Business Software Reviewed and
Educational Software Reviews since 1995 - Anti-spyware and virus detection
and protection programs
Cyber News and Reviews is a monthly column published since 1995 for parents,
teachers and small business and home business owners offering articles on some
of
the best computer products available. I cover business software, education,
entertainment with freeware and shareware, and some hardware too.
Over the years, I've reviewed computer programs from Microsoft, Knowledge Adventure
(Davidson) and others. When my kids were young, they couldn't wait for the
software to arrive and have fun testing the games and lessons with me. And, in the past few years they've contributed some of their own reviews with
opinions. The best advice on
software is from the children who use it. Also, many of the business
programs reviewed are useful for home business and small business owners.
My writing began in 1979 when I entered the world of personal computers.
One of the very first computers was in kit form made by Motorola, with a tiny
amount of memory. It used a teletype for typing and it printed the text.
I belonged to the local computer group where we exchanged software, helped each
other expand our computers and bought the new computers when they came out.
I had them all: from the Apple II, Atari, Commodore 64, Radio Shack TRS-80 to
the IBM PC desktops. Radio Shack and Sharp made the first portable and pocket
computers. Eventually, all the computers came with a form of Microsoft Basic
language that let you write your own programs. I started writing articles
on beginning Basic programming for Byte Magazine, Kilobaud, Personal Computing
and others. My articles evolved into two books on beginning Basic
programs, first for the TRS-80 and Apple II, then later for the Atari, Commodore
and IBM PC. To my delight, the books were used to help teach the
Basic Language in elementary and high school computer classes from 1980 to 1986.--Howard Berenbon
Stop
Spyware in its Tracks!
Recent Reviews
March 2008--TurboTax Deluxe for Tax Year 2007 from Intuit Inc.
February 2008--Adobe
Photoshop CS3 Extended and My Guitar from eMedia
January 2007--English-Hebrew Language Learning Software from
LingvoSoft
December 2007--CounterSpy
Anti-Spyware and Edventure Maze
November 2007--Anti Spyware Software: You've Got to Have It
October 2007--The
Incredible Wii Game Machine from Nintendo
September 2007--KoolMoves
Update to a Cool Tool for Flash Development from
Lucky Monkey
Designs LLC
August 2007--A Neat
Free Network Monitor from Snapfiles.com and NirSoft
July 2007--Freeware
Utilities for Your Flash Drive from SnapFiles.com®.
June 2007--QuickBooks
Pro 2007 from Intuit Inc.
May 2007--Flash Drives: You Got to Get One!
Rosetta Stone Personal Edition Hebrew Level 1, 2 & 3 CD-ROM Set
By Becky
Berenbon
Rosetta Stone, a language learning software, is definitely one of a kind. The
software calls its system Dynamic Immersion™, which models the way you learned
your first language as a young child. Through images, intuition, interactivity,
instruction, and immersion, you can learn a new language. There is absolutely
no memorizing involved. Hard to believe? I wanted to see this for myself, so
I tried out the program. The installation process took about 10 minutes,
including actual installation and set-up. Before getting started, the software
builds your course based on what you want to learn. For example, I had already
learned the Hebrew alphabet, so I chose not to focus on learning this.
Each language program is divided into levels, sold separately or in bundles.
And levels expand on what was previously learned. Rosetta Stone has just
recently updated some of their language programs, including Hebrew, adding a
third level to the series.
Each level has units, focusing on topics like “Greetings and Introductions” or
“Work and School.” The units contain four lessons. New vocabulary is
introduced at the beginning of each lesson, and then worked with during each
activity. Once you have finished a unit, you’ll do the milestone, testing out
your new language skills in an everyday situation, like on a camping trip or a
bus ride.
The activities in the lessons are extremely simple and user-friendly, with no
complicated instructions. Every screen incorporates sound and pictures, helping
you associate them with the words and phrases. The activities teach different
aspects of the language, including reading, writing, listening, grammar,
pronunciation, speaking, and review. If you don’t do well, you have the option
of retrying the activity.
Rosetta Stone boasts its Adaptive Recall™. Every so often you are given a
scheduled review activity, making sure you remember what you previously
learned. Unlike the other activities, these cannot be skipped.
The box includes a high quality headset with a microphone, which is used for the
pronunciation and speaking exercises. The microphone is very helpful,
especially for practicing everyday, back-and-forth conversation. And using the
microphone, Rosetta Stone analyzes your pronunciation comparing it to the sounds
of a native speaker, which ensures that you won’t end up speaking incorrectly,
or even worse, robot-like. It also allows you to constantly hear words and
phrases being said, training you to remember the correct pronunciation with
accent, not just the words.
While the images are usually very clear, at times I wasn’t able to understand
what they were trying to convey. For example, it was a challenge to tell the
difference between apartment and house. However, I just continued
the lesson and eventually figured out what the words meant.
To summarize the program, I felt like I was learning by magic. The system is
easy, fun, quick, and sometimes even reminiscent of a video game. Instead of
tedious memorization, you learn to “think” Hebrew. I can’t imagine going back
to traditional language learning, which is hard, tedious, and requires much more
time to achieve the same results. Rosetta Stone is an enjoyable and efficient
way to learn a language. If you’re serious about learning Hebrew then this
software will definitely help.
Rosetta Stone Hebrew Personal Edition Level 1,2 & 3 sells for a street price
of $449.10 with a no risk 100% money back guarantee for six months. It will
run on any multimedia PC, 1 GHz or faster processor, 512 MB RAM with Windows
2000/XP/Vista, 600 MB of disk space and a CD-ROM drive. It will also run on an
Apple Macintosh, operating system 10.3.9 or later. For more information, or to
order, visit
Amazon.com.
Other new versions available:
Software Companies Mentioned
Rosetta Stone
Harrisonburg, VA
Phone: 1-800-788-0822
URL http://www.rosettastone.com
Sarah at 3, (now 16 years old), playing “Just Grandma and Me.” At that age, “Reading
Blaster Jr.” was one of her favorites.
My daughters Becky (left) and Sarah (right),
on vacation in New York City, Times Square, June 25, 2003.
New York City, February
17, 2004
Times Square at Night
At the St. James Theatre to see The Producers (by Mel
Brooks) on Broadway (New York City) with Nathan Lane
and Matthew Broderick
The Late Show with David Letterman in the
distance. Ed Sullivan Theater between 53rd and 54th Street on Broadway in
New York City, August 2005.
Me and Becky at The Colbert Report Studio in NYC, 54th Street
near 11th Ave. August 2007.
Online Privacy
Policy
