Most of us spend our lives developing our careers. But for those who are unsure of where their skills lie, mapping out the career path can be difficult.

If you would like to identify your talents and decide on a career that best suits you, Career Design Software offers a solution. Career Design is a computer-based career planning system. It is designed to help users find out which careers are best suited to their own talents, communicate those talents to potential employers and pursue their careers.

The Career Design software program stemmed from a process originated by John Crystal called Life/Work Design. According to Career Design, Crystal's career consulting firm in New York has come to the aid of many a job-seeker over the past 30 years. These clients represented a variety of ages and backgrounds. Crystal's credibility is also boosted by his contributions to the best selling book by Richard N. Bolles, ``What Color Is Your Parachute?'' Career Design calls Crystal ``an acknowledged pioneer of career planning.''

This program also gives you a little shove once you've decided on your direction. You will find out how to prepare resumes, write letters, get appointments, handle interview questions and even negotiate pay.

Three main sections of Career Design help you get started on your search by finding out who you are, what you want and how you get there.

The ``Who Am I?'' section identifies over 100 of your personal skills and organizes them into groups. It also defines your values concerning people, working conditions and living situations.

Moving on to ``What Do I Want?'' you will reveal your special interests to become more familiar with your aspirations. This way you can form more precise goals oriented to areas of your life that you feel are important. This section helps you construct a plan for the future.

After all this, you ask yourself, ``How Do I Get There?'' This final section involves more extensive research and actual preparing to activate your plan. First, you study the subjects and career direction you are interested in while seeking out employers. This involves contacting those employers through letters, phone calls and personal meetings. Career Design helps you get ready for these meetings by preparing responses to many of the most commonly asked questions. The program will also show you how to convince prospective employers that you are the one for the job.

According to Career Design, this program gives the user control of his or her own career planning system. The personal data you compile consists of your own unique experiences, characteristics and values. You are not limited to a standard list of careers that forces you to choose from what is offered.

Career Design says the decisions you make match your unique qualities, therefore you are more committed to your future plans and also more confident.

Most of the benefits of an expensive counselor are provided with Career Design, says Eric Sandburg, president of Career Design Software. You meet the actual people involved in your area of interest and learn first-hand how they work.

Another advantage is the entertaining aspect of the program, says Sandburg. Instead of asking intimidating questions, Career Design uses imaginative exercises to assess personal information.

``The process is fun, easy to use and affordable,''says Sandburg.

Career Design also gives feedback. For instance, the program tells the user what data is missing from the personal files and gives suggestions on what to include.

According to Career Design, this program is designed with great flexibility for people from a wide variety of backgrounds. Even novice computer users can easily access the program's powerful features. People of all ages and levels of education will find examples drawn from their experience in Career Design.

``Entering the job market at any point in life, whether you are straight out of school or seeking a career or job change, can be frightening in the best of times,'' says Sandburg.

With growing competition and financial turmoil in the job market, personalized assistance may be the way to set your designs on a career.

For more information on Career Design Software, contact:
Career Design Software
P.O. Box 95624
Atlanta, GA 30347
(404)321-6100, (800)346-8007


The Calculator That Makes ``Cents''

Is your calculator smart enough to answer all your financial questions? Maybe your adding machine doesn't seem to have enough keys to calculate your personal finances. If you think someone should invent a different calculator for every financial need, relax, someone already has.

Financial $oftware Co. designed Finance10 to answer all your questions and take the guesswork out of making financial decisions. This program includes 10 different calculators, each one suited to a specific financial need.

The 10 available calculators are: Bond yield to maturity, depreciation, financial managers rate of return, internal rate of return, individual retirement account, lease vs. purchase analysis, loan amortization schedule, personal financial statement, present value/future value and statistics.

Finance10 can be used independently as a standalone program or with another program as a ``pop-up'' option. Press one key to call up a specific calculator, enter in any requested information and press another key to instantly calculate the results.

All ten calculators use preformatted screens with a fill-in-the-blank method of input. So once you've mastered one calculator, you can use them all. And your calculations can be saved to a particular file or printed out.

Finance10 also functions as a basic calculator with addition, subtraction, multiplication and division functions and a few advanced features. It can figure percentages, round a total to a specified number of decimal places and keep a running ``tape'' that can be scrolled up or down and the contents of which can be printed.

Financial $oftware says the calculators are easy to use and that they ``take the mystery out of evaluating financial options.'' For instance, you can calculate the number of days from purchase date to maturity, the total value of a retirement account or your own personal net worth without consulting a financial expert. This program also automatically checks input data for tax law limitations and other special considerations.

Richard Cahlin, CPA and executive vice president of Financial $oftware, explains, ``You hit a button and Finance10 does the rest. No other system is as simple and intuitive. Finance10 is designed for novice computer users with the same power and flexibility as any advanced system.''

The Finance10 program comes with a manual containing cartoons by computer cartoonist Richard Tennant. And, Financial $oftware says, no accounting experience is required.

