`WINDOWS' ADD-ON SOFTWARE FINALLY BECOMES PRACTICAL

Windows, the add-on software that makes an IBM personal computer look and act like a Macintosh, is finally becoming an all-around winner.

I first heard about Windows in the mid-1980s. Microsoft made noises about it soon becoming the standard in the IBM-compatible world. Certainly the Mac's success since then proves Microsoft's vision correct, that a graphic interface is easier for most people to learn and use. But Microsoft's timetable was a joke. A few famous programs were built around Windows - such as Excel and PageMaker - but most programs still worked from good old DOS.What makes Windows practical now? For one thing, the hardware can finally push it fast enough. To make Windows applications walk, you need a machine based on Intel's 80386 microprocessor. To make them run, you need a fast 386 or even a 486, with a lot of RAM. Although an EGA display will do, you won't get the full value of a graphic display without at least VGA graphics. Such machines are now getting cheap enough for use in many offices.

The real clue that Windows is practical now is the appearance of more and more software that works with Windows. A prime example is the new Microsoft Word for Windows (Microsoft Corp., $495, (206) 882-8080). Microsoft, which makes Windows as well as MS-DOS, now has a word processor that fits the graphic interface.

Microsoft is a kingpin in applications software. Word ranks second, behind WordPerfect, as the most popular word-processing program in some best-seller lists. So the word that Microsoft was finally going to bat in the Windows word-processor market is big news.

Oh, Microsoft bundled Windows Write with Windows. But Write was little more than a quick note processor. My testing showed Word for Windows to be strong, thorough and well-documented. The only drawback I discovered was the same old story about Windows - if you want reasonable performance, you'll need a powerful personal computer.

Word for Windows wants at least 640K of RAM and a hard disk. I'd follow Microsoft's recommendations and add a mouse and a couple of megabytes of expanded memory to that (and upgrade from EGA graphics to VGA).

As with many Microsoft programs, Word for Windows comes with lots of paper. There's a pocket guide to commands, a sampler booklet showing Word for Windows uses, a Windows tutorial, a printer guide and a hard-bound user's reference. There are also a couple of templates (for function key commands - you WordPerfect fans don't have to use the pull-down menus).