Review of: |
| A wise prophet in Biblical times told us in Holy Scripture to "redeem
the time, for the days are evil." Many people find themselves trying now
in the 90's to keep track of all of their professional and private obligations.
It seems to follow that the tool that helps us to manage our busy lives,
and the activities of those who answer to us would be very practical.
Sidekick for 98 is one of several "tools" that can help meet this need. I have worked in the past with Act, Franklin Ascent, and Sidekick 95, as far as personal information managers go. Sidekick 98 did not disappoint me. It exceeded my needs. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Windows95, 486, 8MB RAM, CD ROM, 15 MB free disk space, VGA. For Internet scheduler: modem, internet access INSTALLATION: Very Smooth! The only problem was that there was no minimal installation available. That feature comes in handy if you are very short on hard drive space. A manual was unavailable in the box. A brief installation brochure that was not useful except to the novice was included. The user does not need to have the CD present when running the program, once the program has been installed. FEATURES: The Time clock feature is very interesting, but not all that useful for most business people. My business needs sometimes require that I speak with individuals all over Europe, Russia, and Asia. I have used it to teach my children about time zones and to demonstrate how it can be dark on the other side of the world while it is daylight here. There is a feature that allows the user to synchronize the PC clock by contacting several websites where an atomic clock is available. The user can schedule this synchronization at predetermined times. You can click on the cities that you designate for quick city facts. I found this time zone feature handy and interesting. Contact Management: This feature is very straightforward. It is set up to help the user manage names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, meeting notes, etc. Sidekick 98 integrates with numerous e-mail address books. The auto-dialer feature is also easy to use. It will also integrate with popular Connected Information Devices such as the Palm Pilot, REX Card, and others. I have not tested this feature myself, since I do not have a Palm Pilot. A colleague of mine has assured me of these features. I did test the contact management features. It was very easy to use and easily customized. Calendar Management : The calendar permits daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly views. It also synchronizes with the hand held organizers using TrueSync. I set up a sample calendar with events scheduled. I then e-mailed one of my colleagues who also uses Sidekick 98. We were able to share and coordinate our calendars. This feature clearly is useful for the person who has to deal with a group schedule. I then printed out our calendars, schedules, to-do lists in the right format and size to fit in my Franklin Planner. It will probably meet the needs of most individuals. I believe it compares favorably with other such personal information managers. SUMMARY: Sidekick 98 lives up to its promises. It is perhaps better suited for the person who has to coordinate his/her schedule with a group. It is a forgiving program with a short learning curve. For individual use, I still prefer Franklin Ascend. Sidekick 98 is in very close 2nd place. On a scale of one to four jalapenos I give it a three. Enjoy! Starfish Software,1700 Green Hills Road, Scotts Valley, CA 95066
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