CDGRDCYN.RVW   961002
 
"Explore the Grand Canyon", Media Terra, 1995, 1-883577-48-9
%A   Media Terra
%C   7339 East Acoma Drive, #7, Scottsdale, AZ  85260
%D   1995
%G   1-883577-48-9
%I   Coriolis
%O   800-410-0192 +1-602-483-0192 fax: +1-602-483-0193 sbounds@coriolis.com
%T   "Explore the Grand Canyon"
 
A lot of the trouble that I had with this title is probably the fault of
Windows 95.  Installing the package with the "True Color" screen resolution
setting as recommended locked the computer.  Settling for an intermediate 16-
bit colour setting conflicted with some Broderbund Living Books titles.  Ah,
the joys of multimedia.
 
Nevertheless, Coriolis and Media Terra have to take some of the heat, too.  The
package does contain a wealth of information, in the form of graphics, maps,
text and audio, but it does *not* lend itself to exploration.  Read the manual
completely through before you try to run the package: the interface is not
intuitive in the least, and most of the required controls for accessing and
using the package are cryptic or hidden.  As only one example, the opening
screen contains a "hypertext" link labelled "To play the introduction, click
here."  I did, and was treated to an incomprehensible "slide show" of pictorial
images.  By default, the music, narration, and sound buttons are turned off
when the package is installed, and so I did not get the underlying explanation
until I found out how to turn them on.  (The narration is included in a text
"sidebar" to the image portion of the screen, but the text does not scroll as
the narration proceeds.  Under Windows 95, necessary controls and slider bars
may also be hidden by various task bars.)
 
Even when you have learned the secrets of the interface, the package is still
full of surprises.  Graphic images with information "behind" them have colour
coded borders.  The *type* of link, however, is not coded, so clicking on a
picture may simply bring you some text, or play a movie, or take you to a
completely different part of the program.  There is no easy "back" procedure,
although there is a kind of a history function.
 
Once you have mastered the interface, there's a lot of interesting material in
the package.  Just don't expect to be able to find it all at once.
 
copyright Robert M. Slade, 1996   CDGRDCYN.RVW   961002

======================
roberts@decus.ca         rslade@vcn.bc.ca         slade@freenet.victoria.bc.ca
link to virus, book info at http://www.freenet.victoria.bc.ca/techrev/rms.html
Author "Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses" 0-387-94663-2 (800-SPRINGER)