Asking The Right Questions

 

So, you've decided to take the graphics plunge and either purchase a computer-based graphics system or add graphics software to that dandy little personal computer you acquired last year to balance your budget. What do you do now?

Before even considering a graphics system or graphics software, the user must have a clear idea of what he or she intends to do, warns Mitchell Kapor, president of Lotus Development Corp. in Cambridge, Mass., and author of VisiPlot. "Are you trying to make graphs and charts, prepare presentations, or make pretty pictures?" he asks. "You have to develop some understanding of what your present and future graphics needs will be."

Any $2,000 microcomputer system can produce charts of some sort. The problem is getting the system to create the best chart with the least amount of trouble for your particular application.

Kapor points out that a software graphics program should be easy to use and written to be "user friendly." Customers should insist on seeing the program demonstrated using problems similar to their own. It might even be wise to bring in some of your facts and figures, hand them to the computer dealer, and let him or her show you just how easy, or difficult, it is to create a chart from scratch, Kapor says.

Some other considerations: Can the program and the hardware create charts in color? Can the software generate a hard copy or does it just display the graphics on a screen? Can it be expanded to handle increased data loads? Will the dealer provide the necessary training and technical assistance to get your graphics project off the ground? And, for those who already own a computer, will the software run on your particular machine? Apple Plot and VisiPlot, for example, currently run only on the Apple, although VisiPlot is being modified to run on the IBM Personal Computer as well.

Finally, you should ask if the graphics software is compatible with the financial software programs written for your computer. Even if you have graphics and financial software that will run on the same machine, they may not work together if they use different methods of storing information. If this is the case, converting the facts and figures for graphics compatibility could cost thousands of dollars, Kapor says.