Environmental Notes
Bruce Boss
Contact Information:
Bruce Boss
Education Editor
16223 Lower Colfax Road
Grass Valley, CA 95945
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Tips to Live By
In this month's column, we have two CD storage recommendations and two software recommendations.
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If your CD-ROMs CD-Rs, CD-RWs, DVDs, music cassettes, music CDs, floppies and VHS tapes are threatening to take over the family room, we have two storage recommendations that, most importantly, do not include building an addition to your home.
After we solve your storage problem, we have two recommendations for adding to your software collection: the latest Spy Fox from Humongous, and a grade-specific, multimedia Math Blaster from Knowledge Adventure (Cendant Software).
Storage Solved Elegantly
When you don't want to accumulate the desktop storage units typically available at PC, HiFi and department stores, then consider a small oak chest available for about $88 (three-drawer) or $139 (five-drawer). These already finished pieces of furniture are available (when on sale) at the stores that have the word "oak" in their name. We are familiar with the Oak Depot, the Oak Mill and the Oak Barn. At the quoted prices, only the very nice drawer fronts are solid red oak, but the other visible sides are a fine grade of red oak MDF plywood. After that, the material quality is marginal, but acceptable.
Most importantly, the ubiquitous units we see everywhere have drawers measuring 20.125" x 14.75" x 5+". Don't worry about the height because the drawer clearance is enough for storing CD-ROMs, etc. Each drawer can store about 106 CD-ROMs (x 3 = 318 units; x 5 = 530 units).
The elegant part of this storage solution is the proper use of "industrial strength" self-sticking 3/4" or 2" Velcro tape available at hardware and sewing supply stores. For each drawer, cut dividers just small enough to fill the drawer from front to back with a small amount of extra space for four thicknesses of Velcro. You only need to find some 1" x 4" material or cut dividers yourself.
To complete the job properly, use the 2" Velcro on each side of every row so that additional pieces of Velcro can be used as needed to limit the depth, thus allowing the CDs to stand up. This avoids the purchase of bookends.
If you have read this far and don't want the bother of finding the materials and performing the assembly, there is a company on the Web (Lorentz Design) that makes similar, and probably better, storage units in "Cubes." These are made in diverse configurations for all sorts of storage problems.
Lorentz Design, Inc.
P.O. Box 277
Lanesboro, MN 55949
SPY FOX 2: Some Assembly Required
Just when we thought Humongous wasn't going to find new ways to enhance its Junior Adventures, the company releases a very different idea. This educational adventure is aimed at 5-10 year olds, but we less hip adult gamesters find that it is perfect for us. This very large multimedia experience is squeezed onto one CD-ROM that is a WIN95/Mac hybrid disc. However, as Multimedia becomes ever more demanding, we see requirements rise to where this disc needs a Pentium 90 or Mac Power PC 80.
It was hard to resist capturing a picture of the chase scene down a ski slope in the Alps. First, SPY FOX has to make skis by finding water for his dehydrated equipment pill. Then the race is on as the bad guys from S.M.E.L.L.Y. are in pursuit down the mountainside, through the cave of the abominable snowman and even off a ski jump ramp. You must select the right choices to escape with the garbage bag containing the kit that ties the story together.
In Figure 1, we see the Spy Fox in the Mobile Laboratory where a miniature robot must be assembled. Puzzles and chase scenes must be negotiated in order to find the switch that will prevent Professor LeRoach's plan for world domination.
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Figure 1. Spy Fox is in the Laboratory where Assembly is required. |
| Click on the thumbnail for full image. (120K) |
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Spy Fox is crafted after James Bond, so he is similarly equipped with imaginative gadgets and an improbable series on antics. Finally, the chase leads to the World's Fair where a statue that resembles a Canine Robot will come to life-unless the hidden switch can be found in time. Appropriately for the target audience, the adventure tries to avoid frustrating dead ends and the graphics are boldly painted. There are even hints when it is time to make a decision.
Humongous adventures are so popular, there are few youngsters who don't know the characters from the TV and edutainment software used in homes and schools. The new Spy Fox is only in his second adventure, so you will be seeing million dollar promotions in theaters and magazines, as well as in a sweepstakes with a grand prize of a trip to Hanover, Germany for World Expo 2000.
SPY FOX 2: Some Assembly Required
[$24.99 msrp]
Humongous Entertainment
13110 NE 177th Place,
Suite B101, Box 180
Woodinville, WA 98072-9965
(800) 499-8386
Math Blaster for 2nd Grade
Knowledge Adventure has just begun to ship new Math Blaster and Readings Blaster versions for grades K through 5, although there is no Math Blaster for Kindergarten yet. These grade-specific versions are newly expanded within each age group and some of the grades will see all new characters. Even though we remember these programs as Davidson products, both companies have been absorbed into Cendant along with Sierra On-Line, Blizzard and others.
Parents and teachers have been using Blaster learning software since 1983. The new programs still contain all the familiar learning concepts that have made the company so successful, but new expanded multimedia and rewards make learning look even more like a game. Knowledge Adventure has gone the extra mile with student trials and feedback from parents and teachers. There are progress charts for parents and simplified versions for the students. There is even a master plan that pushes student to win trophies in every skill category so that they can compete in crazy carnival events to help their team take home the grand prize. There are five skill levels and the software adjusts the difficulty as each student completes a problem. Each package contains disc(s) for WIN95/98 and the Mac PowerPC.
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Figure 2. The 2nd Grade Math Blaster makes addition look like a game. |
| Click on the thumbnail for full image. (58K) |
In Figure 2, we see an addition lesson that looks like a game to the student. The goal is to add the correct number of pears to the pans so that the total equals the target amount. The mouse in Figure 2 is holding a pear that it is about to drop in the units pan to make the total correct. The initial reward is to watch the pears cascade down the pans into the hopper where they are ground into sauce. A friendly character is at hand to give encouragement.
There are 11 skill areas to choose from such as, using money, telling time and completing number patterns. Better students even get a look at what the next grade level will be like. There are also sticker-making activities and a magnet board where fun is the goal. With over 350 math lessons, this becomes a core-curriculum "game" at a bargain price.
Math Blaster for 2nd Grade
[$20 appx.]
Knowledge Adventure
19840 Pioneer Avenue
Torrance, CA 90503
(800) 542-4240
If you have any suggestions or questions, please contact us.
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