& LIGHT-YEARS! - TRS-80 Color Computer Archive

stegosaurs, brontosaurs, and
tyrannosaur rexes major moni
tor stars.
A new entry in the elec
tronic dinosaur category is an
entertaining and educational
program called Return ofthe
Dinosaurs (American Educa
tional Computer. 7506 North
Broadway Extension, Suite
505. Oklahoma City, Oklaho
ma 73116; 800-222-2811:
$39.95).
Your friend, Professor T.
Rex, has invented a time
transporter, but the machine
has malfunctioned. To save
your hometown, you must
identify and collect the dino
saur that's slipped through a
crack in time. In a process
that's reminiscent of the Car
men Sandiego series, you track
down clues by going from
place to place and by talking
with the townspeople who
have seen the beast. You move
through four separate screens,
combing Main Street, the Mu
seum Park, the Museum itself,
and the nearby countryside as
you hunt for your next infor
mant. With $60 in your pock
et, you head out to converse
with Sergeant Prime Evil in
the police station: talk to Di
nah, the rural mail carrier; and
even gab with Auntie Sedcnt.
The clock is licking, though,
and you've got to find the di
nosaur and zip it back in time
by the end of the week. You
can walk from place to place
or. to save time, spend money
and take a taxi or bus.
Press Control-N to call
up your notebook; then enter
the clues you've uncovered.
How large is the dinosaur?
What does it eat? Does it walk
on four legs or two? When
you've gathered a few clues,
you can use the Dinofile, a
database of 70 dinosaurs, to
determine the dinosaur's exact
name, the period in which it
belongs (so you can return it),
and where it lived. The Dino
file is the heart of the package,
for it's there that children learn
how to access a computerized
database and extract infor
mation from it.
Return ofthe Dinosaurs
offers passable graphics and
meager sound so that it can
run on the lowest-cornmondenominator
Apple II sys
tem—a 128K lie or He (and an
Apple IlGS in He mode).
Sound and graphics are good
56 COMPUTE
COMPUTE!..
specific
enough to hold a kid's interest,
though. One plus is that the
package contains both 5Vi-inch
and 3'/2-inch disks.
Using dinosaurs as its
bait. Return ofthe Dinosaurs
makes kids think through a
problem; by showing children
how to use a database, the pro
gram helps them find the facts
to solve that problem. Return
ofthe Dinosaurs doesn't have a
computer publishing jugger
naut's advertising budget be
hind it, but it deserves a look
by teachers and parents.
Up and Down
Although Apple II sales during
the 1988 Christmas season—
typically the time of year when
Apple pushes computers hard
est at consumers—were off
nearly 50 percent from 1987.
software sales last winter were
up significantly.
Figures released by the
Software Publishers Associa
tion, a collection of 440 lead
ing software publishers, show
that Apple II software sales
were up nearly 20 percent dur
ing the last three months of
1988 when compared to the
same period in 1987. Leading
the increase were sales in the
desktop publishing category,
up almost 130 percent. Print
It!, from Timeworks: Spring
board Publisher, from Spring
board Publishing; and geo-
Publish, from Berkeley Softworks,
are the front runners in
the category.
Not far behind was the in
tegrated software category,
which increased by 102 per
cent. The release of Claris's
AppleWorks GSduring the
quarter undoubtedly played a
major role in the sales jump,
since the category only grew by
5 percent for all of 1988.
AppleWorks GS's release may
also have affected word pro
cessor sales, which dropped by
9 percent—AppleWorks GS's
word processing module is ar
guably its strongest feature.
Educational software
went up 17 percent, while
game programs crept up only 4
percent. The big losers were
graphics packages; that catego
ry dove 25 percent.
For all of 1988. however.
Apple II software sales were
flat, crawling up only 4 percent
(in fact, when inflation is taken
into account, Apple II software
sales probably declined slight
ly). Yet Apple II owners can
lake comfort in the fact that
ihings are worse for someone
else: Commodore 64 software
sales grew by only 0.8 percent
during the year.
Micro Fun
Home computer users are al
ways on the lookout for good
software at bargain prices.
When you're spending your
own money on Apple II soft
ware, you want the most for
your dollar.
One source of inexpensive
but still worthwhile education
al software is Scholastic Soft
ware, the publisher of a unique
series of disks called Microzine
and Microzine Jr. Long a sta
ple in many classrooms,
Microzine and Microzine Jr.
make the transition to the
home with ease. If you have
kids and an Apple II computer
in your house, check these out.
Microzine is aimed at kids
ages 9 and up. while the newer
Microzine Jr. 's audience is
children ages 6 to 9. Each issue
of Microzine and Microzine Jr.
includes four programs, either
on two 5'/i-inch disks or on
one 3'/;-inch disk. A booklet
offers instructions and tips as
well as program-related activi
ties teachers and parents can
do with their kids.
One recent issue of Micro
zine. for instance, included a
certificate creator, a delightful
(and fast-paced) math game
based on percentages, a visualdiscrimination
program much
like those what's-wrong-withthis-picture
pages in children's
magazines, and a graphics ad
venture story in the Twistaplot
scries. A sample Microzine Jr.
issue offered a mask maker, a
Twistaplot adventure where
kids take on the identity of
various African animals, a ro
bot simulation that mimics
the game twenty questions,
and a graphics screen where
children locate inappropriate
objects.
Both Microzine and
Microzine Jr. use a menu sys
tem to select programs and the
issue's other features, which
range from Letters to the Edi
tor to disk-formatting selec
tions. The menu, while help
ful, isn't the slickest around.
For instance, you have to use
the arrow keys to move the
pointer, even if you have a
mouse.
The proof is in the pro
grams, though, and, on that
count. Microzine and Micro
zine Jr. are definitely a par
ent's good buy.
Home versions of Micro
zine and Microzine Jr. run
$32.95 an issue (five issues are
produced in a school year). To
find out the current price of a
year's subscription, contact
Scholastic at 2931 East
McCarty, P.O. Box 7502. Jef
ferson City, Missouri 65102;
(800)541-5513.
— Gregg Keizer
Who would have thought that
Commodore Business Ma
chines would ever become the
darling of Wall Street? Well,
that's what's happening, as an
alysis scramble to explain the
company's recent financial
success. Earnings for 1988
were up 74 percent over 1987.
sending the price of Commo
dore stock to a four-year high
that even beat Apple's current
stock price. Sales of Amigas
and Amiga peripherals ac
counted for about 40 percent
of the profits, and Commo
dore's PC-compatible line
brought in about 20 percent of
the bacon. The rest was mainly
from the Commodore 64 and
128. which, despite their aging
technology, show no sign of
imminent demise because of