he Contender from the West Coast in our survey is J3 Computer Technologies. Dedicated to OS/2 only retail for many years now, J3's domain name and WWW address say it all: www.os2store.com -- their sole reason for existence is to supply the OS/2 market with software.

J3's ratings put them squarely among the leaders of the OS/2 marketplace according to our readers. With a score of 4.58 out of 5 for Promptness and Reliability and 4.42 out of 5 for Customer Service, they are clearly well liked. We agree and found that getting through to the "people who matter" at J3 was an easy task (as opposed to IBM Direct at the other end of the scale) and that they were very helpful and friendly. Prices were also good with a total of US$442.00 for the products we selected or an average of US$73.67.

Perhaps most important about J3 is the fact that they are one of a few companies that can match Indelible Blue's range of products. While this is not a comprehensive survey of how many applications each company offers for sale, it is clear from J3's web site that they carry most products that an OS/2 end user will want. In fact, a nice feature of J3's web site is a comprehensive list in alphabetical order of everything available for sale there. And, of course, they also have their on-line product catalogue separated into categories for convenient searching.

Customers had only good things to say about J3, giving them one of the cleanest records in our survey. One reader wrote, "Whenever I had a problem, [which was] not many, [J3 owner] J. Ames always called to make sure it was corrected, called if there was a problem, and to check on how I liked the product. [I was] very satisfied with his service."

Obviously the fact that J3, like Kiyo Design, is a relatively smaller company (compared to IBM Direct) plays a large part in the owner's ability to make personal calls to his customers. Still, it's an attention to service that is appreciated no matter what the reason. This "hands on" management and attention to details has won J3 a loyal following.

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