Whole Earth Software Review Summer

SUMMER 1984 $5 Review ENABLING COMPUTERS p. 46 Reviewer MARK O’BRIEN: “For the first time, | feel my writing can be private. | am free to keep a journal, write personal letters that really are personal, and rewrite as much as | want without having to pay a secretary ... Next to a power wheelchair, a peomputer is the most useful gadget “ eo |. 7 _ disabled person can own.”’ 7. ceaoee e cs “Telecommunications. Software: ‘Macintosh vs. PGi; oa SSeas ee te : - Artificial Intelligence Fa Research current through March 1984 CONGRATULATIONS. Yo u have survived Lauae I | This isn’t the replacenient for MS. PAC-MAN. T.REX iisa bee - new direction for animated ‘programs you maneuver with a ea joystick. This new focus iis on simulation of natural science environments where you get to live out the daily challenges — _ of being a dinosaur or act as manager of a beehive. ie Dinosaurs had a tougher time than you imagine. Tyranno- saurus had to wrestle with water supplies, where to find _ other dinos to feed on (and conserve energy while tracking "em down), the ambient temperature and even whether the _ terrain he crossed could support his bulky body. If that — doesn’t sound tough, then why did they disappear? : KERON Productions Inc., developers of T.REX, leave — that answer to you as you maneuver the beast through en- vironments they have created with scrupulous scientific — accuracy. That’s what simulations are all about and why personal computers are becoming more interesting — they can provide experiences that aren’t possible any other way. More information on T.REX and what simulations can offer is found in the article written by KERON’s chief executive officer, Ron Rollet, beginning on-page 69. | —RD : ENABLING COMPUTERS Art Kleiner, resident expert on systems designed for the disabled, has powerful examples of what can be achieved with a computer when used by some remarkable people in his article, “Enabling Computers” which starts on pa…