Wednesday, May 27, 1998

Notable new software

By JAMES S. DERK / Scripps Howard News Service

A few more software releases of note fill today's space while I digest the Department of Justice's complaint against Microsoft Corp.

-- Rand McNally, the nation's leading map publisher, has released "New Millennium World Atlas Deluxe," an interactive, 3-D glimpse of the world. I know -- poke me before I nod off. World Atlas? Who looks at a world atlas except when forced to at ruler-point by some teacher?

That's what I thought as I installed the CD-ROM. After spending a few hours (yes, hours!) looking this thing over, I'm convinced. If this product had been around when I was in school, I would have a whole new attitude about our world. It's hard to explain without seeing it, but this atlas lets you explore where you want to go. Of course, there are detailed, colorful maps galore -- literally any place in the world you want to find: 1.6 million place names in all are here.

Want to see what the Earth looked like when the dinosaurs roamed? A couple of clicks and you're there. Lots of volcanoes around then. How do volcanoes erupt? Click. Now you see it in full-motion multimedia.

Traveling overseas? Get complete country information, maps and background. The program is kept current with live links to Rand McNally content on the Web. Like Microsoft's Encarta, this product's emphasis is mapping. What I liked better than Encarta in this product is the ability to customize the maps, show the views I want to see and even create my own. For $40, I think this product is a must for any home reference library, especially a home with children, who will find it fascinating. It runs on Windows 95, 98 or NT.

-- The "Elle Beauty Guide" is another entry in a hot product category -- personal software for women. Launched by Grolier in cooperation with Elle magazine, the product's aim is to help women select makeup styles and colors, scents, colors and products to enhance their image.

By answering questions in the interactive guide, a woman can find what the experts say are the perfect makeup colors and products for her. There's advice about how to tame the sun, hide wrinkles and otherwise caring for the skin.

Several women who tried out the product for me enjoyed using it, but weren't likely to use it over and over. Consider it an evening's worth of improvement advice, which at a street price of about $25 is not a bad deal. It works with Windows or Mac.

-- My children are enthralled with Broderbund's "Kid Pix Studio," a drawing program that is making me go broke buying printer cartridges for my home printer. Anyone age 3 and up can have a ball with this simple, powerful drawing program.

Now the company has released "Kid Pix Studio Deluxe," which does the original one better by adding text-to-speech capability. In other words, kids can draw characters, then make them speak (in English or Spanish.) Dozens of new sounds are now included, as are more than 500 clip art images and backgrounds. It's slick, powerful and cheap, at about $25. For Windows and Mac.

WEEKLY WEB WONDER: Need to find something on the Web and don't know where to start? Just ask your faithful butler, Jeeves. Head to "www.askjeeves.com" for all the answers.

(James S. Derk is computer research editor for The Courier in Evansville, Indiana, and co-sysop of Courier Online. His e-mail address is jderk@evansville.net.)