mention that it seems to *not* be totally compatible Lotus. I made a worksheet on my ST and uploaded it to a BBS. When loaded on an AT&T PC6300 running Lotus, the system crashed and I had to hardware reset. On the other hand, when I created the WKS file on the AT&T and uploaded, the Atari ST loaded and ran the file fine! Barring a one-way problem with the BBS, the VIP does not seem to create compatible WKS files. I'm afraid to call VIP to ask for assistance, because their agreements are fairly intimidating. There is no way I'm spending *any* money for the same thing, moussie non-withstanding. On the positive side, however, the manual is very nice. If VIP can get their act together performance-wise, they will have a nice piece of software. Is there anyone out there who can comment on the GEM version of VIP Professional? Thanks in advance. Christopher Johnson ZSR @ PSUVMB PSUVM Penn State University, Berks Campus
fischer-michael@YALE.ARPA.UUCP (02/06/87)
In-reply-to: cbatt!cwruecmp!wang@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Tsu Hua Wang) > Hi, Atari ST's VIP professional users. Did you ever get > free upgrade of VIP professional, i.e. Gem version. I called > ISD Marketing, Inc. (416-479-1880). They are insisting on $19.95 > upgrade fee for their profit. I tried to call VIP Technologies > (805-967-4434). But, no one answers phone. > > Is VIP Technologies still in the business? If they are, are > they keep their promise on the VIP deal, i.e. as soon as Gem version comes > out, the old VIP owner will get free upgrade? I bought the new Gem version of VIP last month through ISD Marketing, Inc. I got the number of ISD by calling the old VIP number, so I assume VIP is either out of business or has transferred all of their customer support operations to ISD. When I expessed surprise to the ISD representative over the $19.95 charge, I was told sorry, but we've put more effort into the new VIP than we expected to so we've decided to charge for it. I suppose they could be sued for breach of contract, but who's going to bother for that small an amount of money? Since ISD is located in Canada, that $19.95 can be paid in Canadian dollars, reducing the cost somewhat. The product itself is nice. Dropdown menus replace the Lotus-style menus, graphics are used to deliniate the rows and columns, and the mouse can be used to move around the spreadsheet. And best of all, it is no longer copy protected, so you can put away that annoying key disk. --Mike Fischer <fischer@yale.arpa> -------
gibson@trwrb.UUCP (02/24/87)
In article <8702061449.AA20120@yale-celray.YALE.ARPA> fischer-michael@YALE.ARPA writes: >In-reply-to: cbatt!cwruecmp!wang@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (Tsu Hua Wang) > >> Hi, Atari ST's VIP professional users. Did you ever get >> free upgrade of VIP professional, i.e. Gem version. I called >> ISD Marketing, Inc. (416-479-1880). They are insisting on $19.95 >> upgrade fee for their profit. I tried to call VIP Technologies >> (805-967-4434). But, no one answers phone. >> >> Is VIP Technologies still in the business? If they are, are >> they keep their promise on the VIP deal, i.e. as soon as Gem version comes >> out, the old VIP owner will get free upgrade? > >I bought the new Gem version of VIP last month through ISD Marketing, >Inc. I got the number of ISD by calling the old VIP number, so >I assume VIP is either out of business or has transferred all of >their customer support operations to ISD. When I expessed surprise >to the ISD representative over the $19.95 charge, I was told sorry, >but we've put more effort into the new VIP than we expected to so >we've decided to charge for it. I suppose they could be sued for >breach of contract, but who's going to bother for that small an >amount of money? Since ISD is located in Canada, that $19.95 can >be paid in Canadian dollars, reducing the cost somewhat. > >The product itself is nice. Dropdown menus replace the Lotus-style >menus, graphics are used to deliniate the rows and columns, and >the mouse can be used to move around the spreadsheet. And best >of all, it is no longer copy protected, so you can put away that >annoying key disk. > >--Mike Fischer <fischer@yale.arpa> >-------
FATR6@usu.BITNET.UUCP (03/05/87)
Date: Wed, 4 Mar 87 14:40 MST From: <FATR6@USU.BITNET> Subject: VIP PROFESSIONAL To: info-atari16@score.stanford.edu X-Original-To: info-atari16@score.stanford.edu, FATR6 HELP!!! I just received the non GEM version of VIP Professional today in the mail. Mail Order. The disk was trashed. It boots the title screen and the says 'insert key disk'. It can't find the key value it is looking for on my disk. Is there anyone out there who could run me off a copy if I send my original to them. The Mail Order outfit says it is VIP's problem and VIP say's the distributor has to replace it. I don't know about the legality of all this but I am sick that I paid $100 for a piece of software that won't boot. I am not asking for a backup or even a copy just the original program I paid for. By the way VIP is hiding from Lotus if you have tried to get ahold of them. Thanks Jon Jensen FATR6@USU 1-801-750-2440
cape@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM (Robert Cape) (01/03/89)
Date: Tuesday, January 3,1989
From: Robert Cape
Location: NCR Comten, Inc., Information Services, MS:S090
To: Whoever Knows
Location: Where ever you may be
Subject: VIP Professional: How good is it?
