An Armchair Traveler's Visit to Hawaii
A Review of Experience Hawaii
by Susan Davis
If you're an armchair traveler, planning that next vacation can be
almost as fun as the one you just came home from. But, like most of us
without extensive knowledge of the world, you might not have any idea
of the circumstances surrounding the place you want to visit. If
Hawaii happens to be that place, you just might want to consider using
Experience Hawaii to spur your imagination as you plan your vacation.
If you're like me, deciding that Hawaii would be a great vacation is easy. All you have to do is talk to the millions of friends and relatives who've already been there. Maybe you even have already visited part of Hawaii yourself, and you would just like to have a better idea of what else you can see next time. In either case, Experience Hawaii can help.
You enter the CD-ROM Travel World by stepping up onto the porch of the
summer cottage iTravel Visitor Center. From that point on, what you
see, hear, and explore will definitely get you into the mood to visit
this tropical paradise. Inside the Visitor's Center you have an
impressive multitude of options available for finding information. You
can view any or all of over 100 video tips, or you can watch slide
shows featuring some stunning shots of the scenery and sights awaiting
you in Hawaii. If the written word is more your style, you can tour
the comprehensive text-based, point-and-click guide. You even have
access to iTravel's web site, a wide range of information from
Fodor's, and maps of each island to help you pinpoint locations that
you might have heard about or read about.
The Visitor's Center proves extremely easy to use, with a
point-and-click interface combined with highlighting that makes it
simple to identify things to explore in the Visitor's Center. The
graphics are well-designed, with a VCR or slide projector to lead you
to the pictures and videos, a beach ball or travel leaflets leading
you to the text information, and a computer leading you to the web
site interface. The Center is easy to navigate, and the interface is
designed to be familiar to anyone who has much experience with
multimedia programs.
My first stop, naturally, was with the pictures. I went right to the videos, just like I would if somebody wanted to tell me about their last vacation. I want to know what my upcoming vacation will look like. The tourists and natives are particularly interesting to listen to as they talk about activities and tips on the videos, but I find myself extremely frustrated by strange script errors that keep cropping up in the QuickTime video program. Also, the lack of good stereo sound is really irritating, given the otherwise quality nature of the CD-ROM. Many videos concentrate on the people talking, instead of the place they describe, and I keep wishing I could push them out of the way to see the scenery. The slide shows are just as breathtaking as I expected, but a few more pictures may help to enhance the feeling of really being there. I like the fact that the pictures could be viewed by area of interest. If you specifically want to visit Hawaii, or Oahu, in pictures, you can.
However, as a vacation planning aid, the text information is the most
useful. It is always helpful to see where you want to go, but planning
the vacation ultimately comes down to the little details. Experience
Hawaii does a reasonable job of helping out, although the information
is better as a general guide to what is available. In some cases, only
a few restaurants are listed, or only one or two places in a specific
lodging category. There is a vacation planning rolodex with names and
phone numbers to help you if you don't have a good travel agent on tap
already. You can explore the index randomly, or you can search through
the ten categories of information, including lodging, dining, and
recreational activities. The price ranges are well-represented, from
budget to deluxe. However, it would be helpful if Experience Hawaii
featured more places, and if more information was available about each
place. The program seems more interested in the visual and sound
information, and less interested in giving you in-depth information
about each topic or item.
The program loads easily, and it doesn't overly tax the system
resources, but the video and sound difficulty I experienced took some
of the joy out of using the program. The interface shouldn't give you
any problems at all, and the general program atmosphere is extremely
inspiring. If I wasn't already been planning a trip to Hawaii, I
certainly would be now.
As an overall exploration of Hawaii, Experience Hawaii is helpful. Your best use of the program might be to stimulate your imagination and curiosity about what activities you might like to do while staying in a certain area. However, direct and in-depth planning is probably better left to another program or your travel agent. For a wide-ranging, but casual, visit to Hawaii, Experience Hawaii is perfect for the armchair traveler trying to get some good beginning points for planning that next vacation.
Multimedia Cafe Scorecard
| Product: |
Experience Hawaii |
| Company: |
Graphix Zone, Inc.
|
| Cost: |
$39.95 |
System Requirements:
PC Requirement: Windows 3.1, 3.11, or Windows
95, 486-66 or faster with 8MB of RAM (Windows 95 requires 4MB of free
RAM), 256 colors, 640x480 resolution, double-speed CD-ROM or faster,
Windows-compatible sound card and mouse, and a modem (optional).
MAC:
Macintosh Performa 550 or higher or Macintosh with 68040 processor,
256 colors, 640x480 resolution, 8MB of RAM (PowerMac requires 4MB free
RAM), System 7.01 or higher, double-speed CD-ROM or faster, and a
modem (optional).
Breakdown:
Entertainment Value 4
Educational Value 4
Concept 4
Depth 3
Interface 5
Overall Score:
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