Kai's Power Goo, Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and SimuWeb and SimuNet
Kia's Power Goo by MetaTools, Inc.
If you're a graphics designer and want to manipulate images to create special effects, you should try Goo, from MetaTools, makers of the popular Kai's Power Tools software for Macintosh and IBM compatible computers. And even if you're not in the business, you may find Goo lots of fun to do.
Goo can take any image, say, a photo of a face, and smudge it, nudge it, smear it, move it, shrink it, smooth it and more. All effects are produced in real time so you can see results immediately. MetaTools suggests that Goo can be entertaining for anyone, as well as aiding the creativity of graphics designers. It can even help to create gooed movies. And I have to admit that it's fun to Goo.
I guess you could be the life of the party digitizing and then Gooing the faces and figures of your friends and family. But let's face it (no pun intended), after a few nights of gooing, you'll probably say, "Why did I buy this software?" Fortunately, if you have a productive use for Goo, you won't be asking that question, but scattering Goo designs in your work for review by clients who want something different.
Kai's Power Goo will run on any multimedia computer (486 DX, IBM compatible or Power Macintosh) with 8 megabytes of RAM and 20 MB hard disk space. You'll find it bundled with Kodak digital cameras, or purchase it separately for $49. For more information, contact MetaTools, Inc. at 6303 Carpinteria Ave., Carpinteria, CA 93013. Phone: (805) 566-6200.
The Multimedia Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, by Groiler Interactive
If you're a science fiction enthusiast, then The Multimedia Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, by Grolier Interactive, is a CD-ROM title you should consider. You'll find over 4500 articles, 1700 photographs and illustration, 300 book synopses, movie clips and interviews with some of the famous authors including Arthur C. Clarke and Brian Aldiss. Also included is a 400-year timeline following the history of science fiction. And you can easily search for science fiction information that interests you.
After a quick and easy installation, I started by browsing the Gallery where you have access to all the multimedia aspects of the CD including pictures, videos and sounds. Once you find a picture that you're interested in, you can go to related articles. Although the Gallery is quite extensive, I was disappointed to find only six movie clips available including Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and the War of the Worlds. They are true classics, but I can think of a dozen more clips I'd like to see.
Next, I decided to try a search on one of my favorite science fiction subjects: time travel. It quickly listed the articles relating to time travel. I clicked on the top article and found references to books by two of my favorite authors: Clifford D. Simak and A. E. van Vogt. In fact, I found several books listed that I hadn't read, and will definitely try to locate them.
The science fiction encyclopedia sells for $39.99 and will run on any IBM compatible or Apple Macintosh computer with multimedia capabilities. For more information call Grolier Interactive at 1-800-285-4534.
SimuWeb and SimuNet from Bridge Learning Systems
Wouldn't it have been great to learn the Internet before you actually went online? If your service provider charges you by the hour, not knowing what to do online, with the minutes ticking away, can get expensive. Well, Bridge Learning Systems, from American Canyon, California, had a better idea. They've developed SimuWeb and SimuNet allowing you to experience the inputs and outputs of the Internet without ever being online.
SimuWeb
From the SimuWeb main menu, you have access to basic Internet concepts and terms, the Mosaic browser interface, home page design procedures, the guided Internet simulation and the glossary of Internet and World Wide Web terms. Everything is included to help you get comfortable with the Web including a graphics browser and even a short course on Web page design. And the Guided Simulation takes you on a tour of the Web without really being there. SimuWeb sells for $39.95, on diskette for IBM compatibles (Windows) and the Apple Macintosh.
SimuNet
SimuNet simulates the UNIX-based (text) side of the Internet without being online. It includes information on e-mail, file transfer protocol (FTP), Telenet, the text-based search engines, Gopher, Usenet News and more. It's available in three versions: DOS, Windows and Macintosh, on diskette, for $29.95.
Although both SimuWeb and SimuNet work well to help you learn the Internet, they really should be combined in one package. SimuWeb helps you learn the Web, but doesn't address e-mail, which you often use while browsing the Web (Netscape 2.0 includes its own e-mail application). If you design your own home page, with the help of SimuWeb, it's important to learn FTP and Telenet (covered in SimuNet) so you can update your page. It would be worth paying more (maybe $59.95) for a complete Internet learning system rather than for two separate applications.
For more information on SimuWeb and SimuNet contact Bridge Learning Systems, Inc., 351 Los Altos, American Canyon, CA 94589.