PAPER AIRPLANES??? HEY! WHY NOT?
A Review of The Greatest Paper Airplanes
by Ron Enderland
Thanks a lot! Just what I needed, another slightly quirky piece of software
to keep me away from my responsibilities!
The Greatest Paper Airplanes is the full blown version of the shareware package available everywhere. The first thing I noticed was my favorite feature, UNINSTALL! Hey, that automatically gets the software another half star!
This software is not for everybody. In short, before you purchase the CD, ask yourself: "Am I into paper airplanes?" If the answer is yes, then I recommend this program for you. If the answer is "Hmm...I'm not sure," then take note of what happened to me:
When I first received it, I thought, "Well, I'll let the kids play with it while I watch." That lasted about a half an hour. Then, I sent them into the living room to watch Nickelodeon while DADDY took the controls!
The program has three sections: a history and science of flying, a history
and a science of paper, and the actual paper airplanes themselves.
There are fifty planes that are featured, with difficulty of construction rated easy, moderate, or difficult. Let me tell you, you had better read through the science of paper before you tackle a difficult craft. You will swiftly learn just how important it is to produce a firm crease in exactly the right spot.
The program walks you through the folding process by means of a video accompanied by text. You can set the video to stop after each step. This is recommended unless you want to see every step before you start. The text will explain anything that is not made obvious in the video. The authors have done an excellent job of seeing to this. The commonest measuring standard is "fingerwidth." I guess that could vary, depending on if you are William "Refrigerator" Perry or Olga Korbut!
Principles of origami are taught, with good reason. These aren't the common
darts that you got sent to the office for throwing at Melanie in grade
school! No, these are truly sophisticated little aircraft.
Despite the excellent instruction, a couple of my efforts did not turn out as expected. I'm sure that, with a little practice on my part, this could improve. And keep in mind that a potentially difficult process is being tackled. The fact is, I did manage to produce (the first time I tried!) several paper airplanes that were sublime in their beauty and functionality.
You can print out folding guidelines if you wish. I did not find this to be particularly helpful, since the lines quickly run together on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper. Also, you need to print both sides if you want to be able to use the guidelines on every fold.
Unfortunately, the CD quit working after three or four days. It just stopped
dead! I had to leave three Emails at their AOL address before I finally got a
response. I now have to mail it back to Mindscape to get a replacement. I
definitely should have gotten a quicker response.
Am I getting overly excited over folded paper? Perhaps. But if you have any kid left in your adult body, then take a chance on The Greatest Paper Airplanes. It may happen to you, too.
Multimedia Cafe Scorecard
| Product: |
The Greatest Paper Airplanes |
| Company: |
Mindscape, Inc.
|
| Cost: |
$20.00 |
System Requirements:
IBM PC or compatible with a 386/33 mhz processor
CD ROM drive
Windows 3.1 or higher (Ran OK on Windows 95)
4 MB RAM (386 enhanced mode and swap file needed)
SVGA (At least 512 KB video memory and 640x480x256 color video driver)
MPC 1 compliant sound card and Windows drivers
MSCDEX 2.2 or higher
Microsoft compatible mouse
Breakdown:
Entertainment Value 4
Educational Value 4
Concept 4
Depth 3
Interface 3
Overall Score:
Copyright © 1997 InfoMedia, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.