Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 17, 1995 TAG: 9511170019
SECTION: HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE PAGE: HGG-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH COX
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
"While I am not a hardware and software provider to the home market, I'm a father who understands the uses in that environment,'' said Ellis, father of three, two of whom are in the second grade. That, as much as his business, prompts him to stay in touch with computers.
Multimedia, said Ellis, is popular because it can convey a combination of image, sound and full motion video. It provides a smooth transition between the school and home environment in terms of education, and of course is a wonderful resource for the home schooler. When he refers to multimedia, Ellis is talking about a CD-ROM, sound card, external speakers and color monitor on a personal computer. The personal computer should have a high-end 486 processor or Pentium (586) processor, he said.
For those who are considering buying multimedia accessories, or even a personal computer, for a holiday present, Ellis has a few words of caution.
"With any technology decision, don't do it until you need it, because as soon as you can afford it, it's out of date. Scope the market, decide your needs, then when you're ready to get going, make the purchase.''
Ellis also said to weigh the pros and cons of buying locally or through mail-order carefully. When you buy locally, typically you'll receive quicker service, but mail-order prices are generally more competitive, he said.
CD-ROMS are now available in a whole range of prices and capabilities, from the double (2X) speed to the 6X speed. The 2X speed, said Ellis, is fine for accessing pictures, data and information, and sufficient for those who will use their multimedia accessory strictly for information.
"To take advantage of full multimedia, without it being chopping, you need a 4X speed or above with a pentium-speed processor,'' he said.
In addition to the basic multimedia kits available, you can also plug in a joy stick to enhance the capabilities of games such as Doom and Descent, or use virtual reality glasses. These are available from Tiger Software for $799 for a personal computer, and around $599 for a video machine such as Sega or Nintendo.
And what are you plugging into? It could be games, music, art, education, travel information, movies, even software to plan the perfect golf vacation and training seminar CDs for home businesses. This training option has begun to replace the expensive, time-consuming travel to a sales conference, said Ellis, who has developed and is marketing software to the insurance industry.
It is education on demand. No more waiting for that great educational television program - the information is available on software. No more limiting a child's time in front of the computer to the rationed computer hour at school.
"The school computer whets their appetites, and they can come home and work at home,'' said Ellis. "It's exploration of learning in the best environment of all - at home, where there is no waiting line.''
Most software is now available on CDs. There's even a Piano Discovery System available through Tiger Software, for $199.99, that includes a keyboard to plug into your computer as well as software. According to a Tiger Software representative, Windows '95 is the biggest software seller this holiday season.
Rob Nichols, manager at Babbages in Valley View Mall, agrees. "Give it about a year and you'll have to have it to run all the newer stuff,'' he said.
Babbages carries software and books on computers. Nichols said their big sellers are games, but educational CDs are gaining in popularity, especially now that they are formatted in game and movie modes. It's simply more fun to learn. Winnie The Pooh and The Learning Tree, an interactive reading program for ages three to eight, is one of the most popular educational CD's out there.
In addition, The Learning Company and Davidson are two big educational software publishers. He also suggested looking into Microsoft's Magic School Bus series, which he said was targeted to ages 10 and up.
Games, of course, are hot. Because some are more violent than others (Doom is blood and guts, said Nichols) he suggested looking for a Mature Audience-17 (MA-17) rating. Newsweek has published the Parent's Guide to Children's Software ($32.99) that reviews available software for you. Most games, said Nichols, range in price from $60 to $70. The seven-CD Phantasmagoria is about $75.
Getting hooked on-line is also an option. The Roanoke Times has an on-line service called InfiNet, which costs $10 for 10 hours or $25 for 100 hours of use per month, available to customers within Roanoke area dialing code - or beyond, if you want to pay the phone charges. This service provides direct access to the internet.
Jim Ellison with the Roanoke Times advised having at least a 14.4 modem to get satisfactory service from this. To subscribe, call the Norfolk headquarters of InfiNet, at 1-800-811-3140.
Another option is loading America On-Line, Prodigy or other software onto your computer; these services, which also accesses the internet, have their own information databases as well.
by CNB