Although the word-processing software package Note Bene is aimed primarily at nonscientific academic users, its impressive capabilities in such areas as bibliography creation and foreign language support make it valuable for scientists as well as those in the humanities and social sciences.

The $495 package, developed by New York City-headquartered Dragonfly Software, runs on the IBM-PC and compatible computers. In many ways it takes after another word-processing program, XyWrite, a popular package that is respected for its power and functionality but is also somewhat difficult to learn. Easier to master, Note Bene redefines the XyWrite keyboard to make what the developer apparently regards as a more logical keyboard.

Users of XyWrite - developed by Bedford, Mass.-based XyQuest Inc. - will recognize many of their favorite features in Note Bene: a screen whose area is mainly dedicated to text entry; keys that can be used in unusual ways (for example, Note...

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