Lawyers can find applications that handle billing, help with research, and keep track of court appearances and filing dates.

Medical offices can get data base applications customized to deal with patient histories, help diagnose illnesses, and match allergy symptoms to causes. Other medical software handles billing and appointments, and helps process insurance claims. Teachers can find applications that keep track of attendance, record test scores, and help prepare tests. Farmers can get applications dedicated to herd management and crop rotation, as well as more general record-keeping software.

You can find applications for manufacturing control, for scientific measurement and analysis, and for virtually any area where a specialized need for calculating or sorting exists. Vertical-market software isn't always listed in software catalogs, but you can find out what's available by reading the software ads in professional journals and by attending computer seminars sponsored by your professional organization. The American Bar Association, for example, has a Committee for Computers that sponsors user groups for lawyers and promotes conferences and seminars on the use of computers in the legal profession.

Software that hasn't been copyrighted is called public-domain software. It's free. It's legal. And you can get it for the asking from your local users group or by downloading it from a computer bulletin board. The only cost to you is the cost of the disk you copy it onto.

But beware! The money you save may be insignificant compared to the time it takes you to learn a program that doesn't come with a manual. Also, free programs aren't always debugged as thoroughly as published applications and may not have such niceties as menus, user-friendly prompts, or help screens.

If you're still interested in exploring bargain software, ask your authorized Apple dealer for the address of a local Apple user group or call 1-800-5383636 and ask for extension 500. You will get the name, address, and phone number of a user group in your area.

Free software

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