Software Reviews : 1,2,3 FORECAST !,Release 2.01 Reviewed by William P. Yohe,Duke University Publisher: Bruce L. Gates,PO Box 12582,Salem,OR 97309 (telephone: [phone]) Year of Publication: 1986 Materials: One disk (not copy-protected),71-page loose-leaf user's manual Price: $89.95 postpaid (special prices available for class use Machine Specificity: ~M PC arid compatibles,Machine Specificity: wM Pc and compatibles System Requirements: 384K RAM,two 360K floppy drives or one 360K drive and hard disk;PC/MS Dos 2.0 or higher;LOTUS 1-2-3,Release 2 Effectiveness: Very good User-Friendliness: Very good Documentation: Excellent

Abstract

This is a LOTUS template specifically for learning and doing simple but conventional methods of business and economic forecasting, both autoregressive "time series" (seasonal adjustment, trend, and single-weighted exponential smoothing) and multiple regression techniques. The number of observations must not exceed 150, and multiple regressions may have up to 10 independent variables. It is quite easy to use, everything is well explained, and little or no knowledge of LOTUS 1- 2-3 is required. The product's only deficiency is that the methods are too simple to be widely used by anyone but beginners and relatively unsophisticated or undemanding users. It would be excellent for low-level instructional use.