Finance10, available for $69.95, is geared toward financial professionals as well as average consumers. According to Financial $oftware, anyone who makes money decisions can use Finance10.

For more information on Finance10, contact:
Cahlin/Williams Communications
617 North Alta Vista Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(800) 332-2983


Time For A Checkup

A trip to the dentist's office is something most people will put off until they run out of excuses. So if you haven't been to your dentist in a while, you may be surprised at what you see the next time you walk through the office door.

Dental offices are changing the way they look and the way they operate. Many now use dental practice management software. AlphaDent, a supplier of dental software, created AlphaDent Dental Management System to help practices run more efficiently.

Shawn Davidson, president of AlphaDent, says the system provides dental practices with a complete management system. This includes appointment scheduling, patient maintenance, billing, insurance billing and an office correspondence letter system. The program also supplies graphics. (Color can be used in making production graphs and presentation graphics.)

Alpha Microsystems provides the hardware for AlphaDent. Davidson says this hardware has the power to automate any modern dental practice of any size.

The AlphaDent Dental Management System can do more than manage records, however. It has a new feature called the Radio-Visiography System (RVG), which provides computer-generated, digital x-rays, where an x-ray image of the patient's teeth is projected onto a computer screen.

The RVG system, manufactured by Trophy Radioligie, is noted as a safe source of obtaining diagnostic information. When put together with a leading dental practice management system, this creates an advantage for both the client and server.

``We are excited to be the first dental software supplier to announce and demonstrate the integration of the RVG,'' Davidson says. ``Professionals can manage every detail of their practices and offer an x-ray device that reduces radiation by over 90%.''

These new features, not to mention the free toothbrush you get for good behavior, make a visit to the dentist's office worth the trip. So stop makin excuses.

For more information on the AlphaDent Dental Management System or the Radio-Visiography System, contact:
AlphaDent
3303 Harbor Blvd.
B-11
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
(714) 241-0211


The Perfect Plan

Your next party can be a raging success, thanks to your personal computer. Your computer can also help you leave a lasting impression at a business meeting. How? With a software program that turns your computer and laser printer into a professional calligrapher.

Perfect Calligraphy, created by Social Software Inc., lets you print invitations, envelopes and place cards for social and business entertaining. You can also produce thank you notes, flyers, labels, business cards and more.

Two versions of Perfect Calligraphy, a DOS-based program, are available. The laser printer version uses the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet. There is also a pen plotter version that contains a plotter calligraphy pen. (Pen plotters use computer-run pens to draw graphics on paper.) Social Software recommends the pen plotter version for Roland Digital Group and SketchMate plotters.

Social Software supplies with each version two fonts, which are sets of characters of the same typeface and size. These two fonts are Chancery and Signet Roundhand. Thirteen additional fonts are available by mail order. The typefaces can be printed in italics, boldface or slanted into forehand or backhand. Typefaces, measured in units called points, can be scaled from four-point to 99-point type. (One inch is equal to approximately 72 points.)

The program lets you center and space your text automatically. For cards and envelopes, 12 standard sizes are programmed to set margins and spacing according to the size of the item. And to make addressing envelopes easier, the program automatically enters the city and state when you type in the zip code. There is also a special invitation tray so the printer can stack up to 50 invitations.

Perfect Calligraphy creates several laser products through a subsidiary called Papers for Printing. This is a line of social papers for laser printers. There are designs for wedding invitations, birth announcements, place cards and other items.

Fred Lemke, a Los Angeles representative for Papers for Printing, says the company is very creative, making it ``possible for anyone with a laser printer to create invitations that would take weeks to order.''

Social Software says its method of calligraphy is more cost effective than ordering from a print shop because creating documents on your own eliminates waiting and mistakes.

According to Social Software, Perfect Calligraphy can be used for personal and professional purposes, both at home or in the office. The mail-merge program, which is designed for mass mailings, can be used for business announcements or for mailing wedding invitations.

Whatever you're planning, business or pleasure, do it yourself and make sure your documents are ``perfect'': even if the main event isn't!

For more information on Perfect Calligraphy, contact:
Social Software Inc.
311 West 43rd St.
Suite 703
New York, NY 10036
(212) 956-2707


Detective Work Turns PCs Into P.I.s

You've seen it in the movies. The police officer works with the pencil and sketch pad, drawing quickly as the crime victim nervously describes the facial features of the suspect. Those scenes will seem outdated when officers begin throwing out their sketch pads and replacing them with computers.

Compusketch is a program that is putting sketch artists out of business. This program from Visatex Corp. uses Microsoft Windows to create and change images on the screen.

Information about a suspect's appearance is obtained from crime witnesses. Officers enter data into the program such as eye color, hair style, head shape and general appearance. The screen then displays a rough composite of the suspect that can be modified using the windows. A special mouse, a hand-held pointing device, is used to choose menu tools that change the appearance of the face on screen.

