COLUMN: Savvy User

Tom tells you how you can make use of EXPENSE.WK1, one of four Lotus worksheets built into ROM on the U.S. 95LX. He briefly reviews other programs, including: One that makes Alt and Ctrl "sticky" (press once instead of holding down), a program that puts a clock with huge block letters on the 95LX, and a program that lets the 95LX reproduce the tones of a touchtone phone, letting the 95LX dial a number.

By Thomas R. Page

One of the most useful programs for your 95LX on CompuServe's HPSYS forum is STAYDNHP.COM (download STDNHP.ZIP *) written by Jeff Prosise of PC Magazine. This little program makes <ALT> and <CTRL> "sticky" like <Shift> (i.e. press it and release instead of holding down). It is far easier to press two keys in succession (e.g. <ALT> and then T) than two little keys at the same time. (It would be nice if the program could be modified so that it displayed symbols in the lower right corner of the screen to indicate that one of these keys had been pressed as is done when <Shift> is pressed.)

Less useful, but entertaining, is HPNEKO.COM (download HPNEKO .ZIP *). NEKO is one of a number of programs including an English-Spanish translator (download UTIL1.ZIP) written for the 95LX by David K. Goodman. Rolling a ball around for a cute little kitten to chase provides needed diversion in long boring meetings, without requiring the intense concentration demanded by Space Invaders (AG .ZIP *) or Tetris (HPTRIX.ZIP *). SMClock (SMCLOK.ZIP *) can be not-too-subtly used to hint that a meeting is lasting too long. Pop it up and casually position it so the meeting chairman can see the time in HUGE BLOCK LETTERS!

Ivo Steklac must have been reading my mind. Last week I was thinking, "Why doesn't someone write a program to dial a touchtone telephone," and DIALTO.ZIP * appears on CompuServe. Version 1.1 needs a little tuning, but the program is intuitive and makes appropriate use of the 95LX interface standard.

The program needs to be improved so that it can add and delete area codes quickly and easily. In the world of portable computers, dialing prefixes, area codes, charge codes, and modem protocols change from location to location. I envision a command telling the 95LX its location, and thus provide location-specific configuration information to all programs.

How About Another Program Idea

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