Carlsbad Caverns & the Guadalupe Mountains National Parks CD
Reviewed by Cindy O’Hora
- This is a wonderful resource! It offers a well done presentation of many aspects
of the Carlsbad Caverns and the Guadalupe Mountains National Parks.
There are lengthy multimedia presentations about the geology, history, and ecosystem of the areas. There are fly over views of the parks which left me feeling well oriented to key landmarks. This knowledge would be important to any one exploring the area.
The local flora and fauna are nicely presented with both text and spoken versions for all but the bat resource. The bat resource is extensive. It offers text based information with movies and still slides. After I read about the 8 foot bull snakes, I must admit I’d be hesitant to travel off alone.
Illustrated Trails is a collection of maps that could be enlarged and printed. Hikers and explorers would love to have these as the maps offered interesting info about special features.
You can take fascinating tours of the caverns. You won’t see me exploring the Spider Cave, but spelunkers would no doubt love it. You also get to see the Lechuguilla Cave sights on the CD. It is not open to visitors so that is a unique feature.
If you are interested in the geology of the caves, there is a 19 page text report which is augmented by photos. Surely anyone who is interested will love the resource. I found the “Name the Cave Parts” quiz in the middle of the report to be an interesting challenge. It was a very nice blending of multimedia features.
History buffs will love this CD. Through QuickTime video, still photos and text, a fascinating story of the region is revealed. A stagecoach line, which predated the Pony Express, passed through this region. It provided the first commercial transcontinental movement of the mail.
Kids Corner offers lots of interesting activities. You must have either visited the area or made an thorough exploring of the CD to be successful at most of the activities. The directions and activities text based. Children under ten or challenged readers would require adult assistance with the activities. A clickable text reading feature (which appears through most of the CD) would have been a good enhancement to the Kids Corner.
Navigation on the CD is very well done. There are unobtrusive buttons at the bottom and sides of each screen. It was easy to quit the program with just a command Q. Printing is available. When I printed the adopt a bat screen, I got a 3.5 by 4.5 print out.
Use this CD prior to a trip to prepare you to make the most of your visit. For those of us who can’t get there, this is a great resource for learning about these special parks. You will not be disappointed with this product. It has many hours of exploration to enjoy.
Although it can run from the CD, the presentation runs best when you copy a 1 MB folder on your Hard Drive. The Cordillera Group offers similar products Rocky Mountain National Park, Alaska’s Denali National Park, and Alaska’s Rim of Fire and Ice. You can reach them at email: corgroup@aol.com or on the web at http://corgroup.com
The product is dual format. For Macintosh it requires an LC or better, 2XCDROM drive, 14” 8 bit color monitor, System 7 and 2MB of free RAM. For IBM/PC 486-based DOS-compatible, 2XCD drive, 14”256-color VGA monitor and graphics card, mouse, DOS 3.1 and Win. 3.1 with 4MB RAM or Win 95 with 8 RAM. Suggested retail price: $29.95. It is a bargain!Who is Cindy O'Hora
I have been using Macintosh computers for the past eight years. I provide Macintosh tech support, on a volunteer basis, to my children's school. I write reviews and computer tips for my user group’s newsletter. I am currently serving as Vice President of LCAC. I have a web site called Macintosh Tips and Tutorials. http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/8613/index.html
The Lancaster County Apple Corps is a group of approximately 100 Apple/Mac users. We are located in Lancaster County, PA. LCAC publishes a monthly newsletter to members called Peelings.
Also see Cindy's review of "Multimedia Dogs"
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