Stocking Stuffers Make the holidays brighter: Give the gift of software to yourself and others.

The holidays are upon us once again, and if you're like mostpeople, you've probably waited until the last minute topurchase gifts. Why not make it easy for yourself and head down tothe local software store to pick up a few sure-to-please items?While you're at it, be sure to buy something foryourself--because it's always better to give andreceive.

Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Side By Side

If one of your employees just can't seem to get organized,give him or her a copy of Sidekick 95 Deluxe from StarfishSoftware. Sidekick is a personal information manager that storesaddresses, schedules, to-do lists and more. A module calledEarthTime monitors the time zones of six cities of your choosing,and a note-taking module helps store project ideas. This program isaffordable and extremely easy to use.

Sidekick 95 Deluxe, $59.95 (Windows), Starfish Software,(888) STARFISH, http://www.starfishsoftware.com

Now Starring

Another hot product from Starfish is its new Starfish InternetUtilities program. This group of utilities works under Windows95/NT to make using the Internet a little less cumbersome.

Starfish combines several utilities into a tool bar, whichcontains numerous tabs for organizing your desktop and your Webusage. For example, a tab labeled "Search" providesaccess to 11 different search engines, including Lycos, Infoseekand Yahoo. The "News" tab includes links to a dozendifferent news-oriented sites, such as USA Today andReuters. Click on an icon, and the Web site of your choice islaunched within either Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Explorer.Internet Utilities also imports all your current bookmarks fromNavigator or Explorer.

One extremely helpful feature is this program's ability tolocate Web sites that have changed since your last visit. A"What's New" icon will animate to indicate some siteshave changed. Click on it, and you'll find a list of modifiedWeb sites.

Internet Utilities also organizes the programs on your desktopinto tabs, making it easy to launch them from whatever programyou're in. There's a handy meter for monitoring onlineconnection time and keeping a usage log. And the QuickZip feature,compatible with other Zip programs, lets users compress anddecompress files via drag-and-drop technology. Any avid Webcruiser--no matter their level--will appreciate this product.

Starfish Internet Utilities, $69.95 (Windows 95/NT), StarfishSoftware, (888) STARFISH, http://www.starfishsoftware.com

Say Cheese

Everyone takes pictures during the holidays. But AdobePhotoDeluxe lets you take those photos and do whatever you wantwith them, including getting rid of the dreaded "red eye"look, creating customized calendars and greeting cards . . . evenswitching the body parts of your favorite relatives.

Adobe calls PhotoDeluxe a "consumer image editing"product, unlike the extremely popular and feature-rich AdobePhotoshop, a professional photo editing application. ButPhotoDeluxe can also be a great addition to the office. It letsusers manipulate photos to fit into a brochure, for example, andprepare images for posting on the Web.

You don't need a scanner to use PhotoDeluxe, though you canuse one. Instead, you can have your film processed digitally on aKodak PhotoCD or Floppy Shots (floppy disks). Photos can then bedownloaded into your computer and printed using a laser or inkjetprinter, or sent across the Internet to friends and family.PhotoDeluxe supports common image formats, and it's fun foreven novice computer users.

Adobe PhotoDeluxe, $89 (Windows, Macintosh), Adobe Systems,(800) 888-6293, http://www.adobe.com

Advice From The Pro

Eudora Pro will delight anyone who sends and receives lots ofe-mail. I, for one, gleefully upgraded from my free copy of EudoraLight (downloadable from the Eudora Web site at www.eudora.com).Here are a few reasons why:

Eudora Pro supports message filtering, so incoming and outgoingmessages can be sorted and placed in user-defined mailboxes basedon the sender's name, a key word that appears within a messageand so on. It also supports multiple Internet e-mail accounts sousers can handle all their correspondence from within Eudora.

There's a built-in spelling checker so misspelled wordswon't elude you in important messages. And, because Eudora isthe number-one selling e-mail program, users are less likely tohave compatibility problems when sending and receiving files. Andthere's lots, lots more. Suffice it to say, anyone who usese-mail will love this product.

Eudora Pro, $89 ($39 upgrade), (Windows 3.1, Windows 95/NT,Macintosh), Qualcomm, (619) 658-1291, http://www.eudora.com

Road Trip

If you want to give a truly useful gift with universal appeal,check out Rand McNally's TripMaker 1997. This bestsellingmapping product features a comprehensive and easy-to-use travelguide with maps of the United States, Canada and Mexico on CD-ROM.The laBODY version of TripMaker is enhanced with an Internetconnection and multimedia elements, including full-screen aerialphotographs of major cities and 20 minutes of video and audiohelp.

This program helps travelers select the best route for theirneeds. For example, the travel planning option lets users choosebetween scenic, fasBODY or shorBODY routes for various legs oftheir trip. It even helps plan the best time of day for travel.

TripMaker 1997 includes 640,900 miles of roads, as well as 2,800restaurants and more than 15,000 hotels, with information on priceranges, amenities and more. Hard-core business travelers willappreciate the 250 detailed city maps that make it easy to map outdirections to a client's site.

TripMaker 1997, $39.95 (Windows), Rand McNally New Media,(800) 671-5006, ext. 402.

Successful Steps

Reading a book on a computer isn't necessarily all thatrewarding--you can't curl up on the couch with your computer,and you can't use it in the bathtub. But some innovativepublishers have developed interesting ways of bringing the text ofa book to your computer screen.

Steps to Success' InstaView electronic books come in fourcategories: personal growth, motivation, sales techniques andbusiness practices. Titles include How to Master the Art ofSelling by Tom Hopkins, Advanced Selling Strategies byBrian Tracy, and The Secret of Letting Go by Guy Finley.

What makes the InstaView interesting? One fun feature is the KeyConcept Screen Saver, which displays an excerpt from the bookyou're reading every 30 seconds. There's also a Navigatortool that can search for key words, topics or exercises you canelectronically bookmark for future reference.

Steps to Success, $34.95 to $39.95 (Windows), (800)963-2255.

Read And Learn

Not all gifts must be business-related, of course. The BooksThat Work series is designed to help users improve the quality oftheir home lives. Titles such as Country Living Gardener, GreatGardens and Country Living Style all include multimediahow-to instructions, complete with sound, color photographs andanimated videos.

There's also no-nonsense advice on topics such ascalculating how much paint you'll need for any room in yourhouse. Some titles, including 3D Landscape, 3D Kitchen andVisual Home, even come complete with a 3-D tool that helpsyou design the home or garden of your dreams. Both experienced andbeginning do-it-yourselfers will love these titles.

Books That Work, $30 to $60 (Windows), (800) 242-4546,http://www.btw.com

Hot Disks

New and notable software

Microsoft Office 97 Small Business Edition:

Small-business owners are hot, hot, hot, and Microsoft is wooingthem with a version of Microsoft Office 97 designed especially forsmall-business needs. Microsoft Office 97 Small Business Editionwill include three key Microsoft Office 97 modules: Word 97, Excel97, and Outlook 97, Microsoft's new desktop informationmanager.

The suite will also include Publisher 97 for desktop publishing;the Small Business Financial Manager for evaluating differentfinancial scenarios; AutoMap Streets Plus, a road mapping program;and resources and tools for getting started on the Internet.

Due out in February or March, Microsoft Office 97 Small BusinessEdition will retail for $249. Visit Microsoft's small-businessWeb site at http://www.microsoft.com/smallbiz/for more information on this product and other Microsoft programsfor small-business owners.