re's QmodemPro for Windows 95, Datastorm's Procomm Plus 3.0, Symantec's pcAnywhere32 for Windows 95, and Hilgraeve's HyperAccess 2.1.
All offer direct dial-up connection or connection via a shared network modem, host and terminal support, file transfers, and chat sessions. All support several standard protocols, offer from 10 to 35 terminal emulations, and use the 16550 FIFO buffer (when available) for quicker transfer over high-speed modems. Only half the products do virus checking during file transfer, and few provide complete data encryption support.
Delrina's CommSuite 95
By the time NSTL had finished its tests, there wasn't much doubt as to which product came out on top. Delrina CommSuite 95's inclusion of
almost every
communications feature you could think of, combined with excellent performanc
e and a first-rate implementation, made it the clear winner.
CommSuite is made up of four modules: WinComm Pro 7.0 for general data communications, WinFax Pro 7.0 for faxing, TalkWorks for advanced telephony, and Cyberjack for connecting to the Internet. WinFax Pro combines fax sending/receiving and built-in OCR with e-mail, paging notification, and voice messaging. TalkWorks, the telephony option designed to be used with a voice-capable modem, can turn a PC into a message center. Cyberjack 7.0, with its unique Guidebook, makes connecting to the Internet very easy. It includes all the popular Internet tools, including a Web browser, Usenet news, FTP, IRC, Gopher, Archie, telnet, Ping, and Finger. WinComm Pro offers general-purpose data communications facilities for connecting to BBSes and on-line services. WinComm Pro supports hundreds of different modems and the most common file transfer protocols and terminal emulations. It includes an image manager, a virus detector, a compression manager, along with
a number of other tools.
CommSuite 95 does not yet have a common interface from which to launch different application modules. But it is by far the most complete package in terms of component modules, and these modules work in a fairly consistent fashion.
Hilgraeve's HyperAccess
From the folks who wrote the HyperTerminal program included with Windows 95, you'd expect something pretty special. And you'd be right. High performance, achieved through a thorough understanding of what happens across phone lines, makes Hilgraeve's HyperAccess the fastest comm program of all those we tested.
HyperAccess 2.1 offers an uncomplicated user interface with simple but meaningful icons. The program is easy to learn and use, is very fast, and is very versatile. The logical menu structure and intuitive commands guarantee usability. The program comes with a comprehensive host mode and editor, a proprietary protocol with on-the-fly compression, and ISDN support. A built-in file manager dis
plays directories and lets you find, print, copy and delete files. The integrated HyperGuard virus filter safeguards a remote system from infection during file transfers.
HyperAccess provides several tools for automating repetitive tasks. You can create automatic sequences, such as waiting for prompts from a remote system and sending a response, waiting for a certain time of day before executing a series of commands, or customizing terminal-interaction procedures.
HyperAccess offers many unique programming features, including a powerful macro mode that learns, deciphers, and optimizes user interaction with the program. This learn mode remembers log-on procedures, often-used key sequences, entire calls, and even procedures used during remote control operations. HyperAccess then generates a C program that it can execute with its built-in C language interpreter. Or, you can create custom programs using any programming language that can call external functions.
NSTL testers found HyperAccess' gr
aphical-mode file transfer the easiest to use. It's simple and easy to specify files and start the transfer. And when there are errors, HyperAccess usually resets itself fairly well.
Datastorm's Procomm Plus 3.0
Since before Windows existed, Procomm has been handling communications for PC users. This long experience is reflected in the fast file transfer speeds and the wealth of terminal emulations (33) and file protocols (16) that Datastorm's newest Windows product supports.
Procomm Plus 3.0 is a group of integrated communications modules that interact and use a fairly consistent interface. In addition, the modules share major program components.
Procomm Plus supports three levels of access, a mail/bulletin board system, and remote operation. You can design screens and menus. Metakeys (macros) can transmit text, launch a script, or hook a C program to use the system variables.
There's a separate ÒwindowÓ for nearly every functionÑterminal, fax, Web browser, Intern
et mail, newsreader, and FTP client. (Except for the fax window, they're actually just different views that share a single window.) The Terminal window module provides terminal emulation and file transfer services, as well as direct serial connection via a shared asynchronous communication server or through a telnet connection. The Fax Status window launches automatically whenever you send or receive a fax. This window also monitors and reports the progress of all fax operations and all fax-related modem activity. Procomm Plus's Web Browser window handles any connection made with a WWW-class Connection Directory entry. The FTP Client window also provides some file management capabilities.
Symantec's pcAnywhere32
Symantec, the 900-pound gorilla of the utility software industry, has produced the only true, completely 32-bit Windows 95 communications product in this report, pcAnywhere32. This program is also different from the others with its offering of remote control and direct cable
connections. Its transfer speed is only so-so, and its interface, while among the easiest to use for file transfer, is not as convenient for accessing on-line services.
