Product Snapshots

When I am looking for the latest computer games, I often find new and interesting products. Product Snapshots gives you a quick overview of the most useful products I have found during the last month. (Please note that these are first-look reviews; I have not conducted exhaustive testing.)

NETSCAPE FASTTRACK SERVER FOR NETWARE

Netscape FastTrack Server for NetWare from Novell is a version of Netscape's popular World-Wide Web server software that runs on an intraNetWare or NetWare 4 server. Netscape FastTrack Server for NetWare offers all of the functionality that is available in other versions of Netscape FastTrack Server. For example, Netscape FastTrack Server for NetWare supports HTTP, HTTPS, and Java, as well as the ability to run scripts.

Netscape FastTrack Server for NetWare also includes the same management software as other versions of Netscape FastTrack Server. This management software allows you to manage your company's web server from any workstation with a web browser and an Internet connection. In addition, Netscape FastTrack Server for NetWare includes Netscape Communicator, a suite of Internet and intranet products. With Netscape Communicator, you can create, publish, and access documents on the web server.

Unlike other versions of Netscape FastTrack Server, however, Netscape FastTrack Server for NetWare integrates fully with Novell Directory Services (NDS). As a result, you can set up Netscape FastTrack Server for NetWare to authenticate users through the NDS tree. You can also use NDS to protect information on your company's Internet or intranet site.

For example, if you posted a confidential document on your company's intranet site, you could specify that only particular users or groups could view this document. Netscape FastTrack Server for NetWare would display a login screen whenever a user tried to access the document, prompting the user for an NDS username and password. Netscape FastTrack Server for NetWare would then contact the NDS database to verify this username and password.

You can download Netscape FastTrack Server for NetWare free from http://www.novell.com/download. For more information about Netscape FastTrack Server for NetWare, visit Novell's web site (http://www.novell.com/intranetware/products/netscape_servers). You can also call 1-888-NETWARE or 1-801-861-5588.

COMMUNICATE!

COMMUNICATE! from 01 Communique is a full-featured communications tool that you can use to communicate with other users from any Windows 3.x, Windows 95, or Windows NT 4.0 workstation. With COMMUNICATE!, you can store and manage contact information--such as telephone numbers, fax numbers, and e-mail addresses--for your company's partners, suppliers, and customers in an easy-to-use database. You can then access the contact information for a particular user and communicate with this user via telephone, fax, or e-mail.

The COMMUNICATE! interface resembles that of a traditional desktop telephone, with a virtual telephone receiver, a keypad, and a hold button. If you have a modem connection and a voice modem that is fully compatible with modem standards from Rockwell or U.S. Robotics, you can plug your existing telephone into a port on the voice modem. You can then use COMMUNICATE! to accept and place telephone calls, which you can also record, via a handset or a speakerphone.

You can screen incoming calls by viewing caller ID information. In addition, you can set up an unlimited number of password-protected voice mailboxes, which you can integrate with the caller ID feature. For example, you can configure COMMUNICATE! to play a unique, prerecorded greeting for a particular user. You can then listen to voice-mail messages directly from your workstation.

Because COMMUNICATE! includes remote access capabilities, you can even use a modem to dial in to your workstation from a remote location to retrieve voice-mail messages and to configure several COMMUNICATE! options. For example, you can record new greetings, forward incoming calls to a different telephone number or fax number, and request notification of voice-mail messages, e-mail messages, and incoming faxes via your pager.

You can accept incoming faxes over a modem connection using the fax handler that comes with COMMUNICATE!, and you can view these faxes using the integrated fax viewer. If your local telephone company offers a custom ring feature, you can assign a custom ring to all incoming fax calls, and you can configure COMMUNICATE! to route these calls to the fax handler. You can also set up a fax-on-demand system.

You can purchase COMMUNICATE! through retail channels at the suggested retail price of U.S. $49.95. For more information about COMMUNICATE!, visit 01 Communique's web site (http://www.01com.com/product/comm.htm). You can also call 1-800-668-2185 or 1-905-795-2888.

NetWare Connection, April 1998, pp.46