REVIEW: Atlantis Software WinMan
WinMan and ManageWise team up
By Tom Stearns
WinMan
Atlantis Software
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Poor
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Satisfactory
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Exceptional
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Utility
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Performance
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Value
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Documentation
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Price:
$149.95
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With some useful products, we don't know we need them until
they are invented. Using Novell Inc.'s ManageWise platform with
Atlantis Software's WinMan is one of those solutions.
WinMan lets you set up "desktops" with any set of ManageWise
windows, sized and positioned just as you want them. Then the desktop
can be recalled--in the right place and at the right size--by a
single menu option in ManageWise. No longer will you be forced to
construct and then demolish your ManageWise console layout to examine
another aspect of your network.
Huge, monolithic
applications, or "suites" are today's reality.
They come on CD-ROMs and provide word processors, spreadsheets,
graphics, and on and on. WinMan is a throwback to the days when
software was a simple tool, not a whole garageful of tools. It does
one thing--manage screens for Novell's ManageWise--and does it well.
We were impressed that the installation, from two floppy disks,
went smoothly, and took only about 10 minutes. The program itself was
easy to use, which is fortunate because the documentation was
sparse--only about 10 pages with few illustrations.
But using what manual there was and common sense, we had no
trouble making WinMan work.
We set up a few test desktops using WinMan on our ManageWise
console, tossing screens every which way. After saving a few of these
screens and being able to recall them quickly and easily, we were
convinced that this product does what it says it will do and does it
well.
If you use ManageWise and spend more than a few minutes a day
changing
configurations, WinMan will make your life easier.
Given the ease of creating different looks, you might also find
yourself venturing into monitoring less-obvious areas of your
network.
Atlantis Software
34740 Blackstone Way
Fremont, CA 94555
(510) 796-2180
http://www.atlantissoftware.com
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