Two PCs running pcAnywhere32 can transfer files and synchronize directories with each other, control one PC from the other, establish a connection to and become a node on a network, and connect to on-line services and BBS sites.
pcAnywhere32's main window contains a pull-down menu bar, an action bar with eight buttons (six correspond to the program's primary functions), below the menu bar, and a main window area in the middle for creating connection items. The Quick Start button gives you access to wizards for setting up a gateway or host, for doing remote control or remote networking, and for calling an on-line service. When you click on an action button, the main window displays a wizard icon and any connection items previously created. A connection item represents a pcAnywhere32 file containing device information and security
settings. The Add a Communications Item icon invokes a setup wizard that helps you create an item and configure it.
pcAnywhere32 includes several advanced features: SpeedSend transfers only the parts of a file that have changed; ColorScale improves screen-refresh transfer rates; an optimized desktop can disable host wallpaper, screen savers, and full window dragging; and remote security features can restrict drive access and file transfer rights, control hosts, audit calls, and encrypt data.
pcAnywhere32, in its native file transfer or remote control mode, presents the easiest and most convenient interface for swapping files. But it's not as easy to use for an on-line service.
Mustang's QmodemPro
If you need to connect to a really wide variety of systems and services, you should consider Mustang Software's QmodemPro for Windows 95, version 2.0. With its 35 terminal emulations and 16 file transfer protocols, it can talk to almost anything. Performance isn't up to that of
the fastest comm programs, but QmodemPro is particularly well suited to accessing BBSes and on-line services.
QmodemPro can be used as a remote terminal or in host mode. The host software is a small-scale BBS program that enables a computer to receive incoming modem calls. Callers can read and post messages, upload and download files, and, if the system is so configured, take control of the host computer to run simple Windows commands.
When you open the program, you see the main menu, the status bar, and the configurable toolbar and macro bar. The terminal window displays on-line data and terminal-to-host dialog. You can have a macro bar for each phonebook entry.
The Dialing Directory button opens up a phonebook window that includes system names, telephone numbers, log-in names, passwords, and communication parameters. You can add notes and comments to each entry and mark and organize entries into groups for multiple dialing sessions. Each phonebook stores 1024 entries, and you can have an u
nlimited number of phonebook files. The simplest command-line switch starts up QmodemPro, specifies the phonebook file, and dials a specific entry. There's an automatic utility to convert phonebooks from various DOS and Windows communications programs.
QmodemPro has a built-in graphics viewer that allows zooming any graphics file up to 1600 percent, even while you're downloading it. You can view multiple pictures consecutively as they download.
The Script Language Interface for QmodemPro (SLIQ) compiler and debugger allows you to develop custom applications and log-on scripts. Built-in MAPI support lets you copy text and graphics from the terminal window to any MAPI-compliant application.
Hayes' Smartcom Message Center
Hayes designed the AT command set used to control virtually all modems. So it should be no surprise that Hayes' own software, the all-in-one Smartcom Message Center, supports most popular PC modems. But it's really designed to take advantage of special pe
rformance features in certain Hayes high-speed modems by relying on the implementation of a subset of those AT commands. Unfortunately, we didn't notice particularly good performance in our tests. Smartcom's overall speed was among the slowest of the group.
At the heart of the program is the Modem Manager module, which automates switching between different operating modes to handle incoming calls and outbound data and voice. The Message Center's main window is the starting point for program operations. Drop-down menus provide logical access to the product's features. Alternatively, 19 buttons provide quick access to most program activities. You can display as many or as few buttons as desired, and in any order. From either the menus or the buttons, you can manage phonebook, voice-mode, mailbox, modem, and answerphone functions, as well as access the fax log and voice messages.
Fax on Demand keeps a log of all current faxes available for send-on-demand service. From this window, you can add, delete
, modify position and title, and view and change graphics files.
Calling for a Choice
With Windows 95 and TAPI, data communications is finally being treated like any other office application. The six products we tested will all do the job for general communications, and, if your needs are normal, you won't go far wrong with any of them. But there wasn't much doubt as to which one we'd pick: Delrina's fast and versatile CommSuite 95.
Evaluations in this report represent the judgment of BYTE editors, based on extensive tests conducted by National Software Testing Laboratories, as documented in a recent issue of NSTL's monthly Software Digest. To purchase a copy of the much longer, full report, with NSTL's own evaluations and data, contact NSTL at 625 Ridge Pike, Conshohocken, PA 19428; (610) 941-9600; fax (610) 941-9950; or editors@nstl.com. For a subscription, call (800) 257-9402. BYTE Magazine and NSTL are both operating units of
Product Information
CommSuite 95.........................$129
Delrina Group, Symantec Corp.
Toronto, ON, Canada
Phone: (800) 268-6082 or (416) 446-8495
Fax: (416) 443-4318
Internet:
http://www.delrina.com
Circle 1079 on Inquiry Card.
Six Comm Programs That Speak Windows 95
