Ever wished you had more statistical analysis capabilities at your fingertips when working with standard office applications? For many people, investing in a professional statistics program isn't possible, and even for others who are able to do so, learning the many complexities of such a program isn't something they can really justify.
     Now Mathsoft is introducing a version of the professional statistical analysis program S-PLUS aimed at business analysts, engineers and others who need access to powerful statistical capabilities but as part of a PC toolkit rather than as a full-time application.
     S-PLUS 4.5 Standard has all of the features of the S-PLUS 4.5 Professional program used by statisticians and quantitative analysts except for the programming facilities. It has been created with a state-of-the-art interface aimed at being completely intuitive to Microsoft Office users, and features unique drag-and-drop graphing techniques. It works seamlessly with other widely-used software, having extensive data import/export as well as Excel, SPSS and PowerPoint wizards. Indeed, for spreadsheet users, S-PLUS 4.5 Standard extends the graphing and analysis functions available into a whole new dimension.
Compared to other general purpose statistics programs, S-PLUS 4.5 Standard is more comprehensive with many high-end techniques including robust regression, smoothing, tree models (CART) and generalised additive models. The unique 'Trellis' graphics which have helped S-PLUS become so popular amongst professional statistical analysts are also featured.
     In use, S-PLUS Standard offers immediate productivity to Windows and especially Microsoft Office users. Although there is complete control over every detail of graph creation and manipulation, the techniques to do this are genuinely intuitive, with full drag-and-drop capabilities.
     S-PLUS Standard has complete compatibility with S-PLUS 4.5 Professional, and will therefore also prove to be an ideal product for a wider enterprise where there are existing S-PLUS users.

Neil Chapman