Best of Show: Boston 96

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MacWorld Exposition: Boston 96
Tom Carrolan

Here we go again. We keep having fun looking for the cool and the new Mac stuff at MacWorld Expo. With this 5th edition, N.E.Mac ["any Mac"] issues its 100th Best of Show award!

Best of Show Award to...

Best of Show Company

What We Say!

Canvas 5.0 Deneba A powerful EPS drawing program with a familiar tool palette. If you just can't find your decoder ring for Illustrator and Freehand then Canvas is for you.

SnapScan Agfa A Hyundai-priced flatbed scanner from the Cadillac of image hardware companies! Three hundred and something dollars.

Stuffit Deluxe 4.0 Aladdin The legend continues. Here's one you just can't live without... if you can't live without a Mac. The Magic Menu idiot-proofs the stuffing and unstuffing process for all of us.

Virtual Pool MacPlay No one dies, everyone has fun. Nine Ball. Eight Ball. Need I say more?!

Designing Multimedia Peachpit Press Very colorful and information-rich book. A great resource for more than just the web. Easy to understand chapters on such difficult subjects as color depth, color palettes, and user interface design.

Kai's PowerGoo MetaTools Too much fun to pass up. Ye olde morphing technology, what a drag... really just drag and morph.

Now Utilities Now Software There should be an FDA warning label for this one saying, "highly addictive." I know I get a little sweaty and fidgety when I use a Mac w/o Now Utilities' file maneuvering. Sure I could do w/o it BUT I DON'T WANT TO. Pick and choose the parts you can't live without.

3D Web Workshop Specular The first of the batteries included packages to provide more than web art. You'll actually make web stuff including animations.

RAM Doubler 2.0 Connectix Never ever no way no how under any circumstances use Virtual Memory. Use RAM Doubler.

Web Buddy Dataviz The manage-your-internet-life gadget programs for email-ftp-other urls are opening [and closing] all over town. This one makes sense and doesn't require a manual.

ColorWeb Pantone Internet-safe colors. From the color company comes a web coloring add-on that works right thru Apple's Color Picker. Already finished that web site? ColorWeb suggests internet-safe color changes. Even comes with Pantone swatches. Way under $50.

Expression Fractal Design Like Richard on Caroline in the City it strokes, textures, and completes your illustrations for you. But it has hundreds of built-in styles and Expression likes your cat.

Myrmidon Terry Morse Software Damn we like this guy. With this "one who guides" you use the Chooser to print to disk any document from any application creating an HTML file: words-- big and small, tabular info, graphics, all get plucked, coded, and converted. It's that easy to make a web page.

WAV Digital Harbor Like PageMaker in 1985... but it's 1996. So WAV is DTP and HTML and .AU and QuickTime and more.
What? Is it drag-and-drop-easy, you ask? Of course.

Zaurus Sharp A lot for the money. Take your Sharp PDA and add: email, the web, faxing, basic Microsoft-compatible apps. and a video camera but still stuff the thing in your coat pocket after you take out a thousand bucks.

MovieStar 1.5 Intelligence at Large Want to know what Best of Show means to me? Check out these guys: take a tough, expensive job like preparing a QuickTime movie or animation for the web. Automate it. Optimize smartly. Price it so it looks like a typo.
Our operatives also loved their boothmate's video compressor Movie Cleaner Pro & WebMotion... if you're into this stuff [or want to be]-- get both: they offer a show bundle.

LightningDraw

Electrifier Player
Lari Software Web animations made easy.
Very small K and not much $ either.

Best of Show operatives and unindicted co-conspirators: Joe Kelley, Jacob Russell, and Jeff Kane, MD, and Tom Tyning.

We try to get the web links right but at any moment in time or quite permanently a link may be down... such is life on the Internet.

Back to the Best of Show "home page."

Best of Show Award to...	Best of Show Company	What We Say!
Canvas 5.0	Deneba	A powerful EPS drawing program with a familiar tool palette. If you just can't find your decoder ring for Illustrator and Freehand then Canvas is for you.
SnapScan	Agfa	A Hyundai-priced flatbed scanner from the Cadillac of image hardware companies! Three hundred and something dollars.
Stuffit Deluxe 4.0	Aladdin	The legend continues. Here's one you just can't live without... if you can't live without a Mac. The Magic Menu idiot-proofs the stuffing and unstuffing process for all of us.
Virtual Pool	MacPlay	No one dies, everyone has fun. Nine Ball. Eight Ball. Need I say more?!
Designing Multimedia	Peachpit Press	Very colorful and information-rich book. A great resource for more than just the web. Easy to understand chapters on such difficult subjects as color depth, color palettes, and user interface design.
Kai's PowerGoo	MetaTools	Too much fun to pass up. Ye olde morphing technology, what a drag... really just drag and morph.
Now Utilities	Now Software	There should be an FDA warning label for this one saying, "highly addictive." I know I get a little sweaty and fidgety when I use a Mac w/o Now Utilities' file maneuvering. Sure I could do w/o it BUT I DON'T WANT TO. Pick and choose the parts you can't live without.
3D Web Workshop	Specular	The first of the batteries included packages to provide more than web art. You'll actually make web stuff including animations.
RAM Doubler 2.0	Connectix	Never ever no way no how under any circumstances use Virtual Memory. Use RAM Doubler.
Web Buddy	Dataviz	The manage-your-internet-life gadget programs for email-ftp-other urls are opening [and closing] all over town. This one makes sense and doesn't require a manual.
ColorWeb	Pantone	Internet-safe colors. From the color company comes a web coloring add-on that works right thru Apple's Color Picker. Already finished that web site? ColorWeb suggests internet-safe color changes. Even comes with Pantone swatches. Way under $50.
Expression	Fractal Design	Like Richard on Caroline in the City it strokes, textures, and completes your illustrations for you. But it has hundreds of built-in styles and Expression likes your cat.
Myrmidon	Terry Morse Software	Damn we like this guy. With this "one who guides" you use the Chooser to print to disk any document from any application creating an HTML file: words-- big and small, tabular info, graphics, all get plucked, coded, and converted. It's that easy to make a web page.
WAV	Digital Harbor	Like PageMaker in 1985... but it's 1996. So WAV is DTP and HTML and .AU and QuickTime and more. What? Is it drag-and-drop-easy, you ask? Of course.
Zaurus	Sharp	A lot for the money. Take your Sharp PDA and add: email, the web, faxing, basic Microsoft-compatible apps. and a video camera but still stuff the thing in your coat pocket after you take out a thousand bucks.
MovieStar 1.5	Intelligence at Large	Want to know what Best of Show means to me? Check out these guys: take a tough, expensive job like preparing a QuickTime movie or animation for the web. Automate it. Optimize smartly. Price it so it looks like a typo. Our operatives also loved their boothmate's video compressor Movie Cleaner Pro & WebMotion... if you're into this stuff [or want to be]-- get both: they offer a show bundle.
LightningDraw Electrifier Player	Lari Software	Web animations made easy. Very small K and not much $ either.