The police department at Bellevue, Wash., is already taking advantage of computerized sketching. Lieutenant William Ferguson says Compusketch makes producing composite drawings much faster and easier.

``We can create and print a sketch in half an hour, then distribute it quickly, before witness memory fades,'' Ferguson says.

Compusketch could be utilized outside of the office as well. Ferguson says the department hopes to install the program on laptops so officers in mobile crime investigation vans can use it to take composite descriptions at the scene.

Police officers can use other Microsoft Windows programs both in and out of the office to make work more efficient. Compusketch helps to diagram the crime scene, then officers can immediately write reports using Microsoft Word. And search warrants can be set up and transferred to the judge by fax or modem.

``We can get right to work,'' says Ferguson. ``That saves a lot of time.''

According to Ferguson, the Windows programs serve several purposes at the police department. Word processing, making composite drawings and reports and preparing presentations are just part of the integrated office system. Ferguson says productivity has increased tremendously with the use of laptops with Windows.

Computers are becoming more useful in police investigations, but personal computers have not yet taken the place of private investigators.

For more information on Microsoft Windows programs, contact:
Visatex Corp.
1745 Dell Ave.
Campbell, CA 95008
(408) 866-6562


The Key Word

Everyone who uses a computer can remember a time when hours of work were lost simply by pressing one wrong key. For first-time computer users, knowing the functions of each key at a glance can mean the difference between saving a file or deleting it.

FuncKey Enterprises designs reference products to prevent mistakes and to help the computer user be more productive. Templates are part of that product line. Templates are overlays for your keyboard that define the functions of special keys and key combinations.

FuncKey produces FuncKey Templates for standard keyboards and QuiKeze Universal templates for nonstandard keyboards, such as those found in laptops. QuiKeze and FuncKey templates share all the same features, but QuiKeze templates are designed to store in your diskette case or in the 3.5-inch drive of a laptop while you are traveling.

Function keys (the keys at the top or side a keyboard labeled F1 through F10 or F12) change with the use of different types of software. Key combinations using the function keys and the CONTROL, SHIFT and ALT keys also change. Using several different software packages can mean learning several different functions for each key. That can be confusing.

FuncKey makes templates for many different types of software programs, such as DOS (disk operating system), WordPerfect Corp.'s WordPerfect and WordStar from WordStar Int'l. There are also templates for programs that run in Microsoft Corp.'s Windows, such as Microsoft's Excel. FuncKey even makes templates to define functions for programs using tools and graphics. Some of these include Aldus PageMaker from Aldus Corp., PC Tools from Central Point Software and Harvard Graphics from Software Publishing Corp.

To make switching between programs easier, FuncKey uses the same color-coding system for key combinations on all its templates. Red is used for functions using the CONTROL key, blue is for functions using the ALT key and green is for functions using the SHIFT key. And when just the function key is used, the functions are written in black.

Even if you're not a first-time computer user, templates can help you use your function keys. All you have to remember is which template to use.

For more information on FuncKey Templates and QuiKeze Universal templates, contact:
FuncKey Enterprises
3923B East McKinney
P.O. Box 1976
Denton, TX 76201
(800) 255-4433


File Cabinet Vs. Tenant File

Anyone who has rented property knows that keeping track of monthly records can be a hassle. But no one knows this better than the property manager.

Every owner or manager of rental property could use a simplified system of keeping records. According to W G Software Co., this system is the Tenant File. The Tenant File is a software package that keeps ledgers for both tenants and property owners of rental units. This includes residential housing, apartments, offices and mobile-home and RV parks.

Tenant and owner information, property descriptions and accounting transactions are displayed on-screen at the same time. These date-sensitive reports eliminate the need for account balancing and monthly closings.

Users can go back and forth between the tenant and owner ledgers to insert, delete or correct transactions. Income and expense categories like rent amounts, due dates and deposits can also be set up and posted to the ledgers.

Running and current balances are always displayed on the screen, along with two special-message lines where the property manager can post reminders. For instance, ``Tenant never pays on time'' could alert the owner to a difficult account.

And property owners can print all types of information. For example, vacancy reports, income/expense summary reports, invoices and past-due notices can be printed, as well as print ledger messages, mailing labels and outstanding balance reports.

The Tenant File has an added feature called the Inactive File. When a tenant vacates the property, the program automatically clears the ledger and transfers all the information to the Inactive File. Property owners can keep files of past tenants without taking up space for new files.

To save time, the Tenant File makes charges, such as monthly rent, automatically. And the program forwards all balances at the end of each year.

W G Software says Tenant File, available in 100- and 500-unit versions for $59.95 and $99.95, respectively, is fast and effective.

If you own property, you probably have a stack of files containing everything from payment histories to vacancy reports. Switching to a computerized filing system could save you space and time. It could also save you from having to rent a room to store your files.

For more information on Tenant File, contact:
W G Software Co.
P.O. Box 3829
Austin, TX 78764
(512) 288-1305