I am looking for a decent spreadsheet for my ST. By decent I mean one which
can stand up favorably when compared to the likes of SuperCalc 4 or Lotus 123
on the PC. I have a copy of A-Calc, which is a nuisance (accuracy to too few
decimal places). VIP Professional is supposedly a Lotus 123 clone. Has anyone
had experience with it? I don't care whether it uses a GEM interface or not;
just it's accuracy and capabilities.
Thanks,
Bob
Robert M. Cape DOMAIN: r.cape@stpaul.ncr.com
NCR Comten, Inc. UUCP: {backbone}!ncr-sd!ncrlnk!ncrcce!cape
Information Services, MS:S090 Audio: (612) 638-7211 (AT&T)
2700 Snelling Ave. N. 652-7211 (NCR VOICEplus)
St. Paul, MN 55113
======================================================================
Any opinions expressed above are mine and not those of NCR Comten, Inc.klute%trillian.irb@unido.uucp (Rainer Klute) (01/04/89)
In article <968@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM> cape@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM (Robert M. Cape) writes: >I am looking for a decent spreadsheet for my ST. By decent I mean one which >can stand up favorably when compared to the likes of SuperCalc 4 or Lotus 123 >on the PC. I have a copy of A-Calc, which is a nuisance (accuracy to too few >decimal places). VIP Professional is supposedly a Lotus 123 clone. Has anyone >had experience with it? I don't care whether it uses a GEM interface or not; >just it's accuracy and capabilities. Since several years I am working with VIP Professional and can recommend it. It is said to be Lotus 123 compatible but I cannot prove that because I never used 123. However, I bought a textbook for 123 to get used to VIP Professional and havn't had any problems. I don't have the program at hand but I think the accuracy of VIP Professional is about 13 decimal places or so. - With large spreadsheets the calculation speed is boring. It seems that the whole spreadsheet is recalculated even when only a single cell has changed. I help myself with "manual" recalculation from time to time. Besides the pure spreadsheet functions VIP Professional has macros and graphics (and a GEM interface). Rainer Klute ---- klute@irb.informatik.uni-dortmund.de Universitaet Dortmund, IRB |)|/ klute@unido.uucp, klute@unido.bitnet Postfach 500500 |\|\ ...uunet!mcvax!unido!klute D-4600 Dortmund 50 ---- Tel.: +49 231 7554663
ljdickey@water.waterloo.edu (Lee Dickey) (01/05/89)
In article <823@laura.UUCP> klute%trillian.irb@unido.UUCP (Rainer Klute) writes: >In article <968@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM> cape@ncrcce.StPaul.NCR.COM (Robert M. Cape) writes: >>I am looking for a decent spreadsheet for my ST. >Since several years I am working with VIP Professional and can >recommend it. It is said to be Lotus 123 compatible but I >cannot prove that because I never used 123. ... I can add that the spreadsheets are compatible in both directions. About a year ago, someone posted a Lotus spreadsheet and I renamed it and ran it under VIP. Later, I took one of my VIP spreadsheets and transported it to a PC running Lotus. I got the same results. The arithmetic gave the same results, but this was not intended to be a detailed test of the arithmetic. I hope this helps. -- L. J. Dickey, Faculty of Mathematics, University of Waterloo. ljdickey@WATDCS.UWaterloo.ca ljdickey@water.BITNET ljdickey@water.UUCP ..!uunet!watmath!water!ljdickey ljdickey@water.waterloo.edu
foster@ihuxv.ATT.COM (r. foster) (01/05/89)
I have used VIP for some time. It comes in 2 versions, GEM and Non-GEM. I have both but use only the non-GEM version. I am a constant user of 123 on a PC during the day so I like the familiarty of the interface. It is an exact clone of release 1 of 123. Reads and writes .WKS files with no problems as I often ship files back and forth from the PC to the ST. As for performance, the Recalc speeds seem about equal to those on an 8086 based PC at 6Mhz. Screen draws are noticably slower but not irritating unless you have a lot of the area of the screen reversed via a Range operation. I use the advanced features