NEWLN: Computer Comment (850)NEWLN: JACK LESAR United Press International
Laser Computer Inc. is billing the latest addition to its poplar Laser Pal personal computer line as 'the power package for the budget conscious.' But it could just as well call it a business in a box.
Laser scored a hit last fall with its Laser Pal 286, a system designed for family use that went head to head with IBM's PS/1.
Now the Lake Zurich Ill.-based computer maker is aiming at the small business-home office market with its Laser Pal 386SX -- a pair of systems based on the Intel 386SX microprocessor that, like the Laser Pal 286, emphasize convenience and ease of use.
And it looks like it could have another hit on its hand.
Laser had intended to build only one configuration of the Laser Pal 386SX but quickly discovered that no single machine could meet the varying demands of small business users. So it ended up with the LT and C models.
The Laser Pal 386SX/C is the flagship of the line. The 'C' stands for communicator, and this system will do just about everything but make the coffee.
Equipped with The Complete Communicator from The Complete PC of San Jose, Calif., the Pal 386SX/C can manage voice mail, incoming and outgoing fax transmissions and data modem communications -- all with just one phone, which you can still use for non-computerized voice calls.
The sophisticated communications system -- capable of managing up to 999 individual 'mailboxes' -- operates smoothly in background with no decrease in performance.
The combination voice mail-answering machine system will not only take messages but will forward them as well. It will also deliver voice messages you record -- providing some limited computerized telemarketing capabilities -- and faxes you prepare.
The Complete Communicator software allows you to determine if a fax or voice message should be delivered immediately or at some specified time in the future.
The hardware includes a 2,400-baud data modem piggybacked on a send- receive fax modem that operates at 9600 baud and works with all Group III fax machines.
The Pal 386SX-C also features top-flight graphics -- managed by an enhanced super-VGA card with 512 kilobytes of video memory -- that supplements random access memory to enhance screen performance during display of memory-intensive graphics. The ehnahced super-VGA monitor offers super-high resolution -- 1024 by 726 lines -- that makes graphics seem to leap out from the screen.
The central processing unit for the Pal 386SX-C and the 386SX-LT are identical, with switchable operating speeds of 8 and 16 megahertz. There are faster machines based on the Intel 386SX chip, but the Pal line includes a whopping 128 RAM cache to speed up operation.
Even an extensive Microsoft Excel spreadsheet designed for use in opinion polling and loaded with data and formulae ran smoothly, with no delays. In fact, it seemed to run at least as fast, and occasionally faster, than on another machine based on a 386SX chip rated at 20 megahertz.
Both Pal 386SX models include both 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch floopy drives, and internal hard drives (80MB for the C model and 40 for the LT). Both come with 2 MB of RAM, expandable to 4 MB, and two empty expansion slots. A Microsoft-compatible mouse also is included.
Setup is only a matter of plugging in the cables, and even first-time users can be up and running -- actually DOING things -- in less than half an hour. All the software is contained on four disks to facilitate easy installation.
The MS-DOS operating system and the Ensemble graphic user interface, made by Geoworks, are provided with the systems. That -- aside from an occasional clunk from the floppy drives, a sound resembling the traditionally noisy Macintosh floppies -- is my only real criticism.
Ensemble is pretty and user-friendly, but it just doesn't have the power that people would want or need from the PAL 386SX line.
The built-in word processor has the look and some of the abilities of a desktop publisher. But you can't even scroll through a document -- it takes a mouse-click in the corner of the display box to turn each page. And documents can only be formatted one page at a time, which can be unbelieveably frustrating.
Finally, there is just no application software for Emsemble -- not even a spreadsheet. Geoworks says application software is in the works, but my philosophy is that a program in the drive beats anything in the works.
Laser would do better to pack Microsoft Windows with the Pal 386SX line.
But small business and home office users looking for a versatile and powerful system at a bargain price probably couldn't do better than these new Pals.
The C model has a suggested retail price of $2899.95, but can be found for less than $2,000. The LT model has a suggested retail of $2, 099.95 but is available from discounters for under $1,500.
But buyers should plan on spending an extra $40 bucks for Windows.NEWLN:
