#What should we review?
11 messages in this thread
> I would like to see a discussion of reference works (dictionaries,
thesauri, encyclopedias, etc.) that would be of use to me. A graphic
artist, in contrast, would probably want to see a review that discusses art
collections available in CD-ROM format
There are some products that cross over between the reference and art
domains. for example Xiphias' American Heritage Illustrated Encyclopedic
Dictionary contains about 4000 images. The CDTV version, the only one
currently available, has slightly more, but they aren't all linked into the
dictionary. The PC version is just about to go out for 1-off testing.
Xiphias' TimeTable of History series might be of interest to you. I find
the articles a bit short sometimes, and wish for more images & interactive
simulations. If someone would publish a review to that effect, i might get
to implement them <grin>
Jerry Isdale
contract programmer for Xiphias
Thanks for the reply.
—–>>>>>
I find the articles a bit short sometimes, and wish for more images &
interactive simulations. If someone would publish a review to that effect,
i might get to implement them <grin>
<<<<<<—–
Tell you what: you get me a review copy of the CD-ROM disk and I'll do a
review of it. (I am a free-lance writer and a salaried historian. 🙂
)
A deal?
–Frank Kofsky
Frank,
What platform(s) do you have. The TimeTable of History series is
available for Mac, PC, Amiga (CDTV), and Sony DataDiscman. Amiga is the
most full featured (best sound/animation), PC is next, Mac is editorially
behind by a year or two, the Sony version is text only and limited by the
DataDiscman interface. Would you prefer to look at the TToH Science and
Innovation, TToH Business Politics & Media, or TToH Arts and Entertainment?
Where might you review these for and where did you find work as a
salaried historian?!
Jerry Isdale
Jerry,
—–>>>>>
What platform(s) do you have.
<<<<<<—–
Gee, this is the first time I've ever had to blush when reporting I own a
Macintosh (IIci). 🙂
—–>>>>>
Would you prefer to look at the TToH Science and Innovation, TToH Business
Politics & Media, or TToH Arts and Entertainment?
<<<<<<—–
My strongest suits, aside from history, are probably in science (BS,
Physics, Caltech; all-but-dissertation, Biophysics, UC Berkeley), Politics
& Media (natch) and the arts.
—–>>>>>
Where might you review these for and where did you find work as a salaried
historian?!
<<<<<<—–
To the first, I would try to place reviews in MacWEEK, Macworld, Computer
Currents, Micro Times. To the second, better you should ask "when" rather
than "where," but in any case, however, the answer is California State
University, Sacramento (since–gulp!–1969). Just had off three
consecutive semesters, thanks to (a) a sabbatical; (b) the Senior Scholar
Award from the Harry S. Truman Library Institute; (c) a one-semester
Scholarly Activity Grant (one per campus per year!) from Sacramento State.
During which time, I completed work on a project that has long intrigued
me, and now I'm looking for a publisher to bring out my MS on "The Truth
Was Expendable: The Truman Administration, the Aircraft Industry and the
War Scare of 1948." Say, you don't suppose you'd like to put it on a
CD-ROM would you? 🙂
Aren't you sorry now that you asked?
–Frank
Go Hornets, Frank!
-Wendy, CSUS Class of '87
Hi, Wendy–
Always a pleasure to hear from an alumna (even if you didn't have the good
taste to take any of my classes <g>).
–Frank Kofsky
Frank,
Thanks for your comments about US History on CD-ROM. When we first
published it in late 1990, it was patterned after the Grolier's
Encyclopedia because Grolier's seemed to know what they were doing (and
still do!) and because the marketplace was demanding collections of books.
US History was positioned as a natural buy for anyone who may have
Grolier's and who has a strong interest in the history of our country. The
positioning was good; the product has won several CD-ROM awards and is a
consistent Top 10 bestseller.
Our customers have indicated that putting a single book on a CD-ROM doesn't
generally work. It's better to put one book in a book. Of course, US
History has indices for word, author, subject, and title, so it is easy to
find the subset of articles you want. If you're so inclined, you can also
browse the word list (as well as the author, subject, and title lists) at
random and "schmooze" the disc. Finally, you can look at each book in its
entirety, so from that standpoint, you have 107 mini-CD-ROMs, each with one
book on it.
The text on US History is all in the public domain. But nearly none of
this text is available electronically anywhere else. So one could consider
it to be "value-added public domain." And of course, there are over 1,000
pictures and tables on the disc. Referring to Jerry Isdale's well-thought
out comments, by using the search and find next capabilities one can
develop a thread, making US History an enlightening interactive experience.
Thanks again for your comments.
Larry Shiller
Larry,
Thanks for your reply; as a professor of history, naturally I'm interested
in any kind of on-line historical reference work. When I have a little
more money to burn, I'll try the US History on CD-ROM disk.
Frank, as a professor of history you should try contacting the publisher
directly. They might give you a free review copy of that History CD-ROM.
I know book publishers do it, so why not CD-ROM publishers?
Thanks for your advice, Bruce; I'll give it a shot.
–Frank
Hmm, the only Mac title in the series is TToH Science and Innovation. It's
a bit dated, since i think the last update was in 1990. It's a hypercard
stack, actually one of the first produced for CD-ROM (originally issued in
1987-88). It's come a ways but the other platforms have offered larger
markets and more capabilities (e.g. color) in the basic player.
I dont know if we've even got any of them lying around anymore. Software
Toolworks has an exclusive on distribution for TTSI till mid '92. They put
it into a number of their bundles.
I'd like to see it updated with some quicktime, etc. but there are other
more lucrative markets just now. (publisher's idea, not mine)
Jerry