of VIP(database, macros, etc.) heavily and have not had any problems. The main deficiency in VIP is it's graph handling capabilities. The screen graphs are inferior to 123 and the printed graphics only support Epson printers. Not having an epson printer, I have never used the print graph program. Early versions of VIP were pretty buggy. The latest version which I got on an upgrade in May 1987 has few bugs that I am consciously aware of. Most have to do with what is put on the screen after executing a /WWH command or a /WT command in some circumstances. The /WWH bug has a workaround(move the undisplayed column off the screen and then move it back). The /WT bug is only a minor irritant.(It displays the wrong row number on the screen.) I would highly recommend it if you are looking for a 123 compatable spreadsheet. Bob Foster
pa1132@sdcc15.ucsd.edu (pa1132) (01/07/89)
Regarding Spreadsheets, I wonder how come nobody mention LDW Power? According to magazine reviews (such as STart some months ago), LDW Power is the fastest ST spreadsheets around. It is compitable with Lotus 1-2-3 ver 1.A and ver 2 files. It also scrolls and redraws the screen much faster then VIP. It also has better graphing capability. But it also requires more memory (a 1040ST should be the minium config.)
sstanfie@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU (skot) (01/08/89)
> It is said to be Lotus 123 compatible but I >cannot prove that because I never used 123. However, I bought a >textbook for 123 to get used to VIP Professional and havn't had >any problems. That's because your book probably only covers Lotus 123 Version 1.0. There are later versions of 123 (> Ver. 2) that are much better. Faster with extended macro capabilities. LDW Power is the "new" competition to VIP. Power is many times faster and is compatable with the later releases of 123 (Version 1 & 2). I highly recommend Power over VIP (and yes, I have used both). -- <<< skot - nihilistic technofetishist -/- sstanfie@polyslo.CalPoly.EDU ~ {pyramid|sdsu|ucsd}!polyslo!sstanfie
SHAWL@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (07/25/89)
I am not aware of any updates to VIP Professional since they came out with the GEM version. It would REALLY be nice if they came out with a version compatible with LOTUS version 2 which is much better than version 1. BUT, still, VIP is really quite useful. Steve Shawl BITNET: shawl@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
liebo@csclea.ncsu.edu (Dr. Stan Liebowitz) (07/25/89)
LDW makes a lotus2 clone, which includes a sideways program, and higher resolution graphics. It is called LDW Power. I have been using VIP and will sell it to anyone interested for $25 dollars, including manual. I am switching to Opus, a shareware spreadsheet since I don't need a lotus clone. Send e-mail to liebo@csclea.ncsu.edu or cal 9197372258 (NC), ask for Professor Liebowitz u ------------------------------------------------------- Stan Liebowitz Department of Econ/Business North Carolina State University try liebo@csclea.ncsu.edu it seems to work, more than I can say for
silvert@cs.dal.ca (Bill Silvert) (07/25/89)
In article <6425@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> SHAWL@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes: >I am not aware of any updates to VIP Professional since they came out >with the GEM version. It would REALLY be nice if they came out with a >version compatible with LOTUS version 2 which is much better than version >1. BUT, still, VIP is really quite useful. I have had at least 2 GEM versions of VIP, but I will have to check at home to see what the latest version is. With the second I also bought (very cheaply) the so-called Power version, which uses the Lotus rather than GEM interface. The second version fixed a number of bugs in the first GEM release. But it is still just Lotus 1. -- Bill Silvert, Habitat Ecology Division. Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, NS, Canada B2Y 4A2 UUCP: ...!{uunet,watmath}!dalcs!biomel!bill Internet: biomel@cs.dal.CA BITNET: bs%dalcs@dalac.BITNET